Holding the original shares, they fought all the way to the Korean War!

It was past noon by then.

On the way back to the 772nd Regiment's base.

Li Yunlong walked ahead, his strides still as long as ever.

But the speed has obviously slowed down.

He kept his head down and didn't speak, clearly deep in thought.

Zhou Tianyang followed behind him without saying a word.

The two walked in silence for five or six miles.

Li Yunlong suddenly stopped.

He took out a cigarette case from his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, struck a match, lit it, and took a deep drag.

"Damn it."

He cursed, but it's unclear who he was cursing at.

Zhou Tianyang walked to his side, stopped, and looked at the distant mountains.

"Old Li, have you decided where you're going?"

Li Yunlong exhaled a puff of smoke, squinted, and thought for a moment.

"I haven't decided yet."

"The brigade commander told us to find a place ourselves. There are many Japanese soldiers in southeastern Shanxi, and the area is also large."

"Finding a place to set up camp shouldn't be too difficult."

"The difficulty lies in how to get the team up."

Zhou Tianyang took over the conversation.

"A company of veterans, fifty guns, and five hundred rounds of ammunition."

"With this little bit of wealth, let alone fighting the Japanese, we'd be in trouble even if we ran into a single Japanese squad."

Li Yunlong turned to look at him, his eyes filled with a complex expression.

"You've got a good eye, kid."

Zhou Tianyang smiled but didn't say anything.

Li Yunlong took another drag of his cigarette.

He suddenly spoke, his voice a few decibels lower than usual.

"Zhou Xiaogui, I have an idea, listen to it."

Zhou Tianyang looked at him.

"Our two companies together have over two hundred men and a hundred guns."

Li Yunlong held up two fingers.

"A single company is too small, with too few men and too few guns. It would be in trouble even if it encountered a small Japanese squad."

"You said it yourself, this little bit of wealth isn't enough to show for it."

He paused, stubbed out his cigarette, and stared at Zhou Tianyang.

"But what if the two of us joined forces?"

Zhou Tianyang's heart skipped a beat.

He had already thought about this idea on the way.

More than two hundred people, one hundred guns.

Although the numbers are still small, if the tactics are used properly, ambushing a small Japanese squad shouldn't be a problem.

If you're lucky enough to run into a Japanese transport team, you could strike it rich.

"Old Li, we're on the same page."

Zhou Tianyang's voice carried a hint of excitement.

Li Yunlong's eyes lit up.

"You think so too?"

"right."

Zhou Tianyang nodded, his mind already racing.

"We lack everything right now."

"Food, ammunition, clothing, medicine, everything is in short supply."

"With the meager supplies provided by the brigade headquarters, it would be difficult to even maintain a company, let alone raise a regiment."

"So we have to get it from the Japanese first."

Li Yunlong picked up the conversation, his eyes shining.

"Let's pull off one heist first, get some food, some guns and ammunition, and then we can recruit more soldiers."

Zhou Tianyang nodded.

The two exchanged a glance.

They both saw the same thought in each other's eyes.

Fight a battle.

A war is inevitable.

Without fighting, there are no spoils.

Without captures, there are no supplies.

Without supplies, let alone the new first and second regiments.

He can't even support the veterans of the company he's in charge of.

The soldiers follow you because they need to eat and fight.

If you can't even feed us properly, and you don't even have enough bullets, who would want to work for you?

"But Lao Li, we need to figure out how to fight this battle and where to fight it."

Zhou Tianyang's tone became serious.

"We can't afford to lose what we have now."

"The veterans of a company are all precious treasures; losing one is like losing one less."

Li Yunlong, unusually, did not refute, but instead nodded solemnly.

"you're right."

"We can only win this battle; we cannot afford to lose."

"And it has to be a small price to pay for a big gain."

The two continued walking forward.

But their pace slowed noticeably, almost to the point of taking a walk.

They walked and talked, and began to slowly make plans.

"Let's first talk about what we have now."

Zhou Tianyang counted on his fingers.

"There are over two hundred people."

"One hundred guns."

"One thousand bullets."

"Not a single heavy weapon."

Li Yunlong nodded and added:

"The soldiers are all veterans; they've fought in battles and seen blood. There's no need to worry about that."

"The key issue is that the equipment is too poor and the firepower is too weak."

"Of the hundred guns, Hanyang rifles and Chiang Kai-shek rifles made up the majority, while there were very few Type 38 rifles."

"Therefore, to launch an ambush, you need to choose a location with advantageous terrain."

Zhou Tianyang squatted down, picked up a twig, and started drawing on the ground.

"Our firepower is weak, so we can't fight the Japanese head-on."

"We need to take advantage of the terrain, let the Japanese get close, and try to take out half of them in the first round of shooting."

Li Yunlong also squatted down.

Staring at the simple topographic map on the ground.

"Where to choose an ambush site depends on the Japanese army's activity patterns."

He frowned, his mind racing.

"When I was in the First Battalion, I dealt with the local government's maintenance committees in the surrounding counties."

"We knew the general patrol routes and sweeping patterns of the Japanese soldiers."

"Tell me about it."

Zhou Tianyang raised his head.

Li Yunlong picked up a tree branch and began gesturing on the ground.

"Our current location is in the area where Wuxiang County and Licheng County meet in southeastern Shanxi."

"To the north is Yushe, to the south is Lucheng, to the east is Licheng County, and to the west is Wuxiang County."

He tapped the map a few times with his branch.

"The Japanese strongholds were mainly located in several county towns and along major transportation routes."

"Every day, they send out small teams to patrol along the highway."

"It usually consists of half a squad to a full squad, ranging from fifty to over a hundred people."

Zhou Tianyang stared at the map on the ground, his mind racing.

"Do the patrol routes and times follow a regular pattern?"

"have."

Li Yunlong nodded.

"Those Japanese devils are so rigid."

"The departure time, arrival time, and return time are basically fixed."

"I've observed it several times, and the error is no more than fifteen minutes."

Zhou Tianyang secretly admired him.

Li Yunlong truly lived up to his reputation as a genius in warfare; he had this intelligence thoroughly memorized.

"Then let's choose a route that the Japanese patrol team is bound to take and set up an ambush."

"right."

Li Yunlong's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

"But there are two problems."

"First, the ambush position must be outside the support range of the Japanese stronghold."

"Otherwise, if a battle breaks out, the Japanese reinforcements in the stronghold can arrive in twenty minutes, and we won't be able to handle it."

Zhou Tianyang nodded.

That's what he's thinking about too.

"And the second question?"

"Second, how to retreat after the battle."

Li Yunlong's expression turned serious.

"The Japanese suffered a loss, so they're bound to retaliate."

"We need a safe retreat route with the captured supplies, so the Japanese can't catch up."

Zhou Tianyang stood up, looked at the Taihang Mountains in the distance, and began to sketch out the surrounding terrain in his mind.

"Old Li, you're familiar with the terrain around here, do you know any suitable places?"

Li Yunlong also stood up, squinted his eyes, and thought for a moment.

"There really is such a place."

"where?"

"Fifteen miles east of Wangjialing, there is a gully that the locals call Heifengkou."

Li Yunlong's tone became excited.

"The ditch is flanked by hillsides, with a dirt road running through the middle. Japanese patrols often passed through there."

"The ditch is not long, about 300 meters, but the slope is steep and there are bushes on both sides, so it is well hidden."

Zhou Tianyang's eyes lit up.

"What about the terrain?"

"Where should we set up our ambush position?"

"On both sides of the hillside."

Li Yunlong squatted down and picked up the twig again to draw on the ground.

"The eastern slope is steep; we can deploy a platoon of troops there as the main attacking force."

"The western slope is gentler, so we can deploy two platoons there for attacking and providing fire support."

"Place one squad at the mouth and one at the end of the gully to block and cover the retreat."

Zhou Tianyang stared at the simple diagram on the ground.

He began to mentally rehearse the battle.

The key to choosing an ambush position is to create crossfire, leaving the Japanese with nowhere to escape.

The firing positions on both sides of the hillside should be able to cover every corner of the entire gully.

"Firing positions need to be prepared in advance."

Zhou Tianyang squatted down and picked up a branch to replenish the soil on the ground.

"Each soldier's firing position must allow them to clearly see their assigned field of fire, while also utilizing the terrain to conceal themselves."

"The Japanese reacted quickly. After the first round of firing, they would definitely seek cover and organize a counterattack."

"That's easy."

Li Yunlong nodded.

"Have the soldiers get into position in advance, adjust their firing positions, and clear any obstacles from the firing range."