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

Li Yunlong's eyes lit up.

He had only seen M2 mortars at the Second New Regiment's base before, and had never seen live-fire shooting.

Zhou Tianyang glanced at his pocket watch; the hands pointed to eight o'clock in the evening.

"There are still four hours left. You take the men of the new regiment and sneak to the west side of the stronghold to wait for orders. We'll make our move after my cannon fires."

"Also, I need a guide who is familiar with the terrain of the northwest corner. Does your group have someone like that?"

Li Yunlong turned to look at Wang Desheng behind him, and Wang Desheng immediately responded.

"Reporting to Regiment Commander Zhou, we have a platoon leader who used to fight guerrilla warfare in this area and is familiar with the terrain of the northwest corner of the stronghold. I'll bring him here."

Wang Desheng turned and ran into the depths of the woods, and soon returned with a person.

He was twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, lean and muscular, with the marks of years of travel on the road on his face.

Zhou Tianyang beckoned him over, and the man quickly walked up to Zhou Tianyang and stood at attention.

"Commander Zhou, I heard from the commander that we're going to attack the granary in the northwest corner tonight."

"I've seen that place several times. The wall is indeed thinner than other places, and the ground is raised by half a meter."

"The foundation is made of stones, and there is a drainage ditch around it. If you follow the drainage ditch to the bottom of the wall, you won't be easily discovered."

After listening, Zhou Tianyang turned to Zhao Wenlong and said.

"You take your infantry company and follow this comrade, sneaking along the drainage ditch to the northwest corner."

"Once the artillery has suppressed the three pillboxes, you lead your men to blow up the wall, go inside and prioritize capturing the granary, then launch a pincer attack from the inside out."

Zhao Wenlong nodded heavily, turned around and quickly walked back to the team to make arrangements.

Li Yunlong, along with Wang Desheng and his soldiers, disappeared into the shadows on the west side of the woods.

At 10 p.m., the Liujiabao stronghold was quiet.

The sentry on top of the watchtower leaned against the fence.

He would occasionally glance into the distance, then pull his neck back, head down, lost in thought.

The sentries at the four corners of the wall all looked into the stronghold; few people were looking out.

Zhou Tianyang lay prone behind a large tree at the edge of the woods, holding binoculars in his hand.

They took in every detail of the outpost.

Behind him, two mortars had already been adjusted to their angles and ranges.

The gunners crouched beside the gun mount, waiting for his command.

Time passed by, second by second.

It was exactly 11 p.m.

Zhou Tianyang put down the binoculars and took a deep breath.

Then he lowered his voice and said:

"fire."

The first shell pierced the night sky.

It emitted a sharp whistling sound and then struck the top of the central pillbox with pinpoint accuracy.

The explosion's flames instantly illuminated most of the stronghold, and brick and stone fragments flew everywhere.

Immediately afterwards, the second and third shells fell in succession.

The two mortars fired alternately.

Forty shells were unleashed in less than fifteen minutes, leaving the three pillboxes riddled with holes.

The sentry on top of the pillbox disappeared instantly in the explosion, and the sentries at the four corners of the wall were also affected.

Some people were thrown over by the blast wave, others were injured by shrapnel, and screams rang out intermittently amidst the explosions.

The Japanese soldiers in the stronghold were completely thrown into chaos.

The soldiers, just awakened from their sleep, rushed out of the barracks with their guns in hand.

Before they could figure out which direction the shells were coming from, they were scattered in all directions by the second round of explosions.

The firing ports on the first floor of the pillbox were mostly shattered, and several cracks appeared in the surrounding wall.

The shelling had just stopped.

Zhao Wenlong led 120 soldiers out of the woods and quickly made their way along the drainage ditch toward the granary in the northwest corner.

Several soldiers piled the explosive charges at the base of that weak section of the wall, pulled the fuse, and quickly retreated a few steps.

After a loud bang, a hole more than two meters wide was blasted open in the wall.

Zhao Wenlong, carrying an M1 Garand, was the first to rush in.

at the same time.

Li Yunlong also launched an attack from the west.

The soldiers of the New First Regiment quickly crossed the open area under the cover of mortar fire.

They climbed over the bombed-out barbed wire fence and poured into the stronghold through a gap in the collapsed wall.

This formed a pincer movement with Zhao Wenlong's troops, who had broken in from the northwest corner.

The Japanese troops in the stronghold had lost the ability to organize a counterattack.

Two of the three pillboxes were destroyed, and the remaining one was reduced to a crooked half.

More than a hundred Japanese soldiers were scattered throughout the stronghold.

Some hid behind the ruins and fired outwards, while others tried to break through the gap to the south.

But the firepower from both sides was too intense.

The M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle's rate of fire at close range made it impossible for the Japanese Type 38 rifles to even raise their heads.

Zhao Wenlong, gun in hand, charged at the front.

He shot down a Japanese sergeant who emerged from the side of the granary, then shouted:

"Second row, move to the middle with me!"

"Third platoon, hold the northwest corner gap, don't let the Japanese escape from there!"

The soldiers in the second platoon behind him responded immediately.

They advanced in alternating cover fire in fire squads, with each M1 Garand firing continuously.

Li Yunlong led the soldiers of the New First Regiment from the west and charged into the central area of ​​the stronghold.

They met up with Zhao Wenlong's men right next to the ruins of a collapsed pillbox.

He spotted Zhao Wenlong immediately and grinned.

"Battalion Commander Zhao, your equipment is damn good!"

"After this battle, I'll have a good talk with your regimental commander and ask him to spare a few of these."

Before Zhao Wenlong could respond, he raised his hand and fired another shot.

They took down a Japanese soldier who peeked out from behind the ruins.

"Commander Li, let's finish the battle first!"

The two exchanged a smile and then led their respective teams to continue clearing out the remaining enemies.

The last few Japanese soldiers hiding in the underground ammunition depot were forced out by a few grenades.

He was shot down as soon as he peeked out.

The entire battle lasted from the first cannon shot to the complete cessation of gunfire.

The whole thing took less than thirty minutes.

When Zhou Tianyang walked out of the woods to the entrance of the stronghold.

"Commander!"

When Zhao Wenlong saw Zhou Tianyang, he quickly walked over, unable to suppress his excitement.

"The stronghold was completely wiped out. All 112 Japanese soldiers were killed. We had three lightly wounded, but no casualties."

"Commander Li's side suffered two wounded, but none were killed in action."

Zhou Tianyang nodded, his gaze sweeping over the piles of captured supplies.

Nearly eighty Type 38 rifles, four Type 91 light machine guns, one Type 92 heavy machine gun, four grenade launchers, and three full boxes of ammunition were captured.

There was also plenty of grain and canned goods.

Li Yunlong came over and squatted down next to the supplies, his eyes wide with amazement.

"Damn it, this Liu Family Fort stronghold is lucrative."

He stood up, rubbed his hands together, and looked at Zhou Tianyang.

"Zhou Xiaogui, according to the old rules, split it in half."

Zhou Tianyang smiled.

"The spoils will be divided per person. Your New First Regiment has contributed a lot, so the supplies will be split in half, and the ammunition will be calculated based on what each of you captured."

Li Yunlong was stunned for a moment, then slapped Zhou Tianyang on the shoulder.

"Zhou Xiaogui, you're too particular."

He turned around and shouted at Wang Desheng.

"Desheng, get some men and move the stuff!"

"Cut it in half, don't let the brothers of the new Second Regiment suffer a loss!"

The soldiers from both regiments got busy.

After cleaning up the battlefield and moving supplies, order was quickly restored at the stronghold.

Zhou Tianyang stood next to the pile of supplies.

His gaze swept over the captured guns and ammunition, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.