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

"That's a great gun!"

"This is much better than our old-fashioned rifles."

A young man couldn't help but whisper something, his voice filled with barely suppressed excitement.

The old man turned around and led the group of people a few steps toward the fork in the road.

He turned back and waved to Zhou Tianyang.

The group of people followed him and quickly disappeared behind the bushes at the fork in the road.

Zhou Tianyang stood there, watching the figures disappear completely before turning away and walking back towards the group.

"Ma Yong, go find a place to spend the night up ahead."

"We've walked for too long today, the soldiers need a good rest."

Ma Yong responded, turned around and walked to the front of the line, where he whispered a few words to Deng Chen.

After confirming their direction, the team resumed movement.

Proceed forward along a slightly wider dirt road.

After walking for about half an hour.

Night had completely fallen.

A more open valley appeared on both sides of the road ahead.

There is a low earthen embankment at the edge of the valley, and behind the embankment is a mixed forest.

The clearing in the woods is large enough to accommodate more than 300 people to rest separately.

Ma Yong stopped at the edge of the valley, looked around, and then turned and gestured in Zhou Tianyang's direction.

Zhou Tianyang strode up, stood on the earthen embankment, quickly scanned the surrounding terrain, and then nodded.

"This is fine."

"Set up the sentry posts, get a good night's rest tonight, and continue your journey after dawn tomorrow."

After the order was given, the soldiers gradually dispersed into the mixed woods at the edge of the valley.

Ma Yong led several soldiers to set up sentries at the four corners and perimeter of the valley. Only after confirming that it was safe did they return to the woods and sit down under a large tree.

Zhou Tianyang sat next to him, leaning against the tree trunk, and let out a long breath.

Deng Chen walked over from the group and sat down on the rock opposite Zhou Tianyang.

His gaze fell on the soldiers who were settling in the distance, and he remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"Commander, after these two battles, the morale of my soldiers is noticeably different."

Zhou Tianyang glanced at him, but didn't say anything, waiting for him to continue.

"When I was in the mountains before, although I fought the Japanese, I always felt a vague sense of emptiness afterward."

"Even if we win, no one will know. We have nowhere to replenish the supplies we capture. After the battle, we'll have to retreat back into the mountains."

"I don't know when the next battle will be, or whether I'll be able to come back alive after it's over."

He paused, then turned his gaze from the distance to Zhou Tianyang's face.

"But today is different."

"I haven't seen that look on their faces in a long time."

Zhou Tianyang didn't respond, but just listened quietly.

He leaned against the tree trunk, his gaze falling on the soldiers resting at the edge of the valley.

"If we walk for another day, we'll reach Lijia Yu, the garrison of the Second New Regiment."

Zhou Tianyang spoke, but his voice was not loud.

It was as if she was speaking to Deng Chen, but also as if she were speaking to herself.

Deng Chen nodded and didn't say anything more.

He stood up, walked back to his unit, sat down next to a few veterans, and whispered a few words to them.

Those people all laughed after hearing that.

The laughter wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

Zhou Tianyang leaned against the tree trunk.

Listening to the laughter and the distant footsteps of the sentries, I slowly closed my eyes.

……

The next day.

It was still dark.

Zhou Tianyang opened his eyes.

He lay on a haystack at the edge of the mixed forest, listening to the faint chirping of birds in the distance, and then sat up.

A night's rest relieved most of the body's fatigue, and the human body's ability to recover at its limit was fully demonstrated at this time.

He stood up, stretched, and glanced across the entire valley.

Most of the soldiers were still asleep; some were curled up under the roots of trees, while others were half-lying against the earthen embankment, their breathing even and steady.

Ma Yong returned from his hidden sentry post on the north side of the valley, his steps light and steady.

He walked up to Zhou Tianyang and said in a low voice.

"Commander, there was no movement in the latter half of the night, and no abnormalities were found within a three-mile radius."

Zhou Tianyang nodded without saying anything more.

He walked to the center of the valley, bent down and picked up a dry twig from the ground, drawing a few lines on the soil beneath his feet.

That's the approximate route from our current location to Lijia Yu, marked with several potential obstacles and outposts along the way.

"Get the soldiers up and get on the road as soon as possible."

He threw away the dead branch and patted the dirt off his hands.

"We'll arrive in one more day."

Ma Yong responded and turned to walk towards the soldiers who were still asleep.

Less than fifteen minutes.

All 355 people are fully equipped.

Deng Chen walked over from the front of the group, holding a piece of dry food in his hand, stuffing it into his mouth as he walked.

He walked up to Zhou Tianyang and asked a question indistinctly.

"Commander, which route should we take today?"

Zhou Tianyang took out the hand-drawn map from his pocket and looked at it again.

His finger started from their approximate location, moved northwest along a winding dotted line, and finally stopped at a location marked Lijia Yu.

"This road."

Deng Chen leaned over to take a look at the map, swallowed the dry rations in his mouth, and nodded.

The team set off along the route marked on the map.

The soldiers, carrying heavy loads, walked steadily along the rugged mountain path, and no one spoke.

We walked for about several hours.

The sun was already directly overhead.

The group is traversing a relatively flat hilly area.

The terrain ahead suddenly narrowed, and the gentle slopes on both sides turned into a mountain ridge that was not very high but had a very steep incline.

The ridge is covered with shrubs and miscellaneous trees, which look like a natural barrier in front of us from a distance.

Deng Chen was walking at the front of the group when his pace suddenly slowed down.

He stopped, turned his head to look ahead for a moment, then turned and walked quickly back to the middle of the group.

His expression became more serious than before, and his voice lowered.

"Commander, there's movement behind that mountain ridge ahead."

Zhou Tianyang signaled the group to stop, then quickened his pace to Deng Chen's side, following his gaze forward.

He looked at it for a while, then his brows furrowed slightly.

On the back of that mountain ridge, the tops of some building outlines can be vaguely seen.

Those silhouettes were taller than any Japanese stronghold he had ever seen before.

"It's a large stronghold."

Zhou Tianyang's voice was not loud, but his tone was firm.

"It's several times larger than the reinforced squad's stronghold we encountered yesterday."

Deng Chen nodded, his gaze still fixed in that direction.

"A stronghold of this size would house at least a battalion of Japanese soldiers, plus a puppet army unit providing support."

Zhou Tianyang remained silent for a moment, then took out a map from his pocket and unfolded it, his eyes quickly scanning the current location and the surrounding area.

His finger moved forward along the route on the map, then back, pausing for a moment at several terrain markers in the vicinity.

He finally confirmed one thing.

This mountain ridge is the only way to reach Lijia Valley.

There's no way around it.

Both sides were steep rock walls and deep ravines, making it impossible for the main force to pass.

To get through here, we have to go right under the nose of that stronghold.

"There's no way around it."

Zhou Tianyang put the map away and turned his gaze back to the direction of the mountain ridge.

"We must destroy this stronghold, or at least cripple it so it won't dare to come out and chase us."