Chapter 18: Assaulting the Stronghold to Avenge Past Wrongs

A while later, Squad Leader Dabao of the First Squad, Squad Leader Lao Hu of the Second Squad, Squad Leader Qin Sheng of the Third Squad, and Artillery Squad Leader Wang Dachuan arrived at the town entrance and found Zhang Yun.

"Platoon Leader, Platoon Leader! Our haul this time is incredible! The Deputy Platoon Leader just told us we captured over 90 rifles, five machine guns, and countless grenades and cartridges. Oh, and there’s so much Japanese canned meat! We’ve traded our old muskets for cannons; we’re really sitting pretty now!" Although Dabao was already a squad leader, he still had a childlike enthusiasm.

Zhang Yun smiled, feeling quite satisfied with the capture. "We now have nine machine guns. Based on three per squad, distribute them accordingly. Then, have the soldiers swap their old rifles for the new ones as soon as possible and start familiarizing yourselves with the new weapons. By the way, what were the casualties from the fight?"

The leaders of the First and Second squads reported no casualties, as they had executed an ambush supported by mortars, and the enemy had been unable to mount any effective resistance.

The Third Squad leader said somberly, "The Third Squad had one killed and three wounded. During the ambush, a soldier was shot in the chest by an old devil and died on the spot. Two others were hit by the enemy's grenade launcher, though their injuries aren't serious. Another soldier, who was disguised as a militiaman to lure the enemy into the kill zone, was shot in the arm, but it has already been bandaged."

Zhang Yun felt a touch of sadness; this was the first time one of his subordinates had fallen since he arrived in this era. However, his predecessor had been forged in seas of blood and mountains of corpses, and that experience helped Zhang Yun adapt to the battlefield. The veteran squad leaders were the same; death was an inseparable part of war, and soldiers and civilians were sacrificing themselves every moment on the anti-Japanese front. They quickly composed themselves.

Zhang Yun then briefed the squad leaders on the situation at the Xiaohuozhuang stronghold, and they were all eager for the next battle.

Zhang Yun ordered, "Since our logistics squad led by Old Tang hasn't arrived yet, you are to enter Liujia Town immediately to reassure the residents. Return the property the devils seized, and propagate our anti-Japanese policies. From now on, Liujia Town will be our stronghold. We must protect the people here and mobilize them to resist Japan. Also, if there are any traitors who collaborated with the devils when they occupied the village, clear them out promptly."

These veteran squad leaders were well-versed in such tasks and immediately set off to carry out their orders.

Afterward, Zhang Yun strolled through Liujia Town with his communications officer. Seeing the squad leaders working effectively with the masses and witnessing the high morale of the townspeople, he patiently awaited Old Tang’s arrival.

In reality, the system had already confirmed the "occupation" of Liujia Town. Zhang Yun’s capture space had received small amounts of ammunition, large quantities of grain, meat, textiles, gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, tin, and spinning wheels. Currently, Zhang Yun was so "wealthy" that he couldn't be bothered to calculate the exact quantities; he was only worried about how to convert it all into usable assets.

Zhang Yun planned to wait for Old Tang to arrive and then send soldiers to visit the villages subordinate to Liujia Town. Previously, the Central Army had occupied Liujia Town. Although Zhang Yun had already developed militia organizations and strongholds in the surrounding villages, they hadn't been officially confirmed as "occupied." Now that his new platoon controlled the town, he could proceed to "occupy" those villages as well.

As a wealthy landlord, Zhang Yun no longer cared much for the grain, meat, or cloth, but the weapons, gunpowder, saltpeter, and metals privately hidden by the locals—while not yielding massive bonuses—would add up to a significant gain.

Moreover, in a while, once his forces grew, he could use the gold, grain, canned goods, and cloth to purchase weapons and ammunition from the surrounding Yan Xishan's troops or the Central Army. The parasites within those armies were always eager sellers of arms.

After more than half an hour, the mountain path leading to Xiaowang Village became bustling with activity. Old Tang arrived at Liujia Town with the logistics squad, over a hundred villagers, and a dozen mules and horses.

Zhang Yun instructed Old Tang to take over the work, which included further reassuring the townspeople and spreading the policies of the Party and the Eighth Route Army. He also ordered Old Tang to organize a transport team to provide support toward Xiaohuozhuang once the supplies were moved.

Finally, he told Old Tang to begin recruiting in the town and surrounding villages as soon as possible. According to Zhang Yun’s plan, he wanted 50 more men from the Liujia Town area and 200 from the Xiaohuozhuang area to reach battalion strength, totaling over 400 men.

Although Old Tang was worried about the logistics of feeding four hundred men, he considered Zhang Yun’s record of consecutive victories over the past month and the way the unit was snowballing, so he accepted the task without hesitation.

Afterward, Zhang Yun immediately gathered the infantry and artillery squads. After leaving the wounded behind, they set off for the Japanese stronghold at Xiaohuozhuang. Zhang Yun had thought about leaving an infantry squad behind to guard the area, but considering that while the enemy at Xiaohuozhuang was few in number, they were only a dozen kilometers from the county seat. The Japanese there could reach them in an hour via the Pingliao Highway, or even faster if they had vehicles.

Zhang Yun had to leave enough troops to intercept reinforcements, or the captured supplies might be intercepted before they could be moved.

The journey was uneventful. The Deputy Platoon Leader led the First Squad to clear the path, while Zhang Yun brought up the rear. The group of over 150 men traveled along the main road before cutting through side paths, rapidly advancing toward the largest Japanese stronghold in Xiyang County: Xiaohuozhuang.

By the time they neared the stronghold, Old Zhang was already waiting in a concealed spot on the mountain path. His eight-man reconnaissance squad consisted of carefully selected talent. He had dispatched two men to watch the highway leading to the county seat, two to watch the opposite direction, and kept the remaining three with him to monitor the stronghold and assess the enemy's strength.

"Platoon Leader, we’ve scouted out the situation," Old Zhang reported as he joined the column. "Xiaohuozhuang is the same as before: two small brick-and-stone pillboxes, one in front and one behind, with a barracks and supply depot enclosed by a wall in the middle. The enemy presence is indeed thin. When they were eating lunch, we counted carefully—there are only about ten Japanese soldiers and ten puppet troops."

At this time, the Japanese had not yet begun their "caged" policy of building massive networks of strongholds and blockhouses. In two or three years, these sites would be surrounded by trenches, barbed wire, and minefields.

"Could you see how many machine guns they have? Do they have infantry guns? Can you locate the telephone lines?" Zhang Yun asked in detail.

"There should be one Type 92 heavy machine gun in the front pillbox; I can see the barrel," Old Zhang replied meticulously. "There’s also a Type 11 light machine gun in the defensive position in front of the barracks. The puppet troops seem to have a Czech-style light machine gun at the rear gate. The telephone line is on the poles, running from the front pillbox toward the county seat."

"One heavy machine gun, two light machine guns—that's decent firepower. If the Japanese platoon returns, that would be six machine guns and three grenade launchers." Zhang Yun calculated carefully. No wonder the main force didn't want to attack such strongholds; the casualties would be heavy, the enemy response fast, and the spoils difficult to secure. Guerrilla units certainly couldn't crack such a hard nut.

If the stronghold weren't currently understaffed, Zhang Yun wouldn't be willing to assault it directly, as it would risk heavy casualties. He preferred using mortars to shell the barracks; as long as he killed the enemy, the system would grant him bonuses for their weapons and artillery, so he would never lose out.

Arriving near the stronghold, Zhang Yun ordered the troops to halt. He, the Deputy Platoon Leader, the four squad leaders, and Old Zhang climbed onto a rock formation to observe the stronghold under cover.

Zhang Yun looked through his binoculars; Xiaohuozhuang appeared unchanged from before his predecessor was wounded. However, the Japanese and puppet troops on the defensive positions were sparse, numbering about twenty. He estimated a few more were likely inside the pillboxes.

Beside him, Deputy Platoon Leader Liu Changqing was also watching through binoculars—the ones the Japanese platoon leader had "donated" earlier.

Zhang Yun passed the binoculars to the squad leaders, letting them observe in turns, while he descended the rocks to silently contemplate the situation, drawing a map of the surroundings in the dirt with a stone.

After a few minutes, the Deputy Platoon Leader, the four squad leaders, and Old Zhang came down and joined him.

"What do you think? How should we take Xiaohuozhuang?" Zhang Yun already had a plan in mind, but he wanted to hear their input.

"There aren't many Japanese or puppet troops," Liu Changqing replied, deep in thought. "That settles it. We have mortars; we just blast them to hell, then use our machine guns for fire suppression while the infantry moves in to finish them off."

The squad leaders nodded in agreement.

Zhang Yun said, "Exactly. This time, we have an 8:1 superiority in manpower and a 3:1 advantage in firepower, plus our mortars. There's no need for tricks. However, considering potential reinforcements, we must have an interception force to block the road from the county seat.

"Second Squad Leader, you have the most experience. Take the Second Squad to the narrow pass two kilometers ahead and establish an interception position. Watch out for enemy grenade launchers and use heavy fire to suppress them. Once we break through here, I'll have the artillery squad support you immediately."

Lao Hu nodded. He was a veteran of many battles with extensive experience in defensive operations. His Second Squad now possessed three Czech light machine guns and plenty of ammunition; holding off the enemy for a while wouldn't be a problem. Besides, he figured the stronghold wouldn't take long to fall, and the artillery squad would likely arrive before the reinforcements even got close.

Zhang Yun continued the deployment: "Dachuan, you, Wang Chengzhu, and Li Tianduo will handle the mortars. I want 30 shells fired within one minute, all landing on the front pillbox and the defensive position in front of it. Then, all machine gunners from the First and Third squads will open fire to provide cover. Liu Changqing, take the best fighters from the two squads and charge in immediately. We have plenty of 'broomhandle' pistols; use them to clear out the enemy."

(The "broomhandle" refers to the imported Mauser automatic pistol, which can fire single shots or in bursts; domestic forces loved to attach the holster to use it as a submachine gun, though domestically produced copies were usually limited to semi-automatic.)

"The rest of the infantry should stagger their advance, maintain a loose formation, and move in to secure the battlefield.

"All captured supplies must be moved to the ravine one kilometer away. First Squad Leader, after moving the supplies, hold that position and wait for Old Tang to arrive.

"Third Squad Leader, after moving the supplies, quickly reinforce the Second Squad. If the conditions are right, we’ll use the mortars to hit the reinforcements hard."

"Yes!" the four leaders replied in unison.