Chapter 13

From the patrol of the hunting team to the elimination of the machine gun nest's defenders, and finally to the farce that deceived the soldiers on the city tower, He Zhengdao's series of night raids, which seemed to be aided by divine intervention to the soldiers of the guard platoon, played out before them like a game.

Watching He Zhengdao and the squad leader start to put their arms around each other and smoke, the soldiers who had just been vying to ask He Zhengdao for cigarettes now casually and intentionally surrounded a few of the sentries from the city tower. The short knives hidden in their sleeves began to slowly slide into their hands.

When the squad leader, who seemed very comfortable, finished smoking and patted He Zhengdao on the shoulder, he said, "Brother, thanks! I'll take you up to the city tower to watch. After I'm off duty tomorrow, I'll come find you again."

In response, He Zhengdao suddenly showed a strange smile and said, "No need! We don't need to meet tomorrow, and you don't need to work hard all night. You might as well go to rest early!"

Just as the squad leader was curious, wondering how they could be off duty and resting in the middle of the night, he turned his head and saw his subordinates, who had just been smoking, being mercilessly stabbed by soldiers in the same uniform. Seeing his subordinates, with looks of shock, fall into pools of blood, the squad leader's voice trembled as he asked, "Who are you really?"

He Zhengdao sneered and said, "At this point, if you still don't know who we are, it's a miracle you're still alive!"

Before the squad leader could respond, He Zhengdao casually brushed past him. The guard platoon soldiers who had already finished the battle saw the squad leader, with his hands clutching his throat, slowly fall to the ground. After a few seconds of convulsing, the hands that had been covering the bleeding throat completely relaxed. The camp commander's killing skills were truly beyond their comparison!

As He Zhengdao began to order the guard platoon soldiers to go upstairs and take charge of the alert, to prevent any outside forces from entering while they attacked the military targets inside the city, he also called over the twenty-odd soldiers who had been watching them. They were to slowly open the tightly closed city gate.

A soldier holding a torch circled it three times in a conspicuous position at the city gate. Wang Tianlin, who had been lying in wait outside the city for a long time, immediately ordered the four combat companies to enter the city quietly. When the more than five hundred armed soldiers from the four companies had all entered the city,

He Zhengdao quickly convened a meeting with Wang Tianlin and the four company commanders, laying out the important military targets in the city they had scouted during the day. These included the county defense force camp, the defense command, the weapons depot, and the prison where captives were held. The combat arrangements for the four companies were quickly assigned.

He assigned the guard platoon soldiers, who had already scouted the routes, to act as guides for each company. They would lead the attacks on these strategic points in the city. Once these places were taken, it would mean that the county was completely under their control.

Except for one platoon of the fourth company, which was responsible for guarding the city gate to ensure it was not captured before their withdrawal, He Zhengdao led the remaining soldiers of the fourth company to rescue the captives in the prison. A company of soldiers was still guarding the prison.

To avoid casualties and problems with the captives inside, He Zhengdao planned to take a risk. He wanted to see if he could take the prison, guarded by a company of soldiers, with relatively minimal and safe means.

The first battle was to be initiated by Deputy Battalion Commander Wang Tianlin, and the second company he led was responsible for capturing the command post of the county defense force. Once they launched their attack, the first company would set up an ambush on the streets outside the camp to catch the county defense force, who would surely rush to the command post upon hearing the gunfire, off guard.

The third company would need to use some tactics to capture the heavily guarded weapons depot. To ensure a higher chance of success for the third company, He Zhengdao assigned a combat squad from the guard platoon to them. The mortar squad, which had learned to use mortars, would be split to support the second and third companies.

According to He Zhengdao's orders, to avoid alerting the main forces of the Hunan army, the operation tonight had to be swift. They aimed to withdraw from the county before dawn, advancing under the cover of darkness toward the western part of Guizhou. This would create an opportunity for a surprise attack to capture the entire county and rescue the Red Army soldiers held there.

The first shot was to be fired by Deputy Battalion Commander Wang Tianlin. When the patrol team on the street in front of the command post saw a unit rushing toward the command post, they sensed something was wrong. Before they could shout, the machine gunners of the second company opened fire.

The rapid 'rat-tat-tat' of the machine guns startled the nearby guards at the command post. When they turned their attention this way, they saw the Red Army, dressed in uniforms that struck fear into their hearts, had somehow infiltrated the city. They were charging toward the command post with fierce determination.

Some of the soldiers, still groggy, were awakened by the Hunan army. With the cry of "The Red Bandits are in the city!" all the guards at the command post were too frightened to sleep and began to run to their battle positions in a panic. As the Red Army charged toward them, the heavy machine guns at the command post opened up with fierce counterfire.

Seeing the machine guns spewing fire in the darkness, Wang Tianlin knew that a direct charge would result in heavy casualties. He ordered the artillerymen to set up their guns quickly. As the four mortars were set up and began to rain down shells on the command post and the machine gun positions, the guards at the command post were thoroughly disheartened.

When had the Red Army, who couldn't even provide rifles for all their soldiers, acquired mortars? Could the attacking force be the main Red Army? But the higher-ups said the Red Army had fled to the Guizhou region. Where did these Red Army soldiers come from?

If they were to fight ordinary guerrillas or small Red Army units, the guards of the defense camp would have no problem. But how could they stand against the Red Army with artillery? Seeing the endless rain of shells, the guards at the machine gun positions knew that if they didn't run, a shell would eventually land on them.

However, the Red Army artillerymen, seeing each shell miss, were also frustrated. Fortunately, Wang Tianlin understood that these hastily trained artillerymen only knew how to set up and fire the guns, not how to aim accurately. They wouldn't hit their own men, but hitting the targets like He Zhengdao did was impossible.

As a result, the seemingly aimless but occasionally accurate shelling put immense pressure on the guards at the command post. Seeing the machine gunners fleeing without a fight, Wang Tianlin immediately shouted, "Comrades, charge!"

With his order, the light machine gunners behind him charged forward without hesitation, suppressing the rifle fire from the command post to provide an opportunity for the infantry to close in and eliminate the enemy.

Despite some Red Army soldiers falling during the charge, the guards of the security team, realizing they would be skinned and dismembered if they didn't escape, completely broke down. The Red Army soldiers pursued them like chasing ducks.

When some of the security team soldiers, exhausted, threw down their guns and raised their hands, shouting, "I surrender!" the Red Army spared their lives. The other poorly trained security team soldiers followed suit, lying on the ground, waiting for the Red Army to kick them up and take them to the captured command post.

As the second company, under Wang Tianlin's command, quickly cleaned up the battlefield and interrogated the captives, the security team soldiers stationed at the camp, hearing the gunfire, were ambushed by the first company soldiers who had been lying in wait. The security team soldiers, caught off guard, fled back to the camp in panic, and the first company followed them in.

The third company, attacking the county's weapons depot, faced a similar situation. However, after the mortar squad assigned to them fired a few shells, one of which nearly hit the weapons depot, the security team commander, fearing the depot would be hit, lacked the courage to die with it.

He quickly ordered his soldiers to raise a white flag and let the third company of the Red Army, who were clearly surprised by the swift and sudden victory, enter. They were all disarmed and detained, and the weapons depot was quickly secured, awaiting further instructions from He Zhengdao.

The full warehouses of weapons and ammunition, which the Red Army, always short of guns and ammunition, would gladly carry more of even at the expense of food, were a rare sight. When had they ever worried about having too many weapons and ammunition?

What was He Zhengdao, leading three infantry platoons of the fourth company, doing at this moment? Could he successfully capture the prison, guarded by a company of soldiers, and rescue the hundreds of Red Army soldiers held inside?