Chapter 22: All Troops Fix Bayonets!

Cangyun Ridge New 1st Regiment Headquarters.

"Hahaha. Commander, look how awesome I am—hundreds of the enemy were taken down in one fell swoop."

The reserve company commander laughed as he entered the headquarters, and, upon seeing Li Yunlong, said in a boastful tone.

"You kid, what's so proud? It was my arrangement. And with so many machine guns concentrated in your reserve, I even humbled myself to beg Cheng Xianzi and Lao Xu. If you still can't win, go to the mess hall and carry the big pot."

Hearing the reserve commander's joyous report, Li Yunlong chuckled in good humor.

For the New 1st Regiment now, this casualty ratio is unimaginable.

After hearing the two company commanders' detailed briefing, Zhang Dabiao asked curiously: "Are the grenades supplied by Director Zhang really that powerful? They look almost the same as the enemy's melon hand grenades."

"Zhang Dabiao: This is chapter eighteen before I even appear—am I still just fan‑fiction sword‑flash?"

Hearing Zhang Dabiao's question, the two company commanders replied with lingering dread.

"It's truly terrifying; the enemy's melon hand grenades don't even deserve to be compared to this massive pineapple. You have no idea how stunned I was when I first saw it—after all these years in the army I've never seen such a formidable weapon."

Li Yunlong walked up to the three of them and patted the two company commanders on the shoulders.

"This is a fun gift from my old countrymen—how could it not be awesome, hahaha."

"This time I'll record a great merit for both of you; when the unit relocates, I'll treat you both to drinks!"

The four then walked out together and returned to their respective posts.

On the New 1st Regiment's positions, the Eighth Route Army was nervously and orderly transporting ammunition in the trenches, inspecting weapons, and preparing for the upcoming battle.

Li Yunlong crouched behind the fortifications, holding a binocular to scout the enemy.

After a short while, he walked toward Zhang Dabiao's spot, warmly greeting each passing soldier along the way.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Zhang Dabiao turned and saw the commander Li Yunlong arriving. He ran forward, sword on his back, and stood at attention before Li Yunlong.

"Have our division headquarters and field hospital been relocated?"

"Report, commander! The division headquarters and field hospital have all been relocated!"

Li Yunlong, pointing at the battlefield, let out a chuckle and said, "Now we can go all out and fight the enemy. Capture a live one and ask which unit the enemy on the opposite side belongs to."

"Commander, this doesn't need your urging. I've already taken a prisoner—a tongue—that little enemy showed some backbone; after some effort I got the answer: the enemy we're fighting is the Japanese 4th Division's Sakata Regiment."

Upon hearing the name Sakata Regiment, Li Yunlong snapped his head around and stared at Zhang Dabiao. "Sakata Regiment— is that the Sakata Regiment I know?"

"Which other Sakata Regiment could there be? It was the one we clashed with during the anti‑sweep at Cloud Ridge; the Independent Regiment fought a skirmish with that Sakata Regiment, Commander Kong was wounded, their political commissar fell, and you said they're our corps' mortal enemy."

"Damn, the heavens have eyes! Running into Sakata today is his bad luck. I, Li Yunlong, avenged Independent Regiment's grudge for Kong Erlengzi; after this, Kong Erlengzi won't dare lend me his weapons or supplies. A dead enemy is a good enemy—thanks, Sakata."

At that moment, the regiment's communications officer hurried over, saluted Li Yunlong, and reported: "Report, commander, we just received word from corps headquarters. The corps commander says the New 1st Regiment has fully completed its mission and now orders us to alternate cover the retreat, breaking out toward Yu Family Ridge, with the st Regiment and nd Regiment covering the New 1st Regiment."

Li Yunlong was somewhat angry; he never imagined the battle would reach this point, only to be forced to retreat in disgrace.

Clearly the enemy's Sakata Regiment is already severely weakened, and anyway the st Regiment and nd Regiment are to attack the enemy's two flanks to cover the New 1st Regiment's breakout,

so it would be better to launch an all‑out assault in one go and see if we can wipe out the Sakata Regiment.

"Those Sakata devils' bayonets are practically touching my nose; retreat now would be a loss if they break out! Go tell the corps commander that we're being bitten by the Sakata Regiment, and the retreat will only get more passive. Only one of me and this bastard will make it out alive. Thanks for the corps commander's generosity, but I, Li Yunlong, have decided to launch an offensive, covering the st and nd Regiments—our brother units—to break out first."

Zhang Dabiao winced at Li Yunlong's words; even after he explained that Yu Family Ridge is the weakest point in the enemy's encirclement, it made no difference, and Li Yunlong snapped at him.

"All troops fix bayonets!"

Li Yunlong's booming, domineering voice rang out.

On the summit of Cangyun Peak, all surviving New 1st Regiment soldiers collectively affixed their murderous bayonets to the front of their rifles. The position rang with the clack‑clack of bayonet locks, the blades glinting with hatred.

It is worth noting that many soldiers carried Mle1886 rifles, equipped with long‑needle heavy‑sword bayonets, commonly called four‑edged bayonets.

Before the battle, even without the Shaosha rifles obtained from Zhang Qian, the New 1st Regiment already fielded over forty light machine guns. By now, only three heavy machine guns and less than half the light ones remain, mostly captured enemy weapons. Nevertheless, the unit naturally protects its gunners; these gunners are hand‑picked veterans, many having crossed snow‑capped mountains and grasslands with the unit, and their shooting skill is no worse than the enemy's.

Adding more than twenty Shaosha rifles, the New 1st Regiment now still has over fifty light machine guns usable as fire‑support points. Thanks to Zhang Qian's month‑long effort, ammunition stocks for all weapons are ample. This firepower should catch the enemy off guard, certainly enough to give them a good beating.

Unfortunately, the hand‑thrown grenades are nearly exhausted, so the enemy's fire‑support points now rely on mortars, but the portability and range of the Stokes mortar are hard to describe.

Since the Sakata Regiment is on the offensive, their defensive positions are poorly constructed and their troop deployment ignored defense. In this battle, Li Yunlong decided to concentrate fire, aiming to make a strong first wave, creating firepower and manpower superiority in the local sector. He would suppress the enemy's fire‑support points to clear a path for the assault team, then position mortars within effective range, coordinating with the assault team and other soldiers to tear through the enemy's lines and open a breach for the unit's breakout.

The basic breakout plan is set; now the only question before Li Yunlong is how to decapitate that old Sakata devil during the breakout.