Chapter 136: Chosin Reservoir: Clash of Steel and Flesh

November 27, 1950, the bitter wind over the Chosin Reservoir roared like a maddened beast, whipping snow particles into the cracks of people's bones. Li Ping'an pressed a frozen, hard towel against his face before daring to take a deep breath.

Company Commander, the bolt is frozen! New recruit Wang Da Niu pounded the rifle anxiously, "What do we do?"

Li Ping'an fished a small flask from his chest and dropped two drops onto the bolt: "Use it sparingly; this is quality loot captured from the Americans."

Suddenly, a muffled thunderous roar echoed from the sky. Tie Zhu dove headfirst into the snowdrift: "Aircraft! American planes are coming!"

Dozens of American fighter jets swooped down like bald eagles, their bombs screaming as they slammed into the Volunteer Army positions. Li Ping'an hauled Tie Zhu and rolled into a gun pit, the entire hill shaking as the explosions rocked it.

Good grief! How many bombs is that! Wang Da Niu shouted, covering his ears from the deafening blast.

The first wave of bombing had just ceased when American artillery resumed. Shells rained down like hail; a soldier who just stuck his head out to observe had his wool cap sliced off by shrapnel.

Everyone, lie flat! Li Ping'an spat out the dirt in his mouth, "Wait for the infantry to come up before we fire!"

Sure enough, after the artillery shifted, American tanks with infantry charged forward. The leading tanks spewed flames, turning the snowfield into charred black.

Demolition Group, move! At Li Ping'an's command, three soldiers bearing explosive packs crawled forward. The first soldier was hit by a machine gun as he neared the tank, the second was run over by its tracks, and the third finally managed to slip under the tank.

With a booming crash, the tank turned into scrap metal. Yet more tanks kept pouring in.

Company Commander! The right flank has fallen! Tie Zhu ran over, his face covered in blood, to report.

Li Ping'an raised his submachine gun: "Second squad, follow me!"

The counterattack was brutally fierce. An American soldier charged forward wielding a flame projector; Li Ping'an fired a burst that blew the fuel tank, turning him into a human torch. The soldiers seized the opportunity to retake the position and captured a heavy machine gun.

Can you use it? Li Ping'an asked the captured American with the machine gun.

The prisoner shook his head, but Li Ping'an swiftly attached a belt of ammunition and sprayed the retreating American troops: "Learned on the spot, sold on the spot!"

When night fell, the temperature plunged to below minus forty degrees. The soldiers' cotton coats froze like iron armor, rustling with every movement. Li Ping'an discovered that wrapping an American parachute around the coat blocked the wind, and he quickly spread the practice.

Company Commander, the potatoes have frozen solid! the cook reported, crying.

Crush them with the butt of a rifle, let them melt in your mouth! Li Ping'an demonstrated, treating them like rock candy.

At daybreak on the second day, the American offensive intensified. This time they were smarter, using bulldozers to clear paths in the snow, with tanks following steadily behind.

Take out the bulldozer! Li Ping'an fired a precise shot that killed the driver.

But the American fire was overwhelming, and the position was briefly breached. Li Ping'an led the soldiers back to the second line of defense, using reverse‑slope fortifications to continue resisting.

We can't fight like this! Li Ping'an observed and found the Americans' weakness: their tanks are vulnerable to close combat!

So he formed a suicide squad, each armed with plenty of grenades, using the night as cover to creep onto the tank positions. Li Ping'an led the team himself, using captured American grenades to blow off the tracks of three tanks.

By the fifth day of fighting, both sides were at their limits. The American attack rhythm noticeably slowed, and the Volunteer Army's ammunition was nearly exhausted.

Fix bayonets! Li Ping'an was the first to leap out of the trench, letting the Americans taste Chinese fighting skill!

The close‑quarters combat turned the sky dark. Wang Da Niu smashed an American's jaw with his rifle butt, while he himself was slashed in the abdomen by a bayonet. Li Ping'an knocked down five Americans in succession, until his bayonet bent into a hook.

In the most critical moment, Li Ping'an spotted the American command post nearby. He and Tie Zhu flanked it, using grenades to take out the command post.

Retreat! Quick retreat! The leaderless American troops finally collapsed.

After the battle, Li Ping'an's company was reduced to less than a platoon. The soldiers helped each other clear the battlefield, discovering many fallen comrades still frozen in shooting stances, turned into ice statues.

Let's… bury them all. Li Ping'an's voice was hoarse.

While burying the martyrs' bodies, they unexpectedly uncovered a secret American supply depot. Inside were not only food and medicine, but also heaters and blankets.

Now we can survive the winter. Tie Zhu cried, "Too bad the brothers can't use them."

Li Ping'an silently wrapped a martyr's body in a captured blanket and softly hummed the Hebei bangzi that Ping Le loved most. The song carried far across the icy snow of Chosin Reservoir.

When the follow‑up troops arrived to relieve the position, they saw this scene: surviving soldiers sitting around a fire, wrapped in multicolored American blankets, like a bizarre costume ball. Li Ping'an was tending to the wounded, his technique as skilled as a professional doctor.

Salute! The Battalion Commander leading the unit, upon seeing the scene before the position, couldn't help his eyes redden.

In this battle, Li Ping'an's company eliminated over two hundred enemies, destroyed eight tank armored vehicles, and earned a collective first‑class merit. Yet behind this triumph lay an eighty‑percent casualty rate, adding another group of heroic souls forever stranded on the banks of Chosin Reservoir.

Many years later, local Korean elders still tell the legend: whenever it snows, one can hear Chinese soldiers' songs and the crisp clatter of bayonets along the Chosin Reservoir. The actual history is that this battle completely turned the Korean battlefield around, giving the once‑invincible American forces their first taste of defeat.