Chapter 51

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

The Principal thought for a moment, reluctant to lose those few mountain guns; if the enemy discovered them, those guns probably wouldn't come back. "Is there another way?"

Everyone steeled themselves and offered their ideas—earthworks, digging tunnels, even imitating the Three Kingdoms by diverting the Danshui River to flood Danshui City—but the Principal rejected them all, one by one, on the grounds that they took too long; by then, rebel reinforcements from Huizhou City would already have arrived at Danshui City.

"Liu Zhi, why aren't you speaking?" The Principal noticed Liu Zhi hiding again at this moment and simply dragged him out.

Liu Zhi already knew what the Principal was thinking; after all, aside from He Yingqin's and General Galun's suggestions, everyone else's proposals had been rejected.

"I think we should follow General Galun and Regimental Commander He's proposal: use the cannons to bombard Danshui City at close range, then coordinate with the Storming Brave Team to storm the city wall!"

The Principal curled his lip: "Tell me something I don't know."

Liu Zhi had no choice; the Principal apparently didn't want him to bluff his way through, so he revealed Lv Muzhi's discovery: "About a hundred meters to the right of the South Gate, the city wall there seems to be on sunken ground, the wall body deformed; it seems it could serve as a key point for cannon attack."

"Oh? Seems so?" The Principal glanced at Military Chief Advisor General Galun and Chen Cheng, and both immediately stood up to go inspect.

Taking advantage of the fact that the sky had not yet fully darkened, the two carried the Artillery Observation Mirror toward the city wall, and happened to run into Lv Muzhi, who was likewise observing the enemy's city defenses there.

Lv Muzhi still held the binoculars Liu Zhi had given him; seeing General Galun and Company Commander Chen Cheng approach, he saluted: "Greetings, sir!"

It would be dark soon, and the two had no time to respond to Lv Muzhi; they hurriedly set up the Artillery Observation Mirror and began observing.

"Damn it, where exactly is the position that battalion commander mentioned!" General Galun was clearly getting anxious.

Chen Cheng asked through translation: "General, have you found that sunken point?"

"Sunken point? At the two o'clock direction, below the city wall there's a corpse of a Training Regiment soldier; the place where he lies is the sunken point." Lv Muzhi reminded from the side.

Chen Cheng looked puzzled, observed through the binoculars, then excitedly pointed out the position to General Galun.

In the Artillery Observation Mirror, they indeed found that at that sunken point, the crenellation atop the wall had a downward concave arc, and the wall there was also pulled downward, drawing a crack about two meters long.

"Ahahaha, found it! China has an old saying: a thousand-li dike is destroyed by an ant hole. I don't know if it's appropriate here, but this wall at the sunken point absolutely cannot withstand close-range cannon bombardment!"

The translator faithfully conveyed General Galun's original words, and also repeated what Lv Muzhi had previously pointed out about the sunken point's location.

Lv Muzhi wanted to say the word General Galun used wasn't quite accurate, but in the end he didn't speak up.

"Young comrade, which unit are you from? You observe so meticulously." General Galun asked.

"I am Guard Platoon Leader Lv Muzhi of the Second Battalion, First Regiment!"

"Very good, I guarantee you that at this time tomorrow, our flag will be flying atop Danshui City, hahaha!" General Galun laughed heartily and left with his hands behind his back.

Chen Cheng was all smiles; now his artillery could finally play its proper role. Before leaving, he also patted Lv Muzhi on the shoulder.

Back at the Second Battalion's quarters, Lv Muzhi saw Liu Zhi fuming.

"Battalion Commander, what's wrong?"

"Hmph! Someone down there is chirping about our Second Battalion, saying that since the war began we've always been the reserve, watching the show from the rear. How could they know that a soldier's duty is to obey orders..."

"Most importantly, just after the meeting adjourned, General Galun actually said that sunken point you pointed out was real. The Principal criticized me for being too conservative and said I should have given the location of the sunken point sooner. How could I dare guarantee that place would definitely withstand cannon fire?"

Lv Muzhi had also heard some criticism. Seeing some familiar faces from Whampoa Class 1 fallen beneath the walls of Danshui City while he followed Liu Zhi, sitting safely in the rear, he felt genuinely stifled.

"Battalion Commander, the Principal doesn't understand you, but I do. Still, since you follow the Principal's lead, and the Principal is eager to take Danshui City, we must be more aggressive."

Liu Zhi nodded: "Already arranged. Tonight we're organizing the Storming Brave Team, with ten squad leader slots. Our Second Battalion must take one or two, otherwise my Second Battalion will have no face to show later! I know you want to go fight; this time I won't stop you. All platoon leaders of the Second Battalion must sign up for the Storming Brave Team!"

That night, the two Training Regiments began selecting the Storming Brave Team, and the Political Department gave pre-battle mobilization.

"Comrades, on the road to revolution a roadblock has appeared. Use the guns in your hands to tell the enemy that no one can stop the forward-charging Revolutionary Army! Join the Storming Brave Team, take Danshui City..."

Whampoa Class 1 graduates, at the temporary headquarters gate of the Whampoa Headquarters, were moved by Instructor Wu's mobilization speech and raised their hands to sign up one after another.

Pair after pair of hands were raised under the campfire's glow.

"Chen Geng signs up!"

"Zheng Dongguo signs up!"

"Du Yuming volunteers for battle!"

"Guan Linzhen signs up!"

"Lv Muzhi signs up!"

"Li Zhilong volunteers for battle!"

"Lu Demin signs up!"

Whampoa Class 1 graduates almost all raised their hands. For every student who raised a hand to sign up, Instructor Wu held his torch up to them so he could clearly see the students' faces.

The Principal stood before the command post, watching the students eagerly sign up, feeling a thousand emotions in his heart. What virtue or ability did he have to command such a force!

"Instructor Wu, you do political work, and you do it well! You choose the squad leaders!" the Principal ordered.

Instructor Wu nodded:

"Zheng Dongguo, you're one!"

"Du Yuming, step forward!"

"And you, Chen Geng!"

"Lv Muzhi, step forward!"

This way of picking soldiers and generals had no deep meaning; most chosen were students Instructor Wu was familiar with and who had some experience.

Choosing Lv Muzhi was naturally because of that performance of "The White-Haired Girl," which left a deep impression on Instructor Wu. Plus, in the Merchant Corps Incident, Lv Muzhi had records of shooting enemy troops and achievements in close-quarters killing enemies, so he could be selected as one of the Storming Death Squad Captains.

Seeing the Political Department select Lv Muzhi, the Principal's heart tightened. Hadn't he assigned Lv Muzhi to the Guard Platoon through Liu Zhi? If he died in battle, who would discuss stocks with him in the future?

Had he just spoken too harshly, stirring up the fighting spirit of Liu Zhi's Second Battalion?

What's done is done; the Principal had no choice. Life and death are fate; success depends on human effort!

That night, under General Galun's command, Chen Cheng led the Artillery Company, pushing six mountain guns to a position less than eight hundred meters from Danshui City's wall, the pitch-black cannon muzzles aimed at the wall.

Wait for dawn to arrive, visibility good, bayonets fixed to the cannons, and launch a bombardment at close range against the city wall!

Ten Storming Death Squads, totaling over three hundred men, crawl forward, gather behind the artillery, ready to conduct joint operations at any time.

Six o'clock sharp! Just as dawn was breaking, Chen Cheng commanded the artillery, six cannons deployed to bombard two directions, three aimed at the city gate, three aimed at the wall accumulation point discovered by Lv Muzhi, launching the attack!