Chapter 92: Republic of China: Starting from Whampoa Class One Chapter 92 Destroying the Artillery Position

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Protagonist:

Lv Muzhi

In the distance, Deng Ruzuo watched his subordinates bravely scale the walls, only to be blocked by the Revolutionary Army; his palms were sweating with anxiety.

"Faster! Even faster!"

"Report! Our cannons engaged in close-range firing, and three were destroyed by the Revolutionary Army across the way! The remaining three have already withdrawn!" a staff officer reported.

Deng Ruzuo gritted his teeth in frustration: "If I get into the city, I'll have to slaughter every last one of these Revolutionary Army rebels!"

"It's on fire?!" The staff officer pointed at the city wall and shouted.

"Oil's coming! Make way!" Du Yuming directed several soldiers, carrying over a large pot filled with various oils that had been boiled earlier — all the collected kerosene and tung oil poured into the big pot, set over a fire to boil.

"Pour it straight down the breach!" Lv Muzhi pointed at the gap and shouted.

Seeing the soldiers had already moved the big pot near the breach, and that Lv Muzhi now held a torch, Du Yuming immediately kicked the oil pot over with a clang; pot and oil together rolled down the slope.

Lv Muzhi timed it, threw the torch down, and with a boom red-yellow flames erupted, billowing black smoke; the entire gap was flooded with fire, the enemy below let out miserable screams, a truly horrifying scene.

The enemy soldiers below were stunned by the sea of fire before them; though they usually boasted to their officers about climbing mountains of knives and descending into oil pots, facing boiling soup and treading on fire without hesitation.

But the raging fire before them, the bayonets and gun muzzles on the city wall — absolutely no one dared to rashly charge through.

Tat-tat~ tat-tat-tat~

Song Xilian, atop the protruding barbican, used a heavy machine gun to harass the enemy soldiers below the breach; the enemy's high spirits gradually faded, and they began to retreat backward.

After the enemy withdrew, Lv Muzhi coordinated with Xue Yue to tally the city defense and casualty situation.

An unbreached gap appeared at the southeast city wall corner, but the enemy could climb up to the gap via the city wall.

At Xue Yue's Desheng Gate on the north side, the outer barbican wall had been blasted down, and the Desheng Gate itself was under threat.

The Supplementary Regiment suffered over two hundred casualties; Xue Yue's Third Regiment also reached over two hundred casualties.

Xue Yue looked at the southeast corner gap: "Now that a breach has appeared on the city wall, and my side's barbican is destroyed, from here on this battle will only get harder and harder."

"No choice. The enemy's cannons pose a huge threat to the city walls. I've knocked out three of Deng Ruzuo's mountain guns, so the threat should be small now. It's your side that's more dangerous — the enemy's artillery strength is still intact."

Xue Yue thought for a moment: "I've decided to take the initiative and strike, wipe out Zheng Junyan's artillery position on the north side."

Lv Muzhi stopped him: "Lead the team yourself? If you fall, the north side of Nanchang City loses you, and I really won't be at ease......"

Guan Linzhen stood up: "Let me lead the team! I'll definitely sneak in under cover of night and wipe out the enemy's artillery position!"

Xue Yue felt a bit uneasy: "The north city wall is guarded by my Third Regiment; you're Regiment Commander Lv's subordinate — sending you to risk yourself doesn't seem quite appropriate..."

"Guan Linzhen? Are you confident?" Lv Muzhi asked.

Guan Linzhen countered: "Muzi, Regiment Commander Xue, do you have absolute confidence in holding Nanchang City?"

The two fell silent.

Lv Muzhi understood Guan Linzhen's meaning, patted his shoulder, and looked at Xue Yue,

"Regiment Commander Xue, Guan Linzhen may be my subordinate, but there's nothing inappropriate about it. Your north gate is under the most intense artillery bombardment; once a problem arises and the enemy rushes in, they won't distinguish between you and me — we'll all be done for.

"Yu Dong (Guan Linzhen), I'm giving you my Special Service Company — go all out. I'll lead men outside the city to cover your return!"

"Don't worry, my 'Iron Fist Guan' reputation isn't just talk!"

The night deepened; the artillery fire outside Nanchang City temporarily ceased, leaving only sporadic gunshots.

Guan Linzhen took the assault team formed from the Special Service Company, and also took Zhang Fei, Lv Muzhi's most trusted assault team leader, as tonight's assault team.

The assault team concentrated over twenty submachine guns, and carried a large quantity of hand grenades and explosive packs.

"Remember, based on Regiment Commander Xue's daytime observation, Zheng Junyan's artillery position is about two kilometers from Desheng Gate, roughly at this position." Lv Muzhi pointed at the map as a reminder.

"Rest assured, I already observed from the city wall at dusk."

"You'll enter and exit through Zhangjiang Gate; once you succeed, withdraw immediately. I'll lead men to meet you — you must come back!"

Zhang Fei also grinned: "Don't worry, Regiment Commander. You said you'd still get me into the military academy! I'll come back safely — by then I should be qualified for Whampoa Military Academy, right?"

Lv Muzhi hurriedly cut him off: "Damn it, don't talk nonsense. Those who set flags die fastest!"

Guan Linzhen and Zhang Fei were baffled, not understanding why.

"Oh~ Muzi seems unwilling. Once you return alive, I'll recommend you for Whampoa!" Guan Linzhen slapped Zhang Fei's arm, proudly guaranteeing it.

"Haha, thanks Battalion Commander Guan!"

Lv Muzhi watched the two randomly setting flags, hurriedly urged the assault team to set off as fast as possible, afraid that more words would bring bad luck, and at the same time called Song Xilian to prepare to go meet the returning assault team.

Just past eleven at night, Zhangjiang Gate slowly opened a crack.

Guan Linzhen slipped out first, Zhang Fei close behind, followed by a hundred black shadows moving swiftly northward along the Gan River bank.

After today's fierce battle, the enemy troops were exhausted, most resting in their camps.

The assault team cleverly avoided the enemy's outer patrol teams and illumination fires, using terrain and shell craters as cover, gradually approaching the reconfirmed enemy artillery position.

The artillery position's outer perimeter had sentries; they looked numerous, about a company's worth of infantry on guard.

The north artillery position gathered Zheng Junyan's one division, Yang Genghe's one brigade, plus another mixed brigade — three forces total, over twenty cannons.

With so many cannons, no wonder the barbican on the north city wall guarded by Xue Yue was blasted down.

Without taking this artillery position, Nanchang City cannot be held.

Mountain guns and field guns showed vague outlines in the night; some enemy artillerymen and guards were dozing around campfires.

Patrol teams kept patrolling; silently infiltrating was completely impossible — only a forced assault would work!

Guan Linzhen made a hand signal; the warriors split into two teams.

Guan Linzhen and Zhang Fei each led a team, surrounding from two sides to first eliminate the isolated sentries on the outer perimeter.

Immediately, they rushed up close and opened fire on the patrol teams.

Da-da~ da-da-da!

Guan Linzhen and Zhang Fei split into two squads, attacking the enemy's artillery position from two directions, over twenty submachine guns strafing the enemy on the position.

The enemy rushed out to engage; Guan Linzhen left the majority to open fire and suppress the enemy coming out of the camp, then rendezvoused with Zhang Fei at the gun battery position.

Zhang Fei opened an ammunition box; inside were entirely yellow-gleaming shells.

Hand grenades were stuffed into the gun barrels, explosive packs placed beside the gun carriages and ammunition boxes.

"Detonate!" Guan Linzhen shouted.

Boom! Boom-boom-boom!!

Continuous fierce explosions erupted at the enemy artillery position, firelight soaring skyward, the enemy's guns blown into twisted scrap iron, the sympathetic detonation of ammunition even more deafening.

The entire enemy camp instantly fell into chaos, infantrymen running out of the camp one after another to check the situation.

"Enemy attack! There's an enemy attack!"

"Enemy at the artillery position, the Revolutionary Army has come out!"

"Chase them quick! Kill them all, don't let them get away!"

——————

"Withdraw!"

Mission accomplished, Guan Linzhen did not hesitate in the slightest, immediately ordering the retreat.

The assault team soldiers swiftly detached from the explosion site, retreating rapidly toward Zhangjiang Gate along the predetermined route.

However, Zheng Junyan's part reacted swiftly, immediately dispatching troops to encircle and block.

In the darkness, gunfire erupted loudly.

The pursuing enemy, relying on their numerical superiority, split into several groups to outflank and pursue, biting down hard on the retreating assault team.

Soldiers who ran slowly fell to the ground motionless amid muffled groans.

Guan Linzhen and Zhang Fei commanded the soldiers to fight while withdrawing, using every available obstacle for blocking fire.

But the enemy grew more numerous, and their firepower grew fiercer.

Assault team soldiers kept getting hit and falling.

Guan Linzhen and Zhang Fei could not attend to much; though their hearts were twisted like knives, they could only lead the remaining soldiers running desperately toward Zhangjiang Gate.

Xue Yue's three regiments on the city wall had been waiting long since; now seeing people running back, they immediately opened fire from the city head as a warning, firing specifically into the dark places behind.

Lv Muzhi, who had been closely monitoring the movements, hearing the gunfire drawing ever closer, led Song Xilian and the reception soldiers and rushed up to meet them.

Only to see, not far behind the assault team remnants, enemy faces fierce and vicious, clearly enraged by Guan Linzhen and Zhang Fei's assault team.

"Fire at them!"

At Lv Muzhi's order, letting the assault team run past behind him, he himself together with Song Xilian opened fire to block the enemy pursuing and killing the assault team.

But the enemy gathered more and more; Lv Muzhi and the others could only fight while retreating, retreating all the way inside Zhangjiang Gate.

Back inside Zhangjiang Gate, Lv Muzhi, without needing to count heads, knew that the Special Service Company serving as the assault team had gone and suffered near total annihilation.

Over a hundred went; fewer than twenty returned.

Seeing Guan Linzhen and Zhang Fei break out of the encirclement covered in blood, Lv Muzhi admired them from the bottom of his heart.

"Regiment Commander, I said I'd come back!" Zhang Fei forced a smile onto his face, "Just... the brothers can't come back..."

"Muzi! The enemy's gone mad, they've started fiercely attacking the city wall again!" Song Xilian ran over and loudly reminded.