Chapter 162: Fighting Tanks

He Yuzhu dashed out of the Cave in one stride, the blinding sunlight making him squint instantly.

A reconnaissance plane flew slowly over the top of the mountain.

He Yuzhu took a look through his Telescope and could clearly see the rivets on the plane's belly.

He really wanted to use his Bazooka to shoot it down, but it felt like it was still a bit out of reach; the plane was at least 700 meters from the ground, while the Bazooka only had a range of 300 meters.

He Yuzhu's heart tightened; after the reconnaissance plane, the bombers would arrive in 30 minutes at the earliest. The main force must be evacuated to the air-raid shelter as soon as possible, otherwise, the entire army would truly be wiped out.

At this moment, the enemy was holding their Rifles, charging up the hillside in wave after wave; the shouts of battle mixed with the sounds of gunfire and explosions, filling the valley completely, and the fighting was extremely intense.

The casualties on both sides were heavy; severed limbs were everywhere on the hillside, and dark red blood flowed down the dirt slope, the scene being incomparably bloody.

Utilizing the Communication Trench, He Yuzhu nimbly avoided the dense rain of bullets and ran quickly, hunched over, to the command post of Regimental Commander Lao Yang, who was currently having a communications soldier send a telegram to headquarters, hoping to receive follow-up support.

Seeing He Yuzhu enter, Regimental Commander Lao Yang waved his hand as a greeting.

Once Regimental Commander Lao Yang finished sending the telegram, He Yuzhu immediately said, "Regimental Commander, the enemy's reconnaissance plane just came by. I estimate the bombers will arrive in 30 minutes at the earliest. You must quickly have the troops withdraw and hide in the air-raid shelter!"

"How can we withdraw? Don't you see the enemy attacking in wave after wave?"

"If we don't withdraw, there won't be many people left after a round of bombing, and if the enemy launches another charge, we'll be finished," He Yuzhu said anxiously.

"The enemy is charging again and again, where would we find the time to withdraw?" Regimental Commander Lao Yang said.

He Yuzhu thought for a moment and said, "At the very least, we should withdraw the reserve force into the Cave; my father found a cave that can hold 500 people."

"Good!" Regimental Commander Lao Yang made a prompt decision, "Deputy Regimental Commander Ma, take the reserve force and hide first; you are our surviving strength."

Deputy Regimental Commander Ma received the order and left.

Not long after he left, the rumbling sound of Tanks came from far to near.

Four M3A3 Stuart Tanks drove onto the mountain road in a swaggering manner, firing their cannons at the Third Battalion's position without stopping, as if entering an uninhabited land.

Seeing these steel beasts, Lao Yang was so angry he cursed, "That turtle son Sun Lianzhong really thinks highly of me, actually driving Iron Turtles over here. It looks like we can only use grenades to blow them up; many more people will die."

Immediately, Regimental Commander Lao Yang turned to He Yuzhu: "Zhuzi, why don't we wait for those few Tanks to come in, then we blow up the mountain? It will take them at least two days to clear the road. We can also have a buffer time to specifically deal with the enemy in front."

He Yuzhu shook his head repeatedly: "My Explosive is meant for their artillery; it's not worth it for a few broken Tanks!"

"Hey! You kid are quite greedy. Once those four Tanks come in, our defensive line will be breached, and then when the planes come... we'll be done for."

"Regimental Commander, dealing with these few Tanks is a piece of cake."

"What method do you have?"

"Regimental Commander, have the men of the Third Battalion withdraw and leave the position to me. When I brought the Heavy Machine Gun, I also brought a Rocket Launcher and several crates of Rockets; they were all obtained from the Americans, and I hear they are very useful."

"Are you talking about the M9A1 Bazooka?" Lao Yang asked in surprise.

"Not bad, Lao Yang, you even know the specific model?" He Yuzhu said.

"You kid looking down on me, aren't you? I was in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Southwest Associated University in 1938, though I only attended for two years before joining the army..."

He Yuzhu almost blurted out "We are in the same trade," but he caught himself in time and said, "Lao Yang, give me a sharp soldier to take the Bazooka and go fight the Tanks with me."

Lao Yang looked at the few young soldiers standing to the side and pointed at one: "Ershuan, from today on, you are Zhuzi's Guard; his orders are my orders."

"Yes, Regimental Commander!" Ershuan replied, straightening his back.

Not long after, He Yuzhu jumped off the truck carrying an M9A1 Rocket Launcher, with Ershuan following closely behind carrying a crate of Rockets.

Lao Yang shouted loudly: "When this battle is over, I will promote your father!"

He Yuzhu turned back and shouted: "If you promote my father, I definitely won't let you suffer a loss!"

"Wait a while, I'm going to check your truck to see what other treasures you kid have," Lao Yang said half-jokingly.

He Yuzhu and Ershuan arrived at the Third Battalion's position.

This position was built on a gentle slope; they had basically only dug individual foxholes and had not connected them into trenches, making it very dangerous to defend.

He Yuzhu said loudly: "The Regimental Commander orders you to leave only a few machine gunners to provide cover, and everyone else withdraw!"

Third Battalion Commander Zhao Yan looked at the "big tube" He Yuzhu was carrying and asked: "Can this thing fight Tanks? Can it be more useful than a grenade?"

"Battalion Commander, you'll see in a moment!" He Yuzhu said.

Battalion Commander Zhao ordered: "First, Second, and Third Company, withdraw from the position; leave the fire points to provide cover!"

He Yuzhu saw that Battalion Commander Zhao did not withdraw but instead hid in a machine gun bunker, seemingly wanting to see the power of this thing, and said nothing.

He Yuzhu found a bunker and, watching the four Tanks firing their cannons aggressively, cursed fiercely: "Watch how I deal with you!"

He had Ershuan move the Rockets to his side, nimbly set up the equipment, and while loading, taught Ershuan how to load, connect the wires, and how to avoid the backblast.

When the Tank was 300 meters away, He Yuzhu began to aim, adjusted the distance, and pulled the trigger.

"Whoosh!" The Rocket flew out with a sharp whistling sound, trailing a short, thick column of smoke, and accurately hit the armor of the lead Tank.

"Boom!" With a loud bang, the ammunition inside the Tank exploded.

Ershuan had been scared stiff by the Rocket's backblast just now, and seeing such a large Tank destroyed in one hit, he was instantly stunned.

He shouted excitedly: "Damn, so this Iron Turtle isn't that sturdy after all!"

He Yuzhu kicked him, "Hurry up and carry the ammunition crate and follow me!"

Ershuan picked up the crate and followed He Yuzhu to another foxhole. He put down the ammunition crate and asked: "The previous spot was better than this one, why did we move?"

He Yuzhu, while loading a new Rocket, said: "If that place is good, you go there; let's see if you get blown to the sky!"

The three Tanks behind quickly aimed their cannons at the position where they had just fired.

"Boom, boom, boom!" Three explosions rang out in succession, and the place where they had been was instantly flattened.

Ershuan covered his ears, still shaken, and said loudly: "Damn, if I had stayed there, I would have been dead for sure!"

"Remember, from now on, you must change your position after every shot."

"Got it!" Ershuan said, still feeling lingering fear.

He Yuzhu had already loaded another Rocket and aimed again.

With a "Boom," another Tank was destroyed.

This time, without needing a reminder, Ershuan took the initiative to carry the ammunition crate and follow behind He Yuzhu to relocate.

He Yuzhu fought calmly, blowing up all four Tanks one after another.

Seeing the situation was unfavorable, the enemy troops dared not send out any more Tanks.

The front line temporarily returned to calm, with only the Tank wrecks still burning and billowing thick black smoke.

Just at this moment, a roaring sound echoed in the sky, and He Yuzhu knew the bombers had arrived.