Chapter 4: The Italian Cannon Is Mine
Chapter 4: The Italian Cannon Is Ours
“Commander, don’t worry. Give me only half a magazine, and I’ll take out that crooked-handle machine gun,” Sun Desheng said with complete confidence.
After more than a decade of campaigning across the country, Sun Desheng’s marksmanship had been honed by countless bullets.
“Good.” Li Yunlong patted him on the shoulder. “Go. When Little Hu fires, you and I will open up with both machine guns at the same time.”
Little Hu was the best shot in Li Yunlong’s guard platoon.
“Yes, sir.”
Sun Desheng moved into position.
“Little Hu, are you ready?” Li Yunlong turned to him after seeing Sun Desheng reach his firing position.
“Commander, I’ve got the Jap wearing the binoculars in my sights.” Little Hu remained calm. That man was clearly the enemy commander.
Li Yunlong gently worked the machine gun’s bolt, chambering a round. He took aim at the head of the machine gunner crouched behind a stone barricade, then gave the order without hesitation.
“Little Hu, fire!”
Crack!
Little Hu pulled the trigger, and the sharp report rang out.
The Jap wearing the binoculars staggered as a bullet struck him in the heart, and he collapsed to the ground.
“Bast—”
The sudden turn of events startled the other Japanese soldiers. Cursing loudly, they immediately went on alert.
The enemy machine gunner hurriedly worked his bolt, preparing to fire.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Li Yunlong and Sun Desheng opened fire with their two light machine guns.
Li Yunlong fired a short burst. The Japanese machine gunner he had targeted took a bullet through the forehead, blood erupting from his head.
After eliminating the gunner, Li Yunlong shifted his muzzle slightly and aimed at the assistant. The assistant fell moments later.
Sun Desheng was no less formidable. The Jap in his sights was shot through the head, and before the assistant could react, he too collapsed into a pool of blood.
At the same time, the soldiers of Li Yunlong’s guard platoon opened fire on their respective targets.
In the first volley, aided by the devastating firepower of the two machine guns, nine of the eleven Japanese soldiers were killed.
Only two remained. Though both had been hit, neither wound was fatal.
They craftily took cover behind the stones and fought on desperately.
Li Yunlong’s soldiers advanced and finished them off with grenades.
The ambush had been executed beautifully. Li Yunlong’s men suffered no casualties and wiped out all eleven Japanese soldiers.
“Hahaha! Quickly, quickly! Get the cannon off the truck!” Li Yunlong roared with laughter as he led his men toward the road.
“Hahaha! Our New First Regiment has artillery now! We have artillery!” Wang Chengzhu happily rubbed the barrel of the Italian cannon and practically jumped for joy. Turning to Li Yunlong, he said, “Commander, weren’t you doubting whether we knew how to fire it? See that stone over there? I’ll show you right now—”
As he spoke, Wang Chengzhu began loading a shell.
Li Yunlong kicked him, spraying spittle across Wang Chengzhu’s face.
“Damn it, you good-for-nothing wastrel! Shut your mouth!”
“Commander, weren’t you going to let me—” Wang Chengzhu said, bewildered.
“Even if I’m going to let you use the cannon, we can’t waste a shell on a stone. That’s sheer extravagance!” Li Yunlong said solemnly.
“Then what do we—”
“Don’t rush me.” Li Yunlong cut him off. “We’ll use one of the puppet army’s blockhouses for a test. But let me make this clear first: if you can’t get the cannon to fire—”
“No more sweet-potato liquor!” Wang Chengzhu said, stiffening his neck.
“Do you think it’ll end with no sweet-potato liquor? I’ll beat you too!” Li Yunlong said. He then turned to Sun Desheng. “Sun Desheng, have you finished counting? How many shells were on the truck?”
The truck contained nothing but crates of artillery shells.
“Commander, there are thirty-six shells in all,” Sun Desheng quickly replied, then cursed. “Damn these Japs. They’re so stingy, transporting so few shells.”
“Thirty-six shells is already plenty. The blind devil only captured three mortar shells, not even enough to match the fraction I’ve got. Hahaha!” Li Yunlong laughed. “Quickly, get every shell off the truck. Move!”
The guard platoon rapidly cleared the battlefield, stripping the eleven Japanese soldiers of all their weapons and ammunition.
They unloaded every shell from the truck, then hauled down the Italian cannon as well.
“Commander, we’ve really struck it rich. We ought to thank that young fellow properly,” the second squad leader of the guard platoon said, carrying two captured crooked-handle machine guns.
“Oh, look at me! I was so busy celebrating that I forgot about the young fellow.” Li Yunlong slapped his forehead. Turning to the squad leader, he ordered, “Go bring him over at once. And remember, be polite to him. He’s the lucky charm of our New First Regiment. Don’t let him trip or get hurt.”
After all, this was a mountain gun. Even all three divisions of the Eighth Route Army combined possessed only a few.
Today, Old Li had enjoyed extraordinary luck, coming away with a mountain gun. Calling Wu Ze the lucky charm of the New First Regiment was no exaggeration at all.
“Yes, Commander.”
The second squad leader immediately ran off.
“Little Wuze, run back to headquarters and tell Zhang Dabiao to bring the entire New First Regiment to Little Wang Village at once. I’m taking Little Wang Village!”
With the Italian cannon in hand, Old Li suddenly felt a great deal more confident.
Little Wuze was only sixteen that year, but he was already a veteran of three or four years in the army.
There were five brothers in his family, and all four of his elder brothers had already died on the battlefield.
His mother had personally brought him to enlist. Unable to bear sending him into direct combat, Li Yunlong had assigned him to serve as a messenger instead.
“Yes, sir!”
Little Wuze hurried away as well.
“Commander, Little Wang Village is defended by more than three hundred puppet soldiers, and they’ve built more than a dozen blockhouses. Capturing it with only a single cannon may prove difficult,” Sun Desheng said hesitantly.
The New First Regiment had yet to develop real combat strength, nor did it have much experience assaulting fortified positions.
In Sun Desheng’s view, relying on a single Italian cannon to attack a fortified stronghold was extremely risky. If the three hundred puppet soldiers abandoned their blockhouses and charged out, the consequences could be serious.
“Sun Desheng, do you think I should first use the Italian cannon against smaller targets, such as roadside blockhouses and sentry posts?” Li Yunlong looked at him.
“Yes. Little Wang Village will be a tough nut to crack. I think, Commander, you’re taking too big a step. You might pull—” Sun Desheng stopped short.
Li Yunlong interrupted him. “What fun is there in small-time operations? We’re going to make a big haul. Otherwise, once the brigade commander hears that I’ve gotten my hands on a cannon, he’ll call to congratulate me on my good fortune.”
Li Yunlong knew his brigade commander all too well. Whenever he managed to lay his hands on anything valuable, the brigade commander would call to congratulate him on his good fortune almost immediately afterward.
This time, with plenty of shells at his disposal, Li Yunlong intended to make a truly substantial haul. As long as he could seize the weapons and ammunition belonging to the more than three hundred puppet soldiers in Little Wang Village, the New First Regiment’s own armaments would no longer look so pitiful.
And even if the brigade commander came to congratulate him on his good fortune then, could he really congratulate himself on the weapons the New First Regiment had captured from the puppet army? He did not have the nerve.
“Well, then… all right,” Sun Desheng said no more. The brigade commander’s habit of “congratulating” others on their good fortune was not something ordinary people could withstand.
Rather than let the brigade commander congratulate himself out of more than thirty artillery shells later, they might as well use them first.
End of Chapter