Chapter 64 The Second Battle Begins Again

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Chapter 64: The Second Battle Begins
(I)
"Company Commander!" A soldier ran over and reported, "There are actually seven Japs inside that iron turtle! We managed to get them out, but they're all blown to pieces... I don't know if the machine gun is still usable. Company Commander, come over and check it out!"
"Good, good, good! Excellent! We hadn't even factored in the firepower inside that iron turtle yet! Let's go, Guan Shan, let's take a look together!" Chu Lianzhang’s mouth split open like a sagging belt, and he hurried in strides toward the iron turtle.
The smoke and dust had largely dissipated, allowing Guan Shan to see clearly that this was not a tracked armored vehicle, but a six-wheeled armored car.
It wasn't the kind mentioned in TV shows that specialized in fighting the 386th Brigade's Independent Regiment—those had four wheels and weren't this advanced.
However, Guan Shan recognized this six-wheeled one. In fact, it was one of the few armored vehicles Guan Shan knew from his previous life. Speaking of this particular model, it was associated with a fragrant memory.
Back during the targeted poverty alleviation period, Guan Shan had seen it in a museum dedicated to red tourism projects.
He couldn't quite remember the specific location, but the beautiful tour guide left a deep impression on him. She was an undergraduate intern, a local with very pretty almond-shaped eyes and a sweet voice. What made her special was the sweet apricot-scented perfume she wore.
Don't talk nonsense, don't let your mind wander; there was no story, no intersection, absolutely nothing—they hadn't even exchanged WeChat contacts!
Yes, they hadn't even exchanged WeChat contacts, though Guan Shan had actually been tempted to ask her for one... The olfactory memory of a fragrance as they brushed past each other—heh, that was why Guan Shan formed this associative memory, and why he remembered this particular Japanese armored car with its sweet apricot scent so vividly...
Thinking of the armored vehicle, Guan Shan suddenly recalled how sticky the interior had been and the intense smell of blood, which almost made him vomit.
Oh, damn it, where was his mind wandering!
Guan Shan reined in his stray thoughts that had almost galloped away with the flying apricot blossoms, and looked closely at the Type 92 wheeled armored vehicle amid the wisps of gunsmoke.
At the front was a square hood, and behind the square, trapezoidal hull sat a hemispherical turret.
This was the Japanese army's armored vehicle with the strongest firepower system: the turret housed a movable 7.7mm water-cooled heavy machine gun, the hull had a 7.7mm air-cooled machine gun, and each of the left and right sides featured a 7.7mm machine gun, totaling four machine guns with formidable striking power. Besides four machine gunners and a driver, it could also carry two to three infantrymen in the rear.
A total of seven Japanese corpses were hauled out, but only four were dressed as tank crew members, while three were officers.
One was a major, and two were lieutenants.
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"Group Leader Guan, both lieutenants have leather shoulder bags on them. Oh, and this holster was found on the major; he must have been the owner of that Luger pistol."
The Japanese lieutenants and tank crew members were all equipped with sidearms. A pile of holsters and pistols lay on the ground.
"Go ask who among the squad leaders and above doesn't have a pistol yet, and have them claim one first. We'll turn them in uniformly after the battle!" Chu Lianzhang unceremoniously hung the Luger holster on his own belt, thought better of it, took it off, and replaced it with a standard Japanese box-type pistol.
"What's wrong? Isn't the German pistol any good?" Guan Shan asked curiously.
"What's the use of having it just to satisfy a craving? Better to get something less conspicuous. Here, here, here—you captured this one, you handle it!" Chu Lianzhang shoved the Luger holster into Guan Shan's hands.
"Ouch!" Guan Shan accidentally touched the tip of his left index finger, and a piercing pain made cold sweat pour down his face.
(II)
"Then what?" Li Yunlong asked. "Guan Shan was covered in blood, where the hell was he wounded?! Is it serious? Is he dead? None of this is written here!"
"Huh? Brother Shan is hurt? Is it serious?" Monk Wei hurried over.
"He should be fine. When I left, I saw Chu Lianzhang holding him by the arm and taking him to sit on a nearby hillside..." Ah Bao reported.
"Was he being carried, supported, or how?" Li Yunlong asked anxiously.
"No, Guan Shan walked by himself, but he was holding his chest, gritting his teeth, and seemed to be in quite a bit of pain..."
"His chest?"
"Or maybe his stomach? Or could it be his flank?"
"Where the hell is he wounded?!" Li Yunlong angrily delivered a kick.
Ah Bao hurriedly dodged and stammered, "I was a bit far away and didn't see clearly, but he definitely walked over on his own..."
"Alright, alright, I get it..." After pondering for a moment, Li Yunlong signed his name on the two sheets of paper, added a note stating that there were no other unusual movements on other fronts, and signed his name again.
"Ah Bao, you're familiar with the situation. Rest for a while, then make another trip yourself. There are horses just over ten miles away; go to Mopan Village and report the situation to the Political Commissar!" Li Yunlong instructed.
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"Report to the Regiment Commander, I'm not tired, I'll go right now!" Ah Bao saluted, took the folded paper, and put it in his pocket.
"No need to rush this very moment; even a donkey needs time to rest. Haha, that metaphor of mine is a bit inappropriate—I didn't mean you're a donkey! Go on, go on, take this half-box of meat canned food as a reward. Rest over there for a bit and have some water! Huanxi, Huanxi! Take Ah Bao to get something to eat and drink to fill his stomach!"
After giving his instructions, Li Yunlong pulled out his pocket watch and took a look. It was already past 3:30 PM. The battle had ended around 2:10 PM, and Ah Bao had set out shortly after, taking about an hour and twenty minutes to cross the mountains and take shortcuts to arrive. It was truly no easy feat, which also showed that the mountain-crossing capabilities of the entire communications platoon soldiers had improved rapidly during this period.
Just at that moment, faint sounds of gunfire and explosions drifted over from afar! Judging by the sound, it should still be from the direction of Yejitai.
If it were Position No. 3, which was under the responsibility of Wang Rongsheng’s 3rd Battalion, that place was less than ten miles away from here, and the sound would have been much clearer!
What was going on here? Had Japanese reinforcements arrived? From which direction? If they had passed from the direction of the construction team, then the 3rd Battalion would have an easier time fighting this battle later!
Just as Li Yunlong was pondering, the sound of dense machine gun fire suddenly erupted, tightening his heart! Then he suddenly thought: wait, the Japs' iron turtle has already been taken out. Could this machine gun fire mean that the machine gun on that iron turtle is being used by our side now?
After less than a minute of intense gunfire, explosions followed—the sound of bundled grenades! Three or four consecutive explosions of bundled grenades!
Following that, the gunfire became even more intense for ten seconds or so, and slowly grew sporadic again!
Abruptly! Gunfire and explosions also broke out at Position No. 3!
Li Yunlong raised his binoculars to look. Separated by several hills, he certainly couldn't see the battlefield clearly, but he could make out a raised signal tree on the mountaintop slowly falling over. Which direction was that?
Oh, the direction of Shunshan! Great, great, everything is going smoothly!
The 3rd Battalion had also launched its offensive!
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(End of Chapter)
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