Chapter 21: The Thoughts of Xiao Tian Mouse

  The well-known three tricks of the Nationalist Party, the enemy who knew the situation was bad would definitely use artillery fire to retaliate. And in this place that could neither block the wind nor stop the rain, taking the enemy's shells and eating shell fragments was not a good outcome. So these small and quick-witted ones quickly transferred their position. As for those heavy earth cannons, they were left for the Nationalist Party to take away and decorate their glorious military achievements. What's more, Gaoquanwan even deliberately left an image of our army being timid and fleeing in disarray, specially scattering a lot of tattered military uniforms, straw sandals, rusty long spears, and other broken items that Gaoquanwan had "treasured" for a long time along the retreat route.

  Before they could move far, the area where they were hiding was filled with thunderous explosions. The rumbling of cannons from the Nationalist artillery positions had not yet subsided when countless sharp whistles pierced the sky and pounded the original position of Gao Quan and others. The dense explosion sounds merged into one piece in the rising smoke clouds. In the eyes of Gao Quan's soldiers, the sky, earth, and even the air were all dyed gray by the intense artillery fire. Countless sparks burst forth, harvesting everything with sharp bullet fragments. Whether it was the withered branches and leaves growing in the mountains or the hastily constructed temporary fortifications, they became the most fragile things under such dense bombardment.

  Under the mountain, Li Zifa watched the intense bombardment and still felt unsatisfied. The triumphant smile on his face was full of mockery towards the Red Army. "A bunch of country bumpkins, let them see the Commissioner's specially imported Swedish Bofors M1930 75mm mountain gun!" However, Li Zifa was just bluffing, as there were only four of these advanced mountain guns in his unit, borrowed from the artillery brigade stationed in Kaifeng, and most of them were quick-firing mortars!

  Everyone watched as the Kuomintang's fierce artillery fire covered the position, and they couldn't help but be shocked and frightened, retreating in a hurry. Although they were very surprised by the sudden intensity of the Kuomintang's artillery fire, they still cast grateful glances at Gaoquan, who was carefully observing with binoculars. However, Gaoquan, who was concentrating on his work, was not as shocked by the Kuomintang's fierce artillery fire as everyone thought. Although modern 3D cinema war movies do not have the huge sound of live artillery fire, they far surpass the actual bombardment in terms of momentum and effect.

  As the telescope slowly rose and the scene continued to unfold, he was suddenly drawn in by a mysterious and profound feeling. Gao Quan's eyes widened slightly as he stared intently, unable to move his gaze away. "Isn't this the infamous 89-style grenade launcher?" A wave of unprecedented shock washed over Gao Quan's heart. "When did the Nationalist Party start using this thing?! Isn't this too unbelievable?! This kind of infantry-level divine weapon is being equipped on a large scale by the Nationalist Party now?!"

  Gao Quan was clearly intimidated by the row of small cannons lined up at the foot of the mountain, although the smoke they emitted when fired was pitifully small and their power was only slightly greater than that of German-made long-handled grenades. However, he couldn't withstand the sheer number of them! Moreover, their lightweight volume made them extremely suitable for use in mountain warfare. Gao Quan's eyes were about to pop out, but his mind flashed with a brilliant idea, and the worried look on his smiling face was swept away.

  Because of the short range of less than 200 meters due to the elevation, it's not the Japanese Type 89 15 cm cannon, but rather a product of Gongxian's imitation of the Japanese Type 10 120 mm howitzer. It just so happens that the Republic of China's 27th year model appeared ahead of time. Perhaps the Nationalist Party obtained more advanced tools from somewhere or improved steel quality. I wonder if some famous weapons designer or metallurgical engineer returned from Europe and swept away the confusion in my mind. Gaoquan began to focus on how to get his hands on these gems for mountain guerrilla warfare, knowing that the Eighth Route Army was able to succeed with such things in such harsh environments back then. Gaoquan really didn't believe that relying on the Nationalist Party's arsenal repair personnel and machinery, they couldn't produce it!

  Troops in a scattered line, under the cover of smoke clouds set off by sporadic cannon fire, charged towards the battered position with renewed morale and confidence. Watching through his binoculars, Li Zifang couldn't help but give Zhang Juren a disdainful look, as if saying: "You bunch of country bumpkins are only good at farming and hunting! Compared to our regular army, you're not even in the same league!" Li Zifang's expression was clear, and it made Zhang Juren's sons, who were not paying attention to the battle, very uncomfortable. If they weren't in Cao's camp, those guys might have pulled out their knives and dug out Li Zifang's eyes!

  Zhang Juren's silence, in Li Zifa's eyes, was just a sign of cowardice in his heart. Such a small person wasn't worth his continued attention! However, he soon turned pale with rage! Just as they were rushing up the mountain slope, when they were only a short distance from the summit, a group of gray-clad communist bandits suddenly appeared on the summit! The super-large-caliber cannons, combined with the rain-like hand grenades and dense machine gun fire, instantly made this elite army lose all its spirit! In the face of the gleaming bayonets, they retreated down the mountain without stopping, even the hand-held dagger and short-gun wielding officers couldn't stop them!

  Gao Quan's sudden joke made Li Zifeng so angry that he was about to burst a blood vessel! "General Li's troops are indeed fierce and formidable, worthy of being the main force of our Henan Provincial Government Army!" Zhang Juren's ambiguous words made Li Zifeng's lungs almost explode with rage! A sinister glint flashed across Zhang Juren's smiling face, especially his three sons who were laughing foolishly, leaving a deep impression on Li Zifeng's mind!

  Watching Li Zifa leave with a displeased face, Zhang Juren's smile instantly froze. From this encounter, it can be seen that Gao Quan is not an easy opponent! His own previous victory was just a stroke of luck! Looking at his sons' gloating expressions, Zhang Juren couldn't help but sigh: "Still not mature and stable enough! Hard to take on important tasks! In the future, when the country is in chaos and the family is destroyed, it will be difficult to keep oneself safe!"

  As one of the last batch of juren in the late Qing dynasty, Zhang Juren's extraordinary talent would have made him a capable official in the heyday of the feudal monarchy. However, having experienced the warlords of the Northern Expedition and the division of heroes, he no longer had any great ambitions to enter politics. Apart from his exceptional vision and desire for national unity, he also deeply understood that there must be a great war between China and Japan - a battle for the life and death of two nations!

  When Li Zifang had almost used up the shells he brought into the mountain, Gao Quan, who was no longer interested in watching the free fireworks display, led his troops of over a hundred men to quickly drill into the mountains, leaving the Nationalist troops that were trying to encircle them from both sides far behind. With a flick of his sleeve, not bringing away even a wisp of cloud...

  When Li Zifeng, who had squandered all the ammunition, received those old antiques captured by the front-line troops, his hair stood on end. Especially when those scoundrels under his command collected the big knife, bird gun and grass shoes that Gaoquan and others had discarded, and showed them off to him as achievements, he slapped them in the face with a loud slap, so hard that they couldn't even lift their heads!

  Li Zifeng's head was filled with anger, and apart from those who were unlucky enough to be shot, the soldiers, artillerymen, logistics personnel, and local militiamen under his command were also in deep trouble! Following the trail left behind by Gao Quan, they continued to advance. However, Gao Quan's followers not only got blown up by several large landmines that he had left for them but also harvested a lot of human waste.

  Looking at the high-spirited soldiers, they marched happily all the way. Although Gaoquan had a faint joy, it couldn't hide the deep anxiety in his heart. Under the current situation where the Nationalist Party was stuck like a plaster, the exhausted troops could only drag those Nationalist soldiers who were pursuing in batches to be fat and thin, thin and sick, and it was difficult to have any good harvests. On the other hand, their own troops might fall into trouble due to someone's slight carelessness!

  These past few days, Gao Quan and others have also been unable to sleep at night as they rush along the road! Due to their unfamiliarity with the road conditions, several times they almost fell into the Nationalist Party's line of fire. Moreover, the Nationalist Party has from time to time organized some elite small squads that continually launch surprise attacks on Gao Quan and others, causing over a dozen casualties among his troops. The marching speed, under the cumulative fatigue of many days and the drag of wounded soldiers, has been severely slowed down.

  Looking at the wounded men's serious eyes, Gaoquan was very unwilling to abandon them. If someone can abandon their own comrades, who else can trust him? Gaoquan, with bloodshot and tired eyes, learned to smoke for the first time under that dead old tree, thinking hard about a way out "This time I've really gotten myself into too deep trouble!"

  Here comes here comes, seeking some recommendation votes...........