Chapter 45: Changing Formations to Counter the Enemy

  For the first time, You Fei couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned on the bed for a while before finally jumping up, his bare feet touching the icy floorboards that sent a chill straight to his brain. The sudden cold made him feel invigorated all over. Then he opened the window that separated him from the outside world, letting in a blast of chilly air that seemed to burrow into his warm chest like a mischievous child.

  A crescent moon hung in the sky, casting a faint, cold glow over the dark and icy earth. To You Fei's eyes, that crescent moon was like a curved blade, devoid of any poetic or artistic sentiment, its pale light as sharp as the edge of a steel knife, stirring his soul. Wooooo! You Fei let out a long, uncontrollable howl, sweeping away the troubles and worries that had been plaguing him lately, and his previously dull eyes now shone with a newfound vitality.

  "Someone's coming!" Yufei shouted loudly.

  "Yes!" A tall and large private first class responded immediately, rushing into the house like a javelin. Fang Zheng's big face was tense, his eyes fixed on You Fei, his ears perked up, and his whole body was like a bowstring waiting to be released.

  It seems that the guards under Chiang's command have become much more robust, and You Fei doesn't know how Chiang has been bullying these big men during his absence. Anyway, there's no good fruit to eat. According to Wang Lie's secret report, since You Fei issued the meat ban order, Chiang has been like a raging bull, putting all his energy into everything he does, especially when it comes to his guards. On the training ground, all the soldiers of the guard company are practicing with Chiang one-on-one. With his nearly 300-pound body and thick palm slaps, he can knock out even the toughest opponents. Of course, You Fei knows that Chiang is just trying to exhaust himself, but it seems that one of the positive effects of the meat ban is that it has greatly enhanced the physical strength of his guard company's soldiers.

  "Go and get Wang Lie and Sun Qingyun for me."

  "Yes!" The soldier responded and rushed away to rescue people.

  In less than a minute, Wang Lie and Sun Qingyun rushed over. You Fei glanced at the disheveled Wang Lie and Sun Qingyun, his eyebrows twisted like a hemp rope.

  Wang Lie coughed and reminded Sun Qingyun with his eyes about the two people's attire, and Wang Lie and Sun Qingyun hurriedly began to tidy up their appearance. In recent days, You Fei had increasingly high requirements for outsiders' attire, which was unimaginable in the past. He used to be a sloppy guy who didn't care about his appearance at all. Now he attaches great importance to it, although he is still quite casual himself. He allows himself to be casual but doesn't allow others to be so. This may not be reasonable, but no one has ever dared to point out his mistakes, and only he can criticize others' shortcomings. After all, he's the boss.

  After the two of them tidied up their appearance, You Fei's complexion slightly improved. Wang Lie bared his teeth and said with a grin: "Boss, it's so late at night, what important matter did you think of that you had to call us over?"

  "Hmm, I called you two here because there's something I need to instruct you to do. The intelligence you've gathered over the past period of time is still far from enough. You can only tell me about the general number and equipment of the Japanese army, but what about their specific troop deployment? I still have no idea. We've been stationed here for so long, the devils must have known our layout a long time ago." Yu Fei said in a low voice.

  "General, don't worry, winter has already arrived. Although the terrain in these four counties is open and easy to attack but hard to defend, in the winter, the flat land is all white everywhere. We can ambush a few people wherever we want. If those little devils dare to come in, they will definitely get hit by our cold guns. Moreover, Wang Lie has already plowed all the open fields and highways within 20 miles into farmland before the enemy formed an encirclement. Now the enemy is completely immobile, this will make them suffer too." Sun Qingyun spoke loudly, his words full of strong confidence.

  You Fei burst out laughing and said: "Wang Lie, you're something else! This move is quite a loss. I'm not clear what the enemy's plan is right now, so I need you to take responsibility for investigating the situation again. If we can understand more of the enemy's intentions, we'll have an extra layer of defense. Hmm, that's right, I also have an idea and want to discuss it with you all - I'm planning to dispatch the 137th Regiment, 146th Regiment, and New First Regiment to hold down Dongjinziling, Zhongniugou Valley, and Xishuishi Beach!"

  Wang Lie and Sun Qingyun almost simultaneously took a cold breath, Wang Lie hastily interrupted to say: "Commander, dispersing our forces like this, if the enemy concentrates their superior forces on one place, the pressure would be too great. The three key roads are all over 10 li apart, it's inevitable that we'll be unable to keep up with everything. Please consider this carefully, Commander! After all, we've already worked on fortifications around Su for over two months, can't we make use of them? Wouldn't abandoning these fortifications be a waste?"

  Yu Fei said solemnly, "Except for Shishi Beach, which is at a disadvantage in terms of terrain, the other two places are naturally advantageous. We can't show weakness, I want to hold back the enemy's momentum. This cold weather is unbearable for us, and it's also hard for the enemy to endure. In the end, let's see who has the harder bones."

  Sun Qingyun hesitated for a moment before speaking: "To push out so hastily is indeed somewhat adventurous, but if we don't do this and let the devils advance one step ahead through these three checkpoints, then their encirclement will truly be formed, and we'll have no choice but to defend ourselves. The brigade commander's thinking may be a bit too radical, but as he said earlier, since the devils already know our deployment, such a major change in formation can surprise them greatly, and all their previous preparations will come to nothing. Judging from the devils' cautious actions these days, their general should be a rather cautious person, but paradoxically, if they're really clever, they shouldn't have taken action this season; instead, they should have waited until next spring when the snow comes, and the cold would have frozen them to death - what a ridiculous dream!"

  You Fei nodded in agreement, and since Sun Qingyun also agreed with this idea, then after asking the three gang leaders who were always shouting and killing tomorrow, it should be possible to finalize it. You Fei said happily to the two: "Since that's the case, Wang Lie, you can start preparing for intelligence gathering work from tomorrow on. Tian Hao is not here, so his work will have to be taken over by you first. Alright, you guys go back and get a good rest."

  Wang Lie reluctantly bid farewell to You Fei, his heart filled with bitter regret. Having received such a difficult task, he would have to spend the whole night thinking of ways to arrange manpower for the job, and wouldn't be able to sleep soundly. Unlike Wang Lie, Sun Qingyun was also sleepless tonight, but it was because he was excited. On the eve of battle, how could this violent man calm down and fall asleep? He would probably pace back and forth in his room until dawn.