Chapter 6: Night Raid

  At half past two in the middle of the night, the temperature dropped sharply. Every piece of exposed skin could feel the biting cold. The ground was covered with a thin layer of frost, and it was slightly slippery to step on.

  Under the sparse moonlight, a stream of people quietly walked to a small grove 200 meters in front of Dujiabao and crouched down. The team behind disappeared alone in the northwest direction of the village.

  A slightly shorter figure than the others, dressed more thinly, walked into the middle of the team and reminded a few words. Then, with the help of terrain features, quickly approached the stockade wall.

  He suddenly crouched down in a low-lying area, and footsteps came from afar, getting closer and closer from the high ground.

  "Monitor, what are you doing patrolling around at this late hour? You're freezing me to death."

  "Quietly, you'd better not talk nonsense. Today we've brought so many captives, if the Red Bandits come to rescue them, it'll be a disaster. By then, you won't even know how you died. The battalion commander specifically ordered us to double our guards."

  "We're going to die, while those cowards are in there having fun with the red-haired bandits, and we're stuck out here drinking the cold wind."

  Footsteps gradually faded away. Chen Haisheng's face was gloomy and terrifying, he raised his head to look at the back of the two people, a burst of murderous aura rose into the sky.

  He suddenly jumped up, sprinted silently towards the city wall for a few steps, and his body took off. Just as he was about to ascend, two daggers flew quickly into the earthen wall with his hands alternating, using arm strength and leg force to support his body like a gecko climbing onto the five-meter-high stockade.

  The sergeant of the sentry squad in front seemed to have felt something was wrong, and hastily turned his head to look around. A figure had already quickly appeared in front of him. Just as he was about to shout loudly, a security knife that the Kazakh Muslim often carried with him flashed with cold light, cutting open his throat and neck artery. Fresh blood spurted out, splashing onto the face of another sentry who had just reacted.

  Chen Haisong reached out and pinched the sentry's throat, stretching out his foot to catch the body of the sentry sergeant who was about to fall to the ground, sending it into the shadows under the wall.

  "If you want to live, don't be too old-fashioned, answer whatever I ask, or else I'll strangle you to death."

  The other party nodded repeatedly with fear.

  "Which unit are you from?"

  The 1st Cavalry Division of the 100th Army

  "Who is the team leader?"

  "Ma Bu Lao."

  "How many people are in the village?"

  "The whole division has four regiments with a total of 1,300 people. The other day, more than 300 were killed in action and over 300 were injured."

  "Where does Ma Bu live? How many people?"

  "In the middle of the village, there is a guard company in the big courtyard."

  "Where is the ammunition depot?"

  "The first row of houses on the west side is it."

  "How many Red Army prisoners of war? Locked up where?"

  "There were over 500 male Red Guards locked up in the last horse enclosure; more than a hundred female Red Guards were taken away by each battalion."

  "How many outposts are there in the village?"

  "There are two groups on the city wall, with two people in each group; there is a squad at the entrance of the village that may have fallen asleep. There is a squad at the horse enclosure and two squads at the entrance of the fort."

  "What's tonight's password?"

  "Eliminate the Red Bandits, protect and bring peace to the people."

  Chen Haisong dragged the sentry, embracing his neck, pinching the back of his neck, as if in a warm conversation, slowly walking along the wall to the other side.

  The two sentries over there were leaning against the wall, talking about the female Red Army soldiers they had ravaged, exchanging vicious ideas for abusing the female Red Bandits, and bursting into lewd laughter as they got more and more excited, wishing they could hurry up and finish their shift so they could go back and torment the female Red Bandits.

  Hearing footsteps, I looked up and saw two people approaching, quickly standing at attention. "Reporting to squad leader, situation normal."

  "Don't be careless, no sleeping allowed."

  "The class monitor is really good at making jokes, how can anyone sleep well in this terrible weather?"

  Unconsciously, they walked to a distance of two meters. Chen Haisong's left hand forcefully pinched the neck vertebrae of the sentry in his arms, and his right hand flashed out like lightning. The security knife gleamed with cold light again, slashing across their necks.

  Chen Haisong stood on the high stockade wall and looked down to verify whether the scout's intelligence was accurate.

  Down in the village, all was quiet and still, with no signs of people moving about. Only then did he feel at ease, pick up a rifle, and walk down along the horse path outside the village walls.

  Entering the empty space in front of the village gate, observing all around, feeling that the troops entering will not trigger the internal sentry's alertness, then quietly approaching the sentry barracks next to the village gate.

  He stood in front of the door, closed his eyes, and listened carefully for ten seconds before gently pushing open the door and then closing it again.

  He slowly opened his eyes, and saw eight bandits sleeping soundly on a row of earth beds against the wall. On the opposite wall, six rifles and a light machine gun were leaning against it, while bullet belts, dry food bags, hand grenade belts, water bottles, saddles, and willow leaf military knives were scattered all over the place.

  A faint rustling sound came from deep within a bundle of quilts, followed by the soft sobbing of a woman.

  Chen Haisong gritted his teeth and stepped onto the kang, a sharp security knife appearing in his hand.

  Ten seconds later, a bloody smell filled the entire house, and the fresh blood that sprayed from his neck splattered onto the ceiling like a painting.

  He put away the knife, walked slowly inside, and gently patted the quilt with a trembling hand. The person inside was like a startled rabbit, immediately curling up into a ball and making no sound.

  "Comrade, you've suffered. I'm Chen Haisheng of the 9th Army, leading troops to rescue you. Don't shout, okay?"

  After he finished speaking, he gently lifted the corner of the quilt, revealing a face full of terror and suspicion.

  He gave her a faint smile, "I've killed all the enemies in the house for you, hurry up and put on your clothes, I'm going to open the gate and let the main force in."

  Having finished speaking, he turned around and walked out.

  "Director Chen, wait, I...I can't move..." Chen Haisong turned back with a puzzled expression.

  "They were afraid I would take revenge on them while they slept, so they tied me up."

  Chen Haisong returned to her side, hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth and lifted the quilt. A surge of anger made his eyes red, even if he had lived two lifetimes, he had never seen such a shameful and inhumane behavior that was devoid of all conscience.

  That white and naked body was covered in bruises, with bite marks, pinch marks, scalds, hands tied behind back, a wooden stick inserted between legs, ankles and thighs bound by ropes, deeply cutting into the flesh, the whole body filthy.

  Chen Haisong's eyes were filled with hot tears as he used a knife to cut off the rope, gently pulling out the blood-stained wooden stick and helping her massage her legs to regain sensation.

  "Which unit are you from?" he asked in a low voice, "What's your name?"

  "Reporting to the superior officer, I am Guo Chunlian, the commander of the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Company of the Women's Independent Regiment, from Langzhong, Sichuan Province, and I'm twenty years old."

  "Do you know me?"

  "I heard your report when I was on a long march to Ruoergai."

  "All hardships have passed, live well and take revenge in the future."

  She brought in Xiaoguo's military uniform and a few smaller cotton-padded jackets, placed them beside her and said: "Put these on, take a rest, don't make any noise, wait for us to come back." After finishing speaking, she walked out.

  He calmed down in front of the door, special forces must always be sober and calm, accurately judging changes in the environment and situation, never allowing emotions to interfere, losing rationality due to anger and sadness.

  He looked around cautiously again, the world was silent, and then walked to the gate, gently removed the heavy door bolt, grasped the edge of the large gate, and slowly opened it without making a sound.

  He stepped out of the gate, stood in the moonlight, and waved his hand vigorously towards the forest. Immediately, a group of people emerged silently from the forest and quickly approached him.

  Five company commanders arrived first.

  "King Lianchang led a company of guards with me to capture the enemy division headquarters and rescue the prisoners of war;"

  Sun Lianchang and Huang Lianchang led a team to search the west wing rooms. The first row was an ammunition depot, and a squad was dispatched to guard it.

  Cheng Lianchang led a group of people to search the east room, sent one squad to climb up the wall and observe the outside movement, prevent those inside from escaping, then sent another squad to guard the gate.

  Everyone be careful with their footsteps and prevent noise. Our female warrior is in the house, must prevent misinjury, give more comfort and protect her well.

  "Kill all bandits, don't leave a single one. Search every room, including the kitchen, toilet and stable. Action!"

  Chen Haisong turned around and walked into the gate. The crowd behind him naturally divided into three streams, advancing towards the village under the command of the five company commanders.

  Everyone had a strip of cloth or a piece of felt bound round their feet, and though there were several hundred people moving about, the noise was not great.

  The crowd dispersed, with 5-8 warriors guarding each door, holding long knives and short blades. According to Chen Haishan's orders, they closed their eyes before entering the house to adapt to the darkness inside and listen for any movements.

  In the middle of the village, Chen Haisong raised his right arm, and the guards and soldiers behind him immediately dodged into the shadows of the houses.

  Chen Haisong coughed and walked towards the headquarters, two sentries immediately got up from the ground, holding their guns horizontally, shouting: "Password——"

  "Eliminate the Red Bandits, Restore Order—"

  "Protect and educate the people."

  "Hey kid, what brings you here?"

  "Laozi has come to inspect the sentry. If you two don't stand guard properly, you'll be locked up in the brig tomorrow." As he scolded, he walked up to them and with a flurry of knife strikes, the two sentries were knocked to the ground without even realizing who he was.

  He listened to the movement, beckoned with his hand, and a row of people immediately emerged from the shadows. Two warriors stood by the door, picked up the rifles on the ground, and guarded them in place. The others pushed open the slightly ajar gate and entered in a stream.