Chapter 42: Clearing the Battlefield, and the Brigade Commander's Sudden Arrival (Part 2)

When Zhang Yun arrived at the Japanese positions accompanied by the artillery squad and the militia, the soldiers of the first squad and the militia were already busily scouring the battlefield.

Craters dotted the landscape, and bodies littered the field. Everywhere lay the corpses of the Japanese soldiers killed by artillery fire, alongside damaged rifles and weapons.

With practiced indifference, the veteran soldiers turned over the bloodied and mangled bodies of the enemy to search for usable weapons and equipment. They piled up intact Nambu pistols, Type 38 rifles, Type 11 light machine guns, and Type 92 heavy machine guns. Alongside these, they gathered important supplies taken from the enemy bodies, such as ammunition pouches, watches, pocket watches, fountain pens, and gold teeth.

Some of the newly recruited soldiers and militiamen excitedly sifted through the loose soil around the enemy corpses, salvaging scattered bullets, bayonets, and canteens blown away by the artillery shells.

Meanwhile, a few recruits and militia members were bent over, vomiting. The human body, when torn apart by shrapnel, presents a far more gruesome sight than when pierced by bullets. Witnessing such a horrific battlefield scene for the first time proved too much for these novices to bear.

Yet, humans are remarkably adaptable creatures; after experiencing it enough times, they would gradually grow accustomed to it.

Ignoring this, Zhang Yun instructed the accompanying militiamen to join in clearing the battlefield, and then continued to lead the artillery squad toward the Japanese command post.

"Platoon Leader, Squad Leader Wang, look at what we found!" Squad Leader Dabao of the First Squad greeted them cheerfully, hoisting a 60mm mortar in his hands.

"A French Brandt Model 1938 60mm mortar!" exclaimed Da Chuan, who was walking right behind Zhang Yun, looking surprised. "Do we already have these kinds of mortars in our country?"

"Is this actually French? We found these two little mortars under the ruins of the Japanese command post, along with several hundred rounds of ammunition. Besides these small shells, there are also quite a few shells for 82mm and 80mm mortars."

Dabao handed the mortar over to Squad Leader Wang. Nearby, Wang Chengzhu and Li Tianduo also crowded around with curious expressions.

"When I was with the Northeast Army, the commander of the artillery regiment mentioned this gun. It's a newly developed French mortar—lightweight, with a long range and immense firepower. He always lamented that our country hadn't imported it," Wang Dachuan said, a hint of nostalgia in his voice.

Standing nearby, Wang Chengzhu remarked, "Our old regiment commander always said that if our country's army had this weapon, we wouldn't have to fear the Japanese grenade dischargers anymore. Who would have thought these mortars are already in our country, and even captured by the Japanese!"

"It's fortunate that our first salvo wiped out the Japanese artillerymen; otherwise, relying on these two mortars, the enemy could have posed a grave threat to our own artillery," Wang Dachuan said with a sigh of relief. He then caressed the brand-new 60mm mortar as tenderly as if it were a bride. With these two mortars, the artillery squad's firepower would be even more formidable, giving them greater confidence when facing the Japanese.

"By the way, we also found the four heavy guns that were blown up by our shelling. Do you want to take a look? Maybe they can be repaired!" Dabao looked at Wang Dachuan and suddenly reminded him.

Instantly, Wang Dachuan felt the mortar in his hands lose its appeal. He passed the 60mm mortar to a nearby artillery squad soldier and hurried off toward the Japanese battalion headquarters.

Though called the Japanese battalion headquarters, it was actually just a hastily erected tent, now reduced to tattered rags by artillery shells, with a radio smashed to pieces inside.

Next to it were neatly stacked ammunition crates, including hundreds of mortar shell crates, along with some crates for 6.5mm Arisaka rifle rounds and 7.7mm heavy machine gun rounds.

The four damaged infantry guns and mountain guns lay directly behind the command tent.

Raising his eyes, Wang Dachuan saw the gun shields of the infantry and mountain guns densely peppered with white impact marks, and his heart sank. With so many mortar shells detonating around the artillery pieces, the probability of these guns remaining intact was practically zero.

He began by carefully inspecting the two Type 92 infantry guns. Because of their low profiles, the damage to them was relatively minor. The traverse mechanism housing of one gun had been struck by artillery shrapnel, while the trail carriage of the other had sustained some damage. The two could easily be assembled into a single complete infantry gun, and the remaining parts could be salvaged as spare components.

Having finished with the infantry guns, Wang Dachuan moved on to the mountain guns. Because their carriages were taller, both mountain guns had borne the brunt of the mortar shrapnel. The recoil mechanism of one mountain gun was completely destroyed, its hydraulic fluid pooling on the ground, while the other was slightly better off, though its cradle was severely damaged and its other parts were scarred by shrapnel.

Seeing the mountain guns so severely damaged, Wang Dachuan had already decided to give up on repairing them. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a large box of maintenance accessories nearby. When he opened it, a look of delight crossed his face—it contained a remarkably complete set of repair tools and a selection of spare parts.

Before the fall of the Northeast, the Northeast Army had copied and fielded the Japanese Type 41 mountain gun (the Liaoning Type 14 mountain gun), so he was intimately familiar with it. Although artillerymen were not specialized ordnance technicians, knowing how to repair guns in the field was an essential skill. With such comprehensive parts and maintenance equipment at his disposal, he was confident he could cannibalize and assemble a fully functional mountain gun from the two damaged ones.

Before long, Wang Chengzhu and the others arrived at the headquarters and joined Wang Dachuan in eagerly setting about the repairs.

After all, how could a mere mortar compare to the thrill of a mountain gun? An artillery squad without a mountain gun could not be considered a true artillery squad!

...

"The reconnaissance detachment reports that the Japanese troops have been spotted. They have rendezvoused and are currently resting and fortifying their defenses in the nearby mountains, showing no intention of attacking."

"The second squad has established a blocking position."

"A preliminary tally of the battlefield spoils shows approximately: 1 mountain gun with 47 rounds of ammunition, 1 infantry gun with 98 rounds, two 60mm mortars with 600 rounds, 200 rounds of 82mm mortar shells, 100 rounds of 80mm mortar shells, 5ental Type 92 heavy machine guns, 10 Type 11 light machine guns, 4 ZB-26 light machine guns, over 120 Type 38 rifles, 12 Nambu pistols, roughly 40,000 rounds of ammunition, 13 grenade dischargers with 178 dedicated grenades, over 300 hand grenades, 245 gas masks, about 2 tons of rations, and over 800 canned goods... along with more than 230 damaged rifles and 1 destroyed radio."

Inside the Japanese command post, Deputy Platoon Leader Liu Changqing compiled the reports and briefed Zhang Yun item by item.

Listening intently while nodding, Zhang Yun felt deeply satisfied with this "harvest." His only lingering concern was the logistics of transporting the captured supplies. The haul was so massive and the weight so heavy that it would severely hinder the troops' mobility. Furthermore, the soldiers were exhausted and urgently needed time to rest.

In short, a myriad of tasks still awaited them.

Just as he was pondering, a scout from the reconnaissance detachment rushed in to report: "Platoon Leader, on the mountain road two kilometers away, a friendly unit is rapidly approaching. There are about 300 men, no heavy weapons observed, and we've confirmed they are not from the Independent Regiment. Also, we suspect this force is the vanguard, with a larger main force following behind!"

Zhang Yun and Liu Changqing exchanged glances, puzzled. According to Zhang Yun's assessment, following the Battle of Changle Village, the counter-offensive against the nine-route encirclement in southeastern Shanxi had achieved decisive victory. Currently, the main forces of the Eighth Route Army were pursuing the Japanese troops along various routes to maximize their gains. In the northern base area, some main units of the 386th Brigade were launching probing attacks against the main force of the 105th Regiment stationed in Liaoxian, looking for an opportunity to retake the county town.

Historically, the Japanese abandoned Liaoxian on April 22 and Heshun on April 25. Since the main force of the Japanese 105th Regiment was still in Liaoxian, why would a large force of the Eighth Route Army be heading north toward Heshun? After all, the main Eighth Route Army forces needed to keep a close eye on the main Japanese garrison in Liaoxian.

Puzzled as they were, as leaders of the New Recruit Platoon and officers of the Eighth Route Army, Zhang Yun and Liu Changqing were obligated by both reason and duty to go out and welcome them, verify their identities, and coordinate liaison matters.

The two men quickly tidied up, ordered the artillery squad to stand ready with their guns prepared, and had Dabao take a squad equipped with 10 newly captured machine guns to accompany them in welcoming the approaching troops.

This was not meant as a show of force or a display for the friendly troops; disguising oneself as the enemy was a common occurrence on the battlefield, and necessary precautions could not be neglected.

Without delay, Zhang Yun and a party of over fifty men moved rapidly south along the mountain road. They had not gone far before they spotted the approaching troops clad in Eighth Route Army uniforms.

What an impressive marching speed!

Zhang Yun silently marveled to himself.

From the moment the reconnaissance unit spotted and reported the movement through their binoculars to the time Zhang Yun and his men prepared and departed, less than a few minutes had passed. Yet this friendly unit had already advanced from two kilometers away to within 500 meters of the Japanese position currently held by Zhang Yun.

At this point, the second squad responsible for the blockade had also spotted the rapidly advancing troops. Squad Leader Lao Hu of the second squad had already dispatched a team, setting up two light machine guns among the rocks along the mountain road.

Liu Changqing said in a low voice, "Platoon Leader, I'll take men ahead first. Dabao, you and the others set up defensive positions here as well."

With that, Liu Changqing took four men and walked directly toward the approaching force, while Zhang Yun and Dabao led the rest to reinforce the defensive positions established by the second squad.

The rapidly approaching Eighth Route Army unit was also exceptionally elite. Seeing defensive positions suddenly appear on the hillside, the soldiers immediately scattered, dropped to the ground, and swiftly transitioned into a defensive combat posture.

Fortunately, everyone wore Eighth Route Army uniforms, and Liu Changqing went straight forward to make contact, preventing any misunderstanding.

Not long after leaving, Liu Changqing came running back, shouting to Zhang Yun and the others, "Platoon Leader! Platoon Leader! It's the main force of our 386th Brigade—the 2nd Battalion of the 772nd Regiment! Our main force is arriving right behind them, and the Brigade Commander is right in the rear!"

The Brigade Commander?!

In Zhang Yun's mind flashed the photograph of Brigade Commander Chen from the Museum of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, followed by the image of the leather-jacket-wearing Brigade Commander shouting "Congratulations and be prosperous" from the television series *Sword*, and then the memory of the Brigade Commander bidding farewell to everyone before the platoon was detached to develop independently. A sense of transient unreality washed over him.

At that moment, deep within his heart arose a profound sense of the vastness and insignificance of participating in history, mingled with the immediate excitement and anticipation of meeting a legendary historical figure!