Chapter 29: The Encirclement
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Chapter 29: The Encirclement
Watching Qiu Yaozu lead a large force of puppet soldiers swiftly out of the village, Li Yunlong grinned broadly and cursed, “Damn it, Little Five really is something. Tying explosives to a coffin—that was the final straw that broke Qiu Scarface’s spirit.”
“Commander, I suspect that may have been Wu Ze’s idea,” Tiger said, moving closer to Li Yunlong. “Little Five is clever, but this kind of psychological tactic… I’m certain only Wu Ze could have thought of it.”
“Hmm, that makes sense.” Li Yunlong nodded without the slightest doubt. Psychological warfare was Wu Ze’s specialty.
“Pass the order down. The moment I give the signal, surround those puppet soldiers and wipe them out as quickly as possible.” Li Yunlong had already spotted Qiu Yaozu leading the column. “Qiu Yaozu must be captured alive. Do not kill him.”
Although Qiu Scarface had not personally led the troops out, capturing his son would still be enough to force him to surrender.
“Yes, sir.”
“Charge!”
“Kill them!”
“Destroy the Communist bandits!”
…
Qiu Yaozu led more than six hundred puppet soldiers charging out of the village in desperate haste, his eyes completely blinded by hatred.
His ability to command had instantly fallen to zero. He led the puppet troops straight into the trap Li Yunlong had prepared for them.
“Open fire!” Seeing the fish enter the net, Li Yunlong gave the order without hesitation.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
…
Grenade launchers and mortars immediately began to roar.
Although most of the grenade-launcher and mortar crews were inexperienced recruits, Wang Chengzhu had already taught them how to operate the weapons.
Now, actual combat was their training.
The shells from the grenade launchers and mortars fell into the mass of puppet soldiers, blasting them into chaos and sending them tumbling through the air.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Clack-clack-clack!
Clack-clack-clack!
…
The Maxim heavy machine guns and Type 92 heavy machine guns soon joined the roar of battle.
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The intersecting web of heavy-machine-gun fire swept across the puppet soldiers’ ranks like the scythe of Death. Row after row of soldiers fell like harvested grain.
While the mortars, grenade launchers, and heavy machine guns kept Qiu Yaozu’s forces pinned down, the troops from two battalions of the New First Regiment and the Independent Regiment swiftly closed in from every direction.
Light machine guns and rifles formed a dense wall of fire, reaping the lives of even more puppet soldiers.
It was practically a one-sided slaughter. Before long, more than half of Qiu Yaozu’s men were dead or wounded.
“Throw down your weapons and you will be spared!”
“Throw down your weapons and you will be spared!”
“Surrender and you will live! The Eighth Route Army treats prisoners humanely!”
…
Seeing that the enemy had been beaten into submission, the soldiers of the New First Regiment immediately began calling on them to surrender.
The puppet soldiers trapped inside the encirclement saw that the situation was hopeless and began laying down their weapons one after another.
“No surrender! No surrender! Fight! Kill them!” Qiu Yaozu shouted wildly at his men, completely ignoring the situation.
But no one listened to him anymore.
The Communist troops were simply too numerous—at least fifteen hundred men.
Their enemy possessed overwhelming firepower and abundant ammunition. Under such circumstances, their own forces had fallen into a completely hopeless position.
Continuing to resist meant certain death.
As the puppet soldiers surrendered, the New First Regiment and the two battalions of the Independent Regiment quickly brought the battle to an end. Zhang Dabeard captured Qiu Yaozu alive.
“Hurry, hurry! Sweep the battlefield at once. These are all weapons for our Independent Regiment, so move!” The moment the fighting ended, Shen Quan and Wang Huaibao of the Independent Regiment ordered their men to begin collecting the weapons.
Zhang Dabeard said to them, “Why the rush? Our commander said that all the weapons in Qiu Family Village are being lent to your Independent Regiment. That makes them yours. We of the New First Regiment keep our word—we won’t even pick up a single shell casing.”
“Yes, yes, of course. Your New First Regiment is truly generous.” Shen Quan and Wang Huaibao thanked him with their mouths, but their hands never stopped moving.
Nothing was more reassuring than having the goods safely in their own hands.
Zhang Dabeard did not bother with them any longer. He escorted Qiu Yaozu before Li Yunlong.
Qiu Yaozu was completely unharmed, but his expression was dejected. Only now did he finally come to his senses: he should never have launched an attack.
But it was too late for regrets. He was already a prisoner, and Qiu Family Village had been left almost defenseless.
“Wu Ze, use Qiu Yaozu to persuade Qiu Scarface to surrender. Will you do it, or shall I?” Li Yunlong confirmed with Little Five that the idea of tying explosives to the coffin and breaking Qiu Scarface’s final thread of resistance had indeed come from Wu Ze. He wanted to let Wu Ze continue to demonstrate his abilities.
“Commander, you do it,” Wu Ze said. This chance to take the spotlight should be given to their commander.
“Very well.” Li Yunlong was not one to be modest. He shouted toward Qiu Family Village, “Qiu Scarface! Your son is in my hands now. Surrender at once, or I can’t guarantee his safety!”
Qiu Scarface watched as the force that had left the village was swiftly annihilated. It was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head; he regained his senses in an instant.
But there was no medicine for regret. Most of Qiu Family Village’s troops had been sent out, and his son was now in the hands of the Communist forces. The initiative had completely fallen to them.
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“I will never surrender.” Qiu Scarface forced the words through clenched teeth, his eyes bloodshot like a wild beast.
He was unwilling—desperately unwilling—to give up. He still wanted to hold out.
“Is that so?” Li Yunlong gave a cold laugh, drew his broad saber, and drove it straight through Qiu Yaozu’s leg.
Ah!
The blade pierced Qiu Yaozu’s leg, and he let out a horrifying scream. He began shouting frantically toward Qiu Scarface, “Father, save me! Father, save me! I don’t want to die! Father, save me…”
“My son…” Seeing Qiu Yaozu’s terrible condition, Qiu Scarface could no longer endure it. Tears streamed down his aged face.
His wife had died in childbirth after giving birth to this only son.
His three other concubines had never borne him another child.
Qiu Yaozu was Qiu Scarface’s very life.
If he lost his son, there would be no meaning left in living.
“If you want me to surrender, you must agree to one condition,” Qiu Scarface said, trembling as he addressed Li Yunlong.
“What condition?” Li Yunlong asked.
“You must promise not to harm either of us. Let us father and son go,” Qiu Scarface said.
“Fine. No problem. I, Li Yunlong, swear on my honor as commander of the New First Regiment that once you surrender the entire village, our regiment will guarantee the lives of both you and your son.” Li Yunlong immediately swore the oath.
“Commander, Qiu Scarface’s crimes are unforgivable. You…” Tiger began anxiously, but Wu Ze pulled him back.
“Let the commander handle it. Don’t interrupt so casually.”
“Wu Ze, this is no small matter. Deputy Commander Zhong isn’t here. If the commander lets Qiu Scarface and Qiu Yaozu go, he’ll certainly be punished,” Tiger said to Wu Ze.
“Do you think the commander is an idiot?” Wu Ze replied.
When Qiu Scarface heard that Li Yunlong was the commander of the New First Regiment—and saw him swear the oath before so many soldiers—his mind was in turmoil, and he had no time to think it through. He hurriedly ordered, “Open the gates. We surrender. We surrender!”
The remaining puppet soldiers in Qiu Family Village immediately laid down their weapons as well.
Seeing this, Shen Quan and Wang Huaibao left part of their men behind to sweep the battlefield while leading the rest over to collect the weapons.
Li Yunlong’s troops quickly entered Qiu Family Village and occupied the entire settlement.
The villagers who had been digging up and transporting potatoes also hurried over, each of them visibly thrilled.
“I never imagined it—we actually took Qiu Family Village!”
“That’s right. There are so many potatoes here. Hurry up and dig!”
“Yes, yes! Hurry and dig up the potatoes!”
…
End of Chapter
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