Chapter 31: A Crazy Plan—Let’s Take On a Division for Fun!
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Three hours later.
Li Yunlong stood at the edge of an open valley.
He looked as though he had been struck by a thunderbolt from the heavens, petrified where he stood, his mind utterly blank.
Not long ago, this place had been a peaceful valley blanketed in pristine snow.
But now, as far as the eye could see, smoke churned and billowed upward like thick black ink. The acrid stench of sulfur and scorched earth was so intense it seared the lungs.
And all of this had taken barely a dozen seconds!
It had taken only a single volley!
The valley, once brimming with life, had been transformed into an absolute dead zone, as though it had been burned by heavenly fire and repeatedly plowed by a rain of meteors.
“So this… is what a 107-millimeter rocket launcher can do!”
Li Yunlong spoke with difficulty.
It was not as if he had never seen the world. In terms of destructive power, a 105-millimeter howitzer was not much weaker.
And a 152-millimeter heavy gun was even more powerful by an entire order of magnitude.
Old Li had seen scenes ten times more horrific than this!
But how much did those monsters weigh?
Two or three tons at the very least—they had to be hauled by trucks!
And each one could fire only a single shell at a time.
But that 107-millimeter launcher just now?
Each gun weighed only three or four hundred kilograms. It did not need a truck; even a donkey cart could haul it.
And once disassembled, an entire platoon of soldiers could carry it while running.
What was more, each launcher could fire a salvo of twelve rockets!
Twelve rockets in one volley!
What did that mean?
An enemy artillery regiment had a full complement of 2,500 men, yet it was equipped with only twenty-four 75-millimeter mountain guns and twelve 105-millimeter howitzers.
In other words, three 107-millimeter launchers were equivalent to an entire enemy artillery regiment!
That was what truly shocked Li Yunlong.
Why were the Japanese so brazen on Chinese soil?
Because they had overwhelming firepower!
Lin Ran remembered seeing a report from the Americans when he had been researching the subject.
It stated that during World War II, the firepower of a main Eighth Route Army regiment, consisting of 1,200 men, was equivalent to that of a single Japanese company of 180 men.
That was a sevenfold disparity in firepower!
But now, the balance had been completely reversed!
At that moment, a notification suddenly rang out in Lin Ran’s mind:
[Ding! The host has been detected carrying a large number of weapons far beyond this era. To evaluate the host’s strategic organizational abilities, a temporary mission has been issued!]
[Temporary Mission: Annihilate one entire Japanese division in this timeline within one month!]
[Failure Penalty: The weapons arsenal access level will be forcibly reduced to T1!]
Damn!
Lin Ran cursed inwardly.
Reduced to T1? Was this some kind of joke?
This mission… had to be completed!
He looked toward Li Yunlong, who was still in a state of shock. After a moment’s thought, he asked, “Commander Li, are you satisfied?”
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“Satisfied!” Li Yunlong suddenly came back to himself. “Damn satisfied!”
He turned to look at Lin Ran. “Brother Lin, you—you really gave Old Li one hell of a surprise today!”
Whether it was the RPG or the 107-millimeter launcher, both had completely overturned Li Yunlong’s understanding of military weaponry.
“Brother Lin, a single 107-millimeter launcher is equivalent to twelve 105-millimeter howitzers, yet it’s compact and lightweight enough for an entire platoon to carry while running. This is—this is practically a mobile fortress of firepower!”
Lin Ran curled the corner of his mouth and continued, “Then, Brother Yunlong… would you like to take on something big?”
Li Yunlong froze. A glint flashed through his eyes, and he asked in a low voice, “How big?”
“As big as an entire division! Are you in?”
“Hiss—”
Li Yunlong felt a chill shoot from the base of his spine straight to the crown of his head. He sucked in a sharp breath.
He had never imagined that this refined-looking Brother Lin would have even more nerve than he did—more madness!
He actually wanted to wipe out an entire division!
It was sheer audacity!
Li Yunlong licked his lips, excitement flickering across his face.
But immediately afterward, his expression grew solemn.
“Brother Lin! Your appetite is terrifying!”
“Old Brother admits that your weapons are powerful. But an entire division… twenty-four thousand men—more troops than our own division!”
“Even if we risked our lives and tore off a chunk of flesh from them, we’d lose every tooth in our mouths doing it! We might even sacrifice our gums along with them!”
Li Yunlong was still clearheaded. He had not allowed these divine weapons to cloud his judgment.
“Brother Lin, don’t let the battle at Kuai Zi Gorge deceive you. That victory came entirely from favorable timing, terrain, and human factors. We caught the enemy completely off guard.”
“To repeat it would be difficult. The truth is, the Japanese are not easy to fight!”
After saying this, he feared Lin Ran might be embarrassed, so he hurriedly added, “Unless an entire Japanese division stood there in neat formation and obediently let us bombard them!”
“But that—how could that possibly happen?”
The Japanese were not fools. Why would they obediently stand there and let themselves be shelled?
Lin Ran smiled.
“Who says it’s impossible?”
“Hm?”
Li Yunlong was utterly baffled.
“Brother Lin, could it be that you know… magic?”
“Hahaha!” Lin Ran threw his head back and laughed, then gave Li Yunlong’s shoulder a hearty slap. “Commander Li is joking. I don’t know any magic.”
Then he changed tack.
“But what if I told you I really could make the Japanese stand in neat formation and obediently let us bombard them?”
Li Yunlong’s entire body shook violently. A current of electricity seemed to race through him.
“Brother Lin, there are no jokes in the military! This would mean gambling with the lives of thousands upon thousands of our brothers! This is no matter for jesting!”
“What exactly… is this world-shaking method of yours?”
Lin Ran laughed. “Commander Li, when it comes to marching, fighting, and deploying troops, I, Lin Ran, am not even worthy of tying your shoes. I have enough self-awareness to know that.”
Then he changed direction once more.
“But Commander Li, your thinking is a little outdated. The times have changed!”
Li Yunlong’s eyes widened as he waited for Lin Ran to continue.
He wanted to hear exactly how his thinking had become outdated.
Lin Ran pointed toward the 107-millimeter launcher in front of them.
“What is this?”
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“This is twelve rocket launchers that an entire platoon can carry away!”
“If a company were equipped with several of these, its firepower would rival that of an entire Japanese artillery regiment!”
“Think about it, Brother. Suppose—I’m only saying suppose—that we broke up into small units, organized by squads and platoons, carried dozens of 107-millimeter launchers, and secretly crept beneath the walls of a Japanese-held city…”
“Then, when the night was darkest and the Japanese were sleeping in a daze, we gave them several volleys…”
“Heh, heh, heh…”
Lin Ran did not finish, because Li Yunlong’s eyes had already lit up.
Although the man was not highly educated, he was certainly no fool.
He understood Lin Ran’s meaning instantly.
“Hiss!”
Li Yunlong once again drew in a sharp breath.
“Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Brother Lin, Old Li… I’m convinced! Completely convinced!”
Old Li gazed at Lin Ran with admiration.
He had originally assumed Lin Ran was merely a wealthy young master who had never endured hardship. But now it seemed that whether in courage or strategy, the man was extraordinary.
“A single conversation with you is worth ten years of fighting! Old Li’s thinking really was a little outdated!”
Li Yunlong let out a heavy sigh. There was a touch of self-mockery in his voice, but even more clarity after having been enlightened.
In truth, the core of Lin Ran’s idea could be summed up in two words:
Night raid!
It could hardly be called a world-shaking stratagem.
Why had no one dared to do this before?
There was only one reason: it was impossible.
Taking two thousand men on a night raid against a fortified stronghold occupied by twenty thousand was no different from sending them to their deaths.
Besides, the city gates would be shut at night, and they would be discovered before they could even get close.
And if they tried to secretly move dozens of heavy guns into position and bombard the city?
The noise would be enormous. The Japanese scouts were not blind or deaf!
Even if they somehow managed to land a few shells, it would be no more than a tickle, hardly meaningful.
But the 107-millimeter launcher was different!
An entire platoon could operate one with ease.
It was entirely possible to transport them silently right beneath the city walls.
They did not even need to get that close. Ten miles away would be enough!
One 107-millimeter launcher was equivalent to twelve howitzers.
Dozens of 107-millimeter launchers meant hundreds of howitzers!
If they bombarded the city with several volleys, it would be far more than a mere tickle.
Even those who survived would be stripped of a layer of flesh!
So, at least in theory, Lin Ran’s proposal was highly feasible.
Of course, that was only in theory.
Making it a reality would require planning in far too many areas.
For example, the deployment of the Japanese division inside the city, the locations of its barracks, and countless other details…
“Brother Lin, this plan of yours is too big! Too crazy! Old Li can’t carry it alone!”
Li Yunlong’s expression was extraordinarily solemn.
“I have to report it to headquarters immediately!”
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