Chapter 18: The Counterattack—Divide and Conquer

According to Long Wencheng’s speculation, that old dog Lei most likely couldn’t enter Longsheng County town. After all, he had just been robbed by Long’s men, and the victims were wealthy and influential local landlords. The Longsheng security squad, still armed, would surely resist fiercely and refuse to open the city gates.

If Lei launched a direct assault, even if he won, his own losses would be considerable. If he chose not to attack head-on, he would likely split his forces to pillage the surrounding villages and towns. This would allow Long Wencheng to concentrate his troops locally and defeat them in detail.

Outside Xingwang Town, at Lijia Slope—a place ideal for guerrilla warfare—three slopes formed a perfect pocket formation.

“Commander, they’re coming, more than three hundred soldiers, probably a battalion,” Yang Gang reported, riding back on horseback after monitoring the direction of Longsheng County town.

“Heh, another battalion. Tell the comrades to prepare for battle and aim for a swift victory,” Long Wencheng ordered.

With the command given, over five hundred soldiers involved in the battle got ready. Compared to the previous ambush at Yulong Valley, there were more troops this time and enhanced firepower.

The 2nd Battalion of the 189th Regiment, led by Battalion Commander Hu Debiao, had orders to pillage Xingwang Town and to kill any who resisted without mercy. Such tasks were nothing new to Hu Debiao—he was well versed in slaughtering innocents for glory, robbing civilians, and razing villages.

“Remember, if you find any pretty girls, save them for me, got it?” Hu Debiao shouted to his soldiers.

“Yes, sir!” The men responded eagerly, their eyes gleaming with greed.

Other battalions dispersed to loot nearby villages.

Unbeknownst to Hu Debiao, he and his men had silently wandered right into the pocket trap set by the 18th Regiment.

Though it was late at night, the moonlight faintly revealed the vague outlines of the 2nd Battalion of the 189th Regiment. The soldiers were exhausted and hungry, their eyes shining greedily as they anticipated plundering Xingwang Town.

Suddenly, illuminating flares soared into the sky, piercing the darkness with blinding light that forced the enemy soldiers to instinctively close their eyes.

“Enemy attack!” Hu Debiao, mounted on his horse, was the first to react, roaring fiercely.

But he had forgotten how Xue Yu died—officers on horseback were top priority targets.

Long Wencheng ordered sharpshooters to focus on the mounted officers.

He himself raised his Lee-Enfield rifle, took aim at an officer riding a tall horse, and pulled the trigger decisively.

“Bang!”

The shot rang out, and Hu Debiao collapsed instantly.

“Ahhh!” He howled as blood gushed from his shattered abdomen.

“Help me!” Hu Debiao screamed to nearby soldiers, but they were thrown into chaos under intense fire, being attacked simultaneously from three surrounding high grounds.

The 18th Regiment’s Red Army fighters unleashed a devastating barrage: nineteen light machine guns, eight heavy machine guns, forty automatic rifles, hundreds of Hanyang rifles, over twenty Lee-Enfields, and more than thirty box cannons all fired upon the encircled enemy.

The density of fire was overwhelming; nearly a hundred soldiers were killed or wounded in moments.

At the same time, mortar shells rained down—newly captured 81mm mortars.

“Boom!”

The explosive power of the 81mm rounds far exceeded that of the 37mm flat-trajectory shells. One blast sent seven or eight running soldiers flying, scattered across the ground.

The mortar gunner fired with precision, adjusting after each shot.

Nearby, Xiao Shi Tou handed him shells; two rounds loaded quickly, this time targeting the machine gun nests.

“Boom!”

Again, bursts exploded across the enemy lines.

Hu Debiao struggled to crawl, seeking cover but found none—his best shelter was the bodies of his fallen soldiers.

While he crawled, the muzzle of a Lee-Enfield rifle aimed at him once more.

Without hesitation, Long Wencheng squeezed the trigger again.

“Bang!”

This second shot struck Hu Debiao squarely in the chest.

He slumped over, unable to continue struggling.

With several key commanders killed, the already disordered enemy soldiers were left leaderless. In just minutes, they collapsed into full retreat.

Most soldiers, abandoning their weapons to run faster, desperately tried to break out.

Even so, they could not escape the triangular encirclement.

Red Army rifles blazed, eyes burning with fierce determination as they repeatedly pulled bolts and fired.

After ten minutes of sustained shooting, the second phase of the assault began.

“Charge!”

With that, Xiao Shi Tou raised a bronze bugle and blew a stirring melody in the night.

“Toot, toot!”—thirty sharp blasts.

“Comrades, kill!” Yang Gang roared fiercely, leading the assault troops in the first charge like a torrential flood.

Behind them, large groups of soldiers surged forward from three directions simultaneously.

The battle proceeded even more smoothly than at Yulong Valley; in less than half an hour, it was nearing its end.

The soldiers wasted no time cleaning up the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Long Wencheng dispatched Peng Hongsen to keep watch toward Longsheng County town, ready to report any enemy reinforcements.

In truth, there was little need to worry.

Since Lei had ordered his troops to scatter and loot in different directions to amass supplies quickly—enough to sustain them for at least half a month—the closest reinforcements were still three hours away.

That gave them ample time to finish the battle, clear the field, and withdraw calmly.

Within an hour, the battlefield was cleared.

Unfortunately, no mortars were captured this time, but they did seize five Hotchkiss light machine guns and two Hotchkiss heavy machine guns.

Long Wencheng was seeing Hotchkiss light machine guns for the first time; these were known as the M11 light machine gun, or the M1922 model.

They were somewhat unique, like the Japanese Type 92, fed by 15-round metal strips, with a theoretical firing rate of about three hundred rounds per minute.

In fact, the Japanese Type 92 heavy machine gun itself had Hotchkiss lineage within its design.