Chapter 70: The Chiefs' Dilemma: How to Conquer the Natural Stronghold of Lazikou

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"Originally, we were still pondering how to handle our relations with the local Tusi armed forces, and I hadn't been sleeping well these past couple of days.

Now it seems I was just overthinking it; this relationship doesn't need to be handled at all, as they've proactively sent us three hundred thousand catties of grain."

Commander Desheng gave a self-deprecating chuckle, patted his head, and said.

"However, the telegram sent by Long Wencheng doesn't claim credit for himself, stating instead that it was mainly because Tusi Yang Jiqing is open-minded and agrees with the ideology and practices promoted by our Red Army, which is why he took the initiative to offer help. This is what they call 'a just cause enjoys abundant support, while an unjust cause finds little.'"

Marshal Liu said this, his regard for Long Wencheng growing even higher.

Commander Desheng looked at the map, changed the subject, and said:

"Yang Jiqing's issue is resolved, but right now, there is still a natural chasm lying before us."

With that, he tapped his knuckle lightly against a specific point on the map—Zhazikou.

This was an absolute natural stronghold. Zhazikou was situated between two sheer cliffs, with a rapid river flowing below, and only a single bridge providing access to the other side.

Liang Yingkui had already constructed a cluster of bunkers and defensive positions here, deploying a machine gun platoon to garrison the area, which included four heavy machine guns.

The reason there weren't more troops was simple: the terrain here was unique and extremely narrow, so deploying more troops would be ineffective.

The bunkers were positioned to aim directly at the bridge deck. Anyone attempting to cross the bridge would have to endure the overlapping machine gun fire from the bunkers and positions on the opposite side.

As for the flanks of the bunkers and positions, they were massive, nearly vertical cliffs. Launching an attack from there was practically impossible; the enemy only needed to set up two machine guns, and any charge along the river would be suppressed onto the riverbank.

In short, even with tens of thousands of troops, capturing this small Zhazikou would be no easy feat.

"This will depend on Long Wencheng's capability, on whether he has the ability to breakthrough this natural barrier.

If the 18th Red Army Division cannot hold the line, we will send the reserve troops forward. According to intercepted telegrams, the enemy has only three battalions garrisoning the Zhazikou area."

Commander-in-Chief Zhu said firmly.

To open a route out of this place, Zhazikou was a point that had to be contested.

The enemy on the opposite side was acutely aware of this as well.

With the help of Yang Jiqing, the 18th Red Army Division had successfully completed the clearance of enemy forces in the area south of Zhazikou.

However, Zhazikou loomed right ahead—complete with the river, the sheer cliffs, the enemy's fortified bunker complexes, and dozens of light and heavy machine guns.

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Long Wencheng gazed into the distance at the stone bridge. The vanguard force, Qi Delong's 1st Regiment, had already attempted several charges, but ultimately failed to fully take the position.

"Qi Delong, give us a report on the situation."

Long Wencheng said while observing the surrounding terrain.

Qi Delong wiped the sweat from his face and pointed toward the bunker complex on the opposite bank:

"A frontal breakthrough is difficult. Furthermore, the enemy's bunkers completely seal off the stone bridge as well as the flanking charge routes. Our forces cannot deploy, and charging forward is just lining up to be shot by the enemy."

"Where are Wensong's mortars?"

Long Wencheng asked.

Wensong spoke up at this moment:

"It's no use. The enemy bunkers are all built among giant boulders, and their roofs are reinforced with carved blocks of stone, making them sturdier than reinforced concrete.

I led the men to bombard them for two consecutive rounds, and the shells couldn't even scratch the outer layer."

At this point, Long Wencheng looked toward the cliff on the western side of the enemy position at Zhazikou. That was a blind spot in the enemy's field of fire. If they could climb up the cliff and then launch an attack on the Zhazikou defenders from above, it would undoubtedly yield twice the result with half the effort.

"I have an idea."

Long Wencheng said, pointing to the cliff on the western side across the river.

"If someone can climb up this cliff and outflank the enemy from above, and then directly hurl grenades down onto the enemy positions from the heights to suppress them, the enemy certainly won't be able to hold out."

"That is an idea, but the catch is that the cliff is almost completely vertical. Who could possibly climb up that?"

Wensong took a heavy drag from his cigarette.

He was feeling quite depressed. After all, his mortars had previously been unstoppable, but now they had hit a tough nut to crack—not only did the shells fail to breach it, but they couldn't even chip the surface. How could he not be frustrated?

Just then, Baobao stepped forward and volunteered:

"I'll do it. I can climb up."

This was no idle boast. These Miao hunters from Guizhou often traveled and hunted among the mountains and wilderness, so freehand climbing was second nature to them.

During the previous surprise attack on Guiyang City, it was Baobao who scaled the city wall by grabbing the gaps between the bricks, reaching the top and launching a surprise assault on the enemy's city gate.

"Good. When the time comes, send the sniper platoon and the assault team up there as well. Then we'll attack from top and bottom—I refuse to believe we can't take this Zhazikou."

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Long Wencheng declared.

As night fell, under the cover of darkness, Baobao tied a rope around his waist in front of the western cliff, spat into his palms, and began climbing upward barefooted along the nearly vertical rock face.

Below, over three hundred soldiers from the assault team and sniper platoon waited in silence.

The cliff was seventy or eighty meters high and almost perpendicular to the ground, with only a few gaps between rocks available for handholds and footholds. The difficulty of the climb can well be imagined.

Baobao, who had previously scaled the city wall with great speed, was climbing very slowly this time, making it clear that the challenge was immense.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, the rope began to shake violently—the signal that he had reached the top.

Soon, soldiers began climbing up the rope, carrying additional ropes to the top of the cliff.

An hour later, over twenty ropes were dangling down the cliff, and the soldiers began swarming up them.

With the help of the ropes, the members of the assault team were also able to successfully reach the mountaintop.

However, the attack would not begin immediately; both the assault team and the sniper company needed time to outflank the enemy from above.

In the dead of night, opposite the Zhazikou bunker complex, Qi Delong's assault troops had been waiting for over four hours.

They were waiting for signal flares. If the assault team led by Qi Xin and Baobao successfully outflanked the enemy from above, they would fire two red signal flares, which would be the signal for the attack to commence.

Finally, two signal flares shot simultaneously into the night sky.

"They've reached the position. Attack!"

Long Wencheng decisively gave the order.

As his voice trailed off, Qi Delong's troops charged forward once again, making a fierce dash toward the stone bridge.

Simultaneously, from the top of the mountain, grenades were rained down one after another.

These grenades were hurled directly from the mountaintop, over a hundred meters high, straight down onto the enemy positions below.

Many of the grenades detonated the moment they hit the ground, while others exploded right above the enemy's heads before even touching the earth.

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