Chapter 172: A Strange Victory (Part 1)

Ma Qianzhu immediately switched to the public channel and broadcast a combat alert across the entire settlement. It did not matter whether people were working, arguing, or slacking off—all personnel were to return to their posts immediately. The Security Group would distribute weapons and ammunition. Xi Yazhou, currently supervising military training, was ordered to dismiss formations at once. All New Army personnel would regroup by combat organization and draw their weapons.

With the exception of essential electricity and communications staff, every able-bodied male transmigrator formed into combat groups organized by dormitory. In moments, the Security Group swelled from twenty men to four hundred, all taking up pre-planned defensive positions. Bunker crews were doubled. A platoon was dispatched to protect the river power station and the water source. Xi Yazhou assumed command at the tactical post atop the Bairren Fortress wall.

Ma Qianzhu had Shaozhong patch him through to Bopu's channel. Though Bopu possessed the Navy fleet and newly constructed gun emplacements, it was garrisoned by only a single company. If the enemy launched a combined land-and-sea assault, Bairren would be unable to provide reinforcements in time.

"This is Ming Qiu speaking," the Navy advisor answered.

"This is Ma Qianzhu. Where's Chen Haiyang?"

"Report, Chief of Staff! Commander Chen went out on fishing patrol."

Still on fishing patrol. Sweat beaded on Ma Qianzhu's forehead. "Notify him immediately. The enemy is attacking overland. Put Bopu on full alert."

"Understood."

Next, Ma Qianzhu contacted Dugu Qiuhun, ordering the immediate evacuation of all crowds and stalls from the East Gate Market. Commerce Bureau staff were to arm themselves with shotguns. The police station's melee weapon team would patrol the market grounds, with orders to execute any internal collaborators or looters on the spot.

He took a steadying breath and forced himself to calm down. In truth, Bairren Fortress had more than three hundred modern rifles at its disposal, over three hundred New Army troops, and a dozen smoothbore cannons. Defending from fortified walls and gun towers, they had no reason to fear a few hundred artilleryless enemies—especially with one to two hours to prepare. Then he remembered that all their current battle plans were designed for total annihilation and prisoner capture; passive defense simply would not suffice. He realized he had spooked himself. Calm. Stay calm.

Ma Qianzhu switched channels and called the garage center, ordering them to fuel up the farm vehicles, assign four Security Group teams equipped with shotguns and melee weapons, and position the vehicles outside the East Gate. The northeast was flat riverbank terrain. Without cavalry, they would have to rely on vehicles for any counterattack. Later, after Wu Nanhai's insistence, he also dispatched a Security Group squad to help defend the farm's fields.

Then Ma Qianzhu noticed something troubling. Bei Wei's Recon Team should have had a three-man group under Ye Mengyan providing distant early warning to the northeast. Why had there been no alert? Had they been lost? But there was no time to investigate now. He could only feel grateful the enemy apparently had no cavalry.

With everything arranged, Wu Nanhai set about preparing food and delivering meals to the walls. Those with shooting experience could not come down to eat. The Medical Team stood by for casualties. Wu De assembled the Commune militia with melee weapons as reserves. Laborers were organized to carry stretchers and ammunition.

Finally, he notified Bei Wei's Recon Team to station snipers armed with sniper rifles, radios, and motorcycles along the approach roads for ambush, ready to assassinate the enemy leadership.

With all preparations complete, the enemy column finally appeared on the horizon. Xi Yazhou estimated no more than four hundred men. What could they possibly hope to accomplish? Zhu Cailao's captured men had spent days in captivity and had surely witnessed plenty of the transmigrators' capabilities. They clearly knew the transmigrators had thousands of workers and excellent firearms. Even for revenge, would he not need two or three thousand men at minimum, rather than gift-wrapping himself like this?

Growing increasingly puzzled, Xi Yazhou urgently called Ma Qianzhu at the Communications Center. He suspected the enemy had multiple columns, and this was merely a feint.

"Hmm, very possible. Let me discuss it with Old He." Ma Qianzhu was now out of ideas. Never having been a soldier, he felt somewhat panicked.

"No problem," He Ming said, studying the map. "The Security Group has sufficient firepower to control all key points. The enemy can't break through quickly. Let Commander Xi eliminate this column first. We have an absolute mobility advantage."

"Good. Concentrate artillery with the Training Battalion too."

The enemy drew nearer, maintaining their heading, apparently aiming straight for the East Gate Market. Seven or eight cavalry spread loosely ahead as scouts. Behind them marched four columns of infantry. The front column of roughly a hundred men maintained some semblance of formation, their banners bearing what appeared to be the surname "Zhu." The next two columns were chaotic. Through his binoculars, Xi Yazhou saw dark-skinned, rough-handed commoners carrying an assortment of cleavers and pointed weapons of varying lengths. Some held crude rattan shields; others carried sharpened bamboo poles. Were they actually coming to fight? His suspicions deepened. The rear column consisted of fifty or sixty men, all armed with steel sabers and marching in orderly fashion—looking rather like a supervision squad.

Xi Yazhou could nearly confirm they intended to attack the East Gate Market directly, which was understandable. To outsiders, this commercial center represented the main concentration of wealth. "Everything under control"—the transmigrator group would soon have several hundred more prisoners. Just then, the enemy halted roughly a kilometer out, apparently deliberating. Ma Qianzhu suggested they take the opportunity to eat. Once the fighting started, it would not end for hours, and post-victory cleanup would keep everyone busy. Better to feed everyone hot food first.

The cafeteria dispatched stainless steel lunch boxes to the Security Group. Xi Yazhou's Training Battalion had no such boxes, and pre-battle conditions were not suitable for distributing food from large communal pots. Wu Nanhai improvised, using local bamboo to prepare bamboo rice. Besides rice and salt, he added extra lard to each tube so the soldiers would be full and ready for combat.

After eating, the enemy was still stalling. Through binoculars, Xi Yazhou observed people running back and forth through their columns. Some sat eating dried rations. Others clustered in groups, talking. They looked less like an attacking force and more like a group on a spring outing.

"What the hell is this conspiracy?" Xi Yazhou muttered. He raised his voice: "Fall in!"

Then something utterly baffling occurred. Before the company commanders could relay their orders, the pirates a kilometer away suddenly launched a chaotic, disorganized charge. All semblance of front and rear formations vanished. A mob waving swords and clubs simply rushed forward. A grayish-brown mass surged ahead, almost rolling toward them like a wave.

"What the hell? A banzai charge?" Xi Yazhou quickly commanded, "Prepare for combat!"

Company commanders scrambled to organize their troops. At that moment, Saiga-308 rifle fire cracked across the battlefield—the sniper team engaging. On the wall, Ma Qianzhu stamped his feet in frustration. In this chaotic mess, who were the leaders?

The sniper team knew one thing clearly: mounted men outranked infantry. After the gunfire, every horseman was down. But the pirates behind them kept charging in wild disorder.

Wrong. Watching the assault unfold, Ma Qianzhu felt something was deeply off. Who fought like this? Even without firing a single shot, infantry sprinting a full kilometer would arrive gasping and unable to fight. Zhu Cailao had been raiding Fujian and Guangdong for a decade; he would never make such an elementary mistake.

He urgently contacted all positions: any suspicious activity?

The replies came back unanimously: "No suspicious phenomena." "All normal." "No suspicious vessels at sea."

Ma Qianzhu could not fathom Zhu Cailao's thinking. Was he simply sending these hundreds to die?

The sniper rifles kept firing. Pirates fell continuously, but this did not make them flee. The three Saiga-308s had limited stopping power, and the snipers were not skilled enough to guarantee kills.

Suddenly the pirates veered east, directly toward the hill where the snipers were positioned. Everyone was shocked—how had they been discovered? There were only six men there, with limited ammunition. Their mission was eliminating leaders, not engaging the main force. As the enemies rushed toward the base of the hill, Ma Qianzhu ordered their immediate retreat.

The roar of motorcycles startled the enemy. The pirates did not pursue but halted at the hillside. A dozen of them climbed up, looking around. Then they began felling trees and piling stones. Were they planning to entrench? They had brought a few days' worth of dried rations at most, with no supply wagons in sight...

"Artillery, destroy their camp. Force a decisive battle," Xi Yazhou ordered. These pirates clearly intended to stall.

The artillery battery sprang into action. Arrayed before the infantry line stood twelve mountain howitzers, protected by rattan gabions filled with earth.

"Distance three hundred eighty meters!" the range finder rapidly reported the hill's distance.

"Target three hundred eighty meters! Solid shot, load one round!" Ying Yu commanded. He had only two shell types available: solid and canister. Canister was useless at this range. Reliable iron balls would have to do. In truth, the pirates massing around the hill actually benefited the bombardment. Had they dispersed across the harvested paddies, the cannonballs hitting wet soil would have lost their bouncing effect.

"Fire!" Ying Yu commanded.

Twelve mountain howitzers simultaneously belched smoke and flame. Even veterans of the Baitu expedition felt the earth shake beneath their feet. Black iron balls arced four hundred meters through the air before plunging into the crowd like iron plows. Flesh and limbs flew along the trajectories of the shots. The semi-hardened ground of the hilltop caused the impact-bounced balls to leap again, claiming more heads, legs, and torsos.

The earth trembled. Pirates scattered wildly in every direction. The second volley whistled in like Death itself, blossoming into flesh-and-blood flowers amid the grayish-brown mass. Dying screams and terrified wails filled the air. Pirates fled in all directions as the mountain howitzers continued to roar. Cannonballs bounced across the hardened early-winter ground, rapidly reaping lives.

The battle ended just like that—without technique or tactics. After leaving the ground carpeted with corpses, the surviving pirates fled east in panic. Xi Yazhou ordered the 1st and 2nd Companies to pursue while the 3rd Company held position.

The battlefield became a duck hunt—one side chasing across the hills, the other fleeing desperately. The Training Battalion was rested and well-fed; the pirates were already exhausted from their earlier antics. In the footrace, they were hopelessly outmatched. Soon they collapsed, gasping for breath. Fortunately, Xi Yazhou had ordered the capture of prisoners for rewards, so the soldiers refrained from bayoneting everyone.

Only twenty-odd fast runners nearly reached the eastern mountains. Let them go; they would not miss a dozen laborers.

Then, from the western woods, three rifle-wielding men appeared and blocked the road. A gallant volley dropped the fastest runners. The rest, already shell-shocked, saw blocking forces ahead. Regardless of the numbers against them, they all dropped to their knees, surrendering and crying for mercy. It was the Ye Mengyan team responsible for eastern screening, who had gotten lost during patrol. Returning by chance, they happened upon fleeing enemies. This fortuitous mistake perfectly concluded the battle.

Transmigrator casualties: zero. Enemy dead or captured: all.

(End of Chapter)