Chapter 68: Breaching the Stockade

Once the plan was set, the entire organization began to move. Although the military group had the most members, they were also responsible for many guard posts, so only thirty people were mobilized for this operation. The rest were drawn from other groups. Everyone had been bored to death with their work since coming ashore, so this battle was like an outing and a chance to relax. Everyone eagerly signed up, and soon there were over two hundred and fifty people. Some who got the news late found that the spots were already filled and rushed to pull strings. For a time, the dormitories of people like Wu De and He Ming were bustling with visitors.

Wu De screened the applicants, rejecting those who were physically weak, possessed unique skills, or were older. He only wanted the young and strong. In total, one hundred fighters were selected. Because the enemy primarily used cold weapons, protective gear was crucial. The ten members of the assault team, who were to deliver the explosive charge and lead the charge, were each equipped with a set of armed police riot gear and ten riot shields. Although these shields couldn’t stop modern rifle fire, they were more than capable of deflecting primitive cannons and arrows. Wu Nanhai organized the women and the entire agricultural group to make dry rations. His various trial rations had all been rejected. Finally, Auntie Cao suggested that since the trip would only be for a day or two and long-term storage wasn’t necessary, they should just make some flatbread. With oil and salt, it wouldn’t spoil for a day or two. So, with her demonstrating, a group of people mixed the batter, chopped scallions, and tended the fire. Soon, over a hundred catties of flatbread were ready, packed in newly woven baskets, and transported by pack animals with the team. The agricultural group also sent a support team, using pack animals to carry pots for boiling water and cooking rice, as well as some extra food. The health group organized a medical team, bringing various emergency surgical instruments and medical supplies. They had the best treatment of all the teams, being specially assigned a farm vehicle. In the Bairen City clinic, preparations for surgery were also made.

The reconnaissance team set out before the main force. As soon as it got dark the next day, they set up a forward command post on a small hill outside the village, equipped with a radio. Six snipers selected by the military group also accompanied them. Wu De assigned one sniper and two scouts to each of the six teams, deploying them around the village to control the movement of people. His orders were simple: people were allowed to enter Gou Family Village, but not to leave. Anyone coming out of the main gate was to be captured if possible. Anyone climbing over the wall was to be shot on sight. The village was to be completely isolated. The snipers used Saiga-308 rifles. This semi-automatic rifle, using 7.62mm NATO rounds, was well-suited for this task in terms of both range and power. With specialized sights, hitting a person from a kilometer away was not a problem.

Wu De, the commander of the operation, was the first to arrive. After dispatching the sniper teams, he sat down in a fishing chair at the command post. The command post was just a clearing in the woods, surrounded by barbed wire. Inside the tent, a shaded lamp was lit. Enlarged copies of the situation map and surrounding terrain map drawn by Xue Ziliang were spread out on a folding table. Beside it was a 15W radio, its lights blinking as it maintained contact with Bairen City.

That night, the main force arrived in succession and concealed themselves on the hillside. The first organized night march of a large group went smoothly. Using night vision equipment and fluorescent identification strips, about two hundred people, including combatants and logistics personnel, as well as many mules and horses, arrived safely and on time, with no one falling behind or getting lost. He had the logistics team quickly organize boiling water for everyone to wash their feet. He talked with a few commanders for a while, reminding them to maintain discipline after breaching the village the next day, to avoid looting and indiscriminate killing. Afterwards, he told everyone to rest early, while he himself sat at the table waiting for the other follow-up teams to arrive. This was the transmigrators’ first active strike in the more than two months since their landing. Given their level of technology and firepower, breaking this stockade was a sure thing.

Based on a comprehensive analysis of various sources with several intelligence personnel, he estimated that Gou Family Village had at least one to two thousand shi of grain, both coarse and fine. The amount of silver, cloth, jewelry, and ornaments was of course also considerable. Thinking of the great benefits that breaking the village would bring to the transmigrators, his heart secretly throbbed with excitement.

But then he thought that more treasure would inevitably lead to problems of distribution. Would some people be blinded by greed and embezzle the property? Would anyone challenge the current distribution system or the personnel managing the assets? He had seen cases of people who could share poverty but not wealth. Then, thinking about how many people would be killed during the attack, many of whom were innocent, he felt uneasy again. He was not very optimistic about the quality of so-called civilized people. Once on the battlefield, with blood in their eyes, they were capable of anything.

At a little past six in the morning, the sky was already getting light. Xi Yazhou also reported that they had organized the people of Saltworks Village and were on their way to transport the goods. The common people were not like them, with military training and night vision equipment; many suffered from night blindness, so they set out at the first light of dawn.

Wu De checked with the observation post on the outskirts of the county, which reported no unusual activity in the county town. The sniper teams that had been on watch outside all night also reported nothing unusual. He asked Yuan Qiushi, who was on duty outside the tent—the young man had now become his dedicated guard and communicator: “Is everyone up?”

“They’re up. Someone is asking where to brush their teeth and wash their face!”

“Still brushing their teeth and washing their faces!” Wu De laughed. “Go and tell everyone: we’ll brush our teeth and wash our faces after we break into the village. Eat now, and prepare for battle!”

Chewing on a flatbread and drinking cool water, Wu De walked out of the tent. He observed the lights on the village walls with his binoculars and listened for the watchman’s gong. Only then did he announce the assembly of the troops, explain the battle plan for breaking Gou Family Village to all the combatants, and assign different tasks to each combat team. Finally, he said:

“Once inside the village, remember four things clearly: first, do not kill the innocent; second, do not rape women; third, do not burn houses indiscriminately; and fourth, do not hide spoils of war for yourselves!” He paused. “I won’t go into the Three Main Rules of Discipline and the Eight Points for Attention. Most of you haven’t been trained in the army before. I’ll just say one thing: don’t forget that you are still civilized people! Don’t do anything worse than a beast.”

Someone in the ranks made a strange remark: “Please, those women are dark and skinny, and they don’t bathe all year round. I wouldn’t dare take one even if she threw herself at me!”

Someone else said, “Is it better to be a beast or worse than a beast?” The surrounding people burst into laughter again.

This burst of laughter made him realize that although this group was armed to the teeth, they were at best still a group of civilians. He said no more. The commotion on their side should have already been noticed by the village. There was no time to lose; it was time to attack immediately.

Shortly after the fifth watch, the night watchman on the gate of Gou Family Village had just extinguished the night lanterns when he heard the sound of footsteps and coughing from a distance. The watchman immediately became alert, woke up his dozing companions, and they waited together, peering out from the battlements. The early mornings in Lingao were often foggy, and the distance was not very clear. They could see dark figures moving in the fog, and there seemed to be many of them. A guard shouted:

“Who goes there?”

The transmigrator army had already approached to within 200 meters of the village gate. Wu De had everyone halt, and each group took up their assigned positions. Without a word, they quickly began digging shelters for themselves with their entrenching tools—not out of fear of enemy fire, but to protect against debris from the explosion. Seeing that they had been discovered, he didn’t answer and immediately fired a signal flare.

Seeing the signal flare, the ten men of the demolition team, carrying explosive charges, sprinted towards the gate at the speed of a hundred-meter dash. These men were all selected from volunteers; not only were they strong, but they were also all excellent sprinters. Although Zhang Bolin hadn’t managed to build his “Bolin-gun,” demolition would have to do. He volunteered to be the demolition man and carry the explosives, while the others carried semi-automatic rifles.

The watchman on the watchtower saw no reply from the other side, and then a dazzlingly bright green ball of light flew out of the fog. Knowing something was wrong, he quickly beat the gong.

“Trouble! Someone is attacking the village! We’re under attack!”

With the urgent sound of the gong, the militiamen who had been sleeping in the sheds below the watchtowers quickly climbed up. While loading the cannons and matchlocks, they leaned out, trying their best to see the enemy in the fog. As they were looking, a volley of gunfire came from the fog. Four or five militiamen on the watchtowers on both sides screamed and fell. The rest quickly ducked behind the crenels, but the next volley of shots went straight through the brick walls of the crenels. After a few rounds of volleys, there was no one left intact on the watchtowers; bodies lay scattered everywhere. The leader below hurriedly urged the militiamen and retainers from all over to gather at the village gate, preparing to fight.

However, these ten or so seconds were enough for the demolition team to reach the gate. The explosive charges were tied to bamboo poles to ensure they were pressed firmly against the gate. Since there were no electric switches or detonators, the three black powder fuses on the explosives were all lit with a fuze. According to a formula calculated from a book, the fuze should detonate after two minutes, which was enough time for the person lighting it to run to a safe place.

The fuze was indeed lit, and the entire team ran to a safe place and lay down. Two minutes passed, no explosion. Two minutes and thirty seconds, still no explosion. Three minutes, still no explosion! The men lying behind the earthen mound were sweating with anxiety. If the gate didn’t blow, everyone would have to prepare to climb the walls and charge.

“Damn, what is this thing!” Zhang Bolin lifted his head from behind the mound, annoyed.

In that instant, the explosives detonated. A flash of light, and the dull explosion shook the ground. Many people were dazed, their insides churning. Then, a shower of broken bricks, clods of earth, and wood splinters flew everywhere, clattering down.

Zhang Bolin felt a thud on his head as a brick fell on him. He was just feeling lucky to be wearing a helmet when he felt a coolness on his cheek, followed by a burning sensation. He touched his head and his hand came away covered in blood. He froze for a moment, then began to tremble uncontrollably. “Wow, that was close. Almost achieved a glorious death.”

Wu De composed himself. The gate was completely shrouded in the smoke and dust from the explosion. Of the two watchtowers, one was completely gone, and the other had half-collapsed. The wooden gate was certainly blown to smithereens. He waved his hand, “Sound the charge!”