Chapter 10: Retreat to the Travel Department

The tall courtyard walls on both sides were also equipped with equally dense defensive works, with the fortifications on three sides interconnected by communication trenches. Over a hundred machine guns scavenged from the northern camp were dispersed and positioned across the three defensive structures. If the enemy attempted to scale the walls, they would be met with a torrential downpour of bullets.

Luo Xiao, Duan Ying, and Cheng Tianlei walked out of the health station, standing in the courtyard of the travel department, looking around and observing the soldiers as they set up defensive works

The travel department is a large courtyard measuring over one hundred meters in both length and width, surrounded by buildings on all sides. The front features a tall operations room of the travel department, which is a concrete structure capable of withstanding Japanese grenade launchers and mortar shells without issue. The surrounding buildings are also quite sturdy

"Go away, you little yellow-haired girl, your waist is not even as thick as my arm, and you want to fight the Japanese? I see you are just causing trouble. Hurry back home and stop messing around here!" All day long, Lei looked down on those women in his heart, thinking that when they encountered difficulties, they could do nothing but cry and whine, so he stepped forward again and grabbed Jiang Yulan's arm

"What are you doing? This is a fight, do you understand?" He stepped forward, grabbed Jiang Yulan's wrist, and pulled her outside, muttering, "Fighting is a man's business, what are you a woman doing getting involved?"

Jiang Yulan released Cheng Tianlei's arm, patted her body twice, placed her hands on her hips, and looked down at him, "I said, big guy, are women really as useless as you say?"

If paired with several snipers from the Tiger Tooth Special Forces under Luo Xiao, it would be a nightmare for the enemy's heavy firepower and commanders

Luo Xiao and Duan Ying just commanded the last part of the Northeast Army to withdraw from the camp gate into the brigade headquarters courtyard, and upon hearing from the soldiers that Cheng Tianlei was at the Ministry of Health, they hurried over

After experiencing the initial panic, the spirited Jiang Yulan came to her senses. She shook off Cheng Tianlei's hand and glared at him fiercely, "What's wrong with women? I haven't stolen or robbed anything. My family has been killed by the Japanese. Is it not acceptable for me to fight the Japanese alongside you?"

Jiang Yulan's柳眉 stood upright, and with a swift extension of her arm, she firmly grasped Cheng Tianlei's arm that was reaching out. Then, with a twist of her body, she exerted force from her shoulders and waist, executing a shoulder throw on Cheng Tianlei. Having followed her father in blacksmithing since childhood, she possessed great natural strength, and having also learned some martial arts, she was not easily matched by ordinary strong young men.

Jiang Yulan was also startled by this voice. She put down the gauze in her hand, then stood up, looking somewhat at a loss as she gazed at Cheng Tianlei, unsure of what to say, "I... I am..."

"I understand, Brother Luo!" Jiang Yulan wiped her tears, nodded, and then turned around to continue caring for the injured

- Call -

A carp leaped up from the ground, shaking off the dust from its clothes as if struck by thunder, and surprisingly laughed. It looked at Jiang Yulan and then said, "I didn't expect that you, little girl, have some skills. Good, since that's the case, stay here and help out in the sanitation team"

After some thought, Luo Xiao felt that sending her out was not safe. In this chaotic time, it was even more dangerous for a young woman to be alone outside. It would be better for her to stay in Beidaying. After all, the fighting here would not last too long. "Alright, you stay for now and act with the sanitation team. We will discuss it again after the battle is over"

Inside the courtyard of the Ministry of Transport, Jiang Yulan was busy with a group of medics from the 7th Brigade, carrying the injured soldiers of the Northeast Army into the makeshift treatment room set up in the operations center, then carefully removing their bloodstained outer garments and gently cleaning their wounds

On the roof of the operations hall of the Ministry, there was originally a concrete parapet over a foot thick, intended for use as a shelter. Now, it has all come into play, with more than a dozen light and heavy machine guns mounted on it, and piles of bullets resembling small mountains. From here, one can overlook the entire courtyard, and even a portion of the area outside the courtyard is fully visible, making it an excellent vantage point for firepower.

Cheng Tianlei never expected that this seemingly unremarkable girl had such skills, and as a result, he was thrown to the ground by Jiang Yulan with a shoulder throw, landing with a grunt.

Let go

After carefully inspecting the layout of the defensive works, Duan turned to Luo Xiao with satisfaction and said, "Well, the soldiers have done an excellent job. The defensive works in various locations have basically no vulnerabilities. If the enemy wants to capture the brigade headquarters, they will likely have to resort to artillery to level the brigade headquarters to the ground!"

Cheng Tianlei stepped in through the door and immediately spotted Jiang Yulan, who was dressed in a blue cloth garment. He was momentarily taken aback and then shouted, "Who allowed this woman to enter?"

"Cut it out, who cares about following you? I'm still following Captain Luo Xiao!" Jiang Yulan huffed in defiance, seemingly unimpressed by the tall company commander she had just defeated. Then she noticed Luo Xiao and Duan Ying walking in through the door and exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Luo!"

The thunderous roar caused all the medics inside, who were busy treating the injured, to stop their work, raising their heads to look at the man who had just burst in through the door! Even some of the wounded momentarily forgot their pain and ceased their moans due to his shout

Everyone in the room was stunned, each person stretching their necks like statues, completely unresponsive! They could never have imagined that their company commander would be thrown to the ground by a woman, and it was done with such decisiveness and efficiency!

Under the arrangements of Luo Xiao, Duan Ying, and Cheng Tianlei, nearly 800 people transformed the courtyard into a fortress resembling an iron barrel, making it a veritable death zone. If the Japanese army were to recklessly intrude without knowledge of the situation, they would be met with instant death.

Upon hearing Jiang Yulan's call, Luo Xiao immediately saw the young woman dressed in blue cloth, and it reminded him of their encounter in the village.

At the entrance of the barracks courtyard, the soldiers blocked half of the doorway with bags filled with soil, leaving an opening of approximately two meters wide. They then set up several zigzag defensive works behind it, connecting them with trenches and foxholes. If the enemy were to rush through the opening, they would immediately be exposed to the multi-layered firepower network of the fortifications, making a breakthrough nearly impossible

Hehehe!

Some of the wounded had wounds that had long since adhered to the dried blood-stained clothing, making it very difficult to remove them without causing pain to the injured. Jiang Yulan was extremely meticulous, working diligently and sweating profusely, without even taking a moment to wipe her brow

I did not expect her to follow to Peking University Camp; along the way, we were so preoccupied with fierce battles against the enemy that I did not even notice she was also in the ranks

Jiang Yulan, you have come as well. This is a battlefield, and there will be a major battle soon. If you wish, I can send someone to escort you away from the back wall. You should find a place to hide for a while and return home after the fighting is over. Luo Xiao saw Jiang Yulan and felt that it was not appropriate for a girl like her to be in such a life-threatening battlefield, so he advised her to leave

Unfortunately, they arrived a bit late; otherwise, they would have been able to witness a splendid performance

Jiang Yulan shook her head, tears welling in her eyes, "My parents are both dead, I have no relatives, I will just follow you to fight the Japanese, I won't go anywhere else"

Uh!