Chapter 7: The Raid on Fuzhou II

Lantau Island is referred to as a mountain, but it is actually just a small hill of about 200 meters. Approximately a company of troops, led by Li Houji, is stationed on top.

The sound of rapid gunfire echoed... Indeed, there is a machine gun! Upon hearing the sound of the machine gun, Luo Yaoguo's face did not display a relaxed or carefree expression; his thick eyebrows gradually drew together.

Luo Yaoguo nodded in satisfaction and asked, "Do they know about the situation at the Hongshuiqiao Armory?"

Third brother, according to the captives' accounts, Li Houji's main force has already moved to Shuikou Town. Currently, there is only about one brigade of troops from the supervisory office's guard in Fuzhou City, among which three battalions are special pistol teams responsible for Li Houji's safety, while the remaining three battalions, approximately 1,000 men, have been dispatched to Tongkou to deal with us. Wang Bao had a fierce and intimidating demeanor, so the task of interrogating the captives was entrusted to him.

"Elder brother, go see if those prisoners can be of use. Those willing to stay should be dispersed and assigned to various companies, but do not give them guns just yet." Luo Yaoguo's tone was equally filled with excitement; this was the first time he had ever been in a battle! Well, there was one time before, which was the fight against the defector Guangdong Army's First Division, but that was another Luo Yaoguo participating.

Third brother, I have paid for a machine gun, fifty rifles, all of which are good guns, and four handguns, with what seems to be several thousand rounds of ammunition! Wang Bao now resembles a bookkeeper calculating one profit after another, laughing heartily while he counts.

"I am just afraid that Qiu Hongjun will not agree," said the taciturn Li Shunen, gently reminding with his head lowered

The journey of three to four hundred miles through the mountains took the several thousand troops five days to complete, and surprisingly, they encountered no resistance along the way. The army's march was as leisurely and carefree as a picnic. It was not until 6 PM on October 11 that the third regiment, to which Luo Yaoguo's supplementary battalion belonged, crossed the last natural barrier of the Fuzhou garrison, Tongling, and encountered approximately one regiment of Li Houji's troops at Tongkou Village at the foot of Tongling Mountain. It remains unclear whether Li Houji had already detected the movements of the Northern Expeditionary Army or if the reinforcements sent to the Shuikou direction happened to be stationed at Tongkou.

The battle on October 11 was merely a one-man show by Luo Yaoguo's reinforcement battalion, which, through two charges, eliminated a company in less than half an hour. This achievement was sufficient for the officers under Huang Dawei to regard him, an American returnee, with newfound respect. The assault on Lantau Island commenced at 6:30 PM on the 11th and concluded by 7:00 PM, with Hu Jiabi's second battalion taking over the defense of Lantau Island around 7:30 PM

With two particularly crisp gunshots, the opposing machine gun abruptly ceased fire, indicating that the snipers from the reinforcement battalion had begun to show their prowess. At this moment, the distance between both sides was approximately over 200 meters. At such a distance, the rifles in both parties' hands were not particularly accurate; only snipers with exceptional marksmanship, combined with carefully selected, relatively high-quality rifles and ammunition, could exert their full power

To encircle Fuzhou, one can bypass Cuiping Lake and then take a winding mountain road south for about 300 to 400 li. In this direction, Xu Chongzhi dispatched two armies. One was commanded by Sun Benrong, leading a brigade to launch a flanking attack on the rear of Baisha Town, targeting Tang Guomo's route. The other force, currently led by Luo Yaoguo, consists of approximately two brigades commanded by Huang Dawei and Li Fulin, with the objective of directly raiding Fuzhou and capturing Li Houji's stronghold.

Undoubtedly, Luo Yaoguo's supplementary battalion is an absolute rabble, but the opposing company is not much better off. It is a contest between two groups of rabble. Due to some clever tactics and a numerical advantage of three to one, the supplementary battalion's assault on Lantau Island went relatively smoothly. Aside from the initial loss of two men to the enemy's machine gun, and five or six others accidentally injured by grenades thrown too close during the charge, three more were killed by rifle bullets, though Luo Yaoguo could not discern which side was responsible for those deaths. Ultimately, there were no casualties during the final bayonet charge, as the supplementary battalion quickly forced the enemy to surrender upon breaching their positions. In this battle, the supplementary battalion suffered 5 fatalities and 6 injuries, of which 5 were minor wounds. The enemy lost nine men, sustained thirteen injuries, and had 65 captured, including the enemy company commander and three platoon leaders, all of whom were shot dead by the supplementary battalion's snipers while attempting to personally control the machine gun. This was also a key reason for their rapid collapse.

Wang Bao replied with pride: "It has been revealed that there is only one company of guards in the armory, and there are some mountain paths that can be traversed from Tongling to the armory." At this point, Wang Bao deliberately lowered his voice: "Tomorrow we can find a task to patrol the mountains, and secretly take the small path over the mountains to seize the armory."

"How much do you need?" Luo Yaoguo, upon hearing that it was about money, responded readily, without inquiring what the little chubby boy intended to use it for

After this battle, the supply battalion acquired one hundred and fifty long rifles, thirty short rifles, and a water-cooled machine gun, significantly enhancing its strength. According to Luo Yaoguo, the current payment standards for various warlord factions in China are not calculated based on the number of personnel but rather on the number of firearms; the more guns there are, the more pay is distributed. This is why Wang Bao was so pleased just now

Kill! A cacophony of slaughter erupted as more than two hundred men from the supplementary battalion surged forward, launching a chaotic group charge. Fortunately, the three snipers performed their duties exceptionally well, keeping the enemy's machine gun under control; anyone attempting to approach it would lose their life in the shortest possible time

After finishing dinner, Luo Yaoguo gathered several brothers to discuss the arrangements for tomorrow.

Our task tomorrow is very important. Seizing the armory is just the first step. After taking the armory, we will find ways to acquire more weapons, and then transport them across the Hongshan Bridge to find a place to hide on the other side of the river. I estimate that Li Houji will definitely flee and cannot hold Fuzhou. His only escape route is from the South Gate to Zhongzhou Island, and then by water to leave Fujian. We will wait for him at the South Gate. By the way, brother, please make one more effort and ask the captives if anyone knows Li Houji. We cannot let this God of Wealth escape.

Good! From the telescope, Luo Yaoguo saw a bearded enemy officer being hit, and he couldn't help but shout: "Now! Brothers, charge with me! The first one to reach the top of the hill will be rewarded with 300 dollars!"

Brothers! Charge with me! Kill! Leading the charge in person was Wang Bao, the ally of Luo Yaoguo. His thunderous roar indeed inspired the morale of the new recruits. Approximately 40 riflemen from one company followed Wang Bao into their first assault. Behind them were three snipers, including Chen Tian. According to the tactics of the reinforcement battalion, the probing charge of the riflemen was merely to lure the enemy's machine guns into firing, allowing the snipers to eliminate them.

Gutian is the gateway to Fuzhou. Advancing southeast from Gutian leads to the main road to Fuzhou, with Shuikou Town situated in the middle of this road. This time, the two armies of Xu Chongzhi and Wang Yongquan will conduct a joint operation to attack Shuikou, while the main force defending Shuikou Town is the Tang Guomo Brigade led by Li Houji.

"Third Brother, just you wait, I will be back shortly." As he took the gold bar, the little chubby man's eyes squinted into a narrow slit, and he immediately set off to make arrangements. In fact, this little chubby man truly had connections; somehow, he had become related to Wu Han, the chief advisor of Qiu Hongjun. One was from Wujin, Jiangsu, and the other from Hong Kong, Guangdong, seemingly unrelated, yet now they were relatives. Since they were relatives, and with the golden opportunity that everyone loved, Wu Ziliang soon brought back the order signed by Qiu Hongjun, assigning them to search the hilly area southeast of Tongkou tomorrow. They were one from Wujin, Jiangsu, and the other from Hong Kong, Guangdong, seemingly unrelated, yet now they were relatives. Since they were relatives, and with the golden opportunity that everyone loved, Wu Ziliang soon brought back the order signed by Qiu Hongjun, assigning them to search the hilly area southeast of Tongkou tomorrow.

"Fifth Brother, do you have any ideas?" Luo Yaoguo noticed the mischievous grin on the chubby Wu Ziliang's face and knew he must have a plan.

"Five hundred yuan." Wu Ziliang shook his chubby hand.

Through the telescope, Luo Yaoguo saw that as soon as the gunfire erupted, Wang Bao rolled over and disappeared into the grass on the hillside, leaving no trace. It was unclear whether he had been injured. Most of the forty new recruits were lying on the ground, firing their weapons haphazardly, clearly wasting ammunition. On the opposing side, they were also senselessly wasting bullets, and the two armies were engaged in a rather lively exchange of fire.

Wu Ziliang's small eyes blinked as he chuckled lightly, saying: "Hehe, I have a method, but it requires some funding. I wonder if Third Brother has brought any with him"

Understood, please inform Director Wu to tell Commander Qiu that he can rest assured, the supplementary battalion will ensure the completion of the task. Luo Yaoguo saluted Wu Han from a distance, and then ordered the troops of the logistics department to advance towards a small hillside north of Tongkou Village.

The command orders the troops to assemble and depart at 2:00 AM tomorrow. It is approximately 10 kilometers of mountainous terrain from our location to Hongshan Bridge. I estimate that our forces will launch an attack at dawn tomorrow, and the enemy will surely be defeated within four to five hours at most. We need to cover the 10 kilometers of mountainous road in 7 hours and seize the armory. Brother, find a few willing prisoners to guide us, offering each of them 20 dollars, and ensure they perform well; after the task is accomplished, provide them with an additional 50.

"Shunzi, go get six small yellow fish for Master Wu." The small yellow fish refers to gold bars weighing one tael, currently priced at less than one hundred dollars, totaling around five hundred seventy to eighty dollars for six. Luo Yaoguo knew that the chubby boy loved to take advantage of small bargains, so he intentionally loosened his grip a bit.

Commander Qiu ordered the reinforcement battalion to swiftly seize the high ground of Lantau Island. Chief of Staff Wu Han's heavy Jiangnan accent echoed from afar. Luo Yaoguo turned around to see that it was indeed Wu Han riding a galloping horse. Since the reinforcement battalion was temporarily assigned and the staff members were unfamiliar with Commander Qiu Hongjun's headquarters, Wu Han had no choice but to make the trip in person

Third brother! Third brother! It's out! It's out! The one shouting excitedly is the clever Deputy Commander Wang Bao, who just moments ago cleverly hid in the grass and emerged unscathed. It seems that surviving more than a decade of life-and-death battles is not without reason; this guy is definitely not as bold as he appears.

After capturing Lantau Island, Luo Yaoguo did not order his troops to take advantage of the momentum to attack Tongkou Village, but instead had them build some fortifications and garrison on Lantau Island. Now, Luo Yaoguo is a minor warlord, and his way of thinking reflects the mindset of a warlord. Having already exerted effort today, the battle to attack Tongkou Village should, according to custom, be undertaken by the other two battalions; he, Luo Yaoguo, must conserve his strength.