Section 5, The Failed Surprise Attack (3)

According to the captives' confession, there is an engineering platoon inside, consisting of approximately thirty to forty individuals. Long Qian thought to himself that the platoon leader was somewhat astute; upon realizing the situation was unfavorable, the entire platoon retreated into the most fortified courtyard of the stockade. This was clearly a more prudent decision than recklessly charging out to contest for the stockade.

Collect the weapons and prepare to retreat said Long Qian softly

Sun Deming's thoughts naturally could not escape Long Qian's notice; he could not compete for credit with the third leader. Moreover, that residence was not at all a pushover. Since Sun Deming had allowed him to leave, Long Qian readily jumped down from the house and instructed Jiang Yun and Gu Xiaolin to summon the two squad leaders, Lu Shan and Feng Guozhu. Upon seeing Wang Mingyuan leading the second squad into the courtyard, Long Qian nodded, organized the team, and after bringing along the injured and the captured weapons, he departed from the Zhang residence with the eighth squad.

"Do not speak nonsense!" Long Qian reprimanded, "Count the number of people. Er Hu, what movements are there from the official troops at Dongzhai Gate?"

This was the first real battle for his troops since their training began at the small station. Li Fu was deeply satisfied with the performance of his subordinates, but soon received reports that the southern front had been repelled while the northern front was launching a fierce assault and had already breached the walls. Li Fu regretted having deployed nearly two platoons of troops to the east; it seemed that the main attack direction of the bandits was in the north, not the east.

The imperial troops are quite clever. If they counterattack the stronghold, we might take the opportunity to gain something, but if they do not come out, I will have no way to proceed. Long Qian lowered his voice, "We must not launch a strong attack! Ming Yuan, your squad should deploy to the east, firing no more than two shots each, while the rest move north to prepare for a return along the same route. Once Sun San's forces suffer a setback in their attack, we should retreat.

"Not fighting anymore?" Wang Mingyuan asked in astonishment, as the second squad had hardly engaged in any combat tonight

"Yes." Long Qian replied and went down to the room

At this moment, Feng Guozhu's people also arrived

"How many of them are there?" Sun Deming asked, leaning beside Long Qian.

It is not easy to deal with the *picture* book. Long Qian observed Zhang's residence, "We lack heavy weaponry; this residence is difficult to assault"

Li Fu successfully led his team to occupy Zhangjiazai. Since the village was located at the foot of Meng Mountain, Li Fu did not dare to be negligent. He simultaneously examined the terrain to arrange defenses against potential attacks from bandits and investigated the villagers in the village. He found two elderly men to inquire about the situation regarding the bandits in Meng Mountain. The old men could not provide any valuable intelligence, only repeatedly mentioning that the people from the mountain often came down.

The flames and the sounds of battle from the village alerted Sun Deming in the south, indicating that either the Eighth or Third Brigade had already breached the village. Sun Deming organized his troops and launched another attack, which went much more smoothly this time. The firepower on the village walls had noticeably weakened, and one team charged in after another. In high spirits, Sun Deming soon spotted Long Qian on the roof of a house across the street from the main entrance of Zhang's residence.

Do not act recklessly. Team Three, first surround the courtyard and call out to them; do not launch a strong attack without my orders! Ning Shijun!" Long Qian called out to the squad leader Ning Shijun under Feng Guozhu, "Take your men to clear out the remaining enemies in the stockade, and be sure to collect weapons and ammunition; it would be best to capture some alive. Send two clever individuals to contact the southeastern routes and coordinate with them. Additionally, let Wang Mingyuan's team come in. Lushan, you lead your team to set up defenses to the east; the main force of the government troops is at the eastern stockade wall.

The key issue is that we still cannot ascertain the situation of Team Three and Team One

A line grew anxious, for he knew all too well that once engaged in close combat, the thieves' primitive weapons might prove more practical than their equipped German-made M1888 rifles

"Chicken | Ba Mao! Aren't there just a few dozen people? The stronghold has already been taken, so why fear this small courtyard?" Sun Deming lost men during the attack on Zhangjiazhuang, and he himself led the most elite team of the entire stronghold but was blocked outside. Instead, a newly formed battle team managed to break in. This situation must be rectified!

The officials of the army are well aware that the number of bandits far exceeds their own, and this stronghold cannot accommodate many troops; a few hundred people would fill it to capacity. This is also the reason why the military camp only dispatched one squad to garrison Zhangjiazhai.

In fact, Li Fu looked down upon the bandits on the mountain. With over 100 foreign rifles and ample ammunition at his disposal, he could kill as many bandits as came his way

A squad leader led his more than thirty soldiers down the eastern stockade wall and charged towards the village along the central street (this designation is somewhat exaggerated). The stockade was already ablaze, and chaotic figures were everywhere. The squad leader dared not fire indiscriminately for fear of injuring friendly troops. He caught a retreating soldier, who was from the third squad defending the northern wall. Upon questioning, he learned that the enemy forces had already penetrated the village, the third squad leader had been killed, and he had no information regarding the engineers.

Requesting reinforcements is shameful, but it is far better than losing the stronghold and allowing the bandit army to prevail If such a situation arises, his prospects in the new army would likely be over

"Xiaolongzi, you and your men deal with the government troops at Dongzhaimen, contact Zhou Yi, and launch a pincer attack to eliminate them. Make sure to wipe them all out. I will handle this courtyard." Sun Deming made his decision in a moment.

The members of Team Eight were very dissatisfied with Sun Deming's actions. They all understood that if Team Eight took over the house, most of the supplies inside would belong to them. Feng Guozhu said, "Why are we being asked to leave? Isn't this bullying?"

This is undoubtedly a correct decision; the engineer platoon leader clearly realizes that the bandits have already infiltrated the village. Occupying this courtyard and waiting for rescue is more advantageous than charging out.

"Lie down! Quickly get down!" shouted a squad leader. "Fire! Fire!" He himself first dropped to the ground, rapidly firing the five rounds from his gun into the darkness illuminated by the flames ahead. He could vaguely see someone being hit, but he couldn't tell if it was one of the brothers from the engineering platoon; the scene was simply too chaotic.

The government troops occupying Zhangjiazhuang were a reinforced detachment from Cao Kun's Third Battalion, consisting of approximately 200 men, commanded by Li Fu. Under the orders of Battalion Commander Ma Jianxun, Li Fu's infantry was assigned to occupy Zhangjiazhuang as a forward position for the attack on Mengshan. In addition to Li Fu's main unit, Ma Jianxun also assigned him a platoon of engineers.

However, what Long Qian did not anticipate was that the engineering platoon did not launch a reckless attack; instead, they occupied the largest courtyard in the village to mount a defense. This courtyard belonged to the former landlord Zhang Fu of Zhangjiazhai, who had long since moved to Yanzhou, leaving the courtyard empty. The engineers were accommodated in this large courtyard, and under the orders of the platoon leader, dozens of men immediately blocked the front and back doors, while ten rifles were divided into two groups and taken to the rooftops

A line quickly engaged with the bandits, and soldiers nearby had already fallen to gunfire; surprisingly, the bandits were also equipped with advanced breech-loading rifles

After surveying the terrain, Li Fu focused the defense on the eastern and southern parts of the village, only arranging two incomplete shelters (squads) in the north, while he retained control over a reserve force of a small platoon. Tomorrow, a battalion from the cavalry camp will arrive as reinforcements, at which point there will be no further danger

Li Fu at Dongzhai Gate found himself in a dilemma. He currently commanded a company of troops, and the sounds of gunfire and cries of battle from within the stockade indicated that it had already fallen. If he turned to confront the bandits who had breached the stockade, the bandits from the east would launch an attack. He felt torn between holding the eastern stockade wall for reinforcements or turning back to fight within the stockade. After a moment of contemplation, Li Fu made the correct decision: to hold his ground. He knew that his reinforcements would arrive after dawn, and as long as he could secure a position at Zhangjia Stockade, the bandits' assault that night would ultimately fail.

What transpired next largely confirmed Long Qian's judgment. Sun Deming commanded a team to attack twice, but both times they were repelled by the imperial troops. They suffered casualties of over ten men without even touching a hair of the enemy. The East Zhaimen remained firmly in the hands of the imperial forces, and with Zhou Yi's three teams still out of contact, it was estimated they were likely blocked outside. When Sun Deming learned that reinforcements from Maoyang Town had emerged, he had no choice but to order a retreat. The East Zhaimen remained firmly in the hands of the imperial forces, and with Zhou Yi's three teams still out of contact, it was estimated they were likely blocked outside. When Sun Deming learned that reinforcements from Maoyang Town had emerged, he had no choice but to order a retreat.

After Ning Shijun and others left, Long Qian instructed Team Three to send a sentry to the west, as the reinforcements from the government troops clearly came from that direction

The wounded lay moaning on the ground, yet no one dared to rush into the open space to rescue them. With the increasingly bright flames not far away, Long Qian wore a grim expression, rapidly assessing the situation in his mind. The courtyard occupied by the government troops was the meeting point for various teams, and in terms of the difficulty of the attack, it was much higher than that of the stockade walls. For the Eighth Team, which lacked demolition equipment, storming into the courtyard would result in significant casualties.

No, there isn't. A squad leader named Cheng Erhu under Wang Mingyuan has already entered

The task assigned to the engineering platoon temporarily attached to Li Fu's team was to reinforce the stockade. Upon entering Zhangjiazha, the engineers concentrated their efforts on repairing the eastern wall facing Meng Mountain, and also made some repairs to the severely damaged southern wall. They constructed several fixed fire points and worked tirelessly throughout the day, becoming utterly exhausted. As they were guest troops, Li Fu did not assign them any guard duties, and after dinner, the engineers found places to sleep. There were plenty of vacant houses in the stockade; although they were dilapidated and lacked doors and windows, they could still provide shelter from the wind and rain. After a brief consideration, Li Fu directed the engineers to the best courtyard in the stockade for them to rest.

"Well done," Sun Deming said, giving Long Qian's shoulder a firm pat to express his satisfaction. "Why are we stopping here?" The government troops on the wall of Zhang's residence were still firing, and from time to time, loud explosions could be heard, which were the hand grenades thrown by the government troops detonating. The soldiers of the eighth squad had all taken cover.

Li Fu graduated from the military school of Yuan Shikai's New Army and had received modern military education. He believed that the bandits must have already received news of the government troops' advance. Perhaps the bandits' scouts were hiding among the villagers. Therefore, Li Fu did not dare to be careless and repeatedly instructed his subordinates to be vigilant against spies. At the same time, he sent someone back to Maoyang Town to report to Lord Cao Kun, while also arranging defenses and waiting for the arrival of the follow-up troops

Upon receiving the report, Li Fu sternly ordered the squad leader of the first row to lead his squad along with the reserve team stationed in the stronghold—the reinforced engineering squad assigned to him—to counterattack the bandits from the northern route, ensuring that the bandits were driven out of the stronghold. As long as they could hold out until dawn, the large contingent from the cavalry camp would arrive to provide support. He then commanded his messenger to immediately return through the west gate to Maoyang Town to report to the battalion and request urgent reinforcements

This was an unsuccessful ambush. Aside from the elimination of the Eighth Squad, both the Third and First Squads suffered significant losses, with many casualties but no gains. The three infantry units retreated back to Mengshan along the same routes they had come.

A small team from Lushan was the first to rush to the entrance of the courtyard, but they were repelled by a volley of gunfire. This precise shooting resulted in at least two deaths and two injuries within the small team. Lushan, anxious and agitated, prepared to launch a strong attack, but was sternly stopped by Long Qian, who had caught up.

Indeed, the bandits launched a night raid, coming from three directions. Li Fu, commanding from the East Zhai Gate tower, was pleased to see his soldiers accurately and swiftly shooting down the thieves, who fell in disarray. The bandits cried out as they retreated like a receding tide

As soon as the battle commenced, the engineer platoon leader immediately assembled the troops. Their weapons were insufficient; the entire platoon had only ten rifles and over a hundred hand grenades manufactured by the Hanyang Arsenal. The enemy attacked from three sides, and Li Fu's infantry had already climbed the stockade walls. Just as the engineers had gathered, the eighth squad broke in, and Long Qian's troops launched a fierce assault, directly targeting the core.