In the evening, in the quarters.
Under the oil lamp, Zhu Shiqing traced with a pencil, calculating back and forth across the operational sketch. Simulating the course of the battle was not difficult; the truly vexing decision lay in the allocation of forces across each unit.
The forte of the Northwest Army was not assaulting fortified positions, but hand-to-hand combat. From the defensive setup at Fengtai Station, it was plain to see that this army lacked modern military doctrine, operating more often than not on sheer experience.
In contrast, Western strategic and tactical training placed heavy emphasis on quantification: the quantification of firepower, personnel, combat losses, troop quality, time and space, and more, all converging into a deduction of the campaign's outcome.
In modern warfare, datafication and granular analysis of both sides' strengths were undoubtedly crucial, yet Zhu Shiqing suddenly recalled the Northwest Army's Great Victory at Xifengkou.
Zhu Shiqing shook his head. When applied to the Chinese army, this business of quantification might be useful before the guns opened up, but once the fighting started, what damn good did it do? Could morale be quantified? Could fighting spirit be quantified? Could the determination to defend home and country be quantified?
Whenever he thought of this, Zhu Shiqing could only feel that Western military education was far from comprehensive, often neglecting the human factor in tactical execution.
*Knock, knock—*
A light tap sounded at the door. Zhu Shiqing didn't even need to guess; it had to be that rascal Fang Wenjian. "If you're coming in, just get in here. What are you putting on airs for?"
Fang Wenjian grinned as he stepped inside. Glancing at the small square sheets of paper on Zhu Shiqing's desk, he asked, "Well? How's the planning coming along? Be honest, do you think my idea will work?"
"It'll work."
"Really?" Fang Wenjian asked earnestly.
"Really." Zhu Shiqing stretched, gave a chuckle, and smoothed out the sketch for him to see. "It's all on the map."
Fang Wenjian leaned in close. By the dim yellow light of the lamp, the tactical movement arrows for Jinnan Highway, Zhangwan, Lijiatun, and Tongxian were clearly visible. At this moment, only a single thought occupied Fang Wenjian's mind—it was in the bag!
During their simulated war games back in the Staff Corps, whenever Zhu Shiqing could draft a military operational map in advance, their squad had never lost a single exercise.
"Wait, you didn't mark any units..."
His excitement fading, Fang Wenjian's face fell. "It's all arrows. Those company and platoon commanders have never received formal training—can they even understand this? You haven't even marked unit designations."
Zhu Shiqing propped his head in his hand, his eyes tilted forty-five degrees upward as he muttered, "Wasn't I waiting for you to discuss it? How many troops do you think we need to hit Zhangwan?"
"Given Regiment Commander Sun's strength, one battalion is enough."
"And how many companies for the intercepting force?"
"One company," Fang Wenjian said with certainty. "The other three companies must be used to breach Lijiatun, or in terms of firepower, it'll be tough to break through the village entrance."
Fang Wenjian wasn't spouting nonsense. It was a reasonably sound troop deployment based on the regiment's current situation. Fengtai Station remained a crucial fulcrum that forced Sun's regiment to split its forces; excluding the two companies stationed there, only seven directly subordinate companies were actually available for deployment.
The puppet troops at Zhangwan numbered one battalion. Even factoring in their notoriously poor combat capability, our firepower had to be guaranteed in order to create a greater threat and effectively draw out the puppet troops in Lijiatun.
Thus, in Fang Wenjian's view, committing a battalion against Zhangwan was the ideal choice. Ultimately, it came down to Sun's regiment being stretched thin. If they had eight battalions to a regiment like Brother Yunlong, they wouldn't even need micromanagement to blast Lijiatun off the map...
Zhu Shiqing nodded thoughtfully, then smiled. "And the demolition squad?"
"That sort of job has always suited me best," Fang Wenjian said, thumping his chest.
"How many men do you need?"
"One squad."
"Is that enough?"
"More than enough."
And with that, the troop deployment plan for the Lijiatun campaign was finalized.
The final plan was as follows:
Battalion Commander Xia Qidong of the 2nd Battalion would lead his troops to launch an assault on the puppet forces at Zhangwan promptly at 2:00 PM.
Battalion Commander Xiang Chengyu of the 1st Battalion, who had been to Lijiatun and knew the terrain, would lead his battalion in a frontal assault on Lijiatun's outer perimeter, punching an opening through the center to escort Fang Wenjian's demolition squad into the village.
Finally, the 3rd Company of the 3rd Battalion would be temporarily commanded by Zhu Shiqing to intercept any puppet reinforcements rushing back.
At dawn the next day, Sun Yi examined the clear, straightforward operational plan at regimental headquarters, his heart swelling with delight. Having an extra staff officer in the regiment really made a world of difference.
"Good, very good! You can tell you're properly trained, miles ahead of us old veterans." Sun Yi took the battle plan and prepared to convene a pre-battle briefing, but after staring at it for a moment, he suddenly paused, shaking his head repeatedly. "No, no. Zhu Shiqing, you're sticking with me to hit Lijiatun. Leave the intercepting to them."
"Well..." Zhu Shiqing had simply wanted to experience the joy of leading troops in the field, but seeing the resolute look on Sun Yi's face, he had no choice but to drop it. "Then I'll follow you, Commander."
Only then did Sun Yi nod in satisfaction. He promptly convened a brief operational briefing. Knowing that the distance was great and that speed was of the essence in war, the officers and men set out just as the dim morning sun began to rise. Aside from Battalion Commander Tan Hai of the 3rd Battalion, who remained behind to guard Zhaojiazhuang, all other personnel departed.
To avoid detection, the soldiers of Sun's regiment split into two columns and advanced through the wild woods flanking Jinnan Highway, each carrying half a day's rations.
It was worth noting a transformation in the 29th Army since the Great Wall War of Resistance: they had evolved from the "Broadsword Army" into the "Two-Blade Army"—carrying a red-tasselled broadsword across their backs, while their bayonets were sheathed at their waists in scabbards crafted from pigskin.
Rather like an ironic joke, on the other side of China, in the Sichuan Army ranks where Song Mingyang served, there was also a nickname—the "Two-Gun Soldiers," referring to one tobacco pipe and one rifle—yet in the end, they too would become a backbone of the War of Resistance.
Battalion Commander Xia Qidong of the 2nd Battalion was the first to lead his troops to the outer perimeter of Zhangwan at midday. According to the plan, they were to fire the first shot at 2:00 PM, so Xia Qidong ordered the entire battalion to rest and regroup in the woods five li north of Zhangwan.
The 3rd Company moved south along Jinnan Highway, bypassing Zhangwan on their way to the ambush site. Unfortunately, the trees lining both sides of the highway were neither tall nor dense, consisting only of low shrubs. To avoid exposing their position, the 3rd Company chose not to dig entrenchments, opting instead for every man to lie prone along the roadside.
At 1:00 PM, the 1st Battalion, personally led by Sun Yi, arrived southwest of Lijiatun. The eleven-man squad led by Fang Wenjian was already poised and ready for action.
"Damn it, I've staked the whole regiment's capital on this fight! If we don't pull it off cleanly, how the hell am I going to face the brigade commander and the division commander when I get back?"
Facing the imminent battle, Sun Yi was both tense and exhilarated. Ever since taking up station at Zhaojiazhuang, he had felt like a tiger whose legs had been cut off, doing nothing all day but glaring at a bunch of diaper-wearing Japs. It had been like letting a bladderful of piss choke a living man to death!
Zhu Shiqing quietly crept over to Fang Wenjian's squad. True to form, the guy was a natural mixer, chatting away with several team members as though they were old friends.
"Staff Officer Zhu."
Seeing Zhu Shiqing approach, the soldiers quickly whispered a greeting. Zhu Shiqing promptly made a pressing-down gesture with his hand.
"This one's Zhuzi, that's Shuanzi, and this fellow here is Erdan," Fang Wenjian introduced them one by one, leaving Zhu Shiqing no choice but to greet each in turn. Most soldiers in the local troops came from peasant backgrounds, joining the army simply to scrape together a living in this chaotic age; many did not even have formal names, only childhood monikers.
"These men were all hand-picked by the commander," Fang Wenjian said. "To be honest, I doubt you could even beat them in a fight..."
"Screw off," Zhu Shiqing cursed. "If you get stuck in there, don't expect me to save your skin."
Chapter 36