Chapter 18
The ones who attacked Shenghua Mountain were the Third Battalion of the First Regiment of the Independent Brigade, led by Battalion Commander He Ting.
Brigade Commander Tian Yi told He Ting: According to the reconnaissance team's report, the top of Shenghua Mountain looks like a saddle. The bandits' camp is set up on that saddle bridge, and the peaks at the north and south ends are the front and back saddle ridges.
So now, he divided the entire battalion into three groups, each with one company: one company each on the north and south hills, and one company at the foot of a mountain.
This division was obvious: the northern and southern hilltops served as bridgeheads for attacking the bandit camp; the troops deployed at the foot of the hill were to prevent the bandits from escaping.
The key issue now is how to quickly move troops to the north and south hilltops. He Ting called the first and second company commanders and said to them:
"You see, the bandits are occupying this saddle bridge. You have to occupy these two saddle ridges now. After you reach the location, try to find an attack route. It is best to attack from both the north and south ends at the same time. Do you understand?"
"Understood!" the two company commanders answered in unison.
"Okay, let's move!" He Ting ordered.
The two company commanders led their respective companies to start climbing the mountain.
This mountain is really difficult to climb. There are dark stone walls everywhere, as if they were cut by knives and axes.
The captain of the first company, Cui Minyong, finally found a narrow path that might have been trampled by wild goats. The mountain was so steep that the villagers would not drive their cattle, horses, and sheep up the mountain.
Cui Minyong led the soldiers to climb for half a day and finally reached the southern hilltop.
They looked down from their high place and saw that the bandit stronghold was like a small beetle lying in a valley. It was at least three or four miles from the top of the mountain to the stronghold.
Cui Minyong said to the three platoon leaders: "Work as a platoon to find a path to approach the bandit camp. Please note that the bandits are unlikely to be unprepared for the two hills to the north and south, so be sure to destroy the bandits' firepower points at any time."
The three platoon leaders accepted the task and immediately led their platoons down the mountain. As the saying goes, "It's easy to go up the mountain, but difficult to go down the mountain." The soldiers' knees ached as they walked down the mountain. Some of them were in poor physical condition and almost had to kneel down to move down the mountain.
Platoon leader Huo Jianhua was the first to approach the bandit camp. As the company commander Cui Minyong said, the bandits had set up sentries on both the north and south hilltops. Their sentries were very special. They used thick fir wood to build a watchtower more than three meters high. The sentries stood on it.
Huo Jianhua said: "For now, we can only see this watchtower. It is estimated that there may be a bunker or something like that. Everyone should approach carefully and not be discovered by the bandits too early."
Just when they wanted to move forward again, Company Commander Cui Minyong arrived.
Cui Minyong told Huo Jianhua: "The second and third platoons have also arrived at the designated location. In this way, we can narrow down the target and send one person to conduct reconnaissance. I always feel that the bandits are not so stupid. He must have a defense that he thinks is foolproof."
Huo Jianhua understood: "Company Commander, if we expose the target in advance, it will definitely increase the difficulty of approaching the bandit camp. I'll go and see what's going on." Then he was about to leave.
Cui Minyong grabbed him and said, "How can you abandon the troops and go for reconnaissance? No, send someone else."
Ma Xiaobao, the squad leader, requested: "Platoon leader, let me go!"
Huo Jianhua said: "Xiaobao, stay hidden and pay attention to the guy on the tower."
"I understand!" Ma Xiaobao jumped and disappeared behind a huge rock.
Ma Xiaobao is a soldier who is only 18 years old, but he has two years of military service. He joined the army at the age of 16, first as a guard for his superiors, and then transferred to a combat unit.
During the attack on the Yangtze River defense line, he blew up two enemy bunkers by himself, was awarded a third-class merit, and was promoted to squad leader.
However, Ma Xiaobao took advantage of the rocks to quickly reach the bandit camp, and was greatly surprised by what he saw.
It turns out that from the top of the mountain, the bandits' houses seemed to be built next to the mountain wall. In fact, it was not. The bandits' houses were built in the middle of the valley, similar to a courtyard house. They were far away from the mountain wall.
In addition, from the north and south hills to the bottom of the valley, there were cliffs two or three meters high. The bandits built a circle of bunkers around the courtyard. Anyone who approached or fell on the valley would become a target.
No wonder the bandits were so content to stay in the stronghold. It seems that they had added a safety lock.
Ma Xiaobao returned quickly and reported the reconnaissance results to the company commander and platoon leader.
Cui Minyong thought this was Xiong Hanzhong's weak spot. Xiong Hanzhong thought that this design was foolproof. Little did he know that anything man-made could be cracked.
Huo Jianhua asked: "Captain, have you thought of a solution?"
Cui Minyong said: "I figured it out. It's like this. The bandits thought we couldn't get down from his several-meter cliff, and if we did, we would be blocked by the firepower he set up outside the house. So he would be paralyzed. We just took advantage of his weakness."
“But we still can’t solve the problem of approaching the bandits!” Huo Jianhua said.
"We can only wait until dark," said Cui Minyong.
"What about the north hill? What if they attack in advance?" Huo Jianhua asked again.
"The second company commander is not that stupid! He will definitely wait until dark." Cui Minyong replied.
Huo Jianhua said: “I hope so!”
Xiong Hanzhong, the bandit leader of Shenghua Mountain, was a black-faced man. He was originally a salt dealer, selling sea salt from Xiamen, Fujian to Hunan and Sichuan. He made two trips a year and his livelihood was solved.
However, salt is a national economic and people's livelihood product, which is a state-controlled material and private individuals are not allowed to touch it. Therefore, Xiong Hanzhong's private salt trafficking is a black way and not upright.
In addition, the smuggling route is full of risks, and there are countless bandits on the entire Fujian-Jiangxi Ancient Road.
Xiong Hanzhong quit after failing a few times.
By chance, a group of illegal salt dealers were stopped by some idlers in the village. They insisted that they pay protection money, threatening to kill them if they refused.
Xiong Hanzhong himself had suffered such losses and been frightened before, so he felt very sorry for them. But they could not stand the blackmail, deception and threats, and actually knelt down and begged for mercy: Just let them live and take their things.
Having tasted the sweetness of success, Xiong Hanzhong couldn't stop himself, and the idle people in his village became his initial team.
Xiong Hanzhong not only robbed people on the road, but also robbed people's houses. He sent people to scout everywhere, and he would do anything he thought was worth robbing, regardless of whether the person was rich or poor.
The sixth day of the sixth lunar month is the traditional day for drying boxes. If it is a sunny day, every household (if they have a little bit of money) will take out the boxes and turn them over to dry in the sun. Of course, the original purpose was to kill termites, but later it evolved into a way to compete for wealth.
Xiong Hanzhong sent his men to pretend to be sellers of ding ding candies, antique collectors, and summer cloth mosquito net sellers to investigate. He never failed in this kind of business. The rich people were so scared that they no longer dared to show off their wealth. On June 6th, they would show off some very ordinary things.
This time, when he heard that the revolutionaries were going to suppress them, he didn't care. Because in terms of the strength of these bandits, he was the strongest. Not only did he have the most people, more than 200 people, but he also had the most guns.
More importantly, he occupied a piece of Feng Shui treasure land - Ma'an'ao on Shenghua Mountain.
Ma'an'ao has been a bandit den since ancient times. It is said that it reached its peak during the Song Dynasty. Before Xiong Hanzhong became a bandit, there was a group of bandits entrenched here.
The ones who attacked Shenghua Mountain were the Third Battalion of the First Regiment of the Independent Brigade, led by Battalion Commander He Ting.
The ones who attacked Shenghua Mountain were the Third Battalion of the First Regiment of the Independent Brigade, led by Battalion Commander He Ting.
Chapter 18
The ones who attacked Shenghua Mountain were the Third Battalion of the First Regiment of the Independent Brigade, led by Battalion Commander He Ting.
Brigade Commander Tian Yi told He Ting: According to the reconnaissance team's report, the top of Shenghua Mountain looks like a saddle. The bandits' camp is set up on that saddle bridge, and the peaks at the north and south ends are the front and back saddle ridges.
So now, he divided the entire battalion into three groups, each with one company: one company each on the north and south hills, and one company at the foot of a mountain.
This division was obvious: the northern and southern hilltops served as bridgeheads for attacking the bandit camp; the troops deployed at the foot of the hill were to prevent the bandits from escaping.
The key issue now is how to quickly move troops to the north and south hilltops. He Ting called the first and second company commanders and said to them:
"You see, the bandits are occupying this saddle bridge. You have to occupy these two saddle ridges now. After you reach the location, try to find an attack route. It is best to attack from both the north and south ends at the same time. Do you understand?"
"Understood!" the two company commanders answered in unison.
"Okay, let's move!" He Ting ordered.
The two company commanders led their respective companies to start climbing the mountain.
This mountain is really difficult to climb. There are dark stone walls everywhere, as if they were cut by knives and axes.
The captain of the first company, Cui Minyong, finally found a narrow path that might have been trampled by wild goats. The mountain was so steep that the villagers would not drive their cattle, horses, and sheep up the mountain.
Cui Minyong led the soldiers to climb for half a day and finally reached the southern hilltop.
They looked down from their high place and saw that the bandit stronghold was like a small beetle lying in a valley. It was at least three or four miles from the top of the mountain to the stronghold.
Cui Minyong said to the three platoon leaders: "Work as a platoon to find a path to approach the bandit camp. Please note that the bandits are unlikely to be unprepared for the two hills to the north and south, so be sure to destroy the bandits' firepower points at any time."
The three platoon leaders accepted the task and immediately led their platoons down the mountain. As the saying goes, "It's easy to go up the mountain, but difficult to go down the mountain." The soldiers' knees ached as they walked down the mountain. Some of them were in poor physical condition and almost had to kneel down to move down the mountain.
Platoon leader Huo Jianhua was the first to approach the bandit camp. As the company commander Cui Minyong said, the bandits had set up sentries on both the north and south hilltops. Their sentries were very special. They used thick fir wood to build a watchtower more than three meters high. The sentries stood on it.
Huo Jianhua said: "For now, we can only see this watchtower. It is estimated that there may be a bunker or something like that. Everyone should approach carefully and not be discovered by the bandits too early."
Just when they wanted to move forward again, Company Commander Cui Minyong arrived.
Cui Minyong told Huo Jianhua: "The second and third platoons have also arrived at the designated location. In this way, we can narrow down the target and send one person to conduct reconnaissance. I always feel that the bandits are not so stupid. He must have a defense that he thinks is foolproof."
Huo Jianhua understood: "Company Commander, if we expose the target in advance, it will definitely increase the difficulty of approaching the bandit camp. I'll go and see what's going on." Then he was about to leave.
Cui Minyong grabbed him and said, "How can you abandon the troops and go for reconnaissance? No, send someone else."
Ma Xiaobao, the squad leader, requested: "Platoon leader, let me go!"
Huo Jianhua said: "Xiaobao, stay hidden and pay attention to the guy on the tower."
"I understand!" Ma Xiaobao jumped and disappeared behind a huge rock.
Ma Xiaobao is a soldier who is only 18 years old, but he has two years of military service. He joined the army at the age of 16, first as a guard for his superiors, and then transferred to a combat unit.
During the attack on the Yangtze River defense line, he blew up two enemy bunkers by himself, was awarded a third-class merit, and was promoted to squad leader.
However, Ma Xiaobao took advantage of the rocks to quickly reach the bandit camp, and was greatly surprised by what he saw.
It turns out that from the top of the mountain, the bandits' houses seemed to be built next to the mountain wall. In fact, it was not. The bandits' houses were built in the middle of the valley, similar to a courtyard house. They were far away from the mountain wall.
In addition, from the north and south hills to the bottom of the valley, there were cliffs two or three meters high. The bandits built a circle of bunkers around the courtyard. Anyone who approached or fell on the valley would become a target.
No wonder the bandits were so content to stay in the stronghold. It seems that they had added a safety lock.
Ma Xiaobao returned quickly and reported the reconnaissance results to the company commander and platoon leader.
Cui Minyong thought this was Xiong Hanzhong's weak spot. Xiong Hanzhong thought that this design was foolproof. Little did he know that anything man-made could be cracked.
Huo Jianhua asked: "Captain, have you thought of a solution?"
Cui Minyong said: "I figured it out. It's like this. The bandits thought we couldn't get down from his several-meter cliff, and if we did, we would be blocked by the firepower he set up outside the house. So he would be paralyzed. We just took advantage of his weakness."
“But we still can’t solve the problem of approaching the bandits!” Huo Jianhua said.
"We can only wait until dark," said Cui Minyong.
"What about the north hill? What if they attack in advance?" Huo Jianhua asked again.
"The second company commander is not that stupid! He will definitely wait until dark." Cui Minyong replied.
Huo Jianhua said: “I hope so!”
Xiong Hanzhong, the bandit leader of Shenghua Mountain, was a black-faced man. He was originally a salt dealer, selling sea salt from Xiamen, Fujian to Hunan and Sichuan. He made two trips a year and his livelihood was solved.
However, salt is a national economic and people's livelihood product, which is a state-controlled material and private individuals are not allowed to touch it. Therefore, Xiong Hanzhong's private salt trafficking is a black way and not upright.
In addition, the smuggling route is full of risks, and there are countless bandits on the entire Fujian-Jiangxi Ancient Road.
Xiong Hanzhong quit after failing a few times.
By chance, a group of illegal salt dealers were stopped by some idlers in the village. They insisted that they pay protection money, threatening to kill them if they refused.
Xiong Hanzhong himself had suffered such losses and been frightened before, so he felt very sorry for them. But they could not stand the blackmail, deception and threats, and actually knelt down and begged for mercy: Just let them live and take their things.
Having tasted the sweetness of success, Xiong Hanzhong couldn't stop himself, and the idle people in his village became his initial team.
Xiong Hanzhong not only robbed people on the road, but also robbed people's houses. He sent people to scout everywhere, and he would do anything he thought was worth robbing, regardless of whether the person was rich or poor.
The sixth day of the sixth lunar month is the traditional day for drying boxes. If it is a sunny day, every household (if they have a little bit of money) will take out the boxes and turn them over to dry in the sun. Of course, the original purpose was to kill termites, but later it evolved into a way to compete for wealth.
Xiong Hanzhong sent his men to pretend to be sellers of ding ding candies, antique collectors, and summer cloth mosquito net sellers to investigate. He never failed in this kind of business. The rich people were so scared that they no longer dared to show off their wealth. On June 6th, they would show off some very ordinary things.
This time, when he heard that the revolutionaries were going to suppress them, he didn't care. Because in terms of the strength of these bandits, he was the strongest. Not only did he have the most people, more than 200 people, but he also had the most guns.
More importantly, he occupied a piece of Feng Shui treasure land - Ma'an'ao on Shenghua Mountain.
Ma'an'ao has been a bandit den since ancient times. It is said that it reached its peak during the Song Dynasty. Before Xiong Hanzhong became a bandit, there was a group of bandits entrenched here.
The ones who attacked Shenghua Mountain were the Third Battalion of the First Regiment of the Independent Brigade, led by Battalion Commander He Ting.
Brigade Commander Tian Yi told He Ting: According to the reconnaissance team's report, the top of Shenghua Mountain looks like a saddle. The bandits' camp is set up on that saddle bridge, and the peaks at the north and south ends are the front and back saddle ridges.
So now, he divided the entire battalion into three groups, each with one company: one company each on the north and south hills, and one company at the foot of a mountain.
This division was obvious: the northern and southern hilltops served as bridgeheads for attacking the bandit camp; the troops deployed at the foot of the hill were to prevent the bandits from escaping.
The key issue now is how to quickly move troops to the north and south hilltops. He Ting called the first and second company commanders and said to them:
"You see, the bandits are occupying this saddle bridge. You have to occupy these two saddle ridges now. After you reach the location, try to find an attack route. It is best to attack from both the north and south ends at the same time. Do you understand?"
"Understood!" the two company commanders answered in unison.
"Okay, let's move!" He Ting ordered.
The two company commanders led their respective companies to start climbing the mountain.
This mountain is really difficult to climb. There are dark stone walls everywhere, as if they were cut by knives and axes.
The captain of the first company, Cui Minyong, finally found a narrow path that might have been trampled by wild goats. The mountain was so steep that the villagers would not drive their cattle, horses, and sheep up the mountain.
Cui Minyong led the soldiers to climb for half a day and finally reached the southern hilltop.
They looked down from their high place and saw that the bandit stronghold was like a small beetle lying in a valley. It was at least three or four miles from the top of the mountain to the stronghold.
Cui Minyong said to the three platoon leaders: "Work as a platoon to find a path to approach the bandit camp. Please note that the bandits are unlikely to be unprepared for the two hills to the north and south, so be sure to destroy the bandits' firepower points at any time."
The three platoon leaders accepted the task and immediately led their platoons down the mountain. As the saying goes, "It's easy to go up the mountain, but difficult to go down the mountain." The soldiers' knees ached as they walked down the mountain. Some of them were in poor physical condition and almost had to kneel down to move down the mountain.
Platoon leader Huo Jianhua was the first to approach the bandit camp. As the company commander Cui Minyong said, the bandits had set up sentries on both the north and south hilltops. Their sentries were very special. They used thick fir wood to build a watchtower more than three meters high. The sentries stood on it.
Huo Jianhua said: "For now, we can only see this watchtower. It is estimated that there may be a bunker or something like that. Everyone should approach carefully and not be discovered by the bandits too early."
Just when they wanted to move forward again, Company Commander Cui Minyong arrived.
Cui Minyong told Huo Jianhua: "The second and third platoons have also arrived at the designated location. In this way, we can narrow down the target and send one person to conduct reconnaissance. I always feel that the bandits are not so stupid. He must have a defense that he thinks is foolproof."
Huo Jianhua understood: "Company Commander, if we expose the target in advance, it will definitely increase the difficulty of approaching the bandit camp. I'll go and see what's going on." Then he was about to leave.
Cui Minyong grabbed him and said, "How can you abandon the troops and go for reconnaissance? No, send someone else."
Ma Xiaobao, the squad leader, requested: "Platoon leader, let me go!"
Huo Jianhua said: "Xiaobao, stay hidden and pay attention to the guy on the tower."
"I understand!" Ma Xiaobao jumped and disappeared behind a huge rock.
Ma Xiaobao is a soldier who is only 18 years old, but he has two years of military service. He joined the army at the age of 16, first as a guard for his superiors, and then transferred to a combat unit.
During the attack on the Yangtze River defense line, he blew up two enemy bunkers by himself, was awarded a third-class merit, and was promoted to squad leader.
However, Ma Xiaobao took advantage of the rocks to quickly reach the bandit camp, and was greatly surprised by what he saw.
It turns out that from the top of the mountain, the bandits' houses seemed to be built next to the mountain wall. In fact, it was not. The bandits' houses were built in the middle of the valley, similar to a courtyard house. They were far away from the mountain wall.
In addition, from the north and south hills to the bottom of the valley, there were cliffs two or three meters high. The bandits built a circle of bunkers around the courtyard. Anyone who approached or fell on the valley would become a target.
No wonder the bandits were so content to stay in the stronghold. It seems that they had added a safety lock.
Ma Xiaobao returned quickly and reported the reconnaissance results to the company commander and platoon leader.
Cui Minyong thought this was Xiong Hanzhong's weak spot. Xiong Hanzhong thought that this design was foolproof. Little did he know that anything man-made could be cracked.
Huo Jianhua asked: "Captain, have you thought of a solution?"
Cui Minyong said: "I figured it out. It's like this. The bandits thought we couldn't get down from his several-meter cliff, and if we did, we would be blocked by the firepower he set up outside the house. So he would be paralyzed. We just took advantage of his weakness."
“But we still can’t solve the problem of approaching the bandits!” Huo Jianhua said.
"We can only wait until dark," said Cui Minyong.
"What about the north hill? What if they attack in advance?" Huo Jianhua asked again.
"The second company commander is not that stupid! He will definitely wait until dark." Cui Minyong replied.
Huo Jianhua said: “I hope so!”
Xiong Hanzhong, the bandit leader of Shenghua Mountain, was a black-faced man. He was originally a salt dealer, selling sea salt from Xiamen, Fujian to Hunan and Sichuan. He made two trips a year and his livelihood was solved.
However, salt is a national economic and people's livelihood product, which is a state-controlled material and private individuals are not allowed to touch it. Therefore, Xiong Hanzhong's private salt trafficking is a black way and not upright.
In addition, the smuggling route is full of risks, and there are countless bandits on the entire Fujian-Jiangxi Ancient Road.
Xiong Hanzhong quit after failing a few times.
By chance, a group of illegal salt dealers were stopped by some idlers in the village. They insisted that they pay protection money, threatening to kill them if they refused.
Xiong Hanzhong himself had suffered such losses and been frightened before, so he felt very sorry for them. But they could not stand the blackmail, deception and threats, and actually knelt down and begged for mercy: Just let them live and take their things.
Having tasted the sweetness of success, Xiong Hanzhong couldn't stop himself, and the idle people in his village became his initial team.
Xiong Hanzhong not only robbed people on the road, but also robbed people's houses. He sent people to scout everywhere, and he would do anything he thought was worth robbing, regardless of whether the person was rich or poor.
The sixth day of the sixth lunar month is the traditional day for drying boxes. If it is a sunny day, every household (if they have a little bit of money) will take out the boxes and turn them over to dry in the sun. Of course, the original purpose was to kill termites, but later it evolved into a way to compete for wealth.
Xiong Hanzhong sent his men to pretend to be sellers of ding ding candies, antique collectors, and summer cloth mosquito net sellers to investigate. He never failed in this kind of business. The rich people were so scared that they no longer dared to show off their wealth. On June 6th, they would show off some very ordinary things.
This time, when he heard that the revolutionaries were going to suppress them, he didn't care. Because in terms of the strength of these bandits, he was the strongest. Not only did he have the most people, more than 200 people, but he also had the most guns.
More importantly, he occupied a piece of Feng Shui treasure land - Ma'an'ao on Shenghua Mountain.
Ma'an'ao has been a bandit den since ancient times. It is said that it reached its peak during the Song Dynasty. Before Xiong Hanzhong became a bandit, there was a group of bandits entrenched here.