Chapter 369: Using Anti-aircraft Guns for a Sneak Attack!
Translator: Draqon Boat Translation Editor: Draqon Boat Translation
The gun being towed by Wang Ye right now is the Type 87 25mm twin anti-aircraft gun.
This gun can effectively deal with low and ultra-low altitude targets, as well as ground and waterborne targets, with an effective range of up to 3.2 kilometers.
This kind of range, coupled with the firepower support from the Type 86A on one side, is what gives Wang Ye the confidence to venture over to the platoon headquarters.
Company Commander, up to now, our platoon has suffered 318 casualties and killed 26 enemy soldiers.
Our dragnet sweep is still ongoing, and we are continuing to achieve more significant results.
However, based on frontline reports, I estimate that a considerable portion of their reconnaissance troops have already escaped from this jungle!”
At the platoon headquarters, the commander and his staff were unaware that there were two audacious reconnaissance soldiers driving their armored vehicle and towing the gun towards them.
Hearing the words of the chief of staff nearby, the commander gave a direct order, “Ignore them, continue clearing this jungle, and after cleaning this place up, we will proceed to the next phase of the operation!”
This confrontation exercise had no pre-established plans or scripts.
It began abruptly, and as for when it would end, even the commander and his team had no idea.
But that was not something they should be thinking about right now.
Exercises are like real combat.
Viewed from a real combat perspective, in a situation where enemy attacks have caused heavy casualties to our unit, it would undoubtedly require a severe counterstrike in retaliation.
First, we’ll conduct a dragnet sweep of the area where the enemy stayed last night, back and forth twice. Then, we’ll set up the platoon’s center as the hub and launch operations on all sides to apprehend these guys who are hiding here and there.
Be careful and don’t get killed.”
About three kilometers from the platoon headquarters training ground.
Two vehicles parked by the roadside near the foot of a hill that had been bypassed.
Wang Ye and Wen Xiaoman had both gotten out of the cars by now.
Looking at Wen Xiaoman in front of him, Wang Ye smiled and said, “If 1 haven’t come back in an hour and a half, that means I’m gone. Squad Leader, you can prepare to avenge me directly!”
“How should I avenge you?” Wen Xiaoman rolled her eyes. “Do you want me to drive the armored vehicle straight into the enemy camp?”
Haha, that works too!”
“I won t. If you haven’t come back in an hour and a half, I’ll go ahead and execute my own infiltration plan!”
Haha, fair enough!”
Wang Ye agreed directly, and without further ado, he turned around.
However, after turning around, Wang Ye turned back and said, “But Squad Leader, be careful yourself too. If I don’t come back, you’ll lose the armored vehicle and the gun!”
No worries, I definitely won’t!
Both of them had a terrain map, but that map was as simple as it could be.
The quality of the map was extremely rough.
You could distinguish the roads and even identify which areas had mountains.
The directions to the Iron Bones Hero Regiment’s base and the surrounding villages were marked as well.
However, all these details were represented by small circles with text inside them.
So, for Wang Ye, who only had one anti-aircraft gun and one armored vehicle and wanted to cause damage to the platoon headquarters without directly sacrificing himself, there was only one way to do it.
Find a suitable high ground, get the anti-aircraft gun up there, and use the gun s range to directly bombard the platoon headquarters’ location.
To do this, he needed to find high ground that was roughly the right distance away, where he could also see the platoon headquarters and could tow the anti-aircraft gun up.
You could actually identify high ground at roughly the right distance from the terrain map.
It was the high ground to the right of where Wang Ye and the others were right now.
According to the terrain map, the Iron Bones Hero Regiment’s training ground was approximately two kilometers away from this high ground.
Once they reached this distance, leveled the anti-aircraft gun, it could cover most of the Iron Bones Hero Regiment’s training ground.
The key now was to find a way up the mountain.
The map was too sketchy, and although the high ground seemed to be at the right distance, upon closer inspection, it didn’t seem suitable for ascending.
It was too steep, and there were too many trees.
The trees were sizable, which posed a problem. The Type 86A wasn’t a bulldozer, and the anti-aircraft gun towing vehicle needed a relatively gentle route.
So, Wang Ye got out of the car to search for a suitable path.
Of course, they couldn’t both leave.
Wen Xiaoman stayed behind; she would remain in the armored vehicle. If any enemies approached, she would directly operate the vehicle’s weapons systems to engage the enemy, protecting the armored vehicle and the anti-aircraft gun from being seized.
Both of them were taking risks, but in an exercise, it was impossible to avoid all risks.
The plan was put into action quickly, with Wang Ye occasionally taking sips from his water bottle as he munched on compressed biscuits while running.
Following the foot of the mountain on this side, after running about four or five kilometers, Wang Ye finally found a spot where he could ascend.
Because there was a clear path here.
Moreover, this path led straight up the mountain.
In fact, from where Wang Ye was standing now, he could even see houses belonging to local residents not far away.
This area had a civilian population.
In fact, where Wang Ye was right now, it was a vast expanse of sugarcane fields.
These sugarcane plants were cultivated all the way up rhe mountainside.
Wang Ye began to ascend the mountain along the road that cut through the sugarcane fields.
On his way, Wang Ye even spotted a local mother and daughter harvesting sugarcane.
Oh, how come a soldier has come to our area?”
Young man, are you here to buy sugarcane?”
The mother and daughter in the sugarcane field noticed Wang Ye, and the young girl looked surprised, while the mother directly called out to him.
The mother spoke with a thick regional accent in Mandarin, and even though Wang Ye had gotten used to Ye Sanshi’s western Guangdong accent before, he could barely make out what she was saying now.
The Iron Bones Hero Regiment had been stationed in this area for a few days.
In the past couple of days, some soldiers had come over to train and bought sugarcane from them. Of course, the locals wanted to give it as a gift, but the soldiers insisted on paying and kept talking about discipline.
So, when they saw Wang Ye, the mother didn’t mention giving it as a gift either.
Thank you, sister, but we’re in the middle of an exercise, so I won’t buy sugarcane!” Wang Ye replied with a smile and continued running.
He didn’t have time to linger here.
An exercise?’’ The mother watched Wang Ye s back and then turned to her daughter with a laugh, “t hese soldiers really have it tough, just look at that face paint, it’s like they’re performing in a big opera!”
After a moment’s pause, she looked at Wang Ye s back, then back at her daughter, who had stopped working, and said, “Alright, stop staring. Let s cut more sugarcane and push it to the entrance of their camp on a cart to sell…”
This wasn’t the first time they had done this.
In fact, at the entrance of the training camp, local residents often came to sell fruits and snacks.
The sellers of snacks were sometimes from the military convoy that had come along, but those selling fruits were mostly local residents.
Unlike the military convoy, which might charge you two extra yuan for a pack of cigarettes, the locals selling fruits would give you an extra half a kilogram for every kilogram you bought.
Of course, their activities had nothing to do with Wang Ye.
Now, as Wang Ye continued up the road towards the mountain, a smile appeared on his face.
It was perfect; this location completely met his requirements.
Where Wang Ye was standing right now was exactly what he needed.
From his estimation, it was about two kilometers away from the Iron Bones Hero Regiment’s training ground over there.
The field of vision in between was open and unobstructed.
The only downside was that most of this mountain was covered in sugarcane, and although there was a road, it wasn’t very wide.
If he were to drive the Type 86A infantry fighting vehicle and tow the anti-aircraft gun over, he might unavoidably run over some sugarcane.
Of course, this wasn’t a significant issue for Wang Ye.
He quickly retraced his steps.
Soon, Wang Ye saw the mother and daughter who were cutting sugarcane.
Hey, sister!
Wang Ye ran over with a cheerful smile.
Oh, young man, you’re back!” The mother immediately smiled.
Nearby, the younger girl also stopped her work.
Yeah, sister, I have something to discuss with you!” Wang Ye said with a smile.
“What’s the matter? Buying sugarcane? Don’t worry, it’s very cheap, and it’s sweet. You won t have to pay if it’s not sweet!” The mother chuckled and casually picked up a piece of sugarcane that had fallen at her feet.
With a swing of her knife, she cut off a large section of sugarcane.
I’ll peel a piece for you to try…
No, no… Auntie… I… Alright, Auntie, I ll buy sugarcane later, but right now, can I discuss something with you?”
What’s the matter?” At this point, the younger girl nearby also approached.
Her Mandarin was quite standard, with just a slight accent, hardly noticeable.
Upon hearing her question, Wang Ye looked at her and said, “Here’s the thing, we re conducting an exercise, and later, 1 want to drive an armored vehicle over to the mountain on this side. But the road here is a bit narrow, and we might accidentally run over some of your sugarcane. So, I wanted to give you a heads-up and let you know that we’ll compensate you for any damage after our exercise is over. Is that okay?”
Why do you want to drive the vehicle up the mountain? What are you going to do up there?” The mother had a puzzled look on her face.
Her daughter shared the same expression.
However, Wang Ye smiled and said, “It’s for our exercise, and driving up the mountain definitely serves a purpose. But, Auntie, don’t ask too much. I’ll be heading back to drive the vehicle now. You can wait near the sugarcane field over there, and just keep track of how much sugarcane is damaged, including how much falls down. After we finish the exercise, if I have enough money on me, I’ll give it to you. If not, 1’11 write you an IOU, and you can go collect the money from the others when the exercise is over.”
Alright! No problem! Crush as much as you want! ” The mother burst into laughter.
This time, her smile was genuine.
In fact, she even thought, “Why don’t you just walk into my sugarcane field? 1 trust the integrity of a soldier.”
In this situation, crushing the sugarcane freely would save them the trouble of cutting it, and they could still sell it while it’s fresh in the field. What could be better?
Great! Thank you, Auntie!”
In fact, at this moment, Wang Ye had other thoughts in his mind.
Looking at the mother and daughter, Wang Ye thanked them and continued, “Uh, Auntie, later you can follow me. Of course, when the vehicle comes over, please be careful and don’t follow too closely. Our driving skills aren’t that
It’s okay, it’s okay, crush as much as you want!”
Hearing Wang Ye say that their driving skills weren’t very good, the mother laughed even more.
After chatting for a few more moments, Wang Ye ran back.
When he arrived at the armored vehicle, it seemed that nothing unexpected had happened during this time, and there were no “casualties” in the vicinity.
How did it go? Did you find it?
From the gunner’s position, Wen Xiaoman stuck her head out.
Seeing Wang Ye return, she immediately looked at him and asked.
Yeah, the location is perfect, and we even had an unexpected gain!”
Oh?
Wen Xiaoman looked puzzled as she asked, “What unexpected gain?”