Mu Husan and the comrades of the reconnaissance platoon walked through all the positions assigned to them. Upon returning to the camp, he immediately commanded the troops to start preparing the positions.

"Battalion Commander Mu, why set the main position here? There is no high ground here, and the woods are quite far away. Wouldn't it be better if we set the main position over to the west? We would have the high ground, and the woods would be convenient for stationing troops." The battalion staff officer was quite disapproving of Mu Husan's choice of position.

"The terrain of our position is a gentle slope, which is indeed not very convenient. However, the enemy certainly won't be foolish enough to charge the high ground head-on. We have buried landmines and set up defense lines over by the woods. Unless the Beiyang forces are willing to sacrifice enough men, they won't be able to break through there. Even if they attack with heavy troops, we will have time to temporarily adjust our deployment," Mu Husan replied.

"Then why do we need to hold this line?" The staff officer was still puzzled.

"There is a small river behind us. If the Beiyang Army wants to drink water, they have to pass through here," Mu Husan answered.

"Drink water?" The staff officer was stunned for a moment. It was the height of summer. Mu Husan didn't need to explain too much; the fierce sunlight helped the staff officer figure out many things.

Chen Ke had taught a lot of knowledge, such as the fact that the most annoying thing about building railways is digging tunnels, followed by crossing rivers and building bridges. The Beijing-Hankou Railway naturally couldn't be an exception; the railway line was kept as far away from river channels as possible. The area selected for the People's Party's pre-set positions was a region without direct sources of drinking water. If the Beiyang Army wanted to get water, they needed to cross four or five *li* of open ground to reach the riverbank. Mu Husan had set the 1st Battalion's main position right on the path to the water. To the left was high ground, to the right was a sparse patch of woods. In between these two defensible positions was a deep defense line composed of two trenches.

"But the Beiyang Army..." The staff officer still felt this consideration was really somewhat unexpected.

"The Beiyang Army has combat effectiveness; don't underestimate them. If we want to annihilate them, we must first weaken their combat effectiveness to the maximum extent," Mu Husan replied.

The staff officer looked at the vicious sun, then at the empty direction of the railway, and finally stopped raising objections.

The Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army strove to learn from the PLA, that powerful infantry force. However, Chen Ke still tried hard to use technology to improve the troops' combat effectiveness. So, camouflage uniforms and steel helmets were present. At the same time, the PLA's traditional yellow-green military satchels, Liberation shoes, army green water canteens, and wooden-handled entrenching shovels—this mix of US military and PLA styles gave the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army soldiers a peculiar look.

The soldiers didn't care what they looked like; what they cared about was whether these pieces of equipment would affect their actions. Upon hearing that they were to start digging trenches, the comrades took off the thick-soled straw sandals they wore during the march and put on the Liberation shoes tied to their military satchels. It was hot, and Liberation shoes were still too stuffy for marching. The troops didn't use a forced march this time, so most soldiers wore thick socks and straw sandals. regarding straw sandal production, Chen Ke adhered to the People's Party's industrialization mindset; even straw sandals were industrially produced. Although called straw sandals, they were actually rattan shoes selected after hundreds of experiments. In the relatively dry climate of Henan, if not for a forced march, wearing these shoes that combined breathability and lightness in the summer was very suitable.

The comrades of the cooking squad began to boil water and cook rice, specifically boiling a lot of water. Every soldier's military canteen was filled to the brim. After arranging the work, Mu Husan mounted his horse again, preparing to set off with the comrades of the reconnaissance platoon to continue inspecting the positions. Fighting on such flat terrain was indeed a brand-new topic for the People's Party. Mu Husan was actually a bit worried. If he were Duan Zhigui, he would rather adopt a marching on foot approach than continue to implement railway maneuvers. Marching along the railway seemed convenient, but in reality, the danger was greatly increased. Because he had this worry in his heart, Mu Husan felt that if he didn't go look at the terrain again, he wouldn't feel at ease.

But Mu Husan didn't urge his horse forward. Since what he was worried about wasn't the position but the enemy's intelligence, Mu Husan decided there was no need to look for trouble. What choice Duan Zhigui would make was not something the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army could determine. Even if Duan Zhigui made a wise decision right now, Mu Husan couldn't grow wings to catch up with the Beiyang Army. Waving to the reconnaissance platoon, Mu Husan shouted, "We're not going. Comrades, hurry up and get ready, conserve your strength and store up energy."

Waiting was agonizing, but Mu Husan didn't force anything. He inspected the positions and arranged work. After finishing these tasks, he also personally participated in the work, digging trenches and preparing communication lines. Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was afternoon. "There's sound!" A comrade who had been listening to the movement on the rails with a stethoscope shouted.

"Enter positions!" After Mu Husan shouted, a look of relief first appeared on his face, followed by a sharp expression like a long saber being unsheathed.

Duan Zhigui was not a fool; he didn't order the Beiyang Army to force their way through on the train. After waiting for more than an hour, a large group of Beiyang Army troops wearing cyan military uniforms appeared in the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army's line of sight. Because of the distance, only a few indistinct columns of men could be seen. After a while longer, the main force of the Beiyang Army began to advance along the railway.

"Battalion Commander, they're just coming over like this?" The staff officer asked Mu Husan in surprise. In the military concepts of the People's Party, such a large-scale cluster action, especially implementing such an action in front of the enemy, was simply insane. An important standard for a modern army is the width of the position the troops unfold. By the late stage of the War of Liberation, the deployment width of a PLA platoon was 200-300 meters. And the deployment width of a fully unfolded division could reach 20-30 kilometers. A larger deployment width could effectively improve the troops' combat efficiency.

The combat capability of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army was far from reaching that level. Even so, a platoon's position reached 100 meters, and the troop disposition was highly echeloned. The 1st Battalion of the 1st Regiment, where Mu Husan was, was responsible for defending a line 1,000 meters long. But looking through the telescope, a Beiyang force of nearly three thousand men had a deployment width of less than 1,000 meters.

Seeing Mu Husan remain silent, the staff officer couldn't help but ask again, "Are they preparing to charge head-on?"

"Wait until they start charging, guessing blindly is useless." After speaking to the staff officer, Mu Husan said to the deputy battalion commander, "I'm going to take a look at the positions now. You are responsible for the battalion headquarters' work." After speaking, Mu Husan took his guard and ran towards the positions along the communication trench.

On the positions, the soldiers were all huddled in the trenches under the orders of the squad and platoon leaders. When someone spoke in a low voice, the squad or platoon leader would immediately stop them. Even seeing the battalion commander personally arrive at the front-line trenches, everyone just simply saluted and didn't say anything. Most soldiers were about to engage in the first real battle of their lives, and adding the heat, their faces were all flushed red. Some comrades scratched their ears and cheeks, while others pursed their lips tightly. Excitement and nervousness could be seen from their expressions.

Mu Husan was not surprised by the soldiers' nervousness. He still clearly remembered that when he went to the battlefield for the first time, he was even more nervous than the soldiers due to insufficient training. It was only around the tenth time he participated in combat that Mu Husan could ensure he pulled the string before throwing a hand grenade. According to the People's Party's own incomplete statistics, one-third of new recruits participating in combat for the first time forgot to pull the string when throwing hand grenades. The hand grenade's function turned into a brick, and sometimes it wasn't even as good as a brick.

While the soldiers before him were certainly nervous, there were relatively few looks of fear. The pre-battle mobilization had clearly played a role.

Regarding the Beiyang 2nd Division's actions in Henan, it was explained extremely clearly during the pre-battle mobilization. Including the looted commoners and the commoners beaten to disability, these people were invited to serve as mobilization cases. The soldiers indeed had great indignation and disgust towards the Beiyang Army that plagued the commoners.

After inspecting the positions and waiting for nearly another hour, the Beiyang scouts finally appeared. To prevent accidental discharge, the soldiers all huddled in the trenches; this was also experience summarized by the People's Party. So the Beiyang Army's scout cavalry didn't encounter fire until they were more than two hundred meters in front of the position. Just as they stopped there considering whether to continue advancing or retreat, a crisp gunshot rang out. A scout swayed and fell off his horse.

Mu Husan saw all this through the telescope. He sighed slightly. Actually, they could have waited a bit longer. Opening fire now was a bit premature. However, Mu Husan had no intention of blaming the marksman. One shot, one kill—it was obviously the style of a sniper. Because the Beiyang Army was relatively far from Mu Husan, he naturally didn't have enough pressure. Moreover, details in war can never be predicted, and complaining about such things is meaningless.

The Beiyang scouts fled back the way they came. After another good while, the sound of cannons rang out from the Beiyang Army's positions. Although the shelling accuracy was extremely poor, the Beiyang Army's posture was already clear: they didn't prepare to retreat, nor did they plan to detour. The Beiyang 2nd Division commanded by Duan Zhigui was preparing to use military force to break through the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army's defense line. The war in Henan officially started at this moment.

After the shelling came the infantry charge. When the large group of men in cyan military uniforms charged towards the People's Party's defense line, the troops immediately straightened up from the trenches. As imagined, the Beiyang Army hadn't entered effective range, and shooting sounds had already come from the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army's positions.

The 1st Battalion commanded by Mu Husan was no exception. He could even hear the squad and platoon leaders nearby ordering soldiers to save bullets and not to shoot. Under the swift adjustments of the squad and platoon leaders, the shooting sound quickly stopped.

This round of shooting temporarily caused the Beiyang Army's attack to stagnate slightly, then the Beiyang Army continued to advance in a dense formation.

The 1st Battalion's staff officer was a young man. He watched this dense charge formation dumbfounded, unable to even speak. Once they entered effective shooting distance, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army naturally began shooting. Many people in the front rows of the Beiyang Army fell. But the Beiyang Army not only didn't pause, but instead accelerated their charge while returning fire.

The command authority of the absolute front line was in the hands of the company commanders. As the battalion commander, Mu Husan was responsible for commanding the entire battle line. Watching the brave advance of the Beiyang main force, Mu Husan felt much more at ease.

Sure enough, the People's Party's mortars began to fire. After the muffled sounds of launching, the firelight of exploding shells began to rise centered on the Beiyang Army's attacking ranks. Shrapnel flew horizontally, and the Beiyang troops near the impact points fell in patches. Even so, the cyan stream of people of the Beiyang Army continued to attack.

"It seems that the Beiyang Army being called 'Courage First' really makes sense," Mu Husan finally said to the staff officer beside him.

This issue really exceeded the staff officer's imagination. He took a lot of effort to understand Mu Husan's meaning. "'Courage First' shouldn't mean sending oneself to death, right?"

Just as the staff officer finished speaking, after the Beiyang Army entered the 50-meter shooting range, the light machine guns on the People's Party's positions began to ring out crisply. If the rifle fire density was insufficient, and the shell density was even more insufficient, the rate of fire of the light machine guns effectively made up for this problem. Every platoon of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army had two light machine guns. Tongues of fire lashed at the cyan queues. Amidst flying blood splatters, Beiyang Army soldiers were knocked to the ground row by row.

The Beiyang Army, which had once shown amazing fighting will, collapsed in an instant. While the remaining Beiyang troops began to retreat, the shouts of squad and platoon leaders rang out across the entire front line: "Fix bayonets! Fix bayonets!" A moment later, the sound of the charge bugle rang out on the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army's positions. Holding rifles with bayonets fixed, the soldiers leapt out of the trenches and chased after the backs of the Beiyang Army.

Attacking from behind has always been the time for the greatest results. The backs of the enemies getting closer and closer were excellent targets. Whether bullets or bayonets, both could fully exert their power. From start to finish, the charge took no more than ten minutes. At least one thousand five hundred Beiyang troops were thoroughly annihilated in front of the 1st Regiment, 1st Battalion's position.

The 1st Battalion's staff officer was already speechless. Before the battle, everyone had made ample estimates of the difficulty of this battle. Too many new recruits, unskilled coordination, poor artillery level. In fact, these problems all existed during the battle. The only thing everyone hadn't expected was that Beiyang dared to use 1,500 men carrying only rifles to forcefully charge the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army's position in field warfare.

The movement of his throat proved that the staff officer swallowed a big mouthful of saliva. "Battalion Commander, is Duan Zhigui a fool?" the staff officer asked.