Volume 1: The First Battle Chapter 4 Two Water Caves
Liangshui Cave is not a cave, just like abalone is not a fish and Tang Bohu is not a tiger.
Shit... When did I learn to babble like Gu Long?
I scratched my head, wondering if my brain had acquired some boring literary cells during the process of traveling through time.
The first ray of sunlight pierced through the thick clouds like a sharp sword. The stars and the moon lost all their colors in an instant. The sky became brighter and brighter. The light ruthlessly drove away the darkness. In just a moment, all things in the world appeared clearly in front of me.
I was lying in ambush in the trench and only then could I see clearly where I was - Hill 216.
216 represents the altitude of the plateau. As the not-so-steep ditches and bumps extend forward, a road that winds northward like a long snake appears at the foot of the plateau. Next to the road, the Jiulong River flows slowly along the north-south direction, making a pleasant gurgling sound.
Opposite was another highland, 239.8 Highland. The entire terrain was two highlands sandwiching a river and a road at the foot of the mountain. The volunteers of the two regiments were ambushed near the 216 Highland and 239.8 Highland on both sides of the road.
I looked at the 239.8 high ground opposite with envy and amazement. How good is the 239.8 high ground? There is the Jiulong River between it and the highway, which is not conducive to a charge. Therefore, the soldiers ambushing on the high ground opposite only need to hide in the bunker and shoot from behind .
Unlike us, the high ground is directly connected to the highway, and the company commander ordered us to rush down as soon as the bugle sounded... You say, we are all troops born from the same mother, why are our fates so different?
"Comrades, this is the first battle our volunteer army will fight abroad. We must fight beautifully and impressively to open up the situation and break the enemy's arrogance..."
Thinking of the pre-war mobilization the instructor had just given us, I couldn't help but tighten the Type 38 rifle in my hand. The coolness from the wooden support went straight into my heart along my hands, making me shiver uncontrollably.
When I first reached the top of the hill, the company commander threw this Type 38 rifle to me like a firewood stick, with a bullet bag beside it, and then said, "I can't find your name, so you're mine from now on."
Damn, you need a matchmaker to marry a wife, right? You need a sedan chair with eight bearers, right? You need a betrothal gift and a banquet, right? A grown man like me becomes his wife just by saying this?
It’s hard to describe what it felt like to own a gun for the first time. I felt more at ease and secure, but also a little nervous, and a little... murderous. Yes, murderous.
I put my eyes close to the crosshairs, curiously looking here and there... Since the enemy hadn't appeared yet, I treated the trees, rocks, and dirt piles in the valley as imaginary enemies, making soft "pa pa..." sounds with my mouth, imagining that they would fall one after another under the muzzle of my gun before they could react...
It's so exciting! So awesome!
But...how should I use this thing? This is...
"What's the matter?" Seeing me holding the gun and looking left and right for a long time without finding the door, a burly and bearded soldier beside me looked at me with disdain: "You have never fired a gun, and there are still greenhorns like you in the 40th Army..."
He grabbed the gun and pulled the chamber open with a few clicks: "I haven't loaded the bullets yet. Put five bullets here, and then do this and that... It's done, let's try it..."
"Oh, thank you, brother."
"Call me comrade." Before I could react, I was slapped hard on the head by this guy, and he was still mumbling, "Where did you come from, you country bumpkin? You are bringing shame to our 40th Army."
"I...what's wrong with me?" He was hit for no reason and was called a bumpkin. He couldn't help feeling angry.
"You don't look like a rookie, but how come you can't even shoot a gun?" The bearded man glared at me fiercely, turned his head and ignored me.
"Huzi..." The old squad leader heard the noise over here and shouted through a few people: "That comrade was injured, take care of him...ah!"
"Humph!" Hu Zi curled his lips and said to me bluntly: "Comrade, bullets don't have eyes on the battlefield, don't count on others!"
"That's right, that's right..." I smiled maliciously, "If others can be relied upon on the battlefield, even tigers will climb trees."
"That's good to know... Hey, isn't it a sow?"
"the same!"
"no the same."
"about there!"
"Much worse..."
“Very similar!”
"Why do they look alike..." The bearded man looked at me in surprise, "Comrade, you are confused! How can a tiger look like a sow?"
With a chuckle, a nearby soldier who had heard the meaning started laughing: "Huzi, he is saying that you, a tiger, look like a sow! It seems that you have studied for a few years, so you don't even use dirty words when you curse."
Suddenly, there was a burst of laughter on the battlefield. The trench, which was originally filled with a tense atmosphere, suddenly became much more relaxed. However, it was a pity for the tiger. Its face turned red and white because of the laughter, and it glared at me fiercely with its pair of tiger eyes.
"Brother...Oh! Comrade, don't be angry, it was just a joke!" I bowed to the bearded man and apologized.
"Hmph..." The bearded man didn't seem to be willing to just let it go. He said without interruption, "Boy, I'm a rough man. I can't beat you in talking. If you have the guts, come and compete with me in real kung fu! What do you think? Do you dare to compete?"
"Let's compete. Who's afraid of who? How do you compete?" My personality is that I never admit defeat.
"Let's see who can kill more reactionaries. Whoever loses will have his feet washed. Do you have guts?"
"It's a deal!" I am the type of person who likes to stick to my guns.
"Bring your seeds, don't blame me if you lose."
"You're the one who's being lazy!" My personality is that I hate it most when people say I'm being lazy.
"Comrade!" A soldier beside him laughed and said, "You don't understand this, Brother Huzi is a famous tiger in our company. If you want to compete with him in killing reactionaries, you'd better prepare your feet!"
"That's not necessarily true!" I curled my lips and said disdainfully, "No one can predict what will happen on the battlefield. Brother Huzi, you must keep these feet, or you won't have them for me to wash!"
My personality is that I never give in to others with my words.
"Hehe..." There was another burst of low laughter in the trench, which made the bearded man so angry that his eyes turned green.
"Silence, silence... prepare for battle!"
A soldier wearing a straw hat and covered with branches jumped into the trench. This soldier was responsible for keeping watch from a high place. His appearance meant that the enemy had been discovered. All the soldiers put away their smiles, leaned their heads on their weapons, and focused on aiming at the road at the foot of the mountain through the crosshairs, waiting for the moment when the enemy fell into the encirclement.
A faint engine sound came, like a drum beating in my heart. I thought of the bet I had just made, and I couldn't help but secretly groan. I just wanted to lose face in front of so many people, but now I have to compete with that "tiger" to see who can kill more enemies. It would be good enough if I don't let the enemy kill me.
There is no other way. I have to choose the lesser of two evils. It is more important to save my life. It is said that although the volunteers fought bravely, it was common for them not to wash their feet for one or two months. Some even slept without taking off their shoes. When I thought about washing a pair of feet like this, my stomach was churning!
“Woo…”
The engine noise suddenly became louder, and five cars loaded with infantrymen turned the corner and appeared on the road. These must be the reconnaissance company, checking for an ambush ahead for the main force.
However, this reconnaissance company in front of them had no intention of conducting any reconnaissance. They neither got off the vehicles to search nor conducted any fire reconnaissance. The soldiers in the vehicles all had guns on their backs, their helmets worn at an angle, and they were laughing and joking in the vehicles, without any sense of vigilance at all.
These must be the South Korean army. Although I couldn't hear what language they were speaking due to the noise of the cars, they looked similar to Chinese people. So they could be the South Korean army.
The predecessor of the South Korean Army was the puppet army under Japanese rule. Just as Japan formed a puppet army controlled by them in China when it invaded China, the Japanese also formed a puppet army composed of Koreans who were greedy for life and afraid of death, who exploited the people and were willing to be lackeys when they invaded Korea. When Japan was defeated and surrendered, this puppet army also surrendered, and then it was handed over to Syngman Rhee and became the current South Korean Army.
As you can imagine, such an army has little cohesion and combat effectiveness, and is not popular among the people. On the other hand, the main force of the North Korean People's Army comes the people, from the guerrillas who are unwilling to be enslaved by Japan and have been fighting against the Japanese for a long time.
In fact, several divisions were composed of Koreans who had fought in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation in the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Even Kim Il-sung himself had served as a company commander in the People's Liberation Army.
So when the war between North and South Korea broke out, the South Korean army "attacked in another direction" without any suspense. But just when the People's Army was about to successfully liberate the entire territory of North Korea, MacArthur led the US military to land in Inchon and cut off the supply line of the People's Army. As a result, the situation of the war turned around, and it was the North Korean People's Army that retreated across the board...
At this time, I saw with my own eyes the legendary mess of the South Korean army. Seeing their lazy appearance, I couldn't help but feel relieved. Although these people were in neat uniforms and well-equipped, even an outsider like me could see that they were no match for the Volunteer Army.
These people may not be able to go back, I thought to myself, the first battle of the Volunteer Army after going abroad is to establish prestige, to fight beautifully and perfectly. These rubbish don't know that there are nearly five times as many battle-hardened Volunteer Army soldiers around them, waiting for them to get into their pockets...
Further back were howitzers towed by medium-sized trucks, with long barrels pointing diagonally toward the sky, one after another, a total of 12. Behind them were more than 20 vehicles carrying infantry and artillery shells.
There was a light machine gun mounted on the cab of each car, and the machine gunners were also not on guard at all. Some were sitting, some were leaning, and some were even lying comfortably on the sun visor of the car looking at the white clouds in the sky.
"Da da da..." At this moment, a burst of gunfire suddenly rang out, making the leaves beside me rustle.
I was startled and thought the fighting had started, so I stretched out my finger and was about to pull the trigger.
"Wait..." The bearded man pressed my hand and shouted in a low voice with an angry face, "You are not allowed to shoot without orders. What? Did the enemy's firepower reconnaissance scare you to the point of peeing your pants?"
"Oh..." My face turned red, and then I realized that those shots were fired by the machine gun on the enemy's car. The purpose was to make a rookie like me nervous and expose myself as the target.
At the same time, I was secretly admiring the organization and discipline of the Volunteer Army soldiers. There were four to five thousand soldiers in the two regiments lying in ambush nearby, but not one of them lost his patience and fired a shot. Of course, there would have been one if the bearded man hadn't held me down just now.
"Let go of the artillery and attack the infantry behind."
"Let go of the artillery and attack the infantry behind."
…
The orders were passed on in whispers among the soldiers. Only then did I realize that I had almost ruined the entire army's combat plan... I heard that the Volunteer Army had extremely strict discipline. If I had fired a shot just now, I wonder if I would have been caught and shot by the political department afterwards! Thinking of this, I couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, and at the same time, I looked gratefully at the bearded tiger lying next to me.
After some firepower reconnaissance, the enemy could not see any movement and perhaps felt it was safe, so they drove their cars at full speed. The team became longer and longer, delaying for a full five kilometers. The smell of dust, gasoline and unpleasant exhaust smoke instantly filled the entire valley.
The enemy's artillery retreated under the guns of the Volunteer Army, going farther and farther away, and finally turned a corner and disappeared. The valley returned to peace again. Except for the rolling water and dust of the Jiulong River, there was no sound. Everything was so quiet and so strange...
“Swish…swish…”
You can hear the sound before you see the person. The messy footsteps come from far away, mixed with the sound of metal knocking against each other and laughter.
It came, and my heart was getting nervous. Although I knew that the Volunteer Army would win this battle, and a big victory, it was my first time on the battlefield after all, and an inexplicable fear arose in my heart.
“Swish…swish…”
Amidst the gray dust, a fully armed troop was marching along. The leader was an unknown officer riding a big red foreign horse, and was shouting something to the troops behind him.
Are I really going to kill someone? Enemies after enemies passed under my crosshairs. Although I knew I might not hit them even if I fired, I couldn't help but imagine how they would be mercilessly pierced through the head by a bullet.
“Swish…swish…”
The enemy's vanguard had already entered our ambush circle, and people behind them were constantly moving forward. The dust above the valley had no time to settle before it was raised up again by new dust.
Can I do it? I don't know why, but now I am not thinking about whether I can save my life, but whether I can use a cold bullet weighing only a few grams to take away a life full of blood and stop a heart from beating.
“Swish…swish…”
They saw the rear of the enemy, about 700 men, a reinforced battalion. They continued walking, completely unaware that they were walking toward death, toward a hunter's trap.
They only knew that their opponent, the People's Army, had completely lost its combat effectiveness under the attack of the United Nations forces. They only knew that the Yalu River was ahead, and as long as they reached there, they would complete the great cause of unifying Korea.
"Huzi..." the old squad leader lowered his voice and said to the bearded man, "When the fight starts, hurry up and grab that big red horse for me."
"Okay!" The bearded man nodded, turned to look at me with a smile in his eyes, as if telling me that even if he had a new task, he could beat me without any effort.
“Swish…swish…”
Finally... all the enemies have walked into our encirclement, it's time to close our pockets.
