Volume 3 The Third Battle Chapter 16 The 38th Parallel
"Captain, commander!" I gave this order and Hu Zi got anxious. He ran up and shouted, "Are we not chasing the enemy? Are we not taking prisoners?"
"Can we catch up?" I didn't answer, but asked: "Don't you see the speed of the new recruits? If we chase the enemy, it will be the same as leaving them all behind, right?"
"Then let's..."
"What do you want from us? Go pick up some guns!" I said unhappily, "You are strong, so you can take twice as many new recruits as you can. Is that a problem? Tell the soldiers that the most important things are food and bullets. If necessary, you can take one or two fewer guns!"
"Yes!" Hu Zi saluted and went to carry out the order reluctantly.
As an old soldier, I just want to kill the enemy and capture prisoners on the front line to make merit. Looking at Hu Zi's back, I couldn't help but shake my head and smile bitterly, little did I know that what the volunteer army lacked in this battle was not soldiers, but food and ammunition.
"Captain Cui!" At this time, Instructor Zhao also asked in a low voice: "We are just cleaning up the battlefield in the rear. Isn't it inconsistent with the combat policy of the troops? Doing so seems..."
"Disobeying military orders, huh?" I replied with a wry smile, "I've disobeyed military orders many times, and this one is no exception. Instructor, don't worry, after this battle, I will ask my superiors for punishment alone!"
"I, that's not what I meant..." Instructor Zhao felt a little embarrassed after hearing what I said.
"Instructor!" I pointed at the guns and ammunition on the ground and explained, "Our main force is chasing the enemy and capturing prisoners all the way ahead, so we have no time to clean up the battlefield. These are all precious things. It's dark now and the enemy's planes can't get out. If they drop a few incendiary bombs at daybreak, they will all be gone!"
"That's right!" Instructor Zhao hesitated for a moment and then nodded in agreement: "Let's do as Captain Cui says!"
So when the troops set out again, all the Type 38 rifles were replaced with American M1 rifles, and the bullet bags and dry food bags were all stuffed full. If the recruits were not afraid to conduct a thorough body search out of fear of the dead bodies, I think we would have gained even more this time.
Soldiers are afraid of corpses, and may even feel nauseous and vomit... I couldn't help but find it a little funny at this moment, but when I think about it, I was also like this when I first arrived, except that I have seen even more tragic "big scenes" afterwards, which made me feel that these scattered corpses in front of me are not worth mentioning at all.
It was not difficult to find the group in the snow, as long as we followed the footprints left by the group. Moreover, the group also used a black object on the snow to indicate the direction of advance. I had no idea what the black object was, but later I smelled a familiar scent and found it was coffee...
Oh! What a waste of resources! It must be American goods that the volunteers seized from the puppet army and used as road signs .
The recruits' physical fitness was not good enough to begin with, and now they had to carry a lot of guns, ammunition and food, which slowed down the troops' advance. In the end, even I felt like I was picking up scraps behind the main force. To be honest, I have never fought a battle that was so easy.
"Look, we've reached the 38th parallel." After walking for about half an hour, Instructor Zhao pointed ahead and said.
Looking in the direction he pointed, I saw a wooden stick supporting a rectangular plaque in the night. The number 38 and some unclear English letters could be seen on the plaque. When I got closer, I saw the words "You are now crossing the 38th parallel" written on it.
Is this the 38th parallel? I was quite surprised to see this. Although I have seen the 38th parallel in modern times, at that time there was at least Panmunjom, barbed wire, and a demilitarized buffer zone full of mines! And now, it's just a plaque?
I couldn't help but look around, and there was really nothing. The scenery on both sides of the 38th parallel was completely connected. The only difference was that there was a sign with the number 38 inserted in the middle.
"We've reached the 38th parallel!"
"We've reached the 38th parallel!"
…
When the soldiers heard that they had reached the 38th parallel, they were excited, even the new recruits. It seemed that few people didn't know the legend of the 38th parallel.
When I stepped over this plaque for the first time, I couldn't help but feel a little strange. Dozens of countries around the world have paid a heavy price here, just for this simple latitude ...
"Where is it?" Just as everyone crossed the 38th parallel thoughtfully, only Huzi was looking around on the ground, searching for something: "How come you have such good eyesight? Why can't I see any line?"
Damn, it turns out that Hu Zi really thinks that the 38th parallel is drawn with a single string.
…
"Company commander, this is not a good way to go. We are walking too slowly! Even a cripple like me walks faster than them." When it was almost dawn, we found a forest to hide in. Zhao Yongxin and several platoon leaders came to me to give us their suggestions.
"That's right, Captain!" The old squad leader agreed, " We'll never catch up with the main force at this rate! I think we'll fall behind by at least ten miles tonight."
"I've never fought such a cowardly battle!" Hu Zi took off his hat and said aggrievedly, "I've been following the main force and picking up things all the way, and I haven't seen a single living enemy. Today, I picked up seven or eight rifles and five or six hundred rounds of bullets. Captain! Our troops are not without guns, why are you picking up so many guns?"
"Not bad, Huzi?" I couldn't help but laugh when I heard that. "You picked up so much ammunition by yourself? Did you pick up any food?"
"Yes! There's a big bag piled there!"
"Okay!" I patted Hu Zi's shoulder and said, "Isn't that great? I'll report my achievements to you later!"
"What kind of achievement is this? We didn't kill a single reactionary, and we didn't capture a single prisoner..."
"Don't worry, comrades!" I smiled and comforted everyone, "We will catch up with the main force. Now the main force is chasing the puppet army, and the puppet army will scatter without a fight, so the main force is moving fast and we can't catch up. In a few days, our main force will encounter the American devils, and that will be different, right? What's the point of chasing the puppet army? If we want to fight, we can fight those Americans! You want to fight, but you are afraid that there will be no battle?"
"Captain Cui!" Instructor Zhao also spoke up at this time. He pointed to the pile of guns and ammunition next to him and said, "Even so, the soldiers are already overloaded with things today, and they won't be able to pick up more tomorrow, right?"
"So!" I smiled and replied, "So let's bury all these guns, ammunition and food tonight!"
"Buried?" The soldiers looked at each other in confusion after hearing what I said, none of them having any idea what I was up to.
