The company commanders and instructors of all companies of the regiment gathered in the conference room of the regiment headquarters. The room was smoggy, and the air was suffocatingly foul. Several ashtrays are filled with cigarette butts, like rockeries in small bonsai. Many people continue to swallow the clouds.

The meeting lasted from 4 to 6 p.m., had dinner, and then continued to the present. Everyone realized that it was a grim meeting.

The head of the regiment, Ma Chonghan, knew better than anyone the seriousness of this meeting. The hurricane of the return of intellectual youths to the city swept through the Heilongjiang Production and Construction Corps in just a few weeks. The educated youths of certain divisions and regiments have already left the country. More than 400,000 young intellectuals have returned to the city, like the tide of the Qiantang River, which is overwhelming. Half of the divisions, regiments, and companies were in a state of confusion. Only the third regiment, due to its location in the northernmost border, inconvenient transportation, and news blockage, the momentum of the hurricane returning to the city has not really swept here. In recent days, the intellectuals of the Third Regiment have only begun to receive information on their return to the city from relatives, friends, classmates, and family letters. By all indications, they are also secretly stirring up.

The Corps Headquarters issued an urgent document: In order to shorten the transition period from the Corps system to the farm system, and to stabilize the chaotic situation in all divisions and regiments as soon as possible, a new leadership structure for all divisions, regiments, and companies should be set up, and production order should be re-established to ensure spring sowing. The formalities for the return of young intellectuals to the city must be completed within three days, and after the deadline is frozen, each division and regiment shall decide on its own discretion after the spring sowing.

The urgent mail was seized by Ma Chonghan and not conveyed to the company.

Three days, three 24 hours, as long as there is a delay of three 24 hours, the whole regiment's more than 800 intellectual youths may be permanently nailed to the rosters of each company. He had exchanged views with political commissar Sun Guotai on this point, but was resolutely opposed by Sun Guotai, an old farm cadre.

"We don't have the authority to withhold urgent shipments from Corps headquarters. There is no power. The commissar replied to him solemnly.

"Of course, I don't have the authority to do this alone, so I'm going to consult with you. If the two of us have the same opinion, you and I can represent the party committee under special circumstances. Ma Chonghan said gently.

With years of experience working with the other party, Sun Guotai knew that the more the other party behaved in front of him as gentle and frugal, the more it proved that his opinion was not taken seriously at all. Although he is a commissar. Sun Guotai also understood that the reason why Ma Chonghan wanted to "solicit" his own opinions on this grim matter that would determine the fate of more than 800 educated youths was nothing more than to show himself an attitude and an attitude of "approval." With his attitude, even if it is a vague "appropriatory" attitude, no, even if he is silent, then this serious matter, this personal will that first emerged from Ma Chonghan's mind, can be regarded by the other party and others as a "decision of the party committee".

"The party committee also has no authority to make such a decision. "The old commissar has a clear attitude.

"Comrade Political Commissar!" Ma Chongyu hardened, "Don't forget, you are a regiment-level leader and an ideological worker, and in the current situation, it is your and my common responsibility to reserve a part of the youth force for the Production and Construction Corps!"

The old commissar was enraged. Comrade Political Commissar? Has he ever been treated as a comrade by the other party? Ideological worker? What a respectful title. However, in this respect, did the other side allow him to give full play to his role? Saying that he should reserve a part of the youth force for the Corps and that he would share responsibilities is really high-sounding! All the nice things that you Ma Chonghan picked up and said. Don't you feel guilty of these young intellectuals at all?

He suppressed his anger and said slowly: "Comrade Regiment Commander, don't you think it's too late to think about the Production and Construction Corps? You should know better than me how many young intellectuals came to the Great Northern Wilderness!"

"You ......" Ma Chonghan was speechless for a while.

In the second year after the XPCC was formed, Ma Chonghan, as a representative of the XPCC, flew back and forth between major cities and made one wonderful speech after another on mobilization reports: The nature of regular troops is not only issued with military uniforms, but also with specially designed collar badges and hat badges, brick and tile residence, militarized life, and mechanized production...... How many intellectual youths have been deceived in such a way!

Ma Chonghan has made a contribution, but he has also been cursed by many educated youths!

At this moment, the old political commissar Sun Guotai stared at the blue and scattered face of the head of the regiment, Ma Chonghan, and couldn't help but think of the situation at the "welcome meeting" held for him in this conference room ten years ago. The "welcome meeting" was also presided over by the head of the regiment, Ma Chonghan. When Ma Chonghan introduced him to the staff of the regiment, he spent 10 minutes showing off his old qualifications and revolutionary experience, and 30 minutes on a large number of "mistakes in the line" he had committed during his time on the farm.

He stood up abruptly at that time, and said in a loud voice: "Commander Ma's introduction to me is equivalent to setting up a monument for me, setting up a biography, and covering the coffin. Thousands of meritorious crimes, their own historical commentary. As far as I know, our Communist Party does not have the practice of erecting monuments for the living, and the remarks of Regiment Commander Ma can be regarded as my eulogy! Since I am not dead, the memorial service can now be over!"

From that day on, he realized that the regiment commander Ma Chonghan was deliberately trying to create a disparity in leadership between them. But in the past ten years, he has never compromised with the other party on every question of principle, big or small. Although he was fortunate to be "liberated" among a group of old farm cadres who had been dismissed from their posts, there was always the possibility of being overthrown again from their leading positions.

From the beginning of the meeting to the present, he did not say a word, sat in the corner, smoking one cigarette after another.

Captain Ma was particularly calm today. The people in the meeting were silent, and so was he, the person presiding over the meeting. He scanned people's faces, trying to get a glimpse of their inner activities from each person's expression. Xiao Zhang, a civil servant, walked in again and handed him a "peony" cigarette. He tore open the cigarette wrapper, threw a box in the east and a box in the west, and split a cigarette in an instant, leaving only one box for himself. He took out a cigarette and paused on the table for a long time, but did not light it, but took the thermos and poured water into the teacup, only half a glass of water.

"Xiao Zhang!"

Xiao Zhang responded.

He gestured to the thermos with his chin, and Xiao Zhang silently picked up a few empty thermos to fetch water.

Sitting opposite Commander Ma was Zheng Yaru, an instructor of the engineering company, who glanced at Commander Ma and said, "Let me make a statement!"

Everyone's eyes were on her.

The head of the regiment, Ma Chonghan, coughed lightly.

"I think...... Presently...... It was a testing time for me. I...... Agree with the head of the regiment...... No, I agree with the party committee of the regiment...... "Everyone can hear that she is not easy to say these words.

An imperceptible smile appeared on the corner of the regiment's mouth, and he threw a very satisfied glance at her.

As soon as she raised her head, as soon as she met the gaze of the regiment commander, she immediately lowered her head again and took out a handkerchief to wipe her sweat. She was sweating, fine beads of sweat gathering between her delicate eyebrows and the bridge of her nose.

Sun Guotai, the old political commissar, stood up and said slowly in a corrective tone: "No, it is not the decision of the regimental party committee, and the regimental party committee has never made such a decision. ”

Commander Ma was stunned for a moment, and then said loudly: "Yes, the party committee didn't have time to make a decision. He said the words "didn't have time" in a particularly emphatic tone, and then he also stood up, shrugged his shoulders, shook the coat draped over his shoulders on the back of the chair, and continued: "However, in addition to me and Political Commissar Sun, there are also several comrades who are also members of the party committee, and other comrades are all company commanders and instructors of various companies. Your speech just now is very good, and your attitude is very clear, even if you represent the party branch of the engineering company, you are the first to express your position. ”

"Instructor Zheng can only represent herself, not the party branch of our engineering company. "In the last row of seats, someone spoke. Everyone's faces turned to this person in unison, and it was Cao Tieqiang, the commander of the engineering company, who spoke.

Zheng Yaru looked at him embarrassed and at a loss.

Ma Chonghan picked up the cigarette he wanted to smoke but didn't smoke from the table, he had already struck a match, and after listening to Cao Tieqiang's words, his face sank. The burning match shook in his hand, went out, and was thrust into the ashtray.

"So, you, are you opposed? If that's what you mean, it's also a statement!" When he said this, he didn't look at Cao Tieqiang. After speaking, he immediately shouted: "Xiao Zhang, pour the ashtray!"

Xiao Zhang immediately walked into the conference room quietly and picked up the ashtray from the table.

"I told you to turn on the water, why didn't you call?" Ma Chonghan picked up the water cup again.

"The door of the boiling water room is locked. Xiao Zhang replied sneeringly.

"Let's fight again!" Ma Chonghan said angrily.

Cao Tieqiang glanced at the head of the regiment, then at Xiao Zhang, and waited for Xiao Zhang to walk out before saying, "Yes, I am against it." Zheng Yaru's face was so red that it looked like it was oozing blood. Ma Chonghan's gaze was like a sharp weapon that hurt people, and he shot aggressively at the commander of the engineering company. For this Northeast boy, he remembered an account in his heart. At this moment, the account book of this account was opened again......

In the year when the whole corps carried out the "return of public property to home" campaign, Ma Chonghan personally led the working group to take charge of the pilot project company. He is a very good person who has a lot of experience in various sports. At this point, the ability is higher than that of political commissar Sun Guotai. Within a few days, he summed up a set of "three-character scriptures" - one look, two checks, and three searches. That is: the canopy cellars of every household should be seen, all the boxes of educated youths should be checked, and everything that belongs to the public family must be searched back with a needle and a thread. Through the telephone line, the "Three Character Sutra" was personally conveyed by Regiment Commander Ma to more than 30 companies of the regiment, and instructed to follow it and popularize it. The "movement" made the whole group restless.

One day, Ma Chonghan came to the dormitory of the male intellectuals and found that there were three poplar planks under a mattress on the kang head of the fire. He pulled out the plank with his own hands, and the side of the plank on the kang was already roasted yellow. "Who is under the mattress?" At noon, the all-company meeting was held, and Ma Chonghan pointed to three wooden planks that had been moved to the venue and sternly pursued them. "Commander, it's my ......" the little bricklayer Shan Shuwen stood up timidly. "Why do you put the wooden planks under the mattress?" the regimental commander asked, looking at his face. The military coat is draped over the tall and burly body of the regiment commander in a very stylish manner, and his demeanor is like that of the "203" chief in the revolutionary model drama "Outwitting Weihu Mountain". "I ...... I...... I'm afraid I'll roast the mattress...... "The little bricklayer's head hung down on his chest, and he didn't dare to look at the head of the regiment. "Raise your head!" the little bricklayer's head lifted heavily, but his eyes were fixed on the buttons of his coat. "Your own mattress is roasted, and your heart aches. When the planks are baked, you don't have a heartache. What is this called? This is called -- loss, justice, profit, self!" the regimental commander's big palm slapped on the table. The little bricklayer shuddered. "How can this be reasonable! You must hand over the inspection to the working group before breakfast tomorrow, and it must not be less than 5,000 words!" The regiment commander said in a stern voice.

At night, the little bricklayer took the charcoal fire out of the kang hole, carried it outside the dormitory, and poured it on the snow. "Hey, what are you doing here?" someone protested, "Is it still cold under my mattress?" "Let's just order it!" The little bricklayer, who never quarreled with anyone, held his breath and vented it through these four words. Without saying a word, the protesters jumped down from the kang and stuffed the kang hole with firewood. The little bricklayer who was born in a feudal bureaucratic family was willing to be a subordinate to others because he was carrying a burden that could not be shaken off, and he was a weak person among the educated youth, and he had always been obedient to others, and he did not dare or have the ability to maintain his own dignity. He didn't pull the fire out of the kang hole anymore, silently rolled up his mattress, unable to sleep, so he carried a small soapbox to the ground and sat on a wooden pier to write and check.

Write and tear, tear and write, write and tear, tear and write, a letter paper ripped off most of it in a blink of an eye. 5,000 words! I connected myself to the platform that couldn't be higher online, searched my intestines, scratched my stomach, scratched my ears and scratched my cheeks, but I couldn't write a full page!

Cao Tieqiang, the platoon leader of the male intellectual youth platoon back then, came back from checking the post outside, and when he saw this, he asked, "Why don't you sleep yet?" "How do you tell me to sleep?" the little bricklayer asked pitifully. Cao Tieqiang touched the kang noodles, said no more, turned around and walked out again. After a while, he brought in the three poplar planks from outside. "Pad!" "I...... Don't dare to ......" "If you are told to put it on, you will put it on, and carry it back tomorrow morning, no one knows." "In case ......" and "I'll take it!" Commander Ma is a Communist Party member who stresses the word "serious" the most. When there was a snoring sound in the men's dormitory, he came again without realizing it. He came for the three poplar planks. When he turned on the electric light and saw that the three poplar planks were placed under the little bricklayer's mattress, the head of the horse was very indignant. He not only stresses the word "seriousness" the most, but also the word "obedience". The army had made him in the habit of resolutely obeying all the orders of his chiefs, and he wanted to instill this in the minds of the young intellectuals as a fine tradition. He was the least tolerant of disobedience to the chief's orders. In the case that he himself is the chief, and the yang and yin violators are also his warriors, it is even more intolerable.

He jerked off the little bricklayer's quilt, grabbed the little bricklayer by the arm, and pulled the little bricklayer to the ground.

The little bricklayer was wearing a shirt and pants, standing barefoot on the ground, rubbing his sleepy eyes, half-open and half-closed, and he didn't see who the other party was, and slapped the other party with his hand: "What the hell are you kidding!"

Captain Ma was stunned by this slap and stood blankly opposite the little bricklayer. The little bricklayer jumped on the kang, got into the bed, and slept with his head covered. The head of the horse did not say a word, turned around and left. This scene was clearly seen by platoon commander Cao Tieqiang lying in the quilt. As soon as the head of the horse went out, he immediately got up, stepped over the bodies of several people, and woke up the little bricklayer. "Do you know who you just slapped?" "Hit whoever next to you!" "You hit the regiment leader!" "Don't ...... Amused ......" "Look, whose coat is on the ground?" the little bricklayer got up, leaned over and looked at the ground, and could not help crying out in his heart. Sure enough, there was a military coat on the ground, and it wasn't the regiment commander's!' "Hurry up and remove the plank!" Cao Tieqiang helped him, and the two of them hurriedly pulled the plank from under the mattress. The others were awakened and turned over one by one to lie under the covers, looking at them inexplicably.

"In the middle of the night, what are you doing!" I don't know which one of them picked up a big shoe from the ground and threw it at them. The big-toed shoe hit the back of the little bricklayer's head, and the little bricklayer said "ouch", covered the back of his head with both hands, and lay on his back on the kang.

"Who hit who?!" Cao Tie asked in a loud voice. A few heads shrank into the covers in fear. At this time, three people came in from outside, all of whom were from the regimental guard platoon, and they came to the engineering company with the regimental commander Ma. Led by Liu Mike, the commander of the guard platoon. Although they were not members of the working group, they showed a sense of superiority in front of the soldiers of the engineering company. This sense of superiority always seems to show that they are, if not "high-level intellectuals," at least "particularly intellectuals." Because they are "armed with guns" and often follow the heads of regiments at all levels. They are semi-professional soldiers.

As soon as Liu Mike entered the dormitory, he first picked up the military coat of the regiment commander Ma from the ground, patted the soil, and then kicked the bare feet of the little bricklayer hanging on the edge of the kang: "Get up and follow us." ”

The little bricklayer sat up, and when he saw that it was from the three guard platoons, his face suddenly changed, and he asked sneeringly, "Where are you going?" The guard platoon commander looked joking. "I ...... I won't go ......," the little bricklayer hid behind Cao Tieqiang. "Don't go?" said to the guard platoon commander with his timidity, and he said to the soldiers of the other two guard platoons in a commanding tone, "Take it away." Then the two went forward and dragged the little bricklayer. They were pushed away by Cao Tieqiang. Cao Tieqiang took the first step, blocked the door of the dormitory, and said coldly: "You have become the dog raised by the head of the horse, and you can bite whoever you want?" Liu Mike was stunned for a moment, took a step back, narrowed his eyes, stared at Cao Tieqiang's face aggressively, and asked rhetorically word by word: "What did you say?" Cao Tieqiang said sarcastically: "Your belt around your waist is not descript, so it is better to persuade you to untie it." "Don't you get used to it?" Mike Liu really slowly untied his armed belt and shook it in his hand. "Don't touch me!" Cao Tieqiang said again. Mike Liu snorted and pulled the armed belt towards him. Cao Tieqiang tilted his head, and the iron clip of the armed belt was drawn on the door frame. He glanced at the doorframe, which left a mark. "Don't be afraid, scare and scare you, get out of the way!" Mike Liu's armed belt was still shaking in his hand. Cao Tieqiang didn't move. The armed belt was drawn a second time. This time, he couldn't dodge, and he was hit on the shoulder, and his white shirt was torn, and blood immediately oozed. He clutched his shoulders and dodged through the door. Mike Liu didn't look at him either, and walked out blatantly. Cao Tieqiang was taken by surprise and punched him in the chin! This punch was so powerful that Liu Mike staggered backwards and hit the basin stand. A row of washbasins tumbled down, and a mouthwash jar rolled into the red-hot kang hole. Liu Mike got up, his face was twisted when he was accustomed to fighting fiercely, and he rushed over to scuffle with Cao Tieqiang. The little bricklayer was dumbfounded, his eyes widened in horror, and he cowered in the corner like a mouse. The soldiers of the other two guard platoons stepped forward at the same time and punched and kicked Cao Tieqiang. Liu Mike's domineering has already aroused the public indignation of the educated youths of the engineering company, and at this time, seeing that his platoon commander is about to suffer a loss, how can he still hold it! They shouted loudly, jumped off the ground from the fire kang one after another, and threw themselves into a vicious fight one by one with their bare legs and chests exposed. Hit from the ground to the kang, and roll from the kang to the ground. After the battle, the guard platoon commander and his two fighters were tied up firmly.

Liu Mike said viciously: "Cao Tieqiang, are you reckless?"

"Smack!" someone gave him a slap in the face.

In the company headquarters, the regiment commander Ma Chonghan sat on a chair and smoked.

He's so annoyed!

As the head of the regiment, it is a shame to be slapped by the educated youth!

For the intellectual youth, from the day he went from the regular army to the production and construction corps, he developed a hostile mood. No, perhaps it would be more accurate to use the word hostile psychology.

In his own words, he participated in the revolution for many years, but in the end he ended up being the commander of a "70 (0) (0) and 83 (scattered) armored (crop) troops." Fortunately, he did not take off his military uniform. After becoming the commander of the Third Regiment, he learned that this regiment was originally nothing more than a labor camp, which made him even more indignant for himself! What is the difference between such a regiment commander and the "Grass King"?

However, the "King of Grass" is not so easy to be. Young intellectuals are different from the soldiers of the regular army who "obey the command in all actions" and the revolutionary masses who "learn from and pay tribute to the PLA." In his eyes, they were simply "locust plagues," "beasts of prey," and "plagues" that spread from the cities to the frontiers! But after all, they were thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, hundreds of thousands, hundreds of thousands, and more than 400,000 mighty people! Batch after batch came and rolled in. It was sent from the city wearing a big red flower and beating gongs and drums. As soon as they came, they declared: "We want to be the new masters of the Great Northern Wilderness!" Yes, the "Supreme Directive" said that they were here to "receive re-education" and that it was "very necessary". But in reality, their level of Marxism-Leninism is unattainable. If one asks about the history of the communist movement, the lessons of the failure of the Paris Commune, the division of camps and the focus of the struggle on the current central line, they can talk eloquently. In this respect, every one of them is qualified to be his teacher as a regiment commander! They not only understand the past, but also seem to be able to predict the future, and the Chinese revolution and the world revolution are all in their feverish minds! They have gone through trials and hardships and seen the world, and they do not take him as a small regiment commander in their eyes at all! Even the head of the Central Committee, they dare to bombard and fry him, not to mention his horse Chonghan!

He knew that he lacked the ability to control them, just like a man, who had no confidence or courage at all, but was tricked by fate and had to control an untamable bad horse.

How sad!

Sometimes when he asks himself, he admits that some of them were deceived by him to the Great Northern Wilderness. Wasn't he also deceived? Not to mention that when it comes to 400,000 yuan, it has nothing to do with him. He Ma Chonghan doesn't have such great ability, that is the power of a movement.

All the resentment and anger that he was depressed in his chest and pent up in his chest were ready to be vented on the little bricklayer with joy. He wants to ** "it" and treat it as a livestock**. Of course, you can't do it with a whip.

Hearing the footsteps outside, he sat more upright, his expression more majestic, his gaze more grim, and he stared aggressively at the door of the company.

At the door opened, the first one to come in was Liu Mike, the leader of the guard platoon. His nose was blue and his face was swollen, covered in dust, and his arms were tied behind his back. The collar was torn off. There was only one button left. The second to come in was the guard platoon fighters. The third to come in was the guard platoon fighters. A platoon commander and two soldiers, who he sent to pass on the small bricklayers, became embarrassed "captive soldiers".

He stood up!

The one who walked into the company headquarters after the three "captive soldiers" was Cao Tieqiang. "They are said to have been ordered by you to tie up my platoon soldier Shan Shuwen, and I am against this. They did not listen to my obstruction, and used force first, and I ordered my warriors to teach them a lesson. Now I'm bringing them back to you. Myself, I will listen to you tomorrow. Cao Tieqiang finished speaking and left. Having already walked out of the door, he turned around again and nodded to the regiment commander, which seemed to say, "I wish you a good night!"

As soon as Cao Tieqiang returned to the large dormitory, he was surrounded by his soldiers. "I've long seen that the three guys in the guard platoon don't like the appearance of the fox and the tiger, and today I can let them know that the people in our engineering company are not easy to mess with!" "Mike Liu owes me an account in the *****, and today I let out a bad breath!" "This is not called not reporting, the time has not come, and when the time comes, everything will be reported ......" Seven words, excited and excited. The little bricklayer was full of clouds, and without saying a word, he silently folded the quilt, rolled the mattress, folded it, wrapped it in a blanket, and tied it with a luggage rope. "What are you doing here?" Cao Tieqiang asked. "What are you doing? Today's incident is all caused by me. Can Regiment Commander Ma let me go? I will carry my luggage to the regiment headquarters guard platoon tonight to surrender myself and become the second labor reform!" These words were like a basin of cold water, and they were splashed on everyone. Cao Tieqiang was silent for a while, patted the back of the little bricklayer's head, and said, "What crime did you commit and you want to turn yourself in? Don't be afraid, I'll do things by myself." ”

The men's and women's dormitories are a house separated by a corridor in the middle. At this time, the female intellectuals also came and asked about what had just happened.

When someone asked and someone answered, Pei Xiaoyun squeezed in front of Cao Tieqiang and said with a panicked expression: "Oh no! Regiment Commander Ma called the guard platoon of the regiment headquarters and said that the male intellectuals of our engineering company had gathered to make trouble, and asked the guard platoon to send 30 people immediately, and he also said, "......"

Cao Tie forced to ask: "What else do you say?" "Still say...... Fully armed, first-class combat-ready ......" "How do you know?" "I was looking at the wheat field tonight, and I just passed through the entrance of the company department. Pei Xiaoyun, who was thin and petite, trembled with fear for the male intellectuals.

Silent.

Expressions changed on one face to another, and everyone had a premonition that they were threatened. "You ...... Hide quickly!" Pei Xiaoyun was more anxious than anyone else. Everyone's eyes were focused on platoon commander Cao Tieqiang at the same time, and those eyes were complicated. "Hide?" he was enraged by the word. The word came out of the mouth of a girl, and it was clearly directed at him, who felt insulted in public.

"Listen. He said to the soldiers of the platoon, "I have expanded the situation, and I still say what I just said, one person does the work and one person is responsible." You can tie me up in advance, and when the guards arrive, you will atone for your sins!"

The words are strong and the tone is heroic. I read these words from novels, or I remember what movies I watched so deeply that I can't even make a fuss about myself.

Everyone was touched. From the moved to admiration, from admiration to righteous indignation, from righteous indignation to arouse a kind of emotion similar to "common hatred and hatred". This emotion counteracts the insanity that young people are already prone to lose. And losing one's mind is sometimes a painful thing.

"Platoon commander, what are you talking about?!Do you think we are all cowardly?!" "What's so great about the guard platoon? We've been through a lot more than this serious incident!" "Instead of shouting here and waiting for the guards platoon to come and take us away one by one like criminals, let's have a big fight with them!" "Yes! Let's go and fight their ambush." So, driven by the blind heroism cultivated in the "Cultural Attack and Military Defense", they hurriedly dressed and rushed out of the large dormitory, where each found something that could be used as a weapon, gathered together, and headed out of the village. The female intellectuals also refused to miss this opportunity to show heroism and followed one after another. Only a few did not go, and they hurried to the company commander and the instructor to report the news. More than a dozen miles away from the company, they lay in ambush in the groves on both sides of the road. Soon a truck slowly drove down the mountain road, and the fighters of the engineering company shouted in unison, rushed out of the woods and surrounded the truck. Under the car, the shovel and steel fork are held horizontally and vertically, and the stick and hoe are forced to the left and right. On the car, the muzzle of the guard platoon was also pointed at the soldiers of the engineering company, and the two sides were tense. At the moment of the moment, someone rode a horse and galloped down the mountain. The person who came was the old political commissar Sun Guotai. The horse's head almost touched the front of the cart. Then he reined in the horse, and the horse erected its front hooves and made a stake.

"Put the gun down for me, Mom!" he looked terrible with sparkling eyes. The guns of the guard platoon were carried to their shoulders, but some people were still not convinced, saying: "We are on the orders of the regimental commander......"

"The one who orders you now is my political commissar Sun Guotai! Whoever is verbose, I will tell him to stand up here!" The old political commissar pulled out the gun from his waist and smashed it on the iron roof of the truck cab with the barrel of the gun, and shouted to the driver: "You drive the car back to the regiment headquarters for Lao Tzu!"

The driver obediently turned around, and the truck drove back the same way. The old commissar let out a long breath, jumped off his horse, glanced at the soldiers of the engineering company, and asked, "Who is the leader?" "I." Cao Tieqiang replied in a low voice. The old political commissar walked up to him, stared at his face, and asked, "Who are you?" "The platoon leader of the male intellectual youth platoon of the engineering company. "It's lower. A slap to the left side of his face, his hand just covered the left side of his face, and the right side of the face was slapped again!

Another man rode here from the direction of the company, jumped off his horse, knelt on his knees in the snow, and uttered a shocking sentence: "You are all children thousands of miles away from home, if you want to use force against each other, you will kill me first!"

He is an instructor and a hero who has made a first-class contribution in the local bandit fight......

Iron shovels, steel forks, wooden sticks and hoes, fell from a pair of hands. A cry disturbed the birds in the forest. As soon as political commissar Sun Guotai stepped into the project company headquarters, he pointed at the regiment commander Ma Chonghan and shouted: "Ma Chonghan! Lao Tzu has killed you!" ......

Although this incident happened not long after the intellectual youth arrived in the frontier, Cao Tieqiang can never forget it. Every time I think about it, I always shudder. At that time, how irrational and reckless he was! On more than one occasion, he woke up from a nightmare in the middle of the night and was drenched in a cold sweat and thought about whether he would have been lying on the kang in this dormitory of the educated youth? And they, the soldiers in his platoon, would they still lie on the kang and snore so peacefully? If he and some of them had become the unfortunate ones in that "heroic action," how would the surviving people talk about him and that "heroic action" today? This?

They will hate him.

The fathers and mothers of the unfortunate will hate him too.

What if someone else becomes the unfortunate and he himself is a survivor?

That's even more terrifying, for him.

Every morning out of the morning exercise, he stood in front of the whole platoon of soldiers, looking at their faces, and a deep guilt and guilt for them would arise in his heart, and he longed to kneel in front of them and ask for their forgiveness.

This guilt tormented his mind for years. Although, none of his fighters ever mentioned that incident in front of him. Maybe everyone has forgotten, maybe no one has forgotten, but deliberately not mentioned it. But he himself often wants to revisit the incident on a certain occasion and at a certain time. There is only one purpose, I hope everyone will scold him, and even beat him violently.

Reason is the last bastion that young people conquer in the process of maturation. Once conquered, they become strong men in their lives who can control their own destiny and influence the fate of others. This comes at a cost. But some people pay a heavy price, and some people pay a small price in comparison. At the same time, they will inevitably throw away what is very harmful to them – recklessness and recklessness.

It was from that incident that Cao Tieqiang discovered his dangerous weakness, and it was from that incident that he matured.

The male intellectuals platoon commander of that year became the company commander of today's engineering company, and in a sense, the "attack on the guard platoon" was a "quenching" for him. It was only after that "quenching" that he became a man with the elasticity and hardness of steel.

But the philosophy in it will not come from the mind of the regiment commander Ma Chonghan. Ma Chonghan was punished by the party for a major demerit because of that incident, and was notified to the whole corps. If we dig deeper into his motive for presiding over the emergency meeting today, it is inseparable from the incident back then.

He hoped that the XPCC would retain more than 800 young and middle-aged laborers, and that they would be appreciated by their superiors and that the punishment in the cadre files would be revoked. And this is related to whether he can return to the army after the disintegration of the corps. With a punishment in the file, he had no hope of returning to the army. Unable to return to the army, he could only fall into a helpless situation - from the regiment commander to a farm chief. This is undoubtedly even more pathetic. More than 800 intellectual youths walked away and abandoned him, the head of the regiment, in the Great Northern Wilderness, isn't that tantamount to a malicious trick and cold punishment of fate for him?

His inner activities today can be summed up in eight words - looking forward to the future, cold and discouraged. However, this inner activity did not reveal the slightest bit from his face. At this time, he suddenly realized that there was only one reason for the silence of the attendees - on such a serious and important issue, they must first know what the attitude of the political commissar is.

He realized that his prestige, which had been able to influence the situation in everything for ten years, was now openly challenged! He even suspected that the prestige he thought he had once did not exist at all!

He felt a sense of melancholy and sorrow. And what political commissar Sun Guotai just said was so unfavorable to him! Cao Tieqiang, commander of the engineering company, clearly did not take his will as a regiment commander into account! After all, he is still the regiment commander! Even if he cannot decide whether more than 800 people will stay or not, he can still decide the fate of a company commander! "Explain the work" can delay this Harbin educated youth for three days with just one sentence and make him regret it for the rest of his life! Could it be that this Harbin kid has no scruples? How dare he?! Ma Chonghan stared at Cao Tieqiang and was about to say something weighty, when a woman suddenly burst into the conference room, followed by two girls. It was his wife and daughter. Ma Chonghan was not surprised! Four days ago, he sent them back to his hometown, why did they appear in front of him again in a dream?" His wife held out a hand to him. "You...... Lost your ticket?" he asked, stunned. "I didn't even buy a train ticket!" exclaimed my wife, "If I hadn't met an acquaintance in Heihe, I wouldn't have even thought of buying a long-distance bus ticket!" Our mother and son finally squeezed into a long-distance bus and drove out of Heihe Town less than two hours before being stopped by an intellectual youth. In Nenjiang County and at the railway station, the educated youth who returned to the city were like fleeing from the famine, and even the big car shops were full......! Squatting at the train station for two days...... I came to the Corps with you, but I have been moldy for eight lifetimes! I can't stay, I can't leave, and you're still a regiment commander! Woo woo woo ......" The regiment commander's wife cried loudly. Xiao Zhang, a civil servant, walked in with a few hot water bottles. Ma Chonghan was distraught, picked up the water cup and handed it to Xiao Zhang. It was as if there was a fire burning in his chest, and he felt his mouth dry. "The water room is locked, and you can't find anyone boiling water anywhere. Xiao Zhang muttered and explained the reason why there was no water. "How can this be reasonable!" Ma Chonghan raised the water cup in his hand high, slammed it to the ground, and shattered it with a bang. Xiao Zhang went against the usual awe of the regiment commander, and said loudly: "Don't come to this set, I won't wait for you!"

Ma Chonghan's face turned blue. His eyes glared at his wife again, and he took a string of keys from his coat pocket and threw them at her feet. His wife glanced at him timidly, quickly bent down to pick up the key, and pulled the two children out of the conference room.

The phone rang. Zheng Yaru also glanced at the head of the regiment, walked over to pick up the earpiece, and asked in a low voice, "Who are you looking for?" and then handed the earpiece to the head of the regiment. Ma Chonghan frowned and took the earpiece. The other party asked, "Are you the head of the Ma regiment himself?" "I am Ma Chonghan!" and he replied in a rough voice. "Ma Chonghan, listen! This emergency meeting you convened doesn't have to go on!"

Just two sentences, the tone was like an "ultimatum", and as soon as he finished speaking, the other party hung up the phone.

Ma Chonghan's hand holding the microphone shook violently. After a long time, he glanced at everyone and said hoarsely, "Someone leaked the content of our meeting." Then, sternly, "Who called during the meeting?" or, "Pick up the phone?"

"I took the phone once. It's a long distance, though. Cao Tieqiang replied, and he stood up at this time. "Long distance?" Ma Chonghan asked in disbelief. "It's a long distance. Cao Tieqiang replied calmly. Although he was calm, and despite the fact that everyone had their own opinions about calling such a meeting, their eyes were directed at him with questioning at the same time. Sun Guotai, the political commissar, also looked at him seriously. "Like...... What's the situation!" Zheng Yaru suddenly left the window and walked to the door of the conference room, pushing open two doors at the same time.

A cold wind poured in, blowing snow powder on people's faces. A few unplugged windows were blown open by the cold wind. The people who were meeting looked out of the window or out from the door, but saw the innumerable torches, divided into several groups, from the hillside, from the wasteland, from the road, from all directions, towards the regimental headquarters......