When I returned from the division headquarters, I took the soldiers to start vigorous preparations for war.

In fact, from the first day I came here, I started to build and strengthen the tunnels, and to open them up to each other. Before us, it was garrisoned by the 18th Army, and the tunnel fortifications were naturally made by them. But I'm not happy with the tunnels. Having said that, if there is any place where I can be satisfied with the tunnel construction, it will basically reach the same level as Shangganling.

Secondly, there is the construction of surface positions, although I also know that under the strong artillery fire of the American army, the surface positions seem to have little effect, because they will be blown up almost under the first round of enemy fire to only a few inconspicuous small ditches. But something is better than nothing, even a few ditches can hide a few people. It is better to sweat before the war than to shed blood and die during the war.

As for my speculation, that is, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower's statement that he was very likely to observe the battle situation in the puppet army's Chen camp, Division Commander Pang attached great importance to it, because this is directly related to the question of whether the US military will fight or talk in the future.

If our army's frontal defense line is weak, and Eisenhower feels that it is possible to break through our army's defense line, then he will undoubtedly choose to fight, because he also wants to "teach a lesson" to the Chinese troops to gain some bargaining chips for negotiations, and then "end the war with dignity."

If our army's defensive line is strong and reliable, and Eisenhower thinks that it cannot be breached, or that it cannot be broken through in a short time, then he will prefer not to fight. Because in this way, he will not be able to "end the war as soon as possible" and extricate the United States from the quagmire of the Korean War, as he said during his campaign.

Therefore, it is necessary to launch a small assault war, which is not only the reason why Van Vliet wants to turn over, but also Eisenhower, who has not participated in the Korean War, wants to see why the US military has a powerful navy, army, and air force, and has advanced modern equipment, but it is helpless against the Chinese troops, which basically only have the army and are equipped with Soviet-style weapons, which can be said to be eliminated.

Americans have always been science-conscious, and they like to do market research before doing business, and they will do serious simulation analysis before going to war, because they think that doing so will reduce the risk of war. And this small skirmishe, in a sense, is a pre-war simulation analysis of Eisenhower.

In this small assault battle, if the US troops can easily seize our positions, it will show that they are fully capable of breaking through our defensive lines. The balance of Eisenhower's thought will be tilted in favor of "fighting," and vice versa.

Of course, I knew that the battle would eventually be fought. However, it was not decided by Eisenhower, but that our army, having made full preparations, launched a summer counterattack campaign on a scale not inferior to any previous campaign.

The operational policy of the Volunteer Army is to never 'hand' the initiative into the hands of the enemy, and we always launch an attack in advance when the enemy is not expecting it. This may be what martial arts says, "If the enemy doesn't move, I won't move, and if the enemy wants to move, I will move first"

"Commander Cui" That night, when I was staring at the one-fifty-thousandth military map in front of me in the dim light of a kerosene lamp, Liu Shunyi patted the dust on his hat and walked in, and asked, "Is there going to be a war?" Energetically let the soldiers build tunnels? ”

"Hmm" I nodded: "It's just possible, it's not sure yet"

Liu Shunyi is a smart man, he has been a deputy army commander for so long, and the skill he has cultivated is to roughly judge the battle situation that is about to occur from the reaction of the troops. As soon as I returned from the division headquarters, I accelerated the progress of building tunnel fortifications, which of course could not escape Liu Shunyi's eyes.

"Just a possibility?" Liu Shunyi couldn't help but look at me with some doubt.

"Hmm" I nodded again: "That's why I didn't hold a meeting to inform the troops, we know that the enemy will make some moves, and there is a possibility of launching a small assault battle, but we can't determine the location of the enemy's attack." ”

In the army, if an order is given, it is usually delivered after the message is confirmed. And an uncertain speculation like the current one, if the order is hastily given, may make the soldiers all the soldiers. Second, there may be a similar effect of the peak fire drama and the credibility of the order. So I simply didn't say anything to anyone, anyway, I made my preparations, and if the enemy really launched a surprise attack on our highlands, I would have nothing to fear.

"But this battle ......," I paused and then continued: "The enemy wants to test the stability of our army's frontal defense, so he may use the navy, land, and air forces in the hope of seizing our army's positions as quickly and well as possible, so we cannot take it lightly." Because the news has not yet been confirmed, do not notify the units for the time being. The current task is to take precautions, build the tunnel fortifications with one hand, and seize the time to train the recruits with the other hand, and fight a prepared battle."

"It's to guarantee the completion of the task" Seeing that I didn't want to say more, Liu Shunyi didn't dare to ask more, saluted me and turned around to make arrangements.

I know Liu Shunyi's organizational ability and work ability. Everyone said that I couldn't do it at the same time, and if I were to organize the training of the recruits on the one hand, and supervise the tunnel fortifications on the other, I would definitely be too busy to do both. But Liu Shunyi's talent is here, it is said that when he was the deputy commander, he could easily take care of the logistics of the whole army, the transportation of the wounded, and sometimes the deployment of troops...... If such a person is put in modern times, he will definitely be a good secretary and a good assistant, so I am very relieved to 'hand' these things to him.

After sitting in the pit for a long time, I suddenly felt some back pain, so I stood up and walked out of the pit with a walk.

The cold wind blowing in my face made my 'spirit' can't help but shake, and when I looked up, the earth was white under the cold moonlight. Everywhere there were busy figures of volunteer soldiers, and the sound of digging soil, substitute wood, and shouting trumpets sounded all together. I almost thought I was on a construction site.

I took out a cigarette from my pocket and put it in my mouth, and when I took out the matchbox, I found that it was empty, and there was no match. Before I knew it, there was a "......sizzle" sound around me, and the firelight flashed in my ears, which startled me.

When I turned my head, I didn't know when Li Pinghe was already standing beside me, holding a match that was about to burn out.

"Commissar Li, when did you get here?" Seeing this, I couldn't help but ask, "Why don't you go in?" Can I help you? ”

Li Pinghe didn't answer, silently lit a match again and lit a cigarette for me, and then habitually flicked the match stalk a few times to extinguish the fire and throw it aside. For some reason, I always feel that the matchstick that fell on the snow and burned the last trace of green smoke is just like Li Pinghe's mood at this moment.

Could it be......

Li Pinghe never spoke, looked into the distance, sighed heavily, and the hot steam formed a mist in front of him, and then quickly disappeared without a trace.

"I've talked to Lin Xue" After a long time, Li Pinghe lowered his head and spit out this sentence.

Sure enough, for this matter, my heart couldn't help sinking, and I didn't know what to say, so I silently handed him a cigarette.

Li Pinghe took the cigarette and put it in his mouth, and then seemed to be thinking about something, he was stunned for a while before he took out a match and lit it, and after taking two puffs fiercely, he said sourly: "I've been thinking about whether I should talk to you." But knowing that you, the regiment commander, are busy with military affairs, I am worried that it will affect your state. So ......"

"So you're just standing outside and not going in?" I asked rhetorically.

Li Pinghe nodded silently: "Men are ambitious in all directions, and now you and I are responsible for family and country affairs, how can we be so 'daughter' in love."

I know Li Pinghe, he has always been a sentimental person, so I understand that although he said so, he was so painful in his heart that he didn't know what to do.

So he patted him on the shoulder and said, "Let's go in and talk."

"No" Li Pinghe shook his head, then straightened his military uniform, saluted me and said: "Report to the regiment commander, there are several comrades in the first battalion who need me to do ideological work."

I looked at Li Pinghe in a daze for a while, and saw his firmness, so I had to nod and say: "Go anyway, I hope we are still comrades-in-arms and brothers."

"Yes," Li Pinghe replied.

But his answer made my heart sink because I knew that if he had thought so, he wouldn't have spoken to me in such a tone.

Looking at Li Pinghe's departing back, I couldn't help but sigh secretly, but at this time, I let him know this, maybe it will affect the battle that will come. Lin Xue, this girl, didn't say it early or late, but said it at this critical juncture.

But thinking about it, it seems that Lin Xue is no wonder. You must know that Li Pinghe and this guy originally stayed in the political trial office, and there will always be more or less eyeliner arranged by him in the army, and even Jiang Changshun will guess the relationship between me and Lin Xue, so it is normal for Li Pinghe to know.

Anyway, I shook my head, now is not the time to think about it.

"Captain Cui: "I was about to enter the tunnel when I heard Lin Xue's shout.

"Come in and talk about it" At this time, I didn't care about avoiding suspicion, turned around and walked into the tunnel.

"Told him everything?" As soon as I walked into the pit, I turned around and asked.

"Hmm" Lin Xue nodded, and asked pitifully, "Brother Ping, ...... Did I find you? Didn't ...... you."

"What can he do to me?" I couldn't help but feel amused when I heard this: "Silly girl, don't worry, your brother Ping is also an adult, and it won't take long to figure it out." The only thing I'm worried about now is his ......."

"What are you worried about him?"

"We may have a fight in the near future...... "I said with some hesitation, "some people may be ...... when they go to war if they are emotionally hit"

Speaking of which, I won't go on, this meaning is actually very clear, even if he didn't mean to commit suicide, but in his state on the battlefield, I'm afraid it will be more than lucky.

"What then, what then?" Lin Xue was panicked when I said this, and almost tears were about to fall, and she said incoherently: "I...... That's not my fault, he's my brother...... How could it be, how could it ......"

"Don't worry," I comforted Lin Xue and said, "It's going to be fine, at most, I'll let the guards keep him in check and don't let him go to the battlefield." ”

"Hmm" Lin Xue nodded, and then it was a little quieter.

"What you have to do now......" I hesitated for a moment, then continued: "What you have to do now is to find a way to treat him as before, that is, to treat him as an older brother, and he may figure it out after a while"

"Okay" Lin Xue nodded with tears in her eyes, and suddenly threw herself into my arms and whispered: "Captain Cui, I'm so afraid that I'm afraid of my brother and his ......"

As he spoke, he couldn't control his crying anymore.

"Don't be afraid" I 'touched' her hair, patted her back that was undulating because of sobbing, and comforted: "Don't say that he doesn't have a chance to go to the battlefield, even if he goes to the battlefield, I have it, right?" I'm not going to let him have anything to do."

Lin Xue kept nodding her head in my arms, and after a while she realized that she had lost her temper and was embarrassed to dodge. Under my repeated urging, I reluctantly walked out of the tunnel.

"Whew...... "That's tired."

Lin Xue just sat back on the 'bed', the relationship is the most torturous, my head was originally thinking about the war, but now it was a 'mess' like a mess. I looked at the map on the table again, but I couldn't concentrate at all, and I didn't know what I was thinking in my head.

"Commander Cui" But at this moment, a scout in full disguise ran into the tunnel and saluted in front of me: "I have found the situation, there is movement in the direction of the enemy."

"Hmm" I couldn't help but be shocked when I heard this, and hurriedly walked out of the pit with a rifle and binoculars.

I trotted all the way to the top of the hill along the 'crossing' trench, and when I lay on the ground and raised my binoculars to look in the direction of the enemy, there were faintly many lights 'chaotic' in the darkness.

That's the enemy's headlights, either for cars or tanks.

It should be a car, I quickly made such a judgment. Because if it were a tank, I would have heard the roar of the motor, but I don't hear anything now.

But even the headlights of the car don't mean anything, maybe the puppet army is transporting supplies?

No, it quickly occurred to me that the Volunteer Army basically had no air power, and if the puppet army wanted to transport supplies, it could be carried in the open and open during the day. They choose to ship at night because they don't want us to know what they're shipping.

They should be secretly increasing their troops, or they are bringing in American troops. If I were Van Vliet and I were to fight what I thought was a "show war," I would gather journalists from all over the world to watch the fight. Of course, the soldiers used to show off cannot be the soldiers of other countries.

So I think they should be changing their guards now, secretly replacing the American troops, so to speak, Van Vliet did choose our high ground as his small assault site.

Thinking of this, I immediately ordered: "Pass the order, the reconnaissance platoon immediately infiltrates the enemy's position to reconnoitre, if conditions permit, catch a few tongues, and the whole army is ready for battle."

"Yes," the scout replied, turning and running in the direction of the tunnel.

After observing the hilltop position for a while, I again returned to the regimental headquarters along the 'Jiao' trench.

When I returned to the regiment headquarters, the tunnel was already crowded. Hu Biao, commander of the first battalion, Li Weiqiang, commander of the third battalion, and Liu Shunyi and other cadres all came. Li Pinghe was also there, I looked at him a few more times, he seemed to be no different from usual, and I couldn't see anything abnormal.

"Here's the situation," I didn't think much about, pointing to the several high ground on the map where our troops were stationed, and said, "We have been thinking about attacking the enemy's high ground, but we didn't expect that we would become the enemy's target. The 649.8 heights, the 510 heights and the 890.2 heights garrisoned by the 539 regiment were stationed by our troops, and these three heights protruded too far from our army's defense line, forming a salient where the enemy could attack us from three sides at the same time. In addition, the high ground where the enemy is stationed in front of our army is generally higher than the high ground of our army, so that our army is in a state of passive beating...... These are the reasons why the enemy chose us as the place of attack, of course, the news has yet to be confirmed by our reconnaissance units"

"It doesn't matter if he confirms it or not" Hu Biao waved his fist and said: "I'm worried that they won't come, it's the same when they come, I'll accompany you at any time."

There was a coax, and the soldiers all laughed, but only me and Li Pinghe still kept a straight face.

"I must emphasize," I reminded, "that this enemy attack may be different from the past. The new president of the United States has come to the front to inspect it, and Van Vliet of the Eighth Army wants to show himself well in front of him, so he will use all the equipment he has, and he will also use his most 'elite' troops, the purpose of which is to regain the face he lost on the Korean battlefield."

"Then we'll beat him so that he has no face," Hu Biao said with a big grin.

The soldiers were amused by his words again, but looking at the expressions of me and Li Pinghe, it seemed that something was wrong, just look at me and I will look at you, and none of them understood what was going on.

I didn't care so much, and made arrangements for myself: "In view of the possibility that the enemy may use a large number of planes and artillery to bombard, the tactics are still the same as before, and all units should pay attention to preserving their strength and do a good job in air defense and artillery defense." The fighters first took cover in the tunnels, leaving only observation posts on the surface positions, and waited for the main forces to enter the positions when the enemy attacked"

"Yes," the fighters responded.

"The first battalion is responsible for defending positions 1, 2, and 3, and the third battalion is responsible for defending positions 4, 5, and 6." Speaking of this, I looked at Li Pinghe and said: "Political Commissar Li is responsible for keeping in touch with his superiors at the regiment headquarters and assisting Deputy Regiment Commander Liu in commanding"

Hearing this, Li Pinghe couldn't help but be stunned, but he quickly understood my intentions, and after a long time, he shook his head and smiled bitterly.