At about eight o'clock in the evening, the three companies of the Sharp Knife Company finally arrived at the destination of their march, which was on the hillside five kilometers south of Xiajieyuli.

"The herald came over and passed on my password, so that the comrades could rest in place for half an hour." Company commander Zhao Yifa called the herald over and conveyed his order to him.

The herald standing in front of him immediately gave a military salute, turned around, and conveyed his order to the soldiers of the whole company who had stopped advancing.

From the time they met the three US planes on the road at noon during the day until now, the volunteer soldiers of the three companies of the Sharp Knife Company have been hurrying all the way and have not taken a moment of rest.

At this time, when the volunteer soldiers of the third company of the sharp knife company learned that the protruding mountain under their feet was the destination of their march behind enemy lines, no one showed any joy.

On the contrary, the exhausted volunteer soldiers of the whole company did not have time to untie the marching bags on their backs, so they lay down on the snow on this hillside.

Because the slope of the mountain, which is more than 100 meters above sea level, is covered with a thick layer of snow, it naturally becomes very slippery, and many volunteer soldiers have fallen to the ground after hearing the herald's words of "resting in place."

It can be said that after such a long time on the road, the kung fu beans did not stop, and the volunteer soldiers were really tired, but fortunately, they finally reached the destination of this march and could have a good rest.

After seeing that the soldiers of the whole company had stopped and rested in place, instructor Wang Wenju sat next to the company commander Zhao Yifa and asked: "Lao Zhao, look at it, this journey can make the soldiers tired enough, after resting in place for half an hour, what should we do next?" ”

After taking the military telescope and observing the surrounding terrain just now, company commander Zhao Yifa was pleasantly surprised to find that although the hillside where they were located was less than 500 square meters, it was more than 50 meters higher than the other slopes.

Especially from the topography, it is more than 100 meters higher than the terrain to the north, so it can be said that this hillside under their feet is definitely a good place to fight a blocking battle, and just now I was thinking in my mind that after the soldiers have rested, they will dig a simple trench on the spot.

At this time, after hearing the question of instructor Wang Wenju sitting next to him, company commander Zhao Yifa immediately replied: "Lao Wang, I just observed the surrounding terrain and found that the slope where we are located is the highest, and it is definitely a good place to fight a blocking battle from a high position.

"In my opinion, when the time is right for the soldiers to rest in place, we must hurry up and dig a simple trench, and the high ground of this trench must be at least one meter deep."

When the company commander Zhao Yifa had just finished speaking, instructor Wang Wenju said in a slightly worried tone: "Comrade Zhao, this idea of yours is not bad. But the problem is that the soldiers of our whole company have just arrived here without stopping, and they have only been given half an hour to rest, and they are immediately asked to do this heavy physical work such as digging trenches, and I am afraid that many soldiers will not be able to bear it by then. ”

After hearing this, the company commander Zhao Yifa thought for a moment and then proposed: "Lao Wang, before we came, didn't we send three days of fried noodles to every soldier in the company." It only took us two nights and one day to get here, and wait, let the soldiers eat more fried noodles. Anyway, the battle will start after 12 o'clock tonight, and when our large army has beaten away the American devils and the South Korean puppet army in Xiajieyu, five kilometers to the north, we will not have to worry about food. ”

For the company commander Zhao Yifa's proposal, instructor Wang Wenju did not support it, but still said worriedly: "Lao Zhao, this march has made the soldiers tired, as far as I know, although we have distributed three days of rations of fried noodles, but the physical strength is too much, and many soldiers are about to eat the fried noodles they carry.

"Originally, there were not many fried noodles left on the soldiers' bodies, if you were to let the soldiers eat more, I am afraid that there would be no next meal after eating this meal, in case this corner cannot be attacked for a few days, then the soldiers of our whole company have not waited for the battle to start, and they will all be starved to death here first." For the sake of prudence, I think it is better to let the soldiers keep more rations and be prepared. ”

Since crossing the Yalu River more than a month ago, although the Chinese People's Volunteers have almost always walked on two legs, they have no advantage in the air, and most of the time they march and attack at night, although the losses are also very serious, but after all, they have driven most of the US-ROK coalition forces and UN troops in North Korea to the area south of the 38th parallel.

In the view of the company commander Zhao Yifa at this time, it should not be any problem to take down the corner, although one day may not be enough, but it should be able to be completely taken down in about three days, and he still has enough confidence in the combat effectiveness of the volunteer army.

Therefore, the company commander Zhao Yifa told the instructor Wang Wenju about the stakes of digging trenches, and said solemnly: "I say, Comrade Wang, how can you purify the enemy's morale and extinguish your own prestige, this fortress of the US-South Korean coalition in the lower corner, when the large force of our volunteers arrives and forms a situation of encirclement, it will definitely be taken down in a very short time."

"Besides, our mission this time is to block the US-ROK coalition forces retreating south from Xiajieyuli, although we are now occupying the high ground and forming a condescending situation, but if there is no simple trench, once we fight in the daytime, then the soldiers of our whole company will become a live target one by one, and the US planes will drop dozens of bombs at will, we all have to finish the game, have you ever thought of this serious consequence?"

After listening to what company commander Zhao Yifa said, instructor Wang Wenju also felt that it was not unreasonable, it can be said that his thinking was also quite contradictory, on the one hand, he was digging trenches to save his life, and on the other hand, he was conserving his physical strength and rations to continue his life, which really made him waver and dilemma, and he didn't know what to do.

After hesitating for a moment, instructor Wang Wenju knew that he could not convince the company commander Zhao Yifa, so he had to compromise: "Okay, Comrade Zhao, you are the company commander and the military commander of our company. ”