Xu Yanglin's expression was a little stunned. He didn't expect the current situation to arise.

He almost thought that he had subtly diverted the attention of the two commanders from the commander, only to realize that it was not the case at all.

The two chiefs stood motionless outside the tent, and he had no choice but to stand there stiffly with them.

It was quiet in the camp. Xu Yanglin heard the crisp and graceful birdsong coming from the forest behind the command tent again, and he noticed that his head began to sweat.

Ten minutes passed.

The atmosphere in the camp was not only not relaxed, but on the contrary became more tense. Hu Lian looked at the mountains and peaks under the blue sky in the south, and his eyes became painful.

After another ten minutes, three people hurriedly walked out of the forest behind the command tent.

Liu Xiaoqiang carried two air guns on his shoulders and walked in front sweating; On his left, a little later, is Peng Tao, who is red because he has breathed too much in the fresh morning air; A little farther to the right, the only woman in the camp flashed the eye-catching figure.

Suddenly seeing a group of people standing in the center of the camp, they were startled and stopped.

Many of the people in the camp were breathing rapidly. The appearance of the young and lovely female military doctor at the edge of the forest with Peng Tao made everyone think of something immediately, and there was an unnatural, nervous, and stiff expression on her face without exception.

Hu Lian was the last to see them. He slowly moved the rattan crutch between his feet, turned around, and looked at the three people on the edge of the forest for a long time, his eyes thoughtful, as if to see a mystery in them.

The first time the division commander Zhao Zhen saw the scene by the forest, a red tide appeared on his face when people were angry. It was as if he was about to blurt out: I already knew what "official business" he was going to handle! This is the "official business" he goes to deal with!

Xu Yanglin realized that he was really a little panicked today. His gaze quickly swept over the faces of Hu Lian, Zhao Zhen, and the head of the regiment, and he felt that in another second, Hu Lian or Zhao Zhen would be angry at Peng Tao! No, once Hu Lian and Zhao Zhen get angry, he, the person who lied to the chief in person, will not be able to escape an embarrassment!

What happened next surprised him: Peng Tao met Hu Lian's gaze, as if he realized something, and suddenly grinned naturally and without being pretentious at all. He only stopped for a moment at the edge of the forest, then walked quickly to Hu Lian, and did not get too close, stood far away, touched his heels, because he was not wearing a military hat, he only made a movement with the middle fingers of both hands close to the seam of his trousers, and casually and heroically saluted Hu Lian, "Commander——! ”

A bird in the woods behind the command tent screamed for a long time. I don't know if it's because of the bird's call, or because of Peng Tao's nonchalant smile, people quietly noticed that Hu Lian's bright eyes calmed down.

Zhao Zhen was originally going to be angry at Peng Tao, but Hu Lian was angry, and his own fire had to be held in his stomach. However, the look of anger and disgust on his face became even stronger.

The people around suddenly understood that a crisis had passed. Nervous, unnatural expressions disappeared from their faces, replaced by a smile that smirked as they looked at each other. Xu Yanglin's cleverness was revived again, he quickly ran to the command tent, opened the door curtain, and shouted, "Please!" Commanders, please come into the tent and rest! ”

Hu Lian was the first to move his feet.

followed by Zhao Zhen, who deliberately twisted his angry face to the side when he approached Peng Tao.

Then there was He Chaozong of the Military Operations Department. Before entering the tent, no one noticed that he blinked his left eye at Peng Tao quickly.

The last person to walk into the tent was Peng Tao. Xu Yanglin took a closer look and found that what had just happened had the slightest impact on him. Peng Tao is still radiant, calm and self-conscious. Xu Yanglin realized that although he had followed Peng Tao for a long time and thought he had learned a lot, in terms of today's events, just his generous, brave, and unprepared smile a few minutes ago, he would have to learn for many more years.

For a while, his admiration for the regiment commander deepened a lot.

The group entered the command tent.

It was a large tent made of four pieces of military tarpaulin, covering an area of forty or fifty square meters. An incandescent light bulb hung high in the middle of the canopy, illuminating everything in the tent as bright as day—two steps through the door was an oversized combat sand table, four meters square. More than a dozen military folding chairs have been set up in advance around the area. On the empty cannonball box in the middle, there are teacups with a blue pattern of two dragons playing with pearls on a white background of Jingdezhen fine porcelain with tea brewing, which are obviously prepared for guests. Together, they take up a third of the space inside the tent; To the right of the sand table were several military folding tables, a marching bed, several telephones and a large combat map hanging from the wall of the tent. It was clearly the forward command center of the regiment, which took up another one-third of the space in the tent; The third third of the space at the back of the tent is arranged as a lodging, separated from the sand table and command center in front by a red velvet curtain pulled across the wire.

Whether it was the negligence of the guards or the habit of the hosts who lived in it, the curtain was not closed, and the furnishings inside were laid out in plain sight: a marching bed covered with a military blanket and dog skins; In front of the bed is a square infantry rain cloth used to prevent moisture, and on the rain cloth is a precious carpet with a jujube red background pinching process; A violin hangs from the wall of the bedside canopy, a large radio on a military folding table below, and a real wardrobe at the other end of the marching bed, facing the entrance and exit of the tent; On the ground in front of the wardrobe were cardboard and wooden crates, mostly open, to see the cans and bottles inside, an empty bottle of a Frenchman glistening in the light—all in the same modest and utilitarian style of a frontier command of dissonance, excessive luxury, but they were not yet the most striking sights. The most amazing view is a color picture hanging from the head of the owner's bed. The picture is beautifully printed and shows a larger-than-life American actress staring at everyone who walks into the tent with a bright, suggestive gaze that you can't dodge. At this time, the mood and atmosphere in the tent; For everyone who came in, it suddenly became a little warm and challenging: Hu Lian walked into the tent with his head down, and as soon as he entered the door, his eyes bumped into the combat sand table underground. He stopped, and stood still in front of his lower abdomen with his rattan crutch as if he had just been outside, and for a quarter of an hour, without taking his eyes off the sand, and without seeing the depths of the tent.

After Zhao Zhen entered the door, he scanned the scene in this tent with that kind of expert and critical gaze. As soon as his gaze met a foreign actress, his cheeks were humiliated with the deep purple flush that only a man would have when he was furious. Still because of Hu Lian's presence, he didn't vent his anger immediately.

After Deputy Director He, who was spotless and elegant, came in, he only swept it away from the corner of his eye, and all the scenes in the tent were in his heart. But he only squinted his eyes and smiled slightly like an outsider - Hu Lian was still the center of their group, and Hu Lian had already lowered his head to look at the combat sand table underground, and he turned his gaze to the combat sand table.

Soon, they were all attracted by the sand table in front of them.

This is an exquisitely crafted sand table, which realistically shows the terrain of the entire mountainous area and the enemy's defensive posture obtained from reconnaissance. In the sand table, the ravines are vertical and horizontal, the mountains are numerous, and there are more than 600 small triangular flags planted to mark the many peaks and cliffs, and the protrusions of the mountain legs. Not only are the large geomorphological features clearly and accurately, but even the rain fissure ditch on a certain plateau, a small forest in a certain valley, the layers of stairs formed during the uplift of each mountain peak, and every subtle undulation when the ridgeline flows and extends, all of which have been delicately displayed in the style of teaching demonstration. Even people who have no artistic accomplishment at all, standing in front of this sand table, will be deeply shocked by the perfection it contains.

First, Hu Lian's eyebrows shrugged when he stared at it; Then two staff officers of the divisional organs—Ge Tie and Yang Zhaozhong, the operational staff officer of the 12th Mechanized Infantry Division—openly expressed their admiration for the sand table makers; In the end, Zhao Zhen couldn't help but be slightly moved. He was an expert and understood that there was only one kind of soldier in the world who could produce such a first-class work of art: not only was they highly skilled in all aspects of military topography, but more importantly, they must also have a paranoid fanaticism and love for human warfare from the depths of their lives.

When others' eyes focused on the sand table, Peng Tao's eyes took turns to pay attention to the expressions on everyone's faces; Xu Yanglin, who had been observing the head of the regiment attentively, found that if Peng Tao's face was only radiant before he walked into the tent, he was already radiant at this moment.

"Okay, Peng Tao, tell us about your group's plans again." After a long time, Hu Lian raised his head from the sand table and said in a hoarse voice, but the expression on his face seemed to be even more gloomy.

Peng Tao was waiting for this moment. His eyes suddenly lit up, and his face flashed with the excitement that would surely flood whenever he needed to show his excellence. He stood on the other side of the sand table, raised a long signal stick, looked at the people around the sand table with a confident and aggressive gaze, and finally stopped at Hu Lian, and said without thinking, loudly, and backwards: "According to the reports of the enemy at all levels and the analysis of the situation we have learned, the enemy's strength is about one battalion on the front line of the No. 001 high ground and the No. 1 ridge east of the main peak of Mount Kibiv, and its distribution is as follows: One and a half companies are responsible for key fortifications in the main peak area, The other half company was scattered in the No. 1 Ridge area and deployed in a point pattern. At present, the strength of our army that is being prepared for this combat operation is two reinforced infantry regiments and two artillery regiments that carry out the task of fire support, and the ratio of strength to strength is 7 to 1, and the artillery fire is 12 to 1. Therefore, I think that our army is fighting this battle with such a large number of troops, and it is really a knife to kill chickens. He paused for a moment, looked at the crowd with a brighter, more excited, and now somewhat sarcastic gaze, and realized that he had caused a dark shock among the people because he dared to criticize the commander in public for his determination to fight, and he could not help but feel pleasant. Throwing too many troops on the battlefield sometimes only increases unnecessary casualties and the burden on the commander," he paused, and finally said what he had been trying to say for a long time. "Therefore, today, on behalf of the entire regiment, I once again request to the commander of the corps and division that all the combat tasks of the attack on the area of Mount Kibiv be completed by our regiment. As the commander of the Third Regiment, I am willing to make a military order: If the battle is not fought well, and the task is not completed on time, I will never live to see you! ”

The last two sentences were sonorous and loud, and even Xu Yanglin's heart moved when he heard it. But Hu Lian's reaction was something that Peng Tao didn't realize: he didn't seem to hear what he said at all, so he pulled a chair indifferently, sat down silently, and continued to look down at the sand table. Zhao Zhen's reaction was to raise his eyes and glance at Peng Tao in disgust. Only a smile flashed on the corner of Deputy Director He's mouth that no one noticed.

There was a brief silence in the tent. People originally expected Hu Lian to express his stance on Peng Tao's words, but now that Hu Lian didn't speak, Zhao Zhen found an opportunity to vent his anger.

"You're pulling too far!" He said sharply to Peng Tao in a tone of obvious dissatisfaction, "What the commander wants to know is how you will complete the task tomorrow!" ”

A trace of grievance and disdain flashed on Peng Tao's face for a moment, and his eyes collided with Xu Yanglin sharply, as if to say: Look at these old antiques, they can't trust us! He didn't hesitate, he immediately turned his face, looked directly at Zhao Zhen, and said angrily and loudly: "The battle plan of our regiment has already been submitted to the commanders at the two levels of the army and division for review and approval. I repeat it now: the task given to our regiment by the higher authorities was to attack the Soviet troops in the area of the No. 1 ridge. The No. 1 ridge is a large mountain beam that stretches from east to west, stretching for more than six kilometers east of the No. 001 high ground of the main peak of Kibiv Mountain, according to reconnaissance, the beam ridge is basically flat, there is no danger to defend, the enemy's strength is thin, at present only at the west end of the No. 164 high ground, the middle section of the No. 3 dry high ground, the east end of the No. 631 high ground set up a point defense, each point of the strength of the maximum of one platoon, the rest of the strength of about one platoon in other areas of the beam as a lurking post. The above three highlands are isolated and difficult to support each other, and in the high mountain areas south of the Great Rift Valley, no large force of the Soviet army has been found to be active. The deployment of our regiment was as follows: We will use the original three battalions to attack the above three heights respectively, and keep the three battalions of the 5th Regiment, which have been strengthened by the division to our regiment, as the reserve of the regiment. The specific implementation plan is as follows: From 10 o'clock tonight, each battalion will secretly enter the lurking area, and at 6:40 tomorrow morning, our artillery fire will begin to prepare, the engineer detachment will open up a passage for the infantry in the minefield, and the sharp knife companies of each battalion will follow the engineer to meet the enemy. After 20 minutes, the artillery fire will be extended, that is, it will press the enemy's position with lightning speed, and with our outnumbered enemy, the battle will be quickly ended and the defense will be transferred. He looked around for a moment, and saw that the people did not immediately understand the beauty of this battle plan, and his brow furrowed slightly, and his eyes became sharp and bright again. This plan seems to divide the forces equally, and it does not conform to the operational principle of concentrating superior forces to break through each one, but in fact it is not; If the No. 1 Ridge Beam is long and the enemy is scattered, if only one point is concentrated on attacking it, and then defeating the enemy section by section, it will inevitably delay time and it will be difficult to realize the tactical intention of the surprise attack. At present, even if we attack one of its high ground with one battalion, we will have an absolute superiority in troops, and besides, if we break through one point, we can carry out a horizontal advance along the mountain beam to the other two points, so that the enemy will lose his superiority. In the end, he turned his gaze back to Hu Lian and slowly expressed his determination. After fully estimating the difficult situation that might occur in the battle, on behalf of the command of the 3rd Regiment and all the officers and men, I assured the commander of the corps and division: within three hours of the start of the offensive operation, the battle on the No. 1 Ridge will be completely over! ”

He finished, but the excitement caused by the words remained on his face and eyes. Peng Tao glanced at the people around the sand table with these sparkling eyes, and once again felt that his words had undoubtedly left a deep impression on most people. But Hu Lian's expression was still gloomy and indifferent. He looked at the sand table for a while, stood up slowly, and said to He Chaozong: "Deputy Director He, you can also explain the battle plan of the 4th Regiment to Peng Tao, so that he can grasp the situation and facilitate coordination." ”

"Yes!"

He Chaozong replied in a moderate tone, then opened the battle map bag with both hands in front of his lower abdomen, and read aloud in a clear, fluent, flat, and untouched tone unique to professional staff officers: "The task of the 4th Regiment is to recover the No. 001 Heights of the Main Peak of Mount Kibiv and the surrounding small heights. The strength of the Soviet army consisted of a reinforced infantry company, four or five infantry platoons, 9 82-mm mortars, 34 grenadiers, and 12 rocket launchers, which were mainly supported by Heights 001 to organize defense. The north side of the high ground is mostly deep ravines and large gullies, broken cliffs, and it is more difficult for the troops to carry out and carry out the attack, and the south side of the slope is relatively gentle and there are no cliffs, according to this, the regiment decided that after the artillery fire is prepared at dawn tomorrow, the first battalion and two companies will assist the No. 001 high ground from the north side, and the remaining two battalions and the third company of the first battalion will move west from the current assembly area to Vulture Peak at 7 o'clock tonight, climb over the mountain pass, secretly enter the big mountain gorge on the south side of the Kibiv Mountain, and turn to the northeast, and sneak into the dense forest southwest of the No. 001 high ground before the artillery fire is ready at dawn tomorrow morning. As soon as the artillery preparations began, an attack was launched from the southern foot of the high ground to the summit in multiple directions. The 4th Regiment pledged to take Heights 001 and the surrounding small heights by 10 o'clock tomorrow afternoon. ”

He Chaozong closed the battle chart bag and said that his business was completed. It's like a supporting actor who knows his place on the stage, just finished his performance at the front desk, and immediately retreats to the backstage. But the whole plot was reversed by his appearance.

(To be continued)