However, political commissar Wang Yuanshan did not point out the problem in Zhao Hu's words, because he also believed that his army was the first in the world, although the political commissars of the Huaxia National Defense Force were generally not highly involved in military work because most of them were quick successes, but they also had a sense of honor as soldiers, and they were often even higher than military commanders. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

However, on Zhao Hu's statement that Zhejiang people are not cold-tolerant, Wang Yuanshan has reservations, "In fact, southerners are not as afraid of cold as you think, at least Jiangsu and Zhejiang are not, although the temperature in winter is higher than in the north, but the humidity in the south is high, and the cold can not be stopped by wearing a cotton jacket, I stayed in Hangzhou for a year, and the winter there is not good." Besides, the Second Division has been here for more than two years, and it has long adapted to the climate of the Rocky Mountains, not to mention that we have made such full preparations. ”

"Yes, this sleeping bag is really a good thing, in such a cold weather, you can still sleep peacefully in it, and there is a set of dog skin coats (the full set also includes dog skin hats and dog skin collar gowns, which can be supplied in large quantities, dog skin is the strongest ability to withstand the cold, in order to meet the needs of the North American battlefield, in recent years, the government across the country has killed millions of dogs, just to get so many dog skins, fortunately there are no dog lovers this year, otherwise I don't know what ^_^ it will be sprayed into. It's much warmer than a padded jacket, and it's not bloated when worn on the body. Zhao Hu also praised with deep feeling after hearing this, "There are also sleds and snowboards that also play a big role, if there are no these two treasures, the snow on the flat ground is nearly a foot deep, and this road is really impossible." ”

Wang Yuanshan was silent for a while after hearing this, and then pointed to a mule that was pulling a sleigh and sighed, "In fact, they are the biggest heroes, without this kind of donkey and mule, the burden of carrying more items will outweigh the convenience they bring (in addition to the Chinese soldiers are more hard-working, this is the main reason why the US army gave up halfway and the Chinese army can still insist on going south. ）。 ”

"Yes, this mule is so godly, it can be carried and pulled, not to mention, it can work normally in the cold and oxygen-deficient mountains, if you want me to say, our mules are the real god mules, and the kind of marines is just big, in fact, it is not as easy to use as us." , Zhao Hu immediately nodded and praised when he heard this.

Wang Yuanshan fell into deep thought and did not respond, "In fact, it can be carried and pulled, resistant to severe cold and hypoxia, including roughage resistance, and good walking on mountain roads These are the common characteristics of mules (the same is true for horses and mules, but donkeys and mules are stronger.) The real scary thing about this kind of donkey and mule is precisely their physique, they can carry 300 kilograms of heavy loads on mountain roads to work normally, they can easily pull a thousand pounds on a flat dirt road, and if the road conditions are good, they can even pull a 1-ton cart alone, including now pulling a sled, how can they do it without a terrifying physique of more than 800 kilograms? Speaking of which, donkeys and mules can grow into such a big man, it's incredible to think about it, and what's even more incredible is that with the difficulty of breeding between male horses and female donkeys, so many numbers can be bred. ”

As Wang Yuanshan thought, the super work ability of the mountain division is the key factor for the mountain division to be equipped with so many artillery, and the fact that this mission can bring equipment to prevent storms but does not bring much drag, is also the credit of the mountain. The larger the size of the draft animal, the lower the basal metabolic rate, the more feed is relatively saved, and at the same time it can save manpower to take care of it, and it is precisely because of these two advantages that the per capita supply and carrying capacity of the mountain division is more than double that of the US army.

The so-called "divine mule" caused only quantitative changes, but the qualitative changes brought by the canopy, it made the mountain division have the ability to attack fortifications that were not inferior to ordinary infantry divisions, and Zhao Hu and their tasks this time were also based on this qualitative change, otherwise the lone army went deep into the enemy's heavy land, but was trapped under the fortified city, that is the rhythm of death.

However, perhaps because of the blessing and misfortune, although this sudden cold snap caused some sins to the officers and men of the First Brigade, it also reduced the difficulty of the task to a great extent.

Originally, according to the sketch drawn by the Indian guide, Zhao Hu planned to go some distance south in the valley and then climb east over a hollow in the Rocky Mountains into the plains of the central United States, because further south, Lake Flathead would block the way, and it would not be easy to get enough boats in a hurry, and it would be even more difficult to make a raft.

Even if the problem of the means of crossing the lake can be solved, once the enemy discovers it while crossing the lake, it will inevitably suffer heavy losses under the enemy's shelling, which is too risky.

However, the rapid drop in temperature has caused this lake that is still floating with ice floes to freeze again, which is worthy of being one of the cleanest lakes in the world, Zhao Hu, who was somewhat expected of this, sent a small team south to investigate, and found that the ice surface has been quite solid, as long as you don't die in the middle of the lake, and then make some targeted preparations (but in any case, it is much faster and easier than going over the mountain, even if it is a mountain soldier, you have to take off a layer of skin when you climb over such a natural danger as the Rocky Mountains, especially in spring when it is the season of high avalanches. Zhao Hu immediately changed his original plan and ordered the whole brigade to go south immediately, taking advantage of the fact that the US military thought that it was impossible for the enemy to attack in the extremely cold weather and suspended the patrol, so he walked directly on the ice and crossed the lake overnight!

Just in case, and to speed things up, Zhao Hu temporarily abandoned the heavy 105mm mountain guns and asked the artillerymen to make some larger sleds to reduce the pressure, while also waiting for two more days. At this time, although the temperature began to warm up, the maximum temperature was still below freezing, and the ice was still thickening, so it was safer to leave a little later, anyway, to deal with several US strongholds near the south shore of the lake, mortars alone were enough.

The several American outposts near the southern shore of the lake were indeed not strong, and the garrison was very limited, and they did not expect that the enemy would be able to hit here in such a ghostly weather, so they neglected to take precautions, and the scout detachment of the 1st Brigade took them down one after another without firing a single shot. This should have been something to be happy about, but now Zhao Hu is already an experienced general, and he keenly noticed two anomalies, "Although the garrison is not much, it greatly exceeds the standard of a normal outpost, and who are those temporary warehouses filled with supplies for?" (To be continued.) )