The reason for this seems to be that his mind is not free when formulating the plan, but is confined to the framework set by others. All those enemy situations, terrain, and tasks are unchangeable, and the battle can only be fought like that. In the haze, he felt that in his helplessness, there might be a deeper danger that a genius military strategist should be able to be aware of. As for what danger it was, he didn't know. Peng Tao's attitude towards this psychological ambivalence is consistent with his arrogant surname, that is, to put it simply: since he firmly believes that his military talents are outstanding, and he does not see what the so-called "deep danger" is, he certainly does not need to pay attention to it!

It was with this in mind that he ushered in the last morning before the war. He thought that his inner problem had been solved, but he didn't expect that it was only temporarily avoided. On this day, he was extremely nervous and excited: first Hu Lian and Zhao Zhen came to No. 1 Ridge and almost replaced him from the command position of the 3rd Regiment; Then there was Liu Zongsheng, who in his own way clearly expressed his distrust of his battle plan. The distrust from above has a way to deal with him, but Liu Zongsheng's distrust has made him change his mood greatly, after all, this is the distrust in the heart of a real military expert, who has more actual combat experience than himself! Peng Tao immediately decided to leave everything behind and drive to the battalions: the war was imminent, and he had no time and could no longer doubt his battle plan, only the troops who carried out the plan!

As a field commander, it was an unusual night: If Peng Tao, who had participated in several wars, could think calmly, he might have understood that the general euphoria that appeared in the command posts of the troops and regiments at this moment was not only a distorted reflection of the heavy feeling caused by the war to the participants, but also a refraction of the psychological characteristics of the officers and men of the whole regiment, such as self-confidence, firmness, and certainty of victory. But tonight he desperately wanted to get rid of that last bit of doubt and uneasiness from the bottom of his heart.

A new operational idea became clear in Peng Tao's mind. The commander of the division had set a time for the troops to launch an attack at 6:40 a.m. tomorrow morning, and the infantry could only launch an assault after the artillery bombardment of the entire line had been completed. Since the starting area of the attack occupied by the detachments of the 3rd Regiment tonight is still 1,000 to 3,000 meters away from the three Soviet heights of the No. 1 Ridge, even if the sappers are allowed to open an impact path in the minefield at the beginning of the shelling, and the infantry then launches the assault, the shelling will definitely end when they approach the high ground, and then the shock troops may be forced to turn to a strong attack. This morning, he boasted to the army commander about the Haikou for a quick victory, but when he thought of a strong offensive battle, he was a little weak-hearted: The width of the attack road that the engineer detachment could open up for the infantry in a hurry was limited, so the infantry could deploy a limited number of troops to face the enemy head-on at one time, and as long as the enemy set up a high-level dual-purpose machine gun on the top of the hill to block the attack channel, the high ground might not be able to hold on for a long time. Tomorrow he will compete with Zhu Yongde only for the time to end the war and the quality of the battle, if he can't fight quickly, he will lose all the victories that seem to be within reach!

It was necessary to shorten the distance of the movement of the attacking forces to the heights. It's best to get under the enemy's nose while the shelling is still over, so that the attack is a surprise attack rather than a strong attack!

He's got to work on that!

As midnight approached, this new operational vision finally turned into a firm resolve.

This was determined that instead of 6:40 a.m. tomorrow, the sappers assigned to each battalion would act two hours earlier than scheduled, and that they would secretly open up the infantry assault passage from the minefields under the enemy-occupied high ground before the artillery bombardment of the whole line, and that the main assault companies of each battalion would immediately follow up and infiltrate the target, and infiltrate as close to the enemy's forward position as possible if the situation permits. As soon as tomorrow dawn is over, our artillery attack will be over, that is, we will pounce on it in a short distance and take the enemy by surprise!

The merit and danger of this are equally obvious: if he can penetrate his troops to-night to a distance where he can enter the enemy position in a single leap, he will be able to shorten the time to end the battle to-morrow to a surprising number; One of the dangers is that it is easy to expose one's intentions prematurely, so that tomorrow's war on the whole front of Kibiv Mountain will be deprived of its sudden surname, and the second is that tonight's troops are too close to the enemy's position, and they may be injured by the dense and heavy artillery fire of their own side tomorrow. Peng Tao thought he could take a risk: the reports of the three battalions during the afternoon inspection further strengthened his intuition that the defenders on Ridge No. 1 might be less than originally estimated, and even if each battalion stepped on one or two mines in the process of infiltration, it was unlikely that our army as a whole would be exposed. Scouts from both sides had been active in the area for months, and the enemy didn't mind too much of a thunderclap or two in the woods in the middle of the night. Of course, there is no guarantee that it will never be exposed, and once it is exposed, it is equivalent to sending a message to the enemy two hours in advance, and tomorrow's battle will be complicated, especially the main force of the 4th Regiment, which is still in a roundabout movement, will suddenly fall into an extremely embarrassing situation. Peng Tao thought about this danger for half an hour, and finally decided to ignore it!

No battlefield commander dares to give a 12-point guarantee for his determination, determination itself is a risk, and one of the secrets of everyone's success in military history is to dare to take risks and win by surprise, and thus his thinking about another danger also ends: that is, the battalions are too close to the enemy and a few people are accidentally wounded by our artillery fire, and the price paid is much smaller than the price paid for turning a surprise attack into a strong attack by being too far away from the enemy after launching an attack!

The commander on his wrist mostly pointed to 24 o'clock with the hour hand of the watch, and he asked Xu Yanglin to connect the telephone calls of the three battalions, and in the form of orders, he issued his new combat determination to the commanders of each battalion. The commander of the second battalion and the commander of the third battalion did not express any objections, and Zhang Yongquan, the deputy commander of the first battalion under the 164th height, groaned and raised a question that Peng Tao did not expect: "Commander, can I simply touch the enemy's hill in one go?!" ”

Zhang Yongquan was the one Peng Tao privately admired the most among the officers at the battalion and regiment levels in the whole regiment. If he himself sees war as an art, Zhang Yongquan simply thinks it is a playful trick.

He immediately heard the hidden meaning of Zhang Yongquan's words.

"Zhang Yongquan, you kid listen to me!" He shouted at the other party, "I only told you to infiltrate the enemy position, and I didn't let you touch it!" If you give me nonsense, you will expose our army's intentions too soon, and affect the victory of the whole line tomorrow, and the army commander will kill your head! ”

"I understand it below!" Zhang Yongquan replied in a lively, seemingly docile but actually cunning tone. As soon as he put down the telephone receiver, he realized the two meanings contained in Zhang Yongquan's word "understand": first, the regiment commander did not let him directly touch the enemy position; Second, on the premise of not taking responsibility and being able to absolutely guarantee that he would not be exposed, the regiment commander was not completely opposed to him touching the enemy's position. For a moment, Peng Tao stood still, wondering if the latter meaning was his idea, and immediately he secretly admitted it. What Zhang Yongquan has just said is a very tempting suggestion for him, a bolder development of his newfound determination to fight: If the battalions had been touching the enemy's positions tonight under the cover of night, and had taken them down without even realizing it, the battle of No. 1 Ridge would have ended at dawn tomorrow! "No," he quickly dispelled the thought, "it is impossible to rush up the hill without shooting, and it is impossible not to expose the shot." ”

From then on, his spirit became doubly tense. A new determination to fight was being put into practice, and he couldn't help but sweat in his heart. 164 Heights, yes, although he just categorically rejected Zhang Yongquan's proposal, its binding force on Zhang Yongquan under 164 Heights is limited. The guy would have thought he had mastered the leader's hints.

In fact, he didn't want Zhang Yongquan to really give up his plans. However, this matter is too mysterious, and the risk is too great, and he can't help but worry about Zhang Yongquan.

Four o'clock in the morning. A phone suddenly grabbed the microphone.

"Where?"

"Is it the regimental commander? I'm Zhang Yongquan! ”

"How's it going?"

"Report to the head of the regiment, I have touched the 164 heights!"

"What do you say? …… Monkey business! Peng Tao instinctively shook in his heart and roared, "Who told you to go to the 164 Heights!" An idea suddenly came to his mind, making him panic: Maybe Zhang Yongquan has already exposed our army's intentions!

"Commander, I didn't expose!" Zhang Yongquan said that he could hear that not only did he not feel guilty for touching the 164 heights, but on the contrary, he was very excited about it, "I brought a platoon of the third company to touch it, and I originally only planned to use bayonets and daggers, but I didn't expect to even use bayonets and daggers!" ”

"What's going on?!"

"Commander, there are no enemies on the fucking 164 heights!" Zhang Yongquan smiled hoarsely and said.

"No enemies?"

Peng Tao suddenly failed to understand the meaning of this unexpected situation. But as soon as the words came out, his face turned slightly pale! "Zhang Yongquan, you tell me more about the situation!" He said reluctantly, his tone becoming harsher.

"Regiment commander, I brought three companies and a platoon a quarter of an hour ago, and I was going to hide in front of the enemy position. Later, when I heard that there was no sound in the enemy's trenches, I couldn't help but jump in and touch it, but I didn't touch a single person. …… Instead, he found a small shed made of bamboo and straw behind the high ground position, and a pile of firewood ash was still hot in the shed. I suspect that Heights 164 may just be a warning position for the enemy, with a few men coming to guard during the day and withdrawing at night! ”

Peng Tao wanted to say something but stopped. He suddenly realized that what he almost said was the biggest threat to him: if there were no enemies on the highest altitude of 164, there might be no enemies on the other two heights of the First Ridge, 342 and 631! He no longer feared that Zhang Yongquan would expose our army's intentions on the 164 heights, and now his heart was terrified by another prospect: when he put into practice the battle plan he had painstakingly worked out, there was no enemy on the hill he was going to attack!

"No,...... How is this possible!? For a moment his whole consciousness rebelled fiercely against this clearly existing fact, and at the same time acknowledged its grim existence. Peng Tao's heart was in turmoil: If there was no enemy defense on the entire No. 1 Ridge, how could he fight this battle?!

"Commander, since you have already touched it, you have to take advantage of this opportunity!" Zhang Yongquan's voice sounded in his ears again, "I want to pull all the three companies to the mountain beam and ambush them on both flanks of the high ground." It is estimated that the enemy will go up the mountain around dawn. As soon as our artillery fire was over, we immediately gave them a surprise attack from the flanks and back. That will make tomorrow morning's battle easy! ”

"You can guarantee that the enemy will return to the high ground around dawn?" Peng Tao breathed a sigh of relief, and his tone was still stern. He had glimpsed a glimmer of life from despair, but he didn't dare to believe it too much!

"I promise!" Zhang Yongquan replied very dryly, and his tone became serious, "Our army is pressed in large groups around Kibifu Mountain, and it is unimaginable that the enemy does not send a single soldier on the No. 1 Ridge. But they had limited troops, and it was impossible to send many people, so they sent a guard post here. …… Don't worry, commander, we will definitely be able to hit the enemy! ”

His mind was seen through by Zhang Yongquan again! But Peng Tao was still encouraged. No, he couldn't convince his men that they were just fighting an enemy guard post. "Zhang Yongquan, listen, tell your people, you yourself must remember: you are not fighting the enemy's guard post! At dawn came a reinforced platoon of the enemy! …… With such an important position, it is impossible for them to not even let go of the strength of a platoon! ”

Zhang Yongquan immediately understood the meaning of his words. "Got it!" He said.

"I agree with your arrangement of the three companies. However, it is necessary to be absolutely safe and not to be discovered by the enemy too soon! And don't let the artillery fire of our army reach them at dawn! ”

"Understood!"

Putting down the phone, his heart was hanging high, but his brain was nervously thinking about the new situation on the No. 1 Ridge. Once the danger of no enemy at dawn can be roughly ruled out, it is a good thing for Zhang Yongquan to touch the 164 heights in advance. If there are no enemies on the heights of 164, N2, and 631 at this time, there is a valuable opportunity that he can take advantage of!

He asked for the call again to the 164 heights.

"Zhang Yongquan?"

"It's me, Captain. What are your instructions? ”

"If I ask you to send a small detachment now, let's say a platoon, to the east along the 1st Ridge Mountain, and secretly reconnoiter the 342nd and 631st heights, can you be sure that they will not expose our army's intentions?"

This was a question that surprised Zhang Yongquan. But he only hesitated for a moment, and then reacted: "Regiment commander, I sent out one of my most effective platoons. It is true that the enemy did not lay mines on the mountain beams. Let the commander of the first battalion take them! Absolutely guaranteed to tackle possible enemies with bayonets and daggers! ”

Peng Tao finally hesitated. In doing so, he is taking a greater risk himself. The absence of enemies on heights 164 does not mean that there will be no enemies on heights 342 and 631. But he still took the risk: since Heights 164 had no enemies, the other two heights that were not more important than it should not have enemies!

If there is no enemy on the heights of 342 and 631, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions can rush to the enemy position and lay an ambush before our artillery bombardment, as the 1st Battalion did. In this way, the battle of dawn will be more compact and exciting!

"Well, I agree to give this order!" He said to Zhang Yongquan, "But you want them to be extra careful, if something goes wrong, I'll settle accounts with you!" ”

At this moment, he felt how tense the atmosphere in the operational command room had become during this time: all the staff officers on duty had left what they were doing and stood up, with a look of panic and anxiety on their faces. When he had finished his last sentence, they quietly breathed a sigh of relief as if a crisis had passed, and sat down in their seats again, their faces showing excitement and excitement once more, along with the admiration he had seen for him. Peng Tao walked back from the "hall" to the "bedroom", and it was these expressions and gazes that made his heart hang high again!

"Am I taking too many risks? …… If there is an enemy on Heights 342 or 631, can the commander of the first battalion and the third company and one platoon guarantee that not a single shot will be fired by the enemy? Looking at the huge military map on the cave wall, he thought with great nervousness. From Heights 164 to Heights 342, and then from Heights 342 to Heights 631, each with a kilometer and a half of mountain beams in between, a battalion of small detachments will be exposed if they encounter the enemy's latent posts and swimming minefields! …… But he was unwilling to take back the orders he had given, and Zhang Yongquan was afraid that he had sent the team out!

He used the telephone in the "bedroom" to call the 2nd and 3rd Battalions respectively, and ordered them to cooperate with the actions of the 1st Battalion detachment, continue to secretly approach the 342 and 631 heights, and report to him as soon as they found signs of enemy activity on the high ground!

Then it's another wait! He walked nervously around the "bedroom" twice, pulled over a folding chair and sat down, and waited anxiously for news from the battalions, especially the gunshots that would ring out from the No. 1 ridge at any moment! In less than ten minutes, he stood up again, walked into the "hall", and asked Xu Yanglin to take two staff officers to the observation post set up on the ridge line, and pay attention to whether there were any gunshots on the front line of the No. 1 ridge!

Gunshots have already gone off. At first it was only a few sporadic and vague strokes, then it became denser again, then it thinned out again. Peng Tao was shocked and ordered himself to calm down! Sedation! He listened carefully and realized that the gunfire did not come from the direction of No. 1 Ridge, but from the distant mountains and forests to the southwest. It was obvious that Zhu Yongde's troops had not yet reached the starting point of the attack and encountered the enemy!

He stood with a grim face, not allowing himself to be excited! The phone rang again.

It turned out that the 2nd and 3rd Battalions had sent assault detachments respectively before receiving his order, and secretly began to infiltrate the 342 and 631 heights, and now they have all ascended the heights. The detachment of the 2nd Battalion also joined the detachment of the 1st Battalion on the 342nd height. The commanders of the 2nd and 3rd battalions reported the situation: there was no enemy on the 342 and 631 heights either!

(To be continued)