Monday, July 28, 1625.

It was nightfall, and a brief light rain passed. In the camp, four 120mm cannons dismantled from the port fortress are working hard to repair the canopy outside the firing position to protect these precious long-range weapons. It took almost a week to transport the cannons to the front during the rainy season, and several precious pack horses were lost along the way.

In the rest camp of the 5th Infantry Company, in a large wooden shed, the only shortwave radio station was surrounded by the officers and soldiers in the center with great interest, slowly adjusting and capturing the faint signal from the distant homeland. Moments later, music came over the radio, and a group of young soldiers leaned close together, sharpening their ears and listening hard.

Although it was a war phase and the guarantee of communication between troops was paramount, Lieutenant Scott still gave permission to open the radio at this time tonight and listen to the music programme of the local Manchester City radio station.

Today is a new song that I have never heard before, a dance music style of slow four beats, and the combination of flute, zheng, and violin makes the rhythm of the music clear and soft. Jenny's sweet and ethereal style, combined with the unique elegance of this rhythm, makes the song "Blooming Life" look very flavorful even in the 21st century.

"How many times have I fallen on the road, how many times have I broken my wings. Now I don't feel hesitant anymore, I want to go beyond this ordinary life......"

"I want to live like flying in the sky. It's like walking through the boundless wilderness, with the strength to break free......"

Scott didn't go to squeeze the ordinary officers and soldiers, or dominate the radio station, but sat quietly in the distance, the song coming in his ears was faint and difficult to read, but he still made an unusually serious expression, and the kettle in his hand did not move. It seems that I have long forgotten about it.

"Lieutenant Scott. It seems that there is no letter written today? ”

"Ah...... Sir! ”

A figure sat down beside him. A familiar voice rang out. Scott quickly turned around, stood up and saluted. In front of him was Captain You Nam-cheol, a smiling staff officer of the 1st Combat Battalion.

"I heard that your wife is about to give birth, but we have to give up our rest because of the delay in the battle. Hopefully you won't complain about the orders of the Army Command. ”

You Nanzhe handed over a can of canned fruit with a smile, and took the initiative to take the kettle in the other party's hand, regardless of whether the other party had drunk it or not, he unscrewed the lid and drank it by himself.

Didn't follow the topic of Nanzhe upstream. Scott just smiled faintly.

"Huh? You seem to be a little confused? There didn't seem to be anything to talk about, and when You Nanzhe put down the kettle, he found Scott looking straight at him.

"Captain, why do we want to occupy this island so far away? If we need land, whether it's west of West Point, east of Silver Valley, or north of Porter, there's land in sight. After a few seconds, Scott took off his military hat, looked at the northern starry sky, and said softly.

"Take control of this ocean. For the sake of our women and future generations. You Nanzhe thought for a moment and pointed to his feet. If it is only to satisfy our own desires, then this island is obviously superfluous. But here is what we need for the future, here for our weapons for the brimstone, for our newest warships for the precious wood, for our children for the cane sugar fruits, for our women for the beautiful dresses made of cotton grown here, and for our merchant ships to sail from here all the way to India. ”

"As soldiers, we are not just killing, we are also fighting with our own blood for our women and children to live in this world and a more prosperous life. This is our God-given mission, and our own happiness is nothing compared to it. ”

"Remember what you said to your soldiers during the Northern Campaign, we have no intention of fighting the barbarian civilization forever, but we ultimately want to spread the light of civilization to every corner of this barbaric wilderness. Barbaric civilizations may only distinguish between right and wrong in terms of friend and foe, but we cannot. So I agree with what you did last time, because we are not only soldiers, we are also ordinary people, someone's husband, father or son, and this is the bottom line of civilization and belief that every soldier must adhere to. ”

"Thank you, Captain." Scott nodded, put on his military cap, and gave a military salute, "Sir, I have a hunch that I have a premonition that Captain Zhu they have fallen into a dangerous situation where they cannot retreat!" ”

The smile on You Nanzhe's face slowly disappeared, and he quietly looked into Scott's eyes, trying to reach a recognizable resonance with the hunch in the other party's mind.

In the wooden shed in the distance, Jenny's singing had entered the last cycle, and the officers and soldiers involuntarily swayed their upper bodies slightly to the beat.

"How many times have I lost my bearings, how many times have I extinguished my dreams. Now I don't feel lost anymore, I want my life to be free......"

"I want a life that blooms, like standing on the top of a rainbow. It's like walking through the bright galaxy, with the power to transcend the ordinary......".

The next day, it was a rare sunny day, in the front-line camp, except for the two companies responsible for guarding the periphery, the officers and men of the remaining six companies were neatly lined up in the camp, and nearly 600 officers and men watched cautiously as a group of officers walked in front of them, wondering if there would be another unbearable "general attack" next.

The commander-in-chief, Major Feng Bin, slowly walked through the ranks of soldiers, followed by Captain You Nanzhe, a staff officer, Captain Deng Jian, commander of the 2nd Operations Battalion, and Lieutenant Scott of the 5th Infantry Company.

"Oh, look, the commanders are probably disgusted with today's good weather again, they will always pick the time when we feel most comfortable to catch us to the front line......" Yu Shan, who was standing at the front of the 11th Infantry Company, couldn't help but mutter.

"Shut up, you idiot, if you complain again, I'll shove you in the wild man's ass!" Makarov's ears were as sensitive as ever, and he always seemed to catch any of Yu Shan's complaints.

Qiao Yan, who was beside Yu Shan, didn't speak, just nervously pinched the shoulder strap of his rifle and looked intently at the several officers who were gradually approaching.

"The special combat team has been deep behind enemy lines for a week, and even though they have long guided us to victory after victory with the most fearless spirit, the cruelty and cunning of the opponent still make me have to care about the safety of these comrades!" Feng Bin looked at the officers and soldiers in the front row, and the expression on his face became more and more stern. "Obviously. At this difficult time. They are desperately waiting for reinforcements, and they need a team of warriors who they can all admire! ”

As he spoke, Feng Bin glanced sideways at Lieutenant Scott and left the rest of his speech to the initiator of the operation.

"It will be on a voluntary basis. The most elite soldiers are selected under only one condition, veterans who have served for more than two years! ”

Scott takes off his military hat and throws it to Sergeant Major Maddie behind him. Then took the rifle and the steel helmet. Holding a rifle in one hand, his legs slightly open, his eyes blazing under the steel helmet. This is his most classic image, once remembered by countless veterans in the Northern Campaign.

"Oh, it's a once-in-a-lifetime day, and there's finally a chance to get rid of those rookies!"

Sergeant Major Makarov actually cracked his mouth and laughed, and when he came out of the ranks, he walked a few meters to Lieutenant Scott in a few big strides, first gave a military salute, and then turned around on the spot. Towards the Soldier Queue.

"Damn, this big monkey is paying attention to me again. I hate those eyes......" When met with Sergeant Makarov's rather playful gaze and smile, Yu Shan didn't know how many times he scolded Makarov's ancestors, "Why me again, why!" Isn't it voluntary? ”

Qiao Yan beside him began to take steps, Yu Shan almost stretched out his hand to pull the other party's rifle, but unfortunately Qiao Yan's pace was very fast, Yu Shan's wrist was only raised at a small angle, and his companion had already left several meters. Seeing that his companion silently walked in front of Makarov, one stood upright, like a stump no longer shaking in the slightest.

Gradually, several corporals or sergeants who had been born and died together in the Northern Campaign went out, and there were also a number of veterans who had missed the Northern Campaign in 1622, and the lowest ranks among these people were first-class privates.

Yu Shan stared at the ground, resisting the feeling of his legs that were not very in sync with his brain. Feeling Makarov's gaze sweeping over him again, Yu Shan finally gritted his teeth, tightened the shoulder strap of his rifle, and walked to Qiao Yan's side with a rotten expression.

Makarov laughed silently, the scar on his face pulled down, and laughing was more ugly than crying.

The number of troops who volunteered to join the rescue force reached two platoons, and a total of 64 soldiers stood in four rows, of which non-commissioned officers accounted for more than two-thirds, all of whom were the best of the veterans.

"Sergeant Major Maddie, starting today, before I come back, you will lead the company to obey the command of Lieutenant Liu Chenxu." Scott glanced at most of the familiar faces in front of him, smiled with satisfaction, and then turned to the sergeant major beside him to give the order.

"But sir, shouldn't I be with you?" When Sergeant Maddie heard this, he shouted as if he had been abandoned, his expression very aggrieved.

"No, your greater duty is to take the 5th Infantry Company and complete the remaining combat missions in the next time." Scott didn't allow his subordinates to protest and walked up to Sergeant Major Makarov, "Sergeant Major Makarov, let's get ready, we'll leave in 30 minutes!" ”

The officers and men who did not have the courage to go out of the ranks, or the vast majority of the officers and men who were not "qualified" to be in the ranks, all looked at the dozens of comrades-in-arms quietly, and their expressions were very complicated.

……

In the gloomy and damp primeval forest, a few Chinese Army soldiers with branch camouflage and soaked military uniforms were resting weakly against the roots of several large trees, a stretcher was on the side, a wounded man was unconscious, and several hidden soldiers were on guard at several key locations nearby.

It's been the 10th day, far beyond Zhu Xiaoli's scheduled maximum operation time, and the ration supplies carried by the team members have long been exhausted, relying entirely on the field survival skills of the special combat team members to obtain food and fresh water in the jungle.

On the fourth day of departure, the special operations team accidentally lost most of the signal flares and smoke bombs while sheltering from the torrential rain. On the 5th day, a team member accidentally broke his calf, and this most serious accident directly led Zhu Xiaoli and others to expose their whereabouts and had to choose to retreat, but the wounded greatly slowed down the retreat. The hunter becomes the prey at once, and the Caribbeans, who are equally experienced in the jungle, begin to chase the special operators with a vengeance.

A large amount of ammunition was damp, and the counter-pursuit battle on the way to the retreat was extremely difficult. On the seventh day, a special combat team member in charge of the outpost never returned, and there were at least two days to go back to the camp, and Zhu Xiaoli knew that he was in an embattled situation.

By yesterday, the injuries of the special combat team member who broke his lower leg began to worsen, and he developed a high fever, and the medicine carried by the team was very limited, which could only ensure that the wound on the broken leg would not continue to worsen.

"Captain, they're touching again!" A special combat soldier hidden on the flank bowed down to Zhu Xiaoli's side and wiped the sweat from his face, "Do you want to fire?" ”

"You take everyone away and give me the sniper rifle." Zhu Xiaoli grabbed the sniper rifle in the opponent's hand, and opened the cowhide bullet box on his waist to make sure that the ammunition was still well preserved, so he pointed to the direction of the west, "You can't go to the north, you go around from the west." ”

"But the captain ......" his subordinates were stunned, and immediately went to grab the gun again, "I'll break the queen!" ”

Before he could finish speaking, the familiar sound of the gun's shotgun fire could be heard in the jungle to the east and north, and the screams of the Caribbeans could be faintly heard.

Dozens of Caribbean warriors gathered from several directions, and this time they had figured out the path of these hateful ghosts and began to use their jungle warfare skills as well.

Several feather arrows flew with a whistling sound, one of which was nailed to the trunk of a tree only a few meters away from Zhu Xiaoli with a thud, and then there was a scream, and the special combat team member who was fighting with Zhu Xiaoli for a sniper rifle just now let out a cry of pain, and an arrow hit him in the back shoulder.

Zhu Xiaoli hurriedly rolled around, hid behind a fallen small tree, and then quickly got up to aim, and a second later the gunshots rang out, and the corpse of a Caribbean rolled down a small dirt slope.

"Quick, retreat west!" Zhu Xiaoli pulled the bolt, stuffed another bullet, and while giving the command, he raised his body again to aim, and then hit a Caribbean who touched it.

The team members who fought and retreated to the temporary rest ground, including the team members who were aiming and shooting around, had to obey Zhu Xiaoli's orders. Two men lifted the stretcher, while the remaining few covered the sides and retreated with difficulty to the west.

In the dense forest, the special operators could no longer pay attention to the constant gunfire behind them and the deathly screams of the Caribs, stiffened their tired bodies, and retreated quickly with their wounded companions. (To be continued.) )