Shelling, constant shelling, shelling for three days.

Here is the Vladivostok front, and I squatted at the bottom of a muddy trench, smoking a cigarette, waiting for orders.

My name is Li Ruishi, the platoon leader of the 2nd Company of the 1st Battalion of the 93rd Regiment of the 11th Infantry Division, 24 years old.

This is a parallel trench less than 200 meters away from the forward position of the Russian army, in front of which is Mount Kimir, on which I know that the enemy has built a D fortress and a No. 4 battery, and I also know that in the past three days, four of my subordinates have been killed by artillery fire on the mountain.

Three days ago, standing on Mount Artyom, four kilometers away, looking at the parallel trenches and communication trenches that stretched like a spider's web towards the enemy's position, I said to the warrant officer of the count's house, we are about to go up, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?

At that time, several monks wearing Dharma hats recited sutras and prayed next to us, and then hung amulets for us one by one, which were said to have been consecrated by a certain master on Wutai Mountain.

The warrant officer of the earl's family did not take the amulet, he took out a talisman from his clothes, and said to me with a slight red face that it was the talisman that his fiancée had asked for her at the Fahua Temple in Beijing.

The warrant officer of the earl's family is named Nie Wenqing, the youngest son of General Nie Shicheng, the current commander of the Southwest Military Region, who is only twenty-two years old this year, a fourth-year intern at the Imperial Army University, with a white and tender appearance, he only came to the front line after New Year's Day, and he did not suffer much, and the regiment commander personally took him to my platoon and asked him to be my trainee deputy platoon commander.

A few Christian soldiers in the company went to the foot of the mountain, where a pastor from Tianjin was ready to lead the whole brigade of Christians in prayer.

The dog said, "The dog's day is good and dignified, and what foreign religion do you believe?"

The dog's name is Yang Gootu, he is the fastest soldier in the platoon, he once won the third place in the 100-meter standard obstacle race in the whole battalion, his face is dark, and he shows two pairs of protruding tiger teeth when he smiles, his family is an ordinary farmer in the countryside of Shanxi, he graduated from high school (senior primary school, that is, the fourth to sixth grade of primary school), he is only nineteen years old this year, and it is said that he has not even tasted the taste of a woman.

After the Christians ran back, the others put away the amulets and followed the head of the group to worship Emperor Guan, and invited the statue of Kunshamen, one of the four heavenly kings, to chant and pray in front of the statue.

The regimental flag of the 93rd Regiment is embroidered with the idol of Kunsha Mentian, according to the predecessors, Kunsha Mentian once appeared to help the Song army during the Song Dynasty, so he was once worshipped as a military god.

After everyone bowed three times in front of Emperor Guan, the regimental commander sprinkled wine under the majestic statue of Guan Yunchang, and then turned back to announce to us that on January 13, our regiment would enter the front line to replace the 92nd regiment, complete the parallel trenches No. 4-11 in front of Mount Kimir, and use this as a base to launch an attack on the enemy forces on Mount Kimir together with three other regiments on January 16.

Today is January 16th.

The dog carefully wiped the gun, and when he had wiped the gun, he wiped the bayonet, and after he had wiped the bayonet, and after he had wiped the bullet, he dozed off and slept soundly and sweetly, like a newborn puppy.

The Count's warrant officer cat was in the corner, smiling and writing to his fiancée, and it had been half an hour, and I wondered what had been written for so long.

Yesterday I had already written to my fiancée, whom I had only met five times in five years, telling her that she could cancel her engagement at any time if I died, and it only took five minutes.

My family was originally a small rich man in northern Jiangsu, with five or six hundred acres of paddy fields and a few small shops, after the land reform, the paddy fields were redeemed by the state, and my father sold the shops in the town and went to Shanghai to open a match factory, which has begun to take shape after five or six years of operation.

I am the third boy in the family, the eldest brother and the second brother are helping my father with business, but I have no interest in the business of the match factory, I went to the military academy as soon as I graduated from high school, and entered the Jiangning (Nanjing) Army Academy at the age of nineteen, graduated four years later, and was assigned to the 93rd regiment to be a non-grade warrant officer for half a year, and was officially awarded the rank of second lieutenant last summer, serving as the commander of the 1st battalion, 2 companies, and 3 platoons.

Although my father did not use forceful means to prevent me from going to military school, in exchange, he asked me to accept a marriage arranged by him at full discretion, and the other party was the daughter of a packaging factory owner, according to the second brother, for the purpose of "corporate association". I agreed without even thinking about it, and I didn't even ask in advance to see the photos sent by the other party. I met her later, and I would visit her once a year when I came home from spring break, and only then would we see each other, and according to the rules of both families, we would just look at each other a few times and say a few words to each other. My father had planned to let me marry her during the Spring Festival this year, but the outbreak of war disrupted my father's plan—but it did not include mine.

During the first Battle of Shuangchengzi, a third of my platoon was killed or wounded, but I was unscathed and led the rest of the men to successfully complete the task assigned by the company commander.

During the general assault on the fortress of Shuangchengzi, my military hat was pierced with two holes, and there was also a hole in my trousers, and only three of my subordinates, including the dogs, were still following me, and I led them to climb under the pillbox that was intended to be captured, and let the dogs roll over with a blaster, and I used a machine gun from the chest of my own dead body as a cover, and then eliminated the five Russian soldiers in a trench behind the pillbox with a bayonet, and completed the task assigned by the battalion commander himself.

When attacking Artem Mountain, our regiment was the third echelon, but I didn't expect the enemy to be too careless and was solved by the first two echelons, but before New Year's Day, I still got a dragon's eye inlaid with rubies with a layer of dragon claws and a silver medal of loyalty and bravery.

The regiment commander patted me on the shoulder when handing out the medal and said that I had performed well and had decided to give me a promotion before the Spring Festival and be promoted to the deputy commander of the 2nd Company.

The Spring Festival has not yet arrived, I have not been promoted, nor have I been promoted, and several new people have been added to the platoon, including the warrant officer of the earl's family.

The company commander told me again and again to take good care of that self-righteous little fellow, and I thought to myself, isn't it the earl's son, what is proud, if you have three heads and six arms, you can take it out and shake it.

Lao Ma sat on my left, just gnawing dry steamed buns in cold water, he was a squad leader, a twenty-nine-year-old sergeant, surnamed Ma, with a long face, a longer neck, and an old look, so that Lao Ma did not wronged him at all. He was born in a family of workers, and his father was originally a technician in the Beiyang Manufacturing Bureau, although his salary was not much, but because he only had one son, he could still support him through junior high school.

Lao Ma's military age is longer than everyone here, when he was seventeen years old, he graduated from junior high school and was admitted to the non-commissioned officer school, graduated from the army at the age of nineteen, worked for nine years, participated in the Sino-Japanese War, but did not make any eye-catching merits, during which he was never admitted to the officer school, and as a result, he became an old non-commissioned officer who was nearly 30 years old.

Lao Ma married a daughter-in-law from his hometown five years ago, and his wife was not very good-looking, so she gave birth to a boy and two girls, and she quarreled to death all day long. Before the war, I went to his house, in a dilapidated low-ranking military apartment near the station, in addition to his wife and children, there lived his injured and disabled father and sick mother, and his meager salary as a sergeant had no easy time coping with these things.

The company commander lowered his head and drilled over, patted me on the shoulder and said, "It's decided, you platoon to play the forward." ”

I said, no problem, just leave it to me.

I checked the rifle in my hand after the last, and then tied a small dragon flag under the rifle, and if I fell, the deputy platoon commander would pick up the rifle with the flag tied and lead everyone on.

I glanced at the warrant officer of the Earl's house, and he was still writing, and I really wanted to kick him in the ass, and then pull him by the collar and tell him which girl was the prettiest and the most sassy, the most embarrassed, and the best in bed.

Fiancee? It's really stupid, a wife is a wife, since she is unmarried, what wife does.

I didn't kick his ass, I slapped him on the head and he looked at me confused and disgruntled.

I asked him, "Are you done?" In half an hour, you're going to strike, and you won't be able to find anyone to deliver your message in no time. ”

He smiled and said confidently: "After this battle, I will personally drop the letter into the mailbox of the regiment headquarters." ”

A rookie with a normal mentality.

The sound of the cannon became more and more intense, the soil and snow on the side of the trench kept shaking down, and the dog woke up, sneezed a few times, and tears and snot flew out together.

The old horse handed him a handkerchief.

The dog said, thank you, old brother.

Lao Ma said, it's okay, you don't want to be dirty, just keep it.

I glanced at it, and couldn't tell what color the handkerchief was.

The warrant officer of the earl's house covered his hand in front of the brim of his hat, as if to prevent the dust from contaminating his little white face.

If that face was stained with blood, I wonder how he would react? Vomiting or passing out? I'd love to see it.

I felt the loud thud of the large-caliber siege shells exploding against my chest and lungs, and I opened my mouth wide so that I could feel better.

The warrant officer of the Earl's family also opened his mouth wide, and his expression was very distorted, which was almost insulting his beauty.

The old horse brushed away a little dust from the half-bitten dry steamed bun and took the steamed bun into his arms.

The dog pulled on the bolt of the rifle.

The shrill sound of military trumpets rushed from several directions, the dragon banner with the number of this company was raised from the trench, and the company commander shouted loudly under the dragon flag with a revolver with a red tassel ribbon on it.

I couldn't hear him shouting, but I knew he was leaving.

"Brethren, follow me!"

With a shout in my throat, I stepped onto the wooden ladder by the trench, holding the edge of the ladder in my left hand and my rifle in my right, and jumped out of the trench with two strikes, and in front of me was Mount Kimir, a crooked hill shrouded in smoke of fire.

The corner of my eye swept left and right, on the endless front, my comrades-in-arms poured out of the trench like ants, countless red ground golden dragon flags jumped and rolled, the warrant officer of the earl's family ran to my side, curious and surprised to look left and right, I knew that he was moved-rookie moved, I pulled him: "What is the hair, follow me." ”

We ran forward following the battle flags of the company, and the first target was the Russian trench dug at the foot of the mountain, and as long as we rushed there, the shells of the fortress would not reach us - at least that's what the battalion commander said before departure.

The distance of 200 meters is not too far.

The front was littered with large and small craters, many of which were filled with snow melted by the explosion, and a foot down brought out a leg full of mud.

From time to time, enemy shells exploded among us, and the black and rotten mud, mixed with icy snow water, covered the sky.

The bullets swept in, shooting out a series of flying pillars of mud, and the body of the standard-bearer holding the company's battle flag shook twice, and fell headlong in a large crater in front of me, and I was about to go forward to pick up the flag, but the company commander had already raised the battle flag with his own hands, our battle flag.

"Machine gun cover!"

I heard the company commander turn around and shout, I didn't look back, it wasn't my business.

I sped up suddenly, overtook the company commander, and led my platoon of six men to the front of the company, with my rifle tied to the dragon flag, flat.

We are strikers and we have to be at the front.

The enemy's machine guns continued to glow in front of us, and I rushed to the front, bullets whizzing past my ears and striking in front of and under my feet.

Thirty or forty yards from the enemy's trenches, I fell to the ground, no, not the ground, it was a pit, it was a crater of stagnant water, and I felt the icy water dipping into my cotton coat, and it was piercing.

"Lie down! Grenade ready! ”

Each rifleman's grenade pouch contained six Type 96 wooden-handled grenades, and the platoon commander and I did not bring them, but each had an additional revolver.

The dog put the grenade on his index finger and scrambled to the front, and the old horse followed.

The warrant officer of the Earl's family was lying on my left shoulder, his face covered in mud, and he was handsome.

"Bomb drop, bomb drop!"

At my command, more than two dozen grenades were thrown out almost simultaneously, and flew in a parabola with a slightly different arc towards the trench in front.

My ears could no longer distinguish the explosion of the grenade, but when I saw the gray smoke rising, I stood up, waved the rifle tied to the dragon flag, and rushed forward with all my might, opening my throat and shouting, "Kill......"

Seven or eight paces to the left, a shell exploded, and shrapnel hit my rifle, and I felt a jolt in my mouth, and as soon as I let go of my hand, my gun fell into the muddy water.

The shrapnel didn't sweep me? Is the talisman of Master So-and-so on Mount Wutai really useful?

Now was not the time to think about such a question, I stooped down and picked up my gun, and at that moment the dogs were already whistling past me and jumping into the enemy's trench with their bayonets.

Another shell exploded nearby, and the right side of my face was hit by the flying dirt, which hurt badly, and at the same time, I saw the body of a person next to the explosion point flying high, spinning two or three times in the air in the direction of head and foot, and planting head down into a crater.

I grabbed my rifle and jumped into the enemy's trench in three steps and two steps, and stepped on something soft, I knew that it was a human body or a corpse, of course it didn't matter, I saw the entrance to the trench and the back of the dog, so I stepped on more bodies or corpses and chased after it.

"Platoon commander...... Wait for me ......"

The warrant officer of the earl's house was calling, and when I looked back, he was caught in the foot by a wounded Russian soldier who had a grenade converted from a small-caliber shell.

It was too late to jump back and stab the Russian soldier to death, so I pulled out my revolver, and after two shots, the Russian soldier did not move, and the warrant officer of the earl's family finally broke free from the hands of the Russian soldier, and ran over in a cold sweat, hurriedly thanking me.

"Why don't you stab him with a bayonet."

"I ...... I didn't expect ...... at once."

I really want to beat people after listening to the explanation, what does this guy think he is here for?

"Follow me."

I put away my revolver, raised the rifle in my hand high and waved it a few times, the dragon flag with three bullet holes was still stubbornly floating with the wind, and I wanted to gather my subordinates.

"2 in a row, 3 rows, assemble!"

The task of our company was to capture and hold this trench, wait for the follow-up troops to come up, and then together we would advance to the enemy fortifications on the mountainside.

The dog was the first to run back, and I saw that his ears were dripping blood.

"It's okay, right? Bow your head, I'll wrap it up for you. ”

I pulled out my first aid kit and pulled out a bandage to bandage him, and he obediently lowered his head and didn't say anything.

The old horse and a dozen other warriors also gathered together, and I stepped on the foot of the wall of the trench and looked out, and saw a group of enemies rushing down the mountainside, as if trying to retake the trench.

"Get on the pedal and get ready to fight, the first shift is on the left, the second shift is on the right, and the third shift follows me."

After I gave the order, I realized that there were less than twenty people left in our platoon.

"3 Platoon Commander!"

The company commander called me from behind, and I turned around and shouted, and he grabbed my shoulder and told me to resist the enemy's counterattack at all costs.

At the end, the company commander said that the follow-up troops were blocked by enemy artillery fire and could not come up for a while.

I knew in my heart that I had long expected such a thing to happen, and it was the same when the general attack on the fortress of Shuangchengzi was like this, the first wave of troops quickly killed them, and after the enemy reacted, they blocked the front line with intensive artillery fire, and the second wave of troops could not rush forward for a long time, and the result was that the first wave of troops fought hard to complete the task.

The company commander ran away, I jumped on the pedal of the trench wall, and when I looked up, I saw a dense burst of artillery fire hitting the counterattacking Russian straggler line, and clusters of broken soil and rotten flesh suddenly rose and fell, like flying flowers and broken rain.

"Don't look stupidly, shoot me, aim and hit, the bullets are not issued to you to hang and look good!"

I shouted to the left and right, and the dog had finished a row of bullets and was pulling the cartridge out.

The warrant officer of the earl's family held his gun and aimed it for a long time, but not a single bullet was fired.

"What are you doing? Call me. ”

"I'm aiming."

I wanted to grab a handful of dirt and fill his brain.

The old horse aimed, shot, and pulled the bolt unhurriedly, and I didn't have to worry about him at all, he was a veteran and knew when to do it—not including too dangerous situations, of course.

In the battle of the Twin Cities Fortress, he was also among them when there were still three people left around me. I turned back to the three men and said that I needed someone to blow up the bunker, and the old horse immediately retracted his head.

I understand that if he dies, the pension will definitely not be able to sustain his home with six mouths open and countless medical bills.

The enemy was repulsed from two successive counterattacks, and our artillery fire began to extend to the top of the hill - if the enemy artillery group on the top of the hill was not suppressed, our second wave of troops could not move at all.

I finished firing four rows of bullets, and was about to open another yellow cowhide bullet box to get the bullets, when the company commander ran over.

"Reinforcements arrived, and the men of the 2nd battalion came up."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

The company commander said, don't be happy yet, the battalion commander gave an order, our company is going to take the Blue No. 7 Bunker and the Red No. 1 Bunker on the mountainside, and also occupy the trench between the two bunkers, I have decided, your platoon is responsible for taking the Blue No. 7 Bunker, right there.

As he spoke, the company commander stepped on the pedal and pointed out to me the location of the target.

It was a cleverly built blockhouse, covered by huge rocks on top and to the right and left, and with a steep rock wall in front of it, and it was obvious that artillery fire was of no use to it, and it was more like climbing up to blow it up.

The Blue No. 7 Bunker is located in the restrained part of the mountain, there is a small bunker on the left side that is simply carved into the mountain, and on the right side is the Red No. 1 Bunker protected by a thick breast wall.

What to do?

I ventured to elevate my body, took a closer look, and saw that we still had a way to go.

A communication trench, which had been crumbled in all directions by artillery fire, snaked towards the enemy trench between the Blue 7 and Red 1 pillboxes.

"Company commander, we have to capture the trenches before we can take the bunkers, you look at the communication trenches."

The company commander said that he had decided to let the second platoon attack the trenches, and our platoon should attack the Blue No. 7 pillbox with all its might.

"If everybody had squeezed into that trench, we'd have lost even more."

After the company commander finished speaking, he patted his ass and wanted to run.

"Then at least give us a machine gun."

"Lao Huang and his deputy were killed just now, I know that you will use a machine gun, and I will send it to you later."

I still had something to say, but I had to salute his ass.

I summoned my men and asked them to open their backpacks and take out the zha medicine bag and the disassembled blasting canister.

"We're going to fight Blue Seven, I saw it yesterday, and the cannon can't hit that place, and there are other bunkers on the left and right to cover it......"

I drew a map of the situation on the wall of the trench with a bayonet.

"The company commander promised to give us a machine gun, and I will use it, and Warrant Officer Nie will be my deputy."

I glanced at the warrant officer of the earl's house, and he just nodded, without gratitude or dissatisfaction.

The mud from his face had been wiped clean at some point.

I guess eighty percent of his handkerchief is gone.

Correspondent Xiao Qiu and military doctor Lao Hu brought the machine gun, together with the gun jammed, a total of three drums, and two 100-round bullet bags.

"Who wants to take the medicine."

Lao Hu said, glancing at us left and right, his eyes were like feeding chickens and ducks.

I asked for a roll of bandages and a painkiller, which I had just given to the dog.

"Li Xiu is also in your platoon, right?"

Lao Hu asked.

"What's wrong with him?"

"I was just rescuing him, I lost too much blood and died."

Lao Hu said, put away the medicine box, and called Xiao Qiu to walk back together.

Lao Ma snuffed out a cigarette butt, rubbed his eyes and said, "Life is hard, he set out for less than half a month after getting married, and their family is only looking forward to him coming to inherit the lineage."

Li Xiutong is a 21-year-old first-class soldier in Lao Ma's class, the only son of three generations of the family, and if he doesn't fight, he should retire this summer. When I returned home last summer, I married a daughter-in-law, and as soon as I returned to the army on leave, I caught up with the war. Yesterday I saw him crying while reading the family letter, and when I asked, I realized that his father was sick, and he was quite sick.

"Mother said that my father was always talking about it, if he could hold his grandson, he would die blindly."

That's the last sentence I've ever heard him say.

I don't have time to be sentimental for one person, too many people are dead and crippled in front of me, and I'm numb because it's likely to be me next.

I hate being crippled, I'd rather die in battle, I don't care about pensions - I've never been short of money at home, I've written a suicide note, and if I die in battle, the pension will go to the Relief Society for the Families of the Fallen Soldiers, just send the medal home.

But in my bones, I'm still afraid of death, of course I'm afraid of death, otherwise how could I always cover for others in the back?

The reason why I worked so hard was firstly for the duty of a soldier and my belief in recovering the lost territory, and secondly, for meritorious service and promotion.

The eldest and second brother's goal in life is to make a fortune, my goal is power, I want the power to command thousands of troops, and I have imagined running for parliament or even becoming prime minister after retiring. I want to use my hands to master the brain of this country and influence the fate of hundreds of millions of people, but I really can't, and it is better to control the fate of tens of millions of people.

If you die here casually, you won't be able to achieve your goals in the future.

While making meritorious contributions, you also have to protect yourself - I guess everyone around me has similar thoughts, but many times, the situation does not allow everyone to value their lives.

"I led the first shift as cover, the second shift for the breakout, and the third shift for close support. All the grenades in the platoon were given to the third squad, and the third squads had to pick three people to build a ladder for the second squad, and the rock wall was too steep...... I took a look, the Blue No. 7 has three gun holes, the dead angle on the left is relatively large, the second and third shifts will break through the lower left corner of the pillbox, pay attention to the use of rocks and craters as cover, and especially guard against the vertical fire of the small pillbox on the left......"

I explained it to my subordinates in detail, and temporarily asked Dog to act as the second shift leader.

Sergeant Zhu Shigui, the former squad leader of the second squad, had two bullet holes in his chest and was sent down for rescue, and his life and death were uncertain. Corporal Wu Liangzhu, the deputy squad leader, was sliced by a shell two days ago.

I believe in the dog, who once blew up a bunker alone in front of me, and I thought self-righteously that the same luck would happen to the same man over and over again.

The dog said: "Platoon commander, don't worry, leave it to me, the Russian devils can't hurt me, this time I have to take that thing out with my own hands." ”

Hearing that a squad was in charge of covering in the rear, Lao Ma breathed a sigh of relief, and I knew what he was thinking.

The warrant officer of the earl's family asked, "Platoon commander, my task is to load bullets." ”

I said, "First, load the bullets." Second, watch left and right for me to see where I need more support. Third, if I fall, take my place immediately......"

The warrant officer of the Earl's family said cheerfully that he knew what he had said.

He knows what a fart.

The company commander rubbed over.

"Are you ready, wait until you hear the trumpet, the three platoons must go up together, and no one is allowed to fall, of course, don't take the lead."

"I know that you need to disperse the enemy's firepower."

The company commander said, yes, that's the truth. Then turn around and leave.

The artillery fire of our army repeatedly plowed the enemy positions on the mountainside, and I could feel the trembling in the hearts of the other side, just as I did when I hid the enemy artillery fire in the crater during the general attack on the fortress of Shuangchengzi, and I said in my heart that I was not afraid of it, but my teeth could not help but tremble. Will they be any different from us?

The sound of the bugle pierced my eardrums, I raised my machine gun and climbed out of the trench, and the dog flew past me with my rifle with the dragon flag, and in an instant jumped up the hill.

"Second row, give it to me! After blowing up this bunker, I'll treat you another day! ”

I had just finished shouting when I suddenly heard a tsunami of "Long live the Empire" shouting from the mountains on the entire front, and I knew that this was a general attack on a grand scale, and that the attack on this Kimir mountain alone had involved four of the most elite regiments in the army.

Our 93 regiment is, of course, the most elite of the best.

"Long live the Empire!"

Everyone in the platoon shouted incoherently, and then the cat rose up, rifle in hand, and climbed up the hill quickly and slowly.

The slope from the base of the mountain to the mountainside is not steep, there are the remains of trees everywhere, large and small craters on the ground, and the melting snow soaks into the mud to form a slippery mud that is enough to slip in three steps.

After leading a squad up a short climb with great difficulty, I set up a machine gun on a fallen tree, and together with the eight rifles of the squad, aimed at the three guns of the Blue Seven, and opened heavy fire.

The dog and six men, each carrying a zha medicine bag and a dismantled blaster, leapt forward step by step with the cover of trees, rocks, and craters, and bullets from three directions burst out countless clusters of sawdust, stone dust, and muddy water at their feet, and soon two people fell, and I could even clearly see the blood spraying from the backs of the two men, apparently they were hit by the vertical fire from both sides.

The third squad, which was in charge of close support, began to throw grenades in front of the enemy's firing point, grenades were not enough to destroy the enemy's fortifications, but they could use smoke to obstruct the enemy's view, in addition, shock waves and shrapnel could also threaten the opposing gunners, in short, to buy time for the second squad.

It seemed to me that the dog could run faster than a dog or a rabbit, and in a few leaps he rushed into a recessed crack in the rock wall that was the blind spot of the enemy's fire on three sides, and he was safe for the time being.

Lin Shengqiang of the second class finally rolled to the dog's side, and the others were either dead or injured and failed to follow.

The people of the third class were all suppressed in two large bomb craters, and no one dared to get up and drop bombs.

At this time, the fire of the Blue Seven Bunker began to turn against me, and the bullets hit the big tree in front of me, so I quickly rolled to the side, climbed between the two rocks in the back and re-set up the machine gun, where I could avoid the fire of the Blue Seven and Red One Bunkers and concentrate on the small pillbox on the left side of the Blue Seven Bunker.

"Old horse, tell your people to continue to fight with Blue Seven, and I will deal with the little one on the left."

"Yes, platoon commander!"

Before the old horse could finish speaking, a young private in his squad neighed like a pig.

"I was shot...... Save me...... It hurts, it hurts! ”

I glanced at him, blood soaking from the open cotton of his left arm, and the old horse and the other man had held him down, which was not worthy of my attention, and I threw the empty drum to the warrant officer of the count's house, and aimed at the little bullet hole and pulled the trigger smoothly.

I want to cover the dog, although the position of the dog and Lin Shengqiang is relatively safe now, but if you want to go up to blow up the Blue 7 bunker, you have to climb a rock wall that is almost four meters high and almost vertical, and the small bunker to the left of the Blue 7 is in a position that can strafe the rock wall.

A few long dots were fired, and the people in the bunker apparently spotted me, the bullets screaming and hitting the rocks beside me, and the stone dust almost blinded my eyes.

I lowered my head, rubbed my eyes, changed the drum and fought again, the firepower of the small pillbox was all attracted by me, and then the corner of my eye swept over the rock wall, and saw Lin Shengqiang supporting the dog with his broad shoulders, and put him on top of the middle of the rock wall to the area where he could climb.

"Hurry up!"

I secretly screamed in my heart, and I shot short shots one after another, and at the same time called out to the old horse.

"Old Ma, tell your people to divert their firepower and fight the little guy on the left with me."

The old horse agreed, and six or seven rifles fired at the small pillbox one after another, but the bullets of the Blue Seven took the opportunity to sweep and wound another soldier.

"Resist me, now is the critical moment, resist at all costs!"

I screamed viciously, quickly switched to a third drum, and fired into the bright and dark holes of the small bunker, and the bullets shot countless brilliant sparks on the stone wall.

The dog was still trying his best to climb up, the rock wall was too slippery, and he was carrying a zha medicine bag, and there was a blasting canister longer than his body hanging outside the zha medicine bag, which made it even more inconvenient to climb.

Lin Shengqiang hung two blasting canisters on his body, ready to climb up with his own strength alone, but he slipped down again and again, and the lower part of the rock wall obviously had no place to stay at all.

"Bullets!"

I held out my hand to the warrant officer of the Earl's house.

"Haven't installed ...... yet"

The warrant officer of the earl's house, with a drum in his hand, looked at me innocently.

I felt bloodshot in my eyes.

I glanced at the machine gun, stood up, pulled out the revolver at my waist, and fired the four remaining rounds of the revolver into the abominable hole.

"It's loaded...... Just now, I was missing the last one......"

The warrant officer of the earl's house opened his mouth and looked up at me with funeral eyes.

Who told him that the drum had to be full before it could be used!!

Before the bullets covered my dirty, damp cotton clothes, I reflexively fell to my stomach, almost twisting my waist.

"Stinky boy, you don't want to live anymore!"

I gasped and threw the pistol in his face, and he hurriedly raised his arm to block it, and as soon as his hand was released, the drum slid to the ground.

I angrily picked up the muddy drum and stuck it on the machine gun, and when my head stuck out of the rock, I saw Lin Shengqiang rolling down the slope, and there were rows of clear bullet marks on the lower part of the rock wall.

I didn't think about it, the gun hole in the small bunker was a long point shot, and when I swept my eyes, I saw that the dog was still on the rock wall, and my heart settled down a little.

"Be sure to live to complete the mission!"

That's exactly what I thought.

He is my blessed star, and he will not die.

The dog had climbed under the hole of the gun on the left side of the Blue Seven, and the bullets from the small bunker shot a spark and stone dust on his right side, but it couldn't hit him again, great! He got into the shooting corner of the bunker!

The dog quickly removed the ZHA medicine bag from his back, intending to stuff it into the gap between the gun hole and the rock wall, when suddenly, I saw the ZHA medicine bag fall down the rock wall, roll on the slope a few times, and fall into a crater.

Maybe it's the hand that is loose...... Maybe the stone cracks are too slippery...... It doesn't matter! And blasters!

Take it a step further and stuff the blaster inside, and you'll be done, and we'll be doing our best to suppress the firepower of the bunker and cover you down!

Sure enough, the dog removed the blaster and shoved it into the hole of the gun...... Just as he was about to go down, the smoking tail of the blaster suddenly poked out of the hole of the gun!

As soon as the dog returned his hand, he resisted the blaster, not only did he run fast, but his arm strength was also very good, but he was now climbing on the rock wall, his footing was unstable, and the other party had a height advantage, and he didn't know how many people behind the gun's hole pushed this blaster outside...... Anyway, I think the dog will not be able to resist it, and throw the blaster that is pulling the fire down, so that he may be able to save himself......

But he withstood it! He didn't let go, but grabbed the tail of the blaster firmly and shoved it into the hole.

"That thing...... There is only a ten-second timer...... He wants to die! ”

The warrant officer of the earl's house snorted, and I didn't bother to pay attention to his expression, just staring at the dog.

These few seconds are frightening.

"Let go!"

The warrant officer of the Earl's house shouted.

I noticed a jolt in the dog's shoulder, and his arm suddenly poked deep into the hole of the gun - the other party let go first!

At this moment, the bunker exploded like a building block, and the flying bricks and stones were clearly mixed with human limbs.

"Dog...... No...... Second squad leader......"

I had a few words in my mind, but I didn't want to say any of them, I just called out "Second Squad Leader" a few times in a row, then pointed the machine gun at the small pillbox and fired the remaining bullets from the drum.

"Boom ......"

The bunker exploded, and I knew that it was not the effect of my machine gun, but the blasting carried out by friendly troops after they had penetrated the side of the bunker.

There was another earth-shattering explosion, and I stood up and greeted the shattering of Red Bunker No. 1 with moist eyes.

The company commander ran towards him with the communicator Xiao Qiu.

"Don't stand in a daze, how many people do you have, all come with me!"

"Still have a mission?"

"The second platoon failed to take the trenches, it seems to have been extinguished by mines, don't be wordy, gather your men quickly."

The second platoon was extinguished?

I didn't have time to ask myself questions, so I turned and ran towards the rock wall, kicked the bears from the third shift out of the two large craters, and then continued to run forward, with a few people from the second shift in front of me, some with their heads down, silent, and some still moaning.

Someone grabbed my foot, it was Lin Shengqiang.

"Water...... Give me some water......"

I unscrewed the lid of the kettle and put the spout to his mouth.

"Do you see Yang Gotu?"

Lin Shengqiang greedily swallowed a few mouthfuls of water, probably choked, and coughed violently.

I'd better find it myself.

I put the kettle on Lin Shengqiang's chest and patted his head: "Stay here, I'll call the doctor over immediately." ”

When he stood up, the ground was covered with rubble and rotten bricks, and there were a few gray and charred objects on the ground that looked like human bodies.

"Platoon Commander Li, what the are you grinding! Come over to me soon! ”

The company commander lost his temper below, so I had to give up the search for the time being, and led the six people who could still move in the third shift to run down.

"Got it figured out? How many more people? ”

The company commander asked, there was no need to ask again, and at a glance, it was clear that the fifteen people in the platoon, including me and the warrant officer of the earl's family, were all here. However, according to the rules, I still have to report truthfully: "Report to the company commander!" Fifteen officers and soldiers left in the third platoon, all of them are here! ”

Although there were only fifteen people left, we still had to line up, one shift in front and three shifts in the back, in two rows, and I and the warrant officer of the earl's family stood side by side in the left front of the first rank.

The company commander nodded with satisfaction, crossed his waist and said: "Brothers, you have worked hard, you have completed your mission very well this time, but the battle is not over yet, we must occupy the trench between the two pillboxes." The second platoon went up just now, and only one person was left to come back, and now the mortars in the battalion are bombarding there, wait a minute, your platoon and the first platoon will follow me together, and take down the trench in one go, and our battle for today will be over, and we can go back to the base of rotation. When the time comes, I will be honored and honored in the township, so I don't need to say more. Tell me, are you afraid! ”

"Nope!"

"Foreigners are not invincible!"

"It's not!"

"Do you have the confidence to take that trench?"

"Yes!"

"Do you want to kill the Russians with me?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, come with me now!"

Our company commander's name is Gao Zhicheng, 28 years old, and he is a fellow villager in my hometown. His father participated in the Sino-Japanese War, won the Order of the White Tiger of the fourth class, was seriously injured when he was about to be promoted to battalion commander, and was forced to retire, and is now the president of the Township Military Association in our hometown. When we were alone, Company Commander Gao called me Little Lizi, and I called him Big Brother Gao, but when someone was there, we would consciously abide by the regulations and call each other according to their rank.

Even the flags were planted, and we were lined up and joined together, and there were more than 40 people in total.

The warrant officer of the earl's family muttered quietly: "It's just such a person, if you encounter the enemy's counterattack, you won't be done with the game." ”

Lao Ma said: "It's okay, the people in the second platoon have already helped us step on the mines." ”

I glared back at the old horse, and then at the warrant officer of the earl's house, the old horse shut up, and warrant officer Nie lowered his head.

"I can't find anyone for a while, and the machine gun is still up to you."

The company commander said, pouting at Warrant Officer Nie behind me.

"The newcomers have a process, you take care of it more."

I nodded, and went back to the warrant officer of the earl's house: "You continue to be my machine gun deputy, follow me, don't run around." ”

"Yes...... Sir. ”

Warrant Officer Nie hurriedly saluted.

After a few more rows of artillery bombardment, the company commander Gao personally led us to charge with the battle flag, I carried the heavy machine gun, and I couldn't run fast, and Lao Ma's squad was selected by the company commander as the forward squad and had to rush to the front.

We did not move along the trench I had seen, because the only private in the second platoon who had escaped said that there seemed to be an electric mine in the trench, and that the second platoon had been blown up as it was moving along the trench.

I think that if the company commander had taken my advice and let the whole company go through the communication trenches to seize the trenches first, I am afraid that the whole company would have been destroyed by now.

Gao Company Commander, sure enough, is Gao.

Since we could not walk through the trenches, we climbed the slope and advanced, and the pillboxes on both sides of the trench were bombarded by us, and we were met only by scattered rifle fire and grenades of various shapes.

The warrant officer and I of the Earl's house rushed fifty or sixty meters and hid behind a small mound.

I set up my machine gun and fired a burst of short bursts at the Russian soldiers on the hillside with their heads exposed, and a dozen meters in front of me, another group of machine gunners was also firing suppressively, and I could see the bullets hitting the black stucco pillars on the slope of the opponent's trenches.

Everything seems to be going well.

The company flag rose to the wind in the hands of the company commander and was quickly planted in the trench in front.

"It's over."

I said to the warrant officer of the earl's house, and he had a strange look on his face.

I slung the machine gun to my shoulder and strode up the stumbling block, and in the distance I heard the shouts of our fighters as they stabbed hard, the "click" of the bayonet against the gun, and the painful howls of those who had been stabbed.

The voices faded away, and soon I seemed to hear shouts of victory, and indeed, I saw the golden dragon banner of the red ground with the number of this serial number waving from side to side outside the trench.

I'm going to celebrate the victory with them, and I'm going to quickly choose my machine-gun positions and prepare for a possible enemy counterattack.

"Midshipman Nie Wenqing."

"I'm here, platoon commander."

"I'll invite you to drink when I turn back, I'll invite everyone in the platoon to drink when I turn around, and I'll show you the ...... of the rotation rest base."

I was about to spit out the word "girl" when the warrant officer of the count's house behind me shouted in a changed voice.

"What's that! Fast...... Run! ”

I looked up and saw several large black balls tumbling down the hillside from the top of the mountain, with a few sharp protrusions on the surface of the spheres.

I had a classmate who served in the Navy, and he once showed me a picture of this thing, so I knew the name of this thing.

It's called "mines".

A mine of that size should weigh more than 100 kilograms!

I threw down the machine gun, turned around and kicked down the warrant officer of the count's house, grabbed him by the shoulders and rolled down the hill together, he screamed, but he couldn't resist, we rolled into a crater, I held his head down, and with the other hand lifted his chest off the ground.

The wind was blowing overhead, and our eardrums were rippling, but I knew we would be fine, because the mines would be blocked by the trench ahead—and the enemy should have been the only target.

Clouds of dirt fell from the sky, and something heavier than dirt and softer than rock fell on my head.

After several earth-shattering explosions, I opened my eyes to a hand in front of me, a little charred, smoking, and a blur of flesh and blood.

When the warrant officer of the earl's house saw the hand, his mouth opened wide, but he did not scream, and twisted his head and spat it on the edge of the crater.

A flag, or rather, a handful of rags, fell from the sky, stained with slimy things, flesh and blood.

I glanced at the hand again, and there was a ring on my middle finger, brass with the word "Fu" engraved on it. That's an old horse thing. So, that's the old horse's hand.

I patted Warrant Officer Nie on the back: "Did you vomit, come with me." ”

"Where to go?"

His beautiful face was covered with filth, and if he looked in the mirror now, he would cry for many days.

I spat on the ground, vaguely recognising the word "Empire...... Ninety-third Regiment ...... The flag with the words "Erlian" was crumpled and put into his arms.

"Go back to sleep."

"That...... Don't fight? We still have two machine guns, do you want to go up and occupy the position......"

I wanted to scold him, but I had run out of strength.

"If you want to go, you can go."

He looked at me with a wist, I didn't bother to pay attention to him, I stood up tremblingly, the scene in front of me was a little shaky, and I knew that it was the result of the impact on my brain, and it would soon get better.

After I had walked four or five paces, I heard the warrant officer of the count's house calling out to me, "Wait a minute...... Platoon commander, do you want to take a look, maybe some of them are still alive? ”

I looked back at him, then at the trenches that had been blown out in several places, smiled nervously, and waved at him: "Go and see, I'll be waiting for you below." ”

He didn't dare to look at it, and followed me down the hill in a panic.

I think the second company is over, no, the second company is going to start again.

I grabbed the flag in my bosom - the flag stained with the flesh and blood of my comrades.

Three days later I saw the dog, he was not dead, his right side was empty below his shoulder blade, and his face was covered with bandages.

The doctor said that the right half of his face was ruined along with his right eye, and it was not easy to recover this life.

I couldn't see the dog's expression under the bandage, his remaining left eye blinked slightly, and I thought he wanted me to put my ear together, and I did.

"I'm ...... Lockers at the campsite...... Left a note...... As written...... Help me ......"

His voice was weak, but I had put my ear to his lips so I could hear it clearly.

I went to the camp and went into the tent of the second class, which was empty, and there was a row of small wooden boxes in the corner with everyone's names written on them.

One of the wooden boxes had three big characters written on it in regular script, "Yang Gotu", which I recognized and remembered, and it was my handwriting.

When I opened the box, there was a note covered in it, the words were not pretty, but they were very powerful.

"The brother who opened this box: I am Private Yang Goupu of the second squad of the second company and the third platoon, and when you see this note, I may be finished. For the sake of my comrades-in-arms, please help me complete the following things. There are 20 yuan in the box, which is my allowance over the years, please send it to my home with the letter in the box. In addition, the small red box with the mandarin duck pattern printed on it will be sent to one person separately for me, the address and name are as follows......"

I picked up the note, and there was a small red box wrapped in brocade wrapped in cardboard at the bottom, and when I opened it, it turned out to be a pair of silver earrings in the shape of a five-pointed star, and a small piece of paper was pinned to the lid of the box, which read: "Cui'er: I promised to pick the stars for you, I didn't break my promise." ”

Cui'er, it should be his lover, I haven't heard him talk about it, but everyone has their own little secrets, I understand.

I suddenly felt that something was wrong with my eyes, so I put away the contents of the box, took it back to my tent, and prepared to send it to him personally when I had the opportunity to go to the division headquarters one day.

The warrant officer of the count's family stayed in the tent and wrote something in the notebook, maybe a diary, maybe a love letter, maybe a suicide note.

When he saw me come in, he stopped his pen and looked at me pitifully, and I knew that he wanted to say something, and that he had been trying to say something for three days, but I had been in a bad mood and had not responded in the slightest.

Now I feel like I can listen to him.

"Warrant Officer Nie...... Writing a letter? ”

"Yes...... Actually, platoon commander, I want to talk to you, do you have time......"

I put the dog's things in my storage box and nodded to him, "Say, I've always had time these days." ”

The warrant officer of the earl's family closed the notebook and muttered for a while, and finally managed to get out of the hesitation: "I know that I behave very poorly, I don't look like a soldier, you scold me, beat me, I have no position to refute or resist, but there are some psychological words, I have to say it......"

He stole a glance at me, and I knew he was looking for encouragement, so I gave him a "keep talking" look.

"Although I was born into a military family, my father was a hereditary earl of military achievements, and all four of my older brothers joined the army, I had no interest in joining the army at all...... I like to draw, I like to write articles, I like to go to the mountains and rivers, I feel disgusted from the bottom of my heart for such cruel things as war, I hate that my hands are covered with blood, we are all human beings, why should we kill each other......"

I was a little surprised, but by no means merciful.

"What did you learn at Army University? More than three years of military education failed to assimilate you? ”

He hung his head, weak.

"I didn't want to go to the Army University, but my father disagreed, he said that our family was rewarded by the imperial court and the hereditary military merit count, and in the future, all the men in the family must join the army to be worthy of this grace......"

I know that one of the conditions for awarding hereditary military titles is that the heirs of the family who inherit the title must also be soldiers, but there is no requirement for the male descendants of the whole family to join the army. Since the promulgation of the decree on the title of military merit, no more than 50 soldiers have received such awards in the past ten years, and more than 10 of them have been deprived of their titles because of their involvement in the Guangxingding case.

I sighed and glanced at the stove, which was enthusiastically grazing the bottom of the aluminium kettle, which was sizzling hot gas.

"That's fate, you couldn't disobey your father then, and now you can't disobey military law...... You don't just think about yourself, you don't just live for yourself, you have the honor of your family, and the honor of the Imperial Officer Corps, just complaining and lamenting will not solve anything, but will kill you early. ”

I lifted the kettle and poured myself a glass of boiling water.

"Just follow me for the time being, you must have no intention of learning when you were in military school, now I will teach you something that you can't learn in class." If you survive this war, you should have the opportunity to become a soldier as good as your father, but first of all, you have to be conscious, you have to admit your identity, you are not only the son of an earl, but also a member of the Imperial Army, you must have passion, you must understand the importance of what you are doing, understand? ”

Nie Wenqing was nodding, it wasn't a 100% sincere nod, but I knew that in addition to my words, the knowledge he gained from what he saw with his own eyes should be more helpful to his future.

I also wanted to strike while the iron was hot to further enlighten this Lu University intern who had not yet fully woken up, and the correspondent Xiao Qiu's head came in: "Platoon Commander Li, the battalion commander told you to go to the battalion headquarters. ”

Xiao Qiu was one of the survivors of the second company, and the company commander asked him to report to the battalion commander before charging after the last charge, and he was about to go to the company commander after completing his mission, and witnessed the terrible explosion at the foot of the mountain. When Warrant Officer Nie and I passed by him, he fell to his knees, clutching his hair and whimpering like a wounded kitten—and he did look like a kitten.

"We'll talk another day."

I put on my military hat, straightened my freshly issued military cotton coat, opened the tent door, and walked along a path that should not have been so hard to the battalion headquarters.

Normally, when you return from a mission, the snow-frozen roads in the camp should be trampled into mud by everyone.

"Report, Second Lieutenant Li Ruishi of the second company and third platoon is here to report!"

The battalion commander was smoking a cigarette pouch and pot, and when he saw me coming in, he knocked the chimney on the foot of the table, raised his chin, and motioned for me to sit down.

"I have basically understood the affairs of your company, and I have applied for the Order of Loyalty and Courage of the First Class for you, and in addition, the order for promotion has also come down...... You also know that the second company is no longer what it looks like now, but after all, our regiment is the elite of the elite, although the losses in this battle are not small, but the war is urgent, and it is impossible to have too much time to make up for it. ”

Speaking of which, the battalion commander put the cigarette pouch and pot on the table, pressed the corner of the table, and looked at me cordially or solemnly.

"There is no problem in replenishing the troops, but we lack senior officers, although you have only graduated for more than a year, but after these months of training, you have shown a high level of professionalism and organizational ability...... Let's put it this way, I intend you to be the commander of the second company, and within two weeks, organize a group of rookies transferred from all over the country into a company that can be immediately put into battle. ”

"I accept this task."

I said yes without thinking about it, I know it's not an easy task, but it's a valuable opportunity for me to run faster on my path. In addition, I have a clear understanding of my own abilities, and although my graduation results are not very good, I can feel that I have entered the role much faster and deeper than many of my peers.

"I knew you wouldn't have a problem."

The battalion commander nodded in satisfaction, and raised a finger in front of me: "Do you know the way?" Your Excellency has arrived at the headquarters of the group army, and the day after tomorrow he will award the heroes of the whole army to our military headquarters, and you are among them - before twelve o'clock the day after tomorrow, you will report to the military headquarters. ”

"Yes!"

"Tomorrow the whole regiment will be stationed in the rotation rest base, you have to be modest, don't miss the award ceremony the day after tomorrow, I will inform you again if there is something, you can go back."

"Understood."

I exited the tent at the battalion headquarters and took a deep breath of the cold, refreshing air.

Your Excellency...... Wuwei Gong Liu Yun?

Will the man who is said to be the most powerful in the world and actually controls the court be awarded the medal himself?

I'd love to see him sooner, but there's no need to worry, I'll just have to wait for these two days to see him...... Wuwei Gong Liu Yun, is it true that he holds unmatched power as the legend says? How did he do it? Do I have a chance to get there?

I stopped thinking about it now, it was too early, too early.

Tomorrow, I'm going to get a good night's sleep at the base of rotation, and then I'm going to see the Commander of the Army.

I suddenly remembered the dog and felt the need to see him again.

I went to the regiment's field ambulance station, but I didn't see any dogs.

I saw Lao Hu, the military doctor in the company, who had been busy rescuing the wounded behind us, and naturally did not participate in the charge to Hades three days ago.

"Did you see our platoon of Yang Gotu?"

I asked Lao Hu.

Lao Hu rubbed his bloodshot eyes in confusion: "Which Yang Goutu?" ”

"That's the one, the private who has no right arm and his whole face is covered."

"It seems that he was sent to the field hospital of the military department, and that kind of injury is not legal at the ambulance station - it should have been sent yesterday, but there are too many seriously injured people, and there are not enough cars, so it is not his turn."

After Lao Hu finished speaking, he fell to the ground with a thud.

"Old Hu...... Come on, people......"

The medical staff of the ambulance station ran over and took the old beard away with three strikes and two blows.

Ten minutes later, a well-known major medic said to me: "He's dead, exhausted." ”

In this way, the second company, which had not yet been reborn, lost one more survivor.

It occurred to me that I thought, what does that Wuwei Guild think of our battles, our pain, and our deaths?

What are we in His eyes?

I was expecting an answer, and I knew that the answer might not exist.