Chapter 3 Boundary Monuments

There was a dreary atmosphere in the brick cellar, and I expected the soldiers to complain a lot, but to my surprise, they didn't say a word when they heard the order I had conveyed, but only expressed their dissatisfaction with the expressions on their faces.

I actually know that they will behave like this, and of course they have an opinion on this order, but at the same time they also know it...... I, the platoon commander, was also a person who received orders, and I was also powerless, and they knew that this order could not be changed, and they could not blame me.

However, the more they do this, the more uncomfortable I become, and sometimes I feel more comfortable when they scold.

After a long time, the bayonet broke the silence and said: "Get used to it, who let us fight?" If we don't send this, who else can we send? ”

"That's it!" Xu Guochun quipped: "It's all our platoon leader...... With us to win so many battles, they all say that this person is afraid of being famous, pigs are afraid of being strong, and now he can't think of the battlefield! ”

The soldiers were amused by Xu Guochun's words, and the atmosphere immediately eased a lot.

"Thank you comrades for your support!" Seeing that my soldiers accepted new assignments so quickly, I didn't know what to do.

"Alas! Thank you for that! Li Zuolong waved his hand and said in an uncaring tone: "They are all their own brothers, there is nothing to thank or thank, we also know that this is no wonder the platoon commander!" ”

"That's it!" Xiao Shi also nodded: "After so many days, which battle was not led by the platoon commander to victory, this is without a platoon commander...... We don't know if we'll be able to survive until now! ”

"Just you and me crow's mouth!" The bayonet scolded: "I said small stones...... Why are you all dead in your mouth these two days, you can't live, you didn't wash it yesterday! ”

"Little Stone washed the crotch of his pants yesterday. The mouth is not washed! Xu Guochun interjected on the side.

There was a bang. The fighters burst into laughter again.

It's not funny. But I see in this another spirit of the warriors, and that is to make fun in suffering...... This may be what the old man often said: "If you can't change it, it's better to accept it with a smile than to complain." ”。

Yes, in fact, this kind of spirit is very much needed as a soldier. Because there are so many things on the battlefield that we can't change and have to accept, is it useful to complain? Is it useful to sigh for yourself? The end result is the same, we have to face these tasks and the enemy.

Perhaps, there will be some people who are passive and slack off because of resentment in their hearts, but there is only one result of this. That is to be eliminated by this battlefield.

So, in this respect, the reason why the fighters are comfortable accepting new tasks is not entirely because of me, but because they have grown and matured in battle.

The situation was urgent, and that afternoon, after replenishing some food and ammunition, our troops again crossed the border and headed south.

When we were moving south, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was constantly withdrawing from above, and when they first saw that we were all wearing brand new military uniforms, they thought that we were new recruits who had just come in from China to participate in the war, so they all smiled at us:

"What are you doing here? Don't you know until you're done after the battle? ”

"It's just the right time for you to come up! Even being a deserter is saved! ”

……

Later, when I inquired and learned that we were the main force on the battlefield of the counterattack war and that we were also the 118th Regiment with outstanding achievements, there was no sound at that time. All of them had awe and admiration in their eyes.

They were in awe of our performance on the battlefield and admired that we had just stepped off the battlefield. But he can still go to the battlefield again with such a mental outlook.

In fact, we have bitterness in our hearts, such as Wang Kechang...... I saw him hiding in the corner and secretly wiping his tears, he was the youngest soldier under my command, and at the same time he was the one who wanted to go home the most, and the one who needed to go home the most......

Let's talk about the reason...... That's when I found out later.

Wang Kechang's parents died early, and when it comes to going home, there are only uncles and an elderly grandfather...... It's just that he was led to the wrong path by thieves since he was a child, and later he was even imprisoned in a juvenile detention center...... The people of this era are particularly hateful and despise thieves, and sometimes even hate them more than robbers, what is the reason I can't tell, maybe the robbers still have a bit of the taste of Liangshan heroes, ordinary people can't despise it!

In short, this Wang Kechang is a shame and a stain in the eyes of his family, because Wang Kechang also made their whole family look down on the village, and they all pointed fingers behind their backs and said that their family was a thief and a juvenile delinquent.

So it is reasonable that Wang Kechang would want to go back so much now...... He went back not only to see his family, but also to fight for his family and wash away the previous shame for his family!

However, even so, this guy still forced a smile on the surface and pretended not to care. It's hard for me to imagine that he is the rookie who was still crying on the battlefield more than half a month ago: "I want to go home, I want a juvenile detention center, I don't care about my guilt and make meritorious contributions......".

"Stop!"

We had only walked for more than ten minutes before the company commander stopped us, and the soldiers saw that the other soldiers in the regiment were still moving forward, so one of our companies broke away from the unit and stopped, and couldn't help but ask a little strangely:

"Company commander, we're at our destination?"

"We're stationed right here? That's a good feeling! ”

……

"Beautiful yours!" Company Commander Luo responded angrily: "We have a new mission!" ”

"What? New quest again? Scar replied dissatisfiedly: "This task is coming one after another, and we are all exhausted and pulled down!" ”

"A long line!" Company Commander Luo smiled mysteriously and said, "You can choose not to do this task!" ”

Company Commander Luo's words aroused the curiosity of the soldiers, and they all stepped forward and asked, "Company commander, tell me...... What kind of mission is it? ”

"That's right! Sounds like a good thing...... It's rare that it's our turn to have a good thing! ”

"No!" Commander Luo nodded at the boundary monument not far away, and said, "This Vietnamese army agent is so rampant...... Not only did they sneak up on our troops and destroy the roads, but they also secretly moved the boundary pillars northward...... So the higher authorities ordered us to carry the boundary pillar back, and let us take the boundary pillar to the position! ”

The soldiers were stunned for a moment when they heard this, and it took a long time for them to react, and then they soon let out a burst of cheers...... Everyone is scrambling to carry out this task. And Scar, who had complained a few times before, looked at the soldiers under him with a bitter face and did not speak.

"So be it!" Company Commander Luo Zuihou gave an order: "Our company belongs to the second platoon that is the most capable of fighting, and has made the most contributions, so let the second platoon do it first...... The second row can't lift the relay of other units! ”

"Good!" My men cheered, and before I could give the order, they drew their sapper shovels and ran up to dig them, and I smiled bitterly. Isn't it just to carry a boundary monument? Whoever lifts it is not all the same, and it is necessary to be so excited?

But the soldiers didn't think so, seeing their strength in doing this work, it can be said that a few cows couldn't pull it, and they dug up the boundary monument buried in the ground after dividing it by two.

The scholar was also nimble, and soon borrowed a wooden stick and a few bundles of rope from the retreating engineering troops.

The monument is one meter long, 30 centimeters wide, 10 centimeters thick, and weighs 50 kilograms. It's good to say if it's on a flat road, but it's very difficult to carry on a difficult mountain road in Vietnam, but no one is tired of carrying it all the way, and it is not until someone next to them protests that they are reluctant to take shifts.

Even more envious are the warriors who retreated along the road...... They didn't know what we were carrying, and they said that a group of people were robbing what it looked like, but when they looked at it seriously, it was a boundary monument, and their eyes couldn't help but straighten. Some of the soldiers even shouted from the side: "Comrade, do you need help?" ”

"Come on, you!" Scar was so angry that he yelled at the soldiers: "We can't take our turn!" ”

At first, it was difficult for me to understand the psychology of the warriors, but then I realized that the warriors were carrying more than just an inconspicuous stone...... You must know that the distance between the boundary pillars on the Sino-Vietnamese border is at least a few hundred meters to several kilometers, which means that every step we take with this stone represents the possibility of an additional area of several hundred square meters for the motherland, and this kind of honor is not something that can be touched at any time.

So even if this boundary monument seriously slowed down the march of our army, Zuihou even climbed the 581 heights with it...... We were half tired to death, but no one complained.

So this boundary monument settled in our highland like a needle of the sea god, but it was not set by the sea, but by the highland and the boundary where we were stationed.

When the soldiers were busy burying boundary monuments, I casually observed the 581 heights according to my habit...... Like most highlands in Vietnam, this 581 Highland is surrounded by mountains, one after the other, and even the 581 Highlands are divided into several hills of various sizes.

What separates the north from the south is a small stream in the jungle at the foot of the mountain, and the stone bridge over the stream is the only main road between China and Vietnam through which heavy equipment passes, and cars and groups of PLA soldiers are being withdrawn from that direction.

So it is conceivable that the superior Weishenme will want us to garrison this high ground.

Later, I learned that the person who confronted us diagonally opposite us was actually the old mountain that was passed down by word of mouth in China, with the county seat of Malipo to the north of the highlands and Qingshui County to the south. At that time, a large number of foreign aid materials of our army were continuously transported from this highway to the outside of the country like flowing water, and now the 581 Heights are like a sharp blade standing on the left side of this river valley, blocking this traffic artery. (To be continued......)