Chapter Fifty-Nine

  "Ugh..." Before we could even build up our defenses, the sky was once again filled with the whistling sound of artillery shells.

  The density of the artillery fire and its suddenness were completely beyond our expectations, leaving us no time to retreat into the artillery trenches. In an instant, trees of all sizes on Nameless Heights were cut down by the hail of shells, countless clods of earth and rocks were blasted into the air and came crashing down like a torrential rain, and in just a moment the entire heights were enveloped in thick smoke, fragments and dust.

  I could only press myself tightly against the wall of the trench, hugging my head with my hands, and endure the various things that were pounding down on me from above. I also thought about retreating to the bunker, which was just in front of me, only a meter away, but I didn't dare move. Because I was worried that the bunker had already been filled with mud, and I couldn't squeeze inside anymore. So I could only stay where I was, waiting for the enemy's bombardment to end, or waiting for a shell to send me to heaven...

  Suddenly I felt someone bump into me beside.

  Enemy? Has the enemy come up already?

  I couldn't help but take a deep breath, my first reaction was to reach for the pistol at my waist, but when I saw that it was a Liberation Army soldier who had bumped into me, I relaxed. Then, the hot blood in my chest was quickly filled with indignation and fear - the soldier had already sacrificed himself, and died a terrible death. His lower body had gone who-knows-where, only half of his torso had been blown to my side by the shockwave of the cannonball.

  His appearance made my scalp tingle, and I kept asking myself in my mind what kind of result it would be if I was hit by a shell. Would I lose my hands and feet? Be torn into pieces? Or be split in two like this soldier?

  But whatever the outcome is, it's not what I want, nor can I accept! But war is like this, whether we like it or not, it still comes to our side, revealing its ferocious face and terrifying magic that ruthlessly harvests the lives of one soldier after another...

  This idea and the fear in my heart almost drove me mad, making me want to run out and get myself killed by a shell, but I endured it.

  The only thing that can stop me from doing stupid things is that sentence - it's better to live a life of shame than to die!

  It's better to die than to live in shame, but when did this become... I used to think that only a coward would say such things, because I thought that if someone dared to face death, that was true bravery. But now it's different, the reason is... the probability of being hit by shells while hiding in trenches is actually very small, most people who sacrificed were because their mental quality was not good, they were scared and ran out or couldn't bear the pressure and chose death...

  So, what works in peacetime often doesn't work on the battlefield and sometimes even needs to be understood in reverse.

  It was also unknown how long it took for the cannon fire to weaken and the enemy to launch another charge.

  This time, neither I nor the warriors need Lieutenant Colonel's command. Everyone is very self-conscious and puts their guns on the trenches to wait for the enemy's attack. Not only are they self-conscious, but also their movements are neat and tidy. The machine gunner immediately loaded the bullets, and the deputy shooter began to press the bullets for another drum; the rocket launcher shooter had just made shooting preparations, and the deputy shooter began to dig out other ammunition from the cat hole...

  The word "dig" is not an exaggeration, after several rounds of shelling, the cat hole was either collapsed or a pile of debris. Even taking out ammunition had to be done by using an engineer's shovel to clear away the debris...

  Maybe someone will say that our troops are all new recruits, how can they cooperate so well with each other.

  It's unexpected yet expected at the same time.

  Unexpectedly, it's because I didn't think the warriors would grow up so quickly.

  It's no surprise because this is war.

  If this were a military training or exercise... I believe the soldiers wouldn't be able to coordinate so quickly, people are lazy by nature, in military training and exercises, if they don't do well or coordinate poorly, at most they'll just get scolded or punished. But on the battlefield it's different, on the battlefield if they don't do well or coordinate poorly... that means death.

  Who can't think of their own life?

  The only way to survive on the battlefield is to consciously integrate into the collective of the troops, actively play your role and cooperate with other soldiers, in order to form a strong combat force. Otherwise, if one link goes wrong, it may lead to a firepower point being unable to function, which may result in the entire troop being killed by the enemy's bayonet.

  "Comrades! Hold on!" The company commander shouted at us: "Listen to my command... let the enemy get closer before firing! Listen to my order and open fire!"

  It's strange to say, but after hearing what Lian Chang said, I suddenly felt a few more points of confidence in my heart.

  It should be said... after several battles before, the company commander's command ability has also improved.

  Isn't that so? In the previous two battles, the company commander basically didn't give any orders. As soon as the fighting started, it all relied on the soldiers' free shooting... The first time was a surprise attack by the Vietnamese army and there wasn't enough time to command, which is understandable. The second time the Vietnamese army launched a cannon attack followed by a charge in an orderly manner, but the company commander still didn't give any orders, which is somewhat unjustifiable.

  I think it's probably because Luo Lianchang is also facing such a cruel battlefield for the first time! It's really not his fault, just a few days ago he was still a student in a military school, and after rushing here without even catching his breath, he immediately entered this life-and-death battlefield. Anyone would need an adaptation process.

  Just now, after hearing what Lian Zhang said, I realized that Luo Lian Zhang had already calmed down and knew what he was going to do.

  Isn't that right? The accuracy of the AK47 is only 200-300 meters, if it were a veteran soldier, firing a burst of bullets might still hit targets outside the range, but we are new recruits... If the enemy is too far away, the bullets will fly all the way up into the sky.

  So it's better to keep your enemies close and hit them.

  But there's one bad thing... this way, my sniper rifle with a range of nearly 1,000 meters won't be effective. The role of a sniper rifle is to kill targets at long distance, if you let the enemy get close and then shoot... its power is really no better than an AK47!

  So I thought for a moment, while the enemy was still a thousand meters away from our army's position... picked up my rifle and walked along the communication trench towards the back.

  A loud shout came from behind: "Where are you going? Come back here, you bastard..."

  "Second row, come back here!" The instructor also shouted at me loudly.

  But I didn't bother to reason with them, and besides, there was no time for explanations. I finally realized that I had made a mistake - I was a sniper, my rifle had a range of one thousand meters... so I shouldn't be fighting in the trenches like the other soldiers, at such close range my rifle was no different from the 56 semi-automatic rifles in their hands!

  So no matter whether Knife Scar thought I was a deserter or whatever, and no matter what the other warriors would think of me, I still kept running non-stop towards the rear.

  This communication trench was used by our army for the convenience of communication personnel and main force troops or other troops.

  On the battlefield, telephone lines are often blown up or wireless telegraphy cannot be contacted. At this time, a communication officer needs to be sent out to contact the superior. If there is no traffic trench, the communication officer will be completely exposed to the enemy's firepower and it is difficult to complete the task successfully.

  And with this traffic trench, whether it is the retreat of the defensive troops, the evacuation of the wounded or the dispatch of reinforcements from the rear to the front line, the transportation of ammunition supplies... its safety and concealment will be greatly increased. Therefore, general defensive works will have a traffic trench leading to the rear.

  This communication trench is actually just a combat trench, only shallower and narrower. Its height and width are just enough to allow one person to move in it with their waist bent, and in order to avoid exposing our soldiers to the enemy's gunfire, the communication trench was also constructed into a "Z" shape, which undoubtedly became my excellent sniping position.

  Then I found a position and set up the gun, through the sniper scope, what I saw first was the puzzled company commander and my soldiers peeking out of their heads...

  I couldn't help but furrow my brow, realizing I had made another mistake. As a squad leader...my retreat would likely cause the soldiers' morale to become unstable. Not to mention that all the soldiers under me were watching me, and those from other squads might also be affected.

  But I soon found that my worries were unnecessary, as Luo Lianzhang nodded at me from a distance after seeing me setting up the gun in the rear, indicating that he understood my intention and agreed with my approach. Moreover... I soon saw Wang Kechang also learning from my example, running towards me along the communication trench under Lianzhang's command.

  It's obvious that Luo Lianchang had arranged for him to come and assist me, at this moment I couldn't help but feel a sense of meeting an old acquaintance.

  If it were the former company commander... I'm afraid he would have sent two people to catch me on the spot in order to stabilize the military morale!

  The warriors soon understood that I was not a deserter and their morale stabilized as a result.

  "Fall in!" Wang Kechang ran over to me and said: "The company commander wants me to tell you that next time something happens, notify the company commander first..."

  "Hmm!" I felt a twinge of embarrassment, although my performance on the battlefield should be said to be still quite good, and even being revered by my subordinates as an experienced and battle-hardened "veteran". But it seemed that I still hadn't fully integrated into the role of "squad leader".

  I remember the old man saying: As a cadre, one should be responsible to the soldiers below and to the superiors above... This thing is really troublesome!