Chapter 4: Establishing Merit

  Wang Yong put down his gun, removed the bayonet, and held it in his left hand with his backhand. With his right hand, he grabbed two grenades and took advantage of the enemy's brief pause to change ammunition. He sprinted out, crouching forward a few meters before throwing the grenades. Using the smoke as cover, he leaped forward four or five meters, rolled to the left, and dodged the enemy's incoming bullets. He hid behind a large tree that had been knocked down by cannon fire on the slope.

  He observed the terrain and decided to launch a strong attack upwards, but it was impossible to avoid the enemy's machine gun fire. At this moment, the machine guns of the third squad also opened fire, slowly drawing the enemy's firepower away. Wang Yong took advantage of the opportunity to crawl towards the flank of the enemy's machine gun position, using his hands and feet to climb up the slope. He approached the enemy stealthily.

  Suddenly, he stepped on a loose rock, slipped, and fell to the ground, sliding down the mountain. In his panic, Wang Yong stabbed the bayonet into a gap in the rocks, stabilizing his body. Without resting, he continued to circle around to the rear of the enemy's position, disappearing from everyone's sight.

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  "Squad leader, has that coward Wang Yong run away with his tail between his legs?!" Deputy squad leader Xinle was always worried about this sloppy new recruit, and after a while, not seeing Wang Yong's shadow, the enemy's machine gun still firing crazily, he said angrily.

  "No, in today's battle, Wang Yong has been very brave!" Yang Zhanfu replied.

  "Absolutely not! Today Wang Yong dared to pick up the hand grenades that the enemy threw into the trenches, he's not a coward!" Jiang Lishan also defended him.

  "They all said it wouldn't happen, but now it's vanished before our eyes. No one saw him alive, no one saw his corpse, did he fly away?!" Xīn Lè said discontentedly as he shot a burst of bullets at the enemy.

  Just as everyone was suspicious, a flash of fire appeared on the enemy's machine gun position on the mountain waist, and two explosions were heard. The enemy's heavy machine gun firing sound stopped abruptly. Through the rising smoke, the soldiers saw a figure jumping into the enemy's trench from behind and throwing hand grenades at another machine gun.

  "Good boy, he's gone around to the back of the enemy!" Hsin Hsiao-le exclaimed excitedly, and his suspicion of Wang Yung immediately dissipated.

  After the explosion, another enemy machine gun was silenced. Wang Yong opened up a path for the entire company to attack. The sound of "dripping water" from the bugle started, and Yang Zhanfu waved his hand, leading the whole class to charge forward first. Wang Yong saw that the machine gunner had been blown to death by himself, and the troops launched a charge. Just as he let out a sigh of relief, he saw the enemy's deputy shooter push away the corpse, manipulate the machine gun, and prepare to fire. At this time, his hand grenades were all thrown away, and only a bayonet was left in his hand. He didn't dare to think much, like a agile leopard rushing through the smoke towards the enemy, with his knife raised and ready to take down the shooter. However, he heard movement behind him, and the enemy dodged, causing the bayonet to stab into the machine gun and break into two pieces.

  Wang Yong wanted to grab the machine gun, but the thin South Korean puppet army shooter also held on tightly and wouldn't let go. The two men were at a stalemate, "Damn it, you're as skinny as a monkey and dare to compete with me? You don't put me in your eyes!" Wang Yong cursed in his heart, and threw the half of the bayonet in his hand fiercely towards the enemy. The enemy was frightened and let go of one hand on the machine gun, "Go to hell!" Wang Yong took advantage of the situation and kicked the enemy's chest with a flying kick, while scolding him without stopping. The shooter loosened his grip on the machine gun, stumbled back two steps, and reached the edge of the cliff. Wang Yong took a step forward, hugged his legs, and lifted him up with force. The enemy let out a miserable cry, waved his hands wildly, and fell off the cliff. Wang Yong single-handedly captured two heavy machine guns!

  Wang Yong turned the machine gun around, smoothed out the cartridge belt, and fired at the enemy on the mountain top with a "da-da-da... da-da" sound. The machine gun in his hands was like a musical instrument, with its own rhythm, and the bullets he fired were accurate and ruthless. Wherever an enemy showed their head, the bullets flew there. He quickly suppressed the enemy's firepower, covering his comrades as they occupied the high ground. If an experienced old soldier had noticed, he would have known that this machine gunner must have been trained with tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition, and was definitely not a novice who had just risen to the occasion. However, in the intense battle at the moment, no one paid attention to him.

  After the battle, the second battalion immediately switched to defense. They drew on their experience from the previous two days of fighting and reduced the number of troops at the front line. They dug single-person foxholes on both sides of the mountain to monitor and observe the enemy, while most of the troops dispersed into the forest behind the mountain. At the same time, they dug small air defense tunnels in the reverse slope, covering the entrances with raincoats and placing some grass on top. When the enemy dropped incendiary bombs that ignited the grass, the soldiers inside the tunnels could push the raincoats outward, preventing the fire from spreading to their bodies. They also dug firebreaks on the position and buried all telephone lines leading to various places underground, ensuring smooth communication. After dawn, the puppet army organized a battalion-sized force to launch multiple attacks under the cover of aircraft and tanks in order to retake the lost position and hand it over intact to the "friendly forces" preparing to take over the defense. However, they were unable to break through the position. Thanks to the effective measures taken by our troops, there were only a dozen or so casualties after a day of fighting.

  The cannons roared in front, the flames of war flew everywhere, and the fourth company, which was serving as a reserve team, hid in the woods waiting for orders. The third squad also retreated from the front to rest. Before going abroad, their squad had been an enhanced squad of 15 people. After several battles, they lost seven men, almost half of them. Because the old soldiers were undertaking the most dangerous tasks, most of the casualties were among them.

  "Look at Wang Yong, he's also a new recruit, and he single-handedly captured two machine guns. Now look at you, who came to our company with him, how did you end up pissing your pants?" The squad leader of the 4th squad was educating the new recruit He Shuangwen.

  "Class monitor, I...I didn't wet my pants!" He Shuangwen argued discontentedly.

  "Haha, what's on your pants? It's water, damn it!" The class monitor was amused and scolded with a smile.

  "Alright, Class Four Monitor, Little Hei performed well today. I think he's like a little tiger charging forward!" Yang Zhanfu said with a smile to mediate the situation.

  "Alas, compared to your classmate Wang Yong, you're far inferior!" said the head of Class 4 with a sigh.

  "Class leader, don't worry, next time I'll capture a machine gun and let them see!" He Shuangwen said with discontent.

  "Come on, kid! We're a crack troop, no one's a coward. We've never been defeated by the old Chiang Kai-shek, and we can't be defeated by the American devils either!"

  "Alright, Little He is right, and what our class monitor said isn't bad either!" someone suddenly chimed in.

  "Company Commander, you're here!" The soldiers quickly stood up.

  "Stop moving, you've fought well today, especially Wang Yong, we've already reported your achievements, let's ask for credit for him!" Company Commander He Bin said with a smile.

  "Good, another hero has emerged from the third squad!" Everyone applauded warmly to congratulate Wang Yong, and the soldiers of the third squad applauded the loudest. The first to make a meritorious deed in the company was from their own squad, everyone was very proud and truly happy for him.

  "I... I've done far from enough, compared to the class leader and the old soldiers, I still have a lot to learn from them!" Wang Yong was somewhat 'excited' about the sudden honor, but more surprised, his face flushed red, stuttering out two sentences. He didn't expect to be rewarded so quickly, it seems that the People's Liberation Army's reward and punishment system is not just a legend, and those in power haven't taken credit for their own achievements.

  "Haha, quite modest, and what you said is not bad either. Chairman Mao often said 'modesty makes progress', what requirements do you have as a hero, can mention it!" Lian Chang laughed and said.

  "Captain, I really have a request, can I mention it?" Wang Yong scratched his head and said hesitantly.

  "If there's a request, just make it! If it can be solved by Lian Chang, he will definitely help you. Don't be like a timid little daughter-in-law!" Vice-class monitor Xinle scolded, looking at Wang Yong with disdain.

  "Then I'll say it... " Wang Yong looked at Lian Zhang, who didn't seem dissatisfied, and said, "Lian Zhang, can you change my rifle? The Type 38's rate of fire is too slow. If you give me a carbine, I can take out a few more enemies!"

  "Alright, you can have it! You're also a key fighter now, qualified to get a better gun. However, the bullets are not supplied by our logistics, you'll have to scavenge for them yourself." The company commander agreed readily.

  "Alright, no problem, thank you Commander Lian!" Wang Yong excitedly said, with a good gun in his hand, he had an extra layer of protection.

  "Later, let your squad leader take you to the quartermaster to get a rifle and 200 rounds of ammunition. Today's battle yielded quite a few spoils, and you have some credit for that!" The company commander patted Wang Yong's shoulder with a smile. Wang Yong hadn't expected his worries from the past few days to be resolved so easily, and he immediately pulled the squad leader to the company headquarters to get a rifle, feeling even more thrilled than if he had been awarded a merit.