Chapter 17: The Encounter in Xiaoyu Village

  "Alright, I'll give the order then." Old Li saw that Chengfeng had made up his mind and didn't continue to argue. Then Old Li gave orders to each squad leader through the earpiece.

  "First row to the left, second row to the right, third row in motion, artillery row prepare for fire support." Cheng Feng listened to Old Li's command, and his heart was not only grateful. This old Li is really a good helper, without needing him to say it himself, he already knows what he wants to do. This is also one of the reasons why Cheng Feng can't leave Old Li.

  As soon as the orders were given, the four platoons moved into their respective attack positions, waiting for the command to attack, and then advanced towards the village.

  This is a small mountain village, located in an area about 30 kilometers away from the Dawang River and less than 20 kilometers away from Dawang City. On the map, except for the indication of elevation and terrain, there is no name of this village in the data, only a desolate place called Dawang Village that was passed through earlier.

  We've basically arrived at the Dawang area. Cheng Feng also felt a bit strange, apart from today's bloody battle on 581 high ground, this journey has been relatively smooth so far, although we encountered enemy ambushes along the way, but compared to 581, these are all small matters, where did those Indian soldiers go? Where will they be waiting for us? Hope nothing happens in this small mountain village tonight.

  A row is divided into three combat squads, each squad is further divided into five combat teams, and the five combat teams move towards the village in a wedge shape from the left side of the village.

  The second platoon also divided into three combat squads, and like the first squad, they moved in a wedge shape towards the village from the right.

  The machine gun squad completed the deployment of 100 mortars and 82 artillery pieces in a very short period of time, and set up shooting elements for the village and surrounding areas, ready to fire at designated positions at any time.

  The tank unit, under the guidance of the lead vehicle, separated the combat vehicles and tanks. The tank's artillery set the shooting elements for the area outside the village at about 2500-5000 meters to prevent Indian army tanks and artillery attacks. The armored combat vehicles aimed their guns at various targets in the village, so they could support the infantry soldiers' attack at any time.

  All this was soon set up, and the deployment of soldiers and armored troops was in place. At this time, Cheng Feng waved his hand, and Old Li took the bayonet company to go up.

  Cheng Feng led the second row, and Old Li also broke out from behind. Cheng Feng went left, Old Li went right, both rows formed a wedge shape, advancing in tactical formation. Each soldier's 97-style assault rifle was at the ready, the 60 artillerymen followed closely behind the infantry, not missing a step. All sounds ceased, and all Cheng Feng and the soldiers could hear was their own heavy breathing as they ran forward.

  Although it's already 19:00 Beijing time, due to the time difference, the sky is still bright, just like around 16:00 in the afternoon. Not far away, except for a few barks of dogs, the whole village is quiet, just like what Cheng Feng saw on the video earlier, and the villagers are probably all gone.

  "What are these people running for? Aren't we our own army?" Cheng Feng wondered to himself.

  "Alright, alright," came Old Li's voice through the earpiece. Cheng Feng immediately signaled for the row to halt and disperse into combat formation, himself leaning against the back of a large tree at an angle.

  "Received, let's talk about Old Li," Cheng Feng replied.

  "I'll enter the village immediately, I guess there's no one inside, how's the situation on your side?"

  "It's quiet on my side too, I think everyone has run away" He said while looking towards the village on the left, still quiet and not a single movement.

  "We'll go in, you wait for a moment, I'll give you the signal, and then you come in. If we encounter enemies, we'll encircle them," Old Li said, waving his hand, and the second squad formed a combat formation and charged into the village with a "hush".

  Before long, Cheng Feng heard the sound of Old Li's three short and one long horn in the village, which meant that everything was going smoothly and there was no enemy situation. Cheng Feng also waved his hand forward, and a row of soldiers "swished" and jumped up, rushing into the village at the same time.

  The village is not big, just a few dozen households. On the left side of the village entrance, there is a stone pile with a wooden stick inserted into it. The four sides of the wooden stick are tied with ropes and hung with various triangular prayer flags. Cheng Feng knew that this was where the Tibetans prayed for good luck.

  Because he grew up near the Tibetan area of Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau since childhood, Chengfeng is very familiar with it. He knows that these stones are called Mani stones, a traditional folk art of Tibetans, mostly carved with six-character mantra, wisdom eyes, deity statues, and various auspicious patterns to ward off evil spirits and seek blessings. Mani stones can be stacked into Mani heaps or Mani walls, which can be seen almost everywhere in the mountains, roads, lakesides, and riverbanks of Tibet.

  These are also called "Mani heap", Tibetan name is "Dobang", which means piled up stones. Among them, "Dobang" is divided into two types: "Zu Wu Yang Zai Dobang" and "Zhen Xie Dobang". On the "Mani heap" are placed stone slabs or stones engraved with Mani scriptures such as "Six-word mantra" and Bon's "Six-word secret spell", as well as some feather arrows and pairs of horns or entire horned skulls of male sheep, antelopes, and yaks. On the square or conical "Mani heap" made of large and small stones in Tibetan areas, wooden sticks and branches are inserted, tied to a nearby tree or cliff with ropes, and colorful wind horse prayer flags, Hada, colored threads, white sheep wool and other auspicious objects are hung on the branches and ropes.

  On auspicious days, people burn incense and add stones to the Mani piles while reverently touching their foreheads to them and silently reciting prayers before throwing them onto the pile. Over time, one Mani pile after another rises from the ground, growing higher and higher. Each stone embodies the heartfelt wishes of the faithful. The creation of Mani stones has caused these natural stones to become figurative.

  The Tibetans have created a vast array of Mani stone carvings throughout their long history, which can be seen everywhere people go. These carvings represent the Tibetans' pursuit, ideals, emotions, and hopes, as well as their Buddhist faith. They are often inscribed with texts and images on stones or pebbles, featuring Buddha statues, animal protection deities, and the eternal six-syllable mantra. When piled up, these stones form a long wall known in Tibetan as "mani wall" or "mangdang".