The First Part of China Eastern Point Chapter 65 Fengbei

  From morning till night, the rain in the sky has been pulling out a strip of fine lines between heaven and earth, endless. It is said that in the south, this scene should be "Four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasty, how many buildings are in the misty rain" - a picture scroll of a romantic painting. But for the three battalions on the embankment, this rain was the reason they cursed heaven.

  These days, the originally not very solid dam has been battered and washed by the river water all along, and the foundation has already softened a bit. With such rainwater soaking, the entire dam is like a dough that has absorbed water, becoming softer and softer.

  The soldiers of the three battalions and one company worked tirelessly, covering the entire dam with burlap and plastic sheets, and then weighing down the edges with stones and mud to reduce the erosion caused by rainwater.

  At the foot of the dam, a large number of sandbags made by soldiers day and night were piled up densely. In case of an emergency with the dam, the sandbags could be transported to the needed section at the first time.

  To be honest, at this moment, Qu Mingjun and all the cadres and soldiers are mentally numb, they can no longer talk about their grand ambitions or emotions of fear and avoidance. They are like small parts in a large machine called flood control, working tirelessly without stopping. But there is always one thought in their hearts - As long as people are on the dike, it will hold!!!

  "Qu Mingjun!" The company commander shouted loudly as he walked over in the rain.

  "Arrived!" Qu Mingjun straightened up with a crooked posture.

  "You, Xiao Mao, Guo Xiangyang and the other fifteen soldiers, go take that truck with Jiang B-05961 license plate, follow the driver to Guhe Township to assist the civilians in evacuation." The company commander wiped the water off his face.

  Go help the ordinary people evacuate? It's said that this is a relatively easy task, as long as you arrive at the local area, pack up the old folks and take them to the evacuation point. It's much better than being on high alert day and night on the dam. And it seems safer than being on the dam too. Moreover, it looks like Long has intentionally chosen all three camps of students for this task.

  "Report to Captain, I'll stay behind." Qu Mingjun said after a moment of thought.

  "Huh?" Lian Zhang was taken aback, "What are you leaving? Here, one more of you doesn't make a difference, and one less of you doesn't make a difference either. Hurry up and leave, helping the civilians evacuate is also our task. As long as you evacuate quickly, we can withdraw from here sooner."

  "No, look at him." Qu Mingjun pointed to Wang Hongsheng, the deputy company commander who was limping on the other side. "Only I and Deputy Commander Wang are good swimmers in our company, but when Deputy Commander Wang moved the stones, he hurt his foot. So even if he's a good swimmer, he has to be discounted. Leave me behind, just in case there's an emergency that requires going into the water, I can play a big role."

  "Why don't we let Deputy Commander Wang go instead?" Qu Mingjun said tentatively, looking at the company commander's face.

  "Alright, you win." Lian Zhang nodded in agreement with Qu Mingjun's suggestion, "Fine, everything for the mission."

  "I'm going, take care of yourself and drink more salt water." Guo Xiangyang came over to say goodbye to Qu Mingjun before he left.

  "Alright then, let's meet at our usual spot." Qu Mingjun smiled and patted Guo Xiangyang on the shoulder.

  So, Deputy Commander Wang led a team of 18 cadres and soldiers, including Guo Xiangyang and Xiao Mao, to set out by car.

  Qū Míng Jùn and the others did not rest either, continuing to reinforce the main dike and its subsidiary dikes. They thought of almost every possible way to make this section of the main dike as solid as a reinforced concrete underground project, but how could that be possible? They were just doing their best to make the main dike slightly better.

  Damn it, I really want to sleep for a while, Qu Mingjun thought as he carried his sandbag and walked towards the dam.

  As soon as he reached the top of the embankment, Qu Mingjun straightened his sore waist a little, and immediately felt something was wrong. His vision went black, and his body shook violently. The sandbag behind him suddenly pulled Qu Mingjun down to the ground, and he rolled down instantly.

  Damn it, as soon as Qu Mingjun thought of this, he felt like his head had hit something and suddenly fainted.

  Fortunately, there were other warriors behind him. They immediately dropped their sandbags and hugged Qu Mingjun. However, a small wound appeared on one side of Qu Mingjun's head, and blood began to flow out slowly.

  When Qu Mingjun woke up, he didn't know how long it had been. He only felt his head buzzing with a loud humming noise, as if there was a pile driver working inside his brain.

  "Wake up! Wake up!" someone beside Qu Mingjun exclaimed happily.

  Qu Mingjun looked carefully for half a day before he could clearly see the swaying figure, which was a medical staff member sent by the local government to their regiment. He is now in the medical tent under the big dike.

  An older woman who came to help on one side even choked back tears, "He's still a kid, such a handsome young man, now he's disfigured, what will happen in the future?"

  Qu Mingjun smiled wryly, discovering that his head was wrapped in white cloth, probably making him look like an Arab now. He sat up and looked at his watch, finding that he had only been unconscious for less than 20 minutes. In three hours, the next peak flood would arrive, as announced by the superior. To be honest, Qu Mingjun really didn't have confidence in saving this dam anymore. The dam was too fragile now, like a piece of tofu, and if it weren't for the soldiers from the third company who had given him an outer garment, it would almost collapse with just one poke.

  Qū Míng Jùn struggled to get up, his feet feeling as if they were stepping on cotton, damn it, this was still the first time he had fainted, it seemed that humans were indeed made of flesh and blood, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't compare to iron-made machines.

  Everyone in the infirmary wanted to persuade Qu Mingjun, but Qu Mingjun smiled and shook his head. If he rested more, the soldiers on the dam would have to work harder, which wouldn't do. After all, he still represented the military academy's spirit. So Qu Mingjun pulled out the IV needle himself and resolutely walked out of the tent, returning to the dam.

  Less than an hour later, the sound of a convoy driving in suddenly came from the highway on one side of the dam. Lian Chang stood up in confusion and looked towards the road. Qu Mingjun and the soldiers also looked out curiously.

  Before long, the motorcade stopped at the foot of the dam, and a slightly fat armed police lieutenant jumped out of the car, leading more than a dozen soldiers carrying various equipment to rush up.

  Lian Chang hastily went forward and asked, "Who are you?"

  "Good job, good job." The armed police captain shook the company commander's hand tightly and said enthusiastically: "You really did a great job. My unit received orders from our superiors to take over this section of the dam, you have successfully completed your mission and can withdraw now."

  Can we retreat now? Suddenly his legs went soft, and the police captain's eyes were bright and quick, grabbing hold of the company commander.

  "Older brother, you've suffered enough. You've completed your mission and can withdraw now!" The armed police captain also seemed to be moved emotionally, speaking sincerely to the company commander.

  Lian Chang suddenly shook off the hands of the armed police lieutenant, took a few big strides to run to the radio station side, contacted the command center, and began to ask if they could withdraw from the team, and received an affirmative reply.

  It's finally over, several little warriors couldn't help but kneel on the ground and burst into tears. Qu Mingjun's nose was also sour at this moment. Seven days and six nights, just on this dam, they worked to the point of exhaustion, eating and living on this dam. Looking back on the past few days, it's hard to believe how they made it through.

  Lian Chang's mouth cracked open in a serious smile, "Alright, alright, alright. We'll withdraw now. But how come there are only so few of you?"

  It's strange that the armed police captain brought only a dozen or so soldiers.

  "Older brother, this section is a predetermined flood discharge area. We are here to install explosives." The Wujing Shangwei explained.

  "Oh, oh......" Lian Chang was speechless for a moment.

  Install explosives? Are they going to blow up this entire embankment?! Qu Mingjun felt a bitter taste in his mouth, just the previous minute they were desperately reinforcing the embankment, and now they had to watch as it was blown away by these guys. It's simply... simply...

  Qū Míng Jùn also couldn't say what it was, but in his heart there was always a sense of resentment and anger.

  "Alright, thank you all for your hard work!" The company commander shook the WJ officer's hand firmly. "All comrades of the 1st Company of the 3rd Battalion, listen up! Gather your equipment quickly and assemble at the bottom of the dam. We're withdrawing."

  Soldiers take obeying orders as their bounden duty, and there is no room for haggling over this.

  All the cadres and soldiers of the three battalions walked down the dam with a slightly lost expression, walking towards the fleet that came to greet them.

  The truck started soon, and the warriors all gathered on one side of the carriage, looking back at the place where they had fought for seven days and six nights with some nostalgia. The armed police who were busy measuring, drilling, and loading explosives on it quickly became small black dots in Qu Mingjun's eyes, and after turning a corner, they could no longer be seen.

  When Qu Mingjun and his men arrived at the camp, they were greeted with smiling faces and steaming hot meals, as well as fragrant egg soup. Qu Mingjun and his men didn't even have time to wash their hands, each of them hugged a bowl of vegetables and started eating, devouring it so greedily, so happily. It's been almost a week since they last had fresh vegetables, damn, it smells so good!

  As they ate, several new recruits couldn't help but start crying, instantly moving a group of old soldiers to tears as well.

  The squad leader hugged his bowl and squatted beside Qu Mingjun, unable to help but say a sentence, "Useless soldier!"

  But Qu Mingjun then saw him quickly and stealthily wipe his eye corners.

  The soldiers of the three battalions had finished their meal and were washing up, some were heading back to their tents to sleep when they suddenly heard the angry roar of the company commander.

  "Get out of here with your nonsense! What are you talking about? Damn it, what's wrong with my men?"

  What's wrong? Qu Mingjun and others rushed over in a hurry.

  Only then did Lian Chang suddenly grasp the collar of a lieutenant colonel with both hands, his mouth almost touching the lieutenant colonel's face, spitting and cursing loudly: "You damn liar, I don't believe you. Tell me, I don't believe it. You hurry up and find them for me, or I'll strangle you to death, you damn dog."

  On the side, several cadres were pulling them apart, and the instructor was also holding the company commander from behind, shouting in a crying voice: "Old Zhang, Old Zhang, calm down, ask again, is it a misunderstanding?"

  What's going on? Qu Mingjun is fine, but the soldiers saw these cadres arguing with the company commander in public and couldn't understand the situation for a while, so they all stood around in confusion.

  Lian Chang was finally pulled away by the instructor, his voice also trembling with sobs, "You're talking nonsense, you damn liar, I don't believe it, I don't believe it... My soldiers, waaahhh..."

  Lian Chang knelt down on the ground, hugging his head and crying loudly.

  The lieutenant colonel finally let out a deep breath, his face, which had been red from being choked, slowly returned to normal. He silently pushed away the hands of several officers who were supporting him and walked over to the company commander's side, squatting down beside him. He put his arm around the company commander's shoulder and said, "Good brother, good brother. It has indeed been confirmed that he is our company's brother. Come with me, the regimental commander is still waiting for you."

  "Son of a bitch!" Lian Zhang suddenly burst into rage, pushing the lieutenant colonel to the ground. He stared blankly for a moment, then spoke again in a sobbing tone, "You son of a bitch! I had sixteen soldiers on that vehicle, and a deputy company commander and a recruit. They won't all die, they can't all be dead!"

  What? A thunderbolt struck all the cadres and soldiers of the three battalions and one company on a sunny day, eighteen people. Weren't those the eighteen people sent to evacuate the civilians? What happened to them? Dead? Impossible, absolutely impossible...

  Qū Míng Jùn's eyes suddenly went dark in front of him, this can't be real, it must not be true... Deputy Commander Wang Hongsheng, Little Mao, and Old Guo, how is this possible? It's impossible, absolutely impossible...

  The instructor suddenly jumped up and kicked Lian Chang to the ground with one foot, "You damn Zhang, what are you crying about here? Hurry up and go find the battalion commander with Hu Canmou, is he our soldier or not? You have to see him before talking!"

  The company commander and the major left, leaving a few officers behind to persuade the soldiers to rest. However, the soldiers had other ideas and immediately surrounded the officers, asking them questions in unison, with an air of not letting up until they got a clear answer.

  Several officers were surrounded by the soldiers in the middle, speechless and unable to speak out, as a result, the soldiers became more and more angry, even starting to push and shove.

  Soon, several officers' hats were knocked off, and the officers stumbled about in the crowd of soldiers, and it seemed that they would soon rise to the point of assault.

  It can't go on like this. Qu Mingjun took a deep breath, looked at the scene that was about to get out of control, and shouted loudly, "What the hell are you doing? Stand up straight for me!"

  For a moment, Qu Mingjun's roar stunned all the warriors present, they involuntarily stood at attention, looking at Qu Mingjun who still had bandages on his head.

  "Get the hell away from me! Are you still soldiers?" Qu Mingjun cursed loudly. Due to Qu Mingjun's performance in recent days, the warriors had already begun to unconsciously show him a certain degree of respect, and it was precisely because of this that Qu Mingjun could control the scene.

  "Line up, line up." The leader of Class Five's lips trembled as he spoke, "We... we want to know, what exactly happened to them?"

  Qu Mingjun suddenly pulled open the door of Class 5, shouting loudly, "All of you get out! They are also our team's cadres. I'll ask for your sake, okay?"

  The warriors looked at me, I looked at you, under the leadership of the old soldiers, finally dispersed, but still formed a big circle around several military officers.

  "Who can tell me what's going on?" Qu Mingjun stepped into the circle, suppressing a wave of ominous chill in his heart.

  Several officers smiled wryly, and the leading lieutenant picked up his hat, shook his head and said in a low voice: "They went to evacuate the civilians. Originally, they could have returned after completing their task, but suddenly heard that there was another village with several elderly people who refused to move, but the convoy that went to their village had already taken away other civilians. So they volunteered to go and pick up those few elderly people."

  The captain's hands were unconsciously kneading his cap, almost to the point of tearing it apart. "But, but they hadn't even reached that village yet, when they encountered a landslide in a ravine... by the time we found out, it was already... already too late..."

  "A loud crash of thunder exploded above Qu Mingjun's head, causing his body to shake violently. He almost fell over, but the soldiers behind him blocked his way."

  Qu Mingjun leaned against Class Five's leader and asked in a trembling voice: "You, you guys didn't see it wrong, did you? That car...?"

  "That's right, it's Jiang B-05961." The captain suddenly squatted down and sobbed: "We found the documents on them, they are from our regiment, from the first company of the third battalion, a total of eighteen brothers... Oh my good brothers..."

  The five squad leaders behind Qu Mingjun suddenly knelt down and lay on the ground, crying with their mouths open, "Woo woo woo... Little Mao, woo woo woo, Deputy Platoon Leader..."

  Suddenly, three battalions and one company here wailed to the sky, Qu Mingjun also knelt softly on the ground, Old squad leader, Guo Xiangyang, you, how could you leave like this?

  ……

  Three days later, a farewell ceremony was held by Battalion A at the site where eighteen soldiers of the Third Camp had sacrificed.

  "Fire! See off our heroes with a salute!" The team leader shouted loudly.

  Bang!

  Bang!

  Bang!

  ……

  The British spirit is not far away, have a good trip!!!

  You will live forever in our hearts, you will become the eighteen majestic monuments on the Yangtze River, standing tall here forever, guarding the people of this land forever!!!

  In the next life, we will still be brothers...

  (ps: I'm sorry to bring trouble to book friends on the eve of Chinese New Year. Angel is apologizing ten thousand times here. But when writing this, angel cried twice. Don't know what to say, it's really a heroic spirit that will never be far away, farewell! Brothers may think angel is too cruel, but the 18 martyrs in the 1998 flood control are real.)

  Finally, I wish all brothers a happy new year with endless joy! Endless harvest! Endless money! Endless smiles! Endless happiness! Endless friends! Endless good fortune! Endless wealth! Endless sweetness! Endless passion! Endless vitality! Endless health! Endless honor!