Chapter Thirty: The First Battle Before Dawn

  Unlike other troops, Zhang Lingfu's reconnaissance battalion, currently the strongest combat unit of the 3rd Division, was arranged in the rear.

  That's why it's called the rear, this is what the soldiers themselves said. The other several regiments were guarding the Niukou Railway Station in a fan shape, while they and the reconnaissance battalion were arranged on the Ganjiang River, overlooking the ancient city wall of Nanchang, still with a hint of gunpowder smoke.

  If it were Xu Zhimo, Zhang Lingfu would definitely sigh and say, "The wall of Gan River in the old days, the moon is still passing by the female wall at midnight." But coincidentally, Zhang Lingfu was a soldier, and he was also a rough man among soldiers. Zhang Lingfu thought for half a day facing the city wall but couldn't come up with a single poem, while Wang Yaowu's poetic inspiration burst out, "Ah, city walls are all mouths, beautiful women show their thighs."

  Wang Yaowu finished speaking, and a group of soldiers burst out laughing, "Good poem, good poem. Indeed, it's the young man who has read books in military school, he really has talent." Several guys said with a lewd smile on their faces.

  "Let you all read more books, just listen, when the time comes, we will be like our teacher, write a book and sell it abroad, and play with it." Wang Yaowu snatched a pack of cigarettes from the old soldier's pocket and handed one to Zhang Lingfu first.

  "Senior, you come first, you come first." With a flattering face, there was still a hint of the usual arrogance, it seems that the educational level in the reconnaissance camp is relatively high.

  Zhang Lingfu not only took over the cigarette handed over by Wang Yaowu, but also snatched away the one in Wang Yaowu's hand, and smelled it with a nostalgic expression.

  Wang Yaowu immediately became displeased, "Senior, you can't treat me like this, I'm your own junior brother, how can you do this to me?"

  "Shut up! You really think we're having a good time in the rear, but damn it, we're on a mission." Zhang Lingfu scolded Wang Yaowu.

  The soy sauce was poured onto the tofu, one thing subdued another. Wang Yaowu listened to Zhang Lingpu's words and immediately became honest, but still asked with some dissatisfaction, "Senior, this damn nest is in the rear, what kind of task execution is this? Look at how proud those few classmates were when we left, it's really infuriating."

  "You asked me, I asked who to go, and I just went up high to take a look at the old man's demeanor. As a result, I entered the chief of staff's eyes, and after two people whispered for a while, they found us such a task and let us lie in the grass. It's my fault, I shouldn't have wandered around blindly." Zhang Lingfu said with great helplessness.

  "Hey, lying in the wormwood is nothing, the key is these mosquitoes, endless, I guess you must have done something wrong, and the boss is punishing you." Wang Yaowu said suspiciously while secretly taking out a bottle of perfume and handing it to Zhang Lingfu, "Senior, this was originally prepared for junior sister, but ended up using it tonight, very fragrant!"

  "How many times have I told you, call me Captain, not Senior Zhang. You think we're still in school? And this perfume, I haven't even paid for it yet, don't set a bad example." After saying that, Zhang Lingfu opened the bottle and applied some on himself, indeed, there were much fewer mosquitoes now.

  "Battalion commander, battalion commander, there's a ghost, there's a ghost." An old soldier was so scared that he kept kowtowing on the ground.

  "Shut up," Zhang Lingfu ordered the soldiers to lie down in the weeds, using the moonlight to examine the city wall that the old soldier was pointing at.

  As expected, a figure emerged from the shadows. If one were timid, they would have mistaken it for a ghost or spirit. But there were too many of these ghosts and spirits. Although it was very dark, there were at least over a thousand people.

  "Grass, night crossing Ganjiang River, silent night raid, damn exciting. If I have the chance, I will definitely command the opposing commander." Wang Yaowu's arrogant personality came back, and he began to fantasize about commanding his troops in battle.

  "Wang Yaowu." Zhang Lingfu suddenly called out solemnly.

  "Arrived!" Wang Yaowu also came back to his senses and said in a low voice.

  "Go to the command post immediately and tell the commander that the enemy has come down from the city wall, with a force of over 1,000 men, without heavy weapons, preparing to cross the Gan River. Let the commander make preparations." Zhang Lingfu instructed.

  "Yes," Wang Yaowu saluted militarily and vanished into the wormwood in the blink of an eye.

  Most of the soldiers had fallen asleep, but the lights in the command post were still on. Liu Yuan and Zuo Quan sat on two small stools, silently smoking cigarettes. Several regimental commanders had long since fallen asleep with their heads on the table.

  "Ah, and this night before dawn is really a bit too quiet. Quiet enough to make people want to sleep." Zuo Quan took a strong drag on his cigarette, letting the smoke enter his nostrils and into his brain, making his mind suddenly clear for a few moments.

  "The quieter it is, the more careful you should be. The darkness before dawn is the heaviest, and the calmness before a thunderstorm is the most dangerous." Liu Yuan took a drag on his cigarette, "I heard that Zeng Wenzhong commanded battles for days and nights without feeling tired, why did we get so sleepy after just one night? Is it because we're too young?" Liu Yuan asked in puzzlement.

  "In the past, people used to read the books of sages, understand great principles, and have a strong spiritual world. For their ideals, they could sacrifice everything. However, our generation of young people is much worse. Although we say we love our country, how many of us are not just seeking to get promoted or rich? We don't even have any spiritual pursuit. Take me for example, I'm in the US, and a book that was heavily criticized by Mr. Hu Shi, 'The Analects', is treated like a treasure by a professor here, who reads it every day. Tell me, aren't we wrong?"

  At the most difficult time, chatting may be a good way to refresh oneself. "Alas, I just don't have the time. The new culture they advocate for is indeed not wrong, it allows people to quickly accept new ideas and can gain more support for the revolution. However, we cannot completely deny the things our ancestors left behind. The loss of spirit is the most terrifying thing. Now, due to the crisis of our nation-state, we still have a common pursuit - defending our home and country. If one day this pursuit is achieved, I really dare not imagine how terrifying China will be at that time."

  "What Mr. Gu Hongming said is not wrong, our queues are in our hearts, and simply destroying traditional culture is useless, this will only make people do things more recklessly and without restraint." Zuò Quán nodded and said.

  "Let's not get sidetracked, let's talk about how we're going to fight this battle. Do you think the enemy will launch a sneak attack from behind?" Liu Yuan asked.

  "You've sent everyone out, what's there to worry about? Just wait for the results. But I think that's enough for today, it's almost dawn." Zuo Quan stood up and stretched his slightly stiff body.

  "What's going on? How can the popular ones fly to heaven?" Liu Yuan rubbed his eyes, feeling a bit tired. After all, this body had just passed twenty and hadn't reached the peak of physical strength yet.

  "Flare!?" The two men shouted loudly, and several team leaders woke up from their sleep, grabbed their guns and rushed out. Guan Linzheng shouted, "Don't panic, everyone follow me to rush out."

  "Get down, it's just a signal flare. I reckon the enemy is going to launch an attack around this time." The chili pepper was still in Guan Linzheng's mouth, and his face immediately turned red like an apple, he woke up instantly and hastily gulped down several mouthfuls of water.

  "Damn it, can't you wait a bit longer? It's almost dawn. Are you sick or something?" Guan Linzheng said angrily.

  "It's still dark, why did the enemy launch a frontal attack instead of an ambush?" Zuo Quan asked with furrowed brows.

  "What's the point? Since the enemy dares to come, we'll go up and give them a good fight, let them know what it means to be in pain. Let's beat them until they're sore, see if they dare to be arrogant next time." Guan Linzheng said angrily.

  "No, it's still dark, what if we fall into the enemy's ambush?" Zuoyi objected.

  "Lao Zuo, you weren't so timid when you were in military school. How long has it been since you went abroad? What's happened to you?" Hu Zongnan said with some dissatisfaction.

  "That's because what I learned at Whampoa was only at the level of a middle school student in the army, ignorance is fearless." Zuo Quan sarcastically said to Hu Zongnan, he disliked impulsive people.

  Liu Yuan waved his hand and said, "Don't quarrel anymore. It's not that we can't go out to teach them a lesson, but I need to wait for a verification message."

  "What news?" Hu Zongnan asked.

  "The news has arrived." Liu Yuan said confidently.