Chapter Forty-Four: Quarrel Over Discussion

  When You Fei finally returned to the garrison, the entire 259th Brigade, which had been surrounded for many days, finally breathed a sigh of relief. After all, this time there was someone in charge, and they wouldn't be as chaotic as before.

  Wang Lie and the award certificate led the soldiers of the guard company to welcome You Fei. Wang Lie and Lin Yu had a brief conversation, then poked You Fei's waist with his hand and smiled cheaply, whispering in You Fei's ear: "Commander, look at your complexion, someone has let you take the lead."

  "Go," said You Fei with a self-satisfied smile on his face, "nothing's happened in the team these past few days I've been away."

  Wang Lie shrugged and shook his head, saying: "At first, there was indeed nothing wrong with this matter. However, since we let the devils surround us, Xu Zhiyuan has been constantly quarreling with Dong Tianhao and Gao Yongtai. These three hotheads finally clashed, boom! The whole thing blew up. They've been arguing fiercely for so many days that I, Jiang Baozi, and Old Sun would rather avoid them. Once they get you entangled, you're done for."

  "One by one, they're all sick, damn it! If they can't even hold on, then they've all gone mad!" You Fei let the prize be taken care of by Lin Yu Rui An and came alone to the conference hall.

  The so-called conference hall was actually the living room of a abandoned house, where the former owner's long dining table happened to be suitable for meetings. As soon as You Fei stepped into the hall, he felt that the atmosphere was not right. Xu Zhiwei, Gao Yongtai and Dong Tianhao stood up with a rustling sound as soon as they saw You Fei enter the hall, while Sun Qingyun remained seated, calm and composed.

  You Fei swaggered over to the main seat and sat down, Wang Lie smiled and sat beside Sun Qingyun. "What's going on? Everyone is here, are you all waiting for me to discuss how to deal with those devils who have been surrounding us in circles?" You Fei said loudly.

  "Big brother..." Xu Zhiwei shouted first, Bang! You Fei slammed his hands heavily on the table, his teeth clenched so hard they creaked, and the joints of his fingers turned white from gripping too tightly. "You idiot, how many times do I have to tell you, during meetings, don't call me big brother, call me Commander!" His loud voice and ferocious expression not only made Xu Zhiwei's heart rate skyrocket but also caused Gao Yongtai and Dong Tianhao beside him to stiffen up. Xu Zhiwei licked his lips with the tip of his tongue before continuing: "Yes, Commander, I remember, next time I definitely won't make this mistake again. Those bastards are surrounding us, we can't just sit here doing nothing like a turtle in its shell. Now is the perfect opportunity to attack them while they're still unstable, if their formation collapses, we'll be able to kill them until they piss themselves."

  "Oh, you little guy is determined, are you? Where are you planning to rush to? And where will you go after breaking out?" You Fei asked.

  Xu Zhiwei hesitated for a moment, then said: "There's no need to consider so much, the key is to act quickly. General, with your order, I'll fight wherever you want me to."

  "You are brave but lack wisdom, I don't know when your brain was eaten by a dog. Gao Yongtai, what's your opinion."

  Gao Yongtai stood up and said: "Comrade Commander, I oppose Team Leader Xu's approach of hard confrontation. The enemy's single-soldier combat effectiveness and equipment are superior to ours, so we cannot take the initiative to attack for the time being. We should focus on solidifying our defenses, holding key positions, and waiting for the enemy to come to us. This winter, no matter how many enemies come, they will suffer heavy casualties. If the enemy does not launch an attack, we can use scattered harassment tactics to exhaust them, and when the enemy is least expecting it, we can deal a crushing blow."

  "Gao Yongtai, this is what you call being a coward! With your kind of talk, we won't be able to defeat the enemy, and our morale will collapse first. If you're so afraid of death, then go home and hug your wife and children, don't stay here and lose face!" Xu Zhiwei didn't forget to come out and strike Gao Yongtai at the right moment. To Xu Zhiwei, this guy who sometimes said they should restrain themselves and sometimes said they should endure was really getting on his nerves.

  You Fei shook his head and stopped paying attention to the two of them. He turned around and said to Dong Tianhao, "Captain Dong, what are you thinking?"

  Dong Tianhao let out a deep sigh and said, "Traveler, it's not me saying this, but this time the devils are fierce and we're in a precarious situation. This Su Fourth County is flat as a pancake, there's nowhere to hide, so I think it's better to charge out and fight the devils head-on."

  "You, you..." Xu Zhiwei had already made Dong Tianhao so angry that he couldn't speak, and after a long time, Xu Zhiwei finally caught his breath and thundered: "Dong Tianhao, are you kidding me? Are you a man or not? Can you say such things? Get out! You're not even as good as saying 'run away' directly. I've seen through your true nature long ago - you're just a cowardly scoundrel who can't be trusted."

  "Xu Zhiwei, sit down." Under Yu Fei's rebuke, Xu Zhiwei reluctantly sat down. Yu Fei continued: "We are all brothers of the same family, Xu Zhiwei, be careful with your words. If you continue to speak nonsense like this, I won't let you speak at any future meetings, big or small."

  Xu Zhiwei puffed out his chest and turned his head to one side, his broken mouth temporarily shut. Dong Tianhao was so angry at Xu Zhiwei's words that he looked like a red-faced Guan Gong, his eyes bulging bigger than bronze bells, his expression as if he wanted to swallow Xu Zhiwei whole. If not for the sake of Yu Fei's face, Dong Tianhao wouldn't have been able to hold back this anger. In the past few days, the two had frequently almost come to blows, and now their heads and faces still bore many bruises, which anyone with discerning eyes could see at a glance. Yu Fei naturally knew too, but he was just pretending not to notice.

  You Fei asked Wang Lie and Sun Qingyun: "Old Sun, Wang Lie, have you sent brothers to investigate the enemy's situation?"

  Wang Lie's face was solemn, and he said in a deep voice: "According to the intelligence analysis obtained by the dispatched warriors, the devils who came are from the 9th Brigade, a brigade under the Wangpai Division, so their equipment is very good. Except for the usual insufficient ammunition of the devils, the 9th Brigade has a large number of mortars and sufficient shells."

  As soon as he heard the devils' small cannons, You Fei's facial muscles twitched involuntarily. He said in a low voice, "To what extent."

  "That mound outside the city can be blown flat three times over!" Wang Lie said.

  You Fei almost collapsed, that big slope can be blown flat three times! That slope is a big one that can accommodate nearly a battalion, blowing it flat three times, what a joke. You Fei weakly said: "The 9th Brigade won't be in charge of transporting ammunition, will they? How did they get so many shells?"

  "What about the people now?" asked You Fei.

  Wang Lie said with a loud voice: "More than half of the people heard that the devils were going to surround Su Fourth County, and they had already moved before the devils formed the encirclement. The rest are unwilling to leave their hometown, they say even if they die, they want to die in the place where they were born."

  You Fei let out a sigh and asked: "When we leave, will each of us have enough rations on our bodies?"

  "Yes, and we also allocated a portion of the army's rations. Each person was given four days' worth of cooked rice to take with them on the road." Wang Lie replied.

  You Fei waved his hand, and the crowd dispersed one by one. The large hall was left with only You Fei alone. At this moment, You Fei's heart was in a mess, having never shouldered the lives and deaths of so many people before, You Fei felt for the first time what responsibility meant.