Chapter 8 Everyone has grown up
For every soldier, marching with heavy loads is not unfamiliar. These Red Guardsmen from the People's Liberation Army of China, known as the "Land Tigers", are only equipped with a rifle each. The 56-type assault rifle weighs just over five kilograms when loaded, so their marching speed is by no means slow. The only non-Red Guardsman in the team, Commander Zhong, is not weak either. During his time at military school, 10-kilometer marches with heavy loads were almost a daily occurrence. Moreover... he even had one less rifle to carry on his back, which is quite embarrassing to mention - there wasn't even an extra rifle to be found in the entire base.
Two scouts were responsible for guiding the way at the front of the troops, while Zhong Yi was discussing battle plans with Jiang Yunzhi while marching. According to intelligence from reconnaissance, Sergeant believed that this period of time was not the best time to raid the gold mine. Kalgoorlie had just experienced a fierce racial riot, causing many prospectors to hastily leave the Kalgoorlie-Boulder area, which is also why the population of this gold rush holy land currently has only over 10,000 people. It was also because of this riot that the Australian Federation increased its garrison in Western Australia, with the previously sparsely populated Western Australia having only one division of Australian troops. After the riot, the federal government dispatched another division from Adelaide to Kalgoorlie-Boulder area to conduct a large-scale sweep of the indigenous tribes involved in the riot.
The riot that occurred several months ago only took place in Kalgoorlie and did not affect production in the goldfields, but mine owners changed the "fly-in fly-out" operation mode to have miners reside on site for a certain period of time before allowing them to return to the city for rest. As a result, although the armed forces at the mine have not been strengthened, there are many more people now.
Upon hearing Jiang Yunzhi's introduction, Zhong Yi furrowed his brow. It was really the sudden emergence of the promotion task that had put him under pressure; otherwise, conducting a long-distance raid with insufficient intelligence wasn't exactly a wise move. Moreover, the soldiers' equipment hadn't been fully allocated yet, and there was no mention of blocking firepower or supporting firepower. In fact, an entire squad of soldiers didn't even have hand grenades, and could only rely on their Type 56 rifles to get by, which made Commander Zhong lose face.
While jogging, Zhong Yi secretly made up his mind: this is the last time, as long as we can get through this hurdle, with the war factory behind us, our troops will never have to fight such a battle again. At this moment, equipment logistics support has quietly risen to the top of the commander's list.
After reconnaissance, Jiang Zhiyun's target was the Super Pit gold mine in Kalgoorlie. Kalgoorlie is said to be the most valuable square mile in the world, and the Super Pit is the largest open-pit mining area in this region, with a proven gold reserve that can be mined for another hundred years. The owner of the mine, Alan Bond, has more than 200 armed guards under his command, equipped with Lee-Enfield rifles, an excellent rifle that was already a standard-issue weapon for the British military during World War I and is still in use by all Commonwealth countries, including Australia. This rifle's excellence lies in its unique rotating bolt-action mechanism and box-shaped detachable magazine, making it very convenient to load bullets, even allowing for reloading while charging forward, with a capacity of 10 rounds per double magazine. In contrast, the Type 56 rifles used by the Red Guards are automatic rifles that do not require cocking after each shot, whether single-shot or burst-fire, giving them an absolute advantage in continuous firing.
More than 80 kilometers of road, the raiding team only rested once after passing through the Ma'regus Mountains, and the soldiers ate half of the food in their backpacks, leaving half to eat again before the battle. They didn't bring more food - the fact is that the base didn't have any more either. During the rest, the final combat plan was also finalized by Zhong Yi and Jiang Yunzhi together.
Compared to the original goal set with Zhong Yi before departure, the newly baked combat plan has lowered its tactical objectives. The previous plan to break into Kargul City was abandoned and instead focused on taking over the super mine shaft to obtain gold to meet the base's needs. Both of them agreed that this goal is more realistic and relatively easier to achieve with the current equipment and personnel! Zhong Yi sighed, "First pass the task barrier, other things can be considered after the base development, being impatient won't help."
Out of the mountainous area, the marching speed in the desert terrain was increased again. When there were still five kilometers to the Golden Mile, most of the Red Guards had also started panting heavily, let alone Comrade Commander, who was already out of breath. Ten hours of rapid march for over 70 kilometers, with only one rest in between, was a bit beyond the limit for Lieutenant Zhang, and now it was past three o'clock in the afternoon, which was not suitable for a surprise attack. After finding a dense thicket, after giving the order to rest in place, Zhong Yizhi lay flat on an open space, while Jiang Yunzhi cautiously set up sentry posts before leaning against a rock and closing his eyes to rest.
I'm too tired, the forced march that had almost reached its physical limit made Zhong Yi unknowingly fall asleep after lying down. In his dream, he saw Ning Xue again, wearing white clothes and standing on Lugou Bridge, waving at him with a radiant smile on her face, like a holy snow lotus flower. However, he was rooted to the spot, unable to move or shout, using all his strength but still unable to budge. Then, several people appeared beside Ning Xue, they were his university dorm-mates, each wearing two Mao badges on their shoulders, teasing him: "Old Six, why are you still a one Mao?" Damn it! Zhong Yi cursed excitedly, "If you have the ability, come and mix with us in this place where only rabbits can pull shit!"
"Officer... officer?"
"Huh? Who's calling me 'sir'? A bunch of two-bit guys, who else would call this shameful second lieutenant 'sir'? Suddenly, my eyes snapped open to see Sergeant Jiang Yunzhi's big black face in front of me. Looking around again, the sky had already darkened, no wonder those two-bit guys were laughing at me, I really am a shame to the academy after crossing over, as a unit commander, I actually fell asleep dead on arrival on the battlefield."
He glanced at Jiang Yunzhi, this guy's dark face was like a poker card, and his emotional changes couldn't be seen at all. He estimated that this kid was secretly laughing at himself in his heart. The commander's face turned red, feeling a bit guilty. Fortunately, it had already gotten dark. He looked at his watch, 19:12. "Sergeant, inform the troops, ten minutes for dinner, ten minutes to check equipment, and twenty minutes later we will act according to plan."
The order was passed down, and the soldiers wolfed down their dry rations. Zhong Yi's mind wandered a bit, "Dreamt of Ning Xue again, wonder if she's doing well in heaven? And brothers, all gone... looks like I really need to work hard!" Staring at the compressed biscuits in his hand, the young officer suddenly thought of a phrase: The Last Supper?
What's wrong with you, shaking your head vigorously like that? What a terrible omen...
Jiang Yunzhi's voice came from the side, giving the order to form up. Zhong Yi smiled wryly and pinched his nose, thinking of what the instructor had said: On the battlefield, the more you fear death, the faster you will die; if you don't even fear death, the god of death will fear you.
"I'm the best armored officer, I'm a commander from another world, am I afraid of death?" The commander muttered to himself, spat on the ground, unholstered his only weapon, the 54 pistol, and stood in front of the troops who had already formed up.
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