Chapter 23

  At 8:00 pm on October 16, I received reconnaissance intelligence from the reconnaissance unit one after another, which was summarized by the staff department and sent to me. After reading it, I passed it to the deputy commander beside me, who took it and read it. At this time, I analyzed and said: "The 7th Brigade of the Western Garrison is still stationed in the Kejie Lang area, they are now building fortifications to consolidate their positions, and also dispatching troops to guard the bridges, obviously adopting a fixed-point defense."

  The deputy commander-in-chief said after reading the telegram: "Good! The enemy's garrison is very suitable for our army to launch a frontal attack and implement a fixed-point breakthrough."

  I said: "Well, yes, the enemy built a defense line in a flat area and didn't have any depth, so once we break through one point, the whole line will be broken through. It seems like the 7th Brigade can't escape, haha!" I was getting happier and happier as I spoke.

  The deputy commander also smiled and said, "The enemy is too arrogant, they don't take us seriously at all. They have no idea that we now have three times the strength of their 7th Brigade."

  "Haha, why wouldn't I eat the fat meat that's right in front of me?"

  The deputy commander also said: "It's inevitable."

  I stood up and shouted outwards: "Come on."

  The adjutant of the outer house immediately came in and saluted, saying: "Commander!"

  I told him: "Immediately call over General Lan and the commanders of each regiment for a meeting."

  The staff officer said: "Yes."

  "Hold on." The deputy commander shouted, and then said to me: "Commander Tang, now it's getting late, the 519th Regiment is a distance away from my command post, and with the snow making the road difficult to walk, I think we should hold the meeting tomorrow at 9 am instead. What do you think?"

  I nodded and slapped my head, suddenly realizing: "Right! I was so happy that I forgot all about this, luckily you reminded me. Little Qi, just follow the deputy commander's orders and go pass on the commands quickly."

  "Yes."

  October 17th, 9:00 AM. The long conference table in the command headquarters meeting room was fully seated, with all team leaders present. I saw that everyone had arrived and nodded to Chief of Staff Lan to begin. After clearing his throat a few times, he announced the start of the meeting once the chatter among the team leaders had stopped. He first introduced the enemy's situation and their troop deployment and garrisoning as of yesterday; then announced that the general offensive on Xizheng would take place at 5:00 AM tomorrow, with the task of annihilating the enemy's 7th Brigade in front of us, and if the battlefield situation allowed it, also simultaneously annihilate the enemy's 33rd Brigade according to the original plan; finally, he required all participating teams to end the battle before 8:00 AM and await further instructions from the command. After finishing speaking, he looked at me to see if I had any additions. I nodded slightly, then stood up and said to everyone: "Comrades, this is our command's largest and most crucial battle, so we must fight with level and prestige, and let Xizheng and especially Western countries see that we have not weakened our combat effectiveness due to various domestic situations! Comrades, do you have confidence in winning this battle?"

  "Yes!" The comrades in the meeting hall shouted in unison.

  "Alright! We should have this confidence! Next, I want to emphasize that in this battle, I require each regiment to launch a surprise attack with concealment. After returning, before launching the general offensive, you must hide your troops well and not let the enemy detect anything; Also, once the general offensive begins, participating regiments must be tactically flexible, after all, the situation on the battlefield changes rapidly. After annihilating the enemies in front of you, you must closely cooperate with each other to effectively eliminate the enemy; Finally, the 515th and 516th Regiments, your mission is to guard against the enemy's 33rd Brigade. If they come to reinforce, you will go out to meet them and must annihilate them on the line of Kexielang area, clearing the way for the capture of Dawang."

  The commanders of the 515th and 516th regiments stood up and said: "Yes! We guarantee to complete the task."

  "Ah, Old Cheng! Do you have any supplements?" I nodded in agreement and asked the deputy commander.

  "Alright, got it." The deputy commander replied, pausing for a moment before continuing, "What I mean to say is that we should aim to win this battle with the fastest speed and lowest casualties in a beautiful assault." He looked around again, reiterating, "We must maintain the lowest possible casualties."

  "Yes!"

  "I'm done," said the deputy commander.

  "I nodded and said, 'Alright.' I paused for a moment and then spoke in a serious tone: 'I command!' The regimental commanders immediately stood up. I looked around and continued: 'The 518th, 519th, and 53rd Regiments will launch the general attack at dawn on the 18th, that is, at 5 o'clock in the morning. The 515th and 516th Regiments will move to the northern mountainous area of Kechenglang after the battle starts, closely monitoring the enemy's 33rd Brigade. The code name for this operation is 'East Thunder 1'. The entire operation must be completed within 2 hours, that is, before 7 o'clock on the morning of the 18th. Does everyone understand?"

  "I understand."

  "Dismissed! Everyone return immediately and prepare for action!"

  "Yes."

  After the meeting, I stood in front of the sand table, staring at it and thinking that it was no longer tomorrow's battle, but the enemy's 4th Division. If tomorrow's battle comes, if the enemy's 33rd Brigade comes to reinforce, then the enemy's 4th Division will only have one brigade plus a regimental force left, and the entire Western Zong East will only have the 4th Army. If the 4th Division is eliminated, then the 4th Army will only have two divisions of troops. But even with only two divisions of troops, it's not something that my current troop strength can handle. I wonder how determined they are upstairs?! I was thinking in my heart. At this time, a staff officer from the communication department came in to report: "Commander, the latest telegram from the Eastern Command." I took the telegram and gestured for him to leave after reading it. After finishing reading, I was overjoyed, yes, I was too excited. The telegram said that in order to severely strike at the arrogance of Western Zong, two divisions of troops had been transferred from the Shu State Military Region to join the front-line battle, and they would arrive by the 20th at the latest. I thought: It seems that the leadership has recognized my entire Winter Thunder plan and knows that my future plan is to recover the Tsangnan Valley, and if possible, sweep across Eastern Western Zong again! Good! I must do a good job and not disappoint the leaders' expectations. After thinking about these things, I immediately shouted: "Come in!" Someone came in from outside the door, and I said: "Please ask Deputy Commander and Lan Chief of Staff to come here, I have something to discuss."

  "Yes."

  After Deputy Commander Cheng and Chief of Staff Lan arrived, I handed the telegram to them. They were also very pleased after reading it, but suddenly, Chief of Staff Lan seemed to think of something, furrowed his brow and said: "However, the telegram doesn't say who will specifically command after the two divisions arrive? Our forward command is only at the regimental level, I'm afraid...". I listened and also furrowed my brow in thought. Deputy Commander Cheng thought for a moment and said: "I think we should focus on winning this battle first, the higher-ups have their own plans."

  I sighed and said, "It can only be so." What I didn't say was that the Winter Thunder plan was actually formulated by me, and I wouldn't agree to let others command me. I didn't even realize that my mindset had already shifted towards seeking more power, people are like this, once they have a bit of status, they will subconsciously want to go further.

  That afternoon, I went to the 53rd Regiment's headquarters and discussed the telegram with Deputy Commander Pan and Old He. After a while, Battalion Commander Xing Kaiyuan thought for a moment and said with a smile: "Regimental Commander, you're probably going to be promoted."

  "Really?"

  "If tomorrow's battle is fought beautifully, then it will be almost perfect."

  "What? Tell me the reason, Old Xing."

  "Just you wait and see, when the time comes, we'll be done with this group of people."

  I asked him again and again, but he didn't say anything. Having no choice, I could only return to the command center with a sullen face.