Chapter Twenty-Four

  At 4:30 on October 18th, I asked General Lan in the forward command post: "Have all troops entered their designated positions?"

  "Already all arrived at designated position."

  "Alright." I nodded and said.

  The 53rd regiment launched an attack on the position. The soldiers of the three battalions of the 53rd regiment were all quietly waiting for the order to attack. Zheng Hui said to his comrade Jian: "When we charge later, stay by my side and don't rush forward blindly, got it?"

  "Got it."

  "Has the artillery company made preparations, Old Han?" asked Deputy Regimental Commander Pan of the regiment headquarters.

  "Old Guo and his men are ready, all targets have been marked." replied General Han.

  "Has Old Xing and the others gone down to the company already?" Deputy Commander Pan thought for a moment before asking.

  Han Zongliang sighed: "Old Xing and the others are already on the front line, how can I persuade them? In their words, they have fought in countless battles."

  Deputy Commander Pan sighed and said, "They are worried that this is the 53rd team's first big battle, and they're afraid no one can keep the scene under control. In case of any special situation, they have experience to resolve it in time. They are all good comrades and old party members!"

  "The Chief of Staff Han said with great respect: 'They are true warriors! I have arranged for people to stay by their side and protect them at all times.'"

  "Right! If they have any secrets and the captain finds out, he'll skin me alive!"

  The Chief of Staff Han smiled and said: "Don't worry, the regimental commander will skin you, but Commander Yao will skin him! Hehe."

  "Haha."

  At 4:57, the artillery positions of the 53rd Battalion's artillery array raised their barrels one after another. The gunners checked the firing parameters again, and the ammunition boxes were all opened one by one. Commander Gu Changlian stood guard beside the phone waiting for orders. At this time, someone reported that everything was ready, the inspection was error-free, and they could fire. Commander Gu nodded his head.

  4 minutes and 59 seconds ago, I pointed to the command center. I also stood up and waited, waiting for the time to come, and everyone in the command center was watching me, waiting for the attack order. Soon, Chief of Staff Han, who had been looking at his watch, said to me: "The commander can give the order now." I picked up the telephone that had just been connected and said: "I order the general offensive to begin." The three battalion commanders who were listening in on the phone responded excitedly: "Yes!"

  Gu Changan had just hung up the phone and ordered: "Fire the cannon."

  The peaceful morning was shattered by artillery fire, and the position of Xi Zuo was immediately shrouded in explosions from falling shells. After 20 minutes of bombardment, when the shells began to fall less frequently, Colonel Xing Kaiyuan of the 53rd Regiment shouted: "Comrades, our motherland is watching us, charge for me!" He then turned around and charged out first. Suddenly, the sound of bugles and the shouts of soldiers rose up.

  They soon approached the front line of Xizheng, and the Xizheng army had been severely damaged by our intense artillery fire, and could not organize an effective counterattack. They were quickly breached, and the situation developed in accordance with our previous predictions.

  At 5:30, the entire Western Army defense line had collapsed, and soldiers were fleeing in all directions, deep into the forest. The commander of the 7th Brigade, Daviel, also joined the fleeing crowd. He was awakened by the sound of cannon fire and, before he could understand the intensity of the Longwei Army's attack, was informed that the enemy was approaching 1 mile away from the brigade headquarters. Daviel ordered an immediate counterattack, but after a 10-minute battle, he was carried away by his deputy officer and bodyguards to escape with his life. Fortunately, there was a forest nearby, and they fled deep into it. When they found out that there were no pursuing troops behind them, Daviel let out a sigh of relief, and only then did he remember to ask: "What about the other battalions?" The deputy officer replied: "The 2nd Lachaput Battalion was defending in front of our brigade headquarters. Since the enemy has already attacked our brigade headquarters, it seems they are finished."

  Daweil was furious and jumped up, saying: "In just over 30 minutes, a regiment of over 500 men has been wiped out! Even pigs wouldn't die that fast!"

  The deputy officer said helplessly: "Commander, we still haven't fully equipped our winter uniforms, and the soldiers' rations can't be guaranteed. In such a situation, it's strange that we haven't collapsed yet?!"

  "Fixed defense, fixed defense, we've all defended ourselves to death. The 7th Brigade is done for."

  The deputy said: "Commander, this is a crime of non-war, the Dragon Guard's attacking troops, judging from the intensity just now, must have at least one regiment."

  Davril said: "Those idiots say that the Longwei Army has at most one battalion, haha, one battalion? I really want to see what kind of end Kaul will have!"

  October 18th, at 7:00 AM sharp, the battle had basically ended. I received reports from all participating troops that they had successfully occupied their designated targets and annihilated the 7th Brigade, but its commander, Davier, was missing. The enemy's 33rd Brigade did not provide reinforcements to the 7th Brigade, causing my 515th and 516th Regiments to wait for two hours in vain. Currently, all troops are clearing the battlefield and tallying up the results of the battle. I am now greatly relieved and have ordered the staff to inform each regiment to report their statistics as soon as possible.

  October 18th, 8:00 am, Eastern Front Command. Commander-in-Chief of the Tibet Military Region Xiao Zhi and Political Commissar Li Ke were also anxiously waiting for the outcome of the battle. Political Commissar Li Ke said, "Now I don't know what the situation is like?"

  Commander Xiao Zhi said: "Yes! You'll know soon enough."

  At this time, the staff rushed in and said: "The telegram from the front line has arrived."

  "Ah!" Commander Xiao Zhi immediately walked over, took it and looked at it, then said with excitement: "Good, good! We have annihilated the enemy's 7th Brigade and captured nearly 2,000 enemies. It's a great victory! Take a look."

  Li Ke took it and looked at it, saying: "Not bad, won cleanly. Tang Ning, you're really impressive!"

  Commander Xiao Zhi said: "He indeed commanded well this time, and will report it to the Central Committee immediately."

  "Yes." The aide standing beside him took the order and left.

  Commander Xiao Zhi said: "This kid Tang Ning has a great future ahead of him!"

  Li Kezheng nodded and said: "He is only 21 years old and has already become a positive regimental level, next he will move towards the division level."

  Commander Xiao Zhi said: "The most important thing is that this kid has won the appreciation of Commander Yao and the favor of the Chairman!"

  Li Keqiang said: "Hehe, have we gotten old?"

  "Get out! I'm only 56 years old, still young!"

  "Haha." Li Kezheng burst out laughing.

  Commander Xiao Zhi looked at him and burst out laughing too.

  At this time, I am ordering the 515th and 516th regiments to advance towards Da Wang, while the 53rd regiment takes a short rest and follows closely. The 518th and 519th regiments are consolidating their positions and annihilating the remaining enemy forces in order to reorganize. My view is that we should pursue our victory and not give the enemy time to assess our actual strength. Deputy Commander Cheng and others were worried about the 4th Division of Da Wang, but I said that we have 8,000 troops participating in the attack, and the enemy does not know our specific troop strength, so we can completely take down Da Wang and recover lost ground. Deputy Commander Cheng and others nodded, but did not say anything else. Now I am increasingly gaining prestige, with a tendency to become 'one word decides everything', but I have not yet realized it.