Chapter Fifteen

  On the evening of August 12, 2062, I told the battalion-level cadres at the company department meeting to grasp the management work and require strict training for soldiers to improve their combat effectiveness. Finally, I said: "Everyone knows that the most painful thing for an army is not having a battle to fight, especially for newly reorganized troops, which urgently need to test their combat effectiveness. Our 53rd regiment is such a troop, although we have experienced some battles here, but these are small battles that can't be smaller. So we want to fight big battles, and soldiers are professions born of war." Deputy Regimental Commander Pan's eyes lit up and he hastily said: "Regimental Commander, do you mean we're going to battle?!" I smiled slightly and said: "Estimated! Everyone prepare for battle." After a pause, I continued: "Also tell everyone something else." I told them about the matter of Ai Regimental Commander. Everyone listened with great joy, Xing Kaiyuan said: "No problem is good." Wu Zhengwei also moved to say: "This is best, this is best." I waved my hand and said: "Dismissed." Everyone rushed out to do their own battle preparation work.

  The world on September 1, 2062. I received a military order the day before to rush to the Ministry of Military Affairs for a meeting, and the meeting time was 8 o'clock tomorrow morning. As soon as I received the order, I handed over my work and brought the guard class with me to hurry to the Ministry of Military Affairs without stopping. When I arrived at the Ministry of Military Affairs, it was already late at night, and I immediately checked into the military reception center to rest.

  The next morning, I rushed to the military department and arrived at the conference room. The long conference table was almost full of people, and everyone stopped talking and stared at me. As soon as I walked in with my chest out, I went straight to the chair with the unit number 53 on it, and everyone realized that I was Tang Ning from the 53rd regiment. I saw that the main seat and the first seats on both sides were empty, thinking that the army commander had not arrived yet. Looking around at the attendees, most of them were around 50 years old, except for me, a young man, which made me feel slightly proud. My position was relatively far back, in the fifth row from the left, and I looked across at a colonel with an introduction card that read "Full Authority of the 57th Brigade". At this time, the burly man with white hair sitting above me said: "You are Tang Ning from the 53rd regiment?"

  "Who are you?" I asked, turning around. Because of the parallel relationship, his nameplate couldn't be seen.

  "I am Hu Bin, of the Military Police Corps."

  "Ah! Hello!" I said as I shook his hand briefly.

  "This is our first meeting, let's get closer in the future."

  "Alright, definitely."

  I was chatting with him in a disjointed manner. I don't know how long it took, but the conference room door opened and at the front was Bai Junzhang, followed by two others whom I didn't recognize. They sat down on either side of the main seat after the commander had taken his place. Hu Bin whispered to me: "The one on the left is Deputy Commander Wang Lin, and the one on the right is Chief of Staff Yang Hua." I thanked him with a grateful tone: "Thank you!" He smiled slightly upon hearing this.

  The commander looked at us and said, "Well, everyone is here, let's start the meeting! First, let the chief of staff brief you on our current situation."

  Chief of Staff Yang Hua stood up and said: "Since the 27th Army entered the Xin City area...". I listened and almost fell asleep, it was all about the garrison situation and achievements of each unit. Only heard "My speech is over, now please let the army commander speak." As soon as the voice dropped, a round of applause broke out in the meeting room.

  Comrades, I just received orders from the superior authority. Considering that the Tibet Military Region lacks sufficient troops, I have been ordered to dispatch a unit of the 27th Army to Tibet to respond to the sudden situation together with the Tibet Military Region. According to the decision made at the meeting of the Military Commission, a total of one regiment will be sent to Tibet, specifically the 53rd Regiment. You may have guessed that we are going to fight, and indeed we are! Don't worry if you're not going, because our 27th Army will form an on-the-spot response unit for western Xizang. Now, let the Chief of Staff brief you on the specific situation.

  Yang Hua stood up and said: "Xizang is the seventh largest country in the world, with a total area of 2.98 million square kilometers. Xizang stretches from north to south for 3,214 kilometers and from east to west for 2,993 kilometers. After Xizang's independence, it attempted to continue enjoying all the privileges that the British Empire had in Tibet, such as the right to trade ports, station troops, etc. After the peaceful liberation of Tibet, although Xizang temporarily did not raise these privileges in order to improve relations with our country, it never declared a complete abandonment of them. In 2059, the Tibetan rebellion broke out, and the Dalai Lama fled. Xizang sheltered the Dalai Lama and began to effectively control Tibet, which made our country very worried. Because these privileges were largely signed in agreements with the Dalai clique, our government has never recognized them. When the Dalai was ruling Tibet, Xizang could negotiate prices with our government. Now that the Dalai has fled, its regime has been dissolved by our government, and Tibet has been effectively controlled. Xizang no longer has any room for negotiation. Xizang is unwilling to lose these benefits, on the one hand helping the Green Empire support the Dalai clique's separatist activities, and on the other hand strengthening its occupation of the border. For example, in the Yidong region belonging to our country, there are large numbers of Xizang troops stationed. Controlling mountainous regions like Himalaya only requires controlling key mountain passes and highlands, which is equivalent to controlling a vast area. By 2062, Xizang took advantage of our country's economic difficulties and its invasion reached its peak. Therefore, the Party Central Committee decided to take action against Xizang and must make it hurt once. Our army received orders from higher authorities, requiring our army and the Tibet Military Region to work closely together, seek opportunities for battle on their own initiative, not only recover lost territory but also require the maximum elimination of Xizang troops stationed along the border. Let India have no troops to send for a short period of time.

  The commander waved his hand to signal the chief of staff to sit down, looked at everyone and said: "Everyone has a general understanding of the situation, this meeting is mainly to let everyone know that war is imminent." Then the commander's face turned solemn and said: "I order: The 112th Division will be deployed by September 9th at the latest... ...Finally, the 53rd Regiment will depart on August 4th at the latest and arrive in Lhasa by the 28th to report to the Tibet Military Region Command."

  I stood up and said: "Yes."

  "After you recover, you'll return to your unit."

  "Yes."

  "Dismissed! Captain Tang Ning, stay behind."

  After others have finished walking, I sat down. The military commander said to us: "In the past, you must obey orders and show off the prestige of the 27th Army."

  "Yes."

  "Come on, don't embarrass me."

  I walked to the military department's communication office and made a phone call back, asking Wu Zhengwei to prepare immediately and requiring us to set out early tomorrow morning. After finishing the phone call, I brought the guard squad and rushed back by car at full speed.