The train driver in the courtyard

[People, places, and events are all imaginary]

It was late at night and the only sound you could hear was the whistling wind outside.

Snoring sounds were heard one after another in the tent.

Zhang Erpao curled up in his bed, holding up a flashlight in one hand. The dim flashlight beam shone on the crumpled letter paper, on which a bald pencil was writing rapidly:
"Uncle Da Kui, how is my little cousin doing recently? Has he grown taller?

Are aunt and sister-in-law in good health?

Is my mother in good health? Is my father in good health?
Is my brother in good health? Is my sister-in-law in good health? Is my Da Huang in good health?
How is Uncle Aiguo's family? Is Aunt Xueru in good health?

How is Xiao Hongsheng? How are the big roosters raised by Uncle Aiguo in good health?

How's business going at the scrap shop?

It must be hard for you to take care of the scrap shop all by yourself.

Be sure to pay attention to the residents in the neighborhood who like to play tricks, especially Yan Bugui (omit twenty names) in the courtyard."

After writing a lot of nonsense, Zhang Erpao found that he had filled up four pages of letter paper.

He bit the end of his pencil and thought about how to introduce his recent situation.

Since letters need to be reviewed and cannot contain any information that may leak confidential information, you must consider it yourself.

After a while.

He went on to write: "Everything is fine here. I have enough food, warm clothes, and my leaders treat me well. I have good news for you. I have been selected to participate in a mission. The mission is not dangerous, but very glorious. In short, you don't have to worry about me. Everything is fine!"

After writing one word, Zhang Erpao put the letter into an envelope and placed it under his pillow in the dark.

This letter will be delivered to the correspondent tomorrow morning.

If he doesn't come back this time, this letter will be considered a suicide note.

Speaking of the mission, Zhang Erpao became a little excited.

He has been here for several months. His daily task is training. Due to his thin body, he is never chosen to carry out a mission.

This time, mountain gunners were needed, and Zhang Erpao had received professional training in the Second Artillery Force and was a professional, so he became a glorious member of the special forces.

What made him even more excited was that the artillery shells used this time were a type of artillery shell that could explode in mid-air, and it was said to be the latest product developed in the capital.

"Asan, I'm going to show you how powerful your Grandpa Zhang is!" Zhang Erpao took a long breath, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep amid the smell of stinky feet and the sound of snoring.

Early the next morning, amid the sound of passionate trumpets, Zhang Erpao and fifteen gunners came to the division headquarters to report for duty.

He was assigned to the mountain artillery squad and served as the main gunner.

The special forces team has nearly a hundred people, divided into several squads, and the soldiers in them are all elites selected from the entire division.

Zhang Erpao was happy about becoming an elite, but what made him even happier was that the legendary commander Li Yunlong personally served as the captain of the special operations team.

The reason why Zhang Erpao was able to join the Second Artillery Corps was because of his patriotic uncle who helped him with Li Yunlong’s connections.

He worked so hard in the subsequent training to prove that he did not get in through the backdoor.

Li Yunlong's eyes slid across the faces of the gunners, and he waved his hand: "Starting today, you will undergo a special training."

As these words were spoken, the wind on the plateau blew even harder.

Training on the plateau is never an easy task. Even if the team members have adapted to the training, they will be exhausted and out of breath after a short while.

Li Yunlong asked the team members to rest for a while. Liu Meng came to Zhang Erpao and asked, "Erpao, did you send the letter back again?"

"Yeah." Zhang Erpao moved his butt to the side so that he could sit down. The two of them sat back to back, each looking up at the blue sky.

Liu Meng asked: "Erpao, you are from the capital. You have family, friends, and such a good uncle. What do you want to gain by fighting here?"

Zhang Erpao wiped his nose and said: "War is never about gaining something, but about not losing something."

Liu Meng turned around and looked at Zhang Erpao in surprise.

Zhang Erpao picked up a piece of wild grass and chewed it in his mouth: "This is what my uncle's good brother told me. He is a train driver and has seen a lot. He said that the patriotic war against invaders has never been about gaining something, but about not losing anything! Facing foreign enemies, if we don't stand up, then we will lose our relatives and friends."

When Liu Meng heard these words, his whole body was shocked.

He felt as if he had underestimated this gunner from the big city.

The golden sunlight shines on the vast plateau, the bright red flags flutter, and the color of faith is reflected on everyone's face.

There are thousands of valleys in the Himalayas, and the Kejie Valley is perhaps the most beautiful one.

Every spring and summer, the snow on the icebergs melts and flows down the slopes, forming the clear and rushing Kejielang River.

At this time, on a mountain road about ten miles away from the Kejielang River, a strange team led by a jeep and followed by dozens of motorcycles emerged from the valley.

Some of those motorcycles had two soldiers on them, some had three, and the last one had five soldiers on it.

Moreover, both sides of the motorcycle were hung with weapons and equipment, including rifles, light machine guns, heavy machine guns, explosive packs and even mortars.

This is not a motorcycle at all, it's clearly a meat-wrapped iron transport vehicle.

If Li Aiguo were here, he would definitely recognize that this is a traditional event in the Indian military parade.

In fact, India always uses various strange motorcycle formations in every military parade, which also has historical origins.

Before World War I, motorcycles were used to transmit various intelligence to large troops.

These motorcycle soldiers also have extensive mountain combat capabilities.

After World War II, Asan's family became slaves of John Bull's family, and many of John Bull's military factories were also left in Asan's family.

The Asan family learned how to make military motorcycles.

There are many mountainous roads near Asanjia, and the roads are rugged and complicated, making it difficult for many large vehicles to enter.

On such a rugged and complex road, only motorcycles can enter some areas and provide the necessary military supplies for combat.

The most important thing is that the motorcycle is relatively small and not easy to be discovered.

Therefore, using motorcycles in combat has become an Indian tradition.

For example, the bearded advance team this time is made up of motorcycle elites personally selected by Brigadier General Dada from various mountain divisions, and each of them has the ability to perform acrobatics on motorcycles.

After the advance team had been traveling for several hours, it was lunch time. The jeep stopped with a click and Brigadier General Dada got out of the jeep.

His iconic beard is the origin of the name of the Bearded Vanguard.

Brigadier General Dada is a big shot on Asan's side.

In addition to the fact that he once fought in a world war with his master John Bull and had a high level of command, he and the current head of the Asan family are from the same family.

Let’s put it this way, Brigadier General Dada personally accepted the commission from the head of the Asan family in the palace when he was carrying out this mission.

Such a person can only be a Brahmin.

Then you have to act like a Brahmin.

Brigadier General Dada looked up at the sky, then raised his wrist to look at his watch. The green fluorescent hands on the dial told him that it was already twelve o'clock noon.

"Notify the troops, arrange sentries, camp on the spot, and wait for orders when to move in!"

"Yes!" A guard saluted, turned around and ran to the back.

At this time, the adjutant took out his coat and put it on Brigadier General Dada.

The coat is light and warm, and was sewn by Brigadier General Dada's wife.

The coats provided by the army were too thick and heavy, and Dada was unwilling to wear them. She spent a high price to buy several pieces of mink fur and sewed them urgently.

After helping Brigadier General Dada put on his coat, the adjutant hurriedly arranged lunch for the brigadier general.

Even when marching or fighting, the proper etiquette of a Brahmin must not be neglected.

After lunch, Dada will bring a cup of English coffee.

The soldiers were already setting up tents. Although they were busy, there was no noise, which showed that they were a well-trained unit.

The adjutant handed over the map at the appropriate time.

"Captain, where is our target this time?"

Brigadier General Dada pointed his finger at the other side of the river valley and said, "This area is the best for building houses. We need to avoid the checkpoints and wait until dark before we act."

The adjutant understood what he meant, and sneaked to the other side first, digging trenches and bunkers.

If the other party does not respond, bring up the engineers to build the house.

If the enemy sent people forward, we would use the cover of trenches and bunkers to inflict heavy damage on the enemy first, and then retreat quickly.

Although the enemy's troops are elite, they do not have motorcycles and are not suitable for mountain warfare. The advance team is confident of victory.

"Captain, your decision is really wise," the adjutant said halfway, and asked in a low voice: "But we are only harassing in such a small area, when will we be able to get a large piece of land?"

Brigadier General Dada finished his coffee, lit a cigar, and frowned: "The higher-ups are formulating a battle plan, and they will launch an attack in less than two years. Our role is to confuse the enemy with constant harassment and occupy strategic points at the same time. Do you understand?"

"Oh, your wisdom is like a surging river, endless. Captain, I promise to complete the task you assign to me." The adjutant said and saluted Brigadier General Dada.

He was born a Kshatriya, and the reason he was able to serve as Brigadier General Dada's adjutant was actually because he was very sweet-talker.

Of course, he knew very well that if he wanted to continue to climb up, he would have to rely on this Brahmin master.

When Brigadier General Dada heard this, he smiled bitterly twice.

If possible, he would rather not be here.

Brigadier General Dada is one of the few sober people in Asan's family, and he is very familiar with the situation of his eastern neighbors.

Knowing that although the neighbor looks kind, his fists are very powerful, even Xiaomei's family was beaten into submission.

If Asan's family wants to fight with their neighbors, they are simply courting death.

After learning that there was an idea of ​​fighting with the neighbors to the east, Brigadier General Dada's first thought was that this was simply crazy.

So he went to the palace in person to dissuade them.

However, those people above him had become arrogant and did not listen to him at all.

There was no other choice, so Brigadier General Dada formulated a mobile harassment strategy, hoping to occupy an advantageous terrain and position before the fight officially began.

"Ignorance is fearless"

Brigadier General Dada opened a copy of the Rig Veda and began to read it carefully, hoping to find a way to win from the ancient book.

This mysterious team had already set up camp, and the soldiers went into their tents early to rest. No one noticed that there were mountain people hiding behind a large rock in the distance.

The mountain people were a little frightened when they saw that most of the soldiers had beards. They turned around and quietly slipped down the mountain.

He walked along the mountain road to the checkpoint west of the bridge. From a distance, he heard a shout from the checkpoint: "Who is it? Stop!!"

"Zaxi, I'm Zhaxi." The mountain man raised his hand to indicate that he had no weapons.

The sentry ran out, recognized the mountain dweller, and said with a smile: "Uncle Zhaxi, are you picking herbs in the mountains again? How is Auntie's health?"

Zhaxi smiled and said, "Much better, thanks to the girl from your health team who brought the medicine."

After saying this, he didn't bother to exchange pleasantries and recounted what he had seen in the mountains.

The sentry was a little skeptical at first. After all, this was a border area and the Indians often sent people back and forth.

However, when he heard about motorcycles, his face changed. Nowadays, motorcycles are considered military equipment in India.

"Uncle Zhaxi, are you sure they are all motorcycles?"

"Ah, in addition to the motorcycle, there is also a jeep." said Tashi.

"Thank you so much, uncle." The sentry's face changed and he wanted to return to the checkpoint immediately.

After thinking for a while, he turned back and said, "Uncle, it may not be safe here these days. You can take Auntie to hide at a relative's house."

"Okay, okay, kids, you must be careful." Uncle Zhaxi knew that a fight was about to break out, and if they stayed here they would only cause more trouble.

He gave the sentry a warning and left in a hurry. After returning to the post, the sentry reported the news to the squad leader.

The squad leader acted promptly and sent people to investigate while sending a communicator to the division headquarters to report the situation.

Li Yunlong received the news from the front at around 11 o'clock in the evening.

He immediately returned to the tent and shouted, "Old Zhao, turn on the light!"

Zhao Gang turned on the gas lamp and placed it next to the map, and Li Yunlong studied the map inch by inch.

To ordinary people, maps are just tools for estimating directions and guessing distances.

For a battle-hardened commander like Li Yunlong, a map is no different from a simulated sand table of a war zone.

Between the crisscrossing and winding lines, he saw snow-capped mountains, jungles, rivers and canyons.

He could even see clearly the height of the mountains, the types of trees in the forests, the small bridges on the rivers, and the curvature of the canyon.

"The enemy was in this position this afternoon and may have moved now under cover of darkness."

Li Yunlong drew a line on the map with his finger, and finally landed on an area next to the river bank. He knocked: "Here! If I were the enemy, I would definitely occupy this place. First, we can cut off our water supply at any time. Second, this is where the river bank is close to the mountains, which is easy to defend but difficult to attack."

Zhao Gang frowned and said, "This place is more than a hundred miles away from us. Even if we rush over, the other side has already made preparations."

Li Yunlong slammed his fist on the map and said loudly: "If the new bomb is really as Aiguo said, then even if the enemy hides in a turtle shell, I can still deal with them."

He shouted at Zhao Gang: "Notify the special forces immediately and prepare to set off!"

"Yes!"

Late at night, the special forces team assembled.

Li Yunlong personally made the pre-war mobilization.

"Everyone has trained well these past few days. Many comrades have overcome altitude sickness and mastered the use of new artillery shells. Now it's time for us to test the results of our training. Those scoundrels on the other side want to run over and cause trouble again. Will you allow us to do so?"

"Not allowed!" the soldiers shouted in unison.

"What should we do?"

"Kick them in the ass and kick them away!"

Zhang Erpao's voice was particularly loud. This was his first time participating in a real battle, so he should have been very nervous.

But what surprised him was that he didn't seem afraid at all.

It seemed as if he was not going to face a battle between life and death, but to go back to the junk shop to collect junk.

What he held in his hand was not a rifle, but a steelyard.

The enemy on the opposite side is not the elite of Asan's family, but Yan Bugui of Siheyuan.

Isn't it easy to deal with Yan Bugui?

It feels good.

Zhang Erpao yelled, "Kick his ass! Kick Yan Bugui's ass!"

Who is Yan Bugui? Li Yunlong was slightly stunned, but at this time the soldiers also shouted.

"Kick his ass! Kick Yan Bugui's ass!"

"Kick his ass! Kick Yan Bugui's ass!"

No matter who Yan Bugui is, there will be no problem as long as he kicks him first.

Listening to the soldiers' shouts, Li Yunlong's head was covered with lumps. Who is Yan Bugui?

However, at this time, the momentum was strong and it was not suitable to get to the bottom of it. Li Yunlong waved his hand and said, "Let's go! Kick Yan Bugui, kick the enemy's ass."

There were already more than a dozen modified Bell trucks parked nearby.

This type of truck was manufactured by the Jiefang Factory using drawings and technology exchanged from Hungary, and is particularly suitable for use in plateaus.

In the dark night, more than a dozen trucks roared towards the valley.

The distance of more than one hundred miles is not far, but because the road is complicated, the special forces arrived at the checkpoint at nearly three o'clock in the morning.

After receiving the report from the sentry, the squad leader immediately rushed back from the opposite side.

Seeing Li Yunlong personally leading the team over, the squad leader seemed a little excited and saluted: "Commander, the bridgehead sentry squad, Zhou Dashan reports to you."

Li Yunlong didn't bother to exchange pleasantries and asked directly: "Zhou Dashan, what's the situation with the enemy?"

Zhou Dashan pointed to the distance and introduced: "Since I discovered the enemy's traces, I sent people to track and investigate, but in order to prevent the enemy from discovering us, our people can only follow from a distance."

"Get to the point!" Li Yunlong interrupted him.

Zhou Dashan knew that Li Yunlong was overbearing, so he quickly saluted again: "Report, the enemy has stopped at a small hill more than 20 miles away from here, and seems to be building fortifications."

"The small hill is indeed there." Although Li Yunlong guessed the enemy's destination, he did not feel relieved at all.

"How many enemies are there?"

"About 300 people, all equipped with motorcycles. They should be the enemy's advance team."

Li Yunlong clenched his fists tightly: "Finally, I'm going to catch you."

******
Xiaoshanzi is not actually the official name, but because it looks like a small hill, it is nicknamed Xiaoshanzi by the locals.

As soon as Brigadier General Dada arrived at the hill, he realized that he had chosen the right opponent.

There are continuous mountains and steep rocks here. Several fortresses were built mainly using large rocks from the mountains, which are enough to withstand the attack of thousands of troops.

For a moment, Brigadier General Dada actually had the idea of ​​building permanent fortifications here.

But he quickly shook his head and threw the idea out of his mind.

Brigadier General Dada has always believed in a saying: "If you save the people and lose the land, both the people and the land will be saved; if you save the land and lose the people, both the people and the land will be lost."

As the vanguard of an elite force, we should never compete with the enemy over the gain or loss of a city or a place.

The person that Brigadier General Dada admired the most was the one who adhered to this philosophy and achieved the final victory.

"Park the motorcycles in the woods at the intersection. If a battle breaks out, we must evacuate immediately." Brigadier General Dada saw the soldiers pushing the motorcycles into the position, walked over, and gave the soldiers a few whips.

The adjutant came over and said with a smile: "Captain, there is no need to be so cautious. We have encountered the enemy several times before. Their firepower is poorly prepared and they cannot pose any threat to us at all."

As soon as he finished speaking, the adjutant's face was slapped with a whip.

"Don't forget who you are!" Brigadier General Dada frowned.

The adjutant was startled and quickly knelt down and licked the tip of Brigadier General Dada's shoes with his tongue, licking them clean.

In fact, the adjutant was born into a Kshatriya family, so he didn't have to be treated like a pariah.

However, after licking the tip of his shoe, he felt inexplicably at peace.

When the adjutant saw that Brigadier General Dada's expression had eased a little, he immediately picked up his whip and swung it at the soldiers.

"Everyone, start working!"

Since it was a simple fortification, it took less than two hours to build.

Seeing that there was no movement from the other side, Brigadier General Dada prepared to notify the rear and send engineers to build a house.

At this time, the sentry in the distance reported: "We found the enemy ten miles away. It seems to be the team we encountered last time."

The adjutant was a little nervous: "What should we do?"

Brigadier General Dada stroked his beard and said, "That team is not large in number, and their only heavy weapons are mountain artillery. We are not to be feared. Let's hold on for a while and take the opportunity to destroy the enemy's manpower. When the enemy has reinforcements, we will retreat."

"Yes!"

As the adjutant passed on the order, the soldiers in the advance team were ready for battle.

Of course, at this moment, there was not a trace of fear in their hearts at all.

Because their fortifications were relatively hidden, the opposing side had no way of accurately finding and hitting them with just a few mountain cannons.

Li Yunlong used a telescope to observe the situation at the Xiaoshanzi position. "The guy on the opposite side is indeed a tough character. If it weren't for the new artillery shells, we might not be able to defeat him this time."

Li Yunlong put down the telescope and pointed to the position area in the distance: "Mountain artillery squad, use your shells, aim at that area and blow it to pieces."

The mountain cannon can be called the Wuling Hongguang in the artillery world. It is a kind of indirect fire cannon with a short barrel. The gun body and wheels can be disassembled and carried separately. Its trajectory is similar to that of a howitzer.

Its power is far less than that of a cannon.

In the past, it would have been unthinkable for the Wumen Mountain Cannon to blow a hilltop position to pieces.

But at this time the artillerymen were full of confidence.

Set up the gun carriage and install the gun body.

Zhang Erpao quickly turned the muzzle of the gun and aimed at the area above the hill. When he heard the word "fire", he lit the ignition tube.

boom!
The shells flew over the treetops and fell with strange squeaking sounds.

Seeing the shells coming, Adjutant Ah San suddenly laughed: "This is too bad."

Brigadier General Dada had been holding a telescope, and when he saw the shells deviating too far, he felt something was wrong: "The enemy's gunners were quite skilled, why is this happening today..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw a shell sliding past the position and about to fly to the rear. Suddenly, the shell exploded in the air.

Shrapnel scattered at high speed in the violent explosion, filling the trenches with smoke and the main position at the rear with fire.

Brigadier General Dada rubbed his eyes, finding it hard to believe what he had just seen.

"The shells exploded without hitting the target. Lord Brahma, please tell me this is just a nightmare."

Before he finished speaking, two more shells flew over, and these two shells were closer to the position than the previous ones.

boom!
The shells exploded again above the position.

Shell fragments rained down like raindrops, and the trench had long been razed to the ground.

Even though they were hiding behind the fortifications, dozens of Indians still had their ears bleeding from the loud noise of the explosion.

The thick black smoke and the rolling heat waves made it difficult for them to breathe.

The adjutant was already frightened out of his wits: "What's going on? Did the other party get the blessing of Shiva?"

The crying and shouting from the position woke the adjutant from his shock.

He rushed to Brigadier General Dada and said, "Captain, let's retreat quickly."

Compared with the shells that exploded in mid-air, Brigadier General Dada no longer cared about the casualties of his team members at this time.

He looked through the telescope for a long time, but all he saw were shells that symbolized the devil, whistling and reaping the lives of his team members.

He couldn't see any clues.

The shells look like ordinary shells.
Hearing the adjutant's words, Brigadier General Dada put down the telescope in dismay and swallowed the bitterness: "Retreat!"

At this moment, Li Yunlong saw more than a hundred motorcycles scattered in the woods.

He pointed at the woods and said, "Boom!"

When the first shell exploded in mid-air and broke the tortoise shell of the advance team, the outcome of the battle was already decided.

But Li Yunlong still didn't expect the battle to end so quickly.

Under the large-scale AOE of the shells, those Indians were blown to pieces and lay on the ground, losing the ability to resist.

"Charge!" The horn sounded, Li Yunlong jumped up from behind the position with a big knife in his hand, and rushed forward with the soldiers.

When he rushed to the battlefield and saw the situation clearly, Li Yunlong couldn't help but gasp: "Damn it, this new artillery shell made by Aiguo is worth five divisions!"

(End of this chapter)