The Red Era: Living in Seclusion in a Siheyuan as a Boss

Chapter 475: New Year of War!!!

New Year’s Day in 1979.

At this time, the Engineering Corps of the 2nd Guard Division had already arrived at the front line a month ago after moving south from the capital.

The engineering corps was stationed in several villages along the border, and Yi Yuanchao and his company lived in a school in a village.

The rest of the people lived in the villagers' homes, with one class living in each home.

This school is relatively small, with only two classrooms, one for students to use and one for their company's meeting room.

The school did not have a sign, and it was the elementary school's winter vacation, so Yi Yuanchao simply lived in the teacher's office.

The period before the war was busy and the training was intense.

For nearly a month, the soldiers had not had a single day of rest.

In order to adapt to combat in the south and to enhance everyone's physical fitness, mountain climbing and night marches were added to regular training.

Getting up every morning and climbing the mountain for an hour is equivalent to doing morning exercises.

Walking along the ridges of the fields for an hour every night is night march training.

The requirement is "regardless of wind and rain, and unshakable by thunder and lightning."

January 27th is New Year's Eve, the day for family reunions. According to past practice, the company will hold a grand dinner and the soldiers will also be able to enjoy a few rare days of vacation.

However, since they were on the front line and fighting could break out at any time, all activities had to be carried out strictly in accordance with wartime regulations.

Before dinner, the company commander Yi Yuanchao solemnly announced the "holiday" arrangements during the Spring Festival: "Comrades, considering that today is New Year's Eve, we will no longer walk on the ridges for night training tonight.

Tomorrow is New Year's Day, the first day of the new year, and we don't have to climb the mountain for physical training in the morning.

But please remember, this is just a short break, other daily training should still go on as usual, we can't relax at all."

During the dinner, the dishes on the table were naturally much more sumptuous than usual. Chicken, duck, fish, and other delicious dishes that were rarely seen on weekdays were served, allowing the soldiers to feast on their appetites.

Since arriving in southern Xinjiang, the soldiers' living conditions have improved a lot compared to before.

The days when we could only eat meat once a week are gone forever. Now we can eat meat every day, which is undoubtedly a great encouragement to the soldiers.

Although the food standard did not improve and was still less than 50 cents per person per day, the soldiers ate with relish.

It turned out that all the meat was brought from the capital by the troops after they received the order to go south to fight.

At that time, each company killed all the pigs they could, used the offal to make dishes, and pickled the meat before bringing it over.

Although these bacon were not dried in the sun, their taste was very unique, allowing the soldiers to feel the warmth of home and the festive joy during the difficult years of war.

In the past, after the New Year's Eve dinner, people would play poker, and the loser would be given a water bottle or a note.

There is no poker now, maybe it’s because of this mood.

In fact, what everyone wants to do most is to write a letter to their families. However, since the headquarters’ order was conveyed on December 12 last year, no one has written a letter to their families, and all the cadres and soldiers have disappeared from their families.

You cannot leave the village, and you should go out with more than two people (including going to the toilet).

Because there were no entertainment activities, everyone had to go to bed early. Only they knew whether they fell asleep or not, and whether anyone was crying in their blankets.

We could have slept in on the morning of the first day of the new year because we didn’t have to climb the mountain. But maybe it was because we went to bed too early on the night of the New Year’s Eve, or maybe it was because we were used to getting up early, or maybe it was... everyone still got up early.

After getting up, everyone spontaneously took a walk on the school playground, looking at the nearby fields where farmers had already plowed the fields and were preparing to plant rice; they also looked at the mountains in the distance, which were emerald green.

The mountains and rivers in southern Xinjiang are the best in the world, and the scenery along the border is also nice.

Unlike the north, there is no snow here.

Of course, you won’t be able to see the scene of “silver snakes dancing on the mountains and wax elephants galloping on the plains”.

If I had a camera, it would be great to take a photo or a group photo.

Especially those new recruits born in 79, who had not had time to take photos after wearing collar badges and cap badges.

Unfortunately, some of the new recruits who died on the battlefield later did not have photos of them wearing collar badges and cap insignia.

When everyone was preparing to line up to go to the kitchen for breakfast, several villagers came over with baskets filled with some things wrapped in leaves.

The villagers came to the residence of Yi Yuanchao's troops, and the villagers and soldiers sat together.

Wow, these were dumplings as big as a child’s pillow. They skillfully unwrapped them and cut them into slices with a knife for the soldiers to eat.

Everyone was eating and chatting, but Yi Yuanchao and his friends couldn't fully understand what was spoken in Southern Xinjiang.

But you can still clearly hear that this "thing" is called zongzi. In southern Xinjiang, there is a custom of eating zongzi during the New Year, which is called: the first meal of the year - New Year's zongzi.

After eating the New Year’s rice dumplings, the officers and soldiers continued their pre-war training until they participated in the self-defense counterattack against the “ungrateful wolves”.

Before the 3nd Guard Division launched its self-defense counterattack against the "ungrateful" enemies, the 12th Regiment of the rd Infantry Division of the "ungrateful" enemy was stationed in the area opposite their base.

The "ungrateful" 3rd Infantry Division is the main infantry division in the South, also known as the "Venus Division", which means a golden star in the south, symbolizing victory.

The 12th Regiment of the division is the famous "Flying Tiger Hero Regiment" known as the "ungrateful wolves". It is said to be "good at attacking and defending" and "excellent at close combat and night fighting".

It was this ungrateful "Flying Tiger Hero Regiment" that showed off their might by brandishing swords and guns before the arrival of the Second Guard Division.

This bunch of "ungrateful wolves" bombarded Xia villages, shot and killed Xia border residents, occupied Xia territory, and even arrogantly clamored to "fight to Xiangping for breakfast and fight to Ningnan for the Spring Festival."

Historical experience tells us that those who always claim to "beat the enemy to death" have a very low chance of success.

It would be better to just write down a set of numbers and buy a sports lottery.

Liu Zhiye deliberately transferred his trump card, the Second Guard Division, just to let these jumping clowns on the opposite side know what "Why are the flowers so red!" means.

If you don’t believe me, let’s wait and see!
At 6:25 in the morning of that day, with an order from the Xia Army Headquarters, the self-defense counterattack against the "ungrateful wolves" officially began.

Thousands of artillery pieces suddenly fired at the border. The sound was deafening, and the flashing shells flying towards the enemy camp lit up half the sky red...

After 15 minutes of fierce artillery fire, the enemy suffered heavy casualties and was dizzy.

Later, a captured ungrateful soldier from the 12th Regiment said: In order to stop the advance of our nd Guard Division troops, their superiors ordered them to blow up a three-arch iron bridge near the front line.

They placed explosives and anti-tank mines under the bridge, ready to blow up the bridge if attacked.

Unexpectedly, before the bridge was blown up, a fierce artillery fire from our 2nd Guard Division almost destroyed the entire regiment.

"Hehe!" The artillerymen of the 2nd Guard Division helped them complete the mission, no need to thank them!

The Sixth Regiment of the Second Guard Division was responsible for dealing with the "ungrateful" 12th Regiment.

The 12th Regiment of the nd Guard Division went straight to the right side where the th Regiment of the "ungrateful" forces were stationed, with the aim of cutting off the "ungrateful" forces' retreat route to the rear and cooperating with follow-up troops to fight the enemy behind closed doors.

In the evening, the Sixth Regiment broke through the enemy's numerous blockades and obstacles and reached the designated location on the right side of the unit, and quickly occupied several high ground.

A good show of beating the dog behind closed doors - no, beating the "Hero Group" is about to begin.

The "ungrateful" 12th Regiment had its retreat route cut off and its position lost. It was desperate and tried to fight a desperate battle, and launched a fierce battle with the th Regiment of the nd Guard Division.

Facing the enemy's frantic counterattacks time and again, our brave Sixth Regiment soldiers said: "We are not afraid of him coming in large numbers, we are afraid of him coming in small numbers, and we are most afraid of him not coming at all."

This was because the enemy's retreat had been cut off, the situation had been determined, and all that was left was to catch them in the act.

Therefore, the soldiers of the 6th Regiment of the 2nd Guard Division responded calmly and without any impatience.

When the enemy approached, all kinds of firearms suddenly opened fire fiercely.

Under the powerful firepower, the enemy left a pile of corpses in front of the Sixth Regiment's position, and the ground was in a mess. They rolled and crawled back to the foot of the mountain...

This happened again and again, and the "ungrateful" 12th Regiment suffered casualties or injuries, while the remaining enemies became frightened birds.

"If you can't resist, disperse; if you can't escape, hide." This is the "secret weapon" of the "Flying Tiger Hero Regiment."

The remaining enemies of the "ungrateful" 12th Regiment crawled into the caves, attempting to make a last-ditch effort by relying on the natural barriers of high mountains, numerous caves, deep grass and dense forests, and the bunkers and secret passages that they had painstakingly built over the years.

The Sixth Regiment of the Second Guard Division responded tit for tat by adopting the method of dispersing and clearing the area.

They used smoke from the mountains, dug up gophers, blew up bunkers, and encircled and annihilated the enemy point by point, hilltop by hill, cave by cave, and forest by forest.

Finally, the enemy was forced into a central bunker 1 km away from the front line and wiped out in one fell swoop.

At this point, the "Flying Tiger Hero Regiment", which had frequently harassed the Xia border, shot border residents, and invaded Xia territory, was completely wiped out.

They once clamored "Fight to Xiangping for breakfast, fight to Ningnan for the Spring Festival", which became a joke - however, later some soldiers did stay in Xia State as prisoners to celebrate the Spring Festival.

…………

During the self-defense counterattack against the White-Eyed Wolf, Liu Benming, who was born in the Liu family of Liujiazhuang, served as a gunner in the second gun of the first platoon of the eighth company of the third battalion of the artillery regiment of the Second Guard Division.

Before departure, no one knew that this young man was actually the nephew of Commander Liu of the garrison district.

At the beginning of December last year, the troops entered level one combat readiness, and on December 12, the artillery regiment was ordered to move south.

The 8th Company was stationed in a production team called Nongdong, not far from the highway. The local people welcomed the arrival of the army very much, and Liu Benming and his colleagues often cleaned and fetched water for the villagers.

Sometimes the entire company would go to the fields to help the common people with farm work, leaving only Liu Benming and four other gunners to train. The pre-war training was very intense.

Sometimes I also went to the local government to listen to reports from border guards and ordinary people, accusing the "ungrateful wolves" of firing guns and artillery at the Xia State, killing and injuring many of our border guards and civilians.

After hearing this, Liu Benming and his men were filled with righteous indignation. For the sake of the border security of Xia State, they severely punished the "ungrateful wolves". Every soldier wrote a letter of determination. In this battle, Liu Benming wrote a total of three letters of determination to participate in the war.

Before the Spring Festival, one afternoon, the Eighth Company arrived at the front line and hid behind a mountainside. They entered the position and dug fortifications only after dark. They were not allowed to turn on the lights or speak loudly, and they were very close to the border line.

At about 8 o'clock in the evening on February , the Second Guard Division received an order from its superiors to occupy the opposite position.

The artillery regiment's 8th Company drove the artillery vehicle with the lights off into the position, and all personnel entered on foot. After arriving at the position, they pushed the artillery into the fortifications, adjusted the artillery, placed the shells in place, and waited for the general attack the next morning.

At 17:6 in the morning on the 40th, the weather was a bit cold. After receiving the order to fire, three flares suddenly flew into the sky. Cannons roared along the entire line, and the entire sky turned red. This was a scene that Liu Benming and his team had never seen before.

None of my comrades had ever been to a war, so they were a little nervous at first.

The instructor encouraged everyone not to be afraid, as this was a revenge for the civilians on the border. The entire company calmed down and was determined to complete the shooting mission.

This one is simply devastating!!!

The more rampantly the “ungrateful wolves” used to shout, the more severely they are being beaten now!!!
As the battle line continued to advance, Liu Benming and his men soon followed the main force into the territory of the "white-eyed wolf".

When passing the bridge, the squad leader asked Liu Benming and others to stand up the shells and place them on both sides of the vehicle, with people sitting in the middle to prevent the enemy from shooting and injuring people.

Everyone sat in the middle of the car as instructed by the squad leader. When we arrived at the long high ground, the sun was very strong, the terrain was complex, and there were mines everywhere in the sugarcane fields.

The 12th Artillery Company immediately occupied the position and launched a fierce artillery attack on the enemy, firing rapid rounds at the enemy's machine gun group and support points, effectively supporting the pontoon bridge troops in building the bridge.

After the war, the Eighth Company was awarded the honorary title of "Heroic Artillery Eighth Company" and made a name for itself as the heroic Eighth Company that "showed its prowess with artillery" on the Korean War battlefield.

Later, the troops moved and came to a pass position.

This position was on a hillside, and Liu Benming and his team had a hard time pushing the artillery up to the position.

When shooting, the shock wave of the artillery was too large. The second artillery vehicle drove up and the front glass of the cab was shattered by the powerful shock wave. Liu Benming was also affected, but fortunately he was not injured.

Two days later, the 8th Company was ordered to enter the White-Eyed Wolf's position.

It rained every day when they were at the Tongdeng position. The weather was cold and Liu Benming's stomach disease relapsed, and he himself had been suffering from diarrhea.

There was no other way. The next day, their class received an order to go to Liangshan to conduct direct aiming and shooting. After the order was issued, the second and third squads went to Liangshan under the leadership of the company commander, instructor and political instructor.

On the way, they heard bullets and shells flying over their heads, a sound they had never heard before.

Since the battle began, it has not been felt in the rear artillery positions.

The sound of the enemy's artillery shells flying at them was "puff, juju".

On the way, they saw some militiamen supporting the front, so they dropped their ammunition and ran back.

The company commander ordered the ammunition left behind by the militia to be loaded onto their artillery vehicles.

After arriving in Liangshan, Liu Benming and his entourage, together with the tank soldiers and infantrymen, waited on the roadside for the arrival of Huang Ping, deputy political commissar of the Second Division. Only after Deputy Political Commissar Huang arrived did he lead everyone into Liangshan.

After arriving at the destination, the terrain was complex and the cannon had to be pulled up the hillside.

After finally pushing it up, we found that there were too many trees.

The Eighth Company had to cut down a lot of large trees, but found that it still didn't work, so they finally pulled the cannon back to the ground.

When choosing a position on flat ground, there was constant fire from the enemy and everyone immediately hid from the artillery fire.

Less than three minutes after the third squad leader left his position, an enemy shell landed and exploded where he had been standing.

The battlefield is very dangerous!!!

After the gun position was selected and the gun was set up, the company commander asked Deputy Political Commissar Huang what target to hit, and Deputy Political Commissar Huang said to wait for orders.

At this moment, enemy artillery shells fell on their positions.

The situation was critical. The shells were too close to the 8th Company's artillery positions, so the company commander ordered Liu Benming and his men to leave the artillery positions and take cover immediately.

However, a hole as big as an egg was blown in the large support of Liu Benming's Second Artillery where he was standing.

The second artillery was injured. Instructor Hu saw that the situation was very dangerous, so he immediately asked Deputy Political Commissar Huang to withdraw from the position and return to the Tongdeng position.

After consulting, Deputy Political Commissar Huang approved the Eighth Company to withdraw from the position.

At this critical moment, the company commander ordered everyone to hang the guns on the vehicles, and no one should sit in the vehicles, and the driver should drive out of the position.

The Second Artillery driver pulled the gun out of the position.

After Liu Benming and his men withdrew from their position, they discovered that one of their comrades was missing.

Because every time a position was occupied, there had to be someone on guard. The person on guard this time was Feng Yong, a new recruit born in 1979.

The company commander immediately ordered Liu Benming and his squad to return to the position to look for people and not to abandon their comrades.

Under the leadership of Squad Leader Lin, Liu Benming and his men entered the Liangshan position for the second time, risking their lives to finally find Feng Yong and bring him back.

After returning to the Tongdeng position, the Eighth Company launched a full-scale artillery attack on Liangshan the next day.

Each gun had to fire 30 shells. It was raining that day, and Liu Benming had stomachache and diarrhea.

The instructor said: "Just stay nearby, don't run too far, and complete your job even if your stomach hurts. Persistence is victory, and you must avenge the people on the border."

Liu Benming endured the discomfort in his body and nodded resolutely: "Please rest assured, instructor, I will stick to it to the end!"

The weather in southern Xinjiang changes suddenly, and it started raining again.

Liu Benming could not see the benchmark through his sight, so he could only use the direction control and elevation control, plus the sight to calibrate and focus the level bubble.

After each shell is fired, immediately calibrate the return steering machine and the center level bubble of the elevation machine.

Even in such weather, the firing speed of the 152th Company far exceeds the mm howitzer weapon operation tutorial.

The tutorial stipulates that a strictly trained gunner should be able to fire 6 to 8 rounds per minute, but the Eighth Company was able to fire 12 rounds per minute.

During the firing process, one shot malfunctioned, followed by three shots.

The last four guns also malfunctioned, and only Liu Benming and his team's second gun continued to fire.

Upon seeing this, the company commander ordered the other three squads to bring all the artillery shells to the second squad for firing. Finally, the second squad fired all the artillery shells for the entire company.

After firing, Liu Benming was still worried that he had fired the wrong shot, as it would be troublesome if he hit one of his own people.

Later, Liu Benming's comrades in the class said to him: "Old Liu, you are going to make a contribution!"

Liu Benming said seriously: "Don't talk nonsense, I..."

His comrade said seriously: "It's true. Didn't you hear the instructor's announcement just now? You have to join the party by making contributions on the front line!"

Liu Benming still dared to believe in the enemy and said, "I'm lucky I didn't fire the wrong shot, so what's the point of talking about meritorious service!"

Later, Liu Benming confirmed that it was indeed his meritorious service on the front line that earned him the double blessing of joining the Party.

…………

February 2th was the second day when the self-defense counterattack against the ungrateful wolves officially began.

The front-line staff led by Liu Zhiye received top-secret intelligence.

The enemy was going to mobilize four infantry divisions and two artillery brigades in the direction of Liangshan and Dayuan to launch a counterattack on Tongdeng.

The enemy's division was the 12th Regiment of the "White-Eyed Wolf" that was surrounded on the first day, which was the so-called "White-Eyed Wolf" bullshit hero regiment.

"Damn it, you want to snatch back the meat that's already in your mouth? I'll make you lose both the wife and the army..." Liu Zhiye sneered in his heart, he was confident.

Liu Zhiye immediately ordered the 6th Regiment of the 2nd Guard Division to change the original combat deployment.

After the 6th Regiment of the 2nd Guard Division received orders from the front-line chief of staff Liu Zhiye.

Respond quickly!

Except for one company defending between Dongdeng and Dayuan, the entire regiment withdrew to our territory.

The right wing of the Sixth Regiment also temporarily stopped its attack on the Dongdeng area and rested on the spot awaiting orders.

At this time, Xia Jun’s battle slogan was “We are not afraid of him coming in large numbers, we are afraid of him coming in small numbers, and we are most afraid of him not coming at all.”

According to Chief of Staff Liu Zhiye's strategy, it was to lure the enemy into a trap.

Lure the enemy's reinforcements into the encirclement, use the artillery advantage of the Xia Kingdom's border to eliminate more of the enemy's manpower.

(End of this chapter)