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

Chapter 589 Zhong is so bold!!!
His son Liu Wu's performance in the army made his father Liu Zhiye extremely proud, and his son-in-law Zhong Xingguo was no less proud.

Zhong Xingguo now serves as the chief of staff of a certain ace division. He was once a highly respected reconnaissance hero on the L Mountain battlefield.

On the battlefield, Zhong Xingguo always regards danger as his duty.

Every time he carried out a prisoner-capturing mission, he personally served as the leader of the prisoner-capturing team, leading by example and walking at the forefront.

During the retreat, he always let his comrades go first, and he stayed at the end to cover the rear, so he was known as "Zhong the Bold".

During the several years of border defense and reconnaissance operations, Zhong Xingguo demonstrated outstanding command ability, calm and decisive combat style, as well as surprising strategies, troop deployment and plans.

Zhong Xingguo led his troops bravely to carry out countless ambush and capture missions, and frequent close-range reconnaissance missions.

His heroic actions shocked the enemy and he achieved remarkable results many times, including capturing more than 29 enemies, killing more than enemies, destroying more than a dozen ammunition depots, artillery pieces, more than a dozen garrisons and position fortifications...

Eight years ago, Zhong Xingguo's unit selected a group of outstanding soldiers from the Yanjing Garrison, Tianjin-Port Garrison and a certain group army to form the Special Mixed Reconnaissance Battalion No. X.

The brigade was dispatched to southern Yunnan to carry out reconnaissance and support tasks, beginning a difficult reconnaissance and combat mission lasting several years.

Zhong Xingguo was a new squadron leader at that time, and he knew very well that advantages could only be fully utilized on the basis of sufficient preparation.

Once the troops arrived at the war zone, he quickly led the reconnaissance backbone to carry out a full-scale reconnaissance mission of more than 20 kilometers in light of the combat characteristics of the mountainous and jungle areas and the guidelines of the front command.

This includes communicating with local residents, visiting neighboring areas, surveying the terrain, gathering information on the enemy, and actively adapting to the environment to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the enemy and friendly situation.

At the same time, he actively organized the entire company to carry out practical training.

On the battlefield, Zhong Xingguo launched the slogan: "Follow me!" to express the soldiers' determination to fight to the death.

No matter how dangerous the place is, the presence of party members is always prominently visible; in the places where the fighting is most intense, the cadres are always the courageous leaders.

This has become a unique magic weapon for victory in our army's combat history.

Zhong Xingguo is an outstanding representative of this tradition.

When going to battle, Zhong Xingguo personally raised his fist, stood at the front line, and led all the soldiers to solemnly recite the oath;
Zhong Xingguo was the first to receive the wine and drink it in one gulp; he strode forward and crossed the line between life and death without hesitation, showing a firm and courageous attitude.

On February 2 of that year, which was also the eighth day of the first lunar month of the Lunar New Year, Zhong Xingguo and his squadron had their first combat experience. This mission was named "Ambush and capture battle on the unnamed hill west of Banpo."

At this critical moment, Zhong Xingguo volunteered to be the leader of the prisoner-capturing team without hesitation and bravely took on this extremely dangerous task.

The code name of this operation was "Operation 2.5".

Throughout the entire combat process, all officers and soldiers faced extremely severe psychological and life safety challenges.

Although they were cautious and lurked for a long time less than a hundred meters away from the enemy position, the enemy's military dogs' sense of smell gradually detected their presence and the barking of enemy dogs continued to sound.

After the enemy noticed the abnormal situation, they quickly entered the position and searched for the target with a flashlight.

The enemy's No. 1 and No. 2 positions simultaneously threw bombs at the ambush area where Zhong Xingguo and his team were. The enemy's shouting and the sound of loading bullets could be clearly heard, and grenades thrown by the enemy kept exploding near the capture group where Zhong Xingguo was.

Red ballistic missiles and grenade fragments flew in the air, and dirt and gravel sprinkled on Zhong Xingguo and his team members. It was obvious that the enemy had noticed their intentions.

The weather is unpredictable at this moment. It was drizzling and foggy the past two days, but now it is starry.

The capture team had to be extremely careful, as any slight movement could be detected by the enemy.

The situation took a sharp turn for the worse. All the team members stared at the squadron leader Zhong Xingguo, unsure whether to rush to the position with the intention of attacking the enemy by surprise, or to wait for the enemy to enter the ambush area as originally planned.

While closely observing the enemy's actions, Zhong Xingguo quickly thought about the next response plan.

He called together the leaders of the first and second platoons to discuss countermeasures and finally made a decision: "Our actions have been discovered by the enemy. Our hiding position is completely exposed to the crossfire of Hills 1 and 2. In addition, the vegetation is sparse and cannot provide sufficient cover to meet the requirements of the plan of engaging the enemy and capturing prisoners..."

As dawn approaches, the capture team's operations become more difficult and there may be more casualties.

After comprehensive analysis, Zhong Xingguo decisively decided to retreat.

He observed the enemy's firepower exposure, drew a key map of the enemy situation, and learned in detail the enemy's troop deployment and fortification construction.

After approval from the front command, Zhong Xingguo led the participating team members at night, risking being shot by the enemy, and all of them retreated to a safe area at 9 a.m. on the third day.

The entire operation lasted three days, with an infiltration distance of 8 kilometers and 11 mines removed.

At that time, Liu Zhiye highly praised the performance of Zhong Xingguo and his squadron at the front command post, and praised the Special Reconnaissance Squadron 3 for its daring, good at fighting, brave and strategic combat style in this battle.

Based on the changes in the enemy situation and terrain, squadron leader Zhong Xingguo wisely made the decision to abandon the prisoner-capturing plan and retreat actively.

The decisiveness and intelligence he displayed in front-line command are immeasurable and perfectly demonstrate his outstanding qualities as a reconnaissance commander.

Liu Zhiye, the former commander, expressed high recognition of Zhong Xingguo in this evaluation.

The decision to retreat proved to be correct, because less than an hour after the combat team withdrew, the area where Zhong Xingguo and his team were hiding was bombarded by the enemy for an hour and several incendiary bombs were fired.

The leaders of the reconnaissance battalion and all the officers and soldiers of the company looked at Zhong Xingguo with admiration.

When faced with complex situations, Zhong Xingguo was not confused by changes in the enemy's situation.

In times of danger, the value of an excellent military commander is demonstrated.

Zhong Xingguo made the right decision at the critical moment, avoiding possible heavy casualties.

However, in war, unfortunate sacrifices are always inevitable.

On August 8, Zhong Xingguo led the reconnaissance team in an ambush and prisoner-taking battle code-named "9".

They penetrated 10 kilometers behind enemy lines and successfully captured two enemy soldiers.

However, on the way back, the first deputy squadron leader of the Third Squadron, Lao Dong, was unfortunately injured by a landmine and his legs were seriously injured by the bomb explosion.

At this critical moment, Zhong Xingguo calmly commanded the battle, while organizing the bleeding and bandaging the injured comrades, he also directed the engineering soldiers to lay mines to block the enemy's pursuit path.

He was well aware of the urgency of time, so the reception team had to increase the speed of retreat as quickly as possible while ensuring the stability of the stretcher to alleviate Lao Dong's pain on the rugged mountain road.

After four hours of unremitting efforts, the team members were exhausted, but they finally succeeded in carrying Lao Dong to a safe place and rushed him to a field first aid station.

Unfortunately, due to severe blood loss, Mr. Dong's brain nerves were severely damaged.

After 18 days of surgery, although Lao Dong regained consciousness, he had lost the ability to speak and move, and fell into a vegetative state that required comprehensive care.

Later, after more than a year of intensive treatment, Lao Dong's condition in the rear hospital gradually worsened and he eventually passed away at the age of 29.

Although Zhong Xingguo had already prepared himself mentally, the sacrifice of the deputy squadron leader still weighed on his heart like a heavy burden, and he could not let it go for a long time.

In December of that year, Zhong Xingguo was awarded the first-class honorary title of "Reconnaissance Hero".

Subsequently, in the following year, he was awarded the titles of "Hero Defending the Country and Serving the People" and "National New Long March Commando".

Led by an excellent commander like Zhong Xingguo, all officers and soldiers of the Xth Special Reconnaissance Battalion performed very well during the rotation period.

During the Two Mountains War, the Xth Reconnaissance Battalion produced many combat heroes, and Li Wei was one of them.

Li Weigang was born in Central China. He joined the army in November 83 and was assigned to the Special Reconnaissance Battalion as a scout in 11. In November of that year, the Special Reconnaissance Battalion opened a forward command post near the No. 84 boundary marker, and the third squadron where Li Wei was located was ordered to conduct deep penetration reconnaissance in the Dawan area.

The L Mountain area has typical subtropical mountain jungle characteristics.

Here the mountains are high and steep, the peaks are dangerous and the valleys are deep, the primeval forests are dense, the bamboo trees are tall, there is no thatch, the vines are intertwined, the roads are rare, the fog is heavy and humid, the temperature difference is significant, and poisonous insects are everywhere;

Moreover, the enemy and our own army's positions were intertwined, with a large number of troops deployed and high firepower density. There were many obstacles in the battle zone and dense minefields, which caused considerable trouble for the scouts' reconnaissance activities.

Moreover, the area of ​​this reconnaissance operation is within the territory of the "White-Eyed Wolf". The further south you go, the thicker the fog becomes.

The air was still filled with the smell of rotting plants. The soldiers moved forward one step at a time on the rugged mountain path, each carrying different equipment.

After less than two hours of marching, the soldiers were already exhausted and sweating profusely. The sweat and camouflage uniforms stuck together, and the sticky feeling was very uncomfortable.

Finally, at dawn on the third day, the action team that Li Wei was in advanced to a village near Da Wan. The "ungrateful" people probably never dreamed that there was a team of "rabbit" scouts lurking near them.

According to intelligence, there is about a battalion of enemy troops stationed here, but according to field reconnaissance, the enemy here is at most a company.

In order to further understand the situation, the squadron leader Zhong Xingguo requested a close reconnaissance to carefully review and supplement the information on the enemy's barracks, outposts, troop strength, firepower, etc., in order to report to the battalion's forward command.

Just as the operation began, a "ungrateful" militiaman suddenly appeared on the village road leading to our army's ambush area.

I saw that this militiaman was about thirty years old, wearing tattered enemy army uniform, with a slight limp in his left leg, and he walked unsteadily. He was carrying a Type 63 rifle on his back. He looked like a retired veteran, and he patrolled back and forth from time to time.

Suddenly, this "ungrateful" militiaman seemed to have discovered something and began to shout to the village in "dialect".

The situation happened suddenly, and if no action is taken, the reconnaissance team will be very passive; if action is taken, if the judgment is wrong, no one can predict what the consequences will be.

At this critical moment, there was a "puff" sound, and the submachine gun in the hands of the squadron leader Zhong Xingguo fired. The enemy militia covered his chest with his hands, struggling to run back, but he fell down after only two steps.

After hearing the shouting, the "ungrateful" people in the village began to run home in panic. Several enemy soldiers on the yard were a little panicked and at a loss what to do after this sudden incident, and they were also looking around.

Li Wei was carrying a rocket launcher at the time. In order to capture prisoners, he had to force the enemy troops closer to them.

Squadron leader Zhong Xingguo shouted: "Rocket launcher."

Li Wei quickly aimed at the enemy, and his comrade who was responsible for loading the rocket launcher quickly loaded the bullets into the chamber. With a "bang", the shells hit the enemy barracks.

The stubborn enemy immediately fired at the rocket launcher. Li Wei's comrade was wounded in the chest. He then gritted his teeth and loaded another round into the rocket launcher. Li Wei immediately fired the rocket and hit the enemy camp again.

At this time, the squadron leader Zhong Xingguo decisively shouted: "Sun Xinchun, turn on the radio, and call for artillery support immediately!" For a moment, gunfire rang out on the scene, and fireworks rose from the barracks in the village.

During the battle, several enemy soldiers actually wanted to capture prisoners, and they cautiously sneaked towards Li Wei's position.

Seeing the prisoners delivered to their door, the attack team would naturally not let them go. Seeing the right opportunity, Zhong Xingguo shouted "Go", and the prisoner-capturing Li Erniu led his men to rush towards the enemy quickly. The enemy soldiers who reacted slowly were captured at that time, while those who reacted quickly ran away.

Immediately, Deputy Squadron Leader Sun Xinchun reported the situation to his superiors and requested secondary fire support.

As we were talking, the covering fire from the artillery in the rear arrived. After a burst of shelling, the scouts' faces were covered with smoke and dust.

“Hahahaha…” Seeing the miserable state of the enemy, Zhong Xingguo was very happy, and then he waved his hand: “Retreat quickly!”

Afterwards, Zhong Xingguo's team quickly retreated through the deep mountains and forests.

Because the combat load was greatly reduced, although they were escorting prisoners, their marching speed was much faster than when they came.

Zhong Xingguo ordered the engineers and search and obstacle removal teams to be more vigilant and intensify the search and obstacle removal of the retreat route.

When they were almost at the defense zone, the squad saw from afar leaders of the reconnaissance battalion at all levels, along with the security support team and military industry comrades. They were all anxiously waiting for the attack team. Seeing their loved ones, the squad soldiers couldn't help but say "We are back"!
Li Wei was awarded the second-class individual merit once and the second-class collective merit once in this battle.

From July of this year to May of the following year, the Special Reconnaissance Battalion conducted reconnaissance operations in the two mountain directions of the Yunnan border for nearly a year, and fought a total of 7 battles.

The troops successively carried out the first and second attacks on Hill 815, infiltration and reconnaissance at Xiaohe, lurking in Gezhuang for 815 days, guiding artillery to destroy enemy barracks in deep territory, and attacking and capturing prisoners at Huaga.

A total of 235 enemies were killed, more than 25 were wounded, 3 were captured, several enemy barracks were destroyed, and 150 light machine guns, 610 submachine guns, grenades, rounds of bullets and a batch of military supplies were seized.

After the battle, Zhong Xingguo's squadron was named "Heroic Reconnaissance Squadron" by the front command.

One platoon in the squadron was awarded first-class merit, two squads were awarded first-class merit, and Zhong Xingguo, Li Erniu and others were named first-class prisoner-capturing heroes.

Deputy squadron leader Sun Xinchun selected 101 winners of the annual Outstanding Children of National Defense Border. Eight people were awarded first-class merit, 8 people were awarded second-class merit, 50 people were awarded third-class merit, more than 73 people joined the party on the front line, 70 soldiers were promoted to officers, and the number of people who had made meritorious contributions reached 15. Soldiers Li Wei, Liu Weiguo and others were among the 131 people who were awarded second-class merit.

The Zhong Xingguo Squadron fought in so many battles, captured so many prisoners, had so many people meritorious service, and had such high levels of meritorious service, and had so many people promoted. It is rare to achieve so many honors in the entire "Two Mountains" reconnaissance rotation.

During the battle to capture prisoners in front of Hill 815, after the reconnaissance team of Zhong Xingguo's squadron arrived at the front line, they conducted reconnaissance on the one hand and started pre-war training on the other.

The team discovered something happening on the enemy's 815 high ground at the observation post on the back mountain of Nara.

Every evening, two mines are set on a small road leading to our side 815 meters in front of Hill 100. The mines are removed at around 1 a.m. the next day. Usually 2- people are involved in setting and removing mines, which has become a regular pattern.

Liu Weiguo, then squad leader of the first squad of the third platoon, believed this was a good opportunity to capture enemy prisoners.

However, after repeated analysis and judgment, Zhong Xingguo and Sun Xinchun and several other squadron cadres believed that it was not easy to approach and hide to capture the enemy who laid the mines.

Capturing the enemy who takes the thunder is the best time and the best goal.

Therefore, Zhong Xingguo promptly drafted a battle plan to capture prisoners in front of the 815 highland position. After submitting it to the brigade for review, it was reported to the front command, which quickly approved the battle plan of Zhong Xingguo's squadron.

Then, Zhong Xingguo organized the entire squadron to conduct simulation training. Before 9:1 on September 17, the entire squadron had made all preparations for battle.

That evening, each combat team approached Hill 815 covertly and arrived at their designated positions before 2:5 on the nd.

Zhong Xingguo divided the entire battle into five combat groups: Li Erniu's group was the prisoner-capturing group, consisting of eight people led by platoon leader Li Erniu;
The second group is the flank attack group, with a platoon leader leading a reinforced squad;

The third group is the firepower group, led by acting platoon leader Liu Weiguo, who is responsible for the firepower shooting and cover of the entire battle.

The fourth group, consisting of Deputy Squadron Leader Sun Xinchun and Doctor Zhou Yejian, is responsible for battlefield rescue missions.

The fifth group, led by squadron leader Zhong Xingguo, commanded the 120 mortar platoon and was responsible for long-range fire support and command.

At around 9:2 a.m. on September 7, two enemies came out of the fortifications on Hill 10. One enemy was on guard on the hill, while the other walked down from the hill and went to a small path leading to the direction of the Fourth Company to lay mines.

When the enemy had removed one trip mine, they were paralyzed. When they were about to remove the second trip mine, Zhong Xingguo gave the order "shoot", and various firepower including light machine guns, heavy machine guns, sniper rifles, 82 recoilless guns, etc. concentrated their firepower on the enemy on Hill 815 and eliminated them.

At the same time, eight capturers, under the command of Li Erniu, suddenly jumped up and captured an enemy who was trying to take the thunder.

At this time, enemies on several high ground around the enemy pressed intensive firepower towards the capture team. When the capturer Ding Xiao was holding the enemy who was taking the mine, a shell fell beside him. With a loud bang, he died on the spot.

At this critical moment, Zhong Xingguo promptly ordered the flank attack group to quickly capture Hill 815 and block enemy reinforcements.

Command the fire group to suppress the enemy's firepower, order the rescue group to go forward to rescue the wounded, and call on the mortar company to suppress the enemy's rear positions with artillery fire.

After nearly half an hour of fierce fighting, Zhong Xingguo's squadron killed 13 enemies, captured 1 enemy, and seized some guns and ammunition.

In the post-war summary, their squadron's capture of prisoners was difficult in broad daylight;
Second, capturing prisoners at the enemy's front line is greatly threatened by enemy firepower; third, the battle is like pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth and is very dangerous; fourth, it is both a battle to capture prisoners and a battle to attack enemy heights.

This is not only a coordinated attack and capture operation by scouts, but also a special battle in which various firepower are used in combination with each other.

(End of this chapter)