Changjin Lake: From Xinxingli to Seoul

Chapter 401 The Red Army Armed with Mao Zedong Thought is Invincible!
The Han River defense line, the last high ground occupied by the US military.

The US military positions were like a rusty nail, firmly pinned to the throat of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's eastern assault group as it moved south.

More than 1,300 remnants of the U.S. 3rd Division and some South Korean special forces held their ground on the hillside with their ring of bunkers and cross-gun fire.

"Commander! The 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Regiment has retreated again! The battalion commander has been killed in action!"

A Chinese People's Volunteer Army communications officer rushed into the bunker, his face covered in soot and blood scabs.

Wu Qianli, the commander of the 81st Division, wiped away the muddy water flowing from the observation port. Through his binoculars, he saw layers upon layers of bodies on the hillside, all dressed in thin cotton clothes.

The acrid smell of napalm mixed with the stench of blood was swept into the command post by the cold wind, making people's throats tighten.

Upon hearing this, Political Commissar Mei Sheng, who was standing nearby, slammed his fist on the log support pillar: "This is the third wave!"
If we can't get to the top, the American planes will be here again at daybreak!

At this moment, Tan Ziwei, wearing a tattered cotton overcoat, strode in: "Qianli, Political Commissar Mei, my two elite snipers have run out of ammunition and haven't even reached the edge of the high ground."

These bastards' firing positions are too tricky—flanking fire, reverse fire, all from double-layered fortifications!

Wu Qianli didn't speak, his frostbitten fingers digging into the cold metal casing of the telescope.

In the field of vision, the barbed wire at the front of the US military position was twisted and deformed in the embers of incendiary bombs.

Behind them were dark firing ports, spewing forth tongues of fire that were reaping lives.

The flag of the 81st Division fell on the edge of a bomb crater and was trampled into the mud.

Wu Qianli sighed: "How much ammunition do we have left?"

Mei Sheng: "The division's artillery battalion only has 0.3 units left. The heavy artillery is basically silent, but the light mortars are enough to fire two salvos!"

"The situation is similar with the 79th Division, but we have to take it even if we can't break through it!"
Zhisi gave a direct order: this thorn in our side must be removed today!

Commander Li Yunlong's artillery is suppressing their deep firepower; this is our last chance!

Political Commissar Mei, move the reserve force...

Tan Zi was about to continue speaking.

However, at this moment, a muffled rumble, like the beating of the earth's heart, faintly came from the southeast, drowning out the intense gunfire at the front.

The sound was like a tank rolling along the cold ground, carrying the weight of metal tracks.

Everyone in the command post froze.

The sound grew closer and clearer, like rolling thunder advancing close to the ground.

Mei Sheng was the first to react, his expression changing drastically: "Tanks... American reinforcements?!"

Wu Qianli suddenly turned the telescope southeast.

The deepest darkness before dawn is receding, and the bluish-gray light of day outlines the undulating horizon.

Suddenly, a cloud of dust rose from behind the low hills to the southeast.

Ahead of the smoke and dust, nearly twenty steel silhouettes were rolling across the open field covered with remnants of snow and scorched earth in battle formation, heading straight for the flank and rear of the American positions!
Those outlines are so familiar—the sturdy hull of the M4 Sherman, the thick, long gun barrel of the M26 Pershing!
The shouts of the observation post, filled with unbelievable elation, shattered the solemnity of the command post: "It's our tank! There's a red star on the turret! It's the 7th Steel Brigade!"

Steel Seventh Brigade!

Wu Qianli felt as if his heart had been struck by a heavy hammer, and he almost dropped the binoculars.

He stared intently at the M26 Pershing heavy tank at the forefront, which was painted with white stars and then roughly painted red.

The hatch of the commander's cupola was open, and a familiar figure, whose presence brought tears to his eyes, peeked out briefly before retreating back inside!

"Wanli!"

Two heavy syllables rolled out of Wu Qianli's throat, trembling without him even realizing it.

Lieutenant Colonel Thorne, the U.S. commander on the position, roared into the walkie-talkie, demanding one last air support from Seoul.

The sudden roar of the engine and the sound of the tracks crushing against his side sent chills down his spine.

He lunged at the observation hole of the circular fortification.

"My God! Tanks! Chinese tanks are coming from behind!"

The U.S. military lookout shouted.

Upon hearing this, Lieutenant Colonel Thorne's blood instantly froze.

He saw those Chinese tanks painted with strange red stars.

They saw elite infantrymen following closely behind the tanks, dressed in a mix of Chinese People's Volunteer Army cotton-padded uniforms and American field jackets, carrying Thompson submachine guns and Garand rifles.

This force surged like a torrent, crashing into the rear of his unprepared position!

"Turn! All firepower to the rear! Stop them!"

"Lieutenant Colonel Thorne shouted anxiously."

But it was too late.

Inside Tank No. 1
Wu Wanli shouted into the radio: "Thunder God!"
Blow up that largest bunker complex on the left flank!
High-explosive shells, rapid firing!

Gao Daxing, lead the demolition team, tear open the barbed wire on the right flank!

"All troops, target the enemy command post—charge!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The 105mm howitzers of the Seventh Steel Brigade, accompanying the charge, were the first to open fire.

The shells struck the American flanking firing positions with pinpoint accuracy, sending up plumes of smoke mixed with mud and steel fragments.

The Pershing tank's 90mm main gun roared deafeningly, and armor-piercing and high-explosive shells seemed to have eyes, blasting away exposed firing points one by one.

"kill--!"

Gao Daxing led his troops through the dust kicked up by tank tracks, using artillery cover to rush towards the barbed wire and minefield that had been blown to pieces.

The muffled thuds of rocket launchers and explosive charges opened up a path for the main force to launch a rapid attack.

In an instant, the US military's defenses were thrown into chaos.

The fear of being attacked from both sides overwhelmed discipline.

They faced the desperate charge launched by the 81st and 79th Divisions head-on, while their rear was ruthlessly pierced by this heavily armed steel torrent.

At this point, the US military's circular fortifications had become a deadly trap where each element hindered the other.

The heavy machine gun fire was forcibly torn apart, and the American soldiers watched in horror as the tank tracks, painted with red stars, rolled over the bodies of their comrades and charged straight for the core position.

"Comrades! The Seventh Steel Brigade is here! Charge! Take this last American position!"

Wu Qianli was the first to leap out of the trench, his hoarse throat bursting out with a deafening roar.

The soldiers of the 81st Division seemed to have been injected with new life. With bayonets in hand, they stepped over the blood of their comrades and faced the sparse rain of bullets as they surged toward the hillside once more.

Tan Ziwei also personally led the last reserve force of the 79th Division to launch a fierce attack from the other side.

The three streams of iron collided violently from three directions!
The sounds of clashing steel, the clanging of bayonets, the screams of the dying, and the shouts of the charge reached their peak in an instant, tearing apart the last darkness before dawn.

As the first pale winter sun struggled to pierce through the thick smoke and fall upon the tattered Stars and Stripes on the main peak, the gunfire finally subsided.

On the scorched earth, broken weapons, twisted helmets, and the frozen bodies of soldiers from both sides lay scattered.

The surviving American soldiers, with their hands raised, marched out of the smoldering bunkers and shelters in long lines under the cold bayonets of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers, their faces filled with bewilderment and fear.

Wu Qianli, leaning on a captured M1 carbine, stood at the highest point of the main peak's circular fortifications, panting heavily.

He looked around, his gaze sweeping over the remains of the fallen soldiers, over the exhausted but upright officers and soldiers of the 81st Division, and finally down the hillside.

His well-organized troops were rapidly mopping up the remaining enemy forces and gathering prisoners.

The soldiers wore thick winter combat uniforms and captured American-style steel helmets or warm cotton hats.

The weapons he carried ranged from Thompson submachine guns and Garand rifles to brand-new M3 submachine guns and Browning automatic rifles.

There were even groups carrying bazookas on their shoulders.

Several captured M4 Shermans and the conspicuous M26 Pershing were parked at the bottom of the slope.

The engine was still running, the muzzle still held the residual heat of firing, and the steel body was riddled with bullet holes, yet it still exuded a chilling killing intent.

A bullet-riddled but still bright red flag fluttered in the wind atop the Pershing tank turret—"The 7th Steel Corps of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army."

Wu Qianli, wearing a thick American military overcoat, with a belt around his waist and an M1911 pistol tucked into his belt, was nimbly leaping over the shell crater and walking quickly towards them.

Wu Wanli rushed to Wu Qianli, stood at attention, and saluted: "Brother!"

The Seventh Steel Company's main force traveled thousands of miles to provide support, and they have certainly fulfilled their mission!

Wu Qianli's eyes were fixed on his younger brother, his gaze sweeping over the new abrasions on his face, over the military overcoat torn by shrapnel on his shoulder, and over the soldier's resolute look between his brows.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment; the sound of cannons faded into the distance, and the surrounding noise became blurred.

Scenes flashed through Wu Qianli's mind: the wild boy who stole steamed buns at the dock in his hometown and was chased all over the street;
A headstrong young man who stopped the division headquarters' jeep when he was about to enlist, stubbornly insisting on joining the army;
The sharpshooter who, during training in Shandong, suppressed Pinghe and Zhang Taofang with rifles, making it impossible for them to lift their heads;

A green recruit, pale-faced upon entering the Korean War and facing bombing raids by American planes...

Bombing the Watergate Bridge, seizing a US aircraft carrier, annihilating the US Seventh Fleet, fighting a bloody battle on the Han River, destroying the enemy command post, and dominating the sea and air...

Countless moments of life and death, countless scenes filled with the smoke of war, all ultimately etched onto this young face, already marked by the scars of war.

A surge of scalding heat rushed to Wu Qianli's eyes, and his throat felt as if it were blocked by something.

He stepped forward and his calloused hand pinched Wu Wanli's cheek!

The movement was so abrupt, yet so familiar, carrying an almost rude intimacy.

"Baozi—has grown up!"

Wu Wanli pinched his younger brother's cheeks hard with his thumb and forefinger, as if kneading a real, freshly steamed bun.

The force was a bit too much, making Wu Wanli's cheeks sting, but he didn't flinch. Instead, he tilted his head slightly to meet his brother's gaze.

Wu Qianli's eyes held relief, pride, indescribable heartache, and a sense of relief at finally being at ease.

Political Commissar Mei Sheng and Division Commander Tan Zi also came over at this time. Mei Sheng looked at Wu Wanli, whose face was being pinched by his brother, and then looked at the imposing Steel Seventh Brigade in front of him. The fatigue on his face was washed away by a heartfelt emotion.

He looked Wu Wanli up and down as if examining an incredible masterpiece: "Wanli, good lad, you're really... impressive!"

How long has it been?

From a new recruit to the commander of elite troops, he has made the Americans tremble with fear!
Was he forged in the crucible of war, or was he a born war genius?

Upon hearing this, Wu Wanli did not immediately answer Mei Sheng's question. Instead, he raised one hand and reached into the inner pocket of his American military overcoat, which was stained with oil and gunpowder.

He fumbled around and carefully pulled out something that was meticulously wrapped in oilcloth.

Wu Wanli gently untied the oilcloth, revealing a book with rough paper, frayed edges, and a faded cover—Selected Works of Mao Zedong.

Wu Wanli held the old book in both hands as if it were a rare treasure, and handed it to Mei Sheng:

"Political Commissar Mei, it is he who guides me."

Thank you for giving it to me on the train to North Korea.

Now... I think I can probably be considered a true Red Warrior.

I believe that the Red Army, guided by Mao Zedong Thought, will surely sweep away everything and be invincible!

Upon hearing this, Mei Sheng was stunned.

He stared blankly at the familiar "Selected Works of Mao Zedong," watching Wu Wanli hold it with utmost solemnity.

My memory was instantly pulled back to when I first entered Korea, to that clattering military train packed with soldiers of the 7th Infiltration Company.

When Wu Wanli mustered his courage and asked him when he could write his application to join the Party, he was deeply moved.

Most new recruits are asked about the battlefield, guns, and combat exploits, but Wu Wanli was the most conscious one to ask about joining the Party.

He said at the time that when the red flag was planted on the enemy's position, when he became a true red soldier, and when he truly understood, the Party organization would accept Wanli.

Mei Sheng never imagined that this book would be so cherished, and would become the most solid source of strength in the heart of this powerful captain.

A strong sense of bittersweetness and indescribable joy welled up in Mei Sheng's heart, making his eyes burn.

He reached out and gently stroked the worn edges of the book cover, as if stroking a period of time that had been tempered and made to shine by the flames of war.

Mei Sheng took a deep breath, suppressing his surging emotions, his voice trembling slightly: "Good...good! Wanli, you're right!"

However, the principles in this book are not only the magic weapon for defeating the enemy on the battlefield, but also the compass for our life, work, and revolution!
Remember, wherever you go, whatever you do in the future, use this to arm your mind and guide your actions!

"Yes, Political Commissar!"

Wu Wanli nodded vigorously, carefully wrapped the Selected Works of Mao Zedong again, and solemnly put it back into the pocket close to his heart.

"Haha! What a fine Red Army soldier! People's Hero, Captain Wu!"

Tan Ziwei, the teacher, slapped Wu Wanli hard on the shoulder with a crisp "smack," the force of which made Wu Wanli's body sway.

With a hearty smile on his face and a loud voice, Commander Tan said, "You lad, you fought really well!"
For this battle, you deserve the title of 'People's Hero'!

"People's Hero?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Wanli's smile slowly faded.

He turned his head, his gaze slowly sweeping across the hillside that had just witnessed a bloody battle.

On the scorched earth, the fallen Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers maintained their charging posture.

Some were clutching rifles that had run out of bullets, some were still holding explosive packs in their arms, and some were wrestling with the enemy until their deaths without being separated.

The frozen bodies, covered with a thin layer of frost and gunpowder smoke, reflected a cold and tragic luster in the sunlight.

The cold wind howled as it swept by, swirling up snow and ashes from the ground, like the silent sighs of countless heroic souls.

Wu Wanli withdrew his gaze and looked at Tan Ziwei: "I used to always think about being a hero, but now it's different."

I am no hero; those who sacrificed themselves before the final victory are the heroes.

Just as you told me before, there are no heroes who can't freeze to death, and there are no heroes who can't be killed.

Only... the glory of a soldier!

As soon as he finished speaking, a cold wind swept across the main peak, and the howling sound grew even louder.

The smiles on the faces of Wu Qianli, Mei Sheng, Tan Ziwei, and everyone around them who heard these words froze, turning into a heavy solemnity.

The faces of those fallen comrades flashed through my mind with unparalleled clarity.

The ice sculpture company at Changjin Lake, the blocking battalion at Hwangchoryong, the figures falling one after another during the charge along the Han River...

Along the way, how many familiar faces have been left forever on this foreign land?

Which victory wasn't paved with blood and lives?
The glory of soldiers.

These five words weigh heavily on everyone's heart, carrying the weight of blood and fire, and an inviolable dignity.

They straightened their backs, silently gazing at their fallen comrades, their eyes filled with silent mourning and a resolute determination to carry on their legacy.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps broke the heavy silence.

Covered in gunpowder smoke, Liu Hanqing rushed up the hillside, clutching a telegram in his hand, his face showing urgency.

Liu Hanqing's voice was unusually tense as he handed the telegram to Wu Wanli: "Commander-in-Chief! Urgent!"

Commander Li Yunlong ordered my Seventh Steel Brigade to immediately end the current battle and continue to serve as the vanguard of the entire army!

Advance at full speed at all costs; specific combat missions can be determined independently as opportunities arise!

All captured vehicles, fuel, and ammunition along the way should be given priority to supply our brigade, and we must increase our speed of movement!

In addition, the reconnaissance detachment led by Comrade Pinghe successfully delayed nearly 10,000 elite troops of the "Iron Hammer" mixed brigade under U.S. Army Commander Allen in the canyon!

However, the enemy's offensive was fierce, and our detachment suffered heavy casualties, with our position in grave danger!
We must rush to their aid immediately, sparing no expense to help the reconnaissance detachment break through!

"Okay, I understand!"
"Brother, Political Commissar Mei, Division Commander Tan, let's drink to celebrate together when we take Seoul!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Wanli felt a pang of anxiety, uttered a single sentence, and walked away into the distance.

"Wanli!"

"Comrade Wu Wanli!"

At that moment, two deep and urgent voices pierced through the clamor of the wind on the high ground and the sporadic sounds of gunfire and artillery clearing in the distance.

Wu Wanli suddenly stopped and turned around in astonishment.

Wu Qianli and Tan Ziwei strode toward him, with Political Commissar Mei Sheng close behind.

The three of them wore the same solemn and resolute expression.

"Brother? Commander Tan?"

Seeing their unusually serious expressions, Wu Wanli felt even more anxious.

Wu Qianli rushed to him in a few steps, his right hand suddenly pressing on his waist. With a crisp "click," the buckle of the armor belt that had accompanied him through countless battles was undone.

Without hesitation, he pulled out the entire belt, which was quite heavy, and stuffed it directly into Wu Wanli's hand.

"Take it!"

Wu Qianli's voice was firm and unwavering.

Before Wu Wanli could react and ask or refuse, Wu Qianli had already turned around abruptly and shouted towards the 81st Division, which was counting American equipment and ammunition supplies down the slope:
"Every single veteran of the 81st Division who has fought in more than five tough battles!"
Those with minor injuries who can still handle a gun should also be included!
Assemble immediately!

Take your best American-made equipment and reinforce the Seventh Steel Brigade, then follow Wan Li!

"Following Comrade Wu Wanli... Yes!"

Upon hearing this, Battalion Commander Zhang Taofang felt a surge of excitement and immediately led his men down to organize the operation.

On the other side, Tan Ziwei made the same choice, ordering the 79th Division to send 3,000 elite troops to supplement the Seventh Steel Brigade.

"This... isn't a good idea."

The 79th and 81st Divisions have also suffered heavy losses in many battles. If I were to give them all my elite troops, their combat effectiveness would be severely weakened..."

Upon hearing this, Wu Wanli immediately offered a reminder.

"Silly boy, so what?"
We are the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, not warlords like Chiang Kai-shek who needed to preserve their strength and maintain their power!

What does it matter if our division is weakened a bit, as long as we can exert greater overall combat effectiveness?

Wu Qianli said with a smile.

"Exactly! Good steel should be used where it's needed most!"

If you feel bad about it, then lead them all into Seoul and capture Ridgway alive!

If possible, it would be even better if more of them could survive; they are all good comrades…

Tan Ziwei sighed.

"Comrade Wu Wanli, the Seventh Steel Brigade in your hands will be the sharpest sword in the Volunteer Army!"

With this sword in your hand, you must clear the way for the main force and open up new possibilities!
We will live up to the expectations of the Party and the people, and the trust placed in us by the motherland and our leaders!

Mei Sheng straightened Wu Wanli's slightly crooked military cap and said in a low voice.

"I will not fail in my mission, nor will I betray my country!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Wanli was deeply moved and immediately saluted and responded loudly.

"Hanqing, go and organize the soldiers to quickly complete the replenishment and reorganization, and coordinate the allocation of American weapons and vehicles. Once that's done, we'll set off immediately to support Pinghe!"

After saluting, Wu Wanli looked at Liu Hanqing behind him and said.

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Hanqing immediately agreed.

(End of this chapter)