A courtyard house; Li Yunlong, a subordinate of the deputy director of Harbin Military Engineering I

In August 1951, Zhang Renfeng was completely unaware of the international situation. After all, after annihilating the entire US 25th Division, he continued to expand his gains. Fortunately, this time he had dealt the Americans such a heavy blow that the entire army corps was given the opportunity to withdraw, rest, and replenish its troops between May and August.

The 12th Army was in Koksan County, the 15th Army was in northern Kimhwa, Changdo-ri, and east of Pyeonggang, while the heavily damaged Independent Army was in eastern Kimhwa, close to the 9th Army Corps' defense line.

The First Division, along with the Liangshan Special Operations Battalion, which was assigned to the Corps, was located in a ravine east of Tieyuan, next to the Third Corps Command.

This would allow Zhang Renfeng to provide guidance for the subsequent strategic adjustments.

For several months, Zhang Renfeng and Brigade Commander Chen exchanged frequent telegrams, discussing the construction of the 38th Parallel tunnel system and excavation matters on multiple occasions.

In North Korea, all the engineering units of the thirteen armies were under the jurisdiction of the Third Army Corps, and a temporary engineering command was established. Zhang Renfeng served as the commander and political commissar, Zhao Gang served as the deputy political commissar, and Qin Jiwei and Li Yunlong served as the first and second deputy commanders, respectively.

Moreover, the 38th and 42nd Armies, which were originally responsible for defending the coastline, were temporarily placed under the command of the Third Army Corps.

This time, the Third Army Corps is truly strong and well-equipped.

This made Zhang Renfeng a little arrogant, and the army commanders were even more arrogant!

At 7 p.m., Zhang Renfeng was looking at blueprints in the command post when he fell asleep.

He has indeed been very tired lately.

Since arriving in North Korea, I haven't had a full night's sleep. During the day, I have to keep an eye on the training progress of the three armies, and at night I have to send telegrams to Beiping to discuss the construction plan for the tunnel system.

Old Chen was full of energy in the telegram, saying that Sister Fu's belly was getting bigger and bigger, that Xiao Jian had gotten first place in his school exams again, and how interesting the reactions of his old classmates in Gongdelin were after hearing the battle report.

But Zhang Renfeng could tell that the old man was deliberately putting on a relaxed tone in the telegram, afraid of distracting him.

His hand was still resting on the tunnel construction plan, the pencil slipped from between his fingers, rolled to the edge of the table and fell to the ground.

The drawings were covered with dense symbols. He marked the mountain profile of the central theater of operations along the 38th parallel with seven or eight different colored lines, representing tunnels, troop shelters, ammunition depots, and wounded evacuation points at different elevations.

This was the preliminary plan that he and several engineers from the Engineering Command finalized after working three sleepless nights.

Outside the command post, several army commanders were coming out of the conference room one after another.

The chief of staff, who had just finished the meeting, was still packing up documents in the back when this group of people blocked the entrance to Zhang Renfeng's command post.

Qin Jiwei of the 15th Army, Zeng Shaoshan and political commissar Cheng Xiazi of the 12th Army, Li Yunlong and Sun Tai'an of the Independent Army, Liang Daya of the 38th Army, and Kong Jie of the 42nd Army—seven army-level commanders gathered together, completely blocking the entrance.

They said they came to see the commander, but everyone knew in their hearts that although the battle was over and they had captured a lot of spoils, they had also suffered heavy losses.

Ammunition for the 107mm rocket launcher, accessories for the 56mm mortar, and waterproof tarpaulins are all in high demand.

These things were all invented by the commander who was several years younger than them. Zhang Renfeng was now their idol.

He is a typical representative of the younger generation!

Moreover, the commander holds the reins of logistics and supplies. If he doesn't show his face and make a statement now, he won't get much when the next batch of supplies is distributed.

Li Yunlong took a step forward, but before he could take even half a step, his secretary, Pei Shiqiang, blocked his way at the door, his expression polite but firm.

"Commander Li, the commander just fell asleep, perhaps..."

Upon hearing this, Li Yunlong's smile froze slightly, then he chuckled twice and said, "Hey, you little rascal, I'll just take a look. If it doesn't work, we'll wait at the door."

"Exactly!" Kong Erlengzi said, pipe dangling from his mouth, smoke billowing from between his teeth. "As an old subordinate, isn't it only right that we care about our leader? Besides, we rarely come all this way, so let's see what Commander Zhang looks like, and maybe we can get some of those... bullets to take with us!"

He deliberately mumbled "that missile" when he said it, but everyone knew he was referring to the extended-range missile for the 107mm rocket launcher.

That thing has a range of 15 kilometers, and one of them is as useful as two ordinary ones.

Liang Daya joined in the commotion. He was tall and stood out in the crowd, and he also had a loud voice: "I heard that Commander Hong has given the Third Army Corps a lot of weapons and ammunition. Our 38th Army also wants some. Secretary Pei, don't you want to..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but instead gestured with his hand in front of his neck, meaning that if they didn't give him an ultimatum, they would just stay there and wait.

Blind Cheng squeezed up from behind, puffing out his chest and striking a political commissar pose: "Hey, you lot, you're all insatiable! You're all lacking in political education. Come on, let me, the political commissar of the 12th Army, teach you what it means to be ideologically correct!"

He spoke righteously and sternly, but his feet were never idle. He bypassed Pei Shiqiang and moved closer to the door frame.

Pei Shiqiang was at his wits' end. Which of these people wasn't a veteran who had been through countless battles?

You can stop one, but not seven. Besides, what can a secretary do with these army commanders?

Just then, Zhao Gang walked out of the inner room with a serious expression. His gaze swept from Li Yunlong's face to Liang Daya's face, then from Kong Jie's face to Qin Jiwei's face, and finally landed on Blind Cheng, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

"Look at you, you're all army commanders, making such a racket, what kind of behavior is this?"

He spoke sternly, but Zhao Gang knew perfectly well that all of these people had made contributions in the Fifth Campaign.

What can a mere political department director do to them?

But he was, after all, a political officer by training; he was quick-witted, and in terms of academic qualifications alone, he far surpassed the others!

At this point, he turned to look at the military overcoat in the command post, which symbolized Commander Chen's presence.

The officer's woolen overcoat was neatly folded by He Daqing and hung on a clothes rack in the corner of the wall. It was wiped clean, without a speck of dust.

Zhao Gang grinned: "It's getting cold; our Commander Zhang should put on some more clothes."