Chapter 16 Chapter fifteen

The cadres of Jiulian stood in place, looking at each other.The effect of Liu Zongkui's words was only now apparent.Liang Pengfei fumbled and took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it up without letting anyone in, and took a puff tremblingly, thinking in his heart: Damn it, I'm going to be finished this time! Everyone has a life story, and Liang Pengfei is no exception.He is a common political officer in the army who rises from company secretary, battalion reporter, regiment news officer, and division organization officer.The reason why he took the initiative to invite the grassroots to join the war before the war is not complicated.He is from the provincial capital of a certain province. His wife works in the city's silk reeling factory and takes a two-year-old girl with him. Housing in the factory is tight and he is far away from home, so he has to rent a vegetable farmer's house on the outskirts of the city at his own expense.The factory has regulations on the allocation of housing for military families. Only men who are military officers with a deputy battalion rank or above will be considered for waiting in line for housing.Liang Pengfei hadn't been on the job for one year, and it would take another two years to be transferred to the deputy battalion position under normal circumstances.After receiving the order to participate in the war, the troops expanded, and he immediately thought that this was an opportunity for early promotion.At that time, a large number of cadres were needed at the grassroots level. He could have been directly assigned to a certain battalion as an assistant instructor from the division headquarters, and the cadre department had also made arrangements. I hesitated in my heart.Liang Pengfei entered the military camp back then to solve the unemployment problem. Today, he goes to the grassroots to make his wife eligible to wait in line for a house in the unit, so the first battalion of the B regiment cannot go.He has always been very good at calculating his personal interests.Immediately found the head of the cadres in charge of the division, and lied that he had never been a chief officer in the company, and he was afraid that he would not be used to it if he went to the battalion. In order to train himself in the war, he asked not to be an assistant instructor but to be an instructor in the company .Liang Pengfei soon got his wish and went to the reserve team of the third battalion of the C regiment.His wishful thinking is: the scale of the war to regain the country will not be large, and the time will not be long. No one is prepared to let the Ninth Company fight. He will definitely be promoted to a higher level, so instead of risking his life to become an assistant instructor in the First Battalion of the B Regiment, it is safer and more reliable to be an instructor in the Ninth Company that is not fighting, and wait for the promotion after the war.

He never thought that after the troops entered the theater, things would change so much: the Ninth Company not only had to participate in the battle, but also the first batch to participate in the battle!From that moment on, great fear quietly seized his heart: After enlisting in the army, he had never been a soldier in a company, nor had he been a platoon leader. Let him lead the troops to fight; the company commander, Cheng Ming, is a newly transferred chief of staff, and his military command ability can be imagined.It's not his character to hold back and wait for death. Liang Pengfei searched in a near-desperate situation, but he found a ray of light.The Ninth Company went to fight and the company commander did not understand military command. It was a serious problem at any level.The Ninth Company has already entered the battlefield, and it is unrealistic to withdraw, but it can be achieved without fighting!He should let deputy head Liu, the current supreme leader of this small army, clarify one thing before the battle starts: "The Ninth Company cannot fight!" His idea is: once deputy head Liu understands this, go to the Using the Ninth Company after the battlefield will not be without worries; and as long as Deputy Head Liu has worries, the possibility of their company directly entering the battle will be greatly reduced!He also thought that choosing an appropriate time is the key to getting things done and achieving the best results.It's not good if it's too early, the superior has time to replace Cheng Ming, the Ninth Company still has to fight, but it can't be delayed until after the battle starts, the best time is after the combat action starts but before the battle starts, at this time the superior is too late With Cheng Ming removed, Deputy Head Liu's only choice is to prevent Jiulian from fighting.When the troops left Bajiaoping tonight, Liang Pengfei immediately understood that the time had come. In order not to make himself appear isolated, he first encouraged the cadres. The dual identities of the secretary and the instructor officially reflected the problem of "cadres and soldiers not trusting the company commander" to the superiors.The only loophole in the matter was that Cheng Ming found out about his private activities and used the excuse to make trouble with him.The result of the quarrel was that the stern Yan Luo-like deputy head who he was not familiar with scolded the two of them together indiscriminately.What shocked Liang Pengfei the most was: Not only did Deputy Commander Liu fail to understand his painstaking efforts tonight, but he also brutally used battlefield discipline and military courts to completely block the "retreat" between him and the whole company!

Now that Deputy Head Liu is gone, his mood has completely changed!Liang Pengfei took a puff of cigarette tremblingly, squinted at Cheng Ming, and suddenly thought in his heart: He has no way out, and Cheng Ming also has no way out!Now there is only a common destiny between them, and no differences exist! At this moment, Cheng Ming, who was standing diagonally opposite, also took a look at Liang Pengfei, and understood the change in the instructor's gaze. In the past when he was the chief of staff at the regiment headquarters, the person Cheng Ming admired the most among the heads of the regiment was the head of the regiment, because only the head of the regiment could see through him. One of the reasons for being the commander of the Ninth Company.Like Liang Pengfei, Cheng Ming, who was born in a rural mountainous area in northern Fujian, joined the army to find a way out. However, in terms of how they behave in the world, there is a big difference between the two: the family is poor and embarrassing, and they have a standard peasant appearance. Liang Pengfei would be ashamed of his elementary school culture, but Cheng Ming didn't shy away from it. On the contrary, he stuck it on his body like a label and took it with him wherever he went.Fate did not give him other gifts, he can only conquer the world with what he owns.Soon he astutely discovered that the sour fruits of fate were a kind of cover for his hidden aggressiveness. In the fiercely competitive military camp, they prevented him from being regarded as an opponent. When the leader considered employing people, his peasant attitude Loyalty and honesty and even a low level of education have become reassuring "advantages".Cheng Ming's shrewdness lies in the fact that he can even take advantage of his own "weaknesses" to seek benefits. He joined the army for ten years, joined the party, and was promoted. He actually made a deputy company job for himself).The bigger achievement is that he is also appreciated by the regiment commander. As soon as the army was about to expand, he thought of making him a company commander. After the battle, he would be promoted to a deputy battalion. Changing jobs——Cheng Ming will not have a great future in the army, and this kind of ending is already very satisfactory for him.

Cheng Ming was satisfied with this arrangement at first.The company commander who participated in the war is the backbone of the battle, and the backbone of the battle will always be promoted and retained unless there is a special reason, so that after the war he will no longer have a problem converting his wife and children to commercial grain accounts.During Cheng Ming's tenure as Chief Secretary, he had quietly done a lot of preparatory work. He only waited for his wife to join the army, and he would transfer to a medium-sized city near his station. At that time, his family would become real urban residents and never have to return to the countryside.But Cheng Ming would not openly express that he understands the purpose of this arrangement, and he "plays stupid" to others to such an extent that even he is often unaware of it.When the head of the regiment had a formal talk with him, he asked a question: I don't know how to fight, what should I do?The head of the regiment smiled and said that I have assigned you to a company that is unlikely to fight, but don’t forget that you were the infantry squad leader before serving as the cooking squad leader in the company, and you also went to the army to teach the brigade to learn from individual soldiers to squads, platoons, and companies. tactics.I will not talk about these things with others, because it will not be good for arranging you to be the company commander of the Ninth Company.The more you don't know how to fight, the less likely the commander will let you go to war.What's more, I am your regiment leader, and I will command you when the time comes.Cheng Ming did not tell anyone that he had learned infantry tactics after he arrived at the Ninth Company. His purpose was to "transition" the war in the Ninth Company instead of actually fighting it. What he needed was more people to know that he was not at all Know how to fight.

Later, something even the scheming head of the regiment did not expect happened: the Ninth Company was going to be the first to enter the battlefield.After hearing the news, Cheng Ming was shocked and hurried to find the head of the group.At this time, the head of the group turned cold and made it clear that he could not do anything for him.Jiulian is going to war and you are transferred out alone, what will others say?The head of the regiment said that you should take care of yourself, haven't you learned all infantry tactics?Cheng Ming felt like falling into an abyss, like a thunderbolt, and his first thought after waking up was that this time I was going to die!

He walked into the Gongmushan war zone with this fearful consciousness of certain death and another equally strong impulse to avoid death.Together they formed a manic, gloomy excitement and rage in his life.Cheng Ming felt aggrieved and angry. He hated the commander for abandoning him at a critical moment, and later he hated everyone in the company, because he felt that this improvised company was just as incapable of fighting as himself.He has always wanted to have a fight with someone, but he couldn't find an opportunity, and he couldn't grasp a thing that could be used.During the march tonight, he accidentally heard from several soldiers (it was still dark and the moon had not yet risen, and they did not notice his approach) that the instructor was spreading doubts about his commanding ability among the backbone of the squad, and he immediately realized that Take advantage of this opportunity.He first made trouble with the instructor, and then vented his grievances in front of Deputy Commander Liu (he would never do this in the past), but what he really wanted to say in his heart was: It is impossible for me to lead the Ninth Company to fight. Can't even fight!After all, going to the battlefield and not fighting is also a way to escape death!

Cheng Ming didn't expect that what he and Liang Pengfei wanted to achieve with Liu Zongkui had actually been partially achieved.However, what Liu Zongkui gave them was strict battlefield discipline and even stricter military courts.At that moment, Cheng Ming thought in horror, if he went to a military court after the war, even if he was not killed by the enemy, he would be finished!Not only can you not get your wife and children out of the countryside, but you are also very likely to become a prisoner and return to work as a farmer after serving your sentence!Cheng Ming was still fighting openly and secretly with the instructor just now, but now he saw Liang Pengfei's similar thoughts on his face, but he thought impulsively: Actually, we are in the same situation right now, we have no way out, we shouldn't fight each other anymore, but It should be united as one, think about how to lead this company to fight, we can't just do nothing, just wait for the military court in a daze after the war!

At this moment, there was a third person who noticed the change in the meaning in the eyes of the two of them, and that was the instructor Chen Guoqing.He said calmly: "Okay, let's continue to hurry up and finish the meeting. I think the words of the deputy commander just now are just for us to better unite and complete tomorrow's combat mission together. Now, what else do you want to say?" Cheng Ming's heart felt as heavy as lead.In any case, it is impossible not to fight tomorrow, but even if I want to fight the war well, can the other cadres in the company listen to my call? ...He raised his head, and without thinking carefully, he rudely spoke out the thought that had just popped into his mind.He said angrily:

"I have a proposal. Everyone express their opinions and clarify the responsibilities again! Let me put the ugly words first: Whoever smashes the battle tomorrow or fails to complete the task, he has to take responsibility! My Cheng Ming There are wives and children at home, and they will never go to military courts for others!" Liang Pengfei understood that the company commander really wanted to be with him at this moment, and then added: "I agree with the company commander's proposal, everyone should have an attitude!" There was a minute of silence.Lin Hongsheng, the leader of the platoon, suddenly said angrily to Cheng Ming and Liang Pengfei:

"Company Commander, Instructor, I don't think our attitude is too much of a show! You neither understand nor trust us!...Since you want to express your opinion, I will express it first! I, Lin Hongsheng, am also a seven-foot man, a hot-blooded man , raised by my parents, if we fail to complete the task tomorrow, I don’t plan to go to court-martial at all, I have already prepared a bullet for myself in my pistol!” After finishing speaking, he patted the pistol holster on his waist vigorously. "What's your attitude?!" Liang Pengfei said sternly, trying to smooth things over for Cheng Ming and himself, "We're a cadre meeting!" Afraid that Lin Hongsheng would mess with him, he hurriedly turned his face to look at the others, "Who said next?" ?”

Deputy company commander Jiang Boyu and second platoon leader Cen Hao glanced knowingly.Jiang Boyu turned his head and said to Liang Pengfei in a very aggressive tone: "The task of the second platoon leader and I is to lead the second platoon to the main attack. We promise to complete the task! If the battle goes badly, we are not prepared to go to military court!" The deputy instructor and chief secretary looked at the instructor, followed up and said: "The two of us are in charge of the field ambulance and the stretcher team, ensuring that we will follow the troops wherever they go, so that every wounded can be treated in time, and no dead body of a martyr will be left behind. We don't plan to go to court-martial either!" Cheng Ming turned his attention to Shangguan Peak, and now he is most worried about Shangguan Peak.For a moment, he felt that his misfortune today was all because there was such a small platoon leader in the company who was only seventeen years old and had to be in charge when the battle broke down!Cheng Ming rushed to Shangguanfeng with a vicious voice and shouted: "Third platoon leader, what about you? Why don't you speak? What are you going to do?!" "I also promise to complete the task assigned by the company chief." Shangguanfeng, who had lowered his head, raised his eyes at this moment, looked at him, and replied. I don't know if his attitude was really a little hesitant, or Cheng Ming felt that his attitude was a little hesitant. As soon as the words fell, Cheng Ming became even more fierce, and shouted loudly: "You have to understand that since you have become a platoon leader, you have to lead your platoon well! Fight the battle well! The military court is also open to you!" In his tone, there was an arrogance like an adult reprimanding a child, and he obviously used the topic to find someone to vent his resentment and panic. Shangguanfeng felt it, his face immediately turned pale, his lips trembled, and he couldn't find the right words to retaliate On the other side, tears welled up in his eyes.Lin Hongsheng, the leader of the platoon, couldn't stand it anymore, so he rushed up and stopped Cheng Ming's words, saying: "Company commander, don't just say it to us, you and the instructor should also express your opinion to us! If the battle is ruined because of your command error, we will not go to military court for you!" Cheng Ming choked on these words.All eyes turned to him and Liang Pengfei at once, he understood that what the long line said expressed the dissatisfaction and disdain of the crowd towards them.All Cheng Ming thought about at this moment was what other people should do, and he didn't think about what he should do at all, so he couldn't say what he should say for a while.Liang Pengfei, on the other hand, realized that the trainer on the side was paying attention to him with a pair of calm and powerful eyes. He was confused for a moment, and immediately understood, and spoke first: "Let me make a statement first... As an instructor, my responsibility is to do a good job in the ideological work of the entire company, and actively assist the company commander in commanding the battlefield. I will definitely work hard to complete my task!" Now all eyes were on Cheng Ming.Just now Liang Pengfei cooperated well with him, but this time Liang Pengfei was the first to express his opinion, and Cheng Ming felt abandoned again.The limited cooperation between them was over, and Cheng Ming hated the instructor again. Lin Hongsheng couldn't wait any longer, he slammed the equipment and said loudly in a contemptuous tone: "Company commander, the instructor has already made a promise, and you should make a promise too!" Having said this, he turned around and was about to leave, "I think the meeting will end here! I have made everything clear, and I have more in the platoon. There are so many things!" Everyone moved, as if they were going to leave, but they didn't. They all looked at Cheng Ming in unison.For a moment, they noticed an abnormal grayness on the company commander's face, which was not caused by the bright moonlight. The reason why Cheng Ming didn't say any rhetoric at this moment is that just now he proposed to let everyone express their opinions out of distrust for the cadres of the whole company, but after everyone expressed their opinions, he realized that there was something in his heart The heaviness and panic did not go away, but Lin Hongsheng asked the more important question to him—is he really capable of commanding the battle of the Ninth Company tomorrow?In case the entire company loses the battle because of his improper command, can he escape the punishment of the military court? ——But it is unpleasant to let the officers of the whole company look at it with a contemptuous look. Cheng Ming's face was burning hot, and he vented all the anger and resentment in his chest with a cry: "Of course I will be responsible for my affairs! - The meeting is over!"