Chapter 58 Chapter Seventeen

Jiang Tao threw away the receiver of the radio station, sat down, and buried the huge soldier-shaped bald head deep in the palm between his knees again. Liu Zongkui did not answer his call!Liu Zongkui refused to answer him!In the stoic silence of the deputy head of C regiment, he clearly felt a desire to push him into a corner and a determination to do so! From noon to evening, his heart was always immersed in the idea that made him anxious: the enemy's attack on the 630, 632, and 633 highlands from the direction of Jade Ridge was the prelude to their massive counterattack from the direction of Tianzi Mountain to 164 and 342 highlands .He felt that he had seen through the conspiracy of the enemy commander, and only gave reinforcements to the third battalion and one platoon of the C regiment. It was a very correct choice to maintain the original strength and defensive deployment on the 164 and 342 highlands.Since then, although the enemy has not sent troops out of Tianzi Mountain, he has never dared to relax his high vigilance in this direction.At the same time, the battle that took place up and down the 630 highland at the eastern end of Qipanling has become another anxiety point in his heart.The longer the battle there dragged on and the more intense it was, the more uncertain he would be about how today's battle would develop.In his subconscious mind, the silence of the enemy in Tianzi Mountain and the fierce fighting in the 630 and 632 highland areas are two parts of the enemy's plot: the enemy commander is using the battles that took place on the above-mentioned highlands to test his will, waiting for him to finally endure We cannot bear the pressure brought by the dangerous prospect of losing the 630 highland - once the highland is lost, the enemy will also go up the Qipanling mountain ridge, which can not only threaten the 631 highland and the entire Qipanling army position to the west, but also obliquely Encircled the Third Battalion of the C Regiment in the southwest and the 632 highland area, which is hostile to Tianzishan—finally made a decision to reinforce the 630 highland or 632 highland area from the 164 and 342 highland areas, resulting in an empty defense in the western and middle sections of Qipanling. They dispatched on a large scale from the direction of Tianzi Mountain, and took away Qipanling with lightning speed.No, he cannot fall into the trap of the enemy.However, there is a danger of losing the 630 highland. Once the 630 highland is lost, the dangers mentioned above will appear, and even if Qipanling is only partially lost, he will be held accountable for losing the country.Later, he couldn't help but realize that in fact, the 630 highland is becoming the key to the decisive battle between the enemy and the enemy, especially the commander: if the 630 highland does not fall, he will not reinforce the highland and the 632 highland area. Perhaps he would not dare to attack the 164 and 342 highland areas rashly; and once the 630 highland is in danger of falling, he has to send the first or second battalion to reinforce the third battalion, and the enemy of Tianzishan may take advantage of the opportunity to move, and the entire Qipanling The defense will be in jeopardy!

Most of the afternoon passed like this.He never took a step away from the "hall", nor did he take a step away from the dedicated line that communicated with the third battalion.Affected by the anxiety and anxiety in his heart, even on the surface, it is difficult for him to maintain his former composure and composure.Before the enemies of Emerald Ridge aggressively attacked the highlands 630, 632, and 633, he was still able to grasp the development of the battlefield situation, and he did not lose confidence in capturing and defending the entire Qipanling area within the time limit set by the army commander. After the incident, his confidence was fundamentally shaken. Now, whether it is the crazy counterattack of the enemies of Jade Ridge or the abnormal silence of the enemies of Tianzi Mountain, it has exceeded his original combat concept and has become a situation that he cannot accurately guess. and something to grasp.He has always firmly believed in the principle of using more to win less in military academics. At present, the enemy has just revealed their huge figures and has not yet fully charged at him, but his use of troops has reached the point of exhaustion. The third battalion of the C regiment has been used in the 632 highland area. The three battalions of the regiment are spread out on the Qipanling mountain ridge in a row, forming only a fragile defensive link. There will be no troops available for reinforcements!He once again thought of asking for reinforcements from the division, but he denied it for the same reasons he had thought of at the beginning: Qipanling has not yet encountered a large-scale enemy attack except for the 630 highland. It is inappropriate to ask for reinforcements now, and it will cause the division commander to command him. Doubtful of ability!In the most secret place of his heart, Jiang Tao vaguely felt that the enemy commander was a seasoned, resourceful and battle-tested guy. He saw that the commander of the Chinese army on the front line of Qipanling was a much younger and immature man who lacked actual combat skills. People who are experienced and do not have enough troops, step by step quietly put their plans into practice, in order to use the last move to drive the opponent to death.Now he is oppressing Jiang Tao with his silence in the direction of Tianzi Mountain, and oppressing Jiang Tao's willpower with his willpower gradually increasing in the 630 and 632 highland areas. He wants to try where the last nerve of the young man opposite him will be. Break in a moment!Jiang Tao never thought that he would fail in the past, but today he had a premonition of failure for the first time.He can't fail, if he fails, not only the victory in Qipanling in the morning will be wiped out, but the military court will not let him go!This afternoon, Jiang Tao became nervous, furious, and critical. He would get angry at the commander of the third battalion on the 631 high ground and yell at the staff officers in the cave.He gave an order not to let the battalion commander of the third battalion put down the telephone receiver in his hand, and to report to him the progress of the battle at 630 Heights every five minutes. .Every time the enemy of Emerald Ridge launched a new attack on the 630 Heights, his pale and fleshy face would clearly show a high level of inner tension and a desperate premonition of impending failure, and at this time he seemed to lose his mind Randomly issued many orders that could not be executed to the third battalion, as well as threats that must be conveyed to the position immediately; and once he heard that the enemy's attack was repelled, even if he was getting angry, he would suddenly stop, drop the phone receiver, He sat down on the folding chair behind him, put his hands on his head, and stared straight at the ground for a long time, as if praying.He has completely failed to notice his gaffe, and all the people in the cave, including the two reporters from Beijing—they came when enemy shells damaged the generator deep in the No. 1 cave, and the cave he lived in was completely dark. Later, those who came to the No. 2 cave—all unexpectedly saw a Jiang Tao who was completely different from the past, and his spirit was on the verge of collapse.

After the sky outside the cave became dark, the gunshots from the 630 Heights became less and less.After a frenzied attack all afternoon, the enemy finally did not take away the high ground, and Jiang Tao heaved a long sigh of relief.Some kind of life rhythm inside his body reminded him that as long as the enemy cannot take down the 630 Heights before dark, it will be very difficult to do so after dark.They took the initiative to stop the attack, indicating that they had exhausted their strength in the attack all afternoon, and they could only continue to attack after rest and replenishment.He left the "hall" and returned to the "bedroom", sat down on the edge of the bed exhaustedly, bowed his head, closed his eyes, and the premonition of impending failure that had been oppressing him for most of the day suddenly became unreal.He sat for a while with tears in his eyes, his mind gradually recovering from the frenzy and a certain bewilderment.At this time, he heard intermittent gunfire from the direction of Height 001.Qipanling did not lose an inch of land, and the B regiment still failed to win the No. 001 highland.The crisis that appeared in his life today is temporarily over, but the crisis in Liu Daoming's life continues.The enemy ran out of energy after fighting for a long time at Height 630, and had to stop attacking after dark. The B Regiment, which had been fighting hard for a day in the pincer attack of Tianzi Mountain and the enemy at No. 001 Height, would of course also attack after dark. Stop and take a breath, it is unrealistic to ask Liu Daoming to make an astonishing move now.Compared with Liu Daoming, the winner today is still himself.Thinking of this, the flag of pride in Jiang Tao's heart was raised again!

Only then did he think of the Third Battalion of Regiment C.In fact, after he decided to give the battalion a platoon reinforcement, he basically forgot about it.As far as the overall situation of guarding Qipanling is concerned, this battalion and the 632 highland area where it is located are not the most important. Due to the lack of more reinforcements, this area has become a dead chess move for our army on the battlefield. Liu Zongkui and his Camp today is more or less auspicious.But in any case, as the supreme commander of the Qipanling battlefield, he can only care more about the key point of the 630 heights.It's different now, he can and should care about Liu Zongkui and his battalion.Jiang Tao found the commander of the third battalion on the 631 highland by phone in the "bedroom".The latter reported: From the time when the enemy of Emerald Ridge launched a counterattack to the 632 and 633 highlands until now, the fighting in the 632 highland area has been very fierce. The third battalion of the C regiment is still fighting, and they have not lost the two occupied highlands!Jiang Tao's heart warmed up: The third battalion of the C regiment is doing well!Good job Liu Zongkui!Today, the battalion penetrated the enemy's defense depth like a wedge, attracted a large number of enemy troops from the direction of Tianzi Mountain and Jade Ridge, and blocked the enemy's possible attack directly on the front of the 631 highland like a barrier. Objectively, it also defended Qipanling. Army main position!As his mind becomes clearer, Jiang Tao can now give a new explanation for the crisis that lasted all afternoon: the reason why the enemy of Tianzishan did not launch a counterattack against the 164 and 342 highland areas, maybe he and Liu Zongkui were in the 632 highland area The existence of the relationship is great!The Qipanling Dashanliang is the weakest link in our army's defense system, and the 632 highland area is the most sensitive part of the enemy's Tianzi Mountain-Jade Ridge defense system.Once—and now he has a new vision—our army continues to advance in depth from that area to the enemy's defense, the entire defense system of the enemy's Tianzishan-Jade Ridge area will be divided and face the danger of complete collapse!There may be another explanation for the fierce battle that took place in the 630 and 632 highland areas today: the enemy did not know the real intention of our army to break into the 632 highland area. A large number of troops have been invested in this area, trying to recapture the 632 and 633 highlands and hold on to the 634 highlands.The conclusion is astonishing: the enemy of Emerald Ridge's attack on the 630 highland today is not to capture Qipanling, but only to contain our army on Qipanling, and prevent him as a commander from making up his mind to reinforce Liu Zongkui in order to realize his own strength. Recapture the operational purpose of the entire 632 Highland area.The next astonishing conclusion is that today it is precisely because of the bloody battle between Liu Zongkui and the Third Battalion of the C Regiment in the 632 highland area that the enemy could not let go and boldly launch a counterattack against it after losing Qipanling.It was Liu Zongkui and the Third Battalion of Regiment C who saved Qipanling!

Jiang Tao's heart became hot.He was relieved again for his decision to send Liu Zongkui to the 632 Highland area in the morning.He wanted to contact Liu Zongkui in person, even if it was just to express his gratitude and condolences to him.But he immediately suppressed the urge again. The third battalion of the C regiment has persisted in the 632 highland area with a battalion of troops until now, and the situation is hard to imagine.Liu Zongkui asked him for reinforcements in the afternoon, but he only gave one platoon!Now that he took the initiative to talk to Liu Zongkui, the other party would probably ask him for reinforcements again.After the lone army defended against a large number of enemies, Liu Zongkui had every reason to do so, and if he did not agree to the request of the other party, the third battalion of the C regiment would not be able to complete all the combat tasks—that is, finally complete the occupation of the 634 highland, Jiang Tao himself believed That was difficult—he was partly responsible.Liu Zongkui hasn't contacted his command post since the last time he called for reinforcements. Let the former continue to forget about him. The day has passed and the night is coming. Who knows if the enemy will suddenly attack Qipanling again after taking a breath? (The opponent is also good at night battles, and in his view, the enemy has not "gnawed" the hard bone of the third battalion of the C regiment after an afternoon of attacks, so there is more reason to change the main combat direction tonight, by capturing the eastern section of Qipanling 631 He must be vigilant and cannot easily send troops to the 632 highland area!

The hands on the wrist had pointed to ten o'clock.The gunfire of the entire Gongmushan battlefield finally fell silent.After another half an hour, Jiang Tao walked out of the "bedroom" and came to the "hall". Everyone's eyes lit up with the regained composure, calmness, and sure victory.He was in a happy mood: the silence of the gunfire from the direction of Highland 001 indicated that the attack of the B regiment had stopped; the gunfire from the 632 Highland area also gradually became rarer, which indicated that the enemy in the direction of Emerald Ridge, Tianzishan, was counterattacking there. Also come to an end.The day's battle is basically over, and he is still the most undisputed victor on the entire Gongmu Mountain battlefield!Mainly wanting to experience the respect and satisfaction that a victor deserves, he called the military's frontier observation post and found He Yan.

"Deputy Director He, hello!" He shouted energetically, and immediately heard He Yan's answer.Deputy Director He's tone gave him the feeling that after a whole day of fighting, he might be the only one in the entire army who could maintain that relaxed attitude of staying out of the situation. "Head Jiang, hello!" "Deputy Director He, the gunfire on the battlefield has stopped, do you have any news of victory to inform me?" Jiang Tao asked with the same cheerful tone as his heart. "Regimental Commander Jiang, I really have something to report to you." He Yan smiled "haha" and said unhurriedly, "Ten minutes ago, the commander of your division called: the report said that the B regiment had passed a whole day. Heights No. 001 have been completely occupied at 21:30 tonight. ... Their casualties were a little higher, but after all, they completed the combat mission within the time specified by the army commander. ... Brother, you How about there? By the way, I also want to tell you that among the first batch of ten warriors who climbed the main peak of No. 001 Highland, one was Liu Daoming, the leader of the B regiment....Do you understand what I mean?!... ..."

He Yan continued to say something, but Jiang Tao couldn't hear him.The cave had long been illuminated by a freshly burned gas lamp, so everyone noticed that the face of the regiment leader was turning pale little by little! Jiang Tao didn't hear what He Yan said again, so he put down the phone.After dark, Liu Daoming actually won the No. 001 highland!That is to say, the task of the head of the B regiment has been completed!He originally thought that as long as he defended Qipanling today, he would be sure of victory, but now the situation is completely different!If he wants to complete all combat missions before midnight, he must take down the last highland in the 632 highland area - 634 highland as soon as possible!

Before his eyes appeared the stern and sharp gaze that the army commander cast on him before leaving Mao'er Ridge yesterday morning!The commander's gaze and the old man's words were both harsh and ruthless!At that time, he boasted about Haikou in front of the army commander. Today, he failed to complete all the combat missions before Liu Daoming. Shame! But he didn't have much time left, it was 10:40, and it was only an hour and 20 minutes before the last moment stipulated by the army commander! A premonition of losing everything, which was different from the sense of failure that enveloped his heart all afternoon, clearly appeared in his mind!Realizing his weakness for a moment, he subconsciously scanned the faces of the people in the cave, hoping to get some spiritual support and encouragement from them, but what he saw was more frightened than one. face!His gaze finally met the gazes of the two people at the entrance of the cave—the gazes of Xiao Qun and Bai Fan—and shame quickly flooded his pale face, causing his cheeks to flush rapidly.Jiang Tao turned his attention to Yin Guocai and was furious:

"Chief of Staff, why are the two reporters staying here?!...There is no news here now! Why don't you invite them back to their cave!" It was the premonition of failure that was clearly rising in his heart that made him unable to bear the gazes of the reporters!He invited them here yesterday to publicize his victory, but now he let them see his failure and shame!No, the riding scene is almost over, he doesn't need them to stand aside and appreciate his failure! The faces of the two reporters changed abruptly, they glanced at each other, turned and left the cave without saying a word.

Jiang Tao's inner attention has shifted.As for the silence of the gunshots in the 632 highland area, he understood it just now and thought it was completely normal, but now he doesn't understand: 634 highland is still in the hands of the enemy, why did the third battalion of the C regiment stop fighting? ! "Chief of Staff, call to the Third Battalion of C Regiment! I want to speak to Deputy Regiment Commander Liu!" he shouted to Yin Guocai.The only person who can save him from failure at this moment is the deputy head of C group!However, in the next twenty minutes, neither Yin Guocai nor himself heard Liu Zongkui's answer from the radio.Jiang Tao suspected that the radio station of the third battalion of the C regiment had malfunctioned, and wondered whether Liu Zongkui had died.These suspicions were quickly dispelled: if the radio failed, the Third Battalion of the C Regiment should have used other means to change the communication method with the command post of the A Regiment. There are always others, and no one should answer his call! There is only one possibility that he doesn't want to believe but can't help but think: After a day of fierce fighting, Liu Zongkui not only stopped the attack on the 634 Heights without authorization, but also deliberately interrupted the connection with the command post of the A regiment! This is a serious violation of battlefield discipline!This is betrayal, it is fear of the enemy!Liu Zongkui is a veteran, he will not fail to understand the stakes!But—Jiang Tao suddenly thought of it—Liu Zongkui is also capable of this kind of thing!He had only dealt with this deputy head twice before, and the final outcome always surprised him.He never really understood this person, and it still does today! ... At this moment, Liu Zongkui has become the key to his success or failure!Could it be that he offended the deputy head about when and what happened today? ...Oh, yes, when the enemies of Emerald Ridge counterattacked the 632 highland area in the afternoon, Liu Zongkui asked him for reinforcements, and he only gave the opponent one platoon!But was he really wrong in this matter? ... No, even looking back now, he can't think that the 632 Highland area will be more important than Qipanling!But Liu Zongkui wouldn't think so, he would think that you deliberately ignored the life and death of his battalion! Even if he now orders the third battalion on Height 631 to send troops south to Height 634 immediately, it would be unrealistic to take that small highland before 24:00 midnight!It will take an hour from Qipanling Dashanliang to the 632 highland area!What's more, doing so will also lead to the emptiness of troops in the eastern section of Qipanling. If the enemy of Jade Ridge launches a night attack, the 630 highland may still be lost.Time does not permit the deployment of troops from the 164 highland and 342 highland areas! ... If Liu Zongkui wanted to give him a heavy blow, now this person's goal has been achieved!In any case, he couldn't win Height 634 in the time set by the commander today!In more than an hour, the army commander will get this report: Liu Daoming completed the combat mission in the No. 001 highland area two and a half hours ahead of schedule, but Jiang Tao failed to recover all the land in the Qipanling area within the stipulated time!No, people won't say that, they will say: Liu Daoming is a battlefield commander who can fight tough battles and victorious battles, but Jiang Tao is not, Jiang Tao is a Zhao Kuo who only talks on paper! ...From 24:00 tonight, his and Liu Daoming's fates will be decided!  … He lifted the huge soldier-shaped bald head from between his knees, as if from an abyss of despair.His failure and disgrace is a foregone conclusion!But from this moment on, he is also free!He is no longer an infantry commander who has to stay at the command post of Regiment A in Maoerling, but a failed soldier who has shrugged off his responsibilities and will never shoulder such responsibilities again!Today he did not lose to the enemy, but to Liu Zongkui, a farmer full of sorghum flowers!He was betrayed by this person at a critical moment! ... After the war, he could investigate this person's crime of dereliction of duty, but he could not change his own destiny!No matter what, as the head of regiment A, he didn't complete the combat mission within the stipulated time! ... Don't you do nothing at all, just hide on Mao'er Ridge and wait for that moment of shame to come? ……No!Jiang Tao's heart cried out in pain.This war was the first war he commanded a regiment, and it was also the last war!If you fail on Height 634, you should lead someone to Height 634 and take it down!Although doing so cannot rewrite your failure, at least it can let all those who laugh at you understand: Jiang Tao, as a soldier, is at least as brave and fearless as Liu Daoming who personally led people to the No. 001 Heights! For everyone in the No. 2 cave, this moment was both long and short-they saw their leader standing up stubbornly from failure and humiliation! "Chief of Staff, you stay at the command post, I will take the guard platoon to Height 634 now!... Let's go now!" He said impulsively in a fanatical tone, his eyes sparkling.Yin Guocai looked at Jiang Tao motionlessly.He suddenly felt that it was at this moment that he discovered the true qualities of a hero from the regiment leader! "Yes, leader! I'll arrange it right away!" He responded excitedly, feeling that tears were about to come out, and hurriedly turned around and ran out of the cave.