Chapter 59 Chapter Eighteen

A jeep and a truck soon drove to the clearing outside the cave.Jiang Tao and guard Liu Erzhu walked out of the cave and got into the jeep; more than 20 submachine gunners from the guard platoon got into the truck.In order to facilitate communication, Yin Guocai decided to ask the head of the regiment to bring a communications staff officer and a radio station. The engines of the two cars roared.The bright yellow car lights come on and off in the night, and turn on and off again.About to leave, Yin Guocai hurried to the jeep again, and whispered to Jiang Tao: "Leader, the two reporters...they also want to go to Height 634 with you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a black shadow walked over from the entrance of the cave and appeared in front of Jiang Tao.It's Xiao Qun.The person who was blasted out of the combat command room by him not long ago was obviously fully prepared to go to the battlefield.With the help of the headlights on and off, Jiang Tao saw an interview bag hanging from his left shoulder, a camera hanging on his chest, and a pistol in the holster on his right side. Looking in the direction Xiao Qun was coming from, he saw the figure of a female reporter with an interview bag at the entrance of the No. 3 cave.

As soon as Xiao Qun's words came out of his mouth, he seemed blunt and impulsive: "Regimental Commander Jiang, as a war correspondent, according to the regulations of the headquarters, we have the right to ask the combat units we visit to allow us to go to the battlefield for interviews and guarantee the use of vehicles." He paused for a while, as if to give the other party some time to think, "Now You have two options, let us go to Height 634 with you, or send us a special car and guide to take us there!" Jiang Tao only made him wait for a moment, and then answered him bluntly: "Okay, please get in the car!"

Xiao Qun opened the rear door, got into the compartment, and looked back through the window, only then did he realize that the white sail in front of the No. 3 cave was gone... Xiao Qun's decision to go to Heights 634 was by no means a whim.Staying at the command post of the A regiment for a day, he also experienced everything like every soldier.Although he knew very little about the military, he still understood the development and changes of the situation on the Qipanling battlefield from morning to night, especially the role played by the third battalion of the C regiment, with the reporter's insight and imagination.Xiao Qun was disappointed with Jiang Tao's gaffe of the day, but he still understood the other party with a tolerant attitude when he thought of the heavy pressure the war had put on the commander.However, Jiang Tao's personal charm was seriously damaged in his mind.The frenzied atmosphere of the war has deeply infected him. Jiang Tao's weakness and panic, as well as the sense of crisis in the regiment command post, all made him have a strong desire after disappointment: He should go to the battlefield today!Go where the fighting is fiercest, not at the command post of Regiment A with a distraught and behaving regiment commander.He instinctively felt that this place was the 632 Highland area.He wanted to go there in the afternoon, but because he didn't want to add confusion to Jiang Tao, who was in a state of mania and confusion, he didn't speak out his request.Ten minutes ago, the gunfire on the vast battlefield of Gongmu Mountain finally completely fell silent. He thought that he could make that request, but he did not expect such a change in the atmosphere in the No. 2 cave: When Jiang Tao heard that B Tuan took the No. 001 highland after dark, and his mental dam, which had been struggling for a whole day under the pressure of the war, collapsed. Xiao Qun and Bai Fan were actually regarded by the other party as the targets of pouring out their failure emotions, and they brutally and unreasonably kicked out.This time, Xiao Qun lost the last bit of goodwill he had reserved for Jiang Tao.Yesterday he was going to vigorously promote this person from the perspective of war and reform, but now he suddenly thought: It is not Jiang Tao who should be promoted and praised by him, but the grassroots officers and soldiers who fought bloody battles with the enemy on the battlefield! ——He was going to the 3rd Battalion of the C Regiment in the 632 Highland area, and he had to rush there overnight!

Back in cave No. 3, he lit a candle and told Bai Fan his decision.Two patches of imperceptible paleness quickly appeared on the female reporter's face. "Do you have to go to the 632 highland area?" She looked at Xiao Qun, her eyes wandered a little, and asked, "Can't I visit that battalion after the war?" Xiao Qun could see the hesitation in her heart.His own emotions were so intense at the moment, not like a reporter but like a soldier eager to fight, that the threat of death was no longer a problem for him.He didn't want to go with Bai Fan at first, he just asked her out of politeness.Now that she looks embarrassed, he certainly won't force her.Xiao Qun said bluntly:

"Well, you stay, I'll go alone!" Bai Fan took this answer as Xiao Qun's contempt for him.Since she was coldly pushed away by Jiang Tao in the woods behind the camp last night, her good feelings for the infantry commander have completely disappeared, and all she has is an old and indelible sense of humiliation.During the day that just passed, Bai Fan basically spent the shock and fear caused by the enemy's continuous bombardment of Mao'erling.When Bai Fan went to the front line, she imagined a war very romantically. When the real war came, she realized how terrible it was, and her nerves soon reached the verge of collapse.She knew it was bad and should be ashamed, but she couldn't help shaking every time a new round of shells fell on the camp and the ridge above the cave, and her heart was filled with darkness and despair.She was worried that the cave would collapse, and she was even more afraid that once she went out, she would be hit by enemy shells without any shelter.At this time, she was very eager to go to crowded places and gain a sense of psychological security.It didn't take long for the enemy's shells to damage the generator in the No. 1 cave, making the No. 3 cave dark, and she got her wish to go to the No. 2 cave.But she still didn't find a sense of security here, but she witnessed Jiang Tao's gaffe all afternoon.However, it was finally dark, the sound of guns and guns on the battlefield gradually fell silent, Bai Fan also slowly woke up from the horror of the day, realized that she was hungry, and realized the extreme fatigue after the relaxation of spirit, she was about to walk back to her cave, But he witnessed Jiang Tao's gaffe again.She didn't quite understand what went wrong, so Jiang Tao vented his anger on Xiao Qun and her.If after last night, Bai Fan still had only a kind of resentment towards Jiang Tao caused by being humiliated, now what fills his heart is only contempt!It turned out that Jiang Tao was such a stern and introverted person with no self-control!How she regretted falling in love with him at first sight yesterday!

But after walking back to the No. 3 cave, Xiao Qun proposed to go to the 632 highland area overnight, which still made her heart tremble.The fear that had lasted all day struck again, and she couldn't help saying the above sentence.Xiao Qun's answer was so decisive, not only was it another blow to her self-esteem that had suffered repeated setbacks, but it also made her feel that Xiao Qun would never come back after leaving.Bai Fan suddenly thought: Xiao Qun is gone, why is she still here? After being humiliated twice, can you still live on the same mountain with this infantry commander? !

"No, I'll go with you!" She changed her mind and said firmly. Xiao Qun, who was preparing to leave, glanced at her, didn't say much, but told her to pack up and leave quickly.What Xiao Qun thinks is: the most likely thing to happen on the battlefield is death. In the face of death, everyone's dignity is nakedly tested in the eyes of others.At this moment, even if Bai Fan changed his original intention just to prevent him from feeling that he was afraid of death, he has no reason to obstruct her! After packing up their things, the two walked out of the cave one after the other.

Xiao Qun went to Yin Guocai to negotiate the car and guide, while Bai Fan stood outside the cave waiting for the result of the negotiation.She had just stood by Zhang Li's tent that had been burned to ashes for five minutes, and a new change occurred in her mood. The reason for this change was the sound of another round of rumbling shots from the night watch artillery fire of both the enemy and the enemy, which suddenly became clear in the pinna of her ears.A shell skimmed low over the Maoerling ridgeline, crossed the camp from north to south, and suddenly fell to the front of the cliff, with a "boom-boom" explosion.This was a cannonball that had a major psychological impact on Bai Fan.Although the countless shells fired by the enemy towards Maoerling in the past day filled her with fear, it was after all the fear she experienced while hiding in a cave where she was unlikely to be directly attacked. The rumbling sound of shelling made her vividly experience a new kind of terror of being on the battlefield without any cover.Suddenly, Bai Fan didn't understand why he wanted to go to the battlefield with Xiao Qun!

No…… Did she come to the front for death?Could it be that for the sake of her current career, is she really willing to be as desperate as Xiao Qun, ready to die with her body? Life is beautiful, how could she die like this?In front of the journey of life, there are still many imaginable happiness waiting for her, and there are still many beautiful wishes that have not been realized. How can she die now? ... She stood in the darkness in front of the cave for a while, and waited for Yin Guocai, Chief of Staff of Group A, to take Xiao Qun to negotiate with Jiang Tao in front of the jeep. Bai Fan had already turned around, and quickly ran back to the cave behind him!

When Xiao Qun got into the car, Jiang Tao impatiently honked the horn twice on behalf of the driver, but still did not see Bai Fan walking out of the No. 3 cave, so he said impatiently: "Don't wait, drive!" It’s not that his attitude towards the reporters has become polite at this moment, on the contrary: the reason why he agreed with the two reporters to set off in the same car after listening to Xiao Qun’s words is because he now feels that it doesn’t matter to him whoever wants to do or doesn’t want to do anything. up!Since the reporters want to go to the battlefield to watch the excitement, let them go! ... He chose for their team the same route that Zhang Li took last night from Maoerling to the battlefield: first follow the expressway at the bottom of the valley to the east, get off at the bottom of the northern canyon of the 631 highland, and then follow the third battalion to attack last night The path opened in this highland hikes over the Qipanling mountain ridge on foot, and then goes south into the 632 highland area. The jeep with its engine rumbling all the time jumped forward suddenly, its headlights were bright, and it sped down the mountain.The truck behind also followed closely. The night was as dark as ink.The jeep drove into the jungle at the bottom of the valley.The driver seemed to understand the commander's thoughts, and was afraid that the car would not drive fast enough, and violate the battlefield regulations, so that the two headlights of the car were always on brightly, shining whitely on the road.Jiang Tao put his head out of the car window with the sash down, and let the cold and wet wind blow his face violently against his hot face.He had already forgotten about the reporter. Once he left Mao'erling, there was only one old question left in his mind: he failed, and failed badly!But how did he fail? ! Ahhh, did he really make a mistake in conducting today?If he was really at fault and caused this failure, he might as well accept it!But no matter how much he looked back, he still couldn't find any explanation for his failure except Liu Zongkui! Ah, isn't it a miracle that he commanded the A regiment to take down Qipanling in fifteen minutes at dawn?And after Emerald Ridge—the enemy of Tianzi Mountain unexpectedly shelled and counterattacked Qipanling, what's wrong with his determination to ensure that Qipanling is the primary goal of the whole regiment's defensive operations?Should we abandon Qipanling and go to reinforce the Third Battalion of Regiment C?Even in the matter of sending this battalion to retake the three small plateaus, he thought he was right.When the three battalions of the regiment were unable to occupy the three small highlands as guards riding Panling, he could only send the third battalion of the C regiment supported by his superiors. Isn't the principle of using the reserve team to be used at critical moments? area?Even if he is asked to decide this matter at this moment, he will not have a second choice! Now the rage rising in him was back on a set target to pour out.Liu Zongkui!Yes, it was this Liu Zongkui who ruined his victory, his career, ideals and future at a critical moment!Liu Zongkui ruined his life! ... But why does Liu Zongkui insist on doing this?Could it be that he, Jiang Tao, did something that seriously hurt the other party, so that the latter has been resentful towards him, and finally took revenge on him at the most critical moment on the battlefield? !Ah no, he and Liu Zongkui have only dealt with each other twice in total. Could it be that he did something wrong in one of them?In the last war, he asked Liu Zongkui to send someone to catch a "tongue" back in order to scout the enemy situation on the opposite side and help the division commander make up his mind to fight. What's wrong with doing that?Another time, he found out about Liu Zongkui growing vegetables and selling them to each company, and severely criticized him. What's wrong?What's more, didn't he not pursue it after the instructor of the battalion explained it? ... Apart from these two encounters, he absolutely can't think of any troubles with Liu Zongkui. Besides, even if he had other collisions with this person at work, could it be that he stabbed him in the back on the battlefield? An excuse for a knife? ! Ahh, could it be that Liu Zongkui stopped his attack on Height 632 after a day of fighting because he didn't want to let his subordinates suffer any more casualties?After a while, another idea popped up in his desperate and furious mind.Even now, Liu Zongkui's performance in the past day is still heroic in his opinion.Liu Zongkui stopped attacking Height 634 after dark. Of course, it could not be for his own safety, but he may be out of pity for his soldiers.But such an imagination could not weaken the anger in Jiang Tao's heart, but fanned it even more vigorously. "...What kind of logic and concept is this person thinking about war?...Does he think that war will kill people? Does he think that compared with victory, whether people die or how many people die is more important The job of a soldier is war, death is normal, and the purpose of war is to win, not to prevent people from dying!" He thought about all this angrily, and once again realized that he and soldiers like Liu Zongkui The fundamental difference: In his view, the sacrifice of soldiers including himself on the battlefield is nothing at all.His ideal in life is to become a famous commander. If he can't achieve this, life is almost meaningless!Jiang Tao immediately thought of Liu Zongkui in despair: Yes, how can you expect a narrow-minded farmer who wants to grow vegetables to make money after becoming a battalion commander to understand the above principles about victory, death, and military duties? ! The jeep stopped in an empty creek beach at the bottom of the valley north of the 631 highland.This is his drop-off point.With the help of the misty moonlight, Jiang Tao saw the towering Qipanling mountain ridge in the night sky to the south.Three hours after leaving Maoerling, the despair, anger, and shame in his chest were still the same, but the embarrassing moment he wanted to avoid—24:00 midnight—was long gone.The anxiety, sense of crisis, and sense of urgency in Jiang Tao's life disappeared. Therefore, when he led this small team to climb the mountain ridge of Qipanling, there was only a simple but strong sense of hope in his heart. Idea: Go to Height 634 and take down this small height!