Chapter 63 Chapter two

"...Mr. Chen, I pulled you up Qipanling this morning because I wanted to talk to you about two things. Last night when the troops started withdrawing from Gongmu Mountain, I called Commander Liu. You may I also heard that long before the war started, I reported to the military region party committee and asked to retire. Commander Liu replied: Let me rest after this battle is over. Now that the war is over, I ask him to honor My promise. Commander Liu agreed, and he asked me to nominate the candidate for the next army commander, and I nominated you..." The rustling of the wheels became louder.The teacher in the back seat straightened his body.He suddenly felt his heart beating faster and his breathing a little short.But he didn't say anything, because the commander in the front seat didn't want him to talk.

"...Old Chen, this is the end of this matter. The commander asked me to have a talk with you as a member of the military region's party committee, and asked you to preside over the work of the army commander as the deputy army commander first, and wait for the military committee to formally order you Another thing the commander wants me to do is to come up with a plan for the use of Jiang Tao and Liu Daoming in the next step." The commander stopped.The teacher had calmed down a little. He leaned forward and asked tentatively: "Does the military region party committee have a general idea of ​​how to use these two people?"

"Yes," said the army commander, "the commander means that we will choose one of these two people to replace you as the commander of the L division, and the other will be transferred to the W army as the division commander.... From now on, you will be the commander of this army." , I want to hear your opinion before making a decision." The teacher fell silent for a while.At this moment, he would rather listen to the commander's opinion first.Seeing that he was silent, the old man interpreted his silence as another meaning. "Old Chen, my inclination is to keep Comrade Jiang Tao as the commander of Division L. ... I know you have always disliked Jiang Tao. To tell you the truth, I was the same as you at the beginning. I remember that morning before the war, I went to Mao with you. Erling inspected, but he took a woman to hunt birds. This man is still very crazy, saying that we used two regiments to attack the male and female mountains, but we used a sledgehammer to kill chickens, etc. Let me tell you, that day In Maoerling, I was actually very disappointed.... No, not all because of Jiang Tao, but also because of myself. After this battle, I will retire. I am getting old soon, and it will be up to Jiang Tao and his generation to fight wars in the future. But what I saw that morning was a child who was going to fight tomorrow and was still playing today. He regarded war as a game!

"That morning, I actually planned to agree to your master's request and replace Jiang Tao. But before making this decision, I hesitated: If I replace Jiang Tao, the person who replaces him will definitely be stronger than Jiang Tao. Is it mainly because he is more experienced? Even on that morning, Jiang Tao had his strengths, he did a good job on the sand table, and his plan of playing Qipanling is also advisable from a teaching point of view. He still has something for me I am very impressed, that is, he has a lot of enthusiasm for war, and has a strong sense of professionalism and fame. He wants to be a famous general like his father, and wants us to look at him with admiration from now on. I find that I am facing a Danger: I can replace Jiang Tao, but if the replacement is as inexperienced as Jiang Tao, and lacks Jiang Tao's military literacy, enthusiasm and ambition, things will be even worse.

"That morning I left Jiang Tao in the command position of Regiment A, and later I ordered you to force me not to interfere in the battle between Regiment A and Regiment B. It was not entirely out of the consideration of the above. I was very disrespectful to myself that day. Satisfied. We are about to leave the army and find that we have not produced reliable successors. As a senior commander, this cannot but be said to be a serious dereliction of duty. I find that this war is actually my last attempt to make up for my mistakes One chance, we have to hand over the responsibility of defending the country to Jiang Tao and Liu Daoming, but before doing so, I still can and must use this war to make a basic evaluation of each of them to decide whether we can trust them. My determination is not a compliment to Jiang Tao. The more problems he has, the more his thinking, personality, and behavior are like a child who has not grown up. The more he is mentally prepared for the heavy and difficult war, the real war is for him The more dangerous it is. If he fails, no one will forgive him. It's not that we are intolerable, but the responsibility of defending the motherland is intolerable. Making this determination is also a test for me: Jiang Tao or Liu Daoming loses the battle, and I fight In the event of a defeat, I personally must first take responsibility for the military region and the Military Commission!"

"But Jiang Tao played well!" The army commander's tone became high, and the division commander even heard excitement from it for a while, which is rare for an old man. "Jiang Tao has withstood the test! He first led the A regiment to take down Qipanling within 15 minutes, and then defended it in the siege of Tianzishan and Feicuiling enemies, and regained the 632 highland area. This is not correct. Evaluate the decisive role played by Jiang Tao and the A regiment in the battle on the first day! When the B regiment was severely frustrated in its attack on the No. 001 highland and was likely to be completely wiped out by the enemy's north-south attack, it was Jiang Tao who sent it to the 632 highland area The bold action of the third battalion of the C regiment changed the fate of the entire B regiment being wiped out and our army's complete failure in the Gongmushan area—once the B regiment was wiped out, Qipanling would not be able to hold on. The enemy probably thought that our army It suddenly appeared in the 632 highland area and moved tenaciously to the south. They wanted to divide Tianzi Mountain and Feicui Ridge more deeply. In addition to capturing the Gongmu Mountain area, they had a greater combat attempt. For this reason, they hastily stopped the investigation of No. 001. The reinforcements defending the enemy on the high ground also withdrew part of the troops that had been sent for reinforcements, turned around to deal with the third battalion and ninth company of the C regiment on the 634 highland, and ordered the enemies of the Emerald Ridge to come out in full force to compete with me for the 632 and 633 highlands. In the eastern section of the Panling Mountains, a diversionary attack was carried out against Regiment A at Height 630. In this way, the focus of the battle between the enemy and us on the battlefield was no longer Height 001 but Height 632. As a result, Regiment B was freed from the desperate situation of being attacked by the enemy. After coming out, we were able to regroup and attack the enemy on Highland No. 001 who could not receive assistance, and finally took this highland, so our army's victory in the entire Gongmushan area was fundamentally guaranteed. It is no exaggeration to say that there is no The tenacious battle of the A regiment in the 632 highland area, there is no victory in the war! What surprised me the most is: Jiang Tao used a reinforced regiment to fight against the enemies in the two directions of Tianzi Mountain and Jade Ridge. I thought he would not be able to hold on , but he persevered and did not ask you and me for reinforcements. Even when the battle in the 632 highland area was the most difficult, he did not use his strength in the 164 and 342 highland areas, so that the defense on the Qipanling line did not appear. A void that the enemy can exploit. I am very satisfied with his performance, so satisfied!"

The commander fell silent.The teacher took the time to move his body and changed his sitting position.He understood that this was not the result of the conversation. After a long preparation, the old man was about to say what he really wanted to say. "Old Chen, after a war, when we want to choose a division commander instead of our favorite person, many things have already been decided. As a soldier, a commander, the most precious quality is spiritual Be firm. In wars—especially larger-scale wars in the future—after the material and technical conditions are determined, the highest requirement for a commander is spiritual firmness. Jiang Tao’s actions on the front line of Gongmu Mountain show that he can stand the test Yes. The real reason why I want to keep him as the commander of Division L is: since the Jinggangshan period, our unit has been the main force of the entire army, and Division L has been the main force of our army. It has not been missed in wars, and it will probably be the same in the future. When we want to choose a commander for it today, we can only choose Jiang Tao!... Another reason I choose him is: you will be his commander in the future, You know his weaknesses most clearly, and he will grow healthier and faster under your leadership!"

After the commander finished speaking, silence suddenly appeared in the jeep.The teacher grabbed the armrest on the back of the front seat with one hand and sat stiffly.The army commander didn't let him speak his opinion, so he didn't take the initiative to say anything.He had the impression that the army commander was trying to persuade himself not so much to persuade him just now.The army commander went to Maoerling again this morning just to finally convince himself.It was Jiang Tao's action to go to the front again to convince the army commander.The division commander thought that the army commander didn't need to convince himself like just now. Since Jiang Tao led the A regiment to recover the Qipanling area beautifully, his view of this person has greatly changed.The division commander thought that there was only one thing that he and the army commander tried their best to avoid this morning, and that was Jiang Tao's "style problem" before the battle.This problem has long been resolved in his mind: not long after the first day of battle, the military division party committee received a report from the division hospital to ask for credit for female military doctor Zhang Li and the deeds of the martyrs delivered with the report.Zhang Li was the only female soldier who died on the front line of Gongmu Mountain, and she died in the 634 highland area where the battle was most intense. The teacher's heart was touched immediately.Unknowingly, he has a new view on the relationship between Jiang Tao and Zhang Li before the war: Jiang Tao is a single man, Zhang Li is a divorced woman, and it is normal for them to communicate and even fall in love.Today, Jiang Tao has become the number one hero and star on the battlefield of Gongmu Mountain, and Zhang Li has also become a heroine vigorously promoted by the division's political department. The division commander only has appreciation and love for them, and he can no longer object to Jiang Tao's succession Be the teacher of L division.In fact, as soon as the army commander raised this question, he immediately thought of it: keep Jiang Tao!

The jeep went further, and the county town of S, where the military command post was temporarily stationed, appeared in front of us.