Chapter 69 chapter eight

One morning a few days later, Jiang Tao drove to the field hospital in X City. Before leaving the army last time, the army commander asked him to find a commander for the three regiments of the L division.For various reasons, Jiang Tao realized that what he really wanted to seriously consider was the candidate for the head of Group A. Regiment A is the unit he personally brought out. This time he played very loudly in Gongmu Mountain. As the new commander of Division L, he has a strong desire to make this regiment his fist in the years to come. , and use it as a standard to drive other troops in the division.For this reason, a leader must be carefully selected for this regiment.

If we look at things from the perspective of familiarity with the situation and the "small clique" of the past, the future head of Regiment A should be selected from among the serving cadres of the regiment.During the half-month Battle of Gongmu Mountain, the deputy commander Zhao Yong, the chief of staff Yin Guocai, and the three battalion commanders all performed well, so he can rest assured that any of them can be the commander. But looking at the problem from the perspective of a teacher, the conclusion is different.One of the most profound lessons he learned from the Gongmushan War is: Although you live in an era of singing and dancing, wars can still break out at any time. Division L is the fist unit of the Military Commission, and Regiment A is the fist of Division L, so there are more opportunities to fight, and once a fight is fought, it will be some tough battles, vicious battles, and battles related to the overall situation.In this way, Zhao Yong, Yin Guocai, and the three battalion commanders of the A regiment were not as suitable as Liu Zongkui, the deputy commander of the C regiment.

Liu Zongkui was a special type of soldier he met in this war.This man was rough and uneducated, had a weird personality, and had always been emotionally out of tune with him, but it was he who turned the third battalion of the C regiment into a force that dared to fight hard and had a tenacious style.If Jiang Tao hopes that the future A regiment will also become such an army, it is obvious that Liu Zongkui should be the leader of the A regiment.As for Zhao Yong and Yin Guocai, he can make other arrangements in the B regiment, C regiment and division headquarters. Before going to Beijing, he reported his opinions to the newly appointed army commander, but after returning to the army, he got another news: Liu Zongkui, who is still recuperating in the X City Field Hospital, resolutely refused to serve as the A regiment The head of the group asked to change jobs, and was not prepared to accept any rewards from the organization.This person also threatened that if his superiors did not agree to his request to change jobs, he would stay in the hospital and never come out.This attitude naturally aroused the army commander's disgust. He called Jiang Tao in the middle of the night yesterday and asked him to reconsider the candidate for the head of the A regiment.

Jiang Tao pondered for a while, and finally said: "Commander, tomorrow I will go to the wounded city where I am still recovering from the field hospital in X City, and talk to Comrade Liu Zongkui. My opinion remains the same, and I still want to persuade him to stay as the head of the A regiment." The commander waited for his explanation.Jiang Tao didn't say anything more.Vaguely, he realized that Liu Zongkui's vehement refusal to stay in the army to work was probably related to him and the Battle of Heights 634.That afternoon, the 3rd Battalion of the C Regiment was surrounded by heavy enemy troops in the 632 highland area. Liu Zongkui called for reinforcements to himself. Out of vanity, he only sent a platoon symbolically, which was almost tantamount to disregarding the life and death of the 3rd Battalion of the C Regiment.After what happened that day, it is not surprising that he does not trust himself as the division commander today, does not want to stay in the army to work, and even still hates him for the soldiers who died in the 632 highland area.

As early as noon on the second day of the 634 Highland Battle, Liu Zongkui suddenly passed out after withdrawing from the position, and was sent to the field hospital in X City, which is still in the field hospital of X City.After the war, Jiang Tao himself left the army very quickly, and never had the opportunity to face Liu Zongkui to give an explanation that could be accepted by the other party.Today, he finally understands that his mistake has given him the most severe punishment. If he had applied to the division commander for reinforcements and effectively helped the 3rd Battalion of C Regiment, Zhang Li might not have followed the battalion instructor alone into the enemy's line and died in battle.He should go to the wounded city where he is still in the field hospital in X City, admit his mistakes to Liu Zongkui face to face, exchange sincerity for sincerity, and eliminate the resentment in the other party's heart, not for himself, but for this army, to retain a valuable combat backbone.

Jiang Tao's jeep traveled for four hours from County S to the outskirts of the city where the wounded are still being recuperated in the field hospital of X City.At this time, the car broke down, and the driver spent an hour repairing the car. By the time they arrived at the field hospital in the city center, it was already one o'clock in the afternoon. With a thick bandage wrapped around Liu Zongkui's neck, he met Jiang Tao not in the ward, but in the garden-like courtyard of the hospital.The only reason for doing this is: he believed that he would definitely quarrel with Jiang Tao, which would affect the rest of the wounded in the same room.

Liu Zongkui fainted on the way to withdraw from the battlefield with the third battalion of C regiment on the morning of the second day of the 634 highland battle.The penetrating wound to the neck didn't affect him the night before when he went to open a passage in the gully minefield on the northwest side of the highland, and it didn't affect him in the morning when he handed over his position to the 1st Battalion of the A Regiment who came to replace them, so no one noticed that it had been quietly going out Oozing blood.This oversight nearly cost him his life. After being transferred to this field hospital, he spent three days in a coma with high fever.For three days, he sometimes yelled and was furious; sometimes he wailed and burst into tears.He woke up three days later, but his eyes became extremely cold, and he resolutely stopped talking about the battle of Gongmu Mountain with anyone.

The reason why Liu Zongkui remained silent was that even though he was already lying on a hospital bed in the rear and receiving meticulous care from the medical staff every day, he could hardly believe that he had really walked off the battlefield.Believing that when he walked off the battlefield, he had to accept another fate than death—to survive and live on—and that was something he was very reluctant to do. On the afternoon of the Battle of Highland 634, he realized that he had led the Third Battalion of Regiment C into a "death trap" in a daze, and Jiang Tao refused to reinforce him, so he decided to atone for the soldiers by dying; After he decided to punish Jiang Tao by stopping the attack, he also made up his mind to die with the officers and soldiers of the Ninth Company on the 634 Heights.Once the latter became the dominant consciousness in his life, he became calm and managed to open a passage in the minefield on the northwest side of the highland, but his death wish was not fulfilled.When he climbed to the main peak of the highland with Jiang Tao, and then withdrew from the battlefield with the third battalion of C regiment, his desire to die did not change.Jiang Tao just asked them to evacuate to Maoerling to wait for orders, not to evacuate them from the battlefield forever. He felt that he still had a chance to atone for the sacrificed cadres and soldiers with his death; He was sent to the wounded city of X City Field Hospital, which is 200 kilometers away from the front line.He suddenly thought: He may never be able to realize his determination to die on the battlefield with the victims!He couldn't accept this fate, it almost made him betray the dead all over again!

But it is impossible not to accept the reality of surviving.Because the wound was not well sterilized, it caused an infection, and he could barely get out of bed for the first week after admission; Xiao Bin came to see him a week later and told Jiang Tao that he had officially announced that they would not be allowed to go to the battlefield.That is to say, even if he intends to return to the battlefield, he has no chance!Liu Zongkui found himself in an embarrassing situation where he wanted to die but couldn't live: he couldn't go to the battlefield to die, other ways of dying were unnatural, he could only live, and he was desperate for life long before the war !Liu Zongkui's inner anger naturally turned to Jiang Tao: it was Jiang Tao who asked him to take the third battalion of C regiment to poke the "hornet's nest" in the 632 highland area, so that he could only apologize to the victims with death, and now it was this man's order again, His wish to die on the battlefield cannot be realized!Looking back at the Battle of Highland 634, he became more and more determined that it was not a victory, and the key was that Jiang Tao refused reinforcements when he should have sent reinforcements to the Highland 632 area.He even wanted to write a report to the military division party committee, demanding that Jiang Tao be held accountable.It was Xiao Bin who came to visit him in the hospital again to persuade him to dispel that idea: the Battle of the 634 Heights did not only belong to Jiang Tao, it belonged to the Ninth Company who had made heavy sacrifices on the Heights first and foremost.What's more, the Ninth Company used one company to attack the enemy's one company and finally won the high ground. It was a victory in the first place!

Liu Zongkui compromised.When he woke up at night, he realized that he had accepted the advice implicit in Xiao Bin's words: the victory in the Battle of 634 Heights belonged to those who died!Instead of winning or losing this battle, we survivors should think about what else we can do for them and their families.This was the first time he thought about what would happen after he survived, but the anger and hatred towards Jiang Tao accumulated in his heart did not ease.Therefore, when someone from the higher-level cadre department came to talk to him and said that the new commander of Division L suggested that he be the head of Regiment A, he naturally became highly alert and annoyed again.

"This man...he dares to ask a person he has deceived to stay under him as the head of the regiment!...No, I have learned it before, and I will serve no one who will serve him!" He gritted his teeth and thought, "Jiang Tao has become a division commander, and this army will continue to fight in the future, so let him take risks! As a soldier, I have fought twice for this country, and each time I narrowly escaped death, I can be discharged with a clear conscience Already!" As for his not accepting any rewards, it was due to another wish: after all, he could not die on the battlefield with the victims, but at least he could walk out of the battlefield innocently, so that he would feel less guilty when he thought of the dead in the future. Liu Zongkui knew from last night that Jiang Tao was coming to the hospital to see him.Jiang Tao had someone notify the hospital in advance.Liu Zongkui didn't bother to meet someone he hated deeply, but after one night, all the anger and hatred buried deep in his memory made him agitated.He decided to meet with Jiang Tao, for himself and for those dead, to humiliate the new teacher straightforwardly! ...the two stopped far apart under the vine trellis in the center of the hospital garden. Liu Zongkui didn't intend to sit down on the concrete bench, so it was inconvenient for Jiang Tao to sit down. It was the lunch break time, and there was no one in the garden, only the humming of cicadas exploded in the oppressive silence. Looking at Liu Zongkui's undisguised face showing hostility, hatred and anger, Jiang Tao's face flushed involuntarily.At this moment, he clearly realized that his guess about Liu Zongkui's heart before he came was basically correct. "Old Liu, I have three reasons for coming today," he said straight to the point, trying to soften his tone, "First, I express condolences to you on behalf of the division's party committee; You admit my fault, that on the afternoon of the first day of the war, out of contemptible vanity, I did not ask the Chief of the Military Division for reinforcements for you—I hope you will accept my sincere remorse;... Thirdly, I think Please reconsider your decision, don't change your job after you leave the hospital, and go to work in the A regiment." Liu Zongkui stared blankly at Jiang Tao, who had become completely different from before the war. The original anger and hatred in his chest were suddenly greatly disintegrated by the too much confession revealed in his words.He stared at the other person's face, and suddenly, tears welled up in his eyes. "You... You are talking about this now, isn't it... Isn't it too late?!" He said in a stiff tone. Jiang Tao saw clearly the tears that suddenly welled up in his eyes.He understands why.For a moment, he also thought of Zhang Li who died on the battlefield, and immediately, the circles of his eyes were slightly red. "No, Lao Liu,...it's not too late to make up for it after it's gone," he said in a low voice, "I also paid the greatest sacrifice for my mistakes.... You've probably heard of Zhang Li, a female military doctor at the Divisional Hospital, We...we were supposed to get married after the war, but she died on Height 634....If we can remember this lesson, the troops may be able to pay less sacrifices in future battles. I want you to stay Coming down to be the head of regiment A also contains this level of desire." Liu Zongkui sat down on the concrete bench, took out a cigarette and lit it, his hands shaking.He realized that he had believed Jiang Tao's story about him and Zhang Li for some reason, and he couldn't say what he had prepared to humiliate the other party. At this moment, Jiang Tao felt that he had nothing to say.He has finished speaking, Liu Zongkui will not give him an answer immediately.Tears were drying in his eye sockets, and he finally said simply: "Old Liu, I will give you a period of time to consider. ... I can tell you that if you want to leave, the teacher will never force you to stay. ... However, I still hope that you will not leave. This is not For me, but for this army, for future wars!" After saying these words, he asked the guards to leave a bag of condolences brought by the car under the wisteria shelf, and left without saying anything.He had already thought of Zhang Li, and he was afraid that tears would flow out again. Liu Zongkui sat under the vine trellis for a long time, smoking one cigarette after another.Gradually, he found that although the deep-rooted distrust of Jiang Tao still existed in his heart, the almost instinctive hatred and hostility in the past disappeared like smoke. "This person...can I really believe that he has changed?... After a war, everyone will change....I believed his words only because, today, Jiang Tao can finally shed tears because of other people's sacrifices It's gone..." He sat blankly thinking, tears unconsciously blurred his eyes again.