"What? Calling together?"

Commander Wu seized the time to convene battalions commanders to hold a combat meeting. When the battalions commanders heard that they were going to fight Tong Deng, they were stunned.

"Captain!" One of the cadres stood up and said in embarrassment: "The soldiers have not had a rest for one day and a night, and have been rushing to the road. At this time, I am afraid there will be difficulties when I let them go to the battlefield to fight!"

"Yes, the regiment commander!" Other cadres also echoed: "The marching soldiers along the way are all supported. We have been saying to the soldiers, 'If you hold on for a while, it will be safe when you arrive at Tongdeng!' But now Tongdeng is here, and we want them to go to war! This... we can't say anything..."

"Captain! Can't we go around? We have no experience in fighting, so it's not suitable to fight in this situation! Some soldiers secretly threw bullets on the road in order to reduce their burdens!"

"What? Someone throws bullets?" I couldn't help but frown when I heard this: "Hasn't you given the order not to throw ammunition?"

"People are almost exhausted, who can care about so many things!" The cadres said awkwardly.

"No matter what, this battle must be fought! And the faster the better!" I said to the cadres: "Comrades, think about it, our friendly troops are likely to be on the other side of Tongdeng. The motherland is only one step away from us. As long as we can rush over, it means victory and return to the motherland. Some comrades think that we should bypass Tongdeng's enemies, but what if we get lost? What if more and more Vietnamese troops catch up? I think we have no other choice now, just rush over directly! If you can rush over, you will live, and if you can't rush over, you will die!"

Seeing that the soldiers were all silent, I paused and continued, "Maybe some comrades dare not fight this battle because the soldiers were overly tired or had no combat experience, but what I want to say is... If every soldier clearly realizes that once we can't rush through, we will stay in a foreign country forever, and even die here. Do you think they can't fight this battle?"

"That's right!" The cadre said in a low voice: "In ancient times, Xiang Yu had burned his boats! Why can't we do it?"

"We will not stay here and die, just fight!"

"About the issue of insufficient ammunition..." I looked at Commander Wu and suggested: "We don't need so many troops to participate in the war. The troops in my hands plus two battalions are enough. We can concentrate the ammunition for the participating troops to use!"

"No problem!" Commander Wu nodded and said, "I will leave this matter to me, as for leading the troops to attack..."

Commander Wu looked at me and said, "This matter is very important, and it may be directly related to the life and death of our army. So Battalion Commander Cui... I won't be polite to you, I will leave this matter to you!"

Listening to Commander Wu's words, the battalions commanders of each battalion nodded in agreement. Although I didn't show much in front of them, I had assigned my troops to each unit to teach combat experience. After a few days, I would inevitably talk about me. So my reputation is quite famous in the 608th Regiment. Not many people didn't know me anymore.

However, I turned my attention to Deputy Commander Liang, because I knew that it was not only Commander Wu who had the right to speak.

Deputy Commander Liang smiled angrily and said, "What do you think I'm doing? Who else can do this if you don't let you do it? Could you even let me, the old man?"

With a "coax!", the cadres were amused by Deputy Commander Liang's words, and the originally tense atmosphere eased in an instant.

"Okay!" I didn't refuse, and immediately agreed, pointing to the map and said, "My army and I have fought with the Vietnamese devils here, and have stayed here for a few days, so we are more familiar with this place. Our goal is to..."

I pointed to Pingding Mountain on the map and said, "This mountain is called Pingding Mountain. It was once an extremely important fortress of the Vietnamese army - Guitun Fort, but it has been taken down by us and blown into ruins. Below it is the train station, which is the way we go back..."

"Train Station?" Commander Wu couldn't help but ask in confusion: "Why do you have to walk from the railway station? Looking at the terrain, the railway station is under the control of the firepower of Guitun Fort. Isn't it safer to walk on the highway?"

"What we have to face is not only the Vietnamese army, but also the mines buried by our engineers!" I replied: "In order to prevent the Vietnamese army from chasing, the engineers have buried many mines all the way, and the highway is likely to have been blown up, so it is not necessarily safe to walk on the highway! However, the railway is much better. First, most railways are built at the foot of the thick mountain with the roadbed. No matter how they blow up, they just have one more pit. When I came back, I observed it specifically. Perhaps it was because there were sleepers in the middle of the railway to bury mines, so the engineers only blasted the railway..."

"Oh!" Captain Wu nodded suddenly.

"We have a mission!" I pointed to the map and said, "My troops and the second battalion are divided into three left, middle and right routes, passing through Tongdeng with lightning speed. If we encounter resistance, we must eliminate the enemy as quickly as possible to ensure the smooth progress of the follow-up troops. The task of this unit is to break through the enemy's defense line and occupy commanding heights along the way to cover the follow-up troops' advance, especially to occupy Pingdingshan to control the railway station. The main force retreats to the third battalion, regiment command, and first battalion along the route we opened to the railway station and retreat northward along the railway tracks!"

Commander Wu looked at the map carefully and waited for the following text, but after a while I didn't see me and continued to say it. He couldn't help but look up and asked in confusion: "It's gone? That's it?"

"That's it!" I nodded.

"This... how can this be done!" Commander Wu quickly understood something, and he stood up and opposed it: "Isn't this just to let you and the second battalion troops cover us to escape? The main force has no mission, only retreat! What does this look like?"

"Captain Captain Cui!" Deputy Commander Liang interrupted and asked, "What should you do if we leave? Don't you think we should alternately cover the retreat with the battalion?"

I smiled bitterly and shook my head, saying, "It's not that I don't want to, but I can't!"

"Why can't it?" Deputy Commander Liang asked in confusion.

"Imagine..." I looked at the cadres around me and replied: "Not to mention whether the soldiers of the 608th Regiment have such coordination in alternate cover. Once our army opens the gap in the encirclement and the soldiers know that the road to life is right in front of me, who else would be willing to stay for the cover mission?"

Everyone present was silent after hearing this. What I was talking about was a very realistic problem. The 608th Regiment is a unit that has never been on the battlefield. Even if they have no pressure, they will be able to retreat with alternating cover without any pressure. What's more, there are gunfire and cannons everywhere on the battlefield. Behind it is a vicious Vietnamese army chasing behind it, and there is a road to life that leads to the motherland... So it can be imagined that in this case, no one can stop the soldiers who are eager to escape back to the motherland. Is it useful to formulate a complex plan of alternating cover at this time? It will only put the troops into chaos!

So I simply let my troops and the Second Battalion fight forwards and hold on for a while. Only in this way can we get as many soldiers as possible back to the motherland. The problem is... the Second Battalion is willing to do it!

I turned my eyes to Xu Fan, the commander of the Second Battalion, and asked: "Can you accept this task?"

Xu Fan looked up and met my gaze and said, "You, Battalion Commander Cui, can take the initiative to carry the burden on your shoulders. What else can I say! I just think this is unfair to Battalion Commander Cui and your subordinates. You stayed because of our request, but now you have to risk your life to take on the cover mission..."

"Battlefield Commander Cui!" Deputy Commander Liang said with a pale face: "Let me say something, after you lead the troops to capture Pingding Mountain, you will hand over the position to the Second Battalion. The cover for the retreat of the troops will be handed over to the Second Battalion. You and the main force will retreat together!"

"What if the Second Battalion can't stand it?" I looked at Xu Fan and said, "It's not that I don't believe in the combat effectiveness of the Second Battalion, but we should think of this possibility: the soldiers can return to their country at the sight, and they are worried that they will be surrounded by the Vietnamese army, so they have no intention of defending. The Vietnamese army suddenly had a line of defense after only one encounter, and then chased them all the way... How many soldiers' lives would they sacrifice?"

Listening to my words, Deputy Commander Liang and Commander Wu had nothing to say, and even Xu Fan, the commander of the Second Battalion, dared not deny that this situation was likely to occur. The reason is very simple. We really dare not ask a unit that has never been on the battlefield and even most members have joined the army for less than three months to be able to be ready to die. After all, this temptation is too great.

"Just do it!" I stood up from the ground, patted my butt easily, and told Xu Fan: "You can assign the mission first, so that the soldiers can rest well, and I sigh..."

I looked at the watch, then looked at the sky, and said, "No need to delay, we will be ready to act on time at 7 o'clock in thirty-five minutes!"

"Yes!" Xu Fan stood up and responded.

"Captain Captain Cui..." Deputy Commander Liang also stood up.

"Deputy Commander Liang, you need not say more politely!" I smiled and said, "This is the best choice, and it is the only option to minimize casualties!"

"Yes!" Deputy Commander Liang held my hand and nodded vigorously, so moved that he couldn't speak.
Chapter completed!