Chapter 271 Let’s go, the battalion commander will take you home
In an open space outside Chengguan County, dozens of kilometers away from the flood discharge area of Gaoyang County, rows of medical tents and rescue vehicles are neatly placed.
Stretchers moved among the crowd.
Early in the morning, a condolence and inspection convoy headed by Commander-in-Chief Zhang Canshan of the Jinyang Military Headquarters and a group of local civil servants slowly arrived at the scene.
Commander-in-chief of the 63rd Army Zhang Canshan, Political Commissar Liao Hongjun, and Chief of Staff Qin Quanan had just gotten out of the car when a colonel from the convoy in front of them quickly walked up to them, stood at attention and saluted.
"Commander, should we notify the troops to evacuate?"
Hearing this, Zhang Canshan looked at the colonel coldly without saying a word.
Qin Quanan waved his hand and said, "Don't notify us. We've been fighting all night and finally have a chance to catch our breath. Why should we notify you?"
Chief of Staff Qin also looked a little unhappy.
In this situation, you still want to take up the soldiers' rest time, just to say a few polite words? Or to pose for a photo?
They didn't come here for this matter.
According to inspection routine, after the first flood discharge, they should go to the dam to check the situation, but news came from the dam that the first flood peak was shorter than expected.
Subsequently, as the flood discharge went smoothly, the heavy rain eased and the situation was under control. In addition, the evacuation of the people was still within the controllable range, so the pressure of the second flood discharge was not that great.
Zhang Canshan and his team would choose to come and check out the situation at the rescue site as soon as possible.
But the scene was not miserable at all.
More and more stretchers were pulled in from other places. Qin Quanan just stood at the scene and took a few glances, and saw that many of the wounded lying on the stretchers had dilated pupils and lips that were a strange white.
Even those who could still stand had a dusty gray look on their faces, and the rescue situation was extremely tense.
Among them were many young children in military uniforms.
This scene.
Even though Qin Quanan had spent half his life in the military, he couldn't help but turn his head and tears welled up in his eyes.
But he adjusted himself for a moment.
Chief of Staff Qin was still looking for something.
Last night, the rescue was urgent, and the Kyoto Demonstration Battalion was temporarily transferred to take over. Because of this decision, the higher-ups called several times in the second half of the night to remind us, asking the military district to pay as much attention as possible and take care of us.
The meaning is self-evident.
Rescue is certainly important, but the development of informatization is equally indispensable. In the event of a natural disaster, we must protect people as much as possible and prevent losses.
This is also human nature.
According to the unit's dispatch last night, some people in the demonstration camp stayed on the levee, while the other part was arranged to the last location in the flood discharge area.
Qin Quanan left the inspection team, put on a thick raincoat to cover his military uniform and rank, and stood on the side of the avenue, disguised as an ordinary old man.
Staring at the large force retreating towards Gaoyang.
This stop takes more than half an hour.
During this period, Chief of Staff Qin's expression was moved. He saw too many soldiers passing by, most of whose camouflage uniforms were worn out and hung on their bodies like broken strips.
On his hands, festering blood blisters formed into patches.
Occasionally, when cadres passing by recognized him, Qin Quanan would remind them not to say hello or salute, so as to avoid disturbing the withdrawing soldiers.
Finally, around eight in the morning.
There were almost no people in the Gaoyang direction. All one could see was a vast expanse of water, and a new wave of ripples appeared in the muddy and dirty water.
Behind the ripples, a young soldier appeared with a staggering gait.
Behind him, another dense crowd of people appeared in the field of vision, with a total number of nearly a thousand people.
Being at the back is not a good job.
The strong and healthy evacuees had already run to the front, and only those who were physically weak or elderly were left behind.
Countless soldiers waded through the water, pulling carts. Some of the carts were filled with supplies and belongings, while others were filled with the elderly and children.
They supported each other and reached the finish line.
The one walking in front and leading the way was Chen Mo. At this time, he was barely holding a corn stalk as a crutch to support his body and lead the way for the entire army.
Walked all night and roared all night.
Even a body of iron could not bear it. He had just heard the sound of a whistle, mixed with shouting.
Unexpectedly.
It took me half an hour from the time I heard the sound to the time I walked out.
But at least, it finally came out.
Chen Mo was in a trance, and when he looked up, he saw many members of the medical team wading through the water towards him.
In the gap between the medical team members, Chen Mo saw an old man wearing a thick raincoat, looking at him with concern.
"This old man looks so damn like the Chief of Staff!"
Chen Mo grinned and looked back. Many jobs in the camp had been taken over. Cheng Dong, Liu Min, Xu Zhanqi, and many cadres were taken away by medical staff.
The anger in his heart suddenly dissipated, his eyes turned black, and he completely lost consciousness.
. . . . . . . . . .
It's dawn, and the sun shines comfortably on the earth.
Chen Mo felt warm all over and indescribably comfortable. He stretched and was about to get up from the bed.
Man Xuexi, Fang Peijun, Liang Hongjie, and Wang Yanjun lifted the tent curtain and poked their heads inside.
I saw Chen Mo open his eyes.
Man Xuexue grinned: "Hey, Captain, you're awake. Come, get some glucose. Captain Liu said it's great for restoring strength."
As he spoke, Lao Man took out a dozen bottles of glucose from his wet arms and placed them on the small table in front of the bed.
Fang Peijun, Liang Hongjie, Wang Yanjun, Qin Xiaojun and others were standing at the door of the tent, laughing foolishly.
But he didn't step in.
They were all dirty, with obvious holes on their uniforms caused by steel bars, and blood soaked through their clothes.
"Why don't you wash all the clothes? The weather is sunny now, please pay attention to your appearance."
Chen Mo frowned. His intuition told him that something was wrong with the scene before him, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"hey-hey!"
The people standing at the door of the tent were silent. Only Man Xuexi scratched his head, stood up and said with a smile: "Captain, it's too late to wash."
"We were worried about you. The floodwaters were released 50 minutes earlier than planned last night. Pipe bursts occurred in some areas after the release, and floodwaters seeped through the levee, gushing out from behind like a fountain."
"There weren't enough sandbags on site, so we had to use cars to block the big pipe bursts and people to block the small ones, trying to reduce the amount of water."
"The instructor and I were very worried about the battalion commander. Now that you're okay, we're going back too."
Hearing this, Chen Mo's originally frowned brows suddenly froze. He had always felt that something was wrong, and now he finally found out what had happened.
A bad premonition suddenly rushed to my heart, and my heart suddenly suffocated and twitched.
"Fuck you, Man, get back here."
"Lao Fang? Liang Pai? Qin Xiaojun, you son of a bitch, get back here."
"return!"
Chen Mo woke up from his dream with a start. He raised his hand in confusion to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and then immediately turned his eyes around.
He was indeed in the tent, but there was no one around him, including Fang Peijun. There was glucose, but only one bottle.
He was the only one in the entire tent.
Perhaps it was because he heard the shouting, Wang Jianyong, still holding a cigarette in his mouth, rushed into the tent hurriedly with a medical worker.
"Captain, what's wrong with you?"
Old Wang looked a little flustered. He looked the battalion commander up and down, and only breathed a sigh of relief after making sure there was no problem.
"Don't worry, Captain. We have 329 people here, and not one is missing. There are just over 30 seriously injured people, and they have all been taken to the 301 Hospital by vehicles arranged by the military region."
"The company commander is right next door, snoring louder than a buffalo. Captain Liu and Company Commander Hou are all fine."
Wang Jianyong quickly reported everything he had learned.
"When did you come back?"
Chen Mo calmed himself down and asked.
"I sent Xiao Wu to town, watched him get taken away by the truck carrying supplies, and then I came back." Wang Jianyong spread his hands: "I just didn't catch up with you along the way, nor did I run into any other fellow villagers."
"I wandered around in the puddle most of the night, unable to find the main road without a flashlight. When the floodwaters were released, I climbed a tree and was found by the helicopter rescue team. They asked my work unit and sent me here."
Lao Wang said it with a relaxed look, but it was not difficult to hear.
This guy had quite a rich experience that night.
The accompanying medical staff checked Chen Mo's condition and made sure there was no problem before leaving with the medicine box.
There are no outsiders here.
Chen Mo put on his pants, unscrewed the glucose bottle, gulped down a few mouthfuls, and was silent for a while before he mustered up the courage to say, "Dayong."
"arrive!"
"How's it going on the levee?"
"Lao Man, instructor, and your platoon leader Wang and tank company leader Qin, is there any news?"
When Chen Mo asked these questions, his heart sank again and again, and at the same time, Chen Mo was also afraid.
This man, who was usually scolded by the military district as having courage from the neck down, was really scared at this moment.
In fact, it is not shameful for soldiers to feel fear.
It is like this in rescue operations and on the battlefield. Grenades are running around in your crotch, bullets are flying close to your scalp, you are dancing on the edge of a knife, and you are accompanied by death.
Even a person made of iron would be afraid, let alone a person made of flesh and blood.
It's just that faith and responsibility can infinitely suppress this fear.
There is a truth that goes without saying: if you are a soldier, you should go to the battlefield; if you are a tiger, you should roam in the mountains; if you are a dragon, you should roam the ocean.
It is this belief that makes countless soldiers rush forward when the motherland calls.
But this does not mean that they will not be afraid or worried.
Hearing the question, Wang Jianyong hesitated for a moment, and when he looked up, he saw the battalion commander's fierce expression.
Lao Wang quickly waved his hands and said, "Battalion Commander, please don't misunderstand me."
"I also heard that there was a pipe burst after the flood was released last night. It was manageable at first, and pipe bursts are not uncommon."
"But we don't know if it's due to the topography of the waterway or an undercurrent, but about five minutes into the flood release, a high wave appeared in the flood peak. The superposition of two waves is the last thing we want to see in flood relief efforts."
"It's said there was no distance between the two waves, less than 20 meters apart. The moment one wave overtook the other, a riot broke out on a certain section of the levee, and the reinforced levee was torn open by the waves."
"The sandbags were washed away by the water, and people standing on the embankment were swept dozens of meters away. The breach expanded from two meters to six or seven meters in a blink of an eye."
"So. So."
Wang Jianyong hesitated and stopped talking. He was just an ordinary soldier. He knew all this from what he heard from the people on the helicopter and from the discussions with some cadres who came here.
He had no specific channels to inquire.
But a breach means an accident has occurred.
Chen Mo didn't even need to go to the scene to see it. Just based on Lao Wang's narration, he could imagine how many soldiers desperately held on to sandbags to block the breach after the levee broke.
It was a scene of brutality and violence.
It is no exaggeration to say that it is a battle between man and nature. Even if the hole can be blocked, someone must jump in and pound the water afterwards.
This kind of work sounds simple, but in fact, even if a company goes up to a hole of several meters, it may not be able to stand firmly, let alone there is not enough room for everyone.
It is a job that requires continuous efforts.
If it was just about reinforcing the levee, Chen Mo wouldn't worry about the instructors at all, because disaster relief work cannot be done without order.
Especially the work of embankment reinforcement.
There is definitely danger, but it is not that big. As long as the dam does not burst, other units do not need to go up at all if there is a risk of dam bursting.
They were all supported by mobile assault teams that had been arranged early in the morning. The order was very clear, unlike what was shown in TV dramas where a group of people would just rush forward at any time.
The demonstration camp was dispatched late, and by the time they received the news and arrived at the town, the embankment reinforcement work had been going on for half a day, so it was definitely not their turn to join the mobile team.
This is also the reason why Chen Mo was very confident in handing over the embankment reinforcement work to the instructor.
But who could have thought.
A planned embankment reinforcement and evacuation operation unexpectedly led to so many accidents.
"In other words, you don't have any specific information yet?"
Chen Mo forced himself to suppress the worry in his heart and his mood eased slightly.
As the saying goes, worrying too much will lead to confusion. He didn't think Wang Jianyong was lying. Besides, if what happened in the dream really happened, it would be a major rescue accident.
The news can't be kept secret, right?
Without waiting for Wang Jianyong's response, Chen Mo stood up and put on his coat: "No matter what the situation is on the levee, we have to go and take a look."
"Can we go over now?"
"There's so much water everywhere. We should be able to get a helicopter, but we can't get one."
Old Wang scratched his head. He understood the battalion commander's concerns. Wang Jianyong himself was from the reconnaissance company. Although he was in the eighth squad before and did not belong to the first platoon, he was still worried.
Just as the two were discussing how to get there.
The tent curtain was lifted again, and Qin Quanan strode in. He saw that Chen Mo was dressed neatly and nothing had happened.
Old Man Qin breathed a sigh of relief.
He is the backbone of the Kyoto Demonstration Camp and a first-class combat hero awarded by the General Staff. If an accident occurs during this rescue, the military district will not be able to explain to the higher authorities.
“Hello, Chief!!”
Chen Mo and Wang Jianyong stood at attention and saluted!
"Um."
Qin Quanan nodded, walked forward and squeezed Chen Mo's shoulder: "You did a good job, rushing to the levee in time and rescuing many fellow villagers. The motherland will not forget you, and the military district will also give you rewards as appropriate."
"Tell me, kid Chen, how are you going to negotiate with the military district this time?"
Chief of Staff Qin spoke lightly, but Chen Mo was no fool. This leader, who was usually reserved, actually took the initiative to ask them if they had any requirements.
No matter how stupid he was, Chen Mo understood what was going on.
During this rescue operation, some people in the demonstration camp died.
That dream was not fake.
Chen Mo felt dizzy and his eyes went dark. He tried hard to keep himself steady.
He opened his mouth with difficulty and said in a hoarse voice: "Commander, can you tell me a few?"
"One." Qin Quan'an sighed with his hands behind his back.
"He was seriously injured when the dam broke, and it was discovered too late. He is a soldier."
"Tell me, what are the requirements for your demonstration camp?"
Chen Mo stood there without saying a word for a long time, maybe two minutes, maybe one minute.
In short, for Chen Mo, it took a very long time before he said in a hoarse voice: "Our battalion needs a refrigerated transport truck from the funeral home. I want to take the soldiers home."
"Can!"
Chief of Staff Qin nodded and said, "The military district will handle the matter fully and send the soldiers home in glory."
"I need a helicopter, and I need it now, to get to the dam."
"After guarding the levee all night, we have to go and see what it looks like. Everyone in my unit needs to go and see it, and the martyrs need to see it even more."
"As you should." Qin Quan'an didn't object. "I'll close the road and send a helicopter to take you there."
"Thank you, Chief, I need a gun!"
Qin Quanan thought for a moment: "No problem, everything will be arranged."
Chen Mo finally relaxed when he heard that all his requests were granted.
The two men didn't talk for long.
Not long after Qin Quanan left, four Z-8 transport planes were dispatched.
Most of the soldiers in the demonstration camp were resting in nearby tents. Some of those with serious injuries were taken to the 301 Hospital, and those with less serious injuries were also taken there for care and bandaging.
There weren't many people left at the scene.
Four Z-8 planes can transport all the people to the levee in at most three trips.
This kind of thing can't be kept secret.
After Chen Mo came out of the tent, the others had also packed up, lined up, and boarded the transport plane one by one.
No questions, no noise, everything was in order.
Cheng Dong, who was originally grumbling loudly next door, woke up. His chest was wrapped in bandages and he got on the helicopter with Chen Mo.
On the way, someone who was more familiar with the embankment reinforcement process told Chen Mo in detail about what happened last night.
As the battalion commander, he has the right to know.
. . . . . . . . . .
The other side.
Around the Gaoyang Dam, there are now only 266 of the 267 soldiers led by Fang Peijun in the demonstration camp.
One of them, a second-class sergeant, lay motionless on a stretcher with a steel bar piercing his abdomen.
The heavy rain finally stopped.
The sky cleared up, but the waves behind them were still surging.
But at this moment, there is no danger of the dam bursting, nor is there any responsibility to release floodwaters.
A group of officers and soldiers sat limply on the ground like mud monkeys. The mud on their camouflage uniforms had become dry and hard after being exposed to the sun during the day, like a layer of armor, emitting a strange fishy smell.
But the soldiers on the scene could no longer smell this odor, as they had long since become accustomed to it.
Fang Peijun, Man Xuexi, Qin Xiaojun, Wang Yanjun and others sat on the ground with expressionless faces.
The pain had made them lose the ability to cry, and the result after a busy night was unacceptable to everyone.
Sudden.
Boom!!!
Four Z-8 fighter jets flew in from a distance and landed directly on the open space of the dam.
The helicopter came to a stop and the door opened.
The moment Chen Mo strode down from the helicopter, the eyes of the soldier who was originally sitting on the ground powerlessly suddenly burst into light.
The battalion commander is fine, this is good news!!
Gradually, more than 200 people began to stand up and stand at attention. Hundreds of people seemed to be one body, and there was an invisible sense of special rigor.
After the queue is arranged.
Wang Yanjun's lips trembled as he staggered to Chen Mo, stood at attention and saluted!
This was the first time that a cadre from the reconnaissance company had encountered such difficulties and hesitations during a formal report.
"Report, report to the battalion commander!"
"The Kyoto Demonstration Camp was supposed to have 267 people, but only 266 showed up, and one person died!"
"At ease!"
"yes!"
Commander Wang Yan let out a breath, turned around almost as if escaping, gave orders to the queue, then lowered his head to hide his red eyes, and strode into the queue.
Through the crowd, Chen Mo saw the soldier lying in the distance.
He was also feeling uncomfortable.
But at this moment, he had to remain serious. He had to restore the team's faith and reassure the entire army.
As the battalion commander, one person had fallen behind, but he had to be responsible for bringing back the rest.
Take it back completely.
If he breaks down emotionally, the entire team will collapse.
ps: I changed a lot of this plot during this period.
I wrote this paragraph at the beginning because I was considering that the demonstration camp would soon enter its climax moment, and the entire camp would be united in fighting for the southwestern border.
However, since the members of the demonstration camp are not trained by themselves, the sudden emergence of an overly harmonious atmosphere and a common hatred of the enemy would make the plot seem particularly abrupt.
So I wanted to use disaster relief to unite the plot of the entire camp. At first, I thought of letting the demonstration camp protect the embankment. Later, after looking at the outline carefully, I found that protecting the embankment is indeed easy to write, it is also passionate, and it can also highlight the demonstration camp, but sacrifice is unavoidable.
I have no choice in reality. Since that’s the case, let’s reduce the sacrifices and not unfold it from the protagonist’s perspective.
This section is a transition in the plot, a transition in cohesion and execution, and it is about to end. In fact, I don’t know what I am saying. I just felt uncomfortable writing it, and I changed a lot. I will report my ideological work to all readers!!!
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