In Verdun, there was a rumble of thunder in the night sky, and the sky was lit by artillery fire that was fired several miles away to the north.

In the middle of the battlefield, a farmhouse that was destroyed by artillery fire even looked conspicuous. Although the farmhouse was very conspicuous, it was difficult to attract artillery fire. At this time, the farmhouse abandoned by its owner changed from a The farmhouse has been turned into a hotel. For those who have fought hard for several hours, even such a destroyed farmhouse can give them a good rest.

In the fairly spacious kitchen in the farmhouse, three or four wooden tables were crowded with soldiers. These soldiers, who had just been withdrawn from the front line to rest, were eating a rare hot meal here, which was different from the armies of other countries. When the Chinese ** team fought, the food requirements were reduced to a minimum. In order to facilitate the attack, the soldiers needed to move lightly. For this reason, they threw away cans and all other unnecessary supplies, and only carried ammunition and enough to meet the needs of a few days. Dry food is the kind of lightweight high-calorie compressed dry food. In addition, if they want to eat a hot meal, I am afraid that they can only eat a hot meal and drink a hot soup when they are resting. .

Liu Mingchun and Zhao Peiren had just arrived in France. They blinked in astonishment at everything on the battlefield. At the same time, they also stretched their legs. They first took a boat, then a train, and then a military vehicle. They traveled a long way. My legs were cramped for two days. They didn't stay long. A pale man - judging by his military uniform, he was a corporal - ran up to them.

"Liu Mingchun? Zhao Peiren?"

The two nodded.

A few months ago, they were students at Lianyun Higher Business School, but as the expeditionary force became famous, they joined the army with the belief of serving the country, and then became members of the expeditionary force.

They first trained for several months in the Jiangsu Army Officer Education Corps, and then stayed idle for even longer in a depressing transitional barracks in Qingdao before finally arriving in France. Both of them had the rank of warrant officer, and each would be Lead a platoon of soldiers who, like themselves, have no combat experience.

The two of them had no confidence in their military skills, but at this time, the unfamiliar scene of the fiery red sky made their minds clear.

"The company commander wants to see you, sir."

The sergeant said,

"He wants to know why you didn't arrive yesterday. We will go to the front tomorrow morning."

The sergeant took the two men to a place. It was clear from a glance that it must have been a hay warehouse before - it is now idle, because the pasture has long been turned into a battlefield. There was a lamp hanging on a hook hanging from the beam of the ceiling. Under the oil lamp, a lieutenant in military uniform was drinking tea and leaning over to study some papers. His feet in military boots were crossed on a cabinet with a map. He raised his head.

"Inferior quality, Indian tea flavor. You just came from China, did you bring any tea? I mean tea, authentic Chinese tea. Not this kind of Indian product."

The two newcomers shook their heads.

"Sir, I have coffee,"

Liu Mingchun quickly replied,

"This is a condolence gift given by local overseas Chinese when I was in Singapore."

"Well,"

The lieutenant snorted,

"Tea, Chinese tea is the best thing."

As he spoke, the lieutenant put down his paperwork with relief and stood up. He was unusually tall and his arms were full of muscles. This made him look a bit like a sailor, and a sailor on a sailing ship - strong, very strong. , the whole body is covered with muscles.

"Sit on the chair."

The "chairs" he refers to are two wooden boards resting on some broken bricks.

"Why the hell didn't you come yesterday?"

Liu Mingchun quickly started to explain, but then the lieutenant interrupted him...

"The situation on the battlefield is always like this. It's a mess. We have never fought such a battle, and we can go to France to fight. That's why we have problems like this. Anyway, that's what they say, but you can actually

Come, God has blessed us. We will go to the front line tomorrow to rescue the Ninth Company."

"Yes, sir."

"Warrant Officer Zhao Peiren!"

Zhao Peiren nodded,

"Sir."

Li Shiqing sternly looked at his new subordinate, then snorted and reluctantly acknowledged it. Then he looked at Liu Mingchun.

"Then you must be Liu Mingchun, huh?"

"Yes, sir."

"oh!"

This time Li Shiqing's snort also expressed approval. In fact, he had no interest in these two "rookies" at all. Although they came from the famous Jiangsu Army Officer Education Team, these two people just graduated from business schools.

He is just a "scholar". A person like this can do business and fight...but now, what other choice does he have? Now that his company can add two platoons, he is very satisfied.

He took out a piece of paper from the pile in front of him and read aloud,

“We have noticed that in many companies, the routine cleaning of rifles is not being done properly…all company commanders…blah blah blah…doctrines and regulations…blah blah…inspections…blah blah blah.

Please submit a detailed report...blah, blah, blah, blah, blah."

Li Shiqing threw down the piece of paper with disgust,

"The signer is Major Song Shiming. Like you, he came from Lianyun Commercial School. I really don't understand you. If you don't want to be a good businessman, you insist on coming to the front line to join in the fun! You are so full!

"

The officer's answer caused the two "Caiwu" who had just arrived at the front line to fall into a long silence. Faced with the officer's ridicule, Liu Mingchun looked extremely embarrassed. Zhao Peiren, on the other hand, looked unacceptable.

Don't you look down on others? When he thought of this, Zhao Peiren felt a surge of anger in his heart, but he knew the rules of the army well and knew that he could not refute. In fact, refuting was meaningless.

"Want to know what the damn problem is?"

Li Shiqing finally spoke and looked at the two new subordinates in front of him. Compared with these warrant officer platoon leaders, he still liked the non-commissioned officer platoon leaders. They were shot one by one.

"Sir?"

Liu Mingchun said.

"Since the battle started, my people have been using those damn rifles, fighting all day long, day and night, killing Germans in the rain and mud."

"Yes, sir."

Liu Mingchun and Zhao Peiren quickly agreed.

"That's why we made them very dirty. Of course, I'm referring to the rifles, not the people. People can't get any more dirty."

"Yes sir."

There was a moment's pause, and then Liu Mingchun began to defend his senior.

"I believe my Major Song didn't mean to-"

He wanted to continue, but Li Shiqing interrupted him,

"Oh, it doesn't matter. It's all official. I only tell them what they want to hear. The brightest rifle in France. Clean it five times a day. That kind of thing."

He sat down, put his feet back on the cabinet, and began to drink his second cup of coffee that he hated so much.

"I take it that you are all new recruits?"

"Yes, sir."

Liu Mingchun said.

"I hope you're not too incompetent?"

This question and his tone made Liu Mingchun's eyes twitch in surprise. Before he could come up with an answer, Li Shiqing interrupted him again.

"Don't worry. Training is a waste of time. I am the only professional soldier in the entire company. I graduated from Baoding Military Academy. The idea of ​​student officers like you is a big joke. The training you need

That’s it: if you see a German, kill him. Keep your head from being blown off. Don’t get your men into trouble! Got it?”….

Silence, for such words, the two of them could only remain silent.

"In addition, there is another point, that is..."

Looking up at the two young officers in front of him, he added another sentence.

"Remember your promise, but don't force soldiers to do anything you can't do. As an officer, you must set an example. Do you know why we are doing this to you student officers?"

A rhetorical question left both of them speechless.

"It's because we damn must lead by example, take the lead in setting an example, and set an example for soldiers. Therefore, the proportion of officers killed in battle is very large, even more than that of soldiers. So. Now you hurry up and write your will. God only knows what you can do."

We can't survive tomorrow. Some people say that soldiers are cannon fodder, but in the expeditionary force, officers are cannon fodder! Do you understand?"

Regarding the officer's words, Liu Mingchun remained silent. He and Zhao Peiren were shocked and extremely shocked by everything here. They did not expect that everything here was completely different from what they knew. The mud, pests, and maze-like trenches, each

The dangers lurking on the gun platform, every weakness in the defense engineering, every bullet whizzing by, everything here made them feel shocked, but at the same time, they also understood that they had reached the front line.

"This is your territory."

In the trenches on the front line, Li Shiqing introduced their artillery-proof caves to Liu Mingchun and Zhao Peiren. The area of ​​the artillery-proof caves was about seven or eight square meters. The soldiers here had recently excavated the front line. In the past few days, they were like madmen.

Trenches were constantly being dug to prevent the Germans from madly attacking.

"You've got to put some more dirt on top of that damn top. It won't stop the cannonballs coming straight at it, not yet. Also, the food has to be hung up. If it's on the ground, Brother Rat will dry it all up. That's a big deal."

Those who violate the regulations. In this place, the bodies belong to them and the food belongs to us. Do you understand?"

After giving a few instructions to the two rookies, Li Shiqing left, leaving the two young men alone in their new home. Zhao Peiren looked at Liu Mingchun. Liu Mingchun looked at Zhao Peiren.

A smile appeared on Zhao Peiren's face,

"Okay, brother, here we come."

Looking at everything in front of him, Liu Mingchun nodded,

"Yes, we are here. We have finally arrived in France and are here to fight."

They sat on the bed, stroking the rough wooden wall with their hands, feeling the weight of the soil above their heads. They remembered what Li Shiqing had said: a direct hit of the shell would finish the game for them. They thought back to the time they were in business school last year.

That summer vacation, thinking of that summer joy, even though it was summer vacation now, it was impossible for them to go back to that kind of life.
To be continued...