Siheyuan: A Family of Loyal and Brave People

As soon as the American soldiers surrendered, the nearby miscellaneous soldiers no longer had the slightest desire to fight. They dropped their weapons, put their hands on their heads, squatted on the ground, and became prisoners obediently.

In this way, Cheng Hao captured hundreds of enemy soldiers with only a dozen people.

It sounds a bit ridiculous, but it is so realistic.

Military morale is an intangible and even somewhat ethereal thing, but it actually affects the situation on the battlefield.

When morale is high and the army is motivated, soldiers can be brave and fearless and risk their lives to fight to the death with an enemy force that is dozens of times larger than their own without flinching.

When morale is low and the army has lost its will, even if it has advantages in numbers and equipment, it is still useless and the troops will become silent lambs, at the mercy of others.

A moment later, the large army on the front battlefield arrived and looked at the prisoners squatting on the ground in amazement. Then, under the command of the officers, they helped Cheng Hao and his party to receive and properly place the prisoners.

Soon, Liu Xuan, the commander of the 702nd Regiment, arrived at the front line, and Cheng Hao hurried forward to report the battle situation.

"Report to the regiment commander. The seventh and fifth companies successfully completed the encirclement mission. The fifth company commander Zheng Guochang died heroically..."

Liu Xuan's face darkened when he heard that the fifth company commander had died, but he soon calmed down. There are always casualties in war, and carrying out the mission of infiltration and encirclement is a life-and-death struggle. It is great to be able to complete the mission.

"You all worked hard."

Liu Xuan patted Cheng Hao on the shoulder and encouraged him.

"In the battle just now, the third battalion commander unfortunately died. Once the battlefield is cleaned up, I will recommend you to the superiors to be promoted to the third battalion commander."

Cheng Hao has made great contributions and should be rewarded. It is only natural for him to be promoted in the absence of his position and there is no reason for his superiors not to approve it.

Cheng Haosan’s position as battalion commander has been decided.

"The victory in this battle is the result of the bloody battles of all officers and soldiers of the two companies. I dare not take credit for it." Cheng Hao said modestly: "I just hope that the soldiers who died and were injured can receive proper compensation."

“You don’t have to worry about this.

Go down and have a rest first."

Captain Liu Xuan nodded, his eyes full of relief.

He is a man who is not arrogant when he wins and knows when to advance and retreat. He is indeed a good material. I am afraid that the 702nd Regiment will be entrusted to this young man in the future.

"Yes, Captain."

After reporting the situation, Cheng Hao immediately turned around to deal with the aftermath.

Leaving aside the matter of captured prisoners, the wounded were in urgent need of help and the bodies of the fallen soldiers needed to be collected.

Although loyal soldiers are buried in a foreign land, Cheng Hao does not want these brave soldiers to be buried in a foreign land if conditions permit.

Because Cheng Hao knew very well that they all missed their hometown very much.

If you can't go home when you are alive, you have to keep a memorial honor after death. Besides, only if the body is found can you be recognized as a martyr, otherwise it is likely that you will be treated as a missing person.

Cheng Hao doesn't want the soldiers who died in battle to not even be eligible to enter the Martyrs' Cemetery.

……

The brutal battle came to a temporary end. In the next few days, Cheng Hao was busy arranging the wounded and various follow-up work.

More than half of the Seventh Company suffered casualties this time, and it will take some time to rest before it can recover its combat effectiveness.

Compared to the 7th Company, the 5th Company was in a worse situation, with only a few people left in the entire company. If it hadn't been for their great achievements, the company would have been almost disbanded.

This kind of sacrifice was extremely tragic within the 702nd Regiment, but it seemed insignificant in the context of the entire battle.

During the entire fifth battle, tens of thousands of volunteers were killed or wounded, and it is unknown how many troops were wiped out as a whole.

War is so cruel. Every battle is like a huge meat grinder that grinds the soldiers of both sides into meat paste.

After resting for a few days in the rear, Cheng Hao's commendation and appointment arrived at the same time.

Cheng Hao was awarded a first-class collective merit and a second-class individual merit, and was promoted to battalion commander of the third battalion of the 702nd Regiment.

Getting promoted for meritorious service is a happy event in life, but Cheng Hao did not show much joy. He hastily accepted the commendation and turned around to visit the wounded in the field hospital.

The achievement was made by all the members of the Seventh Company together. Cheng Hao wanted to bring this good news to his comrades who were still in the hospital and had difficulty moving, to boost their fighting spirit and morale.

After exploring several wards in the rear field hospital, Cheng Hao suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure.

It was none other than Jia Dongxu, the deserter from the fifth company.

Jia Dongxu, who had a broken leg, was lying on the hospital bed in a listless state. His cracked lips were slightly open, and he was speaking something intermittently to two young women in military uniforms standing in front of the bed.

The two female soldiers listened to Jia Dongxu's words seriously, and wrote something in their notebooks from time to time.

Cheng Hao, who was puzzled, did not speak loudly, but quietly approached and listened. He wanted to see what Jia Dongxu, the deserter, could spit out.

"That night, our company and another company went deep into the enemy's rear to carry out an infiltration and encirclement mission. During the march, we accidentally encountered a minefield. I was ordered to go forward to clear the mines, and then..."

Listening to Jia Dongxu's nonsense, Cheng Hao showed a hint of anger on his face.

What a shameless Jia Dongxu! He was just a deserter who ran into a minefield and almost exposed the position of his troops, but he dared to make up stories and portray himself as a brave soldier who followed orders and was not afraid of sacrifice. He is so shameless.

"Comrade Jia Dongxu, we have recorded your bravery in entering the minefield for your comrades. We will publish an advertisement in the newspaper to commend you to the entire army in a few days. Don't worry." The female soldier in charge of the interview said earnestly.

Cheng Hao could no longer bear it after hearing this, so he walked out from the side, strode into the ward, pointed at Jia Dongxu and shouted angrily: "Jia Dongxu, you shameless deserter, I finally caught you!"

The three people in the ward were all stunned. Jia Dongxu's eyes widened and his heart was instantly filled with panic. The two female soldiers were confused and puzzled.

"Comrade, you..."

Without waiting for the leading female soldier to ask, Cheng Hao directly introduced himself.

"I am Cheng Hao, the commander of the 702th Company of the nd Regiment. A few days ago, our company carried out a mission together with the th Company where Jia Dongxu was.

During the mission, Jia Dongxu was cowardly and fled from the battlefield. Later, he mistakenly entered a minefield and caused an explosion, almost exposing the position of the troops.

Such a villain should be dragged out and shot!"

When Cheng Hao thought that there were only a few soldiers left alive in the Fifth Company, and then looked at Jia Dongxu in front of him, he felt uneasy.

The soldiers who fought bravely and died on the front line received no attention, but a deserter, relying on his nonsense, was almost promoted as a hero in the newspaper. It is simply ridiculous.

"Cheng Hao, you and I are neighbors in the same courtyard, how could you do this to me!

He is lying, everything he said is false, he is just jealous of me!"

When Jia Dongxu saw that Cheng Hao had exposed his past, he immediately launched a fierce rebuttal.

Deserters will be shot, and Jia Dongxu, who has finally managed to save his life, doesn't want to be shot.

Portraying himself as a hero is his only way to survive right now.

As long as the matter is published in the newspaper and widely circulated, even if the truth is revealed, the higher-ups will not be able to punish him because of the impact.

Unfortunately, his plan was ruined by Cheng Hao who suddenly showed up at the beginning.