The beacon of youth

Near Huanxian County on the Longdong Plateau, there are several cave dwellings on the sunny side of a small hillside. Several long antennas are erected on the roof of the cave dwellings. Below the antennas are several yellow weeds swaying in the wind. A flat small courtyard, surrounded by various stones to form a half-person-high wall, the inside was cleaned so that there was not even a blade of grass, and some sentries were arranged in front of the cave door from far to near, People come and go from time to time, this is the headquarters of the Northwest Field Army.

Inside the cave, a gray-haired general held a telegram and asked the surrounding staff: "Does our army have any troops in Qingyang?"

The staff officers around the general looked at each other, and one staff officer replied: "Mr. Peng, the main force of our field army is in the Huanxian area, and there is no activity of our army in the Qingyang area."

Needless to say, the person who asked the question was Peng Dehuai, deputy commander-in-chief of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, commander and political commissar of the Northwest Field Army.

The general asked again: "This is strange. According to our news, there is a main force of our army in the Qingyang area. It has been active recently and has wiped out two enemy cavalry regiments one after another. A regiment is also restrained, what's going on?"

A staff officer thought for a while and said: "Boss, this is a good thing. Although the enemy's cavalry is not large in number, and their equipment and combat effectiveness are not very good, but their mobility is very fast. If they harass us in the rear, it will be a headache. , it may be that the troops sent by the column itself have not had time to greet the headquarters."

The general nodded and thought for a while and said, "Ask each column who sent troops to the Qingyang area, why didn't they report to the headquarters, and ask them to call back immediately after receiving the telegram."

The captains of the columns who received the telegram were very surprised. There is no activity of our army in Qingyang area. This is something that everyone knows. Why did Mr. Peng ask such a question, but since he asked, there must be a reason, and he immediately ordered the staff , Ask the brigades below whether there are combat troops in the Qingyang area.

It didn't take long for the news from the various columns to come up. All the columns said that they did not send combat troops to move around Qingyang, but there was news from the [-]rd Column and [-]th Brigade that their brigade had encountered a small unit of our army near Qingyang. , the number is two vertical.

At the headquarters of the field army, the general with a bunch of telegrams said to the officers and staff officers: "It's really strange. The three verticals said that one of the two verticals walked a few steps and said: "Boss, look at this. no?Let's ask the second column again, and tell them about the situation reported by the third column. I don't think they will ambush us because of this matter. This is not a bad thing. "

At the headquarters of the Second Column of the Northwest Field Army, a thin and bearded general took a telegram from the headquarters and said to a commander next to him: "Political commissar, this is strange. The third column said that our column There is a small army operating in the Qingyang area, and we have asked the brigades and columns directly under it just now, and they all said that no troops have been sent, what is going on?"

The captain next to him said: "Huzi, how about this? It is said that there is a small unit in our column that is active in the Qingyang area. It is the old Liu of the Ninth Brigade. Let's call the headquarters and ask the old Liu of the Ninth Brigade to explain the situation in detail." point." The bearded commander said, "Well, that's the only way to go."

When the field army headquarters received the telegram, the old general took the telegram and said to the staff: "Ask the third column to clarify the situation mentioned by the Ninth Brigade and report it in detail. I don’t know, and I need someone else to report the situation.”

A leader next to him said: "Boss, Huzi is not such a person. There may be something we don't know about here. Wait and see what the telegram from the Ninth Brigade says."

At the Northwest Field Army Third Column Headquarters, the commander of the Third Column who received the telegram said to the headquarters personnel: "Let the old Liu of the Ninth Brigade explain the story in detail, what is going on, this is a business trip, and the Second Column said no. The troops are active in that area, and no one has sent troops. Could it be that this army fell from the sky?"

Brigadier Liu of the Ninth Brigade, who received the telegram, scratched his head: "What's going on? It's obviously from the Second Column. How can you say no? You don't want such a good unit? I didn't even want to grab it, political commissar What do you think this means?"

The political commissar next to him said: "Leave it alone, let's report the situation to the police. The column and the headquarters of the wild division are still waiting to ask for it."

The telegram from the Ninth Brigade reads like this

Column, Field Army Headquarters: Our department encountered a small unit of our army in the Qingyang area a month and a half ago, with about 400 people, all equipped with automatic weapons and helmets. They introduced themselves as a company of the second column and the fourth brigade Troops, the whole company is well-trained and well-equipped. There are nine platoons, including a heavy machine gun platoon and a mortar platoon. The company commander is Li Yong, and the instructor is Wang Chengde. This department once helped us fight a battle. High enough to keep our losses to a minimum, a very good small force with a very good commander.

Three Vertical Nine Brigade Liu

At the headquarters of the Northwest Field Army, the old general who received the telegram passed the telegram to a commander next to him: "Look, the third column has stated their positions and names, but the second column still said no. What do you think Wang Huzi himself is doing?" Don't know?"

The captain next to the old general said while reading the telegram: "Good guy, it's not easy. One company has nine platoons of more than 400 people, all wearing steel helmets, as well as heavy machine guns and small cannons. When did we ever have such a thing?" Wealthy troops, when Wang Huzi gets rich, boss, send the original text of the Ninth Brigade telegram to Huzi and the others, and see what they say."

The old general nodded: "Let's do it this way. Let's see what Wang Huzi has to say. He is really a bear. He has done a good thing and laid an ambush."

At the headquarters of the Second Column of the Northwest Field Army, the bearded general who received the telegram said to the staff: "See, Boss Peng must have scolded me at the headquarters. The third column has brought up the situation. We don't know anything yet. Let Chen Xing of the Fourth Brigade figure out the situation as soon as possible, if he is still unclear, I can’t spare him, and ask them why the Fourth Brigade sent combat troops out for activities and didn’t report it.”

At the brigade headquarters of the Fourth Brigade, the brigade commander Chen Xinghe said: "The commander is angry at me. Old Liu from the Ninth Brigade said that our brigade has a unit operating in Qingyang. How can there be any troops in our brigade in Qingyang? It was sent out from the dough, but why didn’t you say hello when you sent troops to perform combat missions? Call and ask if the regiments have sent combat troops.”

At this time, the political commissar said to Chen Xing, the brigade commander: "Old Chen, don't worry, the old Liu of the Ninth Brigade can't talk nonsense, don't make a phone call, let me think about it later, why is this person's name so familiar."

The political commissar who patted his head suddenly said: "Old Chen, I remembered. I know this instructor named Wang Chengde. He is an officer of the Political Department of the Second Regiment. You don't need to ask other regiments. Just ask the Second Regiment. Maybe they sent this force."

At the headquarters of the Second Regiment, Zhao Jin, the head of the second regiment who received the call, said to the phone: "Brigade Commander, our regiment indeed formed a new spy company a few months ago. The company commander is Li Yong, and the instructor is Wang Chengde. More than a dozen people, 20 rifles and a shell gun. I didn’t tell you about such a big deal. The troop they mentioned to you doesn’t match the number. The newly formed spy company of our regiment only has more than [-] people. , can’t fight such a big battle.”

The brigade commander Chen Xing said on the phone: "What's wrong with the numbers? It's them. The names of the company commander and the instructor are all right. Is there anyone else?"

Head of the regiment Zhao Jin said to the phone: "Brigade Commander, in just a few months, a few dozen people can become more than 400 people? And all of them are automatic weapons and helmets, as well as heavy machine guns and small cannons. What do you think? Is it possible? They are not Sun Monkeys who can change 72, and our whole regiment only has four heavy machine guns."

Brigadier Chen on the phone said: "Let me tell you, Zhao Jin, you don't have to be sloppy with me, you won't feel comfortable when I'm being scolded, it's a serious matter, not only me, but even the column and field army headquarters know, you boy This time I'm famous, I'll report the situation later." After finishing speaking, he hung up the phone.

Commander Beard and the political commissar of the Second Column Headquarters who received the notification said: "It really belongs to our column, reflect the situation they reported, and say that I didn't know it beforehand, and accept the criticism from the leaders of the headquarters."