Early morning on the 18th.
The supreme commander of the First Division, Yang Chengwu, has arrived at Hongzidian, Pingshan County!
At this moment, the third regiment has completed the supply of ammunition and food and is waiting for Yang Chengwu to issue orders.
Originally, the Third Regiment was ready to cross the river, but Yang Chengwu inspected the troops again because of the special instructions from his boss.
Futuo River originates from Gushan Village, Taixi Mountain, Fan County, western Shanxi Province, with a total length of 587 kilometers.
The third group must cross the section of Xiejia River, which originates from the land behind Pingshan Mountain, flows from north to south, passes through the land in front of the river, and turns to the southeast at Sidaohe River. , and it also caught up with flash floods, which made the water flow even more turbulent.
Yang Chengwu stood by the river and saw that there were two boats on this rushing river. The anger in his heart surged up instantly, "There are more than a thousand people in a group, and you prepared two boats?"
"Two boats are enough!" Ji Ting, the leader of the third regiment, said honestly and confidently.
"Do you think I'm stupid? Just this kind of ferry can hold forty or fifty people, and that's not counting weapons and equipment! Tell me, how do you plan to cross? Don't tell me that you can lie down with a hundred people and a hundred people. Come and pull, and by the time you finish pulling, it will be daybreak."
Yang Chengwu roared angrily, with the dignity unique to this soldier, and his eyes widened with anger.
Ji Ting, the commander of the third regiment, is a veteran, and he is also a mature and steady veteran. If it were not for special circumstances, he would never prepare only two boats to cross the river.
Now Yang Chengwu just wants to know why he only prepared two boats.
"Report, ensure that all personnel and equipment of the entire regiment have crossed the river before dawn!" Ji Ting said loudly.
"Safe! Safe! Even the boss knows that the water level of Futuo River is rising, and he has repeatedly reminded me to pay attention to safety. But you just prepared two broken boats! Do you think you don't want to do this team battle anymore?"
"Report! The ferry is really unavailable! In the enemy-occupied area here, the people don't trust us enough, so it's not easy to borrow two boats. But these two boats are enough! In addition to the ferry, we also prepared ropes. Soldiers who can swim can cross the river with the help of ropes. These two ferries are prepared for those who cannot swim and have weapons and equipment." Ji Ting stood at attention, his eyes full of determination.
"How many soldiers can swim?" Yang Chengwu asked.
"More than half!" Ji Ting said vaguely.
Yang Chengwu wanted to continue asking for some details, but time was tight and the task was heavy. After knowing the specific situation, he did not waste any more time and continued to criticize Ji Ting for his lack of preparation. ,
This is indeed not Ji Ting's fault. The team came directly and had not yet established relations with the common people. The most important thing was that the third regiment marched under the name of "Corporal Shihu" troops.
Jiaoshihu was a local warlord unit with a bad reputation. It was too late for the people to hide, let alone borrow a boat.
Out of trust in the veteran soldier, Yang Chengwu did not continue to hold on to the problem of the ship. Instead, after looking at the time, he stared at Ji Ting and said loudly, "Okay! If you have said enough, then I will believe you! Now ten At one-fifty-three, seven minutes later, at twelve o'clock sharp, the three regiments began to cross the river!"
"Yes!" Ji Ting stood at attention and accepted the order.
"Be sure to pay attention to safety." Yang Chengwu added.
The war was imminent, and in order to keep it secret, most of the military orders were prepared and issued at short notice, even the marching route of the third regiment.
To be honest, the task of crossing the river for the third regiment was very difficult.
Because most of the main force of the Third Regiment are northerners, not many can swim. Most of the soldiers Ji Ting said include those soldiers who have just learned to swim temporarily.
The water flow was very fast, especially as a heavy rain had just fallen upstream. Looking at the rapid river water, Ji Ting, who was directing the river crossing, seemed calm on the surface, but his heart was ups and downs, and he was always worried about the soldiers holding the ropes to cross the river.
In order to facilitate contact, Yang Chengwu assigned two walkie-talkies to Ji Ting.
The first step was handed over to deputy commander Xiao Shang, who led a group of soldiers with the best water ability and some weapons and equipment to cross the rapid river.
Under the night, the light was very poor. In order to be secretive, the third regiment did not use any lighting tools. They just felt in the dark, led by deputy commander Xiao Shang, got on the ferry and swayed out.
Because it carries a lot of weapons and equipment, the hull draft is very deep. Although it looks smooth, it is actually very unsafe.
The visibility was not good, and the ship disappeared into the darkness after sailing more than ten meters.
Ji Ting held the walkie-talkie in his hand and deliberately asked, but as a qualified commander, he still suppressed the impulse in his heart.
Time passed very slowly, ten minutes seemed like an hour had passed.
"Shashasha~" Ji Ting's walkie-talkie finally responded, and then Xiao Shang's voice came from inside.
"The cormorant calls to the fisherman, the cormorant calls to the fisherman.",
"Fisherman received it!" Even though Ji Ting was in a hurry, he knew that it was Xiao Shang on the other side of the intercom, but he still completed the communication strictly in accordance with the regulations.
"The cormorant has safely crossed the river, please give me instructions!"
"Prepare ropes to help other warriors cross the river."
"Cormorant got it!"
About seventeen or eight minutes later, the two ferries returned to their original locations again, bringing with them six ropes.
Yang Chengwu looked at the time. This trip took half an hour. Less than sixty people were sent over, and less than one-tenth of the weapons and equipment were sent over. If this speed was followed, it would be absolutely impossible to complete the crossing before dawn.
"Time is a bit tight right now!" Yang Chengwu said calmly.
Hearing that Yang Chengwu's tone seemed calm, but in fact he was anxious, Ji Ting immediately replied, "Report, the ferry is mainly used to pull weapons, and these ropes are used by soldiers to cross the river."
"be safe!"
"yes!"
Next, six ropes were assigned to six companies. They each pulled the ropes and looked for areas where the water flow was still slow to cross the river, while Ji Ting directed other soldiers to transport weapons and equipment.
Although there are no heavy artillery, the Third Regiment still has quite a lot of machines, and there are more than 20 light and heavy machine guns combined. These are the top priority, so Ji Ting has always been careful in commanding, not daring to be negligent.
Seeing the soldiers crossing the river in an orderly manner, Yang Chengwu's worried heart finally calmed down.
It was a bit cool at night, and the river water was a bit cold, but the air was extremely dull.
This dullness is not psychological, but physical.
The gradually decreasing visibility and the dull air made Yang Chengwu and Ji Ting feel anxious again.
Because it was cloudy, and it was getting cloudy very quickly.
According to experience, when this happens, heavy rain will fall quickly at the same time.
If it rains heavily at this moment, it will undoubtedly be a huge disaster for the three regiments crossing the river. (End of chapter)
