The Decisive Battle in Korea

Chapter Six: Heroes

The mountain was still the same quiet mountain, but everywhere were dark red bloodstains and lifeless corpses; the river was still the same slowly flowing river, but now there were many glaring streaks of bright red in its water; the valley was still the same narrow valley, but it was filled with suffocating gunpowder smoke; the trench was still the same winding trench, but I, standing in the trench, had undergone a complete psychological transformation.

I really killed people, I told myself over and over again, I really killed people, and I killed them so naturally, so ruthlessly. I, who used to be terrified even when killing a chicken in its dying struggle, had so cleanly and efficiently killed six people in an instant. If those four enemies hadn't surrendered, I believe I would have unhesitatingly increased that number to ten.

I remembered the pale faces of the enemies who died at my hands, their terror, the blood gushing from their chests, the light gone from their eyes…

“Comrade, have some water.” Little Shandong smiled and handed me a canteen, but I felt something was off about that smile.

“Thanks!”

I took the canteen and put it in my mouth, thinking it would quench my parched throat, but an unexpected irritation made me cough. I quickly realized the secret behind Little Shandong’s strange smile: the canteen contained alcohol, not water. A burst of laughter erupted in the trench, the loudest coming from Little Shandong, the one who had tricked me.

“Our hero doesn’t drink!” Little Shandong exclaimed excitedly, practically tumbling around in the trench.

"Hero?" The word felt unfamiliar and distant to me...

"That's right!" Tiger, with a large bandage wrapped around his chest, limped over to me, sat down with difficulty, and said, "Comrade, I misjudged you. I, Tiger, have been on the battlefield for ten years. Killing a few reactionaries and capturing a few prisoners is nothing special, but to cut down three and capture four with a pickaxe, that's a first. Young comrade, show some guts..."

Tiger took out a shriveled pack of "Great Production" cigarettes from his inner shirt pocket, tossed one to me, and took one for himself, introducing himself: "My name is Li Hu, but comrades, please call me Tiger, Tiger."

"Cui Wei, my name is Cui Wei." I lit a cigarette, took a puff, frowned, glanced at the cigarette in my hand, and coughed slightly. It was pungent, spicy, and bitter... "Great Production" cigarettes might have been considered good in this era, but compared to modern filters, they were far inferior.

“Um, Brother Tiger…” I remembered our previous bet and couldn’t help but glance awkwardly at Tiger’s big feet. Although I had killed six and captured four, Tiger’s outstanding performance on the battlefield meant he had taken down at least a dozen enemies.

“You’re not treating us like brothers, are you?” Tiger seemed to read my mind and laughed heartily, “You gave me my life, why would I expect you to wash my feet?”

The soldiers around me chuckled softly, and the comrades passing by patted my shoulder from time to time. At that moment, I suddenly felt how kind and lovable these people were. I felt like I had already become one of them.

What I didn’t know was that in Wenjing, only twenty kilometers away from the position, a farce was unfolding.

Chen Hanxing stood on a high platform in Wenjing, looking through binoculars at the plumes of black smoke rising in the distance. His thick eyebrows furrowed slightly, and a sense of unease slowly rose in his heart again.

"Colonel (equivalent to a regimental commander)!" Chen Hanxing turned to a tall, spirited man beside him and said, "Colonel, shouldn't we reconsider the reinforcement? The enemy's strength must be considerable to have wiped out an entire reinforced battalion of ours so quickly. If we rush to reinforce them now, wouldn't that be..." "

Lieutenant Colonel Chen (equivalent to a deputy regimental commander or battalion commander) is overthinking it." Li Zhongzhen chuckled, a hint of disdain on his handsome, fair face. "Lieutenant Colonel Chen, since the Inchon Landing, how many men and guns does the People's Army have left? All their heavy weapons were left on our soil. Moreover, we have the powerful mechanized forces of the United States as our backing."

"Hanxing-kun..." Li Zhongzhen pointed his black riding crop into the distance, beaming with pride, "Two hundred li further ahead, you'll be drinking from the Yalu River. Can you imagine? The unification of Korea will be accomplished in our hands. Tell me, what an honor it will be for our descendants to hear this about!"

“The People’s Army is indeed not a cause for concern.” Seeing the colonel’s optimism, Chen Hanxing’s worries deepened. “But the Chinese have repeatedly issued warnings…”

“Ha…it’s just bluffing.” Li Zhongzhen smiled and shook his head, pacing confidently. “Besides, with our current strength and speed of advance, even if the Chinese send troops, they will find it difficult to gain a foothold.”

“Pass down the order!” Without turning his head, Li Zhongzhen ordered the messenger, “Fully support Liangshuidong, eliminate all resistance forces…”