Chapter 429: End of Field Training, Acting Scouting Platoon Leader (2)
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Be sure to handle it with care when wiping, and for those who are toasting, know your limit when it comes to alcohol, don’t get drunk!”
In the cemetery, Wang Ye walked past one tombstone after another, quietly reminding some of the young soldiers who couldn’t contain their emotions and were secretly toasting to the fallen heroes.
Last year, he was a rookie and had a job assignment, so he couldn’t wander through the entire garden.
But now, a year later, Wang Ye had the time, so he deliberately started from the first tombstone.
He wanted to get to know all the fallen heroes.
He was also a member of the Iron Bones Hero Regiment, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he wouldn’t be able to come here for at least four more years.
Before leaving, he wanted to take a good look at the heroes of his regiment and remember their faces.
Zhang Xiaohu, from 1965 to 1986…
Li Sanwa, from 1968 to 1986…
Names and smiling faces were engraved in Wang Ye’s mind.
It weighed heavily on his heart.
Many of them were younger than him; the youngest among them was only seventeen years old.
At this age, in the normal world, they hadn’t even finished their schooling or met the requirements for enlistment, but here, they had already made the ultimate sacrifice.
Under the dusk sky, vehicles clanged as they traveled along the road.
Wang Ye sat at the back of the car, letting the wind blow through his hair as he observed the occasional residential areas along the way, watched the people working in the fields, and saw children playing by the roadside. His heavy heart gradually eased.
Isn’t this the day the fallen heroes fought for?
Children could grow up carefree, and fellow villagers could lead happy and stable lives.
“Ugh- Ugh!”
Beside him, a soldier, despite the wind blowing, was continuously covering his mouth with a familiar bag and vomiting.
The smell of alcohol was strong, indicating that this was clearly someone who had secretly drunk a lot of alcohol within the cemetery.
Otherwise, that last small cup wouldn’t have such a strong alcohol scent.
“You can’t handle that much drinking. Be careful when you vomit; don’t let it out!”
Wang Ye said to him.
“Platoon Leader, I… 1 didn’t drink alcohol. It’s the ride in this car!”
Holding the bag, this rookie said with a bitter expression.
“Haha, just get used to it with time, sitting like this. You’ll get used to it!”
Seeing him like this, Wang Ye’s originally heavy heart felt a lot lighter.
The sky grew darker, and when they returned to the new recruits’ company at night after dinner, Wang Ye was summoned.
Jiang Huai informed him that the regiment commander had called and wanted him to go to the regimental headquarters.
“Report!”
At the regimental headquarters, Wang Ye stood at the door of the regimental commander’s office.
The door was open, and from outside, Wang Ye could see the regimental commander leaning back in his office chair, closing his eyes to rest.
Upon hearing Wang Ye’s voice, the regimental commander straightened up, opened his eyes, and looked over.
“Come on in!” The regimental commander said with a hint of a smile.
“Yes, sir!” Wang Ye replied and walked in.
“Find a place to sit, wherever you like,” the regimental commander said.
“Hehe, sir, I’ll just stand!” Wang Ye declined with a smile.
“Suit yourself!” The regimental commander smiled and reached for a Yuxi cigarette on his desk, lighting one for himself.
After taking a look at Wang Ye, he pulled out another one. “Here!”
“Hehe, thanks!” Wang Ye took a few steps forward, smiling, and accepted the offered cigarette.
“Snap!”
The regimental commander lit his own cigarette and then tossed the lighter from the desk towards Wang Ye.
Wang Ye understood and lit his cigarette.
Wang Ye experienced for the first time the act of smoking the regimental commander’s cigarettes in the regimental commander’s office.
“What do you think of the combat effectiveness of our reconnaissance troops, Sergeant?”
Wang Ye had just lit his cigarette when the regimental commander posed the question.
Wang Ye quickly put down the cigarette between his fingers and looked at the regimental commander. He hesitated for a moment before responding, “Sir, I can’t make a fair assessment, and I haven’t had much interaction with them.”
The regimental commander chuckled, watching Wang Ye, and said, “You’ve suffered heavy losses under your command twice, and you still can’t make an assessment? Are you afraid to tell the truth?”
“Hehe, that’s not it!” Wang Ye feigned innocence. “Sir, it’s not me boasting, but losing to me under my command isn’t a disgrace. You see, the special forces in our army were all wiped out by me three to one, and even the division reconnaissance troops wouldn’t dare claim they could beat me. So, measuring combat effectiveness by losses under my command isn’t accurate!”
The regimental commander was a bit taken aback.
Looking at Wang Ye, he suddenly chuckled. “Well, you’re quite the little oddball!”
After a pause, the regimental commander spoke again, “But this time, it wasn’t you personally involved, right? He was one of your soldiers, wasn’t he?”
Wang Ye continued, “That’s right, he could only blow a whistle. In fact, he was pinned down by someone and had no chance to blow the whistle in a real combat situation. He was as good as dead the moment he turned back.” Wang Ye was speaking the truth.
Reconnaissance soldiers, whether it’s two of them within a four to five-meter range, can easily silently stab someone to death with a dagger or a throwing knife.
A knife through your throat and windpipe, what can you even shout?
Even the sound of a falling body could be caught by them as they rushed forward.
“Don’t defend them!” The regimental commander chuckled and said, “Yes, the reasons you mentioned can’t be ignored. However, two experienced reconnaissance veterans, sneaking up on a new recruit’s post, and the fact that this new recruit isn’t under your command but still managed to blow the whistle – this itself suggests that their combat effectiveness is questionable!”
Wang Ye listened silently without uttering a word.
At this moment, the regimental commander, after finishing his statement, looked at Wang Ye once again.
Suddenly, the regimental commander said something Wang Ye hadn’t expected: “If 1 assign the reconnaissance platoon to you, can you improve their combat effectiveness within three months?”
“Uh…” Wang Ye was taken aback.
“Can you?” the regimental commander asked again.
Wang Ye remained silent.
He was pondering the regimental commander’s words.
Could he?
In Wang Ye’s view, the two failures of the reconnaissance soldiers were somewhat justified.
They hadn’t performed the duties of a reconnaissance soldier properly.
Or perhaps, they hadn’t sorted out their mindset.
They were too self-assured and even arrogant.
Last year, they launched their attack on the first night and ran into Wang Ye’s unit.
And Wang Ye belonged to the strongest batch from last year.
In reality, they could have gathered some intelligence and avoided running into him.
And this year, Li Jun was also one of the best in the entire company.
Yet they still messed up when they encountered his unit.
Yes, Wang Ye had put himself in their shoes, calculated their timing, and arranged for the best soldiers to be on duty.
But Wang Ye was sure that reconnaissance soldiers could observe the changing of guards among the new recruits.
If they had gathered intelligence or had a more balanced mindset, they could have easily avoided Li Jun’s shift.
But they didn’t.
Wang Ye didn’t know what their commander was thinking, but he felt that their biggest problem was their leadership.
Looking up at the regimental commander, Wang Ye said seriously, “Sir, I may not know much about our regiment’s reconnaissance soldiers, but 1 believe they are very self-assured and confident. If you let me lead them, I can guarantee that 1’11 straighten out this bad habit of theirs. At the very least, if I’m in charge, I dare say we can take down the new recruits’ company!”
The regimental commander smiled, quite satisfied with Wang Ye’s response.
Wang Ye didn’t immediately say he could.
If Wang Ye had agreed outright, the regimental commander would have asked for more details. If Wang Ye couldn’t come up with a reasonable method to improve the reconnaissance soldiers’ combat effectiveness, he would have been disappointed in Wang Ye.
But now, the regimental commander was quite satisfied with Wang Ye’s response.
“Alright then, when the new recruits move to the company in a couple of days, report to the Criminal Investigation Company temporarily as the acting second platoon leader!”