Chapter 164: Reinforcements Have Arrived

The sky gradually darkened, and the scent of gunpowder smoke mixed with scorched earth permeated the valley.

Under the moonlight, the mountains turned into dark silhouettes. All the bloodshed was covered by the darkness.

Only the intermittent sound of gunfire and the groans of the wounded remained, signaling the brutality of this battle—the regiment, originally two thousand five hundred strong, now had only one thousand five hundred men left who could still fight.

He Yuzhu stood on the high ground, looking down at the busy sanitary workers, filled with deep emotion.

The two high grounds he was responsible for defending had suffered minimal casualties due to well-prepared fortifications; out of over six hundred men who participated in the battle, only thirty-five had sacrificed their lives and sixty-three were wounded. In today's bloody battle, this was almost a miracle.

As night fell, Regimental Commander Yang held a combat meeting at the Temporary Command Post.

He Yuzhu and He Daqing were also required to attend.

Inside the Temporary Command Post, Regimental Commander Yang gripped the telegram he had just received, his brows locked tight: "The higher-ups have ordered us to hold our ground here for three days. Everyone, speak according to your own situations, and let's discuss..."

The First Battalion Commander, lying on a stretcher, spoke in a weak voice: "Our First Battalion will coexist with the position!"

"Regimental Commander, the ammunition for the submachine guns is almost gone. As long as we can get more ammo, our Second Battalion is willing to serve as the vanguard tomorrow!"

"Good, Battalion Commander Cui, I will let you lead the main attack tomorrow."

Regimental Commander Yang turned his gaze toward Quartermaster Lao Xia: "Lao Xia, the First Battalion Commander's injuries are too severe; you will temporarily act as the First Battalion Commander. As for the position of Quartermaster..."

He looked at He Daqing: "Let Comrade He Daqing take it over."

He Daqing was stunned, then immediately straightened his back: "I guarantee to complete the mission!"

Being promoted directly from a Cooking Squad Leader to a regimental Quartermaster was something he had never imagined. He felt quite pleased inside.

He Yuzhu, however, heard the subtext—this "promotion" meant a heavier responsibility.

"Regimental Commander, do we not have any reinforcements?" He Yuzhu asked in a deep voice.

"Little He has hit the key point." Regimental Commander Yang nodded, "A unit arriving from Shanxi will rendezvous with us tonight. The higher-ups sent a division, but they were intercepted by the enemy midway; it is estimated that only one regiment will be able to make it. Moreover, like us, they are on a forced march and haven't brought much food. Therefore—I hope Comrade He Daqing can solve this problem."

He Yuzhu gave a bitter smile: "Regimental Commander, you are setting my father up... There are only a few poor villages around here, where are we supposed to get that much food?"

"I believe you will definitely be able to assist Comrade He Daqing in completing the mission." Regimental Commander Yang patted him on the shoulder, "After the meeting, come to the command post; I have something to discuss with you privately."

"Understood." He Yuzhu's expression was more serious than ever.

After the meeting ended, Regimental Commander Yang kept He Yuzhu behind alone, his gaze burning: "I have already accomplished what you asked of me; it is time for you to fulfill your promise, right?"

"What do I need to fulfill?"

"Medical supplies."

"The medical supplies are indeed here. I keep my word; I'll go to the truck to get them right away."

"Wait," Lao Yang stopped him, "Sit down first. I have more to tell you. You kid have many clever ideas. In the next few days, the enemy will definitely clear that road, and you will still need to help guard the high ground. However, after the reinforcements arrive, your identity will be an issue. My meaning is, you must officially enlist in the army, and then I will give you the status of a Staff Officer, and you will be responsible for commanding the defense of those two high grounds. After this battle is over, you can go home if you wish, as long as you assist us in procuring supplies; consider it our regiment's office in Si Jiu Cheng."

He Yuzhu pondered for a moment and nodded: "Fine, I agree to this."

The reason he agreed also had a hidden motive. In this life, his fate had been completely changed; he had not only come into contact with the Underground Party but also with Liu Rusi of the Military Statistics Bureau, and his background was somewhat complicated. Rather than having it be unexplainable in the future, it was better to give himself an "official identity" first, which could be considered both offensive and defensive.

After the two finished talking, He Yuzhu led Regimental Commander Yang to the truck and moved down a wooden crate filled with medical supplies and instruments.

When Regimental Commander Yang saw the Penicillin, his hands trembled slightly: "These... how many brothers' lives can these save..."

The two took the medical supplies to see the wounded. As soon as they entered the Cave, they smelled the pungent scent of blood.

Just as He Yuzhu set down the medical kit, he heard a familiar voice: "Big Brother! Why are you here?"

He Yuzhu looked and saw it was Sanya, whom he had rescued in Si Jiu Cheng.

She was nimbly cleaning wounds for the injured.

"I didn't see you in the village, so I thought you had left," He Yuzhu said.

"My Siqiang is a sanitary worker now, and I'm her assistant." Sanya was very busy but very happy; she was like a completely different person compared to when she was begging for food.

"You might not know yet, but I am now a member of this unit too; we are comrades-in-arms," He Yuzhu said.

"That's great! Does that mean I can see you often?" Sanya asked happily.

"Yes." He Yuzhu leaned in close to her and stuffed a pack of chocolate into her hand, "You are too thin; keep these to eat."

"But them..." Sanya looked at the other wounded soldiers.

"I have prepared other things for them. My father is in charge of logistics now; he won't let everyone go hungry!"

He Yuzhu watched the little girl's busy figure and couldn't help but sigh: in his previous life, a little girl of this age would still be pampered by her parents, but she was already being used as an adult.

Before leaving, he left twenty cans of Beef Canned Food for Sanya.

He Yuzhu returned to the Logistics Department and saw He Daqing sitting on a rock, looking worried.

"Dad, getting promoted too fast isn't necessarily a good thing, right?"

"A promotion is certainly a good thing, but it's truly difficult to solve the provisions for an entire regiment. I wanted to add a meal for the troops tonight, but even a clever housewife cannot cook without rice."

"Dad, I have two hundred cans of Beef Canned Food here. I'll give them all to you; is that enough?"

"Enough! Enough!" He Daqing immediately sat up from the rock and looked at He Yuzhu with burning eyes, "With these cans, I can use the remaining bit of rice to make porridge."

"Send a few people to come with me to the truck to get them!"

"How come you have everything in your truck, kid?"

"Since I came with you, how could I not bring more things? However, I don't have much left either. Tomorrow morning, I can only go to the village to collect some supplies; if that doesn't work, I'll go hunting or fishing."

Late at night, He Yuzhu had been asleep for less than two hours when he heard dense footsteps outside.

He hurriedly got up and rushed to the Logistics Department, where He Daqing was busy and sweating profusely.

"Dad, have the reinforcements arrived?"

"Yes, these people haven't eaten for a day, but we don't have any food either. This is worrying me to death! I can't just let everyone use their own dry rations!"

"Got it. I still have some special noodles; do you want them?"

"Noodles? That's good stuff! Yes, I want as many as you have!"

"How many people came?"

"Three thousand!"

"That should be just about enough." After He Yuzhu finished speaking, he led some men to carry down a dozen crates of Italian Noodles from the truck—of course, these were things he had obtained through "zero-dollar shopping" in the United States.

He Daqing looked at the noodles and frowned slightly.

"Dad, this stuff isn't easy to cook; it needs to be boiled for a while longer." While instructing his father on how to boil the noodles, He Yuzhu used the stored Soybean Paste mixed with canned goods to make gravy noodles for everyone.

When it was time to eat, the soldiers from the reinforcement troops were all very satisfied.

A Cooking Squad Leader in his fifties chewed the noodles vigorously and asked, "Master He, these noodles of yours are truly chewy; they've made my jaws ache from the effort. After eating one bowl, I'm not hungry anymore."

These words made He Daqing laugh, and he asked, "Uncle Niu, you're over fifty, aren't you? Is your bite not what it used to be? These noodles were captured from the Bald Party; I heard they're the kind of noodles foreigners eat."

"You guys are still the best!" Uncle Niu gave a thumbs up.

After the meal, He Yuzhu and He Daqing were both called to the Regimental Headquarters.

Over sixty people were gathered in the operations conference room, all of them Cadres at the company level or above—He Yuzhu, of course, being the exception.

The leaders of both sides began to introduce each other.

As He Yuzhu listened, he felt a bit dazed: why did he recognize so many of the names from the reinforcement troops? Hu Yi, Ma Liang, Luo Fugui, Chang Hongying... He suddenly remembered something...

Just then, a messenger ran in hurriedly:

"Regimental Commander! A large number of enemy troops have been discovered in the direction of Chengde, twenty miles away from us!"