Chapter 428: End of Field Training, Acting Scouting Platoon Leader
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Oh, the water is so cold…”
On the last day, the itinerary was planned at a similar pace to last year’s with Wang Ye and the others, and they only arrived at a riverside after 2 o’clock in the afternoon.
Of course, it wasn’t the same river that Wang Ye and the others had crossed last year, and they didn’t stay overnight at the elementary school last night either.
The route was different, but everyone still slept in tents last night.
Now, for the final training exercise, they had to wade across the river.
The icy mountain river water made each new recruit exclaim when they first touched the water.
Wang Ye’s reaction was very familiar.
Because he had reacted the same way last year.
However, this year’s Wang Ye remained silent.
During his two months at the reconnaissance Regiment, he had been sent for numerous armed river crossings, many of which were in the early morning, and those lakes and rivers were even colder than this.
Moreover, there were new recruits beside him today, so even if it was cold, he couldn’t exclaim.
“Don’t waste time, you won’t die, hurry up and cross the river!” Wang Ye shouted at them.
Today, he was responsible for support work, standing in the river to ensure the team crossed safely.
The water was indeed cold, and Wang Ye and the others had to go in first before the whole team could cross.
It could be said that when Wang Ye got ashore, his teeth couldn’t help but chatter from the cold.
Fortunately, when Wang Ye reached the shore, a bonfire had already been lit on the bank.
He quickly took off his clothes and pants to wring out the water.
“Another year!
Class Leader, I’ve come to visit you again.”
In the Martyrs Cemetery, Wang Ye and the others hadn’t arrived yet, but the current Regiment commander had already entered the cemetery.
This day was actually quite important for the Iron Bones Hero Regiment; on the last day of every year’s new recruit training, the Regiment commander would personally come, whether it was the current Hong Regiment Commander or past commanders.
At the moment, the new recruits hadn’t arrived yet, but the Regiment commander had already consumed half of the bottle of liquor he brought with him.
He had only taken a sip; the rest had been poured out as offerings to his closest comrades from back in the day.
Pouring out the liquor with trembling hands, the Regiment commander slowly wiped the grave marker in front of him.
His movements were slow and careful, and tears welled up in his eyes as he wiped.
“Xiao Hong, you’re the youngest one here. When we charge later, make sure to hide behind me, you hear?”
“Why are you sticking your head out, don’t you know bullets don’t discriminate?”
“Just wait, when this war is over, we’ll both be heroes. The matchmakers will definitely be knocking on our doors…”
Memories of past scenes flooded in, all the way to the final image frozen in a battlefield filled with continuous gunfire, where he had lunged over, covering him with his body. When the shelling finally ceased, he realized that the man behind him had been blasted into a bloody mess…
Tears flowed incessantly.
“Class Leader… you’re older than me, you desire women more, why did you have to… Actually, it should have been me lying here!”
The Regiment commander muttered to himself.
Tears continued to flow.
A few minutes later, after wiping away his tears, the Regiment commander sat down beside the grave marker.
He took a sip of the liquor and poured some onto the grave marker.
All alone, he silently spoke to the grave marker as he drank.
In truth, when he had enlisted all those years ago, the fiercest battles were already behind them, so he hadn’t met many of his comrades whose graves were in this cemetery.
But they were undoubtedly his comrades.
Currently, he had already paid tribute to his other comrades earlier and had come to his platoon leader’s grave last.
“Class leader, the new recruits are almost here!”
About half an hour later, the signalman ran up and quietly reminded him.
The Regiment commander didn’t respond, but he got up.
After wiping his eyes, he looked at the grave marker and softly said, “Class leader, I’m leaving. I’ll come back to chat with you properly on Qingming Festival!”
“Is this the Martyrs Cemetery?”
“It should be, isn’t there a monument over there?”
“I never thought our destination would be here!”
The new recruits approached the entrance of the cemetery, and the formation had slowed to a normal marching pace.
Looking at the towering monument on the hillside and the military vehicles parked on the road ahead, the new recruits were far from calm.
“Quiet down, maintain silence. This is the resting place of our martyrs, no more chattering!”
Hearing their discussions, Wang Ye immediately turned and scolded the formation with a stern expression.
Returning here once again, to be honest, Wang Ye still felt like there was a heavy stone pressing on his heart.
The closer he got, the heavier the burden in his heart.
Wang Ye recalled the scenes inside, remembering how he had toasted and wiped the grave markers here last year.
He also remembered the photographs of those young soldiers who had sacrificed themselves, some looking even younger than him or just a little older.
His heart felt heavy.
“Report to the Regiment commander, Chief of Staff, the new recruits from the first platoon have arrived. Please give instructions!”
Up ahead, Jiang Huai and the platoon leader had run up to the Chief of Staff and the Regiment commander who were waiting at the entrance, saluting.
“Well, take them in!”
The Chief of Staff gave the order.
“Yes, sir!”
Jiang Huai saluted, then turned around to lead the formation forward.
Wang Ye followed the formation, keeping an eye on the Chief of Staff and the Regiment commander up ahead.
Had the Regiment commander already gone in ahead of them?
By now, Wang Ye had learned that the Regiment commander was a veteran of the previous war, and it seemed he had been promoted for his merits during the conflict.
“Here lie 1,182 martyrs, all of them are our predecessors from the Iron Bones Hero Regiment!
This is the root of our Iron Bones Hero Regiment and the place where the spirit of our Iron Bones Hero Regiment resides.”
Hearing the Regiment commander’s words again, Wang Ye’s heart was still filled with a profound feeling.
“May the morning sun always shine upon our land, and may we never forget the blood that has stained our history.”
At this moment, these words suddenly surged in Wang Ye’s mind.
His eyes were a bit moist..