At the defensive position, the 6th Combat Brigade’s soldiers were taking out the barbarians with their machine guns to their heart’s content.
This battle started very suddenly and ended very quickly. The main forces of the expeditionary army had already started to reorganize. If not for the elite barbarians who said they would coordinate with the main forces from the inside for an attack, the barbarians would not have gone to battle again in such a hurry.
As a result, the expeditionary army paid a very heavy price in today’s battle. Fortunately, the regimental commander leading the battle was still able to keep his cool. The barbarians did not panic when they retreated.
But even so, they still ended up paying with the lives of over 3,000 soldiers in this battle.
When the soldiers of the 6th Combat Brigade saw the barbarians retreating, the entire defensive position immediately cheered. Although they knew the war was far from over and they still had to face extremely tough battles after this, it did not stop them from getting excited at this moment.
A veteran next to a heavy machine gun said animatedly, “See that? The barbarians were just about to pull out of range, but I managed to squeeze a shot through a gap in their shields and hit a barbarian in the head. How godlike is that? I told y’all I’m a sharpshooter. Y’all should’ve seen your expressions!”
A few soldiers sat down at the position and took off their boots right then and there. Immediately, the entire machine gun nest was filled with a faint stench of feet.
The boots were extremely thick and heavy, and all of the soldiers had tied their bootlaces tightly. Although it helped them be more nimble in battle, it made their ankles really sore after a prolonged period.
When they all took off their boots, some of them immediately let out a sigh of relief.
Today’s battle had lasted for a full 16 hours, with four watches of soldiers rotating through this position alone. Everyone was extremely exhausted.
Suddenly, the aroma of meat drifted across the defensive position. Some of the veterans’ eyes widened. “Meat, it’s the smell of freshly stewed meat! It’s not canned luncheon meat!”
“You can even distinguish by smell?” a recruit wondered.
“Of course.” The veteran chuckled, “When you get sick of eating luncheon meat, you’ll be able to tell as well. Quick, go and send someone to collect the food. If we’re late, the meat will probably be finished by the others.”
After some ten minutes, several dozen soldiers came back with their aluminum mess tins filled with food. They said excitedly, “Don’t worry about the meat running out. Brigade Commander Zhang said there’s plenty for everyone today!”
The veteran wondered, “Eh, where did the meat come from?”
“The brigade commander said that it was brought back by the future commander. I heard that he went out and robbed five of the barbarians’ supply convoys.” The recruit explained with a smile, “There’s not only meat but fresh vegetables as well!”
When everyone heard there were fresh vegetables, they got even more excited than when they heard about the fresh meat.
Ever since they came to the Central Plains from the Northwest, they basically had carrots, radishes, and potatoes along the way. It was not that the Northwest Army was poor, but that only these types of vegetables could be stored conveniently.
It was impossible to be particular about food when fighting a war. Ensuring they had enough nutrition and enough to eat was already a very difficult task.
But now, when the veterans opened their aluminum mess tins, one of them fell silent after seeing shredded pork with green pepper in it.
Actually, this was just a simple meal that consisted of shredded pork with green pepper. However, it evoked many of his memories of home.
When going on campaign, even minor details could make people immerse themselves in the beautiful times they had in the past.
War was cruel. The harsher the environment, the more they needed these beautiful moments as support to continue fighting.
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“I miss home.” The veteran sighed.
A recruit suddenly asked, “Platoon Commander, what made you join the military?”
The veteran smiled. “I felt it was an honor. Y’all came from the Zong Consortium’s territory, so you won’t understand. To the people of Fortress 178, it’s an honor to be able to defend the fortress.”
“Do you regret it?” the recruit asked.
“What’s there to regret?” The veteran held his mess tin up and shoveled down some of the shredded pork with green pepper. “When you’re old and playing chess with other old men on the street, all you have to do is mention you’ve served as a soldier of Fortress 178, and those old men will automatically show you more respect. This is something that I can brag about for the rest of my life.”
…
After securing a great victory, nothing would make the soldiers happier than getting a good meal. P5092 quietly watched the soldiers shuttling back and forth near the chow tents and suddenly said to Ren Xiaosu in a solemn tone, “Thank you, Future Commander. These supplies came really timely.”
They had begun rationing provisions the previous day to ensure there would be no shortage of food at the defensive position. Each soldier started receiving half the usual quantity for their meals just so there would be enough food to last.
However, after their rations had been reduced for just a day, Ren Xiaosu brought back an unimaginable amount of provisions.
The food from the five supply convoys he had brought back amounted to a very large quantity, with half of it previously looted from the Pyro Company by the expeditionary army.
Those were the provisions left behind by nearly a 100,000 troops. Even if there was not much left, it was easily enough for the 6th Combat Brigade to deal with their emergency.
Ji Zi’ang suddenly felt a sense of joy when he saw the atmosphere at the defensive position livening up again. He suddenly felt that men should fight alongside a group of like-minded people in a place like this.
But before he could rejoice for long, he saw Wang Yun walk over with a smile. “Old Ji, you’ve scored a really valorous deed in this battle. Not only did you manage to disgust the barbarians, but you’ve cleared out the cesspit as well. Y’know, Zhang Xiaoman was still worried the cesspit was too small yesterday. What if it spilled over? And then you came along and solved the problem immediately.”
Ji Zi’ang’s mouth twitched a little. Actually, he had no intention to bring up this achievement.
But Wang Yun continued, “And now, your achievements have spread throughout the 6th Combat Brigade. Do you know what they’re calling you now?”
Ji Zi’ang got an ominous feeling. “What?”
“Hahahahaha,” Wang Yun suddenly burst out laughing. “They call you the Cleanser of the Altars[1]!”
Ji Zi’ang was speechless.
“How do you like this nickname?” Wang Yun asked happily.
“They’re just cracking a joke,” Ji Zi’ang said with a dark expression.
“Come on, didn’t you say it before yourself? There might be names in this world that were given badly, but there’s really no such thing as a bad nickname!” Wang Yun said.
Before this, the nickname of Qin Shihuang had been troubling Wang Yun for several days. While he was feeling depressed, Ji Zi’ang rubbed salt into his wound by saying there was no such thing as a bad nickname.
He finally returned the favor to Ji Zi’ang. Wang Yun felt the gloom in his heart had suddenly dissipated, and he felt much better!
Ji Zi’ang’s face was flushed as he watched Wang Yun walk away triumphantly with his hands behind his back. His entire reputation was probably going to be ruined!
However, Ji Zi’ang actually chuckled as he thought about it. “Damn, which bastard gave me that nickname?”
A soldier who passed by said softly, “Actually, that nickname was given by Commander Wang Yun. We just thought that it was very appropriate….”
Ji Zi’ang’s face darkened once again.
[1] Pun of the name of jìng tán shǐ zhě, jìng tán = eating up all the leftovers on altars, the shǐ in shǐ zhě(envoy), is replaced by the word 屎 (shit). | He is instead rewarded for his part in the pilgrimage’s success with a job as “Cleanser of the Altars” (Chinese: 淨壇使者; pinyin: jìng tán shǐ zhě) and all the leftovers he can eat. | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhu_Bajie
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