Changjin Lake: From Xinxingli to Seoul

Chapter 117 The Third Battle is About to Begin!
Military trucks transporting new recruits to the Seventh Company
“My dad says I’m a turtle son, I can’t do anything right.”

"He told me to join the army, saying that the benefits would be good after I was discharged, and maybe I could even bring my family to the city!"

Xu Mumu smiled憨厚ly and said honestly.

"Idiot, what are you saying!"

"It was his first time meeting a high-ranking official, so he was a little nervous."

"Actually, it's for the motherland, to defend the border, and to avenge the people of Northeast China!"

He successfully elbowed Xu Mumu and quickly explained.

Tan Ziwei looked at the two men and roughly understood their personalities.

"And you, why did you enlist?"

He asked the Master about the Way.

"Report to the chief!"

"From a young age, I had a great ideal: to join the Red Army led by the Party!"

"Ah! Thinking back to those days, the Long March, the War of Resistance against Japan, the three major battles, the spark ignited on the walls of Nanchang, set fire to the whole of China!"

"Back then, I thought, what an honor it would be if one day I could wear the sacred military uniform and take over the rifle from my predecessors!"

"Defending the motherland and the people is like a crystal-clear drop of water merging into the vast ocean!"

"Reporting to the commander, response complete!"

He successfully recited the speech he had prepared in his mind.

"Brother Chenggong, why do these words sound so familiar?"

"When I signed up for enlistment before, I think you mentioned something like... Ah!"

Xu Mumu was speaking when Chenggong suddenly pinched her thigh hard, making her scream in pain.

"Commander, let's talk about the Battle of Misato."

"At that time, this idiot and I were carrying explosives and charging towards the American troops."

Success sensed something was wrong and quickly changed the subject.

"Then I was hit by a piece of debris from the shockwave of the explosion, and my head still hurts."

Xu Mumu pointed to the gauze wrapped around her head and said.

"Oh dear, you're such an idiot!"

Successfully, seeing that Xu Mumu had interrupted her again, she was so angry that she didn't want to talk anymore.

"Hahahaha... What's the big deal?"

"From the moment you picked up explosives and demolition charges and charged at the American troops, you were already heroes of the Chinese people!"

"Xu Mumu, right? In the future, if you encounter an explosion, quickly raise your hands to protect your head."

Tan Ziwei wasn't angry; instead, he smiled and said...

"Raise your hands to protect your head."

"Raise your hands and protect your head..."

Xu Mumu murmured repeatedly and nodded.

Soon, the troop carrier slowly came to a stop.
Wu Wanli stood with his hands behind his back, personally welcoming the new recruits along with Yu Congrong and others.

"Rumble--"

In the distance, three tanks happened to drive by.

"How come this tank is driving? Our 7th Company is here?"

Wu Wanli asked.

"Reporting, Company Commander!"

"These are the three tanks we captured at the Watergate Bridge. You told us to hide them before, and now we've brought them back."

"The army commander has submitted an application to allocate these three tanks to our 7th Company!"

Yu Congrong reported loudly.

"Ok."

Wu Wanli nodded and looked toward the troop transport vehicle.

On the troop carrier
When Xu Mumu saw the suddenly appearing gun barrel of the American tank, he thought of what Tan Zhiwei had just taught him and almost reflexively raised his hand.

"Kid, that's not how you do it. You need to keep your head close to protect it!"

Tan Ziwei looked at Xu Mumu and sensed something was wrong, so he quickly corrected her.

However, Wu Wanli and his group had already witnessed this scene.

"No...that soldier! That soldier, that soldier!"

"Put your hand down!"

What are you doing?!

"You think you're funny?!"

"Get down! Get down now!"

Wu Wanli frowned slightly, strode over, and pointed at Xu Mumu, shouting.

Although he knew Xu Mumu, Wu Wanli had to strictly correct him given that so many people were watching Xu Mumu's surrender gesture.

Xu Mumu swallowed hard, looked at the stern Wu Wanli, and jumped down with weak legs.

"You stand still!"

"Why are you panicking?"

"Lift your head up, lift your head up."

Wu Wanli helped the staggering Xu Mumu to her feet and said.

Beside him, the guard platoon leader, Shi Qian, quickly helped Xu Mumu straighten his military cap.

"Drive that crappy tank away from me, don't get in my way!"

Wu Wanli pointed to the American tank and said.

"Company Commander, please calm down. These are the soldiers I selected for the Seventh Company from the Fifth Logistics Platoon. It's my fault for not training them well..."

According to prehistoric times.

"Hey? You look a bit like..."

"He looks a bit like someone I used to know!"

"What's your name?"

Wu Wanli asked.

"Reporting to the company commander, the 698th soldier of the 7th Steel Company, Shi Qian!"

"I joined the company when soldiers were transferred from the Ninth Company to supplement the Seventh Company during the Shuimen Bridge incident!"

"I used to be the squad leader of the third squad of the ninth company, and now I am the squad leader of the guard squad of the seventh company!"

According to prehistoric times.

"Prehistoric times, could it be..."

"Wait... what about you?"

"You also bear a resemblance to someone I know?"

Wu Wanli was halfway through his thought when he suddenly noticed another one and asked a question.

"Reporting to the company commander, I am Wu Siyi, the 699th soldier of the Seventh Steel Company!"

"I was also transferred to the Seventh Company during the Water Gate Bridge incident!"

"He used to be the deputy squad leader of the third squad of the ninth platoon, and now he's the deputy squad leader of the guard squad of the seventh steel company!"

Wu Siyi reported loudly.

"Your surname is also Wu? Are you from Huzhou, Zhejiang?"

Wu Wanli looked at the soldier in front of him who resembled Wu Liu and asked.

"Reporting, Company Commander, I'm from Henan, from Shangrongshu Village!"

Wu Siyi said.

"The location matches..."

"What's your son's name? What do you plan to name your grandson?"

Wu Wanli smiled slightly and asked.

"Reporting to the company commander, according to our family tradition, my son is named Wu Wuyi and my grandson is named Wu Liuyi!"

Wu Siyi straightened his back and said.

"What a brilliant Wu Liuyi!"

"But why would the Seventh Company have a guard platoon? What do I, a company commander, need a guard platoon for!"

Wu Wanli said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Wanli, this is the commander's arrangement."

"Commander Kong Jie said, 'You're too brave in battle, always charging into the most dangerous places by yourself.'"

"He was worried that you would be injured in the middle of your life, so he added a guard platoon to the Seventh Company to protect your safety."

Tan Ziwei jumped off the military vehicle and said to Wu Wanli.

"Alright, I'm just worried they won't be able to keep up with my pace."

"By the way, Commander Tan, congratulations on your promotion to commander of the First Assault Regiment!"

Wu Wanli smiled and saluted.

"Alright, alright, alright... don't give me that."

"To tell you the truth, what others remember most about you are your glorious military achievements, but what I remember most is different from theirs."

"Back at Shuimen Bridge, it was you who snatched my life back from the jaws of death."

"I will remember the image of you braving a hail of bullets and shouting 'Never give up!' for the rest of my life!"

Tan Ziwei approached Wu Wanli and said.

"No one in the Seventh Steel Company would abandon their comrades if they were in my position."

Wu Wanli said confidently.

"Hahahaha...I believe in the Seventh Company!"

“Your eldest brother, your second brother, and then you, the three of you brothers have actually become the third generation of company commanders of the Seventh Company. That’s amazing.”

"By the way, these new recruits were personally selected by your platoon leader and squad leader of the 7th Company during the time you were at the Dayudong Command Post."

"The commander said that it's up to you how many to keep and how many to take back."

"However... the commander will only give you ten days."

"The third battle will begin in about ten days."

Tan Ziwei thought for a moment about the content of the meeting and then whispered the details.

"Great, it seems there are advantages to our troops being stationed near Dayudong."

“At least we get military intelligence faster than other units!” Wu Wanli said with a smile.

"Train them well and forge a new Iron Seventh Company to continue to shine in the Third Campaign!"

"If you need anything, you can go to the battalion headquarters to find your brother, to the regimental headquarters to find me, or to the army headquarters to find Commander Kong Jie."

"Your influence, Wu Wanli, is growing stronger and stronger; you have connections at every level!"

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha……"

After Tan Ziwei finished speaking, he left with a hearty laugh.

At this time, all the new recruits had disembarked and were heading towards the training ground.

"Company commander, there are 367 new recruits selected this time, and we can only keep a maximum of one-third."

Pinghe looked at the new recruits and said.

"One-third...that's really cruel to these idiots!"

"Our Seventh Company has become a hot commodity!"

Lei Gong smiled, took a puff of his pipe, and said.

"Definitely! Our light and heavy machine guns, mortars, bazookas, grenade launchers, and even the latest flamethrowers have been added!"

"If the corps commander's application is successful, we can even get tanks assigned to us!"

"Which soldier wouldn't want to join our company?"

Yu Congrong said with a smug look on his face.

"More than that!"

"Our company's treatment is automatically half a rank higher than other companies; even ordinary soldiers are at the deputy squad leader level."

"Moreover, we fought alongside our company commander and always had the most merits and the fewest casualties, making us arguably the sharpest blade of the Volunteer Army!"

"Anyway, in the future, I want my children and grandchildren to go to military academy and join the Steel Seventh Company. I'd be happy even if they were just ordinary soldiers!"

A sense of pride welled up in Gao Daxing's heart, and he said.

"Wow, you even went to military academy? You're just bragging!"

"If you go to military academy, won't you be aiming for the position of company commander of the Steel Seventh Company?"

"Don't think I, Old Yu, look down on you. Your descendants want to be the company commander of the Seventh Steel Company? Not a chance!"

Yu Congrong chuckled cheekily.

"Yu Congrong, you were still lecturing your son in your dreams that he must join the Steel Seventh Company, and now you're afraid someone will take his place?"

Lei Gong laughed heartily and joked.

"What? You had that dream...?"

Yu Congrong blushed, feeling ashamed that his little scheme had been seen through.

I was just kidding!

Lei Gong said with a slightly frivolous expression.

"Lei Gong, you tricked me!"

Yu Congrong pointed at Lei Gong and shouted, feigning anger.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Pinghe, Gao Daxing, and others present burst into laughter.

"Alright, don't make a fool of yourself in front of the new recruits."

"Let's go, take the new recruits to the training camp!"

Wu Wanli reprimanded.

"Yes!"

Yu Congrong instantly regained his seriousness and raised his hand in salute.

The Steel Seventh Company's success today is almost entirely due to Wu Wanli leading the entire company through sheer hard work.

Therefore, he had already achieved a very high level of prestige even though he had only recently become a company commander.

The new recruits watched as a group of veterans saluted the young company commander, and recalling his world-renowned achievements, they all looked at Wu Wanli with eyes full of admiration.

"Why are these new recruits looking so dejected? Let's sing a military song!"

"Did the Chinese military spirit teach them?"

Wu Wanli asked.

"Reporting to the company commander, there is nothing!"

According to prehistoric times.

"No, then..."

Wu Wanli nodded, just about to change the song.

"Reporting, Company Commander!"

"Even though we weren't taught, we all know how to do it!"

"The Seventh Company is a heroic and exemplary company of the entire Chinese People's Volunteer Army. The deeds and military song of the Seventh Company have been praised throughout the entire army!"

Success shouted loudly.

Upon hearing this, the other recruits, though somewhat uncomfortable with their success in showing off, subconsciously nodded in agreement, acknowledging the fact.

"Do you really know all of them?"

Wu Wanli, hands on his hips, asked loudly.

"meeting!"

The recruits said in unison.

"Okay! I'll start!"

"If our motherland is invaded, prepare!"

Wu Wanli sang loudly.

"If our motherland is invaded, every patriotic man should stand up for himself!"

"Drink this bowl of hometown wine, for the brave warrior will never return!"

"The Yellow River rolls on, the Yangtze River surges on!"

"Give me life, give me strength!"

"Let the blood stain the most beautiful flowers and be scattered on my chest!"

"Red flags fluttering, bugles sounding!"

"The sword is drawn, thunder roars and lightning flashes!"

"..."

"Forward! Forward! Forward! The spirit of the Chinese army!"

Led by Wu Wanli, the new recruits sang the military song he composed in unison with great spirit.

Amidst the thunderous and powerful singing, they felt as if they were the passionate men in the song, brave warriors fighting to protect their motherland from invasion!

The Yellow River and the Yangtze River nurtured their lives and gave them the strength to fight to the death!

The red flag is fluttering; it is the flag of the Seventh Steel Company, and also the Chinese national flag!

Draw your sword and charge forward!
Amidst the thunderous roar of gunfire, even those who fall covered in blood are the most beautiful crimson flowers of heroes!
After finishing their song, they arrived at the training camp location just in time.

At this moment, all the new recruits were in a state of excitement and enthusiasm.

They stood tall and proud, looking up at Wu Wanli on the stage, their eyes filled with fervent admiration and adoration!

This song was composed by Wu Wanli, the company commander of the Seventh Steel Company, who was on stage!
And he truly put it into practice by leading the Steel Seventh Company on the Korean battlefield!

"I will! I absolutely must become a member of the Steel Seventh Company!"

Successfully, his hands trembled slightly with excitement as he looked at Wu Wanli on the stage and roared in his heart.

Although he wasn't exactly honest, he loved his country and was willing to sacrifice himself for his country and people.

However, he hoped to achieve great things and accomplish something spectacular, and even if he died immediately after achieving it, he would have no regrets!

It now seems that this dream is most easily achieved in the Steel Seventh Company!

"Comrades, as far as I know, you all volunteered and were then selected by the platoon leaders and squad leaders of the Seventh Steel Company."

"Today is your first day at the Seventh Company's post. I'd like to ask you a question first."

Do you guys really understand the Seventh Company?

"You think the 7th Company is a heavily armed, fully American-equipped unit?"

"Is he the elite vanguard of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, renowned for his outstanding military achievements?"

"Is this a good company where we can eat meat every day?"

Wu Wanli slowly surveyed these worshipful and fanatical gazes and asked.

The new recruits nodded somewhat blankly when they heard Wu Wanli's question.

"These are all correct, but they are not the most important."

"Do you know how many times the Seventh Company has risen from mountains of corpses and seas of blood?"

"Holding that comrade's mutilated body, looking at the shattered company flag..."

"Those thousands of troops were shouting victory, shouting 'Long live the Emperor!'"

"The Seventh Company was silent; all they could do was bury their comrades and report their wounds."

"Then I told myself that I had survived, and I had to keep fighting!"

"The Seventh Company is just a person, standing right here!"

"He's taller than that house, taller than that tree!"

"He never falls!"

"That's why he's steel! A man of steel with an iron will!"

"Most importantly, our Seventh Company will never fall, and we can continue like this forever."

"Never abandon, never give up, that's why we're called the Steel Seventh Company!"

Wu Wanli loudly proclaimed the Seventh Company in his heart.

"Steel Seventh Company! Steel Seventh Company! Steel Seventh Company!"

The new recruits below the stage also felt a surge of excitement, their desire to join the Steel Seventh Company growing even stronger. They looked at Wu Wanli with fervor and shouted loudly.

"Ten days! The selection training for the Seventh Company only lasts ten days!"

"I will assess and score you during these ten days of training."

"Let's see what it's really like."

"Ten days from now... Mule, get out of here!"

"Horse, follow me!"

Wu Wanli thought of the third battle ten days later and shouted loudly.

(End of this chapter)