When they arrived at the courtyard house and the celestial bridal chamber, they discovered it was a

During this period, the US 1st Cavalry Division and the United Nations forces, led by Division Commander Smith, were heading towards Chosin Reservoir.

Mackenzie was overjoyed by his series of victories and ordered Smith to lead the troops forward and rush to the border of Great Xia.

In short, it's about speed, and even faster speed, the fastest speed.

For some reason, Smith hesitated for a long time as he watched the snow falling heavier and heavier. Afterwards, he convened a meeting with several commanding officers.

"Gentlemen, in this awful weather, are we really going to continue?" Smith asked slowly, looking at the group.

Everyone fell silent. This question was unanswerable. Not moving forward was not an option; it would be considered disobedience and could lead to a military court-martial, or even execution.

But with this awful weather, how can we continue?

Everyone looked to Smith, letting him make the decision.

Smith remained silent for a long time before finally sighing: "Pass down the order: the daily advance must not exceed ten kilometers. Upon encountering suitable terrain, immediately set up camp and do not act without authorization."

Although this decision went against MacArthur's orders, it received the firm support of the entire division.

They knew that blindly advancing in such extreme weather would be tantamount to suicide. No one knew that Smith's audacious decision would avert the annihilation of the 1st Cavalry Division.

As time went by, the 1st Cavalry Division, though advancing slowly, eventually reached the edge of the positions where the Chinese People's Volunteer Army had laid an ambush.

General Song Zhengyang, who was in charge of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, stood on the high ground, observing the enemy's movements through binoculars. He was calculating the best time to attack and signaled his troops to wait until the 1st Cavalry Division went a little deeper so that they could completely cut off their retreat.

"Commander, when will that slow-moving army finally arrive?" a staff officer asked anxiously.

Song Zhengyang put down his binoculars, his brow furrowed: "I've already sent a telegram urging them to speed things up, but judging from the weather, this is going to be very troublesome."

The staff officers and other command personnel all seemed very angry and indignant, and had already cursed many times before.

Everyone's tired of cursing now.

Before he could finish speaking, a communications soldier rushed over and handed him a telegram: "Reporting to the general, the reinforcements have already passed the halfway mark, carrying a large amount of logistical supplies, and are expected to arrive tomorrow."

Song Zhengyang took the telegram, read it carefully, and finally relaxed his furrowed brows: "Okay, tell them to speed things up. We're waiting for them here."

In fact, Song Zhengyang still hoped to wait for the 23rd Iron Army to arrive. He knew that the Battle of Chosin Reservoir was crucial to the course of the entire war, and that he had to proceed with caution and concentrate more superior forces.

He decided to wait until the 1st Cavalry Division had penetrated deeper and completely cut off their retreat before launching a general offensive.

At the same time, he sent another telegram to the logistics center to inquire about the situation of the reinforcements. He learned that they were overcoming numerous difficulties and rushing over without stopping, and that they would arrive in about a day. Only then did he feel a little calmer.

The wind and snow continued to rage. On the shores of Changjin Lake, two armies, sharing the same fate, each harbored different purposes and determinations.

The Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers held their ground under extremely harsh conditions, waiting for the best opportunity to attack.

The 1st Cavalry Division, under Smith's cautious command, moved slowly forward, each step fraught with unknowns and dangers.

Finally, faced with the increasingly heavy snow, Smith ordered his troops to halt their advance. He then ordered increased maintenance efforts at the temporary airfield and began sending reconnaissance aircraft to conduct continuous reconnaissance.

This was out of concern that there might be Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers lying in ambush ahead.

Another day later, the air around Changjin Lake seemed to have frozen into tiny ice crystals, and every breath was accompanied by a bone-chilling cold. Many Chinese People's Volunteer Army soldiers began to suffer from severe frostbite.

That is, the skin becomes red, swollen, and ulcerated, and even some ears are gone in an instant.

There is a very important reason for this: of the 100,000 troops of the Ninth Army Corps who entered the Changjin Lake area, only 10,000 had thick cotton quilts, while the rest had autumn cotton quilts.

But that year, Changjin Lake was colder than ever before.

Soldiers fell from time to time, some even never waking up again in their sleep.

Meanwhile, even if American troops wear thick coats, sleep in sleeping bags, and drink hot coffee, hot soup, and eat hot meals every day, they will still suffer from frostbite or even freeze to death.

This is the power of nature.

...On this day, Li Erwa, a scout from a regiment of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, lay behind a rock covered in snow, his eyes fixed on the movements of the 1st Cavalry Division ahead.

Suddenly, he frowned and whispered to his comrade beside him, "Tie Niu, look, those guys seem to be heading back. Something's not right. They shouldn't be retreating at this time."

Tie Niu squinted, carefully discerning through the swirling snowflakes. Sure enough, the 1st Cavalry Division's troops began to slowly move backward, and the tents in the camp were being dismantled one after another.

"Something's definitely not right. Report to the company commander immediately. There's a situation. Prepare for battle!" Li Erwa ordered in a low voice.

The news quickly reached the ears of the regimental commander, Zhong Zhengming, who was only twenty-nine years old but had been through countless battles. Upon hearing the news, he immediately climbed to a high place and observed the situation through binoculars.

He immediately issued the order to attack: "Attention all regiments! The enemy is making unusual movements; they may be trying to escape. We cannot let them succeed! Prepare to attack! Give them a good beating!"

At the command, the volunteer soldiers leaped out of their hiding places like tigers descending a mountain and charged toward the vanguard company of the 1st Cavalry Division.

However, when the Chinese People's Volunteer Army attempted to pull the trigger and deliver a fatal blow to the enemy, they encountered an unprecedented predicament.

The guns seemed to be frozen solid. Many soldiers pulled the triggers hard, but only heard a "click" as the bullets jammed. Frost could even be seen condensing inside the barrels.

"This damn weather, even the guns are frozen solid!" a soldier cursed angrily.

Unable to fire, the rifle in his hand became nothing more than a stick for burning.

Worse still, when many soldiers tried to fire their guns, their hands, in direct contact with the various weapons, would tear off instantly, staining the snow red with blood. The excruciating pain caused them to involuntarily slow down their movements.

They were all completely dumbfounded.

Never encountered such a situation.

"Don't panic, everyone! Use grenades! Use grenades!" At the critical moment, an experienced veteran shouted, his voice particularly clear in the cold wind.

Upon hearing this, the soldiers unfastened their grenades from their waists. Despite their fingers being frozen stiff, they persevered and pulled the safety pins with great difficulty.

"Charge! Throw when you're close!" With these roars, the volunteer soldiers formed a three-by-three formation and slowly charged forward, like old men walking on flat ground.

Of course, this speed was already at its maximum.

The main problem is that there's too much snow, and it's too deep.

Thus, they became easy targets for American soldiers.

Even so, the distance between the volunteer soldiers and the enemy quickly shortened, soon reaching a distance of twenty or thirty meters.

They rushed up to the enemy and threw grenades. At such close range, they could see each other's silhouettes clearly, and they frantically threw grenades at the American soldiers.

On the 1st Cavalry Division's side, facing the sudden attack of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, they naturally tried to organize a counterattack, but they soon discovered the same problem.

Their guns also malfunctioned frequently due to the extreme cold. At first, many guns were able to fire bullets, but some carbines only made a dull sound and could not be fired.

Generally speaking, the gun will only stop jamming after firing a few bullets and heating up the barrel.

Similarly, the US military was unable to establish effective firepower suppression.

"Damn it, in this weather, our guns are frozen!" an American soldier cried out in terror, his voice filled with helplessness and fear.

Seeing the volunteer soldiers rushing over like madmen, waving grenades, their morale quickly collapsed.

"Retreat! Retreat now!" Upon seeing this, the commander of the vanguard company of the 1st Cavalry Division had no choice but to issue the order to retreat.

However, in such chaotic circumstances, the retreat had turned into a rout.

The soldiers scrambled to run backward, fearing they would be hit by the grenades from the Chinese People's Volunteer Army. The ranks were in complete disarray, with no semblance of discipline or order whatsoever.

Standing on high ground, Zhong Zhengming looked at the enemy's routed state and a cold smile appeared on his lips: "This is what you call an elite army? Nothing special."

But he knew in his heart that this victory had not come easily; it had been a hard-won one.

But when war breaks out, nobody cares about any of that.

"Commander, should we give chase?" Yao Xuesong, the chief of staff of the First Regiment, ran to Zhong Zhengming's side to ask for instructions on the next course of action.

Zhong Zhengming immediately shouted, "Attack! Kill them all!"

"yes!"

Upon hearing the order, the soldiers rushed forward.

The Battle of Chosin Reservoir officially began.