A courtyard house; Li Yunlong, a subordinate of the deputy director of Harbin Military Engineering I

In the middle of the night, Brigade Commander Chen was awakened by the sound of artillery fire outside. He then excitedly ran next door to pull Zhang Renfeng up for a heart-to-heart talk.

After talking for half an hour, Zhang Renfeng fell asleep immediately, while Brigade Commander Chen, that dog, kept rambling on and on, happily writing furiously again.

[On a certain night of a certain month of a certain year in the Chinese calendar, I was about to undress for bed when the moonlight streamed into my room. Delighted, I got up and went out. Finding no one to share my pleasure with, I went to the command post to find Zhang the Demolitionist. Ah, Demolitionist was also awake. We strolled together in the courtyard, discussing the upcoming battles. I, Old Chen, was deeply moved, and we discussed that if I ever encountered the two corps commanders, they would have to acknowledge that the tactics they had learned were all taught to me by Old Chen. If they agreed, I would offer them three hundred silver dollars upon returning home. Sigh, speaking of silver dollars, if I calculate carefully, since we met, Zhang the Demolitionist has swindled me out of over a thousand silver dollars. A considerable portion of my father's savings from the Hunan Army has been squandered by me. But it doesn't matter, consider it feeding the dog.]

......

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, a fragrant aroma wafted from the tunnel.

When Zhang Renfeng opened his eyes, he saw that Brigade Commander Chen was already sitting at the table, holding an enamel bowl in his hand, stirring the porridge with his chopsticks, and eating it with loud slurping.

"The Commander is awake?" He Daqing quickly asked. "Political Commissar Chen said he wanted something fresh, so I mixed some eggs with fried noodles and used some lard from the can to make a few pancakes. They're just out of the pan."

Commander Chen picked up a piece of bread, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and mumbled, "Hmm, this cooking skill is many times better than my Comrade Fu's. Little He, if you were in Beiping, I'd definitely transfer you to my house as a cook."

Zhang Renfeng went over and sat down. He Daqing quickly served him a bowl of porridge and handed him a pair of chopsticks. The porridge was made from fried noodles with an egg and a little salt. Although it wasn't as fresh as the ingredients back home, it was a rare treat in this frontline area.

During the particularly difficult period a while ago, even Commander Fu of the 63rd Army had to eat beans picked up from the ground, and many soldiers suffered food poisoning from eating wild vegetables.

Only the two of them remained in the tunnel. The wick of the kerosene lamp had been replaced, and the flame flickered steadily.

Commander Chen wiped his mouth, reached into the inner pocket of his coat, pulled out a long, rectangular brocade box, and placed it on the table.

The brocade box was made of dark red velvet with no patterns on it, and it looked plain. But the moment he opened it, Zhang Renfeng was stunned.

Inside was a piece of calligraphy, neatly mounted, with rich ink and vigorous strokes.

Commander Chen unfolded the calligraphy, and Zhang Renfeng got up and took a closer look. It was the calligraphy personally written by his superior: "In ancient times, Zhang Yide roared on Changban Bridge and scared away Cao Cao's million-strong army. Today, General Zhang roars and scares away the million-strong army of the American imperialists."

The signature was stamped with his seal, and the date was the day the US 25th Division was annihilated.

He never expected that his rise to power would lead someone to send this calligraphy to the front lines, and he never imagined that Commander Chen would carry it all the way from Beiping to Korea.

Brigade Commander Chen stood to the side, one hand on his hip and the other on the edge of the table, making no attempt to hide his pride: "Little devil Zhang, let me tell you, if you take this calligraphy to the Central Military Commission's Cadre Department in the future, and they don't give you a general's rank, I'll curse your superiors to death! Hahaha!"

Zhang Renfeng stared at the calligraphy for a long time, his finger hovering above the paper without touching the ink.

"Four stars is unthinkable, but three stars is absolutely a sure thing. This calligraphy isn't for bragging rights; it's going to be in a museum someday. A lot of people in the entire corps are keeping diaries, but you, Old Chen, write the most and the most diligently. When these diaries are handed over to the museum, your phrases like 'great victory,' 'great acquisition,' and 'huge profit' will probably have to be revised eight hundred times. Especially the words about competing with Comrade Xiao Fu, hahaha, just thinking about it makes people laugh."

Upon hearing this, Brigade Commander Chen's smug expression froze for half a second, then he snorted.

"What do you know? I'm recording history. Future generations will rely on my diary to uncover the truth when they study this military history. Your marching diary just records what time you arrived at where you were, what time you ate, it's dry and boring, like a logistics report, who wants to read that?"

There were some things that Brigade Commander Chen didn't want to tell Zhang Renfeng. After all, he was a brother to him, and he and his brother were good at strategizing.

You don't think I'm like Li Yunlong, Zhao Gang, Zeng Shaoshan, Qin Jiwei, or Cheng the Blind Man, those honest guys, do you?

Hmph, my diaries are two separate volumes, one for the living and one for the dead!

Zhang Renfeng rolled his eyes at him: "Who keeps a diary, even a decent person?"

"Bullshit, you're just deliberately trying to put me down." Brigade Commander Chen shoved the brocade box into Zhang Renfeng's hand. "Take it. This calligraphy is a reward from your superiors; keep it safe. You can put it in a museum or hang it in your living room, whatever you want with it. But I can't take it back to the headquarters; the corps commander will definitely snatch it away if he sees it."

Zhang Renfeng took the brocade box and placed it on the table against the wall. Brigade Commander Chen turned around, his expression becoming more serious:

"Li Yunlong's Independent Army fought well this time, especially the First Division, which is the old foundation of the Independent Regiment, and the Liangshan Special Operations Battalion that you built from scratch, both performed well."

In the future, whenever there is friction between the two countries, simply raising their military flags on the border line will be a direct confrontation.

The higher-ups personally bestowed upon them the name "Anti-American Independence Army." Wouldn't the Americans be utterly disgusted if they saw that banner displayed there?

Brigade Commander Chen beamed with excitement: "That kid Li Yunlong is really fierce this time. Before he went to Korea, I was worried that with his personality, he would just charge ahead recklessly and ignore casualties when fighting."

Unexpectedly, he has figured things out this time. The 1st Division withstood the counterattacks of the US 3rd and 25th Divisions with half a division and managed to maintain its structure.

His reputation as an anti-American independence army has been firmly established. And your Liangshan Special Forces Battalion…

As the two were talking, footsteps came from outside the tunnel.

Pei Shiqiang stood at the door, holding a document in his hand, but he didn't come in; he simply stood at the door and saluted.

"Commander, the tenth batch of wounded soldiers is preparing to be transferred back to the rear areas. Should we go and check on them?"

Zhang Renfeng looked at Brigade Commander Chen: "I'm busy right now. Do you want to go back to the headquarters, or come with me?"

Commander Chen stood up, buttoned his overcoat, and straightened his hat: "Let's go. You have a habit of visiting the wounded after every major battle, and I've developed that habit myself over the years. These soldiers have achieved such results; it's truly remarkable. Although my legs aren't what they used to be, I can't miss a single one."