Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): Starting with the Korean War, returning home to take charge

As the car headlights switched into the yard, the sentry's flashlight flickered.

He Yuzhu sat in the back seat, watching the light sweep across his face. The driver didn't speak, just kept pressing the accelerator. The courtyard was deep, and it took a minute to stop in front of a gray building.

As I got off the bus, the night wind blew in, carrying an indescribable smell of burning. It wasn't the kind of burnt smell that comes from a fire, but rather the smell that lingers in the air after a long battle.

He followed the staff officer who was leading the way inside.

The lights in the corridor were blindingly bright, one every few steps, making the maps on the walls appear stark white. The maps were covered with red and blue arrows, densely packed together, some so overlapping that the starting and ending points were indistinguishable.

Someone ran past him, carrying a folder, their leather shoes clicking rapidly on the concrete. A phone rang in the distance, one call after another, but no one answered.

The staff officer pushed open a door and stepped inside.

"Hehe, we've arrived."

He Yuzhu went inside.

The smoke in the meeting room could knock someone over.

Seven or eight people sat around the long table; some leaned back in their chairs, some slumped over the table, and some turned to look at the large map on the wall. Several enamel mugs were piled in the corner, some steaming, others long since cold. The ashtray was full, cigarette butts piled up like a small mountain, and people were still throwing them in.

Commander Chen stood in front of the map, a cigarette between his fingers, unsmoked, the ash long and burnt. Hearing the door open, he turned around and glanced at He Yuzhu.

"Xiao He is here, please have a seat."

He spoke softly, but the room fell silent immediately.

He Yuzhu sat down in the empty chair. The seat was still warm; he wondered who had just sat there.

Commander Chen walked back and sat down at the other end of the table. He stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray, which was full, and the cigarette butt rolled out and onto the table.

"Have you heard about what happened at the border?"

He Yuzhu nodded.

Commander Chen didn't rush to continue. He picked up his teacup and took a sip. The tea had long since gone cold, but he didn't seem to care.

What do you think?

The question was asked lightly, but He Yuzhu knew there was something more to it than met the eye. He thought for a moment.

"Commander Chen, I'd like to assess the situation first."

Commander Chen put down his teacup.

"The situation was this: a platoon on the front lines was fighting against an enemy squad. And what was the result?"

He paused.

"Their machine guns were pressing down on us so hard we couldn't lift our heads. Our machine gun fired three bursts before jamming."

As he said this, a staff officer sitting next to him suddenly stirred. He Yuzhu looked over; the man had his head down, so he couldn't see his face.

Commander Chen continued.

"The enemy has Soviet advisors, and their equipment is better than ours. Their rifles shoot farther, their machine guns are more stable, and their sniper rifles are even better."

He reached out and picked up a report from the table, then threw it in front of He Yuzhu.

"Take a look at this."

He Yuzhu opened the report. Casualty figures, equipment comparisons, battlefield events. He turned page after page, until he reached the last page, where he paused for a moment.

The staff officer suddenly stood up.

He pushed the chair back, making a screeching sound as it scraped the floor. Everyone in the room stared at him.

The staff officer was in his forties, with a scar on his face that ran from his eyebrow to his chin. He stood there, his lips moved, but he didn't say anything.

Commander Chen didn't look at him, he just said one sentence.

"Old Li, sit down."

Old Li stood still.

He clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"The soldiers I led," he said, his voice barely a whisper, "got stuck after three bursts. Three men, two are dead, and one came back lying down."

As he spoke, his voice grew louder and louder.

"Three magazines! Our guns jammed after three magazines!"

He slammed his fist on the table, causing the teacup to bounce and spill tea all over the table.

No one spoke inside the room.

He Yuzhu stared at the fist. The veins on the back of the hand were bulging, and the knuckles were broken and bleeding.

Commander Chen still didn't look at him, and only said one sentence.

"Old Li, sit down."

Old Li stood there, panting heavily. After a few seconds, he slowly sat down, head down, shoulders trembling.

Commander Chen then turned his head and looked at him.

"Old Li, your soldiers didn't die in vain."

Old Li didn't look up.

Commander Chen stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to everyone.

"Xiao He, is your research institute any good?"

He Yuzhu stood up, walked to the wall, and looked at the map. He recognized the places marked with red circles. He had heard those place names on the battlefield before. He had even been to some of them.

He turned around.

"Commander Chen, I need to go back and review the documents. I'll get back to you tomorrow."

Commander Chen did not turn around.

"OK."

As the car drove back, He Yuzhu leaned against the window, looking at the gray sky outside.

Dawn was breaking, and the east was beginning to turn white.

He thought back to the time at Changjin Lake.

That night, the temperature was forty degrees below zero, and the bolt of his rifle was frozen solid. He was so anxious that he breathed on it repeatedly until his hands were numb with cold. The old soldier lying next to him cursed at him.

"Hurry up, you fucking idiot! The enemy is coming!"

The old soldier never came back.

He Yuzhu closed his eyes.

The office lights stayed on all night.

He Yuzhu sat at the table, a pale blue screen floating in front of him. He looked at the options again and again, his fingers resting on the table, but he didn't move.

[Light Weapons Full Upgrade Pack (1959 Edition)]

[Redeemable Points: 1,000,000]

Twelve million.

How much stuff can we make?

He remembered Old Li's clenched fist and the words he had said.

"Of the three people, two are gone, and one came back lying down."

He clicked "redeem".

A flash of blue light, and a thick stack of documents appeared in his hand. Automatic rifles, general-purpose machine guns, sniper rifles, ammunition formulas. He flipped through page after page; it was all valuable information.

He picked up the phone and dialed Ma Yuejin's number.

When the call connected, Ma Yuejin's voice sounded sleepy.

"The Dean?"

He Yuzhu held the microphone.

"Call everyone over after dawn. Don't sleep tonight."

In the afternoon, Yang Xiaobing stood at the office door but did not come in.

He Yuzhu looked up, saw him, and paused for a moment.

"Come in."

Yang Xiaobing walked in and stood in front of him. He didn't say anything.

He Yuzhu looked at him and waited a few seconds.

"What's up?"

Yang Xiaobing opened his mouth, then closed it again. After a few seconds, he finally spoke.

"Commander, I think..."

He stopped halfway through his sentence.

He Yuzhu didn't urge him.

Yang Xiaobing took off his hat, clutched it tightly in his hand.

"I want to go to the front lines."

He Yuzhu looked at him. His face was still young, but there was something in his eyes.

Does your wife know?

Yang Xiaobing shook his head.

"He hasn't said yet."

He Yuzhu stood up and walked to the window.

How many years have you been married?

Yang Xiaobing was taken aback.

"Two years."

He Yuzhu did not turn around.

Is your wife pregnant?

Yang Xiaobing fell silent.

He Yuzhu turned around and looked at him.

"What will happen to her if you don't come back?"

Yang Xiaobing stood there, gripping his hat even tighter.

"Commander, I..."

He Yuzhu walked back and sat down opposite him.

"You served in the army and fought in wars. You know what the front lines are like."

Yang Xiaobing nodded.

He Yuzhu continued.

"What they lack over there is guns, not just you. If you make the guns, it will be more effective than you going there."

Yang Xiaobing looked up at him.

He Yuzhu did not avoid his gaze.

"Go back and ask your wife. If she agrees, I'll release him."

Yang Xiaobing stood there, motionless.

After a long while, he saluted.

Turned around and left.

He walked to the door, then turned back.

"Commander, can you expedite the shipment of guns?"

He Yuzhu nodded.

"able."

Yang Xiaobing is gone.

He Yuzhu stood by the window, watching his figure disappear into the corridor.

There was a window at the end of the corridor, but the sky outside was gray and you couldn't see anything.

He stood there for a long time.

Then he turned around and walked back to the table.

The stack of documents was still lying there. Automatic rifles, general-purpose machine guns, sniper rifles.

He turned to the first page and looked at it for a long time.

I'm reminded of Yang Xiaobing's words.

"Can you expedite the shipment of guns?"

He picked up the phone and dialed Ma Yuejin's number.

The call was connected on the other end.

"The Dean?"

He Yuzhu held the microphone.

"Call everyone over after dawn. Don't sleep tonight."