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

After Qin Huairu left, the days seemed to stretch out and become dull. The battle lines remained, both sides were conserving their strength, and major operations had temporarily ceased. The scorching summer sun gradually subsided, and a slight chill crept into the morning and evening breezes. The war had reached this point, like two strong men arm wrestling, their arms frozen in mid-air, a contest of who had more stamina and who would run out of breath first.

The several dozen miles of the eastern section of the Tieyuan Corridor became He Yuzhu's entire world. Like the most stingy yet most diligent steward, he began to meticulously inventory, reinforce, and stockpile every penny.

During the day, he was on the front lines. The tunnels needed to be dug deeper, and their structure more complex. How to make the firing ports more cunning, how to make the communication trenches more concealed, how to make the troop shelters more resistant to artillery fire—he forced the engineering company commander to repeatedly rehearse every line on the blueprints and calibrate them on-site. Once, he argued heatedly with the second battalion commander over the firing arc of a machine gun pod on a reverse slope, and finally ordered the half-person-high stone wall to be torn down and rebuilt. The battalion commander muttered behind his back that the regimental commander was "too meticulous about details." He Yuzhu heard this, but didn't explain much, only leaving behind the words: "It's better to sweat and work hard on the details now than to let your soldiers bleed more in the future."

Training became even more rigorous. Most of the newly recruited soldiers still had the earthy look of farmers, and some couldn't even hold a rifle steadily. He Yuzhu ordered each company to mix veterans and new recruits, practicing tactical coordination during the day and emergency assembly and silent maneuvering at night. Live-fire quotas were allocated more generously than before, but the requirements were also higher: if you couldn't hit your target accurately, you had to practice more. He often appeared silently at the edge of the training field, not saying a word, just standing there. That silent pressure was more chilling than any reprimand.

Stockpiling supplies became the top priority. The regimental logistics chief now instinctively wanted to avoid He Yuzhu whenever he saw him. The regimental commander's requests for supplies were numerous and varied: "strengthening combat readiness reserves," "coping with a prolonged siege by the enemy," "ensuring the long-term defense of the tunnels"... The reasons were so righteous that they were hard to refute. He chased after the logistics departments of the division and army headquarters, making phone calls and reports, and sometimes even going there in person to "report the difficulties," his words always carrying the heavy weight of "the safety of Tieyuan's gateway rests on the line; if supplies do not continue, we may fail the heavy trust placed in us by our superiors."

Relying solely on allocations from higher command was ultimately insufficient. He Yuzhu turned his attention to his own defense zone. He organized small units to scavenge for scraps in the ruins of battlegrounds, abandoned mines, and even old enemy positions. They found broken copper and iron, usable wood, and occasionally, some forgotten canned goods or medicine. He also encouraged each company to plant rows of radishes and cabbages in the shady spots of their positions—even just a few green shoots were a sign of life.

The real bulk of the cost lies with the system. Points: 6,688,398. He silently did the math: a medium-sized offensive and defensive battle would consume astronomical amounts of ammunition, medicine, and food. Advance stockpiling was essential.

[Exchange: 500,000 rounds of 7.62mm rifle ammunition (universal), -100,000 points.]

[Exchange: 2,000 rounds of 82mm mortar shells, -50,000 points.]

[Redeem: 20,000 servings of compressed dry rations (high calories), -30,000 points.]

[Redeem: 5,000 units of broad-spectrum antibiotics (generic sulfonamides, simple packaging), -20,000 points.]

Total deduction: 200,000 points.

Battlefield Points: 6,688,398 - 200,000 = 6,488,398 points.

Only a very small portion of these supplies was mixed into the regular distribution; the vast majority was secretly stored under the guise of "combat readiness reserves" in several carefully selected, extremely well-hidden backup tunnels and natural caves. The specific locations and methods of access were known only to him and a handful of others, including Lao Geng. Looking at the stacked wooden crates and sacks, he finally felt a little more at ease. It's like life: the more substantial your resources, the more confident you are in weathering storms.

However, whenever the night was still and quiet, lying in the damp bunker at the regimental headquarters, listening to the regular sound of the wind or the sporadic sniping outside, another, deeper anxiety would quietly emerge. It wasn't about the front line at hand, but about that "future" that seemed to be getting closer yet becoming increasingly hazy.

He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into the now much clearer system space. The pathways of the intermediate technology tree, like a star map outlined in dim light, unfolded in the darkness of his mind. No longer just vague concepts, they were concrete, breathtakingly alluring names:

"High-energy-density lithium-based battery (primary)." The annotation indicates that it is compact in size, with a storage capacity several times or even ten times that of current lead-acid batteries, and its stability is acceptable. If it can be manufactured, even in small batches... what does that mean? Individual radios will no longer have to worry about running out of power in a short time, small battlefield lighting equipment can last longer, and even... those "active night vision devices" that he had only glimpsed in fragments of knowledge will finally have the energy foundation for realization.

"Fiber-reinforced composite material (first generation)." The annotation mentions that it is lightweight, high-strength, and has a certain degree of ballistic protection. If this material could be made into individual soldier armor plates, even if it could only withstand pistol bullets and shrapnel, how many lives could it save? Or, if used to reinforce key parts of tunnel entrances and firing positions, how much would its ability to withstand artillery fire be improved?

"Simplified battlefield data exchange terminal (prototype)." This concept is even more advanced. It is not a complete network, but may simply be an encrypted signal channel connecting key nodes such as forward observation posts, artillery command posts, and regimental command headquarters to transmit simplified coded information (coordinates, commands, status). This single change may reduce artillery reaction time from minutes to seconds, significantly reducing the probability of friendly fire on the battlefield.

Below each item is a breathtakingly high number of points required: starting at one million, with tens of millions not being the upper limit. Further down, there is a small line of text: "The exchange of related technologies requires the host's time and space to have basic industrial capabilities and a foundation in materials science, or the system to provide complete knowledge transfer and key equipment (points are calculated separately)."

He Yuzhu stared at the faintly glowing star map, a chill running through him, then a surge of warmth. The chill came from the stark, alarming gap—the answer seemed so close, yet firmly blocked by the insurmountable chasm of points and the divide of time, leaving him utterly powerless. The warmth came from the immense potential—a breakthrough might truly overturn the rules of the battlefield, even influencing the fate of the nation.

He's currently the commander of a guild with thousands under his command, holding key positions. A single hard-fought battle can earn him hundreds of thousands of points, which seems considerable. However, compared to the millions or tens of millions of points required on the tech tree, it's just a drop in the ocean. How long would it take for him to fight and accumulate points alone? Moreover, the later the game goes, the more brutal the battles will become, and the risks and costs of gaining points will increase exponentially.

"I need to change my approach..." he muttered to himself in the darkness. He couldn't be content with just being a skilled warrior. He needed to acquire points more efficiently, or... to more cleverly utilize the existing conditions of this era to pry open the cracks of future technologies.

In the next large-scale campaign, should we not merely hold our ground, but instead strive to expand our gains, annihilate more enemy forces, and destroy targets of higher value? But then, the casualties on the troops would be immense…

Or, could we use the limited "samples" or "knowledge" obtained through the system to find ways to understand or even reproduce this phenomenon in this era? Even the simplest imitation, the slightest performance improvement, might be a qualitative leap on the battlefield. But this is extremely risky: how to explain the source? How to ensure we aren't seen as outcasts?

He turned over, the old wooden bed creaking slightly. In the darkness, the last sentence on Qin Huairu's notebook suddenly appeared: "I hope that on the day of victory, I will have the opportunity to hear you talk about how to rebuild our homeland."

Reconstruction...is more than just rebuilding destroyed houses. Perhaps it also includes planting different, resilient seeds for this traumatized land? This thought flashed through my mind like a shooting star, yet it settled heavily in my heart.

"boom--"

A series of muffled explosions suddenly echoed in the distance, spaced sparsely, seemingly enemy test firing or harassment. Immediately afterward, the regimental headquarters phone rang. The duty staff officer answered, listened for a moment, then turned and reported: "Regimental Commander, the Third Battalion reports that approximately one platoon of enemy troops approached our No. 7 position under cover of darkness, triggering the early warning system. After a brief exchange of fire, they were repelled. Preliminary counts indicate over ten enemy killed or wounded, and two of our troops sustained minor injuries."

"Understood." He Yuzhu sat up. "Notify the Third Battalion to maintain the highest level of alert, and to treat the wounded immediately. Also, have the anti-infiltration unit conduct a thorough search of the engagement area before dawn to see if the enemy has left any 'gifts'."

He lay back down and closed his eyes. Gathering strength and fortifying the defenses were the immediate priorities. But the glimmer of hope in his mind, and the heavy fog surrounding how to reach it, had become like a silent nail, deeply embedded in the depths of his thoughts. This seemingly calm standoff might be the most precious window of opportunity before the storm returns, a chance to plan the next move.