The regiment chief of staff Han Jiangde assigned Liu Santang a new task, "Santong, Chen Jiushan, this morning, one of our planes was attacked by four U.S. military planes on the east bank of the Qingchuan River. Unfortunately, the plane was hit by a bullet and caught fire. We
The pilot escaped by parachute and is now missing. It has been more than six hours. You came from behind enemy lines and have some combat experience behind enemy lines. I would like to ask you to rescue our pilots. Are there any difficulties?"
The plane caught fire and the pilot escaped with his parachute. The Chinese Air Force had just been established and was still very weak. Pilots were as precious as gold. Liu Santang hurriedly stood at attention and saluted, "Chief of Staff, we are willing to obey the command and rescue our pilots. There are more specific
Information?"
Han Jiangde took a map from the guard, spread it out on the ground, pointed to a spot on the east bank of the Qingchuan River and said, "Santong, our pilot's name is Chen Ninghu. The place where he parachuted is here, in the Jiuyin Peak area.
To the northeast, fifty kilometers away from us, the terrain in that area is complicated, so you must act quickly."
Liu Santang replied, "Chief of Staff, when we came here, we seized a truck. We can take the truck there and reach the Jiuyin Peak area in two hours. Chief of Staff, please rest assured."
Han Jiangde looked at Liu Santang in confusion, "Santong, the area around Jiuyin Peak is a US military-controlled area. Trucks have to take the highway, and the roads must be full of US troops. How do you deal with the US military's inspections?"
Liu Santang answered confidently, "Please rest assured, we can change into US military uniforms and pretend to be Korean soldiers. Lu Chen speaks good English and can drive a car, so he can definitely handle the US military inspection."
Lu Chen can drive a car and understands English, "Hey, this Lu Chen of yours is really a treasure and a talent. Santong must protect him." Han Jiangde said with emotion.
Han Jiangde turned around and issued an order to Qiu Mingliang, the seventh company commander, "Seventh company commander, replenish supplies and ammunition for Santong's people. You must come up with the best supplies. You are not allowed to pick and search, you know!"
Qiu Mingliang stood at attention and replied: "Yes, Chief of Staff, we also have some fried noodles and bread, bring them to Santong."
Liu Santang and Chen Jiushan returned with a platoon of soldiers along the same route. When they saw the American Mack NR No. 6 truck still parked on the side of the road, Lu Chen immediately entered the cab and started the truck, "Tutu, vomit—
—" American Mike NR No. 6 truck is in good condition, "Didi——" sounded the horn, urging everyone to get on the truck.
Lu Chen and Chen Jiushan are sitting in the cab. They are wearing US military uniforms. Lu Chen's military rank is staff sergeant, and Chen Jiushan's military rank is sergeant. During the war, in order to facilitate management and supply, the Korean army also adopted US military uniforms. Liu Santang and others
People were hiding in the car, "Di Di——" Lu Chen turned around and drove the American Mack NR No. 6 truck along the highway toward the northeast.
We encountered U.S. military vehicles from time to time on the road. Fortunately, the U.S. military vehicles were driving in a hurry and no one paid attention to Lu Chen's truck.
An hour later, Lu Chen drove the American Mack NR No. 6 truck for more than 30 kilometers when he saw a US military checkpoint in front of him. The US military checkpoint was very crude and he knew it was a temporary one.
A log roadblock lies in the middle of the road. On the southern hillside, some sandbags are piled up to serve as simple fortifications. Two Browning light machine guns are placed on the sandbags. Several US soldiers are standing beside it. In front of the log roadblock, there are
Several U.S. soldiers inspected passing vehicles. A U.S. soldier waved a command flag to Lu Chen, signaling Lu Chen to stop and inspect.
"Squeak -" Lu Chen stepped on the brakes and stopped the truck. A US military sergeant came over and asked, "Where are you going from that unit?"
The accent of the U.S. Army sergeant seemed to be that of Virginia, U.S.A., and Lu Chen also had the accent of Virginia, U.S.A. Lu Chen responded to the U.S. Army sergeant’s question, “Sir, we are from the Transportation Group of the Third Division of the Korean Army, and we were ordered to go to the south on the right bank of the Datong River.
Xi County, sir, thank you for your hard work. The accent sounds like a Virginian."
The U.S. Army sergeant looked at Lu Chen in surprise and asked, "Sergeant, I am indeed a Virginian. I grew up in Richmond. Sergeant also has a Virginia accent?"
Lu Chen replied with a smile, "My instructor is from Virginia. I learned English from him, so I also have a Virginia accent."
The voices were similar, and the US Army Sergeant and Lu Chen became closer to each other. The US Army Sergeant walked to the back of the carriage with a casual look.
The U.S. Army sergeant walked to the back of the carriage and looked inside. There were more than a dozen people wearing the U.S. military system sitting in the carriage. They had Asian faces. There were some differences between the faces of Koreans and Chinese, such as the faces of Koreans.
They have broad cheekbones, prominent and flat cheekbones, and a low nose bridge. However, these small changes cannot be distinguished by American soldiers. In the eyes of Americans, all Asians look similar.
The U.S. Army sergeant waved to let him go, and the log barricade was raised, "Sir, goodbye!" Lu Chen said politely, "Didi" Lu Chen rang the horn and started the truck. The truck slowly passed the U.S. military checkpoint and watched the landing.
Chen Jiushan was having a chattering conversation with the American soldiers. Beads of sweat broke out on Chen Jiushan's nervous head. He held the pistol at his waist tightly with his right hand, ready to take action at any time.
The truck passed the US military checkpoint smoothly. Chen Jiushan breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Lu Chen, what did you say to the American? He seems to have a good impression of you."
"Haha -" Lu Chen replied with a smile, "We have the same accent, and we almost became fellow villagers."
Chen Jiushan shook his head and said disapprovingly, "It's impossible for you to climb up to my fellow villagers. Your nose is not big, your eyes are not blue, and your hair is black."
More than an hour later, Lu Chen drove the American Mack NR No. 6 truck to Jiuyin Peak. Jiuyin Peak has a radius of dozens of kilometers. The peak is relatively high, with a height of generally six to seven hundred meters. The mountain is steep. Lu Chen drove the truck.
Entering a camphor pine forest on the left side of the road, the camphor pine trees are twenty to thirty meters high and have dense branches and leaves, which shield the truck very well.
The next step is the direction of action. Liu Santang said, "According to the chief of staff's map, the position where the pilot parachuted should be on the left side of the highway."
Lu Chen looked at the steep peaks on both sides and said in confusion, "There is a big difference between the map and the actual landform. This road is only a dozen meters wide. It's hard to tell. We will look for it on the left and right sides separately."
Chen Jiushan disagreed with Lu Chen's idea of dividing the troops, "There are only a dozen of us. If we are separated, once we encounter the US military, our strength will be too weak. I suggest that we agree to the action. First, search the mountain on the left side of the road. If the pilot is not found,
, then turn back.”
Everyone had no objection to Chen Jiushan's suggestion, so they divided it into two parts, the left and right, and climbed up the hillside. Although the mountain peak was not high, the vegetation on the hillside was sparse and the rocks protruded, so it was still a bit difficult to climb.