On the night of May 26, 1951, a complex and large volunteer army appeared near the Huacheon Bridge in North Korea.
Just three or four days ago, many troops received orders from the Volunteer Command, asking them to retreat into advance, temporarily avoid the front of the "United Nations Army", and then implement the tactic of waiting for work after resting.
Due to the tight time and the small number of alternative transfer routes, all the troops poured into the Huachuan Highway.
Although this mixed unit totaled more than 30,000 people, and the enemy's shells and flares were noisy along the Huachuan Highway from time to time, they never formed a chaotic structure during their march.
Liao Zhengguo,the deputy commander of the 20th Army of the Volunteer Army (major general in 1955), could not help but be secretly happy when he saw this scene.
However, when it was only a mile away from the Huachuan Bridge, Liao Zhengguo's brow suddenly twisted into a knot - the 30,000-strong army suddenly came to a "sharp brake", and somehow stopped moving.
When Liao Zhengguo looked, the cadres and fighters were all densely packed on both sides of the highway, their eyes fixed on the Huachuan Bridge, which was a mile away, and they muttered:
"The enemy's artillery fire is so fierce, how can you cross the bridge?"
"Yes, they also know that this bridge is a traffic rush, and it is completely blocked by artillery fire..."
"This is a dangerous area, we have tens of thousands of people, it is too dense, a few shells of the enemy will fall down..."
A combat staff officer of the Twenty Army was anxious to stomp his feet: "Crossing the bridge is dangerous, but the bridge is more dangerous, if the enemy finds that we have so many troops, we will be in trouble!" ”
Liao Zhengguo thought to himself: Yes, the comrades' worries are not superfluous, it seems that our 30,000 troops are going to pass through the Huachuan Bridge, and it is really a bit of a "ghost gate" posture!
"Now we're in a dilemma, Deputy Commander, what shall we do?" The combat staff officer asked eagerly.
Liao Zhengguo did not rush to answer him, but quietly and carefully observed the terrain of the Huachuan Bridge, looking up at the sky for a while, looking down at his watch for a while, and from time to time some numbers popped out of his mouth, as if calculating some mathematical problems.
The crowd did not know what medicine was sold in the deputy commander's gourd, and they all stared at him puzzled.
After a while, Liao Zhengguo suddenly clapped his hands and laughed: "There is a way!" There's a way! ”
"Is there any way?" The combat staff officer asked hurriedly.
"Prepare to cross the bridge, all of us 30,000 people can cross the bridge!"
"The artillery fire is so fierce, how did it pass?"
Liao Zhengguo did not answer the question of the combat staff officer head-on, but pointed to the flashing shells in the night sky from time to time and asked: "Have you noticed that there is a regular pattern for every enemy artillery attack?" ”
"What law? I...... I didn't pay attention..." The combat staff officer was speechless for a moment.
"The number of shells exploding is basically the same!"
In order to hide his embarrassment, the combat staff officer seemed to suddenly think of something, "Yes! I reckon about 20 shells at a time! ”
"It can be inferred that the enemy's artillery unit is a battalion configuration." Liao Zhengguo said confidently.
"A battalion? Can you deduce this too? The operations staff officer's eyes widened.
"Not only can I be sure that the enemy's artillery is a battalion, but I can also estimate that their artillery positions are located 20 miles from us."
Liao Zhengguo said this very calmly, but the combat staff officer was surprised to hear it: "Deputy Commander, you are also too godly!" Can you tell me how you figured it out? ”
"Yes, the deputy commander will say..." Many cadres of the Twenty Army and the brother units heard the conversation between the two just now and gathered around at some point.
"Nothing to be surprised about, I haven't told you many times, you must pay more attention to observe various details!"
Liao Zhengguo's speech turned sharply, and then said: "For example, after many calculations, it can be seen that the initial speed of the American howitzer is 1428 m / s. ”
The crowd spat out their tongues: "The deputy commander is the deputy commander, not only is this kind of detail observed in detail, but also remembers so accurately." ”
Liao Zhengguo added: "If you look again, the tracer of each enemy shell is now in the air for about 7 seconds. In this way, the enemy artillery position is about 10,000 meters away from our current position, is it not 20 miles?
The people's thinking suddenly dawned, and they all pulled their fingers to calculate, but this long list of numbers really made them difficult.
Liao Zhengguo waved his hand and pulled their train of thought back: "Have you ever noticed that after the enemy fires a burst of shells, each time it will be fired again after 5 minutes?" ”
The crowd was ashamed, and the sound of the explosion of the shell disturbed everyone's heart, and no one paid attention to this simple law.
Although the scene at this time is like a math teacher giving a lesson to a group of naughty children, Liao Zhengguo obviously does not feel happy in it, and he waved his hand: "Everyone is ready to cross the bridge immediately!" Take advantage of the interval between enemy artillery attacks, every 5 minutes! Do you understand now? ”
The crowd gleefully said, "Got it! I see! ”
"Slow down!" Liao Zhengguo called out to the cadres who were about to leave, "The enemy artillery position is set up 20 miles away, and there is only one battalion of troops, so their infantry teams will not arrive here before dawn." We will also leave some people here, tell the brother troops behind them about this situation, and let them cross the bridge in batches before dawn. ”
"Yes!" The crowd happily took their orders and went away.
In the following time, this mixed unit of more than 30,000 volunteers began to operate in batches according to the methods said by Liao Zhengguo. Although enemy shells still exploded from time to time along the Huachuan Highway and near the Huachuan Bridge, all of this large force successfully crossed the bridge, and none of them were hit by shells.
The volunteer generals sighed one after another: "The one-armed general pinched his finger and counted, so that 30,000 people ma Shun smoothly passed through this 'ghost gate', it is really like a god!" ”