"Wang Yan! Hahaha..."
Like the old commander, Wang Yan had returned to the Mengzi cultural troupe's base after a long absence and received a warm welcome from Political Commissar Ning Shan. It had only been a month, but because of the war, looking back on it now truly gave him the feeling that it had been ages.
"Reporting back from battle to the political commissar!" Wang Yan snapped to attention and raised a salute.
"Good, good! Hahaha..."
Ning Shan laughed heartily, pulled Wang Yan over to sit on the sofa, and eagerly poured him some tea. "While you were fighting up front, I was getting a new report every day back here. Nobody expected you to be so fierce on the battlefield. Your military achievements have been truly outstanding."
"You're being too modest, Political Commissar. I earned them with my life. How could they merely be called outstanding? They were outstanding."
"Did you say that to the commander too?"
"Of course. I took a company of soldiers out there. We suffered casualties all the way, and only forty-six men made it to the end with me. Every one of them was wounded. This isn't the time for modesty."
Those combat losses were already quite good. After all, he had been the spearhead, charging at the front every time and even infiltrating behind enemy lines. The pressure he endured was far greater. After fighting all that way, having nearly half the soldiers still follow him to the end was proof enough of their formidable combat strength.
Of course, not all of the other seventy-odd men had died. A considerable number had survived. Before returning, Wang Yan had specifically visited the rear-area hospitals. He found the company commander who had been taken out at the start of the war, as well as