Ren Xiaosu only said it would make it easier for them to perform. He did not really mean to cause any trouble, but if no one kept an eye on them every day, no one would know if they could defend the high ground well.
When the time came, Liu Taiyu would stay in the rear while they found a place to hide or relocate at the front lines.
Someone leaned over the gap between the truck and the driver's compartment and asked, "Platoon Commander, Deputy Platoon Commander, what if we really end up as cannon fodder?"
"That's right. Liu Zhaojiang took half of our ammunition with him. When the time comes to defend the high ground, we'll run out of ammo after firing two shots. Are we supposed to bite the enemy with our teeth?"
At this moment, everyone was still very resentful of Liu Zhaojiang. They could understand why he would be a deserter since everyone wanted to be one.
But if he took so much cured meat and ammo with him when he left, it would be equivalent to sending the others to their deaths.
Their current platoon was not much different from an unarmed platoon.
Ren Xiaosu glanced at Li Qingzheng. "If you knew someone would run away, would you still stay?"
"I guess so. After all, there are still other people in the platoon who need to protect their families," Li Qingzheng said.
What upset Li Qingzheng the most was that he had treated everyone as his brothers, but in the end, his brothers just ran off with their weapons and food without even saying goodbye. Fortunately, they had enough food and did not starve.
Li Qingzheng sighed and said, "If someone offered y 'all a million yuan, would y' all betray me?"
"Don't overthink it." Ren Xiaosu comforted him, "You're not worth that much money. Let's not earn money that goes against our conscience."
Li Qingzheng was speechless.
The soldiers in the back of the truck laughed. However, someone still said worriedly, "Jokes aside, what if we really end up as cannon fodder?"
Ren Xiaosu thought for a moment and said, "It's fine, I'll think of something when we get there."
When everyone heard Ren Xiaosu say that, they suddenly felt a little more at ease. It was as though they would not have to be cannon fodder as long as Ren Xiaosu could think of a way.
When they arrived at the forward operating base at noon, all of the vehicles had to enter the FOB to refuel. Otherwise, they would not be able to travel such a long distance.
But the FOB did not care about the private troops' food supplies. Some of the private troops were hungry to begin with. Everyone thought they would definitely be able to eat their fill since they were about to go to the battlefield. After all, the emperor would not send his troops to starve.
But to their surprise, the Li Consortium's regular army really did not treat the private troops as human beings!
However, what the private army soldiers did not know was that they were actually still getting their normal pay in the private army. It was just that Liu Taiyu's pay was deducted.
When it was mealtime, Ren Xiaosu and the soldiers on his side hid in the military transport trucks and secretly ate their rations, which they had brought out from the outpost.
Although Liu Zhaojiang had taken a lot of cured meat with him, Ren Xiaosu and Li Qingzheng had bought a lot of rice and flour to steam and bake them into pancakes.
The group of soldiers following Ren Xiaosu hid in the vehicles and watched the other soldiers starve. They suddenly felt like they had followed the right leader.
After refueling, Ren Xiaosu suddenly said, "Vice-monitor, can you teach me how to drive?"
Li Qingzheng paused for a moment. "Sure."
At this moment, Liu Taiyu went to the forward operating base to eat. The officers' meals were very good, and there were naturally people who were willing to curry favor with them when they arrived at the forward operating base. Therefore, they would not be on their way again for the time being.
As for being addressed as "Vice-monitor," even Li Qingzheng himself did not think there was anything wrong with it.
Li Qingzheng taught Ren Xiaosu how to drive in the open space. "This is a manual transmission car, so you just need to remember to step on the clutch when you shift gears. It's not that difficult to change gears at any speed."
About an hour later, Ren Xiaosu was already able to get back on the road. As long as he did not need to shift gears, he could still drive very smoothly.
Ren Xiaosu suddenly had a toothache.
Previously, when he was learning how to ride a bicycle, he could not master it. At that time, he had always blamed the palace for it. He thought it might be because he had to pay the price of copying someone else's skills that he could not learn on his own.
After all, if there was gain, there would always be a price to pay. Ren Xiaosu could understand that.
Therefore, it was not that he was stupid but that the palace did not allow him to learn how to ride a bicycle.
But from the looks of it … it was not the palace's problem that he could not learn how to ride a bicycle. It was his own problem!
This made it a little hard for Ren Xiaosu to accept.
In the afternoon, Liu Taiyu even secretly drank some alcohol at the forward operating base before setting off again. Ren Xiaosu thought to himself, 'If even the commanding officer of the private army is drinking during wartime, what kind of combat strength can the Li Consortium's troops have?'
When they set off again, Ren Xiaosu insisted on letting him drive. To put it nicely, he wanted to strike while the iron was hot. He wanted to master this skill in one go.
In the morning, everyone was still laughing and joking in the back of the truck. But in the afternoon, everyone was trembling with fear and did not dare to speak. Everyone was tightly holding onto the handrails next to the back of the truck.
Ren Xiaosu drove very fast and quickly reached the front of the convoy. He sat in the driver's seat and held the steering wheel in high spirits. This was the first time he was driving a car in his life, and it felt great.
Beside him, Li Qingzheng said with a pale face, "Platoon Commander, it's winter and the roads are slippery. If you drive so fast, we might overturn if you slam on the brakes."
Ren Xiaosu thought for a moment. "Then wouldn't it be fine as long as I don't slam on the brakes?"
Li Qingzheng was speechless.
After Li Qingzheng sorted out his thoughts for five minutes, he said in a serious tone, "Platoon Commander, let me drive. I'm afraid you'll tire yourself out."
Under the intense concern of his comrades in the truck, Ren Xiaosu was finally herded into the front passenger seat. However, he was still very happy. After all, being able to drive in these wastelands could be considered as having mastered a life-saving skill.
Ren Xiaosu said to the palace in his mind, "What level is my driving skill? Since I'm driving so well, it should be at the advanced or intermediate level, right? "
The voice from the palace said, "Detected that the host does not possess driving skills."
Ren Xiaosu said unhappily, "Who are you mocking here? I can even drive on the road, so why don't I have driving skills? Can't you have some scientific basis for your judgment? Why don't you judge me to be at the basic level?! "
But at this moment, Li Qingzheng suddenly said, "Platoon Commander, there's a situation up ahead."
Ren Xiaosu looked ahead and saw an officer in the Li Consortium's military uniform blocking the way. It looked like there were quite a few soldiers there.
"Stay in the truck and don't move." Ren Xiaosu said, "Let Liu Taiyu negotiate with them. We're just normal soldiers."
Liu Taiyu's off-road vehicle drove over from behind. The officer in front still maintained a condescending attitude when facing Liu Taiyu. "Your truck has been commandeered. Get everyone out of the vehicle."
This time, Liu Taiyu was dumbfounded. "We were ordered to rush to the front line at Mt. Fengyi. How are we supposed to get there if we've already given you our military transport trucks?"
"Why would I care how you're going to get there?" The officer said with a sneer. As he spoke, the blood vessels on his face turned into silver threads. It was as though there was some kind of light emitting from them. "All of you, get out of the truck."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
