Ace Troops Episode 32 Recap
> Ace Troops Recap
Jiang Nanzheng accompanied Jingjing back to Xiangsi Village. Upon arrival, Jingjing noted that Grandpa Zhu, who usually stood guard at the village entrance, was missing. Simultaneously, three terrorists engaged in a firefight with police before fleeing downstream towards Xiangsi Village. Meanwhile, deep within the jungle, other terrorists spotted Xia Lin and Gao Liang. Their leader, Prince, received intelligence and ordered the mountain road to Xiangsi Village destroyed to facilitate their escape across the border.
On the bus, passengers panicked at the sound of explosions. Jiang Nanzheng quickly identified herself as a member of the People's Liberation Army and reassured everyone. She calmly instructed them to get off the bus in an orderly manner and take shelter in the nearby woods. Gao Liang and Xia Lin followed the sounds of gunfire and clashed fiercely with the mercenaries. When Prince saw the bodies of his fallen comrades, he realized their adversaries were not ordinary police.
He ordered the Earl to be escorted to safety while he remained behind to cover the retreat. Gu Yiye analyzed the terrorists' escape direction, concluding that they would likely need to refuel at Xiangsi Village before abandoning their boats and attempting to cross the border by land. He immediately dispatched the nearest armed police and Niu Mancang's team to intercept them. He also attempted to contact Gao Liang and Xia Lin to integrate them into the combat teams.
Soon, the police received news that the road to Xiangsi Village was impassable due to what was reported as a landslide, but which Gu Yiye understood was a deliberate explosion. All communication with the village was cut off, and Gao Liang, with only two men, was uncontactable and in grave danger. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Gu Yiye decided to lead a special operations team personally, traveling by fighter jet, intending to parachute in as aerial support.
However, the thick clouds over Mt. Guier made a jump extremely hazardous due to air currents, climbing clouds that could freeze parachutes, and unseen high-voltage lines on the narrow landing zones. Despite Lin Beihai's warnings about the potentially fatal risks, Gu Yiye and his team insisted on making the jump, saying they were responsible for their own lives and that Gao Liang needed them.
Back in Xiangsi Village, Gao Liang successfully subdued a mercenary and used his walkie-talkie to communicate with Prince, whom he mockingly called "Bruce." Prince, recognizing Gao Liang as a soldier rather than police, considered him a tough opponent. Prince observed that Chinese soldiers possess a strange belief: they are always responsible for the safety of their people and would not hesitate to sacrifice themselves. This, he noted, could also be their weakness.
As the clouds finally cleared, Gu Yiye and his team parachuted down, successfully reuniting with Gao Liang and the others to encircle the mercenaries. Unexpectedly, the mercenaries discovered the civilians hiding in the bushes, including Jiang Nanzheng and Jingjing, taking twenty people hostage on the bus. They rigged the bus with a grenade, explaining that the confined space of the compartment would maximize the grenade's power, though the seats might offer some protection from shrapnel.
Gao Liang and Gu Yiye discussed tactics. Gao Liang stated that there were twenty hostages on the bus, including Jiang Nanzheng, guarded by a single terrorist, but the grenade posed a critical threat. Gao Liang noted that the longer the engagement, the greater the danger to the hostages. Gao Liang proposed a strategy inspired by a 1977 Dutch hostage rescue operation, where supersonic fighter jets were used to create a sonic boom.
He declared himself the "fighter jet" and would act as a distraction, drawing the terrorists' attention, while Gu Yiye's team executed the rescue. Prince, having already lost many men, felt his professional reputation was at stake and vowed to kill Gao Liang. Gu Yiye, after a moment of hesitation, reluctantly agreed. Gao Liang boldly appeared before the mercenaries, dramatically throwing the Earl's shoes as a bargaining chip.
Prince, enraged, targeted Gao Liang, prompting the Special Operations team, who were already in position, to open fire. During the fierce gunfight, a mercenary was fatally hit. As he fell, his hand gripped the detonator wire of the grenade. With quick reflexes, Jiang Nanzheng seized the wire, preventing the explosion and averting a catastrophe. All the hostages were rescued safely, and Gao Liang emerged unharmed. The anti-terrorism operation, an unusual event in peacetime, drew significant attention from the group army.
They ordered an exercise named "Sword 98" to assess their special operations capabilities. It was also confirmed that Han Chunyu's sacrifice was due to mines laid by Prince, who sought to control Xiangsi Village to rescue the Earl and escape China via the river, using the mines to create a diversion and buy time. In the "Sword 98" exercise, Gao Liang led Special Operations Second Team to an overwhelming victory, successfully reclaiming their official designation.
Following this, the group army established a new Special Operations Brigade, a rapid response combat force integrating reconnaissance and strike capabilities. Gao Liang joined this new unit, becoming intensely busy, which led to repeated delays in his wedding to Jiang Nanzheng. Meanwhile, Jiang Weixing was promoted to Major, and his marriage application with Tong Bing was approved. Niu Mancang also received a promotion, and his wife was expecting a child.
All their comrades noted that the marriage pattern for special forces was "postponing." Gao Liang was granted two hours to visit Jiang Nanzheng, and the long-separated couple embraced passionately. Their tender moment was interrupted by the arrival of Expert Hou, who came to deliver Gao Jingjing's newly approved ID card. Gao Liang, in a gesture reminiscent of his past, presented Jiang Nanzheng and Jingjing with new dresses. Jingjing, delighted, declared that her parents were getting married.
Jiang Nanzheng recalled Gao Liang giving her dresses in the past and felt a longing for their future together. Meanwhile, Gu Yiye requested Li Shaobing to intensify the training for the artillery battalion, specifically proposing a "double-bang with double firepower" technique that involved faster firing. Li Shaobing, however, rejected the proposal, citing the high risks involved, especially with rapid-fire mortars, and noting that other units were scaling back high-risk drills.
Gu Yiye countered that these techniques were crucial for mobility and combat effectiveness, and while training carried risks, losing on the battlefield posed the greatest danger. He stressed the importance of preserving these "crafts" and "seeds" of combat experience, drawing a parallel to General Zhao Zhangcheng's efforts to prevent the loss of wartime knowledge at the grassroots level. Li Shaobing, though understanding, warned Gu Yiye that being proactive when others were complacent would make him unpopular.
Gu Yiye also expressed concerns about Yu Sizhe, a new acting platoon leader, a second lieutenant, assigned to the artillery company. Gu Yiye argued that Yu Sizhe was unsuitable for the elite First Battalion of the Red and would negatively impact morale. He suspected Yu Sizhe was only there to "get gilded" and gain quick promotion after a brief stint. Gu Yiye confronted Chen Dashan, the Director, insisting that Yu Sizhe be returned to the regiment.
Chen Dashan, however, refused, stating that orders must be followed regardless of understanding, and that Gu Yiye couldn't simply command him. The political commissar later explained that Chen Dashan was under pressure and that Yu Sizhe was indeed there to gain quick experience before an expected promotion. He advised Gu Yiye to try to train Yu Sizhe and teach him real skills. Gu Yiye's premonition proved correct.
During a training exercise involving smoke bombs, Yu Sizhe caused an accident by repeatedly loading the mortar. His partner, Huang Tianwei, promptly warned him, preventing a major disaster and limiting Yu Sizhe's injuries to minor ones. However, the regiment prepared to commend Yu Sizhe for meritorious service, seemingly covering up the true sequence of events.
Gu Yiye, outraged, confronted Chen Dashan, presenting him with bone fragments retrieved from Yu Sizhe's wounds, clarifying that they actually belonged to Huang Tianwei, who had been injured while trying to save Yu Sizhe. Gu Yiye accused the division working group of manipulating the facts and asking Huang Tianwei to lie. Chen Dashan tried to persuade Gu Yiye to consider the bigger picture, minimize harm, and maximize compensation, pointing out that the involved parties had already agreed. Gu Yiye remained steadfast, declaring his disagreement and threatening to report the true situation to higher authorities if the division insisted on an inaccurate conclusion.
