Seeing that the passage under the glacier had not yet collapsed, Zhang Lingfu and Jia Huai breathed a sigh of relief. The two of them continued to move forward with the guards, intending to check whether it was safe here. The passage was very wide, with a distance of more than five meters on the left and right, and a height of about four meters. Because it is an arched structure, it is still quite strong even after the earthquake.

After walking forward for about two thousand meters, Zhang Lingfu and Jia Huai saw a large number of collapsed ice cubes in front of them, and their faces changed suddenly.

"Oh no, it's blocked here." Jia Huai rushed to the ice cubes and found that the glacier pipeline had completely collapsed and was blocked tightly.

"How far is this place from the cave over there?" Zhang Lingfu asked calmly.

Jia Huai calculated and said, "It should be more than 100 meters left. We have reached the end of the glacier. Unfortunately, we can't get through here anymore. I knew that we would have let the troops cross the glacier and camped yesterday."

"Now is not the time to regret it. We have no way out. Let's see if we can clear this place." Zhang Lingfu said.

"I'm afraid it's difficult. The pipeline here has collapsed, and tens of thousands of tons of ice are pressed down on it, so it's difficult to pass." Jia Huai shook his head.

Zhang Lingfu observed the surroundings and said, "I see that the ice in the middle is very large and should be used as a pillar. As long as we clear a way from the side, we should be able to go there. You go and call someone, I will check it here, I believe there is still hope."

"Yes." Jia Huai immediately ran towards the way he came and soon disappeared in the passage.

Zhang Lingfu brought several guards to the collapsed ice and observed it carefully. He asked the guard for a engineer shovel and carefully investigated the broken ice stacked together. However, after digging a few times, he heard a creaking sound, so Zhang Lingfu had to stop.

"Xiao Zhao, aren't you studying engineering construction? Come and see how you do it here?" Zhang Lingfu suddenly remembered that among his guards, Zhao Tongyu graduated from the Engineering and Architecture Department of Qilu Provincial University, and he should be more adept at load-bearing issues.

Zhao Tongyu nodded. He approached the ice layer with the engineer shovel and quietly checked around for a while. It was not until Jia Huai arrived that he returned to Zhang Lingfu and said, "Reporting to the commander, the collapse is very complicated, and it is difficult to open a passage. According to my investigation, it should be no problem to create a passage along the lower part of the ice wall on the left to make a passage that people can climb over."

"It's very good. Start digging immediately. Everyone takes turns to work. It's important to dig in one day. We don't have that much time." Zhang Lingfu said. Jia Huai agreed loudly and immediately summoned the platoon leader to hold a meeting with Zhao Tongyu to determine the location and size of the excavation.

The construction began soon, and most people returned to the cave to rest. Each time there was only one squad working here. Seven or eight soldiers swung the engineer shovels and began to carefully dig the broken ice layer. According to Zhao Tongyu's guidance, they quickly dug an ice cave with a height of more than 80 centimeters, about one meter wide and more than half a meter deep. According to Zhao Tongyu, he calculated the load-bearing capacity, and such a large hole was already the limit.

When the depth was dug, several people could no longer be constructed at the same time, so everyone could only take turns digging. The third squad leader was the first to carry the engineer shovel into the ice hole and began to chew ice pieces with a sharp shovel head. This kind of work must be very careful. Every time he chewed a few pieces of ice, he needed to clean it out to avoid blocked passages. However, the third squad leader wearing cotton coat was already very thick, and the gap between him and the passage was not enough to transport the ice out.

After a few trials, the third squad leader retreated again. He took off his cotton coat in a few seconds, wore a thin sweater and shirt and drilled into the ice cave again. Although the temperature underground was slightly higher, the temperature in the glacier also reached about ten degrees below zero. At this temperature, there was no good warming measures, and it took only one or two minutes to freeze. However, in order to smoothly digging, the third squad leader still gave up the cotton coat, gritted his teeth and waved the engineer shovel to dig in the passage.

Through the thin sweater, his body was close to the ice cave, and the temperature became very low. His body was cold, as if his blood was about to solidify. But the third squad leader knew that if the ice layer was not dug through as soon as possible, not only would they all be trapped here, but even the oxygen might be insufficient. In order to keep everyone alive and to complete the tasks of his superiors, he had to grit his teeth and hold his feet hard.

After three minutes of digging, the third squad leader's body was completely frozen. The soldiers pulled him out with all their strength and quickly covered his cotton jacket. However, the temperature on the surface of his body was too low, and even if he wrapped the cotton jacket, the third squad leader's face was still purple and trembling with coldness.

"Hurry up and go to the cave and light the fire to warm up." Zhang Lingfu said with concern as he looked at the third squad leader whose face was purple from the cold.

"Don't." The third squad leader stopped him and said, "The commander cannot ignite the fire. We are sealed in this passage. We don't know if the oxygen is enough, and we cannot consume precious oxygen for heating."

Zhang Lingfu knew that the third squad leader was telling the truth, so he had to nod. But looking at the third squad leader's trembling look, he felt heartbroken. If his body temperature was too low for a long time, it would easily cause irreversible hidden diseases to his body. As a general who loves soldiers as his son, Zhang Lingfu couldn't bear to leave any hidden dangers.

Frowning and thinking for a while, Zhang Lingfu untied his military coat. "What are you going to do, commander?" The third squad leader asked curiously.

"Get you warmth." Zhang Lingfu took the third squad leader into his arms without saying a word, and warmed him with his own heat through his shirt.

"Captain, you will be frozen." The third squad leader wanted to break free from Zhang Lingfu, but he didn't want the commander to bear his coldness.

"It's all my brothers, what's wrong with me? Will I be better if you're frozen?" Zhang Lingfu's words made the soldiers present respect him. A commander used his body temperature to warm a non-commissioned officer, so that the situation of loving soldiers as much as his son would only appear in the Hualan army. The body temperature of the third squad leader was gradually recovering, and his heart was even warmer.

Zhang Lingfu's approach greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers. The soldiers behind took off their cotton jackets and climbed into the ice cave one by one to continue digging. In order not to make the soldiers' faces turn purple like the third squad leader, Zhang Lingfu asked them to work for at most one and a half minutes to get out to keep warm.

As the ice cave extended, in order to transport the broken ice out in time, the soldiers had to drill into the ice cave one by one. They all took off their cotton jackets, tied them to their waists with ropes, and connected them into a string in the ice cave. The soldiers at the front dug the ice cave, while the people behind them relayed the broken ice out of the hole.
Chapter completed!