Chapter 18, Daring to Act and Daring to Do

  Wu Shaoteng turned his head and took a look at Zhou Xiaohu, asking: "How's your injury? Wang Lifa, take Zhou Xiaohu to the headquarters immediately to find a military doctor."

  Wang Lifa quickly came forward and helped Zhou Xiaohu up. Zhou Xiaohu was deeply moved, with a hint of self-blame, originally wanting to say a few more words, but his swollen mouth couldn't be opened.

  About three minutes later, Li Wenqi hurried back again.

  Wu Shaotong was somewhat surprised, it usually takes five minutes to go back and forth from the big school field, how did Li Wenqi come back so quickly?

  Li Wenqi ran while shouting: "Lord Wu, someone has come from the Ministry of War!"

  His words had barely fallen when a stern voice immediately came from behind: "Damn you, who fired the gun?" The accent was thick with Minnan flavor. (Niubei: Minnan dialect for "your dad's", similar to "damn it")

  Soon, a team of soldiers with rifles and new military uniforms appeared. The leader was a middle-aged man in a short jacket, obviously just getting out of bed, still holding a Mauser pistol in his hand.

  Wu Shaotong took a glance at the middle-aged man who was leading the group and immediately recognized him as the secretary of the general's office, who had been present when Fu Qi summoned him earlier.

  Li Mingshan saw the arrival of the yamen runners and his courage grew, he quickly cried out for help: "Magistrate Wang, Magistrate Wang save me! Wu Shaotong has rebelled!"

  Wang Shu saw this scene, first stunned for a moment, then immediately shouted: "What's going on? Wu Shaotong, what are you doing? Put down the gun."

  Li Mingshan hastily complained: "Lord Wang, Wu Shaozhong's intention to practice military training at midnight is treasonous, and this humble official happened to see it..."

  Wu Shaotong fiercely grabbed a handful of Li Mingshan's braid, preventing him from speaking out of turn. He said loudly: "Shut up! Li Wenqi, tell Lord Wang about what just happened in detail."

  Li Mingshan also intended to intimidate Li Wenqi with his eyes, but Li Wenqi pretended not to see him and quickly turned around to bow to Secretary Wang, then told him what had just happened.

  Just as Li Wenqi was explaining the situation, the sound of Wu Shaotang's gunshot earlier again attracted the attention of the surrounding camps around the drill ground. The soldiers in these camps first peeked out to take a look outside the drill ground, and after confirming that it was not a rebellion, many people even ran onto the track of the drill ground to watch this commotion.

  The right team of the 24th town affiliated artillery battalion, Xu Guang, also followed and ran over.

  Xu Guang rushed forward, saw clearly that Wu Shaotong was holding his superior at gunpoint, and was shocked on the spot. He shouted at Wu Shaotong: "Wu Zhenzhi, what are you doing? How did it become like this?"

  Wu Shaotong ignored Xu Guang.

  Wang Shu listened to Li Wenqi's report and noticed Xu Guang on the side, immediately beckoning him over and calling out: "You, come here!"

  Xu Guang ran over and gave a salute to Secretary Wang.

  King's secretary asked: "Do you know Wu Shaotong?"

  Xu Guang then told the story of his fight with Wu Shaozhong earlier, emphasizing that when he left, Wu Shaozhong was reorganizing his troops and returning to their barracks, and had no idea it would end up like this.

  Wang, the secretary officer, had already roughly understood the situation. He didn't go to ask Li Mingshan's subordinates again because people in the Ministry of War knew Li Mingshan's character very well. The other side relied on his uncle Huang Shilong being the commander of the Fire Brigade and often did some wicked things. It was just that these wicked things were not serious, so the higher-ups didn't bother to deal with them.

  He let go of his hand, letting Xu Guang step down, then quickly walked forward and shouted at the Shanziying soldiers who were still pointing their guns at Wu Shaotong: "Damn it, all of you put down your guns."

  Li Mingshan's subordinates were hesitant and indecisive, looking at Secretary Wang one moment and then at Li Mingshan the next, unsure of whom to obey.

  Li Mingshan felt astonished, but who was Secretary Wang actually helping? However, he was held by Wu Shaotong's grip on his queue, with the cold gun muzzle pressed against the back of his neck, and for a while, he didn't dare ask questions.

  Wang Shu's face turned stern as he saw Li Ming-shan's subordinates disobeying orders. He pointed at the soldiers and said, "What? Do I have to take away your guns myself?"

  Li Mingshan's subordinates had no choice but to put down their rifles.

  Wang Shu's face turned gloomy as he walked over to Wu Shaotong, snatching the pistol from his hand while scolding: "You two are really something! Don't you know the rules in a military camp? Fighting and quarreling are not allowed with guns. Have you two forgotten?"

  Li Mingshan narrowly escaped from Wu Shaozhong, and repeatedly put on a wronged expression, saying: "Lord Wang, Wu Shaozhong is obviously going to rebel... Are you just going to sit back and do nothing?"

  Wang, the secretary, glared at Li Ming-shan and scolded: "You're really something! Have you ever seen a rebellion without guns? You're always causing such absurd trouble, turning what was originally a small matter into this big of a deal. Don't you want to be a leader anymore?"

  Li Mingshan was stunned, he never thought that Secretary Wang would scold him so directly? To think that his uncle Huang Shilong had given Secretary Wang red envelopes on every New Year's and holiday! He immediately felt a surge of anger in his heart, but this anger couldn't be vented on Secretary Wang, so it naturally shifted to Wu Shaotang.

  You punk, I won't let you off! He cursed under his breath, meanwhile glaring at Wu Shaotong with a fierce gaze.

  Wang Shu saw that Li Ming Shan had stopped talking and didn't care what the other party was thinking, so he simply settled the matter.

  "Li Mingshan, take your people and get out of here quickly. Come to the Army Ministry tomorrow morning and give me an explanation." He said impatiently, waving his hand at Li Mingshan.

  Li Mingshan was going to ask how to deal with Wu Shaotong, after all, this guy was guilty of insubordination and had even used a gun to coerce him, which was a serious crime that could not be ignored. However, he saw the cold face of Secretary Wang and felt that it was not necessary to fan the flames, lest the fire burn himself.

  He immediately fell silent and sullenly led his men away with a scowl on his face.

  Wu Shaotong saw how Wang Shiyuan was handling the situation with such vigor and efficiency, and he suddenly felt a bit of admiration for him. He adjusted his emotions and regained his usual calm demeanor, bowing slightly to Wang Shiyuan and saying: "Thank you, Sir Wang, for your discerning eye..."

  Bang!

  Before Wu Shaotong could finish his sentence, Secretary Wang slapped him on the shoulder.

  "What the...! Are you out of your mind?! You're a subordinate, yet you dare to point a gun at your superior. Do you think you've lived too long or what?!" Secretary Wang thundered in rage.

  Wu Shaotong was suddenly taken aback, he had thought that Secretary Wang was helping him, but he didn't expect that Secretary Wang was going to teach both himself and Li Mingshan a lesson! As a grown man, being slapped in the face made him feel very depressed, but after all, this time he really did make a big mistake, using a gun to coerce his superior in the army, with severe consequences, even possibly being sentenced to death.

  He let out a quiet sigh, just lowering his head, without saying a word of explanation.

  Secretary Wang saw Wu Shaotong lower his head and remain silent, and noticed that the other party had a sincere sign of repentance. His anger suddenly subsided a bit. He stretched out his hand and pointed at Wu Shaotong's nose, angrily saying: "What's wrong with you? Just returned from abroad and thought you were great? Li Mingshan is a hooligan, how did you, a prestigious overseas student, become a bandit?"

  Wu Shaotong remained silent, his 21st-century military career had trained him to have a habit of not making any excuses.

  However, the rear guard soldiers standing by saw Wu Shaotong being scolded so severely by Secretary Wang and felt very wronged and unbearable.

  Chen Qun had previously been slapped by Xu Guang, and it was only because of Wu Shaozheng's intervention that he got his revenge. He had long been grateful to Wu Shaozheng in his heart. Originally having a big temper, he couldn't help but speak up for Wu Shaozheng: "Your Honor, our Lord Wu is innocent, at the time Lord Li almost beat Zhou Xiaohu to death."

  Wang Yun saw someone had started and also followed with a remark: "Yes, this matter is clearly Lord Li's fault."

  "Please spare Director Wu, Director Wang."

  "I'm looking for Master Wang..."

  At this time, all the rear guards spoke up one after another.

  Secretary Wang was somewhat surprised to see this, Wu Shaotong really is a good commander, and in just one month he has gotten along so well with his subordinates! Although he had a mind to cherish talent, Wu Shaotong was too arrogant this time. Even if Secretary Wang himself didn't punish him, once Li Mingshan told his uncle Huang Shilong about the matter, the fire brigade would still not let Wu Shaotong off, and might even punish him more severely.

  He immediately turned pale and rebuked Chen Qun's side: "All of you shut up, it's not your turn to speak."

  The rear guard soldiers could only watch helplessly.

  King's secretary turned to Wu Shaozheng again and said, "Fortunately, General Wang has always held you in high esteem. These past few days he was still praising your military tactics, but you're so impulsive! I will report this matter truthfully to the general, and when the time comes, it will depend on your good fortune how he disposes of you! Now that night has fallen, I won't say anything more. Take your men and get out of here, go back and reflect on yourself."

  He finished speaking, and once again stretched out his hand to emphasize his point at Wu Shaozhong before turning around and leading his own men back to the Army Ministry.

  Wu Shaotong let out a heavy sigh after Secretary Wang left. He knew that this matter was only temporarily settled, but not yet over. However, he had just learned from Secretary Wang's words that it seemed that General Fuqi knew about his plan to conduct collective training with the rear guard this month.

  He didn't know how Fu Qi would deal with tonight's affairs, but Secretary Wang hadn't taken him into custody, which was hinting at something.

  At this time, Li Wenqi walked over and carefully asked: "Lord Wu, are you...alright?"

  Wu Shaotong came back to his senses and suddenly thought of something, saying: "Where's my pistol? I'm in trouble, Lord Wang forgot to return my pistol."

  Li Wenqi heard this and suddenly became speechless with a mixture of laughter and tears, anxiously saying: "My Lord Wu, what kind of time is this? You're still worried about the handgun? If this matter isn't handled properly, I'm afraid you'll be in big trouble!"

  Wu Shaotong took a deep breath, smiled slightly and said: "Whether it's good fortune or bad luck, the calamity can't be avoided. Let General come to deal with it. Now, let everyone go back to their barracks to rest, tomorrow... tomorrow training will continue as usual!"

  Li Wenqi looked at Wu Shaotong's nonchalant appearance and suddenly felt a bit at a loss. He was just about to ask some questions when Wu Shaotong suddenly added, "Take a few people to the headquarters and see how Zhou Xiaohu is doing!"

  After finishing speaking, Wu Shaotong turned around and walked towards the military officer's dormitory.

  Li Wenqi gazed at Wu Shaotong's back, feeling a mix of emotions in his heart. This Wu Shaotong was indeed a man who valued loyalty and righteousness!

  There were also many onlookers from other barracks near the track, who saw the commotion and dispersed. However, among them, there were not a few people who deeply remembered the name "Wu Shaotong".