Chapter 25: Soldiers, Fight!

  "General Guo, will you take charge for us? That Yang Qiu is just a military exercise, it's simply humiliating for us."

  Yang Qiu walked away, and dozens of Qi people's officers and soldiers rushed to Guo Xing's face. They had never seen such a thing before. It was common for new officials to take office with three fires, but who would be uneasy and directly pull them out for forced training? Moreover, it was this kind of crime that involved rolling around in the mud more than a hundred times! So they all cried and complained about what had just happened. The other Han soldiers, although not making a fuss, were also mostly exhausted and sat down in the muddy pit, panting heavily.

  Watching Yang Qiu's departing back, Guo Erlong was so angry that he kicked away the soldier beside him and shouted: "What are you looking for me? Didn't General Biao say it clearly? Whoever leaves at dawn will get double silver, now go!" After finishing speaking, he stormed off towards his own barracks.

  Yue Peng panted heavily, bent over and supported himself on his knees as he stood up, sweeping a glance at the soldiers in the schoolyard who were either stunned or gritting their teeth, unable to express his own emotions at that moment.

  Next to him, Zhang Wenjing leaned over, one hand on his back and the other bent over panting: "Orders and obedience! Heh heh, it's a bit like what that German instructor used to say? He's a formidable guy! We all underestimated him, not only does he have means, but he's also very familiar with the bad habits in the military." Saying this, he smiled and pointed at the surrounding officers and soldiers: "See? Do you believe it? Whether or not they truly obey, at least no one dares to be a rebel again!"

  Yue Peng nodded and suddenly smiled: "Let's go, after we finish training with Lei Meng, I'll go see him with you!"

  "Right, that kid Lei Meng is really asking for it. I've had my eye on him for a while now. Last time I disobeyed orders and went out for a spin, when I came back he fined me 100 yuan! This time I'm going to make him pay dearly, why did we just exhaust ourselves while he was sleeping soundly on the ground?" Zhang Wenjing glanced at Yue Peng, whose face was covered in mud, and smiled wickedly.

  When he saw Zhang Wenjing and Yue Pengquan, whom he usually trusted, walking towards him with a bad smile on their faces, Lei Meng knew that he was in trouble today. Without saying another word, he started doing push-ups, waiting for the hundred to be done, and his original spirit had long since disappeared.

  "Are you done yet? You got me in trouble, now go to the concession area and buy two bottles of good wine for me." Lei Meng, with a dead dog expression, was kicked in the butt by Zhang Wenjing and hurried forward. The soldiers completely forgot about what had happened earlier, seeing this piece of rolling meat get beaten up by the newly arrived Lieutenant General, drinking muddy soup for half the day, now covering his butt and not daring to speak, all the soldiers burst out laughing.

  The military dormitory was just around the corner from the school grounds. Zhang Wenjing and Yue Peng walked to the door, as if they had returned to the scene of their days at the academy under the guidance of German instructors. Although their clothes were covered in mud, they still shook themselves off before standing at attention and knocking on the door.

  "Come in."

  Yang Qiu had already changed his clothes in the room and was wiping his beloved pistol. Seeing Zhang Wenjing bring in a panting Lei Meng and a young officer with a dignified appearance, but slightly thinner build, he asked: "Have you finished one hundred?"

  "Report, it's done." Zhang Wenjing finished his report and glanced at Yue Peng, saying: "Sir, this is Yue Peng." Yue Peng also immediately saluted and said: "Second-class staff officer (staff) Yue Peng reports to sir."

  "Second Lieutenant Yue Peng?"

  In the late Qing period, the new army's organizational structure had become more in line with international standards. Except for secretaries like Zhang Wenjing, all units from battalion to division began to set up staff departments, each consisting of a chief of staff, two first-class staff officers, and two second-class staff officers, plus three regimental commanders, which formed the command center.

  As a second-class staff officer, he was already a senior military officer within the banner system.

  "General Biao, Yue Pengsi graduated from Wu Higher Normal School and later went to the German Army Academy for a year of training at the recommendation of the German general instructor." Zhang Wenjing hastily introduced.

  "Oh? Have you been trained in Germany?"

  Yang Qiu raised an eyebrow, before the Sino-Japanese War, most military officers were sent to Germany for training, but after the war, more and more went to Japan. By the time of the Xinhai Revolution, almost all military officers had studied in Japan, so going to Germany or other European countries became much less common.

  He disliked officers who returned from studying in Japan because during the Xinhai period, there was a very interesting phenomenon: those who went to Japan and came back mostly became the backbone of the warlord melee, while those who returned from Europe mostly chose to be neutral or simply retired. People like Sa Zhenbing's generation almost all became foolish old men, so when he heard that Yue Peng was trained in Germany, his heart involuntarily added a bit of closeness.

  "You can be recommended by the chief instructor to go to Germany for training, it's clear that you have talent." Yang Qiu said while wiping his gun and looking at Yue Peng. When he removed the bullets, his fingers suddenly stiffened, and he said: "But unfortunately, in my eyes, you're not qualified! You're not the person I want."

  Not to mention Zhang Wenjing, even the rough man Lei Meng furrowed his brow, and Yue Peng and Zhang Wenjing were usually deeply loved by the soldiers. Even he was convinced, but unexpectedly this battalion commander was so unkind with his words.

  Yue Peng's face turned pale, originally he thought Yang Qiu's methods were novel and unexpected, the previous action was even more surprising, with a hint of his favorite German style, so he wanted to probe deeper, but didn't expect to be rejected before even opening his mouth, and was told he wasn't qualified!

  Zhang Wenjing's heart was anxious, and he didn't know how great a talent Yue Peng was, but as a good friend, he was very clear that not to mention the 42nd Division, there were only a few officers in the entire Hubei New Army who could match him. If it weren't for his exceptional talent being overlooked and his dislike of flattering people, how could he still be lingering at the bottom? So, his words couldn't help but carry a hint of irritation, asking: "Sir, you've just arrived, how can you humiliate people like this?"

  "Do you feel humiliated?" Yang Qiu, however, seemed to have not seen the three people's angry faces, and after reassembling his gun with a few clicks, he stood up and walked in front of Yue Peng. Due to his tall stature, standing in front of someone often gave off an oppressive feeling, but Yue Peng was completely unafraid, looking straight at him without flinching.

  "It's okay, at least the bones are still hard." Yang Qiu said with a smile that suddenly turned cold: "Graduating from Wuhan Higher Education Institute proves that you learned more than them, and being able to go to Germany further shows that you have skills. But tell me, why are you still just a small second-level counselor after all these years?"

  "Don't tell me that the top doesn't understand how to identify talent, and don't tell me they don't know how to lead troops in battle." Yang Qiu didn't give the other person a chance to speak, continuing coldly: "In my opinion, the problem isn't with the top, but with you yourself!"

  Zhang Wenjing also heard this strange argument for the first time and asked: "Sir, where did you get these words?"

  Yang Qiu couldn't help but laugh at this, did he need to guess? In the parallel world, those who looked down on others and always started with a half-sentence of foreign language when speaking, that "sea return" wasn't like that. He intentionally asked back: "I'm guessing that when you were in school, you constantly received praise from your instructors, after seeing the first-rate military power of Europe, you felt that the new army was full of holes, and with complicated internal personnel matters, there weren't many people who truly worked for the country or the people. At first, you wanted to make a change, but facing the complex web of relationships, you were powerless, so you gradually became unwilling to communicate with your colleagues, and when doing things, you already had conclusions in mind but just watched from the side without speaking, was that wrong?"

  Yue Peng's face turned alternately pale and red, as these few words directly pierced his heart. His gaze at Yang Qiu also became less confident.

  "What's going on here? According to what I said, should we become running dogs for those Manchu slaves?" Next to him, Lei Meng was a hot-headed person, and as soon as he opened his mouth, Zhang Wenjing hastily covered it with his hand. You see, the official in front of them was the "Zhongyong Batulu", the number one "great hero" of the Qing government recently featured in the newspapers, and this remark was taboo!

  Lei Meng suddenly realized he had misspoken, his face changed in an instant. Yang Qiu saw this and unexpectedly rubbed his ear: "What were you muttering just now? Officer Zhang Wenjing, after we go out, supervise him to do a hundred push-ups. If he slacks off, punish him according to military law."

  Will you be able to hear if it's so loud?

  Even if Lei Meng knew that Yang Qiu was maintaining him, a sense of gratitude rose in his heart for the first time. Zhang Wenjing and Yue Peng also exchanged a surprised glance. Isn't Biao Tong "Zhongyong Batu"?

  "It's not that you're not talented, but you don't even know what the military is." Yang Qiu seemed to have forgotten about the previous incident and continued to look at Yue Peng, saying: "This temperament of yours might be praised as being detached from fame and fortune, and being able to adapt to changing circumstances in other places, but this is the military!"

  The voice had already taken on a stern tone, scolding: "What is the military? It's a place of great contention! On the battlefield, soldiers are fighting to survive, generals are fighting for victory. When at a disadvantage, they must fight to win, and when facing death, they must fight for a glimmer of hope. Even after winning a battle, they must fight for future advantages!"

  "But you? You seem weak but are actually unyielding, and your high-mindedness is just a facade! An officer who doesn't even dare to fight for victory, what use are you? If I were Lord Li, I would have sent you back home to take care of the children long ago!" This astonishing speech suddenly made Yue Peng and Zhang Wenjing realize that all these years they had been stuck in a rut because they themselves hadn't gone out to fight.

  "Alright, got it? Be here for training tomorrow morning and I'll give you a chance." Yang Qiu raised one finger, looking at Yue Peng: "Still the same words, soldiers should fight for their lives, fight against the enemy, fight against heaven! If you can't even do this, then... retire!"

  A sentence "soldiers should fight for their lives, fight against the enemy, and fight against heaven" hit the two men's hearts like a heavy hammer. Thinking back on these years of experience, looking at Yang Qiu in front of them who is even younger than them, they really feel that wearing military uniforms for so many years has been in vain.

  Yang Qiu's face was stern, but he was actually delighted. If the three of them could really become his trusted aides, then today's efforts wouldn't be in vain. So he turned to Zhang Wenjing: "You're the secretary of the battalion, I'm giving you three days. In three days, I want a detailed report on the daily work of the 42nd Battalion and each soldier and officer!"

  Zhang Wenjing just promised, Yang Qiu turned to Lei Meng again: "I'm short of a horse here, do you want to do it?"

  Colonel! Deputy officer!

  Yue Peng and Zhang Wenjing couldn't help but smile, this Commander's methods were truly formidable. First, he used one move to defeat the enemy and take away the prestige of this Rolling Knife Meat, then he used a hundred stand-at-attention-and-fall-downs to strip away his arrogance, and finally, taking advantage of his weakness, he suddenly promoted him to be his trusted aide-de-camp. This meant that those people outside still hadn't figured out what was going on. Normally, they didn't fear heaven or earth, but now, as the 42nd elite law enforcement team's hundred-something-year-old veteran, he had already become Commander's trump card in his hand.

  A root tendon Lei Meng was even more unable to close his mouth, from the law enforcement team's shed long directly promoted to the banner of Ma Bi, what level is this? This seems not much different from the one in front who rose from a heavy soldier to a banner overnight.

  The thunderous applause was overwhelming.