Chapter 68: Things Have Gotten Out of Hand
Because his foot was cut by the glass, Bao Yulin could only stay in the hospital room with his mother. Although the wound is not big, he wants to recover as soon as possible. Bao Yulin did not expect that his agreement to go to the Guanglan City Armed Police Brigade "to play" would cause such a big commotion. The next afternoon, the commander and political commissar of the Northwest Province Armed Police Corps came to the Guanglan Military Region General Hospital with Wang Qiang, saying they were visiting Bao Yulin and his mother. However, as they chatted, the topic kept drifting towards the military skills competition. Bao Yulin was secretly frustrated, but after correcting them several times, others insisted on calling it a Sino-French military skills competition, so he had to give up his own thoughts. What could he do? The political commissar of the corps treated what he said as if it were not Chinese, and even brought a French translator over. This made Bao Yulin almost cry with laughter.
Actually, Bao Yulin was not clear that at this time our country was in the initial stage of reform and opening up. Maybe people in big cities like Beijing and Guangzhou were already used to foreigners, but in the northwest province, foreigners were still rare. Although Bao Yulin was only a naturalized Frenchman for a short time, he was a military man and an officer of a special forces unit, which was unquestionable.
Wang Qiang recalled the look of shock on the faces of the commander and political commissar when he reported this matter to the Northwest Provincial Armed Police Corps yesterday, and began to regret it. Why did he have to make such a big deal out of it? He just wanted to see the level of this foreign special forces unit. The Northwest Provincial Armed Police Corps attached great importance to the report from the Guanglan Brigade on this matter. This was the first time that the Northwest Armed Police Force had formally competed with foreign military personnel, and they had to be careful.
After verifying Bao Yulin's identity, the Northwest China Armed Police Corps asked for opinions from relevant leaders. The leaders said that since Wang Qiang, representing the Guanglan City Armed Police Detachment, had issued an invitation, the Northwest China Armed Police Corps should take this matter seriously. Regardless of whether Bao Yulin represents himself or his country, he is after all a foreign military officer on Chinese soil. They must show the spirit and style of the Chinese armed police, and treat this activity as a prelude to a major exercise, striving to raise the level of the Northwest China Armed Police in a short period of time. The leaders also said that if this exchange is successful, they can maintain regular exchanges and cooperation with foreign countries, learning from each other's strengths and weaknesses, and strive to raise the combat effectiveness of the Northwest China Armed Police to a new level.
On that day, when the visit to the hospital was about to end, the leader of the Northwest China Armed Police Corps proposed that Bao Yulun change into his military uniform and take a group photo together. Bao Yulun thought for half a day, he really didn't want to wear the French-style uniform in the Liberation Army's Guanglan Military Region General Hospital, but it was hard to refuse. In the end, he could only propose that, out of respect for the Liberation Army, they could only take photos in the ward. The leader of the Northwest China Armed Police Corps had no choice but to agree. Actually, deep down, they also hoped Bao Yulun would think this way. After all, the Armed Police Force was also transferred from the Liberation Army's sequence in 1982 and still has feelings for the Liberation Army.
Once again, Bao Yulin put on the French army uniform and brought up various medals he had received. When Bao Yulin came out of the small room, the leaders of the armed police corps saw that his military uniform was hung with various medals. The most striking one was a red five-star medal with the words "August 1st" printed on it, which was the First-Class Meritorious Service Medal of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Everyone knew the weight of this first-class meritorious service medal, and several armed police officers immediately put on their military caps.
"Attention!" This was an order from the Political Commissar of the Headquarters. Several armed police officers raised their right hands and gave Bao Yulin a military salute.
Bao Yulin knew. Their military salute was not for a French army, but for a first-class meritorious deed of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
Bao Yulin stood at attention, according to the French Army's drill manual. He returned a military salute to the French army officer. Wearing a French military uniform, he could only return the salute in this way. In fact, he would have liked to return a People's Liberation Army salute, but Bao Yulin knew that for the rest of his life, he would never have such an opportunity again.
"Sorry, I only brought this one set of military uniform back. If I need to go to your place for an activity, I may have to borrow your training uniform as well." This military uniform was only brought back for the purpose of paying respects to my father and is not suitable for everyday wear.
"Of course. That's no problem at all. Can you tell us the significance of these medals?" The political commissar felt a pang of regret in his heart. He had hoped that Bao Yu could wear his military uniform and compete with the soldiers from the Northwest Province Armed Police Corps, but since others had said so, he had to give them an opportunity to save face.
"Of course, no problem." Bao Yulin had no reason to refuse this request.
"This first-class merit medal was awarded to me by the Wuhan Military Region in 1988, when I had already retired. This medal is a reward for my contributions to the country during the Sino-Vietnamese War, and it is also the most important medal of my life. It represents the state's affirmation of my loyalty and its reward for my achievements. It is the greatest honor of my life. Unfortunately, I only put it on until a few days ago." Bao Yulin said with emotion, gently touching the medal on his chest.
The Armed Police Corps had some understanding of Bao Yulin's situation, and everyone knew about the First-Class Meritorious Service Medal, but it was not suitable to mention it at this time.
"This is the French Legion of Honour, which was awarded to me because I performed relatively well in an operation and killed or injured several terrorists, thus foiling their terrorist attack on French soil. The French government awarded it to me." said Bao Yulin.
"I heard that the French Legion of Honor is considered the highest honor in France, would you feel proud to receive it? If you had a choice, would you prefer to receive the First-Class Meritorious Medal of the Chinese People's Liberation Army or this French Legion of Honor?" Along with the political commissar and the commander came a propaganda officer, who raised such a question at this time. It was clear that he wanted Bao Yulin to make a comparison between the First-Class Meritorious Medal and the French Legion of Honor for propaganda purposes. This situation was also normal in the social environment at that time.
Bao Yulin's head began to ache as soon as he heard this question. When Bao Yulin was about to return home for a family visit, the confidential personnel of the French intelligence agency had discussed with him some issues that needed attention in terms of speaking methods. The fundamental principle is to protect oneself without affecting France's reputation. After all, China's problems have always been a focus of global concern. Bao Yulin did not expect that someone would really force him to make a statement.
"Mr. Officer." Domestic leaders usually don't introduce their entourage, and this propaganda officer belonged to the category that wouldn't be introduced. Bao Yulin wasn't very polite to him, his question was a bottom-line question: "Your question is quite sharp, I don't know what you're thinking to ask such a question. However, I can answer you." Bao Yulin knew clearly that if he answered this question incorrectly, it wouldn't just affect himself, but also the diplomatic relations between the two countries.
"I think your comparison is very inappropriate. Everyone knows that my situation is a special case, and I should say, I am a thorough Chinese, during the Sino-Vietnamese War, I was a Chinese soldier, and I fulfilled my mission well, for which the People's Liberation Army awarded me the First-Class Merit Citation. I think I deserved it! Similarly, when I received the French Legion of Honor, I was a French soldier, and I also did what a soldier should do, when the French government awarded me the French Legion of Honor, I thought more about maintaining the honor of a soldier. If you think there is comparability in this aspect, then I want to tell you that this medal is the United Nations Peace Medal awarded to me for upholding UN resolutions and international law. In my mind, it is equally important. Do you think I should also take out this medal and compare it with my First-Class Merit Citation and my French Legion of Honor?"
Bao Yulin was originally not a talkative person, but after staying abroad for several years, his thinking became more rational. Many times, he didn't speak not because he didn't understand, but because he chose not to. At this moment, Bao Yulin knew that he had to take a stand, otherwise, his future path would be very difficult to walk. Bao Yulin was clear-headed. Having just experienced the ** of China, some people liked to play with words, and he didn't want to get involved in it.
"Leaders, do you know? For some time now, I've been hearing people say that my son has become a French citizen. I think, no matter what nationality he becomes, his father and I are still Chinese, and when he dies, he'll have to be buried in our ancestral tomb. His heart will always belong to China. If not, don't even mention outsiders, even his father and I won't be able to let him rest in peace!"
Bao Yulin's mother leaned against the bed and also sensed the explosive tone of the words, so she finally managed to interject a sentence. The old lady's words were timely and apt. After these few sentences, even the propaganda workers didn't know what to say. The old lady had already shifted the topic to the level of feudal superstition, what else could others say?
The political commissar of the Northwest Provincial Armed Police Corps quickly came forward to say that, no matter what, they had come with friendly intentions. They hoped that through exchanges between the Gulan Municipal Armed Police Detachment and French military officers on tactics and techniques, they could play a certain role in promoting traditional friendship between the two countries. Especially since this exchange was positioned as consolidating traditional friendship and deepening personal feelings, Bai Yulin felt a bit at a loss for words. However, he knew that things were not so simple.
Due to the injury on his foot, Bao Yulin had not left the ward for two days. He was a bit unaccustomed to it, how could there be so many things, many of which he didn't even dare to think about before. This made Bao Yulin have an illusion, whether he had stayed abroad for too long and was not adapted to domestic affairs?
After the Sino-Vietnamese War, Lin Xiaoqing chose to switch careers. After all, her family had a good relationship with the local authorities, and she was assigned to work at the local procuratorate. The war had a great impact on her, and due to excessive stimulation, she even experienced memory loss. Fortunately, these were only temporary phenomena, and as time passed, some selective memories also gradually came back. In fact, Lin Xiaoqing knew that the only thing she temporarily forgot was about the field hospital.
Time is the best medicine, and finally, Lin Xiaoqing remembered everything a year later, including that bloody scene at the field hospital. With an attitude of being responsible to her comrades and herself, Lin Xiaoqing reported all the things she remembered to the military district in the shortest time possible. As for what happened afterwards, Lin Xiaoqing didn't know much about it, only hearing that a soldier named Bao Yulin was awarded first-class merit, which made Lin Xiaoqing feel much more at peace. She no longer had to be woken up every night by those bloody nightmares.
As the country's legal system becomes more sound, public security and procuratorial organs are increasingly showing their role in reform and opening up. This change is particularly evident for procuratorates. In the past, many ordinary people hardly knew what a procuratorate was, and when they had problems, they would only think of going to the public security bureau or the court, but they knew very little about the procuratorate that conducts public prosecutions and exercises supervision over executions. Many people did not even know what a procuratorate was. Lin Xiaojing once heard of a case where an ordinary person became disabled after being subjected to rough law enforcement by the police for some reason. This was actually a very simple case, but due to the shallow legal consciousness of the ordinary people, they ultimately did not choose to seek help from the supervisory organ procuratorate, and instead left behind a will and put a packet of rat poison in their food before taking their wife and children with them on the road to death.
As the reform and opening-up process continued to advance, the procuratorate's effectiveness began to emerge. The local procuratorate where Lin Xiaoqing was located not only performed its public prosecution function but also began to perform its supervisory function. For some social corruption problems, after obtaining certain evidence, the inspection agency directly intervened. For this work, Lin Xiaoqing, who had military experience, became a pioneer in the procuratorate. Of course, there is another key issue here, and some of Lin Xiaoqing's elders are now in various critical departments. In other words, there is no beehive that Lin Xiaoqing dares not to touch. Over the years, Lin Xiaoqing has repeatedly cracked major cases and became a well-known "Lin Qingtian" in the local inspection department.
Recently, Lin Xiao Jing has been looking very worried, it's not that there's a problem with her work, the key is that something's going on at home.
Some time ago, Lin Xiao's father had been working on Lin Xiao's job, hoping that Lin Xiao could be transferred to work in Guanglan City. The reason is simple. Lin Xiao's grandfather has not been in good health for a long time, and after retirement, he was hospitalized due to emotional reasons. The second generation of elders in the family are at the peak of their careers, with one or two being leaders of the party and government. Moreover, everyone lacks experience in taking care of people. Among the third generation of the family, Lin Xiao is originally a nurse by profession, and as a girl, she is meticulous and can take on the responsibility of caring for her grandfather. Therefore, the whole family mobilized together to think of ways to transfer Lin Xiao to the Guanglan City Procuratorate in the shortest possible time.
There are still people in the Central who can get things done, and within a few days, Lin Xiaoqing's job transfer was settled. According to reason, after the transfer order came down, Lin Xiaoqing should have reported to the Guanglan City Procuratorate. However, several cases she had been handling had not yet been concluded. Lin Xiaoqing did not want to be accused of being irresponsible, so she persisted. She wanted to wait until the cases in her hands were settled before leaving. It's a good thing that someone is working hard, so the leaders of the two procuratorates discussed and decided to let Lin Xiaoqing borrow time to finish her work, so she didn't leave.
But these days are no exception, Lin Xiao Jing must rush to Guanglan City as soon as possible. The General Hospital of the Guanglan Military Region has issued a critical illness notice to her family, and the original Director of the Political Department of the Guanglan Military Region, Lin, suffered a mild stroke and had an accident in the hospital. To ensure safety, the hospital informed the patient's family members, mainly to seek their opinions on whether to stay at the General Hospital of the Guanglan Military Region for treatment or go to Beijing. As the only family member with some medical experience, Lin Xiao Jing was naturally asked by her elders to return immediately.
As for Lin Xiaoqing herself, although she couldn't let go of some work in her hands, it was already on the right track and would be fine as long as things went according to plan. Her grandfather's matter was a big deal, if she delayed, she would never forgive herself for the rest of her life. So, within two days of receiving the call, Lin Xiaoqing handed over all her work and rushed to Guanglan City at the fastest speed.
Bao Yulin did not expect that, during his rest days, the Northwest Provincial Armed Police Corps published a message on its internal publication about him participating in military skills training with the Gulan City Branch of the Armed Police, although the title of this article used was "Northwest Provincial Armed Police Conducts Large-Scale Training", and the part about Bao Yulin was written very vaguely, without even mentioning his name. However, when placed in front of the French Ambassador to China, intelligence officials clearly circled the words indicating that he was a Knight of the French Legion of Honor with a red pen.
After reading this report, the French ambassador to China certainly knows that there are currently only two recipients of the French Legion of Honor in China, one is the ambassador himself and the other is Bao Yulin. The French government has always been quite concerned about the activities of these people, as the awarding of the French Legion of Honor is rare. A few days ago, because of Bao Yulin's matter, the ambassador had already contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Fortunately, it was later confirmed that there was nothing wrong. But who knows, just a few days after this incident, Bao Yulin has come up with some kind of military exchange again? This really gives the ambassador a headache.
"Charlie, I want you to go to the Northwest Province and find Lieutenant Bai Yulin to understand the situation. You need to know that he is very irresponsible for agreeing to China's official invitation so readily. When necessary, he must come out to clarify the facts." The ambassador instructed.
Although Sino-French relations have been gradually developing over the past few years, it can be said that they are in a honeymoon period, but similar military actions have never happened before. Such issues must be taken very seriously, as they may damage the relationship between the two countries and cause diplomatic trouble.
"Yes, Mr. Ambassador, I will rush to Guanglan City in Northwest Province today, and I will thoroughly understand the situation. If there are specific problems, I will ask Lieutenant Bao Yulin to contact you personally." Charlie was a secretary at the embassy, responsible for handling some of the ambassador's entrusted matters. His work principle made it clear that he only needed to handle the situations entrusted by the ambassador.
"I heard that Lieutenant Bai Yulin's mother is being treated in the hospital due to a car accident, so don't forget to bring a bouquet of flowers on my behalf and extend my regards." The French are always so romantic. The ambassador is still very thoughtful about these things.
Charlie agreed readily enough, but when it came to actually doing something about it, he began to feel a headache coming on. He thought he was clear that Gansu Province's Lanzhou City was an underdeveloped area. It was far less developed than Beijing and probably didn't have any fresh flowers for sale. But this wasn't going to stop Charlie; just before boarding the plane, he had specifically brought a bottle of French cognac from the embassy. He believed that this gift would satisfy Bao Yulin, as for the flowers, that should be the problem of the Foreign Affairs Office of Gansu Province.
Just before the end of work, Director Lan of the Foreign Affairs Office of Northwest Province received a call from the French Embassy in Beijing. On the phone, a third secretary named Charlie said he would take the 6 o'clock flight to Northwest and hoped that the Foreign Affairs Office could help arrange a car for him. He needed to rush to Panshi County to find Lieutenant Colonel Bao Yukun of the French Army. In addition, he hoped that the Foreign Affairs Office could help prepare a bouquet of carnations because the ambassador had heard that Lieutenant Colonel Bao's mother was ill and wanted to send her a bouquet of fresh flowers as a gesture of condolence.
Director Lan immediately felt at ease when he heard that it was about finding Bao Yulin, and hurriedly stated that in order to let Captain Bao Yulin's mother recover as soon as possible, the Northwest Province had already transferred Captain Bao Yulin's mother to the best-equipped Liberation Army Guanglan Military Region General Hospital for treatment. If everything goes smoothly, by 8 o'clock tonight when Mr. Charlie arrives in Guanglan, he will be able to meet Captain Bao Yulin and his mother.
When Charles I heard this, he felt much more at ease. He was very familiar with China's traffic conditions and it was good news that they could meet Bao Yulin in Guanglan.
After hanging up the phone, Director Lan became busy. First, he had to report the situation to the provincial party committee leaders. In addition, he also had to think of a way to help Charlie find a bouquet of carnations. Poor Director Lan didn't even know what carnations were. However, this was not a problem, as he had people under him who knew, and his own ignorance did not mean that others were also unaware.
Just in time, before going to the airport to pick up Charlie, someone from the Foreign Affairs Office of Northwest Province finally managed to get a bunch of carnations from the Greening Office of Guanglan City, thus completing the task.
In the hospital, Bao Yulin also received a notice from the Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, saying that people from the French Embassy in China would come to see him and asked him to prepare. Bao Yulin was a bit confused, what did the embassy staff want? He didn't know, his "play" with the Guanglan City Armed Police Brigade had blown up.
