Chapter 14: Draw your sword! Good!!!!!

  Not long after, Guo Xiangyang's third-class military merit badge was awarded, and the team even held a grand commendation meeting. After returning to the class, Guo Xiangyang solemnly put the military merit badge into a small box he took out from his drawer. When Qu Mingjun opened it, he found that there were already several military merit badges inside. It turned out that this was seniority! The old soldiers really had their own proud capital.

  "Comrades, according to the instructions from above, each squad should establish its own unique military camp culture, enliven the second classroom, enrich the extracurricular life of the students, and also provide some experience for comrades who will become leading cadres after graduation. Let's see how this second classroom is going to be run." Captain Yan Weidong stood with his hands behind his back in front of the building, facing the fourteen squad members standing neatly in rows, looking at each of his little tiger-like subordinates, and feeling quite satisfied in his heart.

  "I consulted with the instructor, and of course we also asked around, what other teams were doing, some had drumming and dragon dancing, some had waist drums and military bands, I thought these were all no good, ah, none of them would do, right?" Yan Weidong waved his hand grandly, quite imposing.

  "Actually, this matter should be the responsibility of the instructor, but I volunteered to take it on. The reason is simple: I think we should create a performance team with a unique military style. What's the use of just playing drums and dancing dragons? Those are things that can be done anywhere. Our Reconnaissance Team 14 must do something that showcases our military specialty. Now, some comrades may ask, what is a stabbing exercise? It's a specific combination of basic movements using bayonet combat, similar to the military boxing we've practiced before. Although each movement is useful, for performance purposes, we still need to combine them."

  Yan Weidong stretched out his hand and pulled out a long gun from behind, Qu Mingjun took a closer look, wasn't this the 56 semi-automatic rifle often used by the three armies' ceremonial team? This thing is now basically used as a ceremonial and honor guard gun. The three armies' ceremonial team, as well as the guards standing at the entrance of each military unit, use this kind of gun. As for combat, it's been equipped with the 81 automatic rifle long ago.

  Yan Weidong skillfully held the gun in his hand, with his left thumb pressing down on the grip, and with a crisp "pop" sound, he opened up the bayonet. The dazzling sunlight slid across the tip of the bayonet, and instantly, the entire rifle exuded an aura of cold killing intent from within its very bones. Yan Weidong's expression relaxed, as he gazed at the gun in his hand with a look akin to that of a parent looking at their child. "This is our country's self-produced 56-style semi-automatic rifle," he said. "Caliber 7.62mm, effective range 400 meters, magazine capacity 10 rounds, overall length with bayonet open 1260mm, and total weight 3.85kg. This rifle was first equipped by our military in the late 1950s, and it achieved great merit during the 1962 Sino-Indian border conflict. However, during the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese border conflict, its firepower proved to be somewhat lacking compared to automatic rifles, and it was gradually phased out by the Type 81 rifle that was introduced in 1981. Of course, comrades can still see this rifle being used today, such as at sentry posts or during flag-raising ceremonies of the three military services. And of course, we will also be practicing bayonet fighting next..."

  Yan Weidong's voice trailed off, and he seemed to enter a distant memory. All the team members fell silent, looking at their captain. Qu Mingjun had sharp eyes and saw that Yan Weidong's eyes were shining with unshed tears.

  Suddenly, Yan Weidong came to his senses and hastily said: "Later, each class will follow the instructions of the duty officer to go to the third floor armory to receive guns. In the afternoon, all personnel will gather in the playground with armed uniforms for the last two classes.

  "Qū Gē, have you heard?" After dismissing the class, Wáng Jìn approached Qū Míng Jùn with a mysterious look.

  Qu Mingjun was somewhat perplexed, "What did you say?"

  "Our captain, I heard that he is a great contributor to the Sino-Vietnamese War of Self-Defense Counterattack." Wang Jin's words piqued the curiosity of everyone in the class, and they all rushed over, including the old soldiers. Since the end of the Sino-Vietnamese War of Self-Defense Counterattack, there had been no major battles at home, and it had been peaceful for nearly twenty years. War was still a mysterious thing to these new recruits, and now their captain turned out to be a great contributor to the war, how could they not want to hear about it?

  Wang Jin saw that everyone had gathered around, and he started to show off, holding his cup and going to pour water, then sitting down and drinking non-stop.

  "Come on, come on." Cui Zexing was anxious, and he quickly pulled the cup away, "You can drink later, now hurry up and say it, say it!"

  Wang Jiong chuckled and said, "I heard that the captain was also a scout back in the day, so he's like our senior. There was this one time when we were at the front line, uh, it was on Lao Shan, and the position was right across from the Vietnamese army's position, just a stone's throw away. Originally, we had an unspoken agreement with the Vietnamese devils to maintain a ceasefire line, but I don't know what got into them one time, and they suddenly started shelling our front line at dawn. The squad that was stationed at the position closest to the Vietnamese army was buried in the tunnels. When the command center heard the artillery fire, they quickly contacted the front line but found out that the phone lines were cut off, so they ordered the captain's scout team to go take a look. As it turned out, there was heavy fog that morning, and at the foot of the mountain, they ran into a group of Vietnamese devils face-to-face. In the end, they had a big battle, and I heard we suffered more casualties, but the Vietnamese devils were completely wiped out. Finally, the captain and his remaining men, who were all injured, went up to rescue the squad that was trapped in the tunnels. If they had gone any later, that whole squad would have been suffocated to death in the tunnels. After they came down, everyone who participated in the battle received a big commendation."

  The people around were listening with rapt attention. Seeing Wang Jin stop talking and searching for his cup, they urged him on, "And then? And then?"

  "After the replacement, the team leaders returned to the mainland. Later, some of those who had made outstanding contributions in battles were selected for training at the Academy of Land Forces. After graduation, it seemed that the team leader was assigned to a unit and then transferred back." Wang Mi blinked his eyes.

  "How did you know?" Guo Xiangyang couldn't help but ask. Indeed, Wang Jin seemed to be an all-knowing person, there was no news he hadn't heard of and no secret he didn't know.

  "Haha, the mountain man has his own wonderful plan, yiya——" Wang Jin was a bit dazed.

  "You'd better be careful not to leak secrets, or it won't be fun. Don't forget what the confidentiality agreement says: don't say what shouldn't be said, and don't listen to what shouldn't be heard." Li Dongkuan couldn't help but jab at him with a few sharp words, seeing how arrogant he was being. Wang Jin's face immediately fell like an eggplant that had been frostbitten, and he looked down dejectedly.

  Did they meet face to face? Qu Mingjun was stunned for a moment, could it be that a fierce battle had occurred? The thick fog in the mountains made it impossible to see one's hand in front of their face, and in such situations, there wouldn't have been time to fire guns before the two sides became entangled, definitely resulting in close combat. Watching the captain speak about the assassination, with an expression that sent shivers down his spine, and caressing the 56 semi-automatic rifle, Qu Mingjun suddenly felt a great interest in the afternoon's stabbing practice.

  "In the 50s and 60s, our soldiers practiced five main military skills: shooting, throwing grenades, stabbing, blasting, and engineering operations, also known as the "five major skills". At that time, national military competitions were held for these five items. For decades, this consistency guaranteed the entire army's positive and upward martial spirit and healthy spiritual outlook.

  However, after entering the 80s, with the development of science and technology, high-tech weapons and equipment were gradually updated in the troops, and the division of labor within the military became more detailed, with a higher degree of specialization. High-tech weapons and equipment also brought changes to the battlefield. To better adapt to the needs of war, our army added many new contents to the newly issued training outline, while canceling some old skills, such as stabbing in our five major skills.

  Yan Weidong stood at the front of the team, talking eloquently."

  "I think the possibility of using bayonet combat in future wars is very small. Our scouts will face enemies with automatic rifles for long-range combat and pistols for close combat, and only as a last resort will they use hand-to-hand combat with knives. As for attaching bayonets to guns for face-to-face stabbing, this possibility is really too small. However, I think bayonet combat is not useless at all. On the contrary, we should practice it well. In this kind of narrow-road-encounter-the-brave-win bayonet combat training, every thrust contains the spirit of bravery, a one-way ticket to death, and a willingness to sacrifice one's life. This is very necessary for cultivating our martial spirit and cultivating the brave and tenacious fighting style of our scouts."

  Yan Weidong finally stopped talking, feeling a bit parched, and looked at the students in front of him who were concentrating intently. After clearing his throat, he continued: "Next, we will proceed with specific action training."

  "First, we need to practice the first movement which is to open and close the bayonet. The movements are in two parts, with the commands 'Open bayonet!', 'Good!' and 'Close bayonet!', 'Good!'. I will now demonstrate a continuous sequence of movements for everyone."

  Yan Weidong stood upright with spirit, his right hand grasping the grip of the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, the butt tightly against his right foot, and the front end level with the toe of his boot. Qu Mingjun opened his eyes wide to observe Yan Weidong's movements carefully.

  Yan Weidong shouted "Open bayonet!", then Yan Weidong's left hand quickly clamped onto the upper part of the three-edged bayonet's ring, pressed down and wiped forward, and the entire bayonet popped out of the rifle stock at a 45-degree angle. His left hand naturally fell to the bottom of the bayonet. Then Yan Weidong gave another order "Good", his left hand flipped over, and he quickly slapped the bayonet towards his back.

  A crisp "Ka" sound, the three-edged military dagger stood proudly above the rifle, its body gleaming with snow-white light, and the three greyish-white blood grooves shimmered with a bloodthirsty glow. Qu Mingjun only felt a surge of murderous aura rushing towards him, and he couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly.

  "This is the opening of the bayonet." Yan Weidong's slightly plump body stood up straight, "Next is to retract the bayonet. The action is a bit different, but it's not much different either, still two moves."

  Yan Weidong himself gave the order, and with a crisp "pop" sound, he swiftly retracted the bayonet. "This action is easy, but pay attention to two points: first, when pulling up the gun ring upwards, your hand must consciously control the tendency of the bayonet to move downwards; otherwise, it will close by itself, and there won't be a second movement. Second, during the second movement, note the position of your thumb; if you put it under the bayonet, it will get pinched when closing the bayonet."

  Yan Weidong said, glancing at his watch, waving his hand to announce: "Next, each class will practice this movement for half an hour. Remember, each class must practice in unison. There is only one requirement, whether the bayonet is opened or closed, I only want to hear a crisp sound, not a chaotic noise like fireworks on New Year's Eve. Each class, begin!"