Oath of the 15 Guns

  "Brother Guo Dong, we might be issued guns tomorrow." Dog Wa shouted to Zhao Guo Dong who was hiding behind a sandbag on the rifle range, "It's been almost half a year since we left the village, and finally we'll get to hold guns."

  "What did you say? Ah yeah." Zhao Guotang was hit again by a sandbag without noticing.

  "Can't you wait until I'm done training before shouting? Look, your yelling made me fall again!" Zhao Guo Dong got up from the ground and gave Dog Wa a burst of punches. "What you said earlier about firing a gun, was it true?"

  "That's fake. I saw it with my own eyes. Sparkling and shining." Dogwa patted his chest, guaranteeing "Tomorrow they will definitely give us guns to use."

  Zhao Guoding looked at the sandbags that were still swaying back and forth, and finally didn't have to play hide-and-seek with you guys anymore. Although, Instructor Wang hadn't actually replaced the sandbags with stones, installed blades or steel needles on them. Just those sandbags alone were enough to make people suffer. From the initial 1-kilogram sandbag to the later 5-kilogram ones. Each person had to hang five or six of these sandbags on the plum blossom pole every day and run around, if they accidentally fell off, they would have to hang another one before getting back on the pole.

  Now he can finally get rid of this miserable life, Zhao Guocong's heart is very relaxed.

  "Come on, let's go take a look at that gun." The two of them walked forward shoulder to shoulder, the sandbags behind them seeming to call out in farewell.

  "Sharp whistle pierced the quiet morning, like a huge invisible cover shrouded everyone, making the whole camp quickly enter a state of tension."

  "Attention! Stand at ease! First row from left to right, count off!"

  One!

  "Two!"

  Three!

  "Four!"

  Five!

  Six!

  Seven!

  Eight!

  Nine!

  Ten!

  "First company, report in from front to rear!"

  One!

  Two!

  Three!

  "Four!"

  Five!

  Zhao Guoding raised his arm and leg, forming a straight line as he ran to stand three meters in front of Wang Wei, standing at attention and saluting.

  "Reporting to the instructor, the whole company has 50 people, actually 50 people have arrived, all personnel are present, please instruct."

  "Join the ranks."

  "Yes."

  "Take a short rest." Wang Wei waited until Zhao Guotang stood in line and said, "After nearly two months of training, I believe you all have a deep understanding of my training methods and also recognize them. So I won't say too much nonsense. Many comrades saw it yesterday. Today is the day you take up arms, which means from today on, you are a soldier, a guardian of your family, and a protector of your country."

  Wang Wei gazed at these new recruits who had never seen blood, wondering how many of them would survive the future battlefield, perhaps not a single one. Now they were filled with righteous indignation, and the young people's momentum was also infectious to Wang Wei, after all, the future days would ultimately depend on these young people themselves.

  The front guard lifted a table covered with red cloth and placed it in front of them. Everyone stretched their necks, looking at the table, their eyes revealing excitement, impatience, as if they couldn't wait to lift the thin red cloth, pounce on it, grab a gun and fire two shots for fun.

  "Wang Wei forcefully lifted the veil, exposing everything to the soldiers. The guns gleaming with cold light were like bowls of braised mutton, sprinkled with scallions, their aroma constantly enticing these new recruits who had never seen the world."

  "Fire!" With a single order, everyone became nervous and uneasy.

  Zhao Guoding looked at the slowly crawling queue in front of him, wishing he could take his turn immediately. His comrades one by one received their guns, constantly fiddling with them, as if scratching a cat's claw on his own heart. Why wasn't it me first?

  "Zhao Guotong, take the gun!" Wang Wei handed over a brand new rifle to Zhao Guotong.

  "It is." Zhao Guo directly took it over and held it in his own arms, afraid that Wang Wei would regret giving it back.

  He gently stroked every inch of the gun's body, the sights, trigger, magazine and all its other parts were so beautiful to Zhao Guotang, full of temptation. The cool feeling from his hand did not extinguish the fire in his heart, but instead made it hotter and hotter, as if it was about to explode. All these new feelings for Zhao Guotang were something he had never experienced before. He looked at the thing called "gun" in his hands again and again, not missing a single screw or pattern on it, just like looking at his most beloved thing, no, it should be said that it was a million times more precious than his most beloved thing.

  "Guo Dong ge, I like this thing." Dog Wa's face was extremely solemn and serious, with an unviewable light shining in his eyes.

  "All of you have got your guns." As the last team member took over his gun, Wang Wei adjusted his standing posture and said "Listen to my command, attention!"

  "The left hand holds a gun and is pressed against the chest, while the right hand is clenched into a fist."

  "I'll recite one sentence and you follow with another."

  "The Oath of the Gun."

  "The Oath of the Gun"

  "From today on, you are the brothers who follow me to fight for life."

  "From today on, you are the brothers who follow me to fight for life."

  "I will love and protect you with my life, I will stand guard with you to defend my family, my country. I will never point you at my comrades, nor destroy my country. I swear here, as long as the gun is in my hands, I am alive; when the gun is broken, I die. The sun and moon are witness, heaven and earth are proof!"

  "I will love and protect you with my life, I will stand guard with you to defend my family, my country. I will never point you at my comrades, nor destroy my country. I swear here, as long as the gun is in my hands, I am alive; when the gun is broken, I die. The sun and moon are witness, heaven and earth are proof!"

  Zhao Guodong followed his own gun, word by word, with Wang Wei's recitation. He could feel the call of the gun to himself and the joy. We are close brothers, you are there and I am here, this is his promise to the gun.

  "This is a long-standing oath of the gun, and also a promise between you and the gun. It's not just something to be said lightly, but something to be remembered in your heart. The gun is our partner and comrade on the battlefield, it's something we need to cherish for a lifetime." Wang Wei's face turned serious, "From today onwards, pointing the muzzle at one's own comrades is strictly prohibited, placing guns randomly is also prohibited, and every night before sleep, you must perform maintenance on your gun. If I find anyone not following discipline, they will be severely punished without mercy."

  That day, Zhao Guo finally got his gun and took the first step in his own direction.