The Third Section of Strong Training for Young Men

  On the west side of the company's playground, there are some training equipment. Parallel bars, dumbbells, and sand pits are all available. However, before Liu Mingjiu woke up, the officers and soldiers in this company did not know how to use them because they were not regular military academy graduates. In addition, this unit had been accustomed to simple training such as running, practicing boxing, and shooting, so they had always been idle and became decorations.

  Liu Mingjiu woke up and saw these things more intimately, because in his previous life, when he was in the army, he was extremely familiar with these things. He had relied on them to develop a decent set of skills. So ten days ago, as soon as Liu Mingjiu could move around, this corner became his personal training ground. It's worth noting that in his past life, it would have been impossible for him to train alone like this. His unit was full of enthusiasts who were crazy about martial arts, combat, and physical fitness. During the day, he trained, and his comrades rushed to use the equipment to train as well. At night, you could sneak out of the barracks to train, but if you got caught by the platoon leader or instructor, not only would you be punished, but your squad leader would also suffer along with you. If you didn't sleep at night and trained instead, it would inevitably affect the next day's training, unless you were a superhero.

  So Liu Ming especially liked to hide in the corner of the barracks, drinking and playing cards on the kang, while other officers went out to find women or gamble. Alone in this corner, he trained according to his past life's methods in the army. The next morning, his comrades who got up early for a run would always discover that there were signs of someone having trained on the snowy ground beside the equipment, but no one really paid attention.

  "I'm telling you, Little Liu Jiu, how can you still not stop with this incomplete training? What are you doing here at midnight?" The next night, Liu Mingjiu was still conducting physical training under a cypress tree on the edge of the military camp, following his previous life's military training program. His uncle's old subordinate, now company commander Zhao Zhengyi and deputy company commander Li Nianxin walked over.

  "Reporting to Platoon Leader, this is just strengthening my own training and has not affected the military discipline of the camp. Please forgive me, Platoon Leader." Liu Mingjiu saw that the Platoon Leader and Deputy had arrived, so he stopped his training and stood at attention, saluting and responding accordingly.

  Zhao Zhengyi looked at Liu Mingjiu's serious expression and couldn't help but laugh: "I'm just asking, looking at your serious look, you're not overexerting yourself, are you?"

  "Report to Commander Lian, this is not self-inflicted trouble, but rather self-strengthening." Liu Mingjiu said solemnly.

  "Haha, you little kid, don't be so stiff! Old Sun and I had the cook sneakily stir-fry a couple of dishes. We wanted to invite you, Zhang Hua, and Geng Lao San to have a few drinks together. But when we went to the barracks, we couldn't find you, that's why we followed the sound and came here." Deputy Li Nianxin was delighted to see his old superior's nephew suddenly transform into such a military-style subordinate, and he interrupted him to say...

  In the 18th Regiment, two deputy battalion commanders are now my father's squad leaders. Three company commanders were my father and uncle's old subordinates, all of whom followed the original Yi Army (now the Left Guard Army) from our hometown in Shandong Province to fight their way up. Therefore, after Liu Mingjiu joined this unit, he dared to be so arrogant and evil. The company commander and deputy company commanders were all soldiers under my father's command during the Yi Army period. At that time, my uncle was already a deputy platoon leader, and my father was already a platoon leader.

  "Thank you, Captain, I'll follow your orders." Liu Mingjiu's face suddenly broke into a smile when he heard that the captain had come to invite him for a drink. As it happened, in his past life, Liu Mingjiu was quite a drinker, but since crossing over into this era, he hadn't had a single drop of alcohol, so when his superior, someone of his uncle's generation, came to invite him out for a drink, he was naturally delighted.

  "Haha, this little stinker is just like his dad and uncle, a good drinker indeed!" Li Nianxin burst out laughing at Liu Mingjiu's expression, while Zhao Zhengyi also smiled in response. It was well-known that Liu Mingjiu's father and uncle were great drinking buddies when they were alive. Since Liu Mingjiu's father died in battle, the only one left to drink with was Liu Zhen'de, but he too had fallen in battle. Now, Zhao Zhengyi was worried that there wouldn't be anyone left who could match his capacity for drink and conversation, and he wondered if this nephew of theirs would live up to his father's and uncle's reputation.

  Soon, Liu Mingjiu tidied up his clothes and followed Zhao Zhengyi and Li Nianxin to the company commander's quarters. The room had already been set with four large bowls of steaming hot dishes, and the other two platoon leaders Zhang Hua and Geng Liang were already waiting. The orderly and the cook were still busy carrying dishes into the room.

  "Hey, Bo Mingxian, you're quite the dignitary, having both the company commander and deputy commander personally come to find you. Just for this, you should be punished with a drink!" Geng Liangjin had been in the Yi Army for nearly 20 years, but due to his love of drinking and lack of self-control, he had been demoted multiple times despite his military achievements. In the end, only Liu Zhen'de was willing to take him in, making him the most attentive to Liu Mingjiu after he joined the troops. Seeing Liu Mingjiu follow the company commander in, he was the first to crack a joke.

  Liu Mingjiu glanced at the dishes on the table and several jars of wine, slightly bowing to Geng Liang: "Uncle Geng is teasing me, I'm actually strengthening my physical strength, that's why Captain Lian and Deputy Captain personally brought me here."

  "Haha, alright, look at your eyes, it's true that 'like father, like son', hurry up and sit down! Zhao Zhengyi looked at Liu Mingjiu, although he was speaking to Geng Liang, but his eyes had already glanced at the wine and dishes on the table. He laughed loudly and patted Liu Mingjiu's shoulder, indicating for him to sit down. The five of them quickly started clinking cups together."

  "Lao Zhao, have you heard? Germany has been defeated. Those big shots in Beijing have finally backed the right side this time." After some small talk, Zhang Hua, who was already over 50 years old, suddenly spoke up.

  "I heard that this time China has finally gotten revenge, we've finally made the foreigners lose to us for once!" Zhao Zhengyi took a big gulp of wine and returned with a relieved expression.

  "But I don't think it's necessarily beneficial for us Chinese, those Japanese are still occupying Fujian and our hometown." Li Nianxin took over the conversation with a worried expression, to be sure, the five people at the table were all from Shandong, including Ma Yukun who followed him in Shandong.

  "We all helped defeat Germany, can little Japan still bully our old home?" Gao Liang, who hadn't attended school for many years but was very brave in battle, looked at everyone with a puzzled face and said "If we don't take it back, Yuan Da Tou will just fight with the Japanese and take back our old home, isn't that settled?"

  "If it were that simple, it would be great!" Another platoon leader, Zhang Hua, took a big gulp of wine and said, "But Yuan Da Tou still needs to find support from the little Japanese devils, does he dare to take action against them? What do you think, Xiao Jiu Zi?"

  Zhang Hua finished speaking and looked at Liu Mingjiu, who had been sitting beside him, drinking heavily and rarely speaking. Since rescuing the team leader from Da Hei Mountain, Zhao Zhengyi had discovered through occasional conversations that this child seemed to be completely different from his past self. Not wanting Liu Mingjiu to always treat himself as a junior and accompany him for drinks, he asked him directly.

  "Xiao Zhong thinks that Zhang Shu said it's true, Yuan Datou and his subordinates have been relying on Japanese support since the Qing dynasty, and with their usual practice, now this Feng Guozhang and Xu Shichang are not likely to really use force to take back our old home. Not selling it to the Japanese is already a good thing." Liu Mingjiu actually knew what would happen next, but he couldn't just say it out loud, or else these people in the military camp would think of him as a weirdo and how could he still live in this military camp afterwards?

  "Yes, he's not from Shandong, Feng Guozhang and Xu Shichang are not our people from Shandong, how can he think of taking back Shandong? I'm afraid what's most important to him is still his power and throne!" Li Nianxu also chimed in.

  "Alas! Unfortunately, our General Jiang doesn't have the ambition to compete for the world. If Marshal Ma or Marshal Song were still alive, they would never let Yuan's small station become the orthodox central government! We brothers might even be able to return to our hometown in Shandong!" Zhang Hua downed half a bowl of wine in one gulp and sighed as he spoke.

  "Keep your voice down, if those officials' running dogs hear you, do you still want to mix in? Zhao Zheng immediately interrupted Zhang Hua's complaints, after all, although the five of them were the actual controllers of this regiment, and most of the officers in the division were from Shandong, there were also many who colluded with the upper echelons for personal gain."

  "Uncle Zhang, be careful what you say. Those people from the North are not traitors, but don't expect them to recover our lost territories either. We can only hope that one day we'll be able to return home with our brothers." Liu Mingjiu also hastily chimed in. It's worth noting that although he hadn't been in this era for long, his past life had already seen enough of the factional struggles and power plays, so he was very clear about the environment he was in - an era where Chinese people pursued fame and wealth above all else.

  The crowd dispersed, each returning to their barracks after a night of drinking that lasted until nearly midnight. Although he had drunk quite a bit, Liu Mingjiu couldn't sleep, tossing and turning on his bed. In such a chaotic era, what could he do? Should he go with the flow or create history? Could he truly become part of this era's history? How should he navigate this new path in life to make up for past regrets? Having lost both parents, according to those around him, there was still a grandmother and two aunts back in his hometown in Shandong; should he try to contact them and experience the joys of family again? Could he truly have a familial bond with the relatives of this body's original owner? Most importantly, knowing China's future trends, which path should he take? Should he follow the Nationalists or the Communists? Would he be able to survive until the end? The more he thought, the more his mind was in turmoil. Liu Mingjiu spent another sleepless night on the earthen platform in his room.

  In the following days, Liu Mingjiu still got up early every day and ran five kilometers with a load in the morning and evening, did 500 push-ups, and practiced his boxing skills. After receiving three months' worth of military pay, 27 silver dollars, for the first time, he didn't know how to spend it. His comrades told him that there was a prostitute at the Cuihong Institute in the county town who was his acquaintance, but Liu Mingjiu found it difficult to accept such a simple physical transaction, so he didn't go to the brothel to see her. With food, lodging, and clothing all provided by the army, Liu Mingjiu used two silver dollars to buy some wine and cigarettes, and exchanged the remaining 25 silver dollars for a deposit certificate at the Bank of China in Beijing.

  Many officers around him, as soon as they received their military pay, went to smoke opium, play with women, and enter the casino. Liu Mingjiu looked at this army that was completely different from his own pre-birth unit and could only start by being clean and good himself. But fortunately, since the establishment of the Yi Army, discipline has been very strict, and there have been few cases of disturbing the civilians, otherwise, Liu Mingjiu would really have considered leaving such an army immediately.