Chapter 47: Captain Wang

  The headquarters of the 318th Regiment of the 110th Brigade of the 67th Division is located on a mountain in the western suburbs of Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province.

  110 Traveling with the new team leader Wang Mingyu and his entourage, Cai Bingyan arrived at this place. Looking around, Wang Mingyu tried hard to search for memories in his mind, but he had no impression at all, definitely not having been here before. Although he was in Ningbo, the former young master's outings mostly targeted places of romance and beauty, with little interest in these remote and impoverished areas. However, Wang Mingyu already knew that he had arrived in Ningbo, which was his hometown.

  Deputy commander Zhang Deen immediately had the communications soldier gather all cadres above the company level to the conference room after hearing that Brigade Commander Cai Bingyan had arrived. Then Zhang Deen decided to personally go and welcome his brigade commander, even if it meant not giving face to Wang Mingyu and others, but the face of this brigade commander must be given. Cai Bingyan was their former superior, and he was a straightforward person who was not corrupt, and was loved by his subordinates, with high prestige in the military. Many officers and soldiers had received favors from Brigade Commander Cai, so in the 110th Brigade, no one could surpass Cai Bingyan, let alone that he was the brigade commander himself?

  "Traveling, you've come in person?" Zhang De'en said with a slightly flattering smile, giving people a somewhat Zhang Fei embroidered feeling.

  Cai Bingyan saw him like this and also smiled slightly, then looked at Zhang Deen with a profound meaning and said: "If I didn't come, wouldn't it be your turn to take charge?"

  Zhang Deen was a bit embarrassed by Cai's words and said, "How could that be? Please come in, please come in!"

  Cai Bingyan and others arrived at the conference room. The conference room immediately stood up as a whole. Cai Bingyan sat in the main seat with an air of authority, while Wang Mingyu and others stood behind him. Cai Bingyan held the appointment letter and said to the crowd: "Appointment!", followed by a loud "click" sound, all the military officers present collectively stood at attention. Then Cai Bingyan continued: "Central Military Academy's 9th term student Wang Mingyu is appointed as the commander of the 318th Regiment of the 110th Brigade of the 67th Division of the National Revolutionary Army, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. The personnel accompanying him will be arranged by himself, and their ranks will all be Upper Captain. National Revolutionary Army's Highest Military Committee, Chiang Kai-shek."

  "Alright, everyone please take a seat. This is your new team leader, Wang Mingyu. Welcome!" After Cai Bingyan finished speaking, it took a while before he heard a sparse and lukewarm applause. Cai Bingyan looked at these people with a hint of helplessness and said: "Alright, I've achieved my purpose for coming here today. However, I want to remind you all that as soldiers, the interests of the party and country should be prioritized. Don't let your personal thoughts cloud your judgment and disregard military law. Military law is unforgiving! I hope next time I see you, it will be with a brand new attitude!"

  After finishing speaking, he didn't wait for others to respond and left on his own. Wang Mingyu hurriedly went out to see off Cai Bingyan, who was his real superior after all. It was still necessary to serve him well, since today he had come to boost his morale.

  After Cai Bingyan left, Wang Mingyu took the main seat of the team leader and said to everyone: "Brothers, this time I was appointed as the team leader of the 318th team, I am also sincerely intimidated, feeling a great responsibility, hoping that brothers can support each other in the future. Bring out our 318th team together. However, I would like to clarify one thing, now if there are any questions, you can ask me, but once we start training and so on, I hope everyone will listen to the deployment, otherwise, military law is ruthless!" After finishing speaking, Wang Mingyu's eyes were like sharp swords staring at everyone.

  Zhang Deen looked at Wang Mingyu's eyes and was slightly stunned, feeling a hint of murderous aura. However, he thought that a newly graduated rookie soldier couldn't possibly have such an aura. This kind of aura required long-term training and continuous killing to form. Had he misfelt? Thinking this, Zhang Deen suddenly sneered: "Battalion Commander, have you been in battle? Battle isn't child's play."

  Wang Mingyu said bluntly: "No!"

  Zhang Deen was also surprised at Wang Mingyu's recklessness and asked: "Then what makes you lead us? If because of your blind command, our brothers sacrifice in vain, what do you say we should do? We must be responsible for our own brothers!"

  Wang Mingyu hadn't spoken yet, but Sun Dabao behind him was already indignant and said, "Can't lead troops without having fought in a battle? Who is born with the experience of fighting?"

  Zhang Deen glared at Sun Dabao and shouted angrily: "You little rabbit, who do you think you are? When I joined the army, you were still playing with mud!"

  Sun Dabao was about to refute him, but Wang Mingyu waved his hand to signal Sun Dabao to stop. He then turned to Zhang Deen and asked, "May I ask who you are?"

  "318 Brigade Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff Zhang Deen speaking."

  Wang Mingyu smiled and said: "Captain Zhang, I know that my arrival has made you feel like you're not the captain anymore, and it's uncomfortable for anyone. Actually, my original intention was to go to Shanghai. First of all, I want to tell everyone that this appointment wasn't something I, Wang, sought after. It was decided by Chairman Chiang and several generals after discussion. The only possibility I can think of is that they took into consideration that I'm still young and wanted to put me in a place closer to home. To be honest with you all, my hometown is right here, Ningbo!"

  These words are all well understood, but saying them out loud still makes Zhang De'en's old face turn red. After saying so many profound and righteous words, the main reason is actually that this person snatched away his team leader position.

  Wang Mingyu continued: "I didn't expect it either, I'm just a newly graduated student, able to take on this great responsibility. But since the higher-ups have given me this opportunity, I will grasp it firmly and not waste it. Life is full of challenges, we must overcome every difficulty to achieve victory. So, Vice Captain Zhang, I know that there are many cliques in this unit, and as an outsider, I may not be well-received by everyone, which is understandable. If I were in their shoes, I might have the same thoughts, it's human nature, can't be avoided!" After he finished speaking, several people couldn't help but smile, and the tense atmosphere from earlier had dissipated.

  Wang Mingyu continued: "I think strength is to be proven on the battlefield. Although we haven't been on a real battlefield before, we are also willing to try with you. If you win, I will apply for demotion and serve under Deputy Zhang as a regiment commander or battalion commander, whichever you like. But if we happen to win, please cooperate with me in the future, otherwise military law is strict, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

  Since Wang Mingyu opened the skylight and spoke frankly, how could Zhang Deen and others not follow? Military men still worship the strong in their bones, let alone the current best solution is this one.

  Zhang Deen and Luo Jia Peng Zhao Guorui exchanged a look, then said: "Alright, since Captain Wang is also a straightforward person, I, Old Zhang, won't be stingy either. How about this compared to what you said?"

  Wang Mingyu smiled and said, "Since you don't accept us, then let's compete however you want!"

  Lu Jia-peng stood by with a cold expression, while Zhao Guo-rui heard Wang Ming-yu's boastful words and hastily said: "The toad is blowing air, but its tone isn't small!"

  Zhang Deen was also infuriated by Wang Mingyu's attitude and roared: "I'm not calling outsiders either. You have seven people on your side, we'll put out seven people too. Let's compete in three aspects. If you win two, we'll admit defeat. How about that?"

  Wang Mingyu smiled with an air of confidence and said, "Alright!"

  "We're all soldiers, of course we can't compare to those who are good at writing and literature. Soldiers should be compared in terms of actual strength. Let's compete in these three areas: endurance, hand-to-hand combat, and marksmanship."

  Wang Mingyu just nodded, and the others laughed and said, "You'd better admit defeat, it's more comfortable that way!"

  Zhang Deen and others indignantly said: "Dogs look at people lowly!", in fact, Zhang Deen and others were all old soldiers, these items were cultivated by them for many years in battle, much stronger than ordinary soldiers. Zhang Deen's marksmanship was very accurate, almost every shot hit the target, not to mention their ability to march on foot. In the process of fighting, they often had things like stabbing and killing, which was a real skill that required hard confrontation with the enemy. Zhang Deen and others thought that these soldiers who had never been on the battlefield could not have such rich experience as them.

  However, seeing these people's fearless appearance, Zhang De'en also felt a bit suspicious in his heart. Are these little kids really so capable? Like himself, who is considered a master and has been training for many years, only to achieve what he has today. Could it be that these people are all-knowing? Whatever Zhang De'en said, he didn't believe it. In his opinion, he should have looked down on these newcomers, but instead, he was ridiculed by them, which was really unbearable.

  In fact, generally speaking, military school students are still okay in this aspect, but compared to these old soldiers, there is still a certain gap, especially in marching and stabbing. However, unfortunately, they encountered Wang Mingyu, an anomaly, which doomed their ending to be tragic. Similarly, following Wang Mingyu was also lucky for them, and they would deeply realize this later on.

  Zhang Deen and others said: "So, it's late today too. You all take a good rest, don't say we bullied you! Tomorrow morning, I will announce this matter in front of the whole group, is there any problem?"

  Wang Mingyu said: "No, but this matter doesn't need you to announce it, I'll announce it myself. If you guys announce it and lose, how can you continue leading the troops?"

  What Wang Mingyu said is not entirely wrong. If they take the initiative to challenge and lose, everyone's hearts will be more inclined towards Wang Mingyu's side, and it will be harder to lead the troops in the future. In fact, many people who join the army and fight are not for the sake of defending their homes and country, but rather for the sake of joining the army and gaining fame.

  Zhang Deen and others heard Wang Mingyu's words, their hearts were also slightly stunned. It seems that this kid is not an ordinary person, he knows how to be a good person. However, it was just a momentary thought, now they think that the things they have obtained with great difficulty, how can they be given away so easily?

  Wang Mingyu and others were really tired. The car had been bumpy all the way, and after the meeting was over, they were ready to go to sleep.

  Sun Dabao stepped forward and said, "Captain, tomorrow we'll beat those bastards and make them scram! Just looking at them makes me sick!"

  Wang Mingyu patted Sun Dabao's shoulder and said: "Dabao, some things need to be kept in mind. If they repeatedly find fault with us, I won't tolerate them either. But if they can recognize their mistakes this time, he is still my subordinate and will be our brother in the future!"

  Li Xianyu immediately laughed and said, "They actually compared these with us, did their brains get kicked by a donkey?" The others also burst out laughing.

  Wang Mingyu said with a bit of annoyance: "Your mentality is not good, no matter who it is, everyone has their strengths. We must take every opponent seriously. Often, an unintentional mistake can change the fate of another person, or even the outcome of a battle! What you need to do now is to conserve your energy and prepare carefully for tomorrow's competition. This is our first appearance, so the better we perform, the faster we'll establish ourselves! They are all veterans with extremely rich combat experience. If you're not careful in responding, you will definitely be at a disadvantage."

  Several people nodded in succession, "Got it, Captain, don't worry, we won't let you down, we're going to rest now!"

  Wang Mingyu nodded, and several people took their luggage and left the conference room.