Chapter 8

  In the office, Zhang Sheng, the chief of staff, looked at Commander Yao Yuan and sighed, saying in a somewhat heavy tone: "Old Yao, it seems that we and Vice Chairman Lin's group have no room for maneuver anymore!"

  "Yes!" Commander Yao Yuan said somewhat despondently.

  "Alas, you say, what are we actually fighting for?" Zhang Sheng said with some confusion.

  "Haha." Commander Yao Yuanshu said with a bitter smile, "We can't always see others say white is black and black is white, pretending to be blind and not caring. Moreover, those who were overthrown are all excellent revolutionary warriors. In local areas, we may not be able to control it, but here, we can't just stand by and do nothing, can we?"

  "Yes, some of our comrades didn't fall under the enemy's guns, but fell at the hands of their own comrades. What on earth happened? How could things have become like this just over a decade after liberation? It's really infuriating, if it goes on like this, I won't stand for it!" said Zhang Sheng, the chief of staff, getting angrier and angrier as he spoke.

  "What's wrong with you? Want to be a deserter? If everyone were like you, how could we build the new Longwei? If everyone abandoned their duties and didn't work, wouldn't those evil-doers become even more rampant? If everyone were like you, how could we take care of the troops for Chairman Mao? You're a coward!"

  "What's wrong with me? I'm just a little sentimental, and you're taking it seriously!"

  "Now the country is in a precarious situation, at this time our military mustn't be thrown into chaos!"

  "You're also overthinking, now in wartime, once the domestic contradictions become irreconcilable, it will definitely be a unified front against foreign enemies. Don't underestimate Vice Chairman Lin, he still has party spirit and awareness."

  "Hehe, I'm worried about what will happen after the war ends..."

  "Let's take it one step at a time, I mean no matter what happens in the future! At least we can live up to this military uniform!" After finishing speaking, Zhang Sheng put on his military cap and walked out of the office.

  Commander Yao Yuan bowed his head in thought for a long time before suddenly picking up the phone and saying, "Get me the Lanzhou Garrison Command."

  We boarded the train, and I had a meeting with Han Peng and others. The main topic of discussion was the training plan for the 53rd Regiment. There were serious differences in opinions on which direction the 53rd Regiment should develop in the future. Li Qi believed that the 53rd Regiment should still focus on standardized infantry training, while Han Peng thought that the 53rd Regiment was one of the few with a five-five configuration, although it belonged to the 27th Army, but its garrison was in Lanzhou, and the 27th Army's garrison was in Bazhong, which is far away from each other. He believed that the 53rd Regiment might break away from the 27th Army in the future, but it depends on the outcome of this training. So I think the direction of the 53rd Regiment should be towards mountain warfare and urban warfare. I listened to him and thought: This old Han must have heard some rumors from above, no wonder Commander Yao wanted him to come to the 53rd Regiment as Chief of Staff! I immediately agreed with him, saying "Let's do it according to what Chief of Staff Han said." Old Han added, "However, if we want to train in this direction, we will have to take great risks. After all, no one has combined wilderness mountain warfare and urban warfare at home before. If the inspection is not qualified, don't blame me." I listened to him and thought about strangling him to death, but forced myself to say: "Let's do it! As the saying goes, 'three cobblers are better than Zhuge Liang'. We have so many people, what can we be afraid of? Chief of Staff Han, please come up with a rough training outline for me in the next few days, and then we'll discuss it again."

  "Yes!"

  In this way, we enthusiastically discussed the Outline of Military Training on the train, and the 2-day time passed in a flash.

  At 2 pm on May 12th, we arrived at Lanzhou Railway Station. As we walked out of the station, I saw four cars parked in the empty space, and a group of people approached under the leadership of an officer. He came forward, and I saw that his rank was lieutenant colonel. He said: "Is it Director Tang?"

  I am.

  "Welcome, welcome. You've had a long and tiring journey! My surname is Huang, I'm from the Lanzhou Garrison Command, I've been ordered to come and pick you up, and at the same time take you to the Third Base."

  "You're welcome, you're welcome."

  "Then let's go."

  We got on the car and headed towards our destination. We drove out of the city and walked for a long time before seeing the high walls in the distance. When we arrived at the gate, we were stopped by two armed guards. They let us pass after seeing Officer Huang, and after entering the gate, we found that it was incredibly large, at least tens of square kilometers. We stopped in front of a large building, where three officers were already waiting for us. After getting off the car, the three officers came up to greet us, with the one in the middle surprisingly being a Major General. I quickly walked forward and saluted, saying "Commander!"

  He returned a military salute, smiling and saying: "Colonel Tang, you've had a long and arduous journey. I am Hao Cheng, Commander of the Lanzhou Garrison Command, this is Guan Lan, Head of the Logistics Department, and this is Yang Wannian, Deputy Commander of this base." I shook hands with them one by one and exchanged greetings. Commander Hao continued: "Let's get straight to the point. This Third Base is 2.3 kilometers long, 5.6 kilometers deep, covering an area of 12.88 square kilometers. We have a three-story administrative office building, 23 logistics warehouses, two canteens of different sizes, 650 dormitories that can accommodate one platoon of soldiers each, and three-story officer quarters, among other things. Yang Wannian will give you a detailed report later. Now, I'm handing over the Third Base to you, Colonel Tang." He gave me a solemn military salute, and I immediately returned it, saying: "The 53rd Regiment has taken over, and we'll definitely manage the Third Base well."

  "Alright, fine. Now I'll take you to the armory."

  We arrived in front of a row of warehouses, and Commander Hao led us to one of the armories. He ordered the guard at the door, "Open the warehouse door." "Yes," replied the guard, opening the door. I was immediately dazzled by what I saw - rows upon rows of guns and ammunition. Commander Hao said, "All these are equipment for your 53rd Regiment. Director Guan will give you a detailed introduction."

  The deputy director then gave us a detailed introduction to the situation, and after going through it one by one, Commander Hao bid us farewell, saying he had a meeting to attend. However, Major Yang Wan stayed behind and handed over the specific details to Sun Hao, and also handed over the materials to him. Major Yang said to me: "Colonel Tang, in the past, the third base was built for emergency response, but it has never been used much. Now that you've arrived, it's not a waste after all. Alright, I won't say more, and I'll leave the guard troops here with you, one platoon. Goodbye!"

  After seeing off Yang Wannian, I gathered everyone to arrange their luggage and accommodation first, asked the cafeteria to prepare dinner, and then dismissed them to let them familiarize themselves with the base. I also instructed Li Qi: "Later, go and notify the base's guard platoon, except for those on duty, to come over and have dinner together, make it lively, from now on these soldiers will be assigned to your guard company."

  "Yes, but I have to see how they are? I don't want those who are not up to standard!"

  "You figure it out."

  I strolled on the playground, Liu Hu was closely following behind me. I thought to myself: I'm only responsible for leading my troops, not anything else. But then I thought again: Tang Ning, you're deeply trusted and promoted by Commander Yao, in other people's eyes, aren't you already one of his men? And you've already taken on the "problematic officer" hot potato, it's not like you had a choice, it was an order, can I disobey military orders? You! Can't just stand aside. MD, anyway, following Commander Yao is correct, without him would there be a Tang Ning today? I sighed, Liu Hu saw and said: "Captain, what's wrong? Got something on your mind?"

  "Nothing much. Liu Hu, where is your hometown? Who else is in your family? Why did you join the army?"

  "I'm from Jiangsu, I have an old father and a brother at home. My family has always hoped that someone would join the army, but my brother never made it because he was physically unfit. When I came of age, I joined the army to make our family proud. Before I left, my father told me to behave well and bring honor to our family."

  "Alright."

  "Squad leader, what about you?"

  "I..."

  I continued walking and chatting with Liu Hu, and somehow my mood gradually became more cheerful.