Chapter 9

  Here is the translation:

  In the canteen, we sat at our respective tables. I stood up and spoke: "Comrades, fellow soldiers! From today on, we are comrades in life and death! We come from all over the country and can sit together as comrades, that's fate! Although our 53rd regiment has been reorganized, I have confidence that we can make it the most elite unit in the country and even in the world, because of each and every one of you sitting here. You are all hot-blooded men who hope to achieve great merits, send good news back home, bring glory to your ancestors, and honor your family! Today, I tell you that as long as you work hard and unite with each other in the 53rd regiment, congratulations, you will have the greatest chance of survival on the battlefield. Only by surviving can we have everything. I don't want to use the blood of our soldiers to raise my rank, but if the motherland asks us to shed our hot blood and sacrifice our lives, we cannot refuse, because we are the most lovable people in the world!" A round of applause erupted around me.

  I paused for a moment and continued: "Comrades, I don't care what you did before, but now that you're part of this big family, the 53rd regiment, if anyone is bullied or wronged, just tell me, and I'll beat him to death!" Everyone burst out laughing. I took a sip of water and said: "Everyone in the 53rd regiment must train hard from now on. In the future, when people mention the 53rd regiment, they will give us a thumbs up and say 'awesome'! Today, we don't have wine, but let's use tea instead to toast each other. Cheers!" Everyone stood up and toasted each other.

  "After dinner, Sun Hao, who was in charge of logistics, stopped me: "Commander, when will the team's expenses be available and how will they be arranged? I asked Guan Lan, the director of the guard zone, this afternoon, and he said he wasn't clear either! There's nothing here, and tonight's dinner is still from the original stock."

  I listened and frowned, saying: "I know, I'll contact you immediately."

  "Alright, hurry up!"

  I thought to myself: damn, no money, what can I use to train the troops! How could I not have thought of this? I quickly found Han Peng and said: "Old Han, before you came, did Commander Yao give any instructions about the expenses for our 53rd regiment?"

  Han Peng looked at me and said: "Tang Dazhang, you don't know either?"

  "Stop teasing and speak quickly!"

  "Hehe, I only know that the team fee will come with the new policy committee. The specific details will be discussed by the policy committee and you in a few days!"

  "Dizzy, what can be done in these few days? Nothing can be done!"

  "Hehe, you can set up basic facilities like communication and so on in this base."

  "You still need to say it, you'll be in charge of cleaning up tomorrow."

  "What? You, haha..."

  Haha

  Two days later, I received a call from the sentry at the gate in my office, saying that the political commissars had arrived. I immediately shouted for Old Han and Li Qi to hurry over to the base entrance. I saw a group of people standing at the gate, and when I took a closer look, my heart skipped a beat - apart from the few officers leading the way who were in their thirties, the other officers looked like they were all in their forties or fifties. When I looked again at the back, wow! A row of artillery tractors towing big guns. The officer leading them, with an expressionless face, saluted me and said: "Is that Captain Tang?"

  "Is that you, Wu Jianguo, the political commissar?"

  "Hello Captain! I am Wu Jianguo!"

  "Finally you've arrived!" I said warmly, holding his hand.

  "Huh? We've arrived as fast as we could."

  "Uh, I didn't mean it that way, anyway welcome!"

  "Shouldn't we go inside to report our work? It's not suitable to do it here at the gate, is it?"

  "Alright, comrades have worked hard, come on in."

  I ushered Wu Zhengwei and his entourage of officers into the brigade's conference room. On the way, I instructed Sun Hao and Li Qi to put away the vehicle fleet and artillery, and to arrange for the soldiers who had accompanied them to be settled in. Once everyone was seated, I smiled and said: "Welcome, everyone, to the 53rd Brigade!" Wu Zhengwei replied coldly: "Brigade Commander, this is the situation with the main military cadres of the 53rd Brigade; you can take a look later." He handed me a file folder. After taking it, I put it down, and Wu Zhengwei said expressionlessly: "Next, let's have our new comrades introduce themselves. I'll go first. My name is Wu Jianguo, formerly deputy political commissar of the 27th Army's 112th Division, currently serving as political commissar of the 53rd Brigade. That's all."

  The officer sitting next to him stood up and said: "I am Pan Chengyuan, the former commander of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Regiment of the 118th Division of the 27th Army, currently serving as the deputy commander of the 53rd Regiment. Report completed."

  The oldest officer stood up and said: "I am Xing Kaifang, the former commander of the 13th Division, now serving as the battalion commander of the 1st Battalion of the 53rd Regiment."

  I almost fainted when I heard it, thinking: Isn't the "problem officer" just a regimental cadre? But the introduction of the next comrade really made me understand that the commander of the 53rd Regiment is not someone ordinary people can do. Well! Almost all are division-level, deputy division-level cadres. The 53rd Regiment will be awesome in the future, and looking at their resumes can scare people to death. As soon as I finished listening to the introduction, I announced the end of the meeting and walked quickly back to my office, picked up the phone and said: "Get me Northwest Military Command." After a while, a familiar voice came from the receiver: "Hello, this is Yao Yuan."

  "Hello, Commander Yao. I'm Tang Ning."

  "Oh, it's Tongning, how come you have time to call me? What's wrong? Speak!"

  "Commander, why have you arranged for me to be with these uncles and senior officials? They're all high-ranking officials. How am I supposed to carry out my work and training?"

  "What? Tang Ning! Look down on them? I'll tell you! They're all good at fighting, they're a bit of trouble now, but you can use them well, and they'll make you happy!"

  "What I mean is they were originally all senior and deputy senior, what am I afraid of?"

  "What's there to be afraid of? This is also a test for you. Tang Ning, they are all old party members and will cooperate with your work very well. If anything happens, I'll help you take the responsibility."

  "That's good, with Commander saying so, I can rest assured."

  "Right, Tangning, I have a task for you to complete."

  "What's the mission? Commander."

  "You must ensure that these cadres are not harmed, my meaning is that except for my personal oral order, no one else is allowed to take them away. You must protect these cadres well, they are all precious wealth of our party!"

  "Yes! I guarantee completion of the task. However, once on the battlefield, I can't make any guarantees."

  "Nonsense! They usually live in the base anyway, don't let them out. Let them train your soldiers well when they have nothing to do. Speaking of soldiers, I'm telling you, the new recruits for the 53rd battalion will arrive in 7 days, get ready. Got it?"

  "Yes, understood."

  "Alright, train well! I'll come to inspect later."

  Yes

  "Let it be then."

  "Yes, farewell Commander."

  I hung up the phone, bowed my head and thought for a moment, then turned around and walked out of the office.