Chapter Five

  On May 9, 2060, in the capital city of Zhongdu, Longwei Republic, a ordinary quadrangle courtyard's main house. Two old men were chatting intimately. The old man sitting behind the office desk was about 60 years old, with a thin face but sharp spirit, while the old man sitting on the guest sofa had a ruddy complexion and a loud voice, he said with a smile: "Zhou Ping, just you wait and see, the days ahead for the Green Empire won't be easy!"

  "Yes, Mr. President. We have now blocked the Green Empire's attack and our army has taken the initiative locally; from the current situation of both sides, my 27th Army is less than 20 kilometers away from the national border, and the 38th Army has recovered Huatie today at 2 am; as of today, our army has annihilated three fully-staffed enemy divisions and one regiment, heavily damaging four fully-staffed enemy divisions and a cavalry brigade, totaling over 42,300 people, and captured countless materials! Oh, by the way, on the morning of the next day, my 38th Army also captured Major General McKenzie. Jonassen, commander of the enemy's 7th Infantry Division."

  "Oh! How's the follow-up work going? We must do a good job on the enemy prisoners!"

  "Mr. Chairman, I have arranged for 3 translation teams to depart earlier today. After they arrive, they can solve communication problems and be of great help with the consolation work!"

  At this time, a staff member walked in from outside and said: "Chairman, Premier, Vice Chairman Chen has arrived and wants to report some situation to the Chairman." The Premier listened and looked at the Chairman, who took a puff of smoke and said: "Please let him come in." After a while, a man in his 50s slowly walked in, facing the Chairman and Premier, saying: "Chairman, Premier Zhou." "Quickly sit down, Vice Chairman Lin. Why don't you take care of your body when it's not well?" The Premier stood up and gestured for Vice Chairman Lin to sit down, shouting: "Little Zhang, make a cup of tea." "Yes."

  After Little Zhang served good tea and left, the chairman smiled and said: "Lin Gang, why don't you take a good rest?"

  "Chairman, this is an old problem, lying down doesn't work either, might as well go out for a walk." Lin Gang replied with a smile.

  "Ah, come on out and exercise, take a walk, it's good for you! Hehe."

  Vice Chairman Lin slowly took a sip of tea and said seriously to the chairman, "Chairman, I came this time mainly to report something to you."

  "Oh? What's up, speak up!" said the chairman with a smile.

  "From what I know, in our party and army, some high-ranking generals have taken advantage of their positions to promote cadres beyond their authority, practicing nepotism. They suppress and retaliate against comrades who hold different views, creating a situation where only one voice is heard! Moreover, they not only fail to cooperate with the comrades sent by the Military Commission to do political and ideological work but also obstruct and sabotage this work."

  "Specifically, who did you say they were?"

  "The representative figure among them is Yao Yuan."

  "Huh?" The chairman looked at Premier Zhou Ping, who was also looking back at the chairman. Their eyes met for a moment. The chairman extinguished his cigarette and said: "Lin Gang, when you mentioned promoting cadres beyond their rank, were you referring to the issue of cadre usage in the 53rd Regiment?"

  Vice Chairman Lin Gang was stunned for a moment and then continued: "Yes."

  "It was after consulting with Premier Zhou and others that I gave the order regarding the personnel arrangement of the 53rd Division, and it was I who personally telephoned Yao Yuan."

  "Chairman, isn't the commander of the 53rd Regiment being a bit improper?" Lin Gang said cautiously.

  "What's wrong? Is it that you think he is not capable enough or lacks experience?" The chairman said with a glance at Lin Gang.

  "But the comrades below have a lot of opinions about this!" Lin Gang said, paying attention to the chairman's expression and speaking cautiously.

  "What's wrong with you, Comrade Lin Kuo, you're also making a mistake. Let's not talk about him for now, think back to your past, during the Workers' and Peasants' Revolution... You! At 19 years old, you became an army commander, at 22 years old, you became a corps commander. Why didn't you say these things back then? I saw that you were very happy about it!" The Chairman said with some anger.

  "This, this..." Vice Chairman Lin said with some embarrassment.

  "The revolutionary ranks must have tradition and continuity, with the old, middle-aged and young generations working together. I think our current team lacks a bit of courage in using young cadres, we should be bolder, take advantage of the fact that there are battles to fight now, let them accumulate experience, when we're old, they can take over from us. Now, our team is somewhat disconnected, especially in the military."

  "Yes, yes, I know!" Lin Gang replied while nodding his head.

  "I've gone a bit off track, but there's one thing to note: in peacetime, making small mistakes can be forgiven; but if you do that in wartime, it's a matter of losing your head! You pass this on to Li Qiang at the front command and tell him: 'Don't make an example of it'."

  "Yes, I understand, Mr. Chairman."

  "What's wrong?"

  "Oh, it's gone, I'll go back then."

  "Alright, go back and rest well, take care of your body, that's the most important thing. Don't get involved in everything."

  "Yes."

  The chairman looked at Lin Gang after he went out and shook his head, sighing: "Lin Gang is also confused. Alas!"

  The Premier said: "Mr. Chairman, everyone has a confused time!"

  "I hope he won't be confused forever."

  Lin Gang got into his own car, propped up his head, closed his eyes and didn't speak, as if thinking about something. After a while, he muttered: "The chairman is not old!" At this time, the secretary sitting in the co-pilot's seat asked: "Chief, are we going back?" "Go back." Lin Gang said and then closed his eyes to rest. "Yes, drive," the secretary instructed the driver. The car quickly disappeared into the street.

  Han Shouzhang suddenly said in a very serious tone: "Comrade Tang Ning, stand up! Listen to the military area's order."

  I immediately stood up, straightened my uniform and saluted, "Yes."

  He looked at me, nodded, and took out a command sheet from his briefcase, reading: "Comrade Tang Ning is appointed as the Colonel and Commander of the 53rd Independent Regiment of the 27th Army of the People's Liberation Army of the Longwei Republic. Signed, Yao Yuan, Commander of the Northwest Military Region of the Longwei Republic." As he finished reading, he smiled at me and said: "Congratulations, Comrade Tang Ning!" I walked up to him, took the appointment letter, and laughed, saying: "Thanks, thanks." Han Mou smiled and said: "Get ready, you will be received by Commander Yao at 3 pm this afternoon. I'll come to pick you up then, Colonel Tang." I immediately replied: "Alright, thank you, Comrade Han." "No need to thank me, it's my duty," he said with a smile. After sending off Han Mou, I opened the door and came in, saw the military uniform on the table, jumped up excitedly, and burst out laughing.