Chapter Thirty-Four

  I received the news at 4 pm, and Commander Yao said: "You little guy is also a military commander now, not bad!" I still feel like it's a dream to this day, saying: "Commander Yao, I didn't expect it, didn't expect it!"

  Commander Yao reminded him: "You're so young and have already reached your current height, you'd better do a good job, don't mess things up!"

  "I solemnly replied: 'Yes, I will never let the commander lose face.'"

  Commander Yao said, "It's not me, it's others who are embarrassing the old general and the chairman." He paused for a moment, then said, "A tree that stands out in the forest will be blown down by the wind; a bird that flies too high will be shot down. You should think carefully about this and take care of yourself."

  "I understand, Commander!"

  Commander Yao nodded and said: "En, next battle, you can't afford to lose, otherwise...".

  I heard him say: "Don't worry, I know!"

  "Alright, tomorrow we still need to go see the Chairman, wait for further notice. Also, tomorrow you'll have to go to Old General's house. You can't leave without seeing Old General after eloping with his granddaughter, can you?"

  My face turned red, "Yes." I thought again and said: "Commander Yao, how is Chief of Staff Zhang? Is he okay?" Commander Yao heard my words and said: "That old buddy of mine is now in a labor reform farm, his body isn't doing too well!" He stood up and stood by the window, looking into the distance and saying: "I don't understand the politics, but I know that those who have been overthrown are all meritorious officials, they're all men who have shed blood and risked their lives! Alas."

  I too was silent for a moment, then Commander Yao said to me: "Little Tang!" I looked up at him and asked: "What?"

  Commander Yao stared at me and said: "You heard what I said, you won't suspect me, will you? You won't question my party spirit, think that I'm a counter-revolutionary?"

  I said resolutely: "I never doubted it, if you are a counter-revolutionary, then we all are!"

  "Alright, alright, Little Tang, you must remember that as a soldier, it is your duty to defend the country and protect the people, be loyal to the Party and loyal to the people!" - Commander Yao

  I stood up and saluted, saying: "Yes!"

  "Go rest, I won't go out for dinner today," said Commander Yao.

  "Yes." I walked out of the room, feeling depressed. I didn't go back to my own room but instead went out for a walk. As I strolled through the streets, my mind was still thinking about what had just been said. It's only been over a decade since the founding of our country, how could such things happen? Is this really what struggle is all about? Is it all just about power? I let out a bitter laugh and thought to myself, "As long as it's for the people, as long as it's right, then it can't be wrong!" I lifted my head to take a good look at the streets of Zhongdu. The faces of passersby were all very serious with few smiles. I was taken aback when I saw that the streets were plastered with slogans reading "Long live the Chairman! Long live the Motherland!" and suddenly, I understood a bit; but when I saw a group of people parading an old man through the streets, shouting "Capitalist running dog, traitor to the people" while occasionally hitting him, I was perplexed again. When I saw that most of the people in the group were young, some even looked younger than me, I was shocked. I remembered that before I enlisted in the army, what I saw was completely different from now, and it had only been two years! How could things have changed so much? I didn't understand! When the group passed by me and saw that I hadn't given way, one of them who looked like a leader stepped forward and politely said to me, "Comrade soldier, please don't interfere with our revolutionary work. Please step aside." His tone was still very polite, but I looked at him with some confusion and asked, "Am I interfering with you? Is this what revolution is all about?"

  I had just finished speaking when another student-like figure emerged from the crowd and said: "What did you say? We are young revolutionaries, how can we not be revolutionary?"

  I raised an eyebrow and said bluntly: "You're just a student, you should study hard and make achievements before serving the country."

  The student heard and shouted: "Who are you? I think you're a spy!" At this time, the leader said in a suspicious tone: "Do you have any documents? I suspect you're impersonating a revolutionary soldier!"

  "Right, right! Bring it out!" The crowd shouted.

  The old man who was being struggled against spoke up: "Comrades of the Liberation Army, hurry and leave!"

  "If you can't take it out, then don't leave!"

  I was so angry that my face turned blue, damn it, I've become a spy! And you're impersonating?! I said: "Who are you? Are you qualified to check my ID? The soldiers on the front line are fighting to protect the country, allowing you people to study well, and you're living like this in the rear?" That group of people was silent for a moment, then suddenly the leader-like person shouted: "Beat this spy to death!" After that, the group of people rushed up, I looked and shouted: "You dare to hit even soldiers?! Ah?!" At this time, the street was crowded with people, and the crowd was watching. The leader said: "Are you a soldier? Where's your ID?"

  I got so angry that I burst out laughing and said: "You think you can see through me? If I don't teach you this group of bastards a lesson today, you won't know the height of heaven and the thickness of earth!"

  "I'd kill this woman."

  Then the real fight began, but it ended soon. I adjusted my military hat and said to those who were lying down: "What's wrong? Didn't you just want to kill me?" At this time, I saw Liu Hu coming over, and I shouted: "Liu Hu, go back and tell the commander to send some people over to take these people away." "Yes." Liu Hu immediately ran back.

  The old man said: "Young man, Comrade of the Liberation Army! You've made a mistake!"

  I shook my head and started chatting with the old man. Soon, I found out that this old man was a university professor who had held a position in the Ministry of Education during the old government era and was therefore persecuted. The most ironic thing was that many of the people in the crowd were his former students. I sighed and soon heard the sound of screeching brakes. Three military vehicles, two large and one small, arrived quickly under the leadership of an officer who looked like a military officer, pushing through the onlookers and walking up to me, saluting and saying "Commander, I am Liu Zijiu, commander of the 1st battalion of the Central Military District Guard Regiment, reporting for duty."

  "Alright, Captain Liu, would you please take those thugs on the ground into custody? They knew I was a soldier and still came to attack me."

  "Yes." Commander Liu turned around and ordered: "Take this group of scoundrels back for me."

  "Yes."

  The warriors didn't care how they were, they just went up with a gun and then threw the person away like a dead dog. It was over quickly, and I got on the car under the leadership of Director Zhou. Soon, the three cars disappeared from people's sight. At this time, the onlookers suddenly said, "Awesome! They didn't even blink their eyes, and they knocked down that group of young generals!"

  "I see that young man is going to be in trouble soon."

  "That's right!"

  "No way!"

  The old man stared blankly, muttering to himself: "Leader, leader." Someone said: "Hurry back, old man!" "Ah! Oh! I'm going." The old man walked slowly, saying to himself: "Going back, where else can I go if I don't go back?"