Chapter Thirty-Five

  I arrived at the military district headquarters, and Yang Commander and Yao Commander were already waiting in front of the building. As soon as I got out of the car, they immediately walked over. Yao Commander anxiously said: "Tang Ning, you little devil, are you okay?! What's going on?"

  I said it was nothing, and then I told the whole story. Commander Yang immediately ordered: "Take these people away and lock them up!" "Yes." Commander Yang said to us: "First go in and talk." Commander Yao nodded, and we quickly entered the commander's office. As soon as Commander Yao came in, he scolded: "Now those little generals are really lawless, even daring to do this to soldiers!" Commander Yang said: "As long as Little Tang is fine, now the main thing is to think of a way to deal with this matter." I listened and said somewhat incredulously: "What? These people still need to come up with a countermeasure?"

  Commander Yao said irritably: "What time is it now, what kind of environment? Do you think the Revolutionary Committee will let things slide? They must be discussing it right now!"

  Commander Yang said: "It's nothing, as long as we all agree that they made the first move, even after knowing that Little Tang is a soldier."

  Commander Yao nodded and said: "Well, it seems there's no other way."

  Commander Yang said: "Now Old Yao, you go and report to the Chairman first, I'll take Little Tang to see the old boss."

  Commander Yao said: "Alright, let's do it now!" After he finished speaking, he left. Commander Yang then said to me: "Let's go."

  I nodded and set off with Commander Yang. We arrived at the old general's house, knowing he was home, under the leadership of his secretary, we came to the living room, saw the old general sitting drinking tea, we went forward, saluted one after another, and said "General". The old general asked us to sit down, after sitting down, Commander Yang explained the situation, the old general listened, thought for a moment, and ordered Commander Yang: "Commander Yang, you immediately go back and dispatch people to control the person first, let the soldiers guard the military gate well, without orders, no one is allowed to enter, violators will be warned by firing a shot, if there are still people who want to make trouble, catch them for me, catch the leader first, if the situation still has a tendency to worsen further, permit to open fire!"

  "Yes, I'll go and arrange it now." After finishing speaking, Commander Yang bid farewell and left. The old general looked at me and sighed, saying: "Tang Ning, you know that if this matter is not handled properly, you will be finished!"

  I felt a sudden tightening in my heart, I didn't expect the Revolutionary Committee to have such great power, even Lao Zong said so. Lao Zong continued: "Has Old Yao gone to report to the Chairman?"

  "Yes, boss."

  The old man looked at me and said: "Don't call me boss anymore, you're not an outsider, just call me grandpa."

  "Yes, old... No, grandfather."

  The boss saw me like this now and said with some anger: "You weren't afraid when you were hitting people, why are you scared now?"

  I broke out in a cold sweat and didn't dare to speak, hanging my head low. The old general continued to scold: "You're also a high-ranking cadre of our party and army, but you don't think things through at all! You think just because you have two fists that you're formidable?! Good for nothing!"

  I've become a complete ostrich, hanging my head in silence. The old man's voice grew louder: "You young whippersnapper doesn't know the height of heaven and earth! We're already being cautious with the people from the Revolutionary Committee, what about you? Are you satisfied now that you've vented your anger?"

  At this time, a voice came over saying "Alright, old man." I lifted my head to take a look and indeed everyone had arrived. The elderly lady walked towards the boss with a middle-aged couple following behind her. I saw my mother-in-law together with a middle-aged man, and I knew that Tai Shan had arrived. Finally, there was Zhu Yan. The elderly lady said: "Old man, just say two sentences will do."

  My father-in-law also said: "Dad, Xiao Tang is still a young man, his blood and energy are just right, this is normal!"

  "Grandpa, what kind of people were those who participated in the Cultural Revolution? It's not wrong for Little Tang to scold them!"

  The boss heard their conversation and said helplessly: "I just found a good state, wanted to educate you guys, but you're all right!"

  I heard it and almost fainted, I originally wanted you to... Alas, I'm so frustrated that I have no tears to cry!

  The old man looked at me and said: "If you weren't my grandson-in-law, I wouldn't bother with you! Do you know what I'm not satisfied with about you?"

  I heard someone say: "I shouldn't have hit him impulsively."

  The boss said: "Is that all?"

  "I thought for a moment and said: 'That's it.'"

  The old man shook his head and said, "You..." Then he sternly continued, "If you're going to fight, then do it. Don't forget who you are! You're my grandson-in-law, and you're also a soldier! When faced with injustice, you have the duty to stop it. Every place has its own scum, and you can totally deal with them - they're just a few pieces of trash! What really disappoints me is that after understanding the situation, you became afraid, you backed down. Why didn't you persevere?"

  I heard someone say: "Me? Me?"

  The old general glared at him and said: "If you do this again next time, don't be a soldier anymore. Remember to take responsibility for what you do, don't be afraid of anything, it's just a game."

  I stood up and said: "Yes."

  Zhu Yan walked over to Lao Zong's side and said: "Grandpa, it's okay now, Tang Ning knows he was wrong, so you can calm down."

  "My father-in-law also said, 'Dad, Xiao Tang is still young and doesn't understand things.' The boss heard this and scolded him, saying, 'Don't speak from the side, I'll settle accounts with you later.'"

  My father-in-law immediately said: "Oh no! My stomach hurts, you guys chat, I'll go for a bit."

  I was dumbfounded when I saw it and thought: My father-in-law is also a talented person.

  The boss said: "How do you plan to deal with those people?"

  As soon as I heard the question, I replied: "Grandfather, don't you think these people are young revolutionaries? Aren't they always saying they want to serve the country? I plan to let them join the army, to be exact, they should go to the front line of my 7th Army and fight. After fighting, those people will also know what revolution is!"

  The old general's eyes lit up and he said, "Not bad! Let them wear their guilt and make amends. Hmph! In broad daylight, they beat up active-duty military officers, and even meritorious military officers who had just returned from the front lines. Even if we shot them dead, it wouldn't be unjust." As the old general spoke, his tone carried a hint of murderous intent, after all, he was an old revolutionary.

  The old general said: "Just do it! Special matters are handled specially, and those people will be arranged to go to the front line immediately, to your 7th Army's new recruit training camp! You'll go back and tell Old Yang right away to handle it."

  "Yes." After saying that, I stood up and was about to leave. I saw Zhu Yan's reluctant gaze, so I paused for a moment and said to her: "I'm leaving." Then I turned around and left.

  I had just finished reporting to Commander Yang when I heard someone come in and report: "There is a large crowd blocking the entrance of the Military Region Command, demanding that we release people."

  Commander Yang sneered and said: "According to my previous order, if they want to rush in, catch them for me. After catching them, load them onto trucks and send them all to the front line of the 7th Army."

  "Yes."

  Commander Yang picked up the phone, dialed and said: "Is that the airport? I'm Yang Zhi. Get three planes ready right away. Yes, one plane is for Commander Yao and General Tang to return to the northwest. The other two are for new recruits going to the northwest. Yes, fill them up with oil immediately and be on standby at all times. Uh-huh, good, that's it." After hanging up the phone, Commander Yang smiled and said to me: "We'll know when we're leaving after Old Yao gets back."

  I nodded.