Chapter Thirty-Six

  After waiting for over an hour, Commander Yao returned. Seeing that we were all there, he sat down in a chair and said: "Fortunately, nothing's wrong. The people at the entrance should be dispersing soon." Commander Yang asked from the side: "What did the Chairman say?" I also looked at Commander Yao anxiously, and he replied: "The Chairman said it was understandable this time, but don't let it happen again." Although I knew I was basically in the clear, hearing that everything was okay made me truly feel at ease. Commander Yao continued: "The Chairman also said..." My ears perked up immediately, and all I heard was Commander Yao saying: "The Chairman said, 'Tell Tang Ning to return to the front lines for me tomorrow. If this battle isn't fought well, old debts will be settled along with new ones!'" I couldn't help but smile bitterly.

  At this time, Lin Gang was also talking about me. He said: "Tang Ning is not bad, dare to touch that tigress, although he is a small shrimp."

  "He's finished!"

  Lin Gang said: "No, let's not talk about Yao Wu Gui for now. Even if it were the boss himself, he would also be able to protect him, not to mention that the chairman also understands this point."

  Huang Weizhong said: "This kid is really lucky, running into this relative."

  Lin Gang said: "We don't want to do anything, just watch the show on the side."

  Mrs. Lin said: "Can't drag them into this matter this time?"

  Lin Gang listened and glanced sideways, saying: "What's the point of dragging this on? That kid is in the right, can't even take him down, and yet you're dragging them into this, childish!"

  Ye Jun listened and said with a stern face: "What tone is that? Is there anyone who speaks like you?"

  Lin Gang angrily said: "This is our men's business, you women should not interfere. Don't look at how glamorous she is now, she is just a knife in the chairman's hand. Think about it, when a knife wants to kill someone, doesn't it have to listen to its master? Besides, the chairman is not a fool, he also knows that things are getting out of hand now and wants to take this opportunity to negotiate with the old marshals."

  Ye Jun listened to Zhang Da's big mouth and couldn't say a word. Lin Gang saw it and said, "We are the chairman's balance of power, without us, not to mention others, the army will be in chaos first, so we're not in a hurry."

  Huang Weizhong nodded after listening, Lin Gang said: "Since I joined the revolution, I have always been by Chairman's side, no matter where Chairman is, I will resolutely stand on Chairman's side. Now it's the same, if Chairman asks me to deal with someone, I'll deal with that person! So you guys don't play those petty tricks, don't make Chairman think it's my idea, got it? And also, don't hang out with that old mother tiger too much!"

  Ye Jun said: "Got it."

  "Yes, sir."

  "En." Lin Gang nodded and closed his eyes without saying another word.

  The Chairman paced back and forth after Yao Yuan left, deep in thought. Soon he walked to the desk, picked up the phone and said: "Connect me with the Cultural Revolution Small Group of the State Council's Revolutionary Committee." After a moment, the call went through, and he said: "Is that Chunwen? It's me. I'm ordering you to disperse those people at the military district entrance. What kind of behavior is this? Are you still Party cadres or not? Do you still have discipline and principles? Who told Hu Die to do this? Who gave her the power? How come my orders don't work? Well, that's good! Send someone to disperse them immediately. And tomorrow, all of you come to a meeting with me. I want to ask what you're doing. If your answers aren't satisfactory, then you can't continue. The Cultural Revolution Small Group will be dissolved immediately." The Chairman slammed down the phone heavily and cursed: "One day without education, and they've turned things upside down!" At the same time, the Chairman thought: It's time to tighten up the Cultural Revolution Small Group.

  I'm just waiting for dawn, and then I'll be back. I won't stay here anymore. It's only been two days, but it feels like an eternity. I have to admire the old general and his men, who have been stationed here for over a decade. As the sky began to lighten, I finally fell into a daze-like sleep. When Liu Hu came in to wake me up, it was already 7 o'clock. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I went out to eat breakfast, and Commander Yao was already waiting for me, having finished his meal. As soon as I sat down, he said, "You didn't sleep well last night?" I nodded, and he continued, "Just a little wind and waves, and you're like this? It seems you still need some tempering!" I just drank my millet porridge without saying a word. Commander Yao went on to say, "After breakfast, head back directly. I'll return to the northwest, and you go back to the front line. By the way, those people are already on the plane - 23 of them. After you arrive at the front line, train them well for me, don't let them all become deserters!"

  "Don't worry, Commander," I replied, "after a few more battles, they'll know what revolution is!"

  "Alright, eat quickly, finish up and hit the road!"

  "I'm eating, Commander!"

  We got on the plane and took off directly. I thought about this trip on the way, becoming a military commander, having a wife, it's like a dream come true, and even talked to the chairman and the old general, feeling great! However, I have seen what revolutionary young generals are and what revolutionary movements are! I worry that one day the situation will deteriorate and become uncontrollable, alas, who knows what the future holds?

  Halfway through the flight, Commander Yao got off the plane without saying a word at Xining, while I still had to sit for more than 5 hours before arriving at Nyingchi Airport.

  At 6 o'clock in the evening, I finally arrived. As soon as I got off the plane, I saw 4 or 5 cars parked at the airport, and a group of people came over. The leader was Lao Xing Xingkaiyuan, who walked up to me, saluted and said: "General, you've had a hard journey."

  "I also saluted and replied: 'It's okay, wait a minute, bring the people on the two planes behind back to me, do you understand the situation?'"

  "Alright, I'll take action. I will strictly train them and make them excellent warriors."

  "Well, it's not just excellent but also having correct communist ideology."

  "Understood, Commander."

  "Go, depart."

  "Yes."

  When I arrived at the command post, everyone came out to welcome me. Old Cheng, old Lan, old Pang, old Luo, and old Han were all there. I was a bit excited, it's still good to be home!

  I was taken directly to the cafeteria for dinner, and everyone waited for me without eating. During dinner, no one spoke, and we finished quickly. I said, "Let's go, everyone! It's time for a meeting!"

  At the meeting, I first let Lao Cheng talk about the situation. Lao Cheng said: "I'll start by talking about the cadres of the 7th Army. The army commander doesn't need to be mentioned, the deputy army commander is Lao Pang, I am the political commissar, the deputy political commissar is Comrade Wu Jianguo, the chief of staff is Lao Lan, and the deputy chief of staff is Han Peng. The director of the Political Department is still Yang Zhihe and Gong Han. Lao Luo is the commander of the 142nd Division and concurrently serves as deputy army commander. The 84th Division is led by Deputy Commander Guan Shan, and the 201st Division is led by Xing Kaiyuan. Everyone else is here, wait a minute and I'll show you. What's the main task of our army now? Army Commander."

  "I said: 'The current task of our army is to replenish personnel, make all the troops' formations complete, and also shrink the 201st Division's guard regiment into a guard battalion like other divisions. The military department will set up a guard regiment, the general staff will add an intelligence section, and the political commissar and the political department's task is to develop party members among the captured Western Chu personnel as soon as possible, establish the Western Chu Communist Party branch, and the specific work will be handled by the political commissar.'"

  "Alright."