Chapter 71

  Chas said in the car, "Commander, where are we going back to?" I was still thinking about Comrade Chen's previous scene on the bus, what a good comrade! I sighed and said, "Back to our residence."

  "Alright."

  Hu Die stormed out of the conference room, still fuming from the meeting that had just ended. The old man had made it clear to everyone that from now on, the Revolutionary Committee and the Cultural Revolution Group were not allowed to interfere with any military matters. They had no right to investigate any military actions or personnel, not even a ordinary soldier. The old man also stipulated that the intelligence department of the General Staff was not allowed to conduct private investigations into military personnel without his personal permission.

  Hu Die had originally wanted to join forces with Lin Gang, who was currently in charge of the General Staff, to oppose this proposal. But Lin Gang ignored her and instead reported to the Chairman, saying: "The Chairman is right, we can't just randomly investigate military personnel, or else the army will be thrown into chaos. The consequences would be too severe, even Hu Die wouldn't be able to bear it!"

  She felt like standing up and shouting at him, but she restrained herself. She knew that she had no qualifications to point fingers at the military now. For the umpteenth time, she realized the importance of having real power. A voice in her heart kept calling out: "Power! Power! I need power!"

  Butterfly returned and immediately ordered a comprehensive halt to all investigations of the military, shifting full force to investigating the cultural and educational departments, especially those intellectuals. She needed a catalyst, and before it appeared, she decided to wait for it, accumulating strength until then when all accounts would be settled at once. She gazed at her reflection in the mirror, thinking with murderous intent.

  Lin Gang was sitting on the sofa in his office, leisurely drinking tea. He had always looked down on Hu Die, this woman who sat in the chairwoman's position and always wanted to show off herself, prove her value and ability to us old revolutionaries. She was a person who would take every opportunity to brag about herself, and even wanted to drag others into helping her, it was really ridiculous! No matter what, I am also a military man, even if I have conflicts with some of them, there is no need for her to speak ill of me, let alone the chairman has already made his intentions clear. Unless I'm stupid, I won't play along with her.

  Just as he was thinking this, the door rang, and he said expressionlessly: "Come in." The door opened, and it was the Chief of Logistics Department, Zhou Zuomin, who came in. Lin Gang saw Zhou Zuomin come in, and still politely stood up to say: "Comrade Zuomin, what brings you here?" Zhou Zuomin smiled and said: "Just dropping by to see an old superior, isn't that okay? Hehe!"

  Lin Gang gestured for Zhou Zuomin to sit down and said: "My body is like this, but I've been feeling pretty good these past two days! What brings you here?"

  Zhou Zuomin replied, "Oh, that's right. Today I just received the chairman's order, which is about the logistics support of the newly formed 13th Army Corps. The chairman asked me to prioritize their funding and other needs; also, I learned that the 40th Army has been officially incorporated into the 13th Army Corps under the jurisdiction of Tang Ning's Western Military Region. Now, Tang Ning is in charge of the 40th Army! I just want to ask Vice Chairman Lin what he thinks of Tang Ning? What specific opinions does he have? So I can make arrangements!"

  Lin Gang knew that his subordinates were asking how to deal with Tang Ning in the future. He thought for a moment and said slowly: "I understand your meaning very well, Tang Ning has one of the biggest advantages, that is, he is loyal to the party and the country, he will never do anything that is not beneficial to the party or the country."

  "We're the same!" said Zhou Zuomin.

  Lin Gang shook his head and said, "We're not as decisive as him. We're no longer the same as we were before liberation. What I want to say is that while we need to move forward, when it comes to cultivating young people, we should learn from the Chairman! After all, we were all cultivated by the Chairman back then! Now, with the international environment changing unpredictably, someone needs to defend the borders. Tang Ning has just come up and hasn't had any interactions with anyone yet. Laozong has already handed over power, Yao Wugui is the Chairman's trusted confidant, and I specifically proposed promoting him beyond his rank. He won't oppose me, neither in public nor in private. Now he's full of hostility towards that side, haha."

  Zhou Zuomin thought for a moment and then asked: "What if he...?"

  Lin Gang signaled him to stop talking, he stood up and turned around to gaze out the window, saying slowly: "When I take over as chairman from the old man, he will be my subordinate, he will be a good comrade. At that time, he should understand how to make his choice. Now we just need to do well what the chairman has entrusted us with. As long as I am the successor, got it? The successor!"

  Zhou Zuomin nodded and stood up, saying: "I understand, Vice Chairman Lin."

  Lin Gang nodded and said: "You go deal with it, staying here for too long is not good, it's not a good influence."

  "Yes."

  Lin Gang heard the sound of Zhou Zuomin locking the door and said heavily: "I must be the successor, who else can it be?"

  I sat alone in the chair in my bedroom, thinking about the conflict that had just occurred and the possible outcome. I kept telling myself: "Tang Ning, you didn't do anything wrong, you saved a good comrade." I smiled to myself with some self-mockery - it was more exhausting than fighting! Once National Day is over, I'll hurry up and leave. Fortunately, only Comrade Chen was in a rush, the other two were still safe, and at that time, as long as we went to the airport together, everything would be fine. I shook my head and stopped thinking about it - when I got back, I could see my wife again, and also meet my parents-in-law, but I didn't know how long they would stay. My thoughts slowly drifted away to Xizang in the distance, and as I thought, I fell asleep. When I woke up, the sky was already dark. After washing up, I walked out and saw that Chase and others were guarding at several key points outside the door. As soon as they saw me come out, they all saluted and asked how I was doing. I nodded to each of them and said: "You've worked hard, let's go eat!"

  I sat at the dinner table in the living room and asked them to sit down, but at first they were reluctant to take orders from me directly. Chase called over the staff to serve the dishes, and soon all the food was served - three dishes and one soup, all in large bowls. However, we seven people quickly finished everything off. After dinner, I brought out two decks of cards and invited them to play together, with the rule that whoever lost had to stick a paper strip on their face. We played until late at night, pulling in even the four staff members who were standing outside, making a big racket until 12 o'clock. Just then, a voice came over saying "Oh, you're all playing? What are you playing?"

  We turned back and looked at the entrance together, and were all stunned! I shouted: "Chairman!" We immediately stood up straight, saluted and shouted: "Chairman."

  The chairman smiled and looked at us, seeing the small pieces of paper stuck to my face, even on my hair, with a few sheets floating around. My shirt sleeves were rolled up to my arms, and I was sweating profusely. He glanced at the others, who were similarly disheveled, and said, "You're playing poker! Looks like Little Tang lost the worst." All I could do was touch my head and smile foolishly.