The Chief of Staff of the Northeast Army

  "Attention! At ease! Attention! Left turn..."

  In the newly built barracks of the Zhu Shan Town Assault Battalion, 50 new recruits and 20 old soldiers from the assault battalion were undergoing training at the same time. The one standing in front of the team giving orders was surprisingly fellow recruit Xu Liangqing.

  Putting new recruits and old soldiers together for training was Luo Yi's idea. Lu Shuangyong and others had never been in a regular army before, and they were unfamiliar with and uninterested in the team's drills, thinking that this kind of standing at attention, rest, etc. formation training had no effect. Luo Yi and Yuan Jing were the only two people who had received military training. Yuan Jing's training was more formal, but after all, it was an early army order, and many actions were not standardized; Luo Yi had received military training during his school days, for a short period of time, with less stringent requirements, but what he learned was accumulated over the years, with stronger standardization.

  Luo Yi's earliest arrangement was to train new recruits himself. After two days, he was fed up with it. With his personality, he really wasn't the material for doing this kind of thing. During military training that year, the instructor repeated the key points of standing at attention like a mantra: heels together and parallel, toes pointing outward about 60 degrees apart; legs straight, lower abdomen slightly retracted, chest naturally puffed out, upper body straight and slightly leaning forward; shoulders level, slightly arched backward; arms hanging naturally, fingers together and slightly curved, thumb tip touching the second joint of the index finger, middle finger touching the seam of the uniform; head upright, neck straight; mouth closed, lower jaw slightly retracted, eyes looking straight ahead... Luo Yi could barely remember a few points, but if he had to recite them to the soldiers and check each point one by one, it would have been his death sentence.

  Yuan Jing was actually interested in doing these things, but she couldn't establish her authority at all. After all, this wasn't a Red Army unit, and women didn't have much status to begin with. Plus, she had a somewhat mysterious background and wasn't part of the shock troops, so nobody listened to her. Her voice was sweet and pleasant to listen to, but it lacked severity. As soon as she gave an order, everyone would burst out laughing, and training became impossible.

  After tossing around for a day or two, Luo Yi unexpectedly discovered that Xu Liangqing's military quality was very good. Actions like standing at attention and at ease, which others did stiffly, he did naturally and standardly. It was clear that he must have been a highly professional soldier before.

  "Xu Liangqing." Luo Yi shouted during the break.

  "Yes!" Xu Liangqing stood up from his seat, standing at attention and responding loudly.

  "Come over here."

  "Yes!" Xu Liangqing ran up to Luo Yi: "Sir, what are your orders."

  "Why did you run over here?"

  "Reporting officer, regulations state that three paces or more requires a run."

  "Whose order?" Luo Yi asked. In fact, he also knew this rule, but he had never told the soldiers about it. Xu Liangqing obviously learned about it from other channels.

  Xu Liangqing was taken aback for a moment before answering: "I used to be in the Northeast Army, I am a Northeast Army's order."

  "What were you doing there?"

  "Be a soldier."

  "Not right," Luo Yi said. "Your quality is not ordinary, if the soldiers of the Northeast Army all have such quality, then this army would be too terrible. You must have been an officer."

  "Reporting, sir... I... I used to be a squad leader." Xu Liangqing admitted.

  "I told you." Luo Yi was delighted, "I need a squad leader now, and these people are just the right number for a squad. You're in charge of leading them in training. As for your position, I'm not appointing you as squad leader yet, so just be the platoon sergeant for now."

  "Sir, what's a Sergeant Major? We don't have such a position in our Northeastern Army."

  "An army officer is both the head and tail of soldiers. In front of all officers, you are a subordinate; in front of all soldiers, you are a superior. Now I appoint you as an army officer, responsible for training all soldiers. Any questions?"

  "No problem!" Xulianqing said with his chest out.

  The shock troops so far have only more than 90 people, excluding those on duty in the mine and in Zhushan Town, about 70 people participated in the training. Luo Yi gathered everyone together and publicly announced that Xu Liangqing was appointed as the military officer in charge of training matters. The new recruits didn't care, but some old soldiers started to whisper:

  "What's the story with this surname Xu? How did he become a military officer all of a sudden?"

  "I heard he used to be in the National Army."

  "Is it glorious to have served in the National Army?"

  An old soldier named Yang Jingshui couldn't help but shout: "Battalion Commander, why not let Sergeant Xu show off his skills? If not, no one will believe him."

  Lu Shuangyong was about to scold Yang Jingshui, but was gently pressed down by Luo Yi. Luo Yi stood there silently, waiting to see if Xu Liangqing had the ability to handle such a situation. He knew that if he intervened, Xu Liangqing's prestige would not be established, and in that case, the training matters would fall on his own head again. Moreover, he was quite curious about this Xu Liangqing and wanted to take this opportunity to test how deep his waters were.

  Xu Liangqing smiled slightly and nodded to Yang Jingshui, saying: "This brother, I alone can't show much, why don't you come over and we'll exchange a couple of moves, then everyone will understand."

  Yang Jingshui dared to shout like this, naturally also having made some preparations. Xu Liangqing was just an average-sized person, Yang Jingshui was five or six centimeters taller than him. In terms of build, Yang Jingshui was also more robust than Xu Liangqing, so he really wasn't afraid of Xu Liangqing calling him out.

  Yang Jinshui walked up to Xu Liangqing and gave a casual salute: "Brother, let's get started."

  After finishing, he pulled open the frame, swung his fist and hit Xu Liangqing's chest. Unexpectedly, Xu Liangqing did not dodge or evade, and used his chest to withstand Yang Jingshui's punch. With a loud thud, Yang Jingshui took two steps back, while Xu Liangqing stood firmly with his feet in a horse stance, unmoving.

  "Good!" Many new recruits shouted. Xu Liangqing and Yang Jingshui crossed swords, and the new recruits naturally sided with Xu Liangqing.

  "There are two sons." Yang Jinshui also praised and found an excuse for himself. After finishing, he took a deep breath and went to attack Xu Liangqing again, punching straight.

  Xu Liangqing saw Yang Jingshui's fierce momentum, slightly shifted his body to the side, dodged Yang Jingshui's fist, stretched out his right hand and grabbed Yang Jingshui's right wrist, pulled him into his arms. Yang Jingshui involuntarily turned around. Before everyone could react, Xu Liangqing flipped his wrist, and his left arm pressed down on Yang Jingshui's right elbow joint. Yang Jingshui immediately fell to one knee. This "Duo Zhang Ya Zhou" move was so smooth that the whole audience, whether new or old soldiers, applauded together, even Lu Shuangyong couldn't help but shout "good".

  Xu Liangqing released Yang Jingshui and made a fist: "Brother, I'm sorry."

  Yang Jinshui stood up, stunned for a moment, and suddenly raised his fist to Xu Liangqing: "I admit it, I admit it. The military commander is indeed capable, and this move must be taught to me another day."

  Xu Liangqing made a gesture, indicating that Yang Jingshui should return to the team. Then, with a serious face, he said to everyone: "Commander Monroe thinks highly of me and has appointed me as the squad leader. I used to be a soldier for a few days in the past and have some small skills in the army. I can practice with you all together. Please give me this face and follow my requirements. Discipline is the lifeblood of the military, and I hope that all soldiers will strictly obey orders and complete training tasks."

  "Good!" The soldiers responded loudly. These soldiers, whether new or old, were originally farmers from the mountains, without much city manners, whoever had the ability would be obeyed by others. Xu Liangqing showed off his skills, and everyone was convinced, so they accepted him.

  "Alright, listen to my command, right turn, march in step." Xu Liang gave the order with ease and familiarity, then carefully corrected each person's movements, looking more professional than Luo Yi.

  Lu Shuangyong whispered to Luo Yi, "Luo Zi, this guy you've taken a liking to is quite capable. That last move was even more skillful than the one I saw when I went to meet with the master of the house. It seems that this guy still has some depth."

  Luo Yi said: "The first time I saw his expression, I felt like he was a veteran. There is a murderous aura in his eyes, this kind of thing can't be faked by ordinary people. So, I judged that he must have some background."

  Luo Yi didn't tell Lu Shuangyong that the person he had seen with a murderous aura in his eyes was an old soldier who had come down from the two mountains. This man usually played cards and drank with friends, seeking pleasure and joy, but when faced with urgent matters, his eyes would flash with light, and he had a somewhat awe-inspiring demeanor.

  "Double courage, from now on we must pay special attention to recruiting this kind of old soldier, only then can our troops quickly form combat effectiveness. Our past gathering helpers have not fought many regular battles, our soldiers lack experience in big battles and tough battles. In recent years, the war has been continuous everywhere, I estimate that there should be many people who used to be soldiers scattered around the surrounding countryside, we need to go find them out and recruit those with good moral character into the team."

  "Luó zǐ, wǒ lǐ jiě le."

  Translation: "Luo Zi, I understand now."