Chapter Thirty-Nine: Practicing for Battle

  After lunch, Tang Qiuli came to a flat lawn, took out a whistle, and suddenly the sharp whistle sound echoed in the valley, breaking the lazy sunshine after noon. The team members who were chatting or closing their eyes to rest on the soft grass, enjoying the rare warmth of winter, were stunned, staring blankly at Tang Qiuli, wondering what he was up to, why was he blowing a whistle for no reason?

  Suddenly, someone remembered that Tang Qiulei had told everyone before departure that different whistling sounds represented different actions. A long whistle sound meant an emergency assembly, and the current whistle sound was urgent enough to assemble!

  Now that someone has said it, everyone finally understands and rushes to Tang Qiuli's side. Some are comfortable, taking off their shoes. You think, this little weather is like summer, eating a full meal, lying down somewhere, taking a nap, how wonderful! So, at this moment of urgent assembly, there are those who lose their helmets and armor, with busy hands and feet, running over in a headlong manner.

  Tang Qiuli looked at the team members standing in front of him and felt a sense of helplessness. These brothers were used to a carefree life at home, and it was too much to ask them to follow military discipline from the start. They needed to be trained hard to develop good habits!

  From that day on, the team members who were still a group of big kids just a few days ago had a taste of bitterness. Every morning, before the sun rose, they were awakened by the whistle and started with a five-kilometer cross-country run. It wasn't just running; each person had to carry a log weighing at least 50 kilograms on their shoulders, with no exceptions for girls. Walking in the snow without knee-high boots was enough to drive people crazy, let alone carrying a 50-kilogram log and having to run. The feeling was hard to describe - it was just exhausting! Tang Qiuluo said that everyone had joined the team voluntarily, and if they couldn't keep up, they could apply to quit, with no pressure to stay. However, anyone who was eliminated would never have another chance to join the Blood Hand Gang again, as the gang wouldn't recruit deserters. Their parents back home would also lose face and be unable to hold their heads high in the village!

  You think, they are all in their twenties, full of vigor and energy, not willing to admit defeat, one after another, no one wants to fall behind, let alone be the subject of gossip. Moreover, there are nine girls in the team, it's even more embarrassing to complain about being tired. This is a matter of male pride, they gritted their teeth and persisted. Tang Qiu's method of stimulation really worked!

  After running five kilometers cross-country, the male team members had to take off their shirts and use snow to wash their bodies. This was called anti-cold training to enhance physical fitness. Of course, female team members couldn't do this, but they also couldn't idle around. They practiced camouflage in the snow, making it hard for others to find them. The female team members finished practicing, then the male team members took over, dividing into two groups: one group hid and the other searched, switching roles. Tang Qiuli paid close attention to concealment and camouflage because this was a basic requirement of special forces - hiding oneself in order to attack the enemy. Whether it was digging a snow hole to hide or crawling through tree holes or mountain caves, the goal was not to let others find you. The last five members of each team had to return to base and do 100 push-ups and 200 frog jumps as punishment.

  Outdoor training, Tang Qiuli always took the team to a place far away from the base, back and forth were heavy running, entering and leaving the base carefully concealed their tracks, he didn't want to expose the base, and never wanted to expose it.

  Afternoon is live ammunition shooting, all in the cave, Tang Qiuli did not worry that the gunfire would attract attention from outsiders. The several caves used for shooting are very large and spacious, with soundproofing at the entrance, and no gunshots can be heard outside. After dinner, there are cultural classes and military etiquette as well as tactical action training, plus special forces liaison codes and combat gestures, the schedule is packed, eyes open for training and class, eyes closed can fall asleep, it feels like not enough sleep every day, just closing your eyes at night, and it's already dawn!

  After a few days, some team members couldn't take it anymore. They didn't want to leave the team and go home, but they felt too tired. They secretly found Autumn and wanted him to talk to Tang Qiuli about reducing the intensity of their training. They didn't have the guts to find Tang Qiuli directly and say something. It's strange that since entering the base, Tang Qiuli has become like a different person. Every day, he is fierce and loud when speaking, his eyes are wide open, and he occasionally flashes cold glances! He's like a Yan Wang (King of Hell) who is urging everyone to train every day, as if he wants to break their bones. The Tang Qiuli who used to be quiet and didn't speak much, and would discuss everything with the team members, where did he go? How could this person change so fast? One team member even sighed and said: "I really miss the old Autumn brother!"

  They said that, and Qiusheng scolded those team members severely, saying "You see the commander, isn't he doing more than us? Everything is done in his head, besides, several girls are practicing in the same way. Xiaoling and Qiuli's relationship you all know, are they being treated specially? Have you seen the commander giving special treatment to anyone? You guys are still big and small partners. These team members thought about it carefully, and indeed that was the case. After Qiusheng said so, they felt a bit embarrassed, and with their heads hung low, they retreated, putting their minds back on training.

  In this team, Autumn Brother is the second-in-command recognized by everyone. He speaks with weight and always maintains Tang Qiuli's prestige. Quietly, he shares some of Tang Qiuli's heavy responsibilities. Although only 18 years old, he speaks and handles matters with a sense of propriety, has meticulous thoughts, and exudes an air of seniority. Even the 20-year-old team members admire him. Autumn Brother always silently takes on some tasks for Tang Qiuli, such as logistics, team members' ideological dynamics, etc., trying not to distract his energy, so that Tang Qiuli can wholeheartedly devote himself to training the team members. This makes things easier for him. Sometimes, the more Tang Qiuli looks at this elder brother, the more he feels like Autumn Brother's every move is just like their political commissar who was his partner in a special forces unit in his past life?

  Qiu Sheng told Tang Qiuli about the team members' inner thoughts when no one was around. Tang Qiuli asked, "Brother Qiu, what's your opinion?" Qiu didn't say anything, just calmly said, "Little Autumn, you must have your reasons for doing this. No matter what you do, I'll support you!" Tang Qiuli then explained the purpose and necessity of such training to Qiu in detail, including his inner worries and fears that if they didn't train strictly, their basic skills wouldn't be solid, and their tactical skills wouldn't be up to par, leading to casualties in battle, which would leave him with a lifetime of guilt and self-blame. Upon hearing this, Qiu's expression turned enlightened, he patted Tang Qiuli on the shoulder without saying anything, and walked away.

  After that, no one complained about the hardship in private again. The team's morale was high, and the members trained diligently and conscientiously. Tang Qiuli knew that this was the result of Qiu Shengge's efforts behind the scenes, and he should be given a suitable position. However, Tang Qiuli had not thought it through yet, and it was not too late to announce it after careful consideration.

  Apart from the above training, Tang Qiuli also added a special training for the team members, which was armed crossing and diving. The lake surface in the valley was utilized just in time, because of the special climate in the valley, when practicing these two items, the team members' enthusiasm was significantly higher than that outside the mountain. They all consciously increased their training volume and training time. It turned out that the weather in this valley was like a small summer day, and the water temperature in the lake was warm and comfortable. Don't mention how comfortable it was to train here! The atmosphere was beautiful, the scenery was pleasant, and it was a standard hot spring bath! It didn't feel like training at all, but rather like a tourist group taking a warm spring bath. After a day of fatigue, soaking in the warm water made all the fatigue disappear, it was super enjoyable! Tang Qiuli also found that these guys didn't want to get out of the lake once they got in, but he didn't stop them. Anyway, it was all part of the training, and no one slacked off.

  Apart from this, firearms training is also what team members are most interested in.

  Tang Qiuli had enough guns and ammunition in the base for the team members to train, so he asked them to start by familiarizing themselves with the structure of the guns. Each person had to be able to disassemble the gun proficiently, understand it, master it, and each member had to be proficient in every existing type of gun, such as shotguns, Type 38 rifles, Thompson submachine guns, Type 96 light machine guns, Japanese sweet potato hand grenades, and so on. In less than two days, the cave was filled with gun parts, and the team members could disassemble the guns with their eyes closed. Tang Qiuli was very pleased and relieved to see that this batch of team members had a high level of quality, were young, and had good brains, making it easy for them to grasp new knowledge quickly. He originally thought that this training program would take quite some time, but now it seemed that six or seven days would be enough.

  The day Shān Hǔ's team entered the base, he fell in love with the Type 96 machine gun and couldn't put it down. He would think about it all the time, even sleeping with it. He thought other guns were too light and didn't feel right. During a five-kilometer cross-country run, he carried not only a heavy log but also a machine gun, which was heavier than what others carried. What's more, he found two backpacks left behind by the enemy and asked several female comrades to modify them into large backpacks that could hold 500 rounds of machine gun ammunition. While other team members trained with light equipment, Shān Hǔ would carry his machine gun and a large backpack full of bullets every day, running at the front of the team and always arriving first without getting tired or out of breath. Some teammates tried to follow his example but couldn't keep up, even though they carried lighter loads. After several attempts, no one dared to compete with Shān Hǔ anymore, and he became known as the strongest member of the team.

  It turns out that today, Shan Hu found Tang Qiuli and put forward new requirements. The "commander" led the team into the base, and he no longer shouted "Little Autumn, Little Autumn". This guy also understood that now is not the time for buddies to play around casually.

  "Commander, can't you get us something a bit heavier than this thing, with more ammo? How can you still think it's not handy?" As soon as Mountain Tiger said that, Tang Qiuli walked away with a huff. "Too light? Then there's only the heavy machine gun left, but that requires three people to operate. Alright, alright, I'll get one for you later, first make good use of this one, during battles it's counting on you to suppress firepower!" Seeing Tang Qiuli agree, Mountain Tiger happily ran off. Tang Qiuli looked at Mountain Tiger's massive build, like a black bear, and was speechless for a moment. You think everyone else is as perverted as you? But Mountain Tiger's words also reminded Tang Qiuli, who had the idea of creating a suitable weapon for him in his heart. However, the conditions were not ripe yet, so he could only have Mountain Tiger use the toy gun in his eyes for now.

  All the pre-preparations have been completed, and next is the most important live ammunition shooting. Each team member uses a different gun, with enough bullets in the pipe. No matter which gun is used, it must reach the standard of the target falling when the gun sounds. Now, the sound of guns echoes in the cave, and smoke fills the air.

  In order to consider everything from actual combat, Tang Qiuli did not ask his teammates to practice shooting at stationary targets. He came up with a unique idea, which was to use the natural stone wall in the cave during live ammunition shooting exercises. Fifteen team members would hide behind the target and hold a long wooden pole with markings on it above their heads, constantly moving it back and forth to increase the difficulty of aiming. The other team members would then shoot at the target according to their designated sequence, this was called "shooting at living targets".

  When this plan was proposed, everyone was shocked. This is the real deal, not a joke. Especially for those 15 people who were targeted, bullets were flying wildly above their heads, how dangerous! If they accidentally exposed their heads, wouldn't they be shot on the spot? Those with weak nerves would have peed in their pants. Those with heart problems would have fainted on the spot. How can this be a joke? Are you kidding me?

  Lian Qiu Sheng and Qiu Quan didn't quite agree with Tang Qiu Li's approach, while Shan Hu didn't say anything, thinking that whatever Tang Qiu Li did was reasonable and unconditionally supporting him. Seeing everyone opposing, Tang Qiu Li patiently explained the benefits and purpose of this method. On the battlefield, bullets and shells flying around were normal! Listening to the "whooshing" bullets and "booming" shells, can we guarantee that every team member can shoot steadily like on a shooting range? If we don't have such training close to actual combat, it's hard to ensure that in the future, we won't panic on the battlefield, unable to find targets. Even if our marksmanship is excellent, it's useless without real combat experience, and we can't be a match for the Japanese devils with practical experience. Hearing Tang Qiu Li say this, everyone thought about it and realized that was indeed the case, so they accepted this crazy training method and decided to start tomorrow.

  After everyone dispersed, the sun had already set. Tang Qiuli came alone to the cave that was going to be used as a shooting range, wanting to take another careful look at the terrain inside the cave. Although he was familiar with this place and knew the position of every stone and the size of every cover, to be honest, his heart was still a little uneasy. After all, such training had never been done before, and if there was even a slight mistake, it would cost a life. But without such training, could a team that could fight as soon as they went onto the battlefield be trained in the shortest time? He didn't want to use his teammates' blood and lives to exchange for the team's maturity on the battlefield, the price was too high, and he couldn't accept it. After all, the current team had fewer people and couldn't afford to lose anyone, and each member was a familiar comrade that he couldn't get to know again. Now taking some risks was better than losing lives on the battlefield because of his own training! Thinking of this, Tang Qiuli's hesitant heart firmed up, and his unease disappeared. Yes, train for battle!

  Tang Qiuli was lost in thought when he heard footsteps coming from the entrance. He turned his head to see a slender figure walking towards him, her movements light and graceful against the backdrop of the sunset glow. It was Xiaoling. With so many days passing by, he had been busy with training and hadn't even had time to exchange a few words with her, let alone spend quality time together. Today was an opportunity to make up for it!

  Tang Qiu shook off his emotions and walked towards that enchanting figure with a smile on his face!

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