Chapter 3: The Wind Rises in Guangdong Section 18: New Soldier Regiment (Three)

  After reading Zhuang Jihua's training plan, Hu Zongnan, Du Yuming and Song Xilian felt a little numb on their scalps. They had seen crazy ones before, but never one as crazy as this.

  Zhuang Jihua's plan consists of four parts: soldier making, physical training, personal tactics and team cooperation; among them, physical training and team cooperation are the core, these two will run through the entire training.

  This was the result of Zhuang Jihua's deliberation for half a night. All along, he had some reservations about the training methods of this era, including those of Soviet instructors; in military school, he didn't dare to mention or change them, but now that he was in charge, he wanted to make changes.

  Last night he started looking for a suitable training method from TV dramas, but after thinking about it for half a day, the TV dramas didn't provide him with a suitable training method. Moreover, some of the training methods on it were already seen as too fake or impossible to implement after his practice in military school. Besides, this was something that should be completed in three months or more, but now had to be done in just half a month, so some things had to be given up.

  However, recalling these dramas gave him a hint that no matter which drama, the soldiers' training was very hard. Now he realized that those hardships were actually tempering their willpower, so the purpose of physical training is not just to enhance physical strength but more importantly to train willpower. Therefore, these trainings must be designed to be very difficult; in a month and a half, he had no confidence in cultivating these people into skilled soldiers with various military skills. Finally, he drew inspiration from his previous sales team. If they couldn't be trained as skilled soldiers, then train them to become small teams that cooperate smoothly.

  Based on this idea, he designed physical training that was 10 kilometers of running twice a day. The first week was running with bare hands, the second week was running with a load of three kilograms, the third week was running with a load of five kilograms, and the fourth week was running with a load of ten kilograms. Punishment: in Zhuang Jihua's plan, each training had corresponding punishment. Every morning, the last class to finish the 10-kilometer run would not have breakfast, and the squad leader would also not have breakfast. The score calculation was based on the score of the last person in the class as the class score. The first-place class would get extra dishes. Every afternoon, there was a 5000-meter run without punishment. After one and a half months, the requirement for the 10-kilometer long run was to complete it within fifty minutes with full equipment.

  Every weekend, there is a drill competition, with each class competing against each other. The evaluation is conducted by the company commander and party representatives. The last three classes are punished: the last place has to clean the toilets for the next week, the second-to-last place has to clean the public areas of the entire company, and the third-to-last place is punished with a 5000-meter long run. The reward is that the first-place class gets half a day off on the following day, but they still have to participate in the morning run.

  In addition to long-distance running, there are also sit-ups and push-ups. In the first week, you must do 80 push-ups and 150 sit-ups. In the second week, you must do 120 push-ups and 200 sit-ups. After a month and a half, you should be able to do 300 push-ups and 400 sit-ups...

  The next was weapons training, including firearms knowledge, weapon usage and maintenance, which lasted for a week.

  Individual Combat Tactics: Including terrain identification and utilization, how to reasonably use weapons in various terrain conditions, this part mainly combines actual combat.

  Company and platoon tactics, application of company and platoon tactics in various terrain conditions, the role of individual soldiers in company and platoon tactics.

  The last item was cultural education, requiring that one and a half months later, each soldier would recognize eighty characters, and after one year soldiers could read simple news. The task was completed by the party representative and clerk. This was an innovation, in this era teaching soldiers to be literate was absolutely innovative, even within the entire Whampoa Military Academy no one had done so before.

  Hu Zongnan looked at it and asked worriedly: "Is this training volume too big? And didn't you say we only have a month and a half, can we complete so much training?"

  "This requires us to think of a solution together, but I must say this beforehand, although time is tight, you must be more patient and meticulous, simple and rough methods are absolutely not allowed, and corporal punishment of soldiers is strictly prohibited." Zhuang Jihua was worried that these people would use simple coercion to complete the training plan, which might backfire in the end. He didn't understand much about the soldiers or peasants of this era, so he drew on the practices of the Eighth Route Army from his previous life.

  "No way, this is absolutely not okay." Song Xiliang shook his head as soon as he heard this. In the past few days, he had been with these soldiers day and night, and had a better understanding of them. Some of the soldiers' ability to accept things was very poor, and every training session made him furious. At first, he also disliked those squad leaders who beat people, but after a few days, he couldn't help but want to beat people up too.

  "The Cultural Revolution, you don't know, some soldiers are too stupid, they belong to the kind that only move when beaten. Du Yuming also explained, Du Yuming looks a bit weak and has a gentle personality, he was not noticeable in the first class of Huangpu, during the previous life allocation, he was only assigned to a regiment as an intern officer and military supply sergeant, belonging to a relatively poor class. If it weren't for crossing over to this family, it's hard to imagine that this gentleman would become a high-ranking general of the party and state."

  Zhuang Jihua looked at Cao Yuan, hoping to get his support. Cao Yuan thought for a moment and said: "I definitely oppose beating soldiers, but I won't interfere on the training ground."

  Cao Yuan himself was determined to crack down on corporal punishment of soldiers, and in the past few days he had already investigated several cases of corporal punishment. Before Zhuang Jihua arrived, he had also had several disputes with Hu Zongnan and others, but ultimately failed to persuade them. He was thinking of reporting to the Political Department to request that a formal order be issued within the regiment to prohibit corporal punishment of soldiers. However, after seeing the training plan presented by Zhuang Jihua, Cao Yuan decided to back down. Because this plan also surprised Cao Yuan, the training method implemented by Zhuang Jihua in school was also gradual and progressive, but unexpectedly today's plan was so intense, it seemed that Zhuang Jihua had great confidence in his judgment that the company would go into battle soon. In that case, improving the soldiers' military skills became the top priority.

  Since Cao Yuan did not object, Zhuang Jihua also stopped insisting, only reiterating that it could only be done on the training ground, and was strictly prohibited at other times, with violators being locked up.

  Then Zhuang Jihua told Cao Yun that their division of labor was one singing white face and the other singing red face, and there might only be time for ideological education at night. Cao Yun said it was no problem to give way to training.

  However, for the literate soldiers, Song Xilian was somewhat puzzled, but Du Yuming was very supportive, believing that literacy among soldiers could enhance their understanding of the revolution. Hu Zongnan did not object either, thinking it was a matter for the party representatives, and as long as Cao Yun did not oppose it, there would be no problem.

  Three platoon leaders went for training, and Zhuang Jihua found clerk Li Anguo to copy down the training subjects and requirements for this week, as well as the reward and punishment methods for the weekend drill, and then posted them on the bulletin board outside the company. Although Li Anguo did not understand in his heart, he still executed it meticulously. Li Anguo was not from Huangpu, but a student soldier recruited by the training team in Guangzhou when it was first established. His education level was not high, only at the junior middle school level, but he was also a hot-blooded young man who had taken the entrance exam for Huangpu twice and failed to pass, and this time saw that the Huangpu Training Team was recruiting soldiers, so he came to sign up immediately.

  Li An Guo was very interested in the new company commander. After so many days in the company, several officers seemed to be classmates from Whampoa Military Academy, but according to his observation, there were also open and secret struggles among them. The three platoon leaders did not get along with each other, and the platoon leader and party representative often quarreled. He once thought that Hu Zongnan would take over as company commander, but unexpectedly a new company commander was assigned, and this new company commander had suppressed the three platoon leaders in just one day. Yesterday at the dinner table, he directly ordered the three platoon leaders to eat in their respective squads, and last night he also kicked them out of the three-person room to the twenty-person room. The three platoon leaders surprisingly carried out the order without a word. If the party representative had given such an order, they would have argued long ago. Now, Li An Guo was asked to copy the training plan and make it public, which made him somewhat puzzled. He was wondering whether he should ask the company commander about the purpose of doing so when Zhuang Jihua had already noticed his doubts.

  "Why put it out? Are you thinking about this question?"

  "Yes, Comrade Chang. Generally, we just hand the plan over to the squad leader and the platoon leader, and let them carry it out. Why do we need to post it?" Li An Guo replied honestly.

  "It's meant for all soldiers to know, of course. But most soldiers are illiterate, so you'll have to read it out loud to them later." said Zhuang Jihua.

  "Why should all soldiers know?"

  "I like it that way, I like to make sure everyone understands what the task is and what needs to be done to that extent." Zhuang Jihua recalled when he led a team before, assigning tasks to each member with clear indicators.

  "Let's take you for example, if you know what the subject is this week, what the requirements are, isn't the training more clear and purposeful? If you know the final reward or punishment, won't your motivation be stronger?" Zhuang Jihua asked a few questions, but Li Anguo didn't feel any clarity or motivation, only that the company commander was being very sinister.