Free Web NovelChapter 102: Chapter 60 Two Types of Military Officers
"Joo~ Joo!"
At dusk, the Brigade Department blew the whistle.
"Squad Seven, assemble downstairs with your regulations materials, to the study room for learning!"
"Forward, forward, forward... Our troops march toward the sun!
Treading on Motherland’s soil..."
Everyone sang the heroic military anthem as they made their way into the study room of the teaching building.
After everyone sat down, they noticed the TV wasn’t on. The two company officials on the stage were seriously discussing something with a sheet of paper in hand, and a stack of papers lay on the table.
It looked like there might be a test.
Everyone hastily began to recite their materials silently.
Fang Huai saw what was going on and also took out his materials, nodding and humming as he read.
"I’m always cramming, sigh, always cramming at the last minute! I’m always..."
Han Yong sat next to Fang Huai, curious.
"This... Is this a song you wrote?"
Fang Huai’s eyes widened as he looked at Han Yong, and the cheerful little song he had been humming stopped.
This was like mud on one’s pants; not shit but might as well be.
"Shit... You’re bringing that up? Could I have written such a low-level song?"
"No, I just remembered. Look." Han Yong said, pulling out his crumpled materials, flipping to the third page and pointing at a line.
"Article 105 of the ’Internal Affairs Regulations’ stipulates that military personnel may not engage in commerce, may not undertake other professions or marketing, pyramid selling, paid intermediaries outside of their professional duties, may not participate in profit-oriented art performances, commercial advertising, corporate endorsements, or teaching activities, and may not use work time and office equipment to engage in securities futures trading or buy lottery tickets..."
Fang Huai scratched his head and interrupted, "Are military personnel allowed to have money or not?"
Han Yong: ...
He casually said, "Sitting in front of you is a wealthy military person."
Fang Huai nodded in satisfaction.
"Well, isn’t that good enough? Do I have to do everything myself?" freewebnøvel.coɱ
Han Yong thought about it and agreed. There were indeed many ways to avoid certain rules.
Just as he was about to ask about Fang Huai’s plans and offer his thoughts, Liang Longhui stood with his hands behind his back on the platform pointing at them and said.
"Fang Huai, no talking! Everyone is looking at their materials, what are you two clucking about? The squad leader is not here and you start acting up, huh? Or do you mean to tell me you’ve memorized it all?"
Upon hearing this, Pan Zhaohui immediately stood up.
"Fang Huai, Han Yong! Out you go, 50 push-ups! I’ve been teaching you all day, was it all in vain?"
Damn, this Liang Longhui, fixated on me the whole damn day.
Fang Huai cursed under his breath and stood up to report.
"Report! We were discussing the regulations, ’Internal Affairs Regulations,’ article one hundred and five..."
Liang Longhui cut him off, "The regulations are for you to recite, not to discuss!"
"Yes!"
Fang Huai and Han Yong had to leave their seats and lay down in the aisle.
"Come, come, come, do it on the platform here." Liang Longhui pointed next to him, feeling a bit of satisfaction inside.
This kid, always ends up in my hands eventually.
Fang Huai clenched his teeth, got up, and moved next to the platform to get ready.
Once Han Yong also came over and got ready, Fang Huai asked.
"Can we start now? Instructor?"
"Hmm... Since you were discussing the regulations, I’ll just quiz the two of you instead, and if you can’t answer, you’ll hold the position for an extra two minutes..."
Liang Longhui was still speaking, flipping through his regulations book, ready to pounce when Wang Jian suddenly pulled at his sleeve, giving him a meaningful look.
You’re the instructor, openly administering physical punishment? Just have them do the fifty and be done with it!
Liang Longhui didn’t understand the complex look.
He turned to continue speaking, but noticed the new recruits below were all stunned.
Han Yong was leisurely doing his exercises, counting, "Ten..."
While Fang Huai had already stood up and said, "Report, Instructor, I have completed them."
It was the first time Fang Huai had publicly embarrassed himself since his rebirth, and feeling a bit ashamed, he had done 50 quick push-ups.
It was so fast that from the moment Liang Longhui started speaking with a "hmm," Fang Huai had already finished.
They weren’t perfect, but they didn’t have any major issues either.
As a result, everyone below was dumbfounded.
"He’s only done ten, and you’re finished? Keep doing them!" Liang Longhui frowned in disbelief.
"Report! I really have finished!" Fang Huai insisted.
"Hmm... He has finished! I’ve been watching!" Pan Zhaohui stood in the back row, crossed his arms, and nodded.
Old Pan was astonished inside.
This Fang Huai really had potential, his explosiveness among the new recruits was one of the strongest he had seen.
Suddenly, Liang Longhui felt that punishing him further seemed pointless.
How many could he possibly do if he managed fifty in the blink of an eye?
He quickly thought of a harsher approach. freewebnσvel.cѳm
"Fine, I’ll test you guys. For each question you can’t answer, you’ll hold the position for an extra two minutes here!"
Wang Jian pulled at him again, and this time for the sake of colleague’s sentiment and probably to protect Fang Huai, he whispered in his ear about Han Yong’s background, adding a "don’t go too far."
With that, Liang Longhui finally felt awkward.
He had been preoccupied with punishing Fang Huai and saw that the chubby kid beside him was huffing and puffing, counting "Seventeen." It seemed finishing would be hard enough, let alone how much longer he could hold after that.
Caught in a difficult position.
How can I retract what I’ve already said?
So, under the watchful eyes of the crowd below, Liang Longhui felt a bit dazed and turned his head to say, "Um... Han Yong, right? Once you’re done, go down. Today, we’ll only spot-check Fang Huai."
WTF?
This move directly gave Fang Huai a completely baffled expression.
The new recruits below were relatively fine with it; after all, a squad leader handing out punishments based on mood was nothing extraordinary in their eyes, and the instructor... probably about the same, right?
But Wang Jian beside him and several squad leaders in the study room felt something was off about this statement.
You’re a cadre, for goodness’ sake! Giving push-up punishments in public is one thing, but how can you justify unequal treatment?
"Instructor, why are you only spot-checking me?" Fang Huai suddenly spoke up, his voice cold.
Liang Longhui had spoken hastily just now and lost his composure for a moment, but he quickly came up with a suitable excuse.
"Since it’s a spot-check, it’s natural to check one person at a time! You were the loudest just now, so if it’s you that gets picked, it’s you. What reason do we need?"
But Fang Huai was not ready to let it go, and he began to dig deeper: "Are you only spot-checking me tonight? Or are you spot-checking many people, but only punishing me?"
"Fang Huai, what are you implying?" Liang Longhui’s eyes widened as he threw the regulations book onto the table.
Fang Huai smiled: "I don’t mean anything in particular, just that ever since Instructor Liang returned, it seems like you have been deliberately targeting me.
I don’t know if it’s because my songwriting disturbed Instructor Liang’s peace or because the Chief of Staff asked me to relay a few words that scolded you.
I help the Brigade Department with paperwork, and you look down on me, took away my guitar, removed my Deputy Squad Leader position, and today of all days, you specifically choose to spot-check me on the regulations and punish only me.
Instructor Liang, did I offend you in any way that you have to make a fuss over a new recruit like me?"
After speaking, Fang Huai looked straight at Liang Longhui.
If we don’t clear things up in front of everyone, I’ll continue to suffer in confusion.
With those words, even the new recruits understood, and the old soldiers couldn’t help but look towards Liang Longhui.
In Squad Nine, there was a Deputy Squad Leader that Hao Chengbin particularly admired who had always performed well and had decent physical abilities; everyone was quite clear on that.
Especially Squad Six Leader Yang Hui, his gaze toward Liang Longhui was even more complex.
Liang Longhui was about to slam the table and erupt in anger.
Wang Jian quickly stepped in to say, "Nonsense! How could the instructor possibly be targeting you? You’ve misunderstood! Get down!"
Wang Jian called it nonsense, but deep down, he believed Fang Huai.
Liang Longhui actually did all that stuff, an instructor, no less, being petty with a new recruit.
Thinking over it, he felt responsible for the situation.
After Liang Longhui returned and started issuing orders too forcefully, there was one time when Wang Jian approved leave for Squad Six Leader without notifying Liang Longhui. Liang Longhui got angry, saying he was the Duty Officer and had not signed off on it, yet the person just left, and he even reprimanded the newly returned Squad Six Leader.
Wang Jian was only in his thirties; he had his own pride.
I’m the Company Leader; don’t I even have the authority to approve leave without being on duty?
Afterwards, Wang Jian seldom communicated with Liang Longhui.
The two maintained a superficial unity, and even if he disapproved of some of Liang Longhui’s actions, he didn’t bring them up.
After all, conflicts between two main officers would harm the reputation of both.
A few days prior, Liang Longhui had asked him about Fang Huai’s songwriting. The Chief of Staff knew about it, so why hadn’t he talked to him? At that moment, Wang Jian only felt that Liang Longhui wanted to take credit for Fang Huai’s accomplishments and looked down on him inwardly; thus, he casually brushed it off with a "forgot."
When Liang Longhui left, he was clearly unhappy, but Wang Jian didn’t pay much mind.
He also knew about the recording omission for the Company Party meeting, but he didn’t remind Liang Longhui.
Later, when Fang Huai came with the Chief of Staff’s message, he deliberately asked Fang Huai to repeat the Chief of Staff’s exact words. He wanted Liang Longhui to hear how the Chief of Staff criticized him, to know how poorly he was performing his job.
Afterward, he even mocked Liang Longhui a couple of times.
Conflicts are often accumulated step by step.
"Enough! Stop discussing this!" Wang Jian shouted out loudly, his hand involuntarily clenching into a fist.
Wang Lian hadn’t spoken in a while, and as he started talking, the non-commissioned officers began directing the new recruits, and the whispers among everyone immediately ceased.
In fact, the whispering was a result of these non-commissioned officers not taking charge earlier.
With Liang Longhui’s overbearing behavior as an academic-turned-officer who had never served as a soldier, it was no surprise that there were many dissatisfied with him below.
He had seven years indicated on his service ribbon, but it included his four years in college - actually, he had only been with the Company for three years after graduating, right?
What’s there to be arrogant about?
In the grassroots squadrons of the firefighting forces, many academic-turned-officers are not well-liked, partly because they’re haughty and partly because they can’t empathize with others.
It’s hard not to become arrogant.
Firefighting is different from other troops; at that time, there were only two military academies one could apply to.
One was Langfang Armed Police Academy, which recruited both locally and from the troops, for undergraduate degrees.
The other was Kunming Fire Command School, which only recruited soldiers from the troops for associate degrees.
Local academic jumpstart officers were admitted at 18, graduated at 22, were immediately commissioned as second lieutenants, and became deputy company leaders.
For soldiers taking the academic route, even if they enlisted at 18 and became first-class soldiers the second year to take the exams - assuming they got accepted that same year - they would be almost 20 upon enrollment. After four years of undergraduate education, they would come out around 23 or 24, also as deputy company leaders.
And that’s in the fastest case scenario.
If they went for an associate degree and were older when they passed the exams, they might only become low-ranking platoon leaders at 25 or 26.
Under equal promotion circumstances, academic jumpstart officers of the same age could be two ranks above soldiers who took the academic route.
Age is the capital for promotions.
Moreover, with the military’s restrictions based on professional age, an age advantage also signifies a higher ceiling for promotions.
Many soldiers who take academic exams and become cadres must work harder and get promoted faster to stay in the troops with academic officers and wait for promotion opportunities.
Plus, most grassroots units will retain one officer who came up through the ranks because these individuals often understand the thoughts of the soldiers better.
Before speaking, simply opening with "I also came from the ranks, so I’m clear on certain things" lays the foundation for everyone to listen attentively.
Of course, some academic officers are very down-to-earth and can share joys, sorrows, and thoughts with their soldiers.
It’s not an absolute.
But at this moment, Wang Jian and Liang Longhui represent two extremely different factions within the military.
One understands the soldiers too well, the other doesn’t understand them at all.
"Today, each squad in our Company Seven needs to select a group of new recruits to participate in the Regulations Knowledge Competition."
