20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 676 Everywhere
The next morning, Lin Zhidong came to pick up Beifeng from the hospital and brought a brand new military uniform.

Although he had just recovered from a serious injury, he still had to report to the Army Reorganization Office. He basically understood that it was inevitable, as the duty of a soldier was to obey discipline.

Zhao Zhengbei washed up early, changed into military uniform, and packed up his chores. By the time he completed the discharge procedures and followed Lin Zhidong out of the hospital building, the military vehicle had already parked at the door.

Nowadays, people who can drive are in great demand. Although their rank is not high, their salary is quite generous.

The driver was a young man who didn't talk much. He just followed orders. When he saw Bei Feng coming out, he immediately got out of the car, opened the door, saluted, and asked, "Sir, are we going home first?"

Zhao Zhengbei didn't want to go back and forth, so he told the driver to go to the cleaning office first, and then go home together after all the chores were done.

After that, the three of them got on the car one by one.

Lin Zhidong was very excited. He looked around in the back seat and kept saying, "Zhengbei, it's because of you that I have the opportunity to ride in a military vehicle and stroll around the streets!"

If you talk too frequently, it will seem a bit annoying.

Zhao Zhengbei quickly declined, "Don't keep bringing up my issue. Didn't all the officers who survived the battle at Shimen Village get promoted?"

"That's right. The young marshal said that our temporarily reorganized brigade brought him honor."

Lin Zhidong couldn't hide his joy, but after laughing, he seemed a little uneasy.

After all, behind the military exploits are the bones of countless soldiers, and the promotion of the survivors is always inevitable with guilt and fear.

Zhao Zhengbei suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, do you still remember Fu Chengyu from the communications company? I don't know how he is doing. He should have retired, right?"

Lin Zhidong's eyes dimmed, and he faced the window and pondered for a moment before muttering, "Alas, he was sacrificed."

"Sacrificed?" Zhao Zhengbei was shocked. "Didn't he survive?"

"That was at the beginning. Later, the wound became infected and I had a fever all the time. There were too few military doctors in the regiment and not enough medicine. In the end, I didn't make it. I suffered a lot before I passed away."

Lin Zhidong said this while nodding and sighing.

Obviously, lower-level soldiers could not receive officer-level medical treatment, and the so-called rescue was actually just superficial.

There were too many officers and soldiers who died in the battle, and Fu Chengyu was just one of them. In the battle report, his name can only be counted as a few lines of numbers along with the millions of others.

Don’t laugh at me lying drunk on the battlefield. How many men have ever returned from the battles in history?
Life and death are determined by fate, so there is no need to be overly sad.

Although we had only known each other for a short time, only about half a month at most, we were brothers who had fought side by side. Now that I heard the news of his death, I still felt a little sad.

Zhao Zhengbei mourned in silence, and it took a long time before he gradually came to his senses.

He tried to recall Fu Chengyu's voice, appearance and smile, but was surprised to find that his impression of the other party was a little vague.

The only thing I remember clearly is my catchphrase - it's my duty!
…………

The Northeastern Provinces Army Reorganization Office was located at the east gate of Fengtian. As it was a recently established department, the premises were extremely simple. From a distance, it looked like an ordinary government compound with only a few bungalows inside and no tall buildings. It looked extremely shabby.

Looking left and right, the house didn't seem much better than a public toilet.

In fact, the power in the courtyard is boundless.

As soon as the car stopped, we saw a long queue outside the small door in the corner of the yard.

At a quick glance, they were all middle-aged people in their thirties, standing shakily, slouching, and queuing up to do their business with sad faces.

"Why are there so many people?" Zhao Zhengbei was a little confused.

Lin Zhidong explained: "Those are all veterans who have been laid off, waiting to receive their allowances and retire!"

"It's the Northeast Army Organization Office after all. Can't we just hand this small matter over to other government offices?"

"Who said they haven't been handed in? They have all been handed in. The civilian staff of each battalion are processing them, but there are too many people to be laid off this time. We are too busy to handle it, so we can only handle it separately."

"How many people were laid off?" Zhao Zhengbei asked in surprise.

"How would I know exactly how many people were laid off?" Lin Zhidong shook his head. "But I heard that nearly 10,000 people have been laid off now. This is just our Fengtian Province, not including the situation in Heilongjiang and Jilin!"

"That's a lot!"

"Well, it's just the beginning, we still have to continue screening."

Lin Zhidong suddenly lowered his voice: "The Second Brigade and the Sixth Brigade have been disbanded on the spot. Only those young and literate people were selected to stay and mixed into other brigades. Several regiment commanders were shot. Brigade commanders were better. Although some were shot, most of them were dismissed. Heilongjiang Province was the worst. Almost all of them were disbanded, and those who were not direct descendants were purged one by one."

Various signs indicate that "reorganizing the army" is no joke and the Fengtian clique is really going to take drastic measures to discipline the army.

The old, weak, sick and disabled will be eliminated; the illiterate will be eliminated; those who have bad habits will not change will be eliminated!
"But..." Zhao Zhengbei hesitated, "Are you really not afraid of mutiny if you suddenly lay off so many people?"

Lin Zhidong curled his lips and said, "That means the Marshal is capable of coordinating the old and new parties and balancing the non-commissioned officers. Even if he can't satisfy everyone, at least he can make everyone accept it. It's difficult. Just thinking about it makes my head hurt!"

It is difficult to satisfy everyone, and human relations are difficult - perhaps the most difficult thing in the world.

Zhao Zhengbei thought about it and felt really impressed.

Lin Zhidong patted Bei Feng on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Get off the bus, you don't have to queue up with them anyway!"

Zhao Zhengbei nodded, pushed the door and got out of the car, explained his purpose to the guard, then walked through the courtyard of the Army Reorganization Office and entered the government office bungalow.

I didn't expect that as soon as I entered the house, I felt nauseous as if I had eaten a fly.

It’s not that the corridor is so dirty, but I never expected that when I opened the door, I would run into a Japanese colonel.

Zhao Zhengbei was in a daze for a moment and almost suspected that he had come to the wrong place, until he saw two other Chinese generals standing next to the Japanese colonel, and then he was sure who was the master of this place.

The three people in the house seemed to be about to come out, and the two sides happened to bump into each other face to face.

Zhao Zhengbei and Lin Zhidong were caught off guard and stood there in a daze, not knowing how to react.

The Toyo colonel didn't say anything, but the two Chinese officers were somewhat dissatisfied and immediately scolded him in a serious tone: "Why don't you salute?"

Zhao Zhengbei and Lin Zhidong reacted and saluted and shouted, "Sir!"

The Chinese officer nodded, glanced at Bei Feng's shoulder straps, and then softened his attitude and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Zhao Zhengbei explained the reason and purpose of his visit, and Lin Zhidong also joined in.

"Oh, it's the guy from Shimen Village. Is he feeling better?" The Chinese officer seemed to have heard something and pointed into the corridor. "It's hard to find a brave general. Go to the reorganization office and ask if there's any vacancies. They should be able to arrange for you as soon as possible."

After saying that, he turned around and said a few words to the Japanese colonel.

The officer next to him was probably a non-commissioned officer who spoke Japanese very well and immediately translated for him. Colonel Dongyang still said nothing, but stared at Beifeng, and finally tightened his chin, as if to express some kind of recognition, but Beifeng didn't need it, he just felt that his military achievements seemed to be tarnished in some way.

Lin Zhidong saluted, turned sideways and watched the three people go away, then turned back, feeling a little confused.

"Zhengbei, let's go in!"

"Ok!"

Zhao Zhengbei responded and moved. The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. He couldn't help but ask as he walked, "Xiaopang, what's going on? How did the Japanese get in from the Northeast Army Organization Department?"

Lin Zhidong shook his head repeatedly: "I don't know, maybe he is a consultant we invited. We have seen Japanese instructors before when we were training."

"How can it be the same?" Zhao Zhengbei asked in surprise. "This is the Army Organization Department. To put it bluntly, the personnel configuration, weapons and equipment, and source composition of our divisions and brigades can all be checked here. If the Japanese sneaked in, what's the difference between that and climbing over the wall and eavesdropping through the window?"

"Who said it wasn't? It's really weird!"

If both of them could understand this truth, how could the Fengtian clique’s top leaders not understand it?
Why would they make such an arrangement when they are clearly aware of the pros and cons?

Lin Zhidong sighed and said, "True north, but you have to admit that the Japanese train their troops more strictly and scientifically than we do, and their tactics are more advanced."

"I only know that if you teach your apprentice well, you will starve the master to death!" Zhao Zhengbei said doubtfully, "When a master teaches his apprentice, he always keeps something to himself. Do you expect those devils to teach us the real stuff? Why don't the Japanese teach us how to make their airplanes and cannons?"

"Well, no matter what, it's not our turn to comment on this matter. If the Japanese fleet hadn't been holding us back in Bohai, we might not have been able to escape unscathed. It's easier said than done. Would they send troops for nothing? What conditions were behind this? How would we know?"

Lin Zhidong was unwilling to comment further.

As he was speaking, he had already arrived at the door of the reorganization room.

I knocked twice on the door and heard someone answering from inside, then I pushed the door open to look.

The interior decoration of the room was extremely simple, with a square desk, a clerk, and two rows of metal cabinets behind him filled with the personnel files of senior Fengtian officers.

The librarian was tidying up, and when he heard the noise, he immediately locked the cabinet door, turned around and saw Bei Feng, smiled and pointed at the chair in front of him, and asked, "Sir, is it the wounded who are returning to the team?"

"Oh, I actually still have a few months of vacation left, but my superiors told me to come here and report first."

Zhao Zhengbei explained his own situation, handed over a few letters with red stamps, and sat down to wait for his decision.

The librarian registered the name, age, and place of origin for later verification, and then asked a few questions as usual, asking Beifeng to briefly recall the circumstances of the Western Route Army's collapse.

When everything was recorded, he said, as all the clerks did, quite skillfully: "Okay, go back and wait for notification!"

Bei Feng was about to stand up, but was held down by Xiao Pang.

Lin Zhidong was a bit of a nerd at first, but after being in the military camp for a long time, he inevitably became more and more slick and worldly-wise, and no longer so rigid. He immediately took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, put it on the table, and asked with a smile: "Brother, there is no one else here, can you tell us, is there any real vacancy now?"

"Are you really short of space?"

The secretary took the cigarette, thinking that this was not a leak, and said, "Yes! There are indeed many vacancies. Although I can't make the decision, people like Commander Zhao, who have military achievements and merits, are not too old, and have studied at the Military Academy, will definitely be given priority as long as you can return to the team as soon as possible. Don't worry!"

Zhao Zhengbei didn't react, but Lin Zhidong thought a step further and asked:

"Brother, although he studied at the Military Academy, the students in that period were a little different. How should I put it? He left before he finished his studies."

"Not graduated yet?" the librarian asked hurriedly, "Which batch of students are you from?"

Zhao Zhengbei and Lin Zhidong reported their year of admission.

The secretary hurriedly checked, slapped his forehead and said, "I remember that your batch of students, strictly speaking, are all dropouts. That won't do. This won't fill the vacancies. You have to go back to the Military Academy for another accelerated course. Now the policy has changed, and officers without academic qualifications must go back and retake the course."

"Is it so strict now?" Lin Zhidong asked.

"Yes, from now on, when a battalion commander is vacant, he must be a graduate of a military academy. Now, even if we recruit new soldiers, they must have attended elementary school." The secretary said, "However, your situation is different. After all, you have attended the Military Academy. I guess you can just go there and read the lecture notes every day like the old-school ones. It won't take long."

"So we both need to apply for admission right away?"

"Well, the sooner the better. Baoding has so many graduates. If you are late, there will be no real vacancies." The secretary said solemnly, "This is a rare opportunity. In the ten years of Fengtian Army, there has never been such a big personnel change. Commander Zhao, while you are recovering from your injury, hurry up and retake the courses you owe."

The two of them thanked each other profusely.

After leaving the reorganization office, he hurried out of the compound, got on the car, and headed for the Three Northeastern Provinces Military Academy.

…………

After a few minutes' drive, we arrived at the gate of the Military Academy.

When the guard saw that he was wearing a military uniform, he asked a few simple questions and then waved his hand to let him pass.

I always have a lot of feelings when I return to school, but now the school has not started yet, so it is inevitable that it looks a bit deserted.

Zhao Zhengbei and Lin Zhidong were familiar with the route. They crossed the playground and headed for the department in charge of academic affairs.

Unexpectedly, my luck was so bad today and strange things happened one after another.

Just as I approached the gate, I saw several instructors from the Military Academy coming from the corner of the playground, surrounding three Japanese lieutenants. They were pointing and talking loudly on the campus, while slowly walking towards the school affairs building.

Just now, I saw a Japanese colonel in the Army Reorganization Office, which was incredible.

Now in the Army Academy, we see the Japanese devils following us like shadows again, and there are three of them coming directly, which is really chilling.

"What's going on? Another consultant?" Zhao Zhengbei frowned. "Why is this never going to end?"

Lin Zhidong also looked around and after a while he said, "Hey, I know that guy. See that Japanese guy with the round face and the moustache?"

"What? You have Japanese friends?" Zhao Zhengbei was a little surprised.

"He's not a friend, I just met him!" Lin Zhidong explained, "He used to coach our engineering company. He's an expert in fortifications from Japan. I heard that the higher-ups spent a lot of money, like 350 yuan a month, to invite him over to coach us!"

"In that case, then he is also a consultant hired by the Military Academy?"

"That should be it. You can't just pay a spy here, right?"

Lin Zhidong's tone was obviously ironic, but he was powerless. After all, he had no say in such matters. All he could do was secretly wishful thinking that the two countries would not go to war.

"At least, as long as the Marshal is still here, there shouldn't be such a day, right?" Lin Zhidong smiled, looking pale and powerless.

Zhao Zhengbei couldn't laugh. Seeing those people getting closer, he led Xiaopang into the school building first. He couldn't help but sigh as he walked:
"I just want to ask, in the military office in Fengtian, is there any department that doesn't have the Japanese advisers?"

(End of this chapter)