The Red Era: Living in Seclusion in a Siheyuan as a Boss

Chapter 596 “Audition”!!!
Liu Xiaotao is good at physical fitness. When he was in the company, he was the fastest in the five-kilometer armed cross-country run and has always held the record.

For this competition, the equipment prepared by the organizers for the participating teams was 20 kilograms heavier than what they usually used in training.

Liu Xiaotao told his teammates that they had to grit their teeth and hold on no matter what, and strive to achieve the best result.

As soon as the whistle sounded, Liu Xiaotaotao rushed out like an arrow.

He took a quick look at the map given by the organizing committee, silently memorized all the marked points in his mind, then folded the map and put it away so that he could run faster.

17 minutes and 46 seconds passed in the blink of an eye, and Liu Xiaotaotao was the first to reach the finish line.

The second runner arrived six minutes after Liu Xiaotao crossed the finish line. Such a big gap made the organizing committee begin to suspect whether Liu Xiaotao had used improper means, so they proposed to check his competition equipment.

Liu Xiaotao told the organizing committee very seriously that if there was nothing wrong with his equipment, the organizing committee would have to compensate the "Rabbit" team.

The unconvinced subcommittee immediately began an investigation and was determined to prove that Liu Xiaotao had cheated.

As a result, the equipment was inspected by the organizing committee and the weight was found to be correct. It seems that the good results of "Rabbit" captain Liu Xiaotao were won by his own hard work.

After the competition, the organizing committee sincerely apologized to Liu Xiaotao and the "Rabbit" team in front of all the teams, and awarded the gold medal for the 6.5km armed cross-country race to the "Rabbit" team.

In the following events, the "Rabbit" team led by Liu Xiaotao always maintained the second or third position.

After completing 13 events, the "Rabbit" team won the first place in 8 events and won the championship of the Xth Andrew International Special Forces Competition.

The Slovenian media later reported: "The performance of the 'rabbit' special forces was amazing!"

"These 'rabbits' are awesome!!!"

After Liu Xiaotao and his group returned to China, the Southwest Region gave them great praise, and each of them received a military medal.

Soldier Zhang Jincheng was promoted to platoon leader as soon as he returned to the company. The platoon he led was recognized as a role model in the entire battalion, both in training and daily life management.

Although Liu Xiaotao is busy leading his troops in training every day, he does not neglect his own training.

Later, in the joint training competitions held in the region every year, as long as Liu Xiaotao made a move, he became the recognized favorite to win.

The annual "open audition" for new members of the "Black Panther Special Forces" is about to begin, and a tense atmosphere is quietly spreading in the military camp.

As an all-weather combat-ready force, the "Black Panther Brigade" is always on high alert, ready to respond to the call of battle at any time.

In every soldier's heart, being a member of the "Black Panther" is a supreme honor. However, the road to the top is extremely difficult.

Here, the principle of "better to have nothing than to have something unqualified" makes the selection criteria extremely strict. Only the best and most tenacious fighters can stand out and realize this ultimate dream.

As the military commander of this elite force, Liu Wu shoulders huge responsibilities.

Recently, he has devoted almost all his time to the selection work and has no time to take care of his family.

He not only has to coordinate the overall situation and ensure the fairness and impartiality of the selection process, but also has to personally participate in every detail, from physical tests to psychological assessments, striving to select the most promising fresh blood for the army.

The selection of new members for the "Black Panther Special Forces" is open to the entire region, and the competition is extremely fierce.

Among these hundreds of thousands of outstanding soldiers, only dozens of them can finally receive this honor every year.

Every selection is a rigorous test. Only those fighters who have reached the peak in physical fitness, skills and psychological qualities can pass the screening and become a member of the "Black Panther".

This team not only represents the top combat power in the military, but also represents the eternal dream and pursuit in the hearts of every passionate man.

Compared with previous selections of new team members, the Black Panther leadership team came up with a new trick for this year’s “Black Panther Selection”.

In one day, Lao Lan received more than 100 calls.

Although he was mentally prepared in advance, the organizing officer of the "Black Panther Special Forces" still said "I didn't expect it."

"The Black Panther Special Forces is recruiting elites and invites you to join. Anyone who meets the basic requirements can sign up voluntarily."

On January 93, 1, the "Black Panther Special Forces Brigade" released an announcement through official channels to select special forces members within the region.

At the end of the announcement, the telephone number of the office of the organizing secretary, Lao Lan, was included.

As soon as this announcement came out, officers and soldiers told each other: The Black Panther Battalion is going to hold "open auditions" again!

"That's right, as long as you meet the requirements, you can sign up." "Yes, no battalion or company recommendation is required." "After the elimination selection, the order to transfer the troops will be issued," Lao Lan continued to explain.

...Although the content of most of the inquiries was clearly written in the registration instructions, everyone still felt a little confused when they saw the selection announcement for the first time.

During this period, although his lips were dry and his voice was hoarse from talking on the phone, Lao Lan could not hide his excitement at the enthusiasm of his comrades: "Judging from the response to the 'open auditions', we did the right thing this time."

While conducting research and interviews in the "Black Panther Special Forces" of the Southwest Region, military newspaper reporter Wu Lei saw this "open audition" announcement.

The "Selection Guide" of less than 400 words lists the basic requirements for registration.

Seeing these conditions, Wu Lei, a reporter for the military newspaper, couldn't help but wonder: "It is said that special forces are 'the tip of the knife'. Are these standards too simple?"

"We had the same concerns." Team leader Liu Wu told reporters seriously that they were hesitant when determining the registration standards;
I don’t know what kind of “threshold” I should set – if the standard is too high, I’m afraid that there will be very few people who meet the requirements; if the standard is too low, I’m afraid that the gap in the number of people recruited will be too large.

“In fact, standards are not as important as we think.”

During the discussion, the battalion chief of staff He Qiu expressed his own opinion: among the soldiers eliminated from the special warfare basic training in the past, many of them could even reach the excellent standard. The reason they quit was often that they could not bear the "hardship" of special forces.

"From this perspective, we are not recruiting ready-made special forces soldiers, but rather recruiting a group of 'seeds' who want to become special forces soldiers."

After repeated consideration, Liu Wu and his brigade leadership team finally reached a consensus: to set the registration conditions according to the most basic standards for becoming a special forces member.

Comparing with the final announcement, Liu Wu explained to reporters the meaning of each criterion one by one: voluntary service to the next military rank level is to ensure the long-term stability of the special warfare personnel structure;
No history of training injuries, mental illness, or acrophobia, this is based on the need to carry out special operations missions;
The height and education requirements are based on the consideration of being able to operate some weapons and equipment;

As for basic physical fitness scores, considering the training intensity of special forces members, the standard is set at the "excellent" score line of the infantry professional assessment.

"For top trainees, it's not difficult to meet these standards." Liu Wu changed the subject, "But this doesn't mean it's easy to become a special operations member of our Black Panthers."

As he was speaking, Liu Wu showed reporter Wu Lei the "Hunter Training" program that the 80 finalists would participate in.

In the next month or so, these comrades who have never undergone special operations professional training will complete more than 1 training courses, including extreme physical fitness, extreme survival, extreme psychology and many other extreme training contents.

"If you cannot complete the training, you will be eliminated! If you fail the assessment, you will be eliminated! If you have a weak will, you will be eliminated!" Captain Liu Wu said, "Hunter training" is the link with the highest elimination rate in the special forces training cycle. If you want to become a special forces member, you must overcome this hurdle.

In the past, there were always people who chose to give up because they couldn't stand the pain of training.

"Do you think that during this training camp, will anyone drop out?" Facing the question from reporter Wu Lei, Liu Wu frowned and thought for a few seconds, then waved his hand and said, "Probably not. No, definitely not!"

"Are you so confident?" Wu Lei asked.

"Let's wait and see!" Liu Wu said firmly.

How difficult is it to train a special forces soldier? Chief of Staff He Qiu has a lot to say about this.

"No one is born a special forces soldier." He Qiu told reporter Wu Lei that special warfare positions require extremely high comprehensive physical fitness, skills and intelligence of officers and soldiers.

New recruits assigned to the "Black Panther" Special Operations Brigade must first receive basic special operations training in a training camp and pass a series of extremely rigorous assessments before they can be incorporated into the special operations brigade.

"This process takes at least two years, and in the end only less than one-third of the recruits can grow into qualified special forces soldiers."

In this regard, the brigade's chief of staff He Qiu made an analogy, "It's like giving you a piece of ore. You have to smelt it bit by bit before you can forge it into a sharp knife."

The problems brought about by the long training cycle and low output of special operations personnel are obvious - there has been a long-term talent gap in special operations positions.

To fill this gap, the "Black Panther"'s previous approach was to "pick the best": that is, to coordinate with friendly units to recommend and select soldiers with outstanding basic military qualities, and after approval by the regional authorities, they would be transferred and supplemented to the special operations brigade.

"It's like waiting for others to refine 'good steel' and then we use it directly to make the 'knife tip'."

As he was speaking, Lao Lan, the organization secretary, spread his hands and said, "The idea is very promising, but the reality is very bleak."

Lao Lan told reporter Wu Lei that in the past when they went to friendly units to "pick the best", many battalions and companies would guard against them like "thieves", fearing that the top trainees of their own unit would be "stolen".

"That's not hard to understand." Lao Lan said with a wry smile, "Who would be willing to give up the talent they have worked so hard to train?" "Can we change 'recommendation by friendly units' to 'voluntary registration by soldiers'? This way, soldiers who are interested in becoming special forces can directly register without having to go through the threshold set by the battalion or company."

In this way, a new way of deploying troops emerged in the mind of the organizational secretary Lao Lan.

In his words, it means issuing an "open audition" announcement and recruiting special forces members like recruiting talents.

After months of research, demonstration and preparation, at the beginning of this year, the idea of ​​issuing an announcement finally turned into a "Recommendation Plan for Troop Allocation" and was submitted to the regional leaders in the name of DW of the "Black Panther" Special Operations Brigade.

After this plan was submitted to the region, it caused heated discussions. There had never been such a selection method before, and "Black Panther" was a precedent!

"Is there any policy support for this approach?" "If the top talents are given to the special operations brigade, will it have an adverse impact on the development of other units?" Some people raised questions during the subsequent discussion session.

"According to relevant regulations, the region has the authority to deploy internal troops," "The deployment of troops this time involves a very narrow scope and the impact it brings is not significant"... After in-depth research, the proposal to issue an announcement was finally passed.

"An important part of human resources work is to make good use of resources through reasonable allocation."

A leader of the region said that a series of topics, including exploring and optimizing the deployment of troops, had been included in their "Five-Year Plan for High-Quality Development of the Southwest Region Military DW" last year.

This "open audition" is a beneficial exploration for them.

In a brigade's repair shop, Corporal Zhang Dapeng carefully wiped and oiled a welding gun.

The original owner of this welding gun was a veteran who had worked as a welder for 8 years.

Last fall, the veteran left this treasure to Zhang Dapeng after retiring from the army.

If nothing unexpected happens, Zhang Dapeng might also work in the repair position until retirement like this veteran.

Unexpectedly, a "surprise" a few months later caught Zhang Dapeng off guard.

On January 1 this year, the Southwest Region issued an announcement: The Black Panther Special Operations Brigade is recruiting elites and invites you to join. All comrades who meet the basic requirements can sign up voluntarily.

After seeing the announcement, Zhang Dapeng immediately called the registration number.

The line was busy and he was extremely anxious.

"I really want to be a special forces soldier!" This repairman has always had the "special warfare dream" deep in his heart.

…………

In early spring, a pond that had been frozen for the entire winter quietly thawed at the highland training ground of the "Black Panther Special Forces".

At 3 a.m., with a sharp whistle, 80 prospective special forces members who passed the "open audition" and entered the "Black Panther" gate jumped out of their warm beds and jumped into the freezing cold pond to receive cold-resistance training.

This is one of the contents in "Hunter Training".

There were many similar training courses in this training camp, which the "Black Panther Brigade" described as "even an iron man would lose a lot of skin".

"From the moment I signed up, I was prepared for hardship, but I didn't expect it to be so hard!"

20 hours of excessive training every day made Corporal Zhang Dapeng extremely exhausted.

During a long-distance run with a heavy load, he suddenly fell to the ground while running.

As a price, Zhang Dapeng was left with a palm-sized bruise on his face.

But Zhang Dapeng was so exhausted that he didn't feel any pain at all. He just wanted to crawl on the ground and have a good sleep.

Like Zhang Dapeng, the other trainees were also extremely tired, cold and hungry.

For this group of quasi-special warfare soldiers, sleep is a scarce commodity and having a full stomach is also a luxury: in the training team, eating is like opening a blind box, and no one knows what is in the supply box handed to them.

Not only do they have to endure all kinds of physical pain, but the prospective special forces members also have to bear tremendous psychological pressure and mental torture.

"No one forces you to stay here. As long as you bury the armband, you can leave at any time!" After every day's training, the training director Liu Xiaotao would encourage the special forces members.

The squadron leader, who had participated in the "Hunter Training" at the Venezuelan Special Operations Academy, was well aware of the significance of provocation.

According to the training rules, as long as they can no longer hold on, prospective special forces members can bury the "special forces" armband in a garden called the "cemetery" in the camp, and then withdraw from the "Hunter Training".

At the same time, he will also lose the qualifications to become a special forces soldier.

In this "cemetery", reporter Wu Lei saw a number of small standing stones - they are called "tombstones", on which are recorded the numbers and withdrawal times of the players who withdrew from the training camp.

In a blink of an eye, this "Hunter Training" is coming to an end.

Just as "Black Panther" captain Liu Wu expected, up to now, no team member has chosen to give up, even though many of them are covered in wounds.

"'Open auditions' call for passion and dreams." Liu Wu said that compared with the new recruits assigned to the brigade in the past, this group of soldiers who voluntarily signed up all have a strong desire to become special forces.

“We should never underestimate the power of dreams and passion.”

Due to an accidental injury during training, Zhang Dapeng ranked last in the assessments for consecutive times, and it was basically confirmed that he would not be able to become a special forces member.

Faced with this result, this private from an ordinary company was very optimistic.

Because Zhang Dapeng has already planned his military career for the next few years.

"Since the door to 'soldier selection' has been opened, even if I fail this year, I can still sign up next year. If I still fail next year, there's still the year after..." As he spoke, Zhang Dapeng's eyes revealed a lot of fighting spirit.

There are many people who share the same idea as Zhang Dapeng.

Originally, Private Gan Luo of a certain brigade's air defense battalion planned to "go home after working for two years."

After seeing the "open audition" announcement, he changed his mind: "If I can become a special forces soldier, I will choose to serve for a long time."

"The top priority is to make up for the shortcomings as soon as possible and make sure to be promoted to corporal by the end of the year."

With his goal set, Gan Luo seemed like a different person. He always rushed to the front in training, and his classmates were all surprised at his change.

Another person who was changed by the "open auditions" was Corporal Wang Dongliang from a certain regiment. Although his training results were among the best in the battalion, he still lost in the fierce competition with so many top players from the Southwest Region.

In the end, he failed to make the 80-man training roster.

"There are always people better than you." After losing the election, Wang Dongliang never considered himself a top trainee again.

He started off with light equipment and soon broke several personal training records.

"If you don't push yourself, it's hard to know how much potential you have yet to unleash." When reporter Wu Lei saw Wang Dongliang at the training ground, he was covered in dust.

As he spoke, a row of big white teeth appeared on his dark face: "I believe that next year, I will definitely be shortlisted."

Not only are the soldiers looking forward to the future of the "Black Panther Auditions", but Wang Yan, the organization secretary of the Southwest Region, is also full of confidence.

Since the announcement of the "open audition", Wang Yan has been following up and conducting research.

In his opinion, this attempt by the "Black Panther Brigade" was undoubtedly successful.

"This move not only provides soldiers with an opportunity to choose positions across units, but also fills the talent gap in special positions. It can be said to be a successful connection between the 'supply side' and the 'demand side'," Wang Yan wrote in the research report.

Especially in recent times, a series of consultation letters have further confirmed Wang Yan's judgment - after learning that the "Black Panther Special Brigade" pioneered the "soldier selection", many human resources departments of friendly neighboring units wrote to him, wanting to borrow the relevant implementation plan for reference.

"Since this path is feasible, we might as well expand it further."

Wang Yan told reporter Wu Lei that he is currently conducting a larger-scale investigation.

"Next, we also hope to recruit talents for the region's army aviation, special warfare, electronic warfare and other positions through the 'soldier selection' method to achieve precise deployment of human resources."

"Perhaps in the near future, the scope of 'soldier selection' will no longer be limited to one region, or even one branch of the military, allowing more soldiers to have the opportunity to pursue their dreams." Looking into the future, Wang Yan believes that there will be more and more similar "open auditions."

(End of this chapter)