Courtyard House: From Deputy Division Commander to Civilian, Progressing All the Way

There was an instant, deathly silence on the other end of the phone.

A good ten seconds passed before Kong Jie's deafening roar finally erupted from the receiver.

"Lin Yang! Are you fucking insane?! Do you know what Wei Dong means to the armored division right now? He's the sharpest knife in my hand! He dared to fight the Russians when he was only fourteen, and he's shed so much blood and shed so many layers of skin on the Gobi Desert these past few years! You want me to strip him of his uniform? I won't agree!"

"Old Kong!" Lin Yang's voice rose eight octaves, carrying an undeniable authority. "This is about the bigger picture! The investigation team is acting on orders from above. If you protect them now, you're handing a knife to your political enemies! Your Northwest Military Region is the first line of defense against the Soviets. If you're suspended from your duties and investigated because of this, who will guard that gate? Who will protect the nuclear weapons base in the Great Northwest?!"

Kong Jie was breathing heavily on the other end of the phone, like a wild beast trapped in a cage.

"I'm not afraid of being investigated! At worst, we'll both go to a military court!"

"But I care!" Lin Yang's voice turned cold again. "They are my sons and nephews. I sent them to you to temper them, not to let them become a burden that drags down a vital city of the nation. Old Kong, carry it out. This is my final decision as a father and as a minister."

After saying that, Lin Yang hung up the phone without giving Kong Jie any chance to refute him.

The office fell silent again.

Lin Yang closed his eyes, his fingers gripping the edge of the desk so tightly that his nails almost dug into the hard mahogany.

The saline-alkali lands of northern Jiangsu were truly impoverished and remote. There was no roar of tanks, no protection from comrades, only arduous labor with faces to the soil and backs to the sky, and the ever-present threat of the rebels' sinister hand reaching out.

However, this is a tribulation that the men of the Lin family must go through.

……

In the remote Northwest, at the base of the Independent Armored Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

The yellow sand was still swirling wildly in the sky.

Kong Jie slammed the telephone receiver down on the table, shattering the teacup. The once unyielding old general's eyes welled with tears.

"Commander..." The chief of staff beside him looked at him cautiously.

"Go! Notify the 1st Armored Regiment to bring Lin Weidong and Lin Jianguo to the division headquarters!" Kong Jie gritted his teeth, his voice trembling.

After half an hour.

Lin Weidong and Lin Jianguo strode into the division commander's office.

They wore training uniforms stained with oil and sand, their military boots worn smooth and shiny. Lin Weidong still wore the insignia of the platoon leader of the elite platoon. Both men stood ramrod straight, exuding the sharp, menacing aura of battle-hardened veterans.

"Reporting to the Commander! Lin Weidong and Lin Jianguo, the spearhead platoon of the 1st Armored Regiment, are reporting for duty!" Lin Weidong shouted loudly, giving a standard military salute.

Kong Jie stood with his back to them, looking out at the training field, and remained silent for a long time.

The atmosphere in the office was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

After a long silence, Kong Jie turned around. He looked at these two outstanding soldiers whom he had personally watched grow up amidst the wind and sand, and his Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty.

"Wei Dong, Jianguo. I have a special mission for you." Kong Jie's voice was terribly hoarse.

"Please give the order, Commander! The elite platoon guarantees to complete the mission!" Lin Weidong answered without hesitation, his eyes burning with a thirst for battle. He assumed that there had been a problem somewhere along the border again.

Kong Jie walked to his desk, opened a drawer, took out two discharge documents stamped with a bright red seal, and placed them on the table.

"Your mission is... to take off this uniform and retire immediately."

boom!

These words struck the two brothers like a bolt from the blue.

Lin Jianguo's honest face was filled with shock. He stepped forward and asked incredulously, "Commander, why? Did we break some discipline? Or did we do something wrong in the last combat exercise?"

Lin Weidong didn't speak, but stared intently at the two discharge documents. His hands were clenched into fists, and the horrific scar on the back of his hand, left from years ago when he was connected to the treadmill, was now engorged with blood from the exertion.

He knew this unit too well. Here, only ability matters, not background. The two brothers were recognized as the strongest tank crew in the entire division; how could they possibly be suddenly discharged?

Unless something happened in Beijing.

"This isn't a disciplinary issue. This is politics." Kong Jie turned his head away, unable to bear looking at their desperate eyes. "It's your father's decision. Someone is using your identities to their advantage, attempting to harm the Northwest Military Region. To preserve the overall situation, you must leave."

Lin Jianguo panicked, tears welling in his eyes: "Commander, we won't leave! We'd rather die inside a tank! We won't go back to Beijing!"

"Who said you were allowed to go back to Beijing?" Kong Jie took a deep breath, turned to look at them, his eyes filled with endless heartache and helplessness.

"Your files have been transferred directly to the rural areas of northern Jiangsu. Starting tomorrow, you will no longer be the spearhead of the armored division, but educated youth sent to the countryside. Go to northern Jiangsu and farm."

Farming.

For armored soldiers accustomed to operating steel behemoths weighing over thirty tons and the roar of 100mm rifled cannons, these two words are nothing short of a soul-stripping experience.

Lin Weidong fell silent.

Images of the past three years spent day and night in the Gobi Desert flashed through his mind. He saw his hands frozen to the breech in minus thirty degrees Celsius, the Soviet tanks he blasted into the air on the border, and his comrades who had shared life and death with him.

Now, all of this is going to be forcibly stripped away.

But Lin Yang's blood flows in his veins. He possesses the same cold, rational, and strategic genes as his father.

He knew that his father's decision meant the situation had become extremely dangerous. Their continued presence would only provide their political enemies with the most lethal weapon to attack Kong Jie and his father.

"Jianguo, stop talking."

Lin Weidong suddenly spoke, his voice unusually calm. He turned to look at his cousin and shook his head.

He then strode to his desk and picked up the discharge papers with both hands.

"Commander." Lin Weidong raised his head, his deep eyes showing no resentment, only the absolute obedience of a soldier. "Lin Weidong, platoon leader of the elite platoon, will resolutely obey orders from superiors."

After speaking, he slowly raised his hands, unbuttoned the top button on his training uniform, and removed the shoulder insignia and collar insignia one by one, placing them neatly on Kong Jie's desk.

Seeing his cousin's actions, Lin Jianguo finally couldn't hold back his tears. He gritted his teeth, stepped forward, and silently removed his collar insignia.

Kong Jie looked at the badges of honor on the table, tears streaming down his face.

"Good children... I'm sorry to have troubled you."