Courtyard Houses: Starting with Li Yunlong's Comrades-in-Arms

Zhang Zhenjun, a tall and sturdy man in his early forties, ran up to Li Wenying, stood at attention, and saluted: "Political Commissar! Zhang Zhenjun, commander of the artillery regiment, reporting for duty!"

Wenxu saluted in response: "Political Commissar, Wenxu, Political Commissar of the Artillery Regiment, reporting for duty!"

"Excellent! Absolutely excellent! Your artillery regiment has produced a great figure; even I'm benefiting from it!"

Zhang Zhenjun and Wen Xu exchanged a glance, their expressions changing.

Li Wenying turned to face Zhang Zhenjun: "I'm asking you, did you know that Chen Tao divorced his first wife, leading to her suicide by jumping into the river, and then married your sister?"

Zhang Zhenjun's face turned pale instantly, his mouth opened, and he froze on the spot.

He abruptly turned to look at Chen Tao, his voice urgent and angry: "Chen Tao! Didn't you tell me you'd never been married? You lied to me?"

He was about to rush towards Chen Tao when Wen Xu grabbed him from the side.

Liu Yuheng slammed his hand on the table, and everyone fell silent: "Alright! Stand right there!"

Zhang Zhenjun stopped abruptly, gritting his teeth and standing still, his chest heaving violently, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Liu Yuheng glanced at everyone present: "This matter must be thoroughly investigated. Old Li, I suggest that the military immediately set up an investigation team to conduct an on-site visit to Chen Tao's hometown and verify the situation."

He looked at Li Wenying, who nodded, also trying her best to suppress her anger.

Liu Yuheng then turned to Zhang Zhenjun and Wen Xu: "You two will also be subject to organizational review. Explain what needs to be explained and cooperate with the investigation as required. As for Chen Tao, he will be suspended from his duties and placed in solitary confinement pending further action. He Weiguo will temporarily act as the acting head of the Third Company."

Zhang Zhenjun and Wen Xu exchanged a glance; both of them looked grim, but neither dared to utter a single word.

Chen Tao stood to the side, looking as if all his strength had been drained away. His shoulders slumped, and his lips trembled as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.

After Liu Yuheng finished speaking, he turned to Li Wenying and said, "Old Li, I have to go to other companies, so I won't stay here any longer."

Li Wenying knew that Liu Yuheng was trying to save face for her, so she stood up, nodded, and whispered a few words to the guard beside her, instructing the guard to follow Liu Yuheng's convoy and be responsible for communication and coordination.

He then escorted Liu Yuheng out of the company headquarters and all the way to his car.

Just before getting into the car, Li Wenying gave a bitter smile: "Old Liu, I've really embarrassed myself this time."

Liu Yuheng glanced at him and said, "Losing face is secondary. I reckon your army might be used as a negative example by the Central Military Commission. You'd better deal with it as soon as possible. In any case, it'd better be done before I return to Beijing, then I can put in a good word for you."

Li Wenying paused for a moment, then nodded solemnly: "Old Liu, thank you."

Liu Yuheng got into the car, waved to him, and the car slowly drove out of the artillery regiment camp.

Only after Liu Yuheng's convoy had completely disappeared at the end of the road did Li Wenying turn around and walk back to the company headquarters with a dark face.

He stood before the dozen or so villagers, his voice a few decibels louder than before: "Fellow villagers, I am Li Wenying, the political commissar of the 64th Army. I want to say this to everyone here: the army will immediately send an investigation team to Chen Tao's hometown to investigate this matter. If what you have said is true, Chen Tao will definitely be severely punished by military discipline. You can all go back and wait. I can guarantee that those who deserve punishment will receive the punishment they deserve."

Li Wenying then turned to He Weiguo: "Send a truck to take the villagers back."

He Weiguo responded and turned to arrange the vehicles. A dozen or so people stood at the entrance of the company headquarters for a while, then got into the trucks one after another. The trucks started and drove out of the camp gate.

Once the truck was completely out of sight, Li Wenying turned and went back to the company headquarters courtyard. He stood in the center of the courtyard and waved to Zhang Zhenjun. Zhang Zhenjun walked over and stood in front of him with his head down.

Li Wenying glared at him, each word seemingly squeezed out through clenched teeth: "You really make me proud. Didn't you even bother to check who your sister's fiancé was before he got married?"

Zhang Zhenjun lowered his head, his voice low and deep: "He said he's never been married, I..."

"You believe him just like that?" Li Wenying finally lost her temper, slamming her hand on the table, her voice rising several octaves. "Then what kind of regimental commander are you? You don't believe the enemy, but you believe whatever your own company commander says? Do you even have a brain?!"

"Now look what's happened to your artillery regiment! You've brought shame upon yourselves with the Central Military Commission!"

Zhang Zhenjun was so ashamed by the scolding that he couldn't lift his head. His lips moved a few times, but he couldn't utter a single word. Wen Xu stood beside him, his face also full of shame.

Li Wenying took a deep breath, suppressing her anger, and said, "Just wait, maybe your names will be mentioned by the leaders of the Central Military Commission. But it won't be anything good; you'll probably be labeled 'negative examples.'"

After saying that, he stopped looking at the two of them, turned around and strode into the courtyard without looking back.

On the other side, after the vehicle drove out of the artillery regiment's camp, the carriage was quiet for a while.

Liu Yuheng said to Li Guoqiang, who was sitting in the passenger seat, "Guoqiang, make a note of this. Before we return to Beijing, don't forget to ask the 64th Army for a detailed investigation report on this matter and the final outcome. Take it back; I need to report to my superiors in person."

Li Guoqiang took out a notebook from his briefcase, glanced down and made a note: "Understood, Team Leader Liu."

Liu Yuheng was silent for a few seconds, then spoke again: "There's one more thing. In addition to keeping an eye on troop reductions and training, you should also pay close attention to military discipline in the upcoming troops."

"Although military discipline wasn't our main task this time, since we've come across it, we can't just pretend we didn't see it."

Li Guoqiang nodded, glanced at Liu Yuheng in the rearview mirror, and said solemnly, "Understood. I will inform everyone to pay more attention to this aspect during future visits."

Liu Yuheng didn't speak again, leaned back in his seat, and looked out the window at the crops swaying in the wind in the fields, lost in thought.

Over the next few days, he led his men to visit the regiments and battalions under the other three divisions, inspected their training, reviewed their organizational structure, and held symposiums. The situation of the grassroots units was generally acceptable, and fortunately, they did not encounter any more troublesome issues like those of the Third Company.

But the incident with Chen Tao remained in Liu Yuheng's mind like a thorn. Whenever he went to a new workplace, he would subconsciously take a few extra glances and ask a few more questions.

Although he knew the probability of this happening again was very small, small probability does not mean non-existent. No one could guarantee that there might be another "Chen Tao" hiding in those seemingly peaceful camps, who just hadn't been discovered yet.