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

Li Yunlong's face darkened instantly. He put his legs down, leaned forward, and pointed at Kong Jie and Ding Wei: "You two sons of bitches, all you do is sabotage me! My political commissar is capable, and I'm proud of him, so what? Is that a problem?"

Liu Yuheng, standing to the side, slowly took a sip of his tea and added casually, "Alright, alright, you're so proud. But speaking of which, if Lao Zhao hadn't been working with you, he probably would have been promoted much faster. Think about it, if he were in another unit, without you causing him trouble and distracting him all the time, he might already be a minister by now."

Li Yunlong was rendered speechless by the three men's barrage of questions. He opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, and finally could only grunt and take a big gulp of tea.

Kong Jie and Ding Wei burst into laughter again when they saw his embarrassed expression.

"When will Lao Zhao arrive?" Kong Jie asked.

Liu Yuheng glanced at the clock on the wall: "He's busy with work, so he'll be a little late, but it should be soon."

Li Yunlong placed his teacup on the coffee table and rubbed his hands together. "Alright, let's eat when he arrives. Let's chat first; it's been a long time since we sat down and talked together."

As the group chatted and laughed, the conversation naturally turned to military affairs.

Kong Jie picked up his teacup and took a sip. The smile on his face faded slightly. He looked at Liu Yuheng and said in a more serious tone, "Old Liu, I really have to thank you for helping me with that matter with the army last time. If it weren't for your help in mediating, things wouldn't have been resolved so quickly."

Liu Yuheng waved his hand and put down his teacup: "Every army has its own problems to some extent, it's not just your army. But you still need to be more careful when you go back. Once something like this happens, it will happen again. If the subordinates see that the higher-ups aren't strict, they'll become bolder and bolder. You're studying at the academy now, and although there are people watching what's going on in the army, you still need to be aware of things yourself."

Kong Jie nodded: "I know. When I get back, I will have the Political Department strengthen education in this area, and establish rules where necessary, so that this kind of thing can't happen again."

Li Yunlong snorted beside him, stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, and said with a hint of disdain, "If you ask me, that guy who drove his wife to suicide after getting a divorce, that kind of person should be shot on the battlefield. He eats the army's food, wears the army's uniform, and does such a despicable thing. Keeping him alive is just a menace."

Liu Yuheng frowned slightly, glanced at Li Yunlong, and said in a tone that was a bit more serious than before: "Old Li, you're wrong about that. We're not fighting the Japanese and Chiang Kai-shek anymore. Back then, communication was difficult, and we were all in enemy-occupied territory. Everything was focused on fighting, and many things were handled based on individual judgment and decision-making."

"But things are different now. Now the focus is on the standardization and modernization of the military. Whether it's a soldier or a high-ranking officer, if someone violates discipline or regulations, we can't handle it according to our own ideas. First and foremost, we must abide by Party discipline and national laws, follow the proper procedures, and let the appropriate departments handle the matter."

He paused, looked at Li Yunlong, and said in a more serious tone, "You should really rein in your temper."

Li Yunlong felt a little uncomfortable after hearing what he said, so he put his legs down and muttered, "Is it really that big of a deal..."

Before he could finish speaking, there was a knock on the door.

Yao Qingwan got up and opened the door. Zhao Gang stood at the door wearing a dark gray Zhongshan suit, with a coat draped over his arm. His hair was slightly ruffled by the autumn wind, and his face showed signs of travel.

As soon as he entered the room, Li Yunlong stood up first, followed by Kong Jie and Ding Wei.

Zhao Gang stood at the doorway, glanced at the people inside, and waved to them with a smile: "You're all here. I'm late, something came up on the way."

Li Yunlong strode over and slapped Zhao Gang on the shoulder: "Old Zhao, you've finally arrived! I thought you were going to stand us up today!"

Zhao Gang was swayed slightly by the slap, but he laughed and replied, "How could I not come to your welcome party for Old Li? If I didn't come, you'd hold a grudge until next year." As he spoke, he shook hands with Kong Jie and Ding Wei, and then nodded to Liu Yuheng, "Old Liu, sister-in-law, sorry to bother you."

Yao Qingwan smiled and said, "You're too kind. Please have a seat. The food will be ready soon."

Zhao Gang sat down on the sofa and took off his coat, draping it over the armrest.

Li Yunlong eagerly moved closer, looked him up and down, and clicked his tongue twice: "Old Zhao, you're really busy these days. Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Electric Power, what a high-ranking official, it's harder to see you than to see the CEO."

Zhao Gang smiled and shook his head: "Everything is in need of rebuilding. The factories that our elder brother helped build have started operating one after another. We have to handle a whole host of things, from personnel scheduling and equipment installation to technical coordination. We are poor, and since they are helping us, we have to make good use of every resource and live up to their expectations."

He changed the subject, his gaze landing on Ding Wei: "By the way, Lao Ding, I read your paper 'On the Problem of Territorial Defense' in an internal publication a few days ago. It's well-written and has sparked quite a bit of discussion in Beijing."

Ding Wei leaned back on the sofa, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said with a nonchalant tone, "I wrote that thing because I was considering the issue of defending our country from a soldier's perspective. Our northern neighbor is the big brother, and while we are friendly, we can't rely entirely on others for military defense. I just spoke a few words of truth, and I didn't expect it to spark such a discussion."

Zhao Gang glanced at him, carefully considering his words: "From a purely military perspective, your points are valid. However, our relationship with our Big Brother is currently in a honeymoon phase, and the higher-ups value political cooperation more. If your views were discussed in a formal setting, some people might find them inappropriate."

Ding Wei put down his teacup, his tone carrying the frankness of a soldier: "I'm a soldier, I only think about protecting my country. Those political matters are not my concern. How to fight the war, how to set up the defense line, and which direction the enemy will come from—these are my thoughts. As for who to be on good terms with and who to be on bad terms with, that's a matter for the diplomatic department."

Liu Yuheng, who was listening nearby, put down his teacup and looked at Ding Wei seriously: "Old Ding, if you want to be a pure soldier, then after this conferment of ranks, transfer to the border like Kong Jie. The duty of the border troops is to guard the frontier. There are fewer political matters and more military matters, which suits you. If you stay in the military region in the interior, you will get caught up in those political matters sooner or later."

Zhao Gang nodded and continued, "Old Liu is right. Old Ding, everyone would understand the points in your paper if it were set in a border defense or field army environment. But if it's set in a government office in Beijing, it's easy for people with ulterior motives to use it against you. And Old Li, the same goes for you."