Chapter 13: Miao Lian's Scheme

Headquarters of the Regiment

In an office on the second floor, a colonel in his forties hung up the red phone and settled back into his chair. He lit a cigarette, clearly deep in thought.

“Report!”

At that moment, a gruff voice called from outside the office door.

“Come in!”

The colonel stubbed out his cigarette and invited the visitor inside.

The door slid open to reveal a slightly stocky, dark-faced captain with a broad smile. “Regimental Commander, I heard you’ve just returned from training at the National Defense University.”

“I was wondering who it was. So it’s you, Old Miao. You sure get your news fast. I haven’t even warmed my seat yet, and you’re already here,” the colonel said, clearly familiar with the captain who had just entered.

“Not at all, Commander. I just happened to be at the regiment headquarters discussing training with a few company commanders when I saw your car parked downstairs. That’s how I knew you were back,” Captain Miao said with a cheerful grin, revealing a set of surprisingly white teeth against his dark complexion.

“Do you think I’d believe that? Others might not know you, but I do, Old Miao. The moment you wiggle your hips, I know you’re about to let something slip. Come on, spit it out!” The colonel scanned Miao with a sharp gaze and snapped.

“Heh, I knew you had eagle eyes, Commander,” Miao chuckled without holding back. “It’s about the new recruits at the training company — two of them caught my eye. They’re promising reconnaissance soldiers, so I want the regiment to assign them directly to our company.”

The colonel looked at him incredulously. “Hey, Old Miao, you’ve never been one to fight over soldiers with others. What’s this sudden change in character? Is this still the Old Miao I know?”

Miao explained, “Commander, you know I’ve always wanted to train a few soldiers who could be sent to our old unit. But in the past two years, hardly any of my soldiers have shown promise, and I’m getting older. It’s likely I’ll retire within the next couple of years!”

“This year’s batch of recruits happens to have a couple of good prospects, so I want to take the initiative in training them. If one of them ends up joining the Wolf Fang Unit, it would at least fulfill a wish of mine before retirement.”

Hearing the word “retirement,” the colonel immediately scolded, “Who said you’re retiring? Old Miao, don’t think so much. As long as I’m here, you won’t be retiring. Damn it, why would we waste someone like you — a battle-hardened veteran who’s seen life and death and has strong leadership — on some desk jockey?”

Miao rubbed his artificial eye and looked deeply troubled. “Commander, this is the trend. Although I didn’t study much, I can see that weapons technology is advancing too fast. There are so many things that dazzle my eyes. Unfortunately, these new weapons require soldiers with a high level of education to operate them. We didn’t have these before, but we always emphasized understanding your soldiers to lead them better.”

He sighed and continued, “But I’m poorly educated and older than the company commanders by a good margin. I’m slow to grasp these new weapons and even slower to develop new tactics. At this rate, no matter how strong my soldiers’ individual skills are, it won’t be enough.”

“For the past few years, we’ve been undergoing military reforms. If the Night Tiger Reconnaissance Company doesn’t have a leader familiar with modern warfare, once we miss the transformation of the new era, we might end up like many excellent heroic companies before — disbanded!”

“So, rather than being the one to doom the Night Tigers, I’d rather hand this position over to outstanding young soldiers! I can retire and work in drug enforcement or something else. At least that way, I’m still on the front lines, serving the people.”

Captain Miao poured out his thoughts in one breath. Having been in the army since he was fifteen or sixteen, if given a choice, he truly did not want to leave the service.

As the saying goes, the camp is ironbound, but soldiers come and go.

This applies to officers in their unit just as well.

The tides of change do not turn according to one’s wishes, and he had reached the age to retire.

When he took over as company commander of the Night Tiger Reconnaissance Company from his predecessor, he already knew this day would come.

Faced with it, all he could do was cooperate as best he could and find an excellent successor for the Night Tigers.

The colonel fell silent upon hearing Miao’s words. His gaze softened significantly.

He understood Miao’s feelings — perhaps even better than Miao himself.

Still, he was reluctant to face the reality that his comrade-in-arms, with whom he had once crawled through tunnels and endured artillery fire, was now at the age to hang up the green uniform soaked with blood and sweat.

After a moment, the colonel said, “Alright. Since you’ve made up your mind, I won’t argue. Tell me, which two recruits do you want? They must be exceptional if you picked them out.”

He then called the regimental staff to bring the new recruits’ files.

When the files arrived, Miao’s mood brightened noticeably. “Commander, it’s just two — one named Su Yang and the other Chen Xiwa. They’re both from the first platoon of the new recruits.”

The colonel glanced over the files and exclaimed in surprise, “Wow, this recruit Su Yang is impressive. The training company even planned to nominate him for a third-class merit award?”

He examined Su Yang’s records closely.

“His first live-fire exercise scored a perfect 100, and he even shot down a balloon at 800 meters with a sniper rifle? No wonder you hold him in such high regard.”

Miao continued, “Commander, according to the squad leaders, this kid has great dedication. He’s already preparing to apply to military school and trains extra hours on his own daily. He consistently ranks first or second in all subjects. Our division just held a new recruits competition, and I have high hopes for him to win first place.”

“Is that so? Not bad. I agree — if this soldier joins your company, train him well. He might just be another Chen!”

The colonel readily agreed. Then, flipping through other files, he found one for Zhuang Yan and looked puzzled. “This Zhuang Yan isn’t bad either — a college student soldier. Why don’t you want him?”

Miao smirked slyly. “I just want these two. Gotta leave some good soldiers for the other companies, or the other commanders will think I’m abusing my seniority.”

The colonel nodded approvingly. “Old Miao, you know how to keep things in balance. Go ahead. I’ll inform the political commissar about these two.”

“Thank you, Commander. Rest assured, I’ll train these two well — they’ll be reconnaissance soldiers among reconnaissance soldiers!”

Miao’s lips curled into a slight smile as he saluted his superior and left the office.

Just outside headquarters, Chen Guotao, who had been waiting, approached. “Company commander, all settled?”

Miao’s dark face beamed. “I put my old face on the line. Of course it’s settled.”

“You’re amazing, Old Miao. But what about that soldier under lockdown, little Zhuang? Didn’t you want him too?” Chen Tao was glad, hoping to have Su Yang in his platoon.

He also thought about Miao’s persistent interest in Zhuang Yan.

“Little Zhuang? That’s simple. Let me ask you — if Zhuang came to our company, would you want him?” Miao gave him a meaningful look.

“Report, Captain, I want Su Yang. Chen Xiwa is okay too — at least he’s fit. But little Zhuang? No thanks. I don’t want a soldier who’s been punished by his squad leader.” Chen Guotao shook his head in refusal.

“Exactly. If you don’t want him, who else would? Come on, let’s go to division headquarters and see how those two kids perform.”

With that, Miao climbed into the military vehicle Chen Guotao had borrowed from the regiment.

“Ah, that makes sense!” Chen Guotao suddenly understood.