Chapter 117 – Remain True To Your Original Aspiration
Grandfather Qiu was a man who loves talent! Moreover, he has a very hot temper. He was an upright general who couldn’t rub sand in his eyes[1]. He said he wanted to get justice for Yang Yi, then he really wanted to take action! He didn’t even consider the consequences!
Lu Pengju, who was next to them, was a bit shrewd. He looked at Grandfather Qiu and then at Yang Yi, but did not say a word.
Yang Yi shook his head with a wry smile and said, “No need, but thank you, General Qiu.”
“Why?” Grandfather Zeng couldn’t help asking, “Qiu Weiguo wants to help you get justice, which is a rare matter!”
“Because…” Yang Yi smiled bitterly. He finally sighed and said a name, “because it’s Lu Donglai!”
“Lu Donglai?” Grandfather Qiu didn’t have much of a reaction. He really has been retired for too long.
“Lu Donglai!” Lu Pengju opened his mouth. He looked at Yang Yi in surprise. Seeing Yang Yi nodded, he smiled and said, “It turned out to be him. No wonder Little Yang said that there’s no need.”
Seeing Grandfather Qiu’s puzzled look, Lu Pengju explained to him, “Lu Donglai, the former head of the Logistics Department of the Southwest Military Region, was a person of so-and-so. The year before last, something happened to so-and-so, and he lost his support. He was investigated last year…”
Yes, Yang Yi originally wanted to help his predecessor vent his anger, but from his predecessor’s memory, he saw the news that Lu Donglai was shot at the beginning of this year. His son was also found guilty of many cases and was sentenced to several decades in prison…
But the chief culprit’s death didn’t bring any happiness to the original Yang Yi.
What was the use of those unprincipled people getting punished? Could he get back what he lost? Five years have passed, and he could no longer go back to the familiar barracks or fight side by side with his brothers.
Of course, it was only the original Yang Yi who suffered, and now Yang Yi didn’t care at all.
Therefore, when Lu Pengju, who had put aside his concerns, threw him an olive branch…
“Little Yang is as skilled as he was then, and it would be a pity if he left the barracks because of this!” Lu Pengju became enthusiastic and said with a smile, “Why don’t you come to our Jiangnan Military Region? Even if you don’t go to the front line, you can still be an instructor for the Viper Special Force!”
Grandfather Zeng said with a smile, “Little Lu has opened his mouth. This is a rare opportunity! Little Yang, you have to think about it carefully! “
“It’s good to come back being a soldier!” Grandfather Qiu also forgot that Yang Yi wrote books. He said with emotion, “Yang Yi, with your skill, it would be a waste of talent not to stay in the army.”
Yang Yi, of course, smiled and shook his head and said, “Thank you for General Lu’s favor, but now I also have a family and a career, and my daughter is still young. Although I really miss the old days, I also need to cherish my life now. I’m sorry, I can’t let them go and go back to the barracks.”
Lu Pengju had some regrets, but he was still a more open-minded person. Instead of persuading him more, he raised his glass to Yang Yi, replacing wine with tea, to honor the years when Yang Yi had fought for the country.
…….
In accordance with the original plan, Yang Yi went to the big drill ground at 4 o’clock in the afternoon to give a speech to the recruits this year.
Despite the fact that the open-air drill ground was still very hot at 4 o’clock, Yang Yi didn’t dread it. There were thousands of recruits who have been training in the hot sun for two hours. They were tanned and sweating. He has no choice but to set an example!
After stepping onto the stage, Yang Yi accepted the gaze of thousands of fanatical eyes.
Prior to this, these recruits had already spent some time resting after training to read Yang Yi’s book and had a strong curiosity about the author. At noon, Yang Yi and people from Viper had competed in the East 2nd Martial Field, and some passing recruits saw it, although they didn’t know that Yang Yi was from War Wolf – this was ordered to be kept secret. However, the news that the author of “Soldier Assault” and “Drawing Sword” was also a former soldier and was very fierce quickly spread in the military region.
What was an idol? This was an idol!
Yang Yi said a word of thanks in a more formal way, and then got to the main topic: “Military discipline and original aspiration, this is the topic I want to talk to with you today!”
The topic was still quite appropriate. Several leaders nodded at the side, very satisfied.
“We all come from all over the country and come here for the same purpose…” Yang Yi also used a famous quote in his opening, but it has never appeared in this world. It sounded deep and a little profound.
“Maybe some of you, like Chengcai, have good family conditions and think highly of yourself. You came to the army to accomplish great deeds. Or maybe some of you, like Xu Sanduo, were sent to the barracks because you were born in poverty. I don’t know if you will raise your hands when you see a tank, but I hope you won’t.”
Yang Yi’s words caused some laughter in the audience.
“I know that there are some friends like Li Yunlong who are wild and unruly, but with great talents in vulgarity! It’s good for such a man to be a brother, but don’t be his wife. Oh, no, think of the monk. It seems dangerous to be a brother with him.”
The audience laughed uproariously. Even the other leaders on the stage couldn’t help laughing. Did this count as Yang Yi laughing at himself?
When everyone finished laughing, Yang Yi said, “But no matter where you come from, what kind of experience and character you have in the past, when you come to the army, you have to put aside the word “self “, because we have the same military discipline. And, after all, not every squad leader is like Shi Jin, and not every political commissar is like Zhao Gang!”
There was still laughter in the audience, but it was much smaller and became more and more contemplative.
“After all, novels are fictional. Many idealistic things are not easy to attain in reality. When you come to the army, you must first learn to observe military discipline. You should quickly get rid of your role, and integrate into this large group. You may even forget the word “I”, as long as you remember “us” in your heart!” Yang Yi looked at the audience and said vigorously, “This is actually another interpretation of the spirit of not abandoning and not giving up in “Soldier Assault”!”
There was thunderous applause from the audience…
After talking about military discipline for a while, Yang Yi changed the topic of his speech and said, “But I have a question to ask you: when you encounter a conflict between military discipline and reality, what will you choose?”
Huh? What did the question mean?
Yang Yi didn’t let them think about it more. He just gave an example, but it was no longer his example.
“In the past, I had a comrade-in-arms and two brothers in a team sent home the ashes of a fallen comrade-in-arms, but they were meet with demolition… The demolition people were very arrogant. The leader said, you soldiers can protect them for a while, but can you protect them for a lifetime? When you’re gone, let’s see if I don’t kill them!”[2].
The story told by Yang Yi has caused some commotion. The new recruits all clenched their fists and were very angry.
“Yes, my comrade-in-arms took off his hat and coat. He would rather not wear his military uniform, but would still stand up for the mother and children. His martial arts were very powerful, just one kick, and that person landed on the excavator. Even if he didn’t die, he only had a few breaths left…”
“Good job!” The recruits below the stage could not help shouting, one after another.
“Yes! He did a good job! A beautiful job! But unfortunately, because of military discipline, he was forced to retire, and because he intentionally injured someone, my comrade-in-arms also spent several years in prison.” Yang Yi said with some sadness, “But I asked him, do you think it’s worth it? He said, it’s worth it! If I didn’t do it, I would be unfair to my conscience!”
The ending was so heavy that the soldiers under the stage were silent.
“So, I want to talk about original aspiration. Please always remember what your real purpose as a soldier should be!” Yang Yi said, “Maybe some people want to say it is in order to get promoted and become rich, or some people want to say that it is so that they have food to eat, like Cheng Cai and Xu Sanduo. Their purpose of serving as a soldier is not clear at the beginning, but I hope that you, like them, will understand your responsibilities as you grow up, that is, to protect your family and the country!”
“…… Perhaps in the future, like my comrade-in-arms, like Li Yunlong and Xu Sanduo, you will encounter some dilemmas that may violate military discipline and make you leave this barracks!”
“At this time, think about your original aspiration! Embezzlement and corruption that go against your original aspiration, please don’t do it. Do not let this uniform be stained! If it is in line with your original aspiration, please make the right choice! Because even if the price is great, it will be worth it!”
Although Yang Yi’s speech frightened some leaders around him, Lu Pengju didn’t react against it, and they could only listen tacitly.
However, the recruits under the stage were full of emotion and gave a long round of applause at the end of Yang Yi’s speech.
Yang Yi secretly wiped off his sweat. There were actually some things that he added mixed in in what he said today!
The military discipline was actually a pretense. The latter half of it was about his original aspiration!
What are you doing with so many rules? If you don’t like it, just do it!
Fortunately, the cover-up was done properly and it didn’t evoke any bad reaction from the leaders.
Who knows, he might create a group of monsters due to his teaching? Haha…
TN: About the chapter title: Another translation is “Never forget where you come from and why you started”
[1] Can’t Rub sand in one’s eye – A metaphor which mean someone who couldn’t tolerate unreasonable and unfair things.
[2] There was an author note’s here. The example was similar to what happened to a movie called Wolf Warrior 2. You can read about it: Here.
TN: If you like my translations support me in ko-fi: Here.
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