Chapter Thirty-Six: Army Officer School

  Gao Yang and Zheng Xiujing walked side by side, laughing and chatting as they arrived downstairs. Gao Yang turned around to face Zheng Xiujing and said, "Thanks for the treat today! In our China, when we receive a gift from someone, we must return one in kind."

  After finishing, he took out a delicate jewelry box from his pants pocket and handed it to Zheng Xiujing. "I'm very happy today, this is my return gift, next time you come to Korea I'll treat you to dinner again." Gao Yang made a gesture of making a phone call, seeing off Zheng Xiujing as she went upstairs before turning around and leaving.

  Jung Soo-jung returned home to find her sister Jung Soo-yeon sitting on the couch reading a magazine.

  "Sister, why so early today?"

  "So early today?" asked the two sisters simultaneously.

  Jung Joo-yun put down the magazine and got up to her sister's side. A faint smell of alcohol came from Jung Joo-jin's body.

  "Mom is sleeping, go talk in your room." Zheng Xiuyan said with a slight frown.

  "En." Zheng Xiujing softly responded.

  The two sisters came to Zheng Xiujing's room. "What did you do today? Why are you still drinking?" Zheng Xiuyan asked directly.

  "The oppa who helped me and Soo-young at the dinner party last time, I'm taking him out for dinner tonight. We just had a little red wine." said Jung Joo-mi with a slight pout.

  Jung Soo-yeon furrowed her brow slightly as she was about to say something, but suddenly saw the jewelry box in her sister's hand. "What is this?"

  "Ah, just now Gao Yang oppa said that in their China, when they receive gifts from others, they must return the gift. So he gave me this and said it's a return gift. I haven't even looked at it yet." After saying that, she started to unwrap the packaging and opened the box.

  "Oh, my God." The two sisters exclaimed in unison.

  The jewelry box opened, and inside lay a crystal clear diamond necklace quietly.

  Zheng Xiujing carefully picked up the diamond necklace, and under the light, it was crystal clear and dazzling! The eyes of the two sisters lit up, like a cat's eyes at night, and even seemed to be emitting a faint glow! A woman's instinct. The necklace in front of them had a small, crystal-clear diamond about the size of a fingernail, set among a pile of tiny transparent diamonds!

  The two sisters both had a dry and tongue-tied feeling, staring blankly at the diamond. Half a beat later, Zheng Xiuyan's face suddenly tightened as she asked her sister, "What's going on? Why would someone give you such an expensive gift?"

  "I don't know either." Zheng Xiujing said, somewhat perplexed. She really hadn't expected it to be such an expensive gift! If she had known, she would have absolutely refused to accept it! She picked up her phone and called Gao Yang immediately.

  The phone was quickly connected, "Little Crystal, are you home?" Zheng Xiuyan, who was listening on the side, twitched at the corner of her mouth and looked at her sister. Just had a meal, and she's already calling so intimately!

  "Oppa, the gift you gave me is too expensive! I can't accept it." Zheng Xiujing said in a low voice, biting her lip lightly.

  "Oh, a gift? You've been calling me brother, giving you a gift is nothing. And it's not even expensive, to me it's just like pulling out a cold hair. Well, thanks for the treat today, next time I come to Korea I'll take you out for dinner, rest well, goodnight." Gaoyang said with a smile and hung up the phone before Zheng Xiujing could say anything else.

  Jung Soo-jung stared blankly at her phone. Next to her, Jung Soo-yeon let out a faint sigh and pulled her sister's hand onto the bed, saying seriously, "Now tell me everything from the beginning, starting with when you first met."

  Gaoyang went directly to the airport and returned to Beidou. In the following days, Gaoyang mainly dealt with some company affairs. The employees of SC Trade took the steel materials needed for the Yangtze River Bridge to South Korea, where they booked a lot of goods online and arranged for the recruited executives to complete the follow-up work. Gaoyang set off for Africa.

  June 6, 1925, the summer solstice had begun. On this increasingly sweltering day, inside the newly built Army Officer Command College on the banks of Nanjing's Xuanwu Lake, 2,291 examinees from all over the country who signed up for the exam and 197 military-recommended candidates were taking their entrance exams.

  The former German military school instructors recruited by Kao Yang had arrived in Nanjing not long ago with the mercenaries. They were all seasoned professional soldiers who had been engaged in military school work for many years.

  Gaoyang was appointed as the principal, and former Dresden Infantry School Principal General Willi Brant took over as the Minister of Education, overseeing all aspects of the academy's work.

  The academy offers courses in infantry, artillery, engineering, logistics, military police, politics, communications, intelligence, staff work, mechanics and surveying. Students major in two subjects and minor in two others, but can choose to minor in more if they feel capable. The academy has 129 German instructors.

  The academy is built on the edge of Xuanwu Lake, covering an area of over 200 acres! The main gate is simple and unadorned, with only a signboard of the Army Officer School. Inside the campus, opposite the main gate, there is a huge concrete playground, near the teaching building, where the national flag is hung on a flagpole, the entire playground covers an area of over 7,000 square meters, as large as a standard football field.

  In the center of the campus is a six-story, hexagonal teaching building with snow-white walls and bright windows that evoke a sense of beauty at first glance. Surrounding the teaching building is a ring of greenery, with lawns planted with many willow trees, and the wind blowing over the lake surface makes the willow branches dance in an exceptionally beautiful way.

  To the left of the teaching building are the dormitories for cadets and instructors, built in the classic tube-style of later generations. The neat and tidy two rows of twelve dormitory buildings also have a snow-white coating, bright glass, giving people a kind of intuitive beauty.

  To the right of the teaching building are football fields, basketball courts, tennis courts, table tennis tables and many other sports training areas, as well as canteens, bathrooms and other facilities. Walking further to the right past the wall is Xuanwu Lake.

  Behind the teaching building is the training ground of the military school, with various training facilities and fully equipped shooting ranges. The artillery range is not in the campus, it needs to go out of town. Further back is the military warehouse, where Gao Yang stored enough ammunition to equip an entire division!

  Gaoyang is busy with the entrance examination, which is an unavoidable thing. Since Gaoyang started releasing the admission list, young students have been coming to Nanjing to prepare for the college entrance examination, and the earliest batch has already waited for several months!

  Gaoyang's recruitment list clearly stated that those who enrolled would enjoy officer treatment, which was at least 15 big dollars per month!

  At the same time, there are two years of academic term, and all tuition fees, accommodation and meals are free. Upon successful graduation, a junior lieutenant rank is awarded, outstanding students can be awarded a senior lieutenant rank, and those who rank in the top ten can be awarded a captain rank at discretion!

  The treatment of Gao Yang's department is excellent and has been spread throughout the country, and it has never been deducted from the salary! Although there are still slogans such as "Protecting the Family and Defending the Country", "Restoring Sovereignty" and "Recovering Mongolia" on the recruitment list, it cannot be denied that the excellent treatment is the main reason for attracting so many people to sign up.

  Among the candidates this time, there were 197 military-recommended candidates. They are all young people who have performed exceptionally well and demonstrated outstanding abilities in the military. Gaoyang specially gave them an opportunity to improve themselves, as long as they didn't perform too poorly, basically their admission was not a problem.

  The most eye-catching among these candidates is Zhang Xinghai, the captain of the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Regiment of the Sixth Division of the Army. When Gao Yang saw Zhang Xinghai's name on the list of recommended candidates, he was so surprised that his mouth was agape.

  He was called to his own office and asked, "Aren't you a graduate of Baoding Military Academy? What are you reporting for? Besides, you're already 30 years old, kids can make soy sauce now. Now you want to go to school with a group of teenagers in their teens and twenties, what do you think?" Gao Yang was somewhat angry, this is not something to be taken lightly.

  Zhang Xinghai stood in a standard military posture and said seriously, "Commander, I have attended Baoding Military Academy. However, the recruitment notice of our school also says that those who have not attended military academy cannot take the exam. I am a bit older, but isn't it said in books that learning has no boundaries? I just want to learn more things." As he spoke, his expression became tense and he said loudly, "Please give me one chance, Commander!"

  Gao Yang sat on the sofa, narrowing his eyes as he stared at Zhang Xinghai, completely unable to see through what he was thinking. This behavior of his in this day and age was absolutely inexplicable, but he really did it just like that!

  "Alright, since you insist on doing this, I'll let you take the exam in consideration of your past merits." Zhang Xinghai's face lit up with joy and was about to speak when Gao Yang continued, "However, if you pass the exam, all your current military ranks and positions will be taken back, and you can only start from scratch as a ordinary military academy graduate. Do you understand?"

  "Understood, sir!" Zhang Xinghai said loudly, biting his lip. He saluted and turned to leave. Gao Yang shook his head, not understanding what he was thinking. Forget it, the path is one that each person must walk for themselves.

  It is now half past two in the afternoon and a math exam is currently underway. The papers were originally set by Principal Brant, with some modifications made by Gao Yang before being translated into Chinese for printing.

  In Gao Yang's view, they were all very simple exams, which was not even at the level of the middle school entrance examination in later generations. The main focus is on science, but more than 80% of students with junior high school education or above in China during this period were liberal arts students.

  In Gaoyang's mind, liberal arts and science are irrelevant, as long as you can pass the entrance exam, they will all be accepted.

  Young people who are focused on the exam, no one goes to see the beautiful scenery outside the window, all of them are fighting with the test papers in front of them. The gentle breeze blows outside the window, and the lake surface is rippling, the blooming lotus flowers are swaying in the wind, the beautiful scenery is intoxicating.

  In the 207 classroom on the west side of the second floor, Wang Dashan finally finished his homework. He took a gentle breath, looked up at the Xuanwu Lake outside the wall, and saw water birds lightly skimming over the lake's surface, creating ripples. Wang Dashan let out a soft sigh.

  The homework is done, but I'm also clear that most of it is wrong! No choice, when I was young, my family was poor, and being able to support myself for two years of school was already the limit of my family's ability! This is still because I am the eldest child.

  Although he was under the command of General Dutor, every evening there were life instructors organizing studies but the time was too short. In the several months spent at the non-commissioned officer school, he studied hard and was able to learn everything, which is also why he was recommended. However, the gap cannot be made up for in this short period of less than a year!

  "Send the money back home and make sure all my younger brothers go to school!" Wang Dashan thought silently, staring at the scroll in front of him.