Chapter Seventy-One: The King of Soldiers

  "Láng Yá" under the leadership of ōu Yún began special training in "Láng Wō", while Guī Zhái, Hú Tóng Special Operations Group also started receiving professional guidance from Gù Liàn Yún.

  As a specialized intelligence and counter-espionage organization, Gu Lianyun prepared five courses for the rookie agents of Hu Xiang Squad: hand-to-hand combat, disguise, cryptography (transmitting and deciphering telegrams), assassination (including shooting, poisoning, and explosives), and psychology (including interrogation and anti-interrogation, turning).

  Among them, disguise, cryptography and psychology are the skills that spies must master. And Gu Lianyun is undoubtedly most skilled in disguise and poison-making. In terms of disguise, she and Bai Liusu cleverly used the face-changing technique from Sichuan opera, combined with some secret techniques from the martial arts world, to quickly change her appearance. When the eighteen recruits handpicked by Gu Lianyun saw her change her face in an instant, they were all shocked and amazed. Gu Lianyun took this opportunity to arouse everyone's curiosity, so the first training course of Hu Xiang began with disguise.

  In Ouyang Yun's plan, after the "Fox Eyes" is established, priority will be given to establishing secret bases in the three northeastern provinces, with provincial capitals as radiation points to form their own intelligence network. Then, bases will be established in other important cities across the country, eventually forming two major intelligence networks: the Anti-War Zone and the Nationalist Zone. As for the anti-Japanese base that is expected to emerge, Ouyang Yun considered some sensitive political issues and decided to wait and see, at most setting up some liaison points. The role of "Fox Eyes" is not only to collect intelligence but also to develop local anti-Japanese armed forces, turn some puppet troops, make the Japanese headquarters uneasy, and alleviate some pressure on the anti-Japanese front line.

  The first batch of students selected by Gu Lianyun were all psychologically excellent, and several of them were also favored by the special forces. Considering the scarcity of intelligence personnel, Ouyang Yun and Li Tieshu made concessions, and all the students were given priority to be selected by "Hu Tang". Thus, the thirteen martial arts masters who had been waiting in Wanping for military training returned to the "Wolf's Den" after passing the new recruit examination. Among them, Tang Jie and Fang Lianwu were again favored by Gu Lianyun and were selected into "Hu Tang".

  Compared to the Wolf Teeth and Fox Eyes, the training of the Academic Battalion was somewhat dull. After another week, when Ouyang Yun, Gu Lianyun, Liu Zhe Liang, and Chu Tian Ge returned to the Wanping Military Camp, they were greeted by a massive army that could be described as "overwhelming".

  Gu Lianyun saw nearly four hundred men, each sitting on a mat, uniformly repeating the action of folding and unfolding quilts. Although she tried to endure it for a while, as she got closer to the quilt-folding army, she couldn't help but burst out laughing, her face filled with joy.

  Ouyang Yun heard the laughter and gave her a sideways glance, saying in a low voice: "Is it that funny?" Then she walked towards the team led by Li Tieshu.

  The fact that Captain Ouyang helps himself with folding blankets is no longer a secret in the training camp. Many people can't help but feel tense when they see him approaching - folding blankets seems simple, but it's actually quite difficult to do well. Everyone has been practicing for a week now, but only a few have reached the "tofu block" standard. If they knew that Ouyang Yun had once wet the middle and four corners of the blanket with water while learning to fold it, and was even intervened, who knows what they would think.

  Li Tieshu had the recruits stand at attention, then at ease, before advancing to salute and say: "Reporting to the Commissar, the new recruits of the Special Duty Battalion are undergoing formation training. Please give instructions."

  Ouyang Yun returned a military salute and said, "Please continue." As he didn't have much time to stay with the recruits, this was the only force he could rely on, so he cherished every moment spent with them. He walked back and forth among the new soldiers, helping one correct his movements and explaining key points to another. From Li Tieshu's team to the team folding quilts, and finally back again.

  It was just break time, he let the recruits gather around him, smiled and called out a few names, "Zhang Qiang, Li Zhe Kai, Lu Jun, you need to strengthen your physical training, do you look tired?"

  Zhang Qiang is a thin and short boy with a doll-like face, he shyly smiled and said: "In school, I only knew how to study, didn't participate in sports much, my physical fitness is not great."

  Ouyang Yun smiled and looked at the crowd, saying: "Fortunately, I didn't expect you to go to the battlefield. Otherwise, it's estimated that a single forced march would have knocked you all down - hmm, you've been in the training corps for over a week now. Let's talk about your experiences. The three team leaders will come first."

  Huang Cheng looked at Zhang Xiaoyu and Lu Jiaceng, saying: "Let me talk first. The training camp was the first military camp I stayed in. Originally, I was quite looking forward to military life, but over this period of time, I've come to realize that being a soldier is actually very hard and dull work. It also makes me have even more respect for them, persisting in their training year after year isn't easy!"

  Zhang Xiaolong said: "I'm an outsider, I also know that I won't be able to stay here for long. However, looking at the enthusiasm of the soldiers around me, I have great confidence in the future performance of the training brigade - if our army can be like the training brigade, I believe that one day our country will become strong - Officer Ouyang, if it weren't for other tasks, I would be willing to be a ordinary soldier here, as long as I can hold a gun and fight against the devils."

  Zhang Xiaolong's words were what Ouyang Yun wanted to hear. He and Li Tieshu exchanged a glance, both of them simultaneously revealing a smile of mutual understanding.

  Lu Jiaceng pushed his glasses and asked Ouyang Yun, "Team leader, I have a question. Since we both belong to the Academic Troop Special Duty Brigade, can we still maintain this identity in the future? If we were to go to war one day, we could at least contribute some strength!"

  "Yes, people all say that scholars are useless, but we insist on changing this perception of the nation..."

  Ouyang Yun came to the troops today, mainly to discuss important matters with Li Tieshu, and secondly to see the military training situation of new recruits and special duty squads. The special duty squad's recruits told him that he was very happy, smiling and saying: "It's great that you all have this idea, since you are already members of the troops, unless you become deserters, the troops will always be your home - your file will be kept on record at the troop department and preserved forever. Of course, your battlefield is not here, but in the factory we are about to open. With your knowledge, it would be a waste if you just held guns and killed enemies - I will find a way to solve the problem of your future organization, now you should seize this precious time to train hard and prepare for the heavy work ahead with a good body - Comrades, you will all become great men in the future!"

  The recruits laughed.

  Ouyang Yun then chatted with them for a few more sentences, inquiring about the training situation, and then went to the new recruit team to carry out another round of heart-to-heart talks.

  Among the new recruits, thirteen "martial arts masters" stood out from the crowd, with a hint of arrogance in their eyes. Whatever their purpose, they were all genuinely joining the army, so although their movements looked a bit stiff, their attitude was quite serious. Ou Yang Yun's eyes were filled with encouragement and comfort as he scanned each of their faces, occasionally slapping one on the shoulder or saying: "Brother, do your best, Wolf Tooth is still waiting for you to return."

  The existence of "Wolf's Fang" was still a secret in the school army, and many students only knew that there was such a special team, and those who could be selected were all tactical geniuses, including company commanders and platoon leaders. When they heard this, their eyes showed envy. Ouyang Yun saw this and took the opportunity to promote Wolf's Fang, saying: "Are you envious? Then train hard! Wolf's Fang is the elite team of our school army, and the door is open to any elite student. As long as you are strong enough to become a soldier king, entering Wolf's Fang is absolutely no problem."

  The term "King of Soldiers" sounds fresh, but its meaning is shallow. These new recruits, with the lowest educational background being high school, understood the meaning as soon as they heard it, and their eyes were filled with longing. Unconsciously, they puffed out their chests even more, and their movements became more forceful - becoming a "King of Soldiers" would be what kind of glory?!

  Ouyang Yun came out of the new recruit team and arrived at the middle of the large army, where training had just begun. The recruits saw their captain standing beside them and couldn't help but feel tense and excited. Many people who had already stacked up quite well ended up shaking hands and turning the tofu blocks into cotton piles, causing chaos, and in the end, they couldn't even maintain the cotton piles.

  Ouyang Yun smiled and asked loudly, "I heard that everyone doesn't take folding blankets seriously? Is this true?"

  The recruits didn't dare respond, and the movement of folding blankets became even faster. Those who had finished also lowered their heads, pretending to tidy up the corners of the blankets.

  "The importance of folding blankets has already been explained in the barracks regulations, so I won't say more about it. What I want to say is that after everyone develops this good habit, even if you're not a soldier anymore, every morning when you see your neatly folded blanket, you'll remember your life in the military camp, remember your comrades, and remember the bloody battles you fought. You'll feel like you haven't lived in vain, as a Chinese person, you've done your part for your country, for your children to live a better life - that's enough! What is the point of living? Just fame...". Ou Yang talked on and on, once again displaying his ability to ramble on, regardless of whether the recruits were listening or not. Gu Lian Yun listened from the side and couldn't help but admire his ability to force connections between unrelated things - he could link two completely different topics together, Ou Yang's verbal skills were truly impressive, no wonder he became a professor.