Chapter 4: Anti-Japanese War, Classmates
"I am Gao Zonglin from the Ministry of Personnel and have been ordered to report to my superiors."
The soldier, who was almost thirty years old, saluted the lieutenant colonel behind the desk, then took off his newly issued boat-shaped hat and tucked it under his elbows. He then put his hands on the middle seam of his breeches and stood straight in front of the desk, his eyes looking straight at the scroll on the wall behind the lieutenant colonel that read "Horse Trampling Mount Fuji, Knife Chopping Cherry Blossom Trees". His expression was so solemn that the lieutenant colonel could find no fault with his military posture.
"Captain Gao."
The army lieutenant colonel, who was only a few years older than Gao Zonglin, nodded slightly and casually opened the file in front of him.
"Born in Zhashuiya Village, Liangheguan, Xunyang, Liangzhou Province in the second year of Xuantong, he entered the 11th Infantry Department of the Army School in April 19, and after graduating in October 30, he served as a reserve officer and a second lieutenant platoon deputy in the 11th Division. In February 30, he was promoted to lieutenant and transferred to Yumen Province Security Seventh Regiment, Third Battalion, Second Company, Fourth Platoon Leader, and Third Company Deputy. In November 30, he was transferred to the Military Affairs Bureau as a lieutenant clerk, and in August of the following year he was promoted to captain deputy section chief."
Gao Zonglin calmly listened to the other party reading out his resume. Yes, he was born in the regular class of the Northwest Army Academy and was a direct disciple of the so-called highest commander in the Northwest.
However, this academic qualification did not bring him immediate success. On the contrary, his military rank was among the lower ones among his peers.
The academic system of Northwest Army School is two and a half years. The first three terms recruit students every two years. From the fourth term onwards, the system was changed to recruit students every year. Up to now, there are a total of eighteen terms.
Although few people in the first and second terms were able to achieve the most prominent military positions in the Northwest Army, such as infantry division commander, transportation brigade commander, and cavalry army commander, most of them had already obtained the rank of major general and served as important positions such as director of the General Staff, director of the Military and Political Department, army chief of staff, and air force commander. Only a very few who were not ambitious enough were still at the colonel level.
By analogy, the elites among the third, fourth and fifth classes usually hold the rank of colonel.
Most of the students in the fifth term and a few in the sixth, seventh and eighth terms were lieutenant colonels.
Most of the eighth batch and those of the ninth, tenth, and eleventh batches are usually majors.
As for those below the eleventh term, they are basically still working towards the rank of lieutenant.
The fundamental reasons are, firstly, that Gao Zonglin graduated too late and did not catch up with the major battles before the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, such as the Battle of Mongolia and Xinjiang, the Battle of Shanghai, and the Battle of the Great Wall; secondly, he wasted too much of his youth on the bench of local security forces and the Military Affairs Bureau, and did not join the troops in the early battlefields such as Hebei, Suiyuan, Shanxi, and Henan as soon as the war broke out.
As we all know, a soldier's value is reflected on the battlefield. Since he failed to participate in the battle, he will naturally have no military merit. Without military merit, he can only work hard to gain experience step by step.
Therefore, when he learned that the participating units were in urgent need of a large number of cadres due to heavy losses after the Battle of East Henan, he would rather give up the opportunity to be promoted to section chief within the Military Affairs Bureau and took the initiative to report to his superiors and apply for transfer to the front-line troops, which led to the scene before him.
"The comments from the commander of my unit and the director of my unit are quite good. I originally had the opportunity to be promoted to major in my original unit."
Having said that, the lieutenant colonel closed the documents and asked Gao Zonglin.
"So Captain Gao, why do you want to come to the front line?"
"I studied military science to fight in wars. Now I have a chance to kill the devils. I don't want to give it up."
Gao Zonglin knew that it was useless to preach here, and the lieutenant colonel in front of him might not want to listen to his lofty words, so he just responded calmly. Of course, he could not say the most fundamental reason out loud, and could only bury it deep in his heart.
"That's true."
The lieutenant colonel chuckled twice, and his tone suddenly became stern.
"War means death, but according to your resume, you only had a brief service experience in the mobilization division before the war, and then you were either in the local troops or in the government departments. In this case, what kind of position do you think you are suitable for?"
"I'm hoping to get an infantry company. I think I have the credentials."
Gao Zonglin showed no signs of wavering under the colonel's gaze.
“Although I have no experience fighting the Japanese army, I have participated in the battles against tobacco dealers and horse bandits, and have killed bandits myself in combat. I am not a rookie who has never seen blood.
Moreover, I not only have experience in leading troops, but also experience in dealing with all kinds of people. I can take control of and integrate the troops the fastest.
Besides, the commander should know from my comments that I am good at learning, and I believe I can quickly master the skills of fighting the Japanese army."
"You're confident."
The lieutenant colonel suddenly laughed.
“Confidence is a good thing, but it should not turn into complacency.”
The lieutenant colonel then put the file aside.
"Regarding your appointment, the Personnel Department will report to Deputy Division Commander Zhang and the superior will make the decision. You can go back to the division guesthouse to rest first and come back to claim it in three days."
Before the war, the General Office of the Personnel Department of the National Defense Military and Political Committee was indeed responsible for the overall coordination of personnel arrangements for the troops. However, with the expansion of the Northwest Army and the increasingly brutal war that led to excessive losses of grassroots officers, the Military Commission could no longer accurately grasp the placement of lieutenants and had to delegate the power to deploy junior officers to the division-level field troops while only being responsible for allocating sufficient personnel. Therefore, the lieutenant colonel was indeed not just perfunctorily appeasing Gao Zonglin.
But this was not a good thing for Gaozong Lin, so Gaozong Lin, who was worried about gains and losses, had no choice but to put on his hat, saluted the other party again, and turned away.
When one is unlucky, even drinking cold water will get stuck in one's teeth. When Gao Zonglin learned from the secretary outside the Political Affairs Office that the division headquarters guesthouse was actually in Hancheng County, more than ten miles away, and that the car that brought him here had already returned, he had no choice but to choose between walking back to the city or spending money to stay at a fellow villager's home for one night and wait for the next day's bus.
However, he touched the banknotes in his pocket, looked at the few clothes he had around him, gritted his teeth, and walked out of the Government Affairs Office.
In fact, Gao Zonglin did not need to be so frugal. Although the Northwest Army had been paying 20% off the national disaster pay since the 19th year of the Republic of China, he was at least receiving a captain's salary of 28 yuan, an additional 12 yuan foreign language allowance every month, and a year-end bonus of 60 to 70 yuan at the end of the year. Not only did he have no problem supporting himself, but he could also solve the expenses of his wife and daughter.
But he had to go to the battlefield after all, so he could not bring his wife and daughter to live with him in Shaanxi. They could only be placed in Lanzhou in a cheap apartment rented out at low prices to active-duty soldiers.
Although it was a low-rent apartment, it was still more expensive than living in the free dormitory of the Military Affairs Bureau. Moreover, one had to prepare money for entertaining guests at the new unit. In addition, the battlefield was no joke and one could die for the country at any time. Although the Northwest Army had a considerable pension for this, it was necessary to leave more for his daughter. Therefore, Gao Zonglin, who wanted to save as much as possible, had to choose to walk instead of driving.
Of course, lack of money was one of the reasons why he sought the position of company commander. However, he did not dare to take the company embezzlement money controlled by the company commander. However, the extra subsidy of the troop leader and the future battlefield allowance of the field troops were also of great help to him.
"Brother Gu Cheng? Is it really Brother Gu Cheng?"
Gao Zonglin was just about to leave the division headquarters when he suddenly heard someone calling his name. He turned his head and saw a tall officer looking at him with surprise and joy. He couldn't help but ask suspiciously.
"I'm Gao Gucheng, who are you?"
"I'm Zhao Kang and Zhao Jingfu. We're classmates, classmates from the Lu School. I'm from the fourth squad of the third district team. We played basketball together. During our first year internship, we were in the same class of the sixth squad of the first company of the first battalion of the second regiment of the fifth division."
When the eleventh class of the Army School enrolled students, there were six districts and eighteen teams, totaling more than 900 freshmen regardless of their majors. If you were to talk about which district and team they were from, except for the top students at the beginning and the few people who received certificates of honor when they graduated, not all of them knew each other. But Zhao Kang's situation was different. They had carried guns together and they were sleeping on the same kang at that time.
"Brother Jingfu?"
Gao Zonglin was stunned for a moment, then he looked at the other person's face carefully. Soon the past scenes came to his mind, and he couldn't help but reach out and hug the other person.
"It's you, it's you. It's been six years. I didn't expect that we would meet again today."
"Yeah yeah!"
Zhao Kang also hugged Gao Zonglin tightly.
"I never expected it . I really didn't expect it. I thought we would be separated from each other from now on."
The two of them pounded each other's backs, venting their emotions for a while before letting go of each other.
"Brother Gu Cheng, are you here for official business?"
"Are you in the 227th Division?"
Gao Zonglin asked back, Zhao Kang nodded, and Gao Zonglin smiled.
"Then we'll have to team up again."
Zhao Kang was overjoyed and hugged Gaozong Lin again.
"No, no, you're so strong, I couldn't bear it just now."
Gao Zonglin smiled and broke free from the other party's clutches. At this moment, his eyes fell on the other party's collar badge, and the silver star was particularly dazzling.
"My goodness, you're already a major, should I call you sir?"
"Of course, Captain Gao should salute his superior."
Zhao Kang looked down upon Gao Zonglin's 1.3 yuan with an exaggerated look, but when he saw Gao Zonglin's gloomy expression, he couldn't help but sigh.
"Okay, okay, no more jokes. Brother Gu Cheng, do you know the situation of the others?"
Gaozong Lin shook his head and Zhao Kang sighed again.
"We have been fighting for more than a year. As far as I know, more than 30 students have died for their country."
Emperor Gaozong looked at Zhao Kang blankly for a long time before he slowly nodded.
"I understand what you mean. A general's success is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of men. Those who play with swords die on them, and those who play with water die in the water. But since we are learning the skills of killing, and the country is in a critical moment, we either become a marquis right away or die on the battlefield. I am prepared."
"I understand. Don't say such depressing words. Come on, I'll treat you to a meal."
As he spoke, Zhao Kang dragged Gao Zonglin to the division headquarters restaurant and ordered two taels of Xifeng rice, pork head and peanuts. Before the dishes arrived, Zhao Kang asked.
"Brother Gu Cheng, to which position will it be distributed?"
"I just met with Director Chen of the Administrative Affairs Office. We haven't decided where to go yet. What about you? Which unit?"
"I am now the acting chief of staff of the 2271st Regiment."
The regimental chief of staff is a lieutenant colonel, and the acting chief of staff already has one foot in the rank of lieutenant colonel. Even if he cannot be promoted on the spot, he can be directly promoted to lieutenant colonel by honing his qualifications as a battalion commander. Therefore, Gao Zonglin felt even more inferior when he heard this.
"Brother Gu Cheng."
As if he could see what Gaozong Lin was thinking, Zhao Kang comforted him.
"The 227th Division has been designated as a pilot unit for reorganization, so it is normal that positions cannot be determined for the time being. Did Chen Tielian tell you when the positions will be assigned?"
Chen Tielian is naturally the Director Chen of the Political Affairs Office, and the so-called reorganization refers to the improvement of the current organization made by the Northwest high-level leaders after the Chief of Staff of the Second Army, Zhao Xingsong, questioned the irrationality of the three-level organization of the Northwest Army, namely, squad, platoon and company, at the review meeting of the National Defense Military and Political Committee on the Henan East Campaign. The improvement mainly focused on strengthening the squad-level troops, adjusting the number of platoons under the company, etc. However, as the wars in Shanxi, Henan East, and Western Hubei were still going on, in order not to affect combat readiness, the Northwest Military Commission decided to first select the 227th and 236th Divisions of the Reserve Army Group as pilot units, which would be promoted to the entire army only after the results were tested.
"Three days later."
"Well, come over to my place while you're free, maybe we'll be able to be together again."
Zhao Kang invited warmly.
"When you get to my place, I'll give you plenty of wine and meat. You won't leave until you're drunk."
"No, why do I listen to you like a kidnapper?"
Gaozong Lin frowned. In fact, he understood that Zhao Kang was recruiting people for their group, but he would rather be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox, let alone serve under the command of his old classmate, so he deliberately acted in an angry manner.
"Old classmate, I haven't seen you for a few years. You have become so unkind."
"How can that be possible!"
Zhao Kang felt embarrassed when his intention was discovered. Just then, the shopkeeper brought him some wine and food, and he was ready to go downstairs.
"Come on, I am the host since I arrived first. Brother Gu Cheng, let's have a drink!"
