Chapter 4 Where to go
At around eight or nine in the morning, the warm sunshine shines through, dispelling the last trace of chill.
In front of the Wild Wolf Regiment, a young man's figure stretched out very long in the sunlight. It was none other than Xu Yan. He stood close to the cordon, talking to the sentry not far ahead with a drooling look on his face.
"Squad leader, give me a chance."
"Sergeant, I just want to join the army. Please be flexible and let me in."
"You are not still angry with me, are you? Yes, I admit that I was wrong before. I shouldn't have deceived you and caused you to be criticized, but I really have no ill intentions. My starting point is to join the army and become a hero like you, defending our country and serving the people... You are soldiers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, the cutest group of people in the world, with hearts as broad as the sea. You will definitely not argue with me, right?"
Xu Yan kept talking, and from time to time he would take two steps forward, trying to cross the cordon. However, no matter how eloquent he was, he could not impress the sentries at all. The two men kept staring at him, and every time they saw him crossing the cordon, they would step forward to drive him away without hesitation, or simply raise their guns to warn him to leave the cordon.
"Squad leader, don't be so heartless."
Xu Yan had just been forced back by the gunpoint, and after being quiet for only a few minutes, he approached again with a lecherous look on his face.
The sentry who had previously negotiated with Xu Yan rolled his eyes helplessly, walked down from the sentry post, and drove Xu Yan out again. This time he did not leave immediately, but spoke helplessly.
"It's useless for you to pester us. We can't let you in. We can understand that you want to join the army, but please also understand our difficulties. If we let you in, we will be punished... This year's recruitment period has passed. If you really want to join the army, come back next year." This was the first time the sentry spoke to Xu Yan after he was kicked out of the army.
In the past three days, they have been scared of Xu Yan. This guy is a scoundrel. He is eloquent, observant, knows how to act and when to advance and retreat. As soon as you show signs of losing your temper, he will immediately give in and retreat without saying a word. After a while, he will come up to you quietly again, which is very annoying but not annoyed. This is the reason why Xu Yan has been pestering them all the time but has not been forcibly expelled.
When Xu Yan heard the sentry talking to him, he immediately perked up. He held the sentry's hand and said gratefully, "Squad Leader, I know that you are cold on the outside but warm on the inside. You are the most lovely and respectable person in the world..."
The sentry was not stunned by the sugar-coated bullets. He was a little impatient and wanted to touch his gun again. Xu Yan quickly let him go and patted his chest and said, "Squad Leader, now that we have come to this point, it would be too rude for me to continue to pester you."
Facing the sentry's suspicious gaze, Xu Yan's face changed and he said pitifully: "But I really want to join the army. Squad leader, you have been here for a long time and have a wide range of friends. You must know more than me. Do you have any good ideas? Please give me some advice..."
"We have to talk to the leader about this!" The sentry left after saying this.
"Thank you, squad leader, but you see I'm unfamiliar with the place, and I don't know which leader is easy to talk to. How about you give me some advice later... If you don't say anything, I'll take it as your agreement... Thank you, squad leader, you're such a good person!"
…
The sun rises and sets.
In the blink of an eye, another two days passed.
Early in the morning of that day, Xu Yan arrived at the gate of the army. Seeing two familiar sentries, he walked up to them and greeted them.
"Good morning, squad leaders!"
"Squad leader, aren't you tired of standing guard all day?"
"Squad leader, it's boring to just stand there like this, let's talk!"
"Squad leader, when will Captain Tang Jue come? Can he really let me join the army?"
Xu Yan kept talking, which made the two sentries secretly angry. The sentry on the left raised his eyebrows and shouted in a low voice: "Shut up, I won't help you if you keep talking."
Hearing this, Xu Yan quickly raised his hand and said, "No, squad leader, if you don't want me to talk, then I won't talk. Please don't refuse to help. When Captain Tang Jue comes later, you must remind me..."
Under the sharp gazes of the two sentinels, Xu Yan's voice became lower and lower, and he waited silently.
In five or six days, Xu Yan, with his indomitable spirit and eloquent tongue, gradually became familiar with the two sentries, and got some information about the troops from them. He knew that it was useless to pester the troops at the gate, and he had to get the leader's approval before he could enter the troops. There was no way he could think about the regiment commander Zhong Ding, but the commander of the reconnaissance company, Tang Jue, was a good breakthrough point.
Tang Jue, the commander of the reconnaissance company of the Wild Wolf Regiment, has excellent military qualities. He has led the reconnaissance company many times and won prizes in regiment competitions, brigade competitions and even military district competitions. He is a famous figure in the regiment. While shouldering the honor and mission of the regiment, he also has the privilege of recruiting talents on an exceptional basis. Even if the recruitment period has passed, as long as you have extraordinary talents and specialties, as long as you can get his recognition, you can still join the army.
After a while of silence, Xu Yan could not help but speak again: "Squad leader, when will Captain Tang arrive? Will he really let me join the army? What is his personality like? Is he easy to get along with? Does he have any special hobbies? Does he like people to flatter him..."
The two sentries had frowns on their foreheads. The sentry on the left raised his eyebrows and was about to tell Xu Yan to shut up, but at this moment a military jeep came speeding over. The sentry raised his eyebrows and took a look, then said in a low voice, "Captain Tang is here." Then he looked at his nose and his heart, standing straight like a sculpture, as if it was not him who had just spoken.
The jeep slowed down and stopped in front of the army gate. Xu Yan approached and said, "Hello, Captain Tang. I have something to talk to you about. Can we talk?"
Tang Jue looked through the car window and saw Xu Yan's face clearly. He was stunned for a moment. Like Captain Zhong, he also felt that Xu Yan looked very familiar, but he also couldn't remember where he had seen him.
Tang Jue got out of the car, and the two walked a few steps to the open space on the side of the army gate. Tang Jue stopped and asked, "Who are you and what do you want from me?"
"My name is Xu Yan, and I'm here to recommend myself. I want to join the army." Xu Yan didn't beat around the bush and stated his purpose directly.
Hearing Xu Yan's words, Tang Jue raised his eyebrows slightly, "This year's recruitment period has passed. If you want to join the army, come back next year."
"I just don't want to wait until next year to come to you. You have special recruitment quotas and can admit some outstanding talents." Xu Yan paused, patted his chest and said, "I am the outstanding talent you are looking for, and I am better than all the others you are looking for."
"You are quite arrogant!"
Tang Jue stared at Xu Yan, his eyes piercing like knives and swords, seeming to have the power to penetrate people's hearts, making people feel inexplicably oppressed.
Xu Yan looked back at him without showing any weakness, not affected by his aura at all, and corrected his words , "This is confidence!"
"I really want to know what makes you so confident." Xu Yan's defiant attitude aroused Tang Jue's interest. He looked at his watch and said, "I'll give you one minute to convince me!"
"I have a good physique, an IQ of 180, and a natural ability to debate. I am a natural soldier." Xu Yan told Tang Jue about his specialties. Seeing that Tang Jue was unmoved, he rolled his eyes and said, "Captain Tang, have you heard of me?"
Facing Tang Jue's puzzled gaze, Xu Yan smiled and said, "It's about me pretending to be Captain Zhong's nephew."
"You wouldn't know anything else even if I told you, but this is different. It happened in the army, so you should have heard of it. It's enough to prove my intelligence."
Smart and talented!
After hearing Xu Yan's words, Tang Jue was dumbfounded.
The army was so small, so Tang Jue must have heard about Xu Yan pretending to be the commander's nephew. But it was precisely because he heard it that he felt surprised. This was clearly a shameless act of deception, but how could it become a proof of intelligence in his mouth?
He was found out after pretending to be someone else's nephew, but instead of feeling ashamed, he felt proud of it. How shameless! Where was his moral integrity? Where did it go?
"Do you think this is worth bragging about?" Tang Jue asked back.
"Of course... I don't think so." Xu Yan paused, then changed the subject and said, "But when looking at things, we can't be too one-sided, but should look at them from multiple perspectives. Although this matter is wrong in some aspects, it also reflects my wit from the side, doesn't it?"
"What is the most important thing in the 21st century? Talent! I was able to pass through layers of guards, enter the army, and talk face to face with Captain Zhong. This in itself is a kind of strength. This ability can make me a sales backbone in a company, and an excellent scout in the army..."
Xu Yan talked eloquently, and Tang Jue's face changed. He was indeed a little moved. Although Xu Yan's words were twisted, they were not without reason. However, this guy's shameless face was really annoying. Therefore, he looked at the time again and interrupted Xu Yan impatiently, "Time is up. It's a pity that you failed to convince me."
Xu Yan stopped talking abruptly. Seeing Tang Jue turn around and leave, he hurriedly followed him and said, "Captain, don't go. Please listen to me. This is just one of my specialties. I haven't ..."
"If the specialty you mentioned is this kind of shameless sophistry, I don't think you can join the army. What our army needs are iron-blooded soldiers, men with perseverance, persistence, passion, ideals, and willingness to sacrifice and contribute, not people like you who rely on a little cleverness to talk nonsense!"
After Tang Jue finished speaking, he walked up to the jeep, got in, started the engine, and left.
Xu Yan was stunned for a moment, but he did not lose hope. Instead, he took advantage of the situation and shouted: "Thank you for your advice, Captain. I will prove to you that I am not only good at talking, but also a real man with perseverance, persistence, passion, ideals, and willingness to sacrifice and contribute!"
