In the camp, Zhang Tie's daily schedule was as precise as the gears of a difference engine. When he walked down the stairs of the military officers' dormitory, the reveille call of the no. 46 air cavalry regiment had just sounded at 6 am. Under the dim fluorescent lamps in the camp, his orderly Stone also trotted towards him from the sports ground.
"Reporting in …"
After throwing a glance at Stone, Zhang Tie nodded as he walked towards the training ground in the camp with Stone.
"Did you go to bed after 1 am last night?" Zhang Tie asked as he walked.
"Ahh, how did you know that, sir?" Stone scratched his head out of amazement as he threw a glance at Zhang Tie with an admiring and amazed look, "I found nobody was on the tumbling frame in the training ground last night. Therefore, I practiced a bit longer …"
Tumbling frame training was a basic skill for air cavalries. A qualified air cavalries could stay clear-headed after rolling on the tumbling frame for 10 minutes on the ground. It was very difficult for commoners to make this step; however, as for fighters above LV 3, they could soon adapt to various movements on the tumbling frame through training. As Stone wanted to be an air cavalries very much, he would stealthily practice tumbling frame training at night every day.
"Don't exceed 12 am in the evening. Young people like you have to go to bed before 12 am. If you stay up for a long time, it would do great harm to your health and overdraft your physical potential. If you want to train, you'd better get up early than go to bed late …"
"Yes, sir!" Stone firmly bore Zhang Tie's words in mind. Zhang Tie's words were like the Bible for Stone. He would remember each sentence of Zhang Tie's words.
The two people came to the training ground of the no. 1 battalion. Since the reveille bugle sounded, all the air cavalries of the no. 1 battalion had gathered in the training ground in only a few minutes.
As an air cavalry, it was necessary to run 10 km after getting up in the morning. Since Zhang Tie became their battalion commander, he had been coming to the training field punctually every day and finishing the 10 km training together with all the others regardless of whether it was rain or shine.
Today was not an exception either.
Under the leadership of Zhang Tie, the morale of the entire battalion rose. After one month, no matter how hard they trained, no one complained about being tired.
Groping in the dark, Zhang Tie led the fighters of the no. 1 battalion to run 10 km on the training ground. It was still hazy when the sun rose in the east. After running, everybody directly walked from the training ground to the canteen for breakfast. Since the first day, Zhang Tie had been eating breakfast together with the fighters of the no. 1 battalion in the canteen of the camp headquarters with a plate in his hand without any special or exception.
As soon as they entered the canteen, the troops were dismissed. The officers and soldiers picked up their own plates to eat, and the atmosphere relaxed.
Today, the canteen was filled with aroma, and the stomachs of the soldiers of the 1st Battalion were growling.
"Ahh, what's so fragrant? Braised pork with soy sauce. Hahaha, it's my first time to eat braised pork with soy sauce in the theater of operations …" Guo Haichao, one of Zhang Tie's subordinate, burst out into laughter. Closely after that, the other battalion commanders surrounded Zhang Tie and went to get breakfast.
Old Gao, the person in charge of the canteen, was wearing a chef's hat. With a big smile, he was patrolling in the canteen like a Maitreya Buddha and guiding some soldiers to serve the breakfast. At the sight of Zhang Tie being surrounded by those battalion leaders, Old Gao's smile became more fervent.
"Old Gao, you're not bad today. You've even got braised pork with soy sauce. Our battalion commander has to commend you. When will you enjoy parachuting in the sky …" Another battalion commander called Fang Shiming joked with Old Gao with a big smile.
"Given my figure, if I really get on the plane, the fuel of the plane would be consumed by half. Battalion commander would not agree with that …" Old Gao burst out into laughter as he patted his round belly.
"Why do you have braised pork with soy sauce today?" Zhang Tie asked as he took the tray from Old Gao.
"A few farms outside have sent us dozens of fat pigs and a flock of sheep. When night falls, I'll make some mutton soup for everyone to nourish their bodies and get rid of the cold …"
"If you make mutton soup in the evening, don't forget to send some to our brothers who are still in the regimental hospital …" Zhang Tie told Old Gao.
"Hmm, battalion commander, even you're concerned about those brats, Old Gao will never forget them!" Old Gao nodded with a big smile.
Over the past one month, due to the high difficulty of the low-altitude and ultra-low-altitude parachute jumping training, many accidents occurred. Although nobody was killed, they were often injured; especially those who broke their limbs. Over 10 people had been injured. However, Zhang Tie didn't intend to stop the ultra-low-altitude parachute jumping training at all.
With Zhang Tie taking the lead to jump every time, of course, all the soldiers and commissioned officers would try their best to do it.
After carrying the trays and carrying the dishes, Zhang Tie sat on the same table with the other battalion leaders and started to have breakfast.
Besides braised pork with soy sauce, there were also steamed buns with corn, porridge, rice, vegetables, pickles and some preserved fruits. It was very sumptuous.
The canteen of the battalion headquarters was a large canteen. Even though all the officers and soldiers ate together without any hierarchy, when they saw the team leaders surrounding Zhang Tie, even the team leaders felt embarrassed to approach them. Of course, ordinary soldiers would not squeeze over to join in the fun.
Compared to the other battalion leaders who had filled their bowls with braised pork with soy sauce, Zhang Tie just filled a bit symbolically.
After putting a piece of savory braised pork into his mouth, Guo Haichao closed his eyes as if he was taking drugs. After a short while, he opened his eyes as he let out a sigh, "Motherf * cker, after coming to the theater of operations for 2 years, I finally have a piece of authentic braised pork with soy sauce …"
Among the battalion leaders of Zhang Tie's subordinate battalion, Guo Haichao was relatively forthright. The other battalion leaders also had their own characteristics. Actually, these battalion leaders were the thorns that Xing Xiangtian mentioned one month ago. However, now, these thorns had almost become Zhang Tie's followers. They would respond to Zhang Tie's words at once.
"Thanks to General Mushen, we can have braised pork with soy sauce. Without General Mushen, we might still be eating porridge and radish strips …"
"You're right. It's already good for us to be full last year. I've not imagined that we could have braised pork with soy sauce this year …"
All the battalion leaders sighed with emotions as they ate braised pork with soy sauce.
Last year, before Zhang Tie assumed the office of Weiji General, the troops in the theater of operations all had a hard time. At that time, frontline troops could eat well every day; however, they could barely see meat. Occasionally, a small amount of canned meat would be delivered to them. However, after stirring a huge pot and falling into the bowl of an ordinary fighter, it was just a bit greasy and fishy. It was really lucky for anyone to eat a piece of meat in the bowl. Even frontline troops had such a tough life, not to mention second-line troops. At that time, second-line troops adopted the supply system. Each fighter's daily ration was precise to gram. It was not easy for them to eat 60% of their full. The grain supply in the theater of operations was very tight. Many grains were transported here by air from the top 6 warehouses of cities. Many grains were transported here from outside the theater of operations. As a result, a lot of grains were transported here from the rear. Due to the high cost, the deployment and regular training of troops in the Western Theater of Operations were greatly influenced.
After Zhang Tie assumed the office of Weiji General, with the bumper harvest of the first batch of corns in the four provinces of the theater of operations, the grain problem across the theater of operations was relieved at once; especially after the autumn harvest, the second bumper harvest completely stabilized the theater of operations. As a result, the depression and famine that many people had predicted before didn't occur.
If one didn't live in troubled times, he could barely understand the function of grains. At that time, grains played a stabilizing role. As long as grains had a bumper harvest, everything would be stabilized and problems would be solved one after another. Additionally, with the bumper harvest, the industrial and agricultural production in the theater of operations gradually recovered. The outflow of population also gradually decreased. In the later period, some people even returned to the theater of operations. Additionally, the agricultural production in the military camps directly reflected that the food in the military camps became more and more abundant. After autumn harvest, pork, lamb, eggs, aquatic products and even beef gradually appeared on the menu of the canteens of the military camps.
As the old saying went, sailing on the sea depended on the helmsman. As a frontline fighter, of course, Zhang Tie should be credited with the change of the logistics supply in the theater of operations.
Before coming to the troop, Zhang Tie didn't know that his reputation and prestige as Weiji General were very high in the hearts of hundreds of millions of ordinary fighters in the theater of operations. Especially after Zhang Tie got the essence of sword song in the large-scale battle between human and demon knights one month ago and killed a lot of demon knights on the battlefield, undoubtedly, Zhang Tie had become the hero and the pillar of the country in the hearts of those ordinary fighters.
Now that Zhang Tie was so popular among common troops in the theater of operations, Zhang Tie's prestige among air cavalries in the theater of operations could almost match that of Zuoqiu Mingyue.
Because all the air cavalries in the theater of operations were almost established by Zhang Tie alone, including airplanes, Fiery Oil, airports and logistics.
When those commissioned officers of the no. 1 battalion talked about "General Mushen" in front of Zhang Tie, they didn't know that General Mushen was sitting with them and listening to their praises. Those battalion leaders were not afraid that their battalion commander would be "jealous"; because in their eyes, Zhang Tie's position was far from that of common fighters like them. Therefore, nobody would be jealous of Zhang Tie's achievements.
After hearing these words, Zhang Tie felt a bit weird. He felt a bit bashful; however, he felt warm inside. Zhang Tie knew that all his efforts in the theater of operations were worthwhile. It was already worthwhile if so many people could remember what he had done for the rest of his life. By contrast, Zhang Tie didn't care about awards, honors, wealth and honor very much.
"If General Mushen was here, those earth demon knights would not be able to defeat General Mushen even if they queued up. How could those earth demon knights be so arrogant …"
"Yes, it's said that General Mushen broke through the large battle formation of demon knights by one sword and scared all the demon knights. Finally, he tied with a shadow demon knight!"
"By the way, Battalion Commander, since you came from above, have you heard of a piece of news?"
As Zhang Tie was eating and listening to the discussion of those battalion leaders, he felt it was inconvenient for him to interrupt them. Unexpectedly, a battalion leader called He Jiajun suddenly lowered his voice as he moved closer to Zhang Tie and whispered to Zhang Tie. "
"What news?" Zhang Tie threw a glance at He Jiajun as all the other battalion leaders moved closer to Zhang Tie and pricked up their ears.
Compared to Guo Haichao who was forthright, He Jiajun was the kind of person who was more "cunning" and well-informed among the battalion leaders of the no. 1 battalion. This guy was born in the He Family of Starlight Prefecture in Kangzhou Province, which could be counted as a local rich and powerful family. Additionally, he had an uncle who was also in the theater of operations, serving as a military officer in a corps in Ningzhou Province.
"It's said that Taixia Country intends to establish an air cavalry troop. The newly established air cavalry troop would be on the same level as the top 4 armies. Lord Zuoqiu intends to appoint General Mushen as the commander of the air cavalry troop in Taixia Country!"
"Where did you hear that?" Zhang Tie asked with a frown.
He Jiajun revealed a mysterious smile as he lowered his voice, "When my uncle attended a conference of corps leaders with his corps commander, he heard it from some corps leaders. It's said that Lord Zuoqiu has already submitted a letter to Xuanyuan Hill. However, the crown prince of Xuanyuan Hill has not agreed with it. It seems that the resistance comes from the Gobbling Party …"
Such a vivid gossip could scare many people. However, Zhang Tie didn't think it was bullsh * t. 'That's bullsh * t! If it's true, Zuoqiu Mingyue should have told me about it. How could he submit a memorial letter to Xuanyuan Hill for no reason? Zuoqiu Mingyue must know my temperament. I don't even want to be Weiji General anymore, not to mention being the commander of air cavalries of Taixia Country.'
However, besides Zhang Tie and a few people, most of the people would be dubious about it even if they didn't fully believe in it. Because this news was too vivid. Additionally, Zhang Tie felt reassured that at least the Gobbling Party was in a disadvantageous position in such a rumor. It sounded like a villain in the imperial court. Although it was an unreliable gossip, Zhang Tie could sense the support of people in the theater of operations …
'I wonder who fabricated such a news.'
After throwing a glance at He Jiajun, Zhang Tie pretended to think about it for a short while before saying calmly, "I'm afraid that this news is false. Air cavalry troops have just been established in the Western Theater of Operations for the time being. The other provinces in Taixia Country don't even have independent air cavalry troops. How could there be a commander of air cavalry troops on the same level as the top four armies of Taixia Country? You know, the commanders of the top four armies of Taixia Country are all heavenly knights. Zhang … Mushen is just an earth knight. I don't think it's possible for him to be on the same level as them for the time being …"
"If General Mushen really becomes the commander of the air cavalry troops of Taixia Country, I don't think anyone else across Taixia Country would be convinced. To be honest, all of us who drive airplanes in the sky are General Mushen's disciples and disciples. General Mushen is the first human air cavalry. Additionally, I can't think of anyone else who is more qualified for this position than General Mushen in Taixia Country!" Guo Haichao said as he wiped his mouth.
"Old Guo, you're right. If General Mushen really becomes the commander of our air cavalry troops, we'll be blessed. I agree with him first!"
"Haha, Old Guo, it's useless for you to agree with him. You're just a battalion leader with only 100 air cavalries under your command. When you promote to a knight and have 1 million air cavalries under your command, I'm afraid that your agreement might carry some weight …" Fang Shiming burst out into laughter.
"Motherf * cker, even if this father is not a knight, I will also agree with him. Who else could bite this father's butt …"
When He Jiajun wanted to say something, he saw a regimental adviser appear at the entrance of the canteen. At the sight of Zhang Tie, the adviser walked over here and whispered something to Zhang Tie. Zhang Tie nodded. Closely after that, the adviser left.
After that adviser left, Zhang Tie ate up all the food on his plate. After that, he put down his tableware and threw a glance at those battalion leaders, saying, "The regimental commander has something to attend a meeting with me. If I'm not back by the time of training, you could train yourselves according to the plan …"
(To be continued.)
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