The long street was bustling with people, but they consciously made way for Ren Xiaosu and Zhang Jinglin as they made their way to the Fortress 178 Memorial Clock.
Everyone knew about this tradition. The first thing the Young Marshal did when he entered the city was to pay tribute to the pioneers who had died in battle for Fortress 178.
As Zhang Jinglin walked, he looked at the residents on both sides of the street. He suddenly asked Ren Xiaosu, "Do you know why Fortress 178 is fighting for now?"
"More or less." Ren Xiaosu smiled. "It's just that I haven't figured out how to protect them and how to be a good master of the Northwest yet."
Zhang Jinglin said with a smile, "I was just like you at the beginning. When the former commander told me to take over Fortress 178, I was dumbfounded. I thought to myself, 'I'm just a medic. How did I end up becoming the commander of the Northwest Army?'"
"What happened after that?" Ren Xiaosu asked curiously.
"After that, he locked me up in solitary confinement and told me that I had to be the commander-in-chief and that only I could lead everyone to survive. If I didn't agree, he would keep me locked up." Zhang Jinglin recalled, "He even tried to talk some sense into me. I heard that when his previous commander-in-chief asked him to take over, he was unprepared. In the end, he agreed after being hung up and beaten up."
Ren Xiaosu was stunned. Why did all the commanders of Fortress 178 have such a tortuous path?
When Zhang Jinglin saw how surprised he was, he continued with a smile, "Come to think of it, it's quite strange. None of the commanders of Fortress 178 were willing to take over at the beginning. It was always the old commanders who forced their successors to submit like hooligans. Speaking of which, I'm considered the most gentle commander to the next commander. How is it? Are you touched?"
"Mr. Zhang, you haven't changed at all." Ren Xiaosu sighed.
Back at the school in town, Zhang Jinglin would grow vegetables in the yard and even smoke for free. Although he was a serious person, he was never depressed when they got along.
Ren Xiaosu asked curiously, "But why did you have to choose someone who didn't want to be the commander-in-chief? There should be many capable people."
"The former commander told me to choose someone who doesn't care about the position of commander. That's because the commander of Fortress 178 doesn't need to be ambitious or have a desire for power," Zhang Jinglin explained.
"Why?" Ren Xiaosu was surprised.
"That's because Fortress 178's duty is to protect our territory. Its commander must never have the intention to expand our territory." Zhang Jinglin said in seriousness, "The meaning of our existence is the people around us. If there comes a day when this war chariot starts to move for its own selfish desires, then Fortress 178 will start the countdown to its demise. Of course, this choice might not be the right one, but it's always been this way. I made this choice, and if it's wrong, don't blame me. It was the old commander who made me do it. "
"Wait a minute, why are you suddenly shifting the blame to others?!" Ren Xiaosu was dumbfounded.
"But even so, you still have to do a good job." Zhang Jinglin said in a serious tone, "Of course, you're doing very well right now. I've been keeping an eye on Stronghold 144. I was worried that you were too young and wouldn't be able to run the stronghold well, but I realized I was overthinking things."
Zhang Jinglin continued, "Using the contracting system to ignite everyone's enthusiasm for reclamation is the right medicine for the entire Northwest. I have to admit that you're much better than when I first took over."
Curious, Ren Xiaosu asked, "What was it like when Mr. Zhang first took over Fortress 178?"
"At that time, I only had Fortress 178 to run. However, just this fortress alone was enough to keep me busy. One day, someone said they wanted to increase their armaments and expand their troops. The next day, someone said they didn't have enough food. In any case, just dealing with these administrative matters was like fighting a war." Zhang Jinglin said with a sigh, "At that time, the Soong Clan was still stirring up trouble in the dark. A lot of internal problems arose in Fortress 178, but fortunately, they were all resolved. Otherwise, I wouldn't have the face to meet the old commander. However, after going through all that, I've come to the conclusion that no one is born to be a commander. When you get to that position, you'll naturally improve. Pressure makes people grow. "
Although Zhang Jinglin made it sound very easy, Ren Xiaosu knew that Zhang Jinglin must have been having a hard time at that time.
Zhang Jinglin continued, "You already have a team in place now. There are a lot of talents in the administrative field, and there's even a genius commander like P5092 in the military field. So I'm more at ease. What I'm more interested in right now is your plan to develop the Northwest 2.0. Do you have any clues about Version 3.0? "
Version 1.0 was to abduct talented people, such as Wang Yun, P5092, Ji Zi 'ang, and so on.
Version 2.0 was to cast a wide net and abduct a large number of refugees to support the construction of the Northwest, open up wastelands for farming, and replenish their technical talents.
This time, Version 2.0 was still a pleasant surprise. That was because the refugees were not all refugees. A large number of them were highly knowledgeable professionals like the Pyro Company and the Kong Clan's technicians, engineers, university professors, and so on. Some of these people even held patent projects, which was a very strong technological supplement for the Northwest.
For example, one of the scientists was one of the project leaders for the miniature pacemaker, and another was the project leader for the disposable endoscope.
Although these talents were not obviously of much help to the war effort, a force could not always think about war. All-round development was the right thing to do.
Only those who were truly concerned about the development of a force would understand how important these talents were.
Zhou Qingyang was really an idiot. He only felt that the refugees were a burden, but he did not expect that there was also wealth hidden among them.
Therefore, Zhang Jinglin praised Version 2.0 of Daxing the Northwest. The abduction of refugees this time had really brought a huge surprise to the Northwest.
As for Version 3.0 …
Ren Xiaosu shook his head and said with a wry smile, "I don't have any clues about Version 3.0 yet."
"It's fine, there's no hurry." Zhang Jinglin said with a smile, "There's still a long way to go."
The two of them had already walked up to the commemorative bell. The huge bronze bell was suspended in the square, and 11 tall stone steles were scattered across the square, recording the 11 wars that Fortress 178 had experienced.
Behind the two of them stood a dense crowd of people from Fortress 178. Everyone was silently looking at the backs of Zhang Jinglin and Ren Xiaosu in the square.
Zhang Jinglin said, "The names of the pioneers who died in the previous wars are buried under this monument. There are a total of 279281 people who died in battle. Fortress 178 has been riddled with holes in the 11 wars, but we've won every single one of them. Xiaosu, as the current commander, I actually don't have much to teach you, but there's one thing you must remember. Although victory and defeat are common in war, Fortress 178 can't afford to lose. Look at those people behind you who are looking at you with anticipation in their eyes. You should understand that Fortress 178 can't afford to lose. "
With millions or even tens of millions of people from the Northwest standing behind them, they really could not afford to lose.
Everyone said that a person had to be brave enough to accept failure. It was fine if they failed. The most important thing was whether they had the courage to get back up.
But the Northwest Army was different. They had to use their courage, determination, wisdom, and even their lives to ensure the final victory of every war.
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