There were nearly a hundred colonels, senior colonels, and major generals. Qi Rui felt that he was young and promising. As a person born on January 1, 1862, he would be 30 years old on September 12, 1891. When he saw a 26-year-old senior colonel, Qi Rui felt that he was old.
There was a scar on the young senior colonel's forehead. Qi Rui could see that if the shrapnel of the shell had been slightly off by a centimeter, the senior colonel would probably have been glorified. To be able to stand out like this, one must have courage, perseverance, ability, and luck. It could be seen that the Military Commission was no longer worried about war by gathering so many outstanding people in the army.
In the first few days, the group of soldiers was forced to start closed-door training, so they immediately complained. It was fine for people like Qi Rui who lived in Beijing. Everyone wanted to go home as soon as possible, so their emotions were still relatively stable. However, there were actually not many people like Qi Rui in Beijing. Some of the remaining comrades were emotional and clamored to go home. Of course, there were also people who didn't express their opinions, but there were people who said strange things and incited.
After a few days, the Military Commission announced that it was disbanded and gave these people half a month's family leave. Thus, everyone dispersed in a hubbub and left on the same day. Qi Rui also immediately rushed home. Yuanmingyuan was a very beautiful place, but when Qi Rui entered, he felt that something was wrong. The layout was very beautiful, and it was a good building for sightseeing. However, the houses that were used for living were old-fashioned houses. Qi Rui felt that these houses were the same as the buildings in the Nanjing Museum. It looked silly. It felt like living in his grandfather's old house, cold in the winter and hot in the summer. It couldn't be compared to the government compound of his father Vézé and the others. Not to mention other things, just the lack of heating immediately reduced the quality of life by a lot.
After entering his house, Qi Rui found that his imagination had come true. There was no heating in the house, and it felt a little cold at the end of September.
"Comrade Qi Rui, please wait here. Your pass will be ready soon." The head of the Guard Corps smiled.
"Thank you!" Qi Rui replied. He finally felt a little proud. In the past, he was only the son of his father, Vézé. Comrade Qi Rui was now a Major General in the Liberation Army and was likely to become a Lieutenant General in the near future.
However, after sitting down in the room, Qi Rui immediately discovered that his father Vézé's residence in Beijing was very different from Nanjing. The houses in Nanjing were prepared for many people. The three-story building was big enough and had many rooms. The accommodation in Beijing did not consider this aspect, and there were very few rooms. Qi Rui immediately realized that he had nowhere to stay.
Without waiting for the head of the Guards Corps to reply, Qi Rui quickly asked, "Is there a military hostel here?"
The head of the Guards Corps did not ask Qi Rui why he did not live with his parents. He replied straightforwardly, "If it's a hostel, I think … you'd better book it now. There have been a lot of people coming recently. If you are late, it will probably be gone. "
"It's okay. It's still enough for now. "Outside the door came Vézé's affairs.
The head of the Guards Corps left gracefully so that the long-separated father and son could talk in private. Vézé asked Qi Rui to sit down. "Your mother went back to the south to see your brother and sister. Wei Li got married and has a daughter. Your mother is very happy. "
Things had changed so much that Qi Rui only felt a little dazed. He still felt that the world was like an insect frozen in amber. However, from his father's understatement, Qi Rui felt that his relatives were constantly changing. In contrast, Qi Rui, who was running on the battlefield, seemed to have stopped moving. These thoughts made Qi Rui think of Chu Xue again. After crying on the ship, Qi Rui felt that his emotions had been dispersed. His rationality easily took back control. Regarding Chu Xue, Qi Rui was like the things that Qi Rui could not tolerate on the battlefield, and he was deeply frozen. But just as his father Vézé had said, human's "fox grieves when the rabbit dies" mode of thinking made it easy for him to think of Chu Xue.
It was not only Qi Rui's family who walked forward, but also the people that Qi Rui cared about. When everyone was changing, Qi Rui seemed to be left far behind, and could only watch the backs of everyone walking away.
"I have something to ask you. Are you willing to continue working in the army in the future? "Vézé asked calmly.
Qi Rui had never thought about this question, and he was tongue-tied. Looking at his son's expression, Vézé waved his hand. "Think about it and make your own decision. The reason I ask you is that I want you to leave the army. But this is your own choice, and I am willing to respect your decision. Of course, if you decide to work in the army in the future, you can be promoted to lieutenant general. If you are willing to leave the army, you will retire as a major general, and it is impossible to be promoted to lieutenant general. "
"Why?" Qi Rui was puzzled. In theory, leaving the army should not be an extra promotion, and when everyone returned to the army, they would receive better treatment.
Vézé replied calmly, "If you stay in the army, your promotion will naturally be based on merit. If you don't work in the army, it will not be good for you to be promoted too high. "
Qi Rui could not understand his father Vézé's thoughts at all, so he picked the most ridiculous answer and said, "Do you want to specially train me?"
Vézé looked at his son, and ignored his son's fake surprised expression. Calmly, Vézé said, "Yes. I want to specially train you. If you are that material, I don't mind letting you take over. "
This answer made Qi Rui's whole body go blank, and he wondered if his ears heard wrong. If there was anything that made Qi Rui feel the most impossible, it was probably his father Vézé treating Qi Rui as his successor. In great confusion, Qi Rui felt that he actually did not want to be his father's successor at all. It was something too far away. However, Qi Rui also found that he actually did not want to consider the option of staying in the army for a long time. In the dilemma, Qi Rui said, "Father, let me rest for a while before we talk."
"Okay," Vézé agreed to Qi Rui's request without hesitation, then stood up and left the living room.
Only Qi Rui was left in the empty living room, and this young major general felt lonely and lonely. When he was on the battlefield, there were many times when he wanted to leave the battlefield and return to an ordinary life. However, now that this goal had been achieved, Qi Rui found that returning to an ordinary life was far more difficult than he had imagined.
After the war, when he returned home, his house had collapsed, and his wife and child had run away with someone else. This was a joke that circulated in the army. At first, Qi Rui could not understand how someone could come up with such a boring joke. Now, he found that this boring joke was actually very suitable for his current situation. This unrecognizable residence in Beijing was no longer Qi Rui's home. His relatives all ignored Qi Rui's existence and lived their own lives. And the person that Qi Rui loved not only married, but also had a child with someone else. In the future, Qi Rui would always be ranked after the fourth in Chu Xue's heart. And Qi Rui had poured countless new blood into the battlefield for which he had sacrificed countless times. This was also the place that Qi Rui now never wanted to return to.
Qi Rui, who was about to turn 30, suddenly had a feeling that there was nothing left to live for. He felt that his life until now was actually meaningless.
"Here you go. Take it. "Vézé walked back to the living room and handed a thick envelope to Qi Rui.
When Qi Rui opened it, there was a thick stack of cash inside. No matter when, Qi Rui felt that his father's actions were always beyond his imagination. Although he wanted to refuse, Qi Rui remembered that he did not have much money left. Although he still had a lot of money in his account, it was in North America. If he wanted to get the money out through the banking system, it would take at least seven working days. And now, Qi Rui needed money to do anything. Without money, he was afraid that he would not even be able to stay in the guest house. So in the end, Qi Rui said readily, "Thank you!"
Vézé sat opposite Qi Rui. "At that time, your younger siblings wanted to buy a house and get married. I gave each of them 500,000 yuan. You were at war at that time, and I didn't want to disturb your mind, so I didn't tell you. Now that you are back, there will be no war in the future. I will give you this 500,000 yuan when you settle down. I am old, and I don't know how long I can live. This money will be divided among you first. "
"Father. Don't say it. "Qi Rui had a strong negative feeling about this, and he immediately stopped Vézé from continuing.
Vézé sighed and did not continue.
That night, Qi Rui ran to the military guest house and stayed for the night. Before falling asleep late at night, Qi Rui decided to take the money given by his father and go on a trip. His life could be said to be thousands of miles, but every trip was not decided by Qi Rui himself. Wherever others wanted Qi Rui to go, Qi Rui would go. Whether it was the hot South China Sea or the island countries in the Indian Ocean, or the icy snowfields, grasslands, wilderness, or mountains.
He once stood on the top of a towering mountain and overlooked the bottomless abyss. He once watched the raging fire fall from the sky and ignite the entire city. He once walked on the ground covered with corpses. All of this shocked Qi Rui when he read about it. But after experiencing it himself, Qi Rui realized that all of these things that should have given him strong emotions were forced upon him by others. When he looked back at himself, apart from the knowledge accumulated over 20 years of study and work, Qi Rui had nothing.
The railway station in Beijing was the same as the station in Nanjing. They were both very large, and there was a special ticket booth for soldiers. Early in the morning, there was a long line of people at this ticket booth. Qi Rui really wanted to take off his rank badge, but he did not do so in the end. Because it was against the military law to do so. So many people's eyes first fell on this 178cm tall young soldier. His height and slender figure made his military uniform look very good. When the eyes of some people fell on Qi Rui's rank badge, 100% of them would carefully look at Qi Rui's face. This kind of curious eyes, as if they were looking at a rare animal, made Qi Rui feel very uncomfortable.
Fortunately, the soldiers were disciplined. They did not fight when they lined up, and when they asked to buy a ticket, they were very straightforward. So Qi Rui bought a ticket to Nanjing as fast as possible. The guard helped Qi Rui carry his luggage to the entrance and said with concern, "Political Commissar Qi, let me go with you to Nanjing."
Qi Rui shook his head, "I'm on vacation. I have some private things to do. I don't need you to follow me. You haven't been home for several years. When you go back, quickly report and apply to go home. We all need to go home, otherwise, we won't be at ease. "
These were Qi Rui's sincere words. The guard was deeply moved and nodded. Then he lowered his voice and said, "Political Commissar Qi, take the money with you on the road. In the blink of an eye, there hasn't been a crackdown for almost ten years. I heard that there are thieves in the area again. "
"Don't worry." Qi Rui said with a smile. It was reasonable to say that it was very dangerous on the battlefield, but Qi Rui never worried about the people around him. Back in a peaceful environment, he had to worry about whether the people around him were bad people. This was really ironic. After shaking hands with the guard and saying goodbye, Qi Rui dragged his suitcase into the entrance.
There had been a lot of changes in the domestic trains. The original steam locomotive had become an internal combustion engine locomotive. North America once hoped to fully implement it, but the Yankee train construction was very problematic. If they wanted to implement it, they had to wait until after the war to build the entire railway system. After seeing these carriages with his own eyes, Qi Rui combined the theory in the report at the time with the reality. The internal combustion engine locomotive dragged more than ten carriages. The steam locomotives in the United States generally dragged six carriages. The load on both sides was completely different. If these internal combustion engines of the Min dynasty forced themselves to run on the Yankee tracks, they would probably soon cause problems with the railway lines.
In the past, Qi Rui would probably feel like he was suddenly enlightened, but now, Qi Rui only felt sad. If he only knew these technologies in his life, Qi Rui still felt that he was just an empty shell. As long as he learned and experienced these technologies, anyone could learn these technologies.
There were many people whose knowledge and skills were far less than Qi Rui's, but these people that Qi Rui saw had their own lives. Even if it was an unfortunate and uneasy life, they had to face themselves. Qi Rui didn't even have the chance to face himself.
The journey was smooth. After Qi Rui arrived in Nanjing, he went to the military guest house. However, he came up empty. The military guest house turned into a civilian one. When he asked the new civilian guest house staff, they only knew that many units had moved away after the capital was moved. As for where they moved to, they didn't know. Qi Rui could only run to the Nanjing Military Region, but he found that it was also empty. When he asked the people around him, it turned out that this place was also moved. No one knew where it was moved to.
With no other choice, Qi Rui had to run to the military academy. Fortunately, the military academy was still there. The receptionist who took Qi Rui to the guest house chattered about the decline of the Nanjing military department. His tone was very heavy.
Qi Rui could understand everyone's loss. The military used to be a very powerful part of Nanjing. Suddenly, the entire Nanjing army withered. After the Nanjing Military Region, as a garrison military region, was abolished, the highest military units in Nanjing turned out to be a few military academies. And the highest military rank in these military academies was lieutenant general. It was completely incomparable to more than a year ago, when the Grand Marshal was the leader and there were many generals.
After staying, Qi Rui picked up the phone with excitement. His heart trembled as his fingers stiffly dialed the number of Chu Xuexin's home. He felt that he had waited for a long time, and he even suddenly worried that no one would answer the phone. Then a very casual male voice sounded on the other side of the phone. "Hello!"
With just this voice, Qi Rui felt a breath of life hit his face. The guy's vague voice sounded like he was biting a piece of steamed bun in his mouth. At the same time this voice sounded, Qi Rui seemed to hear the sound of a little guy crying. Then he froze.
The other party didn't hear Qi Rui speak, so he asked in a very suspicious tone, "Hello! Who is this? "
"I'm Chu Xue's classmate. I just returned to Nanjing. May I ask if Chu Xue is there? "Qi Rui said in a dry voice.
He thought that the boy who answered the phone would ask or even question him, but Qi Rui heard the man say, "Wait."
Then the man's voice quickly became quiet. "Chu Xue, your classmate is looking for you."
Qi Rui made a lot of phone calls every day, so he knew that the man put the phone next to the phone and then turned around to call someone. He had seen and heard this kind of thing many times. Although Qi Rui could easily judge everything on the other side of the phone through the voice, Qi Rui found that he had actually forgotten Chu Xue's appearance. Not from now on. Qi Rui actually felt that he always couldn't remember Chu Xue's appearance after they parted. Everything about Chu Xue seemed to be a shadow. No matter how warm the shadow brought about the touch, or how real the intoxicating fragrance was, Chu Xue herself was just a shadow with an unclear face.
When there was a slight gasp on the phone, Qi Rui immediately recalled the experience when Chu Xue leaned on his shoulder. Even if it was just a slight glance, Qi Rui could find Chu Xue in the endless stream of people, no matter how many times he had done it in the past.
"Who is it?" Chu Xue asked on the other side of the phone.
"…" Qi Rui's nose turned sour, and tears flowed out of his eyes again. With the previous experience, he was alone in an empty guest room. Qi Rui didn't stop this, so he felt choked up and couldn't speak at all.
"Hello? Who are you? "Chu Xue's voice became suspicious.
Qi Rui barely recovered the feeling in his throat and then said as calmly as possible, "I'm Qi Rui, I'm back in Nanjing."
At noon the next day, Qi Rui stood at the agreed place. Strangely, this was the place that Qi Rui and Chu Xue agreed to meet for the last time. It was very close to Chu Xue's parents' house. Qi Rui felt that this made him very sad, because in his mind, his parents' house was not far from here, but now it was someone else's home. His home was gone, including his household registration. Qi Rui was no longer a Nanjing citizen. In terms of military status, Qi Rui was a soldier in Xinxiang City, thousands of miles away. But even if he crossed that road twice, Qi Rui still felt that he belonged to Nanjing.
Then Qi Rui saw Chu Xue. When they parted, Chu Xue was tall and slender. Now she was still tall, but her whole body became plump. The once beautiful girl became a more mature and charming woman. But no matter how Chu Xue changed, Qi Rui could still see that kind of smile and lively movements.
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