1978: A Literary Giant Who Began His Military Service

Chapter 41 Chief
Music is infectious.

As they listened to the melody of the song, each soldier was moved.

All of them stared intently at the performing arts troupe.

This song touched the hearts of everyone.

They too are thinking of building a strong military, ready to fight! Fearless of powerful enemies, ready to contend!! To win on the battlefield for our motherland!!

Seeing this, the instructor quickly realized what was happening: "Ahem, listen up, the bugle call to begin the new journey has sounded!!"

"The Song of a Strong Army" is simple and easy to learn, and its core features are repetitive melody, regular rhythm, and simple lyrics.

The song consists of just a few lines of lyrics that are repeated over and over, and they are very simple and easy to understand.

The verses and choruses have similar melodic structures, and core phrases such as "soldiers obey the Party's command" appear repeatedly in the chorus, making them easy to remember after listening to a few times.

The melody uses a uniform rhythm similar to a "march," without complex changes in tempo, making it easy to grasp like stepping in a march, and you can sing along as soon as you open your mouth.

The lyrics are straightforward and powerful, without any obscure words. Phrases like "If the country is to be strong, we must take responsibility" and "Win the battle for our motherland" are catchy and easy to remember.

"..."

The group of soldiers exchanged glances, and were all stunned for a moment, but it was clear that they all liked the song.

Following the instructor, they began to sing: "Listen, the bugle call of the new journey has sounded!!"

The performing arts troupe was singing over there, and they sang along.

The military songs resounded.

The military songs are loud and clear.

It resounded throughout the sky.

"..."

-

A military jeep slowly drove towards this direction.

The wheel crushed a tree branch.

The engine was quite prominent in the marching column.

On the military vehicle, the faces of the people entering were unclear, but their rank was known to be very high. The old commander took off his hat, glanced ahead, and asked curiously:
"Was that a performance by the Victory Cultural Troupe?"

The communications officer beside him, who was essentially a secretary, said, "Yes! Arrange for them to perform for the troops half a month before the battle, all the way from Nanning to the Vietnamese border."

The vehicle slowly drove past.

The orchestra's volume is getting louder and louder!
He then heard the voices of the soldiers.

The soldiers, feeling the same way, sang along with the cultural troupe.

The old leader sighed, "This song..."

The powerful drumbeats, combined with the bright tones of the trumpets and trombones, were high-pitched and penetrating.

Finally, there's the sound of a group singing together; the louder the chorus, the more powerful the song.

The old leader said, "It's so powerful, and it fits the current situation perfectly. It's so well written. How come I've never heard this song before?"

The correspondent quickly flipped through various documents.

Finally, he said, "Oh, sir, it must be a new song approved by the Political Department. During the preparations for war, many composers were inspired and wrote quite a few works!"

"Drive the car over there!"

The soldier driving the car nodded.

The vehicle stopped behind the cultural troupe's car.

The political commissar glanced at the high-ranking officer, probably a division commander or even a corps commander... He nervously prepared to raise his hand to stop the cultural troupe's training.

The old leader waved his hand, signaling the cultural troupe to continue.

No one stepped forward to salute, and the group continued singing.

Whether the commander is here or not, their singing is for the soldiers, and it is very passionate and powerful!
"Ah~ Soldiers, obey the Party's command!!! Capable of winning battles and possessing excellent conduct!!!"

As the old leader listened to the song, a single, cloudy tear welled up in his eye.

"This song is so fitting for the moment!"

Because of his experience in war, the veteran commander was able to feel the power of the song even more.

The heartfelt singing of countless soldiers on site added a touch of rawness to the song, yet it was also an extremely emotional voice. The song lingered in my ears.

after awhile.

The song has already been sung two or three times.

The political commissar of the artillery regiment, who was following behind, shouted, "Thank you to the Victory Art Troupe for their wonderful performance!"

The other soldiers quickly followed suit, shouting, "Thank you for the performance by the cultural troupe!"

They applauded from the bottom of their hearts.

The political commissar of the cultural troupe hurried over with a manuscript in hand: "This is the sheet music for 'The Song of a Strong Army.' I don't know if you have time, but... if you like it, the soldiers can learn it!"

The regimental political commissar grasped his hand: "Thank you!"

The political commissar wiped away his tears and saluted.

……

After saying this, the political commissar hurriedly walked towards the truck.

The members of the performing arts troupe also packed up their things and prepared to come over and assemble.

The old commander waved his hand: "You've all worked hard just now, no need to come over to assemble. Everyone, rest where you are."

Despite saying that, the group still approached in a disciplined manner.

The old commander opened the car door and got out, saying to the political commissar, "Thank you for the wonderful performance by the Victory Art Troupe! This song is truly beautiful; it touched my heart!"

The political commissar said, "This is a work written by a new composer in our cultural troupe. We wanted to rehearse it before the war, and luckily we made it in time!"

"Who... wrote this?" the old commander asked.

The political commissar waved.

Zhou Xu, who was holding a camera, quickly ran over from the other side and saluted: "Greetings, Commander! Greetings, Political Commissar!"

Although he didn't know him, he could tell from the political commissar's solemn expression that he was no ordinary person.

"What's your name?" the old commander asked.

Zhou Xu replied, "Reporting to the commander, my name is Zhou Xu, the 'Xu' in 'rising sun.'"

"Oh... I've never heard that name before... Oh right, you also wrote the article 'Changjin Lake' in 'PLA Literature and Art'?" The commander recalled "Changjin Lake".

He felt his blood boiling when he watched "The Battle of Chosin Reservoir," and now he has heard Zhou Xu's new song "The Song of a Strong Army"!
This feeling of excitement welled up in my heart once again.

"Yes, I wrote 'The Battle at Lake Changjin'."

"Oh! I didn't expect it really was you, Zhou Xu, right! I'll remember this name. I didn't know there was such an outstanding writer within the cultural troupe!"

The old leader walked over and reached out his hand.

Zhou Xu immediately reached out and shook hands with his calloused hands.

"By the way, does your cultural troupe have any extra scripts?" the leader asked.

"Yes, yes! I have the original manuscript in my bag." Zhou Xu immediately took out the original manuscript and handed it to the leader.

"Yes, I think this song is very suitable for the current situation. When I get to the front line, I'll have everyone learn it!" The old commander patted Zhou Xu on the shoulder.

"Young comrades are so energetic!"

With that remark, the old commander got into his car.

A group of people were watching him.

He waved and said, "Thank you for your performances along the way! This song should be sung more often!"

The political commissar saluted.

Zhou Xu saluted in response. He watched the old commander leave.

He was a little uneasy just now, because he was afraid that something might go wrong.

He leaned closer and asked, "Are these our army's leaders?"

The political commissar nodded silently: "Yes!"

"Oh!"

Zhou Xu was just curious; he didn't want to delve any deeper.

(End of this chapter)