A courtyard house; Li Yunlong, a subordinate of the deputy director of Harbin Military Engineering I

There was a two-second silence under the tree after those words were spoken.

As the army commander, I can't stand this. Everyone knows that victory is always won by stepping over the corpses of brave and fearless soldiers.

Behind those medals of merit are countless young faces who will never be able to return home.

Kong Jie patted Li Yunlong on the shoulder and lowered his voice: "Alright, all the boys are out now."

Several army commanders followed his gaze and saw groups of people in military uniforms walking on the mountain path behind the headquarters.

Those were representatives of outstanding meritorious servicemen from various armies, numbering over thirty.

The corps commanders waved happily to their soldiers, who were all young recruits, whom the commanders looked at like younger brothers...

Li Yunlong spotted Duan Peng, Wang Xikui, and the other six men at a glance, and they walked ahead.

He laughed loudly and shouted, "Duan Peng! How did it go? What did the commander say?"

Hearing the shout, Duan Peng turned around, quickly walked up to him, and snapped to attention, saluting: "Commander! The commander said that we will form a separate square formation."

He paused, then grinned. "Commander, shall we head out now? The Commander has arranged for a car to take our first batch back to China for training."

Li Yunlong smiled and nodded, then patted Duan Peng on the shoulder twice: "Alright, go back, all of you. No matter where you are, you can't tarnish the reputation of our Independent Army!!"

"Yes!" Duan Peng and Wang Xikui saluted in unison, their movements perfectly synchronized and their backs ramrod straight.

Li Yunlong stood there, watching those figures walk away along the mountain path, the surging, bittersweet feeling in his heart lingering for a long time.

Just then, Zhao Gang came out of the command post, holding a folder in his hand. He stood at the door, glanced around at the group of people under the tree, and finally looked at Qin Jiwei: "Qin Jiwei, come in for a moment."

He then looked at the others, "The army commanders and political commissars behind you, please wait a moment."

As Qin Jiwei followed Zhao Gang into the command post, the remaining people under the tree immediately fell silent.

Everyone roughly understood that this conversation was most likely about who would succeed the deputy commander and deputy political commissar of the Third Army Corps.

After Zhang Renfeng returns to China this time, his position will definitely be adjusted. The Third Army Corps is such a large organization, the selection of deputy positions cannot be taken lightly.

When it came to their own affairs, everyone surprisingly remained silent.

After exchanging glances, they both pulled out their small notebooks and began writing something down.

Kong Jie came closer and saw that Li Yunlong was also writing in his diary. He poked Li Yunlong's arm with his pipe.

"Hey, you, Old Li, still keep this old habit? Are you keeping some kind of record?"

Without even raising his head, Li Yunlong scribbled his name on the notebook: "Go away, what do you know, you idiot Kong? I, Old Li, am a handsome young man from all around, and I'm cultured." After writing the last word, he closed the notebook, looked up at Kong Jie, and said, "In terms of culture, I can stand on a superior position and look down on you."

Kong Jie ignored him, opened his notebook, bit the pen cap, and began to write:

Today, our army's top-class meritorious soldier is stealing the show at headquarters. That country bumpkin, Old Li, actually dared to laugh at me, Kong Jie, for being illiterate! How laughable! Do you know that I, Kong Jie, am no longer the same as before? Everyone knows that the commander will soon be heading north back to China. Since the commander and political commissar are both absent, and Brigade Commander Xu is here to take over, who can take over the two deputy positions? I, Kong Jie, am not talented, but I suppose Commander Zhang will choose me? But no matter what, I, Kong Jie, have made great contributions; compared to that idiot Ding Wei, I am no longer on the same level.

Li Yunlong was also writing furiously, the pen tip pressing so hard it almost tore the paper:

[This battle brought to mind many veterans of the Jin-Sui Military Region, a truly poignant moment! I, Old Li, a seasoned and courageous soldier, just managed to shed tears. Besides being moved by the scene, I was also worried about not being able to take over the deputy commander position. But regardless, the honor of being recognized as part of the Anti-American Independence Army already surpasses that idiot Ding Wei by a significant margin—that's enough!]

Except for Liang Daya, who didn't write anything, all the other army commanders were writing their short essays with great enthusiasm.

Qin Jiwei didn't stay inside for long; he came out in about fifteen minutes.

He didn't show any particular expression on his face, he just nodded to the people under the tree, and then walked to the other side to talk to his deputy commander.

Then Blind Cheng was called in. When he came out, he had a smile on his face and raised an eyebrow at Li Yunlong, clearly meaning, "I'm not bad either."

Then came Kong Jie, Li Yunlong, and Liang Daya.

Everyone stayed inside for roughly the same amount of time, and the conversations mostly revolved around the arrangement that the deputy commander would temporarily take over the defense duties.

As for the candidates for deputy commander and deputy political commissar, Zhao Gang didn't say a word more, only saying, "We'll wait for the final approval from the General Headquarters and the Central Military Commission."

The atmosphere under the tree gradually relaxed.

The most composed of all was Qin Jiwei.

He sat a little further away, with a small notebook resting on his knees, and wrote a few words.

[I'm the only one qualified to be the deputy commander!!]

After finishing writing, Blind Cheng closed the notebook, his words concise and to the point:

[Just as good as Li Yunlong!!!]