Great Power Long Sky

After the expert group's investigation concluded, the Air Force held a meeting at Guanqiao Airfield to summarize the lessons learned from Operation "12.3".

The Air Force Commander's words were a wake-up call.

"Our equipment lags behind our enemy's, a reality that's unlikely to change in the short term. Does that mean we should stop fighting? Is there no other way?"

"In 1962, even with equipment inferior to our opponent, our surface-to-air missile units innovated tactics and still managed to shoot down a U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, didn't they?"

"The Air Force has already assigned tasks to some units to research how to shoot down stealth aircraft. I want to say this: from today onwards, all units must treat shooting down stealth aircraft as their top priority!"

"Whoever comes up with an effective strategy first will receive a collective first-class merit!"

The meeting concluded with valuable lessons learned and new motivation.

The People's Army has no shortage of courage to forge ahead, even if the road ahead is full of obstacles and thorns.

The power is absolutely sufficient.

A collective first-class merit!

How many units in the entire army have received the Collective First-Class Merit Citation? How many units in the entire People's Liberation Army Air Force have received the Collective First-Class Merit Citation?

At least Li Lu and his colleagues knew one statistic—during the entire Korean War, only six units in the People's Air Force were awarded the Collective First-Class Merit!

This demonstrates the high value of a collective first-class merit!

After the meeting, Li Lu walked towards his temporary office in the government building, his brows furrowed in deep thought.

Xue Shuang, as his temporary partner, followed closely behind.

Seeing Li Lu's serious expression, he had a sudden thought and asked, "Captain Li, what are your thoughts?"

Li Lu said, "To fight stealth aircraft, you first need to detect them. Many of our aircraft do not have airborne radar, and even if they do, they are like blind men's eyes."

"To develop tactics for fighting stealth aircraft, we need to bring in radar specialists. Fang Dong is quite good; what do you think of his abilities?"

Xue Shuang thought for a moment and said, "He was the one who discovered the clue; his professional skills are excellent."

Li Lu nodded. "Yes, I'll report to the regiment right away and try to transfer him over."

He stopped abruptly, looking at Xue Shuang warily. "You're not in the same unit as me, why are you asking this?"

He came to his senses.

Xue Shuang opened his mouth, thinking, "You, a mere lieutenant deputy company commander, want to transfer people? Even for a regimental-level unit, transferring someone from a radar unit isn't easy, is it?"

He joked, "Why don't you transfer me to your regiment too? I'll work for you."

Li Lu expressed deep doubt and asked in surprise, "Really? You're the squadron leader? You'd only be a regular pilot with us."

Xue Shuang increasingly believed that Li Lu was bragging. He smiled and waved his hand, "Hey, isn't the squadron leader also a pilot? I don't care about that."

Li Lu looked Xue Shuang up and down and nodded, "Okay, kid, your flying skills are pretty good, you can keep up with the pace."

After saying that, he took a step and walked away.

Xue Shuang was stunned for a moment, then thought to himself, "If you can brag all you want, then go ahead and brag."

A few days later, the various units ended their deployment at Guanqiao Station and took off one after another to return to their home bases.

Li Lu and Xu Hailiang were among the first to leave.

After such a big incident, they couldn't bring up the matter of borrowing the plane with Gao Wei again. In these turbulent times, reporting it would definitely draw criticism from their superiors.

Xue Shuang's unit was among the last to return to their posts, and the day before his flight, a transfer order arrived in his hands.

I watched it over and over again, and then watched it one more time. I wasn't mistaken; he was transferred to work in the 7th Air Regiment.

Isn't Li Lu from the 7th Air Regiment?

Xue Shuang was dumbfounded. Damn it, he really wasn't bragging!

He was screaming inwardly, "I was just joking! You actually took it seriously!"

With the transfer order in hand, even a fake order becomes real.

Xue Shuang wanted to cry but had no tears.

His regimental commander called and berated him, "Xue Shuang, I never expected this! I really never expected you to be so resourceful, and I never expected you to have no feelings for the 87th Regiment at all."

"Don't come back. I'll have someone send your luggage and paperwork over to you."

"I won't say anything else, I wish you all the best in your promotion, and remember to come back and visit your old unit when you become a big leader."

Xue Shuang felt wronged and hurriedly said, "Commander, Commander, let me explain..."

"Beep beep beep..." The phone went dead; the commander hung up.

Xue Shuang was stunned for a long time.

The plane couldn't fly, so Gao Wei sent someone to take him to the 7th Air Regiment.

Li Lu met Xue Shuang in the duty room of the Second Brigade, and Xue Shuang also saw another familiar face—Fang Dong.

Before Li Lu could speak, Xue Shuang stepped forward and questioned, "Captain Li, wasn't it you who transferred me to the Seventh Regiment? Why didn't you ask for my opinion? You've really gotten me into serious trouble!"

Li Lu asked in surprise, "You were the one who brought it up. You can't be that forgetful, can you? If you have forgotten, I'll really have to reconsider your professional skills."

Which pilot doesn't have an exceptional memory? There are so many instruments on the aircraft dashboard, a ton of flight parameters, and a ton of aircraft performance parameters. If you can't remember the location of an instrument or a parameter when operating blindly, that's a sign of an accident!

Xue Shuang choked, on the verge of tears, "Captain Li, I was just joking, you actually took it seriously..."

Li Luyi said sternly, "How can you joke about something like a job transfer?"

Seeing that they were arguing on their first formal meeting, Zhao Chaoyang quickly tried to ease the tension by saying, "Hello, Comrade Xue Shuang. I am Zhao Chaoyang, the captain of the Second Battalion. I am a member of the tactical test group, and Comrade Li Lu is the group leader."

"On behalf of the Second Brigade, I welcome you."

Xue Shuang forced a smile and saluted Zhao Chaoyang, "Hello, Captain Zhao."

Zhao Chaoyang returned the salute, saying, "Although the environment of our Seventh Regiment's garrison is not as good as that of your Eighty-Seventh Regiment, we are a front-line forward force. We can reach the open sea with just one step on the gas, so we have more opportunities."

"Since you're here, don't overthink it. The higher-ups must have made the transfer decision after careful consideration; Li Lu was just making a suggestion."

Xue Shuang also calmed down.

The transfer order has been issued, and the 87th Regiment is probably already going through the transfer procedures. What else can we do?

Even if we take a step back and say that his superiors had consulted him beforehand, could he still say no to the organization?

Since things have come to this, there's no point in looking back; we must look forward.

Li Lu walked over with a smile, put his arm around Xue Shuang's shoulder, and said, "Since you're already here, don't think too much about it. Come on, let me show you the dorm."

He put his arm around Xue Shuang and walked out.

Chen Qi followed along eagerly.

Li Lu and Xue Shuang walked along the roadside toward the residential area, with Chen Qi following behind.

As they walked, Li Lu introduced the site, saying, "Look, our station is located in the coastal hills, all green and lush. The scenery is pleasing to the eye. Take a breath, can you smell how fresh the air is? Unlike other stations that smell of aviation kerosene."

"Look at our indoor environment. Do other stations dare to plant so many trees? We do, because our bird control team is top-notch! Look at other stations, it's all bare as far as the eye can see, there's no life at all!"

Xue Shuang couldn't help but interrupt, "Captain Li, I checked when I came here. It takes more than half an hour to drive here from the nearest town, and that town is quite small."

"It takes more than an hour to get here from the county seat. I'd like to ask, how do you usually live? And how do your families live? Isn't this completely isolated from the world?"

Li Lu said with a smile, "We are combatants, always ready to fight. Life is fighting, and fighting is life. The airfield takes care of everything, from food and drink to sanitation. The training tasks are so heavy that we wish we could use every spare moment."

"What, you're thinking of going into town for a foot massage or something?"

Xue Shuang's face darkened, and she said, "Captain Li, don't talk nonsense! I'll sue you for defamation!"

Li Lu laughed heartily, "Just kidding, just kidding. You have to look at it from two sides. Here, there are some inconveniences in daily life, but they can be overcome."

"If your wife wants to come with the team, I'll arrange a two-bedroom apartment for you, that'll be like a battalion commander's salary, my comrade!"

Xue Shuang quickly waved her hand, her face slightly flushed, "I'm not married yet."

Li Lu's expression changed. "Then why the hell do you care about life? You're a single dog, the kind of person who should be dedicating yourself to the country and its people, and you're thinking of going to the city to go shopping?!"

Xue Shuang was dumbfounded. What kind of person was this? He turned on her so easily.

Chen Qi, who was following behind, couldn't help but laugh, thinking to himself, "You were tricked into coming here by Sixth Brother, which is nothing. It will be even more fun later."

Li Lu's expression changed again, and he chuckled, patting Xue Shuang on the shoulder. "I was just kidding, but that's the gist of it. We're both unmarried, so let's make the most of the Party and the people's cause before we get married, okay?"

Does Xue Shuang dare to admit she's wrong?

"That makes sense..." Xue Shuang nodded in agreement, though somewhat reluctantly.

Li Lu laughed and said, "I can't guarantee anything else, but I'll definitely get you a good dormitory."

Xue Shuang didn't disagree with Li Lu's statement, but she felt uncomfortable that he used such vulgar language to express a perfectly formal principle.

After arriving at the dormitory building, Xue Shuang's emotions calmed down somewhat.

Li Lu wasn't lying to him; he was indeed assigned a dormitory room that exceeded the standard—a single suite.

Chen Qi interjected, "Captain Xue, our squadron leaders usually share a room with other pilots, two to a room. Sixth Brother is arranging for you to have a room by yourself. This is a standard for deputy battalion commanders."

Li Lu explained earnestly, "We've worked together for a while, so I won't stand on ceremony and will just call you Lao Xue. You're a company commander in the 87th Regiment, so you should at least be treated as an equal."

"However, there aren't any suitable positions in the unit right now. If a position becomes available later, I promise to recommend it to my superiors immediately!"

That was a very skillful way of putting it.

However, Xue Shuang dared not doubt it now. If Li Lu could transfer him from the 87th Regiment to the 7th Regiment, why couldn't he arrange a small company commander position for him?

Having learned his lesson, Xue Shuang immediately said, "Okay, I hope Captain Li can promote me as soon as possible, to something like deputy battalion commander."

Li Lu laughed heartily, "No problem, no problem! You're my soldier, the recommendation is mine, don't worry!"

Xue Shuang ignored the conversation, shrugging and saying, "I came straight from the Ninth Regiment after receiving the transfer order, and I have nothing right now!"

Chen Qi immediately replied, "I'll go get your daily necessities and everything right now!"

……