Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): Starting with the Korean War, returning home to take charge

Zheng Guotao settled into the reconnaissance company. A makeshift shack was set up next to the company headquarters, furnished with a cot and a small table, serving as his temporary office and dormitory. He didn't mind the simplicity; every day before dawn, he would rise, neatly dressed in his uniform, his top button fastened to the collar, and begin his patrol of the camp. He observed training, inspected equipment, inquired about rations, and seized every spare moment to talk to people, bombarding them with questions.

The most detailed questions were still about those two "rockets that can turn corners".

"Comrade, where were you that day? Did you see what the weapon looked like?" He stopped the new recruit who had just changed shifts, his tone as calm as possible, but his eyes were sharp as needles.

The new recruit subconsciously looked at He Yuzhu, who was talking to Lao Geng in the distance, and stammered, "Reporting to the commander, I was on guard on the east side of the mountain ridge, but it was too far away. I only saw two plumes of white smoke rise up before the plane exploded."

Have you seen similar equipment in training before?

"No...never."

Zheng Guotao nodded and took notes, then turned to look for his next target. He repeatedly questioned Lao Geng, Zhang Dashan, Sun Changgui, and all the veterans present, sometimes asking the same question in a different way a few days later to verify whether the details were consistent.

He Yuzhu let him investigate. Training continued as usual, and missions were assigned as usual, only the company was given a unified story: the two "anti-aircraft rockets" were captured from the destroyed US military headquarters and transported back mixed in with miscellaneous items, initially going unnoticed. It wasn't until the company commander figured they might be anti-aircraft weapons that they took them out for a test fire, and unexpectedly, they actually hit their targets. Now the ammunition was exhausted, the launch tubes had been discarded, and the wreckage was nowhere to be found.

This explanation was something He Yuzhu and his key personnel had repeatedly rehearsed: the weapons were captured, only two rounds in total, and they were now exhausted. As for not reporting them? In the heat of battle, who had time to worry about every single piece of spoils?

Zheng Guotao naturally didn't believe it. He checked the division's spoils register, and there was no record of "special anti-aircraft weapons" among the supplies. He then forced He Yuzhu to take him to find the abandoned launcher. He Yuzhu led him around the bombed-out forest for most of the day, finally pointing to a half-collapsed stone wall: "It was probably thrown around here, and then it was buried after the bombing."

Zheng Guotao stared at the rubble and scorched earth, his face ashen. He knew He Yuzhu was evasive, but he had no proof. The soldiers being questioned all gave consistent accounts, leaving no room for doubt. He tried to bribe them privately, hinting that providing the truth would earn him merit and a reward. But the reconnaissance company was as solid as iron; their gazes towards him were always wary and subtly mocking. Even the most honest cook, when pressed, could only scratch his head and say, "Sir, all I know is that the company commander led us to victory and we ate well; I don't understand anything else."

Unable to find concrete evidence, Zheng Guotao grew increasingly anxious. He concluded that He Yuzhu had a problem, and a problem with his ideology—concealing information from the organization and engaging in personal actions. This "impurity" was more dangerous than a weapon.

He Yuzhu wasn't entirely at ease either. The launch tubes and remaining missiles, along with some deliberately preserved debris, had already been "recycled" by him using 5,000 points through the system, replaced with a few pieces of ordinary scrap metal mixed into the real garbage. Although the system service was expensive, it was clean and efficient, leaving no trace.

The pressure remained. Zheng Guotao followed the company closely, not only checking weapons but also paying attention to the company's daily operations: training methods, officer-soldier relations, and even He Yuzhu's words and actions. He sat in on company meetings, talked to Wang Fuli, and tried to break through from other angles.

He couldn't let him continue his investigation so easily. He Yuzhu decided to give him something to do and let him experience firsthand the daily life of the reconnaissance company.

On the third day after Zheng Guotao settled in, the company "coincidentally" received orders to strengthen forward counter-reconnaissance drills. He Yuzhu took the opportunity to organize a high-intensity confrontation training exercise for the entire company: half of the men acted as "enemy agents" to infiltrate, and the other half acted as "hunters" to intercept. Zheng Guotao was "enthusiastically invited" to accompany the command group as an observer.

Training began at midnight. Zheng Guotao followed He Yuzhu, trudging through the woods, to their command post, which was set up in a damp cave. Radio calls rose and fell, constantly relaying news of the battle. He Yuzhu quickly issued orders, his commands concise and clear, while referring to the map. Zheng Guotao watched from the side, forced to admit that this man indeed possessed a methodical approach to leading troops.

However, the subsequent "on-site observation" caused him great suffering. In order to make him "fully understand the hardships of reconnaissance operations," He Yuzhu personally led him to a different command position—avoiding mountain paths and instead choosing steep slopes, thickets of thorns, and waist-deep icy rivers. Zheng Guotao gritted his teeth and followed, his woolen military uniform was torn in several places, his leather shoes were filled with icy water, and every step was excruciatingly painful.

After finally climbing to the ridge, He Yuzhu pointed to the opposite hillside: "Look, in area three, our infiltrator team has been standing still for six hours. This kind of patience is key to anti-infiltration."

Zheng Guotao looked through his binoculars for a long time, but all he could see was a vast expanse of snow and rocks.

"Where?"

"Two people are in the shadows behind the third large rock from the left among the boulders," He Yuzhu said calmly. "We're watching them, and they're watching us too. Maybe we've already been flagged as suspicious targets."

Zheng Guotao felt a chill run down his spine, as if he had become a target exposed to countless eyes.

The real challenge lay at night. He Yuzhu arranged an emergency assembly, regardless of the circumstances, requiring a full-scale, ten-kilometer forced march to a backup assembly point. Zheng Guotao, as the observer, was required to accompany them.

On the pitch-black mountain road, the reconnaissance company continued its operations as usual. Zheng Guowei stumbled and fell several times, even sending his glasses flying off once, which he groped around for a while before finally finding them. By the time he arrived at the assembly point, covered in mud, the company had already rested for nearly half an hour. He Yuzhu handed him a water bottle, his tone sincere: "Officer Zheng, you've worked hard. That's how reconnaissance work is; there's no set schedule. The more you experience it, the better you'll understand."

Zheng Guotao's hand trembled slightly as he took the kettle, whether from exhaustion or anger, he couldn't tell. Under the moonlight, he stared at He Yuzhu's expressionless face and realized for the first time that this young man was not only a ruthless fighter, but also quite cunning in dealing with people.

In the following days, He Yuzhu arranged for Zheng Guotao to "experience" various things: lying in ambush in the snow, patrolling at night, eating frozen fried noodles and icy potatoes... After a few days, Zheng Guotao's eyes were sunken, his uniform was dirty, and his initial sharpness had been worn away.

He knew He Yuzhu was doing it on purpose, but it was normal training, and he couldn't blame him. Complain to his superiors? Say he couldn't handle the hardship? That would be even more shameful. He could only grit his teeth and bear it, but this "experience" only deepened his resentment towards He Yuzhu.

Wang Fuli couldn't stand it and privately advised He Yuzhu, "Weiguo, Zheng was sent by superiors after all. Isn't this going too far?"

He Yuzhu wiped his gun without looking up: "Special Commissioner Wang, the training intensity of the company has always been like this. Officer Zheng needs to understand it in depth. What can he know just by listening to reports without experiencing it firsthand? I'm doing this for his own good, to be responsible for the investigation."

Wang Fuli was speechless and shook his head as he left. He knew that the feud between the two had been completely severed.

Zheng Guotao ultimately failed to find any concrete evidence. After more than ten days of fussing in the reconnaissance company, he gained nothing except exhausting himself and solidifying He Yuzhu's reputation for being "strict in leading troops." The division headquarters also seemed to realize that this was not a long-term solution, and given the new developments at the front, a transfer order summoned him back.

On the day he left, Zheng Guotao's face was gloomy as he stared at He Yuzhu and said, word by word, "Comrade He Weiguo, I will report your problems truthfully. Some things can be hidden for a while, but not forever. You'd better watch yourself."

He Yuzhu stood at attention and saluted, his expression calm: "Thank you for your guidance, Officer Zheng. The reconnaissance company welcomes inspections from higher authorities at any time."

The jeep sped away, kicking up snow. He Yuzhu stood there, his calm expression fading, his gaze becoming serious.

He knew that he had temporarily passed this hurdle, but the thorn had been planted. The next time it came, he feared he would be in a much tougher situation.

Turning back to look at the company—the soldiers were exhausted, but their eyes shone with light. No matter what, the company had to be held, and the battle had to continue. As for the surveillance from the shadows, they could only deal with it as it came.

The road ahead is long, so we must proceed with caution at every step.