Chapter 426: Veteran

"What's the competition?'

'How's your marksmanship?'

'It's okay.'

'Good. I'll be in command. You'll be in charge of shooting.'

'Okay!'

The first one to go on stage is a veteran. He looks a bit like Zhang Dabiao.

He is not strong. But he has a big frame. A typical northern man. In the army, he must have been a machine gunner or a mortar player.

With such a big frame, it is a waste to use a rifle.

However, he doesn't seem to be that calm.

He is using a Mosin-Nagant rifle. The standard issue of the northern army.

'Where is the target?'

'Behind the adobe wall.'

'Where?'

'See that bamboo? Use it as a reference. One zhang to the right. One foot down.'

'What?'

The veteran is very confused.

What does this mean?

No specific target? Just a general location?

"That's right. Shoot!'

'I...'

The veteran is at a loss for words.

This feels so strange. What kind of test is this?

However, Zhang Yong does not change his words.

He knew that these veterans were all very good shots. They would definitely be able to hit the Japanese invaders if they saw them.

The only thing that would be tested now was that the opponent might not be able to see the Japanese invaders. Only he could 'see' them. He needed to give the target instructions to the opponent. Then he shot according to his instructions.

For example, the Japanese invaders were hiding behind a wall. He needed the veteran to shoot through the wall with one shot and then kill them with the second shot.

The bullet from the Japanese soldier's Type 88 rifle is too small and will easily be blocked by the wall. However, the Mauser and Mosin-Nagant have a very strong penetrating power. They can penetrate through an ordinary adobe wall.

Coincidentally, Zhang Yong is standing in front of an adobe wall. It has been out of repair for a long time. It is weathered.

It can be said for sure that the Mauser bullet can penetrate it. There is another red brick wall behind it. It is very thick. There is no way it can be penetrated.

If there wasn't a thick red brick wall behind them to stop the bullets, Zhang Yong wouldn't dare let the veteran fire in that direction. He would hit one of his own men.

The veteran turned his head and looked at Commander Zhang.

Commander Zhang waved his hand and said clearly, 'Just do what he says!'

'Yes!' The veteran slowly raised his gun.

Aiming wasn't difficult. It was just a bit difficult to judge the distance.

People in the future may find it very simple. It's just one abscissa and one ordinate, the two intersect, and that's the target, what's so difficult about it?

However, for soldiers of this era, it was actually very difficult.

They had little education.

They had never heard of a coordinate system or anything like it.

Therefore, the only way to determine the exact location was to rely on their eyesight. They had to calculate it in their heads.

Obviously, this required some eye power and some brain power.

Ten seconds...

Twenty seconds...

The veteran soldier hesitated before shooting.

Obviously, he could not accurately determine how long one zhang was and how long one foot was.

If he had a measuring rope, it would be no problem at all. But there was no rope!

He was helpless.

He couldn't do it.

'One of you go and measure it for me.'

'I'll do it!'

'I'll do it!'

Several veterans hurried up to help.

Someone brought a long wooden ruler and measured step by step.

Eventually, the distance of one zhang was marked. The distance of one chi was also marked.

Then the ropes were crossed. The coordinates were finally determined.

'Bang!'

The veteran fired.

The bullet pierced the intersection point precisely.

Zhang Yong's expression did not change.

From a distance of about 50 metres, there was of course no problem.

What he needed to be tested on was not marksmanship. It was spatial awareness, or a sense of direction.

He would probably need it a lot in the future.

'Pass!'

Zhang Yong nodded.

The veteran soldier wanted to say something, but stopped himself.

Obviously, he seemed to have some thoughts. But they were stopped by Zhang Yong's gaze.

Now someone is willing to accept you. What else do you have to say? Hurry up and go. If you go to the Fuxing Society, you won't be restricted by military law. You'll be free.

In the future, you can kill the Japanese invaders however you like.

You don't have to stay in the army and swallow your anger, taking this shit.

'Next!'

'I'll do it!'

Another veteran came forward.

Zhang Yong had someone set up a stool in front of the adobe wall.

The stool was one foot up. Eight feet to the right.

As a result, the veteran was also dumbfounded.

He couldn't judge the distance so accurately!

Fortunately, someone helped.

'Pop!'

It hit exactly.

No difficulty at all.

Zhang Yong also accepted it.

In fact, he knew that these veterans were all good.

They had all killed Japanese invaders. They had a blood feud with the Japanese invaders. How could he refuse such subordinates, when he was looking for them?

The problem is that the field work of the Restoration Society is different from the average army. The way of fighting is also different from the battlefield. Therefore, he still hopes to find one or two people who are more responsive from within.

Unfortunately, there are none for the time being.

They have never been trained to judge spatial distances.

It is easier for them to judge the distance to a target. They have never had systematic training in judging distances left, right, up and down.

Never mind, I will start with myself.

When it comes to mathematical knowledge, Zhang Yong is not bragging when he says that, all of Tianjin Station combined, none of them know as much as him.

In fact, all of the Fuxing Society combined may not be as strong as him.

Pure mathematics! Not to mention anything else.

After all, he went to university in a previous life. He studied calculus and linear algebra. Just these two subjects alone are enough to leave 99.99999% of the population behind.

'Commander Zhang, I'll take them all.'

'Really?'

'Really. But they all have to change their identities.'

'How? Tell me.'

'We'll take care of that. After they join the Restoration Society, I'll give them new documents. They'll all have new names. From now on, they'll have no connection to your 29th Army.'

'I understand.'

'Do they owe any back pay?'

'I've already paid it all back. There are no arrears.'

'Good. General Zhang, if there are any more people like this in the future, you can give them to me. I want them all.'

'Thank you!'

'But let me be clear. Our Rensheng Society only admits people, never rejects them. Once they set foot in our doors, they can never leave. Otherwise, they will be treated as traitors. Can they accept that?'

'You tell them directly!'

'Okay!'

Zhang Yong was not intimidated.

In his previous life, as a freshman at university, he would have blushed and stammered if he had to go up to the podium to introduce himself.

But after arriving in this world, he had shed this naivety.

The reason was simple. Because he could really be their leader. He could really lead them to kill the Japanese invaders.

If they were injured, he could pay for their medical expenses himself.

If they were killed, he could also give their families compensation.

'Assemble!'

'Attention!'

'At ease!'

Zhang Shizhang personally shouted the commands.

All the veterans hurriedly stood to attention. Then they relaxed. Waiting for the speech.

Zhang Yong came to the front.

He didn't need to clear his throat either. He spoke directly and loudly:

"I will only talk about three things.'

'The first thing is that joining the Restoration Society is very dangerous. You may die at any time.'

'Second, once you join the Restoration Society, you can never leave. You will be a member of the Restoration Society in life and in death. Even if you have complaints, you can only reflect them internally. You must never leave. Otherwise, you are a traitor. We will punish you. The so-called punishment is death! There is no second way.'

'Third, you only have one enemy. It is the Japanese invaders!'

'Do you understand?'

Zhang Yong said, word by word.

Then he took out a notebook. There was also a pen and some ink. He placed them on the table.

He sat upright, looking solemn.

'Anyone who is willing to accept these three conditions, come up here and write your name. Then press your thumbprint.'

'By pressing your thumbprint, you are indicating that you understand and accept the three things I just said. In the future, you may not say for any reason that you were tricked into joining! If you can't accept it, don't come up here!'

'Now, who's next?'

Zhang Yong swept his gaze across the room.

There was silence.

Then the first veteran came forward.

He couldn't write his name. And neither could the others.

They had to simply press their thumbprints.

Just before his finger was about to press down, Zhang Yong reached out and held it. He said sternly, 'Think carefully. Once you press your thumbprint, there's no turning back.'

'Did you really kill a Japanese soldier?' the veteran asked.

'I just killed one,' Zhang Yong replied calmly.

'I have no regrets!'

'Good!'

Zhang Yong let go of his hand.

The veteran pressed his own fingerprints firmly.

Then he went back to the ranks.

Zhang Yong waved his hand. Pointing to his side.

The veteran then came over. Standing next to Zhang Yong. Hands hanging down. Standing solemnly.

The second veteran came up...

The third...

Eventually, all the veterans had pressed their fingerprints.

This was the result Zhang Yong had expected. It should also have been what Zhang Shizhang had expected. These veterans definitely had nowhere else to go.

If there had been any other choice, they would not have been able to stay here.

Killing the Japanese invaders and being punished for it!

Who could accept that?

If Zhang Yong were in his shoes, he would have run away long ago.

If you can't stay here, there are other places you can go.

There is no end to the world, so surely there is a place for you.

Zhang Yong put the book away.

There were 53 people in total.

Fifty-three fingerprints.

Bright red.

It was shocking.

But it also represented a kind of powerful strength. A kind of unwavering determination.

'General Zhang, shall I take them away?'

'Thank you! You may go! I'm ashamed of my limited abilities.'

'I understand!'

Zhang Yong nodded.

Sometimes, some people, some things...

It's really hard to say.

Most people are powerless in the face of the wheel of history...

Only time will tell.

He led the veterans out of the division headquarters through a side door.

Division Commander Zhang had made all the arrangements. The veterans were not to be seen.

Zhang Yong naturally understood.

He led the veterans away through unfamiliar alleys.

The veterans were very quiet. Everyone knew the importance of keeping a low profile.

The Restoration Society was a very unfamiliar entity to them. Many had never heard of it before. No one knew what it did.

Zhang Yong gave Zhong Yang a few instructions, and Zhong Yang led a few people away alone.

The group arrived at a restaurant.

First, they ate.

Then, they worked.

'Everyone, eat as much as you like!'

'Follow me, and you'll get no other benefits. All the meat and fish you can eat.'

'You can have everything except alcohol!'

Zhang Yong said gently.

The veterans hesitated. They were still not quite at ease.

Strictly speaking, they were actually very dull people. Apart from a little combat skill, they knew nothing else.

All of them were orphans. That's right. They no longer had any family.

Those who did had gone home. Or gone to join relatives.

Only those who were homeless and had no one to take them in had stayed in the army. Waiting for Commander Zhang to find a way out for them.

'Eat up!'

'In a moment, we may have to engage the Japanese invaders!'

'You don't want to starve to death, do you?'

Zhang Yong spoke bluntly.

The veterans then began to eat in silence.

No one spoke.

They all looked like blocks of wood.

Eating was all they knew how to do. And they finished quickly.

Alas, they were all first-class soldiers!

It's a pity...

The 29th Army is really sorry for them.

Now that they are in their hands, they must be brought up well. I hope they can all see the day of victory in the War of Resistance.

Well, set a small goal for yourself.

Just let most people see the day of victory over the Japanese invaders!

Brace yourself.

Be full of energy.

'Introduce yourself. My name is Zhang Yong. I am the team leader of the Special Branch of the Fuxing Society.'

'I am not as capable as you are.'

'I'm not very good with a gun. I can't fight at all. So I can't charge into battle.'

'But I will provide you with the best weapons and equipment. I will give you enough money. I will treat you well. If you die, I will give your families the highest level of compensation...'

Zhang Yong said slowly.

The veterans were very quiet. They looked like blocks of wood.

'If you have any requests, you can tell me directly,' Zhang Yong continued, 'I will do my best to help you.'

'I have no family. I don't need a pension. Just bury me somewhere when I die,' said one of the veterans.

Zhang Yong: ...

Okay. This is indeed a sad topic.

Judging from the looks on the others' faces, I guess so too. Sigh. It was my mistake. I shouldn't have brought this up.

So I waved my hand, 'Eat! Eat! Eat until you're full!'

And personally supervised.

Waiting until everyone had eaten their fill.

At this time, Zhong Yang and the others also returned. They brought back 53 Yingqiqi rifles.

Along with them were a new batch of documents. The documents had names on them. No photos. They would be added later, once they had become familiar with their names. From now on, they would have nothing to do with their past.

Zhang Yong took one of the documents, and the name on it was Zhong Kui. Hey, who made up this name? It's quite memorable.

Never mind, he looked up and called out to the veteran who had just spoken. That's right. He is the one. His name will be Zhong Kui.

The person who came up with this name is a genius!

'This is yours,' Zhang Yong handed the veteran the ID card, "remember it. You are Zhong Kui from now on.'

'What?" The veteran obviously misunderstood as well.

'Zhong Kui fights demons. The Japanese invaders are little devils. Can you remember this?'

'Ah, I remember. I remember!'

'Good!'

Zhang Yong nodded with satisfaction.

Zhong Kui catches demons. Not bad. Zhong Kui fights demons. It's a good name.

Next.

Dian Wei? Who on earth came up with this name?

That's pretty lazy!

But it's understandable. The names were all made up. They were all mass-produced. Sometimes it's hard to think of too many names.

Maybe the person making the ID had read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and just wrote down whatever came to mind.

In those days, IDs were all handwritten.

It was actually pretty easy to forge. The Japanese couldn't tell the difference either.

Okay. Give me an old soldier with a tall frame.

Next. Zhou Cang...

Well, the person who made the ID cards was lazy.

They used all the names from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Luckily, they didn't use the most famous ones.

If you had asked for Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, etc., that would have been too much.

They didn't bother checking the ID cards. They just handed them out.

One for each person.

Fifty-three people, fifty-three ID cards, just right.

Zhongyang took a few secret agents with him and went up to teach each veteran what their new name was. They read it ten, twenty times, memorising it as best they could.

'Have you got it all?'

'If you have it, remember it! This is the name you will be called from now on!'

'Bond! Which one is Bond?'

'Raise your hand!'

Zhang Yong shouted.

One of the veterans hesitantly raised his hand.

Okay, he is Bond. Not quite. He is skinny.

'Eat more in the future,' Zhang Yong said.

'Yes...' the veteran replied bashfully.

'Zumao!'

'Here!'

'Zang Ba!'

'Present!'

Zhang Yong called out the names one by one.

The main purpose was to help them remember their own names.

If they were ordinary people with some knowledge and education, they should remember it quickly. But these veterans didn't have any of that.

They really couldn't read. They couldn't even count to ten. Because no one had taught them.

In the old army, there was no such thing as education.

Only the Red Army had that. In terms of cultural quality, the Red Army was several streets ahead of all its rivals.

Even a roughneck like Li Yunlong, who grew up in the Dabie Mountains and knew no more than the village idiot, learned to read and write after joining the army.

Next step:

issue of weapons. Issue of ammunition. This part is easy.

No need to teach at all. All the veterans can do it right away. What? The English 77 doesn't work. It doesn't exist. It works perfectly.

There are no weapons that don't work.

Only idiots who can't use them.

No matter what kind of gun it is, these veterans can handle it.

The prerequisite is that there are bullets.

Zhang Yong found a place and took out all the bullets in his space.

More than a hundred rounds. Fifty guns. Two rounds per person? How sad.

However, he soon discovered that after the bullets were taken out, there seemed to be more. So he took them out again. And then there were still...

Huh?

This is amazing.

Is there an infinite supply?

So he extracted them again and again...

In the end, after extracting more than 500 rounds, there were finally none left.

Disappointed...

It turns out that it wasn't an infinite supply!

There were only 500 rounds or so, and they weren't very useful! Ying Qiqi can load 10 rounds at a time!

There were also some other miscellaneous bullets.

Mosina dry bullets...

Springfield rifle bullets...

Mauser rifle bullets...

and all kinds of pistol bullets...

It's like an eight-treasure box.

The bullets seem to be separated from the other things. It seems to be a separate space. It's like a bullet supermarket in the beautiful country. Different types of bullets are in different compartments. It's easy to tell apart.

The only regret is that the quantity is too small. The most is just over a hundred rounds.

Alas...

Maybe it's because of insufficient energy?

There's nothing I can do.

Ten rounds each, then ten rounds each. It's not a very fierce frontal engagement. Five hundred rounds of bullets is enough.

After getting the guns, every veteran feels refreshed.

It seems that guns are their lives. Indispensable. Without guns, it's like they have no soul.

Without guns, they are just walking corpses.

With guns in hand, they are alive.

Very good.

Suddenly, a thought occurs to me.

I notice that the radius of the map has actually increased again. It has increased to 350 metres.

That's strange...

Why did it increase so quickly this time?

It seems like it only increased not long ago. Could it be that there is some major danger?

He worried secretly.

Fortunately, it was fine.

No danger was sensed.

In any case, an increase in the monitoring range is always a good thing.

A distance of 350 metres means that the Japanese invaders cannot sneak up on him without a scope.

No one's naked eye can shoot him dead from 350 metres away.

Not even the Miyamoto family.

Suddenly, a red dot entered the edge of the map.

Zhang Yong's eyebrows rose.

Oh?

Is it a Japanese spy or a Japanese person?

Who cares!

Let's just do it!

He waved his hand immediately. He immediately set off with his men.