Chapter 52: Spring Breeze and Galloping Horse Hooves

  Xue led more than a dozen soldiers out of the gate, got into the red flag car of the regiment commander, and the rest of the soldiers also divided into four groups and boarded four military jeeps. The five vehicles formed a convoy and rushed to the residence of the 12th Regiment in Xicheng.

  At this time, the bright moon was in the sky, and the beautiful lanterns had just been lit. The motorcade drove onto Chang'an Street. At that moment, there weren't many vehicles on Chang'an Street, but there were quite a few pedestrians. As the luxurious motorcade passed by, everyone stopped to watch, staring at the license plate of the black Red Flag car in the middle. Those who knew their stuff would show off their knowledge to the people around them: "Jing V026xx, do you know whose license plate this is?"

  Everyone shook their heads in confusion, and it was clear that the consultation at this time was not as developed as in later generations. Unless someone had specifically paid attention or asked around, who would know? There was no Baidu or Google to ask. The young man showing off became even more pleased with himself, seeing more and more people gathering around him, his voice grew louder: "Jing V refers to the Military Commission, 026 refers to a member of the Military Commission, and xx doesn't need to be said, this is General An's personal vehicle." Everyone let out a collective gasp of amazement and dispersed.

  "Hey, hey, don't go! You, you, are burning your bridges..." The young man didn't get applause and flowers, apparently very dissatisfied.

  ………….

  Xue Xiang was in a hurry, his car was stuck in the middle and couldn't speed up. Xue Xiang asked the guard in the passenger seat to inform the vehicles ahead to drive at maximum speed through the radio transmitter. As soon as the message was transmitted, the speed indeed picked up, and the scenery outside the window retreated rapidly, traveling thousands of miles in an instant.

  In about a moment, the motorcade arrived at the residence of the 12th Regiment in Xicheng District. Xue Xiang took over the walkie-talkie and said: "The vehicles ahead don't need to stop when they encounter sentries, just rush in for me." He was furious in his heart, where would he still be polite to the guys from the 12th Regiment?

  The vehicle in front was ordered to accelerate and crash into the barrier set up by the 12th Brigade. These guards were usually idle, but seeing that their leader had given an order to cause trouble, they wished they could directly rush into the guard post and crash.

  The two soldiers standing guard on both sides of the sentry box were shocked. The convoy was still twenty or thirty meters away from them, and they couldn't see the license plate number clearly, but they knew it must be a big shot. Would ordinary people have such a grand lineup? They were about to raise the barrier and salute to let them pass, when suddenly the convoy in front accelerated and rushed towards them. The two soldiers hurriedly jumped down from the sentry box, ready to follow the security regulations and shoot. As soon as they drew their guns, they were stunned. A big red flag fluttered past them, and the legendary license plate number left them speechless. Ordinary people didn't recognize military plates, let alone the two soldiers who had often chatted and bragged about these legendary plates in their daily conversations.

  The tall warrior quickly patted the shoulder of the short one and shouted: "Wang Chunsheng, what are you still dazing about? Hurry up and call the brigade headquarters to prepare for the welcoming ceremony. When has our brigade ever had a leader of this level come visit? You go make the call, I'll go in and grab a spot, if I'm lucky, maybe I can even take a photo with the leader!" He was quite thick-skinned.

  "Feng Hu, why aren't you fighting? I also want to go in and welcome the commander. Hmm... no, this isn't a welcoming party, it's an inquiry into wrongdoing! You've forgotten how the commander arrived." The soldier who had called out Wang Chunsheng was initially stunned with joy, but suddenly slapped his thigh, came back to his senses, dropped his sentence, and rushed into the duty room to call the regimental headquarters.

  Xue Xiang's motorcade had just come to a stop when the team of officers, who had received the news, rushed out of the building like their butts were on fire. Leading the pack was Regiment Commander Qiu Zhiguo, with his big belly sticking out, wearing a custom-made military uniform, beaming with smiles as he rushed towards the Red Flag car to open the door for Xue Xiang. Following closely behind him were Political Commissar Li Li, Chief of Staff Xiao Guang, and several other staff officers from the regiment headquarters, about seven or eight people in total, standing at attention, waiting for the Regiment Commander to welcome the leader down before they could salute and greet him with their most dignified and powerful posture.

  Qiu Zhiguo ran and adjusted his windbreaker, perhaps because his neck was too thick, he panted heavily before finally adjusting it. His big belly sucked in again, the military belt tightly wrapped around him, and the original butcher's appearance slightly took on a more soldierly look. Qiu Zhiguo carefully opened the door of the Hongqi car, his waist bent to its limit. As soon as the door was open, a pair of black calfskin shoes had just touched the ground when a thunderous shout rose up from within the compound: "Shou Zhang Hao!" The voices were uniform and masculine.

  At this moment, many officers from the division headquarters came one after another. Three battalion commanders, a platoon leader of the division's guard company, and other informed officers all arrived. The chief commander, General An, was coming to inspect the division headquarters. Whether it was shaking hands with the respected commander, taking photos, or just catching a glimpse from afar, it would be something to brag about later. If they missed this opportunity at their doorstep, they would regret it for the rest of their lives.

  Xue Xiang, although furious, was greeted with a thunderous welcome before he even got out of the car, which greatly improved his mood. Although it was meant as a show of respect for An Lao, and he was just along for the ride, the feeling was still intoxicating. As soon as Xue Xiang stepped out of the car, he stood up straight and gave everyone a military salute, without shouting something like "Comrades, you've worked hard!" which would have been completely out of place.

  What appeared was a young officer, not the elderly General An as he had hoped. Qiu Zhiguo's waist bent down so much that it almost hit the ground. The officers who formed a neat line in an instant stared at Xue Xiang with wide eyes, as if they wanted to use their eyes to drill countless holes into him. The whole scene was silent, and the salute that everyone had raised was still suspended in mid-air. More and more officers arrived late, running towards the formation, automatically standing at attention and saluting. The atmosphere was extremely strange, and for a moment, there was an awkward silence.

  Xue Xiang, leading the guard, stood behind him, holding a submachine gun in front of his chest, staring at everyone. Xue Xiang broke the silence: "Thank you for your warm welcome, comrades. I don't dare to accept the title of 'Shou Zhang'. Let me introduce myself first. I am Xue Xiang, a special advisor to the Central Military Commission's Security Office. This time, I came to the 12th Regiment on the orders of the Military Commission to investigate the case of Comrade Jiang Chaotian being beaten. The Military Commission was outraged when it heard that some military personnel were involved in the murder of the son of a central leader and ordered me to come and investigate the truth. Colonel Qiu, let's disperse the comrades below. We soldiers don't need this kind of welcoming ceremony. If the old general finds out, he will definitely criticize me." Xue Xiang had already made up his mind to raise the stakes, stir up trouble, and become the judge himself. As long as he didn't go too far, the old man would definitely be worried, and with the backing of a big tree, it was indeed cool.

  Qiu Zhiguo was extremely embarrassed, having exhausted himself to receive a young whippersnapper. He felt stifled in his heart, but he couldn't afford to offend the other party due to their impressive background. The Central Military Commission's Discipline Inspection Committee was intimidating, and Qiu knew that if he were to be reported, it would be a serious matter. Moreover, the visitor had arrived in General An Lao's vehicle, indicating that they must be a trusted aide. Qiu Zhiguo, who had risen through the ranks by flattering his superiors, didn't have an ounce of military dignity. Seeing that the visitor was a young man, he still maintained a low profile, tightening his belt and adjusting his uniform. With a forced smile, he said, "This isn't about welcoming or sending off guests; it's just our brothers from the 12th Regiment showing their enthusiasm for the Discipline Inspection Committee's leadership. I didn't notify anyone to come welcome you; they all came voluntarily. It's an honor that Comrade Xue has arrived at our regiment, and as a leader in this region, please come in, please come in." Qiu Zhiguo had no intention of investigating the case and instead pretended that the Discipline Inspection Committee was there to encourage him. In reality, he was rapidly thinking about the situation. As the son of Jiang Zong, the vice-executive, being injured was a serious matter, and it was only natural for the Discipline Inspection Committee to show concern. Even if military personnel were involved, it wasn't necessary for someone from the Discipline Inspection Committee to personally intervene. Moreover, how did the news spread so quickly and become distorted? It was clear that he had sent people to protect Jiang Zong, not harm him. Was Jiang trying to frame him for failing to protect his son? But hadn't General An Lao and Jiang's father been at odds with each other? Regardless, Qiu would pretend to be ignorant for the time being, and if necessary, let Si Yong take the fall.

  Qiu Zhiguo's big brain wasn't entirely filled with flattery, he was also familiar with the ways of officialdom. Usually, those who don't take their official duties seriously are good at studying power struggles and fighting skills. Even if Qiu Zhiguo had two brains, he still couldn't figure out what was going on, so he sent away the battalion, company, and platoon commanders and politely ushered Xue Xiangrong into the team office.

  Xue didn't have the mood for small talk, and as soon as he entered the office, he didn't even sit down before launching into a high-pitched tone: "Director Qiu, the leaders of the Discipline Inspection Commission are still waiting for my news. Get all the relevant personnel over here! I won't waste words with you; we're all clear-headed people. We know who participated in this case. As for what role you played in it, I have a good idea. How you report it is up to your performance - do you understand?" With these words, he mixed truth and falsehood, making Qiu Zhiguo's carefully constructed defense line collapse into disarray.

  Qiu Zhiguo's already stout body was even more afraid of the heat on this sweltering summer day, and now he was being scolded by Xue Xiang, his forehead sweating cold sweat. He was originally a clever but timid speculator who cherished the team leader position he had worked hard to get, and seeing that the leadership was paying attention, he didn't dare to be stubborn or perfunctory. He had no one to rely on above him, and his direct superior Liu Gaoshi only looked at him because he was easy to control, plus he was good at flattering, so he was promoted to team leader. Now, with the leadership from above intervening, he could only cooperate and obey orders.

  Qiu Zhiguo shouted at the orderly beside him: "Immediately call Si Yong and let him and Wen Hong return to the team headquarters immediately. This order is extremely urgent."

  The duty soldier stood in a daze, Si Yong is the team's directly affiliated cadre, and his work unit is right in the team department. Which phone number should he call? He can't ask the team leader "Where is Captain Si?" in front of everyone, that would be embarrassing for the leader. He himself isn't stupid, let the leader figure it out himself.

  PS: I've made a simple inquiry about the license plates of the 1970s, but it's quite vague. It is said that at that time, the headquarters of the Central Military Commission was "Chen", the General Staff was "Chen 3", the General Political Department was "Chen 4", and the General Logistics and General Armament Departments were "5" and "6". This article uses the current license plate format of the Central Military Commission, so please don't investigate further. Beijing V: Central Military Commission, Beijing V·0**** - Headquarters of the Central Military Commission, Beijing V·1**** - General Political Department of the Central Military Commission, Beijing V·2**** - General Logistics Department of the Central Military Commission, Beijing V·3**** - General Armament Department of the Central Military Commission, Beijing V026 - Military Commission member.

  If you're lucky enough to see a car with the license plate 京V026, don't take a photo, this is currently the most awesome license plate, those 8888 ones can't even compare.