Jun Xu sat in his handsome chair with a majestic air, but in fact she was almost asleep with her eyes open. She trained during the day and at night, and she didn’t think she could get out of Wangbozhen for a month or two. Fortunately, she could still use the time on the way to practice long-distance raids. Listen up! It’s a big problem. She doesn’t mind killing one to warn the others, to show them what bloody reality is like. But this method is not particularly good, and sometimes it smacks of being weak despite appearances.
As soon as the gong sounded, the ranks quickly assembled. Junxu’s ears twitched slightly.
“The seventh row from the left and the fifth from the right in the Flying Tiger Battalion! Stand in front!’
A soldier behind him shivered, ran to the front, and stood straight
‘Here!’
Junxu slowly opened his eyes
‘Didn’t get enough to eat?’
‘Reporting… reporting to the general… no, reporting to the marshal… eating… full’
‘Why are you so slow to return to the ranks after eating? Are you injured?’
‘No…’
Junxu frowned and shouted
‘Louder!‘
’No!‘
’One hundred push-ups, 200 laps around the barracks… Remember this. Save some food for her. Don’t gobble it all up! We still have enough food for the army.‘
Before the words had finished, someone in the ranks shouted
’Report!‘
’Speak.‘
’We don’t get enough to eat!‘
Junxu narrowed her eyes
’What did you say?’
The man swallowed, knelt on the ground, and stuck out his neck
‘Every day, the sisters eat mouldy grains and rotten vegetables, and each person only gets one bowl!’
Jun Xu suppressed the urge to slap the handsome case in front of him
‘Is this the case with the entire elite Flying Tiger Battalion? Or is this the case with all the hundreds of thousands of soldiers under my command?’
‘No one else knows, but this is how we in the Flying Tiger Battalion are!’
Jun Xu tilted his head, stood up, and looked at the silent people below
‘Speak up! Yes or no?!‘
Slowly, someone clenched their fists and gritted their teeth and answered yes. Jun Xu’s face turned cold.
’Jinglan!‘
’Yes!‘
’The Flying Tigers will first join my personal guard. Today’s meal will be paid for out of my salary.‘
’Yes.”
The Flying Tigers were thus joined with the marshal’s personal guard. There was meat and vegetables, soup, and enough rice with mixed grains. The black-clad personal bodyguards moved quickly, and there were rules for eating. There was not a sound, and the entire Flying Tigers battalion followed suit.
The aroma of the food drifted in the air, and everyone concentrated on eating. Suddenly, the curtain was lifted, and Junxu came in, smiling and waving his hand
‘Everyone sit down. How is the food?’
The person who led the Flying Tigers battalion in complaining stood at attention
‘Reporting, very good!’
Junxu tapped his boot with his riding crop
‘Bring me a bowl of soup, quickly.‘
’Yes!‘
Junxu sat between the Flying Tigers and the personal guard. Liu Ping came over like a flying bird, bringing a bowl of soup and respectfully handing it to Junxu
’Try it, isn’t it better?‘
Junxu took a sip and said
’It’s getting better and better. After you’re done, what do you want as a reward?‘
’You…let me go to war and kill the enemy!’
Junxu lowered his eyes and smiled slightly
‘Want to take revenge on the enemy yourself?’
‘Please let me!’
‘Okay, but your cooking skills, you have to find a good and reliable person to pass them down to.’
‘No problem!’
Junxu finished the soup. He stood up
“Regarding the matter of cutting back on rations, it will be dealt with publicly tonight. The Flying Tigers will select two representatives to go to my headquarters to participate in the trial.’
Jun Xu glanced up
‘Don’t exaggerate about this matter. You are going over the head of your superior. If you exaggerate, you will be punished. Don’t hide anything either. If things don’t go well, you will suffer.
’Is this the first time the Flying Tigers have followed me? If you are afraid that I won’t go through with it, just look outside at Zhan Qiao. If you think I don’t want to make a big deal of it, there are still the corpses of 500 people 300 miles outside the camp that haven’t even decomposed yet.’
‘I want an iron army, and I am the head of this army. We will live and die together on the battlefield, sharing honour and disgrace. Whoever harms this army of mine is my enemy. What do you think?‘
The Flying Tiger Battalion and the personal bodyguard team knelt in unison
’We swear to follow the marshal to the death!‘
’Continue eating, and discuss it properly after you’ve eaten. The personal bodyguards can also come and observe. Pass the order down. Each battalion must send a representative tonight! Let’s see how this play is actually staged.’
The crowd applauded and sang in agreement. Jun Xu lowered his eyes. After that night, she did not see Feng Qin again. Even if the Flying Tiger Battalion was disbanded today, in the future, these troops would recognise only her and no one else, and they would be invincible. However, she and Feng Qin grew further apart.