A private house in the suburbs of Kunming, the courtyard gate of the void, occasionally a few chickens and ducklings clumsily open the threshold to go in and out, look in from the courtyard gate, you can see that a corner of the yard is planted with many unknown small flowers, Kunming in spring is a season of flowers blooming, and the bold flower bones have shown their joyful faces.

In the corner of the courtyard, there is a small wooden square table common in southwest farmers, and a small charcoal stove is placed on the carved tabletop, and a small pot of boiling water is sizzling from the charcoal fire of the red waves.

Next to the table are two bamboo chairs with backrests, a young man who looks to be in his twenties on the left, and a middle-aged man in his forties on the right is sitting on a chair with an injured hand and hanging from his neck wrapped in snow-white gauze. The middle-aged man bent down and used his right hand to select a few tea leaves from the tea jar and put them into the two tea cups, lifted the kettle, added water one by one, and carefully poured out the first tea in the two tea cups for a while, and then picked up the kettle again to pour the tea and cover the tea lid.

"I didn't expect Mr. Xu to be a connoisseur of tea, and the aroma is really compelling."

Zhang Shusheng was dressed in white casual clothes, and the whole person looked very young, if it weren't for the blue beard on his chin, it would really make people think he was a student boy.

"In the past, I also said that I drank cows, and no matter how good the tea was, I didn't know how to enjoy it, and I wasted a lot of things." If he hadn't experienced the moment of life and death, Xu Shuzheng would never have believed that the young man in front of him, who looked like he was in his early twenties, would be a man of the year in the southwest. "This person, when the ghost door is closed, he feels that his previous life is in vain. Mr. Zhang, you are proud of the southwest at such an age, but compared to you, you are far behind. ”

"Mr. Xu has an overreputation, Shu Sheng is just a petty fight, how can he afford to laugh and be proud. However, Mr. Xu, who was powerful in Outer Mongolia back then, can be regarded as a hero of the nation and a hero of the country. In my opinion, it can be called a hero of the world. "While drinking tea and eating fried Tianfu peanuts in river sand on the plate, this afternoon in a farmhouse in the suburbs of Kunming is particularly pleasant.

"Outsiders don't know, is it not clear that Chief Zhang may have contributed to the nation, but there are also a lot of evils. In the officialdom of the power field, there are not a few people who have harmed, and this time Feng Yuxiang wants to put me to death, which is the evil he created back then. Escaping the catastrophe of death, Xu Shuzheng couldn't help but sigh, yes, although X acted perversely and brutally back then, he killed him by himself, and he also had a little selfishness, no wonder Feng Yuxiang hated himself to the bone, and he did not hesitate to kill himself at the expense of Duan Qirui.

"Mr. Xu, no one in the world is a sage, just an ant. No one is right or wrong, and no one is perfect. Zhang Shusheng couldn't help but look at Xu Shuzheng, who escaped death, if the previous Xu Shuzheng was only admired because of the pacification of the outer Mongolia, then at this time, Xu Shuzheng had some awareness of seeing through life. It's a pity that not everyone has this kind of awareness, and who can see through it without great chance. "The ruler is long, the inch is short, in my opinion, promoting strengths and avoiding weaknesses is the way to make progress in life."

"Exploit your strengths and avoid your weaknesses? yes, not really. I have to admire Mr. Zhang on this point. Xu threw some energy into officialdom, but he wasted the military. On the contrary, President Zhang made great efforts to stay away from the filthy domestic political arena, strategized, and gathered all his strength in the southwest to defeat the British. Compared with Mr. Zhang, my little credit is not enough to mention. Xu Shuzheng said with emotion, "Forgive Youzheng for taking the liberty of recommending himself, I don't know how President Zhang plans to arrange it?" ”

Seeing that Xu Shuzheng finally couldn't help but enter the topic, Zhang Shusheng secretly said in his heart, I have been waiting for you to take the initiative to speak for a long time. After Xu Shuzheng was rescued back to the southwest, he has been placed in this suburban house, and for more than two months, no outsiders have come to see him, let alone important military and political officials of the southwest authorities. It seems that after he was rescued, this is his retirement place.

At first, Xu Shuzheng was still a little ambitious, thinking that since the other party worked hard to save himself, he must have a plan, or he wanted to ask for himself. But gradually, he found that the other party not only had nothing to ask for of him, but also would not take the initiative to show favor to him. Except for one house, every few days there will be a guide sent by the southwest political axe to take him around.

Sometimes, he went to the training ground known as the Southwest People's Army, although he couldn't get close, but he could still feel the belligerence and killing intent of the Southwest People's Army from his bones when he stood far away. He couldn't help but come to a conclusion that Zhang Shusheng's ability to dominate the southwest was not accidental, but deliberately low-key.

Sometimes, I go to some factories. There were all sorts of factories, many of which he had never heard of. Of course, he understands things like flashlight factories, bicycle factories, motorcycle factories, battery factories, etc., but in his impression, isn't there a small similar factory in some places along the coast in China? But what did he see? What he saw was a continuous stream of factories, some of which even required a guide to pull him on a two-person motorcycle with a bucket. In the factory, those workers were ten thousand times stronger than the black workers he had seen along the coast and in the north. The neat factory uniforms, the full mental outlook, the ruddy faces, and the vigorous pace all show that these workers are not those coastal "death row prisoners", but real modern workers. It's even much stronger than what he'd seen in his early years.

Sometimes, I go to school. That's what shocked him again. Although it is said that many schools are just bungalows for the sake of economy, there are spacious and bright teachers, wooden tables and chairs, and textbooks full of desks, and occasionally open pages, beautifully printed pictures, lively texts, and dedicated teachers on the podium who can't even wipe their sweat, as well as students who sit upright below, for fear of missing a word the teacher says, and these students actually have neat school uniforms...... Finally, when he went to the countryside, he felt more about what the characteristics of the southwest are. Although he went to several places, both poor and rich, each place left an extremely deep impression on him. At the entrance of some villages, a large group of soldiers wearing grass-green camouflage uniforms were digging water canals, and only after asking did they learn that it was the county militia unit that was conducting unified training. However, at the entrance of some villages, there was a roaring diesel engine and a long water pipe, and after asking, I learned that it was the diesel engine working group of the town's agricultural technology station that was irrigating the villagers from village to village. In other places, a large group of people were digging and transporting stones in the barren mountains and wilderness, and when asked, they were actually building roads, and the words of the villagers made him feel that he had lived in vain for the first half of his life, "The comrades in the town said that if you want to get rich, you must first build roads......

In the past two months, Xu Shuzheng has changed from being shocked again and again to looking forward to seeing more novelties about the southwest.

Is this still China? In the land of China that I am familiar with, where are the elite soldiers of a hundred battles? In the land of China that I am familiar with, where is the continuous factory? In the land of China that I am familiar with, where is there a basic education that is better than that of myself? In the land of China that I am familiar with, where is there a soldier who does things for the peasants? In the land of China that I am familiar with, where is there a political axe that really treats the peasants as human beings?

No, only the southwest, only the southwest under Zhang Shusheng's rule, made him feel a great shock, and he even had the illusion that he did not live in China in the first half of his life, but in a huge dream.

"Mr. Zhang, Xu admires you very much for all this. Frankly, no one else can reach your level, not even similar. The deceased Sun Wen, Yuan Shikai, even if Duan Qirui is now, will never be able to do such a feat as you will ever die. Frankly, I don't think you're just passing through the southwest, but ......," Xu Shuzheng took a sip of tea and let out a long breath, "but for China, you have found a direction!! Facts have proved that we in China, we Chinese, can also live this kind of happy life. ”

After the great tribulation, Xu Shuzheng's horizons have broadened much than in the past, and the gains and losses of officialdom that he used to care about in the past, and the money and wealth seem to have become a thing of the past. Even, he can guess that his "death", the wives and concubines who stayed in the north, are afraid that they are running out...... "Eclectic and reducing talents, this is our southwest employment policy." Mr. Xu was in a high position before the incident, and the Southwest Temple was afraid that it was ...... "Zhang Shusheng said in his heart, it is one thing to respect you, but to put it mildly, you are halfway after all, no matter what, you must have a condition that you can accept, so as to pull you at the lowest ebb of your life." Of course, Mr. Xu Da can be regarded as an excellent political teaching material regardless of whether he has made meritorious achievements or not. This may be the cruel surname of politics.

"Hahaha...... Mr. Zhang, where is this? Xu Shuzheng secretly said in his heart, sure enough, being young does not mean being naïve, on the contrary, Zhang Shusheng can be regarded as an old planner. But he didn't blame him, he changed himself to this position at this time, and he also considered the same thing, "Like Songpo and Baili and others, people with incomparably high merit and high talents can also find a suitable position for themselves." Xu doesn't want fame, fortune and power, he just wants to live the second half of his life and realize the unfinished ambitions of the first half of his life one by one. When it comes to politics, I don't think I'm that kind of material, and in the end it's just a void, and I'm tired of cheating. It's just that this military is suitable for me. ”

"What Mr. Xu means, I will consider carefully." Zhang Shusheng was noncommittal.

"Mr. Zhang may have misunderstood. Xu didn't want to be a high-ranking official, nor did he want to be a ridiculous general. Now there are not many wars in the southwest, and the domestic offensive is not suitable for me. Xu had the courage to recommend himself to General Director Zhang, and he was willing to lead even a row and a company to garrison the frontier. Yingyi thieves, I, Xu Shuzheng, think I'll meet them. Xu Shuzheng finally said what he thought, he had been thinking about this for a long time, just waiting to see Zhang Shusheng, no matter what, he had to recommend himself. But when I really said it today, I felt that my old face was a little red.

What he said was sincere, but would the wise Chief Zhang in front of him believe him? After all, perhaps the Chinese people take their little credit seriously, but this Chief Zhang has just captured tens of thousands of foreign thieves, how can he be an ordinary man. I recommended myself, I am afraid that I will be asked to be sealed on the spot.

"Hahaha...... Mr. Xu underestimated Zhang. In that case, I have made two rules. "Zhang Shusheng is not ambiguous, playing haha to this time, he can be regarded as doing his best, how to do it in the future, it depends on his own creation." Although the border war had just ended, it was difficult to keep the British and French unmoved. It is not easy to mobilize the large army, and the Supreme Command has decided to form several border battalions to be stationed on the Sino-Burmese border. If Mr. Xu doesn't dislike it, he might as well take the position of battalion commander. ”

Battalion commander? I didn't expect this Chief Zhang to be so generous. Xu Shuzheng couldn't help but be a little moved. At this time, he was just a chicken in the soup, and he was rescued thousands of miles away by the family. Don't look at what kind of general he was before, but according to what he got from that guide during this time, the promotion of the Southwest Army is extremely strict, and there is a system that is so strict and strict that people can't interfere at all.

It is said that this Chief Zhang did not even personally appoint a grassroots military commander in an exceptional manner. Because, these people have a clear promotion assessment method, that is: loyalty and honor. Only these two things can become the magic weapon of the Southwest Army.

After more than two months of understanding, Xu Shuzheng has a clear understanding of the Southwest Army. This extremely well-trained army could not even be compared to him when he was in the book. As for combat effectiveness, the artillery support battalion of one regiment alone is afraid that there will be more artillery than several divisions when I was in the north.

Originally, in his opinion, he was never suitable for officialdom, and he was no longer obsessed with those things that he had already pursued. On the contrary, it was the blood in the bones that I had forgotten for many years, and I only remembered it when the catastrophe came. And isn't such a vigorous southwest the most suitable place for people like themselves who "only have a clear ambition after death"?

Back then, I traveled far to study at the Yueren Military Academy, so I didn't want to establish a miracle after returning to China. Defending the country has been the dream of the Chinese people for thousands of years. The ancients were still piercing and clear-minded, why can't they?

The battalion commander seems to have low military power, but it reflects the importance that this commander Zhang attaches to himself. If the military rank is high, what is the use of a false title. If the subordinates are not satisfied, what is the use? Only by starting from scratch can we truly realize the ideal of defending our home and country. If he hadn't died once, he would have seen it so clearly.

"Chief Zhang, I still think that the position of battalion commander is too high. I don't know much about the Southwestern Army. Your army is well-equipped and has advanced tactics, so I think it is better to start from scratch. Xu Shuzheng said abruptly, although the position of the battalion commander is more conducive to his command to kill the enemy and garrison the frontier, but he can't miss the major event of this General Commander Zhang. The frontier of national defense is child's play. What's wrong with being a general, "dead" has died once, there is no previous Xu Shuzheng in the world, but a Xu Shuzheng who has been relived once!!

"Mr. Xu, don't worry, I have already considered it for you. This is an enrollment form for the Huaxia Military Academy, where you can learn everything you need to know about the Southwest Army that is unique. During this period, I will arrange for you to serve as a deputy platoon commander in the garrison division for two months, and I think that with Mr. Xu's background in a regular military academy and rich combat experience, he will definitely be able to become a brand-new commander of the Southwest Army for a year at most and half a year at the minimum. In terms of merit and promotion, the future is also promising. Zhang Shusheng was not surprised to see him refuse, but told him happily, "Some of Mr. Xu's family members left in Beiping will arrive here in three days." ”

"Okay, thank you for your great kindness, President Zhang's life-saving grace and reinvention grace are remembered again. Mr. Zhang can wait and see when he grows up, I, Xu Shuzheng, should be re-energized, if I am a bad breed and can't afford the position of battalion commander, or if I encounter a cowardly war with a foreign enemy, this population, Chief Zhang can take it away at any time. ”

Xu Shuzheng couldn't help laughing, he was enlightened, and he had shifted his life goal to the direction of realizing the dream of being a soldier and defending the country, "In the first half of my life, I fought with the countrymen, and in the second half of my life, I want to fight to the death with these foreign thieves." ”