Chapter 204: The Highest Honor of a Conscript!

Begin the late roll call!

Report to Company Commander: the whole company should have xx present, actually xx present, two are on duty standing guard, please advise!

Duty officer Li Jiang saluted the Company Commander, finished reporting, closed the roll call book, and returned to the ranks.

Ma Qing'an swept his gaze over the formation and shouted two commands.

At ease!

Attention!

Say a few words!

Ma Qing'an, hands behind his back, stern-faced: "The exercise ended three days ago; I won't mention the lax training of these three days."

But from tomorrow on, those who need to settle down, settle your mind; put all your thoughts into training.

From tomorrow on, restore the daily routine and training intensity to what they were before.

Each platoon leader, tighten the ropes for me; make things tense.

During these days after the exercise, the company's training has been relatively lax, and discipline hasn't been as strict as before.

This is because we considered that the soldiers endured hardship in the exercise, so we let everyone relax a little.

Military training emphasizes work-rest balance; being overly strict yields no good results.

So after relaxing, we must return to the normal rhythm, otherwise morale will scatter.

Ma Qing'an then said: "In this regard, I hope everyone can look up to Lu Yang!"

Lu Yang puffed out his chest and openly accepted the superior's praise.

Ma Qing'an praised: "Lu Yang's performance in the exercise is evident to all; he contributed the most and achieved the highest results."

But after the exercise ended, he not only didn't slack off at all, but instead held himself to strict standards, constantly drilling to find and fill gaps.

It's not scary that others are excellent; what's scary is that those better than you work even harder and fight even more.

He Zhen Tao added: "The Company Commander's meaning is not to let everyone go crazy with internal competition, risking their bodies."

As long as you make a little effort each day and improve over yesterday's self, you are a good soldier.

He Zhen Tao's addition let everyone present breathe a sigh of relief.

If compared to Lu Yang, they truly can't match him, whether innate or acquired, they are far behind.

But if they merely learn Lu Yang's drive for proactive progress, improving a little each day, they can still achieve it.

After saying a few sentences simply, the Company Commander announced the dismissal of the formation and had Lu Yang stay behind alone.

Come on, let's go to the office to talk.

Lu Yang followed the Company Commander to the office.

He Zhen Tao took two cans of tea from the drawer and handed them to Lu Yang.

Take it.

For me?

Lu Yang has no habit of drinking tea.

So the Instructor suddenly giving him tea made him feel weird.

He Zhen Tao shook his head: "It's not for you; it's for you to take and give to someone."

Ma Qing'an took a pack of cigarettes from the Instructor's drawer, lit one, and explained: "The day after tomorrow, weekend, take the tea and go to Seventh Company to give it to Gao Feng."

That day in the exercise, you beat him up all over; send some tea as an apology.

No matter what, he is still the Company Commander of your New Recruit Company, who has nurtured you; you should show some gratitude.

What a coincidence, Lu Yang already had someone bring a pack of cigarettes.

He was preparing to go to Seventh Company on the weekend to apologize to the Seventh Company Commander.

Exercise is exercise, private matters are private; the key is to maintain relations.

Moreover, Lu Yang always thought the Seventh Company Commander was a good person; even when standing there taking bullets, he didn't move rashly.

Upon hearing Lu Yang had prepared early, Ma Qing'an was surprised: "What cigarettes did you buy? Gao Feng is notoriously narrow-minded; if the cigarettes are ugly, he won't accept them."

Lu Yang: "I had someone buy a carton of Hua Zi."

Ma Qing'an stared: "Damn, you're giving him such high-end stuff! A carton of Yuxi would be enough; where did you get the money?"

Lu Yang chuckled: "I still have the bonus from earlier merits and my allowance."

Ma Qing'an rolled his eyes angrily: "A conscript's allowance is just a few bucks; buying such good cigarettes, can he even taste them?"

Return the Hua Zi, I'll have someone get a medium-grade carton, roughly the same, not for holidays or festivals.

Hey, you can't say that. He Zhen Tao disagreed.

This is also Lu Yang's good intention; it's appropriate to be a bit pricey.

Moreover, if it weren't for them showing mercy in the exercise, not using tanks to blow up the hill, we wouldn't have had a chance to perish together.

They saved our face; we must also do our part inside, this is human etiquette.

He looked at Lu Yang: "Just the Hua Zi; later the company will reimburse you, counting it toward entertainment expenses."

Lu Yang shook his head; he still didn't want to take advantage of the unit.

This is his own intention, and spending his own earned money feels solid.

Moreover, the Instructor has already sponsored two boxes of tea; spending a little of his own money is fine.

Anyway, in the unit, food, lodging, and usage are free; nothing costs money.

He also has no other hobbies; basically nowhere to spend money.

Seeing Lu Yang insist thus, the two couldn't keep urging him.

But this persistence, and the advance preparation, also made the two feel that Lu Yang is a good lad who values loyalty and repays kindness.

Ma Qing'an suddenly said: "By the way, the regiment earlier called about the list of personnel who distinguished themselves in the exercise and the corresponding rewards, which have already been drafted."

Tomorrow morning, the regiment commander will personally come over to announce the honor.

This made Lu Yang extremely happy.

Looking forward to the stars and the moon, the reward is finally coming.

Although, after enlisting he had already received some honors, more or less.

But as a soldier, who would complain about having too little honor?

Moreover, this situation is different from any previous one.

This is the honor he earned on the battlefield by killing enemies, and it naturally carries much more weight.

That night, Lu Yang tossed and turned, too excited to sleep.

While counting sheep, he went from one sheep, two sheep, to one merit medal, two merit medals.

This excessive excitement was just like when he was a kid on New Year's Eve, neatly placing his new clothes at the head of the bed, hoping to put them on early.

Lu Yang was eager to know what honor he would receive for risking his life to defend the position and annihilate the enemy.

……

The night passed without incident, and soon it was the next day.

Morning drill, breakfast, then tidying up quarters.

At 7:50, the assembly whistle sounded from downstairs.

"Everyone wear hats, fasten belts, assemble downstairs!"

Lu Yang eagerly straightened his uniform and rushed downstairs with the other soldiers to fall in.

After roll call, the whole company jogged to the front of the flag platform and stood in formation.

In front of the flag platform stood a sturdy round-faced middle-aged man wearing a colonel's insignia on his shoulder, with the two company commanders positioned to his left and right.

Not having seen the regiment commander for a long time, seeing him again still felt very warm.

Wang Zhongxi smiled and nodded at Lu Yang in the ranks.

This small gesture was noticed by many, making them envy him greatly.

This not only signified that Lu Yang held a place in the regiment commander's heart, but also showed the commander's closeness and approval of him.

"Regiment commander, greetings!"

"At ease!"

Wang Zhongxi was slightly stout, his regular uniform puffed out on him.

He always wore his signature honest smile, looking amiable and easy to talk to.

Wang Zhongxi got straight to the point: "I came today specifically to commend the collectives and individuals who performed outstandingly in the recent exercise."

"This exercise was splendid and intense; even the division superiors said they hadn't seen such a splendid exercise in a long time."

"But I think, among the twelve companies of our Special Third Regiment, your Sixth Company performed the best, right?"

"Yes!"

Facing the regiment commander's heavily accented inquiry, the whole company shouted back in response.

Although they didn't win, thanks to Lu Yang they also didn't lose.

So they could shout that word with full confidence and justification.

Wang Zhongxi was pleased with the spirit shown by the Sixth Company's soldiers, and gave Ma Qing'an a satisfied glance.

Ma Qing'an was also happy inside; after so many losses, he finally managed a draw.

Taking on armored vehicles with light infantry is really not easy, damn not easy.

Wang Zhongxi continued: "Next, we will award merits; first to be honored is a young comrade."

"Lu Yang."

"Present."

"Step out."

Lu Yang ran to the front of the formation with great anticipation and saluted the regiment commander.

Wang Zhongxi looked at him with a squinting smile and said, very pleased.

"Your performance in the exercise is evident to all; you have spirit, ability, vigor, and virtue."

"So after the regiment held a meeting and discussed it, and with approval from the division superiors, it was decided to award you the title of 'Four-have Excellent Soldier'."

Looking at the wooden box Wang Zhongxi handed over, and the honor medal inside, Lu Yang was overcome with excitement.

Before enlisting, he had once heard from his cousin say that this was the highest honor for a conscript.

Each year, the regiment only gives this to a few soldiers who have served over two years and performed exceptionally.

But who would have thought that Lu Yang, before even completing his first year of service, had already received this highest conscript honor?

He excitedly accepted it, gave a salute, and said, "Thank you, superiors!"

Wang Zhongxi smiled and said, "This is the honor medal; later you'll also receive the honor certificate and award."

"You did indeed perform quite well in the exercise, quite eye-catching; I never imagined you would ultimately choose to die together with the enemy on the position."

"You defended the position with your life, fulfilled your duty as a soldier with hot blood; you are worthy of the title Four-have Excellent Soldier!"

"So, besides this honor medal, I will also give you another reward..."

Wang Zhongxi gave a glance, and He Zhen Tao hurriedly suppressed his smile and stepped forward.

Under Lu Yang's bewildered gaze, they tore off the shoulder insignia symbolizing a private from his shoulder.

Lu Yang's heart pounded: Was this an early promotion to senior private?

He had heard that outstanding performance could lead to early promotion in the unit, but he never expected it to happen to him.

But when He Zhen Tao placed a pair of brand-new shoulder boards on his shoulders, Lu Yang went blank, as did the other people in the company.

Because the rank insignia Lu Yang newly wore was not the two bars of a senior private.

Instead, it was a bend, plus two old spears crossed in a cross shape......