"Xiaohu, have you all been doing well these past few years? How many of the team members are still with the army?" Wen Ziqing sensed the change in Zhou Yuanyuan's aura. Although he didn't understand why Zhou Yuanyuan seemed unhappy, he changed the subject. Wen Ziqing had an irreplaceable affection for Meng Xiaohu and the "Thunder Squad."
"Captain, of our squad, only Chen Zhiyong, He Xiangyang, and Wang Xiaogang remain. He Chao, Cao Junjie, and a few others were injured and retired, and the rest of our comrades are..." Meng Xiaohu couldn't continue. After the war, their Thunder Squad, including Captain Wen Ziqing, had a total of twenty-one members. Excluding Wang Xuyang, who was impersonated by the monk Liu Jingyun, five were killed and a dozen were injured.
This casualty ratio wasn't the highest compared to other reconnaissance squads, some of which were wiped out. Because of their military background, reconnaissance squads' missions were ten times more dangerous than those of ordinary soldiers. In war, there are always casualties.
"How could there be such a high casualty rate?" Wen Ziqing felt a little uncomfortable. When Wen Ziqing left the "Thunder Squad", only two of their team members were blown away by landmines due to Wang Xuyang's conspiracy. A few others were injured, but they were all alive and well!
Although a soldier's mission is to defend their country, Wen Ziqing still felt heartbroken after hearing Meng Xiaohu's answer. The voices and smiles of his comrades seemed to be right before his eyes.
"Captain, you weren't with the squad. The new captain made a misjudgment during a mission, and we were trapped in the enemy's main camp..." Meng Xiaohu said this, raising his hand to wipe away a tear. Those days of artillery fire! Every memory of them was filled with pain.
After Wen Ziqing left, Meng Xiaohu realized how fortunate their squad had been to have Wen Ziqing as their leader. In the minefield, Wen Ziqing's protective shield had helped most of the team survive. Furthermore, Wen Ziqing had led them through one challenging mission after another. After Wen Ziqing's departure, the "Thunder Squad" fell apart, and the new captain, rather arrogant, was determined to surpass Wen Ziqing's achievements. One such mission involved going deep behind enemy lines to destroy an enemy supply and weapons cache. Due to the captain's reckless advance, the team members perished, and the captain himself was killed.
After that mission, the "Thunder Squad" existed in name only. By the time the wounded recovered, the war was over. Meng Xiaohu and his men, whose injuries were not serious, were able to remain in the army, but some who were missing limbs or had lame legs had no choice but to retire.
Wen Ziqing was silent. Over the years, Wen Ziqing had always been concerned about the members of the Thunder Squad. Although he knew the cruelty of war, Wen Ziqing still prayed for everyone to be safe.
After hearing such a cruel answer from Meng Xiaohu today, Wen Ziqing felt a heavy weight settle on his heart. The dead are gone! I wonder how the retired soldiers are doing now? And have the families of those who died, have they gotten over the loss of their loved ones?
"Captain, are you visiting the Northern Military Region this time for a visit or for work?" Meng Xiaohu's mood quickly recovered. After all, he had experienced the pain of separation and death before. Over the years, Meng Xiaohu had often inquired about Wen Ziqing's whereabouts, but unfortunately, due to his lack of rank, he only heard that Wen Ziqing had participated in some secret mission, but he never learned what the specific mission was.
After the war, the members of the "Thunder Squad" were awarded first-class merit for their contributions during the war, and those who did not retire were promoted to officers. Like Meng Xiaohu, they all missed Wen Ziqing very much.
"I've been working here for the past few years." Wen Ziqing hadn't considered hiding this from Meng Xiaohu. Judging from Meng Xiaohu's appearance, he must have been selected to participate in the new regiment's training. Meng Xiaohu's group would be the instructors for the next group.
Wen Ziqing secretly decided that this time, he would increase the difficulty of the training by two levels, so that he could sweat more during training and bleed less during fighting!
"Captain, are you the mysterious leader of our new regiment?" Meng Xiaohu exclaimed. Meng Xiaohu had been here for three days and had heard a lot of gossip. Some soldiers said the new leader was a young man, others said he was a middle-aged man, and still others said the new leader was actually a playboy who was appointed leader solely because of his family's influence. There were many rumors.
Meng Xiaohu, however, felt that this training camp had such a big fanfare, it was definitely not just for them to "play house." Seeing Wen Ziqing nod, Meng Xiaohu almost jumped for joy.
"Captain, that's great, it's great to be with you again." Meng Xiaohu knew Wen Ziqing was very skilled, and they would definitely learn a lot of useful things if they could train with him. Hadn't they seen how Wen Ziqing led them on missions with virtually zero casualties? No matter how many of these moves he could learn, it would be a blessing for him!
Seeing Meng Xiaohu so excited, Wen Ziqing couldn't help but smile.
"Captain, come sit in our dormitory! Training starts tomorrow, so let's spend some quality time together. Dachen and Xiaogang have been talking about you a lot over the years." Meng Xiaohu was afraid Zhou Yuanyuan wouldn't agree, so he quickly said to her, "Sister-in-law, can you give the captain half a day off?"
Zhou Yuanyuan was stunned by Meng Xiaohu calling her "sister-in-law." She might be tall, but she wasn't that old! A seventeen-year-old military wife? How beastly would Wen Ziqing be?
"Xiaohu, she's your future sister-in-law. We haven't even gotten married yet!" Wen Ziqing raised his hand and gently patted Meng Xiaohu on the head. Although Wen Ziqing really wanted people to mistakenly believe that Zhou Yuanyuan was his wife, he didn't dare to stroke her beard when he saw the little girl blushing.
Well, considering Wen Ziqing's sensible nature, Zhou Yuanyuan felt that she should give him half a day off, as Meng Xiaohu had suggested. Wen Ziqing wouldn't be able to accompany Zhou Yuanyuan to the mine anyway, and he might even forbid her from destroying the mineral vein! She might as well go alone.
"My future sister-in-law is still my sister-in-law. Sister-in-law, you won't turn our tiger-like captain into a kitten, right? Sister-in-law, please give the order quickly! Otherwise, the captain won't dare." Meng Xiaohu pleaded with Zhou Yuanyuan with a lecherous face.
What tiger and kitten? This Meng Xiaohu is really a funny guy with a rich imagination!
Wen Ziqing secretly glanced at Zhou Yuanyuan, and only when he saw that she was not angry did he feel relieved. He said evasively, "Xiao Hu, I have something to do today. Let's do it another day!"
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