Hearing Wei Yong's words, Nie Tianming was deeply moved, but he still humbly replied, "Section Chief, you're joking. Even if I were to gain the Director's favor, I would still need your help in the future!"
Wei Yong laughed after hearing this. He knew that if his subordinate really got the opportunity and rose to a high position, he would be the top leader among the section chiefs of the Second Action Division. With Ning and Wei as his backers, how could they compete with him?
After exchanging a few more words, Wei Yong said, "That's settled then. Go and inform your officers of the rank of lieutenant and above to assemble at the drill ground at 3:45 noon. Then we'll see how it goes!"
Nie Tianming nodded in acceptance and hurriedly left the office.
At noon, on the drill ground of the Second Division, hundreds of officers stood in neat rows. Zhao Jiang led his action team to serve as the execution squad, and the team members pushed out five officers, including Bao Hong, who had violated discipline.
Bao Hong and the other four men were ashen-faced. They were shackled behind their backs and dragged to the center of the drill ground. Seeing their miserable state, the officers couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines.
Soon, Ning Zhiheng and Wei Liangbi strode onto the drill ground. All the officers stood at attention. Ning Zhiheng slowly stepped forward and loudly addressed the crowd: "Today, we are enforcing military law on officers who have violated discipline. Bao Hong and four others disobeyed orders, concealed the facts of the case, knowingly broke the law, and engaged in corruption and embezzlement. They are a disgrace to our Party and the nation's soldiers. Everyone should take this as a warning..."
But before Ning Zhiheng could finish speaking, Bao Hong, who could no longer suppress his fear, shouted, "Chief, we are active-duty officers. You can't just kill us without warning. Even if we embezzled some money, it doesn't have to cost us our lives. We hope you can spare us this time for the sake of the Director!"
Since their arrest yesterday, this is the first time Bao Hong and the others have seen Ning Zhiheng. Even if they wanted to beg for mercy, they couldn't find the real culprit. Now that they are about to die, how could they be willing to be killed? Naturally, they were thinking of seeking survival.
Upon hearing this, the other four officers also begged for mercy, struggling forward under the control of the executioners, trying to save their lives.
Ning Zhiheng didn't care about any of that. His intention today was to cut the Gordian knot and execute these guys as soon as possible. At the same time, he wanted to make an example of them, to show the others in the Second Division that the authority of the military commander was not to be challenged, and to warn the dissidents in the Second Division about the consequences of disobeying his orders.
Ning Zhiheng paid no heed to their pleas for mercy. He simply waved his hand, signaling his team to push the men aside for execution. However, Bao Hong exerted all his strength, his body swaying as he unleashed a burst of power, breaking free from the team members on either side. Seeing that he couldn't escape his fate today, he decided to go all out, shouting at Ning Zhiheng, "Ning Zhiheng, this is indiscriminate killing, eliminating dissidents! If we're talking about embezzlement, whose hands are clean? You still get a share of all that money, don't you? Why are you specifically targeting us? Isn't it because we got in your way…?"
Bao Hong wasn't stupid after all. He thought about it carefully in prison for a long time and finally guessed why Ning Zhiheng was determined to kill them. If they didn't struggle today, when would they have another chance?
Before he could finish speaking, he was grabbed from both sides by the executioners and pinned to the ground, unable to move.
Ning Zhiheng's lips curled into a contemptuous smile. He walked slowly forward to Bao Hong, his cold gaze fixed on him, and said indifferently, "Even facing death, you still do not know how to repent. How can you judge right and wrong?"
Bao Hong, however, was unwilling to surrender and await his death. He struggled and roared, "Ning Zhiheng, you're taking revenge for personal reasons! You'll die a horrible death! Let me tell you, even if you kill me, the Director won't let you get away with it. I've followed the Director for so many years, serving on the battlefield, while you were still wearing diapers..."
Hearing Bao Hong's nonsense, Ning Zhiheng's eyes narrowed, and he couldn't help but laugh in anger, his murderous intent no longer able to be suppressed.
"Well said, well said! You keep saying you've followed the Director for many years, so I'll give you a chance out of respect for him!"
As soon as he spoke, everyone was stunned. Even Bao Hong and the others looked at Ning Zhiheng as if they had found a lifeline.
Ning Zhiheng knew that the purpose of making an example of these people today was to thoroughly suppress the arrogance of the people in the Second Operations Division. He had to go all out today so that they would never dare to cause any more trouble in the future.
Ning Zhiheng glanced at Bao Hong and the others and said calmly, "I know you are all elites in the military, so I'll give you a chance to live. If you can hold out against me for five minutes, I'll take responsibility and let you live. But if you're not as skilled, don't blame me!"
Upon hearing this, everyone erupted in commotion. They never expected that Director Ning would choose to resolve the matter through a military contest.
Everyone in the Second Operations Division had heard of Director Ning Zhiheng's infamous reputation as the King of Hell, but that only referred to his ruthless nature and indiscriminate killing. As for his tactical abilities, apart from some of his former subordinates who had followed him, no one else had ever witnessed them. They had only heard that he was also a tactical mastermind, and during the Nanjing period, he was known as the top operations expert in the Military Intelligence Bureau.
However, after the establishment of the Military Intelligence Bureau, this director kept to himself and rarely showed his face. Without daily contact, and relying only on hearsay, people inevitably became complacent.
On the contrary, Bao Hong and his ilk are indeed skilled tacticians with excellent physical abilities. Otherwise, they would not have been selected from the military to join the Second Operations Division of the Military Intelligence Bureau. Bao Hong, in particular, is a person of questionable character, but he has been able to get to where he is today largely because of his excellent physical skills. People who come from the ranks of the military value tactical strength and believe in the supremacy of the strong. For this reason, the people around Bao Hong also have great faith in him.
Hearing Ning Zhiheng say this, Bao Hong couldn't help but shout, "You keep your word!"
Ning Zhiheng didn't say much, but waved his hand to signal Zhao Jiang to immediately lead his men forward to remove the shackles from Bao Hong and the other four.
The five men exchanged glances, hesitant and unsure of Ning Zhiheng's intentions. Bao Hong stretched his limbs and looked at Ning Zhiheng with suspicion.
"Remember, you only have five minutes. If you can hold on, you'll live. In a life-or-death struggle, don't hold back, or don't blame me if you get killed!"
Ning Zhiheng looked at the group of people, took off his general's hat and handed it to Wei Liangbi behind him. He slowly unbuttoned his collar and, seeing that Bao Hong and the others had finished their activities and were on high alert, he wasted no more time. He stepped forward, took the lead, and rushed forward.
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