"When meeting someone, you must salute first, and the salute speed should be slowed down to about two seconds..."
"When delivering the notice, hold it with both hands and then bow..."
…
In the Ming Dynasty, everything has its corresponding process.
There is also a corresponding procedure for delivering death notices. This process is precise and no step is too much, but each step is extremely formal and full of respect for the fallen soldiers.
Because they were not proficient, they practiced it again before leaving the office.
The whole process cannot be missed at any step!
Why can't we be one step behind?
Because for the families of fallen soldiers, any mistakes are unacceptable. After all, their family members died on the battlefield!
If even something like delivering a notice can go wrong, then the so-called respect is really just so-called respect.
So there are some things that absolutely cannot go wrong.
…
When Dai Shiping, wearing long-sleeved formal uniforms, and his comrade Qian Youyong rode their bicycles into the Xingfuyuan community, people nearby had already noticed him. Those who were originally sitting in the community park stood up and looked at him.
January is summer in the southern hemisphere, the hottest time of the year. It is definitely not a good thing to have two soldiers in formal attire come to the door at this time. While the women were talking to each other, some women whose family members were serving in the army all had slightly changed expressions. They all held their children and looked at the two soldiers, watching where they were going.
"Whose is it?"
"It seems to be at Building 12."
"It's Hu..."
Before some women could breathe a sigh of relief, the sound of a woman crying was heard in the park, and a woman ran over there like crazy.
"She is the daughter-in-law of the Hu family. She lives in Unit 2, Building 12..."
After stopping at a unit, Dai Shiping looked at the unit number.
“This is it!”
When he had tied up the bicycle, he turned around and helped Qian Youyong tidy up each other's appearance. After they wiped the sweat off their faces with handkerchiefs, they nodded.
"Okay, let's go up..."
When they were about to go upstairs, a woman who was running towards them crying suddenly sat down on the ground. Her crying stopped abruptly and she sat there in a daze, watching the two soldiers enter Unit 3.
No, not her man!
The woman with tears on her face didn't even know how to describe her mood for a moment. Was she grateful? Was she happy? Or...
While the woman was sitting on the ground in a daze, several women ran over.
"Sister Li, what's wrong? This is..."
"He, they went to Unit 3, it was, it was... it was Jiafu..."
"Jiafu, his wife Yumi is still pregnant..."
"That's right, what should I do?"
"Well, let's go together... let's see if there's anything I can help with."
"Yes, yes, we have to go over there and take a look..."
When the women handed the children to other people and walked towards Unit 3, Dai Shiping and Qian Youyong, who had already gone up to the third floor, stood by the door, took a deep breath, and then gently knocked on the doorknob. The sound of a child crying could be faintly heard behind the door.
"Why!"
While sighing, Dai Shiping heard voices outside the door.
"Who is it?"
The man's Chinese was a little stiff, and when the door opened, a short young woman came into view.
"Who are you?"
Yumi looked at the two soldiers.
"Excuse me, is this Ms. Tsuneyumi Tsune?"
After receiving a positive answer, Dai Shiping immediately stood at attention and then saluted slowly.
"Dear Ms. Chang, please allow me to express my sincere gratitude to you on behalf of the Imperial Army Department..."
What……
Chang Youmei had no idea what the other party said next. She was completely stunned and tears instantly rolled down her cheeks.
"How could this happen? How could this happen? How could this happen?"
When she leaned against the door and was about to slip, the neighbor woman came forward and helped her up.
Looking at the death notice in front of her with both hands, she had no spirit in her eyes. When she was about to reach out her hand, she suddenly retracted it. It seemed that if she didn't take the letter, her husband would not die.
"Ms. Chang, if you need any help, you can write to the Army Department and the local military service office at any time. We will provide all the help we can. Your husband's pension will be delivered to your door in three days by me personally..."
All of these are procedures and corresponding regulations. Isn’t this inhumane?
The seemingly blunt words actually express the care for the bereaved families. In the Ming Dynasty, there would be no distinction based on military rank. They were imperial soldiers during their lifetime and they were equal after their death - they were all loyal martyrs of the empire.
Finally, Yumi took the letter. After taking the letter, she held it tightly in her arms, just like she hugged her husband tightly when he left half a year ago. The man who once brought her infinite warmth and security has turned into a thin piece of paper.
"salute!"
Salute again, after saluting.
As he was about to leave, Dai Shiping said to the people standing in the stairwell.
"I'll leave everything up to you!"
After saying this, he bowed and expressed his gratitude.
"Don't worry, sir. Not to mention Jiafu becoming a loyal hero, even between neighbors, this is what should happen."
As the two of them left, they could hear the concerned voices of the women behind them.
"Yumi, Yumi, cry if you want to!"
When the crying sounded, the two people with heavy footsteps just sighed silently, and when they went downstairs, Qian Youyong spoke without saying a word.
"Sir, should we continue sending it?"
"There are three more..."
What are these three thin death notices?
For these three families, it was a disaster and a separation of life and death.
…
That night, sitting at a roadside wine stall, Dai Shiping and Qian Youyong just drank silently. The wine was the most common Victory wine, and the dishes were just cheap beef scalp, braised beef offal, peanuts and dried radish.
"Brother Dai, this mission is really not for humans to do."
Qian Youyong said gloomily after taking a sip of wine.
"Going to the frontline to fight is better than delivering such news to the door. Is this a job for a human being?..."
"Someone has to inform their families and tell them the bad news."
Dai Shiping took a sip of wine and said.
"Why do we have to have all these procedures? These procedures cannot go wrong at any step because we value them. If we didn't value them, we could just buy a stamp for 1 cent, put it in an envelope and mail it. It's like sending a conscription notice. How much does it cost? 2 cents! In this case, a soldier..."
Dai Shiping said, holding up two fingers.
"It's only worth two cents!"
"No, military mail is free."
"Haha, what's that?"
Staring at Qian Youyong, Dai Shiping spoke loudly with a heavy heart.
"It's just cannon fodder! Cannon fodder! Do you understand? The soldiers of the Empire become the cannon fodder of the Empire! So..."
Dai Shiping, who had drunk a lot of wine, suddenly lowered his head and said again.
"We have to go. We are just delivering bad news, but what about them? Dead...died on the battlefield! No, no..."
Shaking his head vigorously, Dai Shiping continued.
"They didn't die, they didn't die, they went to the Martyrs' Shrine, yes, they all went to the Martyrs' Shrine..."
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