Chapter 3

That night, I talked a lot with Commander Zhang... In fact, we talked for more than just one night, as we continued from night to day, and then from day to night again... I had no idea how much time had passed!

We talked about many topics... Sometimes we discussed the course of battles, sometimes we talked about the tactics used by the Soviet army, and sometimes we discussed the coordination and use of Soviet equipment... When we were tired, we would lie down and rest in the chairs, and when we were sleepy, we would lean on the table!

What surprised me was that even after so long, I didn't feel tired, and there were endless topics to discuss... Perhaps this is what people mean by "When you meet a true friend, a thousand cups of wine seem few; when you talk with someone you don't get along with, even half a sentence is too much"!

In the end, Commander Zhang basically extracted all my experiences from the year in Afghanistan, and then nodded in satisfaction, exclaiming, "Your operation in Afghanistan... was truly worthwhile! It has provided us with a lot of valuable intelligence... Now we know what kind of enemy we are dealing with!"

At that moment, I realized... Commander Zhang had sent us to Afghanistan with a deeper purpose!

"Let's end the conversation for today!" Commander Zhang patted my shoulder and said with a smile, "I can see you're exhausted, go back and rest well..."

I did feel a bit drained... Although the duty soldiers kept bringing food and meals, being cooped up in the office for dozens of hours without rest, constantly thinking, discussing, and debating... It was really challenging for me!

But then I thought... I'm still in my twenties... and Commander Zhang is over fifty. If I'm tired, how could he not be?

So I said, "Commander, you..."

"I need to organize what you just said!" Commander Zhang said, and immediately started writing.

I knew it was no use to persuade him, so I sighed inwardly, saluted Commander Zhang, and left the headquarters...

"Yang Xuefeng!" As soon as I walked out of the headquarters, I heard Zhang Fan's voice, and I was taken aback... It was the middle of the night, and I didn't know which night it was...

Sure enough, I saw Zhang Fan running up, still half-asleep, and excitedly grabbing my arm, saying, "I've been waiting for you to come out!"

"You... why are you here?" I asked, a bit puzzled, "Did you wait outside the whole time?"

"What's so strange about waiting outside?"

"How long have you been waiting?"

"Since you arrived," Zhang Fan said, "I had nothing else to do anyway..."

"Did you not sleep at all?"

"How could I not!" Zhang Fan pointed to the chair in the guard room and said, "I just slept there!"

I was speechless for a moment...

"What's wrong?" Before I could say anything, Zhang Fan retorted, "Don't think I'm so pampered... Have you forgotten that I've been on the battlefield and slept in trenches? This little hardship is nothing!"

Zhang Fan was right... For someone who had been on the Vietnam battlefield, this little hardship was indeed nothing, but the issue was that Zhang Fan didn't need to do this!

At that moment, I began to understand Commander Zhang's intention in not letting Zhang Fan come to pick me up... On one hand, it might have affected my mood and made it hard for me to focus on the conversation, and on the other hand, it would have affected Zhang Fan... But this didn't work, as Zhang Fan had been waiting outside all along!

"What are you standing there for?" Zhang Fan said, a bit dissatisfied, "You're exhausted... I'll take you back to the dorm to rest, we can talk later!"

Without waiting for my response, she dragged me into the jeep... On the way, I wanted to say something but couldn't, because it felt like Zhang Fan knew and understood everything.

But it might also be because I was too tired and had already talked too much with Commander Zhang... Zhang Fan's strength is her empathy... I knew she had a lot to say and many questions to ask, after all, we hadn't seen each other for a year... But she didn't ask a single question until she helped me lie down on the bed.

I slept for a long time, and I don't know how long... Whether it was the time difference or something else, my sense of time was completely messed up... I would wake up, turn over, and go back to sleep... Sometimes I would wake up groggily to drink water or use the bathroom, then fall back asleep!

Later, I was woken up by hunger... I finally woke up completely and got up to find something to eat!

"Captain, you're awake!" Hearing the commotion, the guard, Xiao Li, quickly brought in a meal, "You've been sleeping for over twenty hours... You must be hungry..."

Without saying a word, I started eating the food quickly... While eating, I asked curiously, "What has the unit been doing these days? Training?"

Ever since I became the battalion commander, I always think about my soldiers, and it has become a habit!

"The unit is on leave!" the guard replied, "They have a ten-day holiday... The commander let the soldiers go home to see their families! Since you were talking with the commander, the political instructor applied for the leave without your approval!"

"Um!" I nodded in response.

It's time for them to go home and see their families... It's rare to come back alive, so it's only right to report to their families first. I just hope they don't cause as many mishaps as they did last time when they return to the unit!

"By the way!" When I was almost done eating, the guard handed me a document and said, "This is from Commander Zhang... He said to give it to you when you wake up. You can provide feedback and make changes..."

"Um!" I drank some water and, with still half-asleep eyes, looked at the document the guard handed me... It was the training plan for the combined battalion...

When I received the document, I was a bit puzzled. Our combined battalion's combat capability was already quite good... The coordination between different units was well-trained, and we even had rich combat experience, having defeated the Soviet army in battle. What more training was needed?

But the more I read, the more shocked I became... The training subjects were very different from before. Not only was the infantry to be mechanized, but the most surprising part was the inclusion of helicopter air drops and rappelling...

After some thought, I quickly understood. Commander Zhang was training us to mimic the Soviet army. As for what the training was for... it was obvious! To play the role of Soviet soldiers!

Only then did I understand the true purpose of Commander Zhang sending us to Afghanistan!