Chapter 116: Winning Hearts and Minds (Part 1)

The new army had been training for half a month. Seeing that Wei Aiwen had no intention of starting political training, Ma Qianzhu became a little anxious. “I say, little Wei, when are you going to give everyone political training? You’ve been in the company for two weeks already. The other companies have long since taken action. You are the benchmark company of the training battalion, you have to set a good example!”

Wei Aiwen smiled slightly, looking confident. “Chief of Staff Ma, just put your mind at ease! We’ll have a meeting tonight, I guarantee you’ll be satisfied!”

“Really? You have to do a good job!” Ma Qianzhu was half-believing, half-doubting, and didn’t press further.

In fact, Wei Aiwen had not been idle these days. To do his work well, he had racked his brains, not only going deep into the company to understand the soldiers’ situation, but also doing “reconnaissance” work, observing the political training of other companies. He found that the political training in the new army was nothing more than these methods: speeches, leaders’ talks, political reports; classes, literacy campaigns… A flash of inspiration struck Wei Aiwen: why not try something retro and innovative?

The sky gradually darkened, and the stars twinkled in the night sky. Here, it was not like the cities of the 21st century, where even at night, the streetlights were on, and every household in the tall buildings had electric lights and televisions, making the sky whitish and only the brightest stars visible. The air pollution was also severe, and the sky was always hazy, making people feel a sense of suffocation. Sometimes at night, looking towards the industrial area, the sky would even turn reddish. No one in the settlement was willing to turn on the lights, consuming expensive electricity. Besides, there was nothing much to do except watch AVs, so the farmers went to bed early. It was pitch black all around. A half-moon had just risen from the east, casting a silvery glow. Overhead, the Milky Way stretched from east to west, a vast, bright white strip. Countless stars were densely packed, most of them concentrated in the Milky Way, giving a sense of depth. Wei Aiwen looked up at the starry sky, quite amazed. A child who grew up in the city had never seen such a sight!

The new recruits had all assembled, sitting around a bonfire in the open, trembling. Lingao is in a subtropical climate zone, and the winter temperature is above twenty degrees Celsius, so a bonfire was a bit hot. A kerosene lamp was placed in the middle. The red flame danced on the cotton wick, and blackish-gray smoke rose, making the copper handle even shinier black.

The firelight reflected on the soldiers’ faces. Everyone was very curious. They were told that the new “chief” would be giving them political training today. What would it be about?

Wei Aiwen stood up, looked around, and said, “I’ve gathered everyone here today for political training, to hold a themed company meeting. The theme is yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Please speak frankly and freely, talk about your past experiences, your current situation, and then imagine the future.”

Everyone looked at each other. What was this? No one knew what to do, and no one spoke. The scene suddenly became cold and very quiet.

Wei Aiwen had anticipated this situation. It takes a process for new things to be accepted! So he said, “Then let me start.” Wei Aiwen had already thought it over. He would use this opportunity to make up a past experience and spread it to eliminate the barrier between him and the soldiers.

“Let me sing a song for everyone first!” Saying this, Wei Aiwen slightly raised his head, looked at the moon on the eastern horizon, took a deep breath, brewed his emotions, and then began to sing softly:

“The sky is full of stars, the crescent moon is bright. Our company is holding a meeting, to tell our grievances and seek justice. The evil landlord owes the poor a debt of blood and tears. A thousand thoughts, a thousand thoughts surge in my heart. Endless tears of sorrow, hang in my heart. I will never forget that year, the north wind was bone-chillingly cold. The landlord broke into my house, with a large gang of thugs. He said we owed him a debt, and that we owed him grain. The landlord pressed for his debt, the landlord pressed for his debt like a living King of Hell. I will never forget that year, my father was sick in bed. The landlord forced him to be a long-term laborer, he coughed up blood from exhaustion. He was so thin he was just skin and bones, his face was yellow from illness. The landlord’s black heart, the landlord’s black heart forced my parents to their death. I will never forget that year, the suffering had no end. With no way out, I entered the tiger’s mouth, to herd cattle for the landlord. I got up in the middle of the night, and returned at sunset. Pity this orphan, who can I call for help?”

His low voice, coupled with a sobbing tone and trembling singing, was truly like a lament, like a mournful cry. The soldiers couldn’t help but feel a sense of resonance. Some thought of their own pasts, and their eyes turned red. Some even began to sob quietly.

Wei Aiwen himself felt a shock to his soul. This emotion, this scene, filled him with a sense of oppressive heaviness. He remembered when he first saw this song online, he thought the lyrics were quite amusing and learned to sing it. He never thought it would be useful now. Alas, when he sang it back then, he didn’t feel the sorrow, misery, and resentment reflected in the song. Seeing everyone’s reaction, he knew that these brothers had not learned Mandarin in vain.

Someone grabbed Wei Aiwen’s hand. It was Wang Tao, a fellow transmigrator who had come with him. He was a northerner, tall and burly, looking majestic among a group of short natives. This person, being a former trainer, was particularly good at telling stories and making things up. He was specially arranged in the team to cooperate. He said softly, “Company commander, don’t be sad. Our company is your home, and everyone is your brother, your family.”

Wang Tao choked up and couldn’t continue. He sniffled and also began to talk about the past: “My family originally had about ten mu of land. The land was good, and the harvest was enough to feed my family of four for a year. That scholar Zhang took a fancy to our land and insisted on buying it. My father refused to sell it no matter what. That was the lifeblood of our whole family! That landlord was always looking for an opportunity to take over my family’s field. One year, our cow got loose and nibbled a few mouthfuls of grass in the landlord’s ancestral graveyard. The landlord insisted that it had ruined his family’s feng shui, and had my father arrested and severely beaten. My father was old and couldn’t take it. He was carried home and died three days later—” As Wang Tao spoke, it was as if something was stuck in his throat, and he couldn’t continue. His expression was sorrowful, and it seemed as if tears were about to fall from his eyes. After a long while, he caught his breath. “My mother was not in good health to begin with. After this shock, she followed my father two days later!” He finally couldn’t hold it in anymore, and tears rolled down his dark cheeks. Wei Aiwen was dumbfounded. Brother, you’re not from the Beijing Film Academy or the Central Academy of Drama, are you?

“Not long after, one day his house caught fire, and he falsely accused me of setting it, and wanted to arrest me and report me to the officials. How can a poor family win a lawsuit against a landlord?! I was so anxious that I ran away overnight. When I got to the county town, I asked someone to go back home and check. Only then did I find out that my family’s field had been taken by scholar Zhang, and my little sister had been taken by him as a maid, saying it was to compensate for his losses. Later, I don’t know where this beast sold her. My little sister, she…” Wang Tao sobbed uncontrollably.

“Strong!” Watching Wang Tao’s performance, Wei Aiwen secretly admired him.

A young soldier couldn’t bear it anymore and said angrily, “Truly devoid of all conscience!”

“I used to be a long-term laborer for Chen Yunkai in our village, herding ducks. That black-hearted fellow! A weasel snatched a duckling, and he whipped me severely with a leather whip, and even recorded it in his account book as a lost big duck. Usually, I ate his leftovers, and I wasn’t even full, but he recorded it all as good food in his account book. When the weather turned cold, if I got sick and couldn’t work for him, he would pretend to give me two old, worn-out shirts and pants that no one wore, and then he would record them as new shirts and pants in his account book. Sometimes I was very sick, running a fever, but I would grit my teeth and herd ducks for him, and he would record it all as absence due to illness! At the end of the year, when he showed me the account book, I ended up owing him money! I reasoned with him, but he wouldn’t listen; I was so angry I cried, and he even said hypocritically: ‘Can’t bear to leave me? Then continue to work next year.’ It’s so infuriating!!” The young soldier gritted his teeth, his eyes reflecting the light of the oil lamp, as if they were about to spew fire.

With someone starting, the soldiers also opened up, standing up one after another, scrambling to pour out the bitterness in their hearts. Each one was more tragic than the last.

“I’m from a military household. My ancestors were even minor banner officers. But for several generations, we’ve been unpaid servants for the military officers! Where is there any camaraderie? Not to mention being slow at work, even if you’re just a little slow, you’d be beaten half to death. If you were beaten to death, you’d be dragged out, and no one would ask, and no one would dare to ask. If someone dies outside, you still have to report it to the officials. In the garrison, it’s like a dog dying. People say the county government is corrupt, but they don’t know that the garrisons are countless times more corrupt than the outside world!”

Wei Aiwen knew he was from a military household. To eliminate the fear these common people had of the official army, he deliberately asked, “Then what happens when there’s a war?”

“War?” The military household smiled bitterly. “Just us military households, our pants have holes in them. How can we fight a war? We’re worse off than the common people. When the garrison commander recruits soldiers, the common people can at least get some money and rice. For us military households, even the settlement money and grain are all swallowed up by the centurions and chiliarchs. When we go to the garrison, we just get a bowl of rice. If we can’t become personal soldiers or household retainers, some even starve to death.” He spat. “Only a ghost’s son would sell his life for the government!”

The more he spoke, the more agitated he became: “The official army, to put it nicely, has the word ‘official’ in it, but they’re worse than bandits. They’re crueler to the common people than anyone else, and when it comes to fighting, they’re more cowardly than anyone else.”

“That’s right, that’s right, I fled from the north,” Wang Tao quickly added his two cents. “I heard that in Liaodong, when they fight the Tartars, several thousand men can’t beat a few hundred Tartars. The worst is when a dozen Tartars chase a few hundred official soldiers. The fleeing men are chased until they die of exhaustion. In this state, what’s the point of fighting? A cousin of mine couldn’t survive a few years ago and went to join the Liaodong garrison. I don’t know if he’s dead or alive.” He even wiped away a few tears as he spoke.

“Alas, which family isn’t like this? If it weren’t for the government pushing us so hard, pushing us poor people to a dead end, who would be willing to take risks? My family traveled thousands of miles to Qiongzhou. We originally thought there was a lot of wasteland here and we could at least get by, but who knew that the land here is not easy to farm either. There’s no water to irrigate the land, so we have to buy water from the landlord. It’s several times harder than farming back home! It literally ruined my whole family. I’m a bachelor now!”

“The masters here are still good,” Wang Tao took the opportunity to elaborate again. “I fled here to work for the masters, and I have enough to eat and wear. The masters also pay wages. The brothers in our commune who work hard have all moved into storied buildings!”

“Storied buildings? You mean the kind of brick buildings the Short Hair masters live in? You’re lying.” Someone expressed disbelief.

“Lying? You can come with me to the commune tomorrow and see for yourself!”

“If it’s true, that would be great. I don’t need a storied building, a small hut to shelter from the wind and rain would be enough for me,” a new recruit said with a look of longing.

“It’s true,” said a soldier who had enlisted from the commune. “But you have to have employee status. That’s why I came to be a soldier. As soon as you become a soldier, you’re an employee.”

“And there are private plots of land to farm,” the soldier from the commune was particularly interested in the private plots.

“Can we have those too?” someone asked timidly.