“Me?”
Li Daniu didn't react for a moment, pointing to himself in confusion.
“That… Sir, have you made a mistake? I’m not on the list!”
Li Daniu waved his hands repeatedly, indicating that Zhao Yi had made a mistake.
“No mistake, it’s you.”
Zhao Yi said with a smile, pointing to the lounge nearby: “Li Daniu, let’s go over there and talk slowly.”
“Alright.”
Li Daniu’s expression was hesitant, but he still followed Zhao Yi and Ma Ping'an to the lounge.
“Li Daniu, since you helped create the list, then I ask you, are the soldiers on the list truly the best in your battalion, your platoon, and even your squad?”
Zhao Yi chuckled and asked Li Daniu.
“Uh… yes.”
Li Daniu hesitated for a moment, then nodded against his conscience.
Although he was simple-minded, he wasn't stupid. He couldn't possibly say that they deliberately gave a list of poor soldiers and weren't cooperating with their superiors.
However, Li Daniu’s shifty eyes betrayed him. Not to mention Zhao Yi, even the young Ma Ping'an beside him showed a suspicious look.
“Whether they are good soldiers or not, we all know it in our hearts,” Zhao Yi replied, not dwelling on the question, “However, I didn't come to demand an explanation.”
“We are all soldiers, let’s get straight to the point.”
Zhao Yi’s eyes narrowed, looking intently at Li Daniu:
“Li Daniu, do you want to join the Special Forces?”
“Ah? This… Sir, you, me…”
Li Daniu stared at Zhao Yi with wide eyes. Obviously, this news was a bit sudden for him, and Li Daniu didn't know how to respond to Zhao Yi for a moment.
“Don’t rush to make a decision, let’s talk slowly.”
Seeing Li Daniu somewhat flustered, Zhao Yi was not in a hurry. Military transfers also needed to respect the soldier’s personal wishes.
He planned to explain the pros and cons to Li Daniu little by little.
“Li Daniu, before I came to find you, I looked at some of your basic information. This is your eighth year as a soldier, right? Have you applied to become a third-class non-commissioned officer? Or do you plan to retire and work locally?”
Zhao Yi chatted with Li Daniu as if talking about everyday life.
“I don’t want to retire, my application has already been submitted.”
Li Daniu nodded.
“Do you think you can stay?”
Zhao Yi asked again.
“I don’t know.”
Li Daniu looked worried. The application for a third-class non-commissioned officer was not 100% guaranteed.
Once the application was not approved, even if he didn't want to leave, he would have to retire and go home.
“Your resume is good. You’ve won so many championships and runner-up titles in competitions. I think your application will most likely pass,” Zhao Yi said with a smile, but then he changed the subject:
“However, I have a better option here.”
“Sir, you want me to go to the Special Forces.”
Li Daniu spoke.
“That’s right.” Zhao Yi nodded, “Li Daniu, let’s assume that you successfully become a third-class non-commissioned officer this time, and serve for another four years. Four years later, you will face the problem of staying in the military or retiring again.”
“At that time, if you still want to stay, it will be more difficult to become a fourth-class non-commissioned officer. Generally, only soldiers with special talents in the military can stay. Li Daniu, do you have any special skills?”
Li Daniu shook his head, indicating he did not.
Zhao Yi chuckled:
“But it’s different if you come to the Special Forces, Li Daniu, I can tell you clearly that our Special Forces are not non-commissioned officers, but officers.”
As Zhao Yi’s words fell, Li Daniu felt his heart beat a few times faster.
Non-commissioned officer, officer, a difference of one word, but the ranks in the army are completely different.
One is a soldier, the other is a leading cadre.
Promoting from a non-commissioned officer to an officer, known as promotion, is something all soldiers dream of!
Seeing that Li Daniu seemed to be swayed, Zhao Yi continued to strike while the iron was hot:
“Li Daniu, let me tell you more about the Special Forces. The establishment of the Special Forces is a strategic decision in the national direction, and it is being established for the first time as a pilot in our Southwest Military Region.”
“If you join now, you will be the first batch of Special Forces in our Military Region, in our country. The treatment is good, and the development prospects are also good, far beyond what you can compare to now.”
“Moreover, in the Special Forces, your only responsibility is training and executing various combat missions. Whether you have special skills or not is not important.”
“At that time, you won’t have to worry about retiring or becoming a non-commissioned officer of a certain class at all. And you will also become a respected hero, an object of admiration and a role model for all soldiers in the Military Region.”
“Sir, Sir, hearing you say that, I do want to join the Special Forces, but… transferring units is not a small matter. Our Regimental Commander, and our Company Commander, they don’t know if they will agree…”
Li Daniu was somewhat moved, but he still hesitated internally.
After all, this concerned his future life. Although Zhao Yi’s promise was good, it was only his side of the story.
Zhao Yi smiled and patted Li Daniu’s thick shoulder:
“Military transfers prioritize personal wishes. As long as you have the idea of coming to the Special Forces, I can solve all other problems for you.”
Zhao Yi was not exaggerating. As a pilot project, the Special Forces, in principle, required cooperation from all levels of the military, and special cases would be handled specially. As long as Li Daniu expressed his personal willingness, even if his superior leaders were unwilling, they would have to release him.
“Oh! Instructor Zhao, ah no, it should be Coach Zhao, what brings you here?”
Just as Zhao Yi and Li Daniu finished their conversation, a tall, thin, square-faced officer with many people rushed to Zhao Yi’s side.
“Good day, Regimental Commander!”
As soon as Li Daniu saw the newcomer, he sprang up from his seat and saluted the other party.
No one else, the person who came was Zheng Renyi, the Regimental Commander of the 369th Regiment, where Li Daniu was stationed.
Behind Zheng Renyi were many other people, all cadres from the regiment, as well as Li Daniu’s Battalion Commander and Company Commander, among others.
At this moment, Zheng Renyi was walking in a hurry, obviously having rushed over after hearing the news.
Zhao Yi’s identity, logically, was not worth him making such a big fuss and bringing so many people to greet him.
After all, Zhao Yi’s official position was still an Instructor of the reconnaissance company. The matter of the Special Forces had not yet been finalized, so naturally, Zhao Yi would not be promoted to the corresponding position or rank.
But Zheng Renyi had been in the military for so many years and was an old hand.
As soon as he heard that Zhao Yi was coming to their regiment, Zheng Renyi secretly thought, “This is bad.”
Zhao Yi was coming for their regiment’s soldier king!
After all, everyone knew the level of the soldier lists submitted by himself and the various brother units.
Sure enough, as soon as he arrived, he saw Zhao Yi chatting with Li Daniu, his armed off-road soldier king.
If he hadn't come, Li Daniu would have been fooled away by Zhao Yi, wouldn't he?
“Regimental Commander Zheng is so busy, yet he still takes the time to find me. I am truly flattered.”
“Haha, Coach Zhao is too modest. My work is not as important as building the Special Forces. This is the country’s first batch of Special Forces.”
Zhao Yi shook hands with Regimental Commander Zheng, and they exchanged warm greetings.
“Regimental Commander Zheng, I came to your regiment for some work related to the Special Forces. I’ll leave after I’m done.”
“Understood, understood!”
Regimental Commander Zheng smiled, but in his heart, he grumbled:
“Leave after you’re done? If I hadn’t come, two people would have come to do business, and it would be hard to say how many people would leave after the business was done.”
Zheng Renyi had already made up his mind. These soldier kings in the regiment were his darlings, the honor of the 369th Regiment, and role models for other soldiers.
Zhao Yi wanted to take these few people away? No way!