Before Yuqi could make any moves, the sound of the door being knocked made her instantly jump out of Xiaoyun's lap.
"Ahem, co in."
"The report, boss."
"Thanks. You can just leave it by the desk."
After the worker put the paper on Yuqi's desk, they quickly walked back out and closed the door.
"Qiqi——"
"Don't call that. I need to get back to work."
Xiaoyun let out a sigh, as the atmosphere was now ruined, forcing him to go back to work as he began reading the report on the table.
---
When the day ended, Liuqian finally called him about the money that the war bond raised.
Over 10 million was raised in total, more than one-tenth of the governnt's revenue for the entire year in a single day.
Even Yuqi was a little surprised by the amount of money raised, but she didn't try to take it away from Xiaoyun.
As promised, she only took the amount needed to fund the parade, leaving the rest for Xiaoyun to expand the military.
Without any hesitation, Xiaoyun imdiately ordered all the weapons that the army had requested and raised the soldier's base salary.
The next day, the war bond raised another 5 million food stamps, more than enough for Xiaoyun to put an end to it.
Using the extra money raised, he put it all into the militia before running dry, with no money left to allocate for anything else.
Still, he had practically solved the military budget for the entire year while still in March, albeit with a debt that he still had to pay after three months.
---
The day of the parade...
"We'll be waiting for you!"
All of the girls yell in excitent as Xiaoyun waves back at them before getting inside the car with Kate.
As Kate started up the car, several armored cars started up, surrounding Kate's car in the middle.
After driving past Luoping's entrance, the group of cars headed straight to Guangzhou.
Thirty minutes later...
As Xiaoyun's car arrived at Guangzhou's entrance, hundreds and thousands of people were already standing at the wall.
The border guard didn't stop to check, letting the groups of cars drive straight through to the training field.
"So many soldiers..." Kate murmured, as the entire field was already filled with soldiers, all standing with their rifles and equipnt.
After arriving at the parking lot, Kate stopped the car before getting out with Xiaoyun.
The soldiers in the armored car also got out, surrounding the two in the middle as they headed to the backstage.
"It took you long enough. You're almost late," Yezi pointed out after checking his phone.
"Still five minutes before starting... Is everyone here and in position?"
"Everyone is here. The police are in position." Yiming replied.
"Great. Then let's go start it now."
Xiaoyun took a deep breath as he ntally prepared to stand in front of all the soldiers on the field.
But when he stepped up to the front stage, he was still stunned by the number of soldiers standing before him.
From the front to the back, everywhere he looked, a soldier stood in unison with his peers.
He couldn't help but salute the soldiers before he even made the speech, causing all of the soldiers to salute back at once.
"Good morning everyone!"
"Good morning, Commander!"
Seeing the soldiers all putting their hands back down in unison, Xiaoyun could feel his heart pumping faster and faster.
For a second, he felt himself on top of the world. Nothing could stand in his way with his loyal army.
Xiaoyun took another deep breath, letting the cold air cool his mind as he steadied his nerves before rallying the soldiers for the parade.
"Today is going to be the day. We will show our strength not just to the people we serve but to the whole world that's watching us.
We had conquered cities, destroyed the zombies, and, most importantly, we saved our fellow countryn from destruction.
Everyone, be proud of yourself! You had achieved what other people had tried over and over again."
As Xiaoyun took a short pause, a few soldiers clapped and turned into the entire field, bursting into cheers.
"You all ford the backbone of our survival. Your friends and family are all proud of you today, tomorrow, and for all eternity to co.
Your stories will be written in the history book and read by the future generations we protect and serve."
Seeing the crowd seemingly pumped up by the prospect of being in the textbook, Xiaoyun continued.
"Rember, your work is the liberation that our great ancestors had once achieved.
They went through The War of Resistance to bring our identity and dignity to our country.
Despite all the difficulty, they never once said to give up... I just want to ask you all: are we going to give up?"
A short silence fell into the field before yelling back in unison.
"No, sir!"
"Then, are you willing to continue the fight until all zombies in our great country are eliminated?"
"Yes, sir!"
With the crowds of soldiers more rallied than ever, Xiaoyun knew it was ti.
"I'm honored to be fighting alongside you all until victory is achieved! I announced the military parade officially begins now!"
The crowd cheers reached a critical point as they raised their fist into the air with Xiaoyun, a gesture that later beca famous in a photo.
---
After the cheers, the soldiers quickly got into position, letting Lingang's 1st Division go past the training field first.
As soon as the tanks and armored vehicles appeared on the pre-planned route, crowds of people started cheering.
Hundreds and thousands of people were standing alongside the streets, welcoming the soldiers as they drove by.
Most of them had only recently arrived in Guangzhou as newcors, with a minority of them who ca from Luoping.
Still, they were cheering for the soldiers alongside people from Luoping who had already devoted themselves to Xiaoyun's rules.
Their faces were full of pride, and they were proud of the army that was protecting them and showing it to everyone.
anwhile, a small fraction of the people were traders, who looked a little alerted by the military power and relieved at the sa ti.
Xiaoyun could have forcefully taken their stuff, and they wouldn't be able to do anything back.
Besides the trader, few of them were more hidden.
They were spies from other factions, noting everything from the tanks to the artillery to even the number of rifles.
Although Yueyue had a list of them, she purposely allowed them to stay after Xiaoyun found them to be harmless 'traders,' as everyone believed.
After almost half an hour of soldiers marching down, they finally arrived at the open field, with even more people surrounding them watching nearby.
The soldiers get into formation as Yiming and Yezi both walk up to Xiaoyun with a glass panel that contains a flag inside.
"Xiaoyun, this is your decision," Yiming murmured, holding onto the fra tightly.
"Everyone is waiting." Yezi hurried as he started to notice the soldier getting a little impatient.
Right before Xiaoyun's eye were two sets of flags.
On the left was held by Yezi, a completely new design symbolizing independence from the past.
On the right was held by Yiming, the original flag of the country they all once lived in.
It was a decision that Xiaoyun couldn't make when planning the military parade, especially after he t up with Han Bang.
---
The night before the parade...
Just as Xiaoyun was about to go to sleep, resting early for tomorrow's parade, the doorbell woke everyone in the house up.
After peeking at the peephole, it was Han Bang standing outside, alone in his army uniform.
"You guys can go back to sleep. It's just Han Bang outside."
With the girls going back upstairs to their bedroom, Xiaoyun slowly opened the door.
"What's wrong, Han Bang? Is there so ergency?" Xiaoyun curiously asked as he led Han Bang inside the house.
"Commander, I just have a question that has been bugging and everyone in the army."
"What is it?"
Seeing Han Bang seem to hesitate, Xiaoyun decided to hand him a bottle of water.
"There's no need to throw in flowery language. Just tell directly. I won't punish you even if it's bad."
After hearing Xiaoyun's assurance, Han Bang finally spoke up again.
"Are we fighting for the country or the people? I know this sounds a little random, but a lot of people in the army had been starting to question."
Xiaoyun froze for a second before realizing what Han Bang was trying to imply.
"Is there a faction in the army again?"
"No... It's not a faction. We all just wanted an answer since... Yiming's army isn't part of us." Han Bang pointed out.
"Can we not just all fight together? We are all under the sa people living in the sa country."
"Yes, but——"
"How many people have the sa idea as you?"
Han Bang fell into silence again, but he eventually answered Xiaoyun's question.
"About two-thirds of the army. But they are all waiting for your answer... Whatever you pick, commander, we'll all follow your decision."
This ti, Xiaoyun fell into silence as the thing he had always tried to avoid to answer had finally caught up to him.
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