In the afternoon, Rowan led the soldiers from the Fourth Battalion to start their daily training. He wanted to see their abilities so he could make better plans.
"Now we'll divide into several groups. Everyone, go train in your assigned areas. Felix, check to see what their weaknesses are."
"Yes, sir."
Rowan stood at the edge of the training field, watching how the soldiers performed. Some were doing physical training, some were practicing shooting, and others were doing tactical drills.
He saw that the soldiers were full of energy and moved quickly. They showed strong discipline and military skills.
He walked over to a group practicing shooting and watched them carefully.
The soldiers steadily picked up their guns, aimed at the target, and fired. The bullets hit the targets accurately, showing their shooting skills.
Rowan nodded to himself. Their strength was good. But they still needed more training to improve their reaction time and handling of sudden situations.
Next, Rowan went to a group doing tactical drills.
The soldiers were acting out a real combat situation, using different movements and working closely with each other.
They completed the tasks quickly and showed strong teamwork and tactical understanding.
Rowan felt satisfied with what he saw. Clearly, these soldiers had been training hard and improving themselves.
He decided to increase the training intensity to help the soldiers improve their overall skills. Only by doing this could they stay calm and act properly in real situations.
After the training, Felix came to Rowan and said, "The soldiers in this battalion are very good."
"They are. Better than the ones we had before. Do you have any training ideas?"
Felix thought for a moment and said, "We can give them special training in two areas: physical strength and combat skills. A strong body is the base. Without that, they can't keep fighting for long. Combat skills are key to winning battles."
Rowan agreed and said they would go back and make a plan for the training.
He also planned to use the training methods his wife had used before.
In the next few days, Rowan increased the training level. He organized different practice missions that copied real-life emergencies to help the soldiers improve their reaction skills.
In the military family area
That afternoon, after Rowan went to the training field, someone came to their door.
When she heard knocking, Sienna quickly went to open the door. She was confused to see two unfamiliar soldiers.
"Can I help you?"
"Hello, Comrade Sienna. I'm the commander of the First Battalion, Lu Jianjun. This is the political officer of the First Battalion, Wang Feng."
"Hello, please come in and sit down."
After they entered, Sienna asked, "Commander, Political Officer, what brings you here?"
The political officer said, "Comrade Sienna, we heard about what happened at the Southern Military District. Would you consider joining us? We sincerely invite you to enlist in our team."
"I won't join the army."
When the political officer heard that, he quickly said, "Comrade Sienna, please think about it again. We really need someone with your skills."
Sienna looked at them and said, "There's no need to think. I won't join the army. You don't need to try and persuade me anymore. The leaders at the Southern Military District already tried."
The commander asked, "Comrade Sienna, why don't you want to join? This is about protecting the country. Also, don't you want to fight alongside Captain Rowan? If you join, you two can be together in the army. Isn't that great?"
"Commander, don't try to fool me. I'm not stupid. If I had agreed to join the army, I would be in the Southern Military Region right now, not standing here talking to you."
"That's why I won't join the army. Wherever Rowan gets transferred, I'll follow him. I won't be separated from him."
The political officer spoke, "Then can you help us train the soldiers when you have time? Just like you did in the Southern Military Region."
Sienna looked at him and asked, "How much will you pay me?"
"Thirty."
When Sienna heard that, she said, "No, I'm fine staying at home. Political officer, why don't you go ask the Southern Military Region about their offer before talking to me? Why are you guys so stingy? Like iron roosters."
Hearing this, the commander quickly asked, "What offer did the Southern Military Region give you?"
"Fifty. Plus extra reward money for helping with missions. I don't have to join their training. I'm invited as a special member, and I don't take orders from them."
The commander said, "Comrade Sienna, you're raising the price too much. The pay went up by twenty."
"This is the capital. Higher pay is normal, right?"
What she was really thinking was, I need money to support my husband. How can I do that if I'm not paid well? This is the capital—people here are rich. What if my husband leaves me because I'm poor and runs away?
"Can you join the missions we assign, as long as there's reward money?"
Sienna looked at the political officer and said, "Do I look like a fool? I'll only go with Rowan. I'll decide if I want to join other missions."
Hearing that, the commander and the political officer didn't know what to say. After thinking it over, they said, "Comrade Sienna, you can decide on the missions, but I hope you can help train all the soldiers in our regiment. Is that okay?"
"Sure, no problem."
"Alright, then I'll start with the soldiers in the Fourth Battalion. You're okay with that, right?"
"No problem, you can decide."
After they finished discussing everything, the commander and the political officer left. One went to report the situation, and the other started preparing the documents.
They hoped to get it done quickly so Sienna could start training their soldiers.
At night, Sienna told Rowan about the commander and the political officer's visit. She said she had agreed to their request.
After hearing it, Rowan said, "That's perfect. Felix and I will train them for a few days first, then you can take over and train them more completely."
"Okay. How are their skills? Did anyone give you trouble today?"
"They're pretty good. No, I sparred with them in the morning. Everything's settled now."
Hearing that, Sienna didn't say anything more.
"Wife, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's go to sleep."
"Okay."
A moment later, a voice came from the room, "Husband, what are you doing?"
"You…"
After that, some very suggestive sounds came from the room. In the quiet night, they were especially clear. Even the moon in the sky seemed to hide away, as if feeling shy.