A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

In the blink of an eye, Song Hongfei has spent three years at West Point Military Academy.

Over the past three years, Song Hongfei has experienced discrimination and provocation from arrogant and self-important white people in Europe and America, as well as various experiences on his path to growth, such as sand table exercises and competitions between American and British military academies. At the age of 21, he has gradually shed his immaturity and become more mature and steady.

The unfair treatment and discrimination from Western countries deeply stung them. Song Hongfei often said angrily and resolutely, "We represent our motherland, and we must fight for our countrymen! Chinese people are no worse than foreigners!"

At West Point, Song Hongfei often complained that the M1903 Springfield rifle used in training was like a fire poker. It's true that it's hard to go from luxury to frugality. Having traveled through time, he had fired Type 56 semi-automatic rifles, Type 81 rifles, Type 95 rifles, and Type 03 rifles in his later life. Compared to these, it's no wonder he looked down on this bolt-action rifle.

Zhang Yi was puzzled and asked, "Have you ever used a better rifle? Do you only feel good shooting around with a machine gun?"

Song Hongfei was speechless for a moment; of course, he couldn't tell the truth.

Seeing Song Hongfei's somewhat embarrassed expression, Zhang Yi chuckled and teased him, "You're always drawing guns and cannons, are you planning to make guns?"

Song Hongfei nodded seriously: "Oh, you're so smart, you're right!"

Zhang Yi was taken aback. Seeing Song Hongfei's seemingly serious expression, he couldn't believe it at all. He then made a scoffing expression: "Nobody would believe you."

But Zhang Yi never expected that he had actually revealed an idea that Song Hongfei had long harbored in his heart.

In later generations, Song Hongfei had an elder in his family who was a high-ranking military officer. He had spent a lot of time running around the military camp since he was a child and was very familiar with everything about the army. Whenever there was shooting training, he would always pester the adults to take him.

他很小就展现了极强的轻武器射击天赋，56半、79冲、81式、85狙、95式，可以说几乎所有的制式轻武器他都玩过。

What's truly astonishing is that no matter what gun he gets his hands on, he can usually pick it up and fire instantly, hitting the bullseye every time with incredible accuracy. This amazes even the top marksmen and shooting instructors in the army; it's pure talent, one in a million, far more rare than a marksman trained by feeding him boxes and boxes of bullets.

During his school days, Song Hongfei, who was bored in class, had a hobby of drawing guns, airplanes, tanks and the like on scrap paper. Over time, he became more and more engrossed in drawing, and his drawings became more and more detailed.

In middle school, he bought every issue of military magazines such as "Weaponry Knowledge," "Modern Weapons," "World Military," "Naval and Ship Knowledge," and "Tanks and Armored Vehicles," filling several shelves of his large bookshelves. He especially loved the exquisite illustrations inside. It could be said that he could draw the structural principles of various firearms with his eyes closed.

When he was studying at the G Military Academy, he even went through all the production process diagrams of various weapons in the academy's archives.

To Song Hongfei's own surprise, this shooting talent was also present in another Song Hongfei, and the previous Song Hongfei was even more skilled.

When he sees a target, a virtual aiming line automatically appears in his mind's eye. He himself can't explain how he can generate this talent for rapid shooting with a virtual aiming line so naturally.

After some thought, he realized: No wonder I was so accurate when shooting birds with a slingshot since I was a child, almost never missing a shot.

When he was a child, Song Hongfei was mischievous. He would use a slingshot to shoot at swallows that flew by like lightning in the low sky, and he was usually quite accurate. Of course, he always shot them secretly behind his parents' backs. His parents had told him that swallows were beneficial birds and auspicious birds, and that he would get a spanking if they found out.

Shooting a flying swallow in mid-air—this skill even made the "Great Hero of the North and South," Du Xinwu, admit defeat, and the mysterious old man who taught him martial arts was secretly astonished. The swallow's flight trajectory drew a beautiful and mysterious curve that seemed to conform to the ultimate principles of heaven and earth. As masters of martial arts, they knew how difficult it was to integrate this into archery and to accurately judge and hit the target!

In another memory that Song Hongfei, who had traveled through time, also clearly possessed, his several rifle shooting demonstrations as a child were truly amazing.

At the age of 10, Song Hongfei gave a shooting demonstration for the 8th and 9th classes of students at the famous Baoding Military Academy in China. The students and instructors at the Baoding Military Academy were not impressed by the little boy, who was not much taller than a rifle, and they whispered and laughed among themselves.

Then Song Hongfei conducted a 100-meter prone fixed target shooting exercise with a rifle. He aimed quickly and hit the bullseye every time, which was extremely impressive. All the trainees and instructors present were stunned and amazed, and then burst into applause and cheers.

The Baoding Military Academy also specially awarded Song Hongfei the title of Honorary Shooting Instructor. For the next two years, the Baoding Military Academy invited Song Hongfei annually to give shooting demonstrations to the students. The difficulty increased as Song Hongfei grew older, covering everything from prone to standing positions, from precision aiming to rapid firing.

The Whampoa Military Academy, having heard of his reputation, specially invited Song Hongfei to give a shooting demonstration to the first batch of students. At Whampoa, the difficulty was increased further, including rapid-fire precision shooting with rifles without support and rapid-fire precision shooting with pistols. Song Hongfei demonstrated to the first batch of students how to construct a virtual sight line, how to aim quickly, and how to fire naturally, a demonstration that was equally impressive. The Whampoa Military Academy also awarded Song Hongfei the title of Honorary Shooting Instructor.

Much later, Song Hongfei realized that the two "titles" from Baoding and Huangpu greatly enhanced his "seniority." At that time, Chinese society placed great emphasis on seniority and hierarchy, especially in the military, where seniority was paramount.

The early graduates of the Whampoa Military Academy rose rapidly through the ranks, with some becoming generals and division commanders within a few years. However, those who graduated after the fifth class experienced much slower promotions, only reaching the rank of general after the victory in the War of Resistance against Japan. The fact that those who graduated early were unable to advance further meant that those who graduated later were unable to advance at all; seniority-based promotion was the key reason for this.

Among the junior students of the Whampoa Military Academy, only a handful, including Wang Zuomin, Liao Jianchu, and Zhang Zhonglin, were fortunate enough to rise above their seniors. Wang Zuomin and Zhang Zhonglin were from the third and fourth classes, respectively, and were among the earlier classes. Of those from the fifth class and later, only Liao Jianchu, who had studied at a French military academy for many years, was able to surpass his seniors.

Although the "title" of honorary shooting instructor was merely honorary, it formally gave Song Hongfei the status and qualifications of a "Baoding instructor" or "Whampoa instructor," which was an incredibly impressive qualification. It played a huge role in Song Hongfei's rapid rise to prominence many years later, and no one could say anything about it.

“Shooting isn’t just about using your eyes; it also requires your heart and your ‘spirit.’ When you see the target, a virtual aiming line immediately appears in front of you. You just need to fit the front sight into the aiming line and fire!” Song Hongfei said to everyone.

He picked up his rifle, quickly aimed, and fired. Five rapid, close-quarters shots rang out, so quickly that it seemed to eliminate the time needed for the bolt-action rifle to cock, eject the spent cartridge, and aim. The trainees and instructors stared in disbelief.

"To achieve perfect harmony between man and gun, the gun becomes an extension of your body, as natural as your limbs, and you fire wherever the target is," Song Hongfei said. "The next step is simply to practice until you become proficient."

However, this seems to be an inevitable rule: things that can be explained in a few words and seem very simple are often very difficult to do.

Everyone listened as if they were in a fog, completely bewildered.

Dedication? Vigor and spirit? It sounds a bit mystical.

Only a few people have a sudden, profound realization, as if struck by lightning. The problems that have troubled them for so long suddenly become clear, and after diligent practice, their shooting skills improve dramatically. In military terms, sharpshooters are made by feeding them bullets. For any skill, hard work is always the top priority; techniques are merely a means to avoid detours.

The "spirit and energy" wasn't just something Song Hongfei made up or exaggerated. He had experienced it firsthand since he was a child. The mysterious old man who taught him martial arts used sandbags as projectiles to hit him. He could throw them casually without ever aiming, yet they were incredibly accurate, hitting exactly where he wanted them to hit, and he just couldn't dodge them no matter what.

The old man told him: It's not just about using your eyes, nor just your hands, but about using your "spirit and energy".

At the time, Song Hongfei was also confused. He had been hit by the mysterious old man's sandbag projectile since he was a child, and he was only able to avoid it head-on when he was 17 years old.

At the West Point shooting team, Song Hongfei also demonstrated the "spirit and energy." He thought for a long time but couldn't figure out how to say "spirit and energy" in English, so he could only say that he used "attention" and "intention" to aim.

The people at West Point were equally confused. Only Zhang Yi, a Chinese student who had read classical martial arts literature, seemed to have some idea. He listened with a vague understanding, but understanding didn't mean he could comprehend it.

"Man and gun as one? Holding a gun in hand and having a gun in mind, the gun is me and I am the gun? Could there be an even higher realm above that, where there is no gun and no self, where gun and self are forgotten, where one is all-powerful and invincible?" Zhang Yi seemed dumbfounded, muttering to himself.

"What nonsense are you talking about? What are you thinking about!" This earned him a sharp rap on the head from Song Hongfei.

Song Hongfei gave the shooting team an incredible demonstration. He casually picked up a newspaper, tore off a section with a few title letters, glanced at the approximate location of the title, and had it pasted onto the target. At a distance of 50 meters, it's absolutely impossible for the naked eye to see that.

Song Hongfei picked up a small-caliber shooting rifle, asked someone to say a letter at random, and then incredibly, he actually said that he would shoot the letter, which amazed everyone!

"Oh my god!"

"So hitting the bullseye every time is really nothing to brag about!"

"Unbelievable! A gun can be fired like that? You can't even see the letters! How did he do that!"

Everyone was stunned and exclaimed in disbelief, no one could believe what they were seeing.

"That's incredible! That's fucking incredible! It's such a shame you're not going to win an Olympic gold medal!" Zhang Yi exclaimed, his eyes wide and his Adam's apple bobbing.

After that, whenever Song Hongfei performed shooting with the shooting team, he would attract a lot of people to watch. Even Principal Smith and Brigadier General Louis, who were among the "three giants," would come to watch from time to time.

After that, although Zhang Yi studied and practiced diligently, feeding himself a lot of bullets, his shooting skills improved rapidly, and he was outstanding at West Point Military Academy, he still could not immediately form a virtual aiming line in front of him when he saw the target, and could not achieve the state of man and gun as one that Song Hongfei talked about.

Zhang Yi couldn't help but feel a little discouraged, yet he had to admit defeat: it seems that this really does require talent.