Chapter 51 Chapter 51

"What are you doing here, Xiaoqiu Ba?" Puller stood at attention, looking down at the old man. "Come and report, sir." Father sat in a chair by the bed.He was wearing pajama pants, a white T-shirt, and a light blue cotton nightgown tied around his waist.Socks were worn on the long and narrow feet, and a pair of slippers were worn.He was originally 1.9 meters tall, but gravity and old age had erased five centimeters of it.Now he doesn't stand out from the crowd when he stands up, and he doesn't stand up very much now.In fact his father almost never left this ward at the Virginia Army Hospital.

His hair was nearly gone, except for clumps of little cotton swabs stitched together in fluffy white hair, forming a ring on top of his head around his ears. "Relax." Old Puller ordered. Puller relaxed, still standing there. "How was your trip to Hong Kong, sir?" Puller asked. Puller resented himself for playing this deceitful game, but the doctors thought it was good for their patients.Although Puller was dubious about the role of psychiatrists, he respected their professional guidance.But he was growing impatient. "A military transport plane blew a tire during takeoff, failed to make it, and almost fell into the sea and drowned."

"What a pity, sir." "You can't imagine how sorry I am, Hill-pachi. I desperately need to take a vacation and relax." "Exactly, sir." When his father looked up at him, the first thing Pooler noticed were his father's eyes.Another rumor that used to circulate in the army was that Old Puller could kill with just the look of his eyes: the way he stared at you when you betrayed his trust strongly evokes shame in you Feeling, you immediately fell to the ground dead.This is of course not true.But many men who served under my father's account have told Puller that each of them has seen the look of old Puller's eyes, and each of them will keep the memory of his eyes to the end of their lives. one day.

However, now the father's two pupils have dimmed.It can't be said that it is a pool of stagnant water, but it no longer has the kind of clear and flowing vitality.They were still blue, but empty and unremarkable.Looking around the small, nondescript patient cell like the hundreds of other wards here, Puller realized that, by some very important standards, his father was, in fact, dead. "What are your instructions, sir?" he asked. Father didn't answer right away.When Puller has asked this question during past visits, he has often gotten little answer.But his father's answer surprised him this time.

"It's all over, Xiaoqiu Ba." "What did you say, sir?" "It's over. It's over. It's over." Puller took a half step forward. "I don't understand, sir." The father had lowered his head, but now he raised his head and looked at his son.The two gazes were like blue icicles reflecting the sun. "Shameless villain." "Shameless villain?" "You have to watch out for them. It's boring, but if you don't watch out, they'll destroy you." Puller couldn't help but wonder if paranoia should now be added to the long list of his father's ailments.Perhaps the father had already suffered from the disease.

"Who will destroy you, General?" Father's hand gestured casually around the room, as if "they" were there. "Those calculating guys, those calling the shots in our military circles." "I don't think anyone's going to take on you, sir." Puller couldn't help but wish he wasn't here today. "Of course they're doing that, Xiaoqiu Ba." "But how is that possible, sir? You are a three-star lieutenant general." Puller tried to stop, but it was too late.His father retired as a lieutenant general wearing three stars.For anyone who wears military uniform, such a career is enough glory.

But the old Puller belongs to a very small group of people who hope to keep climbing higher mountains with their own achievements. It was well known in military circles that Puller Sr. was deserving of his fourth general star, and he was also deserving of something he coveted more: the U.S. Army Medal of Honor.It should be said that his record in the Vietnam battlefield has made this medal indisputably his pocket.In the military, however, honors are not solely determined by bravery on the battlefield. Politics away from the battlefield plays a much more important role.The truth is that Puller Sr. pissed off so many powerful people who had a say in his military career that the fourth star and the Medal of Honor were doomed to him.The old Puller, who has experienced this blow, still achieved a lot of achievements later, but the ballistic trajectory of his career development has changed unconsciously.The gravitational force pulling the bullet toward the ground is so great that you can no longer hit the highest point targets, you will lose them.The old Puller had lost them forever.He only has three stars and has every medal except the one he covets most.

①The Medal of Honor: The highest honor for American soldiers.Congress only authorizes the President of the United States to award the medal in person.Since the medal was established by an Act of Congress in 1862, fewer than 3,500 have been awarded. "It's all because of him," my father snapped. "Who?" "he!" "I still don't understand what you're talking about." "Major Robert Puller of the U.S. Air Force. Court-Martial found him guilty of endangering national security and sent him to the U.S. Army Correctional Battalion for life imprisonment. What this bastard did was used by them to accuse me."

Father paused, gasped angrily and continued, "Shameless villain, a bunch of bastards." Little Puller's face was contorted with extreme frustration.His brother's conviction and sentence had come long after his father's retirement, but his father still blamed his own son, Puller's brother, for his professional failure.The old Puller has always been daring on the battlefield, and he will not do anything to shirk responsibility.He has the courage to admit his mistakes while accepting various honors frankly.But once you leave the battlefield, things change.My father went around blaming others, pinning the blame on the most irrelevant people and events.He became small-bellied, vengeful, indifferent, unreasonable, harsh and ruthless, stubborn and self-willed.These personality traits are also fully reflected in the father role played by Puller Sr.

Puller usually had something to say before he left, and he could continue to invent new imaginary scenarios as advised by his psychiatrist.When he reached the door, his father asked, "Where are you going, Xiaoqiuba?" Puller didn't answer. "Xiaoqiu Ba," my father shouted, "I haven't ordered the disbandment yet." Puller walked on. He walked through the long corridors of the Virginia Army Hospital.The aisles are filled with aging, wounded, dying veterans who gave their all for the peace and prosperity of this country.Puller, who had walked nearly a hundred meters, could still hear his father shouting.The old man's lungs have not had any problems so far.

He never looked back and walked all the way to the exit. The family gathering is over.Next will be the Army and Navy clubs. He resumed the hunt.This is his life.