Chapter 74. Shang Zhen practices his skills.
Just as the old man Huo said, he really didn't have any tricks to teach Shang Zhen. What he taught Shang Zhen was horse stance.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, fists at your waist, and stand upright in a half-squat (not squatting). This half-squat means that your thighs should be basically level with the ground.
The above is a person’s appearance, which is what others can see.
But in fact, there are some internal requirements, such as keeping your chest and head up, tightening your abdomen, raising your tongue to the upper palate, lifting your hips, etc.
As for the profound principles behind it, Old Huo didn't understand it either. He said that this was what his master taught him. Although he didn't understand the principles behind it, there must be some truth in it, so you just have to do what I say.
As for the simple truth, Old Huo understood it. He said that no matter whether one is a martial artist or a soldier fighting with a bayonet, the lower body must be stable. Only when the lower body is stable can there be explosive power and the bayonet can be thrust with force, and squatting in a horse stance is the best way to do this.
So, is what Old Huo said right?
If a person is particularly smart or extremely talented in sports, he should listen to Old Huo's methods.
If a person is particularly stupid, he will also listen to Lao Huo's method. Anyway, he doesn't know how to do it, so he just believes what others say.
But the majority of people in this world are those who are not very stupid, but definitely not extremely smart, and Shang Zhen is one of them.
Then why has Shang Zhen suffered so much in the past month?
That’s because Shang Zhen has his own testing method.
He followed Old Huo's instructions and did the horse stance. On the first day, he only lasted for more than a minute before he felt the pain in his legs was unbearable.
At this time, Shang Zhen was surprised instead.
He had a very simple understanding, that is, since he could not do horse stance for a long time, it meant that horse stance was definitely good for the body.
So he followed Old Huo's request and did it four or five days a week.
At first, he could only do it for about two minutes.
But as time went by, he was able to stand in horse stance for fifteen or sixteen minutes.
During the past month, Liu Guodong and his men kept looking for opportunities to assassinate the Japanese and puppet troops based on intelligence. They would not use these "remnant soldiers" if possible, and even if they did, they would only find one or two people to serve as guides for them, and would never use them as cannon fodder.
In this way, Shang Zhen in Hejiatun finally had the opportunity to practice his skills.
Of course, he didn't just do horse stance. He also practiced shooting and aiming, jumping up and down, practicing bayonet fighting, and exercising upper limb strength.
What is particularly pointed out here is how he practiced bayonet fighting.
He hung something on the elm tree in the yard, and every day he tied a wooden bayonet he made to his rifle and stabbed the thing.
Why didn't he use a real bayonet? The reason was that if he used a straight bayonet to pierce that thing, it would definitely miss.
It was just because that thing was the one he stole from a commoner's house when he came back from field training the day before.
That's just a pig's boast!
"Zhu Chui Bar" is the name given to the pig bladder by the people in Northeast China. People in the south call it "Zhu Urine Bubble". The so-called pig belly is made by stuffing meat into the pig Chui Bar.
But Shang Zhen didn't put meat in the pig's trotter. Instead, he filled it with weeds.
Then he hung the thing on a tree branch and stabbed it with the wooden bayonet every day.
The pig's trotter is just a layer of skin, and even with the weeds inside it, it is still light and fluffy, but the pig's trotter is extremely tough.
So whenever Shang Zhen's wooden bayonet stabbed the pig's throat, the pig's throat would naturally swing away.
But Shang Zhen didn't care about that. He just stubbornly stabbed with his wooden bayonet every day.
After some training, he was able to thrust the rifle with greater and greater force, and at the same time his reaction speed also became faster.
So much so that every day when he lay down in bed, he was as tired as a dead dog.
He was so tired that he naturally would not have any dreams anymore, nor would he scream in the night like he did when he first joined the army.
Just like the fairy tale written by a foreign fairy tale writer, an ugly duckling is so ugly and different among a group of ducks that it will be ridiculed by its companions.
The same is true for Shang Zhen.
He only practiced in the wild for a few days before returning to the yard to practice.
As for the reason why he came back to the yard to practice, it was very simple. He was practicing aiming in the woods that day. Several middle-aged women from the village went to the mountain to pick branches for firewood.
But they never thought that there was a man in the woods aiming with a gun. A woman happened to see Shang Zhen at that time and was so scared that she screamed "Ah"!
In fact, referring to women in the village is a more civilized term. In rural Northeast China, married middle-aged women are called old ladies.
Ouch, the old woman screamed so loudly at that time, I thought something happened to her!
Shang Zhen was so frightened that he quickly put away his gun and explained to others. Only after he blamed them did the old women who turned around and ran back to the village calm down and believe that he was a good person.
Shang Zhen thought, "How can this work? Don't cause misunderstandings among our own people in the village. This is wartime!" Forget it, I'd better go back to practice.
But now that he was back in the yard, he attracted attention from others.
Especially since Hou Kanshan was extremely sarcastic towards Shang Zhen, he said that Shang Zhen was suffering from a demonic disorder.
But Shang Zhen didn't pay any attention to him. According to Ma Erhuzi's words, Shang Zhen really took Hou Kanshan's words as nonsense.
When Wang Laomao was at home, although he was surprised by Shang Zhen's behavior, he would never object. After all, he was the platoon leader, and he would not object to his men practicing their skills.
When Wang Laomao was not at home, Hou Kanshan would spread the news everywhere, and what he said was extremely unpleasant, such as there was an idiot in our yard.
Nowadays, the military discipline of the Northeast Army is not very strict, or even if it is very strict, the soldiers at home will never take the initiative to train like Shang Zhen.
The forest is big and there are all kinds of birds. Naturally, other soldiers were displeased with Shang Zhen's behavior and followed Hou Kanshan in mocking him.
But at this time, Old Huo, the squad leader of the kitchen squad, glared at everyone in their company and they became obedient.
What is a veteran? Of course, the one with the longest service is a veteran, and Old Huo, who is nearly 50 years old, is the ancestor of veterans!
The soldiers he personally trained are now platoon leaders or squad leaders. With a glare from him, which soldier in their company dares to feel uncomfortable?
Everything in this world pays off. Although Shang Zhen still looks thin to others, he knows that his muscles have finally become stronger, and his endurance has also increased.
It's funny, but there are only two motivations that can make Shang Zhen endure so much hardship.
One is revenge, revenge for his third brother Li Fushun, and revenge for his companions like Gazi who he believed died for him.
The other one is to survive, to survive in this cruel war, and to find himself a wife as his mother asked.
"Okay, kid! You're quite ruthless!" At this time, Liu Guodong praised Shang Zhen when he saw him trying hard to get up.
Liu Guodong certainly understood what kind of abilities Old Huo had. Old Huo had only joined the kitchen team because he was old now, but he was definitely a brave man when he was young.
"When you have nothing to do, learn from Brother Shang Zhen. It's better to work hard and practice your fighting skills than to be stabbed to death by the Japanese, right?"
As Shang Zhen praised Liu Guodong, the people around him who had been watching Shang Zhen sitting on his butt fell silent.
Shang Zhen had already crawled up from the ground, but he had a bad feeling in his heart.
Captain Liu will continue to praise himself and let his men train in the same way, right?
If that were the case, I would be hated. If all else fails, should I just practice in the wild?
Shang Zhen was thinking about it, and just when Liu Guodong was about to speak, a soldier suddenly ran in from outside and shouted "Report" in a low voice.
"If you have something to say, just tell me. Do you think you are a thief?" Liu Guodong said angrily.
"No, Captain," the soldier explained, but his voice was still low. "The villagers said they saw a strange man wandering around the village entrance!"
Note: Niāo (niāo) is a Northeastern dialect, used to describe a very soft sound.
That person who is over 50, five updates, please give me your monthly ticket, I am so tired!