38: A good army must put principles first!

Darwin City.

Not long ago, City Hall issued an invitation to all citizens to participate in an event.

Soon, the central plaza was packed with people.

Under everyone's gaze, a group of people walked onto the large, elevated platform specially built for the announcement.

At the forefront was Deputy Mayor Simpson, followed by the current high-ranking officials of City Hall.

The crowd below generally speculated that City Hall was the main organizer of this event.

Who would have thought?

After Simpson and his group ascended the stage, they merely walked to a very marginal corner of the platform and stood there, not speaking.

People were stunned.

Then, a second group of people came onto the stage.

Although this group did not hold positions in the municipal departments, they also had significant influence.

However, after they came onto the stage, they also, like Mayor Simpson and the others, stood on the other side of the platform, and did not interact with the crowd below.

The crowd's suspicions grew stronger.

Then, the third wave of people, who were the true heavyweights of this event, appeared.

A large group of people in military uniforms ascended the high platform one by one, stepping onto the stairs at the back!

The one at the very front was a man in his forties, tall, with a resolute face, walking with the imposing gait of a dragon and a tiger, clearly a leader-level figure.

Those who followed him also had extraordinary temperaments and stood out from the crowd.

That tall soldier who first stepped onto the stage came to the central podium, facing the vast crowd, exuding authority without speaking.

The area below the stage immediately fell silent.

On the roof of the military vehicle at the outermost edge of the viewing crowd, reporter Charles, like many other official media present, focused his camera on the tall soldier at the very center of the platform.

The soldier scanned the crowd below, as if reviewing his troops, and then, with a steady, profound, and clearly articulated voice, stated: "I am Yue Hanshan, the Commander of the Darwin City Defense Army."

Upon hearing this, many people exclaimed.

Although they all knew that the Darwin City Defense Army must now be led by a relatively professional military leader, they had never seen him.

Now, the actual operator of the Self-Defense Forces finally appeared.

So that's how it is.

What Indigenous Party, what Mazhaha, they were just shadow figures.

The people on stage, who controlled the guns, were the true rulers of this city.

Yue Hanshan:

"Today, I have gathered the vast citizens of Darwin City here."

"Because I have something to announce."

"Our Darwin City Defense Army is going to change its name."

"We are officially establishing an army!"

Ah?

Many people didn't quite understand; wasn't the Darwin City Defense Army itself an army?

Yue Hanshan continued: "Our new army will be different from the original Self-Defense Forces."

"We will uphold a brand new purpose, display a brand new demeanor, and shoulder a brand new mission!"

Yue Hanshan's series of elevating statements raised the crowd's confusion to the extreme.

Isn't it just changing the name of the unit? How can it become completely "new" and be reborn?

Yue Hanshan: "This army will follow one sole principle."

"That is, the principle of putting the interests of the people first!"

Ah?!

The people below the stage were all stunned.

In their simple understanding, an army was just an army.

An army was only responsible for fighting.

Where was all this talk coming from?!

Yue Hanshan didn't explain further, turning his head to look at Zhao Gang behind him.

Zhao Gang nodded and said something into his intercom headset.

Then, thump, thump, thump—

At the entrance of a cordoned-off passage in the middle of the crowd, a squad appeared.

This unit was not armed, but their military bearing was impeccable, and their steps were uniform.

They shouted slogans of one, two, three, four, jogged to the base of the podium, then collectively turned sideways to face the high platform.

"Attention! Salute! At ease—"

The leader stepped forward and clearly shouted towards the stage:

"Reporting, Commander, the propaganda squad, all personnel present!"

Yue Hanshan nodded and ordered: "Now, I assign you a task: to explain the specific policies of our People's Army to the vast masses behind you."

"Yes, Commander—"

After receiving the order, the squad leader turned around and loudly told everyone in the squad: "Everyone, attention, about face!"

"Now, listen to my command, recite our army policies!"

Soon, this squad, without the aid of any amplification equipment, simply used clear and resonant recitation to loudly recite a series of policy contents.

"...Everything starts from the needs of the masses..."

"...Address the urgent needs of the masses..."

"...Share the concerns of the masses..."

A total of more than ten paragraphs of content were recited loudly for the first time, then continued for the second time, in a continuous loop.

Immediately, everyone below the stage, including Deputy Mayor Simpson and his group on the stage, were dumbfounded.

What does that mean?

Address the urgent needs of the masses, share the concerns of the masses!

Does an army need to have so much interaction with the masses?

The moral standards of this army are too high, aren't they?

Meanwhile, on another continent thousands of kilometers away, Chinese netizens watching the live broadcast were also stunned.

What?

The principle of putting the interests of the people first...

Could this be the ideological awareness that a local rebel army, just recently established, should have???

And at the Ministry of National Defense of China, Assistant Xiao He immediately knocked on the door of Minister Dong Changjun's office.