Who taught you to be a soldier like this!

Chapter 582

Mangtianlian County.

This city, which borders Shan State, carries too much history.

Due to the complex terrain of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, flat basins in the mountains that can be used for gathering and living are particularly precious.

In some areas near the border, the border line divides these precious flatlands in two.

Two villages living in the same area, perhaps only a few hundred meters apart as the crow flies, belong to two different countries.

now.

Squads of armed police or People's Liberation Army soldiers, armed with guns, patrolled the villages belonging to Yan State in groups of three.

Along the mountain paths carved out by generations of people near the village, there are guards who keep watch 24 hours a day.

Outside the border, rows of low, cramped earthen houses stand in stark contrast to the neat and grand two-story buildings in the village.

The cement road that winds its way to the border marker silently hints at the distinct fates of the local people who share the same ancestry.

these years.

Border areas have always been a key focus of Yan's poverty alleviation efforts.

Building houses and paving roads are the most basic things.

In order to enable the people who have lived here for generations and are unwilling to leave their homes to live a prosperous life, the local government has worked hard for more than a decade, combining the local products and characteristics of Mangtianlian County to create a highly competitive industrial structure.

Avocado, Coffee, and Cultural Tourism
In addition to its import and export ports to Shan State, this county with a permanent population of only a few hundred thousand can be said to have a prosperous life for everyone. The tax revenue generated by its various industries each year is no less than that of some strong and wealthy counties.

The human heart is made of flesh.

The people of Mangtianlian County only need to look at the impoverished and precarious lives of their distant relatives beyond the border to know how fortunate and precious their own lives are.

The comrades who first proposed poverty alleviation in this area probably didn't expect this either.

The successful poverty alleviation efforts in Mangtianlian County inadvertently helped the local anti-drug work.

In the local area, every household hates contraband to the core.

Some drug traffickers outside the border are trying to use their family connections and huge profits to bribe local people to help them smuggle contraband.

As a result, the local people agreed readily, but then led them on a loop through the mountains until they were exhausted. Unbeknownst to them, they ended up in the backyard of the local police station, which was adjacent to the mountains, and caught them red-handed.
In the words of the locals, "None of these people are any good. They make money through such heinous crimes and still want to recruit me. They should be dragged out and shot!"

You could tell from the tone of this fellow villager's voice.

The local people are quite tough.
In the early days after the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were more than a dozen bandit gangs of varying sizes entrenched in the mountains of this area. They would rush down the mountain at any time to rob and plunder. Their ruthlessness and the brutality of their crimes were enough to make even a child stop crying.

To be able to maintain the "village" form in such an environment and choose to stay and live locally instead of migrating is even more "fighting than the Russians".

Even now, in the villages of Mangtianlian County, one can still find hunting rifles left behind by their ancestors.

Cold weapons like spears and Miao knives were commonplace. When local police officers visited homes and saw them, they would turn a blind eye, at most adding a comment like, "Grandpa, please don't take this thing around on the street."

These villagers, who are usually fierce and even willing to fight wild boars hand-to-hand, are unusually "easygoing" at this moment. Unless a ferocious beast is discovered in the village, they will never take out these treasured items.

Because they know who truly cares for them.

Even during this joint operation, many local residents put aside their work to help the soldiers find hidden mountain paths. At mealtimes, they would vie to invite the soldiers on duty to their homes.

With the help of the local people, the anti-drug operation in Mangtianlian County has yielded remarkable results. Within just one week of the operation's commencement, six smuggling gangs were apprehended, nearly a hundred people involved in the cases were dealt with, and the amount of contraband seized was the highest among all districts.

That's why they say the power of the people is boundless!

Look at our results this time!

"We can't let the local people down just because of their enthusiasm. We must eradicate contraband from this land completely!"

The command center is located in a township.

Zhao Weihong's old acquaintance, Chen Zheng, was holding a cigarette made by a local resident in one hand while chatting warmly with the armed police platoon leader across from him.

"We just received news that the General Headquarters highly praises our achievements!"

"However, they also provided data from previous years."

"Although our operation was fruitful, compared with the joint operations in previous years, the results were mediocre, or even lacking."

Chen Zheng took a deep drag on his cigarette, his face, which had just been full of joy, now filled with worry.

"The command center has given us a heads-up."

"Our current achievements may seem commendable, but when compared with the situation in previous years, we must be more vigilant!"

"This is Mangtianlian! Mangtianlian is only a few hundred meters away from the villages of Shan State!"

"This achievement is nothing to be proud of!"

"Moreover, no trace of drug traffickers has been found for three consecutive days."

“This doesn’t make sense!”

As he spoke, Chen Zheng stood up and walked to the huge map of Mangtianlian County, his brows furrowed in thought.

"Old Qian, do you think it's possible that the drug traffickers have discovered a passage that we haven't been able to access?"

"They've even secretly entered the country from these locations? That's why we haven't found anything these past few days?"

Upon hearing this, Qian Wanli from the local armed police squadron also took it seriously and immediately walked to Chen Zheng's side, carefully examining the map.

To be honest, the geographical environment of Mangtianlian County is much more complex than that of the county Zhao Weihong was initially in charge of.

This area is covered with mountains, stretching from Yan Kingdom all the way into Lao Kingdom.

Although climbing these mountains is extremely strenuous, it is still much easier than navigating the swamps, vines, and encountering venomous snakes and wild beasts of the rainforest.

"It's possible!"

After a heavy and long silence, Qian Wanli acknowledged Chen Zheng's guess, his eyebrows furrowing into a deep frown.

"The local environment in Mangtianlian County is still too complicated."

"It's possible that drug traffickers will carve out a new route through the mountains."

"However, this possibility is not very high."

At this point, Qian Wanli changed the subject and gave Chen Zheng a very serious analysis.

"The primeval forests in these mountains have complex terrain and chaotic magnetic fields, making it impossible for a compass to function."

"There are also many ferocious beasts roaming around, and even the locals dare not venture there easily."

"If they were to carve out a new path through the mountains, the difficulty would be too great, and the time constraints wouldn't allow it." "Besides, they didn't go into the mountains to become savages; they'll eventually come out."

"In my opinion, we should strengthen the inspection of major intersections and traffic arteries along the way, so that even if these bastards cross the border, they will not be able to transport those harmful things out!"

To be honest, Qian Wanli's analysis and arrangements were just right.

If we were to conduct a comprehensive and thorough surveillance and defense of the entire border of Mangtianlian County, even if we brought together all the personnel involved in the joint operation, it wouldn't be enough, let alone their few hundred people!

Instead of worrying about whether drug traffickers have found new channels, we should think about the problem from a different perspective: strengthen inspections at major thoroughfares and leave no opportunity for drug traffickers to take advantage!
After listening to Qian Wanli's reasonably reasonable analysis, Chen Zheng nodded slowly, but a lingering worry still remained in his eyes.

This is not the first time Chen Zheng has participated in a joint operation.

Chen Zheng was fully aware of the ruthlessness and cunning of drug traffickers.

It was precisely for this reason that Chen Zheng could not let go of his worries.

If even he and Qian Wanli could think of something, how could these desperate criminals who live on the edge of a knife not think of it?
Chen Zheng always felt that beneath the current tranquility of Mangtianlian County, a layer of lurking danger shrouded in suspicion.

Unfortunately, his abilities were really limited, and no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't figure out where this crisis came from.

Thinking of this, Chen Zheng suddenly remembered his partner.

Zhao Weihong.

Chen Zheng knew Zhao Weihong's abilities all too well.

It seems there's nothing Zhao Weihong can't do if it's related to the military!
If Zhao Weihong were by Chen Zheng's side right now, she might be able to answer his questions and completely resolve the sense of crisis that was making Chen Zheng feel uneasy!

"Hey! Old Chen, don't be so nervous!"

"It's only been three days. Such a short time doesn't prove anything. The operation still has a full month to go!"

"If there's still no movement in a few days, we can report the situation to our superiors and ask them to make a decision."

"Besides, the help from the local people is also an important factor we need to consider!"

"It's entirely possible that the drug traffickers gave up their plan to enter the country through Mangtianlian because they heard about the help the local people had given us!"

"That's true."

Chen Zheng nodded somewhat reluctantly, and after a moment's consideration, he finally emphasized to Qian Wanli.

"The matter of reporting can wait."

"But the strengthening of security along key routes must be implemented from now on!"

"Don't worry! Even if you hadn't reminded me, I would have reported this to the forward command post!"

"Is there anything else? If not, I'll let the forward command know right now."

Seeing Chen Zheng shake his head, Qian Wanli had just taken out his phone, preparing to report the results of his discussion with Chen Zheng, when he heard Chen Zheng suddenly speak.

"Oh, right, there's something I forgot to tell you."

"The headquarters reportedly sent us a staff officer to guide our deployment and defense work."

"From headquarters?"

Upon hearing this, Qian Wanli immediately put down the phone, his face full of resistance.

"What level?"

"I'm not sure, it wasn't mentioned in the notice."

"But since they're called staff officers, their rank probably isn't very high."

Upon hearing this, Qian Wanli, who was straightforward by nature, couldn't hold back any longer and complained in a very unpleasant tone.

"Should we have staff officers from the headquarters guide our frontline work?"

"Isn't this just playing the piano haphazardly?!"

"Old Chen, although we're in different branches of the military, you should know what kind of people those bastards in headquarters are, right?"

"Giving bad advice! Making reckless decisions!"

"They've only been out of military academy for a few years, and they're always thinking about making a name for themselves and achieving something. There's not enough room for them to mess around!"

"I expect it will be the same this time!"

Qian Wanli's tone was filled with obvious anger, clearly indicating that he had had a very unpleasant experience with the officers of his own unit.

Although Chen Zheng didn't say anything, he did seem to agree with Qian Wanli's remarks to some extent.

For platoon leaders like Chen Zheng and Qian Wanli, the staff officers and clerks of the same rank in the headquarters have always been looked down upon.

Working in an office is quite different from working at the grassroots level; it does not emphasize physical fitness but only professional skills.

In the early years, newly graduated students did not like to go to government offices and deal with these trivial and miscellaneous tasks.

Compared to the seriousness of government offices, they prefer the relaxed and comfortable atmosphere at the grassroots level.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that in earlier years, most of the promotions were to platoon leaders.

These platoon leaders, who rose through the ranks from the grassroots, have long been accustomed to life at the grassroots level. Through years of exposure and learning, they have also gained insights into how to conduct their work as cadres.

But not just anyone can go to government offices.

Many soldiers never even stepped into their own headquarters building before leaving the army, and some don't even know the location of the division or regimental headquarters.

Asking them to work in a government office and start from scratch is obviously something few people would be willing to do.

However, with the increasing number of students taking the regular college entrance examination, government agencies have become their favorite place to go.

For no other reason than that the training is easy, and when work is busy, we don't even have to do morning exercises. Compared with the grassroots level, life in the government office is simply like living in paradise!
Moreover, those who can get into military academies are generally good at learning and have broad knowledge, so they can smoothly transition into their work roles in no time.

If that were all, there wouldn't be any conflict between government officials and grassroots cadres.

Everyone has their own role to play, and everyone feels that they have gone to the place that is most suitable for them.

The problem is that many college entrance exam takers who end up working in government agencies don't understand their place. They always feel that once they're on a "big platform" like a government agency, they're superior to platoon leaders of the same rank.

While looking down on people, they also love to come up with some unrealistic ideas and mess around while they are inspecting the grassroots on behalf of the organization!

Qian Wanli hated this kind of person the most!

If the staff officers sent down by the General Headquarters this time are of this type.

Qian Wanli was determined to teach him a lesson!

(End of this chapter)