From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

The fact that the 7th Steel Brigade was on the defensive in the confrontation exercise is indeed good news from this point of view, but overall, the situation is still not so clear.

A newly formed and untrained force is pitted against a battle-hardened elite unit.

It's clearly an unequal confrontation.

The advantage of the combination of military branches and troop types alone is not enough to bridge the gap between the two sides, and it is almost impossible to win under normal circumstances.

There is only one hope of winning.

And it's the most demanding one.

That is, only by possessing overwhelming strength in tactical deployment and command that far surpasses the enemy's forces can it be possible to bridge the gap between the two sides.

Wang Qingrui definitely doesn't have that ability; he has no confidence at all when he thinks about it.

So he decided to cut to the chase and asked Chief of Staff Shen directly, "Commander, just tell me straight, how do you want us to fight this battle?"

Although Brigade Commander Wang's words were blunt, they did contain a bit of skill.

The underlying meaning is that they want Chief of Staff Shen to back them up, or to give them some inside information about this combat exercise.

This allows the 7th Steel Brigade to make relevant preparations in advance before the confrontation.

Unfortunately.

Wang Qingrui was dreaming too much.

Chief of Staff Shen had no such intention and would never reveal information. He said very seriously, "How to fight? You have to ask yourselves. Why are you asking me?"
"It was Commander Xing and Political Commissar Feng of the theater command that ordered your 7th Steel Brigade to participate in this exercise."

Chief of Staff Shen's words were quite tactful; the underlying meaning was that this was arranged by the war zone, and even if he wanted to help them, he couldn't.

Seeing that this approach was blocked, Brigade Commander Wang turned his attention to another direction, saying, "But, only three days... isn't that too short..."

"If the enemy wants to attack you, will they give you time to prepare?"

Chief of Staff Shen interrupted Brigade Commander Wang and said in a very serious tone, "Wang Qingrui, Chen Jun, Gao Cheng, you guys listen up."

The Seventh Steel Brigade's attack isn't about winning or losing, it's about action. We care about your performance. Don't let your minds wander; just give it your all, understand?

"Understood, promise to complete the task."

There was no need to say more after all that had been said, and Chen Jun, Wang Qingrui, and the others saluted.

Chief of Staff Shen returned the salute, then turned and got into the military vehicle.

Chief of Staff Shen understood Wang Qingrui's genuine resistance and fear upon hearing that the opponent was the 708th Brigade, because he knew how difficult it would be.

The 708th Brigade is well-known among the army units in the entire capital theater, and even among the army units nationwide.

When Zhurihe officially began conducting exercises, if the exercises were between combined arms brigades and traditional reform brigades, rather than between combined arms battalions and traditional regiments, the 708th Brigade would undoubtedly have been a formidable opponent for Zhurihe.

Whether the First Blue Army Brigade can defeat the 708th Brigade is really hard to say.

This unit has a long history of glory and pride.

As one of the country's elite field divisions, its origins can be traced back to the Red Army period. It participated in the Long March, the War of Resistance Against Japan, the War of Liberation, and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, this unit has been indispensable in many important missions.

They have also participated in military parades many times and have a rich cultural heritage.

When the "Outline for the Construction of Military Informatization" was officially released in 1998, all group armies began informatization reforms, basically targeting their own elite units.

The 708th Field Division became one of the first divisions to be converted into brigades, and after reorganization, it became the 708th Brigade.

Furthermore, Wang Kezheng was appointed as the new brigade commander.

The new brigade commander, Wang Kezheng, is truly capable. In the past three years, he has led the 708th Brigade to participate in six major combat exercises, winning all six and never losing a single one.

Brigade-level operations differ from battalion-level operations; the former involves a larger number of troops, involves a larger scale of combat, and requires stronger battlefield control.

If you didn't have some real skills, you couldn't possibly have achieved this result.

With six major exercise victories under its belt, the 708th Brigade has already made a name for itself among the troops that have undergone the reform from division to brigade, and can be considered one of the most successful units in the reform.

Now, it has been confirmed that a newly formed Steel 7th Brigade, which has no combat record, will be sent to fight against the 708th Brigade.

It goes beyond "reluctantly".

It's definitely a place to be tortured!

Therefore, not to mention the commanders at the theater command, even the commanders at the army group level had no hope for this exercise and did not believe that the 7th Steel Brigade could defeat the 708th Brigade.

The undefeated record left by the 7th Steel Battalion cannot be replicated by the 7th Steel Brigade.

That's why Chief of Staff Shen specifically mentioned that this exercise would not involve any punishment or disciplinary action; the focus would be solely on the performance of the 7th Steel Brigade during the exercise.

Just do your best!

Basically, as long as the 7th Steel Brigade can demonstrate the value of Chen Jun's organizational structure and troop combination system in actual combat during this exercise, it will be fine.

If the leaders can see the value of this system, then this confrontation exercise will be a success.

Every commander from the war zone to the military region held no hope of victory for the 7th Steel Brigade, and the same was true for the enemy's 708th Brigade.

At the 708th Brigade base, hundreds of kilometers away, Brigade Commander Wang Kezheng and Political Commissar were discussing the confrontation.

"It is said that the unit that is fighting against us this time is a combined arms brigade that was only formed a few days ago. Apart from the old Steel Seventh Battalion, the rest are basically transferred troops, and there are also a lot of student soldiers from military academies."

The political commissar, who held the rank of senior colonel, spoke eloquently, clearly having already reviewed the materials on the 7th Steel Brigade.

"The 7th Steel Battalion is actually quite capable. Their participation in an overseas exercise was known throughout the entire army. They wiped out an entire reinforced regiment with an exaggerated casualty ratio. I don't know if it's true or not."

Brigade Commander Wang Kezheng, who also held the rank of Senior Colonel, spoke in a tone that seemed somewhat off.

It has a strong sour smell!

From this one sentence alone, we can tell that Wang Kezheng is an extremely competitive person, and most likely someone who is very confident in his abilities.

To put it bluntly.

It's the kind of arrogant person who is unwilling to admit that they are inferior to others and that others are better than them.

of course.

This is not a major drawback. If an army wants to become stronger, it must have a competitive spirit, and the leader must be energetic.

The spirit of never giving up is arguably one of the most fundamental mindsets in elite units.

Moreover, Wang Kezheng is not just a talker; he is indeed skilled in combat. His achievements during his years as brigade commander are enough to give him the right to be arrogant.

"Whether it's true or not is another matter. Battalion-level units are just small-scale operations, and they can't be compared to brigade-level operations."

The political commissar's words also carried a hint of arrogance, but he was more rational than Wang Kezheng. He continued his analysis, "Don't be fooled by the fact that this Steel Seventh Brigade has only been established for a few days. It's said that all the weapons they're equipped with are the most advanced, some even imported." He then added with a laugh, "I bet their imported equipment hasn't even been unpacked yet, haha."

The implication is that the team was formed too soon, so the imported high-quality equipment was simply unusable, let alone used in this exercise.

"Having good equipment is useless; in war, the human factor is always the most important."

Wang Kezheng exuded confidence, then asked with great interest, "What's the situation with their brigade commander? Do you have any updated information about him?"

"I just printed it out and brought it with me," the political commissar said, handing over a sheet of printed paper.

"Hahaha."

Wang Kezheng glanced at the brigade commander's resume and couldn't help but laugh, saying, "Over fifty years old? He was a regimental commander at the grassroots level for more than ten years? If this were us, we'd advise him to retire."

Information technology reform and the rejuvenation of the armed forces are trends; those older members who haven't climbed the ranks will gradually be phased out.

The Steel Seventh Brigade, which keeps talking about information technology reform and building a digitalized combined arms brigade, has appointed a brigade commander who is over 50 years old.

Wang Kezheng didn't think someone who hadn't climbed up the ladder by his fifties had any ability.

That's why he laughed; he seemed completely at ease.

After all, any one of the opponents he defeated in the three years of exercises was a military commander who was a top student from a military academy, and it was only natural that he would become a senior colonel in his early forties.

"The commander of the 7th Steel Brigade is indeed quite mediocre, good at maintaining the status quo but lacking in ambition, however..."

As the political commissar spoke, he pulled out another sheet of printed paper and handed it to Wang Kezheng, saying, "We should pay attention to this person, the new chief of staff of the Seventh Steel Brigade."

Although this man was only the deputy battalion commander in the Seventh Steel Battalion, it is said that he was always in charge of command, and neither the battalion commander nor the political commissar at the time had any objections.

In this expansion of the 7th Steel Brigade, he was promoted several ranks, becoming the brigade's chief of staff.

Wang Kezheng knew about the Seventh Steel Battalion, since it frequently appeared in military newspapers, and always on the front page; it was hard not to notice.

However, the military newspapers do not disclose any specific details about the Seventh Steel Battalion.

Moreover, even when reports about Chen Jun personally appear in military newspapers, they only mention him as an officer from a certain unit, without providing any detailed information.

Therefore, Wang Kezheng was unaware of these circumstances; Chen Jun was a complete stranger to him.

Hearing his most trusted political commissar suddenly mention such a strange thing—that the deputy battalion commander had surpassed the battalion commander to obtain command authority—was truly baffling.

If Wang Kezheng were in the 708th Brigade, it would be impossible for him to take orders from the deputy brigade commander during an exercise.

Driven by curiosity and doubt, Wang Kezheng took the printed paper and began to read the information on it. After a while, his expression changed noticeably.

Unlike those who laughed out loud when looking at Wang Qingrui's information, they completely disregarded him.

After reviewing Chen Jun's information, Wang Kezheng frowned.

Even under the influence of confidentiality regulations, many of the things Chen Jun did were classified as top secret and were not listed on his resume.

But even from this simple resume, Wang Kezheng saw something extraordinary.

Don’t say anything else.

The young face at the very top, with a seriously mismatched military rank added after the birth date written next to it, was enough to make Wang Kezheng's eyes widen in disbelief.

"A 27-year-old colonel?? A brigade chief of staff at the regimental level? Is there a mistake in the age?"

Wang Kezheng was so surprised that his tone of voice changed.

Anyone who has spent even a few days in the military knows how difficult it is to advance in rank and position; it takes several years to climb each step.

Normally.

At the age of 27, most military academy graduates are promoted to deputy company commander, and even those who perform well usually only reach the rank of company commander.

Even if someone has connections and resources at home, the highest they can achieve is a deputy battalion commander.

In the original storyline, Gao Cheng was just a deputy battalion commander.

But Chen Jun is different...

Normally, one can only serve up to the age of deputy company commander, but he actually went to a deputy division-level unit and became a full regimental commander, achieving in his twenties what people in their forties could do.

Even if we don't mention saving twenty years, it's at least fifteen years.

Wang Kezheng, a 40-year-old brigade commander, felt that his promotion speed was fast enough and that he was definitely one of the best in the army.

But compared to Chen Jun written on the paper in front of him, he was not even as good as a toe.

Such a huge gap was unacceptable to Wang Kezheng.

That's why he immediately suspected a mistake.

The political commissar also didn't want to believe it from the bottom of his heart. It was infuriating to compare people like that, but the facts were right in front of him, so he had to believe it even if he didn't want to.

He could only smile wryly and helplessly: "This Chen Jun is indeed a bit strange. He basically skips his way up, and each time he is promoted, he is promoted several levels at once."

At first, I also thought that his age was written incorrectly, so I even checked his achievements.

However, much of the information about him is classified as top secret and I don't have permission to view it. I don't have much information to rely on, but after reading it, I have to admit I'm impressed.

Seeing that his political commissar didn't seem to be joking, Wang Kezheng stared wide-eyed and quickly asked, "What? Has he performed many merits?"

"It's not just too much, it's far too much."

The political commissar exclaimed in amazement, "According to my investigation, in the few years since he came down from military academy, he has received so many commendations and collective merits that they could fill several pages."

Even his personal merits were numerous and frightening; he received no fewer than six third-class and second-class merits combined, and I even remember two first-class merits.

He hasn't finished farming yet; he's also won one personal honor title.

It's no exaggeration to say that all the honors accumulated by everyone in our brigade over the past few years since the division-to-brigade reform cannot compare to his achievements.

"..."

After hearing what the political commissar said, Wang Kezheng was so shocked that he stood there speechless for a long time. He opened his mouth several times, but ultimately could not say anything.

Winning so many honors at the age of 27 is simply outrageous.

"Where did this monster come from...?"

It took Wang Kezheng a good dozen breaths to recover from his shock. After taking a deep breath, he uttered these words of exclamation.

"This guy is a monster. I can't imagine how he got it. No wonder he's only twenty-seven and already a colonel chief of staff."

The political commissar sighed, saying he'd never seen such a twisted person in his life. (End of Chapter)