From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

Chapter 458 The Greatest Obstacle to Reform Revealed!
Why was the 7th Steel Brigade able to easily defeat a stronger enemy? After a period of in-depth reflection, the commanders of the theater command all had their own ideas.

Since no unified meeting was held to discuss the matter, the thoughts of other leaders are currently unknown.

However, as the person in charge of the 7th Steel Brigade's coordination, Chief of Staff Shen, based on his understanding of combined arms forces and the drawbacks of traditional forces in the information age, pointed out the shortcomings of traditional forces.

His conclusions are more targeted and may be the most correct direction.

Chief of Staff Shen concluded that the cause lay with the 7th Steel Brigade.

To break the deadlock of the elite brigade's "vulnerability," there's no need for any profound research; the answer can be found in the case of the 7th Steel Brigade.

The 7th Steel Brigade was able to defeat two elite brigades with an absolute advantage even before it was fully formed.

That at least means that the digitalized combined arms brigade, this brand-new military organization, is suitable for our military system, and there is no need to worry about it not adapting well.

This also represents a digitalized combined arms brigade, which is bound to be in the "first tier" under the information technology reform.

Even conservatively speaking.

It is definitely number one in the army.

Now that we know what the best configuration is, we can just copy the answer and build more combined arms brigades, and have more "Steel 7th Brigades".

Then the combat effectiveness of our army will naturally be greatly improved.

however.

Knowing something is one thing, doing it is another.

There will always be some people who don't believe in evil, some people who are stubborn and inflexible, some people who won't turn back until they hit a wall, and some people who think they can do it all.

The original world line started in Zhurihe in 98, but the reform was not fully implemented until 16.

A full eighteen years passed in between.

The reason why it took so long to reform was only partly due to limitations in equipment and facilities; the biggest reason was the great difficulty involved.

Chief of Staff Shen had previously discussed this issue with Zhou Siling of the base.

He was well aware that it would be very difficult to carry out full integrated operations reform across the entire theater of operations or even within a single army group at this stage.

Therefore, before widespread deployment of combined arms brigades, the primary issue is to eliminate these difficulties.

So what is the most suitable method?
The answer is also very simple.

That is to make the 7th Steel Brigade a tyrant, a mortal enemy of all troops in the war zone, a mountain pressing down on them, and to suppress them with overwhelming force.

Severely punish those troops who refuse to admit defeat, especially the best and most elite troops.

This must be prioritized.

Only when you beat them hard will they behave, and the problem will naturally be solved.

The reforms can then be implemented!

In Chief of Staff Shen's view, this method was absolutely the most suitable approach. Its only drawback was that it was time-consuming and required a process to implement.

Therefore, Chief of Staff Shen decided to discuss with the big boss to see if this tone could be set.

Once it's decided...

The rest is easy to handle.

……

The theater command was shaken by the exercise and began to plan for the next reforms. There is a lot of work to be done in this process.

The busy "season" has arrived.

Meanwhile, on the side of the defeated 708th Brigade, Wang Kezheng finally emerged from the shadow of defeat and began to resume normal work with the political commissar.

The exercise ended the following day, and both the Red and Blue armies entered the Wolf Forward Base to await further instructions from their superiors before returning to their respective posts.

In accordance with relevant confidentiality requirements, the directing staff announced the conclusion of the exercise.

"The exercise is over."

He Yazhou received the news early in the morning and specially called Wang Kezheng out to go for a morning run with him on the playground, and casually mentioned the matter.

"Who's winning?"

Wang Kezheng's expression was very calm, completely different from before, which shows that he has really adjusted.

"It's a bit strange, completely different from before. This time, the outcome wasn't announced to the public," He Yazhou said, frowning.

"I've never heard of the exercise results not being made public before. This is definitely the first time I've heard of such a thing, let alone other exercise bases." Wang Kezheng said with great curiosity.

"There's no official announcement, but there are a lot of rumors and private discussions," He Yazhou said, changing the subject.

"What are they all talking about?" Wang Kezheng asked.

"Everyone is saying that Chu Zhangang has lost."

When He Yazhou gave this surprising answer, Wang Kezheng, unlike his previous outburst, calmly asked, "What does the leader think? What is his attitude?"

Wang Kezheng asked this question with ulterior motives.

He was punished after his defeat. If Chu Zhangang were to be punished in the same way after his defeat, he would feel more at ease and save face.

That's why he cares about the leader's attitude.

"It is said that when the exercise ended, there was only applause, and the leaders did not make any comments. The whole exercise was also said to be very exciting."

Like Wang Kezheng, He Yazhou was unable to attend the event in person; all his information came from hearsay.

"No rush, we'll know once the leader's comments are out."

Wang Kezheng spoke very calmly, but in reality, he was quite emotional.

If Chu Zhangang performs well in the exercise, even if he loses, he will still demonstrate his skill level, which will indirectly highlight how poor Wang Kezheng's abilities are.

Both sides are elite divisions and brigades in the war zone, and Wang Kezheng does not want to see this outcome.

……

Wang Kezheng and He Yazhou were discussing Chu Zhangang, while Chu Zhangang was also discussing Wang Kezheng with a senior reporter from a military news outlet early in the morning.

"Brigade Commander Chu, I've watched all the exercise footage. Even when you were in dire straits at the last moment, you didn't give up. You fought bravely and tenaciously against the Red Army. You even commanded the reconnaissance battalion, trying to turn the tide through a decapitation strike. This spirit is truly admirable and worthy of everyone's emulation."

Sun Zhu, a reporter carrying 24 cents on his shoulder, rattled off a string of polite remarks while also taking a few pictures of Chu Zhangang with his camera.

"Really? Haha."

Chu Zhangang was brutally beaten by the Red Army during the exercise, but Sun Zhu praised him so highly that he was in a great mood and his face lit up with a smile.

“Brigade Commander Chu, I’m telling the truth. I haven’t missed a single exercise you’ve commanded, have I? Don’t you believe me?” Sun Zhu said with a smile.

"That's why I say you're a veteran reporter; you're truly exceptional," Chu Zhangang immediately offered a friendly compliment.

“You and Brigade Commander Wang Kezheng are both old friends of mine, but I wanted to interview him before, but he refused. You both failed in this exercise, but his state of mind at that time was very different from yours,” Sun Zhu said solemnly. “Oh? Is that so? Tell me about it.”

Chu Zhangang had already been praised to the skies, but he still enjoyed hearing such compliments.

Because I feel comfortable!
"There's absolutely no comparison between the two of you. Commander Wang really performed below par this time."

Sun Zhu stepped on Wang Kezheng's foot, then turned around and praised Chu Zhangang, saying, "Your performance was particularly outstanding in the face of such a ruleless and completely chaotic exercise."

It not only fully demonstrated the courage to face danger without fear and forge ahead, but also showed the spirit and will to fight hard and be good at commanding.

I believe you have fully demonstrated the spirit and demeanor of a senior commander in this new era.

No wonder she's a seasoned journalist; she really knows how to say nice things. Anyone who hears her will feel comfortable and light-hearted.

"Thank you very much, thank you very much."

Chu Zhangang's mouth was crooked from laughing, but he still kept shaking his head and waving his hands modestly.

"Brigade Commander Chu, I've covered many military exercises of various scales and levels throughout the army, but the format of this exercise is indeed quite different from the past. A professional adversary unit has emerged, and I'm very interested to know..."

After spending most of the day, Sun Zhu finally got to the bottom of things and asked the question he was most concerned about: "What is your opinion on this type of exercise, or on this type of professional adversary force?"

First, praise the person you're interviewing from beginning to end until they feel comfortable, then ask them questions that make them uncomfortable.

have to say.

Sun Zhu is truly skilled.

Chu Zhangang does enjoy being praised, but he really can't answer this question now because he doesn't want to face it at all.

The thought of being thoroughly beaten by the 7th Steel Brigade, and ultimately having the entire brigade wiped out, filled him with shame, anger, and pain.

This is already a scar on his body.

He didn't want to make his scar public, but he also didn't want to offend Sun Zhu, who had praised him for so long. So he could only say tactfully, "As for this issue, I think you should interview Brigade Commander Wang Kezheng."

He was the first to face the Seventh Steel Brigade, so his experience must be much deeper than mine.

Seeing that her praise had no effect and that Chu Zhangang was trying to pass the buck to her, Sun Zhu put away her smile and said formally, "I already mentioned it, Brigade Commander Wang refused my interview."

"Why would he refuse? That shouldn't be the case," Chu Zhangang asked, feigning ignorance.

"Perhaps this failure was too much of a blow to him. When I went there, I heard that he had locked himself in his office for several days and hadn't even gone to the cafeteria for meals," Sun Zhu guessed.

"No way."

Chu Zhangang frowned, genuinely a little surprised.

"That's actually quite normal."

Sun Zhu said in a serious tone, "His performance and feelings during the exercise were not convincing at all. The Blue Army he commanded was almost completely vulnerable in front of the Red Army."

But you were different. You fought against this Blue team to the last man, persisting until the very last second. I think you lost with honor.

Sun Zhu's words were extremely flattering, clearly intended to give Chu Zhangang face.

However, Chu Zhangang was not satisfied with what he heard and retorted with a serious expression: "No, I don't think the 909th Brigade failed. Our reconnaissance battalion has already captured the Red Army command post. If this were a real battlefield, the entire Red Army command post would have been wiped out, which means we have already occupied the 535 defense line."

Chu Zhangang is clearly making excuses; he's just trying to save face after losing.

Sun Zhu was still thinking of interviewing Chu Zhangang, since his purpose was to write a report. If Chu Zhangang didn't cooperate, it would be troublesome for him not to be able to write the report.

So all I could do was continue to fawn over them, saying, "But the exercise report I saw stated that the directorate's final decision was that the Blue Army did not capture the 535 defense line."

"hehe."

Chu Zhangang sneered twice and said, "That's a typical problem of unclear rules, but I must say that our Blue Team did its best."

"Her efforts are undoubtedly commendable and evident to all."

Sun Zhu agreed with what Chu Zhangang said, but then changed the subject and said, "But I heard someone say that the 909th Brigade is fighting against half of the Steel 7th Brigade."

It's like playing chess; your opponent is practicing a move where they have your rook, knight, and cannon under your control.

The 7th Steel Brigade was newly formed and had no training. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe it as half a brigade. But if that were the reality, its combat strength would probably be less than a third of its peak.

"Hey."

Chu Zhangang was clearly unconvinced and sighed, saying, "Old Secretary Sun Zhu, I can tell you very clearly that before this, I had never heard of the Seventh Steel Brigade or Chen Jun."

We know nothing about this unit, while they know everything about us. Is this fair? Doesn't this weaken our 909th Brigade as well?

Chu Zhangang was still trying to justify himself.

"Yes, information asymmetry is also a form of unfairness."

Seeing that Chu Zhangang was already displeased, Sun Zhu casually said something to brush it off and got back to the main topic: "Regardless of the outcome, I'd really like to hear your feelings and opinions on this exercise, as someone who experienced it firsthand."

After saying that, he turned on a voice recorder and handed it over, meaning that he was now beginning the formal interview.

"Cough cough."

Chu Zhangang was very concerned about his image. He cleared his throat and said in what he considered to be his most magnetic voice, "I think this kind of professional hypothetical enemy setup is not very meaningful and has no value worth promoting."

Because it has problems in many aspects and clearly goes beyond the principles of competitive exercises.

"Yeah, it's like when we play soccer, we kick the ball properly with our feet, but they're allowed to run around carrying the ball. How can we watch that kind of game? Haha."

Chu Zhangang laughed at the end, a laugh tinged with sarcasm.

"Haha."

Sun Zhu was genuinely amused and said, "Your analogy is very vivid, and from your perspective, it does make some sense. Come on, continue."

"Okay, then let me say a few more words."

Chu Zhangang became more and more energetic as he spoke: "Whether it is a hypothetical enemy or a simulated foreign army, the Seventh Steel Brigade itself appears as an experimental army to explore reforms in training methods, which is perfectly fine."

However, innovation must conform to national and military realities, and more importantly, to basic tactical logic. Reckless and chaotic actions are not innovation; they are serious damage to the troops.

Chu Zhangang's last words were quite serious, enough to prove his "dislike" for the Steel Seventh Brigade.

"Did I hear that right? You mean the emergence of the Seventh Steel Brigade is inconsistent with national and military conditions?" Sun Zhu sensed a big scoop and keenly confirmed it again.

“I have always insisted that we cannot abandon our glorious traditions.”

Chu Zhangang straightened his back and said in a grand manner: "We should educate and guide students correctly on the problems in training, and strengthen them step by step."

The transformation brought about by information technology reform cannot be achieved by a so-called professional adversary force engaging in reckless attacks and deception, and by cleverly seizing victory.

Chu Zhangang's words clearly go against the general trend and represent the mainstream group that faces resistance to reform.

Chu Zhangang is not the only person who thinks this way.

There are many military officers with higher ranks than him.

(End of this chapter)