From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

Wang Kezheng's words sounded so sweet, yet He Yazhou saw right through him.

He retorted directly, "Brigadier General, let me give you an example: what if we win this battle?"

"Then this summary will be much easier."

Wang Kezheng was unaware that He Yazhou had set a trap for him. Upon hearing about the role he most wanted, he immediately perked up and began to speak animatedly: "Training, management, command, tactics and techniques, and logistical support."

There are also high-tech methods, information networks, political ideology, culture and entertainment, and so on.

There are so many things to summarize; every single aspect could be explored in detail. It's not just about writing a summary; you could even write a book.

He Yazhou laughed after hearing this, but it was a strange laugh. He said very seriously, "Unfortunately, we lost this time."

“If we lose, that’s another story. You can pick out any part of it and find a whole bunch of problems. If I write them all down, where will I put my old face?” Wang Kezheng frowned.

"That's how we've always been. Ever since we got five consecutive wins and achieved some success, things have changed, haven't they? It's like a basket full of flowers, where even the smallest things look beautiful when you put them in. But when problems arise, it's like a garbage can, where every piece you pick out stinks. But I think we can't do that this time."

He Yazhou launched into a tirade of criticism, using no profanity whatsoever.

"No wonder you're my political commissar, hehe, you're definitely not on the same level."

He Yazhou's description was so vivid and interesting that Wang Kezheng laughed at the scolding. Knowing that he couldn't escape, he simply said, "Then tell me what to do."

"Let's not talk about achievements or failures; let's address the issues of mindset and ideology first," He Yazhou said, tapping his head.

"hehe."

Wang Kezheng chuckled twice and said, "What you're saying is interesting. You said I served as the division chief of staff for three years, and then as the brigade commander for three years after the division was reorganized into a brigade. How come in your mouth, there's something wrong with my thinking?"

“It’s not that there’s a problem with your thinking, but rather that we are now facing a critical issue of changing our mindset,” He Yazhou solemnly corrected Wang Kezheng.

Wang Kezheng was immediately enlightened, his expression turning serious as he picked up the newspaper again and asked solemnly, "Is it mentioned here?"

"Not only did the higher-ups explicitly point it out, but I also bear even greater responsibility," He Yazhou said loudly.

"Then I'll take a good look, okay?"

Wang Kezheng couldn't argue with He Yazhou, and was even more worried that this was indeed a plan from the higher-ups, so he could only suppress his temper and obediently sit down to carefully read the newspaper.

"Ah, that's right."

He Yazhou smiled with satisfaction and continued, "However, recently there has not only been bad news, but also good news, and it is the news you most want to hear."

"What I most want to hear? Don't kid me, I'm not in the mood right now." Wang Kezheng didn't believe it at all.

“I’m not kidding you. The order for your division to be transferred has already been issued to the army group,” He Yazhou said, his hands resting on the desk as he spoke each word clearly.

"what?"

Wang Kezheng suddenly stood up, his expression a mixture of elation and skepticism, and asked, "Who told you that?"

Since messing up the last exercise and receiving a severe punishment, Wang Kezheng hasn't thought about promotion, or rather, he doesn't dare to think about it at all.

Now that his long-cherished wish has finally come to fruition, how could Wang Kezheng not be excited?

"Director Qian from the Political Department just called and told me personally that it's about to happen that you will be transferred to the group army as deputy chief of staff. Your six years as deputy division commander are finally coming to an end. I congratulate you in advance."

He Yazhou smiled happily, genuinely pleased for Wang Kezheng.

"Okay, come to my place tonight, let's have a good drink, you two brothers." Wang Kezheng smiled so hard that wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes, and he was in a better mood than ever before.

"Brigadier, that won't be necessary. I have other things to do. If you really want to thank me, just take a good look at this newspaper," He Yazhou instructed.

"Old He, don't worry, I won't even let the punctuation marks slip by, haha." Wang Kezheng readily agreed.

He Yazhou smiled and nodded, then walked out.

……

War zone.

The boss's office.

"Report."

A senior civil servant entered the room, respectfully placed a document on the table in front of the boss with both hands, and said, "This is an internal report that the chief of staff asked me to deliver."

"Is it urgent?"

The big boss put down the documents he was reading, looked up, and casually asked a question.

"The Chief of Staff would like you to take a look first," the civil servant replied truthfully.

"What's in the internal report?" the big boss asked.

He wanted to know the general content first before deciding whether to open the file. The file in his hand was also very important, and if he wasn't in a hurry, he would wait and look at it later.

"It was a senior journalist from the military media who wrote an internal report specifically for his superiors, offering a different perspective on the construction of specialized combined arms brigades for our theater army."

The superior that the civil servant was referring to was ZY, and the big boss of the war zone had to take it seriously.

"Okay, I'll take a look now."

The big boss picked up the document, opened it, and said as he read from the first page, "Go and invite the chief of staff over."

The matter had reached the higher-ups, and the war zone's top leader vaguely realized that something was wrong. He called the chief of staff over mainly to discuss the matter.

After the civil servant turned around and went out to invite the chief of staff, the big boss officially began to read.

[New Insights on the Establishment of Specialized Combined Arms Brigades in the Chinese Military (Internal Reference)]

It starts with a huge, bold headline, followed by densely packed content.

In a recent live-fire exercise organized by the Capital Theater Army, an experimental specialized combined arms unit unexpectedly won a victory against the opposing force by taking advantage of the opposing force's lack of knowledge and through various illegal means.

The participating officers and soldiers questioned this method of victory, believing it to be a bizarre and inappropriate training approach that blindly imitated the West and was merely a publicity stunt.

Creating these so-called professional hypothetical adversaries is not fundamentally different from previous red-blue force confrontation exercises.

However, the establishment of such a so-called experimental unit was extremely costly, with serious deficiencies in supervision, lax military discipline, weakened political and ideological work, disrupted glorious traditions, distorted training outlines, disrupted organizational structure, and alienated the morale of both the military and the people…

The entire internal report is at least several thousand words long, filled with various affected and formulaic phrases, all of which are negating the combined arms brigade, making it a blood pressure spike for anyone who reads it.

The big boss couldn't stand it any longer and put down the documents with a serious expression.

At this time.

Chief of Staff Shen pushed open the door and walked in. The big boss waved to the chief of staff and said, "Come, chief of staff, come sit here. This was written by that senior reporter Sun Zhu, right?"

“Yes.” Chief of Staff Shen walked over and sat on the sofa on the left, his expression serious. “When we were at the Wolf Former Base, he came to interview me specifically and we discussed this issue.”

He clearly didn't understand our approach of forming specialized combined arms brigades; I didn't expect him to actually report it to higher authorities.

It's not that it's against regulations for a military journalist to get involved in military reforms; publishing internal reports is also his right.

Chief of Staff Shen really didn't expect that Sun Zhu would write such an internal report opposing the proposal. Such a thing rarely happens, and you almost never encounter it.

Therefore, Chief of Staff Shen was very surprised.

"While his criticisms are somewhat one-sided, they can't be said to be entirely wrong. What he wrote does represent the thoughts and opinions of some people," the big boss said.

"Here are some opinions and suggestions from various quarters." Chief of Staff Shen handed over the entire file bag he had brought.

It was a big, bulging bag; you could tell it was full of things even without opening it.

The big boss's expression turned serious as he opened the file folder and said, "Were these people who offered suggestions influenced by this senior reporter's inside report?"

"Some opinions were expressed under the influence of this internal report, while others were the on-site observations of comrades from the troops participating in this exercise," Chief of Staff Shen said.

"This Steel Seventh Brigade is truly a fierce tiger; it has stirred up a storm as soon as it emerged from the mountains," the big boss exclaimed.

"Haha, indeed."

Chief of Staff Shen smiled approvingly and continued, "There are also some people who don't understand the situation and are adding fuel to the fire, expressing their own opinions."

Some people say that if specialized combined arms brigades can easily defeat conventional troops, then what's the point of having conventional troops? Why not just build a few more combined arms brigades?

Some people believe that if future exercises are like those of the 7th Steel Brigade, where troops can act recklessly, then what's the point of conducting regular training or political and ideological work?

Some even believe that Chen Jun's undefeated record is simply due to the support of his superiors, his special privileges, and his access to advanced weaponry.

"If I had the same equipment and conditions, I could easily win too."

“It’s not just dissenting opinions, is it?” the big boss interjected.

"Of course."

Chief of Staff Shen nodded and said, "We have also received some letters and calls from leaders of several army groups and cadres of the training base."

Most supporters believe that the simulated enemy's attack hit the nail on the head, exposing the outdated and obsolete nature of the PLA's existing training methods and concepts.

It is believed that the construction of specialized combined arms brigades is definitely of positive significance, and it is perfectly normal for problems and shortcomings to exist.

I hope we can persevere and not give up because of a minor setback. Following the old path is easy; innovation always carries a certain degree of risk.

It is clear from Chief of Staff Shen's words that leaders at the army group level have a very positive attitude towards combined arms brigades.

Everyone believes that combined arms brigades have great potential and recognizes the emergence of this brand-new model.

Most of the dissenting opinions came from the division, brigade, and regiment levels.

"I also received a letter from my superiors. You can take it and have a look."

The big boss opened the drawer, took out a stack of letters, handed them over, and then said, "They all basically say that this attempt is a good start, mainly referring to the professionalized combined arms brigade, creating a pseudo-professional enemy-oriented construction."

However, we must consider whether we are taking too big a step. In the absence of mature conditions, there is a risk of blindly rushing forward, which is not conducive to training reform.

Furthermore, our conventional, formulaic training hasn't reached an incurable stage. Could we consider combining or complementing regular exercises with exercises against simulated adversaries?

"That's a good suggestion," Chief of Staff Shen nodded and said.

"In fact, this sense of crisis is not only emphasized in exercises and confrontations, but also advocated in the training of cadres. It promotes the transformation of the combat capability generation model and the cultivation of new combat capabilities. This is not only the idea of ​​the leaders, but also the common recognition of our officers and soldiers," the boss said.

"If this exercise has any results, it's that it exposed many problems, and some deep-seated ones at that. Some of our unit commanders haven't truly realized the purpose and significance of confronting professional troops; they're still focused on who wins and who loses," Chief of Staff Shen commented.

“These complaint letters have all been delivered to our desks, and the political commissar has some more, but our goal cannot change, and we must continue down this path.”

The big boss first expressed his attitude, and then went on to propose a solution: "The political commissar and I have an idea. The leaders of the theater army will go to various units separately to listen to the opinions and ideas of the officers and soldiers below."

……

At the same time.

Meng Huainan, who stepped down from his position as deputy commander of the Southeast Military Region and was also the first commander of the 708th Division, made a phone call to the duty room of the 708th Brigade through an internal line.

The duty officer in charge was Staff Officer Jin. When he heard that it was Meng Huainan calling, he was so startled that he almost fell off his stool.

Fortunately, he quickly figured out the other party's intentions. They weren't there to cause him trouble, but rather to find Wang Kezheng, and they couldn't get through to the office phone.

Therefore, the only option was to call the inside line and ask Staff Officer Jin to pass on a message to Wang Kezheng, asking Wang Kezheng to call him when he had time.

After hanging up the phone, Meng Huainan thought about what he had read in the newspaper: his elite troops, which he had personally built, had actually lost to half a brigade of another army.

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. He muttered to himself, "This kid definitely wouldn't dare to call me. No, if I don't teach this kid a lesson soon, who knows what kind of mess he'll make of the 708th Brigade."

This little guy can't stand losing, I need to teach him a lesson.

Done.

I'm too lazy to wait for the phone call.

I decided to go to the 708 bus route myself.

……

909 Brigade.

Chu Zhangang flew back from the Wolf Former Base first. The troops were still on their way back, so there wasn't much to do for the time being. He went to the beach to fish.

It was almost noon.

The civil servant responsible for Chu Zhangang's duties came over with the document bag and asked politely, "Brigade Commander, you caught quite a few fish today, didn't you?"

"So far, not a single one has taken the bait," Chu Zhangang said calmly.

"Oh no, that can't be right."

The civil servant had originally intended to offer some flattery, but looking at the empty buckets and fish baskets beside him, he was at a loss for words.

But he soon realized something was wrong: there was no fish food in the room.

So he quickly said, "Commander, did you forget to bring fish food? You can't catch fish without fish food. Shall I go get some for you now?"

“No need for fish food,” Chu Zhangang refused.

Who knows what they're up to? (End of Chapter)