From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

Hong Yi's sudden offer to change careers really startled Xu Xiaocun, who also realized the seriousness of the matter and that solving the problem had become the top priority.

So after comforting and dissuading Hong Yi, he rushed back to talk to Chu Zhangang privately.

"Political Commissar, what's the matter that's so urgent?"

Chu Zhangang hadn't realized the gravity of the situation yet, and he pushed open the door, smiling as he walked toward Xu Xiaocun.

"Where have you been? Why are you taking so long to come back?" Xu Xiaocun asked, frowning.

"Oh, I made a special trip to the sea training site. The 2nd Company of the 3rd Battalion was doing target practice at sea, and they missed half of their shots. It's infuriating! Isn't this embarrassing? I have to go there myself and make them find out the reason for this by tomorrow," Chu Zhangang said with dissatisfaction.

“Isn’t Zhu Rongsheng here? Why don’t you just let him handle it?” Xu Xiaocun said.

"The military is coming the day after tomorrow to assess the assault vehicles' live-fire target practice at sea. Do you think I can be at ease? You won't know until you go, and what I see will shock you," Chu Zhangang said.

“The Third Battalion only arrived at the seaside training ground a few days ago. They started live-fire exercises as soon as they got into the sea. How can they get up to speed so quickly? I think you’re getting a little impatient.”

Xu Xiaocun picked up the kettle next to him and started brewing tea while talking to Chu Zhangang.

"Hey, you're absolutely right. I'm really worried. The assessment is the day after tomorrow. How am I supposed to show this score of 5 out of 10 misses to the commander? Where will I, the brigade commander of the 909th Brigade, put my face?" Chu Zhangang said.

"Wherever you put it, it's up to you to put it around your own neck. You can't rush things, and last-minute cramming won't help," Xu Xiaocun said with a faint smile.

"Why didn't you notify us in advance? Even half a month would have been fine. This has caused us a lot of chaos. Is the commander trying to follow Chen Jun's example and launch a surprise attack on us?" Chu Zhangang said nervously.

"I don't think we can entirely blame the higher-ups. The main problem is that we haven't been doing enough sea training. We only started arranging sea training three days before the assessment, so it's normal that the results weren't ideal. As long as they work hard and intensify their training, I believe their results will improve," Xu Xiaocun comforted them.

"I say, this doesn't sound like something a political commissar would say," Chu Zhangang said, somewhat displeased.

"Brigade Commander, Political Commissar."

Ding Kai pushed open the door and walked in: "Deputy Brigade Commander Zhu said he can't come."

The artillery regiment was to be disbanded long before the exercise; the order had already been issued. Now that Regiment Commander Zhu has become Deputy Brigade Commander Zhu, it means that the order has been implemented.

"It won't matter if I can't come."

Chu Zhangang didn't care about Deputy Brigade Commander Zhu at all and continued the conversation, saying, "Political Commissar, based on my understanding of you, you would never speak like this."

"Our superiors have come specifically to assess and inspect us; we have to deliver our best results. How can we just let it be unsatisfactory?"

Chu Zhangang was used to having the final say in the 909th Brigade, and when the political commissar's words made him uncomfortable, he immediately tried to correct him without thinking.

"Old Chu, the Second Company has a lot of new recruits. The tank commander and gunner are basically only two-year veterans. And it's the first time the new equipment has been used. How can they fight well?"

Xu Xiaocun used to fawn over Chu Zhangang, but this time, influenced by Hong Yi, he realized that he had to make a change.

After first rebuking Chu Zhangang's question, he continued seriously, "Deputy Brigade Commander Zhu proposed a sea training plan, but you always refused to approve it on the grounds of safety and security."

They were required to practice only on land and were not allowed to go into the sea, which meant they had no opportunity to train at all.

"Now that the higher-ups are coming to inspect, you're scrambling at the last minute to force them all into the sea, without any buffer time. How can you possibly win?"

Chu Zhangang, who had been wearing a faint smile, turned pale in an instant after hearing Xu Xiaocun's blunt criticism.

He said coldly, "Ding Kai, weren't the sea conditions bad a while ago? Didn't you say that many new recruits were going to sea for the first time? What would you do if a vehicle sank and people died?"

Xu Xiaocun knew that Chu Zhangang was trying to shift the blame, and given Ding Kai's obsequious manner, he would most likely take the fall.

Xu Xiaocun didn't bother listening to Ding Kai's explanation and continued to stare at Chu Zhangang, pressing him for an answer: "It's only been a few days, so how can you go into the sea to fire live ammunition now?"

"political commissar!!"

Chu Zhangang suddenly raised his voice and said with dissatisfaction, "You know how the weather is at sea. You're obviously just arguing on purpose."

Xu Xiaocun was so angry that he didn't want to say anything for a moment because he didn't expect Chu Zhangang to be so unrepentant.

The atmosphere in the venue suddenly plummeted to freezing point!

Ding Kai was by nature an obsequious person. He didn't want to offend either side, yet he wanted to please both. Seeing the situation, he took the initiative to step forward and said, "Brigade Commander, Political Commissar, are we about to have a meeting? Shall we begin now?"

Ding Kai tried to change the subject, but Xu Xiaocun was already disappointed and decided to completely correct the problem.

He continued, bringing the topic back to the present, saying, "Let's start now. The theme of today's meeting is to argue, and we need to make sure that we argue clearly and thoroughly."

Not agreeing with Chu Zhangang is considered arguing for the sake of arguing; Xu Xiaocun is clearly trying to satirize Chu Zhangang.

"Hehehe."

When Chu Zhangang saw that Xu Xiaocun was going against him and completely disregarding him as the brigade commander, Chu Zhangang, who was used to being a dictator, instantly broke down.

After a few cold laughs, he simply tore off the mask and went straight for the kill, saying, "Xu Xiaocun, what's wrong with you? Did you take the wrong medicine before you left home?"

They're at least colleagues of the same rank; they should at least show some consideration when they speak.

Chu Zhangang's words were truly harsh, clearly showing that he didn't respect the political commissar at all.

"Old Chu, how can you talk like that?"

Xu Xiaocun confronted him directly, even calling him "Old Chu" to imply that Chu Zhangang had won by calling him by his name, thus gaining the upper hand in terms of thinking.

Xu Xiaocun's stern reprimand made Chu Zhangang finally realize something.

The political commissar is not only a political commissar, but also a party official who is the head of the brigade's party committee. In terms of political affiliation, his actual status is higher than that of the brigade commander.

A sudden surge of concerns made Chu Zhangang refrain from further rebuttal.

Xu Xiaocun temporarily won a point and said in an extremely stern tone: "I called you here specifically to discuss the reasons for the failure of the exercise, analyze the problems that exist in our 909th Brigade, and hope to reach a consensus."

"Then why schedule it at this time? Can't we start it after training?" Chu Zhangang nitpicked.

"I want to start now, is there a problem?" Xu Xiaocun hardened up completely, no longer giving Chu Zhangang any face, and directly confronted him.

"Ok."

Now that Chu Zhangang knew who the real king was, his previous arrogance vanished, but he was still very unhappy and asked, "Then tell me, what exactly is the problem?"

"After we returned from the defeat, the morale of the officers and soldiers in the brigade was greatly affected, which was obvious to everyone."

Xu Xiaocun glanced at Chu Zhangang and Ding Kai, then changed the subject and continued, "However, there is no unified understanding among our Standing Committee leaders."

How should the 909th Brigade proceed in the future? How should we fight the battle to turn things around? If the three of us don't reach a unified understanding, many tasks within the brigade will not be able to proceed smoothly. Furthermore, there are some issues that everyone is aware of, but sometimes we pretend not to see them out of consideration for others, remaining silent. I believe this is a sign of incompetence and irresponsibility.

I hope that starting today, we must uphold this principle, both in terms of the issues and, more importantly, in terms of the people involved.

From the perspective of Political Commissar Xu Xiaocun, given the current disunity and extreme emotional fluctuations within the 909th Brigade, his words were perfectly reasonable.

However, Chu Zhangang, who was used to being assertive, was very unhappy to see that the political commissar, who used to follow his lead and listen to him, was now specifically targeting him. His negative emotions surged rapidly.

In particular, when Chu Zhangang heard Xu Xiaocun say at the end that he should be more selective in his approach, he felt that Xu was targeting him.

He was so angry that he burst into wild laughter.

After laughing unrestrainedly for a full five or six seconds, Chu Zhangang deliberately leaned his upper body on the table, his large face close to Xu Xiaocun, and asked with a fake smile, "What's wrong, my political commissar? You seem like a completely different person."
When problems arise, we certainly cannot run away from them, but have we been defeated?
I've always believed we haven't lost. Even the leaders haven't said a single word of criticism, have they? Why should we humiliate ourselves?

"Yes, yes, the brigade commander is right." Ding Kai nodded repeatedly with a smile.

Chu Zhangang felt he had gained the upper hand and continued to counterattack: "I strongly disagree with the term 'arguing for the sake of arguing.' It has a bad influence if it gets out. Unity is the foundation of consistency, and only by uniting can we move in unison."

Xu Xiaocun gave a cold laugh and offered no comment on Chu Zhangang's statement that unity is the key to achieving consensus.

Ding Kai continued to grin foolishly and fawn over him.

"Political Commissar, just tell us. If there are any problems during training, we'll fix them immediately and take action right away. We'll do whatever makes you happy."

Chu Zhangang's words seemed like a compliment on the surface, but in reality, they were a veiled attack on Xu Xiaocun.

As the political commissar, Xu Xiaocun naturally understood the coded language. Seeing that Chu Zhangang was still secretly going against him, he was already very dissatisfied.

Seeing that Xu Xiaocun remained silent, Chu Zhangang simply took control of the meeting.

He said loudly, "Ding Kai, you tell us."

This is another trick Chu Zhangang is using. He's trying to force Ding Kai to take a stand, and given Ding Kai's nature, he'll definitely side with him.

Then Chu Zhangang will be able to regain control of the discourse at the venue with a 2-1 advantage.

Even if you are a Party official, you still have to follow the old rules.

Minority must submit to majority rule!

"I, I, I'm listening."

Ding Kai was used to just listening in meetings because Chu Zhangang didn't like others contradicting him, so his brain had become less sharp after not using it for so long. Now that he was suddenly asked to speak, his mind went completely blank.

"Tsk, sigh~"

Chu Zhangang was very impatient and said with disdain, "This is not for you to listen, it is for you to speak. Since the political commissar wants to argue, why don't you stand up and say a few words?"

Now tell me, is what I just said reasonable or not?

Chu Zhangang's words were so straightforward: Ding Kai may like flattery, but that doesn't mean he's stupid. He naturally understood what was going on.

Ding Kai certainly didn't want to offend the brigade commander, but he didn't want to offend the political commissar even more.

Seeing that he was being forced into a corner by Chu Zhangang, Ding Kai rolled his eyes a few times and said, "I think the brigade commander and the political commissar are right."

This is a typical example of trying to smooth things over and offend neither side.

“Yes, both make sense, so it’s not called arguing for the sake of arguing.” Chu Zhangang said with a smug smile.

"What's it called?" Xu Xiaocun asked coldly.

“Discussion, this is called discussing problems, hahaha,” Chu Zhangang laughed loudly.

Ding Kai grinned sheepishly.

Xu Xiaocun, however, showed no smile and said with a heavy heart, "Old Chu, I think you're just trying to smooth things over; you don't really want to solve the problem."

"Hey, don't say that."

Chu Zhangang said loudly in a sarcastic tone, "If we're talking about mediating disputes, I'm no match for you. Don't forget, mediating disputes is one of your political commissar's jobs."

"Humph~"

The political commissar was speechless, turned his head away, and didn't bother to say anything more.

“I know that some comrades have recently reported some problems and expressed their dissatisfaction. I know this much better than you do,” Chu Zhangang said, squinting.

"What's the problem? What's your mood? Tell me," Xu Xiaocun said irritably.

“Hong Yi, Captain Hong, his complaints weren’t because of the unsatisfactory results in the 2001 decisive battle. He was full of dissatisfaction from the very beginning. He went into the exercise with his emotions running high. Do you think I didn’t know that?”

Chu Zhangang thought he had hit the nail on the head, and leaned back in his chair smugly, and continued: "What he said is not entirely useless, but the battle plan set by the Party Committee must be resolutely implemented, no matter what your opinions are, without any ambiguity."

He's held onto these feelings until now, even threatening to change careers. Do you think I can accept this kind of attitude?

Chu Zhangang still didn't realize his own problem, blaming everything on others and taking it for granted that everyone had to listen to him.

"Anything else?" Xu Xiaocun told him to say as much as he wanted.

"And then there's Zhu Rongsheng. He's also influenced by Hong Yi. Now he's dissatisfied with this and that, constantly creating conflicts. If these conflicts are exposed, how will the officers and soldiers of the entire brigade view our brigade leaders? How will we carry out our work in the future?"

Chu Zhangang then criticized Zhu Rongsheng, before turning his attention to Ding Kai and asking, "Ding Kai, didn't I tell you to talk to Hong Yi? How did the talk go?"

"I...I haven't had time yet."

Ding Kai didn't even bother to talk to Hong Yi; he nervously rubbed his hands back and forth on his thighs.

“I have spoken with Hong Yi.”

Xu Xiaocun picked up the conversation, saying, "The problem isn't who's complaining or dissatisfied, but why they're throwing a tantrum. We have to find out the reason."

"I think it must be dissatisfaction with the 7th Steel Brigade."

Ding Kai felt confident that he had succeeded and quickly said, "Everyone is very uncomfortable and unaccustomed to the Steel Seventh Brigade's unruly confrontation."

Everyone thinks we're training diligently according to the syllabus, but when it comes to actual combat, it turns into a completely different routine. So how should we train in the future?
Everyone did feel confused, at a loss, and even bewildered.

I've spoken with the company and battalion commanders below, and their feedback is pretty much the same. They all feel that if they continue training using the current methods, they'll still lose in a fight, so they lack enthusiasm for training and have lost hope for the future. (End of Chapter)