From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

Since the end of the "Decisive Battle 2001" live-fire confrontation exercise, the 708th Brigade led by Wang Kezheng and the 909th Brigade led by Chu Zhangang have been secretly competing with each other in military training.

Both units are striving to rapidly improve their combat effectiveness and are innovating in all aspects of their development.

However, due to the influence of their respective brigade commanders, the two brigades have different guiding ideologies and concepts, which are reflected in the troops' style of work, resulting in obvious differences.

Wang Kezheng accepted Chen Jun's new ideas and truly realized his own mistakes. He took the lead in inspiring the entire brigade to learn from their mistakes and strive for improvement.

The overall work style is very positive, and everyone from top to bottom is putting in a lot of effort.

The improvement in combat power is visible to the naked eye.

On the contrary, the 909th Brigade, influenced by Chu Zhangang, was full of signs of putting on a show from top to bottom, which resulted in poor training performance.

This is not.

Because the artillery regiment was downgraded to an artillery battalion and Zhu Rongsheng, who was not allowed to serve as regimental commander, was transferred to the position of deputy brigade commander, he personally went to the armored company to inspect the training in his capacity as deputy brigade commander.

Zhu Rongsheng inquired about the training situation from the company commander, who answered without changing his expression.

The training has been very effective, and overall performance is improving.

Zhu Rongsheng was somewhat satisfied with what he heard, but when he checked the recent training registration form, he found that the live-fire target practice results of the armored company were even worse than the previous week.

Last week I hit eight out of ten shots, which is still a long way from the highest requirement of hitting ten out of ten. But this week in training I only hit six out of ten shots.

If training results keep getting worse, is that considered a good result?
Is this some kind of perfunctory response?
Zhu Rong was furious!!
……

The training of the 909th Brigade is a complete mess, which is already outrageous.

However, this is not the most outrageous part. The problem of disharmony among the upper echelons of the command system remains unresolved to this day, which is the truly outrageous part.

"Hong Yi, come on, let's have a chat." Xu Xiaocun found Hong Yi, who was leading a training session.

"it is good."

Hong Yi nodded in agreement and followed Xu Xiaocun out of the training ground.

The two walked side by side to a nearby grove of trees. Xu Xiaocun said in a deep voice, "The brigade commander and I discussed it privately and decided to transfer you to the army's equipment department to deal with the colonel first. What do you think?"

“I know it’s the brigade commander’s good intention, and I’m very grateful for his efforts in the army to help me, but this is not what I want,” Hong Yi said listlessly.

“The military reform is still ongoing, and the organizational structure is still being adjusted. There have been significant changes in the brigade. The artillery regiment has now been disbanded and temporarily replaced by three artillery battalions, but this may change further. The equipment is also being upgraded at an accelerated pace. Zhu Rongsheng has also been promoted to deputy brigade commander. You should wait a little longer,” Xu Xiaocun said.

"If it's just about accumulating military service and getting a position, what's the difference between that and being a civil servant in the local area and just accumulating years of service? It would mean losing my true value as a soldier." Hong Yi's smile carried a hint of disdain.

"The true value of a soldier?" Xu Xiaocun looked at Hong Yi with a questioning gaze.

Hong Yi explained earnestly, "Perhaps my views are somewhat extreme and unacceptable to others, but for me, this is what I have always been pursuing."

I am very grateful for the care and concern the organization has shown me, but in my mind, the primary value of a soldier is to protect the lives of others with one's own and to safeguard the interests of the country and the nation from loss.

If necessary, a soldier's second value lies in his own promotion and advancement.

If this hierarchy changes, and the second value takes precedence over the first, then I think there's no point in me staying in the military.

Hong Yi was a soldier through and through, a soldier without any impurities whatsoever.

His thoughts were so pure, so pure, that they seemed like those of a fool.

This was the first time Xu Xiaocun had such an in-depth conversation with Hong Yi. He highly agreed with Hong Yi's words, saying, "This is not an extreme view; it is precisely the embodiment of the core values ​​of soldiers."

"Thank you for the political commissar's recognition."

Hong Yi smiled and said with feeling, "Recently, there has been a lot of cooperation between the military and local authorities. Comrade Gong An, a local official, often invites me to give lectures."

During my interactions with them, I participated in handling emergencies on-site.

I sensed that they were in a tense, combat-ready state almost every day, or that battles could happen every day. They often had to face off against armed robbers and thugs, engaging in life-or-death struggles with the enemy, where life and death were separated by a mere instant.

And what about us? Our training mainly involves imaginary opponents, or wooden targets that offer no resistance.

Even so, they are still full of worries all day long, afraid that this is unsafe, afraid that there is danger, just for the sake of self-preservation, they simply do not carry out a lot of training.

Our soldiers may have impressive movements, but whether they are practical and effective in actual combat... I really can't say.

Although Hong Yi did not name names, Xu Xiaocun understood perfectly and said thoughtfully, "So that's why you deliberately increased the difficulty of the training?"

"Sun Tzu's Art of War states: Aim for the highest, and you will achieve the middle; aim for the middle, and you will achieve the lowest; aim for the lowest... and you will surely be defeated!!"

Hong Yi was particularly heavy-hearted and said seriously, "If we don't improve the basic combat skills of our two years of conscription soldiers as quickly as possible within the limited time, it will be disastrous."

Survival would be difficult if war broke out. If we assume war broke out today, could our soldiers get up there? Could they come back?

Hong Yi despised those who only practiced pretty moves; he wanted real, practical combat skills.

"Hong Yi, I know it's hard for me to convince you, but I hope you can reconsider..."

Just as Xu Xiaocun was about to say something more, his phone suddenly rang. He took out his phone and saw that it was Deputy Brigade Commander Zhu calling.

After the call was connected, Deputy Brigade Commander Zhu spoke in a very serious tone, saying that he had something very important to discuss with the political commissar.

Xu Xiaocun sensed something was off about Zhu Rongsheng's tone. As for Hong Yi, he had said what he needed to say, and there was no point in continuing the conversation.

So he stopped chatting with Hong Yi and rushed to the bay to find Zhu Rongsheng.

"Rongsheng, what brings you here? And why did you call me over in such a hurry? Can't we talk in the office?" Xu Xiaocun asked as he walked over.

“It’s quiet here with few people, and it’s easy to talk.” Zhu Rongsheng said with a dark face and no expression.

"Ok."

Xu Xiaocun sensed something was wrong and stopped being polite, asking directly, "Speak, what did you call me here for?"

"I don't want to do this anymore, I want to leave the 909th Brigade."

Zhu Rongsheng's words instantly wiped the smile off Xu Xiaocun's face. Her heart tightened, and she asked, both surprised and puzzled, "Why don't you want to do it anymore?"

Hong Yi and Zhu Rongsheng are both capable officers of the 909th Brigade, and both are backbone members with both strength and talent.

These two talented key members often didn't want to stay in the 909th Brigade anymore; one wanted to change careers, and the other wanted to leave the 909th Brigade.

This really scared Xu Xiaocun!
"Political Commissar, I want to ask you a question: am I still the deputy brigade commander?" Zhu Rongsheng looked at Xu Xiaocun expressionlessly, but deep in his eyes flashed resentment. "Of course you are the deputy brigade commander. Nobody dismissed you," Xu Xiaocun said confidently.

"Since I am the deputy brigade commander, why did you hide the fact that the Second Company falsified its results during the military assessment from me?" Zhu Rongsheng questioned loudly.

"Forgery? How could it be forged?"

Xu Xiaocun frowned; this was no small matter.

"Political Commissar, are you really unaware or are you pretending not to know?" Zhu Rongsheng asked, his face full of suspicion.

"I really don't know anything about this. Tell me what happened?" Xu Xiaocun asked seriously.

"Recently, I discovered that the Second Company, like the First Company, has seen a significant drop in live-fire target practice results, but when I asked anyone, no one would tell me the truth."

So I went to the Second Company, only to find that several soldiers in the Fourth Platoon of the Second Company were avoiding me. When I pressed them for details, I learned that the Second Company's scores in the last military assessment of our maritime target shooting were not accurate.

Upon hearing Zhu Rongsheng's story, Xu Xiaocun did not immediately believe it. Instead, he asked doubtfully, "No way! Eight shots hit the target. I was at the shooting range at the time, and I watched the video playback. How could it be fake?"

“But those weren’t shot by our Second Company soldiers; they were shot by a few retired veterans we brought back,” Zhu Rongsheng said, his eyes wide.

"How can it be."

Xu Xiaocun found it too absurd and couldn't accept it for a while.

“How could it be impossible, Political Commissar? The first shot that hit the target was fired by veteran Wang Jinman driving the car,” Zhu Rongsheng said with great certainty.

“How could that be? Didn’t they all send the veterans home after the training?” Xu Xiaocun said.

"They couldn't go any further. Halfway there, our brigade commander sent someone to pick them up and bring them back. He said that since they were already there, he would help them to the end. So they took them back to the starting line, and they put on military uniforms and got on the vehicle."

Zhu Rongsheng was very emotional and said with distress, "Political Commissar, we both know the veterans. When they come back to shoot targets, who wouldn't want to have some fun?"

They all drive steadily, aim accurately, and shoot fiercely, so of course their shooting results are good.

But can this be considered our achievement? Is this the true combat capability of our 909th Brigade? Isn't this blatant fraud?

Zhu Rongsheng's voice grew louder and louder as he spoke, until he almost shouted it out.

"At the time, I also had my doubts. It was a miracle that the new recruits in the Second Company could achieve such good results after being trained by the veterans for only a few days. Later, the military assessment team confirmed the results, so I didn't think much about it. I was thinking that if the Second Company continued to train in this way, it would definitely stand out in the whole unit."

When Xu Xiaocun learned the truth, he was truly shocked, and his face turned ugly.

"Hehe, standing out."

Zhu Rongsheng gave a mocking sneer and said, "I think we've really lost face. I was thinking that yesterday's live-fire target practice was exactly the same as the subject the bureau tested last time, but we got a failing grade."

The more they practiced, the further they regressed; there was definitely a problem. And upon investigation, the problem was indeed discovered.

"This approach is absolutely unacceptable." Xu Xiaocun's feelings also became very complicated.

The brigade commander's leading role in falsifying documents put him in a difficult position.

"This isn't just something the brigade commander knows. I even asked Ding Kai before why the Second Company's performance was so inconsistent, like a rollercoaster. Guess what he said?" Zhu Rongsheng sneered.

"What did he say?" Xu Xiaocun asked.

He said it was a problem of emotional fluctuations, how ridiculous!

Zhu Rong laughed angrily, and said furiously, "The brigade commander led the way in doing such a shameful thing, and the chief of staff knew but didn't say anything, and even helped to cover it up."

You, the political commissar, were kept in the dark, and I, the deputy brigade commander in charge of training, was completely clueless the whole time. How can I possibly keep this job? How can I stay here?

"Political Commissar, don't try to persuade me anymore. I'm leaving. I can't stay here any longer. Out of sight, out of mind."

Zhu Rongsheng looked very determined, as if he had already made a decision and it wasn't just a momentary impulse, but Political Commissar Xu Xiaocun couldn't let him act on his whims.

All I could do was try to comfort him, saying, "Rongsheng, don't worry about this. I'll look into it in detail and have a good talk with the brigade commander when I have time."

Xu Xiaocun was actually very angry, but as the political commissar, he couldn't add fuel to the fire.

Even if you're angry, you can only suppress it for now.

“Political Commissar, I didn’t understand the real reason why Lao Hong wanted to leave before. I thought it was because he was willful and stubborn. Now, I understand it deeply,” Zhu Rongsheng said sadly.

"Don't say angry words."

Xu Xiaocun continued to persuade them, "The Second Company has a good foundation. We can't let this affect the Second Company and lower their enthusiasm for training."

How about this: let's not publicize this yet, keep it only to the Second Company. I believe the Second Company will definitely achieve truly excellent results.

"Political Commissar, now that you mention it, I've changed my mind. I'll trust you this once. Tomorrow I'll go to the Second Company and stay there for a month. I'll make sure the Second Company shows its true abilities and the real level that belongs to our brigade, instead of resorting to deception."

Zhu Rongsheng was clearly challenging Chu Zhangang, using real achievements to refute Chu Zhangang's accusations of faking and putting on a show.

"Okay, that's more like it."

Xu Xiaocun finally breathed a sigh of relief and patted Zhu Rongsheng on the shoulder with satisfaction.

If Zhu Rongsheng also insists on leaving, and with Hong Yi still not dealt with, then Xu Xiaocun will really have a hard time controlling the situation of the 909th Brigade.

“However, you still need to talk to the brigade commander more. I feel like something’s off about him,” Zhu Rongsheng said seriously.

"The higher-level cadre department is currently evaluating the brigade commander."

Xu Xiaocun neither agreed nor refused, but he revealed an important piece of information.

"Is he going to be promoted?" Zhu Rongsheng asked in surprise.

“Nothing counts until the order is issued. Of course, it’s a good thing that there’s room for improvement. I believe the brigade commander will make changes,” Xu Xiaocun said.

"That's fine, that's fine."

Zhu Rongsheng could only pin his hopes on this, after all, Chu Zhangang's stubbornness was obvious to all.

As for whether Chu Zhangang would consider that it was a probationary period and change his long-held stubborn ideas, and therefore begin to accept suggestions from others.

Zhu Rongsheng had absolutely no certainty and could only place his hopes on it.

Having served in the 909th Brigade for so many years, he genuinely didn't want to leave unless absolutely necessary and his bottom line was crossed. (End of Chapter)