From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

Chu Zhangang's way of thinking is more local and social, making him seem so out of place in the army, yet he is strangely confident.

He was very proud of his way of doing things and wanted to use it to get promoted in the army.

As a standard soldier, Xu Xiaocun naturally didn't like Chu Zhangang's approach. However, since it concerned Chu Zhangang's promotion, he couldn't forcefully refute it and could only helplessly smile bitterly and say, "You have a point on both sides."

"Political Commissar Xiaocun~"

Chu Zhangang sensed Xu Xiaocun's concession and immediately smiled broadly. He patted Xu Xiaocun's shoulder a few times and said, "We've been working together for more than just a day or two, haven't we? What I've done wasn't for the good of the 909th Brigade?"

I think that in many things, it's impossible to distinguish right from wrong; you have to look at the results.

What's wrong with veterans helping their old units? Aren't these outstanding veterans and technical backbones all trained by the 909th Brigade?
This is like our domestic football teams. Every team hires foreign players, right? Fans only care about goals; it doesn't matter who you are. More goals equals victory, fewer goals mean elimination! What's wrong with me hiring my own foreign players?

Chu Zhangang spoke at length, and at first glance it seemed to make sense, but upon closer analysis it was all nonsense.

Xu Xiaocun was a political commissar with ideas and principles. He certainly could not agree with such fallacies and heresies. He immediately stood up and retorted, "Old Chu, I can't agree with your statement."

The military and a sports team are two different things. A sports team can lose a game without endangering national security, but the military is different; the military absolutely cannot lose a battle.

"Do you think I don't know what you're talking about?"

Chu Zhangang's sharp retort made him realize that continuing the conversation was pointless, so he simply changed the subject, saying, "Oh, right, there's something important I almost forgot."

Before I came here, I received a notice from the military saying that Chief of Staff Chen Jun of the 7th Steel Brigade was coming to our brigade the day after tomorrow.

"Chen Jun? What's he doing here?" Xu Xiaocun asked, puzzled.

"I don't know."

Chu Zhangang shook his head and continued, "In that case, we'll handle the reception ourselves, and I won't show my face. Ding Kai will take charge of that."

“Theoretically, this arrangement is fine, but I think Chen Jun’s sudden arrival is definitely not that simple. I’m afraid Ding Kai won’t be able to handle it. Chen Jun’s combat command is so cunning, who knows what tricks he’s going to play?” Xu Xiaocun said worriedly.

Chu Zhangang thought that the reason for the last exercise loss was probably Chen Jun, and he couldn't help but become suspicious.

Considering Ding Kai's cowardly and indecisive nature, if Chen Jun really came with some ulterior motive, Ding Kai would definitely be tricked by Chen Jun.

If we do anything that would damage the 909th Brigade, it will be too late to regret it later.

Chu Zhangang, who already harbored old grudges, felt increasingly uneasy as he thought about it. After a moment's consideration, he said, "How about this, Political Commissar, you go and receive him. Ding Kai is probably not as thoughtful as you are in this regard."

Xu Xiaocun knew Ding Kai's personality and abilities, and after a moment's thought, he agreed, "Okay, let's do it that way."

"Then I'll have to trouble you. If anything happens, please let me know immediately," Chu Zhangang said firmly.

……

Day three.

Chen Jun, who specially changed into casual clothes for his trip, took a flight at around 7 a.m. and arrived in Chenghai City around noon, where he went to the 909th Brigade's camp.

The 909th Brigade had already made preparations to receive him, and he was taken directly to the political commissar's office by guards.

Chen Jun wasn't like Chu Zhangang, who liked to speak in official jargon, beat around the bush, or be overly polite and verbose. So, he got straight to the point as soon as they met.

He told Political Commissar Xu Xiaocun the whole story of why he came to the 909th Brigade.

Upon learning that Chen Jun had traveled a long way to report to the war zone in an attempt to poach Hong Yi, Xu Xiaocun felt both happy and regretful.

Gao Xing believes that from Hong Yi's perspective, going to the 7th Steel Brigade is definitely better than staying in the 909th Brigade.

Even if Xu Xiaocun acknowledged that Hong Yi was a talented individual, and a rare one at that, he knew better about Chu Zhangang's personality that the conflict between the two was fundamentally unsolvable.

The only regret is that Chen Jun arrived late.

Since the last time I specifically sought out Hong Yi for a private conversation, wanting to transfer him to the logistics department of the army group to work temporarily, but Hong Yi flatly refused.

Xu Xiaocun had no reason to keep him any longer, so he could only go along with Hong Yi's idea and had already submitted the transfer application.

Therefore, upon hearing the reason for Chen Jun's visit, Xu Xiaocun could only tell Chen Jun the situation with a wry smile and declare that he had already reported to the army group.

Chen Jun is only now coming to demand his release; it's already too late.

This news was indeed a surprise to Chen Jun. He did not expect that such an outstanding talent as Hong Yi could not be retained by the 909th Brigade, and he did not expect Hong Yi to be so resolute.

He felt uncomfortable staying in the 909th Brigade, so he transferred to civilian work; he didn't even want to stay in the military anymore.

That's so cool!

He sighed and lamented, "We haven't had a suitable candidate for the battalion commander of our brigade's special operations battalion. I've heard that Hong Yi has participated in international special forces training many times, achieved outstanding results, and performed exceptionally well."

Last time, he led a team to participate in an exercise with us. They lay in wait under our noses for six days and seven nights, and we still couldn't find them.

Our Seventh Steel Brigade desperately needs this kind of talent, which is why we want to invite him over.

What Chen Jun said was not just polite talk; it was the true reality of the situation.

Chen Jun had always wanted to reserve the position of battalion commander for Wu Zhe, believing that with Wu Zhe's abilities, he would definitely be able to lead the special operations battalion well.

Therefore, a long time ago, a special agreement was made with Yuan Lang regarding the quota.

However, more than two years have passed in the blink of an eye, and things have changed far beyond expectations. The promises made back then are now somewhat inappropriate.

Wu Zhe is a talented individual with two degrees, and his major is perfectly suited to the information age.

Therefore, in the past two years, Wu Zhe has grown very quickly in Old A, and has replaced Qi Huan from being a team member.

Together with Qi Huan, who had been promoted to deputy squadron leader, they became Yuan Lang's right-hand men.

If he continues to grow at this rate, it is foreseeable that Wu Zhe will definitely be promoted to squad leader within three years, and will most likely become the successor of Team A in the future.

The railway will be promoted soon, and Yuan Lang will undoubtedly be the new captain.

With Wu Zhe's talent...

He is Yuan Lang's successor.

Both Tie Lu and Yuan Lang are insightful people; they both saw the enormous potential in Wu Zhe and his great value to Team A's future.

With elites like Cheng Cai, Wu Liuyi, and Xu Sanduo all taken back by Chen Jun.

Wu Zhe and his men will never budge!

The two bigwigs of Team A were unwilling to budge, and Chen Jun really had no way to deal with them. Wu Zhe, the talent he had already reserved, was also unable to come to the Steel Seventh Brigade.

Given the current situation... Chen Jun already had the answer in his heart: Wu Zhe was most likely not going to get it.

Given that Wu Zhe is unable to come and serve as the battalion commander of the special operations battalion, and considering that the special operations battalion is very special and the requirements for its commander are extremely high, Hong Yi is undoubtedly the best candidate at present.

Therefore, no matter what Hong Yi's situation was, Chen Jun would try to get him into the Seventh Steel Brigade.

"Since your Seventh Steel Brigade needs it so much, why didn't you mention it earlier when you came here with Brigade Commander Wang and the others last time? I remember you even called Hong Yi to your room for a chat," Xu Xiaocun asked, puzzled.

"As reforms enter the deep-water zone, the importance of talent becomes increasingly prominent."

Chen Jun smiled and brushed it off. He couldn't very well say that they had just thrashed the other side last time and the two sides were still at loggerheads, and then come over to demand his people, which would only invite trouble.

He made up a reason to brush it off, then Chen Jun changed the subject and asked, "Wasn't Hong Yi doing just fine? Why did he suddenly decide to switch careers?"

Chen Jun had indeed heard from others that there was a conflict between Hong Yi and Chu Zhangang.

However, it is very rare for someone to be transferred to civilian work simply because of a conflict with their superiors. After all, there are many better ways to handle such situations than transferring to civilian work.

"Well, it's hard to say."

Xu Xiaocun sighed and said in a complicated tone, "He has his own ideas. I've tried to persuade him many times, but he's made up his mind to leave."

"If he's transferred to civilian work, what kind of unit will he be assigned to?" Chen Jun asked curiously.

"The paperwork is still being processed within the military. We don't know exactly where he'll be placed, but Hong Yi seems to be considering resigning without a backup plan," Xu Xiaocun sighed.

"You mean, Hong Yi applied for demobilization before he even found a receiving unit?" Chen Jun asked in surprise.

Someone like Hong Yi, a lieutenant colonel, specializing in special operations and counter-terrorism, who has served as an instructor in the WJ Public Security Bureau, is an exceptionally capable individual.

Before retiring, most people will have secured a job, as many companies will be vying to hire them.

He was discharged from the military before finding a good job, all in such a rush.

That's really rare.

“He was very determined and his attitude was very firm. He made the decision in just one or two months. To be precise, he had the idea after the exercise ended.”

Xu Xiaocun explained, and then continued, "In the past month or two, he has often gone out to work as an instructor. After his transfer, he should work in the public security system."

After all, more than a year ago, two local police units had their eyes on him, hoping that he could work for their units after his demobilization. The conditions they offered were very good, but Hong Yi politely declined them at the time.

It's clear that Hong Yi was unwilling to leave the military; he preferred to remain in the army.

Xu Xiaocun recounted all these details without reservation, which shows that he genuinely cared about Hong Yi's well-being.

He had absolutely no personal motives; he simply wanted Hong Yi to have a better future.

“Your brigade party committee has already agreed to his transfer to civilian work, which means they have agreed to Hong Yi’s departure. So, as long as the military can withdraw the transfer application, the decision-making power is in Hong Yi’s hands. Am I right?” Chen Jun said.

"Yes, that's the situation." Xu Xiaocun nodded.

"Can I go and talk to Hong Yi?" Chen Jun asked.

Chen Jun's biggest worry before he arrived was that Chu Zhangang of the 909th Brigade would not release the people, after all, the harsh words Chu Zhangang had uttered when he lost the exercise were still fresh in his mind.

But now that we've figured out the situation with Xu Xiaocun, our biggest worry has actually been dispelled.

For the 7th Steel Brigade, which had Chief of Staff Shen as its backer, withdrawing a demobilization report sent to the army group for approval was not a difficult task.

So, only one point remains: Hong Yi's own thoughts.

As long as Hong Yi nods.

Then the matter is basically settled.

"Of course, I have no problem with that."

Xu Xiaocun readily agreed, then changed the subject, saying, "However, he's been out running around doing work lately, so you can talk to his family first."

"Okay, then please tell me your address."

Since Hong Yi himself was no longer with the 909th Brigade, Chen Jun felt there was no need to stay there any longer. The most important thing was to find Hong Yi as soon as possible.

Xu Xiaocun didn't want such a talented person as Hong Yi to leave the army with regrets, so he cooperated with Chen Jun.

He wrote down the address on the spot.

With the address Xu Xiaocun gave him, Chen Jun took a taxi after leaving the 909th Brigade's barracks and headed straight for Hong Yi's house.

They found his wife at his home, but did not encounter Hong Yi.

Since Hong Yi's wife was home alone, Chen Jun didn't go in. He chatted with her for a few minutes at the door, got the general idea of ​​the situation, and then left.

As he walked out, he made a phone call back to the brigade. As soon as the call connected, he told Wang Qingrui, "Brigade Commander, things are not going well. There has been an unexpected incident. We have considered all other aspects, but this is the one unexpected incident we did not expect."

"An accident? What kind of accident?" Wang Qingrui asked, puzzled.

“Hong Yi has been demobilized. His report has been sent to the army group and is already going through the procedures. I just found Hong Yi’s family. His wife told me personally that Hong Yi is not at home and has gone to work at the GA Bureau.”

"Huh? So fast?"

Wang Qingrui was stunned by Chen Jun's words, and for a moment his mind was blank.

“Talent is always in high demand. As soon as the news of Hong Yi’s transfer came out, the director of the GA Bureau personally went to Hong Yi’s house the next day and promised to make him the captain of the Special Police Brigade. The third day, he even sent a car to his doorstep to seamlessly get him into work,” Chen Jun said with a wry smile.

This bureau chief is incredibly efficient, and his methods for recruiting people are truly impressive.

These two moves by the bureau chief will definitely cause Hong Yi, who is currently not valued by his superiors, to have a surge in his favor towards the bureau chief.

The difficulty for Chen Jun to win over Hong Yi will at least double after this.

If Hong Yi loses his military ambitions, the chances of Chen Jun winning him over are virtually nonexistent.

Fortunately, Chen Jun learned from Xu Xiaocun that Hong Yi himself still had a very strong desire to stay in the army, which gave him enough confidence.

"Are local governments poaching people this aggressively these days? They're assigning people to positions before the military even completes the formalities?" Wang Qingrui was truly astonished.

As a former regimental commander, Wang Qingrui faced a crisis of demobilization back then.

If it weren't for Chen Jun's appearance, Wang Qingrui would have already been demobilized.

Because he had this need himself, Wang Qingrui had done a lot of research on this topic in his earlier years, but he hadn't realized that transferring from a lieutenant colonel to civilian life was so advantageous. (End of Chapter)