It's better to conquer them than to command the steel torrent

Chapter 214 (Chapter 209) | The Heroic Spirit That Men Also Like

"No rush, the relevant matters have already been put on the agenda. Don't worry about sales. I can't go into the specifics, but you understand."

Shang Ke comforted his wife, who knew perfectly well what was going on and didn't ask any further questions.

It's true that fortunes change, and a powerful figure who has been rampant for many years is about to fall from grace, with no chance of recovery.

It has only been a year since the Jian family's assets were seized last year.

It seems my father-in-law is making a comeback, but what about my own husband? Is there any possibility of him making a comeback?

Shang Ke couldn't help but sigh.

By mid-March, the turmoil that had started at the Baima Town military post showed no signs of abating; on the contrary, it intensified.

In order to carry out the President's will, a massive rectification campaign was launched, severely cracking down on any attempts to exploit loopholes.

For a time, everyone was in danger.

The White Horse Town military post case served as a wake-up call for the upper echelons of the ruling government. The long period of peace had made the public and politicians forget the seriousness of war, and had also led many rentiers to naively believe that the supervision and punishment for cheating and shirking were still as lenient as before. So, inertia can sometimes be fatal.

This is an indiscriminate attack covering the military, political, and business sectors!

To be fair, Shang Kezhen never expected that his actions would cause such a huge uproar. He feared that the villains must have hated him to the core.

After all, there's a saying that goes, "Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents."

With the major events settled, Shang Ke's daily life returned to normal. As the head of a division, his job was to train the troops, but since taking office, he had spent a lot of time focusing on the major case.

However, this incident also had an unexpected benefit: it solidified his image as a ruthless person in everyone's minds, making him undeniably worthy of respect.

The bigger the commotion, the more it highlighted his unique abilities, which made many tasks easier to carry out.

The weapons and equipment presented as gifts by the former commander Ding Shu arrived one after another. For the armored infantry division, the hundreds of Liu's prototype lightweight automatic rifles were at most just icing on the cake.

In terms of firepower and killing efficiency, light weapons cannot compare with heavy weapons, so Ding Shu's gift also included a batch of the latest suppression artillery.

In the General Headquarters Organization Bureau's plan, the armored artillery regiments of armored infantry divisions were to be equipped with tracked self-propelled artillery.

However, reality is not as ideal as it seems. Tracked self-propelled artillery is still under development and far from mass production. Therefore, armored artillery regiments are currently still equipped with towed artillery, which is towed by trucks. It is only in name and it would be more appropriate to call them motorized artillery regiments.

第8装甲步兵师下辖第8装甲炮兵团，暂时编制有一个155毫米榴弹炮营、两个105毫米榴弹炮营、一个105毫米加农炮营，均为十八门制。

Back when Shang Ke participated in the Yanshan military exercise, the Type 36 155mm howitzer was still a novelty, in high demand and short supply. Now, with the gradual expansion of the military industry's production capacity, the Type 36 heavy howitzer is no longer a hot commodity.

Nothing special or impressive would be given as a gift; Ding Shu offered the first batch of slots for replacing the Type 40 105mm long-range cannons.

This cannon has a 42-caliber barrel, a muzzle velocity of 820 meters per second, and a transport weight of only 4.1 tons. As it's marketed as long-range, its range is naturally quite long; its high-explosive fragmentation shells can reach a maximum range of 19 kilometers, allowing it to counter enemy 6-inch (150-155 mm) howitzers. As always, this cannon is distinctly Eastern in style, using high-quality materials, with many components made of aluminum alloy to reduce weight. Its technical and tactical specifications are also quite excellent. The downside is its exorbitant price—far beyond what other major powers could imagine, comparable to using silver to make a spatula for cooking.

As major arms factories continue to expand their equipment and personnel, their existing production capacity is already approaching saturation.

The Equipment Bureau estimates that the production rate of this cannon can only reach 30 to 40 units per month within six months, which is enough to equip two cannon battalions. The production rate will only be increased in the second half of the year.

Ding Shu used his connections to secure an allocation for the 8th Mechanized Infantry Division in April.

The supplier didn't have to worry about the equipment at all; he could just wait for it to be delivered to his door. Therefore, he was able to focus his energy on training procedures and exercises.

"...Looking back on my experience in Hungary last year, I learned quite a lot. I was invited to help train the royal guards, and I made quite a few jokes at the beginning."

At the end of the day's training, Shank and a group of officers discussed their experiences in the division headquarters conference room.

Because the results were quite promising, the atmosphere at the scene was rather relaxed.

Yang Ye, the commander of the 8th Artillery Regiment, was a northerner. He was tall with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and had a very good appearance, but he was usually quite gossipy.

At this moment, Yang Ye changed the subject first, asking with a grin, "I heard that you have a good relationship with Queen Hurri, and that you were even granted a title. Is that true?"

Wu Zhouhua, the commander of the 23rd Mechanized Infantry Regiment, chimed in, "It's true. I've heard people talk about it. It's about Baron Margaret."

Shank was reflecting on the oversights in today's training when he heard this, and he hummed in agreement, saying matter-of-factly, "That's right, the Queen herself said it before the Battle of Budapest. She's already made her promise, so she can't go back on it, so she has to keep it."

Eh?
No, that sounds incredibly easy, but it's a bit of a evasion of the main point. The key question is, why would they promise to bestow a title upon someone?

Mr. Shang's perfunctory answer failed to satisfy everyone's curiosity, and everyone present looked on with curiosity.

"Queen Hurricane is only in her early twenties, isn't she?" Yang Ye said with a wink. "Our commander is incredibly charming. He can get along with her so well. I'd like to ask him for advice."

Shang Ke chuckled twice and said nonchalantly, "Sure, why don't you go fight another Battle of Budapest? You'll have earned merit by fighting a bloody battle to defend against the enemy. It's no big deal to be awarded a baron as a reward."

Upon hearing this, Yang Ye waved his hand and said, "Then forget it. I can't accept it. I can give you strategic advice, but risking my life to protect someone else's capital is really not worth it. I truly admire you, Master, for that."

"That Queen Hurricane was, after all, a princess of the Widman of the Kingdom, and she's met quite a few talented young men. I reckon she wouldn't be interested in ordinary people," Chief of Staff Huang Chen said.

"That's why our division commander is no ordinary person," Zhang Anyuan said solemnly.

Huang Chen smiled slightly and continued, "Intelligence and talent are called 'heroes,' courage and strength are called 'heroes,' and selfless acts of helping the weak and oppressed, with a righteous spirit, are what make you understand the reason, right?"

Yang Ye and Wu Zhouhua looked as if they had just realized something.

The former clicked his tongue in amazement and said, "Heroic spirit, not to mention women, even men like it."

(End of this chapter)