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

Chapter 228 | Self-Purification

Why did the Britons reluctantly maintain their alliance with the Ivan Rus', even going so far as to join forces to invade the Americas?

Frankly, this is somewhat unbelievable. The saying, "There are no permanent friends, only permanent interests," is a true reflection of the British mentality.

Forget it, I can't shoot the arrow first and then draw the target. I'll stop thinking about it for now.

Shang Ke stubbed out his cigarette, poured himself a cup of white tea, took a few sips, and went to bed.

To be honest, Shang Ke also felt that he was worrying too much. History was very different from his original world in his previous life, and he could not predict the future. He was not involved in diplomacy and politics, so he should leave such important military and national affairs to the upper echelons of the ruling government to weigh.

Thinking of this, he immediately felt relieved. He had indeed been worrying about things that weren't his business these past few days, and he should reflect on it!
Instead of focusing on grand strategic issues, we should think more about other things.

How are the axial-flow and centrifugal turbojet engine projects progressing?

When will the single-soldier backpack walkie-talkie be mass-produced?
What is the progress of the development of meter-wave radar and decimeter-wave radar?

How can the 8th Mechanized Infantry Division achieve a good ranking in the training assessment?

What happened to Sigrid and Morrow?

Will Jian Keqiu's first child be a son or a daughter?
All kinds of things...

Upon realizing that he still had so much to do, Shang Ke, who had been pondering with his eyes closed, opened them and suddenly felt a sense of melancholy, as if living was truly exhausting.

Difficulty sleeping!
Shang Ke put all sorts of thoughts aside, fell asleep immediately, and drifted off into a dream.

Since the vigorous overhaul that began last month, the entire Federal Armed Forces have been transformed, and even the local Armed Forces offices no longer dare to slack off as they used to.

There are many strange and unusual cases, and sometimes one can only marvel at the wonders of this world.

The army had the most cases of reselling military supplies, followed by extortion, and there were also many cases of using various pretexts to engage in business and enrich themselves.

The Navy is most involved in smuggling cases, followed by cases of substandard (food) supplies.

The Air Force has the most cases of kickbacks, followed by cases of pilots and ground crew using their Air Force status to seduce (women).

For example, the case reported a couple of days ago is something to be envied and resented—a corporal mechanic in the Federal Air Force pretended to be a pilot and was a groom almost every night for nearly four years, tricking more than a dozen women into spending money on him, including three who bore him children.

The military bulletin also mentioned the punishment—discharge from the military and forced distribution of personal assets to cover the support expenses of those children.

As for the dozen or so women who were cheated out of money and sex, the military didn't want to get involved. The military's view was that this was a private matter between men and women, not something to be discussed openly. Although it was immoral, it was not illegal.

Shang Ke's assessment was that this guy was quite talented, managing to get something for nothing. He wondered if it was because he was good-natured or handsome.
Ji Bochang... Ji Bochang... It's a pity your life was short.

There are many more bizarre cases.

On the bright side, this is not necessarily a bad thing. It shows that the Federal Defense Forces still have the ability to self-correct, which is better than "no matter how much you investigate, you can't find any problems, but things are full of loopholes and can't be done".

In this way, a group was executed, a group was imprisoned, a group was fined, and a group was expelled, and the discipline of the Federal Defense Forces was restored. Until the end of the month, Shang Ke focused on training the 8th Mechanized Infantry Division. After nearly two months of tactical training and multi-service joint training, the 8th Mechanized Infantry Division had grown rapidly.

Initially, the 8th Mechanized Infantry Division struggled even with battalion- or regimental-level offensive exercises, with frequent accidents. There were five or six incidents in which tanks ran over or injured infantrymen.

Now, the coordinated assault of infantry, artillery, and tanks by regimental-level troops, supported by divisional artillery, is quite impressive, at least in terms of its orderly and unstoppable momentum.

Shang Ke believes that if things continue like this for another two months, the initial training will be considered complete, and then they can consider continuing with one or two more months of live-fire exercises to strengthen the training.

This is slower than the military leadership anticipated, or rather, much slower.

A (foot) infantry division can be trained from scratch in just three months, while a motorized infantry division needs four months to be fully trained.

As for the current armored infantry divisions, since there are no precedents to follow, the General Headquarters Military Training Department can only estimate that it will take about five and a half months, but in reality it will take longer.

The better the equipment, the more troublesome the training becomes, and the greater the possibility of things going wrong.

Compared to bolt-action rifles, semi-automatic rifles only have an added automatic mechanism, which increases the difficulty of maintenance and upkeep, already posing a challenge for many soldiers, let alone the more complex armored vehicles. This is just one example.

The training of mechanized troops is far more difficult than that of motorized troops, and the requirements for the cultural quality of the soldiers are also higher. Only a proper industrialized country can maintain this.

The '20 Divisions Plan' encompassed 20 armored infantry divisions, with 60% of officers having a college education, 90% of soldiers having at least a junior high school education, and 20% of soldiers having a senior high school education. This was essentially the highest average educational level among the Federal Army's units.

The dazzling array of industrial products and advanced productivity are only the surface of an industrialized country. Behind them lies a complete system of compulsory education and vocational training to maintain a sufficient number of skilled workers.

It's no exaggeration to say that even if the weapons and equipment of such elite troops were completely transferred to the army of an agricultural country, the latter would be left with nothing but a blank stare, barely able to choose the relatively simple guns and cannons to use, because they couldn't find anyone to provide technical support for more sophisticated equipment like radio equipment and armored vehicles.

Clearly, Mr. Shang's achievements are evident to all. The inspection and supervision team sent by the General Headquarters visited all twenty divisions, and the 8th Mechanized Infantry Division has already ranked among the top.

In particular, the 22nd Mechanized Infantry Regiment's demonstration of a combat reconnaissance operation in conjunction with artillery sabotage was swift, efficient, and impressive, earning high praise from several generals.

Having successfully passed the 'midterm exam', Shang Ke breathed a sigh of relief and immediately felt much more at ease.

Previously, he was worried that he would not be able to manage the 8th Mechanized Infantry Division well, but now he can rest assured that he no longer needs to worry about being dismissed as the acting division commander.

The first thing Shang Ke did after he had some free time was to return to Suzhou. As the saying goes, a day apart feels like three autumns, let alone being separated from his wife for seven or eight days.

Shang Ke wanted to take his wife on a long trip. He couldn't go on a honeymoon because of his duties, but he wanted to at least have a few days of vacation.

However, Jian Keqiu was unwilling, because she had entered a long-lost work state and did not want to interrupt this continuity of wholehearted dedication.

Jian Keqiu declined somewhat awkwardly, "No, let's put it aside for now. I've indeed been delayed for too long, and I've been able to concentrate on my work quite well lately. I hope you understand, sir..."

When did you, the slacker, start to stand up for yourself? Congratulations!

Awkwardly, Shang Ke pulled her into his arms, pinched her waist, and said in feigned anger, "That doesn't sound like a plea! Call me husband!"

(End of this chapter)