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

Chapter 229 | Light High-Altitude Combined Brigade? Activated!

"Hey hey hey..." Jian Keqiu squirmed in his arms, whimpering, and whispered, "Husband, husband, please understand, and this (project) is something you value very much."

Shang Ke said, pretending to be serious, "Xiao Qiu, after careful consideration, I reluctantly approve your continued work."

Jian Keqiu pouted and said, "Then who exactly assigned me this bizarre research project?"

"How can you call it a weirdo!"

"Anyway, I feel it's not quite normal."

The two flirted and teased each other.

However, today was a little different; the two didn't end up in bed, but instead started their battle right there in the living room.

Willow branches on the moon.

Finally, Shang Ke wiped the sweat from his face, whistled, and teased, "Do you remember what you promised just now?"

Jian Keqiu hadn't quite recovered yet, her gaze still slightly dazed. Upon hearing this, she subconsciously asked, "Huh? Agree to what?"

With a wicked grin, Shang Ke leaned closer, extended his index finger, and lifted her chin, saying, "Have children, have ten, have you forgotten?"

The blush on Jian Keqiu's face, which had been fading, immediately turned even redder. She glared at Shang and said angrily, "Did I say that? I definitely didn't!"

"Look at you, Xiao Qiu, you've actually gone back on your word. How heartbroken I am."

"Ha! I can only have two children for you at most."

"nine."

"two."

"Eight will do."

"Only two!"

Shang Ke finally couldn't help but laugh. He turned around and lay back on the bed, chuckling as he said, "Whatever, whatever. We won't argue anymore. But what if the first child is twins? Would that count as two?"

“Uh…” Jian Keqiu was stunned, and said quietly, “I guess so? I feel like I might break down if I had so many children…”

Shang Ke yawned, reached out and rubbed her belly, teasingly saying, "Oh dear, it might spoil, I can't bear to see that."

Jian Keqiu, whose personality was as cold as ice, could only lose control when facing someone named Shang. She rolled her eyes, clenched her fists, and gritted her teeth, saying, "I have to say, husband, I really want to punch you."

The two continued flirting and teasing each other, enjoying themselves immensely, until the night was deep and quiet.

After spending a few days in Suzhou, Shang Ke set off for the capital.

In addition to the routine performance review, he also wanted to plan ahead for something in case of unforeseen circumstances.

Although he hadn't worried about anything else these past two days, the consequences Demeter had foretold still lingered in his mind like a persistent dark cloud. So on his way here, he decided to stop dwelling on it and just prepare for that incredible outcome in advance. Why bother racking his brains with deduction?

Better safe than sorry. It's just something I did on a whim anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

After listening to Shang's report on the training progress, Li Miaocheng said with satisfaction: "Looking at it now, excluding the last five that were formed later, the first fifteen of the twenty divisions are all on the same starting line. Your 8th Mechanized Infantry Division has achieved remarkable results. Not bad, you made the right choice."

"I was just doing my job wholeheartedly, Director, you flatter me."

"By the way, the General Staff and the Equipment Bureau are having a meeting the day after tomorrow, a seminar, to discuss how to reorganize the light and fast divisions. If you have time, you can go too. There aren't many people, just twenty or thirty."

Light and fast division? It seems to be a simplified version of a motorized infantry division designed for easy long-range deployment.

“The training is going very smoothly. I’m not busy lately, so I can attend the meeting.” Shang Kexian agreed, and then solemnly suggested, “Director, I’ve been reflecting on our country’s response before and after the defeat of Mariana, and I feel that our army’s preparations were still insufficient.”

"insufficient?"

"Well, even the leadership of the expeditionary force for foreign operations hasn't been established yet. If we really decide to participate in the war to provide support at that time, everything will have to start from scratch, which is too protracted. I think that at this critical juncture, at least the framework of the expeditionary force headquarters and logistics department should be prepared."

Li Miaocheng took off his glasses and said with a smile, "You have quite a broad perspective. The assembly points for the dispatched troops have already been selected, one in the south and one in the north, Guangzhou Humen and Songjiang Wusong. As for the command and logistics departments you mentioned, they are indeed promising. There's a meeting in a couple of days, and you can add a side note after we've finished discussing the main matters."

Shang Ke's view was that, regardless of the consequences, they should first establish the naval combat command and logistics agencies, since it was bound to happen sooner or later anyway, and it would save a lot of time compared to scrambling to prepare at the last minute.

With nothing to do in Beijing, Shang Ke was happy to have a couple of days of leisure. He decided to have dinner and chat with some familiar generals, and also invited Li Da, with whom he had a long chat late into the night a few days ago, to join him for dinner.

You wouldn't know unless you talked to them, and once you started talking, it was all so funny. Shang Ke was surprised to find that the so-called "lightweight and fast technician" could actually be traced back to him.

Back in Hurricane, he once complained in a conversation that the fully equipped three-unit infantry divisions were too bloated, taking up too much transport capacity and making deployment very troublesome. He suggested simplifying it, and everyone started discussing it.

One of the advisors present that day thought it made a lot of sense, and later reported this viewpoint, which has now been put on the agenda several months later.

After consultations between the organization bureau and the army, a light division plan was drafted, which was essentially a two-regiment motorized infantry division.

A standard federal defense army infantry division has approximately 1.4 personnel and 2000 vehicles of various types. Deploying an infantry division in combat condition requires 20 tons of sea freight tonnage.

The light division not only lost an infantry regiment, but also reduced its 155mm howitzer battalion and 105mm cannon battalion. The division's artillery was reduced to three medium howitzer battalions (a total of 54 105mm howitzers). However, the number of off-road vehicles and motorcycles increased, and each infantry squad was given two additional submachine guns.

After simplification, the light division has a staff of 1.1 and approximately 1300 vehicles of various types, making deployment more convenient and flexible, and greatly accelerating the response speed.

There will only be five light divisions for now, which will be selected from the existing infantry divisions for reorganization. The extra infantry regiment can be used as the basis for the new infantry division, killing two birds with one stone.

At the seminar, an important topic was whether the light divisions had sufficient anti-tank capabilities to deal with the United Kingdom's colonial armies, but what if they were to fight in Europe?

Shank felt it was insignificant. Currently, the military industry had two recoilless rifle programs underway, one large and one small. For a competent industrialized country, this weapon really posed no technical challenges.

等105毫米和75毫米无后坐力炮量产列装部队，完全不用操心营团级单位的反坦克能力，120～150毫米破甲深度即使是KV-1来了也照杀不误。

Lightweight high-speed travel? Let's get started!
At the end of the seminar, the colonel who chaired the meeting flipped through the documents in his hand and said, "Gentlemen, I would like to briefly introduce a small topic here, proposed by Shang Ke of the 8th Mechanized Infantry Division, regarding the pre-organization of the headquarters and logistics department of overseas deployment troops."

(End of this chapter)