Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 141. His writing career ended just like that?
Having just returned from delivering documents to the chemical defense company, Chen Mo wasn't quite sure where the company's veterans had been taken.

As they ran out of the company headquarters and passed the gate,

Chen Mo looked at the soldier on duty and asked urgently, "Squad leader, do you know where the company commander and political instructor are?"

"Go check out Despair Slope. It looks like they're training that new medic."

Thanks!

Chen Mo responded and turned back to the open space of the company headquarters.

He pulled out a large bicycle, gripped the handlebars with both hands, pedaled twice with his left foot, and then straddled the bike with his right leg, speeding off to the training ground.

The "Despair Slope" mentioned by the veterans is a dirt slope that the company often trains on.

The slope wasn't steep, but it was too long, and the road conditions were bad. Every time I passed through there with a heavy load, I had to grit my teeth and hold my breath to sprint.

Especially during cross-country runs with heavy loads, that section of the road was the most difficult. The company commander particularly liked to make the platoon run repeatedly there, which is why it got its nickname.

I rode my bike to the training ground.

From afar, Chen Mo saw a group of veterans sitting on the ground in the company, clapping and watching a private first class push a truck tire that was half a person's height up a slope.

Chen Mo also knew this private first class.

The other person was a medic who had only arrived at the company a few days ago and was also living in the service platoon dormitory.

Everyone knows the ridiculous rules of the reconnaissance company.

When new recruits come, especially those who aren't complete novices, we have to put them through a lot of hard work and challenges.

While dealing with others, they also have the audacity to claim it's to test the other side's military capabilities.

This happens frequently, and I enjoy it immensely.

In the reconnaissance company, not to mention medics, no one else is acceptable; physical fitness is a must.

I don't have time to join in the fun with those veterans.

Chen Mo parked the car, tugged at his uniform, quickly straightened himself up, and walked briskly to Cheng Dong. He lowered his voice and said, "Company Commander, headquarters has sent a message saying that the new layoff order has reached the brigade."

"I need you to go to the meeting as soon as possible."

"What's the matter?"

Cheng Dong, who was standing with his hands on his hips and leading the laughter, was taken aback upon hearing this.

Then his expression turned serious, and he strode up to Huo Linshan and whispered a few words to him.

He turned around and hurriedly ran towards the company headquarters.

He doesn't even ride his bike anymore.

The veterans in the distance didn't notice anything unusual.

Chen Mo didn't hesitate and quickly caught up with Cheng Dong: "Company Commander, this round of layoffs has nothing to do with our company, right?"

"I haven't heard anything about this from above recently."

"Nonsense, who would leak this information beforehand?" Cheng Dong waved his hand impatiently, "You don't understand military downsizing, don't bother asking around."

“You’re such a disobedient kid. Last month, the brigade wanted to transfer you to the training camp. Once you got there, everything was fine.”

"What, are you scared now?"

"It's alright, the reconnaissance company's organization can't be disbanded. Our brigade's directly subordinate battalion has a chemical defense company, a logistics company, and a command company."

"No one should be withdrawn except the reconnaissance company."

Cheng Dong spoke with great certainty, as if he were comforting Chen Mo, or as if he were convincing himself.

But then again, in these kinds of situations, who cares about logic?

The large-scale military downsizing is a policy set by higher authorities. Currently, the navy and air force are already small in size, so the army will definitely be the main force to be reduced.

When the army is almost completely downsized, there will be a situation where 300,000 troops will be laid off, and 200,000 of them will be in the People's Armed Police.

In the face of major decisions and policies, let alone a reconnaissance company.

Even a division-level unit is nothing special; from top to bottom, it can be disbanded in the blink of an eye.

After Cheng Dong returned to the company headquarters, he saw Chen Mo following behind him. After thinking for a moment, he waved his hand and said, "Scholar, get in the car."

"If you want to know the news, stay at headquarters and don't run around like a bastard."

"Yes!!"

Chen Mo wasn't a member of the Seventh Brigade in his previous life, so he wasn't clear about the specific details of the downsizing here.

To say that I'm not worried at this point would be a lie.

Damn it, he finally managed to get into the army.

He was doing well in the reconnaissance company, got to know everyone, and even made it into the regular squad.

He'd only just been given a military rank, how could he be dismissed so easily?

Even with a second-class merit award, one can still be assigned a job after being discharged from the military.

But that's just an ideal situation. With so many young people leaving the military and returning to civilian life, where are there enough job opportunities to accommodate them?
Either you have a connection, or you wait quietly.

However, neither of these outcomes was what Chen Mo wanted to see.

along the way.

Cheng Dong had practically floored the gas pedal, and the old-fashioned Jeep was bouncing along the road.

It's so bumpy it's unbearable.

It was more than ten kilometers, but he managed to get there in less than twenty minutes.

At this time, at the headquarters of the 7th Armored Brigade, officers with hurried expressions could be seen getting out of their vehicles and heading towards the headquarters building in twos and threes.

A layoff list affects an entire organization and the fate of thousands of people; who wouldn't be nervous?

"You wait in the parking lot, don't run around like a jerk."

Cheng Dong gave a brief explanation, straightened his hat, and jogged away.

The brigade headquarters parking lot is just an open space near the wall. It's already late April, the weather is getting hot, and the vegetation is growing lushly.

The grass was lush and green. Instead of sitting in the car, Chen Mo simply rolled up his trousers and sat on the grass.

I glanced at it every now and then, in the direction of the brigade headquarters building.

We don't know exactly when the meeting started, and we know even less about what was discussed.

In any case, there were quite a few cadres near the government building, all anxiously waiting for the final result.

It was probably close to noon.

While Chen Mo was getting bored waiting in the parking lot, a communications officer from the headquarters came down from the office building to announce that the meeting was temporarily adjourned and that the cadres downstairs could go to the meeting room to assemble.

They watched as the crowd that had been waiting went inside the building.

Chen Mo quickly got up, patted the grass leaves off his pants, and followed the crowd to the conference room on the third floor.

The interior space is quite large, estimated to be around 80 or 90 square meters, but the layout is very simple, with the August 1st Army Flag being the only decoration.

At this moment, the room was filled with smoke.

The thick fog, a mixture of nicotine and tobacco, forced Chen Mo, who only smoked, to squint his eyes as soon as he entered.

Inside, a group of heavy smokers frowned. Fortunately, the commander of the headquarters was no longer there.

Chen Mo walked inside and saw Cheng Dong sitting in the third row near the aisle. He quickly walked up to him and said, "Company Commander!!"

"Um, what about the layoffs?"

This is something we absolutely have to pay attention to.

Once your name appears on the list, there's absolutely no room for maneuver.

"You're here, you son of a bitch, you're pretty eager." Cheng Dong picked up the cigarette pack beside him and threw it on the corner of the table with a "thud": "Take it yourself if you want to smoke, don't wait for me to let you."

As he spoke, Cheng Dong pushed several more documents over: "Don't worry, your name isn't on this layoff list. The reconnaissance company is still there, but many comrades in the company will be leaving."

Hearing that he didn't have to leave, Chen Mo breathed a long sigh of relief.

He casually pulled up a chair and sat down in front of the company commander, then opened the file folder and began to look at the documents one by one.

Overall, there were quite a few changes in the military region at this meeting.

First, the 1999 conscription plan should be combined with the content of the next stage of reform. It requires the conscription departments at the division and regiment levels to communicate in advance and strengthen the political review work while ensuring that the basic quality of the recruits meets the red line.
Chen Mo was just glancing at this casually. The recruitment system, which used to be in December, has been changed to October this year. This is because the higher-ups have realized the impact of highly educated personnel on the military, coupled with troop reductions.

The regulations are essentially just raising the bar for enlistment, gradually changing the policy from not requiring any educational qualifications in the past.

Second, large-scale military reductions have already begun.

As the military's discharge approaches, morale is bound to waver. The higher authorities have demanded that the troops' training during the gap period must not be neglected, and that the training syllabus and the progress of each unit be closely monitored. Both ideological and military aspects must be addressed.

And we must be strong in both areas, especially in terms of safety, where we must not be careless or negligent.

Regarding this, the military region leaders issued a special instruction that, especially at this time, it is even more important to pay attention to discipline and conduct.

If a major weapons operation safety accident or other disciplinary safety accident occurs due to failure to follow standard operating procedures, the commanding officer will be dismissed and transferred to civilian work without exception.

The third point mentioned in the document concerns the list of the fifth batch of troops undergoing equipment replacement within the military.

This thing has nothing to do with the reconnaissance company.

These are all main tank battalions under the armored brigade. The units that were equipped earlier were required to summarize new tactics and promote them in a timely manner. The results of the phased tests of the new main battle tanks were to be fed back to the design institute as soon as possible for centralized optimization.

These are just polite words.

As far as Chen Mo knew, most of the tanks in the main battalion of the 7th Armored Brigade were still Type 85 main battle tanks, even if all the personnel were replaced with Type 96 tanks.

They weren't exactly in the first batch.

The Type 96 tank, strictly speaking, can only be considered a third-generation Type 85 tank, and some units began to equip it with service as early as 1997.

Other organizations have been using it for over a year. Regardless of whether there are any problems, after such a long time, they should have given enough feedback by now.

It wasn't really related to him, so Chen Mo just glanced at it and put it aside.

There were quite a few new instructions in the documents, a total of seven or eight. In addition to the ones mentioned above, Chen Mo also saw an announcement from May of this year regarding the adjustment of personnel arrangements for promotion.

Unfortunately, there was only an announcement, without mentioning specific names or explaining what adjustments were made.

In his memory, the large-scale adjustment should have taken place in November, when he went to Shimen, Hebei Province in his previous life.

Cheng Dong, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, watched Chen Mo intently examine each document, especially staring blankly at the announcement of his promotion.

He opened his mouth, exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, and grinned, saying, "Don't bother looking. The military region's political department hasn't specified how the adjustment will be made yet."

"However, you weren't on the layoff list these past two days. I estimate that if there are any adjustments to the promotion system in May, you might be selected."

Cheng Dong spoke of it casually.

But Chen Mo's fingers trembled slightly as he listened. Military academy, could he really go this time?
The end of the century was indeed a time of the most frequent changes and upheavals in the military, and many demands and opportunities were much easier to obtain compared to later generations.

Chen Mo had already made all the preparations and would only be able to take his turn next year.

But now, judging from what the company commander is saying, we don't need to wait until next year; we can even set off this year, or even next month?
Is my writing career going to be cut short before it even begins?

Chen Mo blinked, unable to describe whether he felt excited or nervous.

I was just worried about whether I would be included in the downsizing and whether I could stay in the military, but in the blink of an eye...

He hadn't expected to not only stay but also take things a step further.

"Don't think about these things."

Cheng Dong pulled out a list from the documents at the back and handed it to Chen Mo, saying, "Go back to the company first and see if there's a bus to Tao Village that can give you a ride. Give the list to the instructor."

"Do ideological work with the company as soon as possible."

"The higher-ups require that all comrades' demobilization and resettlement be completed by the end of the month. You and Xiao Liang will also have to work hard recently."

"Organize the files of the comrades on the list. Transfer them back to their local areas if necessary, and contact the local departments to handle them as soon as possible."

"Go."

"Yes!!"

Chen Mo picked up the list and glanced at it. There weren't many people, probably more than thirty.

But after the New Year, all eighteen new recruits who went to the company were on the list except for him, including Yang Dali and Li Zhiang.

It's cruel, and it's also very frustrating.

It was exactly as he remembered it.

Many new recruits only stay for a few months before having to pack up and be discharged.

In fact, Chen Mo knew that these were considered good. Some were unlucky; they had just graduated from military academy and joined the army when their entire unit was disbanded.

They also had to change careers.

In such a massive torrent, let alone a lieutenant, even if you are a colonel, senior colonel, or even a star officer, it won't work; you'll still have to transfer to civilian work.

In this era, even those with stars on their shoulders had examples of changing careers, which is different from the later era where people only need to retire and not change careers.

Yang Dali and Li Zhiang were classmates during their basic training.

Also in the reconnaissance company, Chen Mo's two closest comrades among his fellow recruits were the only ones he had a very good relationship with, and they would call each other "squad leader" whenever they met.

Looking at the names on the list, Chen Mo took a deep breath, and the sense of powerlessness he felt in his previous life surged into his heart once again.

Even though his future has changed dramatically this time, he still feels heartbroken.

We must work hard, stand firm, and have the belief to change our destiny.

At this moment, it was more intense than ever before.

Chen Mo blankly put away the documents, glanced at Cheng Dong, and said, "Company Commander, I'll head back now."

"The meeting's over, aren't you leaving?"

"Screw leaving." Cheng Dong shook his head: "I have things to do this afternoon. Even if I didn't, I'd still have to eat here."

"You think I'm like you, eating for free?"

"Go back quickly."

Yes, officers have their pay docked when they eat in the military.

Not counting eating at the headquarters while attending meetings outside the unit, as long as you don't eat at your own workplace, you can indeed save on a meal.

Chen Mo lingered there for a while longer, waiting for the staff from the canteen to bring the food to the conference room.

He glanced at it briefly, then left.

The meals were of low quality, consisting of two dishes and a soup. Judging by their appearance, they were leftovers from the morning, which were then reheated and served to the cadres attending the meeting.

Anyway, there's no need to deduct food expenses.

Leaving the smoke-filled conference room, Chen Mo hurriedly went downstairs with documents in his hand.

He was lucky; he ran into the people from Tao Village Motor Transport Company downstairs who were going back.

So he shamelessly hitched a ride with them and got off at the point on the main road closest to the reconnaissance company.

Walk back to Lian.

The list of layoffs he was carrying felt heavy all the way there.

This list includes not only privates, but also several corporals and sergeants.

The sudden arrival of the demobilization season is always accompanied by a lot of sadness about parting.

too suddenly.

(End of this chapter)