Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 180: The Entire Company Transfers, the Strongest Backing

After grumbling and cursing, Cheng Dong lost his desire to wander around.

He pulled up his trouser leg, sat on the curb, lit a cigarette, and smoked it dejectedly.

This troop reduction has a wide impact. The reconnaissance company is severely understaffed. According to the original organization, the company had four platoons and sixteen squads.

Each squad is a standard 12-man infantry squad, and the entire company has a full complement of 192 people. Including civilian personnel, such as clerks, instructors, and the company commander and deputy company commander, there are about 200 people in total.

Now, with some veterans leaving and others being laid off, there are only 96 people left in the entire company, let alone 192.

Recently, another document was issued requiring the entire company to be reduced to three platoons, and the platoon leader of the remaining platoon was also transferred.

It is said that new troop reduction orders will be issued one after another, and Cheng Dong himself does not know whether the 7th Armored Brigade will be further disbanded.

But after serving as company commander for seven years and pouring so much effort into the company, he watched as its size was gradually reduced under his command.

Even the tanks had to be packed up and transferred to those main battalions. Company Commander Cheng felt really bad about it.

"Good day, Company Commander! Hehe, wanna have a cigarette?"

Just as Cheng Dong was feeling down, Wang Jianyong, Yao Jinghua, and a few other veterans who happened to be passing by approached him with grins.

Without waiting for their company commander to assign them any cigarettes, the veterans, like bandits, picked up cigarette packs from the ground, opened them, and stuffed them into their mouths or behind their ears.

That guy's actions were practically robbery.

It wasn't that Cheng Dong was too old to lift a knife, nor that these veterans had become arrogant and dared to openly come over and ask the company commander for a cigarette.

It's truly a helpless situation for middle-aged people.

Whenever the company commander ran out of living expenses at the end of the month, he would randomly confiscate cigarettes from anyone in the company, under the pretext of "doing a good job in the assessment."

Soldiers don't have much money. The company commander is short of money, and these married veterans are just as short of money. If they don't confiscate the company commander's rations, everyone will go hungry.

"Damn it, get out of here! I just opened this cigarette box."

Cheng Dong stared wide-eyed at his half-empty pack of cigarettes, which had been reduced to just a cardboard box in the blink of an eye.

However, before he could continue his tirade, Yao Jinghua, who was standing next to him, hurriedly put away his cigarette, stood up at attention, and shouted, "Good morning, Instructor!"

Hearing the noise, Cheng Dong turned his head and glanced into the distance. Huo Linshan was walking hurriedly towards them.

As the company's political officer, Lao Huo was usually quite composed. Seeing how anxious he was, Cheng Dong realized that something must have happened.

He hurriedly got up, dusted himself off, and tossed aside his cigarette pack with a "whoosh": "What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

"Yes, the military region's staff just sent a notice requiring our entire company to depart early tomorrow morning and relocate to a base southwest of Jinyang. Staff members are currently on their way."

"What? The whole company is being transferred?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Dong felt a pang of emptiness, as if a treasure he had guarded for years had suddenly been taken away.

It evokes a sense of the mighty Yangtze River flowing eastward, and heroes growing old.

This entire company's relocation is even more frightening than troop reduction. If there are no unforeseen circumstances, they should be merged into another unit.

"Don't rush." Huo Linshan waved his hand, then looked at the veterans next to him and said, "You guys go and assemble the whole company to the training ground. The company commander and I will be there in a bit."

"Yes!"

Wang Jianyong, Yao Jinghua, and the others exchanged glances and didn't dare to delay any longer.

The relocation of the entire company is a major event.

Moreover, this was an order directly issued by the military region's staff headquarters, bypassing the brigade headquarters; it must have been a significant matter.

If it were a minor matter, a company-level unit wouldn't need the military region's staff to issue an order personally.

As for Liang Hongjie being transferred, the people in the company didn't actually know where he was transferred to; it was all done by the training department that they notified the various units to send people.

We won't be given specific details. For information-based experiments, confidentiality measures still need to be in place within a certain scope.

Seeing that everyone had been sent away, Cheng Dong reached into Huo Linshan's pocket, took out a cigarette, lit one for himself, and asked anxiously, "What exactly happened?"

Why would the General Staff notify us to relocate?

"I don't know exactly what happened either." Huo Linshan shook his head: "But he sounded quite anxious on the phone, like he was afraid someone would back out."

"The order is for all tanks in the company to be stored in place, and the soldiers to set off at dawn tomorrow with their individual equipment. The staff will send someone to guide us tomorrow, also to supervise our actions."

"Alright, go tell the comrades to get ready. I'm going to headquarters to ask the officer on duty what's going on."

"Okay, go slower on your way."

Cheng Dong sighed. He just wanted to work hard for another three years and then retire when he turned forty. He had long since given up on the idea of climbing the ranks.

Why is it so hard to fulfill such a simple wish?

The entire company has to move.
"You little brat, you're quite the bureaucrat, aren't you? The three-part interlude is good, but didn't you see the data and summaries from the previous experiments?"

"You think you can make decisions within three months just by being put in charge as an advisor?"

The base's conference room.

The meeting had long since ended, and all personnel from the military region's divisions, brigades, including the staff and training departments, had already withdrawn.

Only a group of instructors and students from the Army Academy remained, detained here, and none of them dared to leave.

No other reason.

It was because Chen Mo made a pledge in front of so many leaders, promising a three-month deadline, that this was done, as the saying goes, "no jokes are made in the military."

The purpose of this meeting is to persuade the military region to open up the channels for personnel transfer. Good things take time, but we hope to bring in a group of highly skilled non-commissioned officers and, after training, form an informationized battalion.

The reason why Dean Lu agreed to Chen Mo's suggestion was because he had repeatedly considered it and confirmed that the method was indeed feasible, which is why he was so enthusiastic.

result.

Once the three-month deadline is set, the military region has a perfect excuse not to assign anyone else in the short term.

They only gave us a reconnaissance company. When the meeting ended just now, those military region leaders ran off like madmen, each one faster than the last.

They were afraid of getting entangled with her.

As the current head of the base, how could Luo Yaowu not be annoyed and angry?
I really didn't expect Chen Mo to suddenly pull this stunt during the discussion.

And so, they're now demanding an explanation.

Faced with the furious Director Luo, Chen Mo grinned; he had indeed acted rashly.

But what if we don't act rashly?

If the academy and the military region play a game of cat and mouse, dragging it out for months, and then send in a few dozen scraps, even if they manage to gather enough people to form a battalion of sergeants, what good will that do?
The first requirement for combat is absolute obedience to orders. Those old foxes, they don't even like their own unit, so expecting them to obey orders is like asking for a ghost.

Reform is not easy, and innovation is even more difficult. You can't expect to see results unless you're pushed to a certain point.

"Director, it's me."

"Don't call me Director anymore, I'll call you Director from now on." Luo Yaowu slammed his hand on the conference table aggressively.

Then he stood up and said, "Didn't you want to be this staff officer? Okay, I'll make you that position. Tomorrow, when the infiltration company arrives, you'll be in charge of assigning specialties, and I'll find someone to teach them."

"When the three-month period is up, let's see what you have to say."

"Humph!"

After Luo Yaowu finished speaking, he turned and strode away.

Many of the instructors and trainees at the scene also left one after another.

Chen Mo, who had been scolded, did not appear nervous. Instead, after everyone else left, he smiled, touched his nose, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Liang Hongjie, who had been on tenterhooks the whole time, walked up to him and said in an annoyed tone, "Scholar, you are really too reckless."

"How could you speak in that kind of situation?"

"Platoon leader, you don't understand." Chen Mo chuckled, offering no explanation.

Pei Shuaijun, standing to the side, also looked relaxed, with his hands on his hips, seemingly not worried about Chen Mo's situation at all.

Because he was also an assistant to the leader, equivalent to a confidential secretary to the military region leader.

It was obvious at a glance that Director Luo wasn't really angry; he was just putting on a show for the instructors present.

After all, although Director Luo is in charge, he can't make decisions on many things directly. He got angry to shut up the teachers and stop them from asking questions.

It was also to cover for Chen Mo.

If the experiment fails after three months, Luo Yaowu can give Chen Mo a severe dressing-down in front of the academy and the military region, saying things like he disagreed in the first place.

The military region is required to continue its cooperation.

Sometimes, everyone knows the truth, but they still have to act it out. Otherwise, how can they save face and continue to hire people?
The meeting had just reached a dead end. The Chief of Staff was not taking a stand and was letting the Operations and Training Department complain about being broke. The Academy had no way to push them any further.

Chen Mo's approach was arguably the best solution at the time.

only.

Poor Liang Pai wasn't that shrewd; he just assumed Chen Mo had really been scolded.

The three left last, and the facilities at the base are not yet fully developed.

The cleaning work naturally depends on their own initiative.

Wait until everything is ready.

As Chen Mo stepped down from the conference room, gazing at the bright moonlight, he felt more relaxed than ever before.

He finally brought the reconnaissance company to the forefront of the times. If this succeeds, the entire company will likely be developed into the first informationized unit in the entire army.

This is what he has always believed: ability is not important; opportunity is the most important thing.

After all, there must be a more suitable unit than the reconnaissance company right now, but the problem is that Chen Mo doesn't know any of them and doesn't have any experience with them, while the reconnaissance company just happens to meet these conditions.

"Scholar, are you really sure about this?"

Liang Hongjie handed Chen Mo a cigarette. He felt that this scholar seemed to have matured since leaving the company.

He was even more mature than the company commander.

“I’m the one in charge, no problem at all.” Chen Mo smiled, took the cigarette, and then urged, “Platoon leader, go and rest. We’re going to welcome the company commander and the others tomorrow.”

"Tomorrow? So soon?"

"Hmm." Chen Mo nodded: "It's already evening. If it were daytime, the military region's people probably wouldn't wait until tomorrow and would send the company commander and the others over."

"What?"

"Because the military region is also afraid that the academy's people will change their minds," Chen Mo said with a deep smile.

I have a lot to do tomorrow.

Chen Mo didn't chat with Liang Pai for too long. After returning to the dormitory, as expected...

Pei Shuaijun then brought over a stack of research papers on armored communications, saying that Director Luo had instructed Chen Mo to study them on his own and then attend classes after the instructors here started teaching.

Chen Mo had no objection to this arrangement; the knowledge related to armored communications was indeed what he needed to improve most right now.
Although the current research focuses on the battles between the Hans and the Soviet Union during World War II.

But this doesn't prevent the fact that these projects represent the culmination of many years of ideas from outstanding students at the Army Academy.

The academy has never lacked quick-witted individuals, nor students willing to muster the courage to explore and break with convention.

From these topics, we can draw on the perspectives of many students.

only.

These people often have their edges smoothed out and become less sharp after they are assigned to the military due to the environment, interpersonal relationships, or various other reasons.

Information technology, as it is currently in the experimental stage, can only be considered a low-intensity, localized battle.

However, many students take this direction as their main challenge when doing research projects.

Chen Mo possesses a memory ahead of his time, but he is not omnipotent.

If we were to compare it to a famous gun, it could at most influence the outcome of a battle.

But if he is willing to learn, willing to change more people, and mass-produce more famous guns, then he can influence the war.

Late at night.

Fortunately, the dormitory is big enough, so there are only two people living there.

Pei Shuaijun was fast asleep on the east side, while Chen Mo was on the west side with a desk lamp on, breaking down the research papers one by one and taking notes on various novel viewpoints.

These topics were the best answers that many trainees had racked their brains to come up with, and Director Luo brought them over, from which Chen Mo benefited greatly.

Chen Mo didn't know exactly when he went to sleep at night, but as soon as it was light, he put on his military uniform and took out his civilian clothes and shook them off.

Then he took out Lu Yuanfa's leather shoes, squeezed some shoe polish on them, and carefully wiped them.

Chen Mo rarely wore the leather shoes issued by the college, because he wasn't used to these three-piece leather shoes.

The people in dormitory 402 had basically never worn it either, but people like Xie Yong and Ding Zeliang were not unaccustomed to it.

Rather, they just couldn't bear to wear it.

Many veterans were so excited when they received leather shoes for the first time that they asked for leave to have the soles of their shoes repaired. When they came back, they only dared to wear them and wander around the corridor.

Just to hear that "da da da" sound.

Unless the academy requires them to wear regular uniforms with leather shoes, those veterans would only wear them; otherwise, they were just mascots.

But today is different.

I've been in the army for quite a while now, and I've finally managed to become a staff officer. Plus, today I get to meet the company commander and squad leaders, so I have to dress smartly.

After tidying up my everyday clothes and leather shoes.

Chen Mo packed everything into his backpack, slung the heavy backpack over his shoulder, and quietly opened the dormitory door to go downstairs.

That's right, he's going to resume his old habit of getting up early every day to exercise.

The reconnaissance company was the unit where he had served.

Chen Mo knew very well what the atmosphere was like in the company; he hadn't brought these people here to show off. He wanted to bring the reconnaissance company's spirit of courage, determination, and positive attitude here, starting with himself.

He wanted to tell all the veteran squad leaders in the company that the scholar was still the same scholar he had always been, but now that he was here, they all needed to work together.

Looking to the future.

The morning breeze blew in his face, carrying waves of heat, but Chen Mo didn't feel uncomfortable at all; on the contrary, he felt exceptionally comfortable.

The main thing is that the feeling of fighting hard in the company back then has come back.

After running on and off for about an hour, Liang Hongjie came down with his backpack.

I can tell.

Liang Pai hadn't been slacking off in the company lately, so he wasn't surprised to see Chen Mo running downstairs.

Instead, he ran alongside Chen Mo.

At first, neither of them said a word.

The sky is getting brighter.

People were already busy at the armed police dormitory building in the distance, as the base's facilities were not yet fully developed.

There was no unified wake-up call in the early morning.

Of the more than twenty non-commissioned officers that the army sent over yesterday, none of them came downstairs, as expected.

Even the instructors from the Army Academy in the distance started stretching, but the veterans were still nowhere to be seen; they were probably comfortably hiding in their air-conditioned rooms.

"Scholar."

"Ah."

“You know what? Our company has been downsized. The fourth platoon is gone. From now on, the reconnaissance company will only have three platoons. I don’t know what I’ll do as the platoon leader.”

Liang Hongjie suddenly spoke as he was running and feeling exhausted.

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo was taken aback.

Such a big thing happened yesterday. The two of them squatted in the corner and smoked for a long time, but they didn't talk about it at all.

However, it's not too late to say it now.

Chen Mo grinned, grabbed the towel hanging around his neck, slowly stopped running, wiped his face, and said, "Platoon leader, there probably won't be a reconnaissance company anymore. We might become a combined arms battalion."

"A combined arms battalion?" Liang Hongjie also stopped and looked at Chen Mo with a puzzled expression.

"Yes, it's a combined arms battalion."

"Platoon leader, do you know anything about information technology?"

"Of course I know. The Gulf War was a result of the US using information warfare."

"That's true and that's not true." Chen Mo shook his head slightly: "The kind of scale you're talking about is too big. We can't afford to do that right now. We can only start with small-scale, high-intensity warfare."

"There's too much for me to tell you, but don't worry, Platoon Leader. The reconnaissance company may cease to exist, but we will thrive and prosper."

“If you don’t want to be the reconnaissance platoon leader anymore, then so be it. Weren’t you the team leader yesterday? There were over twenty veterans who came with you. You can just lead them.”

"I?"

Liang Hongjie raised his hand in shock, pointing to himself. He knew all too well how lax the discipline was of those veterans who had come yesterday.

"I'm not really good at it."

"The main problem is that those people are obviously scum pushed out by other units. I can't command respect if I lead troops."

Liang Hongjie is not without ambition, nor is he without a desire to make progress.

What he lacks is experience, enough experience.

Chen Mo glanced at Liang Pai, then at the dormitory building in the distance. Neither the students from the Army Academy nor the group of lazy soldiers who came yesterday came downstairs.

He sighed and slowed his pace considerably, saying, "Platoon leader, it's been ten years since the end of the Indochina War, hasn't it?"

"Our Type 56 rifle has evolved into the Type 81 rifle, and there will even be the Type 95 or other rifle models in the future."

"Main battle tanks have evolved from the Type 79 to the Type 88, and now to the Type 96; infantry fighting vehicles have evolved from the Type 87 to the Type 94; mortars have spawned more than a dozen types; and even the DF31 has become the DF41."

"Weapons have been updated and iterated so many times, but our individual soldier roles and squad/platoon tactics have not changed at all, including our reconnaissance company and platoon leader. Do you think this is normal?"

Liang Hongjie was a little confused. He felt as if he had been lectured by the scholar, a mere private.

Chen Mo didn't give him a chance to react and continued, "What we lack is the courage to explore, the courage to break with convention."

"In the era before firearms, wars would change depending on the enemy's tactics. But now, with powerful foreign forces surrounding us, if we don't change, we will only be bullied."

"You're a top student in armored vehicle engineering and a soldier in the reconnaissance company. You definitely have the ability to shine the brightest in this era. Why do you insist on thinking you can't do it?"

"Some hardships have to be endured by someone, and some things have to be tried by someone. Last night, in front of so many commanders, I dared to make a pledge. Platoon leader, what are you afraid of?"

Chen Mo's tone was resolute and highly persuasive.

Liang Hongjie's forehead began to sweat as he listened, his breathing quickening as he stared at the dormitory building in the distance.

Because that was the dormitory he was assigned to with those veterans.

“Platoon leader, the armed police are still in charge of the base’s duty and guard posts. You were among the first to lead troops into the base, so you should be in charge of these people.”

"While the academy leaders are still caught off guard and the various systems haven't been established yet, you go and gather these people together and require them to do morning exercises according to the regulations for a company in the military."

“Your efforts will definitely be seen by someone. You can quit being a platoon leader in the reconnaissance company. You might become a company commander in the combined arms battalion soon. At the very least, you will have your own things to do.”

"But you have to take that first step, don't you?"

"Scholar, stop talking." Liang Hongjie picked up a towel and wiped his face hard, his eyes slightly ferocious.

"Although I could tell you were just kidding me, I also knew it was for my own good. That's right, I can't keep acting like a reconnaissance company in a different environment."

"I'll blow the whistle right now and order them all to assemble for morning exercises."

Liang Hongjie was a man of action; after making his statement, he picked up his backpack and headed toward the building in the distance.

See this situation.

Chen Mo secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Is it a hoax? I'd say it's half and half.

Last night, Director Luo said he would serve as his advisor and gave him a three-month guarantee.

Since Director Luo has agreed, it means that he has the absolute right to interfere in military training and study arrangements.

He didn't want these cowardly soldiers either.

But since they've already come, we can't just turn back. We can't just train the reconnaissance company and let these veterans do nothing but watch the show every day.

These weak soldiers should also be put to use. Liang Hongjie is the team leader, so it's good to assign him to manage them and give him some experience.

As for the possibility of trouble, Chen Mo wasn't worried at all.

Because, judging by the time, the main force of the reconnaissance company would arrive soon, and even if Liang Hongjie were in the reconnaissance company, he would not be well received.

Could it be that those scouts would just stand by and watch him get bullied by these few seasoned soldiers?

With someone stepping forward, it's a good opportunity to help Liang Pai get some training, especially since Cheng Dong can't stand lazy soldiers.

There will always be bigger villains to deal with the wicked, so what's there to be afraid of?

Since he had already been running around for half a day, Chen Mo took advantage of the time when Liang Hongjie went over to blow the whistle and call people to do morning exercises to go back to the dormitory to take a shower and change into his regular clothes to welcome the reconnaissance company.

but.

To Chen Mo's surprise, he underestimated the laziness and arrogance of these lazy soldiers.

Liang Hongjie got the whistle and stood in the corridor blowing it for a long time, waking up all the army cadets and soldiers, who then ran out to line up.

Only the group of veterans, cursing and swearing, peeked out and saw that it was him blowing the whistle again; out of more than twenty people, only seven or eight came out.

The remaining dozen or so continued to sleep with their heads covered, completely ignoring the situation.

Liang Hongjie was also helpless. He had been full of ambition when Chen Mo had fooled him.

But when he actually encountered this group of veteran sergeants from various units who were being unreasonable and unwilling to cooperate, he didn't have any good solutions.

He had no choice but to push open the door of one of the dorm rooms and put the whistle in his mouth.

"Beep-beep beep!"

"get up!!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Gao Sufeng, the third-level sergeant of the mechanized infantry company who was the one Chen Mo had come to the base to look at the data for, was still half asleep.

Startled awake by the sudden whistle, he instinctively grabbed the belt from the headboard and threw it straight at the source.

Gao Sufeng's residence was close to the door, and the belt hit Liang Hongjie on the head.

This wasn't just Gao being arrogant; he was the only third-level sergeant in the entire company, and he was used to being domineering.

Having arrived in a new place, he naturally wouldn't give a damn about a lieutenant who had been transferred in the same batch as him.

"Get lost, is it time to blow the whistle?" Gao Sufeng cursed a couple of times after smashing the person, then continued to lie there and rest.

That's when.

Six troop transport trucks rumbled in outside the base gate.

The reconnaissance company, along with Cheng Dong and Huo Linshan, totaling 96 people, set off at four o'clock and, after two hours of travel, finally arrived under the guidance of the staff.

I arrived at the base to report for duty.

As soon as the vehicle came to a stop, reconnaissance soldiers, each carrying a Type 81 rifle, a Type 85 submachine gun on their back, a steel helmet on their head, and a Type 91 dagger-pistol at their waist, quickly disembarked and lined up.

Cheng Dong got out of the passenger seat, put his hands on his hips, and observed the layout of the base. His smile was as wide as if he were peeling a dog, and he couldn't hide it.

With his hands on his hips and staring ahead, the air of a thuggish soldier instantly came through.

Because he learned from the staff that the entire company's relocation was actually Xiucai's idea.

This news is much better than being disbanded or merged, right?

"Damn it, gather together, hurry up! You sons of bitches, you don't even know how to save face in a new place."

Cheng Dong's cursing voice soon echoed throughout half of the base.

Chen Mo, who had just changed into his casual clothes and put on his leather shoes, heard a noise coming from downstairs.

His face lit up with joy, and he hurriedly tugged at his military uniform before rushing downstairs.

"Scholar?!!"

"Is it really you?"

Chen Mo went downstairs.

A group of veteran reconnaissance soldiers, lined up in formation, each carrying a rifle, watched the figure descending from the building with smiles on their faces.

Some people smiled broadly, some looked slightly surprised, and some waved, even though it had only been a month since they last saw each other.

Seeing familiar faces in this unfamiliar place feels quite nice.

"Company Commander!!"

Chen Mo waved to the veterans' formation, then quickly ran towards Cheng Dong, stood at attention, and saluted!
"Hey, you son of a bitch."

Cheng Dong grinned and returned the greeting, looking the soldier in front of him up and down. When he saw that Chen Mo was still wearing civilian clothes, even his leather shoes were mixed in.

Company Commander Cheng scratched his head and laughed, "Damn it, you're doing better than me."

"Okay, not bad."

"I heard from the comrades in the General Staff that you'll be serving as our staff officer from now on?"

"Yes, platoon leader. Hehe, we'll talk about this later."

Chen Mo turned his head and looked around.

They discovered that only cadets were lined up downstairs in the distance, while there were only seven or eight other veterans in the ranks.

He knew that Liang Pai was in trouble.

Chen Mo ran up to Cheng Dong and whispered a few words in his ear.

Cheng Dong was initially surprised to hear that Liang Hongjie had also been transferred here, but when he heard that his own platoon leader was being harassed while leading his troops, he was even more surprised.

His eyes immediately narrowed, and his murderous aura suddenly intensified.

If his own cadres are bullied by their own people, then Liang Hongjie is incompetent and deserves it. But what about when others bully them?

"A long line!"

"arrive!!"

Upon hearing the order, Wang Yanjun, the platoon leader of the reconnaissance company, stepped forward from the ranks and responded in a loud voice.

"Go, take your whole row of people and follow the scholar to see what's going on."

"Damn it, how dare they bully my soldiers! They've gone too far!"

"Yes!!"

The first platoon of the reconnaissance company, most of the third-level sergeants are concentrated in this platoon.

Wang Yanjun gave the order.

Three squads, more than twenty veterans, moved in unison, with Chen Mo in charge of pointing out the direction.

Platoon Leader Wang led the team, barging straight into the dormitory building.