Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 193 A Terrifying Surprise Attack: Do I Have Enemies Here Too?

The four people got off the bus and walked.

Chen Mo walked at the very back, heading towards the sentry post at the entrance of the barracks.

Chen Mo was quite familiar with the 2nd Tank Battalion of the 7th Armored Brigade. When the army was downsized and the new recruits of the reconnaissance company were all laid off, the old gunman once drove him to Tao Village to see him off.

Later, I brought him here specifically to see Zhu Gaituan and Feng Junling.

Chen Mo still remembers this matter clearly to this day.

At that time, two soldiers who were close friends in the same year were both discharged.

This was quite a blow to Chen Mo, who had only recently joined the unit.

The old man was worried that he might have mental health issues, and given the rumors of promotions circulating at the time, he brought him here for a visit, fearing that they might not see each other again.

If he remembered correctly, the battalion commander of the Second Battalion was named Liu Hongyun, Chen Mo remembered that.

Hopefully, Battalion Commander Liu will have good luck this time too.

The parking spot wasn't far from the sentry post.

It was lunchtime.

Two veterans were on duty at the entrance of the Second Battalion. One stood upright, while the other appeared to be on guard duty, positioned slightly behind, carrying a pouch of ammunition.

He was the first to spot the newcomers.

Although Chen Mo currently holds the rank of lieutenant, his rank is not high.

But Luo Yaowu was a senior colonel, and he was accompanied by a lieutenant colonel staff officer from the General Staff Department and Captain Pei Shuaijun.

The four men suddenly walked to the camp gate.

The soldier on duty quickly got up, ran over to the group, stood at attention, and saluted!
"Hello, Chief!"

"Hello, young comrade." The accompanying lieutenant colonel took out his officer's ID card from his pocket and handed it over, saying, "My surname is Wang. I am the deputy director of the Training Bureau of the Military Region Staff Department. Today, I am accompanying Director Luo of the Army Academy to make a visit."

"Hello, Chief!!"

The soldier on duty saluted again and shouted, "Reporting to the commander, Private Zhao Jinhui of the 3rd Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Armored Brigade is on guard duty. Please give instructions!"

"Yes, Not Bad."

Luo Yaowu looked the soldier in front of him up and down, nodded slightly, and was about to step into the camp when...

Zhao Jinhui, who had just introduced himself, suddenly reached out to stop the four people, straightened his back and said, "I'm sorry, sir, without the battalion commander's instructions, I cannot let you in."

"Please step back from the cordon."

Seeing that they were being stopped, Chen Mo, who was standing at the back, actually breathed a sigh of relief.

He was afraid that the sentry would ignore it and let Director Luo in again.

If the Seventh Division back then had been that lax in discipline, Chen Mo believed Luo Yaowu would have been even more furious. It's good that he was stopped.

as predicted.

I realized I hadn't been able to get in smoothly.

Luo Yaowu wasn't angry at all. He simply took a few steps back and waved his hand, saying, "Go and inform your duty officer to make an application."

"Yes, sir. May I have your identification?"

The sentry reached out, wanting to see Luo Yaowu's officer's ID.

This is, after all, a military-controlled area. Reports need to specify the name, unit, and rank. The title of "Director of the Army Academy" alone may not be effective in a grassroots unit.

“Use my report,” Staff Officer Wang said first.

The sentry didn't say anything more. He didn't care who you were, as long as you had identification and could report it.

Seeing how responsible the soldiers on duty were, Luo Yaowu turned to look at Chen Mo and said with a hint of nostalgia and a touch of pride, "This Second Battalion is a unit that was downsized from the 25th Regiment of the Seventh Division back then."

"You have a good eye. If we're going to trace the 25th Regiment back to its roots, we have to mention the 2nd Independent Tank Regiment from back then, which was..."

Luo Yaowu became more and more enthusiastic as he spoke, and Chen Mo listened attentively.

But before he could finish speaking, the sentry who had just left ran back.

After handing the officer's ID back to Staff Officer Wang, he immediately called on another soldier on duty to remove the roadblock at the entrance.

The efficiency was so high that it completely stunned Chen Mo and the other three.

Just now I was righteously declaring that I was going to ask for instructions, but is this request for instructions really that quick?

"Can we go in now?" Luo Yaowu also felt that the efficiency was a bit too fast.

"Yes, sir. I have already asked for permission."

"Oh, OK!"

Luo Yaowu nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Led by him, the four men strode into the camp.

Chen Mo had been here a few months ago, so he was more familiar with the place than the other three.

However, it was probably during lunch break, and there was hardly a soul in sight in the entire camp.

The scorching sun beat down relentlessly on the group.

It had only been ten minutes since he got off the bus, but sweat was already pouring down Chen Mo's forehead.

There was nothing he could do; he was wearing spring and autumn clothes.

I thought the awarding of ranks would be more solemn, but to my surprise, Director Luo was even more anxious than I was. He was brought here before he even had time to change his clothes.

I wandered around the camp for a while, and not only did I not see anyone else, but even the officers that the soldiers on duty said they had reported to didn't come to take a look.

Luo Yaowu was somewhat embarrassed.

He stood on the main road in the camp area and waited for a while before speaking: "Does anyone know the headquarters of this Second Battalion? Let's go and take a look at the operations duty room."

"Sir, I know."

Chen Mo spoke first, and then led the group toward the camp headquarters.

He had been to the Second Battalion before, so he was somewhat familiar with it.

However, this familiarity did not bring Chen Mo a sense of security; on the contrary, it made him increasingly uncertain.

As for the reason, there's no need to elaborate.

The troops in 1999 cannot be compared with those of later generations in many aspects, especially the armored forces, such as these vehicles, the massive logistics units, and the troops stationed in such a remote place as Hedong City.

If military vehicles are kept parked obediently at their posts and do not go out, it is already considered a well-disciplined unit.

As for why, the details are not convenient to go into.

The operations duty room is relatively easy to find.

There was a sign hanging at the entrance. When Chen Mo led his men to the entrance, they only saw two large bicycles parked on either side of the door, and the door was ajar.

Chen Mo hesitated for a moment, then pushed the door open without knocking.

indoor.

An old-fashioned fan was whirring, and in the room of about twenty square meters, one of the two veterans was slumped in a chair, fast asleep.

The other one was lying face down on the chessboard on the table, completely unaware that the door had been opened, sleeping soundly.

Look at this situation.

Chen Mo's face immediately darkened; he knew he was in deep trouble.

Director Luo's trip to the grassroots level was to see if the Second Battalion could serve as the main force and form a temporary information battalion. How the hell are we going to explain this?

as predicted.

Luo Yaowu, who had been looking smug when he mentioned the Second Battalion, turned even darker than Chen Mo when he saw the situation in the operations duty room.

Keep in mind that this was done with the sentry at the gate stopping people to give a notification; if there had been no notification, the outcome would have been even worse.

"Go upstairs and have a look."

Luo Yaowu squeezed out those words through gritted teeth.

When he said "go upstairs," he meant he was going to the battalion headquarters.

Chen Mo nodded. Since we're here, we might as well make the best of it. During surprise inspections, many units are caught off guard and inevitably find themselves in violation of regulations.

There were also sentries on duty in front of the battalion headquarters.

Unfortunately, this time the activity took place within the camp area. Luo Yaowu didn't wait for the officers on duty to stop him. With a cold face, he strode past them and went straight upstairs.

Staff Officer Wang handled the aftermath, showing his credentials, stopping the sentry, and personally standing downstairs to wait.

Originally, as a member of the General Staff, he didn't want to get too involved in this matter.

The military values ​​tradition. As the former chief of staff of the 7th Division, Luo Yaowu was someone even the current brigade commander and political commissar couldn't compare to in the past.

Who can say he's not qualified to inspect?
The battalion headquarters of the Second Battalion has only three floors. The second floor has an archive room, a document office, a war preparedness data room, etc. Chen Mo walked in front and pushed them open one by one.

Unsurprisingly, there wasn't a single person on duty.

However, these are understandable. During the lunch break, apart from the operations duty room which requires 24-hour duty, the other offices are not so strictly managed.

You can go to the third floor.

The office of Battalion Commander Liu and the office of the political instructor were still empty.

Chen Mo couldn't think of any reasons to comfort himself, so he simply stood obediently in the innermost room on the third floor.

In this situation, what can you do but leave it to fate?
Luo Yaowu's gaze swept over the office furnishings. His face was ashen as he walked to the desk and casually ruffled the somewhat messy surface.

Then, he kicked the already old desk, sending it two meters to the side, where it crashed into the filing cabinet next to it with a loud bang.

Chen Mo and Pei Shuaijun exchanged a glance, neither of them uttering a sound, simply standing there obediently.

I waited for about a minute.

Luo Yaowu barely managed to calm his anger, grabbed the landline that was almost falling to the ground, and dialed a string of numbers.

at the same time.

Inside the office of Wei Jin'an, commander of the 7th Armored Brigade, in Hedong City.

Although it was lunch break, Wei Lv was not sleepy at all. Instead, he had a furrowed brow and looked worried.

During this troop reduction and reorganization, the howitzer battalion under the brigade was disbanded, and the political commissar also had to take a break recently due to health reasons and is not currently in the brigade.

I've already applied for an early refund.

The pressure of troop reduction and reorganization fell on Wei Lü's shoulders, and Chief of Staff Feng Yunqian was also extremely busy. As the end of the month approached, he was busy with assessments and summarizing the reorganization.

It can be said that things have not been peaceful within the 7th Armored Brigade recently.

Wei Jinan was smoking a cigarette, flipping through the roster and financial statements, examining them closely.

The landline on the desk suddenly started ringing.

He didn't even look at the phone, casually stubbed out his cigarette, and picked up the receiver to his ear.

"I am Wei Jin'an. What do you want?"

"Old Wei, what's wrong? Can't you recognize my voice?"

The way he was addressed as "Old Wei" almost made Wei Jinan's brain shut down.

He stared blankly for a long time before asking uncertainly, "Is it Chief of Staff Luo?"

"Heh, it's rare that you still remember me." Luo Yaowu replied coldly, switching the microphone to the other side and continuing, "What, didn't you take a break in the middle of the day?"

"Hey, I can't take a break, it's almost the end of the month, and I have a ton of things to do, haha, Luo Can, what made you think of calling me?"

"Heh! I didn't want to call you either, but since the men in your Second Battalion are sleeping so soundly, I had to talk to you about it."

"What?!!"

Hearing that the Second Battalion was sleeping so soundly, Wei Jinan's head almost exploded, and he jumped up from his office chair with a "whoosh".

He knew that Luo Yaowu had come to Jinyang.

But why did they suddenly go to the Second Battalion?
"Hey, Luo Can, hello? Hello!!"

Hearing the dial tone from the microphone, Wei Jinan held the microphone, his face turning from bewilderment to anger, then from red to green.

Then, he slammed his hand on the conference table with a loud "thud".

That rascal.

The commotion was so loud that it woke up the brigade clerk next door who was dozing off.

The clerk rushed to the brigade commander's office door and, seeing Wei Jin'an's ashen face, said in a trembling voice, "Brigade Commander, you..."

"roll!"

"Now, immediately, contact the Second Battalion right now, fucking ask them where everyone's dead?"

"Damn it, the chief of staff has already entered the unit, why didn't anyone report it? Huh?"

"I'll kill him."

Given this situation, the clerk didn't dare to ask any more questions. He quickly turned around and went back to his office to call the Second Battalion.

Meanwhile, Wei Jin'an set off to check on the situation at the Second Battalion.

Although Luo Yaowu is no longer the direct superior of the Seventh Brigade, his status still matters. He's back at his unit, which is no small matter.

fortunately.

The 2nd Battalion's operations duty room was empty; people were sleeping there, not that no one was on duty.

The veteran, who was slumped in his chair asleep, was startled awake when the phone rang.

When he picked up the microphone, his face turned pale.

"What did you say? The Chief of Staff has entered the camp? Not Chief of Staff Feng?!"

Due to information asymmetry.

The brigade clerk had no idea who the "chief of staff" the brigade commander was referring to was, but he knew that the brigade chief of staff was still at the brigade headquarters and had not gone out.

After hanging up the phone.

The veterans in the operations duty room felt like the sky was about to fall.

He didn't even care about his bewildered comrade still sitting next to the chessboard; he hurriedly grabbed his military cap and ran out in a flurry.

The operations duty room is a separate room, located next to the battalion headquarters, but not within the battalion headquarters building complex.

When he ran to the battalion headquarters, he was shocked to find a lieutenant colonel standing downstairs.

Keep in mind, their battalion commander is only a lieutenant colonel.

The men brought by the chief of staff are all at the same rank as battalion commanders, even those on duty downstairs.

Is that okay?

The veteran turned and ran towards the officers' quarters. When he arrived at the battalion commander's quarters, he didn't even bother to knock.

He reached out and slammed the door open with a loud bang.

Huge movement.

The Second Battalion Commander, Liu Hongyun, was startled awake from his sleep. Looking up and seeing that it was someone from his own battalion, Commander Liu reached out and removed the newspaper covering his stomach, saying irritably, "What the hell are you panicking about?"

"What happened? Tell me!" "Battalion Commander, something's happened," the veteran said breathlessly.

"What the heck?!"

Upon hearing the words "something happened," Liu Hongyun immediately perked up and jumped out of bed.

He yelled, "You fucking say something! Catch your breath! You're in this state after running just a few steps?"

"No, Battalion Commander, the Chief of Staff is here. He should already be in the battalion headquarters office by now."

"Chief of Staff? Which Chief of Staff?"

"Chief of Staff Qin of the military region?"

"Yes, it should be."

"Fuck!!"

Upon learning that it was the chief of staff of the military region who had come, Battalion Commander Liu's head exploded with a "buzz".

The main problem is that we didn't receive any advance notice.

"Which company is on duty today? Damn it, why hasn't anyone reported?"

"Go and have the officer on duty come to see me. Oh, and tell the political instructor to come downstairs immediately and notify all company commanders to assemble right away."

"Yes, that's right."

The veteran who came to inform them was a beat slow to react; he had already finished speaking before he remembered that it was the brigade headquarters that had called.

He had no choice but to speak again: "Battalion Commander, well, Brigade Commander Wei might arrive later. The call was made directly to the duty room by the brigade headquarters."

"What?"

Now, the sky has fallen even further.

Liu Hongyun was almost furious. So it turned out that after all that, it wasn't the people on duty who noticed the Chief of Staff coming over first?

Instead, we only found out that a leader had entered the unit after being notified by our superiors?

"Damn it, I'll deal with you guys later."

"Without notifying anyone else, broadcast an immediate announcement: the entire battalion must assemble immediately."

"What are you waiting for? Go!"

"Ah, yes."

After receiving the order, the veteran turned and ran. There was a large light broadcast in the operations duty room, but this thing was not usually used.

It will only be used in emergency combat situations.

But this is scary enough. The leaders have entered the units. We must gather all units as soon as possible to salvage the situation.

Liu Hongyun, who remained in the dormitory, stood there in a daze for a long time, still unable to figure it out.

Why would the chief of staff of this military region be here?

What I can't understand is why the people on duty at the gate let people in so easily.

Although Liu Hongyun dared not say he was particularly capable of leading troops, he was at least quite strict in terms of discipline and conduct, and he was confident that there wouldn't be any problems.

It can withstand scrutiny, but where exactly did the problem lie?

I don't understand why.

Battalion Commander Liu grabbed his military cap from the bedside table and rushed downstairs in a hurry. He dared to delay, not because he wasn't in a rush.

It was precisely because he was in such a hurry that, given the current situation, there was nothing he could do about being anxious, even as a battalion commander.

The chief of staff is coming, and the brigade commander is also coming; this kind of reception work is not something he can handle on his own.

After going downstairs, Liu Hongyun ran to the battalion headquarters and searched from the second to the third floor.

They couldn't find the chief of staff anywhere.

The loudspeaker had already announced the assembly, so he didn't bother looking anymore and ran straight towards the gate.

When I arrived at the gate.

I saw the sentry on duty and the squad leader on duty standing there.

Liu Hongyun was furious. His eyes were bloodshot as he cursed, "Damn it! The Chief of Staff is coming, why didn't anyone announce it?"

"What are you all good for, huh?!"

"Battalion Commander, the report I received is that a staff officer from the Training Bureau of the General Staff Headquarters has come over."

"There is no chief of staff," the duty officer explained, sounding aggrieved.

"A staff officer from the Training Bureau?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Hongyun was taken aback.

It's understandable that the gatekeeper let the training bureau staff officer in; firstly, it's the end of the month, and it's normal for staff officers to come and observe the grassroots unit's assessment.

It's nothing unusual.

Secondly, there's a saying in the military: "A bad staff officer is a bad clerk; a staff officer who doesn't lead is as useless as a fart."

No matter how high the rank or how prestigious the department, if the officer is only a staff officer of a military region, he won't attract much attention.

But I clearly received the message that the chief of staff had arrived. What's going on?
Liu Hongyun frowned, then turned to the soldiers on duty and said, "Tell me in detail how many people came, how they got here, and what they look like."

"Reporting to the battalion commander, there are four people in total. The leader is a senior colonel, there is also a lieutenant colonel, a captain, and a lieutenant."

The private tried his best to recall.

This answer only confused Liu Hongyun more.

Damn it, the senior colonel is indeed not Chief of Staff Qin of the military region, but he's not the chief of staff of the 7th Brigade either.

Who exactly is this person?
At this moment, Battalion Commander Liu actually hoped that the chief of staff of the military region would come. After all, he would at least know the truth, and whether he was killed or tortured later, it wouldn't be unjust.

But not knowing who it is is harder to bear than knowing.

What the hell do we do?

While things were still in disarray at the Second Battalion Commander's place...

Chen Mo had already accompanied Director Luo from the battalion headquarters to the company's garrison.

The loudspeaker announced an emergency assembly. This was not as simple as putting on a hat and a belt; this kind of assembly was a wartime assembly.

The camp was almost deserted just a moment ago.

The assembly call sounded.

The sergeant in charge of dispatching the company, with a command whistle in his mouth and a flag in his hand, led nine Type 96 tanks, four armored personnel carriers, and two Type 141 personnel carriers according to orders.

They drove out of the parking lot in an orderly manner.

Chen Mo, Luo Yaowu, and others stood not far from the vehicle and artillery range of the first company, watching the entire company's deployment.

Boom! !

The tanks were pulled out of the depot.

The ground around them began to tremble slightly, and fine dust particles visibly danced on the ground as the 1000-horsepower armored monster roared.

The smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe instantly filled the air with a strong diesel smell.

"Communication test!"

"Tank 1 is normal!"

"Tank 2 is normal!"

"Installation 1 is normal!"

"Yun-1 is operating normally!"

"."

A group of fifteen tanks passed by the group.

The sounds of communication debugging could be faintly heard.

Chen Mo was a little envious. Few men could resist the allure of such a massive armored vehicle. He had studied armored communications at the base for two months.

I've always focused on academic subjects and never had the chance to get my hands on a tank. Now, I've finally seen one.

Luo Yaowu watched with a blank expression.

From the moment the loudspeaker announced the start of the operation until the tanks were pulled out of the depot, the entire company took less than ten minutes, roughly eight or nine minutes.

In such a short period of time.

One of the companies in the Second Battalion was able to complete the grouping, testing, and contingency plan allocation with such efficiency that even Director Luo could not find any fault with it.

The saying goes, "Look at the formation when going out, and look at the housekeeping when entering." This is a way to measure the combat effectiveness and execution of a unit.

However, the fact that armored units can achieve this level of capability when deployed can also reflect the combat effectiveness of a unit.

See these.

Luo Yaowu's expression finally looked less grim.

"Let's go and see what the Second Battalion is up to."

Director Luo waved his hand and led a few people to follow the convoy.

This set certainly won't have just one link.

The entire battalion, from the battalion commander down to the cooks, had to get involved.

After following the convoy for a while, we found that the mixed vehicle groups were parked near the ammunition depot, and teams of soldiers were busy carrying or lifting ammunition from the depot.

Chen Mo found it rather strange.

Actually, everyone knew what was going on with the sudden emergency assembly. It was just that the Second Battalion discovered that a high-ranking officer was inspecting the area, so they had to do this to make amends.

At this moment, the officers in the battalion are probably searching everywhere for these few people.

Even if it's a remedy, there's no need to make such a big fuss.

It's important to understand that ammunition stored in military depots cannot be easily moved.

Some types of artillery shells require a dedicated person to guard them from the time they are issued to the time they are stored, and they can only be used when ordered to be deployed.

During peacetime exercises, this ammunition cannot be taken out of the warehouse. Once it is used, it must be used or destroyed and must never be put back into the warehouse.

A battalion may seem like a small combat group.

However, the cost of ammunition lost in each wartime assembly ranges from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.

Although the 7th Armored Brigade is better off than motorized infantry units, it shouldn't suffer such heavy losses just because of an inspection.

That's incredibly wasteful!
As Chen Mo was wondering, he didn't notice that another group of soldiers ran over behind him to help carry the ammunition.

The private running at the back didn't notice anything wrong with Chen Mo at first, but when he ran up to him, he subconsciously glanced at him and his eyes suddenly widened.

His voice trembled as he exclaimed, "Deputy squad leader?!"

"Why are you here?"

Hearing the noise, Chen Mo turned to look at the person speaking and immediately recognized the dark-skinned, muscular soldier in front of him as Zhu Gaituan, his comrade-in-arms from the Eighth Platoon back in the recruit training camp in Tao Village.

"Change of group, haha, it really is you."

"It's my deputy squad leader, you."

Before Zhu Gaituan could finish speaking, the veteran leading the team turned around and glared at him.

Startled, Zhu Gaituan quickly shut his mouth, but his eyes were still darting around, clearly sizing up the person next to Chen Mo.

There are rules in the queue that don't even require returning greetings while marching, let alone during an emergency assembly.

The person leading the group was clearly the squad leader. He looked at Chen Mo, then at Luo Yaowu. He had been running too fast and hadn't noticed the people standing by the roadside, each one of them a higher rank than the last.

The veteran quickly saluted: "Greetings, sir!"

"No need to be so polite, you go ahead and do your work," Luo Yaowu replied.

Chen Mo winked at Zhu Gaituan, signaling him to go ahead and get busy. Once the Second Battalion was selected, there would be plenty of opportunities to meet in the future.

There's no need to rush.

Given the current situation, it's definitely not a good time for reminiscing.

Zhu Gaituan looked at Chen Mo's shoulder insignia with one bar and two stars, his face full of curiosity. Unfortunately, with the veteran squad leader watching, he dared not utter another word.

They had no choice but to follow the group and run towards the ammunition depot.

"Haha, Chief of Staff, what a rare guest!"

Just as Zhu Gaituan left, a military vehicle pulled up beside them, and Wei Jin'an, the brigade commander of the 7th Armored Brigade, got out of the vehicle with a big smile on his face.

The battalion commander, political instructor, and several company commanders of the second battalion all ran over.

He was drenched in sweat and didn't dare to lift his head, as if he had committed a terrible crime.

When Wei Lü approached, he put away his smile, stood at attention solemnly, and saluted: "Good morning, Chief of Staff."

"Alright, that's ancient history."

Luo Yaowu returned the greeting, then shook his head, his face turning somewhat gloomy.

"Old Wei, is this all that's left of the Second Independent Regiment from back then?"

"To me, this seems to be a rather serious issue of conduct."

Luo Yaowu's words were truly shameless, saying that there were problems with his conduct in front of the brigade commander, battalion commander, and company commander.

This is tantamount to slapping the face of the entire organization.

Even if the chief of staff of the military region came, he would never speak like that unless he was extremely angry.

"However, I just checked and the order of the company's deployment was quite good. Chen Mo has repeatedly recommended your Second Battalion for its good performance and strong combat effectiveness, which makes me quite happy."

"It still seems a bit lacking now."

As Luo Yaowu criticized him, Wei Jin'an smiled awkwardly. After all, Director Luo was a few years older than him and had been a leader of the Seventh Division in the past.

Even as a brigade commander, he has to listen to criticism.

Originally.

Chen Mo always believed that this inspection had nothing to do with him.

But for some reason, ever since Director Luo said that it was he who recommended the Second Battalion...

Behind Wei Jin'an, a group of company commanders and political instructors all glared fiercely at Chen Mo.

Good heavens, the way he was gritting his teeth made it seem like he wanted to devour him alive.

I noticed the gazes of those officials.

Chen Mo was visibly taken aback, and a sense of unease crept into his mind.

This doesn't make sense.

What, do I have enemies here too?!

(End of this chapter)