Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 194 Arguing with Reason: That's Our Confidence
Feeling a little uncomfortable being stared at, Chen Mo shifted his feet slightly and stood a bit further back.

It wasn't that we were feeling guilty or anything, it was just that we were on their turf, and there were seven or eight people staring at us menacingly. Only the battalion commander and political instructor were able to stay calm.

This feels pretty awkward.

But moving it wouldn't help.

When the officers of the first, second, and third companies of the second battalion saw the scholar, they almost ground their teeth to powder.

Chen Mo proposed collecting exercise archives at the Army Academy, but he didn't contribute to it himself, so of course he wouldn't remember it all the time.

But the officers in the Second Battalion were busy day and night back then.

For half a month, I was not only busy myself, but I also had to invite people from other units to come over. My eyes were almost blinded from exhaustion before I could barely send the archives away.

If it's just because of this, then so be it.

I vented my anger by cursing and having some people from the reconnaissance company come to help.

Unexpectedly.

Today's sudden inspection, recommended by this scholar again, has left all the officers in the battalion trembling with fear.

I wonder how they'll be dealt with next.

It would be strange if they had a good attitude.

Fortunately, Luo Yaowu was there to prevent things from getting too tense.

Otherwise, Chen Mo would probably have to experience what it's like to fight an entire battalion alone.

At this moment, the ammunition of the 1st Company of the 2nd Battalion has been loaded, and the tanks of the 2nd Company have arrived and are lined up to continue loading.

Assembling the entire battalion in wartime is not so easy.

Preparing supplies, taking inventory, and distributing them—without issuing separate combat missions and plans to the grassroots level—is done entirely with full equipment. It takes at least 40 to 50 minutes for an armored battalion to complete this process.

The atmosphere at the scene was somewhat somber.

The soldiers were all busy, but Luo Yaowu just looked up and didn't say anything more.

Brigade Commander Wei Jinan was also present, but he did not offer any further explanation.

The reason the battalion suddenly activated the loudspeaker to assemble in wartime was because the Second Battalion had mistakenly thought that Chief of Staff Qin from the military region had come down.

When the chief of staff of a military region goes to the grassroots level without prior notice, the purpose is generally to check the unit's combat readiness.

According to regulations, it's perfectly acceptable to use a large-scale broadcast to promote the event.

But now, things have gotten a bit chaotic. Chief of Staff Qin didn't come, but the troops were mobilized, and even the ammunition was taken out of the warehouse.

Not to mention the officers of the Second Battalion were a bit confused, even Brigade Wei was having a headache.

Without orders from the military region or prior notification, the sudden mobilization with full armed forces is inexplicable.

In ancient times, this would have been an even more serious matter.

Fortunately, Luo Yaowu came today with a mission; the 63rd Army must have received the order from the military region.

Watching the Second Company begin loading ammunition.

Luo Yaowu pondered for a moment, then turned to Wei Jin'an and said, "Old Wei."

"Chief of Staff, what is it?" Wei Jinan stepped forward and replied.

However, his expression wasn't very good right now. There was no way around it; anyone would criticize his subordinates' work style in front of him, a commander of a main force brigade.

It won't make me feel very comfortable either.

This has nothing to do with rank; even if the army commander scolded him to his face, it wouldn't be acceptable. It's like negating the efforts of hundreds of soldiers present with just one sentence.

It seemed that he could tell that Wei Lü was unhappy.

Luo Yaowu snorted coldly, his tone still undisguised as he said, "Don't try to argue with me, you old codger. You dare to sleep in the operations duty room? You've got some nerve."

“If this had happened a few years ago, I would have fired you all.”

"You know why I came to Jinyang, right?"

"I've heard some things."

Wei Lü nodded. The two were old comrades-in-arms who had known each other for more than 20 years. Now that they had talked things out, he didn't dwell on it anymore. He took out a cigarette from his pocket and offered one to Director Luo.

He continued, "They say they want to establish an informationized force, and that scholar recommended the Second Battalion. There must be a reason, right?"

"Ah."

Luo Yaowu lit a cigarette: "You know that the Northwest Jincheng Military Region and the Southern Guangdong Jinling and Yangcheng Military Regions will be conducting large-scale military exercises in mid-August and early September, right?"

"know."

"The Kyoto Military Region will serve as the chief director of this Northwest Military Exercise, and the experimental base was also built by the Kyoto Military Region. Now, the leaders above have asked us to send a unit to participate in the Northwest Military Exercise next month as well."

"I plan to send the Second Battalion."

"Should we send the Second Battalion?"

Wei Jin'an appeared somewhat surprised upon hearing that Luo Yaowu had selected the Second Battalion.

His surprise was not without reason.

With the military parade just around the corner, the Kyoto Military Region personnel are not staying in Kyoto to oversee the military exercises, but instead are stationed in the northwest to direct the exercises. It's easy to see what their purpose is in order to prevent such an event.

It can be said that if a border military conflict occurs before or after the parade, the people stationed at the forefront of the Kyoto Military Region can react in the shortest possible time.

They can directly deploy troops from the hinterland to ensure the smooth conduct of the parade.

Any large-scale military exercise is not simply about demonstrating military strength; it is mostly for deterrence.

Such an important military operation.

However, assigning an experimental unit to it, and even selecting the Second Battalion, was truly unexpected for Wei Jin'an.

Information technology. Information technology.
Wei Jinan kept weighing the potential impact of this military exercise in his mind.

As the commander of an armored unit, he knew far more about the impact of future informatization than the lower-level cadres.

Now that their brigade's direct reconnaissance company has been gone, what if they added a second battalion?

If the experiment is successful, wouldn't that mean that the future formation of informationized forces will be based on the 7th Armored Brigade?

"What, you're not happy about it?" Luo Yaowu didn't hear a response for a while. He was blowing smoke rings and turned his head to look at him with annoyance.

"No, the Second Battalion is fine."

"If there's no problem, let's have a match and see how much of the spirit of the old Second Independent Regiment is still preserved."

Hearing that they were to fight.

Wei Jin'an's eyes immediately lit up. He had just been worried about how to explain the ammunition consumption when he submitted the financial report to the military region next month after this combat readiness mobilization.

This is just great.

Someone has taken the hit.

"Battalion Commander Liu."

"arrive!!"

Liu Hongyun, who was standing at the back with his head drooping, waiting to be criticized, heard the brigade commander call his name.

That guy, as if he'd been injected with ten doses of chicken blood, clenched his fists at his ribs, ran up to Wei Lü and Director Luo, and snapped to attention.

He saluted and said, "Good morning, Chief of Staff. Good morning, Brigade Commander. I am Liu Hongyun, Battalion Commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 7th Armored Brigade. I am currently conducting combat readiness assembly. Please give instructions!"

"Ah."

Luo Yaowu didn't waste any words. He pointed to the Second Company, which was loading ammunition, and said, "Notify the First Company of the Second Battalion that the Second Company should assemble at the brigade's training ground."

"Carry the exercise ammunition, the subjects, and the assault combat formation maneuver, and arrive at the exercise field. No need to report or apply. Let me see the strength of your first and second companies."

"Yes, Chief of Staff."

"Oh, right."

After giving the order, Luo Yaowu seemed to remember something, and he turned around and waved to Chen Mo and Pei Shuaijun.

"You two, one of you go with the first company and the other with the second company, go and learn from them."

"Especially you, Chen Mo, theoretical knowledge is just theoretical knowledge. Take this opportunity to go to a company and learn from them."

"Yes, Chief."

Chen Mo didn't expect that the Second Battalion's exercise would include him.

I was actually quite excited.

But his excitement didn't last long, until Battalion Commander Liu led him to the crowd nearby.

A group of officials stared intently at him, their expressions anything but friendly.

"Scholar, which company do you want to go to?" Liu Hongyun asked with a half-smile.

As the battalion commander, he and the scholar were both trained by the old gunman, so they could be considered "fellow disciples" and he certainly couldn't show it too much on the surface.

But this kid caused quite a bit of trouble for the Second Battalion, and Liu Hongyun didn't have a very good temper either.

"I'll go to the first company." Chen Mo smiled, pretending not to see the murderous glares from the surrounding cadres.

He had just seen the equipment being taken out of the warehouse and had a good understanding of the organization, so it would be more suitable for him to learn from the company.

"Okay, then you can go to Company One."

Liu Hongyun nodded, then called out, "Old Gao, I'm entrusting Xiucai to you. Remember, he's a top student sent down from above to guide your company."

"Remember?"

"Hey, all set!"

Upon hearing this, Company Commander Gao Peng chuckled, put his arm around Chen Mo's shoulder, and patted his civilian clothes, whispering, "Scholar, you son of a bitch, you've finally fallen into my hands."

"You asked for this, don't blame me."

"Battalion Commander, we're over there."

He finished speaking without waiting for Liu Hongyun's response.

Company Commander Gao and several platoon leaders from the first company squeezed Chen Mo into the middle of the crowd, like they were playing a claw machine.

They surrounded him as he left.

After all, the first company was the first to load ammunition, and by then the entire company was ready and waiting for the next order.

He was already wearing thick clothes, and being sandwiched in the middle made Chen Mo extremely frustrated.

After finally getting out of the ammunition depot area and out of sight of the brigade commander and Director Luo, they finally managed to leave.

Chen Mo reached out and shoved Gao Peng and several platoon leaders aside, then complained, "Get away from me, damn it, I was just awarded my rank today, didn't you see I haven't even changed out of my uniform yet, it's still hot."

That's why they say skill breeds daring.

The officers of the company were already furious, their eyes practically bulging out of their sockets.

Unexpectedly, the scholar was even more furious than them and dared to make a move.

"You son of a bitch, you still complain about the heat?" Gao Peng glared at him, rolled up his sleeves, and beckoned several platoon leaders to teach the scholar a lesson.

Unfortunately, Chen Mo was born without knowing what it meant to swallow one's anger.

The situation was clearly not going well.

He immediately adopted the principle of "a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle," turned around and left, heading towards the ammunition depot, in the direction of Luo Yaowu.

"Hey?"

"Hey!!"

"You stop!"

When Gao Peng saw the scholar about to leave, he was also stunned, having just rolled up his sleeves. He quickly took a few steps and grabbed Chen Mo: "What are you up to, kid?"

"Damn it, everyone's gathering at the back, where are you going?"

“Go tell Wei Lü that I want to transfer to another company, to the Second Company,” Chen Mo replied firmly.

However, despite his words, he still stopped in his tracks.

"What do you mean? Didn't you just say you were going to the First Company?" Seeing four or five people surround him again, Chen Mo's anger was temporarily suppressed, and he knew that he had achieved his goal.

After all, he wasn't a seasoned veteran, nor was he one of Liu Hai's old scouts; he wasn't confident he could take down so many people with his skills.

We can't really get beaten up.

“I’m the one who should go to the First Company, but Company Commander Gao, I’m from the reconnaissance company, and you’re from the tank battalion. Aren’t we all one family?”

"Uh, we're from the same company." Gao Peng nodded subconsciously, not quite following Chen Mo's train of thought.

"So what are you all doing with your sleeves rolled up? Do you have a problem with our reconnaissance company?" Chen Mo pointed at the group.

"Shit."

"You son of a bitch, stop trying to sow discord." Gao Peng glared at the scholar who was making the false accusation and said, "Don't pretend to be so convincing."

"I'm asking you, the month before last, when the military region requested that the entire battalion's exercise archives from the past three years be collected within half a month, was that your suggestion?"

"Damn it, do you even know that for three years, I ate, drank, and slept in the battalion archives? The longest I ever worked was four days straight without closing my eyes. Tell me, don't you deserve to be beaten up?"

"It shouldn't be!"

Chen Mo shook his head with a serious expression.

Seeing that the men were about to get angry again, Chen Mo took two more steps toward the ammunition depot.

Then he spoke up, "Company Commander Gao, even if you're going to take action, you have to wait until I finish speaking."

"It was my suggestion that the military region collect these archives, but the problem is I'm just a cadet. Does my word carry any weight?"

"The information technology experiment started in 1992, lasted seven years, and failed five times. Do you know why?"

Faced with this kind of inquiry.

Gao Peng didn't understand at all; he knew nothing about it. He just shook his head.

"That's because armored units haven't made any progress in exercises in recent years, and they don't even know how to fight."

"You know the 6th Armored Division of the 38th Army, right? It's the same as our 7th Division before, but their performance in the exercises is much better, and the military region is going to focus on reforming the 6th Division."

“The documents have even been issued. You all heard Chief of Staff Luo mention it just now. It was I who strongly recommended the Second Battalion.”

"I'm working so hard because we're all one family. We can't let the Sixth Division be superior to us, can we?"

“Company Commander Gao, you used to be a company commander in the Seventh Division. Even though the division has been downsized, you are still a member of the Seventh Division.”

"You've served as a company commander for so many years, are you just going to watch the Sixth Division be stronger than us?"

"If I had the opportunity to recommend someone, I would definitely do my best to speak well of us. And you're blaming me for this?"

Chen Mo's words were half true and half false.

However, his words revealed a touch of genuine emotion.

The righteous and stern tone of the speech left a group of veterans, who had not been exposed to the harmful influence of the internet in later generations, unable to refute it and even finding it quite reasonable.

Especially now, many company commanders are former volunteer soldiers who have served for many years.

They watched as the 7th Armored Brigade was reorganized from the 28th Army to the 63rd Army, then downsized, laid off, and even recently its only howitzer battalion was disbanded.

Today, only the anti-aircraft artillery battalion in Taocun remains.

The once-famous 7th Tank Division has been reduced to a mere shell of its former self.

In this situation, it's impossible for these veterans and retired cadres not to feel resentful.

Chen Mo kept saying he was concerned about the development of the Seventh Brigade and making recommendations, which really elevated him to a level that didn't belong in this conversation.

"Damn it, why do I keep feeling like the scholar is trying to fool us?" One of the platoon leaders was full of questions, and he vaguely felt that something was wrong.

But I can't express it.

"What a load of bull."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo pointed to the Second Company, which was still loading ammunition at the entrance of the ammunition depot, and asked, "Do you know why Chief of Staff Luo came here today?"

"Didn't you hear anything just now? The Kyoto Military Region is going to form an informationized force to participate in exercises on the Northwest battlefield. Then we represent the entire Kyoto Military Region."

"Who else in other organizations has this kind of opportunity? Did I lie to you?"

"I recommended the Second Battalion, okay?"

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this now. Let's go to the company assembly point and talk about it there."

Gao Peng didn't know how eloquent the scholar was, but he did know.

Continuing to argue like this will not yield any results.

He simply waved his hand, grabbed the scholar who was still eager to continue and felt he hadn't had enough, and called on the officers in the company to head towards the company's assembly point.

Anyway.

As a company commander at the grassroots level, Gao Peng has the ability to distinguish right from wrong.

He could tell that what the scholar said was probably true, but the problem was...

That son of a bitch has such a thick skin.

Even if it were true, which soldier would act the same way he did?

All they ever say is slogans, for the Seventh Division? For the Second Battalion?

Damn it, if other veterans said something like that, they'd probably blush a little, right?

But this kid talks about it as if it's a matter of course.

I was thinking of beating him up to vent my anger.

Now that everything's out in the open, if we beat him up again, it'll make it seem like Gao Peng has no sense of responsibility whatsoever.

When the battle preparation assembly was sounded, the first company was the first to load ammunition.

At this moment, on the training ground within the camp.

The entire company of soldiers, along with their armored vehicles, had assembled.

The ground, surrounded by withered grass, was rutted by armored tracks weighing tens of tons.

Soldiers in each platoon and squad are making their final preparations.

The tanks rumbled and kept running.

After Chen Mo had appeased the relationships with several officers in the company and knew that they wouldn't cause him any trouble for the time being, he realized that they wouldn't bother him for the time being.

He looked up at the busy crowd.

The 2nd Tank Battalion was not small in size, but it didn't have many people.

The nine combat squads consisted of a total of twenty-seven people, which was a full complement.

In addition to the combat squad, there are two infantry squads. Judging from the weapons the soldiers are carrying, it is not difficult to tell that one of the infantry squads is an anti-tank missile squad and the other is a grenade squad.

The company has a total combat strength of 51 people. Each infantry squad has 12 people. This does not include the company commander, political instructor, platoon leader, clerk, quartermaster and other staff.

Compared to the reconnaissance company before the downsizing, the number of people in this tank company is pitifully small.

Zhu Gaituan and Feng Junling were transferred here and were not laid off, simply because there were too few people in the armored units.

Once disbanded, it will be like the howitzer battalion – completely disbanded and its equipment stored away.

Chen Mo was observing intently.

Gao Peng, who had a somewhat proud personality, walked over and said, "Scholar, didn't the battalion commander say that you should come and learn from me?"

"Come with me later, ride in that armored vehicle with 4104 printed on it, and I'll show you how our First Company defeats their Second Company."

"Alright, then I'll follow Company Commander Gao and learn from him."

Chen Mo nodded, but didn't say anything more.

Time passed little by little.

An exercise cannot be started on a whim. The brigade must first report the situation to the military region, including the route of movement, the location of the exercise, the amount of ammunition carried, and the personnel and their specific numbers participating in the exercise.

All pre-set plans must be submitted to the military region in a unified manner.

The military region then notifies all nearby military units of these matters, and if there are residential areas, time must be allocated for notifying them as well.

If they open fire without prior notice, the entire city of Hedong will be thrown into chaos.

This is no joke.

I waited for almost an hour.

Only in the distance came a series of piercing horn sounds.

The entire company moved at the command.

"Get on the train!!"

Upon hearing the bugle call, Gao Peng hurriedly gave the order.

All the soldiers quickly boarded the vehicle, and Chen Mo followed the company commander and political instructor, crawling into armored vehicle number 4104.

The vehicle was crammed with people, but fortunately it was a Type 63 armored vehicle with enough space inside that it didn't feel crowded even with a dozen or so people inside.

As someone who was learning, Chen Mo didn't want to interfere with the command. After entering the vehicle, he lay down on the machine gun emplacement and watched the convoy slowly drive away from the camp.

When we arrived at the open road outside.

Gao Peng picked up the vehicle communicator and began issuing instructions.

"Attention all company members, this combat exercise requires you to deploy in an assault combat formation."

"Slow down collectively, keep the speed at 20 km/h, and form a matrix triangular formation with three tank platoons as the core."

"All infantry units disembarked and, according to the combat platoon organization, dispersed to protect the vehicle crews."

"Anti-tank missile squads and grenade squads are centered around armored vehicles, with the left and right flanks on the mobile side."

Following Gao Peng's order.

The nine tanks immediately split into three groups—three in front, three on the left, and three on the right—and moved forward in formation.

Due to the extremely short time available, the tanks were only 60 meters apart, and the entire company was spread out longitudinally by nearly 200 meters.

The Type 141 troop carrier and Type 63 armored vehicle accelerated, then immediately slowed down after maneuvering into the matrix.

The infantrymen began to carry their weapons and dismount one after another.

time.

The surrounding wasteland was shrouded in smoke, and the noise of machinery filled my ears.

Seeing the continuous mobile formation, Chen Mo frowned.

He didn't know exactly where the armored training ground was or how far it was from the base.
However, given this speed of movement, as Director Luo just instructed, we must engage in combat as soon as we arrive at the training ground; that would be mobile warfare.

However, with such a slow pace of movement, if the second company were to deploy other assault formations, they could arrive at the combat zone first.

Is a triangular matrix suitable for mobile warfare?

If no preparations for the assault are made in advance, once the mechanized combat units arrive at the combat zone, they will have no opportunity to deploy into other formations.

Moreover, as the terrain gradually flattens out, the distance between the matrix assault tanks begins to increase.

If the gap is too large, it's easy to get targeted by a double attack.

Chen Mo hesitated for a moment. He had never met the officers of the Second Battalion and was not sure whether Company Commander Gao was capable of this kind of mobile warfare.

But after much deliberation, Chen Mo decided to wait and see.

He wasn't part of the company, and it would be a big no-no for him to rashly interfere in command.

Besides, with the knowledge he gained from his two lifetimes, plus his recent studies, Chen Mo simply refused to believe that he couldn't turn the tide in a mere two companies of mobile warfare.

It's not too late to attack when things really get out of hand here.

no way.

Chen Mo really does have that kind of confidence.

(End of this chapter)