Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 221 Emergency Preparations: Ready for Battle of Qinglong Gorge

Logistics Department of Military Region.

Blue Army Battalion Commander Chen Mo and Deputy Battalion Commander Gao Jin stood proudly in the minister's office.

They stood as straight as javelins, ears down, nose up, eyes straight ahead, all looking straight ahead.

Chen Mo goes without saying; he had dealt with logistics a lot in the past and knew the logistics minister Sun Zhensheng's character all too well.

Gao Jin was the same. As a colonel staff officer in the General Staff Department, he knew the temperament of the head of the Logistics Department better than Chen Mo because the two departments needed to coordinate in many aspects of their work.

To put it simply, they're stingy.

Whenever military supplies need to be applied for, no unit can get even half a shell casing from him.

Grandpa Sun's motto was that all the supplies belonged to him.

Let's just put it that way.

Rumors circulated within the military region that Sun Zhensheng, who managed the logistics department, was not only stingy with the unit but also with himself, repeatedly reminding the doctor to take three pills every time he needed to take his blood pressure medication.

He can make his own decisions and reduce three grains to two, saving money wherever possible. This is a habit many people have, coming from difficult times, regardless of their position or rank.

This is nothing.

A few years ago, the military region's radar station was located in a remote mountain area, and the station chief repeatedly applied for a satellite TV antenna.

It's just a tiny little thing.

Grandpa Sun was very frugal and didn't buy anything. Instead, he went to the secondhand market after get off work and found a used satellite dish.

Back in the family compound, he personally welded two iron bars to serve as antennas.

Surprisingly, it actually works.

The problem is, they can only find one local TV station, and the entire radar station's officers and soldiers sit in front of the TV and watch "Journey to the West" for years.

I almost threw up from looking at it.

Many organizations thought it was just a rumor, something people were spreading around, but Chen Mo knew it was true.

In their past lives, those leaders would occasionally sit together and chat, and they would often bring up this matter as a topic of conversation.

And that's not all.

Going back a few years, there was probably an infantry platoon stationed in a tunnel near Jinyang.

The soldiers over there had even lower requirements; they didn't expect anything like antennas or radios.

I just hope the military can provide me with two more pairs of shoes. After all, the soles of my shoes are easily worn out from patrolling the tunnel all day. When I applied, I specifically stated that if two pairs were too much, then one pair would be fine too.

Even so, the logistics department didn't approve it.

Grandpa Sun went to the engineering battalion and got a batch of "U"-shaped iron sheets, saying that they should be inlaid into the heels of shoes according to their size, just like horseshoes.

Later, it was said that when the division headquarters of the infantry platoon received this batch of "horseshoes," the division commander was so angry that he cursed them.

I almost went to the logistics department and slammed my fist on the table.

In the end, they had to pay out of their own pockets to purchase the supplies for the soldiers in the platoon.

Anyone who knows this head of the logistics department knows this.

Grandpa Sun's wish was that tanks wouldn't need diesel fuel anymore, just a little bit of manure soup to keep them running, and that soldiers wouldn't need guns or bullets, but would all be sharpshooters.

However, every loss has its gain. It was precisely because of Sun Zhensheng's frugality that the military region reduced a lot of unnecessary waste.

This was one of the reasons why Chen Mo dared to speak ill of the logistics department so openly within the base.

He knew that as long as what he said was correct and there were indeed areas for improvement, the logistics department would definitely implement it, and their complaints against him wouldn't last long.

With the minister overseeing things, there's nothing to worry about.

But to put it simply, given Chen Mo's appetite, asking for supplies on behalf of the Blue Army would be no small matter.

Moreover, this number is astonishingly large.

Inside the office.

Sun Zhensheng's face was ashen, and he was almost out of breath.

The desk was slammed loudly.

"Nonsense, utter nonsense! Your entire battalion is requesting 3000 tons of fuel at once?"

"Do you know what 3000 tons means? Huh? A mechanized infantry regiment only burns 400 tons a month, and your battalion, after just a few days of training, is trying to burn the equivalent of an entire regiment's annual quota?"

“3000 tons? You two bastards really dare to ask for that much oil. Just transporting that much oil would require 160 20-cubic-meter tanker trucks.”

"You guys are drinking oil? What, are you now serving diesel for meals at camp gatherings?"

Faced with the enraged leader, Gao Jin's breath hitched, and he turned his head slightly away, not even glancing at Chen Mo.

He also felt that Chen Mo's application was too outrageous; it was equivalent to the monthly consumption of an entire division.

But Chen Mo was quite confident, even after being scolded.

He straightened his back, raised his hand in salute, and said, "Reporting to the commander, according to the training outline for the next few days, after the intensive training begins, the daily fuel consumption will be increased by more than 95 percent compared to ordinary battalion-level units."

"Furthermore, sir, this is not just about training; we also need to make sufficient preparations for the Northwest. In case the Jincheng Military Region causes trouble and fails to provide timely logistical support, we will be unfamiliar with the area and cannot afford to be too shabby."

"Grandma!! Let's see who dares to do that!!" Sun Zhensheng cursed and replied.

They must have realized that Chen Mo's words made sense, since they were going to fight on behalf of the Kyoto Military Region, and they couldn't be too shabby.

He hesitated for a moment before asking, unwilling to give up, "That doesn't make sense either. Last time you said you were going to have intensive training, you already approved more than a thousand tons of fuel. Where did it go?"

"Report, we've run out." Chen Mo was quite direct: "During the exercise with the 188th Division, both units used the fuel from the last oil storage tank."

"Bullshit, you beast, you're outrageous!!!" Sun Zhensheng roared in fury.

That look really did have the air of someone wanting to tear someone apart.

More than a thousand tons of fuel were used up in just one day of drills; how could they possibly have used it all?

But Chen Mo was incredibly thick-skinned; he didn't care at all how much he was insulted.

Besides, what good is being thin-skinned?

Do you know why many units in the military like to complain about being poor to their superiors?

Firstly, the distribution of supplies and funding were indeed insufficient; secondly, it was also to avoid arousing suspicion from those above.

Let's talk about the Blue Army camp this time.

Anyone with a modicum of knowledge knows that Chen Mo made up the figure of three thousand tons of oil; there's no way that many would be needed.

However, you must write more in your application.

The reason is simple: the entire battalion will be setting off in a few days. The logistics convoy can travel by land, while the armored vehicles will travel by rail.

Once you get to the Northwest, that's the territory of other military regions. In the army, don't expect your superiors to cover for you in everything.

At most, they'll give you coordinates and require the troops to assemble within a specified time. Who knows how far the assembly point is from the railway?

After the assembly, who can guarantee that our own logistics can establish a supply line with the large warehouse on the battlefield as soon as possible?

Although the exercise is not actual combat, it is still comparable to actual combat, and the military commanders have to figure out how to handle many things themselves.

Especially at this time, before the joint logistics mechanism was established, if the Blue Army camp was relatively close to the Air Force fuel depot, they might really refuse to give it to you.

What can you do about it?

Along the way, they ate and ate their fill, covering thousands of kilometers. Chen Mo should take advantage of this time to stock up on more food.

Once you've set off, it will be really troublesome to apply again.

"Don't try to be witty with me. It's only 1000 tons, not a drop more."

"If all else fails, you can consider how much oil you can still squeeze out of this old body of mine, and take it with you."

After careful consideration, Sun Zhensheng finally decided to cut two-thirds of it.

Chen Mo breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the number 1000 tons.

From the beginning, he was prepared that the higher authorities would only approve 500 tons.

Don't ask why you should apply this way; the answer is "profiteering mentality."

Seeing the leader's annoyed look, as if he was about to kick people out.

Chen Mo quickly adopted a coy attitude and said, "Commander, 1000 tons probably isn't enough."

After saying that, he noticed that the leader's face was turning dark again, so he quickly changed his words: "Of course, we can manage if we are tight on the schedule, but the leader needs to lend me fifty oil tankers, otherwise I don't have any."

“Thirty vehicles, not a single extra wheel,” Sun Zhensheng snorted irritably.

"That works."

Chen Mo gritted his teeth and reluctantly agreed.

"Sir, 1000 tons of fuel requires three storage tanks. I'll request eight, so it can be distributed into eight storage points. We'll also need some logistics personnel to help design camouflage and concealment, preferably the kind that can be used for both military and civilian purposes."

"Dede dede"

Sun Zhensheng couldn't stand it anymore; Chen Mo kept rambling on and on.

He slammed his hand on the table again, saying bluntly, "You little brat, stop trying to dodge the question. Just tell me what you need all at once."

"Yes!"

Chen Mo straightened his back.

"Reporting to the commander, the information battalion needs to apply for another 500 tons of conventional ammunition of twelve different types."

"What the heck?!"

Even though Minister Sun was prepared to spend a lot of money, he still didn't expect that Chen Mo would apply for things starting in "hundreds of tons".

Five hundred tons of twelve types of conventional ammunition! Even if an armored regiment could fire all day long, they still wouldn't be able to finish it off.
This news was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.

With a crack, it struck Sun Zhensheng's gray head, making him feel dizzy.

Chen Mo didn't think he was being unreasonable. He continued, "Sir, we also need a batch of NBC-resistant military laptops. We don't need too many, just a couple hundred will do."

"Wait a minute! You bastard!! Your Army Academy base is short of computers? Don't try to fool this old man, you think you need to apply for these?"

Sun Zhensheng simply couldn't take it anymore.

Chen Mo chuckled dryly: "Sir, the computers in the base are not convenient to carry around. The few that are available have been distributed to reconnaissance drones."

"Without equipment, the soldiers cannot directly participate in the modeling process after military training, and their understanding of collaborative operations with other units is not deep enough."

"Sir, this is absolutely not me asking for an exorbitant amount. Please take a look at my relevant report."

As he spoke, Chen Mo pulled a report out of his pocket, titled "On the Relationship between Information Computers and Operational Integration".

The above details the arrangements for the subsequent training camp.

Since Chen Mo dared to release this report, it means that he also sent a copy to the General Staff.

Everyone's coming to the stingy old man for supplies, how can we not be prepared?
More than two hundred rugged laptops are enough to be distributed to combat squads, ensuring that every squad has one. Only in this way can the joint satellite positioning system be used to its fullest potential.

Subsequent joint training sessions will also be more convenient.

"Um, sir."

"Get out! Get out of here now!!"

Chen Mo originally wanted to dawdle a little longer, but as soon as he started, Minister Sun slammed his hand on the table and pointed to the door.

He looked like he was about to devour someone.

Seeing that things were not going well, Chen Mo didn't dare to say anything more, grabbed Gao Jin, and ran away.

The two men walked down from the commander's office. Gao Jin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, glanced at Chen Mo, and couldn't help but laugh, "You're really something, Battalion Commander Chen. You're the only one in the entire military region who dares to negotiate with the minister like this." "If this gets out in the military region, you'll really become famous."

Gao Jin was absolutely right; it wouldn't matter who came from other units, regardless of whether they were brigade commanders or division commanders.

Who would dare to fill out the application form with flowery language when applying for supplies?
A few years ago, didn't that division commander also get angry in a fit of rage and then take out his own money to buy shoes for the platoon?
However, Chen Mo pretended not to understand Gao Jin's words.

After all, he's just a lieutenant, how could he possibly know the temper of his superiors?

Sometimes, what you don't know is a talisman, and even a low-level talisman can be a talisman.

If Chen Mo were a colonel with a sling on his shoulder today, in his thirties, half of the documents on the logistics minister's desk would probably have a close encounter with his head.

It's just that he's of low rank, and the higher-ups don't want to be rude to a junior like him.

The supplies have been arranged.

Chen Mo didn't linger in the logistics department. After going downstairs for a short while, he found Wang Jianyong, who was strolling around downstairs, and asked Old Wang to drive them back to Huanglongwangou.

The training camp is quite far from the military base.

The round trip, not counting the time spent on the application, takes about six hours.

When Chen Mo returned to the vehicle and artillery range of the camp, it was already around 5 p.m.

After a full day of combat simulation, the companies of the Blue Army battalion were almost exhausted.

Yesterday, when I saw the new battalion commander, all the soldiers in the battalion still kept their distance. This afternoon, when I ran into him again...

That guy was incredibly enthusiastic, like he'd met a long-lost relative.

"Hello, Battalion Commander!!"

"Battalion Commander, when can we drive tanks?"

"Battalion Commander, are we practicing coordination again today? Make sure there are no problems."

As soon as Chen Mo got out of the car, several soldiers nearby shouted loudly.

Can't you just shut up?

Honestly, even being on high alert isn't as stressful as simulating real combat.

Whether you're resting or eating, the radio will be playing at any time.

As soon as the gun goes off, everyone in the battalion has to move, running from the camp to the artillery range, even if it's several kilometers apart.

Once or twice is fine, but if you do it five or six times a day, even Usain Bolt would be exhausted.

When asked by the soldiers, Chen Mo simply waved with a smile and did not respond.

He didn't know when the training coordination would begin; it depended on the installation progress of the signal arrow team.

Chen Mo first found Liang Hongjie and asked him to immediately arrange for the transportation platoon to go to the logistics department to get the supplies requested today and bring back some of them.

Especially ammunition and fuel; applying for these things doesn't mean we have to use them up in the next few days.

Everything needs to be prepared for the upcoming departure.

A battalion of over a thousand men, hundreds of armored vehicles, and a journey of over a thousand kilometers—this is no small undertaking.

Without the logistical support of the military region level, relying on the logistical support of a single battalion is far from sufficient.

The transportation arrangements have just been finalized.

Before Chen Mo could even confront Captain Wang of Xiangjian, a military vehicle drove up from a distance and pulled up beside him with a rumble.

Liu Heli, the political instructor assigned to the Blue Army battalion by the General Staff, quickly got out of the car.

Holding the map anxiously, he said, "Battalion Commander Chen, Lao Gao, you two have finally met the person."

"Hurry up, the top-level map of the military exercise and our encampment location have already been marked and faxed over."

"where?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo immediately stepped forward and took the map.

Although there has been a lot of talk about military exercises in the Northwest recently, no one has told him exactly where they are taking place.

The Northwest is a vast region.

"This is the exercise area. The boundaries are marked on it, as are the locations of our troops."

Liu Heli was worried that Chen Mo wouldn't understand some of the markings on the military map, so he pointed out a few locations.

Chen Mo remained silent.

He recognized the map at a glance as the Army's Qingtongxia Combined Tactical Training Base, only the area was more extensive, including but not limited to the training base itself.

The Qingtongxia Joint Training Base was started in 1994, but at that time, due to underdeveloped communication and the fact that it was under the jurisdiction of the Jincheng Military Region, many people from the other six military regions had no idea about it.

Let alone Qingtongxia.

Even now, Zhurihe is not well-known, and the expansion is only discussed in meetings.

Chen Mo stared at the map for a while, then breathed a sigh of relief.

To be honest, it's not bad if it's near Qingtongxia, at least it's only about 800 kilometers away from Huanglongwangou, not as exaggerated as thousands of kilometers.

It wasn't that Chen Mo was overly worried, but rather that long-distance maneuvers severely test the overall competence of the troops.

"My lords," Chen Mo said after looking at the map, "you are both veterans of the General Staff, so I won't show off."

"For long-distance maneuvers, we must develop a rigorous operational plan as soon as possible. As for training supervision, you can leave that to me."

"Let's divide the work and cooperate. You guys should make a systematic plan and scheme for the supplies, replenishment, daily travel, escorting the vehicles, and emergency medical care along the way."

"It's still uncertain how much of the journey will be by land, but we need to communicate with the transportation department in advance to prepare for the road opening, where we can replenish fuel and supplies, and which sections of the road have military stations that can provide us with simple accommodations."

"If a safety accident occurs along the way, resulting in casualties, we need to make overall plans in advance to determine which section of the route has a field hospital or local hospital that can be connected in a timely manner."

Chen Mo's words startled both Gao Jin and Liu Heli.

to be frank.

Chen Mo was appointed as the battalion commander of this Blue Army battalion, and the two of them assisted each other. Many people in the staff thought that this young cadre had only studied similar system warfare in school.

They know how to lead an armored battalion.

But they didn't expect that Chen Mo was even familiar with the preparation details for this kind of land-based mobility.

This doesn't seem like something a lieutenant should know.

"Gentlemen, is there a problem?"

Chen Mo noticed that Gao Jin and Liu Heli were not responding, but just staring at him, and he wondered if he had said something wrong.

"No, no problem." Gao Jin put away the map, raised his hand and patted Chen Mo's shoulder: "Then Battalion Commander Chen, you'll keep a close eye on the subsequent training."

"Leave the matter of the mobile route to me and Lao Liu."

"Row!"

Chen Mo nodded.

It's not that the three of them are making a fuss over nothing; it's just a traffic route, why are they making such a fuss?

In reality, it is no easy task for hundreds of people to drive armored vehicles carrying supplies for hundreds of kilometers.

Let's not talk about things further back.

Let me give you an example from a couple of years ago.

A mobile emergency response brigade of a certain unit was en route to a city in northern Xinjiang after an emergency situation occurred. However, the vehicle overturned en route, and a platoon leader and more than 20 soldiers were trapped upside down inside the vehicle.

Ultimately, two people, including the platoon leader, were killed, and several others were seriously injured.

The sentence above requires troops to arrive within a certain timeframe and be ready to fight immediately; this order is actually very difficult to execute.

It should be noted that the mobile emergency response brigade is already more competent than more than 80% of the lightly armed troops in the field army.

The reason is simple: the very phrase "emergency response team" implies a great deal of real-world experience.

Even they make mistakes, let alone other units?

After the three finished their discussion...

Chen Mo didn't have time to chat with the nearby soldiers; he quickly walked to the location where the long-range rocket company was stationed.

The soldiers of the Arrow Squad are now gathered here.

Some people were busy in the cockpit, while others were constantly adjusting their terminals. As for Wang Jianbin, who was also not wearing a military rank, he was circling a black box about half a person's height on the ground, testing some data, no one knew.

Chen Mo didn't understand this either.

However, he knew that the equipment for the Silent Arrows was very expensive, especially the ground radar vehicle, which was not even equipped in the field army, which was still using artillery vehicles with built-in radar systems.

One of these radar vehicles can cost tens of millions of yuan, much more expensive than a tank.

Most organizations really can't afford this kind of thing.

Captain Wang, who was busy at work, saw Chen Mo coming over, took off his glasses, wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled, "Battalion Commander Chen, have you been waiting anxiously?"

"It'll be soon, probably finished before 8 pm."

"Once these artillery vehicles are dealt with, only the logistics crews will remain."

"That's great. With the help of the cross-linked positioning system and the unified communication equipment, we no longer need one person to carry several walkie-talkies and shout until the soldiers are confused."

Chen Mo smiled, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and handed one to Wang Jianbin.

Captain Wang took the cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and watched as the soldiers in the distance chatted idly.

He exhaled a smoke ring and said, "Battalion Commander Chen, to be honest, I've led an information technology battalion before, but this time the time is too tight."

"It's tighter than before, and the tasks are heavier. Even with the assistance of the cross-linked satellite positioning system, it's probably not optimistic to train the entire battalion to the point of being proficient in armored penetration, division, infantry, artillery, tanks, and armored vehicles."

Listening to Captain Wang's concerns.

Chen Mo smiled and shook his head: "I have no intention of making the collaborative practice reach a perfect level, let alone a few days, or even a few months."

"Tomorrow's joint training will only last half a day at most. All subsequent training will be arranged for joint assault operations, and all companies will be divided into squads."

"We would have a two-hour sparring session. I would lead one group and spar with the other groups. We would fight against six or seven groups a day, and more than thirty groups in four days."

"With this kind of high-intensity intensive training, even if you can't remember it by your brain, you should at least develop some muscle memory."

"I don't expect them to learn, I just hope they learn to take a beating and know why they are being beaten."

After Chen Mo finished speaking, he threw away the cigarette butt in his hand: "Alright, Captain Wang, you and your comrades can work a little harder."

"I'll go check it out and prepare for tomorrow's intensive training session."

"More than two hundred laptops will be delivered tonight or tomorrow. I will equip each combat squad with one, so that all soldiers can learn about military modeling and post-war assessment."

"I refuse to believe that we can't wage an information-based war of some scale."

Watching Chen Mo turn and leave.

Wang Jianbin put his glasses back on, pushed up the frames, and after a long while, a slight smile appeared on his lips.

The information technology experiment was conducted five times, and Xiangjian participated in three of them.

I always failed before, for various reasons.

But for some reason, based on his conversation with Chen Mo just now, he really had a feeling that this time they could succeed.

It wasn't because Battalion Commander Chen displayed confidence.

It was precisely in his tone that there were words that showed contempt for the difficulty of information technology systems.

It gave others boundless confidence!

(End of this chapter)