Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 249 Exploiting Others, a Propaganda Storm Begins

After leaving the chief of staff's office, the two deliberately hid in a slightly secluded spot to avoid being run into by their superiors on their way home from get off work.

They squatted side by side on one side of the General Staff Headquarters administration building, smoking and waiting for the propaganda department staff to come over.

Regarding planning, construction, and operation.

Anyway, Chen Mo was determined to do something big.

As the saying goes, the bold get rich while the timid starve. In the army, if you don't fight or compete, you're a fool.

They probably won't even get to drink the northwest wind.

But Wang Jianyong, this usually carefree veteran, now looked worried and sighed from time to time.

He lamented that he had met the wrong person.

He felt that he was almost carrying the heavy responsibility of building the entire information-based military camp. Once the military network propaganda was made public, it would inevitably cause a huge uproar in various units.

They even reached into other people's bowls to grab food.

Such a despicable act.

The scholar actually dared to keep it from his superiors. Wasn't he afraid that this would enrage the entire military region and lead to a joint condemnation of the sergeant academy by all units?
How could someone cause such a huge disaster?

This time, it's much more ruthless than the last time when they suggested having armored units produce exercise data.

"battalion commander."

"Ah."

"Aren't you really not worried at all?" Wang Jianyong finally couldn't help but ask.

"What are you worried about?" Upon hearing this, Chen Mo flicked away the cigarette butt he had just finished smoking, took out two more cigarettes from the box and handed one to Old Wang, before leisurely saying, "I'm more afraid of separation than of being questioned later."

"Separation? What does that mean?" Wang Jianyong didn't understand for a moment.

"It's nothing." Chen Mo shook his head: "Just do your best. Besides, the publicity was approved by the leader, the publicity officers were also assigned by the leader, and even the review video of the military exercise was given by the leader."

"I'm just being a bit radical in my methods. Besides, you're here to testify for me, aren't you?"

"I," Old Wang looked up at the sky, his eyes filled with sorrow, and after a long while he finally spoke: "Then I'll try my best, and hopefully I can speak up when you're being punished."

The two squatted in the corner, chatting idly.

Chen Mo didn't intend to ask Lao Wang for much help. He only brought a soldier with him so that the chief of staff could control his temper when he saw the plan.

To know.

The attitudes of those in power towards officers and soldiers were completely polarized.

Besides that, he had no other thoughts.

Of course, if it ever comes in handy, I'll definitely use it without hesitation.

At the moment of setting up the camp, they were practically penniless, lacking both manpower and equipment.

If we don't find a way to produce something ourselves and instead rely on being fed by our superiors, then we won't have to do anything at all.

Information technology development is very important, but it depends on what it's compared to. Consider the development of land, sea, and air industries. Just count tens of thousands of units and millions of people, and who wouldn't say they are important?
I waited for about ten minutes.

In front of the General Staff's administrative building, the officer assigned by the Chief of Staff finally arrived.

Both men were in their early twenties and held the rank of lieutenant.

He was clearly a new colleague who had been assigned to the unit in the last two years and had little experience. He was holding a DV camera and looking around downstairs.

Chen Mo craned his neck to peek, then quickly stood up and straightened his uniform: "Stop smoking, let's go, the people have arrived."

"Just these two?" Hearing the urging, Wang Jianyong craned his neck to glance at them. Seeing that they were just two young men, not even as old as the propaganda officer of the Seventh Brigade, he immediately said with disappointment, "These greenhorns probably can't handle things, can they?"

"The military region is too stingy. They sent out two greenhorns, but they can't bear to use so many veterans."

"You don't understand this."

Chen Mo smiled, waved to the two officers in the distance, and then lowered his voice and said, "What we need is not officers, but the signboard of the military region's propaganda department."

"What's so difficult about taking a photo? Anyone can do it. If we were to assign two experienced people, our small plan would be impossible to keep secret. Inexperienced young people are much better; they're proactive and don't talk much."

"Most importantly, there's no way to report on others, so we don't need to be on guard."

"The commander must have thought our propaganda methods were ineffective, so he just randomly assigned two people to do the bare minimum."

"Chen Ying?"

While Chen Mo was communicating with Lao Wang, two officers had already run up to him.

"Yes, it's me. My name is Chen Mo, Chen as in 'ear east' and Mo as in 'default'. Thank you both for your hard work."

"It's no trouble at all, it's my duty." The officer on the far left took out a stack of CDs from his bag and handed them over: "Battalion Commander Chen, these are video materials from the Operations Section, they said you need them."

"Well, thank you."

Chen Mo took the CD and handed it to Wang Jianyong: "Let's go then. For the subsequent filming, we only need to shoot some sample pictures of the collective second-class merit, or some of the more eye-catching banners in the honor room."

"The content is not complicated. At most, we'll take some personal photos of other unit leaders."

"no problem."

Upon hearing this, the two officers exchanged a glance and immediately agreed.

There are no special requirements for this kind of trip; it's just a matter of taking a photo. It's so easy, almost like a vacation.

At first, the two were quite nervous when they heard that the task was assigned by the chief of staff.

I never expected the job requirements to be so low.

Because it was too late, Wang Jianyong didn't need to ask at all; he knew that their first stop for plundering would inevitably be the 7th Armored Brigade, which was also located in Hedong City.

On the other side, at 8 PM on August 22nd.

The barracks of the 2nd Battalion, the main force of the 7th Armored Brigade.

Tonight, Liu Hongyun is on duty in the battalion headquarters office.

Battalion Commander Liu was comfortably nestled on the sofa, half-lying down reading the military newspaper. The past two days had been quite comfortable for Old Liu, especially with the military region experiencing a series of happy events.

He seemed much more energetic.

The military parade is coming soon, and newspapers are full of news about it from all the army groups under the Kyoto Military Region.

Moreover, with Xiangshan'ao about to be returned to China, the issue of sovereignty has always been a major concern, and it has been frequently discussed internally.

In the past two days, the 2nd Tank Battalion of the 7th Armored Brigade was awarded a collective second-class merit, making Liu Hongyun a highly sought-after battalion commander in the entire brigade.

He's practically become the leader of the four main combat battalions.

When they go out to the brigade headquarters for a meeting, they hold their heads up like fighting roosters, daring to glare at everyone.

no way.

A collective second-class merit is really that impressive, especially when the battalion commander was in office and helped the battalion win this honor.

That's incredibly awesome.

This is not.

Liu Hongyun has recently stopped smoking the 828 cigarettes that cost 80 cents a pack and has upgraded to the Guandi brand cigarettes that cost 2.5 yuan a pack.

He was reclining on the sofa, smoking and drinking tea while the fan was blowing on him.

I was feeling quite pleased with myself while on duty.

Suddenly, an inexplicable itch came from his nasal cavity, causing Battalion Commander Liu to sneeze several times in a row, making him dizzy and seeing stars.

Liu Hongyun put the newspaper aside, sat up, and rubbed his nose with a puzzled expression: "Damn it, which son of a bitch is cursing me behind my back?"

"Little Zhao? Little Zhao!!"

"Hey, Battalion Commander."

Second Battalion communications officer Xiao Zhao rushed over from the next room, stood at attention, and asked, "Battalion Commander, what's the matter?"

"Go and notify all the companies below to strengthen their defenses tonight. The military parade is coming up soon, and with the end of the month approaching, all units must be even more vigilant and not let the military affairs department take advantage of any loopholes."

"At the recent brigade meeting, I didn't want to hear any bad news about any of our company's units, so I kept my eyes wide open."

"Whoever gets caught in the crossfire, let them clean up their own mess."

"Yes!"

Xiao Zhao responded and left in a hurry.

But less than a minute later, he rushed back, his expression a mix of surprise and joy: "Battalion Commander, Battalion Commander Chen is here."

"What Chen Camp? Which Chen Camp?" Liu Hongyun didn't react for a moment.

"The battalion commander who led us in the exercise a while ago, the one surnamed Chen."

"You mean the scholar?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Hongyun's expression froze.

As the battalion commander, he was naturally much better informed and knew that the original howitzer battalion under the 7th Brigade had been reassigned to the information battalion directly under the military region for the construction of a new battalion.

Normally, the scholar would have come.

He won't take it seriously.

But if Liu Hongyun couldn't guess the other party's purpose when they came over at this time, then he would have wasted all the years he had served as battalion commander.

"Quickly, notify the gatekeeper that I'm not here, the instructor isn't here either, and that other comrades are on duty tonight."

Liu Hongyun put away the cigarettes on the table, straightened his clothes, and prepared to leave. He felt that those sneezes earlier were not normal.

So it turns out bandits have come.

"But the gatekeeper has already let people in." Xiao Zhao looked completely bewildered.

"What's the matter?"

Liu Hongyun's eyes widened immediately, and he said angrily, "What are you all doing? How can you let just anyone into the camp?"

"No, Battalion Commander, Battalion Commander Chen also led us for a period of time. All the soldiers on duty know him. The other party came in ten minutes ago."

Xiao Zhao shrugged: "Chen Ying told the gatekeeper that he was going to the First Company to see his two comrades from the same year, not that he was coming to the battalion headquarters."

"You beast! It's so hard to guard against a thief in your own home."

Liu Hongyun took off his military cap, his gaze shifting between light and shadow.

Having spent so many years in the military, he knows all too well the ins and outs of the game. Don't assume that officers are all polite, kind, and tough guys; that's their image outside the military, not inside.

In the military, outstanding officers can be basically divided into three levels.

At the junior level, any cadre who knows how to bring good things back to their own unit when they go out can be considered a good leader.

The intermediate level, where people consider it a loss if they don't pick up what they find when they go out, has been promoted to an outstanding commanding officer.

High-level officials who steal and cheat their way out of the house, swindling other people's cabbages, are considered outstanding leaders.

As for someone like Xiucai, although there are no examples to prove that he would do such a thing, judging from his performance on the training field...

Is this guy the kind of person who's easy to deal with?
Why would that guy come to visit the Second Battalion for no reason at all? Old Liu wouldn't believe such a ridiculous reason even if you beat him to death.

"No, if anyone looks for me later, just say I'm not here."

Liu Hongyun thought it over and over, but still felt something was wrong. He grabbed his hat, put it on his head, and hurriedly left.

Unfortunately, it's too late.

As soon as the others arrived downstairs, Chen Mo led a large group of people into the camp headquarters, chatting and laughing.

Seeing Liu Hongyun come downstairs, Chen Mo's smile was as bright as a blooming chrysanthemum. He opened his arms and said happily, "Battalion Commander Liu, my good senior brother, I'm so glad to see you this time."

"Why did you leave without saying a word in Qinglong Gorge? That's why I rushed back to check on you as soon as I got back."

Chen Mo walked up to Liu Hongyun, reached out and hugged him, looking extremely affectionate.

Liu Hongyun remained remarkably calm. As the scholar embraced him, he bared his teeth and whispered, "Damn it, don't pull this stunt."

"How many?"

"Ten, all of them must be veterans in armored warfare. That's what I need most right now."

Chen Mo didn't waste any time and immediately whispered his purpose.

"Damn it, don't go too far. I can't find ten in the whole battalion. I can only give you two at most."

"No way! I've already come all this way, it's not fair to just give me two."

"Take it or leave it, that's all we have. There's nothing else."

Chen Mo knew this wouldn't be easy, so he simply stopped talking about it.

He released Liu Hongyun, took a few steps back, and pointed with a smile to the two lieutenants behind him, saying, "Company Commander Liu, we've come here today mainly with comrades from the Military Region's Propaganda Department to see the Second Battalion's Second Class Merit Award."

"I didn't mean anything by it, I just wanted to take a picture and take it back to my barracks, and maybe inspire the comrades who come after me, so they can see it."

"Well, the main problem is that setting up the camp is difficult. You know, we suddenly came back from the Northwest, and the higher-ups wanted us to produce results. I have no manpower and no equipment. We have to give the new recruits some hope, right?"

Chen Mo's smile vanished, replaced by a look of utter desolation when discussing the camp's establishment; his expression was so forlorn it could be described as miserable.

Even Wang Jianyong, standing to the side, almost couldn't help but give a thumbs-up in praise of such acting skills.

He knew the inside story and that the camp already had a propaganda strategy, but he still managed to put on such a show; an ordinary person wouldn't have been able to do it.

Not all the men in the Second Battalion were cunning; some of the officers or soldiers who were a little simple-minded saw the previously spirited Battalion Commander Chen.

Many people were stunned when they heard that Jianying had suffered such a great injustice.

After all, the Second Battalion's collective second-class merit was earned by Chen Mo leading them in battle, and many people would feel indebted to him both emotionally and logically.

"Damn it, stop acting. I'll give you three, that's the most I can give you."

Seeing that many of the cadres and soldiers who had come with him were in a bad mood, Liu Hongyun took the opportunity of offering Chen Mo a cigarette to raise the bar again.

Anyway, no matter what, Chen Mo is not going to the Hall of Fame.

Given the wickedness in this kid's mind, who knows what kind of trouble he'll cause once he gets to the Hall of Fame?

"Ten, not one less."

"Scholar, don't go too far. If you push your luck any further, I'll turn around and leave."

"Go ahead and leave. I'll just come every day. Anyway, our two houses are close by."

"Holy shit!!!"

When faced with someone as stubborn as Chen Mo, Liu Hongyun was completely exasperated.

The downstairs area is not a place to discuss business.

Old Liu simply waved his hand and said, "You guys go do what you need to do. I'm going to catch up with Battalion Commander Chen."

After saying that, without waiting for Chen Mo's reaction, she reached out and grabbed him, leading him straight to a secluded corner.

Away from the crowd.

Battalion Commander Liu dropped the pretense and laid his cards on the table: "Scholar, you son of a bitch, stop beating around the bush."

"Stop bringing up second-class merit awards. Give me a concrete number. How many do we actually need?"

"Ten." Chen Mo smiled, the number remaining firm.

"Damn it, I'm not talking anymore." Liu Hongyun threw away his cigarette butt and was about to leave, but Chen Mo grabbed him back.

"Don't rush me when I say those ten, let me finish before I tell you, okay?"

"Ten people, including you, will also be going to the Sergeant Academy to help me for a while, but it won't be for nothing. I've already applied to the military region for Type 98 main battle tanks, and they should arrive soon."

"Don't you want to try?"

"Type 98? The one on the parade ground?" Liu Hongyun gasped, truly stunned by the news.

As the battalion commander of the tank battalion in the armored brigade, he naturally had little resistance to the new main battle tanks.

He had only recently learned of this news from the military newspaper, and he never expected that Xiucai's side would be equipped with it so soon.

This is absolutely outrageous!

"It's true that it's on the parade ground, but it's not quite right either." Chen Mo shook his head: "What appeared on the parade ground were engineering vehicles, not intended for official deployment. The Type 98 I'm talking about is the first-generation Type 98, which was actually developed in the field of information technology research."

Actually, Chen Mo didn't explain clearly that there are multiple models of the Type 98.

There are the old Type 98, the first-generation Type 98, and Project 9910. These three models are basically not deployed to field units.

It was just a targeted experiment on a small scale.

The version that was later changed to the Type 99 main battle tank and deployed to the field army was not any of these three models.

But this did not stop Liu Hongyun from being tempted.

He pondered for a long time before nodding: "I have no problem going, consider it helping you out, but damn it, my whole battalion only has a little over a hundred people, and you need nine key personnel all at once, where am I supposed to find them for you?"

"I didn't say that they all had to be armored core personnel." Chen Mo shrugged. His usual negotiation style was to first give a random number and then gradually reduce it.

Chen Mo had also led the Second Battalion before, and he knew exactly how many core members there were.

If there were ten of them, the Second Battalion would probably collapse on one side.

"How much do you want?" Liu Hongyun's tone softened slightly.

"Give me Zhu Gaituan from the first company's mechanized infantry platoon a spot, and Feng Junling from the first company's maintenance platoon a spot too, how about that?"

"Damn, you're quite sentimental." Liu Hongyun nodded: "I gave you the two privates, it doesn't matter."

"What about the other seven?"

"These seven are indispensable; they must be fully armored backbone units, intact from top to bottom."

"you"

"Don't be in such a hurry." Chen Mo waved his hand: "I not only have Type 98 tanks, but also Type 95 rifles. Don't you want to see them?"

"Besides, we're like family. Once I've successfully established the battalion, if you need to equip yourselves with new tanks, you can transfer these key personnel anytime. I can even send you ten more without any problem."

"We have the confidence to be a demonstration camp." Chen Mo patted his chest and began to boast without even thinking.

No one outside the family heard the details of how the two discussed it.

Anyway, the officers in the camp watched as the two battalion commanders, who had been in a panic, were pulled into a corner and whispered among themselves.

The atmosphere gradually eased towards the end.

So much so that by the time they parted, they had almost become like brothers.

Liu Hongyun personally selected seven key personnel from the three companies, and also sent two privates and a troop transport vehicle.

They escorted Chen Mo and his group out of the gate.

However, Liu Hongyun only completely exploded when the person had gone far away and he could no longer see the taillights of the car.

His face was contorted with rage. He kicked over the trash can and yelled, "What the hell are you all good for?"

"Don't you know you should report that outsiders have entered the camp?"

"Starting tomorrow, no, starting now, the entire battalion will be on high alert. Even if the brigade commander comes, he'll have to be kept out of the gate."

"Whoever releases people without permission, I'll skin you alive."

After Liu Hong finished cursing and left, only a dozen or so bewildered cadres remained standing there, completely confused.

Overwhelmed.

Chen Mo was a pragmatist. After transporting the core members of the Second Battalion back to the camp, he took Wang Jianyong and two officers with him the very next day, just as dawn was breaking.

They marched relentlessly towards Xiaocheng, intending to plunder the anti-aircraft artillery brigade.

Time passed bit by bit.

People arranged by Wang Songhe from the Jincheng Military Region arrived at the Sergeant Academy one after another.

Inside the howitzer battalion, Chen Mo was in charge of external affairs, constantly leading people out to plead poverty and ask for more personnel.

Man Xuexi and Cheng Dong worked together.

The propaganda was completed and the military website was updated in just four days.

Chen Mo had not discussed the military website with Man Xuexi beforehand; he had always assumed it was a propaganda page published within the 63rd Group Army.

The only detail overlooked was that the Academy of Military Sciences had the authority to modify the military network of the entire Kyoto Military Region.

For a while.

The 27th, 38th, and 63rd Army Groups comprised hundreds of units.

I received promotional clips from the Sergeant Academy immediately.

(End of this chapter)