Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 274 Digital Project Approval, Poor Old Father
Seeing that the scholar was going to take charge of this matter, Huo Linshan raised his hand and touched the stubble on his chin.

He felt that he was no longer in a suitable position to stand there.

Old Huo ran to the passenger seat, picked up the documents, and turned to leave.

Without Old Wang watching over him, and having not seen Wang Luyi for many years, the person in front of him was much smaller than he remembered.

Even in terms of personality, they are not the same person at all.

Chen Mo was also a little embarrassed. He looked around but didn't see any soldiers nearby.

At this time, they were still having a meal in the cafeteria.

Once he was sure no one was around, he straightened up and walked steadily up to Wang Luyi, saying, "Hello, are you looking for Commander Wang?"

"Ah."

Ultimately, Wang Luyi is just a college freshman, and there is a significant difference in her behavior when she is with her father and when she is alone.

Wang Lu nodded slightly, his left hand unconsciously gripping the cloth bag tightly, and his right hand tucking his hair behind his ear: "Today I saw a lot of military vehicles passing by the school gate, and some senior students were also selected to go out and provide support. I was worried about my dad, and I couldn't get through to him on the phone, so I came to check on him."

"The people in that camp didn't let you in?" Chen Mo frowned.

The Hedong howitzer battalion served as the demonstration battalion's base, and there were personnel on duty there, as well as officers.

It was late at night, and the camp was in a remote location.

Even if the person in front of us is the old man's daughter, we shouldn't leave her out here.

At least find out what happened. If someone needs to be taken to the city, then take them there. If someone needs to be called the police, then call the police. You can't just ignore it.

Wang Luyi, who came from a military family, naturally knew the purpose of Chen Mo's question. She blushed and hurriedly shook her head: "No, no, I asked at the gate, but my dad isn't there."

"I was thinking of waiting a bit, waiting by the roadside, because I didn't want to go to the camp."

"That's it."

After understanding the cause and effect, Chen Mo nodded.

But inwardly he was cursing Old Wang.

What kind of daughter has he raised? Even if there's a rescue operation, a division commander like him wouldn't be able to rush to the front line.

What danger could there be?
The 188th Division mobilized almost two-thirds of its main force to reinforce the dike. Chen Mo didn't see Commander Tang directing operations on site. Moreover, Wang Songhe was just a guest here and couldn't possibly participate in the rescue.

"Get in the car, I'll take you to the office and try calling Commander Wang. He left the academy this morning, and judging by the time, he should have arrived at Qinglong Gorge by now. I might not be able to get through to him."

"Thank you, Battalion Commander Chen!"

"You're welcome."

Chen Mo opened the driver's side door and started the car. Wang Luyi sat in the passenger seat, clutching his small cloth bag tightly in both hands, seemingly lost in thought.

The West Campus is more than a kilometer away from the East Campus administration building. Huo Linshan left the car behind, which saved the two of them the walk.

The car just drove away.

Inside the canteen, which was filled with students, several younger cadres, including Wang Yanjun, Wang Jianbin, Liang Hongjie, Qin Xiaojun, and Xu Zhanqi, all emerged from the canteen carrying large green batons.

I looked up at the departing vehicles.

"Wow, she really is Chief Wang's daughter." Man Xuexi took a swig of beer, then squatted down at the cafeteria entrance, his eyes sparkling with gossip.

"Alas, like lambs to the slaughter, they've been led away by the scholar." Wang Jianbin pushed up his glasses and squatted down next to Man Xuexi, sharing his observations.

"You two can shut up. I don't think the battalion commander has any bad intentions. He's still young, and you don't understand."

Wang Yanjun had a cigarette dangling from his mouth, smoking it with an air of nonchalance.

These few were all people Chen Mo had assigned to each class to liven up the atmosphere, and now, thanks to Huo Linshan's deliberate promotion, they all came out to watch the excitement.

It didn't take long.

Half of the several hundred people in the cafeteria came out, a dense crowd, all looking towards the East Campus.

There were no entertainments planned for the meal, but gossip was more effective than any other entertainment in the military camp.

Old Huo sacrificed the battalion commander's privacy, shifting the focus of everyone's discussion to the scholar's personal affairs.

Chen Mo did not notice the situation in the cafeteria behind him.

They arranged for Wang Luyi to sit on the sofa in the office, called the clerk to make her a cup of tea, and then notified a female soldier from the medical team to come and accompany her.

Chen Mo then picked up the phone, ready to contact Lao Wang.

Holding the microphone in my hand, I really didn't know who to call.

Wang Songhe had previously stated that with the start of the military exercises in southern Guangdong, some of the troops stationed in the northwest would have to withdraw to their original barracks.

With the large-scale withdrawal of troops, who knows where this old man has gone to take charge?

Normally, Chen Mo wouldn't want to go through all that trouble to contact an old geezer who used to chase him around early in the morning.

Right now, the family members are sitting in their offices, looking very worried, waiting for news.

What to do?

Hit it!

Chen Mo first dialed the military region's staff office and obtained the phone number of Commander-in-Chief Xu of the 47th Army from the duty officer.

After hanging up, he called the duty room of the 47th Army to inquire about the exact location and communication number of the commander of the 61st Division. The duty room then transferred him to Wang Songhe, and he finally got in touch with him.

It was already past 10 p.m. on the 6th.

Old Wang must have fallen asleep and been woken up again. His tone was quite aggressive: "Hey Chen, you better really have something to tell me. What the hell are you doing, going crazy in the middle of the night?"

"You're calling the military region to ask about me?"

"Greetings, Commander!" Upon hearing the familiar voice, Chen Mo disregarded the other party's attitude, breathed a sigh of relief, and stood up at attention.

"What a load of bull! If you have something to say, then spit it out!"

Judging from this, Old Wang's morning grumpiness is quite fierce.

"Commander, I didn't want to bother you either. I got back at eight o'clock and I haven't even caught my breath yet. If I hadn't seen Comrade Wang Lu wandering around the Hedong camp, I would have gone to bed long ago."

As usual, the opening remarks started with a show of misery, and Chen Mo was rambling on and on in defense of himself.

The voice on the other end of the microphone suddenly stopped.

Instead, heavy breathing could be heard.

Chen Mo was taken aback. Instinctively, he held the microphone a little further away, speaking towards Wang Luyi and the female soldiers of the medical team in the distance.

Three seconds later, a roar like that of a lion from the east of the river rang out.

"You son of a bitch Chen, are you tired of living? Trying to distract me by talking about my daughter?"

"Do you believe I'll come over there right now and kill you?!"

"I believe you, I definitely believe you." Chen Mo then shouted into the microphone, "But sir, before you execute me, you'd better understand that I didn't use your daughter to distract you. If you don't believe me, listen to this."

As Chen Mo spoke, he hurriedly raised his hand to beckon Wang Luyi.

Although Wang Songhe wasn't his direct superior, the other person's rank was high enough that he didn't want to be scolded for no reason.

Strange to say.

When Wang Luyi first arrived at the Sergeant Academy, he found the unfamiliar environment very difficult to adapt to.

Even seeing the familiar Battalion Commander Chen felt awkward, and I felt helpless.

Hearing his father's voice and seeing Battalion Commander Chen trying so hard to defend himself, Wang Lu felt relieved.

She quickly put down her small cloth bag, walked apologetically to Chen Mo, and took the microphone.

"dad!"

"Eh!"

Alright, the world is at peace now.

Chen Mo sighed, inwardly lamenting how difficult it was to be a good person. He picked up the cigarettes and matches from his desk, walked out of the office with a sullen face, leaving the old man alone.

He stood in the corridor smoking.

As soon as I stepped outside, I looked down and saw a group of twenty or thirty people lurking around downstairs, seemingly planning to sneak up and eavesdrop.

"Fuck off!"

Chen Mo cursed irritably, and the crowd scattered.

"Who is that kid Chen cursing again?" Wang Songhe, hundreds of kilometers away, could see his eyes widen like bull's balls when he heard the commotion.

"Dad, Battalion Commander Chen wasn't talking about me, he went out." Wang Lu pressed his face tightly against the microphone and explained in a low voice, shrinking into his seat like a quail.

"Hmph! I bet he wouldn't dare. Lu Yi, you need to keep an eye on this kid and don't get too close to him. He's no good."

Wang Songhe deliberately raised his voice.

"Damn, this is a disaster!"

Chen Mo noticed the commotion inside the room. With a cigarette dangling from his mouth, he moved further away, eventually reaching the top of the stairs.

He then leaned over the railing, pondering how to get the person to Jinyang Medical College later.

It's too late. Even if we don't delay for a moment, it will probably be midnight by the time it gets to Jinyang City, and the medical school will probably be closed by then.

"battalion commander!"

While he was idly smoking, the female soldier from the medical team who was responsible for accompanying him came over and said, "How about we arrange for Comrade Wang to stay in my dormitory tonight? Captain Liu isn't in our four-person room, so he can rest for the night."

"Okay!" Chen Mo nodded without objection.

The female soldier simply came over to report, and then returned to her office to continue her escort duties.

About ten minutes have passed.

Chen Mo smoked until his mouth was numb, and only then did Wang Luyi follow the female soldier out.

This time, however, she didn't clutch the small cloth bag that she had always treasured. She came up to Chen Mo and said apologetically, "Thank you for your trouble, Battalion Commander Chen."

"It's nothing, as long as I've contacted my family." Chen Mo waved his hand, not taking it too seriously.

His connection with Lao Wang runs too deep to be explained in just a few words.

I have a deeper connection with Xiao Wang in front of me, but as the saying goes, a person's life has many stages, and each stage is a completely different person.

For example, you at sixteen and you at twenty-two may look similar, but your knowledge, habits, and life experiences make you two completely different people.

Twenty-two years old, twenty-eight years old, and thirty-five years old are not the same person, of course, these are all based solely on personality and conduct.

When Chen Mo met Wang Luyi in his previous life, Wang Luyi was already a junior in college. He had clearly been exposed to a lot of social interactions at school and had become more cheerful and outgoing.

He is completely different from Wang Luyi, who is just starting his freshman year of college.

Some regrets in life are mostly related to memories, and we only feel them when we completely compare ourselves to the person in those memories. Once the personality changes.

Obsession may well just turn into a sigh. "It's too late today. Why don't you go to the dormitory with Comrade Li Xiumei and rest for the night? Tomorrow morning, I'll arrange a car to take you back to school."

"Thank you, Battalion Commander Chen."

The little girl probably felt that she had troubled the people in the camp by coming here, and that she had even witnessed her father scolding them for no reason.

I couldn't bear it.

Wang Lu hesitated for a moment before opening his small cloth bag, taking out a pair of hand-knitted woolen gloves, and stuffing them into Chen Mo's hands: "I heard that it's very cold in Jinyang in winter, so I knitted these for my dad who's not here. I'm giving them to Battalion Commander Chen."

After delivering the gloves, Wang Luyi once again clutched the now-empty cloth bag, lowered his head, and hurriedly left.

Chen Mo stared blankly down at the gloves in his hand, made of red wool yarn, the same color as his wool pants.

"This is the knife that killed me."

He looked at the gloves from left to right. The size was just right, and he could wear them. But if Old Wang saw them, he'd probably shoot him with his Type 81 rifle.

Chen Mo shook his head, returned to his office, and casually stuffed the gloves into a drawer of the filing cabinet.

He had just finished putting it down when Instructor Fang Peijun walked in, rubbing his eyes.

"Have Commander Wang's family been settled?"

Old Fang entered the office and looked around, but didn't see anyone, so he asked.

"Well, Captain Liu hasn't returned from the 301 Hospital yet, so let her stay in Captain Liu's dormitory."

"Why don't you sleep a little longer?" Chen Mo dragged over a chair, handed it to the instructor, then sat down in the office chair and tossed him a cigarette.

Fang Peijun has been through this before.

He didn't sit down immediately. Instead, with a cigarette between his fingers, he walked to the filing cabinet drawer, opened it, glanced at the gloves inside, and laughed, "It's still better to raise a daughter. Daughters know how to care for people."

"Ah, I miss my daughter."

As Lao Fang spoke, he sat down in a chair and took out a small booklet from his pocket that looked like a driver's license. Inside were photos of a little girl.

He handed it to Chen Mo: "Scholar, look, this is from my family."

Chen Mo reached out and took it. He knew it was a post-rescue stress response. While feeling fortunate to be alive, he couldn't wait to find someone he was close to to share his happiness.

The album only has six or seven photos.

Inside was a five or six-year-old girl. In every photo, she was wearing a brightly colored cotton-padded coat. Some were taken in the snow, some were taken under a poplar tree, and some were taken in a photo studio with background images.

By comparison, the baby girls in the album are clearly getting bigger in each photo, which makes it easy to see that Fang Peijun usually takes his annual leave close to the Chinese New Year.

Major, deputy battalion commander, still did not meet the requirements for family members to join the military.

The promises made before the demonstration camp still have a long way to go.

Chen Mo wasn't going to spoil the fun. He carefully examined each photo and then returned it with a smile: "Seriously, Lao Fang, if you had shown me this album before setting off for the rescue, I would never have let you go."

"What do you mean?" Fang Peijun was a little confused.

But he only paused for a moment before snatching the photo album back and stuffing it into his pocket, saying, "By the way, I came here to talk to you about serious business, you almost interrupted me."

“You were handling the matter of Commander Wang’s family just now, but the clerk didn’t come to report. The military region has given us a last-minute notice that a conference will be held at 9 a.m. tomorrow, and the Kyoto Demonstration Battalion will also send a representative there.”

"I figured since no one was specifically named, you should go and participate. I guess it's to summarize the rescue efforts. The 188th Division had such a big incident, the military region has to do something to show its support."

Chen Mo nodded.

This meeting will definitely take place, but there are some things that cannot be said openly.

Last year during the flood relief efforts, a large number of life jackets were distributed, but a small portion had quality issues, which caused problems for a certain pontoon bridge unit and led to an unexpected accident.

The headquarters was furious and dealt with the matter seriously, using an iron-fisted approach.

This time it wasn't as serious as last year, but at least it's a rescue operation. The situation that occurred in the 188th Division must be related to some of the reasons.

Tomorrow's meeting won't be easy to attend.

I'm afraid a large number of units will be held accountable, and there might even be people from the Kyoto headquarters coming over.

"The meeting is a minor matter."

After Fang Peijun finished discussing the military region meeting, he called over the clerk and handed him a faxed document.

"Look, I was so tired on the way back that I forgot about it."

"This is an aid program led by the Academy of Military Sciences. A mentor from the Academy proposed to provide our information technology demonstration battalion with digital signal analog connectivity."

"Currently, a group of mentors from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have set off to Tsinghua and Peking Universities to collaborate with several academicians and leading experts from the computer science departments of Tsinghua and Peking Universities on professional projects and to conduct research on digital systems for equipment."

Digital project approval
Chen Mo held the documents in his hand, and he was not surprised by the project's approval.

The development of information technology, or rather its scope, far exceeds the imagination of those at the grassroots level; it's just that its combat effectiveness hasn't been actually demonstrated there.

Firstly, the experiment was indeed unsuccessful, failing multiple times.

Secondly, it's impossible to expect grassroots cadres and commanders to be on the same level of thinking as the top technical experts at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The transfer of technology requires a transition period, and the nationwide improvement of educational qualifications and the training of national defense students are products of this broader context.

It is not difficult to see from the description in the instruction manual of the Type 98 main battle tank that the concept and research on informatization and digitalization were carried out many years earlier than the actual time of their emergence.

Of course.

The original Type 98 or the old Type 98 main battle tank did not meet the specifications listed in the manual at all. Overall, it was indeed slightly better than the Type 96A, but the improvement was extremely limited.

The real adjustment, with complete information and digitalization, will have to wait and see with the later 99A; only then will the performance of that thing truly match the test data.

Seeing that Chen Mo was engrossed in flipping through the documents without saying a word, Fang Peijun was somewhat puzzled.

"What's wrong? You don't seem interested in digital projects. This should be a good thing for us, right?"

“It’s not that I’m not interested.” Chen Mo shook his head: “It’s just that it’s too early to be interested now. This is just the project proposal, and it will probably take a long time before the equipment is actually installed.”

"Digital projects are bound to be approved sooner or later. Let's take a simple example. Since the early 90s, when Operation Desert Storm began, the entire military has been talking about air-ground integration. This suggestion has been raised for nearly 10 years, but we still haven't been able to solve it."

"To truly achieve air-ground integration, in addition to high-frequency communication, what's even more important is that the army and air force can share information on the configuration and situation of their main combat equipment in real time."

"To put it simply, it's about the integration of equipment systems. Only in this way can we truly achieve air-ground integration, and at the same time, the integration of information technology and mechanization can also achieve a leap forward."

"Tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, artillery, rockets, tactical missiles, and even individual soldier equipment—a large number of light and heavy weapons—can all achieve localized digital information networking. That is the true meaning of digital projects."

"It's too early to bring this up now."

There was one more thing Chen Mo didn't say: based on the timeline of his previous life, if this project could be completed within seven years, that would be a very optimistic estimate.

Of course, this does not mean that there will be no help in the next seven years. Digital projects will accelerate the research and development of systems that are even better than the cross-linked satellite positioning system. There will be a qualitative leap in radar, fire control and other aspects.

Let’s use a simple analogy.

Previously, if the Blue Army battalion encountered long-range bombing on the battlefield during exercises, they would need to deploy drones to conduct reconnaissance from the direction from which the shells came.

Then, locking onto the enemy's position is not only a waste of time, but if the enemy command reacts quickly, the artillery may have already moved.

And digital project approval.

Fire control radar and ballistic radar will be developed in succession. As long as the Kyoto Demonstration Battalion remains, they will always be the first units to come into contact with the new equipment.

At that time, when they return to the battlefield, any howitzer or long-range rocket artillery that dares to bomb from a distance will be able to be directly locked onto by radar.

A counterattack can be launched immediately without the need for drones.

The more advanced the information and digitalization of the equipment, the more powerful the fire control radar, and the more effective it is to intercept enemy attacks through air defense units.

With helicopter-borne electromagnetic interference missiles simultaneously bombarding enemy positions on a massive scale, it's fair to say that at that point, Chen Mo would truly be the Bloodthirsty Butcher.

A single battalion or an informationized regiment can slaughter a million divisions in a single night.

But not yet.

The establishment of digital projects only signifies the arrival of an era of rapid advancement in information technology experiments; it doesn't mean that digitalization will so quickly overwhelm mechanization.

Fang Peijun was completely bewildered by Chen Mo's string of professional jargon.

He shook his head repeatedly: "Okay, okay, as long as you know it."

"I'm here to tell you this news."

Fang Peijun had never worked at the grassroots level before and knew very little about mechanization, let alone informatization, integration, and digitalization.

He doesn't meddle in training matters.

After finishing the business, Lao Fang got up with his hands behind his back, strolled around the office a couple of times, then opened a drawer to look at the red gloves inside. His old face smiled like a blooming daisy.

"Hehe, you're so lucky, scholar. Why is it that no one ever gives me gloves? Back when I was on a blind date with my wife, I just took her out for dumplings, and the engagement was settled."

"Unlike you, you even wear gloves, tsk tsk tsk!!"

Chen Mo was originally thinking about the project proposal when he heard this guy making fun of the gloves again, and he immediately said in annoyance, "If you like them, take them, consider it a betrothal gift."

"When your daughter grows up, I'll be your son-in-law."

"Damn it, get lost!"

Fang Peijun glared at him, then laughed and said, "Scholar, you still don't understand. I'm sure you're in trouble."

"I'll stop here and go check on the banquet."

Done.

Instructor Fang patted his behind and left, looking quite dashing.

At first, Chen Mo really didn't realize what kind of trouble Fang Peijun was referring to.

But soon, trouble really did come true.

At 9 a.m. on September 7th, Chen Mo had just fallen asleep in his dormitory, less than half an hour after closing his eyes.

Wang Jianyong rushed into the dormitory in a hurry, shook Chen Mo awake, and said urgently, "Battalion Commander, urgent military situation, someone from the military region is looking for you."

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo was furious.

I hurriedly threw on some clothes and ran to the office, only to find there was no urgent military situation at all.

The call was from that old bastard Wang Songhe. After I answered, he rambled on for several minutes without getting to the point.

They tried every means to find out what Chen Mo had done that night.

Frustrated, he finally had no choice but to give a few incoherent instructions, then, citing poor signal, repeatedly said "yes" before hanging up the phone.

At three in the morning, the phone rang again.

I'll come again at five o'clock.
After a night of this, Chen Mo woke up feeling like he wanted to tear someone apart to vent his anger.

That old bastard, he not only didn't sleep all night, but he also wouldn't let him sleep.

What does that mean?!

(End of this chapter)