Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 280 Wang Songhe Returns to the Academy; His Sense of Crisis Is Quite Strong
The news of the bottom-ranking elimination system spread rapidly throughout the camp after being conveyed through a meeting.

Some veteran cadres are full of confidence and enthusiasm, while the new cadres are both hesitant and excited.

Generally speaking, this kind of system is only used at the military region level.

Even in the late 1990s, the military regions had not yet implemented this bottom-ranking elimination system, because a large number of national defense students and military academy students had not yet entered various units.

Many of the unit's officers were promoted in batches from former volunteer soldiers, as well as outstanding soldiers within the military.

Some platoon leaders, company commanders, and battalion commanders serve for eight to ten years, until they are demobilized. Their positions are very stable, and there is not much personnel turnover.

Chen Mo's actions were practically groundbreaking, if not unprecedented.

Of course, the demonstration battalion had the confidence to do so, after all, there were too many officers, and the number of lieutenants in the entire battalion could form a reinforced company.

This is well-suited for establishing such a healthy competitive mechanism and a model for officer mobility.

Lower-level cadres usually don't raise questions about the new system; they just need to implement it.

However, after much deliberation, instructor Fang Peijun still felt that the system was too hasty, or at least too strict.

He saw Chen Mo watching the Type 98 main battle tank test from the tank company's side, his hands behind his back.

Old Fang jogged up to him, took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed one to Chen Mo, then looked up and gestured in Liu Hongyun's direction, saying, "Battalion Commander Liu is quite dedicated; he's been thinking about the new tank all day."

"You have to love what you do. What tank battalion commander doesn't love tanks?"

Chen Mo smiled, took the cigarette, and lit it.

There are many kinds of cadre abilities. Some are strong in their own abilities, such as Cheng Dong and Wang Yanjun. If you give them some new recruits, they can lead a reconnaissance company based on their own abilities.

But there is another type, like Chen Mo, who is not very professional. Leading troops is not his forte, and he is even less skilled in technology; he only has theoretical knowledge.

But it doesn't matter, as long as you know how to recognize and use people. As a former confidential secretary, he knows very well that entrusting professional matters to professionals can achieve twice the result with half the effort.

You just need to take charge.

Fang Peijun stood there for a while, then asked hesitantly, "Scholar, is the bottom-ranking elimination system you mentioned in the meeting really going to be implemented?"

"The whole battalion is working hard to make it onto the merit list, and their enthusiasm is quite high. If someone really comes in last place in the assessment, should the company commander be replaced?"

"Won't frequent changes affect combat effectiveness?"

"Don't worry about that." Chen Mo flicked away his cigarette butt and put his hands on his hips, saying, "We didn't do it before because we had too few people and the company wasn't well-organized."

"The situation is different now, and the military region will likely provide some assistance later."

"With the emergence of units such as mechanized infantry, tanks, engineers, reconnaissance, logistics, electronic warfare, and medical personnel, the process of abolishing the traditional company structure and restoring the unit size is inevitable."

"The size of a squad is a combination of military units, and the combination is like building blocks in a modular fashion. The change of commanding officer does not have a significant impact on combat effectiveness."

"On the contrary, the faster the change, the more it helps our combat effectiveness."

"Can't you?"

Fang Peijun listened to Chen Mo's explanation with some skepticism.

He had spent some time in the demonstration camp and had some understanding of it.

He admitted that the size of the detachment would weaken the presence of the company commander and make company-level officers less important.

But to say that changing commanders will enhance combat effectiveness, Lao Fang thinks that's a bit of nonsense.

There's no such thing as increasing combat effectiveness by frequently changing commanding officers.
Realizing that the instructor had a question, Chen Mo smiled, rubbed his hands together, pulled up his trouser leg, sat on the ground, and patted the ground to invite Fang Peijun to sit down.

Then, Chen Mo pointed to the busy areas of several companies and said, "Old Fang, look at our battalion. Do you know why we are called the model battalion?"

"The first information-based battalion, of course!" Fang Peijun replied without hesitation.

“Yes, the first information technology battalion.” Chen Mo nodded: “The reason I say the first means there will be a second, a third, and a fourth.”

"Currently, we have the support of the major military regions, the General Staff, the academies, and the military regions. In terms of equipment, we have received preferential treatment in terms of resources."

"In terms of personnel, we have completed the combination of many cadres and technical backbones, but this has not come without a price."

"One day, we will have to pay for it."

"In the future, all seven military regions will establish informationized battalions. As the first one, we will return a batch of informationized reform seeds to the General Staff and the major military regions."

"And the officers in our battalion now are the seeds for the next large-scale military reform."

Chen Mo didn't explain things very clearly.

But Fang Peijun was, after all, an instructor, and even though he lacked grassroots experience, he understood what Chen Mo meant.

Yes.

The first information technology demonstration camp not only has the important task of establishing it, but also the important task of training its members.

If a battalion is not in its formative stage and a bottom-ranking elimination system is implemented, then once other military regions need the battalion's backbone personnel, then a large number of officers will leave the battalion.

At that time, not only will the people who are transferred be incapable of supporting the work of the information technology battalion, but those who remain will also be unable to support the work due to their own limitations.

If they can't hold on, it means their combat effectiveness will drop significantly.

Chen Mo's statement that only frequent rotations can guarantee combat effectiveness meant that he wanted to motivate all officers in the battalion to learn and compete.

If other military regions have a need, and the higher-ups give the order, the demonstration battalion can freely select a large number of talented key personnel to provide support.

It neither affects myself nor others.

You can also extend your network to the seven military regions.

Fang Peijun became increasingly alarmed as he thought about it. He turned his head and glanced at Chen Mo, who was sitting on the ground, smiling as he watched him train in the distance.

Old Fang suddenly didn't know what to say.

As his longtime partner, he had no idea that Battalion Commander Chen was so farsighted.

The potential of a bottom-ranking elimination system is almost unimaginable.

Especially that sentence just now, that the officers in the battalion will be the seeds for the major military regions in the next large-scale military reform.

Be good! !
Do you know what this means?

This would mean that once the seven military regions establish informationized battalions, the main personnel in those battalions would all be people trained by scholars.

What's even more terrifying is what if one day the authorities truly value information technology and even begin a large-scale transformation?

Then these officers in their own battalion will become the seeds for all units in the army, and these people are all trained by one person.

How far could such influence allow a scholar to advance in the army?
The regimental commander and division commander certainly wouldn't stop there, would they?!

"Scholar, your idea is good!"

At this moment, Fang Peijun had no more doubts. The bottom-ranking elimination system could indeed improve the combat effectiveness of the entire battalion.

As for the rest, Lao Fang no longer knew how to describe it.

This was really beyond his comprehension.

"I was just guessing," Chen Mo said modestly, and continued, "Well, Lao Fang, this bottom-ranking elimination system can't just be a slogan; it needs to be implemented."

"When you have time, go see Chief of Staff Cheng and study the tactics and methods in more detail. This is the focus of our entire battalion in the next stage of our work."

"It would be best to have the staff officers establish one-on-one assistance and study groups. Chief of Staff Cheng has the documents on the previous Blue Army battalion and detachment construction. Right now, there is only one requirement for the assessment."

"That involves mastering the functions of main combat units at all levels and the general tactical coordination of units as soon as possible, and striving to become versatile talents."

"Okay, I'm free anyway, I'll go find Lao Cheng and discuss it now." Fang Peijun stood up and patted his butt: "Is there anything else I need to be aware of?"

"No, the methods don't matter." Chen Mo shook his head: "In short, no matter what method I use, whether it's hanging my head from the rafters or pricking my thigh with an awl, I must figure out within half a month what the main combat and auxiliary combat units of the entire battalion are specifically doing, how they are doing it, and what their functional definitions are within the system."

"The assessment will be at the end of this month, and I only care about the results."

"Time is tight and the task is heavy, so let's all work hard."

"Okay, I see."

After Fang Peijun finished speaking, he quickly left.

Learning and supervising—this sounds like the job of a staff officer and political commissar. It seems that not only other officers in the battalion will be busy from now on.

The people at the battalion headquarters will be busy too.

. . . . . . . .

The decentralization of the new system has indeed boosted the atmosphere within the camp.

It only took an afternoon.

Cheng Dong then compiled the previous training arrangements and data of the detachments into teaching materials and manuals, which were distributed to all officers in the battalion.

The document contains detailed records of the squad's training progress, achievements, issues raised at meetings, and details of coordination among the squads.

Chen Mo had nothing else to do, so he simply went back to his dormitory, lay down on his big iron bed, and thought about how to proceed with the work.

In fact, Chen Mo spoke very passionately about the new system being delegated, which could inspire many new cadres to eagerly learn and take the initiative to improve.

But this is only on the surface; what does the new system represent?
These things represent endless cruelty.

This also signifies absolute fairness in the assessment. Chen Mo was conveying fairness and impartiality when he appointed the engineering company commander and the logistics supply platoon leader at the meeting.

However, absolute fairness is actually unfair.

Some veteran cadres have studied mechanical chemistry for ten years, but their own educational level is not high, so they will be very slow to adapt to information technology.

If one's research into combat tactics is not deep enough or one's understanding of them is not refined enough, there is no way to compete with those who have graduated from the academy and are good at learning.

Therefore, although there were quite a few officers in the battalion, nearly two hundred people, only a very few would ultimately stand out.

The vast majority of people will be ruthlessly eliminated by the system, their even illusion of climbing the ranks through seniority will be taken away, and they will become the bottom of the pile of corpses.

The saying "One general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand soldiers" illustrates this point.

But this did not dampen the enthusiasm of the entire battalion.

After all, a position you earn through your own assessment is always more tempting than one you wait for.

There is.

When the wolf is coming, is it necessary to run faster than the wolf when escaping? No, it's not necessary at all. You only need to run faster than your companions.

This is an undeniable truth throughout history and across the world.

So when Chen Mo came down from his dormitory for dinner in the evening, he saw cadres carrying textbooks and flashlights hiding in a slightly secluded place.

I'm going to study on my own.

Involution has begun.

Chen Mo stood at the entrance of the training ground with his hands behind his back for a while. Strangely enough, ever since he returned to the camp, he had been thinking about how to salvage the situation after the propaganda was rejected.

My mind is a bit of a mess.

But for some reason, even though I've considered everything, I feel like I'm missing something and have forgotten something.

I thought and thought, but I couldn't find the reason.

Chen Mo looked up and tapped his forehead, then turned to look at Wang Jianyong: "Dayong."

"Hey, Battalion Commander, what's wrong?" Wang Jianyong quickly stepped forward.

"I always feel like something hasn't been considered properly. Is there something else that hasn't been resolved?"

"No."

Wang Jianyong looked up and thought for a moment: "We had a meeting this morning to discuss propaganda, and it's all been settled now. As for promotions, Platoon Leader Wang has been recruiting people to build up the company all day."

"Old Man is very proactive. I just saw him carrying two steamed buns and looking at documents with a manual in his hand.

"Wang Luyi from the back mountain hasn't returned either. The medical team has been with him the whole time. We definitely can't contact Commander Wang."

Damn it! ! !

Upon hearing the name Wang Luyi, Chen Mo was completely stunned.

Damn it, how could I forget about this?
It's no wonder Chen Mo has a bad memory. In the morning, he was in a meeting to arrange matters concerning the martyrs, and after the meeting, he was lectured by several leaders in turn. The publicity draft was rejected, and the plan was shelved.

He had been considering whether the bottom-ranking elimination system was suitable, but there were too many things to deal with in the camp right now.

This directly caused him to completely forget about the fighting spirit. "That old bastard hasn't called all day?" Chen Mo panicked a little.

"Yes, we've been fighting, we've been fighting all along, but we haven't been fighting much in the afternoon. Battalion Commander, you said we couldn't let Qinglong Gorge get in touch with us before 5 p.m.."

Wang Jianyong shrugged innocently.

Chen Mo's eyelids twitched, and he looked up: "What time is it now?"

"It's past six o'clock."

"Then why hasn't anyone come to say anything?"

"Because Qinglongxia isn't calling anymore." Wang Jianyong was a little puzzled. To him, not calling meant they weren't urging him anymore.

Perfect, everyone's happy.

"If we hadn't fought, things would probably have been even worse."

Chen Mo took off his military cap, scratched his head, and a sense of foreboding grew in his heart: "Where is that person? Hasn't he come back yet?"

"It should be soon. The area on the mountain isn't very big, so we should be heading back soon."

Wang Jianyong looked around; he had been wandering around the camp and hadn't paid much attention to Wang Luyi.

The other party wasn't from the camp, and with soldiers busy everywhere in the camp, who would bother with the whereabouts of an outsider?

Chen Mo didn't respond. He quickly walked to the west campus gate and checked the entry and exit records.

It was discovered that the four female soldiers in the medical team had gone out to register in the morning, but there was no record of them returning to camp, and by then it was almost dark.

"How could I have been so careless and forgotten about that?"

Chen Mo dropped the notebook and left the gatehouse, heading towards the back mountain.

Seeing that something was wrong, Wang Jianyong finally lost his composure. He hurriedly ran towards the administration building, grabbed a bicycle, and pedaled like a whirlwind, chasing after Chen Mo.

"Battalion Commander, you go to the east, I'll go to the west to take a look."

"There are only two relatively easy paths into the mountains, so these young girls probably wouldn't take the difficult ones."

Chen Mo did not respond, but simply waved his hand.

The reason they didn't send soldiers from the battalion out to search was because the two men were confident that nothing bad would likely happen.

With the military parade approaching.

The People's Armed Police Corps is responsible for patrolling the vicinity. Taishan is a place next to the Sergeant Academy, and the academy has an information technology battalion here.

It has a certain level of confidentiality.

There are armed police posts on duty in Taishan, so it's impossible for anyone with an unknown identity to be hiding in the mountains.

It's highly likely that the girls were young and too playful, and they forgot about coming down the mountain.

Chen Mo's guess was indeed correct.

As he walked up the mountain, on the east side of Mount Tai, a group of five girls dressed in casual clothes, each more pitiful than the last, were carefully descending the mountain along the path.

They were described as pitiful not because they had fallen or bumped into things, but because they looked rather miserable.

Wang Lu was carrying a pair of sandals in one hand. The mountain path was difficult to walk on, and the shoes had come unglued and were unwearable. She walked barefoot and carefully.

The others aren't much better.

They strung the aluminum lunchboxes they had taken that morning together with tree branches and hung them around their necks, while holding a bunch of crabs and some small crucian carp in their hands.

My face, arms, and everything else were covered in mud and sand.

Despite their less-than-ideal appearance, the group seemed to be having a great time.

The female soldier at the front of the line waved her hand to show the fish she had caught and laughed, "Hurry up, hurry up, when we get back, we can have it cooked in the mess hall, and there'll be fish soup to drink."

"I don't want the fish soup, I just hope I won't get scolded when I get back." The female soldier behind her placed her hands on her chest, making a praying gesture.

"No, the captain isn't in the camp. Besides, we're just accompanying Lu Yi on a trip, which is permitted by the camp headquarters."

Another female soldier giggled and turned to look at Wang Luyi: "Luyi, if the battalion commander scolds us later, you have to help us out."

"Okay, I'll definitely stand with you."

Wang Lu responded with a grin.

She was young, and since Chen Mo had mentioned that Wang Songhe had a mission, she didn't even consider the possibility of a phone call.

The mountains have water, fish, and wild fruits, making them much more fun than the monotonous military camp.

The group chatted and laughed as they descended the mountain.

As they walked, the female soldier ahead, who had been talking about making fish soup, suddenly stopped and froze on the spot.

"Come on, it's getting dark, why are you stopping?" someone behind urged.

"The battalion commander is here! Oh no!!"

The female soldier at the front of the line responded nervously, hurriedly took off the lunchbox tied around her neck, and threw the crabs and crucian carp on the ground.

Quickly tidy your hair, straighten your clothes, and stand up straight.

The others heard the warning and looked up to find that Battalion Commander Chen had indeed arrived and was standing less than 20 meters away from them.

As the saying goes, a local official is more powerful than a distant one; for the medical team members, the battalion commander was definitely not as intimidating as the team leader.

But we still need to have the right attitude.

The others followed suit, hurriedly dropping what they were holding, straightening their clothes, and standing at attention.

For a moment, crabs crawled and crucian carp jumped around on the ground, and even Wang Luyi, who was not from the demonstration camp, was caught up in the atmosphere and became a little flustered.

She stood there clutching her shoes tightly, looking somewhat helpless.

Wang Luyi was unaware that Chen Mo had instructed her to be brought out. All she knew was that the battalion headquarters had allowed these female soldiers to accompany her for a stroll.

When Chen Mo saw the miserable state of these people, he was initially stunned, but after observing them and confirming that they were alright, he realized that they were unharmed.

I watched as several people squeezed together to form a queue.

Chen Mo chuckled and said, "If you're not wearing a military uniform, don't be so formal. Hurry up, the crabs are getting away."

"If you don't arrest them soon, you'll have wasted your whole day."

"Ah, thank you, Battalion Commander!"

"Thank you, Battalion Commander!!"

Several female soldiers were delighted to hear that they hadn't been reprimanded, so they bent down to pick up their belongings and then helped Wang Luyi down the mountain, circling around where Chen Mo had been standing.

Seeing Wang Lu carrying sandals in one hand, walking barefoot down the mountain, with the straps on the side of the sandals all coming unglued, Chen Mo frowned.

"Leave a lunchbox here. Wang Luyi, wait a bit. You can't walk back barefoot."

"Oh!"

Wang Lu nodded slightly and stood quietly in place. Seeing this, the other female soldiers quickly dropped a lunchbox and hurriedly returned to their camp.

After all, no soldier wants to stand with officers like battalion commanders or regimental commanders, especially when they've made a small mistake and feel guilty.

The group of them went down the mountain.

Chen Mo didn't say anything, but just picked up some broken leaves and some dry firewood from the vicinity and gathered them into a pile.

Light the fire with a match, then take the lunchbox, remove the lid, and place it on the fire to roast, tilting one corner of it.

Give me your shoes.

"Oh!"

Wang Lu took a small step to the fire, put his shoes on the ground, and squatted down to watch.

Neither of them spoke.

Chen Mo heated the lunchbox lid, placed it on the broken part of the sandal to soften the glue, and then pressed the broken strap onto it to manually repair it.

The same method was used on the other pair of sandals.

After everything was glued on, Chen Mo tested the temperature with his hand to make sure it wouldn't burn anyone before placing the sandals on Wang Lu's side.

"it is good!"

Wang Lu did as instructed, while Chen Mo stomped out the fire and covered it with soil using a lunchbox lid.

Only then did he lead his men down the mountain.

As night fell, the two walked one after the other towards the camp without exchanging a word.

The twilight in the mountains always evokes memories of the past. At this moment, Chen Mo's heart was filled with a mix of emotions as he recalled many scenes from his past life. He tried several times to start a conversation.

Finally, he moved his lips, but no sound came out.

The main problem was that there wasn't much to say. The person behind her was her, but also not her.

Wang Luyi is simply not good at speaking, especially in an unfamiliar place, with a woman who is neither a complete stranger nor a close acquaintance.

The girl's reserve also prevented her from taking the initiative to start a conversation.

The two of them walked on like that, which was actually quite nice.

It's a pity that the good times didn't last long.

Chen Mo had just descended the mountain and hadn't walked more than a few steps when a military vehicle sped toward him.

At first, Chen Mo didn't take it seriously, thinking that the female soldiers had been picked up by other soldiers after returning to the academy.

But soon he realized something was wrong.

Because the military vehicle was moving very fast, and behind it, a fierce general was riding a bicycle and waving vigorously at him.

Because of the distance, Chen Mo couldn't see who the fierce general was, but on this kind of broken road, even a bicycle could outrun a four-wheeled military vehicle.

That's probably not normal.

Something unusual must be going on. Chen Mo's gaze sharpened, and his brows twitched slightly.

Turning to look at Wang Luyi, she was covered in sand and mud, her jeans were frayed in several places, and her hair was a mess.

Ironically, this was the situation where they followed me down the mountain.

Who is sitting in the car?

In the entire demonstration camp, no one would drive like that, especially when the headlights are visible to them; no one would dare to do that.

unless
Chen Mo thought back to the afternoon when Old Wangba had stopped making phone calls.

His scalp tightened, and without thinking, he turned his head and said, "Lu Yi, you go back with the car. I have something to do and need to go up the mountain. Please pass on a message for me. Don't wait for me."

After saying that, Chen Mo took off running up the mountain.

This sudden turn of events left Wang Lu completely stunned.

Just then.

The military vehicle stopped, and a colonel who was over 1.7 meters tall and somewhat portly got out of the passenger seat.

It was Wang Songhe who flew here from Qinglong Gorge.

Old Wang looked at his daughter, whom he hadn't been able to contact for a day and a night. She was covered in dirt, and his eyes were blazing with anger.

Seeing Chen take off up the mountain, Old Wang was even more furious. He slammed his hand on the hood of the car and yelled, "You little brat, you stop right there!!"

"You'll see if I dare skin you alive, you son of a bitch, get down here!"

Chen Mo heard the curses, breathed a sigh of relief, and secretly rejoiced that he had run fast.

As for the insults, so be it, I'm used to it.
This scene completely put Wang Jianyong, who had been frantically riding his bike to deliver the message, at ease.

Don't even say it.

Even he, a veteran scout, had to admire the battalion commander's quick reaction speed.

They have a pretty strong sense of crisis!
(End of this chapter)