Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 289 The Ninth Company Gathers: The Terrifying Appeal of Veteran Cadres

Chen Mo parked the jeep to the side and joined the crowd in clapping.

Soldiers and officers were also arriving in the distance. When they learned that these people were responding to the military region's call to come and implement the daily promotion and rank advancement policy, they were surprised.

Everyone joined without hesitation, expressing their welcome with all their might.

The scene of the headquarters moving in was outrageously lively.

A thousand people watched.

Chen Mo couldn't help but grit his teeth at the sight. He thought to himself, even if a designation is granted in the future, the scene probably won't be this grand.

The thrill of honor is truly unparalleled.

He patted the crowd twice, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wang Yanjun and Liang Hongjie, those two country bumpkins, also watching the commotion from a distance.

Chen Mo moved closer to the two men, kicked one of them, and then whispered angrily, "What are you two doing getting involved in this mess?"

A sudden beating.

Both Company Commander Liang and Company Commander Wang were somewhat bewildered. They looked at each other, neither understanding what they had done wrong.

See this.

Chen Mo patted his forehead and said with a helpless tone, "We've arrived at the headquarters, which means the staff department, logistics department, and political department all have offices here."

"Applications for various special projects no longer need to go through the military region."

"Go apply for streetlights now while you're in a good mood. No one will give you any trouble by signing the papers. How can you be so clueless?"

"When you sign, make sure you give a clear explanation and keep a low voice. The headquarters will be covering the travel expenses for the families of those attending the commendation ceremony. Hurry up."

"Oh oh oh."

After being reminded, the two of them suddenly realized what was going on.

I rushed to the printing room to prepare my application materials.

Chen Mo then called over several other cadres nearby to lead Liu Heli and the others' car to the administration building on the East Campus.

The so-called establishment of a headquarters is just that some people from various units of the military region have offices there.

There's no need to make a big fuss about it since it's a temporary unit.

Some cadres went upstairs first to clean the office area and set up the offices according to the number of people who came.

Chen Mo and another group of people stood downstairs and helped open the car doors.

Upon seeing Gao Jin and his entourage alight from the car, the numerous cadres lined up in unison, stood at attention, and saluted: "Welcome, Commander!"

"Oh! You're too kind, you're really too kind."

Liu Heli was a little embarrassed by the teasing, and his big yellow teeth couldn't be hidden no matter what he did, mainly because he was being taken too seriously.

Those who were being valued were somewhat flattered.

"Battalion Commander Chen, you're being too polite. We're all acquaintances. Look at you!"

"Of course, of course." Chen Mo replied while leading the way, and at the same time, he turned to Man Xuexi and shouted: "Old Man, go to the canteen and tell them that the leader's lunch is being delivered to his office and he is eating in his office."

"Okay!" Man Xuexi replied, turned around, and ran off.

A group of people chatted and laughed as they arrived at the third floor of the administration building. The commander of the General Armament Department had previously mentioned that the headquarters would be moved in soon, so the battalion had already made preparations.

It's just unclear how many people will come.

After a few cadres quickly added tables and chairs, the nine office spaces were arranged properly.

The East Campus was formerly built by Shimen Military Academy. The buildings are large and the landscaping is good. A medium-sized joint office occupies an area of ​​60 to 70 square meters.

The interior is bright and clean.

The room was neatly furnished with a coffee table, filing cabinet, sofa, and desk and chairs, and there were green plants all around.

Against the backdrop of the military flags and national flags hanging on the white walls, stepping inside gives one a refreshing feeling.

In terms of area alone, it's certainly not as big as the combined offices of these colonels, but it has the advantage of being quiet and far away from the West Campus training grounds.

The furnishings are quite grand.

The moment the people from headquarters entered, their eyes darted around, seemingly unable to move.

Chen Mo then arranged for people to make the corresponding nameplates, ensuring that everyone who came was fully equipped.

It's so good that you can't find a single fault with it.

The environment was impeccable, and the welcoming ceremony was excessively grand.

The group was in high spirits.

The group chatted for over twenty minutes in the office area, exchanging pleasantries alone.

After lunch was delivered, Chen Mo finally found a chance to come out and hand over the remaining escort duties to instructor Fang Peijun.

Old Fang was originally from the Political Department. Although his rank wasn't high enough to be among the top officials in the Headquarters, he was still an acquaintance, so it was good for him to keep him company.

Chen Mo breathed a sigh of relief as he left the joint office.

Looking at Liang Hongjie who had followed him out, he asked, "Have the logistics department and Liu Heli both signed off on the application for the streetlights?"

"It's signed, it was signed a long time ago."

Liang Hongjie said happily, "Battalion Commander, your method really works. If the headquarters hadn't come and asked us to sign the document with the logistics department, it would probably have taken several more days."

"They just happened to be here today."

Chen Mo raised his hand to rub his temples: "Hurry up and bring the streetlights back. This afternoon, all three companies—logistics, reconnaissance, and engineering—will go and install the streetlights."

"The specialized training during the lunch break cannot be neglected. Go find Chief of Staff Cheng and tell him what I said. After the lunch break, there are no classes in the afternoon. I'm only giving the entire battalion half a day to familiarize themselves with the equipment and prepare for night training."

"In terms of specialized learning, the staff officers were instructed to listen to lectures in each company and write down who gave a bad lecture."

"After dinner, the night training will start with mobile deployment from the camp. Isn't everyone eager to make a contribution?"

"Then let's take concrete actions instead of just shouting slogans."

"Oh, right, go and call Feng Xiaodong, Zheng Wenbo, He Hui and the others over. Tell them I need to talk to them. Have Lao Wang bring four portions of lunch to the conference room."

"Row!"

Liang Hongjie noted everything down, then nodded and quickly left.

"By the way, your logistics and cooking platoon has been working harder lately. The number of meals provided has increased from three to four per day. The camp's quarterly expenditure has been allocated to the meal standard without limit. Not only must each meal include beef and mutton, but chicken and pork must also be provided, and beef and mutton must be available at least three days a week."

"Keep an eye on Platoon Leader Zong's side. Don't keep stuffing people into the cooking platoon lately. For those who can't keep up with the training, put them on patrol or ammunition depot duty in three shifts a day."

"Yes!"

Liang Hongjie responded again, his expression becoming serious.

If these officers only listen to the battalion commander and political instructor saying that there are tasks from above and that the demonstration battalion will enter a period of highly intensive training, they won't have any real understanding of the situation.

Then, the arrival of the headquarters, the phased commendation ceremony, the start of night training, and even the meals were changed to four meals a day, raising individual standards.

All of this foreshadows an extremely brutal training regimen.

To know.

Previously, the food standard for the demonstration battalion was six yuan per person per day for three meals, which was already quite high and belonged to the first-tier meal standard for armored soldiers.

You can see eggs every day, and you can find fatty meat in the soup.

According to the battalion commander's standards, there must be chicken or pork every day.

If there is beef and mutton three days a week, four meals a day, then the food standard should be aimed at 13 yuan per person per day.

Even the canteen of the military region's headquarters doesn't have such a high standard.

Without high-intensity training, the changes wouldn't have been so significant.

Chen Mo didn't have time to pay attention to Lao Liang's thoughts. After giving his instructions, he turned around and went to the conference room.

It didn't take long.

When Wang Jianyong arrived carrying a pile of lunchboxes, the three cadres who had been notified earlier also arrived at the meeting room at the same time.

One of them was Feng Xiaodong, deputy company commander of the 2nd Company of the 38th Army's directly subordinate air defense battalion, with the rank of captain.

Since the Air Defense Force was abolished and merged with the Air Force, there have been almost no air defense units in the Army's organization. If there are any, they are just anti-aircraft machine guns, similar to mechanized infantry.

The air defense battalion directly under the military region was a unit that appeared alongside the military reconnaissance battalion only after the Northwest military exercise ended and the third phase of mechanization reform officially began.

Chen Mo initially caused a stir by promoting military websites, but in the end, in order to recruit talent in air defense, radar, long-range artillery, drones, and howitzers, he submitted a list to the 38th and 27th Armies.

The list at the time included fifty people.

With pressure from the major military regions, both military regions provided some aid, but the total amount was not as exaggerated as fifty.

In terms of air defense, only Feng Xiaodong of the 38th Army has relatively deep experience.

The other is He Hui, the deputy company commander of the 3rd Company of the Long-Range Artillery Battalion of the 27th Army Artillery Brigade. He also holds the rank of captain, and there's not much to say about him.

He is indeed a talented person.

The 27th Army also lacked the resources to reduce its personnel. Although He Hui was a deputy company commander, he was one of the most senior officers in the long-range artillery battalion. The reason he couldn't be promoted was because there were no vacancies, not because he lacked ability.

When He Hui came to the demonstration camp, he brought many of his direct subordinates with him. He was also the cadre that Chen Mo trusted the most.

The last one is Zheng Wenbo, and he's a ruthless guy.

Old Zheng also came from the 38th Army. His original unit was the artillery battalion of the 6th Armored Brigade, where he served as the company commander of a howitzer company.

He is 38 years old this year, born in 1961. He joined the army in 79. In his fifth year of service, which was during the period when he was to be transferred to a volunteer soldier, he participated in the battle between the two mountains with the artillery platoon.

However, they were not the main force, but a reserve unit that cooperated with reconnaissance troops in small-scale combat.

He was injured in the lower leg during a mine-clearing mission, which caused him to walk with a limp. After the battle, he returned to the 6th Tank Division and became a volunteer soldier, where he stayed in the artillery platoon.

Back then, volunteer soldiers weren't promoted to officers, but they were treated the same as regular officers, with no difference in how they led troops.

After serving as a volunteer soldier for six or seven years, in the early 1990s, he was transferred to the officer rank and became the commander of a howitzer company.

Zheng Wenbo served as a company commander for eight years. Just before his demobilization was approaching, he was transferred by the military region to the demonstration battalion.

He was the oldest, most senior, and most experienced of the three cadres.

Chen Mo had already seen the files of these three people.

However, at that time, the demonstration battalion was not equipped at all and could not build air defense, howitzer, or long-range rocket artillery batteries.

These three were placed in the East Campus to study the concept of information warfare. They studied for about a month.

Upon seeing these three people enter.

Chen Mo hurriedly stood up, gesturing for Wang Jianyong to put the lunchbox on the table, and said with a smile, "Old squad leaders, please sit down!"

"Dayong, go get a few bottles of mineral water."

Although Chen Mo is the battalion commander of the demonstration battalion, his rank is definitely higher than these three cadres.

But he knew very well that he had only been promoted to battalion commander by taking advantage of the information technology experiment.

But the three people in front of them were all veteran officers who had served in the military for many years.

Feng Xiaodong is alright; his qualifications are so-so, and he's relatively young.

But He Hui, and especially Zheng Wenbo, have far more seniority than the veterans; they are simply reaching the age limit and will soon be retiring.

Otherwise, his original employer would absolutely not release him.

Releasing people is also a way of hoping that, given the special nature of the demonstration camp, it might be possible to retain these elderly people.

"Hello, Battalion Commander!!"

The three of them stood at attention and saluted in unison, following all the proper etiquette.

"Sit down, sit down, senior sergeants, please don't stand on ceremony. In front of you, I can only be considered a junior."

Chen Mo invited him with a smile.

Upon hearing this, the three exchanged glances, but none of them spoke first. Instead, they obediently dragged their chairs to sit at the conference table.

Chen Mo pushed the lunchboxes on the table in front of the group one by one: "Eat first, old squad leader. We'll bring the water later."

Although these three hadn't been at the demonstration camp for long, they had stayed for a month and were fairly familiar with their new camp commander's temperament.

They're the kind of people who won't act until they see the rabbit, and won't light a lamp until they see a shadow in the night. If they've brought them here, they must have a mission.

Zheng Wenbo is the oldest and has the most impatient temperament; he's similar to Cheng Dong.

Old Zheng held the aluminum lunchbox, hesitated for a moment, and said with some suspicion, "Chen Ying, we're quite familiar with each other."

"Don't be so polite. Just tell us what task you need. Whether it's because we're not doing well in our studies and we want to switch to another position, or whatever, just tell us and we'll do it after we finish eating." Upon hearing this...

Chen Mo felt a sudden pang of sadness, and even the smile on his face froze.

Old Zheng served in the army for half his life and even went to the battlefield. Knowing that he was of age and had to retire, he acted in the same way as the older generation, with the mindset of not causing trouble for the organization.

He only thought about transferring himself to a different position, without considering the important responsibilities he would soon be given.

Perhaps this is the sentiment of the older generation.

However, despite feeling heartbroken, Chen Mo did not show it, and even his previous politeness was somewhat restrained.

What veteran cadres need is not these empty gestures, but the kind of respect that can be put into practice, not just lip service.

Chen Mo, carrying his lunchbox, returned to the main seat, took out cigarettes from his pocket, and offered one to each person.

He lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and said, "Since Company Commander Zheng brought it up, I'll say something."

"Our demonstration battalion has been given the task of bringing the troops out within three months. I personally guess that they will likely participate in this year's annual military exercise."

"Currently, there are vacancies in the self-propelled howitzer company, air defense company, and long-range rocket artillery company. We have the personnel, which are all stored in the reconnaissance company. We also have the equipment, which is parked at the vehicle and artillery yard in the west."

"The problem is that we're severely lacking in key personnel. Company Commander Zheng, I need you to lead a self-propelled howitzer company. I know this is very challenging; you've all been working with towed artillery before, and suddenly switching to self-propelled artillery might be difficult in a short time."

"and many more!!"

Zheng Wenbo was lighting a cigarette when he suddenly heard that he was to lead a self-propelled howitzer company, and he was stunned for a moment.

I didn't even notice the match was almost burning my hand.

After interrupting Chen Mo, he quickly threw away the match: "Chen Battalion Commander, you want me to lead the howitzer company?"

"That's right, is there a problem?" Chen Mo asked back.
"No."

Zheng Wenbo hurriedly shook his head. He was about to be demobilized and had never planned to come to the demonstration battalion to continue serving as a company commander.

They only wanted to make the most of the old artillerymen's skills and find a key member to teach the other soldiers.

After all, it's not his own unit. If he went to any other unit, they wouldn't appoint a stranger, especially one who's about to be demobilized, as a company commander.

Moreover, the demonstration camp is not short of cadres, especially young cadres with education and culture.

“I know this mission is difficult,” Chen Mo replied. “According to my plan, tonight, the infantry, tanks, reconnaissance, logistics, engineers, and medical personnel will officially begin night training.”

"As for the howitzer company, Company Commander Zheng, you should first select people from the reconnaissance company, select all the personnel in the authorized number, and assign them to positions based on the previous sergeants' specialties."

"I'll give you a week to get the howitzer company organized. After a week, you'll be able to participate in the battalion's training."

"Also, Company Commander Feng, you'll lead the air defense company, and Company Commander He, you'll lead the long-range rocket artillery company."

"I've given you the task. You have one week to finalize the organization of these three companies. If you encounter any difficulties during the process, feel free to contact me."

"I will do my best to coordinate and resolve this."

"That's why I called you here. Are there any other questions?"

Upon hearing the question, the three exchanged glances.

They probably didn't expect that the demonstration camp would be so hasty in its appointment of cadres.

After all, the IT department is always talking about high education, high standards, and high requirements.

Look at the infantry, tank, logistics, and medical units. Which of these units isn't led by officers with formal training?

Which one doesn't have a higher education?
To my surprise, the main combat unit chose them, a group of elderly people without any formal education.

"Chen Ying, do you mean I should lead the self-propelled howitzer company to catch up with the armored infantry company and tank company within a week?"

Zheng Wenbo looked serious and asked again to confirm.

"That's right!"

Chen Mo nodded.

"Thank you for your trust, Battalion Commander, but a week won't be necessary." Zheng Wenbo realized he hadn't misheard, and the form of address changed directly from "Chen Ying" to "Battalion Commander".

"If other companies can participate in tonight's night training, our self-propelled howitzer company can participate as well."

After saying that, Zheng Wenbo grabbed the lunchbox and began to wolf down his food.

The aluminum lunchbox was crammed full, containing rice, vegetables, tofu, and fatty meat. Old Zheng managed to eat it all in less than two minutes.

Chen Mo and Wang Jianyong were both a little speechless. They had seen noodles eaten quickly, but this was the first time they had ever seen rice eaten so fast.

"Company Commander Zheng, don't worry. No matter how tight our schedule is, we can manage to get it done in a week."

Chen Mo tried to persuade them, "Our battalion definitely has comrades from the howitzer unit, but there aren't many. Plus, with the equipment being upgraded, the core personnel aren't familiar with it. Isn't it too hasty to have them participate in training tonight?"

"No rush."

Zheng Wenbo swallowed his food with difficulty, picked up a bottle of mineral water, and gulped it down.

"Here, the cadres are all veterans, and the soldiers are all non-commissioned officers. So what if some new equipment is a little difficult to obtain? That's nothing."

"If I can't even handle artillery, how can I call myself an artilleryman?"

"Even if it just has wheels on its own, or even if it has wings on its barrel, it's still a cannon. Battalion Commander, rest assured, before tonight's training session, every single self-propelled howitzer in the company will participate in the training."

"I will never hold the camp back."

Done.

Zheng Wenbo picked up his lunchbox, stood up, stood at attention, and received a standard military salute.

Only then did he limp away.

It seems they're planning to select people from the reconnaissance company.

This swift and decisive approach left everyone in the conference room completely bewildered.

"Battalion Commander, this..."

Wang Jianyong looked in the direction Lao Zheng had left, unsure of how to comment.

But next.

Before Chen Mo could respond, an even more unexpected situation occurred.

Feng Xiaodong and He Hui, who came with Company Commander Zheng, also started to pick up their lunchboxes, put them on their faces, and shovel rice into their mouths.

The two of them weren't as voracious as Lao Zheng. They ate for almost three minutes, swallowing and drinking water, before finally cleaning up their lunchboxes.

After eating.

Feng Xiaodong and He Hui wiped their greasy mouths, stood up at the same time, and saluted!

"Battalion Commander, if the howitzer company can participate in night training, so can our long-range rocket artillery company/air defense company."

"We don't need a week, just half a day this afternoon will be enough."

After saying that, the two of them left with their lunchboxes.

Chen Mo and Wang Jianyong were left staring at each other for a while before Wang Jianyong finally clicked his tongue and said, "Don't these three think Jianlian is too simple?"

"An entire afternoon was used up just by roll call a few times. How could there be time to select people, familiarize them with the equipment, and participate in night training?"

Hear the words.

Chen Mo looked down at his lunchbox and had to admit that he really couldn't have eaten like those three.

"I'm not worried about the rocket artillery company. When He Hui came, he brought a lot of key personnel from the 27th Army. In addition, we don't need rockets for night training. It's just detachment movement, so coordination should be fine."

"But the anti-aircraft and self-propelled howitzer systems were developed rather hastily."

Chen Mo hadn't expected these veteran cadres to be so impatient; they wouldn't even give him a week, insisting on attending tonight's night training.

But there was nothing that could be done to stop it.

He was the battalion commander.

We can't possibly dampen the enthusiasm of our cadres, can we?

"Go and tell Chief of Staff Cheng, and also tell Lao Hou and Wang Jianbin."

"Take this afternoon, for example. We need to select people for the air defense, howitzer, and rocket artillery companies. They need to be familiar with the equipment. All the officers in the battalion can help out."

“These three were transferred from other military regions, and it’s understandable that they are eager to make a name for themselves, but it would be better if they were more meticulous in carrying out their work.”

"The entire battalion should be mobilized to help."

"Yes!"

Wang Jianyong agreed. He didn't even have time to eat when he encountered these three impatient people. He hurriedly left with his lunchbox.

The entire conference room.

Chen Mo was left alone, picking at his rice with chopsticks, eating it bit by bit.

On the first night of training, combat is definitely not going to be used. As long as the tanks can be driven out of the camp according to the size of the squad and there are no collisions or large-scale chaos during the entire maneuver, it will be considered a success.

The requirements weren't high, but the three officers, who were practically all-powerful, were able to fill in the gaps in the entire company's structure in half a day and lead it smoothly.

The units were divided into platoons and squads.

This difficulty level is a bit too high.

Chen Mo didn't take the three men's boastful words too seriously. He had already planned to see how things went and try to persuade them.

But this time, Chen Mo miscalculated.

And the miscalculation was quite egregious.

In the afternoon, after the logistics company's transport platoon brought the streetlights back, the entire engineering company, logistics company, and former reconnaissance company pitched in at the training ground outside the academy, digging holes, burying poles, and pulling wires.

They have extremely high enthusiasm for their work.

Streetlights were erected one by one, visible to the naked eye.

Cheng Dong spent the entire afternoon following the three new company commanders, assisting them in selecting personnel, assigning them to classes, and helping them adapt to their equipment.

Everyone thought that a commander without troops would find it difficult to lead a company in a short time, let alone half a day.

However, they overlooked the ability of veteran cadres to mobilize people.

Zheng Wenbo left the meeting room at noon and immediately went to the communications room to make a phone call to the 6th Armored Brigade of the 38th Army.

At 3 p.m., two troop carriers from the 6th Brigade, carrying nearly 30 key personnel, arrived to assist Zheng Wenbo in starting the company-building work.

Chen Mo had racked his brains and tried every trick in the book, even swindling and deceiving people, but he still couldn't get this many key personnel in the artillery field.

Unexpectedly.

Old Zheng made one phone call, and they all came running over.

The howitzer company is not large to begin with, and does not require many people.

With the assistance of these thirty-odd key personnel, the selection process was completed in less than an hour.

The process involves dividing into classes, selecting class leaders and deputy class leaders, familiarizing oneself with the equipment, and then starting the equipment to begin the process.

Feng Xiaodong of the air defense company wasn't as capable as Lao Zheng, but with one phone call, he managed to summon six or seven senior sergeants from the 38th Army's directly subordinate air defense battalion.

Assist in establishing a liaison.

The afternoon passed like magic.

Chen Mo watched as the three companies were not even established at noon, but by around 5 p.m., the basic framework of the three companies was completed.

Everyone gathered around the vehicle and artillery area to study the new equipment and make final preparations for night training.

Even someone as proud as Chen Mo had to admit that this speed was impressive.

When an old veteran takes the field, he can truly be worth three.

In the military, there has never been a shortage of veteran cadres with extensive connections.

It’s so cruel!

It's no exaggeration to say that if Chen Mo were to build these three companies himself, it would be a miracle if he could even get them organized in a month, let alone half a day.

Unexpectedly.

Choosing the right person brought him unexpected benefits.

Changes occurred before the plan was made, and the scale of the demonstration battalion, consisting of nine companies, was completed.

This was a change that Chen Mo had never expected.

Now, it's happening right before our eyes.

(End of this chapter)