Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 322 Deploying Zhurihe, Old Xu's Helplessness

End of the meeting.

Yan Zhongyi did not elaborate on the plans for subsequent operations, but clearly divided the Blue Army units and Red Army units and instructed each unit on their preparations for battle.

The brigade was disbanded, leaving only Wang Songhe, Tang Haodong, Wei Jinan, and Li Jie, the commander of the 235th Brigade.

Without a doubt, all four of them are from the Blue Team.

Assisted in commanding this military exercise and completed the system test.

After everyone else had left, Old Man Yan pointed to the conference table and said, "Come sit down, everyone."

"You should all be clear about the headquarters' requirements."

"Commander Wang." Yan Zhongyi's gaze focused on Wang Songhe: "Your 61st Division is responsible for building the Jincheng Information Demonstration Battalion. Tell me, what do you think of the Red and Blue Army organization assignments we just made?"

heard asking.

Wang Songhe straightened his back and pondered for a moment before saying, "Commander Yan, if it's just about conducting experiments, I personally think there's no problem."

"But isn't the Blue Team too big?"

"This is big?"

Upon hearing Lao Wang's suggestion, Li Jie, the brigade commander of the 235th Brigade, immediately bristled, his eyes widening like saucers. He had been holding back his opinions all along.

A mere armored regiment, an understaffed unit with only one battalion under its command, plus the 235th Motorized Infantry Brigade and other units directly under the army, dared to attempt to take on the rest of the 27th Army.

This was nothing short of a fantasy to him.

In terms of numbers, the Blue Army had a total of only about 10,000 people, while the Red Army had a total of 40,000 to 50,000 people.

Regional exercises are indeed small-scale, so no one is really going to fight a war of attrition. But with an area of ​​over a thousand square kilometers, and the planning of cities, bridges, rivers, highways, logistics and other tactical points, once the personnel are dispersed and stationed...

How many of the more than 10,000 men can still maintain a mobile main force?

Five thousand?

Still four thousand?

In this situation, the Red Army doesn't need any tactics. Simply by attacking cities and strongholds and launching attacks from all directions, they can completely surround and kill all those tactical targets.

There is no way to fight.

"Commander Wang, I cannot agree with your suggestion. If that's the case, the system experiment is too outrageous. No matter how strong the Blue Army is, can one of them defeat more than a dozen Red Army soldiers?"

Li Jie's tone carried a hint of emotion, but his voice was not loud.

After all, among the people present, he was the lowest in rank, and therefore lacked authority in his speech.

Wang Songhe is already on the shortlist, which is an open secret. He will probably take another step forward before the end of the year and become the leader of a star.

Yan Zhongyi, needless to say, was his immediate superior, an officer under the 27th Army. He might not know about the Blue Army Battalion, but he did know about Wei Jin'an's promotion from deputy division/brigade commander to division deputy chief of staff.

After all, no matter how large the Kyoto Military Region is, there are only so many people in this rank, how could it possibly be kept secret?

"Personally, I reserve my opinion; the Blues didn't give them enough players."

Li Jie grunted twice, making his stance clear.

After all, this exercise was no small matter; the outcome was of utmost importance. As the commander of the 235th Brigade, he had to give it his all.

Upon hearing this, Wang Songhe simply smiled and remained silent.

It's normal that many cadres are unfamiliar with or have never been exposed to the new system. Based on conventional data, the Blue Team is indeed at a significant disadvantage.

The problem is, with the addition of dog show talents, can we still use conventional data to measure them?
Yan Zhongyi looked at Li Jie, who was arguing indignantly, and smiled as he raised his hand to tap the conference table.

"Alright, Commander Wang's suggestion is not without merit."

"Li Jie".

"arrive."

Do you know the 7th Armored Brigade?

"Report, I understand." Li Jie glanced at Wei Jin'an. Who didn't know the 7th Tank Division of the 28th Army, which was known for its formidable fighting power back then?
The division had nearly 600 tanks. In the early 1990s, when mechanization was just beginning, the 7th Tank Division could easily defeat the 79th Division at the time, or even take on three or five of them.

Once a heavy-armored cluster is deployed, it's simply beyond the capacity of an infantry division to withstand.

"So, if the 235th Brigade and the 7th Armored Brigade were to clash, who would be stronger?" Yan Zhongyi asked with a serious expression.

"This"

Li Jie hesitated for a moment: "That's hard to say."

He couldn't very well tell the former brigade commander of the 7th Brigade that the man was no good, could he?
"Hmph, hard to say?" Yan Zhongyi's face was cold, and he slammed his hand on the table with a "bang": "You're getting emotional?"

"How did I give my self-criticism at the meeting just now? Did I not hear a single word?"

"The armored regiment's battalion encountered the 7th Armored Brigade. The two sides fought for less than an hour. The 7th Armored Brigade was completely wiped out, while the armored regiment lost less than a platoon."

What the hell? ! ! !

Li Jie suddenly looked up. A battalion had taken on a brigade, and not only had they won, they had won so easily.
Is that strange?

Yan Zhongyi, looking utterly disappointed, angrily retorted, "You're an idiot! Do you even know what the 188th Combat Division is?"

"Commander Tang's troops encountered a battalion. The blitzkrieg turned into attrition warfare. After less than six hours of fighting, the main force of the entire division was reduced to less than half a battalion."

"What do you mean by a new system? I've made it clear to you repeatedly at the conference, are you out of your mind?"

"In this exercise, the armored regiment can maximize the impact of information-based combat support through you. Your task is to figure out how to cooperate, not to offer opinions or express attitudes here."

"Something that doesn't improve."

Old Man Yan's curses grew more and more vicious, leaving Wang Songhe and the other two sitting there unable to get a word in edgewise.

Everyone says that Old Man Yan has a fiery temper, but this is too fiery. Although Li Jie used to be a company commander under Yan Zhongyi, and was a soldier he had trained.

But after all, there were these outsiders present.

"Specific battle plans will be announced later; first, gather the troops."

"Notify the armored regiment to enter the field."

After Yan Zhongyi finished speaking, he glanced at everyone present and, seeing that they were all in agreement, no one said anything more.

He raised his hand and waved, signaling the end of the meeting.

Despite Old Man Yan's positive attitude in admitting his mistakes and his quick reprimand of Li Jie, the 27th Army is, after all, a unit under his command, consisting of a brigade, an army-level unit, and an armored regiment.

To be honest, he didn't really think the Blues had an advantage.

However, the Ironclad Legion's recent performance has been too frightening.

Wang Songhe's statement was so firm that even the two parties involved from the 63rd Army who came to listen in didn't say a word.

Yan Zhongyi had no choice but to acquiesce to the new system, which indeed possessed terrifying combat power.

In that case, we need to plan the red-blue force operations on the battlefield properly.

Several people came out of the conference room.

Li Jie, the brigade commander of the 235th Brigade, was still in a daze. He couldn't understand how a single battalion could have wiped out the main force of an entire division.

"Gentlemen, is the Ironclad Regiment you're talking about really that powerful?"

Hear the words.

Wang Songhe stopped in his tracks without saying a word, while Tang Haodong and Wei Jinan calmly watched Li Jie, whose hard-earned achievements were right in front of them.

What else is there to say.

Seeing that the three of them unanimously praised him, Li Jie opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't dare to ask any more questions.

"Alright, then who will notify the Ironclad Regiment to come over?"

"The exercise can begin at any time. The Northern Sword military exercise ended last night, and other units have been preparing for a long time."

"Let me do it."

Wei Jinan took responsibility for issuing the order, as he was, after all, the deputy chief of staff and a representative of the military region.

It's just right for him to come and inform us.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Chen Mo found a carriage and had just lay down to sleep when Cheng Dong and several cadres rushed over in less than an hour.

Before they could speak.

Chen Mo had been awakened by the noise. He sat up, rubbing his sore eyes, and asked, "Are there any orders?"

"Yes."

"Wei's brigade is also in Zhurihe. The order to depart has been issued, and we are to arrive at the Zhurihe camp before 4 p.m.

"Over the phone, we were informed that we would be participating in the military exercise codenamed Northern Sword A, and we were assigned to the Blue Team."

The Northern Sword, A?

Has the original exercise ended?

Upon hearing the change in code name, Chen Mo jumped up and strode to the carriage entrance, looking up at the vast grassland in the distance.

The smell of gunpowder in the early morning was gone, and the sound of cannons had disappeared.

The sun is shining brightly right now, and the temperature is more than ten degrees higher than at night, so the sun feels warm and cozy on my skin.

But in his view, the grassland was not sunny and clear, but rather gloomy and overcast, with a strong smell of gunpowder everywhere.

be cheated! ! !
Even in the 1990s, an exercise typically involved an investment of tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of yuan. The designated code name would be included in the military exercise archives, and it was impossible for the exercise to be stopped midway unless an emergency occurred.

The codename change means there's only one possibility: the previous exercise has already ended. And the Northern Sword's forces have already laid out their trap, waiting for him to arrive, not the at least two days of preparation time previously estimated.

In reality, their troops were probably already prepared.

"Didn't you hear cannon fire last night?"

Chen Mo turned to look at everyone.

"Yes, I heard it, but the sound of artillery fire was very scattered, which means that the main forces of both sides were quite intertwined."

Cheng Dong nodded.

"Ha! These old men really think highly of us." Chen Mo shook his head with a smile: "They even try to fool a regiment that's short-staffed."

"Order!"

Swish!
Upon hearing the word "order," the cadres present immediately stood at attention.

"Notify all companies to depart promptly in half an hour."

"Remember, advance according to wartime standards during the maneuver, move at a semi-assault speed, turn the radar up to the maximum, and launch all drones for reconnaissance."

"By the way, how many local recruits did I ask you to find?"

“17 people,” Cheng Dong replied quickly, “but only two of them know how to make mutton offal soup and meat pies.”

"However, among the comrades from the 4th Motorized Infantry Regiment of the Jincheng Military Region and the Xijing Army Academy, there are three local soldiers."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo's eyes lit up.

“Alright, this is an unexpected bonus. Pass the word down that all the comrades who can make pies and mutton soup should change into local civilian clothes and have a local soldier accompany them to sell their wares around the battlefield.”

"As for the remaining two locals, have them find some sheep, change into civilian clothes, and let them graze around the battlefield. It would be best if they could find some local elders to help them graze the sheep, which would make it easier to cover their tracks."

"Ah!"

"I've never been afraid of anyone if I want to fight a battle by surprise."

"Go get ready!"

"Yes!!"

The other company commanders did not hesitate at all when given the order and immediately turned around to carry it out.

Cheng Dong frowned. As a former reconnaissance soldier, he certainly knew the advantages of disguise reconnaissance.

but
"Scholar, there's nothing wrong with hawking mutton soup and pies everywhere, but isn't it going too far to drive sheep to graze on the battlefield?"

"Not too much."

Chen Mo smiled and shook his head: "In large-scale warfare, no means are spared. Don't unexpected situations arise during battles?"

"Sometimes, a flock of sheep can be more useful than a heavily armed group. It's just that there isn't enough time. Otherwise, I would have planned to tunnel this entire grassland underground, so that the infantry could be used as paratroopers to launch surprise attacks on enemy strongholds at any time."

Man Xuexue had already walked outside the military column when he heard about the sheep-flock tactic and tunnel warfare. His eyes lit up, and he deftly pulled out his notebook to take notes.

While taking notes, I couldn't help but sigh, "The battalion commander is truly a talent worthy of our generation. This tactical arrangement is absolutely insidious."

When sheep appear, they often hold off the enemy for at least ten minutes, or even longer, at the most critical moment.

I have the time and energy for that.

The tide of battle may turn.

After all, informationized forces can react faster than mechanized forces. Even if a minute doesn't determine the outcome of a battle, there should be a turning point in ten minutes.

I should write this down; I might need it someday.

"Uh"

Cheng Dong had no words to refute Chen Mo's line of thought. After considering for a while, he spread his hands and said, "Disguise and infiltration are no problem. We can find Lao Pao, Wang Yan, and Liu Hai to lead them."

“It’s not difficult for local soldiers to borrow some sheep, but the problem is how do we maintain communication? Wei said we were assigned to the Blue Army, but the higher-ups didn’t say how many units were in the Blue Army, nor did they mention who was in the Red Army.”

“But based on your analysis last night, the Red and Blue forces are likely units under the 27th Army. Our personnel are scattered and we can’t contact each other. We can’t have everyone carrying a radio, that would be too easy to expose us. Besides, the Red Army also has radar, so it’s hard to avoid their reconnaissance.”

"It doesn't matter, I have a solution."

Chen Mo smiled, then quickly walked to the entrance of the military train carriage, where he found Lao Man eavesdropping again. He grabbed Lao Man by the collar and pulled him behind him.

He shouted outside, "Old Xu!"

"What about people?"

Not long after, Xu Dong came running over from a distance.

Chen Mo looked him up and down, then reached out his hand: "Give me the phone, I need to call it up for the exercise."

"It's unusable. This was issued by the Security Bureau and is strictly prohibited from being used by outsiders." Xu Dong was quite principled, shaking his head firmly.

But given Chen Mo's personality, he wouldn't care about any of that, and he certainly wouldn't be intimidated by the name of a security bureau.

"Stop talking nonsense. 'Strictly prohibited for external use'? I didn't use it back in my hometown last time?"

"Besides, this is the first time our Ironclad Regiment has come here, and we're going to participate in an exercise. As the future captain of the Ironclad Regiment's guard battalion and the future head of the entire regiment, with over a hundred people under your command, how can you bear to watch us get defeated so soon after we arrive?"

“From now on, we’ll all be comrades on the same front. Although I know you’ll eventually have to go back to Kyoto, during your tenure as the captain of the guard battalion, maintaining the safety of the entire regiment is your mission and task. You treat a broken phone like a treasure?”

Xu Dong was just a bodyguard, but his vigilance, combat ability, and individual fighting skills were absolutely top-notch.

But when it comes to wit and banter, he's no match for the scholar.

This guy, being both the head of the guard battalion and the honor of the entire regiment, was being bombarded with honors. No matter how principled he was, he couldn't withstand it.

Even Cheng Dong and Man Xuexi were stunned by what they heard.

I feel like something's not right, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

"What guard brigade?" Xu Dong scoffed. "We only sent four people; the higher-ups just ordered us to form a guard platoon!"

"You are confused."

Chen Mo, hands on his hips, shook his head with a pained expression and said, "How can four people maintain the safety of the entire regiment?"

"Chief of Staff Xu did say that he wanted to form guard platoons, but he didn't say how many. There are four of you. If you form four guard platoons, you can combine them into a guard battalion. With four platoons, there are more than 120 people. Wouldn't you be the battalion commander?"

"You're already a brigade leader, and you want to use your phone? Now you're talking to me about principles? Mentioning discipline?"

"Stop, stop, stop, stop, use it, you can use it."

Xu Dong couldn't stand the scholar's righteous and awe-inspiring demeanor, as if he would immediately become a sinner of the Ironclad Regiment if he didn't agree.

He knew the other party was bluffing, but what good was knowing? They were just throwing around accusations; he would still need to stay in the troupe for a while.

"Wait a moment, I'll go get it for you. The standard satellite communication phone can't be lent out casually. These are monitored by the security bureau and they can ask questions at any time. However, we each have a few spare phones."

"It's not in the number list. I'll apply for one and bring it over later."

"Hurry up, it's an emergency."

Chen Mo patted Xu Dong's shoulder seriously, but the other man dodged it and went to get his phone, clearly annoyed.

Man Xuexi secretly sighed, "I've learned another trick!" and quickly took out his notebook to write it down.

"Who are these guards?" Cheng Dong asked, somewhat bewildered.

"The General Staff Security Bureau uses encrypted satellite communications, and their telephones are small and easy to hide. Given the radar capabilities of each unit, it is difficult to pinpoint the signal source accurately."

Chen Mo explained, "Besides our active phased array early warning radar, which can be locked onto by drones and detect targets in time, I estimate that the Red Army's radar does not have this capability."

"Using this to transmit information should be no problem."

"That's good. With this layer of protection, we won't have to worry about communication issues when we infiltrate in disguise."

Cheng Dong nodded, seemingly understanding.

Not long after, Xu Dong returned. He did have a backup satellite phone; to be precise, all four of them had two.

This guy didn't hold back; he took it all.

Chen Mo naturally pocketed one of the phones, and handed the remaining seven over to Cheng Dong.

"We've assigned an old scout to follow both the shepherd and the mutton soup vendor. The training has been intense these past few months, and since no one in the camp has had a haircut, their hairstyles aren't easily exposed."

"Have the veteran scout take a look at the map and divide the entire map area before we set off, so that we can communicate with each other later. Also, leave a contact number for him; this is a hidden trump card, so that all the comrades can do their part."

"I see!"

Cheng Dong responded and quickly left.

Chen Mo called the local railway department to inform his unit that it was time to evacuate and that the military train could leave at any time.

After half an hour.

The Blue Army Battalion of the Ironclad Regiment began its operation.

Now that he had guessed the exercise was over and knew why the political commissar had ordered them to traverse the battlefield, Chen Mo had no reservations.

The entire battalion's tanks spread out in a large fan shape, extending horizontally to nearly ten kilometers.

There are basically no more war machines in the vertical direction.

It's like arranging all the tanks together, maximizing the distance between them, and launching all the drones to collect terrain data.

They are also collecting coordinates of various outposts.

It moved forward at a snail's pace, less than 15 miles per hour.

Heading towards the Zhurihe station.

(End of this chapter)