Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 359 Inquiry upon taking office: It's all about connections!

Chen Mo had just gotten out of the car after returning to the Blue Army camp from the 182nd Regiment's garrison, less than ten minutes had passed.

The battle situation at the front lines was simultaneously transmitted to the rear camps.

After the 2nd Battalion and Artillery Battalion of the 182nd Regiment left the supply depot, during their march along the highway, a communications vehicle was destroyed, and the artillery battalion command vehicle was also destroyed. The battalion commander and several staff officers were killed in action.

The destruction of the command vehicle caused a disturbance in the convoy, during which a communications vehicle disappeared without explanation.

Two whole battalions of men.

They couldn't even catch the disguised enemy hidden in the ranks, allowing the enemy to escape by taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain.

They also stole a communications vehicle.

After all, Man Xuexi and Zhang Chuan aren't fools.

To ensure a smooth evacuation after the operation's success, they chose to strike either in towns or in areas with extremely complex terrain.

But even so.

Upon receiving the news, even Chen Mo, an enemy in the training camp, couldn't help but sigh to the heavens.

The 182nd Regiment is in such a good situation.

The battle was abruptly halted by the regimental headquarters. If they had disregarded everything and gone all out, even if it meant breaking down the engine, and concentrated the entire regiment's main force to push forward, the outcome of this battle might not have been impossible.

Now, there's no fighting left.

The 182nd Regiment had plenty of fighting spirit, but lacked decisiveness. Even the command headquarters lacked the kind of all-out determination.

As the battalion commander of the Blue Army, Chen Mo knew the situation of the Blue Army best.

There are many veterans in the battalion, and the sergeant majors are spread throughout the various units. In addition, so many officers have been in the battalion for half a year, so even a pig could learn how to arrange troops in formation, right?
Squad-based operations allow for the testing of combined firepower and are best suited to the conditions within a battalion.

There are many veterans and officers; often, the lack of communication does not mean a lack of combat capability.

Therefore, as the enemy of the Blue Army, once we gain the upper hand, we cannot give them any chance to react.

In five years, when the mechanization reforms have reached a certain level, looking back at the exercises of the past few years, we may find them absurd.

But that's the process of making progress little by little.

The 182nd Regiment represents most mechanized units; their combat thinking is far inferior.

The outcome was as expected.

At around 2 a.m. on February 21, the fierce battle on the grassland under the cover of night lasted for more than nine hours.

The main force of the four battalions of the 182nd Regiment was almost completely wiped out.

The Blue Army battalion, consisting of more than 20 detachments, had lost more than half of its units, but still had the ability to fight.

After receiving the final results in the information command room, Chen Mo ordered the 182nd Regiment's flag to be sent to the POW camp, and at the same time disbanded the POW camp, releasing all members of the Night Tigers and letting them return to their own units.

After all, the first round of combat training is over, so there's no reason to keep suppressing their people, let alone hang the regimental flag on our own training ground.

Letting Night Tiger take it back will save a lot of trouble, which is perfect.

After this combat training session concluded.

Jia Guoqiang, the commander of the 182nd Regiment, personally went to the Blue Army's camp.

Firstly, as the two units jointly conducted a series of combat training exercises, the commanders of both sides made symbolic movements.

Secondly, at the suggestion of Commander Jia, a three-day ceasefire was declared!

The reason is that the 182nd Regiment is too unfamiliar with the terrain of the Zhuri River. If it hastily starts combat training, it can only be passively attacked. Against the Blue Army Battalion, a strong new host battalion, it will be at a great disadvantage.

Chen Mo certainly wouldn't refuse this suggestion.

On the 21st, both sides withdrew their main forces and reduced their troop strength during the day, allowing the four battalions of the 182nd Regiment to wander around and collect terrain data, and to fly drones to survey the area 24 hours a day.

Chen Mo only found out later.

During these three days.

The 182nd Regiment was not only familiar with the terrain, but its staff officers also retrieved various data on previous Blue Army battalion exercises and operations from the 181st Regiment, the 188th Division, and the 7th Armored Brigade.

By leveraging shared data, we can study the weaknesses of the Blue Army camp.

Good guy.

Defeating the Blue Army camp—what a huge attraction!

Over the course of three days, not only staff officers from the 182nd Regiment participated in the discussions, but also staff officers from the 181st Regiment in Tianshui, the 183rd Regiment in Pingjibao, the 188th Division in Xiaocheng, and the 7th Armored Brigade in Hedong.

Several organizations held a telephone and video conference.

Based on past battle examples, Jia Guoqiang analyzed Chen Mo's war tactics, occasionally tapping the laser pointer on the zoomable electronic sand table as he presented his analysis page by page in the PowerPoint presentation.

Analyze the Blue Army battalion's combat habits, the logic of command post movements, and the relationship between these and the changing stages of the battlefield.

These analyses are not entirely useless.

Based on past combat experience, the 182nd Regiment concluded that Chen Mo would inevitably be on the front lines during the ground armored battle.

His command position was inside a modified transport vehicle of the directly subordinate armored unit. Further analysis suggests that Chen Mo's command position was usually not close to the core penetration area of ​​the battle, but rather in the secondary tank position of the later wave of the overall land group.

It moves alongside a backup armored communications command vehicle. If the command tank is severely attacked and deemed to have lost power, Chen Mo will quickly transfer to the communications vehicle.

With this intelligence support, and by combining all the characteristics, the 182nd Regiment could accurately locate the tactical positions of the Blue Army battalion commanders and carry out a decapitation strike.

You think that's enough?

No, no, no!!

Commander Jia feared the decapitation strike would fail, taking into account the Type 99 tank's strong survivability, anti-missile capabilities, and rapid mobility.

The accuracy of a single vehicle-mounted rocket cannot guarantee an absolute kill.

Therefore, after determining the tactical positions for movement, it was decided to adopt a multi-vehicle group swarm firing strategy.

To prevent them from being at a disadvantage in subsequent combat training, Jia Guoqiang transferred more than a dozen sets of anti-infrared reconnaissance combat suits from the 184th Regiment Special Forces Base in Qinglongxia to ensure that members of the Night Tigers could approach the Blue Army's command vehicle.

Besides.

Three days later, Commander Jia went to the Blue Army camp again and made a special request.

The second round of combat training can begin, but it must employ mobile warfare.

Chen Mo couldn't let the Blue Army's detachments find advantageous terrain in advance. At this point, he was unaware that his habits had been thoroughly figured out by the enemy.

Naturally agreed.

After all, the 182nd Regiment is here to accompany our side in combat training, so there's no reason to refuse even this small request.

The battle begins.

Chen Mo still did not participate in the battle, but stayed in the information command room to watch the battle situation. However, whether he participated in the battle or not did not conflict with the plans of the 182nd Regiment.

He was the battalion commander, and his command habits were deeply ingrained among the officers in the battalion.

Cheng Dong took over Chen Mo's position and appeared on the front line.

In the early stages of the mobile warfare, the main force of the four battalions of the 182nd Regiment "honestly" carried out the three-line encirclement operation.

The Second Battalion, being the most powerful unit in the entire regiment, marched north along Highway 203, while the First and Third Battalions attacked from the flanks.

The battle commenced immediately.

Chen Mo was in charge of the command center at the rear. Based on the intelligence from ground and air surveillance and the feedback from the information terminal, he watched as Cheng Dong and Man Xuexi continuously adjusted their orders according to the actual situation.

A two-hour-long mobile battle.

Chen Mo remained oblivious to the other party's unusual behavior, focusing instead on sketching out a massive battle scenario and analyzing the enemy's and his own situation.

The battle lasted for just two hours.

When the forward detachment of the 1st Battalion of the 182nd Regiment completed the battlefield division of the Blue Army battalion, it suffered extremely heavy losses, with only one-third of its combat strength remaining, making it impossible to form an effective annihilation force.

The enemy's 2nd Battalion suddenly shifted its firepower, launched an attack from a slope, and dispersed the firepower of the Blue Army battalion's units.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to catch their breath, the Third Battalion dispatched an entire mechanized infantry company to cooperate with drones and long-range rocket artillery from the rear.

They rushed towards the command squad where Cheng Dong was located.

By the time Chen Mo realized what was happening, the enemy had used a battalion's main force as bait for a fire assault to lure his side into a trap.

Even he stared wide-eyed.

What the hell!

Is there really a commander who's even more despicable than him?
But Chen Mo had no time to be surprised; the battle command was moving too fast.

In a battle, as the forward commander, personal emotions are not important. His duty is to maintain absolute composure and continuously coordinate troop deployments based on battlefield information.

Organize the Blue Army battalion to respond to the 182nd Regiment's attack in the mobile warfare surrounding the assault on the position, disperse and cut off the enemy's land forces, assess subordinate units, and grant them firepower authority.

Of course, Chen Mo did not go to the front line; he only focused on the weaknesses of his own side's operations, while Cheng Dong handled all other tasks.

At this moment, Cheng Dong is in the midst of the battle and should not yet have realized that the enemy's trump card is aimed at the command post.

Chen Mo rushed to the radio, grabbed the handheld device, and ordered the staff working on site to switch to the Blue Army camp's public channel.

"Armored 4th Platoon, immediately begin artillery evasion maneuvers."

"Attention! Reinstall and pull back!"

"Do not let anyone from the enemy's third battalion get close."

"The enemy wants to engage in a trade, which puts us at a disadvantage."

"Another grenade launcher squad and an anti-aircraft artillery squad, abandon the high ground positions, concentrate firepower, launch a tactical attack on both flanks, and intercept."

Chen Mo stopped abruptly before he could finish speaking.

The real-time monitoring terminal showed that the rockets from the 182nd Regiment had hit the command vehicle that Cheng Dong was riding in.

Not only that.

The mechanized infantry company of the 3rd Battalion of the 182nd Regiment, with its drones, is still on the move.

With double insurance in place, Chen Mo realized that the location of their command vehicle had already been exposed.

The Second Battalion's attack from the slope just now drew more of our own unit's firepower, and the Third Battalion took the opportunity to send men to attack, which was just one of the methods to ensure a decapitation strike.

The real trump card is rocket artillery lock-on.

This means that the 182nd Regiment already knew the location of the command vehicle, and the reason it did not attack at the start of the battle was most likely because it considered the Blue Army battalion's excellent independent combat capabilities.

In the early stages of the war, the command post was targeted for assassination, giving each unit ample time to make adjustments, but the outcome of the battle remained unpredictable.

Only by carrying out a decapitation strike when the battle becomes intense and the main forces of both sides are intersecting can the maximum disruption of the Blue Army's command line be guaranteed.

"Commander Jia, you're quite impressive! You really showed off your skills?"

Chen Mo smiled and shook his head, quite surprised.

At the same time, he put down his radio and shut down all communications for the entire battalion.

Before the command post was destroyed, he would definitely try to save it. Now that it has been bombed, he naturally wants to see how each squad reacts.

Furthermore, according to the exercise regulations, you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket.

The commanders of a battalion wouldn't be placed in the same command vehicle.

At this moment, Man Xuexi was still sitting in the tank of the command detachment. I don't know what's wrong with that guy, he just likes tanks so much.

When I was in logistics, I would often go to the tank company. Later, when I was transferred to the engineer company, I still went to the tanks.

Now that he's been transferred back to the General Staff, he still can't shake this habit.

But soon, Chen Mo understood why Lao Man liked tanks.

Cheng Dong and Man Xuexi were indeed not in the same command vehicle.

But they were in the same squad.

The command vehicle was destroyed by a rocket, and Man Xuexi realized that the command unit's location had been exposed.

As for how to expose himself, he couldn't worry about that right now; he just had to get out of the command tank immediately. Lao Man knew very well that the first wave of rockets had located and destroyed the command vehicle, and ten seconds later it would be time to clear the area.

In the chaos of battle, leaving the tank would only hasten his death; if he remained inside and his luck was off the charts and he was hit by a rocket, he would be destroyed along with the tank.

Therefore, the clever Lao Man suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

He quickly ordered the tank commander to slow down. He opened the tank's bottom cover, lay down between the tracks, and crawled on the ground to keep up with the slowing tank.

Tanks not only have covers on top, but also inside, which is why many students like tanks.

Even if the tank is bombed, he won't be damaged if he lies under it.

It can effectively prevent beheading.

This is truly the best dog ever!

Chen Mo noticed the command tank slowing down via the drone, stared intently at the bottom, and spotted a furtive human figure.

Even he was speechless.

Holy crap, that's amazing!

However, as good as it was, the method of learning was indeed effective. The 182nd Regiment's rocket bombardment targeted the Blue Army's command detachment and destroyed the vast majority of the surrounding tanks.

But this time, Lao Man miscalculated.

The 182nd Regiment planned and calculated for three days, and collaborated with multiple units to devise a plan. How could they possibly escape so easily?

Old Man lay beneath the destroyed tank, barely clinging to life.

After the rocket bombardment ended, the mechanized infantry company of the 3rd Battalion and the reconnaissance soldiers of the Night Tigers rushed over together.

In the distance, Night Tigers' scouts were also lying in ambush.

One of the veterans, holding binoculars, stared in shock at the hunched figure under the tank. He said, utterly speechless, "Is that new recruit crawling under the tank that the Blue Army battalion commander, that beast?"

“It doesn’t look like it. Dog Scholar doesn’t look this sleazy.” Another scout observed while taking out a photo for comparison.

I watched it for a long time.

Fuck!
He wasn't a dog-like scholar, but he was a high-ranking officer in the Blue Army battalion. I heard he was the deputy chief of staff, and his name was Man Xuexi. He was clearly a captain, but he had the rank of private.

The officers in the Blue Army battalion are indeed very treacherous.

He's already a company-level officer, but he's still carrying the rank of a new recruit, pretending to be a private, and crawling on the ground like a maggot.

That's fucking despicable!
angry!
The two Night Tiger scouts exchanged a glance, now harboring a natural animosity towards the older privates and corporals.

Their eyes met, they nodded firmly, pulled the trigger, and bullets of hatred were fired.

puff!
White smoke from the already damaged tank was rising again.
The 182nd Regiment's decapitation operation was successful.

But in the end, they still lost the battle.

Because beheading Cheng Dong and Man Xuexi was completely useless. The one who should be beheaded the most was the Blue Army's most prestigious battalion commander, who never even went to the battlefield.

Even though Chen Mo hardly issued any orders afterward.

But the commanders of each squad did not accept the decapitation of the command post.

The damage was only to the forward command post; what does it have to do with the main command?

If the commanders of each detachment cannot receive orders from the forward command post, they will uniformly shut down the command channels and coordinate independently among the units.

With the First Battalion suffering heavy losses and the Second Battalion also suffering heavy losses due to drawing too much fire while pulling up the slope, the situation was dire.

The second combat training exercise, a mobile warfare exercise, lasted only three hours, during which the main force of the 182nd Regiment was completely exhausted.

The news is out.

Upon learning that Chen Mo had not gone to the battlefield, many staff officers from the 182nd Regiment, the 181st Regiment, the 7th Armored Brigade, and the 188th Division were utterly speechless.

Damn it, why is this damn scholar so hard to kill?

If a meticulously planned decapitation strike fails, the habits of the Blue Army battalion commanders will inevitably change in subsequent combat training.

Combat training not only enhances the capabilities of combat units, but also upgrades the thinking of officers.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Time flies.

Soon it came to March 19, 2000.

Over the course of more than twenty days, seven training exercises were conducted, and the 182nd Regiment lost all seven.

The 182nd Regiment tried everything: mobile warfare, assault warfare, blocking warfare, raiding warfare, and so on.

During this period, units such as the 181st Regiment, the 183rd Regiment, the Armored Regiment, the Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment, the Artillery Regiment, and the 61st Division's Direct Reconnaissance Battalion, etc., were trained to serve as training grounds.

They all sent a battalion or several companies to reinforce the 182nd Regiment, and the scale of combat training has been increasing.

But the results were pretty consistent; I never won.

The Blue Army battalion and its units are becoming increasingly proficient in combat operations.

Chen Mo hadn't been commanding many battles during this period, but he hadn't been idle either. He had been submitting reports on combat training, as well as reports proposing to promote Cheng Dong and Man Xuexi by exception, to the Kyoto military headquarters.

Make final preparations.

Regardless, the armored regiment is a key unit under close scrutiny, and the next commander's abilities must be recognized by those above.

3 PM on March 19th.

Chen Mo sat in his office, looking up at the ceiling, idly passing the time.

Recently, Huo Linshan, the former political instructor of the reconnaissance company, is now the deputy political instructor of the Blue Army battalion.

He worried a lot about his relationship with Wang Luyi, and would often have heart-to-heart talks with him, hoping to finalize things before Zhongpei set off.

After all, in Cheng Dong and Huo Linshan's eyes, young people change too quickly.

What if the scholar goes to the training camp and is away for a long time, causing the two to lose contact and their relationship to fade?
Wang Luyi was, after all, from a military family.

Furthermore, the girl had a good personality and came from a good family, which was in the eyes of a group of retired cadres in their thirties.

She is indeed a good match for the scholar; it's best not to miss out.

Whether at the grassroots or high command level, the military is never a place where individuals fight alone.

The 63rd Army headquarters and Wei Brigade of the 7th Armored Brigade have now been transferred to the military region as deputy chief of staff, a division-level officer. He will likely be promoted further in the future. These are all units that Xiucai can rely on.

If she were to get together with Wang Luyi...

The 21st Army, including the forces of Wang Songhe, can also influence Xiucai.

With these favorable conditions, for people like Yu Chengdong and Huo Linshan, it would be the best choice for two young people to get together as long as they are interested in each other.

Just now, during his lunch break, Huo Linshan talked to Chen Mo again, appealing to his emotions and reasoning with him.

Even though Chen Mo had already tacitly agreed to date Wang Luyi, Lao Huo was still worried and would come over every few days to ask about the progress.

Recently, Chen Mo has been busy with combat training, and Wang Luyi has also been busy running around with the medical team every day.

Just as Chen Mo was staring at the ceiling, idly staring at the white wall, the landline on his desk started ringing.

Chen Mo didn't think much of it, and sat up straight, picked up the microphone and put it to his ear.

"Kyoto Ironclad Regiment, this is Chen Mo. What can I do for you?"

"it's me!"

On the other end of the receiver came the voice of Xu Hong, Chief of Staff of the Kyoto Military Region.

"Hello, Chief!"

Upon recognizing who it was, Chen Mo quickly stood up at attention and shouted in a loud voice.

"Ok!"

"Get ready, the headquarters discipline department has already set off and is expected to arrive at the Zhurihe camp within an hour."

"Have Cheng Dong, who was mentioned in the recent report, fully prepare to be questioned by the Discipline Department."

"Don't say anything unnecessary during the questioning. Answer only what is asked, and don't answer what isn't asked. Pay attention to your wording, understand?"

"Yes! I understand!"

"that is it."

After saying that, Chief of Staff Xu hung up the phone.

Hearing the dial tone from the receiver, Chen Mo hesitated for a moment before putting down the receiver and slowly sitting back in his chair.

Despite what Chief of Staff Xu said, the General Staff's Discipline Department only came to inquire.

But Chen Mo knew in his heart that since the Discipline Department had been alerted, there was no question of questioning.
This is censorship.

Moreover, it was the highest level of scrutiny, unlike the scrutiny he had received at the Army Academy. If he said something wrong in front of the Discipline Department, the consequences would be very serious.

But what's the headquarters' motive for coming here at this time?
Because the armored regiment is to train technical backbones for the entire army, it is necessary to ensure that the successor cadres are in good condition in all aspects.
The reasoning is plausible, but isn't the scale a bit too much?

Just as Chen Mo was wondering.

The landline on the desk rang again.

He quickly grabbed the receiver and held it to his ear: "Hello, Kyoto Ironclad Regiment, this is Chen Mo."

"it's me!"

The exact same response came from Wang Songhe, but this time it wasn't from Xu Hong.

"Greetings, sir!" Chen Mo frowned, already vaguely guessing the purpose of the call, which was most likely related to an investigation.

as predicted.

Without a single polite word, Wang Songhe went straight to the point: "Someone from headquarters will be going to the Ironclad Regiment later. Your unit is special; new officers will have a secret talk before taking office."

"Remember to be careful with your wording during the conversation and respond with an absolutely objective and neutral attitude."

"Don't talk nonsense, and don't spout nonsense, understand?"

Upon hearing the instructions, Chen Mo nodded subconsciously: "I understand, but sir, I have a question."

"You want to ask why we're investigating you?" Wang Songhe seemed to have expected this. He chuckled and said, "There's nothing strange about it. Even ordinary soldiers who are promoted to officers have a public announcement period. You should know that."

"Including promotions for senior officers, relevant grassroots investigations, and certifications from superiors, there will be no shortage of such procedures. Do I need to remind you of the situation in your armored regiment?"

"Many people in the entire army are watching who will take over the Blue Army battalion after you, Zhongpei, and the person who takes over will also be promoted in a short period of time."

"It's like knocking on the door ahead of time. How could the higher-ups not take it seriously?"

"Sometimes, behavior just represents an attitude. You don't need to be too nervous. Just speak the truth and don't go off on tangents."

"Go get ready."

After saying that, Old Wangba hung up the phone with a "snap".

This left Chen Mo completely bewildered.

Next, before he could even call someone over to give him instructions...

Zhang Jinan, Vice President of Shicheng Army Academy; Luo Yaowu, Director of the Department of Strategy and Campaign; Zhang Canshan, Commander-in-Chief of the 63rd Army and former leader; Liao Hongjun, Political Commissar; Qin Quan'an, Chief of Staff; and Sun Zhensheng, Logistics Director.

Deputy Chief of Staff Wei Jin'an, also known as Wei Lü.

Even Tang Haodong, the commander of the 188th Division, and Yan Zhongyi, the commander-in-chief of the 27th Army, two people Chen Mo hadn't even expected, called to give him instructions.

Without exception, the topics were all related to this.

He was reminded to be truthful when questioned by the disciplinary department, and not to tell a single lie or say a single unnecessary word.

All you need to do is respond seriously and objectively.

For half an hour, Chen Mo sat in his office and answered more than a dozen phone calls.

All I heard were similar admonitions!
(End of this chapter)