Soldiers Assault: Starting from the 7th Steel Company

Chapter 153 Rumors about Military Reform

"Captain, when do I report for duty?" Wu Zhe asked, his voice now calm.

“It should be soon,” Yuan Lang glanced at his watch. “I estimate that someone will come to pick you up this afternoon. They called very urgently, mainly because they urgently need someone to come over.”

"Huh? So rushed?" Wu Zhe's eyes widened. "I have to say goodbye to my brothers, right?" He had just returned from abroad and was being transferred now; it was indeed a bit hasty.

“Yes, they will,” Yuan Lang nodded understandingly. “When they come back from training, just say goodbye to everyone. It’s not like you’re going to Mars. You can always come back and see them. What’s there to be afraid of?”

Considering that Wu Zhe was about to leave, Yuan Lang told him to go out and make some preparations.

After Wu Zhe left, only Chen Jiang and Yuan Lang remained in the office.

“Don’t have any ideas,” Yuan Lang broke the silence first. “You’re only a lieutenant. It’s not appropriate to let you go now. I really can’t bear to let you go without a good job arrangement!”

These are absolutely heartfelt words.

Yuan Lang's high regard for Chen Jiang was evident to everyone in the brigade.

Staying here would limit their prospects for advancement. After all, the highest they can rise here is a battalion commander, and the battalion level is what it is. It would be very difficult for them to get promoted.

If you want to get promoted quickly in the military, you have to become a commanding officer in a main force unit.

Yuan Lang himself has a special passion for special operations, so he doesn't want to leave.

But for Chen Jiang's future, he will probably have no choice but to reluctantly give it up.

Chen Jiang waved his hands repeatedly: "Captain, I don't have that many thoughts. I was only recently promoted to lieutenant, how could I dare to think so much?"

"You have to think about it. A man should always have dreams!" Yuan Lang really valued Chen Jiang. Although this kid was a college student who joined the army, he was very capable in military matters. He had both theoretical knowledge and practical experience, making him a rare all-rounder.

“You need to pay close attention to the matter of giving a report to the military region,” Yuan Lang instructed. “This is a good opportunity to learn about the new tactics of the troops. In the future, it will be multi-service joint operations, and our concepts need to be updated in a timely manner.”

"Yes!" Chen Jiang answered very seriously. He knew this opportunity was hard-won and he had to seize it.

"And one more thing."

Yuan Lang suddenly smiled, his expression softening. "Haven't you all been thinking about Sergeant Shi Jin? I asked a friend and found out that his fourth term as a sergeant has been arranged."

Yuan Lang took a slip of paper from the drawer. "This is his contact information at the military region. You can go see him when you go there!"

Yuan Lang's words brought back vivid memories for Chen Jiang of the touching scenes when he first joined the company and his squad leader, Shi Jin, patiently taught him.

Although Chen Jiang was very talented and quick to learn, he had to admit that without Shi Jin's help, it would have been much harder for him to stand out from the recruit training camp so quickly.

During lunch, everyone knew that Wu Zhe was leaving.
This meal became Wu Zhe's last meal in Team A.

Since it was lunchtime, it was impossible to drink alcohol. Everyone gathered together and used Sprite and Coke as alcohol to "toast" Wu Zhe. Although these things had no alcohol content, Wu Zhe still got "red" from drinking.

His eyes reddened.

At everyone's urging, Wu Zhe gave a moving speech:

“When I first came here, all I could think about was running away. The training here was much tougher than the troops I had been in before. But later, the captain’s strict training, especially the use of props to motivate us, inspired me to fight back. I cheered myself up and knew I couldn’t be eliminated.”

At this point, he scratched the back of his head somewhat embarrassedly and looked at Yuan Lang, who was still smiling.

"And so I held on until the very end, thinking I'd let it all out during the evaluation, only to be told that it was all an act to unleash our potential. That left me completely dumbfounded."

Wu Zhe's words made everyone burst into laughter. In fact, many people in the audience had been through the same thing, so they could empathize with him.

"Everything that followed, and because I met so many good brothers, made it impossible for me to leave. Especially this training trip to Venezuela with Chen Jiang, I truly felt that we not only represented ourselves, but also the Chinese military! It was this belief that sustained Chen Jiang and me until we finally made it through. Right?"

Chen Jiang nodded in agreement.

"Now, due to work commitments, I have to leave here again. I really hate to leave everyone and this military camp that I have fought so hard for. But I know very well: the camp remains, but the soldiers come and go. This is the reality of the military. As long as the army needs me, I must obey!"

"I hope everyone will have the opportunity to visit me in the East Sea Military Region. I will definitely come back to see you all when I have the chance! Let's keep in touch, brothers!"

After saying these words, Wu Zhe could no longer hold back his tears, which flowed uncontrollably down his face.
He quickly raised his glass and drank the Sprite in one gulp.

Chen Jiang and his other comrades were also moved and raised their glasses. Xu Sanduo cried his heart out. He was facing the loss of his comrades once again, and this feeling was really hard to bear.

Wu Zhe went over to comfort him instead, "San Duo, take it easy, take it easy! I'm not going to outer space. If you care about your brother, you can come and go as you please."

Actually, the two places are quite far apart, and everyone has a heavy training schedule, so it's unlikely they'll go there unless there's something important to do, let alone come here.

Everyone understands, but no one wants to expose this well-intentioned lie.

After lunch, someone arrived.

After the formalities were completed, Yuan Lang and Chen Jiang were responsible for seeing Wu Zhe out.
Yuan Lang gave Wu Zhe another round of instructions, and both of them could tell that Yuan Lang was also reluctant to see Wu Zhe leave.

"Even after a thousand miles of travel, we must part ways. Captain, that's enough for now!"

Wu Zhe prepared to get into the vehicle that was picking him up, waved vigorously to the two squadron leaders, and then got into the car and left without looking back.

After Wu Zhe left, Chen Jiang also began packing his luggage, because according to the arrangement, he was to go to the military region to attend a meeting the next day.

Cheng Cai was quite envious of them, but Xu Sanduo remained silent.

It wasn't until Chen Jiang told him that he might see Shi Jin this time that Xu Sanduo's furrowed brows relaxed completely.

If it weren't for the training mission, he really wanted to go with Chen Jiang, but that was definitely not realistic.

Chen Jiang gave him an idea: he should write a letter himself, and he promised to deliver it. Then he would have Shi Jin reply to everyone, doing his best.

Therefore, Xu Sanduo and Wu Liuyi went back to write letters, leaving only Cheng Cai in the dormitory. Cheng Cai's feelings for Shi Jin were not very deep; he just wanted to have a good talk with Chen Jiang.

The main reason is that he has been here for a while and has adapted to the pace of the place. Seeing how excellent they are all, he still feels somewhat resentful.

Good soldiers all want to become generals and make great achievements, so why should they be content with mediocrity?

In particular, he himself realized that in the A Brigade, it was not too difficult to get promoted to officer. There were only a few sergeants, and Wu Liuyi was definitely over the age limit, so it was highly likely that he and Xu Sanduo would be promoted.

"Team Leader Chen, what materials did you mainly study for your promotion back then?"

"Chengcai, when we're not around, just call me by my name." Chen Jiang was still very polite to his old comrade-in-arms; using his title would seem too formal. "Ha, no way, that's the rule!"

Cheng Cai laughed it off.

Chen Jiang didn't care about these things and patiently told him about his experiences in preparing for the promotion exam. Of course, he could be completely confident in some subjects without much review, but that might not be the case for Cheng Cai.

There is still a gap in their learning levels.

Cheng Cai took out a small notebook and took detailed notes. He would ask questions when he didn't understand something. Chen Jiang answered all his questions without reservation and had nothing to hide from his comrade.

Finally, he encouraged students to excel in military subjects, especially to have two second-class merit awards. In addition, he encouraged them to actively join the Party and become probationary members.

When Cheng Cai proudly announced that he, Xu Sanduo, and Wu Liuyi were all activists, Chen Jiang was genuinely happy for the three of them.

It takes about a year for an activist to become a probationary member, after which they are qualified.

After Cheng Cai left, he closed the door and began preparing his speech alone.
For big occasions, some preparation is definitely necessary, but he really wasn't confident about giving a speech without notes.

Fortunately, he has experienced a lot, especially during his training in Venezuela, and those scenes are still fresh in his memory, so he can write about them with feeling.

The official notification arrived early the next morning, ordering Chen Jiang to immediately proceed to the military region.

Because time was tight, Yuan Lang personally drove him to the military airport, and then he took a military plane to the military region, which saved a lot of time and effort.

The engines of the military transport plane roared as Chen Jiang sat on a folding seat on the side of the cabin, looking through the round porthole at the airport runway that was gradually shrinking.

This was not his first time traveling on a military aircraft for a mission. Unlike his usual training parachute flights, this time he was traveling to the military region on official business as an officer.

The major sitting opposite me handed me a paper bag. "It might be a bit bumpy, here you go."

Chen Jiang took the paper bag, initially thinking it contained vomit. He was about to refuse when he discovered there was some food and drink inside.

So he accepted it with a smile, saying, "Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome," the major smiled. "I was just going to the military region on business anyway, so it was on my way."

Just as Chen Jiang was about to speak, the plane suddenly encountered severe turbulence.

He reflexively grabbed the straps on both sides of the seat, his body swaying from side to side with the fuselage.

The major was clearly used to the bumpy ride and calmly looked out the window at the scenery.

"Military transport aircraft are not as comfortable as passenger planes, but they are fast, much faster than taking a train. It's a pity that this transport aircraft is still a copy of a Russian product. I hope we can develop one independently someday."

Chen Jiang nodded, his mind saying: We'll have it all in the future.

The two chatted happily along the way, and time flew by.

Major Shao Bin is a staff officer in the equipment department. He knows a lot about military equipment and is also very talkative.

As the plane began its descent, Shao Bin suddenly lowered his voice and asked, "I heard the military is going to undergo another reform. Do you have any news?"

This unexpected news shocked Chen Jiang.

Every reform of the military involves downsizing, which is really not good news.

"I'm just a junior lieutenant, how would I know anything about this? I only found out about the reforms from you."

Shao Bin asked casually, not expecting Chen Jiang to know anything, but he was quite surprised to hear that Chen Jiang was there to attend a military conference.

Logically speaking, it's unlikely that someone of his rank would attend a military conference, especially alone; it's rather unusual.

However, due to military secrecy regulations, he was too embarrassed to ask further questions.

The plane landed smoothly at the military region's dedicated airport.

Since no one came to pick up Chen Jiang, Shao Bin politely invited him to ride with him to the military region.

The jeep drove through the spacious military compound, with neat rows of plane trees and gray office buildings on both sides of the road.

Unlike the A Battalion's camp hidden in the mountains, everything here exudes the solemnity and grandeur of a regular army.

Since the report meeting was in the afternoon, we checked into the guesthouse first and stayed overnight before returning home.

The guesthouse was a five-story building, simple but clean and tidy.

After checking in, Chen Jiang had just put his luggage in his room when he heard familiar footsteps coming from the corridor—the light yet steady steps characteristic of special forces soldiers.

"Report!" A loud voice rang out from outside the door.

Chen Jiang opened the door and was surprised to see Qi Huan standing there with a mischievous smile on his face.

"Qi Huan? What are you doing here?" Chen Jiang greeted him with delight.

"I'm here for the new equipment seminar," Qi Huan patted Chen Jiang on the shoulder. "I just saw your name on the check-in list in the duty room, so I rushed over. What, you've been promoted and you don't recognize your old comrade anymore?"

"Get lost!" Chen Jiang laughed and punched him lightly. "Speaking of which, you're still my instructor! When did you arrive?"

"I've been here for a few days now, and it's so boring being all alone here." Qi Huan walked into the room and looked around.

Compared to my own place, this one is of a higher standard.

"Not bad, the standard of your room seems to be based on that of a school-level cadre. You see, being promoted really makes a difference." Qi Huan remarked, "Even business trips are different for different people."

"Come on, it's just a regular room." This was Chen Jiang's first time staying at a military region guesthouse, and he really didn't know the ins and outs of it. But then he thought it was normal; there are differences everywhere.

"How was the seminar? You must have achieved great results, right?" Chen Jiang poured water for Qi Huan and then poured himself a glass as well, as he was genuinely thirsty.

"Ugh, what achievements? Many people still have outdated ideas and think that airplanes and tanks are the most important things. They are not very interested in introducing any high-tech gadgets."

Qi Huan was somewhat discouraged, and then began to complain to Chen Jiang about the unpleasant things he had encountered since arriving here.

(End of this chapter)