Soldiers Assault: Starting from the 7th Steel Company

Chapter 183 I will try my best
A few days later, the accident investigation team arrived as scheduled.

They conducted in-depth interviews with witnesses on the day of the incident and officials at all levels, and also collected a large amount of supporting evidence.

In the investigation team's temporary office,

Sitting opposite Chen Jiang was a female captain, and next to her was a male officer; both of them looked very young.

The female captain had short hair, with the ends neatly framing her face.

"Chen Jiang, right? My name is Tang Xinyi, and I'm a member of this investigation team." The female captain introduced herself while neatly placing the recording pen on the table between the two of them.

Tang Xinyi? Isn't that He Chenguang's girlfriend?
Holy crap, what is all this nonsense?

Chen Jiang felt like a million grass mud horses were running through his mind. In the original novel, Tang Xinyi was very beautiful, but she was also quite skilled in martial arts, and her code name was "Swallowtail Butterfly".

She has a rather fierce style.

As expected, when Tang Xinyi saw that Chen Jiang did not react, she immediately pressed him, "Please tell me the truth about what happened."

"Captain Tang, I've said this dozens of times already." Chen Jiang was quite impatient. Was it really necessary to ask the same question repeatedly, and by different people at that?
"Deputy Battalion Commander Chen, please cooperate! This is my job." Although Tang Xinyi wasn't angry, her tone was as cold as ice.

This is a common interrogation tactic: asking you the same questions many times. If you're lying, there will be loopholes or discrepancies, allowing you to find clues and break through the defenses.

There was nothing Chen Jiang could do but listen to her, so he recounted the events of that day in detail.

Tang Xinyi's assistant remembered things very quickly, and she asked even more detailed questions; she was arguably the most thorough questioner of all.

"Deputy Battalion Commander Chen, why did you increase the training intensity for the Seventh Company separately? Is it because you still have some kind of obsession with the Seventh Company?" Tang Xinyi finally asked a difficult question.

But Chen Jiang's thinking was extremely quick; he had answered the same question several times before.
"I just feel that the Seventh Company shouldn't be so weak. It's like a homeroom teacher who thinks a student in the class has good talent but isn't working hard enough. I encourage him to study hard. Is that wrong?"

“But your training volume increases all at once, and new recruits are easily unable to adapt, which can lead to accidents.” Tang Xinyi said bluntly.

Chen Jiang smiled.

"Captain Tang, may I ask you a question?"

"what?"

Have you ever been to the battlefield?

Tang Xinyi graduated from a military academy and had never been on a battlefield. Besides, it's a peaceful era now, so it's impossible for her to go to the battlefield anyway.

So she retorted, "Have you slept with anyone?"

Chen Jiang nodded very seriously, "I did go there, and I saw my classmates fall one after another under the enemy's guns!"

"Are you talking about the one in Venezuela?" Tang Xinyi had read Chen Jiang's file, so she knew he had indeed experienced actual combat.

Chen Jiang nodded. "I'm not saying this to show off my experience, but to tell you something: if you don't train to be close to real combat and don't train like crazy, you'll easily lose your life on the battlefield."

"We are soldiers, and we are the main mechanized infantry regiment. If the country needs us to go to the front line in the event of war, we must be ready to be deployed at any time and fight brilliantly! If we relax the requirements for the soldiers because we are worried about the amount of training, it would be irresponsible to them and also irresponsible to the uniform I am wearing!"

Tang Xinyi clearly hadn't expected Chen Jiang to say those things.

She is a research officer in the sniper research group of the Special Operations Research Center of the Military Region Headquarters, and the director of the Military Games Office of the Military Region.

A special talent recruited by the military region from Tsinghua University!
Although she only has a bachelor's degree, she is exceptionally talented in computer science.

So this position isn't for her to play games; it's mainly for researching the digitalization and informatization of the military. However, her department is still in its early stages, which is why she was selected by the military to participate in the accident investigation.

At first, she was somewhat resistant because in her impression, officers like Chen Jiang were "country bumpkins" who didn't understand advanced tactics and only knew how to train troops using the most traditional methods.

Therefore, what led to the accident was that in her mind, the military should be high-tech, and as long as you sit in the information command center and click the mouse, missiles and drones will be sent out, and your side will not need to suffer any casualties.

But Chen Jiang's file is quite different.
First of all, he was a pioneer in information technology work, and it is said that he even made a name for himself? This made her quite unconvinced. What kind of information technology achievements could a guy who didn't finish college make?

Secondly, he really messed up this time. His superiors had repeatedly emphasized the importance of training safety, and now a very unfavorable point for him is that the company previously had a zero accident rate, but he took over as the military commander and such a serious accident happened not long after.

"You need to have the right attitude towards this accident so that you can get a lighter sentence." Tang Xinyi was unable to refute Chen Jiang's words, so she just said this cliché.

Chen Jiang was extremely disgusted by this. He stood up and said, "Captain Tang, don't try to intimidate me with official jargon. My attitude is very clear: I will not shirk my responsibility if it is mine, and I will resolutely deny any responsibility that is not mine!"

"Alright, I've said everything I know. If there's nothing else, I'm going to oversee the troops' training." Chen Jiang put on his hat, saluted, and left.

This really infuriated Tang Xinyi. With such a terrible attitude, who exactly made the mistake?
Anyone who didn't know better would have thought Chen Jiang had come to talk to them.

"Director Tang, this guy is really arrogant. Should we include his resistance to the organization in the investigation?" the assistant muttered quietly.

Their report will eventually be submitted to higher authorities for study and discussion on the specific handling of Chen Jiang, so it carries considerable weight.

"What are you thinking? Do you think I'm the kind of person who's petty and narrow-minded? Let's not write this part. Just state the facts clearly. Our investigation should be based on facts and not be tainted by personal feelings."

After leaving the house, Chen Jiang felt extremely agitated, so he decided to return to his unit to supervise the company's training.

Although the accident has occurred, training must not be relaxed.

"Deputy Battalion Commander Chen! We've finally found you!"

Chen Jiang turned around when he heard the shout and saw Xiao Li, the regimental communications officer, running towards him breathlessly, the sweat on his forehead glistening in the sunlight.

"What is it?" Chen Jiang wiped the sand off his hands, his brows furrowing involuntarily.

Correspondents usually only show this expression when delivering bad news.

“Sun Keming’s parents have arrived,” the communications officer said in a low voice, his eyes darting around. “The regimental commander ordered me to bring you back immediately.”

"Understood," he replied curtly, then turned and shouted to the soldiers who were training, "Continue training!"

Jiang jogged over and asked in a low voice, "Is it about Keming?"

Chen Jiang nodded, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly: "His parents are here."

Jiang's expression froze instantly: "Do they know?"

"They probably only know that he was injured, but they don't know the specifics."

“I’ll go with you.” Jiang Fahui followed without further ado. In the reception room of the regiment headquarters, a couple nearing sixty sat awkwardly on a bench.

The man was wearing a faded blue Zhongshan suit with a bulging woven bag on his lap; the woman was dressed in gray cloth, her hands constantly twisting the hem of her clothes.

Two bulging burlap sacks bearing the word "urea" lay at their feet, their contents barely visible beneath the outlines of several cans of food and fruit.

These are Sun Keming's parents.

Chen Jiang stood at the door, took a deep breath, and then pushed the door open to go inside.

“Uncle, Aunt, I am Chen Jiang, the deputy battalion commander of Sun Keming.” He tried to make his voice sound steady.

Mr. Sun immediately stood up, forcing a smile onto his dark face, deep wrinkles forming at the corners of his eyes: "Greetings, Battalion Commander Chen!"

He stretched out his rough, large hand, then wiped it on his pants as if remembering something, before grasping Chen Jiang's hand.

Sun's mother also stood up, her lips trembling: "How is my Kemin? The regimental commander said he's in the hospital, is he badly injured?"

Chen Jiang felt a tightness in his throat.

He glanced at Long Kaifeng, who immediately gave him a wink.

Chen Jiang understood, and instead of answering, he added some water for them.
"Uncle, Aunt, have some water first." Then he skillfully changed the subject, "How did you get here? You must be tired from the journey."

"It's not hard work at all!" Mr. Sun waved his hands repeatedly. "The army bought me a sleeper ticket; it's the first time I've ever ridden one in my life!" His smile held a simple pride, but it quickly faded. "It's just... it's just that I got a call saying Kemin was injured, and my wife didn't sleep a wink all night."

Sun's mother's eyes were already red: "Sir, my Keming has always been very healthy. He hasn't been sick in the three years he's been in the army. Where did he get injured this time? Is it serious?"

Chen Jiang clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms.

How can he explain to the old father who set off firecrackers in the village to celebrate his son's enlistment in the army, only to now face a son who can no longer adapt to military training?
Chief of Staff Lin Xiao interjected at the opportune moment: "Uncle, Aunt, let's go to the hospital to see the specifics first. The regiment has already arranged a car, and we can go there now."

Sun's father's expression suddenly turned serious.

The old farmer's keen intuition told him something, but he asked nothing. He simply picked up the bulging woven bag and said, "These are Kemin's favorite peanuts, made by his mother. And some dried sweet potatoes too."

On the way to the hospital, Sun's mother clutched the bag labeled "urea" tightly. Chen Jiang saw in the rearview mirror that she would occasionally wipe her eyes, but she would try to remain calm when her husband looked over.

“Kemin is performing very well in the army,” Chen Jiang tried to ease the somber atmosphere. “He always takes the lead in every training session.”

Mr. Sun's eyes lit up: "Really?" His tone was full of pride, but also with heartache. "He has always been very ambitious since he was a child. It's just that our family's conditions are a bit poor. Otherwise, we would have sent him to high school back then."

The white building of the military hospital looked particularly dazzling in the sunlight.

Chen Jiang led the two elders through the long corridor,

Sun's mother's steps began to tremble, and she had to hold onto her husband's arm.

The door to the ward opened.

The moment Sun Keming saw his parents in his hospital bed, his eyes widened, and tears welled up in his eyes: "Father, Mother."

Sun's mother's gaze immediately fell on her son, then slowly moved down—his right leg, covered in a cast, looked like a sharp knife piercing her eyes.

"My son~~~~~~!"

Heart-wrenching cries echoed throughout the ward.

Sun's mother rushed to the bedside, her trembling hand hovering above her right leg, but she dared not touch it.

Her cries seemed to release all the bitterness and anticipation of the past years, and she collapsed to the ground.

Sun's father stood still, but Chen Jiang saw that the old man's hands were trembling and his knuckles were white from the force.

He slowly turned his head and stared at Chen Jiang. "Commander, tell me the truth, is Kemin's leg crippled?"

Just then, Chu Ning walked in and overheard Sun's father asking. She quickly replied, "No, he's just injured. We've already reconnected his tendons and nerves, and his spine is fine."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Sun asked in confusion, "Then why is his right leg like this?"

"This is a plaster cast. Once he's fully recovered, he can walk again," Chu Ning explained, trying to use simple and easy-to-understand language.

Sun Keming couldn't hold back his tears either: "Dad, I'm sorry."

“Don’t cry! It’s shameful for a grown man to cry, especially since you’re a soldier!” Mr. Sun suddenly raised his voice, then immediately lowered it again. “It’s good that you’re alive, and you’ve saved your leg. You should be content with that.” As he spoke, he choked up.

Chen Jiang stood in the corner of the ward, his throat tight.

Such simple and honest people, as long as their children are alive and their legs are saved, that's enough for them!
From today onwards, Chen Jiang has a clearer understanding of training: he must be strict yet caring, and do everything in his power to prevent soldiers from getting injured.

The air in the ward was so heavy it was suffocating.

The nurse came in to change the dressing, and her eyes welled up with tears when she saw the scene. She moved as gently as if she were handling a fragile item.

"Medical expenses?" Sun's mother suddenly asked, her voice hoarse, "How much can the military reimburse?"

This question pierced Chen Jiang's heart like a knife.

He knew the Sun family's financial situation. Supporting Sun Keming's education had already emptied their savings. Now that their son was injured and hospitalized, their first thought was whether they could afford the treatment, let alone the subsequent rehabilitation.

“Uncle, you don’t need to worry about that,” Lin Xiao said. “The troupe will cover all of Kemin’s medical expenses, and there will be an additional subsidy.”

"That won't do. It's already a great favor that they cover medical expenses; how could we possibly ask for any subsidies?" Mr. Sun said very honestly.

After leaving the ward, Chen Jiang escorted the two elderly people to the military guesthouse to rest.

Sun's father was walking beside him when he suddenly grabbed Chen Jiang at the corner of the corridor.

"Commander," the old man said in a low voice, "can Kemin stay in the army after this?"

Chen Jiang knew that if Sun Keming went back like this, what would happen to their family?
Even if they recover well, it will probably be difficult for them to go back to farming, which is like adding insult to injury for the already poor Sun family.

"I will try my best, Uncle, believe me." That was all he could promise.

(End of this chapter)