1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3923

Dai Yingda's eyes lit up. Over the years, his family had invested a lot of resources in Dai Chengrong in order to help him rise through the ranks and enter the high-level military.

However, the competition in the Haihan military is extremely fierce. Those who hold important positions now are almost all old subordinates who followed the time travelers in their early battles. People like Dai Chengrong, who joined halfway through, may not have good performance and have family background, but they certainly don't have any advantage in terms of seniority. Without special military achievements, they can only wait.

Dai Chengrong had been stuck at the rank of colonel and regimental commander for many years. The reason was not that he performed poorly in the army, but that his 2nd Regiment of the 7th Division was stationed in Hangzhou all year round and rarely had the opportunity to go out to fight. Naturally, his combat achievements could not compare with those of the front-line troops who had battles to fight.

In the Haihan Army, positions at the division level were basically filled by hand; someone had to vacate the position before lower-ranking officers could be promoted. Even with his accumulated military merits, Dai Chengrong had to patiently wait for the right opportunity.

Dai Yingda understood the difficulty involved and quickly asked, "How was this spot made available?"

Dai Chengrong explained, "The 7th Division of the Army also contributed a lot to this attack on Jiangxi. After the war, in order to reward those who have made contributions, both the division commander and the deputy division commander should be promoted. The position of division commander has already been arranged and will be taken over by a confidant of Lord Shi, but the position of deputy division commander has not yet been decided, and there are quite a few people who are qualified to compete for it!"

As the main army unit of the East China Sea region, the 7th Army Division was formed on the basis of the troops under Shi Diwen's rule in Zhoushan. Most of the core officers were Shi Diwen's old subordinates, so the appointment of the division commander was always recommended by Shi Diwen, and the Ministry of National Defense was responsible for issuing the letter of appointment.

Although Dai Chengrong was highly regarded, he was not in Shi Diwen's inner circle, so he could not expect to become a division commander for the time being, but he was qualified to compete for a deputy position.

According to the military system of Haihan, deputy division commanders are usually promoted from officers at the regimental commander level. The 7th Division of the Army has a total of six regiments, which means that at least six people have the basic qualifications.

This does not include the possibility of transferring division-level officers from other units or parachuting in officials from the Ministry of National Defense, so Dai Chengrong's claim that there are seven or eight competitors is not an exaggeration.

Before the Ministry of National Defense announces the official appointment, this period is the so-called probationary period. At this critical juncture, if any candidate has a problem, then as Dai Chengrong said, they may automatically lose their eligibility to compete for the position.

Of course, if a candidate has certain special advantages that allow them to stand out from the competition, this is also their last chance to shine.

Over the years, the Yangzhou salt merchants have helped some of their younger relatives enter officialdom, but the person with the highest position and the greatest influence is still Dai Chengrong.

It can be said that his personal rise and fall in officialdom were closely related to the development prospects of the salt merchant group. The higher his position, the more assistance he could provide to the salt merchant group. In this respect, the interests of the seven major Anhui salt merchant families were aligned.

Faced with such a momentous event, other internal disagreements can be set aside for now. Dai Chengrong's somewhat ostentatious arrangements today seem unnecessary to concern him with.

If it can really help Dai Chengrong compete for the position of deputy division commander of the 7th Division, it wouldn't be a big deal if all these old guys present had to put aside their pride and go to Hangzhou to show their faces.

Dai Yingda said, "Cheng Rong, just tell us your honest opinion in front of everyone. How confident are you of winning?"

Dai Chengrong was silent for a moment, then held up three fingers and said, "At least 30%!" Dai Yingda's question clearly indicated that he wanted to assess whether this matter was worth investing all his resources in.

Ji Qing, who had been finding fault with Dai Chengrong, immediately changed his attitude: "Chengrong, if there's anything we can do to help you, just ask. We may not have any other skills, but we'll definitely have enough money!"

Others echoed this sentiment, expressing their willingness to help Dai Chengrong secure this promotion opportunity.

Although Yangzhou salt merchants were renowned for their wealth, Ji Qing's speech further confirmed this. But when it really came down to it, the salt merchants had much more to offer than just money.

During the more than twenty years since they joined Haihan, the Anhui salt merchants have been trying to maintain their relationship with the government. There are many ways they have connections that even Dai Chengrong may not know about. But when it comes to crucial moments, there will naturally be people in the officialdom who will speak up for and help the Anhui salt merchants.

After thanking everyone, Dai Chengrong said in a deep voice, "You should all have seen today's newspaper, right? The battle in Jiangxi has come to an end, and now it's time to reward those who have made contributions. The Second Regiment was not transferred to the front line this time, so there will be no military merits for us, which is a disadvantage for me."

Yang Chengye asked, "I read the article in the newspaper. It is said that the fighting over there is still quite intense. Why not send troops from Hangzhou to reinforce them? Or did you, Chengrong, not volunteer for the battle?"

Dai Chengrong said with a wry smile, "It's not that I didn't volunteer; it's that I simply couldn't compete with others. There are too many people who yearn to make a name for themselves on the battlefield through this kind of opportunity; not everyone can go."

Regarding the situation of the troops deployed to Jiangxi, the outside world can only obtain limited information from newspapers and other public channels, and only military personnel have a true understanding of the situation.

For mid-level officers in the Haihan Army, a large-scale military operation like the attack on Jiangxi was a rare opportunity to earn merit, so naturally everyone was eager to participate. Several participating regions submitted at least several hundred requests to the Ministry of National Defense; not just any unit could secure the right to participate.

Of course, the young generals who ultimately led the troops into battle were the true winners in this competition, and at least half of the credit for conquering Jiangxi would be attributed to them.

Dai Chengrong's 2nd Regiment of the 7th Division was certainly qualified to go to Jiangxi to participate in the war, but the troops ultimately transferred from Hangzhou were mainly naval forces for auxiliary troop deployment and material transportation.

This wasn't because Dai Chengrong was treated unfairly, but because the army troops that went out to fight from the East China Sea region mainly came from the Nanjing area, and almost all of them were troops under Shi Chengwu's command, so that he could directly command them and determine the post-war merits.

The few army units transferred from Hangzhou were mostly small units with special combat skills, such as hot air balloon units for reconnaissance missions, sniper squads responsible for taking down important targets, and telegraph soldiers to enhance communication capabilities.

Even if a fully-fledged unit like the Second Regiment were to go, it wouldn't have much room to maneuver and might even steal the spotlight from the main character, so it's naturally not on the Ministry of National Defense's list of plans.

(End of this chapter)