Alien world

Chapter 1650, Section 283: The Selection of the Political Commissar

The dual-commander system is a good system; for the military, it's like an assembly line in a factory.

The former will not bury talents who excel in only one area, while the latter will create more jobs.

However, lacking experience, and to prevent overreaching and causing problems, Annan planned to pilot the program in the Hellfire Legion first. As for the selection of political commissars... since a new policy was being implemented, it might as well be thorough—selecting them from the military academy at Free City University.

The political commissar is a civilian position. Although they may step in when necessary, such as when the corps commander is killed, they are not usually required to fight. Therefore, there is only one requirement for selecting a political commissar: that they be completely politically sound.

Early the next morning after returning to Free City, Fermi, dressed in his standard military uniform, arrived at the military academy with only his adjutant, Lockren.

Hellfire soldiers have three sets of clothing: in addition to the plate armor and lining used in combat, the other two are training uniforms and standard military uniforms, used for training and daily wear—which shows how much Hellfire values ​​them.

It's worth noting that even the Royal Guard only has two sets of clothes on a normal day: battle armor and training uniform.

Annan originally intended to design "one uniform per person" according to the size of each soldier, but the factory was obviously too busy, and the other two legions also felt wronged: "We haven't even seen our third set of uniforms yet, how come we're already designing details for Hellfire?"

However, the medium size of the three standard sizes was just right for Fermi's physique. Years of hard training had given him a solid build, which perfectly filled out the slightly loose standard military uniform, and the dark red base highlighted his majesty.

The military academy instructors, who had learned in advance that Fermi was coming, had already brought back the academy graduates and lined up with the students in two rows.

The students stood tall and proud, their fuzzy beaks like roosters, their eyes filled with longing as they looked at Fermi.

They heard that Fermi planned to select a group of people from the military academy, which might be a good opportunity to join the Hellfire Legion!
After annihilating the Red-Eyed Clan, the Hellfire Legion became famous. Even the children in the streets of the outer towns played "Hellfire vs. Skaven," not to mention the locals of Free City, everyone was proud to join the Hellfire.

They were all around the same age. Fermi was only six or seven years older than these young men in their early twenties, but his numerous bloody battles had already honed his will. In addition, he was like a sponge, insatiably absorbing knowledge, and he could serve as a commander in the Blackwatch Legion.

The instructor handed over a student list, and Fermi scanned it, noticing one unusual student.

[Soren, a graduate of the Warrior Academy, excelled and graduated first in his class.]

His identity couldn't be more accurate—the forgotten one from the snow mountain fortress.

Fermi glanced at his adjutant, who understood and stepped forward, saying loudly, "The instructor should have told your legion the purpose of our visit, but I want to say that it's not just that. Lord Fermi has come here in person to recruit officers!"

The students, standing tall and proud, had burning eyes, but no one was whispering among themselves.

Adjutant Lockren was pleased with their reaction and continued, "Political commissars will be different from previous officers. Your duty is not to fight, but to ensure that the Legion's ideals and direction are fully implemented in accordance with Lord Annan's will!"

"Is there anything you don't understand?"

After a few seconds of silence, a student asked, "Excuse me, is it like a written document?"

"That's right, but it's not just that. The political commissar is also responsible for the corps' theoretical education, personnel changes, discipline inspection, care for soldiers, and participation in decision-making."

"You will be the furnace, forging soldiers into pieces of steel!"

The students were excited by what was said, but they still didn't have a clear understanding of what a "political commissar" was.

Lieutenant Lockren shouted, "In short, you only need to do three things: teach the soldiers three kinds of loyalty!"

"Loyalty to Lord Annan, loyalty to Free City, loyalty to Hellfire!"

Lieutenant Lockren began the first test, which mainly consisted of questions and answers.

Fermi watched quietly, mentally assessing how well each person fit the role of "political commissar".

After discussing with Lord Annan, he concluded that because a political commissar controls the ideological direction of the entire legion, possessing an iron will is a prerequisite for becoming a political commissar, but for a group of students, this is too demanding. However…

Fermi's gaze fell on the figure named Soren, the only one present who was not a student of the military academy.

The very fact that he is an Forgotten One already fulfills the prerequisite for "Iron Will".

As for beliefs... everyone here is prepared to give their lives for Annam.

But there are different kinds of enlightenment:

Some people believe that Annam is their master, and it is the duty of servants to protect their master—this is the old master-servant mentality.

Some people are fanatically devoted to Annan and are willing to give their lives for him—this is the faith of believers.

Some people believe that Annan can lead the people to happiness and that their sacrifices pave the way for it—this is the kind of awareness a political commissar should have.

After several rounds of questions, Fermi had already marked the students with checkmarks and crosses on his list.

Next comes "practical theory," where Lieutenant-General Lockren will assume that the students are already political commissars, leading troops into battle, and how they would react to various situations.

"What questions do you have before we begin practical theory?"

"No problem!" the students replied in unison.

Only one young man with platinum blonde hair, who didn't join in the shouting, yelled, "I have a problem!"

"explain."

"Isn't the political commissar a civilian position separate from the officers? Why do we need to test him in actual combat?"

"what's your name?"

For a moment, the young man tensed up, then shouted, "Adam, sir!"

The expected reprimand did not occur. Adjutant Lockren patiently explained, "Adam, a political commissar is a civilian position, but it's more than that. Otherwise, why would Lord Annan have us select political commissars from the military academy?"

"Because you have both rich theoretical knowledge and a correct understanding of the ideology! If you were just recruiting an officer in charge of internal affairs, why would you call him a 'political commissar'!"

"If the legion commander is the brain of a legion, then the political commissar is its soul, understand?"

"Understood!"

The so-called "dual chief officer system" is exactly like this. Fermi's original intention was to separate combat and internal affairs, with one in charge of external affairs and the other in charge of internal affairs. However, after going through the process in Annam, he decided that since it was going to be done, it might as well be thorough.

On the surface, practical theory only asks students questions about command and strategy, such as "What should you do if your army encounters the enemy in the field and there is a village behind you?", but in fact, it judges the student's psychology based on their response.

Whether to defend the village to the death, evacuate the villagers, or use the village as bait, all correspond to different psychological states.

In the end, only a few students passed the screening.

Fermi favored Soren, and Lokeren's lieutenant favored Adam, among others.

(End of this chapter)