From the 7th Steel Company to the Synthetic Division

Ai Jia's ability to earn a third-class merit so quickly can be considered as benefiting from the era's dividends.

As information technology reforms deepen, the military needs more highly qualified personnel, and the large number of college students is undoubtedly the best resource.

College student soldiers in the Capital Theater Command are promoted ahead of schedule and can receive commendations and merit awards.

The purpose is to serve as a form of publicity, encouraging more college students and highly educated individuals to join the military and serve the country.

"This year has been a bumper year for your 7th Steel Brigade. You must maintain this good momentum," Chief of Staff Shen earnestly instructed.

"Then, about Chief of Staff Chen..."

Gao Cheng wanted to try to advocate for Chen Jun, but he was interrupted before he could finish speaking.

"He's got a few more problems, let's just let him take the punishment first," Chief of Staff Shen said, a smile still on his face.

"This, this isn't fair," Gao Cheng said anxiously.

"A clear system of rewards and punishments is the fairest approach. Besides, that kid Chen Jun has won quite a few awards over the years. At this rate, we won't have enough clothes to hang them all on." Chief of Staff Shen joked.

"This……"

Gao Cheng was speechless upon hearing this, and did not know how to respond.

……

Meanwhile, above the training ground of the 7th Steel Brigade, Hong Yi, just as he had told Chen Jun the night before, personally went to the helicopter to lead everyone in a low-altitude parachute jump.

"Today, we will start by jumping from 500 meters, then from 400 meters. Everyone must remember that our descent speed is 80 kilometers per hour, which means we will descend 150 meters every six seconds."

The parachute deployment time is five seconds, so as long as everyone is bold, careful, calm, and focuses on the target when landing, a safe landing is entirely possible. Now, I'll jump first, and then we'll jump in sequence, three seconds apart. Understand?

Hong Yi reiterated the training content and gave instructions to everyone. His confident demeanor inspired the soldiers, and the shadow of yesterday's accident was dispelled.

Hong Yi then jumped out first with a standard posture, followed closely by the soldiers one by one.

One by one, white mushrooms bloomed in the sky.

The training work of the 7th Steel Brigade returned to normal, and the punishment for Chen Jun was like a light touch, and the matter was completely forgotten.

The subsequent commendation ceremony was held as scheduled, and the 7th Steel Brigade once again received numerous awards, boosting morale for training.

The 7th Steel Brigade resolved the minor incident and continued to make final preparations for the upcoming autumn campaign. Meanwhile, the 708th Brigade, a potential competitor, was also in full swing under the do-or-die spirit of Wang Kezheng, who had given up his position as a division commander.

At this critical juncture, Chu Zhangang made a special trip to the 708th Brigade to persuade Wang Kezheng to change his mind about giving up his promotion to a division commander.

Although Chu Zhangang has ideological problems, he is indeed commendable in matters of the heart.

As someone who has known Wang Kezheng for over fifteen years, and who has worked alongside him from company and battalion commander to the present day, and who is one of the few who stayed on and even became a brigade commander.

Chu Zhangang really didn't want Wang Kezheng to waste such a good opportunity.

However, Chu Zhangang was thinking from a personal perspective, so he advised Wang Kezheng to do the same from a personal perspective, and even gave an example that he thought was very reasonable, but Wang Kezheng thought was very inappropriate.

They said that China is now a nuclear power and there is no chance of war in the short term, so there is no need to rush the training. Wang Kezheng should think more about his future.

As a result of Chu Zhangang's words, Wang Kezheng got so angry that he smashed a glass with him and they parted on bad terms.

Wang Kezheng had just returned from advanced studies at the Seventh Steel Brigade, and he was completely convinced by Chen Jun's theories, agreeing with the idea that preparations must be made for war to break out tomorrow.

Chu Zhangang prioritizes his personal interests over those of the army, which clearly contradicts Wang Kezheng's current thinking.

In addition, Wang Kezheng is an impatient man with no cunning or scheming. He will get angry on the spot if anyone disagrees with him.

It would be strange if things didn't escalate!
Chu Zhangang had a bad experience at the 708th Brigade. Feeling that his good intentions had been taken for granted, he left in a huff and a huff.

However, although Wang Kezheng is straightforward, he is also a person of strong emotions.

Wang Kezheng realized from Chu Zhangang's words that Chu Zhangang's thinking was problematic and that if things continued like this, something serious would happen sooner or later.

Thinking that Chu Zhangang had come from afar to persuade him, Wang Kezheng felt it was necessary for him to correct Chu Zhangang.

To prevent Chu Zhangang from rising too high in rank and causing a major disaster due to this flawed thinking, they made a special trip to the guesthouse that very night to persuade Chu Zhangang.

Both of them were in their forties or fifties, and were typical middle-aged stubborn types.

Chu Zhangang couldn't persuade Wang Kezheng, and Wang Kezheng couldn't persuade Chu Zhangang either.

Although Wang Kezheng failed to persuade Chu Zhangang, he did his utmost by leaving a copy of the 708th Brigade's reform plan for Chu Zhangang to take back and review, hoping it might change his mind.

Unexpectedly, this very plan actually changed Chu Zhangang's life.

Chu Zhangang, who had stormed back to the guesthouse, initially dismissed the proposal, but he was so angry that he wanted to see what it actually contained.

So I just flipped through it casually, but I never expected that what I found would be so incredible.

It turns out that Wang Kezheng's decision to give up his promotion to a division-level position was only part of the 708th Brigade's reforms; there were many more shocking things to come.

In particular, it was mentioned that a monument to shame should be erected in the military history museum so that all soldiers of the 708th Brigade would feel ashamed and then be brave enough to fight a great victory and wash away the shame.

Chu Zhangang was completely shocked!
That chilling aura emanating from the depths of his soul, that deafening impact that sent shivers down his spine, completely shattered Chu Zhangang's old worldview.

Realizing he was wrong, Chu Zhangang cancelled his plane ticket and changed his mind overnight.

The next morning, we went straight to Brigade 708.

With a sincere attitude of learning, I retraced the steps of the 708th Brigade, observed the training and learning activities, and visited the Monument of Shame in the Military History Museum.

During this firsthand experience, Chu Zhangang's understanding and thinking were overturned in many ways.

Chu Zhangang, who had been stubborn from the beginning, truly began to change from this point on. His thinking and understanding improved, and he reaped considerable benefits.

After completing his studies at the 708th Brigade, Chu Zhangang was more excited than ever before.

Upon returning, he went straight to the 708th Brigade and organized all the brigade leaders to go to the training ground, where he personally led the training.

After a series of sniper rifle and rocket launcher drills, immersing him in the smoke and fire of battle, Chu Zhangang gathered Zhu Rongsheng, who had been promoted to chief of staff, brigade commander Ding Kai, and political commissar Xu Xiaocun, and spoke to them in a way that was quite different from his usual style.

In the past, Chu Zhangang only spoke official and eloquent words, spouting a lot of useless nonsense.

But this time, his words carried a resounding tone.

"I called you all to the shooting range today to experience the atmosphere of the battlefield again. We are all cadres who came from the ranks of soldiers. We must never forget our original aspirations, remember the oath we made when we put on our uniforms and clenched our fists, and always remember to be ready for battle at any time."

Upon hearing Chu Zhangang's words, Xu Xiaocun's eyes showed obvious surprise.

He immediately said happily, "Deputy Chief of Staff Chu is really concerned about the training of our 909th Brigade and has inquired about our training reforms many times."

He just got back from a business trip yesterday, and today he came to our brigade to personally direct shooting training with the new equipment, bringing us a fresh perspective.

Xu Xiaocun knew that Chu Zhangang had ideological problems, but now he could clearly feel that Chu Zhangang was changing, and he was happier than anyone else.

"Why are you being so polite? It's like I'm not a member of the 909th Brigade."

Chu Zhangang glared at him, feigning anger, then said with a smile, "I just came back from a meeting at the V Group Army yesterday, and I also visited our big brother unit, the 708th Brigade. I had a lot of feelings and experiences."

Of course, seeing the energetic training of our 909th Brigade today is also very moving. The 909th Brigade is changing, developing, and moving forward, which makes me very gratified.

Chu Zhangang has always been an extremely arrogant person, and he has never looked down on other people's things. This is the first time he has said something like this.

Everyone present, whether it was the old sycophant Ding Kai, or Zhu Rongsheng and Xu Xiaocun who had disagreements before, was extremely surprised.

"That's about it for now. Ding Kai, Zhu Rongsheng, you two continue organizing the training. Political Commissar Xu and I will go and take a look at the other battalions."

Without waiting for a reply from the others, Chu Zhangang gave the order and strode away.

Watching Chu Zhangang's departing figure, Ding Kai and Zhu Rongsheng both had complicated expressions.

After a long silence, Ding Kai finally said, "Have you noticed that the 909th Brigade is changing, and so is its commander?"

“I can understand that for Deputy Chief of Staff Chu, working in the military is not as simple as leading a brigade. So much work is on his shoulders, yet he hasn’t forgotten his old unit. Otherwise, it would be so remarkable that he still cares so much about us,” Zhu Rongsheng said with similar sentiment.

Xu Xiaocun, who left with Chu Zhangang, felt the changes in Chu Zhangang and was in a very good mood. As they walked, he said with emotion, "I never expected that the 708th Brigade could make education so vivid. If only we could have seen their experience sooner."

Xu Xiaocun's words clearly had a second, deeper meaning: if he had known he could change Chu Zhangang's thinking, he should have sent Chu Zhangang to the 708th Brigade earlier.

If Chu Zhangang had made changes sooner, the 909th Brigade would definitely be different now.

"I didn't sleep a wink that night either. Both brigades failed, but Wang Kezheng and He Yazhou managed to pull off so many impressive feats, and their insights were spot on. It's really not easy."

This was the first time Chu Zhangang had verbally admitted that the 909th Brigade's last exercise had been a failure.

Before this, he had always been stubborn and had never acknowledged that the 7th Steel Brigade had defeated the 909th Brigade. Moreover, he would get angry with anyone who said that to him.

The fact that he can say it so fluently now shows how much he has changed.

"Deputy Chief of Staff Chu..."

"oops."

Just as Xu Xiaocun was about to speak, Chu Zhangang interrupted him, saying, "When we're together, you call me Lao Chu, but I feel more comfortable calling me Brigade Commander."

"haha, okay."

Xu Xiaocun smiled and continued, "I think our 909th Brigade has many problems that we need to find solutions to as soon as possible."

"What's the main problem? Tell me," Chu Zhangang asked immediately.

"Don't be upset if I tell you." Xu Xiaocun thought of past instances where he offered his opinions and gave her a heads-up beforehand.

"I sent over the materials from the 708th Brigade as soon as possible so that you could identify the gaps between each other. I'll be happy as long as the 909th Brigade can achieve results," Chu Zhangang said.

“But the root of the problem lies with you, which is why I asked you first,” Xu Xiaocun said.

“I know everything you’ve said, but have you figured out which problems I left behind and which problems I left behind?” Chu Zhangang said.

Xu Xiaocun glanced at Chu Zhangang's face to make sure he wasn't really angry and wasn't just being polite. His worries finally disappeared completely.

From this moment on, I finally fully believed that Chu Zhangang had truly changed and was no longer the same as before.

“You delivered the materials yesterday, and several members of our brigade’s Party Committee are reviewing them. How can we possibly understand everything at once? Besides, you asked me to distinguish between before and after you left, which I think is completely unnecessary. Now is not the time to assign blame, but to find the root cause of the problem,” Xu Xiaocun said earnestly.

"So, the problem is still with me?"

Chu Zhangang suddenly stopped and looked at Xu Xiaocun with a serious expression.

“That’s right, the root of the problem lies with you, but as the political commissar, I also bear responsibility. Let me start by talking about my problem.”

Xu Xiaocun took a deep breath and continued, "You have never acknowledged our failure in the Decisive Battle 2001 exercise, and this has greatly affected our in-depth understanding and awareness of the problems that existed in the exercise."

Because of the lack of a pragmatic attitude, a restless atmosphere has arisen among the officers and soldiers of the entire brigade, who believe that the gap between us and the 7th Steel Brigade is very small, and that it is purely a matter of bad luck, and that we ourselves have done nothing wrong.

If we meet again and fight each other, we will definitely be able to defeat him.

Because of this flawed mindset, our enthusiasm for training was low. Unlike the 708th Brigade, our 909th Brigade didn't have the same profound realization and desperate effort to improve ourselves.

Xu Xiaocun spoke very directly; if it were the old Chu Zhangang, he would have been furious long ago.

But today, Chu Zhangang was not angry. He just pondered and said, "These were my previous thoughts. I never thought they would affect the entire brigade."

Chu Zhangang was clearly regretting his actions, but fortunately, it wasn't too late.

“A bad soldier is a bad soldier, but a bad general makes a bad army. All the officers and soldiers in the brigade are watching your style as brigade commander, so your words will naturally have a great influence on them.”

After making his assessment, Xu Xiaocun changed the subject, saying, "Of course, on the other hand, this spirit of not giving up is sometimes indeed commendable."

It's common for soldiers to compete with each other, which reflects their indomitable spirit.

But your attitude of refusing to admit defeat and failure, and using that to avoid mistakes and errors, is wrong. It's just putting on a brave face and being stuck in your ways. (End of Chapter)