Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Shangganling

After the armistice agreement was signed, North Korea finally returned to calm once again.

Hundreds of thousands of volunteers began to return to China one after another.

In August, Li Yunlong, Ding Wei, and Kong Jie received transfer orders one after another.

Before leaving, everyone gathered together again.

At the dinner table, Li Yunlong took a swig of wine and then started cursing.

"Damn it, she's fought half her life, and now she wants to learn how to fight? This is ridiculous!"

"Even if I don't know a whole bunch of things, I still managed to beat Chiang Kai-shek and the American imperialists so badly they were crawling on the ground."

Everyone burst into laughter at Li Yunlong's complaints.

However, after laughing, Ding Wei said, "Old Li, you have to learn."

"Future wars will definitely be multi-service, all-round, and three-dimensional battles, no longer just about infantry fighting."

Before the Korean War, Ding Wei thought the academics were nothing special, and he could easily sweep Liao Yaoxiang aside.

However, after actually fighting against world-class countries, Ding Wei gained a new understanding of war.

“I agree with Lao Ding’s opinion,” Kong Jie chimed in from the side.

"Judging from the situation of the Korean War, we still have shortcomings compared with the troops of first-class countries."

"First-class?" Li Yunlong scoffed. "So what if it's first-class? We're going to fight first-class."

"The Americans have a lot of planes, tanks, and artillery, right? But they still got thrashed and beaten to a pulp by us."

"If you ask me, war is about people. If the people aren't good, even the most powerful weapons will be useless."

Putting down his chopsticks, Chen Chengxing said, "It's no exaggeration to say that the light infantry of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army was at the pinnacle of the world."

"But we cannot remain light infantry forever. Our country's heavy industry has begun to develop, and we will definitely move towards heavy armored forces in the future."

Do you understand armored assault tactics? Do you understand air-ground coordinated operations?

"All you can do is infantry-artillery coordination, and you're not even that good at it."

Li Yunlong was embarrassed.

Among all the troops in the 4th Army Corps, Li Yunlong was second to none in tactics such as infiltration and flanking maneuvers.

But when it comes to combined arms operations, or even combined arms operations, he really is at the bottom.

This is also related to Li Yunlong's personality.

As soon as the gunfire started, he couldn't help but fire back from behind.

However, Li Yunlong still stubbornly said, "Don't just talk about me. I'm not that professional in artillery, but Lao Ding and Lao Kong are no match for me either. It's just that you, Lao Chen, have been playing with artillery for a long time."

"If I had been given an artillery regiment during the Liberation War, I would have easily taken it down."

Li Yunlong was right. Apart from Chen Chengxing's artillery unit being established earlier, the large number of artillery pieces under the command of the three of them had only been equipped for a year. To achieve perfect coordination, they would need a lot of time to work together.

Kong Jie laughed and said, "That's why we need to go and study."

"Study, study!" Li Yunlong picked up his wine bowl dejectedly. "Let's not talk about those depressing things, let's have a drink."

After finishing his bowl, Li Yunlong said, "Old Chen, we're leaving now. You'll have to keep an eye on the troops. Anyway, they're your subordinates."

"I can't help you with this," Chen Chengxing waved his hand. "I also received the notification."

"You're going to Jinling to study too?" Li Yunlong and the other two were taken aback.

“No, that’s not it,” Chen Chengxing said. “My orders were to return to Beijing, but I don’t know the specifics.”

"Alright, I see you can't escape either." Li Yunlong laughed: "We'll meet in Nanjing sooner or later."

"Maybe," Chen Chengxing said casually.

However, he had a feeling that this return to Beijing was unrelated to the military academy.

A few days later, Chen Chengxing arrived in Beijing by train.

After arriving at the General Staff Headquarters with the people who were there to pick him up, Chen Chengxing was somewhat surprised: "Commander, weren't you in Harbin?" "Come, sit down, sit down, sit down."

"I'm going back to the central government for a meeting. I'll take this opportunity to talk to you about something that has changed your job, but it's not convenient to discuss it over the phone."

Chen Chengxing immediately stood at attention and said, "I will resolutely obey the arrangements of the Central Committee!"

"Hey, no need to be so serious."

"We fought in North Korea for nearly three years this time. Comrade Wen Ying had a very tough time taking care of her child all by herself."

"You've just gotten back and you've already assigned me a task. I hope Comrade Wenying won't blame me."

Upon hearing Wen Ying's name, Chen Chengxing smiled.

"With organized care, it's not a big deal."

"Speaking of which, I should thank you. I heard from Ying that you were the one who gave her the name?"

The commander laughed and said, "Your son is a robust and chubby boy, and since you're in North Korea, I named him 'Aid North Korea'."

"You should have chosen this name; I overstepped my bounds."

"You're right, it should be that kid's honor."

Names like "Aid Korea" and "Defend the Country" are very popular now, and no matter what, it would be better for Li Yunlong to name his son "Li Tank".

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the commander finally revealed the reason for summoning Chen Chengxing.

"During the Battle of Seoul, your unit captured a foreigner, do you remember?"

"I remember, his name was Sheldon." How could Chen Chengxing forget that? It was one of the greatest gains from the Korean War.

"Yes, that's him." The leader nodded: "Regarding the atomic bomb, it has been verified by multiple parties, and the Central Committee has decided to develop the atomic bomb, codenamed 596."

"The reason I called you back this time is to take charge of this."

"An atomic bomb?" Chen Chengxing was genuinely bewildered. "I don't understand this thing."

Although the blueprints and Sheldon were generated by the system, Chen Chengxing had no idea what they were.

"You don't understand, but do you think I do?"

"I won't lie to you, back in Shanxi, your arsenal developed a lot of weapons. The commander thought you were smart, so he personally selected you."

"But don't be nervous. I'm not asking you to do research and development. I'm just asking you to be in charge of the construction of the test range. Once the test range is completed, other personnel will take over."

"In addition to 596, Jincheng will also build a new arsenal, with Comrade Wen Ying serving as the director, responsible for the research and development of new weapons and the processing of some precision parts."

"This can also help to bring you two closer together, so that you can work together without getting tired."

"Okay, I obey orders!"

"There's another matter. Bandits and foreign forces are still rampant in the Northwest. You'll also have to take on the tasks of bandit suppression and maintaining stability."

"The Second General Staff was among the first batch of troops to return to China. After returning, the Military Commission reorganized the Second General Staff."

"Most of them will be reorganized into the garrison, while another part of the elite will be transferred out and reorganized into an independent special operations brigade."

“I understand.” Chen Chengxing nodded. “I will head to Jincheng immediately.”

With the end of the Korean War, the country will shift its focus from revolutionary war to economic development.

However, reactionary forces are always thinking about subverting China, and the currently somewhat chaotic Northwest needs strong measures.

"No need to rush. Go back to Taiyuan and rest for a few days first, and then go to Jincheng to report to General Nie."

As he spoke, he handed the letter of appointment to Chen Chengxing.

"yes!".
After leaving the capital and returning to Taiyuan, Chen Chengxing did not stay for long.

After two days of tender time together, Chen Chengxing parted ways with Wen Ying and then headed west.

This book is not finished yet.

There are also side stories about India and Vietnam. (End of this chapter)