Soldiers Assault: Starting from the 7th Steel Company

Chapter 196 I've arrived in the impoverished African continent.
The deafening noise from the engines on both sides of the Il-76 transport plane kept Chen Jiang awake at all.

This four-engine large dual-use strategic transport aircraft, imported from Russia, has been in service for nearly ten years. To this day, it remains the most advanced large transport aircraft in China, if not the most advanced.

Large transport aircraft generally refer to strategic transport aircraft with intercontinental transport capabilities. These aircraft are characterized by strong load capacity and long range. Their takeoff weight is mostly over 150 tons, their payload exceeds 40 tons, and their normal range exceeds 5000 kilometers. They can carry out airdrops, air-drops, and rapid loading and unloading. They can take off and land at large and medium-sized airports far from the mainland, and can also be deployed at field airports when necessary.

Under the circumstances at the time, no other transport aircraft in our country could compare with it.

The journey from China to the Democratic Republic of Congo is quite long, so we can only rely on this "imported" product, given its limited range and payload.

The biggest drawback of this transport aircraft is that it is too rough and has absolutely no comfort. It completely inherits the rough and durable characteristics of Russian weapons, with the main idea being that as long as it works, nothing else matters.

This was tough on the officers and soldiers of the Seventh Company.

They had to endure tremendous noise while sitting in a cargo hold without air conditioning.

As the commander, Chen Jiang chose to share weal and woe with everyone, while giving up the few seats in the relatively cooler cockpit to medical experts and engineering and technical backbone personnel.

Since Chen Jiang was in the cargo hold, Chu Ning also chose to come to the back to keep her husband company. The two chatted sweetly, and time passed by a little faster.

The plane landed at several airports in UN member states along the way for a short rest and refueling before continuing its journey into the African interior.

As the plane descended, Chen Jiang looked out the cabin window and began to see the general outlines of the buildings on the ground. Compared to China, there were almost no large buildings here; some low-rise buildings were probably the best places to be.

There's no way around it; the economic situation here is definitely not comparable to that in China.

The plane finally landed at the dilapidated Capital Airport. The runway was relatively smooth, and the landing was thankfully without incident.

When the plane door opened, Chen Jiang was greeted by a grand welcoming ceremony. Yuan Guoxing, the Chinese ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, personally came to the airport to greet him. In addition, there were a group of leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo, UN officials, and people from all walks of life who came to welcome him.

"Welcome, welcome! I've been waiting for this day and night, and finally, people from our motherland have arrived." Chen Jiang had seen Yuan Guoxing's information; he was only in his fifties, but his face looked as aged as that of an elderly man in his seventies.

It's clear that working here isn't easy.

"Good morning, Commander S. This is Chen Jiang. What are your instructions?" Although Chen Jiang claimed to be a peacekeeper, he was still a true member of the Chinese army at heart. To Chen Jiang, Yuan Guoxing was Commander S, and listening to him was the right thing to do.

His words delighted Yuan Guoxing. Although Yuan Guoxing was an ambassador to foreign countries, in reality, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the gun was the only true force.

It's too chaotic here. The former president was assassinated not long ago while attending an event, and the current president, Cara, is very careful and will not attend events unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, in a situation like today, the president would have to come.

Now Chen Jiang has arrived. He has obtained information on this man and he is definitely a fierce general in the army! And the troops he brought are absolutely top-notch elite forces.

"Great, great, great!" Yuan Guoxing said, his voice trembling with emotion.

After the welcoming ceremony, Chen Jiang and his team unloaded their equipment from the plane, boarded the vehicles that had been prepared in advance, and headed to the peacekeeping force's camp.

On the way to the camp, Chen Jiang observed the city through the firing ports of the armored vehicle. Buildings lining the streets were riddled with bullet holes, and roadblocks were everywhere. Several thin, bony children chased after the convoy, their eyes filled with both curiosity and wariness.

This place isn't too far from the airport, and it's just across the street from the embassy. At the entrance of the camp, the previous batch of peacekeeping troops are lined up and waiting.

Judging from the expressions on their faces, these poor guys had been tortured enough by this place and were just hoping that Chen Jiang and his men would come to relieve them so they could go home.

Although everyone was dressed the same, in blue helmets and blue uniforms, the other side was European, and their main task was to maintain local order, but clearly, they were not doing a very good job.

After a brief handover ceremony, the opposing commander saluted Chen Jiang and said with a look of relief, "Buddy, thank you for coming to relieve us. We can finally leave this hellish place. I hope you can get a replacement soon too. Believe me, this place is hell!"

Chen Jiang never expected the other party to be so blunt, so he politely returned a military salute and replied righteously, "We are Chinese soldiers. In our eyes, there is no hell, only missions that must be completed! We wish you a safe journey."

The other party was clearly surprised by Chen Jiang's persistence. They shrugged, got into their Hummer SUV, and sped away.

After the foreign troops left, Chen Jiang immediately directed the Seventh Company to start cleaning up the camp. They had to ensure the safety of the camp while cleaning it up, as engineering troops would arrive later by other aircraft.

As medical personnel, Chu Ning and her team could have stayed in the innermost part of the military camp, where it was relatively clean. However, Chu Ning felt that since they were all there, they were all part of the peacekeeping force and should work together.

When the foreign troops withdrew, the military camp was in complete chaos. Many places were incredibly smelly. I really don't know how they lived and worked under such conditions.

Chen Jiang led his men to thoroughly clean the entire military camp, inside and out, and took inventory of the supplies and equipment.

This military camp has been around for quite some time; Chen Jiang and his men have lost count of how many batches of troops have been stationed here.

The bullet holes and repair marks on the wall are clearly visible, indicating that it has been attacked more than once.

Chen Jiang carefully inspected the defensive fortifications and discovered blind spots in the firing angles of the watchtowers. He immediately ordered the soldiers to make adjustments.

Some of the walls are severely damaged and can only be reinforced temporarily by filling sacks with soil and stones.

With so many people here, the most important thing is to solve the water and electricity problem. Chen Jiang checked the water supply equipment and found that the tap water coming from somewhere had a strange taste. It seemed that they could only use it for simple washing. However, there was a well not far from the military camp, and the water there was quite palatable.

After a simple test, it was found that the water was fine, and it could only be used temporarily for cooking and drinking.

As for electricity, the military camp has two old generators and a bunch of rusty battery packs, which should be considered backup power.

When he arrived, Yuan Guoxing told him that although this was the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the power supply was not stable. Chen Jiang sighed and said that these foreign troops were too lazy. Couldn't they build their own power generation facilities? For a military stronghold like theirs, relying on external power supplies for a long time was not a reliable solution.

It seems these guys are all thinking about leaving as soon as possible, so they don't have a long-term vision. Now that I'm here, I must work with my brothers to build this place into an overseas territory of our motherland, at least to make everyone live comfortably and happily.

After a thorough cleaning, the military camp was at least no longer as dirty and messy as before, and Chen Jiang had the cooks bring out the prepared meals.

Yuan Guoxing originally wanted to invite Chen Jiang and the others to dine at the embassy, ​​but Chen Jiang insisted on eating and staying with everyone. Left with no other choice, Yuan Guoxing could only bring some of the food to the military camp to eat with everyone.

"Oh my, is this pickled mustard greens? This is good stuff!"

"Oh my, these are dumplings? It's been so long since I've had them. Mmm, they smell so good. This is the taste of home."

Originally, Yuan Guoxing was supposed to entertain everyone, but the local specialties that Chen Jiang and his group brought became the most popular items among the people at the embassy.

This left Chen Jiang feeling both amused and exasperated.

"Here, we mainly eat local food, haha, you definitely won't be used to it."

Chen Jiang glanced at the things Yuan Guoxing had brought; they were mostly corn and some beef.

“These are good things. Ordinary families in the Democratic Republic of Congo can’t afford these. The main food here is cassava. Have you heard of it?” Yuan Guoxing ate two more dumplings in one bite and then began to introduce the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is located in central Africa and has a population of 70 million, making it the second largest country in Africa. Due to long-term colonial rule by European countries and continuous wars after independence, the people suffer from poverty and hardship. More than half of the population faces food shortages, and disease is rampant, resulting in an average life expectancy of less than 60 years.

The staple foods of families in the Democratic Republic of Congo include rice, corn, cassava, and bananas. In the high-altitude areas, sweet potatoes and potatoes are the main staples. The Democratic Republic of Congo has a high coffee production and consumption; traditionally, ordinary families would eat bread or cassava for breakfast with coffee, and except for the upper class, most people still retain the custom of eating with their hands. The hot climate of the Congo provides abundant tropical crops, including delicious papayas, mangoes, bananas, and pineapples.

However, due to the ongoing wars, most families could not afford these staple foods and had to rely on cassava as their main food, using cassava leaves as vegetables. When food was scarce, they could only rely on fruits and insects to fill their stomachs.

Locally, people are accustomed to eating insects, and large fruit bats are usually roasted.

After listening to the ambassador's introduction, Chen Jiang and the other company and platoon leaders all had an incredulous expression. What kind of godforsaken place is this? People even eat insects and bats here?

Those creatures were covered in bacteria and viruses; no wonder the mortality rate was so high.

"So what supports the economy here?" Chen Jiang asked, and immediately realized it was absurd. What kind of economy could this place possibly have?

As expected, Ambassador Yuan gave a helpless, bitter smile.
"This is one of the least developed countries in the world, as designated by the United Nations. Its economy is mainly based on agriculture and mining, but it cannot even be self-sufficient in food, and many people are not getting enough to eat. The main reason is the constant wars here, which prevent economic development."

"Why is there war?" Chu Ning also expressed his doubts. Neither of them had been to Africa before, so they didn't know much about the situation there.

"The old president was assassinated, and the current president, Kara, is his son. He suspects that it was Vice President Benba who did it. Supporters of both sides fought each other. In addition, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo are also enemies, and they have been enemies of Rwanda for many years, so there is constant warfare."

Yuan Guoxing gave a wry smile. "It's very difficult to get a meal here, but it's incredibly easy to get an AK47. Many children roam around with AKs in their hands. You can imagine how bad the security situation is in such a place."

Chen Jiang realized the seriousness of the problem after hearing this, because the weapons and equipment that their Seventh Company brought were mainly Type 95 assault rifles, plus some light firepower. They were away from the mainland and without the support of the air force and armored forces, which was still a bit daunting.

"What about the other UN forces? Aren't they going to do anything about it?" Chu Ning asked, as he didn't pay much attention to international affairs.

Yuan Guoxing glanced at Chen Jiang before cautiously replying, "They're all only after the mineral resources here. What do they care if the people here fight to the death?"

"To tell you the truth, they'd love for things to be chaotic here. Only in chaos can they take advantage of the situation."

Chen Jiang understood what Yuan Guoxing meant: on the one hand, they could make a fortune from the war by selling arms to both sides; on the other hand, they could take advantage of the chaos to seize mineral resources.

Therefore, this place is constantly plagued by wars and conflicts.

Chen Jiang thought to himself that relying on the assistance of other countries in the world was probably wishful thinking. To stabilize the order here, they would still have to rely on the Congolese government forces.

"So what about the president here? How is his relationship with us?"

"You mean Kara? He's not bad, because he studied in China for a while, so he can speak Chinese. However, his foundation isn't solid right now, and the military force he controls is still very weak," Yuan Guoxing said helplessly.

"Since he's been relatively friendly to us, this could be a good starting point," Chen Jiang thought to himself.

When you come to a foreign country, the worst thing you can do is to go it alone.

They only sent a company of combat personnel, which is foolish to drag them into the endless local civil war. Besides, Chen Jiang is reluctant to let them go.

Although He Chenguang and his group had approached him many times, hoping that he could guide them in real combat, Chen Jiang refused without hesitation.

This unit is their foundation for settling down abroad, and we need to bring them back intact; good steel must be used where it's needed most.

"Chief S, I have a favor to ask," Chen Jiang said calmly.

"Tell me, as long as I can do it." Yuan Guoxing knew that Chen Jiang was capable, and if he could help, he definitely would. After all, everyone here could only make the most of each other's efforts.

"I hope to meet President Kara, even if it's just for a few minutes, otherwise I'm not sure what to do," Chen Jiang said earnestly.

(End of this chapter)