Soldiers Assault: Starting from the 7th Steel Company

Chapter 202 Results Three Months Later

For these rookies in the Democratic Republic of Congo's presidential guard, the daytime training was already tough enough, but they never expected that the evening study sessions would be an even more hellish experience.

Chinese is so hard to learn.

They just couldn't distinguish between simple pinyin sounds, like front and back nasal sounds.

After spending the whole night working on it, everyone only knew a few simple words, such as "left, right, front, back" and "understand".

Chen Jiang really couldn't figure out the rest. He understood that when it came to learning a language, you couldn't rush it.

Just learn a few basic commands first, and you can learn the others later.

For the next two weeks, Chen Jiang didn't teach anything else, he just focused on practicing formations, discipline, and endurance training.

This process is extremely tedious, especially the later "one movement, one command" movement, which involves kicking the leg and then standing still. This makes these newbies complain endlessly.

And that 5-kilometer load, with stones added to the backpack, starting from 5 kilograms and going up to 10 kilograms, that's really extreme.

The Congolese soldiers, who were used to being lax and undisciplined, could hardly endure such hardship.
Chen Jiang didn't tolerate them. The best way to deal with disobedience was to give them a beating. If they dared to resist or didn't make any progress, they would be kicked out of the team without hesitation.

The vast majority of people cherish this opportunity, not for any other reason than that the food here is much better than before after the Chinese instructors arrived. If they were kicked out, where else outside would they find better treatment than here?
They are good for nothing except being soldiers.

Half a month passed quickly, and finally, these people barely looked like soldiers. At this time, Chen Jiang began to reduce the drill training and devoted most of the time to improving their physical fitness. The load was further increased. The full set of weapons, including rifles and grenades, was definitely not light.

Under the scorching sun on the training ground, Chen Jiang stood in front of the formation, squinting at the group of Congolese soldiers sweating profusely.

A month and a half has passed, and these "newbies" who used to stand and sit haphazardly can now maintain a basic formation. At least when he shouts "Attention!", no one scratches themselves or whispers anymore.

“Starting today, you will learn real combat skills,” Chen Jiang said, using simple French words he had just learned along with gestures.

He turned and gestured for He Chenguang, the squad leader of the Seventh Company, to step forward.

He Chenguang walked to the front of the group and demonstrated a set of military boxing techniques cleanly and efficiently.

The Congolese soldiers stared wide-eyed, and some couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

Chen Jiang noticed that the tall private in the third row—he remembered his name was Makala—was staring intently at He Chenguang's every move, his lips moving silently as if he were memorizing moves.

"Now, practice basic grappling techniques in pairs," Chen Jiang ordered.

The training ground immediately descended into chaos.

Although these African soldiers have become more disciplined, they are still hard-pressed to change their nature when they get excited, and some have even started mimicking street fighting moves.

Chen Jiang sighed and was about to step forward to stop him when he saw Makala practicing the movements meticulously, just as He Chenguang had demonstrated.

"Stop!" Chen Jiang blew his whistle. "Watch what Macala does."

All eyes were on Makara.

The tall, thin young soldier looked somewhat embarrassed, but he still managed to complete a set of standard grappling techniques.

Chen Jiang nodded and said in a mix of French and Chinese, "Great! Macara did a really good job!"

In subsequent training sessions, Makala's performance became increasingly outstanding.

While other soldiers were still struggling with basic movements, he was already able to engage in simple combat drills with the soldiers of the Seventh Company.

Chen Jiang secretly memorized the name—in a place lacking a formal military foundation, discovering a talented soldier was as rare as finding gold.

In the evening, Chen Jiang was recording training logs in the commander's room when He Chenguang lifted the curtain and walked in.

"Battalion Commander, that Makala today was quite interesting." He Chenguang handed over a cup of freshly brewed tea. "I sparred with him a few times. His physical fitness is top-notch, and his reflexes are quick."

Chen Jiang took the teacup, blew on the tea leaves, and carefully took a sip. "He's definitely a good prospect. However," he frowned, "language is still a big problem. Today, when I taught tactical hand signals, half of them didn't understand the difference between covering and advancing."

He Chenguang suddenly had a brilliant idea: "Why don't we create a 'military jargon'? Mix Chinese and French, and add fixed hand gestures, just like a codebook."

Chen Jiang's eyes lit up; this was a great idea.

The next morning, he summoned all the soldiers and demonstrated the newly invented "military language" system—common tactical instructions were simplified into a mixed vocabulary of Chinese and French, with each word corresponding to a specific gesture and action.

"Advance" became "Allez-forward", "retreat" became "Retour-retreat", and "cover" became "Couvert-protect".

Such inventions were invented in large numbers; they were simple but very effective.

By noon, most soldiers were able to react quickly to these combined instructions.

It must be said that although these African soldiers are undisciplined, once they are instilled with a sense of discipline and the assistance of military terminology, coupled with their natural coordination and athletic abilities, they learn military tactics and techniques very quickly.

The only shortcoming is their shooting. These African soldiers have been used to firing randomly since childhood, and precision shooting is practically non-existent in their vocabulary.

Once they got the bullets, they started firing.
Chen Jiang ordered everyone to only fire single shots, and their shooting results were abysmal, which really worried Chen Jiang.

When President Kara is given a demonstration, it's impossible that the shooting exercise won't be included, right?
The methods used to train shooters in China were useful, but they were slow to take effect. With so little time left, there simply wasn't enough time. In the end, Li Erniu came up with a brilliant idea: if the shooting results weren't good, there would be no food!
Chen Jiang's eyes lit up, and he immediately made the decision: "That's it! From today onwards, those who hit the target get the meat, and those who miss can only watch others eat it!"

The atmosphere at the shooting range was noticeably different the next morning.

Chen Jiang ordered his men to set up a large pot on the side, containing the meat of a wild deer that had just been caught. Blue flames licked the bottom of the pot, and the aroma of the meat wafted out, making everyone's mouths water.

"Tell me about it!"

Chen Jiang shouted loudly, and everyone below immediately stood at attention.

Chen Jiang was somewhat satisfied with what he saw, after all, the training had been effective.

"Today, each person gets five bullets. If you hit the 30-ring mark, you get a piece of meat! If you hit the 40-ring mark or higher, you get two pieces of meat!"

A series of cries of agony echoed across the training field.

Don't be fooled by the fact that this result is practically an insult to the Seventh Company; among their group, they might not even be able to beat them.

Chen Jiang had calculated this probability accurately; otherwise, such a small pot of meat wouldn't even be enough to satisfy so many people.

"I'll go over the key points of the movement again, so watch carefully." Chen Jiang skillfully picked up an AKM assault rifle, loaded five bullets into it, then lay down and pulled the bolt.

Repeatedly and loudly explain the shooting techniques, emphasizing the importance of achieving a "three-point alignment".

As five bullets were fired, the target teller announced over the loudspeaker, "All five hits! 50 rings!"

Aside from the soldiers of the 7th Company who were completely unconcerned because they were used to it, the rookies from the Democratic Republic of Congo were still so shocked that they could have stuffed an egg into their mouths.

Chen Jiang was firing almost in rapid succession just now, and to hit the bullseye perfectly under such circumstances is truly the mark of a master among masters.

All they could do was clap, clap their hands as hard as they could.

"Alright, keep practicing! This AKM is much easier to shoot with than the AK47. Its barrel is straighter, making it easier to aim. I'll just watch you shoot from the sidelines! Let's see who comes out on top and who goes hungry!"

Encouraged by Chen Jiang, a soldier soon went over and took the rifle with the bullets loaded.

Then he followed Chen Jiang's example and lay down to shoot.

The result was "a flurry of activity, but the score was only 25."

"Twenty-five rings! Failed!" came the target announcer's voice, and the soldier scratched his head sheepishly.

"Not bad. Watch how others play, think about it carefully, and maybe you'll be able to eat meat tomorrow," Chen Jiang encouraged.

The soldiers who followed cherished the opportunity and dared not fire recklessly again.
Those who achieved the passing grade walked over with great joy, swaggered over to collect their meat, and ate it with great relish.

But most people didn't even reach the passing score and could only drool on the sidelines. Wang Yanbing and his team shook their heads after seeing this. The gap was huge. They were so happy after only scoring a little over 30 rings? This was far below the average level of the Seventh Company.

Even so, there are still people who can't get meat. It's really speechless.

Of course, Chen Jiang couldn't let them go hungry, so he still provided cassava flour; otherwise, how could they withstand the high-intensity training?
Seeing others eating meat while I was drinking thin porridge made me feel incredibly sad.

Makala came on very late.

He took a deep breath, lay down on the ground, and squinted his left eye.

The distant target was faintly visible in the morning mist.

"Snapped!"

The first shot hit, but the ring score was obviously not high.

Even if you hit the target every time, but get low scores, you still won't get any meat in the end.

His goal was to bring it back to his family for a treat.
At this moment, fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Snapped!"

The second attempt was slightly better.

The soldiers waiting in line behind them began to whisper among themselves, some even laughing out loud that it was nothing special.

Makara's fingers trembled slightly.

He stole a glance at He Chenguang, who was standing next to him; the Chinese instructor stood expressionless with his arms crossed.

"Three points in a straight line, hold your breath."

Suddenly, he heard a prompt in his ear.
Makara composed herself and took a deep breath.

When I opened my eyes again, I felt a sense of sudden enlightenment.

"Snapped!"

The third shot seemed to have been fired quite well.

This gave him a great boost of confidence.

Two more shots were fired in quick succession, both seemingly hitting the target.

When the target announcer's voice came through, "43 rings!"

Makala jumped up, excitedly waving his fists, and charged towards the meat pot like a cheetah on the savanna.

"This is a promising talent!" Xu Sanduo, who doesn't talk much, couldn't help but praise him at this moment.

Chen Jiang nodded almost imperceptibly.

After everyone finished shooting, a dramatic scene unfolded on the training ground: most of the soldiers who hadn't eaten meat spontaneously organized extra practice, correcting each other's shooting postures.

Those soldiers who got to eat meat also proactively sought out the Chinese instructors, humbly asking for their shooting experience.

Makara was even more grateful for He Chenguang's reminder and bowed deeply to him. He Chenguang finally taught him the method of hanging stones on the gun to train arm strength and form muscle memory.

Li Erniu whispered to Chen Jiang, "Battalion Commander, this trick is even more effective than solitary confinement!"

Three months passed quickly, and it was finally time to test the training results.
President Cara attached great importance to this and specially brought his trusted ministers to observe.

Ambassador Yuen Kwok-hing also came to lend his support.

Amidst the rising dust, rows of presidential guard soldiers in brand-new camouflage uniforms were already lined up.

They stood solemnly with guns at their sides, their eyes resolute, completely different from the group of undisciplined "newbies" they had been three months ago.

Chen Jiang, standing at the very front of the procession, saw President Kara get out of the car and immediately shouted, "Attention!"

"Whoosh!" All the soldiers straightened their backs instantly, their movements perfectly synchronized.

President Cara paused for a moment, then smiled with satisfaction.

He stepped forward and shook hands warmly with Chen Jiang: "Instructor Chen, it seems your training has been very effective."

"Reporting to the President, this is just the beginning." Chen Jiang gave a standard military salute. "Next, please inspect their training results."

President Kara nodded and, accompanied by her entourage, walked toward the reviewing stand.

The soldiers split into small squads and, following Chen Jiang's orders, quickly changed formation. From firing positions on the move to tactical cover, their movements were clean and efficient, without the slightest hesitation.

"Allez-forward!" Chen Jiang gave the order, and the soldiers immediately crawled forward in a low posture. Their movements were so precise that President Cara couldn't help but applaud.

"Retour!" At the command, everyone quickly retreated while remaining on alert.

"Couvert-protect!" The soldiers immediately sought cover, pointing their guns forward, their tactical skills far exceeding those of ordinary Congolese troops.

President Kara nodded in satisfaction and whispered to her confidant beside her, "This team is already comparable to the elite."

He Chenguang led several Chinese instructors to the front lines to conduct a combat drill with soldiers from the Presidential Guard.

As the best-performing soldier, Makala was assigned to a one-on-one match with He Chenguang. The two exchanged blows, and although Makala was slightly weaker, he was agile and dodged He Chenguang's tackles several times. He even managed to seize an opportunity to counterattack, drawing cheers from the stands.

In the end, He Chenguang subdued Makala with a joint lock, but Makala was not discouraged. Instead, he immediately got up and saluted He Chenguang. He Chenguang patted him on the shoulder in recognition.

President Kara couldn't help but ask, "What's this soldier's name?"

“Makala, Your Excellency President,” Chen Jiang replied, “is the most talented among this group.”

President Cara nodded in satisfaction: "Good, very good."

Talented people should definitely be given important responsibilities.

This is the most crucial aspect, and also the part Chen Jiang is most worried about. Although the soldiers' shooting skills have improved considerably, they are still far from being true elite marksmen.

"All personnel, prepare to fire!"

The soldiers quickly lay down and aimed their guns.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Gunshots rang out one after another, and the target caller's voice came through the loudspeaker:
"Target No. 1, 42 rings!"

"Target No. 2, 38 rings!"

"Target No. 3, 45 rings!"

……

While their performance may not be comparable to that of professional snipers, it represents a remarkable improvement for the Congolese army.

When it was Makara's turn, he took a deep breath and steadily pulled the trigger.

"Target No. 5, 48 rings!"

A round of applause erupted from the reviewing stand, and President Cara even stood up, exclaiming, "Excellent marksmanship!"

(End of this chapter)