Soldiers Assault: Starting from the 7th Steel Company

Chapter 218 Problems Exposed by Long-Distance Emergency Pulling
Emerging from Sun Tongfei's office, Yu Genshan felt even more confident.

He was a shrewd man and immediately realized that Sun Tongfei was definitely on Chen Jiang's side, which gave him a strong sense of confidence.

So when he led them to the office of Liao Weiliang, the head of the operations department, he became exceptionally enthusiastic in his introduction.
Liao Weiliang is around 40 years old. In civilian life, this age would definitely be considered the prime of life, but in the military, where there is a rapid turnover of personnel, his age is indeed a bit too old.

"Oh, Deputy Director Chen, you've finally arrived! I've been overwhelmed by work and can barely breathe. I've heard so much about your glorious deeds, it's so great that you've come to help me this time."

Whether they were genuinely happy or not, they were at least outwardly very welcoming to Chen Jiang's arrival. Chen Jiang understood, of course, that appearances shouldn't be taken too seriously, but as a newcomer, he certainly needed to cultivate a good relationship with his superior.

After a few words of modesty, and with Long Kaifeng and Gao Cheng speaking on their behalf, they had to leave, and they would have to walk the rest of the way on their own.

Chen Jiang's office was quite far from Liao Weiliang's; you had to walk past several offices to get there. However, it was a private room with a desk, a small sofa, and a coffee table.

"The conditions are a bit basic. Do you see anything we're missing? I'll have the logistics team get some more."

Chen Jiang smiled and said, "It's already very good. It's much better than my previous office. It has everything I need."

He knew very well that in the compound, everything had its own specifications and standards, and what level of service one received was determined by the rules. It was impossible for Yu Genshan to make the decision; people said it was just a polite formality.

Yu Genshan smiled and didn't say anything more. At this moment, Liao Weiliang walked in and said, "Come, come, Deputy Director Chen, I'll take you to see your soldiers."

At this point, Yu Genshan had no choice but to leave, as his work was finished. Before leaving, he handed Chen Jiang a directory of the compound, which contained everyone's phone number and position.

After Liao Weiliang's explanation, Chen Jiang had a basic understanding of the composition of the operations department.
The head of this department is Liao Weiliang, a colonel, who is equivalent to a regimental commander.
Before Chen Jiang, there was a deputy director named Kong Wenjie, who held the rank of lieutenant colonel and was equivalent to a deputy regimental commander.
However, he is in poor health and has been recuperating in hospitals and at home for many years, so his retirement due to illness is a foregone conclusion.

There was another deputy director named Chen Wenhua, who was also a lieutenant colonel and a deputy regimental commander. However, he was seconded to a higher-level department and would not return for another year. So, although the large equipment department appeared to have one director and three deputy directors, in reality, only he was the one doing the work.

There are several other departments with more than a dozen people, most of whom are graduates of military academies and assigned here. Among them, Zhong Yixue left the deepest impression on Chen Jiang.

What impressed Chen Jiang was not only Zhong Yixue's beauty, but also the fact that she was a national defense student from a prestigious university and a graduate student. She was already a major-level battalion officer, and it was clear to everyone that it was only a matter of time before she was promoted to deputy regimental commander.

However, Zhong Yixue wasn't particularly fond of Chen Jiang. Compared to the warm welcome from her other colleagues, she was surprisingly cold and aloof. Fortunately, Chen Jiang didn't seem to mind, nodded, and left.

When they came out, Liao Weiliang complained to him that Zhong Yixue, although highly educated, was definitely a troublemaker and completely unruly. He hoped that this troublemaker would be transferred as soon as her time was up.

The implication is clear: Zhong Yixue likely has powerful backers, and these backers are someone Liao Weiliang cannot challenge.

Chen Jiang disdained to pay attention to such things. He was focused on doing his job well; otherwise, what was he doing here?
Liao Weiliang clearly assigned most of the department's work to him. Except for the core task of formulating the exercise plan, which Liao Weiliang kept firmly in his grasp, he basically distributed everything else to Chen Jiang.

Based on Liao Weiliang's experience, the exercise work is something that higher-level leaders can see and that is beneficial, while other work is just trivial and insignificant.

Chen Jiang naturally had no right to refuse, and he said he would do his best.

Back in his office, he began to look through the "three-fixed plan" for his department, which his subordinates had prepared in advance, to understand the department's basic functions and staffing situation. Then came the work plans and summaries for the past three years.

He discovered a problem: the plans and summaries were almost identical year after year, with only minor changes to the numbers, and even then, it was just a minor adjustment. This was far too formalistic.

One particular statistic caught his attention: the fuel used for military exercises every year was the same? What kind of operation was this?
With these questions in mind, he summoned several subordinates to his office to inquire about the matter.

Finally, it was discovered that Zhong Yixue was in charge of this oil statistics work, so Chen Jiang kept Zhong Yixue on the job and sent the others back to work.

“Director Chen, this data is definitely accurate.” Zhong Yixue answered without hesitation when she learned that Chen Jiang had asked about fuel usage.

"The same for three years? You need to know how many tanks and vehicles the entire army group has. Their usage is different, so how could the fuel be the same?" Chen Jiang was very puzzled. Moreover, he had read Zhong Yixue's resume. She had only been here for a year. How could she make such a guarantee about the previous two years?
"Director Chen, since the fuel ration for all vehicles over the next three years is limited, everyone will definitely run out of fuel, so it's all the same, isn't it?"

Chen Jiang was stunned when he heard Zhong Yixue's explanation.

Why is the fuel ration the same every year?

Seeing that Chen Jiang, who was new to the area, genuinely didn't understand, Zhong Yixue could only patiently explain.

"Director Chen, our oil supply has always been strictly controlled by our superiors. In addition, we have field training and exercises every year, so we need to ensure a certain amount of reserve oil. This needs to be divided into gasoline and diesel, and the total amount is very tight."

"Moreover, the fuel allocated to us by our superiors is subject to a fixed quota every year, and we must use it all up!"

"Huh?" Chen Jiang's eyes widened immediately. "Why is that?"

Zhong Yixue said helplessly, "Because if we don't use it all this year, then next year we will likely have our allowance reduced, so we will definitely use it all up and not leave a single drop. That's why the usage is the same every year in the summary."

Chen Jiang fell silent after hearing this. He had never dealt with these things in his previous life, so he didn't know the intricacies involved. Only after learning about it today did he realize that the problem was extremely serious.

"Isn't this just talking nonsense? If there really is a war and we don't have enough fuel, won't all our tanks and trucks be grounded?" Chen Jiang said angrily.

"Director Chen, there's no use in worrying about this. Someone reported this to Director Liao before, and Director Liao even submitted a report to his superiors, but nothing came of it. The reason is simple: the higher-ups are also short of fuel. Right now, military matters are giving way to economic development, so there's nothing we can do."

Hearing what Zhong Yixue said, Chen Jiang sneered, "No way? If a war really breaks out, the enemy won't let you off the hook just because you're short on fuel. This fuel situation must be changed."

“But, Director Chen, the issue of fuel is not under the jurisdiction of our Operations Department; it falls under the purview of the Equipment and Logistics Department. They essentially just take the rations allocated from above and redistribute them. Going to them won't do any good.” Although Zhong Yixue hadn't been there long, she was quite familiar with the ins and outs of the matter. Going to them would only result in them passing the buck in the end.

How could Chen Jiang not understand the reasoning behind this? If you ask him to go to his superiors specifically to resolve this matter, it's easy for them to think he's being nosy, and he might even offend his colleagues.

It seems this matter needs to be considered more carefully.

Sure enough, the opportunity came a few days later.

An unexpected emergency mobilization order was issued to the army group, requiring the mobilization of a motor transport regiment and two tank regiments over a long distance.

Tanks are loaded onto trains, which doesn't use much fuel, but the motor transport regiment definitely needs to run on its own wheels. Chen Jiang volunteered to go to the motor transport regiment to deliver the mobilization order.

This motor transport regiment, directly under the army group, possesses over 300 heavy military trucks, making it a crucial part of Chen Jiang's plan.

When he rushed to the motor transport regiment's duty room, he found several officers playing cards, which was strictly prohibited in the army. However, the matter was urgent, and it was not the time to dwell on such trivial matters.

"Hello, Chief!"

Upon seeing that Chen Jiang was a lieutenant colonel, the officers, though unfamiliar with him, immediately stood up, saluted, and quickly put away their playing cards.

Chen Jiang returned the salute and hurriedly asked, "Where is your regimental commander?"

"Report, the regimental commander has gone out on business," an officer replied.

"Hmm? What about the duty officer?" Chen Jiang knew that it was possible that the regimental commander was not present, but usually a duty officer, such as the deputy regimental commander, would be arranged in the duty room to directly convey orders.

"Sir, the duty officer isn't here right now." The other person's hesitant manner infuriated Chen Jiang. What was he doing, dragging his feet like that?
However, he suppressed his anger and continued, "I have an urgent order from my superiors that I must convey to your regimental leadership. Please summon the responsible leader immediately, and be quick!"

The officers knew something was wrong as soon as they saw the briefcase in Chen Jiang's hand. Someone had already secretly made a phone call. At this moment, Regiment Commander Zhao Dazhi came downstairs while fastening his belt. "What's going on?"

Chen Jiang frowned. So he had gone upstairs to sleep. No wonder there was no leader on duty. The leader on duty was himself.

"Commander Zhao, the military has issued an urgent order requiring your unit to be fully loaded and make a long-distance mobilization to Station 71 within 48 hours." Chen Jiang was very anxious. He glanced at his watch and added, "One hour and twelve minutes have passed since the order was issued."

Zhao Dazhi took the order and looked at it. Good heavens, for such a long distance, they only gave him 48 hours?

He turned to his men and yelled, "What are you all standing there for? Emergency assembly! All personnel, return to your posts immediately!"

As his subordinates scrambled out to inform others, he turned back and smiled at Chen Jiang, "Who are you?"

Seeing that he was a colonel and regimental commander, Chen Jiang realized that he had rushed in to deliver orders and hadn't saluted, so he quickly added a salute and loudly replied, "Reporting to Regimental Commander Zhao, I am Chen Jiang from the Operations Department."

Zhao Dazhi also had a contact list for the entire army group, but because Chen Jiang had just arrived, the contact list had not been updated in time, so he did not know that such a person existed.

Seeing that the other party was a lieutenant colonel, he figured that he must be the newly arrived deputy director, so he quickly said in a friendly tone, "So you are Director Chen. It's a bit late to get to such a far place in 48 hours. Could you please make an exception and give us an extra 12 hours?"

Chen Jiang thought he had misheard. How could the commander of a motor transport regiment actually bargain with orders from his superiors?

He tried his best to control his temper and advised him gently, "Commander Zhao, I am the deputy director, and I'm new here. The higher-ups have definitely taken your regiment's actual situation into full consideration, including the speed of assembly and mobilization. If you hurry up, you can definitely get to the designated location within the stipulated time."

Zhao Dazhi looked troubled. "Deputy Director Chen, the order is for everyone to be fully loaded. We need to assemble, fill the vehicles with gas, do pre-trip maintenance, plan the route, and there are unexpected situations on the road. How can we possibly manage in 48 hours?"

Chen Jiang was speechless. His face immediately darkened. "Commander Zhao, military orders are absolute and military law is merciless. Please overcome all difficulties and get there immediately!"

Zhao Dazhi was probably a little confused. How could this kid turn on him so suddenly? But even though the other party was impolite and had a lower military rank than him, he was still an "Imperial Envoy," so there was nothing he could say.

He could only say defiantly, "Fine, fine, then we'll definitely complete the mission!"

Chen Jiang originally wanted to return, but when he got to the door, he received another call. It turned out that his superiors attached great importance to this long-distance mobilization and required Chen Jiang to accompany the vehicle throughout the entire process to ensure the successful completion of the mission.

Since Chen Jiang had put the phone on speakerphone, Zhao Dazhi heard it too. His face turned bright red, and he said angrily, "Fine, they've sent me a supervisor."

Chen Jiang looked embarrassed, but an order is an order, and he couldn't disobey it.

When Zhao Dazhi saw that Chen Jiang had indeed stayed behind to supervise the troops, his anger flared up. He ordered all the motor transport companies to get moving, make preparations as soon as possible, and try to assemble within two hours before setting out.

Upon hearing this, Chen Jiang asked, "Two hours?"
I was immediately a little annoyed.

"Commander Zhao, this assembly will take two hours?"

"Oh dear, Deputy Director Chen, this is a military truck, not an ordinary army soldier. It can be assembled in just a few minutes. So many people need to be assembled, a driving plan needs to be made, and some vehicles need maintenance to ensure they don't break down on the road! You've seen the orders from above, requiring me to arrive fully loaded. If the preliminary preparations aren't done properly, who will be responsible if there are problems on the road?"

(End of this chapter)