Soldiers Assault: Starting from the 7th Steel Company

Chapter 236 What the Future Battlefield Looks Like

After Chen Jiang took charge of training, he paid less attention to daily training and instead focused his energy on going to the National University of Defense Technology to discuss and promote the development of "robot dogs".

After Chen Jiang informed the school of the "robot dog's" functional parameters, Zhong Yiming and Tang Xinyi, who had gone with him, immediately understood the weapon's formidable power.

The only difficulty for the school is that the current artificial intelligence algorithm is not yet at such a level, so it can only be operated one-on-one by the AI ​​operator in the back, and the distance cannot be too far. Therefore, it still has great limitations in actual combat. However, anyone can see that once this research result is successful, the combat effectiveness of the squads and platoons in each combined arms battalion will improve significantly.

Moreover, Tang Xinyi was also highly regarded by Chen Jiang, who hoped that she could put a lot of effort into improving the informatization level of each squad and above, that every soldier should learn basic computer operation, and that outstanding soldiers should be selected as future "robot dog" operators. This was the fundamental way that Chen Jiang strongly advocated for improving combat effectiveness.

In addition, Chen Jiang also vigorously promoted the research and development of drones. Fortunately, this work had already achieved some success. Although the current drone technology cannot compare with the later drones with large payload, long distance and multiple functions, it can basically realize some of Chen Jiang's tactical ideas.

At first, Zhong Yiming was somewhat confused about Chen Jiang's combat philosophy, but soon, under Chen Jiang's instruction, he grasped some of the essence of combined arms warfare. As a result, he became much more adept at training his Second Battalion.

Several months passed in the blink of an eye, and Zhong Yiming's Second Battalion had basically acquired the land combat capabilities of modern warfare. In order to test the effect of combined arms operations, Zhong Yiming needed to use one of his battalions to fight against the complete C Brigade.

This would have been impossible in the past. Cheng Guoqiang brought the entire group army leadership team to observe, while Chen Jiang was placed in the command room. Zhong Yiming had to command this team, which was beginning to form combat capability, on his own.

This is also the testing standard put forward by the higher-level leaders. If the combined arms forces really have such strong combat capabilities, then they should be able to demonstrate something different in the confrontation.

No one really expected Zhong Yiming to win, after all, the opponent was an entire brigade. Although Chen Jiang had drawn some of his forces away, the main force was still there. More importantly, in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the test, the higher-ups had also drawn a main armored regiment from other units. This meant that Zhong Yiming would have to face an opponent of the size of a division on his own.

Moreover, Chen Jiang can only observe and cannot give any instructions.
Success brings shared glory, failure brings shared loss.

Almost everyone looked at Chen Jiang with a hint of pity, watching how his touted combined arms battalion was crushed by Long Kaifeng's C Brigade.

After the combat exercise began, Long Kaifeng, relying on the overwhelming strength of the C Brigade, advanced from multiple directions simultaneously, aggressively seeking to engage Zhong Yiming's Second Battalion in a decisive battle.

But to everyone's surprise, the Second Battalion vanished into thin air. The Second Battalion did not deploy troops to defend several seemingly critical positions, but only used some bait mines for harassment. In the face of the professional engineering troops of the C Brigade, the impact of such harassment was not significant.

"Is Zhong Yiming planning to break up his forces and wage guerrilla warfare? What era are we living in? Reconnaissance planes and satellites are so advanced now. Unless you don't move, you'll be discovered in no time," a leader said confidently.

"Yes, in the face of absolute strength, tricks and schemes are of little use. Long Kaifeng is a very shrewd strategist. His troops seem to be attacking separately, but the distance between them is not far. In this way, even if one part falls into Zhong Yiming's ambush, the other troops can quickly surround it. In the end, Zhong Yiming will still lose the confrontation due to excessive losses."

"Yes, that's right. Long Kaifeng has a deep pocket and can afford to wait! But Zhong Yiming only has so little. Can he win?"

The crowd was buzzing with discussion, but Chen Jiang seemed oblivious, leisurely sipping the tea brought to him by his orderly.

Before the confrontation, he gave Zhong Yiming a private talk, saying everything he could. If Zhong Yiming couldn't handle the current situation, it meant he had misjudged him and that he wasn't suitable for the needs of future wars. But Chen Jiang firmly believed that Zhong Yiming could shoulder this heavy responsibility.

At this moment, Zhong Yiming was eating field rations in a mountain valley. He and the main force of the Second Battalion did not adhere to the conventional strategy of holding their positions, but instead dispersed to various fronts. This approach completely overturned the PLA's traditional operational thinking of "concentrating superior forces." Unlike the concept of "no matter how many routes they come from, I will only go one way," Zhong Yiming had a huge appetite and wanted to inflict heavy losses on various enemy units simultaneously on multiple fronts.

His armored units rested and recuperated in a concealed location, maintaining radio silence, while the other companies were divided into several small units to conduct comprehensive reconnaissance of the various attacking units of Brigade C. By clarifying the target coordinate parameters, they guided the long-range firepower and air power in the rear to carry out a three-dimensional strike.

This caused Long Kaifeng to suffer a major setback.

He complained to the command post, feeling wronged. Wasn't there only one battalion? How could there be such fierce artillery fire and air strikes?

The command headquarters coldly replied, "Modern warfare is three-dimensional warfare. You can also call in long-range artillery and air support!"

This left Long Kaifeng feeling helpless and on the verge of tears. He wanted to call for reinforcements, but the key was that he didn't know the enemy's location or how to call for help.
Some of the reconnaissance units sent out encountered swarms of drones and were quickly wiped out. The attacking units were also heavily harassed by long-range firepower and constant air strikes. Although he promptly called in fighter jets for air defense, he was still overwhelmed by Zhong Yiming's large-scale drone attacks.

In less than a day, his troops had already lost more than half of their strength, leaving the commanders at headquarters completely dumbfounded.

"What is Long Kaifeng good for?"

"Exactly, even with just a few thousand pigs, it shouldn't collapse all at once, right?"

"They only have such a small force, and he has so much heavy equipment, yet he's completely helpless against them?"

Faced with the clamor, Cheng Guoqiang waved his hand to calm everyone down, saying, "The confrontation is not over yet, don't rush, stay calm!"

After saying that, he glanced at Chen Jiang and found that Chen Jiang was completely unfazed, as if the matter had nothing to do with him. Cheng Guoqiang chuckled inwardly, "You're really calm, kid!"

Long Kaifeng was in a complete mess, and Political Commissar Li Haiguang was also thoroughly exasperated by Zhong Yiming's "rogue" tactics.

"This kid was brought in by Chen Jiang, how come he's so cunning in battle?"

"Indeed, their fighting style is quite similar to Chen Jiang's; neither of them follows the conventional path!"

Long Kaifeng shrugged helplessly.

Faced with the increasingly urgent situation, Li Haiguang could only suggest, "Old Long, if we continue fighting like this, our losses will definitely be greater. It would be better to retreat and rely on our strong positions to wear him down. We have permanent fortifications in our rear, and our air defenses are strong, so we are not afraid of his underhanded tricks."

Long Kaifeng frowned. "Our entire brigade is retreating on its own? Won't we become a laughingstock if word gets out?"

"What's the big deal? The worst thing in war is sticking to the old ways. If we keep fighting like this, we'll be even more passive and become a laughing stock. The key now is whether we can win in the end or turn the tide! As long as we retreat, his hidden troops will be mobilized. Once we pinpoint their exact location, we can call in long-range firepower to strike them and give them a taste of their own medicine!"

Although Long Kaifeng felt that doing this was somewhat shameful, it seemed that he didn't really have a better solution for the time being.

They had no choice but to accept it. When the news of Long Kaifeng's retreat reached the command center's large screen, everyone felt that doing so was a loss of dignity. Only Cheng Guoqiang nodded slightly, "The worst thing in war is to be unchanging. Being able to adapt to the situation is good."

After saying that, he glanced at Chen Jiang beside him. Chen Jiang smiled inwardly, "Trying to back out? Do you think it's that easy?"

Zhong Yiming quickly learned from intelligence reports from various forward groups that the enemy units were about to retreat. Although Chen Jiang was not present, they had already discussed the situation privately. In response, Zhong Yiming immediately adjusted his battle strategy.

The enemy changes, so do we!

He ordered all units to relentlessly harass the enemy, while simultaneously concentrating a portion of the troops to form a powerful force and launch a counterattack against a more advanced part of the enemy forces.

Although Long Kaifeng ordered his troops to organize a defense on the spot, it was difficult to organize effective defensive measures in such a hurry. The Second Battalion, however, was like a raging fire when it gathered together and a sky full of stars when it dispersed. After gathering more than a hundred men, it dared to launch a fierce attack on the enemy with equipment such as "robot dogs" and drones.

The soldiers of Brigade C were seeing this offensive mode on the battlefield for the first time and had no way to defend themselves. The robot dog's body was made of high-strength metal and was not afraid of ordinary bullets. Its only weakness was the video probe, but the researchers solved that problem.

They put a shield in front of it, and it was equipped with bulletproof glass.

So unless you get a sniper rifle shot in a row, you can't take it down at all, and it carries a squad automatic weapon with very strong firepower.

If the enemy has heavy weapons, the Second Battalion's drones will quickly fly over and drop grenades. This three-dimensional strike from the air and ground is very cost-effective, and the job is done before the enemy can even call for air support.

Zhong Yiming's "sharp knife" assault team, like a hot knife through butter, quickly tore through the hastily constructed defense line of Long Kaifeng's rearguard.

The entire process was smooth and incredibly efficient.

Inside the command center, the generals, who had initially approached the situation with a "let's watch the show" attitude, were now completely silent, all holding their breath as they stared intently at the real-time battle casualty ratio and troop advance trajectory displayed on the large screen. Even the commander who had previously asserted that "schemes and tricks are useless" now had to admit that this tactic was indeed highly efficient!

"Excellent! Well done!" The chief of staff exclaimed in admiration. "I never imagined that these small units would be so effective with the support of new equipment."

Cheng Guoqiang's eyes gleamed. He leaned forward slightly and looked at Chen Jiang again. He already knew in his heart that Chen Jiang had made the right bet. He had not only brought new equipment, but also a completely new set of combat strategies.

On the battlefield, Long Kaifeng's retreat plan was completely disrupted.

The rapid "evaporation" of the rearguard made him realize that retreating would not be easy and might instead expose his flanks and rear to this elusive "ghost" force.

"We can't retreat! Construct a ring defense on the spot! Use all reconnaissance methods! We must find Zhong Yiming's main force!" Long Kaifeng ordered through gritted teeth. He knew that if they retreated any further, the morale of the troops would collapse, and they would only be gradually eroded by the enemy.

After all, the C Brigade is a formidable force. Once it is determined to hold its ground, its powerful firepower and well-developed defensive system begin to take effect.

The offensive stalled.

Zhong Yiming also noticed the change in his opponent.

"Commander, the enemy has retreated, like a hedgehog, it's hard to get a bite now," one of his men reported.

Zhong Yiming licked his slightly chapped lips, but his eyes gleamed with excitement: "Very good, if he doesn't move, it's our turn. Order: Armored units, proceed to Area 3 according to the pre-arranged plan!"

Instead of forcibly attacking and tackling this tough challenge, he continued to leverage the advantages of its information technology and mobility, constantly "bleeding" the C Brigade dry.

Long Kaifeng and Li Haiguang were already in a state of utter chaos.

The enemy's main force remained nowhere to be seen, but attacks by small units and drones were ubiquitous, keeping the troops on high alert at all times.

"Old Long, this can't go on! What about our electronic warfare unit? Can we jam their drones and communications?" Li Haiguang asked urgently.

"We've tried! They're using frequency hopping and encrypted communication, so our jamming is ineffective! Their drone operators are highly skilled and have extremely strong anti-jamming capabilities! This battle is frustrating!"

"Something's wrong! Brigade Commander, Political Commissar, that kid Zhong Yiming's tank is heading towards our rear logistics supply base!" A staff officer ran out of breath.

"What?" Long Kaifeng was startled when he heard this. The enemy's tank force had not made a move until now, when they did, it was aimed directly at his weakness.

"Quickly, order the troops to return to the rescue! The Army Aviation Helicopter Squadron, hurry over there to provide support!" Long Kaifeng roared hoarsely.

When Long Kaifeng's reinforcements finally arrived, after a fierce battle, they finally "defeated" the enemy, but why was the enemy's attack so small?
After finally capturing a prisoner, the other party revealed a contemptuous expression: "Congratulations, you have finally annihilated our feint attack force!"

The officer in charge of Brigade C sensed something was wrong and wanted to press for more information, but the other party smiled and shook his head, "The confrontation will be over in a while. Don't waste your energy. Prepare for the post-battle debriefing!"

At this moment, Zhong Yiming had moved with the main force of the battalion to the vicinity of Long Kaifeng's command post. It turned out that his real intention was not what he thought.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes. "Order! Artillery company, target the enemy command post! Fire all your shells! After the barrage, all men, charge! Be quick, decisive, and swift!"

A few minutes later, on the large screen in the command center of the combat exercise, the headquarters of Brigade C was determined to be under fire.

Everyone understood that the outcome of the confrontation was no longer in doubt.

Cheng Guoqiang slowly stood up, glanced around at the generals with varying expressions, and finally fixed his gaze on Chen Jiang, who remained calm. His tone was complex yet filled with undisguised admiration:
"See this? This is what the battlefield of the future will look like!"

(End of this chapter)