Bright Sword: From Northwest Shanxi to Changjin Lake, a Hundred Battles, a Hundred Victories

Chapter 212 Grand Military Drill!
"What competition?" He Jianxin and Ding Wei both looked at Chen Ming.

Even Kong Jie was somewhat tempted and turned his gaze over.

Chen Ming remained calm, meeting the sharp, eager, and thoughtful gazes around him, and slowly spoke. His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears:

"As the first mechanized unit in our entire army, the Special Operations Detachment carries the expectations of the entire army and the rear commanders. Countless eyes are watching us."

"The two infantry battalions of the special operations detachment must be selected from the most elite troops."

"How do you judge whether an infantry battalion is elite or not? It's not about talking, it's about proving your skills. Only in that way can you leave other units speechless."

"So I plan to hold a large-scale military exercise to examine individual soldier skills and squad tactics."

"The units and individuals who ultimately emerge victorious are the most outstanding in their respective skills within our Fourth Division."

"That way, you won't have to fight and scramble for it; everything will be decided by your abilities."

Chen Ming clearly explained his concept.

This large-scale military exercise is a touchstone, not only testing the troops' combat effectiveness, military skills, and coordination capabilities, but also screening out the purest steel for the special forces detachment.

Except for units with emergency combat missions, all troops can participate. The most hardcore competition, held on a fair stage, will determine the elites of each branch and level of service.

He also had a deeper meaning: the three reinforced main battalions (He Jianxin, Ding Wei, and Kong Jie's units) within the independent detachment were exceptionally strong. In the past, they had almost monopolized the toughest tasks and the main offensive missions, leaving other units with the inevitable complaints that they "couldn't even get a hot bowl of soup."

This large-scale military exercise is to provide all troops, especially non-"reinforced" main forces such as Li Yousheng's Third Battalion, Wang Gui's Fourth Battalion, and Luo Jian's Fifth Battalion, with a platform to showcase themselves and compete fairly!

Make them understand that if they want to join this highly anticipated elite special forces unit, what's the point?
Okay! Show me your true skills and prove you're qualified! If you don't have the skills, don't blame others for taking on the job.

As Chen Ming finished speaking, the command room fell into a brief silence, followed by what seemed like an invisible wave of heat rising up.

The commanders of each brigade and reinforced brigade suddenly brightened up, their faces showing expressions of excitement, anticipation, or eagerness.

After Chen Ming finished explaining his ideas, the commanders of the various brigades and reinforced brigades in the command room all lit up and looked quite interested.

In particular, the commanders of the third, fourth, and fifth detachments of the independent detachment, Li Yousheng, Wang Gui, and Luo Jian.

They desperately need to prove themselves.

The main attacking force in the Datong Campaign was carried out by three reinforced battalions, as were the battalions that moved north. All other difficult and challenging missions were also carried out by reinforced battalions.

They are all teams under the independent detachment. Why do they have to watch the three main forces make contributions and reap the rewards every day, while they can only play supporting roles?

This time they want to prove themselves, that their troops are no less capable, and not much worse than the three main forces.

Kong Jie was also looking forward to it.

Although they are both key players, given his personality, he simply cannot compete with He Jianxin and Ding Wei.

Just like the selection process for forming the special task force this time, Kong Jie simply watched He Jianxin and Ding Wei compete for it, without saying a word.

With this grand military exercise, he can rely on the strength of his troops to compete.

This would also give the cadres below an explanation. Otherwise, they would never be able to snatch important figures. It would be a lie to say that Kong Jie didn't have any thoughts about strengthening the cadres under the Second Brigade.

"I support this proposal. The troops are currently in a period of rest and recuperation, with no major battles. It's a good opportunity for the soldiers to hone their skills."

Wang Dafei, the chief of staff of the independent detachment, was the first to stand up and support Chen Ming's decision.

"I also support it. Everyone says that the strongest part of the Independent Detachment is the three reinforced battalions, but the soldiers of our Fourth Battalion are not made of clay either."

"We'll only know who's stronger after we compete," said Wang Gui, the captain of the fourth brigade.

He was an independent detachment cadre in the same batch as Wang Dafei and He Jianxin.

Now, one of them has become the chief of staff of an independent detachment, and he has the authority to formulate the entire detachment's combat plans.

When Chen Ming is not present, he can act as commander, directing the entire detachment and all troops in the entire division to fight.

He can be described as the strategic brain of military commander Chen Ming!
Another became the commander of the reinforced main force battalion, possessing the superior strength of the Eight Infantry and Two Artillery, making it the strongest and best-equipped unit in the entire brigade.

The number of people was more than four times that of Wang Gui's Fourth Brigade.

It should be noted that back when it was still the Independent Second Regiment, Wang Gui was already the battalion commander of the Third Battalion.

Seeing his two old brothers reach this point, Wang Gui felt incredibly envious.

Now that he has a direct opportunity to compete, Wang Gui certainly can't let this chance to prove himself slip by.

Li Yousheng and Luo Jian nodded vigorously, their eyes resolute, their meaning clear: the opportunity has arrived, and they must seize it!

As for He Jianxin and Ding Wei, as the two strongest teams in the independent detachment, how could they possibly back down when other units were provoking them?

"I also agree with this resolution. The reason why our First Battalion has been able to develop to its current strength is because of the hard power that made the Japanese tremble with fear!"

He Jianxin said confidently.

"agree."

"."

The atmosphere inside the command center was enthusiastic.

The officers of the independent detachment quickly reached a consensus and unanimously voted in favor of Chen Ming's proposal.

At a time like this, who would dare to show weakness? If someone backs down, wouldn't that be tantamount to admitting they have a guilty conscience?

With the plan finalized, the focus then shifted to the specific setup of the military exercises.

Chen Ming emphasized that it is necessary to tailor the training to the core functions of different branches of the armed forces to avoid the absurd situation of "making engineers compete in armed raids and making infantrymen compete in repairing tanks".

Infantry: Shooting accuracy (fixed targets, moving targets, concealed and revealed targets), armed cross-country (different distances, loads), bayonet fighting, individual tactical maneuvers (crawling, leaping, utilizing terrain), grenade throwing, battlefield reconnaissance and infiltration, squad, platoon and company offensive and defensive tactical drills, etc.

Engineers are responsible for: rapidly erecting/repairing bridges in field conditions (using limited materials), setting/clearing various mines and booby traps, constructing fortifications and bunkers, performing demolition operations (precision directional demolition), battlefield camouflage and protection, and building emergency military roads.

Medics: Battlefield first aid (hemostasis, bandaging, immobilization, transportation), treatment of complex injuries (such as penetrating wounds, burns), battlefield surgical assistance, identification and use of medicines and equipment, and evacuation of wounded in battlefield environments.

Maintenance soldier (technical support): troubleshooting and rapid repair of common weapons (rifles, machine guns, mortars), simple maintenance of captured vehicles/equipment, battlefield emergency repair techniques, etc.

Signal Corps: Radio operation and code message transmission, field telephone setup and maintenance, simple signal communication (flag signals, lights), etc.

Artillery: Indirect aiming accuracy, rapid construction of firing positions, artillery fire transfer speed, infantry-artillery coordination exercises, etc. Chen Ming's approach is: first, select the "kings of soldiers" in each field through various professional projects; then conduct comprehensive tactical confrontation exercises at the battalion level, and use a points system to determine the two infantry battalions with the strongest overall combat effectiveness.

This rigorous selection process, choosing the best of the best, ensures that the units ultimately selected for the special forces will silence all dissent.

After nearly an hour of in-depth discussion, the specific details, evaluation criteria, venue arrangements, and timelines for the grand martial arts exercise were initially finalized.

As the supreme commander, Chen Ming only grasped the general direction and core principles, while the refinement and execution of specific plans were fully delegated to the working group led by Chief of Staff Wang Dafei and various relevant business departments.

Today, the Fourth Division and the Independent Detachment are large in scale and have many complex affairs. Chen Ming knows that "doing everything personally" will only drag down efficiency. He has full confidence in the abilities of the capable people he has trained.

Once the plan was finalized, Chen Ming immediately compiled it into a detailed report and submitted it to headquarters.

The Fourth Division and the Independent Detachment are already strategic forces of great importance. Such a large-scale internal military exercise would have far-reaching implications and must be approved by headquarters.

Headquarters.

The headquarters leaders were quite curious as they looked at the martial arts plan submitted by Chen Ming.

However, the Japanese army's large-scale mopping-up operation has been crushed, and they are unable to organize another large-scale offensive in the short term.

The Independent Detachment had just experienced a major battle and was not suited to formulate another large-scale offensive plan.

During this period, it shouldn't be a problem to keep the soldiers on high alert.

"This Chen Ming certainly has a lot of ideas."

A leader put down his report and laughed, "We just finished a tough battle, and instead of resting, you're thinking of organizing such a big competition?"

“I think it’s great!” another leader chimed in. “We’ve crushed the Japanese’s large-scale mopping-up operation, so they really won’t be able to cause any trouble in the short term.”

The independent detachment had just experienced a major battle and needed time to digest the results and reorganize the troops.

This method of using competitions as a form of training can both stimulate the enthusiasm of officers and soldiers for training and accurately select talents, achieving multiple benefits at once.

Chen Ming's goal was clear: to select the toughest members for that 'special forces' unit!

"Hmm," the leader presiding over the meeting nodded, "The plan is very detailed and well-considered."

"Agreed in principle! However, Comrade Chen Ming must be reminded to strictly control the scope and scale, strengthen vigilance and confidentiality, and absolutely not let our guard down because of the military exercises, lest we give the Japanese an opportunity to exploit!"

He picked up a pen and signed "Agreed" and the headquarters' opinion on the report.

With the official approval from headquarters, Chen Ming felt much more at ease and immediately began making arrangements.

However, an unexpected situation arose: news of the military exercise spread like wildfire to neighboring units and military regions!

The Independent Detachment was renowned; it was a truly heroic unit.

There is no first place in literature, but there is no second place in martial arts.

While its overall combat effectiveness is not comparable to that of an independent detachment, the army has no shortage of people with exceptional skills.

For example, Zhu Zi from Li Yunlong's Independent Regiment was very dissatisfied, feeling that his artillery skills might not be weaker than those of the artillerymen in the Independent Detachment, and he wanted to have a competition with them.

Wang Chengzhu patted his chest and assured Li Yunlong, "Regimental Commander! Let me go! I don't believe the Independent Detachment's gunners can shoot more accurately than us! Back when we attacked Sakata and Luyang..."

In this atmosphere of "we can't let others look down on us" and "we also have talented people," neighboring troops and brother military regions sent formal letters or telegrams to the independent detachment, requesting to send representative teams to participate in this "grand military exercise"!
First, a few closely related units tentatively raised the issue, and then other units, upon seeing it, realized:
"Wow, the other group even sent people? If we don't go, won't it make us look cowardly? Won't it make us look like we don't have anyone?"

This trend grew bigger and bigger like a snowball, eventually even alarming the command headquarters far behind!
Eventually, even the rear commanders sent representatives to the Independent Detachment to observe this grand military exercise.

When the soldiers saw that their commanders from the rear had sent representatives, they were even more motivated and determined to perform well and bring glory to the military exercise.

"I never imagined that what was originally just a competition held by our detachment would develop into a competition where representatives from the entire army have come."

"This is going to be a real challenge."

"Tell the officers and soldiers below that they must perform well in front of the representatives of the whole army, show their best spirit and strongest combat skills, and keep most of the leaders in our detachment."

"If any unit messes up and embarrasses me, they'll have to do extra training for the next month."

Chen Ming said this in front of a group of key officers from the independent detachment.

"Don't worry, leader. I can't guarantee anything else in this grand competition, but over 90% of the awards will definitely stay with our team," He Jianxin said, patting his chest.

“That’s right. With the strength of our troops, taking the lead shouldn’t be a problem,” Ding Wei said.

"Good, that's ambitious. I'm looking forward to you making me proud," Chen Ming said happily.

As the unit that has fought the most annihilation battles and assault battles in the entire army, He Jianxin and Ding Wei really have the confidence to say this.

The strength of the independent detachment lies not only in its superior equipment, but also in the iron will, superb tactical skills, and tight organization and coordination forged through countless trials of blood and fire.

Even with good equipment, it was all captured by eliminating the Japanese in battle after battle.

We can't expect the Japanese to be so kind as to give us their equipment so we can kill them.

Chen Ming was very pleased that representatives from other military units were sending to participate in the exercise.

This is a golden opportunity!
Normally, each unit treats its elite soldiers and technical backbones like precious treasures, hiding them away for fear that other units will find out and poach them.

But this time, these highly skilled warriors couldn't hide it anymore.

In order to win honor and gain recognition, these precious treasures must be brought out and displayed!

Isn't this just like handing over "talent lists" to Chen Ming?
Chen Ming took advantage of the martial arts demonstration to memorize the names of these skilled warriors, and planned to recruit them all later.

I doubt any commander would dislike the existence of elite soldiers.

Chen Ming was notorious for his penchant for recruiting talent; if you don't believe me, just ask the cadres in the Jizhong base area how many talented people Chen Ming had taken away from there.

The grand military exercise is being prepared in full swing, and the brigade commander has also personally led his troops to observe it.

How could he not come when his old subordinate had accomplished such a major feat?
Furthermore, the brigade commander also coordinated with a cultural troupe to come and cheer on the soldiers during the exercise.

As for whether there are any other ulterior motives, we don't know.

(End of this chapter)