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

Chapter 214 Brigade Commander: He's slandering me!

Chen Ming turned around and saw that it was indeed the brigade commander.

"Brigade Commander!" Chen Ming immediately straightened his back, saluted, and spoke with just the right amount of respect and a hint of "innocence."

"You've arrived! I'm just taking a stroll to see the elite soldiers from our various units and get a feel for their spirit before the drills."

He pointed to the spirited soldiers on the field.

"Hmph!" The brigade commander snorted through his nostrils, strode forward, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Chen Ming, his gaze also fixed on the training field, but he spoke to Chen Ming.

"Don't give me that crap! Just browsing around?"
"Chen Ming, Chen Ming, I've certainly experienced your skill in 'casually strolling around' before!"

"Back when you were in my New First Regiment and Independent Regiment, didn't you just 'casually wander around' like this?"

"Back then, I was so naive that I thought you were just going there for an exchange and learning experience!"

The brigade commander turned his head and stared at Chen Ming meaningfully, his eyes seeming to say, "I know all about your little tricks."

"It wasn't until you showed your true colors and started poaching people that I realized what was going on! You had ulterior motives all along!"

"They've been eyeing my New First Regiment and Kong Jie's Independent Regiment for a while now, haven't they? They've been digging them up really hard!"

Chen Ming's "sore spot" was touched, and his smile faltered. He was about to speak in his defense when the brigade commander raised his hand and pointed at him, his voice lowered, carrying an undeniable warning:
"Let me tell you, Chen Ming! Things are different now! Representatives from all the main forces of the army are gathered here for this military exercise!"

"I don't care how serious your obsession with talent is, you better watch yourself! Poaching talent? Fine! But you can't afford to offend everyone, can you?"

Even a rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow! If you dare to make things too ugly and incur public wrath, the boss won't hesitate to punish you; he'll drag you to headquarters and lock you up!

The brigade commander deliberately put on a stern face, but his eyes revealed a hint of helplessness and a reminder from an elder to a proud junior.

"Brigade Commander, what you're saying is such a blatant injustice!"

Chen Ming immediately put on an expression more wronged than Dou E, spread his hands, and tried his best to make his eyes look extremely sincere.

"Where did these rumors come from? Look at me, do I look like the kind of person who would poach other people's partners from head to toe?"

He even deliberately puffed out his chest, as if to prove his innocence with his upright character.

"Yes!" the brigade commander answered decisively and without hesitation.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, a smile playing on his lips, watching Chen Ming perform with great interest.

"It's too similar! And it's not a matter of whether it's similar or not. Your reputation as Chen Ming, who likes to rescue people and cherishes talent, has already spread throughout our entire base!"
Throughout the entire army, from the headquarters leaders to Old Wang in the mess hall, who doesn't know your "fine traditions"? It's practically written in your personal file!

Chen Ming felt a little embarrassed by the brigade commander's merciless "exposure" and knew that it would be too fake to keep pretending.

He touched his nose and gave an awkward laugh:
"Okay, okay, I admit... a little bit, just a tiny bit!"

“But brigade commander, this ‘fine tradition’ of mine is not something I started; I learned it from you.”

"Bullshit! When did I ever teach you any of that? That's all slander!"

The brigade commander touched his nose and denied it.

"Alright, alright, you're my boss, you're right, a higher rank can crush you," Chen Ming said sullenly.

His fondness for rescuing people was something he actually learned from the brigade commander.

When the brigade commander was put in solitary confinement, he was able to abduct even the guards who were watching over him.

However, the brigade commander's main concern was congratulating the brigade commander on making a fortune and acquiring equipment; the talent was just a secondary consideration.

Chen Ming commanded his troops in many annihilation battles and assault battles, and captured a large amount of weapons and ammunition.

In addition, they intentionally control the size of their troops, and have surplus weapons and equipment; they simply prefer to rescue people.

"Alright, alright! Stop spouting this nonsense!" The brigade commander waved his hand impatiently, directly interrupting his "argumentation."

"I'm getting anxious!" Chen Ming thought to himself.

"I'm too lazy to listen to your nonsense! I'm asking you, now that I've finished speaking, isn't it your turn to go on stage? Isn't it about time?"

Chen Ming looked up at the sky, then glanced at the venue, and nodded: "Yes, it's my turn."

The brigade commander gave a satisfied "hmm," then changed the subject, his tone taking on an inescapable sense of "mission":
"Also, after you finish your speech on stage, don't wander off anywhere. Come with me to the cultural troupe right now! This is a political mission!"

Seeing Chen Ming's expression stiffen slightly, he chuckled inwardly and added:

"Comrades in the cultural troupe, this time they are all elite personnel specially transferred from headquarters and the rear!"

"Performing a show to boost morale is a big deal! As the host and the highest commander of the independent detachment, how can you not show up and show your concern and support? Is that reasonable?"

Although the smoke of the great sweep had dissipated, the Japanese devils' crazy attack plan was also thwarted by the heroic soldiers.

However, the headquarters were moved to the relatively stable Taiyue District.

Therefore, during this special period, the headquarters and the Taiyue Military Region headquarters were located very close to each other, almost next to each other.

The brigade commander's words were reasonable and justified, even when he reported this arrangement to the headquarters leaders.

The leaders personally oversaw the selection process, rigorously choosing comrades from the cultural troupe who possessed strong ideology and excellent professional skills to participate in this significant military exercise.

The headquarters leaders have personally expressed their concern, so does Chen Ming, the "person involved," still want to find excuses to shirk responsibility?
After hearing the brigade commander's arrangement, which was half order and half "concern," Chen Ming felt as if a stone was pressing on his heart, and a deep sense of helplessness welled up inside him.

A bitter smile appeared on his lips, and he sighed inwardly.

It seems that I can't avoid today's "blind date"... no, it's more like the task of "caring for and comforting the comrades of the art troupe."

He could almost picture the mischievous yet expectant looks in the eyes of the brigade commander and headquarters leaders.

This is Chen Ming.

If it were any other cadre, upon learning that the organization and leaders were so concerned about their "personal issues," and even that "the organization might actually provide them with a wife," they would probably be so excited that they couldn't sleep and would be overjoyed!

In this special era, countless revolutionary fighters were devoted to the country, striving for national salvation and survival, and dedicated themselves to the revolution.

Chen Ming has undergone a transformation from a district squad leader to a commander capable of handling things independently, and has long regarded himself as a part of this surging revolutionary tide.

The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility.

He was well aware that he bore a special and arduous mission in the face of this grand goal.

Personal romantic feelings are not something he should consider at this moment, nor is he capable of considering them.

They returned side by side with the brigade commander to the main venue of the military exercise, which was bustling with people and filled with a lively atmosphere.

Chen Ming took a deep breath, suppressed his distracting thoughts, straightened his military uniform, and calmly stepped onto the makeshift platform amidst thunderous applause and countless admiring gazes from the soldiers.

His gaze swept over the sea of ​​spirited elites below the stage, and he began his speech in a loud and clear voice for this grand military exercise that had captured the attention of the entire army.

His speech was concise and powerful, highlighting the core purpose of the exercise in selecting key personnel for the special forces, and highly praising the fighting spirit and outstanding qualities of all participating officers and soldiers.

Finally, he announced loudly: "The grand martial arts exercise officially begins!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the entire training ground was instantly ignited!
A fierce competition among elite soldiers representing the highest military skills of all units of the army has officially begun.

To conserve precious war resources and avoid unnecessary consumption of ammunition and supplies, the number of participants in each individual competition of this exercise was strictly screened and reduced. Each unit had already conducted rigorous internal competitions to select the best of the best, ultimately sending only the strongest and most representative elites from their respective units to participate.

Therefore, although the number of people on the field is not particularly large, each one of them is a true elite.

The individual events began immediately after the opening ceremony.

Chen Ming sat in the front row of the viewing platform. Although his gaze followed the progress of the match, his interest was clearly not very strong.

After all, the original intention of this large-scale military exercise was to select and form future special operations detachments.

The military emphasizes overall coordination, tactical execution, and command and dispatch capabilities.

Therefore, battalion-level tactical confrontation exercises are the real highlight and the best test of a unit's organization, combat effectiveness, and commander's ability.

In Chen Ming's view, the most core and essential strength of an army lies in its high degree of organization.

Even the most individually skilled "kings of soldiers" cannot withstand the combined efforts and coordination of a well-trained, disciplined, and highly skilled conventional force if they are merely temporarily assembled.

Under equal conditions, the scales of victory tend to tip in favor of the latter.

Of course, this does not mean that Chen Ming underestimates elite soldiers with outstanding individual military skills.

The position of your buttocks determines your field of vision.

Now, in Chen Ming's current position, he must focus more on the overall architecture, coordination, and system-of-systems combat capabilities.

Chen Ming thought to himself: If he were still a company commander, battalion commander, or even regimental commander, he would certainly crave to have his men be elite soldiers like these, each capable of taking on ten men.

Time flew by amidst the fierce competition.

The individual events were very fast-paced, with each event determining the winners.

The competition among these projects is like a grand "talent expo," with one project finishing and another ending.

This brought many highly skilled soldiers from different units into the view of representatives from all units of the army.

The most dazzling star among them undoubtedly belongs to the independent detachment under Chen Ming's command.

In all the individual events, the athletes from the independent team demonstrated overwhelming strength.

They were like tigers descending the mountain, unstoppable, and ultimately swept more than 70% of the first place!
Even on the podium for second and third place, you can often see soldiers from the Independent Detachment.

Despite giving their all, many representatives from other units could only share in the remaining less than 30% of the awards.

This astonishing result caused quite a stir and discussion among the officers from various units who were attending the ceremony.

"My goodness! They truly are the elite troops trained by Commander Chen!"

A representative from a regiment in the Jin-Cha-Ji region couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement, exclaiming to the officers beside him,

"We have so many troops, and we've sent out their best and brightest, yet we still can't compete with just one of their independent detachments! The gap... is quite large!"

A cadre standing nearby chimed in, his tone tinged with admiration and a hint of understanding:
"I heard that the best marksman squad and the special operations squad, which is full of elite soldiers, did not participate this time."

"If they participate, I estimate we might not even get 30% of the awards."

The sharpshooter squad and the special operations squad were indeed explicitly prohibited by Chen Ming from participating in this individual competition.

The reason is simple: if they leave the field, the game completely loses its suspense and meaning.

This is not only unfair to the other contestants, but also disrespectful to the representatives of these brother units.

You can't expect the soldiers to deliberately go easy on them, can you? That would be insulting.

"Indeed, seeing is believing. A great reputation is well-deserved."

"With so many elites, Chief Chen's talent cultivation skills are truly unfathomable."

"No wonder the officers of various units were vying to recruit the trainees of the Fourth Military Sub-district as soon as they graduated."

Another cadre chimed in.

"Hehe, I'm envious too. It would be great if we could get all those trainees into our unit."

"Then you'll have to prop your pillow up a bit when you sleep," the cadre next to him teased with a smile.

"Huh? What do you mean?" The representative from Jin-Cha-Ji was momentarily confused.

"Have a good dream." The cadre drawled out the words, and several other cadres around him couldn't help but laugh.

"Get lost!" The representative from Jin-Cha-Ji laughed and punched the other person, lightening the atmosphere considerably.

"."

At the very front of the viewing platform, Chen Ming calmly watched the results of each competition being announced one after another; the results were not unexpected.

He knew that although he relied on the powerful bonus of the badge set, his speed and efficiency in talent cultivation far exceeded the norm.

But personal talent is often something that doesn't follow any logic.

Some ordinary people may put in tremendous effort to master a skill, but they may never reach the level that some exceptionally talented individuals can achieve with a little practice in their spare time.

The fact that the independent team won more than 70% of the awards is a result that met Chen Ming's expectations, and he is quite satisfied with it.

After all, we have to save face and leave some hope for our fellow units; how can we really sweep all the awards away?
That would be too selfish and not conducive to unity.

After all the individual events on the first day were completed, Chen Ming took to the stage again to give a brief concluding speech.

He first fully affirmed the superb military skills and tenacious fighting spirit demonstrated by all the participating soldiers on the field, praised their strength, and encouraged everyone to continue to carry forward their style, strive for excellence, and achieve better results in the upcoming team events.

In terms of content, this is indeed a rather formulaic statement.

However, the same words spoken by people of different statuses and prestige have vastly different effects and weight.

Who is Chen Ming?

He was a renowned anti-Japanese general who struck fear into the hearts of the Japanese invaders and repeatedly achieved great feats. He was a combat hero and legendary commander whom countless young soldiers admired and respected!

Those warriors who fought hard on the field and ultimately won awards were overjoyed when they heard Chen Ming personally affirm their strength and acknowledge their efforts.

The excitement and pride surged to their peak! Many people were so excited that their faces turned red.

His chest heaved violently, his fists clenched tightly, and he longed to rush back onto the field to prove himself.

It was as if this recognition from someone they admired was a hundred times more precious than the ranking itself.

After it was over, Chen Ming tried to run away, but was caught by the brigade commander.

P.S.: Due to health reasons, I'll only be posting one more chapter today. I should be able to resume my high-volume update schedule around the day after tomorrow, at which point I'll make up for the missed chapters.

I will never go fishing in the rain again; it almost killed me. I will take this as a lesson.

(End of this chapter)