Soldiers' Assault: Veteran Special Agents and New Recruits

Long Xiaoyun has provided detailed data, all of which rely on the E5W system for computation, which is an advantage brought about by digitalization.

"Draw up the contingency plan."

Jackie Chan issued another combat order, still relying on big data calculations from computers.

"Yes."

Long Xiaoyun input the information into the computer, and the computer, as if it had artificial intelligence, quickly provided three combat plans based on the current battle situation between the two sides.

The first option is to send in the air force to bomb the Mink River Bridge on Highway 6 and launch air-to-ground missile strikes against enemy tank groups on Highway 3.

The armored battalion moved from position one to position seven, forming a pincer movement and counter-encirclement with the motorized infantry regiment at position seven.

Special forces launched a surprise air assault on the rear of the enemy motorized infantry battalion to cut off their retreat.

My tank regiment advanced to the Longkoushan line, blocking the enemy's advance and forming an encirclement.

Option 2.

Possible responses from the Red Army...

Jackie Chan's side demonstrated what high technology truly means. He made the battle decisions, but all the data analysis was handled by the system.

"Commander, look at the system we've developed, isn't it pretty good?" Jing Xiaoshu, as the chief designer of the system, was eager to receive recognition from others.

Especially leaders from higher levels!

"Hmm, that's quite interesting." The leader nodded, his assessment being quite apt.

"We input famous battles from ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign, various tactics, strategies, and operational concepts, as well as the effectiveness parameters of modern weapons and equipment, into the system. It then performs a comprehensive analysis and judgment, providing multiple response options for the commander to choose from, much like playing a video game," Jing Xiaoshu further explained.

"It seems you guys have really done some research on this new gadget," said Deputy Commander Zhong.

"It's not just a little research, it's a lot of research."

Jing Xiaoshu was anything but modest; her confidence was tinged with a hint of arrogance.

Deputy Commander Zhong glanced at Jing Xiaoshu with surprise, but since the battle had reached a stalemate, he didn't continue talking to Jing Xiaoshu.

On the other side, Jackie Chan gave the order: "Captain Lin, please help me enter the command."

"Yes."

Long Xiaoyun replied.

"The third option will be the primary one, with the following modifications."

Jackie Chan began dictating, and Long Xiaoyun typed in the commands: "Sappers, place remote-controlled explosive devices on the Minghe Bridge; Air Force, conduct aerial mine-laying in the Tugushan area."

Special forces raided the enemy tank regiment's fuel supply line; tactical missiles launched long-range attacks on enemy tank groups; artillery was moved along the coast and guided by redwood lasers to carry out precision strikes against enemy tanks;

"Dispatch unmanned electronic jamming aircraft to conduct full-scale, full-screen electronic jamming against the enemy. That's all. Give the order."

Long Xiaoyun entered all the instructions, but instead of converting them into orders, she stood up and said, "Commander, the issuance of orders must be done by you personally. The E5W system only recognizes the commander-in-chief, not anyone else."

"There's this too? A very nice design."

Jackie Chan sat back down at the computer and pressed the shortcut keys to issue combat orders.

Seeing the changes Jackie Chan made, Deputy Commander Chung pressed the Enter key and launched several missiles, but the location of the missiles puzzled Jackie Chan greatly.

"What happened? Why did he throw all the missiles to Lingshan Ferry?" Jackie Chan asked in surprise.

"Yeah, there aren't any military targets there, so why drop missiles there?" Long Xiaoyun also couldn't understand what Deputy Commander Zhong meant.

Just as the two were still in a daze, Deputy Commander Zhong walked through the partition door and entered the Red Army command room.

"Commander."

Long Xiaoyun and Jackie Chan immediately stood up.

"How was it? I did alright, didn't I?" Deputy Commander Zhong said with the air of a victor.

Jackie Chan and Long Xiaoyun were completely bewildered, not understanding what Vice Commander Zhong meant by that. The confrontation wasn't even over yet, so why had Vice Commander Zhong come over?

"What? Are you all stunned by the beating?" Deputy Commander Zhong said.

"We're not entirely sure what the leader means," Jackie Chan said cautiously.

"You've been completely wiped out, you've already lost. What else do you want to understand?"

Deputy Commander Zhong suddenly announced the results and even gestured wildly as he commented, "I admit you did a good job commanding, and this E5W system is indeed quite interesting."

However, your vision is not broad enough, your knowledge is not rich enough, and you have not considered the comprehensive factors of war very thoroughly.

For example, the delicate relationships between major powers, and the changing status of their respective countries.

China's accession to the WTO, the fight against terrorism after 9/11, and the domestic and foreign policy trends of neighboring countries could all have a significant impact on a local war.

"Let's not talk about anything far away. Lingshan Ferry is right within your defensive perimeter, yet you haven't even considered its potential changes."

When Deputy Commander Zhong specifically mentioned the changes at Lingshan Ferry, Jackie Chan immediately realized what he was referring to.

He suddenly realized and said, "The commander is talking about that reservoir that hasn't been built yet?"

"With just a few missiles, a 70-meter-high dam could be destroyed, and over a billion cubic meters of water could be released. You can think about the consequences yourselves."

After finishing his sentence, Deputy Commander Zhong turned and left, deliberately leaving Jackie Chan with a riddle to solve himself.

Jackie Chan had already realized what was happening.

The Lingshan Ferry Dam has not yet been built. Strictly speaking, Deputy Commander Zhong's tactics were a failure and could not have brought down Jackie Chan's Red Army.

The simulated combat is aimed at future warfare, and coincidentally, the Lingshandu Reservoir is currently under construction.

From this perspective...

Deputy Commander Zhong did indeed win.

If the reservoir is blown up, it will inevitably cause a massive flood, which will submerge everything in its path, and even devastate the entire city of Linzhou.

By then, no matter how powerful the weapons are, they will be useless, let alone tanks, airplanes, and missiles.

If submerged several meters deep, these will all become scrap metal.

The Three Gorges Reservoir is a prime example. To ensure the safety of the Three Gorges Dam, the number of troops stationed there is far greater than one might imagine.

From space to the sky to the ground to the water, it covers every aspect without any blind spots.

The realization of the existence of the Lingshan Ferry Reservoir was like a Damocles' sword hanging over the First Division's head, ready to fall at any moment.

Moreover, it was a tremendous danger that once they landed, the First Division would be completely annihilated in an instant.

Furthermore, a war is certain to break out in the country within the next twenty or thirty years, so building Lingshan Ferry at this time would undoubtedly be digging a huge pit for the First Division.

That definitely won't work.

In order to remove this huge hidden danger, Jackie Chan made a special trip to the military district headquarters and found the old company commander who was now in charge there.

After Gao Cheng took office as the acting commander of the military sub-district, he wanted to make some achievements as a new official.

Therefore, he revived the Lingshan Ferry Reservoir construction plan, which had been rejected by the military region for more than a decade, and became the leading party in it.

"Hello, Commander Gao."

"Commander Cheng, what brings you here today?"

I came here especially to see you.

"Haha, what's so interesting about me?"

"This office is nice, how's it? Are you comfortable sitting here?"

"What do you mean by 'adapting'? My ass hasn't even warmed up yet. I'll go back to being a teacher sooner or later. Being a new type of digital synthesis engineer is my dream."

Although Jackie Chan and Gao Cheng have different job titles, they are actually of the same rank, which makes their greetings more casual.

After the initial pleasantries, Jackie Chan got straight to the point: "I heard you've been working on a reservoir lately? That's why I came here to talk to you and discuss things further."

"I've already started negotiating with the local authorities, and things are almost settled. Since it's the First Division's base, we need to get your input. If you hadn't come to me, I would have had to come to you," Gao Cheng said with a smile.

"I think this project needs further evaluation. After all, if war breaks out, the Lingsandu Reservoir could become a major hidden danger. Some people say it's an atomic bomb hanging over Linzhou, and I have to be prepared," Jackie Chan said.

"There were indeed concerns that prevented its completion before, and I'd like to know your opinion," Gao Cheng said seriously, his expression hardening.

"I think construction should be halted, or at least the situation should be eased," Jackie Chan said without hesitation.

"Jackie Chan, I originally wanted to have a good talk with you about our relationship and get your support, but I didn't expect you to have this attitude," Gao Cheng said disappointedly.

"National defense is a matter of utmost importance, and we cannot be ambiguous about it," Jackie Chan replied earnestly.

"The water crisis is a matter of vital importance to people's livelihood; how can he be so vague about it?"

Gao Cheng retorted sharply, then said, "You sit in my seat now, as the commander of the Lin Military Sub-district. Let's put ourselves in each other's shoes and see if we can clarify this matter today, okay?"

Military sub-districts are also division-level units, but they are different from the division headquarters of field troops and army groups.

Military sub-districts are established within local military units. They not only need to consider the combat needs of the troops, but also have a greater responsibility to maintain good relations between the military and local authorities.

If the Lingshan Ferry Dam can be repaired, Linzhou will no longer suffer from water shortages, and the people will have sufficient water resources.

The relationship between the military and local authorities will be as stable as steel!

"Alright, alright, Commander Gao, please have a seat."

Jackie Chan didn't want to fall out with the old company commander, so he readily accepted the suggestion and took the initiative on the spot.

"Haha, alright, Commander Cheng."

Gao Cheng also took on a new role, one he had always dreamed of, and sat down opposite Jackie Chan, saying, "When you face a city of two million people suffering from severe water shortages, causing the total industrial output to stagnate, and the farmers fight each year for water to irrigate the land."

In a city, only the first five floors of all high-rise buildings have water supply, while the floors above the fifth floor are completely without water. The occupancy rate is less than 30%. What would you do?

You should know that this happened because of the military's veto power, which has caused great suffering to the people. Do you think this is appropriate?

What are the People's Liberation Army? The people always come first, don't they?

Gao Cheng talked about role reversal, but in reality, he just wanted Jackie Chan to put himself in the shoes of the military district commander and consider things from the perspective of military-civilian relations.

This can be considered as using a little trick.

"That's right, we are the people's soldiers, and we must put the people first."

Jackie Chan first agreed with Gao Cheng's point of view, after all, this has been said for decades, but then he changed the subject and said: "But have you thought about what would happen if a war broke out one day and the reservoir dam was attacked?"

With flood peaks tens of meters high and hundreds of millions of cubic meters of water rushing down, will the villages on both banks still exist? Will our Linzhou still be peaceful?

On a grander scale, the achievements of more than 20 years of reform and opening up would be destroyed in an instant.

"Old Company Commander, a change of command should be a complete change. If you were the commander of the First Division now, what would you think? What would you do?"

Jackie Chan's attitude is very clear.

The most important thing is to stay alive; we must overcome the water shortage first.

"If I were the commander of the First Division, I would definitely provide an absolutely safe protective umbrella for this city and this dam."

The First Division is the future hope of the military region. If it can't even protect a mere dam, how can it protect the country and the people?

If we can't even protect the people, then what's the point of having us soldiers? What face do we have to wear this uniform?

Gao Cheng's words were very heavy, but they hit Jackie Chan's Achilles' heel.

Yes.

You always say that the dam will be attacked, and once it is attacked, there will be widespread death and destruction.

If the enemy attacks, won't you defend yourself?

Your First Division, which has gathered the resources of the entire military region to create a new type of combat force for the future, cannot even defend a small dam. How can you talk about defeating the enemy and protecting the country?

If we are afraid of enemy attacks and afraid of this and that, then what is the point of having an army?

Both the front and back roads are blocked.

Jackie Chan has nothing to say!

If Jackie Chan still opposes this now, it would be tantamount to telling Kao Cheng that he, Jackie Chan, is a coward who is afraid of taking responsibility and is afraid of the enemy's attack before the battle even begins, so he ignores the needs of the people.

Jackie Chan's personality is one of never admitting defeat, so he could no longer refute Gao Cheng.

Jackie Chan and Gao Cheng engaged in a heated debate over the reservoir issue, and the final result is pretty much set in stone.

On the other side, after inspecting the troops, Deputy Commander Zhong invited Secretary Zhang to meet at the ancient fort.

"Oh, Deputy Commander Zhong, you really know how to pick a place. This is much better than holding meetings in hotels and restaurants," Secretary Zhang said with a satisfied smile.

"If I remember correctly, you were the one who brought me here the first time I visited this ancient fortress."

"Hahaha."

Everyone laughed when Deputy Commander Zhong said this.

"That year, we had both just been promoted to officers. You were single, and I was a bachelor. You said there was a really, really fun place that you insisted I go there to see," Deputy Commander Zhong said nostalgically.

"I remember when you first came here and saw this overgrown place, you scolded me for deceiving you, saying that this was no fun place at all, and that it would be better to stroll around the city and look at pretty girls. But when you saw this Krupp cannon, you stopped scolding me."

"Hahaha."

Secretary Zhang's recounting of amusing anecdotes from back then elicited another round of laughter from everyone.

"In the blink of an eye, more than thirty years have passed. Time really flies."

Deputy Commander Zhong sighed with emotion, then said, "Hey, Lao Zhang, the view of Linzhou at night from this ancient cannon platform is still quite beautiful."

……

(End of this chapter)