Chapter 184: Tielu Wants To Show Off!
7:30 PM.
The Red Army’s muddle through tactic was very successful. The Artillery Company was not discovered by the Blue Army. Following the path stepped out by Chen Jun, they headed straight to rendezvous with the main force of Steel Seventh Company.
Chen Jun’s side stopped at the 8 Kilometers position and began preparations to receive the arriving Artillery Company.
They built simple defensive fortifications and assumed a posture as if setting up camp here, radiating searches for Blue Army reconnaissance soldiers around the camp.
To ensure that when the Artillery Company came over, it wouldn’t be threatened by the Blue Army’s old A.
Who knows if the Blue Army has rocket launchers. If they didn’t prepare in advance, it would be painful if the Artillery Company, having finally made it over, got taken out by old A.
So it was necessary to take precautions!
On the other side, the Vanguard Reconnaissance Squad had not been exposed and was still guarding near the Blue Army’s Army Aviation Brigade Camp.
There was no immediate danger, nor any new gains.
However, to ensure the mission’s completion as much as possible, Shi Jin accepted Cheng Cai’s suggestion and sent out Xie Chong and Huang Tian as an exploration team to continue delving into the Blue Army’s depths.
To check if there were other Blue Army camps, and whether the Blue Army Command Post was independently outside.
To avoid squatting in the wrong place after waiting half a day.
Preparing for both possibilities was indeed more secure.
The Red Army infantry legion charging down from the position had not yet encountered the Blue Army’s support troops, and the current offensive momentum was still strong.
Under the continuous illumination of flares, the Red Army had basic field of vision support, and without the Blue Army coming up to intercept, they just needed to charge forward.
They had already advanced over a kilometer, with extremely fierce momentum.
Charge.
Charge fiercely.
To release all the previous pent-up frustration in this moment.
The Red Army adopted a break the cauldrons and sink the boats playing style. Progress was smooth on all fronts, with risks and benefits coexisting, and success or failure possibly in an instant.
The Blue Army side was fighting very unsuccessfully. The initial arrogance had been beaten away, and they had similarly played their trump card.
Even though it hadn’t reached a life and death moment, the progress was far from ideal.
The exercise originally planned to end in half a day had now lasted two days, not only failing to eliminate the opponent but even facing a headwind.
The Blue Army Unit was supposed to test the Red Army in a baseline confrontation.
But this performance couldn’t be considered baseline testing.
In this situation, the Blue Army was a bit embarrassed. Yuan Lang and Tie Lu’s moods couldn’t improve.
Yuan Lang searched for a long time without finding the Red Army Command Post. Later, under Tie Lu’s order, he switched to searching for the fuel tanker, still with no gains.
Upon learning that the Red Army had launched a full-scale offensive, Yuan Lang always felt something was off.
But no matter how he thought, he couldn’t figure out the reason.
Seventh Hundred and Second Regiment’s playing style was too strange, more varied than the Blue Army Unit he commanded, completely unable to grasp the Red Army’s next intention.
Yuan Lang was confident in his rich combat experience and having truly been on the battlefield to kill enemies.
But after more than a dozen years in service, this was the first time encountering such a tricky Red Army, making him feel immense pressure for the first time.
Since he couldn’t find the reason for the Red Army’s weirdness, Yuan Lang could only solve the problem from the fundamentals.
Find the Red Army Command Post!!
As long as he found the Red Army Command Post, then called in attack helicopters to destroy it, he could easily win this confrontation.
No matter what tricks the Red Army was playing, the ultimate victor would be the Blue Army.
But Yuan Lang had been infiltrating the Red Army since noon, and now had been running in the Red Army rear for several hours, almost searching half of the Red Army war zone.
He had taken out several company-level and battalion command posts, but hadn’t even glimpsed the Red Army General Command Post.
This puzzled Yuan Lang greatly!
The Blue Army’s Command Post was flying in the sky, so the Red Army couldn’t find it. Could the Red Army’s Command Post have gone underground?
He had almost searched the entire ground without finding it, so the only possibility left was hiding underground.
But Yuan Lang quickly dismissed the possibility of the Red Army hiding underground.
A regiment-level Command Post was a massive system requiring a lot of space. To hide underground, they would definitely need to dig a large underground fortification.
Without engineering machinery, it was impossible to dig large underground works in a short time.
Even large-scale earthmoving would create huge noise, and the massive earth displacement would need a place to pile up, impossible to escape the eyes of old A.
Since it couldn’t really be underground, and they didn’t have airplanes to fly into the sky.
That meant it was still hiding somewhere.
And based on the Red Army’s communication method—using messengers to avoid radio monitoring—Yuan Lang determined that the Red Army Command Post must be near the frontline.
Otherwise, if the Command Post was too far in the Red Army rear, messengers wouldn’t have time to relay orders.
The already delayed communications would completely paralyze.
“We’ve searched all nearby places, almost all Red Army camps are marked, so why hasn’t the Red Army Command Post been discovered?”
Yuan Lang frowned and began pondering, retracing the threads from beginning to end.
Several minutes passed.
A flash of insight struck Yuan Lang’s mind.
“Hmm? No, could it be…”
Yuan Lang suddenly recalled that during the afternoon reconnaissance, the alert around the Red Army Command Post Camp was stricter than any other area.
Nearly half of the Signal Company’s guards were patrolling and vigilant in the nearby forest.
Because the Red Army Command Post Camp had already been confirmed as an empty shell placed there to deceive Blue Army helicopters into attacking—a bait.
Plus, the later attack on Red Army First Battalion Headquarters had cost the Red Army three attack helicopters.
Since it was a fake camp for camouflage, it even specially deployed anti-aircraft units for protection at the start, maximizing all defenses.
The surrounding forest also had Signal Company deployed for protection, making the fake Command Post seem more real.
It seemed completely logical.
Nothing seemed off!
So Yuan Lang hadn’t realized at first that Regiment Commander Wang had such guts, daring to play “the most dangerous place is the safest” right in front of the Blue Army.
Therefore, during the entire afternoon’s search, he hadn’t specifically investigated the Red Army Command Post Camp.
Only now, after turning over everywhere else without finding the Red Army Command Post personnel, did Yuan Lang suddenly realize.
He realized that one of his previous judgments had a big problem.
That was, the Red Army now lacked alert forces; frontline infantry company positions were almost undefendable, so it was impossible to waste half a Signal Company’s troops just for acting and pretending.
The reason for maintaining Signal Company forces around the Red Army Command Post, even knowing the Blue Army had infiltrated and taken out two Red Army battalion command posts.
There was only one possibility…
The Signal Company was indeed executing a key mission.
And a target more important than protecting the other three battalions and Logistics Support Company could only be the real Red Army Command Post.
“Nice one, brilliantly played. To fool me, Yuan Lang, making me run around the mountains like a monkey—Seventh Hundred and Second Regiment is the first. Interesting, too interesting, truly eye-opening.”
Yuan Lang grinned, unsure if he was laughing from anger at the Red Army or genuinely finding it funny.
Or perhaps finally finding the Command Post put him in a great mood.
His following old A were all confused, unable to figure out what was up with their company commander. He had been stern-faced and serious just moments ago, yet now suddenly laughing so happily.
Stared at by his subordinates, Yuan Lang realized there was still business to handle.
“Follow me.”
A simple order, and Yuan Lang personally led a group of old A, nimble like mountain monkeys, quickly shuttling through the forest.
On the way there, Yuan Lang arranged the mission.
Efficient and time-saving!
Yuan Lang led his four accompanying old A and soon arrived at the periphery of the Red Army Command Post, beginning to verify if his guess was correct.
The first verification step: take out the alert sentries.
The Signal Company warriors responsible for vigilance had excellent personal ability, top-tier in the entire regiment.
But they lacked night vision equipment, and their opponents were old A, average soldier kings.
They had no time to react before Yuan Lang led old A to silently capture them all alive, sealing their mouths and tying them to trees.
Not directly eliminating the Signal Company warriors was to prevent smoke from exposing positions and alerting the Red Army Command Post.
Infiltration must not be exposed.
Clearing all obstacles along the way, Yuan Lang’s team reached the edge of the camp’s outer forest. The Red Army Command Post Camp was right in front, less than 30 meters away.
Couldn’t see the situation inside the tents, still unable to judge if correct.
But this posed no difficulty for Yuan Lang at all.
Purely relying on boldness from superior skill.
He had the other old A handle vigilance while he personally infiltrated the camp interior for close reconnaissance, stealthily approaching the Red Army Command Post Camp.
Yuan Lang’s personal strength went without saying, plus the advantage of night vision goggles.
Entering the Red Army Command Post Camp was like entering unguarded territory.
He easily avoided all sentries along the way and smoothly reached behind the main tent, pressing his ear to it to listen to the sounds inside.
Inside, Regiment Commander Wang was personally commanding, continuously discussing the battle situation with the chief of staff.
Now all Red Army troops were in combat; the entire Jin Northwest was in chaos, with reports pouring into the Command Post one after another.
Regiment Commander Wang sat in the Command Post; his job was to coordinate units for maximum results at minimal cost.
Thus, almost no rest, entering a high-pressure phase.
“Wang Qing Rui, that’s his voice, confirmed!”
Yuan Lang didn’t know Wang Qing Rui personally, but he knew his voice from records in the data repository, easily identifying it.
Confirming this was the Red Army Command Post, Yuan Lang slipped back into the darkness.
He returned to rendezvous with the four old A he brought, then reported the situation he scouted via radio to Tie Lu at the Command Post.
“Old Wang, oh Old Wang, you really made me search hard. Now let’s see where you run.”
Finally confirming the Red Army Command Post’s location, Tie Lu’s tense heart fully relaxed, and he immediately issued four orders in succession.
The first was for Yuan Lang to continue surveillance.
Lock down the Red Army Command Post, absolutely not letting them slip away again.
The second was to order the pilots to return.
Now that the Red Army Command Post was found, the exercise was about to end. Attack helicopters flying over could destroy the Red Army Command Post in minutes.
Victory was completely secured; no need for further communication monitoring, so no need to stay airborne.
Plus, after flying all afternoon, the helicopters’ fuel was insufficient for continued flight; they must return to camp for resupply.
The third was contacting the Blue Army chief of staff.
Send the Red Army Command Post coordinates for him to coordinate the two reserve attack helicopters from the Army Aviation Brigade to immediately take off and destroy the Red Army Command Post.
As long as the Red Army Command Post was destroyed, they won; whether they returned didn’t matter.
The fourth order was to notify the signalman to contact the Red Army’s radio; he wanted to pass a few words to the Red Army commander-in-chief, Regiment Commander Wang Qing Rui.
The Blue Army’s communication technology completely crushed the Red Army’s, able to forcibly access Red Army communications anytime.
The Red Army Regiment Command Post radio wasn’t activated; unpowered, naturally inaccessible. But the lower Red Army companies’ radios were in constant use.
Pass the words to a Red Army company, let them relay to the Red Army Command Post and tell Regiment Commander Wang personally.
The effect was the same!
Tie Lu’s reason for specially passing words was that it offered no help to the confrontation against the Red Army—in fact, it would alert the Red Army Command Post to danger.
Purely because the fight had been so grueling, to vent his inner emotions fiercely.
Then, in the victor’s stance, ride a helicopter straight to the Red Army Command Post, enjoy the fruits of victory, and complete the follow-up on his words.
…
4000 more tonight, taking a day off.
This volume has only the final chapter left. All exercise foreshadowing must be wrapped up, filling all the holes.
For a perfect ending and to lay groundwork for poaching from old A next, need careful planning, which takes time.
Mainly not to stall at a cliffhanger during the climax, making readers uncomfortable, so must finish in one chapter.
Can reveal in advance…
Optoelectronics master’s Wu Zhe must be poached; he’s the perfect future information brigade captain, along with other good seedlings from old A.
How to retain our own while poaching what we want from old A.
Mainly needs to be reasonable, not nonsensical.
This is actually quite difficult.
I’ve spent a lot of time envisioning, thinking from Chen Jun’s perspective, rejecting several ideas because they weren’t reasonable enough.
Plus the upcoming Combined Arms Battalion arc will unfold.
This way, in the original drama’s later old A exercises, it can showcase Seventh Combined Arms Battalion’s power, paving Chen Jun’s path to general.
Wait.
All kinds of plots need wrapping here; I need to organize my thoughts well, so specially taking a day off today. Please forgive me, brothers.
For the shortfall.
I’ll make up tomorrow, at least 6000 words tomorrow.
Anyway, one chapter finishes the plot, however many words it takes—maybe 7000, even
The point is to complete it fully, not leave big brother readers hanging halfway feeling bad.
