"I don't agree with this plan!"
Chief of Staff Chen Quan firmly objected: "What kind of joke is this? Use you as bait? Once this is executed, you'll definitely be finished. Even if we win one counterattack, what good is that if you're gone?"
Deputy Brigade Commander Liu Guo nodded in agreement: "This is a terrible idea! A regiment, we'd probably lose everyone. How would the rest of us fight? They're armored forces, and all we have left are infantry. We'd end up annihilated anyway."
Gao Sheng also began to hesitate: "Brigade Commander, I think we should drop it. Let's all retreat to the mountains in Sector D. Their tanks are numerous, but they can't reach us up there. At least we could hold out for two more days!"
"Ah, Old Gao's suggestion is the most sensible one!" Liu Guo said in agreement.
Lei Cheng looked at them, then shook his head: "No more running. I've run long enough!"
"Huh?" Everyone stared at him in surprise.
Lei Cheng gave a bitter smile: "Think about it. Among all the units in the entire military, which one is as pathetic as us?"
"We're a former unit with a glorious tradition. Our martyrs fought so many fierce battles. But by the time it reached our generation, why have we been getting beaten down passively day after day?"
"Tell me, since we were designated as the Blue Army two years ago, how far have our sister units chased us? How many times have we been annihilated?"
Everyone fell silent, and their fists clenched tightly at the same time.
We're all soldiers. None of us lacks backbone.
Although they had accepted their mission, which was to sacrifice themselves and temper the various sister units.
So that those units could always be ready to enter war and defend the country and its people.
Once or twice they could bear it, three or four times they could endure, and even five or six times they had accepted it.
But in these past two-plus years, they had been annihilated more than seventy times.
They couldn't even face their old comrades-in-arms to explain their current situation.
What a disgrace!
Lei Cheng took a deep breath and continued: "You all know the news that the entire military is going to disband units. With us as we are now, I expect that after this exercise, the first unit to be disbanded will be ours."
"When we leave this world and see our predecessors, how will we bring this up with them? Will we tell them that because we were so pathetic, our former unit no longer exists?"
"Lei, stop talking!" Chen Quan sighed.
"I have to say it!" Lei Cheng said sternly: "Su Chen's plan is very risky, and it even uses me as the stake. But I think this plan is workable!"
"We've already been driven into a dead end, with no room to retreat!"
Lei Cheng looked at everyone: "Rather than continue to live a shameful existence, we might as well fight them to the death. Anyway, we're facing a situation where defeat is certain. Now there's a glimmer of hope, and we must seize it."
"This is only an exercise, not live combat. If we're already afraid of this, how will we face our predecessors in the future?"
"I think the Brigade Commander is right!" Gao Sheng nodded. "So what if we get eliminated? It's nothing so amazing!"
Chen Quan and Liu Guo exchanged glances and finally nodded together: "Since it's come to this, and since you agree, Lei, we support it too!"
"Good!" Lei Cheng nodded eagerly: "Come on, we need to hurry and deploy. Xiao Su's side doesn't have much time left!"
"Xiao Su is a genius, and we absolutely must not waste his plan!"
Everyone was instantly speechless. Everyone still remembered that you had called him a bookworm earlier.
How can someone flip-flop faster than turning a page? Now you're calling him a genius?
Lei Cheng gave an awkward laugh: "Don't worry about the details. Quick, let's hurry up!"
......
Outside the Red Force Command Headquarters, crowds of people were thronging, and it was extremely lively.
Li Cuihua smiled and said to Su Chen: "Comrade, I've called everyone from the seven villages and eight hamlets here. When they heard we needed help, they were very happy!"
Su Chen looked at the bobbing heads and was deeply moved inside.
The reason our predecessors could win battle after battle was because they had the support of the people.
With the support of the common people, no matter how fierce the battle, they could be won.
This tradition has been preserved to this day, and today Su Chen was going to make full use of this.
"Sister Li, thank you!" Su Chen laughed. "Later on, we'll have to trouble everyone!"
Li Cuihua laughed heartily: "Company Commander, just give us a straightforward answer. What exactly do you want us to do?"
Su Chen immediately explained his plan to her in detail. Li Cuihua's expression became a bit uneasy: "Is this really all right? Aren't you just doing an exercise? It looks to me like you really want to finish them off!"
Su Chen immediately became very serious: "Nonsense, they're all my comrades, my brothers. How could I possibly want to finish them off!"
"This is what I'm doing!" Su Chen chuckled. "Everything is for the sake of starting from live combat! Think about it. When war really breaks out, the enemy is full of tricks and cunning, far more vicious than I am!"
"The purpose of our Blue Army's existence is to play those enemies. Letting them experience all kinds of situations, so they'll be more skilled at dealing with the enemy in the future!"
Li Cuihua nodded in sudden understanding: "So that's how it is. Then I can rest easy."
Su Chen laughed heartily: "Just go ahead boldly, but you must act only at the places I designate. Otherwise, something really will go wrong!"
"Don't worry!" Li Cuihua said cheerfully. "We all know what we're doing!"
Wang Hai, Zhao Xiaodong, and the others standing nearby had twitching eyelids.
"I feel our company commander has changed!" Wang Hai said quietly. "Before, he was such a rigorous person who never acted recklessly. But now, I feel he's a big bluffer!"
Zhao Xiaodong nodded in agreement: "The Red Team is in serious trouble this time. I hope no one gets killed, or the company commander will end up in prison!"
"Tut tut tut!" Squad Leader Jing Wei glared at them: "What nonsense are you talking about? This plan will definitely succeed. Lao Wang, aren't you about to transfer out of the military? As long as the plan succeeds, you'll earn merit, and then you'll definitely be able to stay!"
Wang Hai sighed: "Let's hope so!"
Just as the villagers were dispersing, a soldier rushed up to Su Chen in a hurry: "Company Commander, there's a situation!"
Su Chen's eyes lit up, and he immediately sprinted toward the command headquarters.
A soldier holding a headset said tensely to Su Chen in a low voice: "It's one of their division commanders!"
Su Chen chuckled and directly took the headset.
Yao Guangzhi and his father were old comrades-in-arms who had known each other since childhood, so Su Chen could easily imitate his voice and tone.
He cleared his throat and put on an act: "This is Yao Guangzhi. Speak!"
"Army Commander!" An excited voice came from the other end: "They have no way out! We just scouted that the Blue Army's main force is retreating along the route we had planned."
Su Chen beamed with joy. The Red Team had taken the bait.
He pretended to be excited and said: "Good! These guys still don't know our true strength. That road is flat and straight, most favorable for our tanks to advance. This time we won't even need to encircle them. We can annihilate them in the pursuit!"
"Army Commander, give the order! We're fully prepared to charge at full speed!"
Su Chen suppressed the excitement in his heart and said loudly: "Order: effective immediately, advance at full speed. Forget about logistics. Do not stop until the Blue Army is annihilated. Set out immediately!"
"Yes!" the other side shouted excitedly.
Su Chen immediately contacted another division as well as the logistics transport unit, issuing different orders to each of them.
After he set down the headset, he found the Deputy Company Commander and all the squad leaders surrounding him, staring at him with anxious eyes.
"Company Commander!" Deputy Company Commander Bu Meng gulped: "Did, did it succeed?"
Su Chen chuckled: "They've taken the bait! Come on, I'll take you all to go give them a good beating!"