Exercise Thirty-Six (Two)

  Central Military Academy Training Grounds.

  General Zhang Zhizhong walked towards the temporary podium, today's General Zhang Zhizhong wore a brand new military uniform, with epaulets and stars shining. This is the second time for the 9th batch of students to face him in person, and their mindset was completely different from the first time.

  "Fellow students, you are about to graduate and leave the Central Military Academy, your alma mater. After completing this military exercise, you will finish your studies two months ahead of schedule and go to grassroots units for training and struggle. I hope that in the days to come, you will carry forward the Whampoa spirit, unite as one, and make your own contributions to the cause of the Party and the country." General Zhang's powerful words were met with waves of applause from below.

  "This time's exercise, I just received a notice from the Ministry of National Defense, the principal will personally come to the military exercise site to observe, this is an opportunity for you, and also a chance to prove ourselves as the Central Military Academy, we cannot let the principal down, cannot let the instructors down, cannot let the 400 million Chinese compatriots down, so please everyone apply what you have learned in the past two years well on the battlefield."

  "This time's military exercise, the commander-in-chief of the Blue Army will be myself, and it is said that the commander-in-chief of the Red Army has been taken by General Gui Yongqing. Although this is just a small-scale assault battle, it is an opportunity for everyone to experience real combat, allowing everyone to understand that war is not just talking on paper, but requires continuous adjustments according to changing circumstances. I hope everyone can seriously summarize their experiences and lessons in this battle, and face the challenge with the highest morale. Do you have confidence?" General Zhang Zhong shouted to hundreds of students: "We do!", As for the saying 'newborn calves are not afraid of tigers', it refers to these young soldiers. Although they are just military school students, they are also filled with passion and enthusiasm, as if nothing in the world can stop them."

  "This time's exercise method is quite different from the previous ones. In my impression, previously it was always the students' large team defending and the Central Instructional General Team attacking. However, this time General Gui Yongqing proposed that you attack, don't think this is a good thing, the difficulty of attacking a city is much harder than defending one. Just this one point about geographical advantage has already dropped significantly. Of course, attacking a city can more easily expose problems and also more easily gain experience. Not everyone can be a general naturally, those generals are all from the grassroots level, starting from small to big, step by step, fighting their way up. I hope everyone doesn't get too proud, but instead solidly takes every step." As he spoke, General Zhang stepped down from the stage.

  "I'm appointing the platoon leaders of five platoons below. Remember, from now on, you few platoon leaders will be in command of the upcoming battle. We'll grasp the overall direction, and you'll take care of the specific details. I'm assigning the first and second student battalions to form the first platoon, with Wang Mingyu as the platoon leader!"

  "Yes, I will not disappoint the expectations of our educators!" Wang Mingyu stood at attention and saluted loudly. "The third and fourth squadrons will be led by Li Shichao as their squadron leader!" "Yes, I will not disappoint the expectations of our educators!"

  "The fifth and sixth student battalions were led by Liu Xiao as the company commander." "Yes, I will never disappoint the expectations of our educators!"

  "The Seventh and Eighth Student Squadrons were led by Yang Kai as the company commander." "Yes, I will never disappoint the expectations of our educators!"

  "The Ninth and Tenth Student Squad is led by Huang Jianqun as the squad leader." "Yes, I will not disappoint the expectations of our educators!"

  "Several battalion commanders come with me to the command center! The rest will be led by instructors back to the dormitory for rest." Zhang Zhong said, and then took the lead in walking forward. Several newly appointed battalion commanders followed General Zhang to the command center of the Blue Army. Since the Blue Army was on the offensive, the command center was set up inside the Central Military Academy. Although it was a bit far from the combat zone, since it was a test of the students' commanding ability and combat capability, the Blue Army decided to arrange an attack plan in advance, and then they would improvise. The more this was done, the more it could reflect the value of this military exercise.

  Inside Blue Army Command Center.

  "You are all the company commanders I have chosen based on your usual training results and outstanding performance. If you perform well this time, you may be reused by the principal. I'd like to remind you in advance that everything has its pros and cons. It's not easy to make the principal look at you with importance. I hope you don't get blinded by benefits first, a commander must always keep a clear head no matter what."

  "Remember the long-term education and training!" Several people stood at attention and said, "This time, the principal has come to observe the war, my pressure is also very great, you all know that the principal values the education of the military school the most. Every year, a large amount of military funds are invested in the military school's expenses, just hoping that we can cultivate talents. Okay, I don't need you to worry about the pressure on my side, now I'll brief you on the situation of several of you. I know the training results of your several companies, who is good and who is bad is just hearsay, as for how much water is in it, I don't know either, but it will be verified soon whether what you have learned can take up your future position." General Zhang looked at several people with a bit of playfulness, except for Wang Mingyu, the others all had eyes full of resentment, looking at Zhang, doubting their training was an insult to them. Wang Mingyu was already somewhat numb to these provocative words, having been in the military for over ten years and hearing too many of them.

  But Wang Mingyu didn't look very comfortable either, after all, he had to give the director of education some face, didn't he still have to ask for his help in the future?

  Zhang Zhizhong looked at Wang Mingyu's expression and thought to himself, "This kid is quite interesting, doesn't even have a bit of competitive psychology? Very deep indeed. Their training results are the best, and last time Zheng Rong even helped Wang Mingyu and his group take a leave, saying they went out for training, but who knows what they were really doing? Could it be an excuse?" The more Zhang thought about it, the more doubts he had, but what made him feel relieved was that Wang Mingyu was at least a talented person. He was grateful to his old friend Wang Yuanshan for sending his only son to join the army, and he was a good seedling too. He could be considered his half-nephew from now on, and he would help him out if he could.

  "Alright, to be fair, I've decided to ask for your opinions first. This time we're using a ladder siege, which guarantees the intensity of the attack! However, only four companies can participate in the attack, and one company will serve as reserve. Which company do you think should be the reserve?" Zhang Zhong said calmly, but what he meant by "reserve" was something that others didn't understand, Wang Mingyu did though - on the battlefield, every time they charged, they would hold back a portion of their troops to clean up afterwards and use for the final blow.

  Several people did not make a sound, no one wanted to be a reserve, if the city was attacked and taken down, there would be no credit for the reserves. Wang Mingyu naturally wouldn't volunteer either. Zhang Zhizhong looked at several people with a smile: "Is there any company that can accept the reserve?"

  Wang Mingyu didn't care much either. He thought that if they won, he would at least have some credit to his name. Even if he didn't get the commander's reward, it was still an honor. Seeing the other few people lowering their heads, he simply said: "Reporting for duty, I'm willing!"

  Several others looked at him in surprise, thinking that this person was ill. However, several others had also heard of Wang Mingyu. It is said that during training, Wang Mingyu was a typical example, famous for hitting the target with one shot. Many instructors used Wang Mingyu, the first student battalion's ace, as an example to teach these people. Everyone hadn't seen him before, but today, upon their first meeting, they felt that this Wang Mingyu might be fiercely trained, but his brain was quite silly.

  "Alright, since only the first battalion is willing to serve as a reserve, let's just have the first battalion be the reserve!" General Zhang Zhong waved his hand and began studying tactics with several others. The four battalions attacking the city was extremely difficult, as could be expected. After discussing for half a day, they still couldn't come up with a good plan. A strong attack would definitely be challenging, but the extent of the difficulty had yet to be verified. Even if they took the city, the command center and the city were not in the same location, which was also an easily defended high ground. It's better to say that it's not just attacking one city, but rather attacking a city plus seizing a strategic location.

  General Zhang Zhizhong stared intently at the map, his brow furrowed in concentration, while the others were deep in thought.