Chapter 212: If he doesn't go to hell, who will?

Don't be so formal, have a drink of water.

He Zhen Tao added some hot water to Lu Yang's cup.

Ma Qing'an also got straight to the point: "I discussed this with the Instructor last night; we also gained some inspiration from the Kang Changyi incident. Old He, you go ahead."

"Good." He Zhen Tao sat down and said: "The reason he hasn't blended into our company for so long is mainly because he sees himself as superior, thinking that enlisted soldiers haven't attended college, haven't read any books, don't understand military theory and are ignorant of tactics."

"But from another perspective, this is indeed a problem that exists in the vast majority of grassroots units."

"So, we intend to improve the enlisted soldiers' military theory knowledge and cultivate battlefield autonomy."

"What do you think of this idea?"

Lu Yang nodded: "That's good; this way, in future exercises, if the commander falls, the soldiers won't be like headless flies, not knowing what to do."

Although Lu Yang was participating in an exercise for the first time, he also discovered this problem in combat.

On the exercise field, the commander, as the tactical decision-maker, has always been the heart of the operation.

Basically, as long as we heavily strike the enemy's headquarters, we can likely disrupt their battle deployment.

Therefore, in the exercises, both sides try every means to locate the enemy's command post and destroy it by any possible method.

Although the commander's position can be succeeded after his death, there are still issues in the transmission of orders and overall command.

Company-level commanders, when coordinating parallel units, still encounter some problems and may even have disputes with peers of the same rank.

When this situation occurs, the lower-level units will experience severe information blockage, not knowing what to do for a period of time.

Lu Yang had once seen a record of an exercise from around the year 2000 in some military material.

A certain amphibious reconnaissance battalion of the Navy, in a large-scale landing exercise, undertook the beach‑assault mission.

As a result, due to radio signal interference, after an entire battalion landed on the island, they received no further orders, and over three hundred men just stood there waiting for three or four hours.

This serious mistake also became the spark that caused the exercise's failure; it was eventually written into a negative case study to warn those who come after.

In the Second Battalion versus Third Battalion exercise that Lu Yang experienced, a similar problem actually arose.

That is, after the company commander and battalion commander were killed in succession, the enlisted soldiers didn't know what to do next.

Accustomed to obeying orders and following assignments, most soldiers have completely lost the ability to think on the battlefield.

If they encounter a short‑sighted commander, it is almost a disaster; not to mention total annihilation, they will ultimately lose their position.

Ma Qing'an explained: "What the Instructor and I mean is not that we want to train everyone to be a commander; that would be impractical and unrealistic. We just hope everyone can grasp some tactical theory appropriately."

"That way, when faced with sudden situations on the battlefield, even if the company and platoon leaders are all killed, we can still quickly organize an effective attack and counterattack."

Lu Yang: "Then let's do it that way—I wholeheartedly approve!"

He Zhen Tao showed a troubled expression: "Saying this is easy, but doing it is not simple. The enlisted soldiers' learning ability and self‑control are relatively poor, especially in cultural courses, where their attention is severely scattered."

"In every ideological‑political and theory class, a large group of people sleep with their eyes open—completely, what goes in the left ear goes out the right."

"The lack of theory is a shortcoming of the enlisted soldiers; the future troops will certainly place great emphasis on cultural education—this is beyond doubt."

"But compared to using their brains, everyone would rather exert physical effort, so we want to hear your opinion?"

"After all, you have methods and tricks for learning new knowledge and for self‑study."

Lu Yang was quite modest; his skill mainly relies on cheats.

Without cheat assistance, he also belongs to the type who learns fast but forgets even faster.

But since the Company Commander and the Instructor have thrown this problem at him, this Acting Platoon Leader also needs to come up with a corresponding solution.

Lu Yang thought for a moment and said: "Do more practice papers, take more exams."

"You mean like school final exams?"

"Yes."

"Just having a final exam—would that work?"

"I mean weekly quizzes, monthly tests, quarterly exams, midterms, finals. On holidays, besides tug‑of‑war, jump rope, and relay races—those fun activities—we can also add items like military debates, making military theory study part of daily life."

Ma Qing'an stroked his chin, turned his head to look at He Zhen Tao, seemingly asking for his opinion.

He Zhen Tao pondered for a moment and asked: "Wouldn't this be too strict, too harsh? Daily training is already exhausting; I worry it might backfire."

Lu Yang shook his head: "If we want to comprehensively improve our company's recruit quality, to be more competitive in the regiment and even in the division, this is the only solution I can think of."

"I've also heard that next year the division will have a major move; the two chiefs are doing this as a precaution, hoping to comprehensively strengthen the company's strength to meet upcoming challenges."

"So I think we can give it a try; if it really doesn't work, we'll slowly adjust and see if there's another way to motivate everyone."

"Furthermore, regarding the formulation of specific steps and the drafting of the plan, I recommend one person to serve as chief planner; he is better at this than any of us."

"Who?"

"Kang Changyi."

"......"

"......"

The two remained silent for a long time; they hadn't expected Lu Yang to also have his own way of assigning duties and picking personnel.

For writing papers, drafting plans, and proposing schemes, nobody is more suitable than Kang Changyi, this "troublemaker."

Ma Qing'an said meaningfully: "Aren't you afraid that he'll just finish drafting the plan and then someone will drown him in a cesspit?"

Lu Yang laughed heartily: "Offending people is something someone has to do. If he doesn't go to hell, who will?"

Jokes aside, there really is no one more suitable than Kang Changyi.

Not only because he has extremely strong language organization skills, being very good at writing reports and making plans.

Moreover, because he has been disliked by the whole company for a long time—not just a day or two—drawing more hatred over this matter is no problem.

Most importantly, Lu Yang feels this guy has extremely strong stress tolerance; he's the type who can face thousands pointing fingers and still take bullets with his thick skin.

"Alright, then let's settle this; later we'll draft a rough outline."

"Once the idea is clear, the specific details can be worked out by you and Kang Changyi; for now, just don't tell him, lest he slack off in training and jump around aimlessly."

"Okay."

Right.

Ma Qing'an reminded, "Today is the weekend; when you have a moment, go to Seventh Company to see Gao Feng—don't forget."

Lu Yang responded: "I know, everything's ready; I'll go in a bit."

Just as Lu Yang was about to leave, He Zhen Tao also remembered something.

Today is the weekend; according to routine, we should be issuing phones.

Earlier in the meeting we completely forgot about this.

He had Lu Yang notify the other squad and platoon leaders to come pick up the phones.

The phones for the three squads of the first platoon were to be collected by Lu Yang on their behalf and then distributed to each squad.

Phones are being issued.

Lu Yang arrived at Third Squad, merely called out, and everyone swarmed over.

Then it was just, you get yours, you get yours, you get yours, you get yours.

Don't just grab your phone and go online to play games; call your family.

Last week we did drills and didn't issue phones; don't let your family be unable to reach you, worrying needlessly.

Lu Yang's thoroughness and attention to detail let Squad Leader Zhou Kaidong save a lot of worry.

Watching the soldiers he brought up gradually surpass him and become the company's backbone, he also felt genuine joy.

The last to come pick up his phone was Kang Changyi; although he had been a platoon leader before, the phone was also turned over to the company for safekeeping.

The good thing about the unit is its emphasis on equality: except during leave, no one is allowed to use phones.

Your phone is in my pocket; take it.

Thank you, platoon leader.

Kang Changyi was about to reach for it when he discovered his own BBK phone being pinched by the other person's fingers.

Seeing Lu Yang staring at him with no intention of letting go, he nervously said, "Just play for an hour—oh no, half an hour—and when it's over I'll go do extra training voluntarily."

Lu Yang then released his hand: "In the morning, do the makeup drills, meet the training targets to catch up to the average level; in the afternoon you can play with your phone however you like—read novels, watch movies, no one will bother you."

As I always say, training relies on self-discipline, not on anyone forcing you—you're not serving in the army for me, got it?

Yes!

Kang Changyi nodded firmly.

After briefly briefing Squad Leader Zhou Kaidong, Lu Yang picked up the tea and cigarettes he had prepared earlier and headed to Seventh Company to visit Gao Feng.

During the previous drill, I accidentally shot someone full of holes; I ought to apologize.

Additionally, Lu Yang wanted to swing by to see Kong Long and find out how Ding Tengfei is doing.

Especially Ding Tengfei—I heard he stood out in the drill and was transferred to a combat squad; I don't know how he's doing now.