Chapter 459: Great Minds Think Alike

My innate talent will surely be useful!

Well said!

At worst, we can figure it out as we go!

You've got ambition!

Learn by doing, learn while doing, just get it done!

At this moment, Lu Yang was completely immersed in excitement.

Challenge means opportunity; he wants to be the first to take the plunge.

If it succeeds, whether Ma Qing'an, Zhou Kaidong, Gao Feng or the others, they can all find a sense of belonging and a goal to strive for here.

With direction and a goal, people become grounded; as long as they keep moving step by step, they'll soon firmly establish themselves here.

By then, they'll no longer be the so‑called "outsiders"; they'll be the Marine Corps' most badass, fiercest, strongest assault unit.

Specifically, what am I supposed to do?

Lead the troops, train them, win hearts; your main job is to teach them the system you've learned.

How long is it?

Three months.

Only three months?!

Lu Yang felt uneasy; the time frame was far too short.

Zheng Chengfeng nodded: "Time is tight, the mission heavy, the higher‑ups only gave me three months—what can I do? How about this: you start training now, and I'll petition the superiors to see if we can get a longer timeline."

Seeing Lu Yang's helpless nod, Zheng Chengfeng smiled inwardly.

The commander had actually given him six months; he deliberately compressed it to create urgency.

The longer the timeline, the harder to achieve results; if later the time runs short, he'll extend it by another month.

That way there's ample time to adjust, plug gaps; the final month can be used for reporting—perfect.

That's how it works in the workplace, especially at his level; many things can't be handled straightforwardly.

It requires subtlety and skill, otherwise the commander wouldn't have handed him such a tough assignment.

Lu Yang pressed: "As a pilot, is there any special support? Funding, weapons, personnel, technical assistance?"

Zheng Chengfeng: "We can provide moral encouragement."

Lu Yang thought he was being teased, but Zheng Chengfeng shook his fingers solemnly.

I'm not joking with you.

No funding, no weapons, no tech; even the venue is just a borrowed space.

Lu Yang fell silent for a long while, then couldn't help but ask, "Let the horse run, but you don't want the horse to graze?"

Zheng Chengfeng flicked ash: "Back then I asked the commander the same thing; his reply was, 'If it were that easy, why would I need you?'"

Lu Yang forced a grin: "No wonder you're a top leader—just a few words from you and the troops have to run themselves ragged; to pluck stars or the moon, you still need a plan."

In short, if we fail, I'll take the blame; if we succeed, the credit goes to the higher‑ups, right?

Zheng Chengfeng seemed to read Lu Yang's mind and explained, "If there's merit, we share it; if there's a mess, no one has to shoulder it alone."

Because this project has no official launch documents; it's being carried out covertly. Even if it fails, it will be silent—no one will know.

Three months later, if you haven't produced anything, just revert to the old ways, straightforwardly; whatever it should be, it stays that way.

Lu Yang nodded repeatedly, thinking there's no negative impact or consequences, so that's fine.

Because of various impacts, there's no funding or equipment support?

Both yes and no.

Zheng Chengfeng admitted, "The plan to form a rapid‑reaction force was proposed two years ago and implemented in the First Sea‑Land Brigade, but unfortunately it ended in failure."

When the project launched, it caused a sensation and everyone was optimistic, but the final result was a mess; it didn't even pass testing and died in the womb.

The process wasted huge manpower, material, and financial resources, and some military experts even published articles denouncing it, saying our national conditions aren't suited for such a force, calling it a copycat disaster.

Because of that, no one later had confidence or dared to touch the project; a failure would jeopardize one's political future.

Lu Yang understood: in theory the rapid‑reaction force makes sense, but practical implementation runs into problems.

Thus the project was aborted; even if someone wants to restart it, they must weigh whether they can bear the fallout of failure.

After all, the Navy is currently in full‑scale development, everyone is pushing forward; a sudden massive investment that backtracks is unacceptable to anyone.

Then why restart it now?

Listen to me first; what follows is the crux!

Zheng Chengfeng said gravely, "The newly appointed Navy commander was just transferred from your Eastern Army; he's an outstanding Army officer with extensive experience leading troops, training them, and commanding large formations in battle."

He, after grasping the situation, carefully reviewed past files, combined the Army's strengths, surveyed the Navy's future development, summarized past shortcomings, and reached an important conclusion…

He paused midway, prompting Lu Yang to guess what the conclusion was.

Lu Yang thought carefully and answered: "Land as the main, sea as the support? I recall that the cavalry, though a tri‑domain rapid‑reaction force, is primarily a light infantry assault unit, with land operations far outweighing sea ones?"

Correct!

Zheng Chengfeng didn't expect the kid to pinpoint the issue so quickly: "The elite land‑sea troops are fine, but preconceptions always drag them into the old system, and they start deviating, veering toward special‑operations direction."

Yet they lack the hard requirements of Special Operations, causing many to fall behind and lose pace.

When it's too good or too bad, there's no tacit coordination; the final assessment scores are even worse than before.

So the higher‑ups mean: you elite transfers from the Army have an Army foundation, but are blank on naval training, making you more suitable for this experiment.

Lu Yang felt the issue circled back to money and equipment.

Three months, tight schedule, heavy mission, no support—hard to accomplish.

Take the reconnaissance unit's typical climbing tower and its gear—ropes, protective equipment—things ordinary units don't have.

There are also training wooden posts, inflatable kayaks, speedboats and the like; even the training ammunition has to be more than ten times the normal amount.

Zheng Chengfeng comforts him: "I understand all the difficulties you mentioned; but the current key is that without results there's no funding, no equipment support."

"At present we only have the thirty‑five sets of equipment we obtained from Jiaolong, plus a food allowance; that's already the limit."

"But rest assured, as long as we deliver results and can assemble this team, you'll be a great hero of the Navy; then you get promoted, I get a raise, and we'll all pop champagne together!"

Lu Yang twitches his mouth; he doesn't want to hear that nutrient‑free chicken soup, he wants concrete help.

"Chief, you have many friends and wide connections; can you find someone to lend us some money first?"

"Who would be willing to lend?"

Zheng Chengfeng spreads his hands: "It's such a hot‑potato situation that we can't even dodge it; besides, if we borrow, what can we give back?"

Lu Yang: "If we don't repay, that's fine, right?"

Zheng Chengfeng glares: "What did you say?"

Lu Yang lowers his voice: "Find an excuse, borrow first, draw up an IOU, and decide repayment later; nowadays, anyone who owes money is a big shot."

"You, you!"

Zheng Chengfeng, his face full of astonishment, points at him, and the expression turns into a sly grin: "You're thinking the same as me; I was just about to suggest that!"

Lu Yang chuckles mischievously: "That's what they call kindred spirits! You handle the recruitment, I'll handle the swindling—one will swindle him and make him limp!"

"Hey, how can that be called swindling?" Zheng Chengfeng replies earnestly: "It's all contribution to strengthening the army, all adding bricks and tiles to the Navy's development; there should be no distinction between us!"

"I've already sent the message to my old subordinate in advance; I expect him to arrive soon, and then we'll see your performance!"

"Chief, if something goes wrong, you won't throw me to the front line, you won't leave me unprotected, right?"

Lu Yang asks cautiously, which makes Zheng Chengfeng burst out laughing.

"Don't worry, the higher‑ups have already given the order: as long as it's not murder, arson, or any illegal crime."

"Even if it's to swindle, to steal, to rob; as long as it's for the unit's construction, as long as we can assemble the Quick Reaction Force, they'll turn a blind eye for us!"

Lu Yang smiles, rubbing his hands: "Now that we've gotten this far, there's nothing to worry about; everything is for national defense construction~"