Chapter 557: Don't Let the Blue Army Win So Easily

A short while later, the office door was knocked, and Cai Zhengbang replied with a call to enter.

"Chief, are you busy?"

Cai Zhengbang turned his head, looking somewhat surprised at Zhaohai Shen, who entered pushing the door, carrying tea leaves.

"I'm fine, why did you come?"

"I was sent by our Regiment Commander to run an errand and deliver a document, and I came especially to see you; it's not any fine tea, so don't look down on it."

"You say you come, you come, and every time you bring something, making me feel embarrassed."

Jiaolong Special Operations nominally belongs to the Marine Corps Headquarters of the Navy, but in fact is an independent unit under the jurisdiction of the South Sea Fleet Command.

However, Zhaohai Shen is rather adept at handling matters, occasionally coming here, never empty‑handed, and is quite adept at social etiquette.

"Just came in, seeing your smiling face, what's the matter making you so happy?"

"You wouldn't believe it even if I told you..."

Cai Zhengbang didn't hide it either; after all, there's nothing secret about this matter.

He directly recounted the incident where the Red and Blue sides sabotaged each other before the official start of the exercise, making Zhaohai Shen laugh uproariously.

"The fight hasn't even started, and the Red side has already lost its edge; they won't be about to lose, right?"

"Not necessarily; Night Tiger still has solid strength."

Zhaohai Shen's eyes flicked, and he continued, "Chief, when does the exercise start? How about letting us join in for fun?"

Cai Zhengbang misunderstood, thinking he wanted to spectate: "Alright, I'll reserve a front Platoon position for you then."

Zhaohai Shen lifted the corner of his mouth in a smile, shook his head and said, "Chief, you misunderstood; I mean, give us a spot in the exercise."

"You Jiaolong also want to join the fun?"

"Just for casual fun."

"But the number of participants and personnel arrangements have already been agreed upon in advance; your involvement would raise the exercise difficulty sharply and compromise its fairness..."

"Chief, what you said is actually incorrect," Zhaohai Shen said seriously, "I think the Blue army is being overly clever, using overly underhanded and sinister tactics; fearing the Red side can't outplay them, that would affect the exercise's fairness."

"Alright then, I'll have a staff officer under me lead a small team of five, standing by off‑field at any time."

"Consider it Red side off‑field support; later, based on battlefield conditions, you can decide whether to slot them into the fight."

Cai Zhengbang caught another layer in his words: "You think the Red side will lose?"

Zhaohai Shen shook his head: "No, I just don't want the Blue army to win so easily; after all, you previously mentioned that this exercise favors the Third Brigade."

"Not only are they fighting on land the whole time, but they're also on the Blue army's defensive side; that's way too easy and comfortable."

"Soldiers can't be comfortable; if soldiers are comfortable, the civilians and the nation will suffer."

"Therefore, we need to give them some setbacks, to help them grow and improve."

Cai Zhengbang pondered for a moment, thinking that what Zhaohai Shen said seemed somewhat reasonable.

So he adopted his suggestion, planning to make a Jiaolong Special Operations squad a surprise element in the exercise.

As he had said before, the exercise is real combat, and real combat is often filled with all kinds of unexpected situations; thus, this arrangement is actually quite logical.

Moreover, a five‑person Special Operations squad isn't overly powerful, so it won't greatly damage the exercise's fairness; on the contrary, it will make the battle more interesting and the outcome more unpredictable.

However, Cai Zhengbang didn't fully adopt Zhaohai Shen's advice, definitively placing the team on the Red side.

Instead, he planned to decide later, depending on the situation, which side to assign them to, adjusting the battlefield as needed.

"Report... Brigade Commander, hello!"

Second Brigade, in the brigade headquarters office.

Huang Honghui pushed the door open and entered, offering a salute.

Feng Ming had someone pour him a cup of tea, gesturing for him to sit and speak.

Just as Huang Honghui sat down, he felt as if pricked by a needle, his expression very strange.

"What's wrong, didn't you already have the hemorrhoid surgery? Has it relapsed?"

"Hmm, it keeps recurring; the wound never seems to heal."

"Eat less spicy food."

"Since the surgery I haven't eaten anything spicy; the doctor said I must not get emotional, as agitation can cause relapse."

Feng Ming frowned, recalling the incident this morning when the position was flattened.

It's no wonder; that really can make anyone angry, even causing him to lose composure at Headquarters.

Huang Honghui quickly asked, "Brigade Commander, what did higher‑ups say; did they order the Blue army to restore our position, or directly declare they lost the exercise, granting us victory?"

Feng Ming shook his head: "Neither."

"Then what did they say?"

"Higher‑ups meant to just call it a draw, to even things out."

"That won't do! We only have that one beachhead position, and it's also......"

Bang!

Feng Ming banged the table, and Huang Honghui quickly fell silent.

"I haven't even asked you, who told you to be clever and go sabotage the enemy's position?"

"Brigade Commander, it wasn't the Regiment Commander you instructed, it was..."

"Nonsense!"

Feng Ming stared, his mouth starting to rant again: "When did I ever say such a thing? You brought your Regiment Commander to confront me; when did I ever say in a meeting that you should sabotage the Blue army's position?"

Huang Honghui remained silent, thinking the Regiment Commander probably hadn't lied.

If there was no approval from above, and no Brigade Commander consent, he wouldn't dare start this.

Moreover, the Brigade Commander was overly agitated, clearly in a fit of rage after his past being exposed.

Feng Ming, bitter as iron that won't become steel, said: "We achieve too little and fail too much! If you hadn't done these petty moves, if you were even a step slower than them, this would all be the Blue army's responsibility, at least they'd get a reprimand!"

Forget it, I won't argue with them about this; let's just move on—you guys hurry up and adjust the battle plan.

We have the Blue Army's exercise plan in our hands, so we still retain the initiative.

There's one more thing—I've found you an external aid...

Just as he finished speaking, the office door was knocked again.

Come in.

Report.

The door was pushed open again, and a short-haired female soldier carrying a tablet entered.

If the Blue Army Team's staff officer Xiao Zhang were here, you'd probably recognize him at a glance.

This is the female soldier who, when he was fixing his car by the roadside, proactively gave him water.

Feng Ming introduced: "Xiao Tang, from the Electronic Countermeasures Team next door; skilled at seizing electromagnetic control, signal reconnaissance, radio direction finding, electronic jamming, information discrimination, and multi-source reconnaissance information fusion."

The Blue Army Team's exercise plan was obtained by her through special means; during the exercise, she will provide you with strong technical support.

Xiao Tang isn't on our side's exercise personnel roster, so you just need to know about it and keep a low profile.

Understood!

The two exchanged salutes, thus acknowledging each other.

With the support of an expert in information technology, Huang Honghui's chances of winning are greater.

Feng Ming said sternly: "Remember, I don't just want to win this exercise; I want the Blue Army to lose utterly, to utterly humiliate the Third Brigade!"

Huang Honghui loudly assured: "Please rest assured, Brigade Commander, with me in the first battle, I will surely win!"