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墨書 Inktalez
Old Tang furrowed his brow and asked, "What does the Commander really mean? Is one plus one really equal to two?" I glanced at the Commander at the assessment point, feeling somewhat helpless. "Sometimes, it's not just one plus one equals two."
During the second joint training, trouble indeed arose. The Commander assigned the Deputy Chief of Staff to act as the temporary Company Commander, directing our two Units to work together on bridge construction. The Deputy Chief of Staff designated a large area for training and brought our two Units together. Before the training began, he delivered a speech emphasizing that everyone should think about the honor of the unit, work together to improve training results, avoid undermining each other, and strive in the same direction.
I had my doubts; we were still in the water-based subject training phase and hadn't even started bridge operations yet. Now, we were jumping straight into bridge construction. Setting aside other issues, coordinating between the two Units was already a problem!
In fact, according to the Commander's arrangement, it wasn't wrong. The Deputy Chief of Staff had originally come from a training background as a Section Chief, so his professional abilities were unquestionable. He also had experience in handling personnel matters.
However, while aspirations are often beautiful, reality can be quite harsh. The Deputy Chief of Staff insisted on merging operations for both Units without conducting separate tasks. Did he really think he was the Company Commander? If he truly were a Company Commander, that would be one thing; but he was merely a temporary leader cobbled together from various personnel. As a result, everyone's rhythm was thrown off.
Half an hour passed. We had just set up a dock and two sections of Bailey Bridge, and it was still chaotic. Some people had nothing to do while others were overwhelmed with tasks. I struggled to direct the soldiers; just when I managed to assign a few to one task, they were quickly pulled away for another. I noticed Gao Ge was equally frustrated, standing on the dock with a furrowed brow.
The Deputy Chief of Staff was anxious too; he kept calling out orders and reprimanding others. With unclear task assignments, soldiers from both Units were left confused and disoriented. Progress slowed down significantly until it became apparent that wherever the Deputy Chief of Staff directed his attention, that was where movement occurred; everywhere else came to a near standstill.
Old Tang watched from the shore and grew increasingly anxious. He rushed over to pull me aside and said, "This isn't working! Everyone seems lost. You need to talk to the Deputy Chief of Staff; this can't continue like this."
I shrugged my shoulders. "I can't do anything about it; I'm following orders from the Leader. I absolutely obey commands." I wasn't about to do anything foolish—if the Deputy Chief of Staff's leadership was lacking, that was his issue! Not following orders would be another matter entirely! I had learned this lesson more than once: in the military, obeying orders takes precedence over everything else! Before we set out in the morning, I specifically instructed all personnel that all actions should follow orders—specifically those from the Deputy Chief of Staff—including myself. In practice, I did just that; if I was told to move Bailey Bridge sections, I would do so without hesitation.
Unconditional support for all work related to unit honor is my principle. Sharp Blade Company is not solely my Unit; it belongs to this entire force and is always ready for sacrifice on behalf of everyone else. I'm merely an Acting Company Commander and will resolutely obey all decisions made by superiors—even if those decisions have their flaws.
Seeing my stance, Old Tang felt helpless too as he watched the Deputy Chief of Staff sweating profusely on the Bailey Bridge. With no other options available, he stomped his foot in frustration before returning to shore; his responsibilities lay in logistical support—water supply and medical emergencies—beyond that, he couldn't assist further.
I glanced at Gao Ge and saw him frowning at the Deputy Chief of Staff, lost in thought. I knew he had his own opinions but remained silent. After a while, Gao Ge decided to abandon participation in operations and headed back to shore for some water.
The morning passed in a chaotic manner, and perhaps he sensed something was off himself. When we returned to Base at noon, he took the initiative to approach us few Commanders and asked for our thoughts on the morning training and how it could be improved.
What could I say? I lowered my head and silently stared at my feet; it was an awkward situation, I thought.
The others didn’t have much to say either. The Deputy Chief of Staff tried to ask questions but couldn’t get much out of it, and eventually left in a huff.
I exchanged glances with Gao Ge. I knew he had ideas; he probably wanted to take command himself, leading the two Units. I didn’t mind much because I felt it was all for the sake of the entire team. It wasn’t that I had a particularly grand vision; I just saw things more clearly. First, the team wouldn’t be “borrowed” away by him permanently. Second, if he managed to lead successfully and win in the competition, that was his skill, and there was no need for me to feel jealous. However, I couldn’t express this openly with the Deputy Chief of Staff still present; making such a statement would leave me in an awkward position.
In fact, if I were given command, I wouldn’t put on airs either; I would just do what needed to be done. However, I truly lacked confidence in commanding an unfamiliar Unit. If the soldiers didn’t know their commander and vice versa, that would be a significant military taboo. If it were merely an infantry drill, it might be manageable, but our training was highly specialized; it wasn’t something that could be handled smoothly just by putting in effort.
The afternoon training improved slightly. After all, the Deputy Chief of Staff was an Old Comrade who had previously served as a Commander in the Unit. He initially thought both Units performed well enough that they could simply combine their efforts with minimal coordination. However, the results from the morning hit him hard, prompting him to change his training approach in the afternoon.
They implemented a relay operation where part of one Unit’s soldiers set up the dock while another part pushed the Bailey Bridge into place for connection. The effectiveness improved somewhat but remained rather rigid. At first, our soldiers moved quickly and often completed one section of the Bailey Bridge only to find themselves waiting for Gao Ge Lian's soldiers who were slower in their movements. This back-and-forth wore our soldiers down, causing them to slow down and lose their enthusiasm.
I felt anxious watching this unfold because people dread working in a system where one or two individuals are slacking off or being unproductive; it ultimately drains everyone’s motivation. The soldiers from Gao Ge Lian were well-trained but lacked flexibility due to their rigidity. Many of their procedures involved repeating steps without ever doing tasks simultaneously—never combining steps one and two or two and three. It was undeniable that Gao Ge adhered strictly to training outlines and standards as a Company Commander, but this approach lost its adaptability and relevance to real combat scenarios, turning training into a fixed job with set processes.
I shook my head; no wonder Gao Ge Lian’s training results lagged behind ours by so much. It was akin to comparing Germany's football style with Argentina's; indeed, a Commander’s personality influences their Unit!
Another afternoon passed; while speed improved slightly, we soon encountered greater trouble. The area we chose for bridge training was quite spacious, which meant slower water flow made operations easier. However, it also required nearly 20 Bailey Bridges to construct one Floating Bridge. Gradually working through this took us over half an hour just to reach the center of the river. Yet we discovered that due to the current's force, the Floating Bridge was severely misaligned. Continuing would risk creating a slanted bridge; even connecting each Bailey Bridge became increasingly challenging—one heavy vehicle could easily cause a break.
The Deputy Chief of Staff clearly noticed this issue as well. He blew his whistle signaling everyone to stop and walked over to inspect the nearest Bailey Bridge in the river’s center. Both Gao Ge and I approached, ready to receive instructions from him.
“This isn’t going to work!” the Deputy Chief of Staff murmured.
"Both sides need to work together, connecting in the middle. Yes! You two from Unit have done well individually, but you can't train mixed; you need to separate! Build the bridge together, connect in the middle. One has a score of over nine, and the other over ten; at the very least, you should complete the whole process around zero points, right?" The Deputy Chief of Staff turned around, excitedly staring at us.
I didn't know what to say. I had an instinctive feeling that if everyone had followed a standard training model from the beginning, we might have been much faster. Always thinking about saving time often leads to failure; changing the training model now felt like a waste.
"Do you two have any objections?" I shook my head. Seeing that I had nothing to say, Gao Ge also fell silent.
"Then it's settled!" With a wave of his hand, the Deputy Chief of Staff decided our next training model.
Fortunately, we still got to do our own thing without having to partner with others. I secretly felt relieved. Just like before, our training returned to the same mode as before, except that we were on this side while Gao Ge Lian was on that side, each conducting bridge-building training. As for the Deputy Chief of Staff, he sat on the Assault Boat, guiding us back and forth. Without his constant intervention, the soldiers of Unit regained their previous training spirit. Each one wanted to build more Bailey Bridges than the opposing Seventh Company. Having a rival provided motivation, and for more than a week of training, everything went smoothly.
Thanks to the Allies troops, we had no breaks during May Day. While other Units engaged in various recreational activities, we continued to soak in the river as usual. A few soldiers expressed some complaints; I could only try my best to soothe them and hoped that the Allies troops would arrive soon.
During May Day, Old Bi came to find me. The boss (Zhang Xing) invited everyone out for dinner to gather together. What the hell! I barely had time! I had no choice but to decline the invitation. As Old Bi left, he casually mentioned something that made me think of many things. He said he heard that Commander and the leader of that Allies unit were classmates from the same period and that we needed to train hard because there would surely be some competition when they arrived here.
I had an instinctive feeling that this competition would not be simple. Commander must be determined; otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed to their visit. However, knowing Commander's character, he must have confidence in what he was doing. Did he really have such faith in us? According to Commander, after May Day, he would review our joint training results; I silently prayed that nothing would go wrong by then.
(To be continued; tomorrow will be even more exciting!)
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