The First Order

The commanders of the various fighting forces in the command post tent were passing around the jointly signed petition and going through it. The contents of the petition roughly described that during the battle to take control of Mt. Dingyuan, Ren Xiaosu had climbed the back of Mt. Dingyuan barehanded to launch a surprise attack on the bandits there. As the credit was his, everyone at the Razor Sharp Company felt ashamed to be awarded the third-class unit citation for it.

Moreover, because Commander Zhang did not award the third-class decoration to Ren Xiaosu as well, this was seen as really unfair.

As Zhou Yinglong read the petition, he stole a glance at Zhang Jinglin’s expression. However, he realized Zhang Jinglin did not seem unhappy. He softly probed, “I didn’t expect those bastards would come here to chide the commander for acting unfairly. Should I punish them when I return to the barracks?”

Zhang Jinglin smiled. “How could I not know what you’re thinking? Alright, there’s no need to test me. I’m not angry.”

“That’s good then.” Zhou Yinglong chuckled. “Commander, you’re such a kind person.”

At this moment, a brigade commander suddenly wondered, “The Razor Sharp Company under Zhou Yinglong’s command is notorious for being difficult. Ren Xiaosu’s only been posted there for a few days, but he’s already gained so much support?”

Zhang Jinglin said, “Enough, let’s not discuss this anymore. The award ceremony tonight will also be canceled. Zhou Yinglong, go back and tell the Razor Sharp Company that the reason Ren Xiaosu was not included in the third-class citations was that I had intended to award him the second-class decoration. However, since Ren Xiaosu fabricated the battle report that was submitted to me, his second-class medal will also be revoked. We’ll start discussing our next battle plan now.”

Zhou Yinglong, who was sitting in the back, suddenly felt his teeth aching. The commander was way too scheming. He did not even have to give out any awards in the end, and all the commanders of the various fighting forces already knew Ren Xiaosu had already gained a foothold in the Razor Sharp Company. Not only was his combat strength ferocious, but he was also a very inspiring figure there.

Previously, the commanders were still discussing among themselves that Zhang Jinglin might have placed Ren Xiaosu into the Razor Sharp Company purely by coincidence, not because he wanted Ren Xiaosu to be his successor. But judging from Commander Zhang’s actions, he was clearly paving the way for Ren Xiaosu, wasn’t he?

Of course, to forge iron, one had to be strong first. If Ren Xiaosu were a weakling, Zhang Jinglin could not groom him as commander even if he wanted to.

But as it turned out, Ren Xiaosu was not even close to being a weakling.

Zhou Yinglong was a little puzzled. Why did it feel like Commander Zhang was very confident in Ren Xiaosu?

Although Ren Xiaosu did not seem to have gained anything out of the mission, all the commanders had a clearer understanding of Zhang Jinglin’s intentions and got to know Ren Xiaosu better as a person.

Perhaps this had always been Zhang Jinglin’s intention.

Zhang Xiaoman and the other officers were not back at their own camp yet. People from the Personnel Division were already coming to the barracks to tell them the award ceremony that was to be held that night had been canceled. Ren Xiaosu wondered, “Why did it get canceled?”

It was only the officers who went to submit the petition. The rest of the soldiers did not go.

The soldiers from the Razor Sharp Company standing next to Ren Xiaosu did not say a word when they heard that. It was those from the Personnel Division who said, “Your company’s officers went to the commander to protest the fact that you weren’t awarded the third-class citation and everyone at the company thought it was unfair to you. The commander has also revoked all of their three-class unit citations over how the battle report was fabricated.”

Only now did Zhang Xiaoman and the others finally appear back at the camp. Ren Xiaosu frowned and looked at Zhang Xiaoman. “Why did y’all do that? I already said that I don’t need any credit for my contributions.”

“You might not want to claim it, but that’s your business.” Zhang Xiaoman said loudly, “But our brothers at the Razor Sharp Company can’t stand to see such unfairness. We’re from the Razor Sharp Company, and we’re are all in this together. One for all, and all for one!”

Ren Xiaosu stayed silent for a long time. However, the employee from the Personnel Division who was standing beside him curled his lips and said, “Ren Xiaosu had been awarded the second-class decoration, but that’s also been revoked now.”

“Revoked…” Zhang Xiaoman’s smile faded away. “What the fuck did you say?”

The employee from the Personnel Division shot a look at Zhang Xiaoman. “We already prepared the second-class commendation document for Ren Xiaosu, but it’s been canceled now.”

Zhang Xiaoman looked at Ren Xiaosu, then at the employee. He facepalmed and did not know what to say.

The employee from the Personnel Division laughed. “Alright, don’t be in a hurry to feel dismayed. HQ has already told us to hold back all of your third-class unit citations until y’all make another contribution. We’ll take everything into consideration then.”

“Really?” Zhang Xiaoman suddenly looked up.

The staffer from the Personnel Division said, “As the entire military already knows that you all are the heroes of the opening battle, you’ll still get what you deserve. Also, the commander has given the word that you can keep the spoils of war from the battle at Mt. Dingyuan.”

Zhang Xiaoman was instantly overjoyed. The spoils of war had always been required to be sent to the Supply Division to be allocated. After every battle, the Razor Sharp Company’s supplies would instantly get knocked back close to zero again.

Now that the commander had allowed them to retain their spoils of war, they had probably become the most well-armed company in the entire military.

After the Personnel Division left, Ren Xiaosu thanked Zhang Xiaoman and the others very seriously. “I’ll remember everyone’s efforts. Thank you.”

“What’s there to thank us for?” Zhang Xiaoman waved his hand. “If it weren’t for you, most of us wouldn’t have made it back.”

Ren Xiaosu looked at these gruff men from the Northwest and was suddenly looking forward to continuing to fight alongside them.

At this moment, Zhou Yinglong strode over with a loping stride and yelled, “You maggots, I’ll settle the score with y’all after the war is over! Everyone is to pack up your stuff and head to Shichuan Village. I want you to take the village within seven days.”

Shichuan Village was about 70 kilometers northeast of the forward operating base. No one lived there, and it was just a small town that remained behind from before The Cataclysm. Now it was a defensive strongpoint for the Zong Consortium at the southernmost side of their territory.

The reason Fortress 178 was so eager to attack Shichuan Village was because it was too close to their forward operating base. It was to prevent the Zong Consortium from setting up long-range artillery there and putting the forward operating base in their attack radius.

The safety of the forward operating base was one of the most important issues at the beginning of the war, and the main mission for the Forward Strike Battalion was to ensure the safety of the forward operating base.

Zhang Xiaoman took out a map and scanned it. “I heard there’s a ton of buildings in Shichuan Village that are still standing. They’re very suitable for setting up HMGs in. Also, there’s new defensive fortifications and bunkers built by the Zong Consortium. This urban warfare isn’t going to be easy to handle.”

Urban warfare was also called urban combat. Under most circumstances, urban warfare was fought at close quarters, and situations would even arise where close combat was required. Hostile and friendly forces could hardly be differentiated from each other, leading to extremely dangerous conflicts.

The narrow streets, complex environment, unseen enemies, and gunfire that could come from anywhere…

You wouldn’t know when a gun would suddenly point out of a dark window and start taking lives.

“Can’t we get the armored brigade to provide cover?” Jiao Xiaochen asked with a frown.

“No.” Zhang Xiaoman shook his head. “The FOB’s facilities haven’t been fully upgraded to serve them yet. The armored brigade can’t throw themselves headlong into the battlefield.”

For a moment, even these fearless thugs from the Razor Sharp Company got a little worried.

Only Ren Xiaosu was unaffected. It was as though he were not bothered by the prospect of urban combat.