"Do you know why I didn't mobilize the army?"
Only Zhang Xiaoqiang, Zhang Huai An, and Huang Quan were left in the meeting room. As the higher-ups of the base, Zhang Xiaoqiang didn't move Huang Quan and Zhang Huai An's positions. It wasn't that he had absolute trust in them, but that he had regained everyone's recognition. There was no need to eliminate people who might obstruct him. Huang Quan and Zhang Huai An were not ambitious people, so they wouldn't do anything that Zhang Xiaoqiang didn't want to see. Now that Zhang Xiaoqiang had kept them, it was time to change Hubei's development model.
Hearing Zhang Xiaoqiang's question, Huang Quan's heart skipped a beat. Zhang Xiaoqiang's previous criticism was on the internal affairs, and he had criticized some people. There were more than 160 people present, and half of them were from the military and the government. Zhang Xiaoqiang had dismissed more than 30 people, and more than one-third of the internal affairs had been dismissed. This made the people in the military nervous. They didn't know how Zhang Xiaoqiang would deal with the military affairs after he dealt with the government affairs.
However, Zhang Xiaoqiang didn't talk about the military affairs. After the meeting was adjourned, Huang Quan thought that Zhang Xiaoqiang was satisfied with the military's performance. He didn't expect that Zhang Xiaoqiang would suddenly say something that made him feel conflicted.
"Don't think that the military doesn't have any problems. I think the military's problems are no less than the government affairs …"
"Zhang Xiaoqiang, I know that you are giving us face. Just say it, I won't say a word about who should be dismissed. The military will forever be loyal to you, Zhang Xiaoqiang. Any decision you make, the military will accept it …"
Huang Quan's words made Zhang Xiao Qiang feel satisfied. In the apocalypse, military might was king, and the importance of the army was far greater than government affairs. It could be said that in the apocalypse, government affairs would only serve the military. With the army, there would be safety, and only in a safe environment could one develop. This was an undeniable fact.
Huang Quan's sincere confession made Zhang Xiaoqiang feel relieved. In fact, he also knew that the development of Hubei base was not bad. The reason why he found so many problems was that Hubei base was not as good as New Era. Yang Ke 'er was seriously injured, and the news from Wuhan told him that even if Yang Ke' er recovered, she wouldn't be able to stand up again. He couldn't accept this.
Although Zhang Xiaoqiang had many women and subordinates around him, the most important person in his heart was still Yang Ke 'er. Yang Ke' er was the first person he met, the first person who called him husband, and the first person who cared about him the most.
Regarding this, Zhang Xiaoqiang swore in his heart that he would fight New Era to the death only for Yang Ke 'er. Of course, Erlang Shen was also a big part of it. Erlang Shen died to save Yuan Yi. In his heart, Yang Ke' er was just a family member. But Yuan Yi was different. Yuan Yi was his real wife. In his heart, only Yuan Yi could be his wife.
He had many women, but not anyone could be his wife. Yuan Yi was gentle and considerate. She was only willing to sacrifice for him. When he was seriously injured, Shanghai Qiaoyun hesitated. Only Yuan Yi didn't abandon him. Even if he might become a disabled person forever, she didn't care. It was this point that made Zhang Xiaoqiang recognize Yuan Yi and treat her as his wife.
Therefore, Zhang Xiaoqiang felt very guilty towards Erlang Shen and Zhuangzhuang. He also felt very guilty towards New Era who caused this tragedy. But compared to New Era, his foundation was too weak. Even if they destroyed the Funeral Helicopter Team and the 9th Corps, so what?
Without the Funeral Helicopter Team, New Era could make frigates. Without the 9th Corps, New Era still had millions of people, and they could build more corps.
What's more, the New Era Military Region that he fought before was just the Asian Military Region among the five continents of the New Era Military Region. It was not the military region that the New Era Military Region valued the most. If he became the enemy of the New Era Military Region, he would definitely die a horrible death. This was indisputable.
"Now, Hubei Military has close to 20,000 combat troops. Compared to the surrounding provinces, it is quite good. But … can these 20,000 troops defeat New Era's 10,000 troops?"
Zhang Xiao Qiang's comparison left Hades speechless. Not to mention 10,000, even 5,000 people might not be able to win. The memories of the New Era's elite troops were still fresh in their minds. When they infiltrated the hot springs base, a few hundred of them were able to suppress close to 2,000 people on top of the wall, unable to move. When they attacked the cockroach base, they could easily take over the heavily guarded first wall. If it wasn't for the missile base's self-destruction, who knew if their casualties would have tripled?
"I have read the briefings and post-war summaries of several battles. I found that you only focused on the number of soldiers and ignored the quality. In the battle against the sea of zombies, the performance of each unit was not good. The only unit that was not bad was Zhao Deyi's Sanshan Defense Unit. These 3,000 people were also trained hard. What do you think about this?"
Zhang Xiaoqiang pushed Zhao Deyi to the front to cheer up Huang Quan. Zhao Deyi was the deputy division commander, and Zhao Deyi's unit was also his unit. This unit performed very well after being rescued by Ai Qingshan's Third Marine Division. After they escaped, they were extremely tired. Even so, they still killed nearly 300,000 zombies. It was the most beautiful counterattack, and they also made a great contribution when they recovered the wall.
"This unit is now our sharp knife unit. It is mainly responsible for clearing the zombies in the surrounding cities of Wuhan. So far, this unit has suffered the least losses and obtained the most achievements. I originally planned to set up a training group in this unit and let the sergeants from other units learn from that unit in turn …."
Huang Quan was focused on the army, and Zhang Xiaoqiang's question was also what he had been thinking about for a long time. Zhang Xiaoqiang nodded with satisfaction and said, "The training group's idea is good. The strong will always be strong. The other units can learn something from the elite unit, but it is not enough …"
Huang Quan immediately cheered up and listened attentively. He couldn't wait to turn all the units into elite units. The 3,000 soldiers were trained in extreme environments, and this kind of environment couldn't be replicated. After all, not everyone could stay in the most extreme and harsh environment for such a long time.
"I have instigated two New Era Corps to defect in Sichuan, and I am deeply touched by those elites. Every one of them can reach the combat level of Zhao Deyi's unit. Although the equipment is a part of it, their training is also very important. Before joining the battle, the elites of the regular corps will undergo rigorous training for four months, and use 3,000 bullets …"
When Zhang Xiaoqiang said this, Huang Quan's face suddenly fell. 3,000 bullets for one soldier, and 1,000 soldiers meant 3,000,000 bullets. The accuracy that could be exchanged for 3,000 bullets was indeed terrifying. However, it also depended on the target. New Era was rich, and they didn't care, but Huang Quan cared.
Even if they could reload 3,000 bullets, they wouldn't be able to afford such consumption. Their reserves had never been rich, and even if they squeezed Wang Le dry, they wouldn't be able to find enough raw materials. Moreover, there were so many zombies in Hubei waiting for them to kill, and no one would complain about having more bullets.
Seeing Huang Quan's expression, Zhang Xiaoqiang knew that Huang Quan was thinking the wrong way. They couldn't replicate New Era's method of success even if they wanted to. They had to find a way to do it themselves. Moreover, it wasn't easy to have elites. New Era had millions of people in Australia, but the number of elites in each corps was at least 1,000, and at most 2,500. It could be seen that New Era didn't have the ability to train too many elites.
"Now there are three divisions in Hubei with 20,000 soldiers. It isn't a lot, but it isn't a small amount either. But other than Zhao Deyi's troops, there aren't many that can really be put on the table. I feel that rather than sending new recruits to the battlefield, it would be better to concentrate resources to improve the quality …"
This was the real reason why Zhang Xiaoqiang kept Huang Quan and Zhang Huai'an. The base in Hubei with a population of more than 100,000 had an army of 20,000, which was almost a ratio of six to one. This was extremely abnormal. The soldiers themselves didn't produce anything; they would only expend their energy. Once a war broke out, they wouldn't even have enough ammunition. Furthermore, although they had enough guns, the caliber and model of their weapons were all different. Huang Quan's defeat in the war was due to the lack of supplies. Other than the fact that the supply was not on time, it was also a problem that there were too many calibers. This was especially so for the miscellaneous troops that were formed later on. The types of ammunition were even more strange, and even shotgun bullets were in the ammunition supply.
Under Zhang Xiaoqiang's explanation, both Huang Quan and Zhang Huai'an were moved. Zhang Xiaoqiang didn't touch the military previously because he didn't want to make a small move. The elite troops plan was the next goal that Zhang Xiaoqiang had set for the military. To the base in Hubei, 20,000 soldiers was too much to bear. Zhang Xiaoqiang was prepared to cut down half of the army, leaving only 10,000 soldiers. The rest of the soldiers would be sent to various factories as workers. This way, they could expand their production and use more resources on the elite troops.
Once again, Zhang Xiaoqiang's suggestion was unconditionally satisfied by Huang Quan. Even as the highest-ranking military officer, Huang Quan didn't dare to bear the consequences of reducing the army by half. However, once Zhang Xiaoqiang made up his mind, there wouldn't be any problems. At the same time, Zhang Huai'an had more or less planned out the arrangements for the 10,000 retired soldiers. Now that Hubei's territory was getting bigger and bigger, there was a shortage of manpower everywhere. Tens of thousands of strong laborers would definitely cause all the factories to fight over it.