Bright Sword: Start with Ding Blast Bridge, Homemade Sweet Potato Cake

I only recently thought of the matter about the combined brigade, or you could say it only popped up recently.

If the United States wants to innovate its modernized military and maintain its global leadership, it will definitely take a different route from technology to weapons to the military.

With the upgrade of weapons and equipment, the demand for logistics is getting higher and higher. It's not getting bigger, but getting higher and higher.

High-standard logistics capabilities can ensure the firepower delivery of the troops.

The stronger the logistical capabilities, the more effective the long-distance firepower sweeping effect can be achieved, and you don’t need too many troops to complete actual combat tasks.

But if we want to set up a combined brigade, there is only one problem in front of us, and that is money.

Where does the money come from?

There is only a limited amount of military expenditure each year, and it has to be distributed among the three services, the navy, the army, and the air force, leaving very little for each unit.

Aircraft need to be developed, warships need to be developed, tanks, artillery and rocket launchers need to be developed. In addition to the maintenance of weapons and equipment in service of various armies, the replacement of new equipment requires money to support it.

Laying off staff is something that must be done. Although Ding Wei was unwilling to do so before, he agreed to the proposal now.

There were factors that affected it in the past. In the past, pure infantry was enough to fight. But now it is different. A single type of soldier is useless.

It must be a joint arms operation, coordinated with modern combat technology, to form a unique reconnaissance, encirclement, and annihilation war. Use information technology to do things that were not possible before.

Therefore, Ding Wei agreed to cut staff and use the saved money to train talents, introduce soldiers with special skills, transform to informationized warfare, and keep pace with the United States.

We can’t control whether other places do it or not, but there will definitely be major changes under Ding Wei.

He has the money himself and can come up with tens of billions of US dollars to do this.

No one can stop him, not even Jesus. The combined brigade must do it.

Ding Wei's work style is swift and resolute. Once he makes up his mind to do something, even ten locomotives, let alone eight horses, can't pull him back.

After returning to the north from Sun Desheng's military region, he began to work on the establishment of a combined brigade.

He first summoned his most capable officers, especially Zhou Weiguo, to serve as Ding Wei's next pillar. After he retired, Zhou Weiguo would take charge of the military affairs.

He informed everyone of his plan and ideas in detail. Although the officers were shocked, they also knew that this was the trend of the times.

Recruitment notices are issued through various channels as soon as possible to attract people with special skills such as proficiency in electronic information technology and mastery of advanced tactical theories to apply.

At the same time, we are also actively contacting some military research institutions at home and abroad, hoping to obtain the latest military technology support.

This sudden change left many officers confused. The task issued by the headquarters was not to set up a combined brigade, but to save costs and reduce expenses.

When everyone was preparing to tighten their belts, cut staff, reduce consumption of military supplies, and find ways to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, Ding Wei actually made a big fuss about setting up a combined brigade.

Someone immediately went to the headquarters to complain, asking why Ding Wei should be treated specially? Everyone had to cut staff, but Ding Wei had a large number of troops under his command, so how many would have to be cut?

Are we treating everyone equally?

Are all military regions treated equally?

Since all this is to make concessions for economic development, why are you, Ding Wei, so stupid? Who would give you extra money to set up a combined brigade?

Many people are still unclear about the concept of a combined brigade, or even what it means. The only thing they need to know is that it costs money, a lot of money.

To build a synthetic brigade, you need to invest at least one billion US dollars, and this is just the low-end version.

If it is a high-end version, it may cost billions of US dollars.

After all, it is luxuriously equipped and can perform reconnaissance, attack, maneuver, and deliver combat operations. It has 11 combat units alone.

Its combat effectiveness is difficult to assess, but it is definitely far superior to any regular armored division currently available.

As for whether you can attack an army and which army to attack, if it is an ordinary main force, it is not a big problem.

If we fight against the heavily armored army under Ding Wei, it would be quite difficult.

In any case, let's first make a list of the equipment of the combined brigade to see what is already available and what is not available based on the current level of military industry, and what still needs to be purchased from outside or developed independently.

Ding Wei and Zhou Weiguo squatted in the conference room and began to carefully sort out the equipment list of the combined brigade with the officers of the staff.

The first is advanced communication equipment, which is the key to realizing informationized warfare. Some achievements have been made in China, but some high-end technologies still need to be introduced to improve them.

Next is the light but powerful individual weapon system, which must meet both the flexible assault requirements for close combat and the long-range precision strike capability.

Any capable soldier should be equipped with artillery. Why bother with rifles? What power does a rifle have, right?

For heavy equipment, new main battle tanks need to have higher mobility and protection. Existing models may be able to meet some of the requirements after modification, but the gun control system and fire control computer need to be upgraded.

In terms of armed helicopters, models with the function of countering enemy air defense systems should be equipped. Currently, domestic military industry is stepping up the development of similar equipment.

Given the reserve level of the fighter aircraft factory under his command, this is not a big problem.

In addition, military factories also produce precision strike weapons, such as rocket launchers with longer ranges, self-propelled howitzers, and truck-mounted guns.

Overall, 80 to 90 percent of weapons and equipment can be supplied by ourselves. The most important thing may not be the equipment, but technical talents.

Just when everyone was busy, news came from the headquarters.

The headquarters expressed understanding of Ding Wei's idea, but would not provide additional funds and required Ding Wei to complete the cuts on time and with quality.

Ding Wei just smiled and said disdainfully: "Some people can only tell tales. If they have the guts to come to me, Ding Wei, and tell me, I will consider him a man."

"Zhou Weiguo, see this? This is the headquarters' imperial sword and the tight hoop."

Zhou Weiguo really wanted to put on a tight ring to see if he could withstand the pressure.

"Report, Commander Kong has arrived and requests an audience with the Commander."

Oh, Kong Jie is here. What's the point of meeting him or not? Hurry up and have someone bring Commander Kong in.

He instructed the kitchen staff separately to prepare two main dishes in the evening. He had to have a couple of drinks with Kong Jie. He was not invited to the trip to the northwest region this time because he was busy with Li Yunlong.

Kong Jie seems to be aging rapidly and he looks weak and listless, which makes people feel sorry for him.

When people reach old age, they always think of their comrades who fought to the death in the past. Most of them are no longer around, and those who are still alive are suffering instead.

He came here for no other reason than to obey the requirements of the headquarters, disband his army, and find a place for the good soldiers in the army. He himself also had to resign from his position as army commander and other positions in the military region.

Ding Wei asked Zhou Weiguo to go ahead and do his work first, and they would discuss the equipment list later, which needed to be further detailed.

"Lao Kong, what's wrong? I think you can still hold on, why do you suddenly want to withdraw?"

Kong Jie laughed and said, "I am old now, I should make way for the young people. I am also tired, I have been tossing around all my life, it is time to take a break."

"I heard that you built a courtyard house over there, and I want to live there for my retirement."