Chapter 175: Group Army of ‘Blooming from the Center’
After personally experiencing the enhanced teaching level of the building system, Gu Hang was very satisfied.
It directly improved the teachers’ lecturing abilities and the overall teaching atmosphere.
However, he believed that the enhancements brought by the [Building] system had not yet been fully utilized.
If they could later acquire better textbooks, better teaching hardware, like visuals or videos to assist in lessons, and if the teachers themselves were knowledgeable and well-prepared...
With all these factors combined, along with the significant improvement in teaching effectiveness, atmosphere, and student focus brought by the building system, the overall effect would be even more pronounced.
Only at that level could the 1,000 Grace Points Gu Hang spent on Loyal Sons Academy be fully maximized.
For this reason, Gu Hang dedicated an entire day to discuss follow-up reform plans with Mayshek, the Chief Academic Officer, and the vice-principal who had rushed over.
He also promised that relevant teaching funds would be prioritized for Loyal Sons Academy.
Additionally, Gu Hang specifically proposed setting up an advanced class at Loyal Sons Academy for short-term training.
In this advanced class, Gu Hang himself would give a lecture.
Mayshek noted this down.
The so-called advanced class was where Gu Hang planned to spend Grace Points to train the "Regimental Commissar" unit.
Although the system labeled it as a unit, Gu Hang did not intend it solely as a training ground for military political officers.
Outstanding students at Loyal Sons Academy or individuals in various fields who needed focused development would be gathered into this advanced class.
At a cost of ten Grace Points per person, they would be trained as "Regimental Commissars."
After graduation, these individuals would return to their posts carrying the will of the most loyal warriors, setting an exemplary role model.
Of course, training military political officers was also a crucial element.
Gu Hang offered seventy slots in the first batch.
This would cost him seven hundred Grace Points.
But paying this price would yield rewards.
Fifty qualified commissars would be drawn from various military units.
Upon returning, they would assume commissar roles at the division and regiment levels.
They would be the most ideologically resolute force within the military, ensuring loyalty to the Governor and maintaining morale and discipline during combat.
Among the remaining twenty, fifteen would enter various government institutions.
After returning, they would bring their beliefs, ideals, and loyalty back with them.
Five others would be drawn from companies, factories, and similar entities.
Their promotion speed would surpass ordinary people, but so would the responsibilities on their shoulders.
Gu Hang looked forward to these seeds taking root and sprouting.
If there weren't enough seeds, then he would train several more batches.
...
The Morgan couple and their sister Milia were selected for the advanced class.
They were well aware of what a rare opportunity this was.
Just attending classes at Loyal Sons Academy alone, regardless of what they learned, already added a golden credential in the new Alliance society.
Not to mention, they had also joined the irregularly held advanced class, receiving personal instruction from the Governor himself.
Thus, this golden credential became even more illustrious.
In the future, who could doubt their loyalty?
Moreover, after completing the seven-day course, they felt they gained much more than just a superficial polish.
Jason Morgan discussed with his wife, and they both felt they had learned many practical things.
The most obvious was military skills.
During the seven-day course, part of it involved military training.
Even though it was only a few days, they felt they had become qualified soldiers, ready to fight with a weapon in hand.
This change was particularly noticeable for those with no prior military training experience.
Another key area they learned was how to boost morale, inspire others, and enforce discipline.
This included techniques in speech, expression, body language, and how to lead by example.
They learned what principles were rigid and what could be adapted, how to build rapport with others, establish deep bonds, care about others’ thoughts, become friends, brothers, and a reliable figure for others.
At the same time, they learned to establish authority, instill loyalty, and ideals, and in critical moments, act decisively and uphold bottom lines.
Using authority, rapport, or even force if necessary, they would do everything to maintain morale and discipline.
They didn’t just understand these principles—they grasped how to put them into practice.
To be honest, they still felt like they were dreaming: were they prodigies, to understand everything after just seven days?
They even questioned the new ideas they’d acquired.
Would these methods really work in real situations?
They didn’t know—there had been no real chance to test them yet.
But when a situation arose, they would try them out; the Governor’s teachings couldn’t be wrong, could they?
As for whether their ideological awareness had improved…
It was hard to say for others, but for Jason Morgan, not much had changed.
All those slogans of loyalty to the Governor and love for the Alliance… he had recited them a million times, so repeating them a few more times made little difference.
Would he really, when faced with danger, stand firm for his beliefs, even to the point of self-sacrifice?
Impossible. He would never do such a thing in this lifetime.
That was his thought.
But he didn’t realize that, at certain critical moments, people often act not purely rationally or out of self-interest.
Heroic acts often stemmed from a sudden impulse that led to extraordinary deeds.
...
The benefits of joining the Loyal Sons advanced class came quicker than expected.
Besides what they learned, they also saw promotions within the Alliance system.
It even led to a competition among important departments over the twenty non-military candidates.
For example, after graduation, Harris Morgan was promptly transferred out of her original department.
She was assigned to Loyal Sons Academy as a backup for an exceptional lecturer.
Before joining the advanced class, she was already a well-known "ideological progressive" within the academy.
Now, her strengths could be further showcased, and she would likely be involved in the upcoming curriculum reforms at Loyal Sons Academy.
Her sister, Milia Dejong, was recruited by Lambert’s disciplinary committee.
Work in anti-corruption and auditing required people with advanced ideals and a sense of justice.
Jason Morgan himself wasn’t transferred to a new department, but he was quickly promoted to a D3 position.
He was assigned as a civil liaison officer in the southern Qing Valley region, responsible for refugee intake and would be departing soon.
With his resume now even more decorated, if he accomplished something in the south, his future would be bright.
Aside from the twenty candidates entering government agencies, the fifty commissars selected from the military had no special promotions.
Still, they held considerable positions already.
Before attending the advanced class, they were the political leaders of their respective units, covering the brigade, battalion, and regiment levels.
Returning to their units, they resumed their original roles.
Yet they were now far better equipped than when they had first been hastily appointed.
Although their positions didn’t change, their ranks saw an increase.
The Alliance’s army was relatively large, but its officer ranks were generally low compared to its size.
Brigade commanders and battalion leaders usually held the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Regimental commanders were mostly majors; captains usually led companies, and many lieutenants led platoons, or even sergeants were in charge.
This was a historical issue—the army had been formed recently.
Especially after retaking the High Tower Ruins, the garrison divisions were largely composed of restructured Adventurer Corps.
Despite undergoing training with the [Troop Card] system, the personnel were the same people.
Most military leaders had previously held authority in these adventurer groups.
Although the groups had been divided and dismantled to prevent factionalism, these individuals inevitably held leadership positions.
As a result, Gu Hang intentionally suppressed officer ranks.
For those who performed well and achieved merit, he promoted them, raising the rank of brigade and battalion leaders to match their responsibilities.
For those who didn’t perform well, there was no need to demote them; they could simply perform duties corresponding to their rank.
Since military leaders generally held lower ranks, commissars as secondary officers held even lower ranks.
But this time, Gu Hang promoted most of the fifty returning commissars to match their respective military leaders.
This signaled his stance.
...
Jordan Leroy was an old member of the Wasteland Society, like Pobov, one of the first soldiers from the society, and he was selected alongside Tadius in the first round of commissar selections.
He was also a "Red Hat" and currently held the position of brigade commissar in the 1st Ashwind Brigade.
Previously a major, he had just been awarded the rank of lieutenant colonel by the Governor, matching the rank of his brigade commander, Pobov.
His unit had disembarked from the starship a week ago, and after arriving on the planet, they had entered a rest state.
Leroy had received orders to report to Loyal Sons Academy to attend the advanced class.
Three days earlier, his unit had ended their break and received reinforcements of over two thousand soldiers from the new recruits’ camp, along with equipment transported from the Revival City arsenal to cover their losses from the previous battle.
The unit had then moved out from their station to the west of Revival City.
There, the 7th and 8th divisions were locked in a standoff with allied forces formed by rebel settlements.
The new reinforcements were sent to support the 7th and 8th divisions.
The objective was to secure a decisive victory and swiftly end the conflict.
As a result, after completing the course at Loyal Sons Academy, Leroy immediately traveled to the second line of the battlefield, approximately 130 kilometers west of Revival City.
Here, the group split up, each commissar going to find their own unit.
Leroy found his brigade’s location, where the Ashwind Brigade’s
banners fluttered across the second-line camp.
After driving into the camp and following the directions of a soldier, he arrived at a military tent.
Lieutenant Colonel Pobov, who had just received the news, stepped out to greet his longtime partner.
The two embraced heartily, with Pobov clapping Leroy on the back and laughing, “Finally, I can lead the troops with confidence now that you’re back.”
Leroy just smiled, pulling his old friend and colleague into the command tent.
As he entered, his gaze fell on a military sand table.
Leroy asked, “What’s the situation now? I came straight here after leaving the academy, so I haven’t had a chance to catch up on the latest developments.”
Pobov replied, “Just about to brief you…”
Three days earlier, the fully staffed Ashwind Brigade, the newly motorized 2nd Motorized Infantry Division, and the Beast-Slayer Regiment had moved out and reached the front line.
Of note was the 3rd Independent Regiment, which had finally regained the “Beast-Slayer Regiment” title thanks to one of their soldiers, Earo Lacroix, who had heroically killed the Ork Warlord commanding the enemy fleet.
The kid was now a rising star, having earned the second Ashwind Medal in the entire army and been promoted from corporal to master sergeant.
Initially, they intended to promote him to an officer role, but he refused, saying he was only suited to be a soldier.
So there was no choice—the highest enlisted rank in the Alliance army had originally been sergeant.
For Lacroix, they specially created three more ranks: master sergeant, senior master sergeant, and special master sergeant, making Lacroix the first and only special master sergeant, or as they called him, “King of Soldiers.”
He and the regiment that had reclaimed the “Beast-Slayer” title arrived at the front line last night.
They hadn’t been immediately deployed, instead resting after the rapid 100-kilometer march.
They also needed time to formulate the battle plan and wait for the commissars finishing their training.
Now, everything was ready, just waiting for the attack signal.
Colonel Yan Fangxu was the overall commander for this operation.
The combined forces of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 7th, and 8th divisions effectively formed an army group, with Yan Fangxu, the Alliance’s highest-ranking military officer, as the commander.
The pressure on him was significant.
The enemy wasn’t a major concern; despite their numbers, they were a ragtag group, and with the amassed forces, Yan Fangxu had no reason to fear.
However, the Governor’s high expectations placed additional pressure on him.
This battle, per the Governor’s instructions, had to be swift, decisive, and definitive, with no dragging on.
There were political considerations at play.
War was, after all, an extension of politics.
Beyond that, although the Governor hadn’t said it outright, if heavy casualties resulted, even if all the pre-established objectives were met, Yan Fangxu likely wouldn’t benefit from it.
Nonetheless, he proceeded without hesitation, adopting the strategic concept of “quickly crushing and fully annihilating.”
He called it “Blooming from the Center.”
And the honor of spearheading this “bloom” fell upon the Ashwind Brigade.
Chapter Ends