A Day in the Life of the Man in Charge

After gathering his thoughts, Yang Wenqing locked the document Chu Tian had just submitted in the drawer beside him, then gestured for Kang He to sit.

Kang He sat in the chair across the desk from him, opened the folder in his hands, and said:

"Commander, the full report on yesterday's exercise is ready. We've identified four problems. First, coordination between the different branches was chaotic. The engineers' minefield deployment clashed with the rollout of the auxiliary defenses, so four critical formations weren't activated on time."

"Second, there are breaks in the First Guard's chain of command. On the surface, its three regiments and thirty battalions seem to work seamlessly together, but when a real problem arises, they each fight their own battle. They don't know how to support one another."

"Third, the cause behind that second problem is a lack of trust between the regimental commanders. Even during joint training, they often go their separate ways. The exercise brought all those problems to a head. This weakness has been buried in the Guard since its founding; the exercise merely exposed it."

"Fourth, they still aren't trained well enough."

When he finished, he handed Yang Wenqing a written report.

Yang Wenqing accepted it but did not open it. Instead, he asked, "How do you think we should solve these problems?"

Kang He said, "The most direct approach is to change the First Guard's command structure. If the three regiments have a built-in obstacle to working together, then they need someone strong enough at the top to hold them in line and make them follow clear orders, rather than hoping they'll learn to coordinate on their own."

"Right now, the First Guard treats each regiment as its basic combat unit. Guard headquarters handles overall deployment but doesn't interfere in a regiment's