Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 2836 Exercise (II)

As if to confirm Xi Yazhou's judgment, the sharp whistle of the charge was faintly heard in the gunfire resounding on the beach. The White side formed three columns, issued a strange cry, and under the cover of gunpowder smoke, crossed the skirmish line that was still firing, and rushed forward with bayonets. The following scene left a deep impression on the onlookers on the top of the mountain: the several squadrons of the Red side were separated by dense white grass. As the White side's column approached, two large streams of white smoke spewed out from the grass, and the flames were faintly visible. The sound was not loud, but it overwhelmed the Red side's volley gun fire. "Could it be a landmine?" Mai Ruibao's eyes widened. The explosion seemed to have startled the White side's central column, and the pace of the assault slowed down. However, this was only a moment of hesitation. In a flash, the three columns rushed into the Red side's horizontal team, and the two sides were mixed together to form a chaotic fight.

"Send the signal to end the exercise," Lu Zeyang said to the messenger beside him, "Let the referee team count the results, but to me, the winner is already obvious."

The weapons that would disrupt the White column's charge had been brought out from the bushes. They were two wooden cannons made of local yellow cypress wood, with a few strands of iron wire wrapped around them as reinforcement hoops. Mai Ruibao walked around them: there was no gun mount, so the wooden cannons were simply padded on the ground with a stone, and the cannon bodies were still wrapped with some half-cleaned dry straw. The Red side had successfully hidden it in the white straw, and it was conceivable that in actual combat, when filled with shotgun shells, it would cause quite terrible casualties to the enemy.

"It's a one-shot deal," Xi Yazhou picked up the horse whip he always carried with him and tapped the wooden cannon barrel, pointing out the cracks on the bottom. "Even if it doesn't explode, there won't be a second chance to reload. As long as the enemy is determined enough and can withstand a round of artillery fire, it's game over." After commenting, he turned around and asked, "Who came up with this?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a young nationalist officer stood in front of him and said, "Captain of the Danzhou Nationalist Army Garrison Battalion, Director of the Joint Defense Office, Zhu Si, reports to the commander."

"Zhu Si...I remember you fought in Wuzhou."

Mai Ruibao was busy filming the conversation between Chairman Wang and Captain Bai Fang, and only had time to glance over here. Captain Zhu saluted like a member of the honor guard, his whole face and body tense, big beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks from under the brim of his red hat. Maybe it was too hot, he thought. The summer hats issued by the National Army could not be compared with the pith hats worn by the elders. They were cheap products made of cheap coconut shell fibers and painted with tung oil paint. Although they could prevent rain, they were not very breathable.

Mai Ruibao didn't hear Zhu Si's response clearly, but only heard Chief Xi continue to ask: "So, you were inspired by the anti-bandit battle in Guangdong and imitated this wooden cannon?"

"Reporting to the commander, Commander Lu often taught us to be good at learning. Cunning enemies will learn from us, and we should also be good at discovering the enemy's strengths." Zhu Si's voice was difficult to distinguish at first, but gradually became louder and louder, as if mentioning the commander's name gave him more strength. "This kind of wooden cannon is very low in cost, easy for the masses to make with local materials, and easy to operate. It is very suitable for equipping rural militias to resist bandits and pirates, so I suggest to Mayor Liu that it be promoted in all villages."

Chief Xi waved his whip. Although the heroic figure of General Xi riding a horse and waving a whip can be seen everywhere in various books and periodicals of Australia and Song Dynasty, in reality, almost no one has ever seen Chief Xi riding a horse. He pointed at the wooden cannons abandoned on the ground and the sparsely returning militiamen: "So you brought them to the training ground, and the militiamen from each village?"

"Reporting to the commander, Mayor Liu has instructed us to do a good job in the joint training of the national army and the militias of each village. We must base ourselves on the existing conditions and seize every opportunity to effectively improve the level of military training and train a team that can fight tough battles."

Chief Xi seemed quite satisfied with Zhu Si's words, put away his whip, and saluted him to let him go. The messenger ran back and forth to notify the official carriage to come and pick them up. At this moment, Chairman Wang came to Chief Lu and said, "Comrade Zeyang, you are a little biased as the commander of the National Army. I just went to inspect the White side. It was a group of sword-drawing troops. Not to mention the Red side added some militiamen who played with bamboo spears, even Captain Zhu's regular National Army would not be able to withstand a two-on-one situation."

"...What can I do?" Lu Zeyang opened the door for Chairman Wang, then stepped into the Red Flag carriage and sat on the same row of sofa chairs with the Chairman. "I, the commander of the National Army, am essentially a lone man. When it comes to local areas, how to deploy and use soldiers is entirely up to the local chief executive. So what else can I do besides being a training director? Speaking of training, when the recruits are training, the Fu Bo Army has already picked up the best ones, and the Navy and Marine Corps will come to pick them up, and the remaining ones are specifically thrown at me. I've been to the training base on Lantau Island. Well, it's just like the Song Dynasty's Xiang Army. They are called soldiers, but they are actually taking in refugees! How can they compare to the professional devils like the Sword-drawing Corps, even the children of the Nguyen Dynasty's military families sent from the surrounding areas, if you ask me..." "Comrade Zeyang, I understand your idea of ​​setting up a special foreign legion." Chairman Wang stopped Lu Zeyang from continuing to speak: "But you have to pay attention. There are many people in the Senate who have obvious nationalist tendencies and will have many opinions on the establishment of an independent purely foreign mercenary army. At least for now, it is acceptable for everyone to keep foreign troops in the national army system. Since we have the White Horse Team and the Sword Team, it is a natural thing to increase the Annan light infantry or something else. Of course, as the commander of the national army, you only require the selection of outstanding units in the national army, the establishment of a rapid reaction battalion, and the improvement of equipment level - for example, you mentioned to me that some battalions should be equipped with artillery and mountain howitzers. In this way, the opposition in the Senate will be much smaller, and I will definitely support it..."

Wang Luobin glanced at the platform from the window: among the people seeing off were Lü Zeyang and Liu Yixiao's administrative secretary Liu Bieke, but Mayor Liu himself was nowhere to be seen. He was probably still hungover. At the farewell banquet last night, Liu Yixiao was a little too enthusiastic and tried his best to persuade the elders to drink. In the end, he himself was drunk and passed out. Who can't see what he meant? He just didn't want to be a nanny for such a large state-owned enterprise as Danzhou Chemical, and wanted to be transferred back to the central government to seek a better job. Young people, you are really naive, you still need to exercise.

Wang Luobin thought of Qi Chuqin's request. To be honest, building an oil tanker was a long shot, but it could be included in the category of "feasibility study". He vaguely remembered that the transportation of crude oil was relatively safe, but wooden ships would definitely not work. They had to be iron-hulled. A series of fire prevention issues also needed to be resolved...

The whistle blew, and the special train "America" ​​of the inspection team slowly left Danzhou Station. Unlike the trip, the naturalized people accompanying them, including the two interesting reporters, were arranged in other carriages on the return trip. The stewards brought tea and snacks, and the guards at both ends closed the carriage doors. Wang Luobin lowered the curtains to block the already somewhat hot sunlight in late spring, and said to the elders in the carriage: "Comrades, talk about your ideas."

"After the Wuzhou incident, the Senate had resolved not to launch large-scale military operations for three to five years, and to focus on cultivating and managing the economy and recuperating. But now it seems that the tree wants to be quiet but the wind does not stop."

"We have no control over Zhu Youjian's decision to blow this wind, but he has even less control over how far and how long it can blow. No matter which troops he wants to mobilize for the southern expedition, the assembly of the army will inevitably be accompanied by more than half a year of delays in collecting salaries, mobilizing troops and food, selecting generals, discussing attack strategies, etc., and Zhu Youjian is both domineering and cowardly in character. Any accidents in the process may cause his entire plan to be overturned or even abandoned completely. It is not difficult for us to win, but the difficulty lies in how to maximize the military victory politically." Xi Yazhou said as he opened the cowhide map bag, took out a large map from it, propped it up with a map stand and hung it at one end of the carriage. This luxurious and comfortable carriage special for veterans began to have a bit of the flavor of a headquarters.

"Of course, Zhu Youjian is now in high spirits. We know that Zuo Liangyu's claim that he killed Zhang Xianzhong in battle is just bragging, but the godsons of the Eight Kings are either dead or captured, and it is true that the main force of the West Camp was wiped out. As for Li Zicheng, the latest intelligence is that he was caught up by Zuo Guangxian in Mawu, Li County, and his troops were scattered and most of them were captured, but his whereabouts are unknown - we know he is still alive. Liu Guoneng, Li Wanqing, Luo Rucai, Ma Jinzhong and other bandits have surrendered one after another. So let alone Chongzhen, the military leaders of the Ming Dynasty are all smiling. Zuo Liangyu's troops alone have swelled to more than 20,000 bandits. It's hard to say whether they can fight or not, but at least they are enough to give them courage."

"Zuo Liangyu is now stationed in northern Hubei," Xi Yazhou used a whip instead of a pointer to draw a circle around Yunxian and Xiangyang on the map, "The fifth battalion of the Left Army, his nominal opponent, is now isolated and powerless and can't make any waves. If Chongzhen is determined to fight against the Qing, the Left Army will definitely be one of the main forces heading south."

"Xiong Wencan, the nominal Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, is currently half the Governor of Guangxi." The whip hit Liuzhou: "Although he is the closest to us, he is also the least threatening party."

"What do you mean?" It was Elder Jiang Ye who interrupted Xi Yazhou. He was seconded from the machinery factory to work in Danhua, and this time he took this special train back to Lingao for vacation. "If I remember correctly, the South China Army has only occupied Wuzhou, Pingle, and Guilin in Guangxi. Yes, Nanning was also taken, plus Xunzhou Prefecture. In total, Old Bear has occupied at least half of Guangxi."

"Let me add one more thing. The capture of Nanning depended on the Marine Corps' surprise attack," Lao Di put down his teacup. "I was in charge of this battle."