Ishihara sat on the ground, he was a prisoner of war of the Hun cavalry. He looked around him. They were surrounded by Republican soldiers, who watched them with non-fledged muskets with bayonets on them. Many of the Huns like him were dejected. They were now very afraid of the IRA firearms, which scared them. They really didn't dare to continue like this.

They were beaten down and captured by the Republican cavalry and militia, and Ishihara was glad that he was following a group of people, and he was hiding in the middle, and if he was caught alone, the situation would be very terrible. The reason is very simple, because if you are caught alone, you are likely to be beaten to death by the Republican Army or those militias, and this kind of thing often happens.

Ishihara once saw a Hun deserter who was beaten to death. The locals were extremely angry with them, and he could understand why this was happening, and it had a lot to do with what they had done wrong, and if they had been kind to them in the first place, they would not have been in such a situation.

Ishihara had to be nostalgic for his old life. They live on the steppe. Have their own cattle and sheep, pasture. Everything is so good. I don't know why I'm here to fight. Ishihara was one of the few Huns who did not kill anyone. But the IRA won't take a liking to them.

"Shoot him. Kill him. Kill him. "Some of the local children kept throwing rocks at them. After the IRA soldiers saw it, they waved it off the back wall to expel them. But when they leave, they come back again, and that goes through many times.

A warrior stood up, he could not bear such a humiliation, which was a huge insult for a combat soldier, but he had just stood up. Two Republican soldiers around him were already pointing their rifles at him. And waved his arms to sit down. Many Huns looked at the warrior in horror.

He shook his head, unwilling to accept a situation where he wanted to fight, and in his opinion, fighting was his only option, and he had to fight. Find the right one for his only mission.

"Sit down!" The Republican soldier shouted. The Republican cavalry patrolling the surrounding area, as well as the infantry, soon gathered. In Ishihara's view, this was very unnecessary. Because to do so, it will cause them a lot of trouble. Those pipes that spew tongues of fire will kill them, sit down and give in, that's the best outcome.

There was barbed wire all around, and they simply escaped as soon as they wiped out. Accept the facts, accept the current situation, this is the best option. But the warrior seemed to have made up his mind. Because in his opinion. The life of a prisoner of war was too humiliating. In order to weaken the will to fight of these prisoners of war. and combat stamina. They only have one meal a day, and it's porridge, and they still need to walk a long, long way every day. The soldiers guarding them were hostile. If it's a little slow, it's a beating. This made them feel very aggrieved.

"Bang bang." An astonishing burst of gunfire rang out. Before, Ishihara had covered his ears, and many people had such movements, and they had been frightened by this terrible weapon and could not control it. They didn't know what god had created such a weapon, and what could have been spewed out could kill the warrior directly.

The warrior fell to the ground. Ishihara looked at the warrior who had fallen to the ground. A bullet hit him in the neck, blood kept pouring out, and a shot hit him in the chest, and the warrior was not yet dead. His body was still twitching. Make an "uh-uh" sound. Those scary tubes were smoking. They saw it themselves, and they killed people with such weapons. Soon, the warrior died. Two people dragged the body and buried it. And they have to look at such a situation and feel helpless, there is no way, many times, they have to face such a situation, sometimes, they themselves are also distressed, but helpless, they can't do such a thing. If they could change their fate, they would never choose to do such a thing as war.

Handan. The command of the Handan Military Region of the Republican Army.

In fact, the Republican Army's garrison in Handan was only the strength of a brigade, and most of the rest of the troops were in a state of field combat. Defending here was the 2nd Infantry Division. It was clear that a single infantry brigade would not be able to defend against the threat of the imperial court. But Shangwu was not afraid at all. The reason is that the Republican Army has its own perfect reserve military service system, and they have a large number of militias that can be organized, and as long as the Republican Army system is not chaotic, it can operate effectively.

"The artillery of the imperial court is too heavy. Such an artillery usually requires four oxen to pull. It's extremely slow. Considering the poor road conditions, I really don't know what kind of requirements the imperial court has for such weapons and equipment. Shang Wu looked at the information collected in his hand and said that the cavalry unit of the New Army of the West Garden arrived first. They were still old-fashioned cavalry units, and some of them employed the northern Huns as horsemen. With the combat effectiveness of such a cavalry unit, Shang Wu will not consider it a huge threat for the time being.

Because Shang Wu has his own killer features. Handan has become a big city, he can completely use the idea of urban street fighting, to create a large number of killing opportunities for the other party, and what Shangwu needs to consider is to maintain the supply line of the Republican Army, as long as they can't take Handan, Shangwu has a chance to fight back.

"Hmm. Our artillery is very heavy when it exceeds a few hundred pounds, and in order to reduce the weight, we try to reduce the weight as much as possible, and even make light artillery. But the imperial court obviously did not have such technology, and they could not make such artillery. They have a lot of technical talents, but unfortunately, the management system is extremely backward, resulting in so many excellent talents they cannot use. Jia Xu said.

Compared with the infantry of the imperial court, Shangwu paid more attention to the artillery of the imperial court, because the infantry did not have to worry at all. Because the new army of the imperial court in Xiyuan is still an old-style army, which is the same as the weapons and equipment they are equipped with. The Infantry Code of Conduct is no longer a secret. The new army of the West Garden was trained with the earliest edition of the Infantry Drill Code, and their infantry was armed with a large number of muskets, but considering the disadvantages of hand-to-hand combat. They had to be equipped with other weapons and equipment. For example, spears. Weapons such as long knives are mainly used for short-handed combat. It can be said that this is a revision made by the imperial court according to its own needs. Although their new army in the West Garden has a certain degree of advancement, it is a pity that they are still an old-style army, because they have not taken the initiative to upgrade their weapons like the Republican Army. Although they built their own arsenal, their arsenal did not have a pioneering spirit, and in such a situation, they naturally lost the enthusiasm for improvement. This is one of their biggest drawbacks.

The IRA, on the other hand, has taken the initiative to upgrade their weapons, for example, arquebuses have been converted into new flintlock muskets, and with the maturity of machine tools and related technical improvements, they can produce flintlock pistols in large quantities. The Republican Army has already had three and a half infantry divisions replaced with flintlock guns. Compared with the arquebus, the flintlock pistol has a great improvement in tactics and shooting efficiency. And this is not comparable to arquebus.

At the time of the large-scale flintlock pistol, the Republican Army also improved and was equipped with a large number of bayonets, which made the spearmen gradually withdraw from the stage of history, and more advanced weapons would exert greater power. In such a situation, the Republican Army's combat effectiveness will be greatly enhanced. Compared with the infantry of the New Army in the West Garden of the imperial court, they are not at the same grade at all. In terms of firepower output, the Republican Army has a huge advantage. Obviously, the imperial court did not notice such a point at all, and while they were still triumphant about the arquebuses they were equipped, many things had actually exceeded their expectations, and in such a situation, the imperial court had fallen behind.

Therefore, Shang Wu had the capital not to worry too much about the infantry of the new army in the imperial court Xiyuan, because they could not form a greater threat at all.

"On the infantry side. Our individual combat, both in terms of equipment and tactics of offensive operations, we are very advanced, that is, the way of supply, we also have an advantage over their attacks. So, we don't have to worry about it at all. Jia Xu said. Jia Xu is well aware that the Republican Army has an advantage in combat.

The New Army of the Imperial Court West Garden did not have its own standard individual marching backpack. Their soldiers still need many, many loads to help, such as: A new invention begins to be tested in the Republican Army. Sleeping bag. More often than not, soldiers are given blankets. This made it possible for soldiers to sleep outside for a certain period of time. They can move fast as long as they carry their backpacks. In addition, they have a kettle, which is made of cast iron, although such a kettle has a rusty smell. But it can meet their water needs. In addition to this, there are individual cutlery. As well as the appearance of biscuits, canned food and other foods, greatly increased the possibility of soldiers fighting.

As for the imperial court, they have not done enough in this regard, and they still need to bury the pot and make rice. It seems that they can not leave their way. If these gaps cannot be widened, the progress of the Republican Army's company and platoon tactics will pose a great threat to the new army in the imperial court.

At the grassroots level of the Republican Army, there are a large number of officers trained from military schools, and there are many more non-commissioned officers. The appearance of officers and non-commissioned officers made it possible to convey combat orders to infantry platoons and even infantry squads. A soldier's will to fight can be brought into play to a great extent. This kind of advantage cannot be brought into play by the new army of the imperial court, which is seriously backward in enthusiasm.

Most of the soldiers of the New Army in the West Garden of the Imperial Court were selected. But in reality, their command was extremely confused. The New Army in the West Garden did distribute a certain number of "Infantry Drill Codes". But the situation of their officers was extremely bad. First of all, they did not form a relatively new military rank system. The promotion of officers is extremely unclear. As a result, the combat enthusiasm of officers is not high. Many of the sons and daughters of the nobility served as middle and high-ranking military officers among them. There was no hope for the promotion of junior officers.

Worse still, their junior officers have poor learning ability, their level of education is very low, and many officers do not know a single word. Naturally, such officers could not lead them into battle.

And among the soldiers at the more grassroots level. Most of the veterans are veterans, although they have rich combat experience, but they are not highly motivated to fight, and they can't get the land they meet and the needs of their salaries after working hard, so they are naturally reluctant to fight, on the contrary, they are not able to play the role of stable people. When fighting a tailwind, they will behave aggressively and grab the spoils of war, but when they encounter danger, they will become the main force of deserters, one with two. Two took away four, or even more, so their will to fight was extremely weak.

On the contrary, the fighting enthusiasm of the Republican side is very high. Most soldiers can get land, salary, and even, as long as they make meritorious service and are recommended to enter the military academy, they can get promotion. Even after retirement, there are a large number of jobs available to them, and various training will be provided to enter the factory. They can still have a large and stable salary to support themselves, and that's the huge difference. Under such a distinction, the advantage of the new army in the West Park is not very large.

"Well, that's right, I'm planning to start with the artillery side and write an editorial. A fair and just comparison of the gap between the combat effectiveness of the Republican Army and the combat effectiveness of the New Army in the West Garden. In this way, it can be done. Surrendered without a fight. Shang Wu said with a smile.

"If His Majesty the Emperor knew that you had repelled his new army in the West Garden with just one article, he would probably go crazy with anger." Jia Xu said with a smile.

"No, we're not good enough, we still have to be angry with him and let him know. The weapons and equipment they bought are all a pile of garbage, how can we fight with such a lot of garbage, we still need to let the imperial court continue to buy our weapons, and they are begging us to buy them. If they can't buy it, they all feel that they are very aggrieved. Shang Wu said with a smile.

"Hahaha. You. You. I'm really convinced. You guy, you have to squeeze all the oil and water out of His Majesty the Emperor, otherwise, you won't be able to stop at all, right? Jia Xu asked Shang Wu.

"Yes, that's the truth. We have to do that, otherwise, a lot of things are actually still very bad for us, and we can't watch this continue, it's not good for us, so we have to do things like this. You know, our economy is actually still very fragile. In addition, there are too many strong enemies around, and if our industry stops, especially if there is no greater demand for arms around us, our factories will not be able to develop. Shang Wu said.

"It's still dangerous to have no such order. At the same time, we must also be mindful of our own shortcomings. That is, we still have a big shortcoming in terms of transportation, at present, our logistics supply still relies on manpower, wheelbarrow to transport, even if there is a four-wheeled ox cart, but the speed of transportation is still very slow, which is very unfavorable for us, although we have a great advantage compared with the new army in the imperial court Xiyuan, but we also have to be soberly aware of our shortcomings. We don't have the capacity to do that. Especially in the current situation, we actually have many, many situations that are in an unfavorable situation, and in such a situation, we actually have a lot of situations that are very unfavorable. Shang Wu said.

"In terms of transportation, we also need a means of transport that can provide transportation on a large scale, in order to deal with the situation that large-scale logistics supply may occur in the future. Shang Wu said.

"Hmm. You have a lot of point. However, I think that the current means of transportation are mainly closely related to our current industrial production and transportation, after all, the scope of people's activities was very small before, basically the county seat. Long-distance transportation will only appear after the imperial court's solicitation order appears, so that. In fact, the unicycle has greatly met our needs. But. With the development of our industry, especially the industrial production led by military production, they need a large amount of coal, iron ore, and a variety of materials to transport between them, the wheelbarrow has been unable to meet our needs, and the four-wheeled ox cart as the representative of the transport vehicle appeared, so that we can use it. Jia Xu said.

"That's good. You've learned to analyze things from an economic point of view. It seems that it won't be long before I'm inferior to you. Shang Wu said with a smile.

"Huh. It's a joke. However, we should see that the four-wheeled bullock cart still does not meet our needs, and its speed is too slow, coupled with the road conditions in some complicated areas. As a result, our transportation and logistical supply situation is still not optimistic. War has changed a lot, and the weapons of soldiers used to look like farm tools, but now, what we need is machinery. It's more and more machinery. The supplies to be transported, not only food, but also shells, bullets. As well as bayonets, muskets are broken and need to be repaired, as well as replaced. A large number of prisoners were captured, and more and more supplies were needed for the soldiers. Even, some special combat units also need special combat materials, such as air units, and they need fuel. And if we can't provide it in time, their situation will be very unoptimistic. It's for us. That's a big challenge. Such a challenge is for us. That's a big problem. Jia Xu said worriedly. Jia Xu's vision is indeed very long-term, he sees the relationship between the economic base and weapons and equipment, and he also sees it. In the future of warfare, industry can provide more material storage, but the problem is transportation, and if it can't be transported, everything for them will be in vain. It's a huge test.

"Look at this, this is a thing I designed, called a steam locomotive. This is a very rudimentary approach. If we have such a thing, laying railroad tracks, the distance from Handan to Lijiazhuang can be greatly shortened, and if we lay it on the battlefield in Hedong, our demand will develop even faster. If we build more and more railroad tracks, we will be able to mobilize materials in a larger way. Shang Wu said and handed over the train plan to Jia Xu.

"Trains?" Jia Xu asked.

"Yes, I've got the lab side to start working on it. I believe that if we don't use it, if we don't study it, and if we don't increase the pressure, our technological progress will stagnate and it will be difficult to move forward quickly. Shang Wu said.

"Well, we still need to wait for the direct results of some research for such things, otherwise, we will not be able to carry out many things." Jia Xu thought for a while and said. Because he didn't know what kind of thing the train was, maybe he could make a big shock. But now they can't see the actual meaning, and naturally, they can't talk about some special situations.

"Hmm. I agree with that, after all, such things don't come together all at once. There's a lot of stuff that we have to deal with on our own. Shang Wu thought about it and felt that what Jia Xu said was right, it should be more realistic.

"However, I think we should pay attention to the situation in Hedong. This is a telegram sent by Ma Heng, the telegram is very long, but the problem is very serious. Jia Xu handed over a telegram from Shangwu. Shang Wu looked over quickly.

"There are two questions, the first is whether the prisoners of war should stay. Many of the soldiers below complained a lot, and some of them had already taken extreme measures to retaliate against the Hun soldiers. Shang Wu looked at the first question and said.

"Originally. For such a problem, killing seems to be the simplest and most effective solution, after all, our food is also very tight. However, there are many after-effects of killing, after all. Shang Wu said.

"I'm afraid that the soldiers will go crazy all of a sudden, and the killing will not be controlled, and in this case, we will also be contaminated with something that should not be there. Such killings, for us, are crazy. We should control such a situation. Otherwise, everything will be out of balance. But what do we do if we don't kill? Jia Xu asked.

"We can let them dig for coal, and in that way, we can meet our labor needs, what do you think?" Shang Wu said.

"Well, go dig coal, I think it's okay like this. After all, in this way, we can reduce our troubles to a large extent. Jia Xu said.