"The equipment of the Jiangxi army is not good, if there is no general Yang Hanzhi, it is not much stronger than the Gui army." Another naval officer heard the conversation between them and smiled and continued, "Isn't it thanks to General Yang that our navy can have such a new gunboat?" ”

"Yes, General Yang can always think of things that others can't think of in advance." The gunboat captain said, "When we were originally given a river gunboat, we didn't expect it to be used here. ”

With the process of Yang Shuoming's rearmament of the navy, before the outbreak of the Battle of Pingnan, Yang Shuoming had a plan to reorganize the navy's river defense fleet to support the army's operations.

Since the southern provinces of China are crisscrossed by rivers and water networks, and some rivers have estuaries to the sea, the navy can send ships to the inland river valley to provide firepower and logistical support for the army. Liu Guanxiong reviewed Yang Shuoming's proposal and reported it to Yuan Shikai, Yuan Shikai summoned Liu Guanxiong, Lan Jianshu, Xu Zhenpeng, Li He and other naval generals, and consulted their opinions, several naval generals all thought that Yang Shuoming's plan was feasible, because the princes of the southern provinces have always been not very tame, once something happens, the dense water network in the south will be a huge obstacle to the advance, if the inland river ships can be deployed in the southern inland river basin, it will undoubtedly greatly strengthen the authority of Yanjing political axe in the south, And Yang Shuoming's self-establishment has saved the corresponding funds for the central political axe. So Yuan Shikai gave power to Yang Shuoming, asking him to concurrently serve as a patrol envoy of the sea frontier and be responsible for rebuilding the navy's river defense fleet.

At this time, Yang Shuoming, as the national industrial superintendent, had close arms trade contacts with major shipyards in China, and at this time, the two largest shipyards in China, Mawei Shipyard and Jiangnan Shipyard, were full of orders for cruisers and free ships, and could not spare their hands to build these small ships (Yang Shuoming, who had complicated affairs and rich wealth, was too lazy to bother with these small ships), after learning that the navy was going to build river gunboats, several private shipyards learned the news and came up with their own plans. The representatives of the Admiralty who purchased ships sent to various places finally took a fancy to the plan of the Dagu Shipyard.

The standard displacement of the river gunboat scheme given by the Dagu Shipyard is 270 tons, and the steam reciprocating engine power is used (in order to cater to Yang Shuoming's "high-tech" taste, the Dagu Shipyard originally suggested diesel power, but the navy believes that there is more coal and less oil in China, and the use of coal is conducive to replenishment, so it insists on using steam reciprocating engines, and in case of emergency, it can also cut firewood along the coast for emergency, and steam power can provide steam to the cabin to facilitate continuous combat in the cold environment of the north), twin shaft and double propeller, with a maximum speed of 13 knots, endurance of 1000 nautical miles, armament plan includes a twin 120 mm gun in the bow, a single 120 mm gun in the stern, three 12.7 mm machine guns on the roof of the mast, and the boat is also equipped with a 3-meter rangefinder and a searchlight.

The armament B plan is to change the artillery to two single-mounted 150 mm guns.

After the two plans were reported to Yang Shuoming, Yang Shuoming thought that the two sets of armament plans were very suitable for the use of the navy, so he decided to adopt them all. In June 1918, the first boat "Lijie" and the same class boats "Lisui", "Liji" and "Litong" (the first two boats were the firepower configuration of the A case, and the last two boats were the firepower configuration of the B case) were completed at the Dagu Shipyard, and after quickly completing the tests, they immediately went south and took the lead in joining the Jiangfang fleet.

Tang Jiumei heard the deep reverence for Yang Shuoming revealed in the words of the naval officers, and somehow there was a different kind of throbbing in her heart.

At this time, she recalled the scene when she raced guns with him in the forest and later patrolled the mountains to change guns.

On the night of the patrol and gun change, when she accompanied Master Fu to talk with him at night, the words he said to her still seem to still echo in her ears.

And since that day, my life has embarked on another trajectory.

Now she is no longer the formidable female bandit with two guns on her waist.

It's hard for her to imagine that she's going to complete so many courses, learn so many things she never knew before, and know so many people she couldn't even meet before.

What prompted her to accomplish all this, she still can't tell.

Perhaps, it was to be able to have more languages with him?

Tang Jiumei felt that her face was slightly hot, she put down her binoculars, and tried to focus her attention on the battle in front of her.

At this time, the bombers in the sky and the four new river gunboats on the river had completely removed all the obstacles to the landing force, and the army soldiers on the troop carrier soon began the landing operation in an orderly manner.

"Hurry up, hurry up! Don't grind! Don't let the brothers in Guangdong see the jokes of our Jiangxi soldiers! ”

Zhao Erhu, who was already a captain in the army, waved a "fifty-shot Lianzhu box cannon" in his hand, urging his subordinates to wade ashore.

"I'm not afraid of their Cantonese jokes, I only think about my daughter-in-law...... one soldier said with a smile.

"! You won't go to your daughter-in-law to be happy! Zhao Erhu scolded with a smile and kicked the other party's ass, "Don't forget, you can marry a daughter-in-law and support a family, how did these come about!" ”

"I want a daughter-in-law too!" Someone followed.

"After this battle, there is it! Now it's all fucking less here! Zhao Erhu thought of his pregnant wife at home, and his heart also felt warm.

As a beneficiary of Yang Shuoming's strategy of "raising the army with high salaries" and the idea of "protecting the family and defending the country", Zhao Erhu, like many soldiers of the Jiangxi army, has a completely different style from the local armies of this era.

This is also one of the main reasons why in addition to advanced equipment, the combat capability and will of the Jiangxi army are far higher than those of the Gui army and the Guangdong army.

The landing force of the two regiments was quickly disembarked, and Zhao Erhu carefully observed the surrounding situation, and rushed towards the fortifications of the Gui army with his subordinates.

After entering the fortress, Zhao Erhu found that in terms of the ability to run away, the Gui army seemed to be much stronger than the Gan army.

"They're fast enough!" Zhao Erhu looked at the corpses of some Guijun soldiers who died on the ground, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion, "It's just like a rabbit." ”

"Lao Zhao, if they really fight, how long do you think they can last?" A Gan army officer patted a cannon that had not been destroyed and asked with a smile.

"At present, we are far stronger than any domestic local army in terms of training quality, and we now have a rifle in our hands, with more than 200 rounds of ammunition, squad leaders, non-commissioned officers and commanders at all levels are even more armed with pistols and bead box guns, and each company is also equipped with two heavy machine guns and two mortars to form a fire platoon, our firepower intensity is the boss in China! Even if it is put in Europe, it is only called second, and no one dares to call it first! With his old ghost Lu's little bandits and those few old-fashioned broken guns, it won't take a few times for us to kill them all. Zhao Erhu picked up a rifle thrown away by the Gui soldiers, looked at it, and threw it aside with contempt.

After listening to Zhao Erhu's words, the officers and soldiers of Guangdong who served as guides to accompany the Jiangxi army in the battle were all envious and fearful.

"He, Shen Hongying, seems to be really leading the troops like this." A Cantonese officer stepped forward and rummaged through the pockets of a Gui Army officer who had been killed by shrapnel and pulled out the cigarette gun inside.

Seeing this smoking gun for the production inspection, Zhao Erhu frowned in disgust.

In order to march into Guangxi, the scouts and intelligence officers of the Jiangxi army collected a lot of information about the situation of the Gui army in advance and transferred it to the front-line officers of the Jiangxi army. Of course, this does not mean that the combat capability of the Shen army is high. Although there was Lu Rongting's constraints, Shen Hongying's troops were too gangster, and the military discipline was not very good, just like when the Shen army was fighting, Shen Hongying always encouraged the officers and soldiers to charge with more realistic slogans such as "making foreign money", and the Shen army did not pay attention to any strategy and tactics at all.

"This time I killed a lot of them, but unfortunately they were all done by the Air Force and the Navy, and we didn't have much to do." A Gan army officer kicked the corpse in front of him with his foot and said with regret.

"The order from above has come down, don't defeat the battle, what you want is a real war of annihilation." Zhao Erhu looked at the officers and soldiers of Guangdong who had not experienced much battle, and said loudly, "Now it is the navy and air force that have helped, and further forward, it is our business." We have to be like the Navy and the Air Force, since we want to fight, we will beat him hard! We want to beat these Guangxi bandits to hurt, fear, and stun! Let them tremble when they see our legs! Let Lu Lao Ghost know that no matter how many people there are, in front of us, they are all dishes with an aperitif and drink! ”

At this time, Zhao Erhu has been in the army for some time, and has experienced the baptism of war against the Yue army in Shandong, he, like many Jiangxi officers and soldiers under his command, instinctively showed an unprecedented high-spirited and self-confidence when facing the enemy, and this temperament, in the body of the [***] people, has disappeared for a long time.

At this moment, these different things embodied in the officers and soldiers of Jiangxi are imperceptibly infecting the officers and men of the Guangdong army.

After completing the occupation of the Jiangfang fortress, Zhao Erhu's vanguard did not stop, but launched a tight pursuit.

After landing on the shore, Xu Yuanjin, who was standing on a high ground, picked up the binoculars hanging on his chest and carefully observed the enemy who had fled into the woods in the distance.

Because Yang Shuoming vigorously improved the relationship between armaments, as early as before the war, Xu Yuanjin's department obtained a large number of imitation German "Carl Zeiss" telescopes produced by the "Renhe" company, and with the current scale of the Jiangxi army, basically every grassroots commander can be equipped with one, which is already a terrible thing compared with China's current standard that only battalion-level officers and even regimental-level officers can be equipped with a telescope. But Yang Shuoming was not satisfied. At this time, Xu Yuanjin did not know that Yang Shuoming planned to launch China's own more advanced optical instrument factory once the technical conditions were mature in a year or two, and he wanted to adopt the high-tech standards of later generations to produce the most advanced optical instruments.

The defeated Gui army poured into the woods, while the Gan soldiers who followed the pursuit stopped their pursuit at the edge of the woods. Xu Yuanjin saw several officers gathered together, muttering something to each other, and couldn't help but nod, with a look of satisfaction on his face.

The location of the Gan army was about 800 meters away from the sniper position that the Gui army might be hiding in the woods, and those officers of the Gan army who were more experienced in the battlefield were obviously not blind, they should have noticed the sniper positions set up by the enemy in the woods.

Due to the effective intelligence work and the information provided by the Guangdong army, which was once friendly with the Gui army, the Jiangxi officers and soldiers knew in their hearts the tactics that the Gui army might adopt, so after the Gui army fled into the woods, the Jiangxi officers and soldiers did not recklessly go in the pursuit.

Most of the officers and men of Gui were born as bandits, and their years of plundering had enabled them to practice good marksmanship, and they were proficient in jungle warfare and guerrilla warfare.

"Inform the artillerymen, the target, the woods ahead, the fire cover."

At this time, in the face of the inferior Gui army, Xu Yuanjin didn't want to retain any strength at all, and he was ready to directly let the artillery behind him cover the enemy's position with firepower.

may be influenced by Yang Shuoming's idea of "using more steel and shedding less blood", in Xu Yuanjin's eyes, there is a special cherishment for those old brothers who have been born and died with him for many years and these recruits who have been trained by himself.

Among these people, the vast majority of them only have primary school education, but in this era, looking at the whole of China, which province can find such a "highly educated" army? Just as Yang Shuoming often said, after the end of the war, these people are still needed to drive cars, planes, and ships, and the time, money, and effort required to train such a soldier is no less than that of training an officer.

Now because of Yang Shuoming's relationship, although Xu Yuanjin no longer feels distressed about money, he feels sorry for these soldiers who have been with him for so long.

The artillerymen who received the order soon opened fire, and shell after shell fell in the small woods, and clumps of flame rose into the air, followed by large clouds of black smoke.

Seeing that the woods turned into a sea of fire, Xu Yuanjin's heart was somehow not too happy.

He knew that under such artillery fire, it would be good if half of the people hiding in the woods would survive. And when the shelling is over and the infantry enters the forest, what awaits this Gui army is only the fate of destruction.

Although the battle was fought very happily, Xu Yuanjin did not feel the pleasant feeling of killing the enemy with pleasure.

Is it because these killed are also Chinese?

Now he understands very well why Yang Shuoming thought of using more "silver bullets" instead of cannonballs.

The first round of fire coverage was quickly over, and the Gan soldiers rushed into the woods where the fire had not been completely extinguished, and at this moment, sporadic gunfire rang out.

Several bullets flew past Zhao Erhu's side in an instant, and he fell to a tree like lightning, when a shot came from nowhere, and a Cantonese soldier who served as a guide immediately screamed and fell to the ground.

Zhao Erhu saw the Cantonese soldier lying there convulsive, covering his abdomen with his hands, wailing loudly, and another Cantonese soldier wanted to go over to save him, but was stopped by a young Gan soldier next to him.

"Don't move! Not only could you not help him in the past, but you could only give away your life in vain! When the Gan soldier saw that the other party was trying to break free of his hand, he reprimanded him.

At this time, another shot came and hit the leg of the fallen Cantonese soldier, making him cry out even more miserably, and several Cantonese soldiers who were lying not far away saw that their eyes were on fire and they cursed.

Zhao Erhu was searching for the hidden enemy according to the direction of the other party's shot just now, and at this moment, a Gan soldier raised the rifle in his hand and opened fire violently, and a figure in the distance immediately fell in response.

"Now we can go and save him." Zhao Erhu shook his head at several Cantonese soldiers, and the two Cantonese soldiers rose in response and dragged their wounded comrades back. A medician from the Gan army rushed forward and began to treat the wounded wounds.

Bullets were still flying in the woods, but soon the roar of machine guns and "fifty bullet box guns" and the crisp sound of Mauser rifles rang out everywhere. Although the shooting of the remaining Gui army was accurate, it was quickly suppressed by the strong firepower of the Jiangxi army. The Cantonese soldiers, who were originally a little timid, also had the courage to follow and open fire.

The free-firing soldiers of the Gan Army fought extremely fiercely, and the shooting level of the strict training in Pingli began to play an amazing role. The high-level shooting of the Jiangxi army exerted the greatest lethal effect at this time, and most of the recalcitrant Gui soldiers died without saying a word after they fell, because the bullet parts on their bodies were basically vital parts such as the chest and abdomen.

Zhao Erhu did not shoot, but held the telescope and observed the battle situation for a long time. The soldiers of the Jiangxi army basically saw the blood of the bullets and bit the flesh, and almost no one could escape, but the shooting effect of the soldiers of the Guangdong army was much worse, and many people did not know where the bullets flew out.

The battle soon ended, under the efficient killing and wounding of the soldiers of the Gan army, soon, the resistance of the remaining soldiers of the Gui army in the woods was over, in addition to the dead bodies on the ground, there were some people who crawled forward with difficulty, these were some wounded Gui soldiers, many of them stopped crawling after climbing a short distance, and what was left behind was a long trail of blood.

(To be continued)