In fact, although artillery is the most powerful branch of the army at the moment, its training itself is more arduous and tedious than that of infantry. As an artilleryman, the biggest requirement is physical strength. Loading, cleaning the chamber, resetting the cannon, and repairing the gun carriage are all skills that the artilleryman must master. In order to engage in a continuous artillery battle with the other side in an engagement, good physical strength and organizational discipline are equally important.

In addition, although artillery belongs to special forces, the training of shooting and stabbing cannot be left behind. Although on the battlefield, artillery should be protected by other branches of the military, but Zhao Guanhou lacks trust in the current level of team combat cooperation of the Jin Army, and is still more willing to believe in himself. Therefore, the shooting training and stabbing training of the artillery battalion are not much more idle than ordinary infantry.

In addition, the construction of artillery positions, the construction of breastworks, the construction of bridges, the laying of mines and so on are also part of the training. Soldiers sweat and get covered in mud every day, which is commonplace.

As officers, they did not need to undergo heavy physical training, but their lives were even more difficult, because they needed to be trained in mathematics just like the gun commander.

The current Jinguo artillery team is basically based on experience, and the firing of artillery relies on the personal experience of the gunner, and an experienced gunner is often a valuable resource. Systematic learning, theoretical knowledge mastery, and even on-site calculations are not within their scope of competence.

For example, Shang Quan, because he learned artillery drills in Prussia and knew some trigonometric functions, he was already a treasure in the new army. Although Zhao Guanhou was not interested in mathematics in his previous life, he learned it in a system, and in this era, in the land of Jinguo, at least being a mathematics professor is no problem, and teaching these officers is a piece of cake.

However, the cultural level of these officers is limited, and the habits are difficult to change, so they are asked to calculate the equation, consider the artillery charge, the angle of the cannon, etc., which really makes these people quite uncomfortable. Some of them tried to contact Shang Quan and confronted Zhao Guanhou, but they didn't want Shang Quan to give them a response, but they had a cold face and scolded. Shang Quan, who had studied artillery drills in Prussia and had seen the face of the Taixi army, was a die-hard supporter of Zhao Guanhou in this matter, and resolutely supported the study of mathematics by officers.

The pipe and the gang joined forces, and the people below had nothing to say, so they had to sit down obediently and be a good student. Trigonometric functions and Lancaster equations, one by one, seem to have become a move to catch the exam.

Zhao Guanhou's training method did meet with backlash at first, including the flight of newly recruited soldiers and even attempts to assassinate him. However, the fugitives were immediately captured and beheaded in front of everyone, and those who attempted to assassinate would cause harm to their families. Since then, the revolt has gradually waned.

The salaries of the soldiers in the artillery battalion are higher than those of ordinary infantry, which is also an important reason to maintain the training of the troops. The soldier's monthly salary is six taels and five, and only five yuan is deducted from the food expenses, and he can take home six taels of silver. These recruits are all families who have fled with their families. In their hometown, they are just ordinary peasants, and six taels of silver a month is an astronomical amount for them. Now that he has so much money, his family can live, and if he suffers a little, he will admit it.

Moreover, Zhao Guanhou did not intend to use torture, but also supplemented by rewards, such as those who have outstanding performance in monthly training can get a bounty. The soldiers of the artillery battalion can eat meat once every 10 days, although they are not full, but it is much better than the infantry who eat meat once every half a month. Moreover, it has introduced the policy that if you want to eat meat, you must practice hard work, and the enthusiasm of the soldiers has also been greatly improved.

After a month, this army of refugees has become a little more beautiful.

On the playground, rows of straw men were erected, and the new army held rifles in their hands and attacked the straw men, stabbing them with bayonets. Zhao Guanhou said to Shang Quan: "I bet, half of them imagine the grass target as me. ”

After a few months of running-in, the two of them actually got along very well, and the originally expected conflict or power struggle did not appear. Of course, there is the factor that Shang Quan himself can be a man, and on the other hand, it is Zhao Guanhou who makes Shang Quan see hope.

With Shang Quan's qualifications and connections, the pipe band is almost over, and Duan Zhiquan is not not going to come back, as long as he returns from Fusang, Shang Quan will have to give up the seal. At most, I have been a seal guard for a while, so the expectations are not too high.

Zhao Guanhou may not have much command ability, but when he was in the Martial Arts Academy, Qi Kaifen not only sent him a set of artillery tutorials, but also sent him all his artillery experience. These lessons have been summed up, and at the moment, they are considered valuable assets that are difficult to buy. And Zhao Guanhou's ability to never forget helped a lot.

There is no concept ahead of this era, but with the first-class teaching materials of this era and the experience of a qualified instructor, the operation of the artillery battalion is far more vigorous and energetic than that of Duan Zhiquan's era.

Zhao Guanhou's training method made Shang Quan see that his army was likely to become a brand-new artillery. Moreover, the strength of the troops is large, and there are more than two battalions at the top of one battalion and other places, so it may be able to expand into a standard in the future. In that case, Zhao Guanhou will become the standard commander, and he can also be a pipe band, and he can even serve as a helper. At that time, when Duan Zhiquan returns, he does not need to hand over his authority.

After comparing the two, he felt that Duan was not as good as Zhao, and began to cooperate wholeheartedly. He smiled and said, "You know, who told you yesterday that the engineering battalion planted a mine and couldn't find it, so let those recruits walk back and forth on the playground to step on the mine." It's no wonder they don't hate you. ”

"Hate it, I'm relieved to see that they can carry out orders. Soldiers who can take this risk to step on mines will be able to charge forward on the battlefield in the future, with a platoon of guns and shells. Or raise a bayonet and fight with the enemy in a white-knuckle battle, without this color, no matter how good the morale is, it is also a golden bow and jade arrow, and it is unbearable to fight. ”

What this means is that those who are soldiers must obey orders and know that military orders are like mountains. Without the order of the commander, it cannot be shaken and dispersed, this army has been practicing like this for a year, but in the country of Jin, the same force and firepower are fighting, I don't think anyone is our opponent. ”

Zhao Guanhou muttered: "Lord Shang, in your opinion, our artillery battalion is still lacking something. ”

Shang Quandao: "I've already thought about this question. Our artillery battalion is now lacking two things, the first is the lack of artillery, and the second is the lack of horses. Our cannons are too small now, there are only two twelve-pounder cannons, the others are two-pounder and three-pounder guns, and there are few horses and pack horses. Of course, it's enough to pull a small cannon, but if you want to form that flying cavalry artillery team, this animal is a bit insufficient. At the moment, we still have to find a way to get more horses back. ”

His artillery battalion, according to the plan, wanted to be equipped with six twelve-pounder field guns, twelve six-pounder guns, and eighteen two-pounder guns. Horses, according to need, shall have three hundred pulling horses. But in reality, there was not a single six-pounder cannon, only two twelve-pounder cannons, and the number of horses was less than a hundred, and even with mules, it was not enough to make up three hundred.

As a result, mobility is greatly affected, making it impossible to pull all the artillery you have to the battlefield to participate in the battle, and the battlefield mobility is also poor. In addition, another problem that plagued him was that he wanted too few mines.

Zhao Guanhou and Duan Zhiquan had different ideas, the former focusing on artillery and artillery training, and paying limited attention to other auxiliary troops. The idea of the battlefield was to concentrate artillery fire on the enemy, and as for the protection of artillery, it was left to the infantry.

The latter paid more attention to the construction of the battalion's engineering team and the baggage team, in other words, they were actually thinking about how to save themselves. Although the combat effectiveness of artillery is strong, it is far inferior to the infantry in terms of the intensity of basic combat training. It must be protected by infantry, otherwise it is easy to be attacked by the enemy and lose the position.

Zhao Guanhou asked Yuan Weiting to strengthen the team with a lightning team specially responsible for laying and clearing mines, and according to his plan, once the artillery needed to fight on the spot, he would lay a bunch of mines to prevent the enemy's attack. In addition, it is necessary to allocate more horses to ensure that the troops are mobile and flexible, and after the artillery is fired, immediately move and leave, and try not to be counterattacked by the enemy. In the event of a battle, the horses pulled the ammunition carts and gun carts, all the officers mounted their horses, and some of the artillery also mounted their horses to ensure the speed of the troops' movements. This kind of rapid response and rapid strike artillery is named the Flying Cavalry Artillery Team according to the current name of Taixi.

Shang Quan naturally welcomed the formation of this kind of artillery team, and from his point of view, once this kind of artillery team was successfully formed, one artillery battalion would be able to exert the strength of the current three artillery battalions. Yuan Weiting also supports this, but it is difficult for a good woman to cook without rice, and if she wants to achieve this, she must have a cannon and a horse before she can talk about anything else.

has the relationship with Mrs. Jensen, and Yuan Weiting is now the secretary and the manager of the domain, so the money can also be made of some money, and it is not impossible to buy it through foreigners. But there's a problem here, and that's the formalities, or the name. Han Rong is the supreme commander of this army, and it is easy to give him the impression of being a supreme officer when he buys artillery and military horses behind his back, and it is very likely that after he buys it, he will also give it an order to other troops for use. Now the front and rear armies of the armed guards are asking for artillery and horses, and these things must be guarded against.

I heard that Han Rong recently purchased a batch of foreign cannons and good horses, but he was ready to keep them for his own use and didn't want to issue them. All the troops looked at those cannons and horses as a piece of fat, even if Han Rong ate a lot of it, they wanted to share some soup, and they were all thinking of a way.

Shang Quan mentioned this matter, and also hoped that Zhao Guanhou could think of a way to help the artillery team get a batch of artillery and horses back, from the bottom of their bones, everyone has selfishness and small abacus. It is also human nature to hope that their troops, supplies and equipment are better than others.

Zhao Guanhou nodded, "This matter really has to be done, I will go to see the adult, ask his old man for an order, and go to Baoding once." As for the matter here, there are labor and business brothers. ”

He is Yuan Weiting's cronies, and it is very easy to meet Yuan, as soon as he reports, he can be promoted immediately. There were only the two of them in the room, and after meeting Shi Li and taking a seat, Yuan Weiting smiled and said, "Count the days, you know that you should come, and it's time to ask Han Rong for a new routine, right?" ”

Zhao Guanhou also smiled, "What my brother-in-law said is very true, every time it comes to this time, it should be the time to set the grid." I still have to take leave from you, go to Baoding once, and by the way, help the artillery battalion get some belongings. ”

Because he still has the identity of a secret agent, he has to write a letter to Han Rong every month to report. On the surface, there is nothing special about their letters, but if they are used in special settings, they can be read with completely different meanings. This kind of routine, which is changed every three months, is also to prevent others from finding a pattern.

But what Han Rong didn't know was that all the secret letters to him were drafted by Yuan Weiting, copied by Zhao Guanhou, and the information given to him was confirmed by Yuan Weiting. Han Rong thought he was in control of the situation, but he was actually used as a marionette by others.

Yuan Weiting said: "This thing has to be done, the current turmoil in the court, Zhong Shuai is even more worried about me here, you go at this time, and it is very time to go." If you ask for a few more cannons and more horses, he will probably not refuse. In short, this mouthful of rice must be eaten by our Wuwei Right Army, and it cannot fall into the mouths of others. Mrs. Jensen, I also have something to go to Baoding, you two, you can take a ride. ”

Speaking of this, he laughed again, and Zhao Guanhou also smiled, and the word "most difficult to remove" echoed in his mind. Mrs. Jenson knows the marrow, and these days she comes to make excuses to date herself two days in three days, but she is afraid that sooner or later the news will leak to Hanzhi, and she doesn't know what will happen.

But if you do the sins, you have to bear the consequences, and it is useless to regret it, so you have to take one step at a time.

On the train to Baoding, Zhao Guanhou and Jensen sat in the box, talking about their own words. This time I went to Baoding, mainly for the power plant, the land has been approved, and the power plant has begun to be built, but there is always some work, which needs to be coordinated by the Jin government in order to continue to promote. This time, it was under the banner of negotiation, but in fact, he relived the mandarin dream with Zhao Guanhou.

"Guanhou, the emperor of your country, is now finally free from the constraints of the queen mother and can be completely pro-government. Judging from the rumors, he is going to carry out a comprehensive and thorough political change, and I think this is an opportunity, an opportunity that is very beneficial to you, and a young and promising general like you should be easily appreciated by the young emperor and thus promoted. ”

"No, if he's completely pro-government and fully free, I'll have to think about running to Belgium. After all, I have offended the cronies and eunuchs around him, and if he relieves himself, he will not spare me. Thinking of the changes in the court situation in the past few months, Zhao Guanhou also smiled bitterly, the Queen Mother returned to power, the Son of Heaven was in power, and Pang Delu was afraid that he would have to settle the old account. Although he has Yuan Weiting's support, he is afraid that his troubles will come again. (To be continued.) )