Seven transport trucks from the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army drove out of the model battalion station in the south of Fengcheng City and drove to the humble Second Division Field Hospital in the west of the city, carrying as many seriously wounded as possible through the Pingjiang River through Tonggu to the Changsha General Hospital as planned.

All the 1,590 officers and men of the Model Battalion have finally received winter clothes, and 12 days have passed since the end of the Battle of Fengxin, and the Model Battalion has been rested for more than two days for the first time since its establishment.

However, during the 12 days called rest and recuperation, none of the officers and men of the battalion had a day of rest except for the wounded, and the training three times a day exhausted more than 1,000 officers and men without complaint, because a large number of newly promoted and energetic company and platoon officers were also like the soldiers, and as soon as the horn sounded at 6 o'clock in the morning, they went five kilometers of fully armed cross-country travel, came back for breakfast, and then conducted a two-hour queue training, and then drove out of the camp with the company as a unit, and went to the surrounding mountains and valleys separately. After the picnic, take a short break and practice shooting every day.

In contrast, the brothers of the battalion guard company, which had become very strong and mysterious in the minds of the brothers in the battalion, were even more miserable, and the whole company of 135 officers and men quietly set out at noon on the fourth day after the competition, except for a day's dry food, all of which were weapons, ammunition and all kinds of unfamiliar equipment, and they went for six days, and did not return to the camp until yesterday evening. But they still straightened their backs, kept a neat formation, and silently entered the camp gate, turning a blind eye to the surprised eyes and exclamations of the brethren in the camp, and soon entered the rear barracks belonging to them in the salute of the two sentries at the side gate of the camp headquarters.

Over the past 12 days, the officers and men of the model battalion have been very tired and fulfilling, and the officers and men have been deeply satisfied with the full amount of military salaries, generous food, complete clothing, and competent weapons and equipment, and the good relations between officers and men and the unique atmosphere of the model battalion have made the nearly 1,000 new brothers who have joined the battalion feel full of emotion and quickly adapt to it. They saw in the rudeness of the platoon commanders the conscientious and meticulous spirit, as well as the sincere friendship and concern, that they were able to elect their squad leaders and deputy squad leaders according to their own wishes, and appoint them as soon as they were approved, which was unimaginable before. Not only that, but the battalion commander, battalion deputy, instructor, and other commanders would take time to visit them every day, kindly ask what they wanted, and patiently explain what a revolutionary army was. Why are we soldiers? How to be a Chinese [***] person with a clear conscience and so on.

The deputy of the bearded battalion is cold and serious, not smiling, but his every move is really grateful; Staff Officer Yin was as attentive as a hair, his surname was easy-going, and the injured Camp Commander An could speak a variety of dialects, and he was unpretentious, and from time to time a joke or two came out in the conversation with the brothers, which made the brothers who had been tired for a day laugh from ear to ear. The officers' easy-going, generous, enthusiastic encouragement made the officers and men feel a kind of trust and warmth that they had never gained before.

From the first day, the new brothers felt the unique management method of the model battalion: when it was time for other units to pay their salaries, there was often no movement, and the soldiers waited until their necks grew and were often deducted from their pitiful salaries, but the model battalion was different, as soon as they came in, they could get the salaries, and the salaries were higher than any troops, and the salaries were also registered in the files, and the commanders of each company must leave the detailed addresses of the soldiers' hometowns, and the commanders recorded the soldiers' self-reports while instructing: "Don't forget to send money to your family when the salaries are high." ”

Occasionally, a soldier asked, "Why do you want to write all the family members as well?" ”

The chief said with a big grin: "This world is not peaceful, it is always right to do things in detail, the reason why you want to make it clear is just in case, in case one day your grandson is glorious, this file can allow us to send the pension and revolutionary martyr certificate to your family." ”

Someone else asked: "Does every unit of the revolutionary army do this?" ”

The commander still looked like a big grin: "It doesn't matter what others do, our model battalion has been doing this since the day it was established, and we will continue to do it in the future...... That's it,, boy! Next......"

Yang Bin and the five people were finally relieved, when the division commander Liu Zhi and others agreed, An Yi solicited the opinions of Yang Bin and the others, and soon reported the military ranks and resumes of the five to the division headquarters, and the next day it was confirmed and approved, and Yang Bin and the five people were included in the officer establishment of the Second Division of the First Army of the National Revolutionary Army, and were officially awarded titles and appointments: Lieutenant Colonel Yang Bin, Major Ye Cheng, Major Lu Mingdi, and Major Qu Muchen all served as the operational staff officers of the model battalion, and Captain Zhang Xiangong served as the commander of the communications company of the model battalion. Among them, Major Qu Muchen also served as the leader of the model battalion teaching team.

Yang Bin and the five people were very satisfied with this temporary division of labor, they all knew that the division commander Liu Zhi was about to act as the commander of the First Army, and they also learned through An Yi that Ye Cheng and Zhang Xiangong's senior brother and Jiang Dingwen, the deputy commander of the Second Division, was the sworn brother of the commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Army Jiang, and through the conversation with Liu Zhi and his own observations, they learned that An Yi and the bosses of the Second Division had an extraordinary relationship, so they were not surprised at all that An Yi's application report was approved by the division headquarters within two days and issued.

In the evening, An Yi visited the wounded in the backyard, came to the back row of the classroom on the west side, sat down, and quietly listened to Lu Mingdi, the new combat staff officer of the battalion headquarters, give a lecture to 120 non-commissioned officers at the company and platoon level cadres and with a good cultural foundation.

Over the past week, these 120 cadets have had to come to this classroom every night from 8 to 10 o'clock to attend the first training class held by the battalion headquarters, and to participate in the infantry tactics lectures by Yang Bin and Zhang Xiangong, the basics of military topography by Lu Mingdi, the theory of local defense by Ye Cheng, the coordination of infantry and artillery by Qu Muchen, the foundation of engineer combat training by Yin Jinan, and the methods and objectives of the political and ideological work at the grassroots level of the army.

An Yi was not idle, and he gave a lecture a week on patriotic education, the difference between the revolutionary army and the old warlords, the essence of the relationship between the new type of officers and soldiers, and the goals and requirements of training and operations.

The decision to hold a training course for grassroots commanders was proposed by An Yi and unanimously adopted through serious discussion at a meeting of all company and battalion commanders. The purpose of establishing this crash course is to improve as much as possible the theoretical level and military quality of the grassroots commanders of the model battalion through intensive study for about three months, so that they can learn and work at the same time, sum up and compare them in practice, gradually improve, and make preparations in advance for the upcoming expansion and upgrading of the army.

When the class time came, all the students stood up and saluted neatly, Lu Mingdi returned the salute and put away the handouts and strode to An Yi's side, the two talked in a low voice and walked to the main hall side by side, nodded with the beard and others around the long table, and sat down separately.

Lu Mingdi, who had good facial features and a strong military temperament, saw that all the battalion-level commanders were there, realized that there would be important matters to discuss, and habitually took off his big cap and sat upright.

When Hu Zi saw that everyone had arrived, he snuffed out his cigarette butt and glanced around and reported loudly: "Ji Nan and I have just returned from a meeting at the division headquarters and brought back a message and an order. The news is that the Seventh Army, which has lost contact with General Li Zongren for a long time, captured Wuning, an important town in northern Jiangxi before the fall of the army, and defeated in one fell swoop two brigades of the Fourth Division of Xie Hongxun's division of the Anhui system, annihilated more than 6,000 enemy troops, captured tens of thousands, and captured a large amount of weapons, equipment, and military baggage. After receiving the good news on the Northern Front, the General Headquarters of the Revolutionary Army immediately notified the whole army and commended General Li Zongren and his officers and men. ”

As soon as the news came out, there was an uproar, Yang Bin and others, who were born in Anhui, looked at each other in disbelief, and Hu Zi didn't wait for them to react and then conveyed the order of the revolutionary army headquarters:

"Based on the current situation of the enemy and us, as well as the specific reality of our First Army, the General Headquarters ordered our division to go to Gao'an, 48 kilometers to the south, within 48 hours to stand by, and Fengxin to be garrisoned by the First Division of our army. At present, the regiments of the 1st Division are about to arrive at Fengxin to take over the defense, and the garrison of our battalion must be handed over to the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Division before 10 o'clock tomorrow morning, and it will take the lead in setting off as the vanguard of the whole division, passing through the mountain pass in the west, and passing through Wangjiawei to Gao'an. ”

Yang Bin didn't have time to discuss the destruction of the Anhui ace division Xie Hongxun's department, so he turned to An Yi and suggested: "Time is so urgent, should you immediately call the commanders of each company and platoon to convey the order, so as to make preparations for changing guards and opening up?" ”

"Don't be in a hurry, the time is in time, the companies have gradually entered the right track, and all the preparations can be completed within 50 minutes with a single order, we only need to notify the guard company commander Xia Jian and the fifth company commander Chen Kan in advance, so that their two companies can do a good job of reconnaissance and vigilance along the way, and our battalion can calmly pull out." Yin Jinan replied confidently with a smile on his face.

An Yi laughed: "Ji Nan, Hu Zi, the first division and the second regiment are Lao Hu's troops!" Since this guy led the troops, whether it was two Eastern Crusades and returned to the division to quell the rebellion, or seven or eight local battles with friendly troops on the way to the Northern Expedition, all of them were invincible and invincible, which made this guy and the boss of the first and second regiments of the first and second regiments triumphant, the last time we won a big victory in Tingsi Bridge, he admired in his heart and said that we are a sword and a sharp edge is purely a small skill of carving insects, the Seventh Army and the Fourth Army beat He Shengqiao to gain the reputation of the Iron Army, Lao Hu's grandson put on a sour face again, saying that he has mastered so many soldiers, can still play the level and momentum of the Fourth Army and the Seventh Army, I'm afraid he didn't expect that he would have a big defeat in Nanchang City, haha! The two of you should remember that Lao Hu's grandson stole Lao Tzu's horse and telescope last time in the northern suburbs of Changsha, this time Lao Tzu should ask him for advice, and let this grandson teach us the experience of how to defeat the war, haha! ”

Everyone burst into laughter, Yin Jinan laughed and reminded An Yi in a low voice: "Don't stimulate Senior Hu anymore, it's not easy for him, the first division was raided by the main force of the enemy army several times its own, and in the case of a leaderless group, only Lao Hu's second regiment can basically maintain its formation and rise up to resist, and the 3,600 officers and soldiers under his command can still save nearly half of the retreat of the brother regiment while resisting, this fighting spirit is worth learning." In addition, the two new regiments assigned to the 1st Division by the headquarters this time are still training in Tonggu, so we need to give him some comfort and help at this time. ”

An Yi shook his head and smiled, then put away his smile, pondered for a moment and turned to Huzi: "Huzi, wait a while, you and Ji Nan will count it, see how many Russian-made Mogan rifles we have in stock, and when we exchange them with Lao Hu for something else tomorrow morning, almost all of his second regiment are equipped with Mogan rifles." ”

Hu Zi nodded: "This is a good idea, although the Mogan rifle equipped by our army is an old item sent by the Russians, it is better than many domestic imitation guns, but the accessories are difficult to find and maintain, Shen Jianping and Tao Xun of the Ordnance Institute have reported to me several times, and it is recommended to unify the system as much as possible to facilitate repair and maintenance." Most of the rifles in our battalion are 7.92 caliber German guns and Hanyang-made, it is very troublesome to keep these Mogan rifle ammunition supply, our ammunition models have reached five, the ammunition of light and heavy machine guns is not universal, rifle cartridges and light machine gun cartridges are not universal, and the flower machine gun and pistol cartridges are not universal, it is too troublesome, I am worried that the ammunition supply in the future will be very problematic. ”

"Lao Yang, what do you think?"

After more than ten days of understanding, Yang Bin and others have become more familiar with the situation of the various departments of the model battalion, and they have also adapted to the way An Yi handles problems and decision-making procedures of several chief officers, so they are happy to express their opinions when they hear An Yi's inquiry, and everyone's opinions are very unanimous, and they all agree with Hu Zi's opinion.

In the early morning of the next day, there was no routine morning meal at Hualin Academy, where the model battalion was stationed, and the cooking classes of each company took their belongings to both sides of the camp, and the steaming pots of rice and meat were divided up by more than 1,500 brothers, and the officers and men filled their stomachs, packed up the dishes and chopsticks, and gathered to convey the order, and then returned to the barracks to pack their bags and prepare for evacuation, but the firehead soldiers of each company continued to be busy on the field, offering a comforting breakfast to the more than 1,700 officers and men of the Second Regiment who were about to take over the defense.

At eight o'clock in the morning, An Yi's little black horse restlessly raised his head and neighed in the southwest direction, and Hu Zi and Yin Jinan, who were familiar with the surname of the horse, immediately knew that Hu Zongnan must have come on a big black horse, otherwise the smart and arrogant little black horse would not be so excited.

An Yi laughed happily, and with Hu Zi, Yin Jinan, Xia Jian, Gu Laoer and Yang Bin, they turned over and rode out of the camp for two miles, and saw Hu Zongnan and his party walking in front of the team on horseback from a distance.

An Yile dismounted and led the battalion and company commanders who had grown exponentially to meet him enthusiastically, and seven or eight regimental and battalion commanders, including Hu Zongnan, commander of the first division and the second regiment, and Li Yutang, deputy commander of the regiment, also hurriedly dismounted.

An Yi saluted and reported loudly in accordance with military regulations: "The commanders have worked hard all night!" An Yi, commander of the engineer battalion of the 2nd Division, led his colleagues to greet Chief Hu and all the commanders! The engineer battalion has made preparations for the handover of the guard, please give instructions to Chief Hu and all the commanders! ”

Hu Zongnan, who had a complicated expression, saw the smile in An Yi's eyes flickering, where did he not know that the cunning An Yi was respectful and respectful on the surface, but he was disgusted with himself, and slapped An Yi's head in annoyance, who knew that An Yi had already been prepared to take a half step back and be safe and sound.

Suddenly, many unfamiliar lieutenants in front of and behind An Yi all laughed heartily, and Colonel Hu Zongnan, who hadn't shaved for many days, could only scold stupidly: "Lieutenant Colonel An Yi, please lead the way in front of you when the time is urgent!" ”

"Yes!"

After An Yili finished answering, he made a gesture of please, accompanied Hu Zongnan to the camp, and whispered to him about the attack on Fengxin City and the acquisition of Yang Bin's five people.

Hu Zi, Yin Jinan and Li Yutang and other Huangpu seniors met warmly, and introduced Yang Bin, Ye Cheng and other five people to everyone.

Hu Zongnan sighed secretly after hearing this, asked An Yi about his injuries with concern, and told An Yi about his own experience and some insights after saying goodbye to Changsha. In the end, when it came to the Nanchang fiasco, Hu Zongnan was quite annoyed and angry, so he almost didn't scold the deputy army commander and division commander Wang Bailing's family.

An Yi saw that Hu Zongnan's mood was too melancholy, so he thought about pointing to the little black horse mother and son who were already sticking together on the side, and suggested that Hu Zongnan find a good horse to breed.

Hu Zongnan nodded and sighed, and told An Yi in a low voice If it weren't for this big dark horse, at the critical juncture when Nanchang fell, he would not be able to break out of the encirclement and find his subordinates, quickly collect the rout and resist step by step, and even he would not be able to escape the tragic fate of being defeated and captured.

Walking to the gate of the camp, bursts of aroma of rice and the tempting taste of stewed meat in a cauldron wafted in, Hu Zongnan raised his head and looked at the steaming cauldron on both sides of the field without saying a word of gratitude.

An Yi smiled and whispered to him that this was a little bit of the heart of the brothers of the Model Battalion, this breakfast was left along with the cauldron, saving the time to delay the pull-out, and the Model Battalion also had a spare set of marching cooking utensils that had been distributed to each company; The barracks in the camp have been cleaned, and everything that can be left has been left, saving the brothers of the second regiment any more trouble.

Hu Zongnan was grateful in his heart, but there was no expression on his face, and sent away the chief officers at all levels around him, Hu Zongnan entered the clean and well-equipped main hall of the battalion headquarters accompanied by An Yi and sat down, drank half a cup of fragrant tea, and then sighed: "The model camp is the model camp...... Xiao Yi, big brother, thank you! Over the past few months, your series of achievements have embarrassed us big brothers! ”

"Alas, don't say these polite words to your own brother, the first step in the journey of thousands of miles has just been taken, but the younger brother has something to discuss with the eldest brother."

An Yi leaned over and whispered to Hu Zongnan the suggestion of exchanging equipment, Hu Zongnan pondered for a moment and nodded: "Okay, your one hundred and twenty Mogan guns are suitable for my use, you also saw it just now, my brothers are scarred and their morale is completely gone, and many people have escaped with no guns, shame...... Fortunately, before my second battalion fled from Nanchang, I desperately grabbed out a group of six French Bayi mortars that were thrown down, all of which were new things that had just been distributed and had not fired a few shells, and I hid quietly without squeaking afterwards, and the division headquarters had already reported the damage to the military headquarters and the principal, so you can take it, so you don't have to let me be seen by the brothers in the first regiment and have to pull the skin again, but there are no shells, but this is not a problem for you. When you arrive in Gao'an, you will go to the quartermaster of the military department, He, who was originally promoted from your second division, and your relationship with him is also extraordinary, and it is not a problem to ask for a few mortar shells, you have the opportunity to go to the principal again, and ask the principal to distribute six more to your model battalion, so that you can form a mortar company, which is much more convenient for your heavy engineers than with heavy mountain artillery and field artillery. ”

"I remember, the first room in the east wing of the backyard is the bedroom of the younger brother, and I left you ten boxes of cigarettes and a box of soap in it, all of which were seized by the novice brothers in this fight. Okay, I guess the handover outside has been completed, I have to leave as soon as possible, big brother, you should rest early after eating, you have been gone all night. An Yi nodded and motioned for Dong Yanzi to order the gathering.

Amid the sound of the loud military trumpet, Hu Zongnan stood up and sorted out the troops' appearance, and then ordered the adjutant to transfer the six mortars to the model battalion, and immediately sent the 120 rifles to the brothers.

After everything was explained, Hu Zongnan and An Yi walked out of the main hall side by side, discussing the exchange of equipment and exchange of information with each other in the future, and set the intention of full cooperation in many aspects in a few words, and there is naturally a tacit understanding between the brothers and sisters that others cannot match.

Under the eaves of the porch at the gate, Hu Zongnan glanced at the more than 1,500 officers and soldiers who were rapidly assembling on the field, and admired the model battalion with strong soldiers and well-trained troops.

Seeing that the team had finished assembling and saluting An Yi and saying goodbye, he led the seven or eight brothers who had come to return to his life to stride up to the high platform directly in front of the field, looked around at the neat officers and soldiers of the model battalion in the field, and then looked at the more than 1,000 officers and men of Hu Zongnan's 2nd Regiment who were holding dinner around the venue, and took two steps forward with a thought, and delivered another important speech since the establishment of the model battalion:

"Brothers, just now when Lao Tzu welcomed the brothers of the Second Regiment back to the camp, I heard the two grandsons of our model camp sighing and talking nonsense, what did they say? There is an old saying that is called 'the iron battalion and the soldier of the water'. I know what these two brothers are thinking in their hearts, they think that wherever they go to be soldiers, they will not be able to move the barracks, but the soldiers will go one batch after another like flowing water, and the life of the soldiers will not disappear without the barracks. Lao Tzu doesn't like to hear this, and when he hears it, he wants to beat people, because a person with this kind of thinking is not a good soldier at all, and if he doesn't correct his concept in time, he is not worthy of staying in our revolutionary army at all! ”

An Yi's voice echoed over the empty grassland, and all the officers and soldiers in the audience, including all the officers and soldiers of the Second Regiment, looked at the high platform with bated breath, and everyone had a hunch that Lieutenant Colonel An Yi, who was becoming more and more famous, would have something more important to say.

Sure enough, An Yi's superhuman voice sounded again: "Since the rest, our group of commanders have been telling the brothers all the time what is the revolutionary army? What is a glorious mid[***] person? What should we do as soldiers besides eating together? Think about when we eat meat in a bowl, can our relatives, our brothers and sisters also eat meat? These are not big truths, you all understand, because the vast majority of you, before entering Lao Tzu's model camp, were poor people who couldn't eat meat a few times a year. Have you forgotten that your relatives in your hometown are still living a miserable life of not having enough to eat and not being warm? Have we forgotten that our disaster-stricken motherland still has thousands of people who can't eat enough? Have you forgotten the exorbitant taxes and wanton predators of warlords everywhere? Have you forgotten that the European and American powers and Xiao Yueben are occupying a large area of our land and bullying our relatives every day? Tell me, can you forget? ”

"Can't—"

More than 1,000 brothers have come to know each other after more than ten days of education, and at this moment, under the influence of An Yi's inclaming words, their blood is surging, and they almost roar and answer in unison.

An Yi nodded: "Yes!" As a revolutionary soldier, forgetting these many shames is equivalent to forgetting the roots, forgetting that he is an upright Chinese, and forgetting that he is a Chinese [***] person who allows the people to save money and provide for them!

Today, Lao Tzu will tell you another truth, there is no city in the world that cannot be attacked, and there is no iron camp! From ancient times to the present, from the Han Dynasty that shocked the world to the Tang Dynasty that created a prosperous era in the world, there is one thing that has one thing in common, that is, it has an invincible iron army in the world, and an iron-blooded army that is not arrogant and discouraged in victory.

Today, in the face of the desolate motherland and our compatriots who are not well fed and clothed, we must inherit the blood of our ancestors, fulfill the legacy of Mr. Zhongshan and countless martyrs, eliminate all warlords, and drive all invaders out of our sacred land.

From now on, the sky on our heads is our quilt, the ground under our feet is our bed, and every inch of land in China is our military camp! Brothers, you are a member of the glorious model battalion, and if you want to turn our model battalion into a steel lion, you must take out your blood surname, and from now on, give Lao Tzu your backbone, lift your head, and move forward in the direction guided by Sanming Cooking—"

"Onward! Advance! On-"

The heroic voice resounded in all directions, soaring into the sky, and the more than 1,500 officers and men of the model battalion puffed up their blazing chests and set off in a majestic and high-spirited formation amid the angry orders of the company platoon commander and the neighing of the war horses.

An Yi and his proud subordinates strode down the high platform, stepped on their horses, and followed the high-spirited team out of the camp that had been there for thirteen days.

Under the tall eaves, Hu Zongnan looked at the neat ranks of officers and men of the model battalion with mixed feelings, Li Yutang and more than a dozen other lieutenants stood quietly behind him, and the more than 1,000 officers and men who were originally complaining on the field all consciously closed their mouths.

Hu Zongnan sighed: "Grandma's! An Yi's grandson deliberately laughed at Lao Tzu and laughed at the group of wrecks in our second group, haha...... Good smile, good smile! ”

Li Yutang, who was deeply touched, took a half step forward: "It's a good smile, from the officers and soldiers of the model battalion, we have seen an extraordinary gap, if there is enough time, I really want to communicate with Xiao Yi and them." ”

Hu Zongnan laughed angrily: "It's a fart to communicate with him, even if he puts his belly full of bad ideas and discernment, we can't learn it, this dog is really fucking special, even the Baoding Military Academy and Zhejiang Jiangwutang Toucheng officers are willing to listen to him, this grandson and Hu Jialin, Yin Jinan smell like each other to make up for each other, it is simply the three legs of a ding, and the model camp brought out is free from them and they are a hanging sample, can we fight, steal, and steal, can we learn?" Let's eat, wash and sleep after eating, and wake up to talk about big things......"

(To be continued)