108831908 Far Eastern madman

The sun sank in the west, and the slanting sun reflected the sunset on the horizon. Zhili, Baoding, railway station.

At present, Baoding has become the northernmost military station of the Northern Expeditionary Force of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of the United Front. Although the north and the south have achieved a de facto ceasefire, there are still several military trains coming and going at the Baoding Railway Station every day, and the troops and materials are frequently mobilized.

"At sunset, the red glow flies in the western mountains, and the soldiers shoot targets and return to the camp.

Accompanied by the majestic military song, a RUF unit returned from target shooting, and drove back to the barracks in formation, although at present, the ammunition production of the arsenal is still very limited, but all front-line troops still adhere to the regulations of the General Staff every day to shoot live ammunition for scraping practice, each soldier can shoot at least two bullets a day, but all the bullet casings must be recovered, and then concentrated, loaded onto the train and transported back to Wuhan, handed over to the arsenal for recycling, which can greatly reduce the cost of live ammunition shooting training. And can develop a good habit of saving bullets in soldiers.

Watching this infantry battalion return to the barracks, Zhang Jiyang, who was standing at the gate of the barracks, was very satisfied with the morale of the army, and said to Zhang Xiaozhun, who was standing beside him: "Runnon, the morale of our army, and then think about the rotten atmosphere in the Beiyang Army, it is very wise for you to choose to stay and serve in the Republican Army, although your appointment has not yet come down, however, I can assure you that your position is definitely much higher than when you were in the Beiyang Army!" The commander-in-chief was very pleased with your defection to the Republican Army, and he said to me that you are a petty talent, and it is too wasteful to put you in the General Staff. or a division staff officer"

Zhang Xiaozhun smiled faintly and said, "Even if I am a regiment commander and battalion commander, I am also satisfied." Actually, when I was in the Beiyang Army before, I was just a small military adviser, although I later became the commander of the Gyeonggi garrison, but I was also a tall man who was set up by others, and the person who was really in charge was Duan Qirui. Also, Secretary General Zhang, I am not defecting to the Republican Army, but to the United Front. ”

"The same, the same. Without the IRA, the United Front would be a rabble. Without the commander-in-chief, those parliamentarians are just fish on the chopping block of the Beiyang, and they can only be slaughtered. ”

In fact, in his opinion, the reason why the United Front was able to achieve this brilliant victory was entirely due to the contribution of the Republican Army, which was also the common view of many officers, and in their opinion, if it had not been for the restraint of those constitutionalists, perhaps these revolutionary soldiers would have entered the city of Beijing.

In his opinion, the officer in charge of the army's political and ideological work was too radical, and they deliberately despised the military power of the great powers, Zhang Xiaozhun and Jiang Fangzhen had inspected the military in Weizhou for two years, and they knew better than anyone else about the military strength of the European powers, and it was precisely because of this that Zhang Xiaozhun once entered the Beiyang Army service; In his opinion, the Beiyang Army is China's most modern army. Because their weapons are the most advanced.

But now it seems that it is not enough to have advanced weapons, but also to use a kind of thought or spirit to cultivate the temperament of soldiers, this point, Cai Pin and Jiang Fangzhen have long been aware, but Zhang Xiaozhun has scoffed at this, perhaps, he is too "weapon-only", in this regard, Zhang Xiaozhun is somewhat similar to Zhao Bei, the difference is that Zhao Bei emphasizes weapons at the same time, but also tries to give this revolutionary army a kind of thought, this kind of thinking is Zhang Jiyang on the road to Zhang Xiaozhun many times, " Fight for yourself"

This kind of thinking cannot exist in isolation in the army, it must be supplemented by political means. It is also out of this reason that the republican military government has been trying its best to improve the people's livelihood, especially for the soldier class, most of whom come from small peasant families, and the "Small Farmland Bracelet Exemption Law" takes care of the interests of this class.

But will this actually work? Zhang Xiaozhun has no bottom in his heart, after all, this small country is an agricultural society, and if he wants to develop industry. In terms of the current national strength, it seems that the only way to raise funds is to squeeze the countryside, and if taxes are reduced or exempted from the villages, there will be a lack of sufficient funds for the development of industry. This is a difficult problem, but the development of industry is the policy that the country needs most.

Before leaving Zhengzhou the day before yesterday to follow Zhang Jiyang to Baoding to inspect the front-line troops, Zhang Xiaozhun followed several officers of the Political Propaganda Committee to the rural areas of southern Henan to supervise the establishment of the local "hoe society." Only then did Zhang Xiaozhun realize that the "Hoe Society" was not just a rural mutual aid organization, but also had a distinct color of grassroots political power, and this grassroots political power obviously conflicted with the interests of the township. Once this "hoe society" is established, it will be established. will completely replace the township to rule the countryside, so that. Some of the privileges previously enjoyed by the Xiangshen will no longer exist, and in fact, during the establishment of the "Hoe Society", the Xiangshen will basically take a hostile position. In some places, there were even rebellions instigated by the villages, so much so that the army and the Revolutionary Guards had to be used to solve the problem.

This made Zhang Xiaozhun a little worried, he also knew who the members of the United Front were, he was worried that Zhao Bei was too partial to the people at the bottom of the society and ignored the interests of the middle and upper classes, although Zhao Bei encouraged the exhibition of industry and commerce, which can be regarded as a guarantee of the interests he made to the middle and upper classes, but before he really got this benefit, how many people would follow Zhao Bei to the end, but it is also unknown.

Of course, as an officer, it is inconvenient for Zhang Xiaozhen to express his views too much on political and policy issues, and now he is only concerned about one thing: When will the moral investigation team arrive in Baoding?

Of course, one of the reasons for following Zhang Jiyang to Baoding this time to inspect the front-line troops was to greet the German delegation that had traveled almost half the world to China by the Trans-Siberian Railway, which had been ordered by the German General Staff to inspect the prospects for the use of the air force in China

The team showed boiling. Zhan did attract the attention of several military powers, and De Bi was eager to know what role the aircraft could play on the real battlefield.

Zhang Xiaozhun and Zhang Jiyang checked the duties in the infantry battalion, and the two became interested in the bundles of rifles placed in the corner. When I asked the commander, I learned that these were all Japanese-made rifles captured from the Beiyang Army, which were originally equipped with troops, but this morning the General Headquarters sent a telegram ordering the front-line troops to classify Japanese-made rifles separately. As soon as German-made rifles arrived in the rear, these Japanese-made rifles had to be loaded onto trains and transported back to the rear to equip the second-line troops.

"Is the commander-in-chief planning to equip the whole army with German-made rifles?" Zhang Xiaozhun figured out Zhao Bei's intentions.

"It's so flamboyant that I know a little bit about it." I heard from the Commander-in-Chief the other day. In the future, our Republican Army will use the caliber of German rifles as the standard caliber, requiring that rifles and machine gun bullets be universal, and rifles of other calibers must be gradually withdrawn from the front-line troops, and eventually from the whole army. ”

"Why don't you choose a Japanese-style caliber? Although the commander-in-chief had an opinion about the Japanese, the caliber of the Japanese rifle was more reasonable. It is the most suitable for the physique of our soldiers, with low recoil and high precision; And the same weight can carry more bullets. Even if the Japanese rifle is not chosen, the 68 caliber rifle that the Qing court asked the German arsenal to design is not bad, Zhang Xiaozhun does not agree to eliminate the small-caliber rifle.

"At that time, I also asked, and the commander-in-chief said four reasons: first, most of the machines in the Hanyang Arsenal are German, and it is more troublesome to switch to the Japanese system, so it is better to continue to use the German-style caliber as the standard, and the key is to change the bullets to pointed bullets; Second. Now on the international arms market. German weapons and ammunition were the most popular. Not only the price is fair, but also the quantity is sufficient, using German caliber, which is convenient for us to buy ammunition directly from abroad, and in the future, after our own ammunition is abundant, it is also very convenient to sell excess ammunition; Thirdly, the Germans have a convention that all bullets that have been stored for more than 10 years will be eliminated. These bullets will not be destroyed, but will be sold at a reduced price. These bullets can actually be used, but the price is very cheap, cheaper than our own manufacturing, and can be used for emergencies, which is also a reason for the use of German caliber; Fourth, the six-eight-caliber rifle, although the performance is good, but at present, there are only a few machines in the country, and the output is not high, besides, if the caliber is replaced, those stockpiled bullets will not be useful. ”

Zhang Jiyang picked up a Japanese-made "38 big cover". Pulling the bolt open, he pointed to the chrysanthemum pattern on the cover. The conversation changed.

"Besides, our China and Japan are mortal enemies, how can our regular army use Japanese rifles? Of course, then again, it is unlikely that we will eliminate all these Japanese rifles now, and these captured Japanese rifles will be equipped in the second-line troops for a long time, and there is still a long way to go to standardize this weapon.

Zhang Xiaozhun agrees with Zhang Jiyang's words in front of him, but for those words in his back. Zhang Xiaozhun is very disapproving, in his opinion, Japan has a lot to learn from China. There is still some truth in "mastering the skills of the master to control the razor".

In his opinion, this kind of ideological indoctrination is dangerous, and it is likely to provoke Japan and make the already stalemate Sino-Japanese relations continue to deteriorate.

After inspecting the duties in the barracks, Zhang Xiaozhun left the barracks with Zhang Jiyang, rushed back to the nearby railway station, and entered the dispatch room, and an adjutant handed over a telegram to Zhang Jiyang.

"The delegation has left Beijing and is now coming on horseback to Baoding by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. The telegram taken by the Beiyang War Department told us to receive it well. ”

Zhang Jiyang glanced at the telegram, and he didn't realize that the railways north of Baoding were basically demolished by the Beiyang Army, and he could only come by horse from Beijing to Baoding.

"When the Germans arrive, they will definitely ask to visit the flying team, shall we agree or not?" Zhang Xiaozhun asked.

"Why don't you agree? The commander-in-chief still relies on this catty. Bait fishing too. Not only do we have to welcome the Executive Fact, but we also want the flight to think they are doing an air show! By the way, by the way, call that Meng Fei over, "Ding, some tactics are our secrets, even the Germans have to keep them secret." ”

Zhang Jiyang hurriedly ordered an adjutant to shake the phone and ordered Meng Fei, the leader of the flight team, to rush to the train station. He had to explain a few words carefully, but he had a bit of a superfluous taste, Meng Fei was a soldier, and of course he knew the secret regulations.

Without waiting for Meng Fei to come, an urgent telegram was photographed at the former enemy headquarters in Baoding, and Zhang Jiyang and Zhang Xiaozhun, who were sent by the commander-in-chief, also quickly learned the content of this telegram, which was a mobilization order for preparing for war.

"I hereby order all the troops on the front line in Baoding to immediately enter a state of combat readiness! Wait for orders from your superiors

This order was a little inexplicable, but Zhang Jiyang was very excited, he thought that the Beiyang side had sabotaged the peace talks, so he hurriedly sent a telegram to Zhengzhou to inquire, but the answer he got was very surprising to him.

Yuan Shikai died, he died yesterday, and this news was sent by Chuanjiaoren from Beijing to report to Zhao Bei, which is very credible, and the northern intelligence station of the Republican Army has also confirmed it.

Therefore, Zhao Bei ordered the front-line troops to enter combat readiness, not for the sake of fighting, but just in case.

But is the commander-in-chief really just in case?

In this regard, Zhang Jiyang was very suspicious, following the commander-in-chief for such a long time in the southern fierce battle, he was already very familiar with the commander-in-chief's methods, as long as there was an opportunity, he would be able to seize it, but there was no chance. He will also create opportunities to seize, and in terms of strategic vision, no one can compare to him.

Zhang Jiyang looked out the window, but saw that the red sun had sunk to the horizon, and the sky was about to get dark.

Perhaps, wait for the next sunrise. It's a new era.