There is no Christmas in China, and the Chinese New Year is not January 1......

John. Shepard sighed, this year's holiday was a complete ruin - it was a good thing, the stupid Germans still had to celebrate Christmas and New Year, and they wouldn't be in the barracks for a week - the Major and his colleagues could safely train and get acquainted with the 1,000 New Army soldiers who would be under their command during the exercise according to Umbrella's standards. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Despite their confidence, the Americans knew their shortcomings: the German advisers had been in the Chinese army for a long time, some for more than a year, and they were apparently more familiar with the soldiers, knowing what they could and could not do - at the level of combat command, the Germans had a clear advantage - and the company's advisers had to do everything they could to make up for this shortcoming, including taking their own vacations.

This is a precious time. However, a week was too short, it felt like it was just a moment, seven days had passed, and the time for the exercise had arrived.

Shepard turned to his colleagues. "The Germans sent a letter this morning, and they wanted to know if we were ready."

His deputy, deputy head of the advisory group, David Brown. Webb raised an eyebrow. "Obviously, they're not going to give us another week."

"Yes."

"Very well, tell them that we are ready and waiting to kick their ass."

David. Captain Webb was a resolute man, but also very bold, and did not hesitate to act at the slightest opportunity to do anything, usually with a stormy and ferocious blow. Many believe that it is familial: from 1587 the ancestors of the captain decided to give up the comfortable life on land and join Francis. From the moment Lord Drake's pirate fleet was in place, decisiveness and audacity had been present in the male members of the Webb family - but sadly, the captain's forefathers had never had the luck to get a higher rank than a boatswain in the pirate or navy.

Luck...... Perhaps this is why Captain Webb left the Annapolis Naval School and did not become a naval officer but joined the Marine Corps, but ......

Lack of luck does not mean lack of ability, nor does it mean that there is no vision, even if he is not familiar enough with the soldiers under his command, the captain is convinced that the Germans' current behavior is only a prelude to self-inflicted humiliation.

The same goes for others.

Shepard nodded. "That's what I've replied to them. Of course," he added, "I removed the part about kicking their ass." ”

The U.S. military advisers all burst into laughter.

But at the same time, the German military advisers were laughing - they had foreseen a victory, a revenge: the timid Yankees seemed to take the results of the exercise on paper as reality, and arrogantly said that they were ready and waiting for them at any moment before they were fully familiar with the commanding soldiers.

Of course, even if the Yankees were perfectly familiar with their soldiers, in fact they would never have been able to win; The U.S. Army was no match for the German Army, and it was, is, and will continue to be the case -- and the confidence of the German advisers was also very strong.

"Gentlemen, it's time to sober those Americans to the fullest," said Walter. Captain Graberman, a tall, thin, middle-aged man with a typical Germanic square face, said loudly to his colleagues, "Tomorrow the confrontation exercise will begin." ”

Captain Grabermann's decision was the decision of the German advisers, for he was the highest-ranking of them; But the captain's decision does not represent the final decision, and only one person has the qualifications and authority to make the final decision before it moves on to a higher level.

Yuan Shikai.

If Gerabermann was to make his decision a reality, he would have to get Yuan Shikai's approval, otherwise the German advisers would not be able to command even half a soldier. Unfortunately, the captain ignored this point, or thought he could easily convince Yuan Shikai, but the governors of the New Army did not intend to do so.

He refused to approve Geraberman's request.

"Why does it have to be tomorrow?" In fact, this is only a perfunctory question, and Yuan Shikai does not want to know the answer - in the face of the current situation, any answer seems meaningless; Although it may seem that the exercise that is going to take place is only a small one, it has attracted so much attention that it cannot be carried out according to the wishes of one or several people.

Great Britain, France, Russia, Japan, Italy, and, of course, the United States and Germany, all of them are devoted to great attention - the military confrontation between the two countries always attracts widespread attention, not to mention the fact that Britain, Russia, and Japan have great interests in China, or are determined to obtain them, in China, and whatever happens in China will attract their attention; As for France and Italy, they either want to see the Germans lose face, or they are praying that the Germans will teach the damned mercenaries instead of themselves.

And it's not that simple: mere "attention" clearly doesn't satisfy the curiosity or revenge of individual countries. The envoys or commanders of the garrisons in China of the seven countries have made it clear that they will send observers to participate in the exercises, but these observers are still on the way, and no one will be able to reach Tianjin before the time requested by Graberman, but Yuan Shikai cannot wait for them to arrive.

So the exercises can't start tomorrow.

And this is something that neither the American nor the German advisers knew: when these demands were made, they were either busy celebrating Christmas and New Year, or too busy getting acquainted with the soldiers participating in the exercises, and did not have the energy to care about other issues; However, it seems too late to get the news now.

At least Geraberman thought it was too late. "General Yuan, I must seriously point out to you that your soldiers are not ready to meet foreign observation missions, and that they still have a big gap with the European Army, regardless of their military quality or mental outlook, and will disappoint the observers."

Yuan Shikai felt that this was a complete nonsense, and at the same time it made him feel unpleasant, although everyone knew that it was true; But before he spoke, Davy. Webb was already laughing.

"Personally, I think it's not the Chinese soldiers who will disappoint the observers, but their German instructors." "Captain Geraberman is clearly worried about losing face in front of his countrymen," he said, not without irony. ”

"If anyone fears disgrace in front of their own countrymen, it won't be me, on the contrary, I think that person should be you, Mr. Webb." Graberman immediately replied fiercely.

"After the last exercise on paper, I don't think I have any need to worry." Weber deliberately referred to the "controversial" paper deduction in a contemptuous tone, which he knew would step on the tail of the Germans, and which was true.

"The actual battle will always be different from the actual battle on paper, and the tactics you Americans use are by no means glamorous." Geraberman tried to make his tone sound mocking, but to others it was more like an angry rebuttal.

The captain was angry, but Webb was still adding fuel to the fire. "In war, only the result is the most important, and the means are insignificant. Captain Geraberman, you're too old-fashioned. ”

Graberman's beard curled.

However, before the angry captain roared at the triumphant Weber, perhaps thinking that he had seen enough, Yuan Shikai finally intervened. "Two, please don't hurt the peace for a little thing." He said with a smile, his eyes almost narrowed into a slit, "Victory and defeat are a common thing in soldiers, so why bother so much?" ”

According to Grubman, he could not accept this argument - first, it was "and mud"; Second, a soldier who doesn't care about the outcome of the war is not a good soldier and should be kicked out of the army immediately - but he is an instructor hired by Yuan Shikai, and he must give full consideration to the face of the Chinese general in front of the Americans.

Grubeman chose to remain quiet, but still did not forget to warn Webb with his eyes, only to get a nonchalant shrug as if his annoyance was illogical.

From this moment on, the captain's angry gaze never left Webb's face, and at the same time, he gritted his teeth and secretly vowed to teach the damned Americans a hard lesson in the exercise, turning them into the laughing stock of the whole world.

He had to do it.

"Poor fellow." Weber gave the German a mocking look, then turned his gaze to Yuan Shikai. "Your Excellency General, when will the observers from various countries arrive?"

"It is not clear at the moment," the respectful attitude of the Americans made Yuan Shikai very satisfied, and he was satisfied for a while, and then said: "However, according to the news from the Prime Minister Yamen, the warship on which Colonel Mahan, the representative of your country, was on only entered the Shanghai concession to add coal and water, and I am afraid that it will not be possible to reach Tianjin without five or six days' effort." ”

"Colonel!" Webb didn't hear the time, and he was left with that name in his head, and another, more important name associated with it. The captain's breath became rapid. "Your Excellency, who are the observers in the United States besides the colonel?"

Yuan Shikai didn't understand why he was so surprised and urgent, but he still shook his head. "The news from the Prime Minister's Yamen was not too detailed."

Webb was disappointed and a little relieved by the answer, but then he became nervous again. Even if Mahan is the only one who comes to Tianjin, it is still a matter that cannot be taken lightly, and the process and results of the exercise must be perfected.

He thought about it. "Your Excellency General, I have a ...... for the confrontational exercises that will be held" (to be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in to the www.qidian.com, there are more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) (To be continued.) )