After the trip to Jinzhou, Song Biao continued to Haizhou to inspect Zhang Xiaohuai's Fourth Infantry Division.

Haizhou is a very beautiful new city, prosperous commerce, port and railway transportation are very convenient, the local silk, silk, cashmere, cotton industry is very prosperous, this is the reason why Haizhou has become the third largest textile city in the three eastern provinces after Jinzhou and Shenyang.

Compared with its economic status, Haizhou's military status is more prominent.

Song Biao wants to enter the customs, he must defend against foreign [***] standing, and second, prevent the intervention of the army, which has a good foundation for intervening in the three eastern provinces on the Liaodong Peninsula and the Korean Peninsula, and Haizhou happens to be bordered by Liaodong in the south and the Korean Peninsula in the east, which determines that Haizhou is the first area to resist the intervention of the Yue army.

In addition to the Russian army, other foreign armed forces want to take the opportunity to intervene in the three eastern provinces, and Haizhou is also a threshold that cannot be bypassed, so Song Biao let Zhang Xiaohuai's Fourth Infantry Division be stationed in Haizhou.

The predecessor of the Fourth Infantry Division was Hu Dalin's engineer battalion, which was the earliest beginning, after Hu Dalin died in the Battle of Liaoyang, Song Biao asked Zhang Xiaohuai to temporarily take over the troops, and incorporated some villagers urgently recruited in Liaoyang to supplement, and continued to fight to the death with the army on the battlefield.

After the end of the Battle of Liaoyang, this battalion was recruited and expanded into a regiment in the areas of Liaoyang, Benxi, and Haicheng, and changed to a regular unit for intensive training in Liaoyang.

After Neznamov was promoted to colonel of the Russian Army and returned to teach at the Russian Staff College, Lieutenant Colonel Popnin continued to serve as the chief instructor of the Fourth Brigade, and to this day he is still the Russian adviser of the division, and the chief of instruction was replaced by Xu Fangqian, mainly to assist Zhang Xiaohuai in ideological work and staff affairs.

At this time, Song Biao was anxious to return to the military headquarters to implement the rectification plan, and the itinerary originally planned to stay in Haizhou for two days was compressed to one day, and in the morning he went to Nanlou Town, where the division headquarters of the Fourth Infantry Division was located, and inspected the troops accompanied by Zhang Xiaohuai.

Song Biao was in a hurry, and when he arrived at the division headquarters in Nanlou Town, the 22,700 people of the division were already lined up, and the 72 most important artillery pieces of the division were ranked in the middle, as the core strength of the division.

This is the real main force, which is completely on par with the Germans in terms of the number of artillery equipped.

Because the division is responsible for defending Haizhou, the main defensive direction is the Liaodong Peninsula on the south and east sides, and it is mainly engaged in mountainous operations, so the division is basically similar to the Third Infantry Division in terms of equipment, and it belongs to the type of mountain division, and the main artillery is the M1906\08 75mm mountain gun, in addition to 12 M1898\1909 105mm Krupp light howitzers and 4 M1904 105mm short-barreled cannons.

The M1908 75mm mountain gun is the main mountain gun currently installed by the Northeast New Army, the original model is the M1906 75mm mountain gun, and this type of mountain gun is based on the 31 mountain gun and Germany to improve the production model.

In 1908, Krupp Company launched a new 75mm mountain gun, the basis of which is also the use of M1906 type 75mm mountain gun technology, through the cooperation of the German DWM company and Krupp company, the relevant new improved technology was introduced into the Northeast New Army to become the M1906 \08 type 75mm mountain gun.

Compared with the M1906\09 Schneider 75mm mountain gun that France is willing to sell to the Northeast New Army, the surname of this type of mountain gun is worse, but the cooperation conditions given by the German DWM company are to manufacture it locally, and it is currently produced at the Benxi Arsenal, a subsidiary of the East German Arms Company, a joint venture between the two sides.

This type of gun inherits many advantages and ballistic data of the 31-year-old mountain gun, the gun weighs 523 kg, can be divided into six parts of the reading force transport, the projectile weighs 4.8kg (0.5kg lighter than the Krupp version), the muzzle velocity of the shell is 335m/sec, and the maximum firing range is 6550m.

This gun has a cavalry mountain gun, the weight is reduced to 357 kg, as many people guess, with the reduction of the double diameter and the reduction of muzzle velocity, the cavalry type has become a large grenade thrower, fortunately, the maximum range can still be maintained at 5230m.

It can be said that the division is basically purely Germanized in artillery.

In terms of firearms, the Fourth Infantry Division and the whole army have some differences, due to the fact that there are more new equipment and new tactical test tasks, the division is partially equipped with the Liaoyang Arsenal on the basis of the M1891 Mosin Nagant rifle improved M1910 Liaoyang rifle, compared with the original model, the gun uses a circular profile receiver, a downward bend pull handle, a crosshair shield and a forked lock, and the barrel length is the same as the dragoon model.

The biggest change is the use of a new model of center-fired 7.62*54cr rifle cartridge, and the corresponding firing pin of the bolt should also be modified, the advantages of this change are many, but the disadvantage is that the supply is completely different from the original Mosin Nagant rifle, and the corresponding Maxim machine gun and Madsen machine gun have to be modified, and the Mauser Zeiss precision rifle equipped with the division also uses this type of rifle cartridge.

Standing on the review stand in the school field, Song Biao looked at the Fourth Infantry Division in front of him, and he could feel a very special nostalgia and warmth in his heart, and he could also see the future of the Northeast New Army, and the service of new equipment would always bring a lot of problems, especially supplies.

In large-scale military operations, this is still a relatively troublesome problem, so Song Biao decided early on to leave the 4th Infantry Division in Haizhou, and at the same time constantly began to conduct experiments on new equipment in this division.

The 7.62 * 54Cr rifle cartridge was developed by him to the Far East Arsenal, and the German technical engineers were mainly invited to help engage in a large number of test work, unlike the 7.62 * 54R rim primer rifle cartridge used in Russia, the cartridge case is relatively thicker, which can withstand higher chamber pressure and new gunpowder, and reduce the proportion of corrosive gunpowder by increasing the amount of charge, and the loading speed is fast, providing the basis for further use of magazine-type rifles later.

This step will have to be taken sooner or later, and the new Winchester M1910 semi-automatic rifle also uses this new ammunition, so this type of rifle is also prioritized for large-scale use in the 4th Infantry Division.

Here, what Song Biao saw was indeed the past and future of the Northeast New Army, and here, he could also see the earliest Makqin machine guns, as well as a few Hatch Kaisi machine guns, which were used for the training and study of soldiers, and the sources of these guns were almost all from the Battle of Liaoyang.

Each division has a military history hall of honor, and the Fourth Infantry Division has a relatively more history of honor, participated in all the battles before and after, and started with the engineer battalion, which can be said to have made a prominent contribution to the Northeast New Army.

Although he had to return to Shenyang as soon as possible in the afternoon, Song Biao made a five-minute speech here, encouraging the officers and men to defend the honor of the three eastern provinces and the Fourth Infantry Division.

After finishing speaking, when the soldiers of the whole division applauded warmly, Song Biao turned his face and glanced at Zhang Xiaohuai, and said: "I will go back to Shenyang after lunch at noon, so I won't stay with you for a few more days, Jiang Fangzhen and they didn't come over, let's have a meal alone at noon, and I'll talk to you about something." ”

Zhang Xiaohuai nodded silently yes, and Xu Fangqian, the instructor of the Fourth Infantry Division, who was standing beside Zhang Xiaohuai, couldn't help but be a little embarrassed.

Song Biao walked over and shook hands with Zhang Xiaohuai first, and then shook hands with Xu Fangqian, and also saw Xu Fangqian's embarrassment, so he said: "The situation is special, Xu teaches more responsibility, and I will invite you to eat alone in the military headquarters when I have the opportunity in the future, this time I will owe it first." ”

Xu Fangqian hurriedly replied: "The general seat is serious. ”

Song Biao is still a little embarrassed these days, not as stern and cold as Ping Yue, he patted Xu Fangqian's shoulder very casually, and said, "Be more considerate!" ”

After saying this, he motioned to Zhang Xiaohuai to lead the way, and the two of them went to the guest house to have a casual meal first.

Zhang Xiaohuai prepared a few tables of banquets this time, so he had to temporarily let Xu Fangqian go to entertain other colleagues of the military inspection team, and accompany Song Biao alone, and he didn't have time to arrange a new banquet temporarily, but fortunately, he knew the old boss very well, so he asked the guest house to temporarily arrange a seafood chowder and gnocchi, and the seemingly simple arrangement was actually the most liked by Song Biao.

Because there were no outsiders, Song Biao was much more casual than usual, and sat down in the private room with Zhang Xiaohuai and persuaded him: "Xiaohuai, the development of the Liberation Revolution has been said so far, and the army is about to start, and it will only be a matter of the year at the latest." I know that you have a hundred hearts and minds to go to the south with me, but you yourself know in your heart that I have already thought from the beginning that I would let you stay in Haizhou to guard the first gate of the three eastern provinces, Jinzhou cannot garrison, and the garrisons in Dandong and Hunjiang are also limited, and can only be maintained by the patrol detachments of the two military reclamation bureaus. Therefore, I must leave a real main force to guard the gate of Haizhou, knock on the mountains and shock the tiger, and not give Yuben and other foreign forces any room for reverie. ”

Zhang Xiaohuai nodded silently, just waiting for Song Biao to say that he wanted to talk to him alone, and he understood what the general seat wanted to say to him.

He could only nod his head and admit, and said, "Boss, don't worry, as long as I am in Haizhou, the city is in the people, and the city is dead." However, I heard that there are a lot of things happening on Xiao Kaigui's side, why don't you let me go, I'll go with Xiao Kaigui, I'm equipped with the mountain division, and I can fight all the way to Zhangjiakou. Besides, I don't know anything else, Brother Yanxing has deep qualifications and can serve the public, if there are other unexpected things to deal with, it is more appropriate for him to stay in Shenyang. If their fifth division stays, then replace me and go to Kannai. ”

Song Biao thought about it and replied very cautiously: "He is as good as he is, but he is still not as good as you." What era is it now, telegraph, telephone and radio are very convenient, no matter what urgent matter, the military headquarters can contact me, there is no need to leave the Fifth Division here, although Wu Yuanze's Sixth Division is a reserve division, it is enough to stay in Shenyang, and I need to fight quickly on the Guannai side. ”

Zhang Xiaohuai said with a smile: "If it's really a quick battle, I don't want to go, but there is always a battle to be fought along the way, and watching others fight, I don't feel the most uncomfortable." ”

Song Biao said: "It depends on the situation, if the foreign countries have been deterred halfway through the battle, and there will be no major incidents, that is, if it is to sweep away the internal troubles, I will transfer a division back to the three eastern provinces for repair, and you can come over again." Even if you are not transferred, you should not think that everything in the country will be as smooth as the calm and calm, and you will still be used as the Fourth Infantry Division if you raise troops for a thousand years. ”

After a pause, he added, "Mountain Master, there will always be a time when it will be useful. ”

Zhang Xiaohuai grinned and said: "Just have the general seat's words, the general seat, take the hot to eat, our gnocchi is the best, some time ago someone just sent a basket of wild eggs, too small, I don't eat it, this is all for you to use in the gnocchi, you will talk about this in the future, don't say that you take a trip here with me, even the mountain delicacies have not been eaten." ”

Song Biao laughed and said, "Gnocchi is my favorite, or do we old brothers understand my preferences!" ”

Zhang Xiaohuai said with a smile: "That is, before the battle of Liaoyang, we first grabbed Xiao Yueben's flour and eggs, and you can't wait to let the brothers eat the gnocchi." ”

Song Biao thought for a while and said, "This matter, you are not here, you came to participate in the Battle of Liaoyang later." ”

Zhang Xiaohuai smiled: "Zhang Yahu told me. ”

Song Biao snorted and said: "That bastard also listened to Chen Wu and others, and he was not present, my machine gun suddenly rushed over and robbed the Shendanbao garrison of the First Brigade of the Cavalry, and the black pressure was all good flour and eggs." Zhang Futian and Li Dahan are here, Dahan beat me with batter, Zhang Futian beat eggs for me, I personally boiled the water, and the big pot of gnocchi almost turned out to be cheaper Chen Wu's bastard. ”

Many people say that people only think about the past when they are old.

Soldiers like to think about the past, because their lives will die almost at any moment, and every moment of joy is worth cherishing and remembering.

After eating a large bowl of gnocchi, Song Biao really didn't eat the taste of wild eggs, that is, this seafood chowder pot was cooked well, there was a mess of everything, and the taste was quite messy, but it was a fresh word that was the most prominent.

After eating this meal, Song Biao took a special train back to Fengtian Mansion without stopping, and at this time, at the military headquarters of the Governor's Palace, the head of the Military Command Department of the Patrol Army of the three eastern provinces and Yang Tiesheng, the chief of the Fengtian Provincial Patrol Army, were waiting for him.

Song Biao telegraphed in advance, and when he returned to the military headquarters, he was going to talk to Yang Tiesheng about patrolling the army.

When leaving Haizhou by train, it was just the peak of the tussah silk breeding in May, a large number of oak leaves were sealed in wicker baskets after splashing water covers, and baskets were transported along the train to Nanlou Town, Nanlou Town has 30,000 residents, and half of the families who raise tussah silk account for them, and most of these people are from Shandong.

Haizhou's silkworm breeding has obvious commercial practices, because of the lack of local breeding experts, most of them have to be recruited from Shandong and Zhili, half recruited and half trained, so there are many large breeders, hiring people to pick leaves in the mountains and recruit workers to be responsible for raising silkworms.

This is the main reason for the rapid rise in the scale of Haizhou Tussah silk breeding, now more and more people have joined this industry, some farmers directly take root in Xiuyan County, and in Jinzhou, Zhuanghe Hall, there are more and more silkworm breeding.

Speaking of which, it depends on a large number of oak trees in 70% of the mountains of the Liaodong Peninsula.

Quercus is a treasure, can not only raise silkworms, but also can brew oak honey, and finally produce acorn, also known as oak, is also an important nut and medicinal material, the northeast side is mainly the subspecies of quercus in the north Liaodong oak, hemp oak and Mongolian oak.

Because the oak tree is ready-made, everywhere, the number is huge, especially the two small railways shuttle between the mountains, for the silkworm breeding has brought an excellent production and sales channel, the number of local silkworm breeding is almost at an immeasurable rate of expansion, and in other parts of Liaoning and Jilin Province, the silk breeding has also begun to expand rapidly.

It's all money that's at work.

It was only for Yuben that this was truly terrible news.

Song Biao didn't know what choice he would have made once the Liberation Revolution broke out, but if he had been replaced, if he had been the prime minister, he would have to fight everything to interfere in the situation from the Korean Peninsula, and at worst he would be able to take the opportunity to force his opponent to give up his interests on the Korean Peninsula, and if he was lucky, he would be able to take a lot of more interests, and even squeeze China into a situation of chaos throughout the country.

(To be continued)