A fast horse galloped east from the main road to the west, bringing up a long trail of dust and smoke, and the second lieutenant of the scout on the horse reined in his horse under the earthen hill and reported loudly to An Yi on the post:

"Regiment commander, the guard team at the rear post reported that thirty-seven large trucks came from the west, and the documents presented when passing through my temporary inspection post were the artillery headquarters directly under the General Headquarters, and the vehicles used were all artillery tractors, of which two-thirds of the vehicles were fully loaded, and the rest were empty vehicles, without towing artillery, and the outpost had been released as usual, at this time it was about 3.5 kilometers away from here, and the report was completed!"

"Keep watching!" An Yi replied with a salute, and he already had a bottom in his heart.

"Yes!" The second lieutenant rode away.

Hu Zi asked in surprise: "When did the General Headquarters have this artillery command directly under it?" ”

An Yi replied with a smile: "It is estimated that Brother Cai Zhongwat has been promoted, and the General Headquarters has finally discovered the disadvantages of the sporadic use of artillery after several major battles, and Brother Cai has also kept reporting the pros and cons."

After the capture of Nanchang, the General Headquarters began to discuss the issue of the centralized use of artillery. I remember that in Nanchang I once went to ask the principal to allocate ammunition, the principal was in a good mood, after signing my application report, he asked me the advantages and disadvantages of the centralized use of artillery, I replied that in the case of limited resources, the centralized use is much better than the sporadic equipment of divisions and regiments, especially for the major battles and sieges have greater results, the principal nodded and smiled at that time and did not say anything. Now it seems that Brother Cai is satisfied, haha! ”

Yang Bin suddenly thought of the twelve brand-new French Schneider 1923 75mm mountain guns and twenty-four miscellaneous artillery guns that had been captured, beat a drum in his heart, and hurriedly reminded An Yi:

"Xiao Yi, don't laugh, I heard it clearly just now, the thirty-six tractors didn't pull the guns over, if the estimate is good, I'm afraid the thirty-six guns that haven't been covered in our hands won't be able to be saved!"

The brothers immediately realized the seriousness of the problem, An Yi woke up and had a great headache, and turned around twice on the earthen hill at a loss: "Why didn't Lao Tzu think of it? Granny's ...... Let's leave it alone, let's talk about it when we meet...... Beard, Lao Yang, gather the team to greet the artillery brothers! ”

"Yes."

Thirty-six tractor-trucks drove into the makeshift field, and more than 2,000 officers and men of the Reading Force Regiment lined up in a neat and solemn manner, and the 36 vehicles stopped one by one on the decayed grassland south of the Tugang under the command of the signal soldiers of the Reading Force.

The convoy had not yet completely stopped, and Cai Zhonghu, who was wearing a new-style major general's uniform, led seven or eight generals and colonels to stride over, showing a bright smile to An Yi and the others who greeted him.

An Yi stopped and saluted loudly: "An Yi, the head of the Reading Force, led the crowd to welcome the arrival of the general!" ”

Cai Zhongwat returned the salute solemnly, and before he could speak, the light of the two pictures came with the low sound of "pop", An Yi looked at the three photographers who suddenly appeared four meters away in surprise, and found that there was an old acquaintance among the three men and women in military uniforms.

Cai Zhonghu laughed, strode forward and gave An Yi a punch:

"Good boy, good fight! Your An Yi's name and the prestige of the model battalion and the Second Division's Reading Force Regiment have spread throughout Nanchang City, and the picky General Cheng Qian is also full of praise for your kid at the headquarters meeting, and General Li Delin said that the three major battles you fought after entering Zhejiang are all excellent, and the principal is proud! No, the "Central Daily" sent a reporter, let me introduce it to you...... This is the talented current affairs editor He Jing, this is the senior photographer Zhuang Fengshuo, and this is the famous and charming chief editor Ye ......"

"General Cai, Xiao Yi and I have known each other before, and I interviewed him when he was still studying in Whampoa." Ye Qing, who had the latest Zeiss camera on his chest, smiled heartily, took two steps forward, and generously stretched out his little hand to An Yi, his charming big eyes were full of joy: "Big hero, you have become a man in a blink of an eye!" ”

An Yi saw Ye Qing in a military uniform, and admired it very much, respectfully stepped forward and stretched out a warm big hand, and gently shook her little hand:

"Miss Ye, you are only one or two years older than me, how can you talk like an old-fashioned net want to make money? The little brother thought about it again and again, it seems that he didn't offend you, a big beauty? ”

Everyone laughed, Ye Qing's goose egg face, which was already red from the cold, turned even redder, she glared at An Yi fiercely, pouted her beautiful little mouth and whispered a few words to An Yi, and then smiled embarrassedly and stepped aside.

An Yi stepped forward to shake hands with He Jing, a young and elegant reporter wearing black-rimmed glasses, and Lao Zhuang, a photographer with a bearded artist, and turned his head to find that Cai Zhonghu had already whispered affectionately with Hu Zi and his Baoding junior brother Yang Bin.

"Here, your eldest sister asked me to bring you the letter."

Ye Qing came to An Yi's side again and handed a letter to An Yi.

An Yi happily took it and thanked him repeatedly, glanced at the familiar Juanxiu font on the envelope, his heart was extremely warm, he carefully folded it and put it into his jacket pocket, and a pair of cold eyes that had been washed by war and blood flashed with warmth.

Ye Qing had been quietly looking at the expression on An Yijun's face, looking at his more upright body and more and more mature masculinity, Fang Xin praised and couldn't help but sigh at An Yi's charming smile. She really can't imagine that after less than a year, she can no longer see the pleasant youth and agility of An Yi's body, and she can't see the bright smile that is slightly naughty, instead of the calmness of her gestures, the faint but gives people an incomparably confident sense of steadfastness, behind his seemingly enthusiastic and easy-going eyes, it has made the keen and versatile Ye Qing unable to grasp his true emotions, and his handsome face with soft lines in his memory has quietly changed, with a resolute chin and naturally closed beautiful lips, It is full of a unique charm of fortitude and the extraordinary bearing unique to soldiers.

An Yi skillfully whispered thanks to Ye Qing, who was staring at him blankly, turned around and squeezed into the circle of loud talk and laughter, and boldly interrupted everyone's conversation:

"Don't stand here and talk, it's hard enough for more than 2,000 brothers to stand straight and look at us, haha! Lao Qu, please go and order the disbandment, let the instructors of each battalion lead the team back, inform each battalion to add food tonight, let all the battalions and companies take out all the good things to celebrate, and let the brothers of the artillery company and machine gun company of the regiment take all the brothers of the artillery regiment back and receive them well! What about our group, let's go back to the regiment headquarters together and have a drink, haha...... Winter Lady, bring the twenty good horses of your communication company here! ”

"Yes!"

The instructor of the communication company, Dong Yanzi, strode away.

Everyone returned to the regiment headquarters in the north of the city, washed their faces, drank tea, Cai Zhonghua's adjutant Cai Peiyuan returned to the hall after washing, and quietly asked Yang Bin how to settle the brothers and three reporters of their regiment tonight? Yang Bin said with a smile that he didn't dare to slack off on this matter and asked An Yi for instructions, so Cai Peiyuan asked Yang Bin to go with him to ask An Yi for instructions.

Yang Bin enthusiastically accompanied Cai Peiyuan out of the gate to the courtyard, and saw Cai Zhongwat and An Yi standing side by side under the big tree in the courtyard chatting with their heads.

An Yi put Commander-in-Chief Jiang's handwritten letter and a cash check of 100,000 yuan into an envelope and stuffed it into his jacket pocket, sighed and asked in a low voice:

"Big brother, the principal is too worried, although these thirty-six cannons can also be worth a million or hundreds of thousands of oceans, but as long as the principal says it, the junior brother will hand over all the words to you, where is the need to reward the junior brother with an extra hundred thousand oceans? Did the little brother do something wrong to make the principal angry before he saw him like this? ”

Cai Zhongwat waved his hand and smiled in a low voice: "It's not that the principal is too worried, it's that you are too careful!" On the contrary, the principal is proud of your trust, at the end of last year and the beginning of this year, he concentrated in Gan and Huangpu twice, and took you as an example to teach those middle and low-level officers with low eyes, none of your brothers and sisters were not convinced, as soon as you mentioned your name An Yi, everyone felt amiable and admirable, and even the generals and commanders of the headquarters and friendly armies who graduated from Baoding or this military academy also appreciated and impressed, and regarded you as an outstanding representative of the Huangpu training. Someone in the Ministry of Military Affairs has already proposed that your reading team be upgraded to a tutor.

The reason why the principal ordered me to personally send you a check for 100,000 yuan this time is because the principal already knows that the 50,000 yuan that was rewarded to you last time has not been sent to you, so he is very angry, if it weren't for the persuasion of the third brother Ming (Jiang Dingwen), the principal would have reprimanded your division commander and chief of staff and ordered it to be returned, so this time the principal not only asked me to send you a check, but also specially instructed you to send you the newly arrived twenty-four French 81mm mortars and 5,000 shells, and praised your mortars for their use! The other departments were only given 500,000 rounds of various machine-gun bullets, grenades, military uniforms and shoes, and so on, and after a while, I ordered my subordinates to drive the three vehicles over to unload the goods, and the other 20 truckloads of supplies were also to be transported to Lanxi and handed over to the deputy general Bai of the former enemy headquarters for receiving. ”

An Yi smiled gratefully: "Great! Let's go, big brother, it is estimated that the cooking class is almost ready, let's have a drink today. ”

"Slow! There is another thing that Brother Ming asked me to convey to you, he said that the report you submitted on the establishment of the 'Nanchang Recruitment Office of the First Army' has been approved by the headquarters, the principal has signed it, and the group of people you sent are enclosing land around Chengbi Lake in old Nanchang, so you can rest assured. He asked me to ask you on your behalf, saying that Mr. Kong Xiangxi was interested in investing in Jiangxi and setting up the Nanchang Telegraph and Telephone Company and the Nanchang Thermal Power Plant. Do you invest in a single share? ”

Cai Zhonghu looked at An Yi with appreciation after speaking, and admired this little brother's ability to make money.

An Yi let out an "ah" in surprise, his brain was spinning rapidly, and he quickly made up his mind: "These two are good projects!" Especially the telegraph and telephone company, it is not an exaggeration to call it a million profits, if it is accompanied by postal and parcel express delivery all over the city and countryside, it is difficult to make a fortune, but the little brother's financial resources, manpower, and energy are limited, and his own projects have not been skimmed, how can this mountain see that mountain is high? If Brother Jiang has this interest, he might as well invest in a share, and he only needs to be completed and opened for half a year to see results, as for the younger brother, he still has to put his limited energy and financial resources into the manufacturing and processing industries. ”

Cai Zhonghu laughed, slapped a palm on An Yi's back, and walked back with him:

"I knew that you kid was down-to-earth and steady, okay! In the evening, you reply a letter to the third brother Ming, tomorrow my adjutant will pull the twenty-four old guns back to Nanchang and distribute them to the Sixth Army, and immediately transport a batch of supplies back to the former enemy headquarters, let him bring the letter back to the third brother Ming, I will stay and follow your troops to act together until the capture of Hangzhou, I hope you can help me capture a few more good guns back. At present, with the addition of your twelve French mountain guns, I only have one and a half regiments of good artillery to attach, which is far from the goal of four regiments. ”

"Wait!"

An Yi happily stopped and whispered: "If that's the case, can you help the little brother bring some captured materials back to Nanchang?" When I came back, I picked up a company brother who escorted General Yang Shijun from Jinan, so that the younger brother had to go to the old man of the military transportation regiment again. ”

Cai Zhongwat smiled proudly: "It's a trivial matter! Twenty-four cars towing artillery back are all empty, and you can pack whatever you want, and if that's not enough, I'll send you five more. ”

"Enough, enough! Where do you have so many things, little brother? After these battles were fought and a lot of captures were made, after the regiments of our division were selected, there were more than 2,000 broken guns that could not be repaired and a batch of unusable Zhejiang army uniforms, and the younger brother was worried about how to deal with it, with the help of the eldest brother, it could solve my big problem! But since that's the case, then by the way, help me transport a batch of captured steel bars, nails, wires, hammers, shovels and other materials back to Lao Nanchang, and hand them over to the younger brother's ordnance repair office and the brothers of the 'recruitment office' to arrange for use, and it will cost a lot of money to buy it when you can save it, haha! It is estimated that seventeen cars can be loaded, and twenty cars are much looser. An Yi was relieved and excited.

Cai Zhonghu was taken aback: "What? Seventeen cars? Granny's ...... It turns out that you kid got so many good things quietly, and they are usually inconspicuous in anyone's eyes, and it is estimated that most of the troops will rush out when they don't take care of these in a place, only you kid will search so carefully, how to say it's money! ”

An Yi hurriedly explained: "In addition to some broken guns that can be repaired, most of these fifteen or sixteen trucks of materials are seized building materials, which are all left over from the construction of barracks and fortifications by a division and three brigades of the Zhejiang Army, and some of them are transported by the general of the Zhejiang Army, Situ Wei, to sell them and were seized by the younger brother without making a move, and these materials were transported back to Lao Nanchang, and they were also used in the construction of the barracks and office buildings of the 'recruitment office', of which more than 2,000 tons of cement have been used by the younger brother to exchange with local squires and merchants for slaughtered pigs, sheep and rice noodles. Otherwise, where would the little brother get so much money to support thousands of captive soldiers who had just been annexed? If you don't have the help of the eldest brother, the younger brother can only sell it to the local merchant, and the little brother will feel distressed when he thinks about the more than 2,000 tons of cement! ”

Cai Zhonghu laughed: "My brother is completely convinced of you!" No wonder the principal and the third brother Ming like you so much, and they are full of praise for several industrial projects in your plan, in my opinion, you will definitely become a huge rich man if you don't fight one day, and don't forget the eldest brother when the time comes. ”

"What words? Think of your little brother so badly? Let's go, I'm going to have to punish you for a few drinks! ”

An Yi laughed, and after walking a few steps, he saw Ye Qing standing on the steps in front of the gate with a smile, An Yi hurriedly put away his smile and politely stepped forward to greet:

"Don't stand outside when it's cold, be careful that you freeze, my little brother can't afford it!"

Ye Qing smiled with satisfaction: "You still have a little conscience...... What did you just talk about so happy? ”

Cai Zhongwat knew that Ye Qing was tasked with interviewing An Yi and the Model Battalion this time, and when he saw his adjutant coming to the side, he seemed to have something to do, so he politely said goodbye and walked into the hall with the adjutant and Yang Bin.

An Yi climbed a step up the stairs and motioned to Ye Qing beside him to come into the house and chat: "It's windy outside, let's go in and talk, it's better to chat while eating hot pot, when the brothers are there, it's convenient for you to interview whoever you want." ”

"I just wanted to interview you...... Hey? Have you read your sister's letter? I don't have much time, I have to follow the team back to Nanchang tomorrow to send a press release, you kid is really good. ”

Ye Qing heard An Yi say this, and estimated that An Yi did not read Gong Qian's letter, otherwise he would not have known the important and urgent surnames of his interview.

An Yi patted his head and smiled, immediately took out Gong Qian's letter and walked to the side to open it, and read it carefully.

(To be continued)