"Obediently, Master Chief, our commander is really willing! Tsk, this tweed is almost half a copper coin thick, and the shoulders worn by the upper body are painful! ”

In the cramped cabin, a sailor carefully folded the winter sailor's uniform that had just been issued. Touching the thick fabric, he excitedly shouted to the boatswain on the other side of the bunk.

"Bastard, what the hell! Put it away, it's fine wool, don't spoil it! This time it's different from the previous sea, and it's going to be done with a real gun. Take care of your arms and legs! ”

Called the non-commissioned officer chief is a man in his forties, who looks like a perennial sea shopper, and the invasion of the years and the polishing of the wind and waves have carved a deep mark on his face. Laughing and scolding, he responded, and as he spoke, he took out a box of cigarettes from his pocket, took out one and put it on his nose and smelled greedily. This is the old smoker who specializes in supplying the gunboat team for smoking, and the tobacco on it is matched with a sea noodle mouth, which is not worse than Kanto smoke! I was laid off in winter, not to mention how comfortable it was.

"Master Officer, Master Jiang, they said, you have fought before? Tell me about it, this idle is also idle. ”

At the mention of fighting, the sailors immediately became interested, tidied up their bunks, came to sit down next to the chief non-commissioned officer and asked. He didn't know what it was like to fight, only that it was going to die. Death is death, the team said that the dead brothers have a pension of 100 yuan per family, plus the allowance they have saved, enough for the family to buy a few acres of land. In these years of chaos, where are there no dead? In the past, when running a boat on the sea, people would die when they encountered bandits and big waves, so it was better to be a soldier and eat food. With a sailor's allowance of seven and a half yuan a month, you have to have that realization.

"You're pretty well-informed! It's all old, what is there to say?! That would still be when Admiral Ding was there. ”

The non-commissioned officer elder's thin body like an osprey shook violently as if it had been stung. Then he squeezed out a dry smile and put the cigarette into the cigarette case.

"Admiral Ding? Have you been in the Beiyang Naval Division? ”

The sailor recklessly screamed, causing the other sailors who were tidying up their internal affairs to put down their work and quietly gather over. They are all seventeen or eighteen-year-old young people, who are still in school in the next generation, and it is the time to be curious. The composition of the entire gunboat team can be roughly divided into two parts. Some of them are the retired personnel of the German Navy who came to China with the four armored gunboats, they were all hired to serve as captains and instructors on a temporary basis, and the other part is the remnants of the Beiyang Naval Division scattered all over the country, and some of the perennial sea hunters.

"When I was in the water, I was about the same age as you, just eighteen years old. In the fifteenth year of Guangxu (1888), when I went to sea for the first time, I would ride the Fulong mine strike boat, which was made in Germany. Hey, the speed is really fast, the Yuanzi-class ships in the sailors are not as fast as the boat! 24 knots! Hey, it's Yoshino in Little Japan later, and the maximum speed is so fast! At the first Wu year, Cai Guandao took us to withstand the artillery fire of Little Japan, and rushed to less than 40 meters to Xijing Bay, the flagship of the devils. That hate, it was also that battle, Lord Deng, they were sunk by the little devils, and I watched the whole ship burst open with fire. It's miserable, none of my two brothers are left and they all follow Zhiyuan, I just watched ......"

The master chief looked at the gathered sailors, touched his eyes, and slowly recalled.

"The nest of that battle, and then we were trapped on Liugong Island by the little devils. Cai Guandao took us to escape from Weihaiwei with Zuo No. 1, and was intercepted by the little devil on the way, and I refused to be a prisoner and risked jumping into the sea. I almost drowned, and then I went to sea with the boat, and then I got here. Hey, that's going to be a shed, and now I'm a master chief, and I'm promoted to three levels. No compensation, no compensation~ It's not that we don't have a non-commissioned officer cabin on the boat, but I just don't want to move over. You're all young, and you're going to do it again, and you haven't served these things, so I'm not going to take care of them. Our handsome treatment of our brothers is not thin, this time we sent down two sets of clothes for each of the four seasons at one time, and they were all made of high-quality materials. High-waisted leather shoes, split raincoats, long-voyage cloth shoes, and duty coats, many of which I have never heard of. We didn't say anything about this gunboat, the tonnage is more than twice as large as my Fulong. It is stable to drive and has armor protection. Hehe, although the sparrow is small, it has all kinds of organs! ”

The Master Chief touched his tears and quipped. It's just that no one laughed, and the atmosphere suddenly became dull.

"Look, what am I doing here...... Don't say frustrating words, our handsome man is a person who can achieve great things, don't say anything else, just look at our treatment and look at our boat. Made in Germany, Beiyang was nothing more than that. Our handsome man has the world in his heart, maybe in the future, we can change guns and guns, and go to sea on a big ironclad ship! Not to mention, they are all ready to set sail. ”

At the same time, on another gunboat of the same type painted with the number of PT3 on the river not far away, the sailors of the gun squad were nervously preparing for the author. Two thick black cigar-shaped objects were wrapped in spare canvas and quietly transported onto the gunboat at dusk......

Although he went out of Wuhu with great fanfare, Hu Rui was still very cautious. After the expansion, the Anhui Army had a total of two integrated infantry divisions, two mixed associations, and three local garrison regiments. One of the two mixed associations was in Jiujiang, and this time Hu Rui specially left the first division expanded from the 34th mixed association of the original Anhui New Army to guard Anqing. The Thirty-Four Mixed Association is Hu Rui's other troops, and their combat effectiveness is self-evident. The first division, which was expanded according to a veteran and a new recruit, is the number one main force in the Anhui army! As for leaving the first division to watch the house, the Anhui army has opinions from top to bottom, believing that good steel should be used on the blade. However, Hu Ruili ignored public opinion and insisted on leaving the first division to take care of the family. Can't still fight Nanjing in front, and lose Anqing in the back. According to the first division left behind by Jihua, two regiments were sent to garrison the direction of Dangtu and Bengbu. The division's artillery regiment and cavalry regiment were the most reserved, and they tried their best to ensure the safety of the old nest during the expedition to Nanjing.

At four o'clock in the morning on October 25, Hu Rui was woken up by the alarm clock and hurriedly got up. When the orderly outside the tent heard this, Xiang Dong immediately entered the tent with haode hot water. After quickly grooming, he rushed to the headquarters with two guards. The Anhui Army's reorganized division, a mixed association, and a heavy artillery regiment, together with the troops directly under the headquarters and logistics units, totaled more than 25,000 people, and they were stationed at the foot of a hill.

"Salute! Sir, we're going to attack in half an hour. ”

Colonel Berman, head of the German advisory group and concurrently chief of the general staff of the Anhui Army, reported with a salute from a group of young staff officers of the command. This veteran of the Franco-Prussian War will be especially excited. Seeing that the young men in the advisory group joined the Anhui Army and took up important positions one after another, especially Hans and Heidet were directly promoted to brigadier generals, in charge of the only two infantry divisions. You must know that these two are in the German army, only majors. A soldier who does not want to be a general, it is impossible for Berman not to be blushing and envious. Looking at the current situation, more than half of the officers in the advisory group have announced that they have officially joined the Anhui army, and they have dual German and Chinese citizenship. Berman figured out that he would take advantage of the situation to take Nanjing as a shareholder, and it was estimated that a major general and chief of staff would not be able to run away at that time.

"It's hard work, zuihou to confirm the details. In a word, it must be foolproof. ”

Hu Rui replied. The first battle after the establishment of the Anhui Army in Nanjing City was different from that when Anqing moved, it could plan and move before making preparations. There are no shortcuts this time, the brave wins when they meet on a narrow road! You have to fight with real knives and guns!

At 4:30 a.m. on 25 October, Hu Rui took a deep breath and picked up the field phone under the watchful eyes of all the staff officers of the headquarters.

"I order, the general offensive begins!"

On the Pukou River, eight gunboats raised a red battle flag high on the mast and fired the first shot of the general attack! For this attack, these eight gunboats, which were converted from civilian ships, were modified one after another. Each boat was equipped with two 82-mm mortars, and the larger tonnage was temporarily mounted directly on the emplacement of the Army's 75-mm Skoda Mountain gun, which was mounted directly on the bow of the Grushen 47-mm gun. Since the river defense training camp in Pukou was unprepared in advance, the vast majority of officers and men were still asleep at this point. Coupled with the lack of large-caliber artillery, it was difficult to inflict little damage on gunboats on the river. The eight gunboats, which had been fighting vigorously, drove directly to the river in an arrogant manner. With the boat's 47-mm machine guns, Maxim machine guns, improvised 82-mm mortars, and 75-mm mountain guns, there was a burst of fierce strafing. The gunboat, originally made of soft steel, has become an invincible mobile fortress at this moment with thick armor. The Jiang Defense Training Battalion used Makqin and 37-mm small guns to return fire indiscriminately, the former leaving only a white spot on the boat, and the latter having no accuracy at all. The battle soon became one-sided, relying on the 47-mm machine guns on the riverside to find the shining spot on the shore in the mist, and they fired fiercely. Shells as dense as a torrential rain blasted through the improvised fortifications on the shore, and the smell of minced flesh and blood mixed with the burnt smell of burning planks filled the air. The Jiang Defense Training Camp collapsed, leaving behind the mutilated corpses and fleeing. After clearing the shore of the fire points, the gunboat at the head gave a light signal, and a German freighter loaded with two battalions of Marines quickly left the shore. Putting on the more than 1,000 marines on board, holding the 98 and fourth-class submachine guns in their hands, they quickly landed ashore under the cover of the riverside gunboats.

On the other side, the mist on the riverside shrouded Yuhuatai in the early hours of the morning. Before dawn, the defenders of Yuhuatai came out of the sentinels on duty, and the others were still asleep.

"Gentlemen, the god of war of the artillery division! Give it your all and show them what we're really capable of! ”

Lucas, the commander of the heavy artillery regiment, walked between the various artillery squads, shouting and trying his best to do Zuihou's mobilization.

"Whoosh"

In addition to the 105 heavy artillery battalion that was responsible for the task of sealing the river, two 105 heavy artillery battalions and two 150 heavy artillery battalions, a total of 24 SFH18 150 howitzers and 24 LeFH18 105mm howitzers, roared at the same time! This is the first roar of the Chinese people who have been oppressed for hundreds of years! At that time, the most advanced and most fierce heavy artillery regiment in China announced the recovery of Nanjing with intensive artillery fire!

"Boom Boom"

From the artillery mirror, Hu Rui could clearly see through a layer of gauzy-like fog that the cannonballs were smashing on the Yuhuatai, and the huge vibration was shaking even the ground. With a radius of more than 60 meters, it tore through all obstacles, flying shrapnel cut through human bodies wantonly, and the waves of air set off by artillery shells lifted sandbags, corpses, and even trees with the thick mouth of a bowl into the air. A sea of fire in the direction of Yuhuatai!

The beautiful picture of the bag made Hu Rui's mouth dry, and the smell of gunpowder in the air made him feel extremely excited.

"Order the troops, coordinate with the infantry and artillery, and launch an attack on Yuhuatai!"

Hu Rui loosened the button of his training uniform, breathed in the air filled with the smell of gunsmoke, and swallowed his saliva impatiently.

Cheng Wenjun, the commander of the Jiang Defense Training Camp, is as tragic as in parallel history. In the first wave of shelling, he was shocked by the huge wave of air set off by the shells and fell out of bed. Then, before he could wake up, the second wave of shelling came, and a 150-mm grenade hit his headquarters directly. The huge kinetic energy of the shells and tens of thousands of shrapnel blew up the command headquarters and ended all life within 60 meters of the headquarters and its surroundings. This unlucky guy who should have been shot and killed was called away by the king of Hades directly in his sleep this time, and he didn't even have time to give an order.

After the shelling passed, the surviving officers and men of the Jiang Defense Training Battalion were almost stunned. Looking at the corpses all over the ground and the headquarters that was already in ruins, he reacted that the commander was gone! The conductor is gone! These unlucky bastards, who had never even been hit by 75-mm guns, had long been beaten by the fierce shelling just now, and they could not find the north. lost his command, saw that the commander was dead, and Yuhuatai was also a sea of fire. Asking about the disgusting smell of burnt human flesh in the air, these unlucky people are really stupid. On the spot, he couldn't care about anything else, and he threw away his rifle and fled in all directions. Then there are still people who don't care about the river defense or not, it is important to save your life!

The Intelligence Department under the leadership of Sanniang had already set up the Nanjing Station long before the Anqing incident. The long-term intelligence preparation work for Nanjing has yielded results, and the Nanjing station has arranged for special personnel to carry a mobile radio station to send the news of the rout of the Jiangfang training camp as soon as possible. Subsequently, the artillery fire, including the division's 75th Mountain Artillery Regiment, began to advance. Pursued all the way in the direction of the defeated army's rout, constantly bombarding the Qing army's position.

"Sir, just now the second round of artillery shelling of the heavy artillery regiment knocked out the command post, and the frontal enemy army has lost its command and has been routed. Artillery fire is stretching forward! ”

Berman himself took the battle report and reported.

"Order the troops, blow the trumpet! Coordinate with the infantry and artillery to launch a general attack! ”

Hu Rui looked at his watch, and it had only been twenty minutes. The progress was faster than expected, the fighter plane was fleeting, and taking advantage of the rout of the Jiangfang training camp, Hu Rui decisively ordered the troops to charge!

"Doodoo Doo"

The trumpeter mustered up all his strength and sounded the cry of attack.

The infantry units that had been waiting behind them for a long time roared angrily and formed a three-person street battle formation, scattered in all directions, and launched a charge! The frontal artillery fire continued, and the area ahead of the dense shells became a Shura field. The safe distance of the infantry artillery is 300 meters, and as early as when he took over the Anhui New Army, Hu Rui trained according to the standards of the famous "Long Live Army" in later generations. When Wuhu was arguing, it also took the route of elite soldiers, basically a veteran and a new soldier, so the combat effectiveness basically did not decline. The coordinated distance of the infantry artillery of the Anhui army is only 150! One hundred and fifty meters in front of you is the point of impact of the shell, and you must know that the absolute killing radius of the 150 howitzer is still more than sixty meters. This number is already the limit, and the most desperate Japanese army during World War II is only 200 meters.

In the face of the almost lifeless fighting style of the Anhui army, the Qing army became even more frightened. Soon the remnants of the Qing army in the direction of Yuhuatai collapsed on all fronts! Except for those who were blown up and killed, all the other active ones threw down their rifles like crazy, and fled in all directions in a panic. Less than half an hour after the launch, Yuhuatai was overcome!

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