Although all the big cities in Guangdong have been recovered, the roots of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's political power must go deep into the countryside, so the local militias and township corps stationed in Guangdong are still fighting to eliminate local armed forces, including the stragglers of the Qing army, the bandits who have fallen into the grass, the so-called righteous army that has done things that harm the people in the name of resisting the Qing Dynasty, and local powerful and clan forces.

The battle of Guangxi was basically a foregone conclusion, Chen Yucheng's First Army began to sweep Guangxi from east to west, and the local clean-up battle in Guangdong was not easy, some bandits relied on the innate advantages of the local people and familiar with the terrain, and once caused the Taiping Army's township corps to suffer several defeats.

When the First Army of the Taiping Army was stationed in Fujian, it also spent nearly five months to suppress the local armed forces in Fujian. It still took five months to solve Fujian's local problems with the strength and combat effectiveness of the First Army, and one can imagine the heavy task undertaken by the Guangdong Township Corps.

The four main armies of the Taiping Army, the First Army fought in Liangguang, the Second Army under the command of Lin Fengxiang was fighting a local battle with the Qing Army in Jiangbei, the Third Army was stationed on the front line of Tianjing, and the Fourth Army was stationed in Jiangxi under Li Xiucheng, and was also engaged in the battle of clearing and suppressing local forces in Jiangxi, and at the same time had to guard against the Hunan army. At one time, the military department once set up a plan to transfer one or two infantry divisions from the Third Army stationed in Tianjing and Wuhu to participate in the campaign to suppress bandits in Guangdong, but was vetoed by Xiao Yungui. The Third Army in Tianjing is not only of military significance, but also of more political significance. He needed to have a soldier and horse in Tianjing, firstly, to serve as the general reserve of the northern and southern fronts, and secondly, to ensure that Tianjing's military power was in his own hands. The third is to make Wuchang's Wing King dare not have any other ideas.

So the four fingers pressed to death, none of them could be moved, fortunately, the new Fifth Army and the Sixth Army had already formed an army, just waiting for the equipment to be put into the battlefield, Xiao Yungui rushed to Shanghai to give flags to the Fifth Army and the Sixth Army.

Since the reorganization of the First Army, the Taiping Army has formed a habit, and every army has a ceremony to receive the regimental flag when it is formed. The Legion Flag was given by the King of the West himself, representing the highest honor in the army, and the Legion Flag indicated that the army was there. If the Legion Flag is lost, the army may be deformed. From the beginning of the First Army, the regimental flag awarded by Xiao Yungui was based on four elephants as the pattern, the green dragon, the white tiger, the vermilion bird, and the Xuanwu. The Legion Flag of the First Army is the Blue Dragon Banner. And like the Third Division of the First Army, it is known as Zhao Zilong's Division. The division flag is named and awarded according to the division and regimental achievements, and the division and regiment flag is reported by the army itself, and the flag is awarded by the military department, which is naturally not as glorious as the regimental flag awarded by the king of the West himself.

Most of the officers and soldiers of the Fifth and Sixth Armies of the Taiping Army were composed of the old departments of the Heavenly King, the Eastern King, and the Northern King, and most of the officers were composed of officers drawn from other regiments.

The regimental flag of the Fifth Army is the Horned Wood Jiao. The legion flag of the Sixth Army is the Kangjin Dragon, and Jiao is a dragon that can send water in ancient legends. There is no horn on the head, or only one horn, and the horn is straight and short, without bifurcation. Kang Jinlong is a unicorn dragon beast, so the flags of the two armies are slightly similar and slightly different.

The flag-awarding ceremony lasted for a day, and outside the martial arts academy and on a large plain north of Hongkou were the drill training camps of the martial arts academy, and only here could an array of nearly 90,000 people from the two armies be arranged. The Taiping Army consisted of three infantry divisions, each of which consisted of three infantry regiments, one artillery regiment, and one cavalry regiment, plus some units directly under the division headquarters, totaling nearly 13,000 men. The strength of the three divisions, plus the troops directly under the military headquarters and the ambulance personnel of the field rescue department directly under the military headquarters, is almost 45,000 men in one army.

On the day of the presentation of the flag, the weather was not beautiful, and it was really cold because of the drizzling winter rain in the sky, but the officers and men of the Fifth and Sixth Armies still carried out military parades and parades according to the plan.

The day after Xiao Yungui, the king of the West, arrived in Shanghai, he began the flag-awarding ceremony. Early in the morning, most of the officers and men of the Fifth and Sixth Armies lined up early in the drill training camp, and more than 10,000 officers and men who participated in the parade and the parade were used as the parade phalanx, and the formations were lined up and quietly waiting for orders.

In the military formation, the muskets with good bayonets neatly bloomed in the scorching sun, the new camouflage military uniforms and the mighty feather feather steel helmets, and the armed ribbons on the waist and shoulders looked extremely heroic. On his back was a canvas field backpack, which contained the blankets, water bottles, first aid kits, dry rations, shoes and socks necessary for every individual soldier, all of which were neatly bound, and a standard sapper shovel was tied to the back.

In front of each phalanx, the battle flags representing each company sounded fiercely in the sea breeze, and the whole team did not have a single noisy sound, they were all quietly waiting for orders, and the aura of slaughter made people dare not look up.

On a wooden platform not far away, the Western King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the political dignitaries of the Navy were all present, as well as the main members of the consulates of Britain, France, and the United States were also seated on the high platform, and many domestic and foreign reporters were also present.

Both sides of the high platform are guarded by the officers and soldiers of the new army, and on the left side of the high platform there is also a military band from the martial arts school, ready to play music when the parade phalanx passes through guò before the exercise. On the other side of the platform, Shanghai's celebrities and squires and celebrities from all walks of life were also invited to watch the military parade and flag awarding ceremony. These squires brought their families to the left side of the high platform, laughing, pointing at the foreigners on the stage from time to time to laugh, knocking melon seeds, in short, they were chaotic.

Xiao Yungui looked at it and frowned, and said in a low voice to Lin Qirong beside him: "It's messy, it makes people see jokes." Lin Qirong looked at those famous squires, smiled and said, "Your Highness, rest assured, when the drill starts later, it will definitely be quiet." ”

Xiao Yungui suddenly realized, oh, and looked at the ministers of Britain, France and the United States, Sir Ergin sat upright, looking at the tens of thousands of Taiping troops quietly lined up in the distance with a stern expression, his face changed from surprise to contemplation, and he didn't know what he was thinking. Rear Admiral Pei Luo beside him also had a stern face, with the saber at his waist in his hand all the time, and his thick sea lion beard twitched from time to time. And Mai Huatuo looked relaxed, while drinking tea. While enjoying the fruit in front of him.

The French Minister Bourblon and his fleet commander, Rear Admiral Brodt of the French Navy, were amused. Regardless of the cold weather, the costume ceremony was gorgeous, but it was not warm, and the face was pale, but it maintained the elegance and romantic demeanor of France.

At this time, I only heard that not far from the high platform, outside the guard queue, there was a lot of noise. After a while, a lieutenant company commander reported that many people in the vicinity also wanted to join in the fun and watch the Taiping Army drill.

Lin Qirong's inquiring gaze looked at Xiao Yungui. asked: "Your Highness, what ......do you see" Xiao Yungui waved his hand and smiled: "We have all shown the foreigners, what else is there for the people of our country to avoid?" Let them come and see, as long as they don't make trouble. Lin Qirong took the order. Let his soldiers let the people go. But they still guarded the high platform and did not let the people approach.

A crowd of people rushed forward, some sat on the ground, some put their children on their shoulders, some squatted on the ground, and some brought their own small horses, laughing and scolding even more intensely, and even shouting to buy cool fans or oil-paper umbrellas to shield themselves from the scorching sun. Or sell fruits, melon seeds and other snacks. The Taiping officers and soldiers shouted angrily, and the crowd retreated a little. But after a while, it became lively again, and the scene was not like watching the official and military drills, but like catching up with the market or watching a big play.

The French minister, Bourblon, looked at the mustache on his lips, smiled and said to Ergin, who was beside him: "Your Excellency, have you seen it?" What interesting Chinese who don't seem to care about the majesty of their own army. ”

Erjin is proficient in English and French Chinese, and said in French with a faint smile at the moment: "The majesty of an army is not given by others, but obtained by one's own bravery, let's wait and see what the elite of this Taiping army will look like." It was the first time we were allowed to watch the Taiping military parade, and I didn't want to miss something. ”

Seeing that the time had come, Lin Qirong shouted at the two commanders: "Let's start!" The two commanders immediately stood up and clenched their fists. One of the two is Chen Bingwen, the commander of the Fifth Army, and the other is Pan Qiliang, the commander of the Sixth Army. Everyone secretly applauded, the two generals who were so majestic.

The two shouted to the herald beside them together: "By the order of the King of the West, the parade begins!" The herald stood up and saluted the standard military salute of the future, then took out a brass military trumpet, raised his head and blew it to the sky, and a loud military trumpet sounded throughout the four fields.

Within the high platform, the military attachés of Britain, France, and other countries understood that this army had given battle orders through the sound of the guò military trumpet. Pei Luo couldn't help but stand up, looked at the Taiping soldiers lined up not far away, and saw that the military formation, which was still as silent as a forest just now, heard the sound of the military trumpet, and began to raise their guns, hold their guns, lean on their guns, and lean on their shoulders with bayonets under the orders of the two military attachés in front of the formation. Whether it was the Chinese civil officials or the envoys of Britain and France in the high platform, they were all stunned when they saw such a majestic and mighty momentum, and they couldn't help but stand up.

The military band on the left side of the high platform also began to play, and the tune was very majestic and majestic, which made people's blood boil after listening to it. This song is Xiao Yungui's Taiping Army military song composed according to the People's Liberation Army's march, this tune is sonorous and powerful, inspiring, and unforgettable, so that when he thought of writing a military song, Xiao Yungui wrote this song without thinking about it.

When the chaotic squires and celebrities and people in the audience heard this tune, they began to fall silent, and they all stretched their necks to look, only to see a group of Taiping soldiers in the distance stepping on the majestic music and walking neatly with neat footwork began to come over, and shouted together, and the expressions on everyone's faces began to become solemn and reverent.

This guard of honor is composed of 500 people selected from the elite of the Taiping Army when the Martial Arts School was formed, according to the account in the infantry drill code written by Xiao Yungui, but only 159 people appeared in the phalanx today, except for one flag-bearer and two flag-bearers in front, and the array behind was arranged into a 13-column and 12-row honor guard phalanx.

The soldiers of the entire phalanx were of the same height, and the steps they took were of average length, as if they had been measured with a ruler. All the soldiers raised the muskets in their hands on their shoulders, and the rows of bayonets glowing with cold light on the muskets were of average height, and the long leather riding boots seemed to be nailed to the iron hoofs and horseshoes.

The six flag-bearers in front of the honor guard led the team forward in two rows, and the flag-bearer in the middle held a yellow flag and carried it on his shoulder, because it was not unfolded, but he did not know what was on the flag. The six men were dressed differently from the soldiers in the back, all six wore officer uniforms, and the two flag guards were equipped with slender Chaksy sabers around their waists.

Kankan walked into the range of the Gaotai military band, two of the six flag-bearers shook the big flag in their hands forward, and the two flags unfolded violently, moving forward at a forty-five degree angle, only then did they see clearly, but the top was a yellow-bottomed fabric, and each embroidered with a flying golden dragon and Jiaolong, the action of the two was clean and neat, natural, and it was inspiring. Then he heard the two flag guards beside him shout loudly: "Forward-forward!" ”

The soldiers of the phalanx behind him roared loudly together: "Expelle the Tartars and restore China!" Then the musket with the bayonet in his hand made a chopping motion forward, and the whole phalanx only heard one sound, but saw that the bayonets of the entire phalanx were raised at 45 degrees forward, and they were almost about to stab the comrades in front. And Chen Bingwen and Pan Qiliang, the two commanders of the Taiping Army standing on the steps of the high platform, also immediately stood upright, and the swords of the oblique fingers smacked, and the knives stood on their chests.

At this time, the pace is more neat, and the height of each soldier's leg is the same, which is really a line when viewed horizontally, and a line when viewed sideways and obliquely. Riding boots on the land, loud sound, accompanied by majestic music, so that everyone present is excited, the heart of every Chinese that surging pride and ambition was stimulated, the gentry and the people of Shanghai are excited to cheer loudly, and the previous listening to the opera and watching the music to join in the lively cheers are different, this time they are completely shocked by the Taiping Army's purging and majestic military appearance, and send out from the heart of admiration.

Even people in later generations, whether men or women, young or old, as long as they are yellow-skinned Chinese, after watching the military parade, there will be a proud and passionate feeling, which is the soul of the nation and patriotism. At this time, the gentry and ordinary people who watched the drill were the same, and the soul of the nation and patriotism buried in their hearts were completely ignited. At this time, people seem to understand what the military spirit is, to build up national self-confidence and to deter our enemies! (To be continued......)