On May 18, the sixth year of the calendar (June 28, 956), after nearly three months of preparation, the "Toli No. 1 Operation Jihua" was finally officially implemented. Wang Kunjun rushed to Feilong Village from "Qingyuan" the day before, preparing to participate in the pledge meeting held the next day. In addition to Wang Kunjun and the members of the Military Department, the Security Department and all the brothers who lived in the "Liangyuan" also gathered in Feilong Village to cheer for the pledge meeting.

On the eighteenth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, the brothers got up early, and after breakfast, they tidied up one by one, and came to the "Juyi Hall" under the guidance of Qian Yuanshan and Zeng Zhilin, who were dressed in military uniforms and had the rank of colonel on their shoulders.

-- It was suggested by the people of the Military Department that the new camouflage uniforms should be given military ranks, so as to show the difference of this unit and facilitate wartime command. Of course, the corresponding rank insignia was redesigned by the brothers of the military department, which has both similarities and characteristics with the military ranks of the previous life. Among them, the epaulettes of soldiers and non-commissioned officers are made of full cloth, and the number and thickness of the silver folds embroidered on them indicate rank. The officer's epaulettes, on the other hand, consisted of a rectangular cloth base plate embroidered with elaborate patterns, and various metal markers embellished on them to indicate rank.

For example, Qian Yuanshan and Zeng Zhilin, as the wartime supreme commanders of the Flying Dragon Pioneer Battalion, today hang the rank of colonel composed of a golden sword and shield and three golden plum blossom-shaped symbols. The other two commanders of the Flying Dragon Pioneer Battalion, Tang Chao and Muttle, hung the rank of lieutenant colonel composed of a golden sword and shield and two golden plum blossom symbols.

As for Wu Pingdong and Wang Baoshan, the two local squadron leaders, they are hung with the rank of captain composed of three silver plum blossom pattern logos, while other local officers at all levels are basically the rank of captain. The only exception to this is Liu Wanbao, who, as a martial arts instructor in the Flying Dragon Pioneer Battalion, holds the same rank of lieutenant colonel as Tang Chao and Muttel - of course, when the Crossing Crowd explains the meaning of these signs to the locals, on the one hand, it is explained that the so-called lieutenant colonel and captain are the names of overseas island countries, and they are more accustomed to this kind of title, so they are called so. On the other hand, the correspondence between these military ranks and the ranks of the Middle Earth was also explained in detail to the locals, so that Liu Wanbao and others could have a clear understanding of these unfamiliar titles.

In addition, according to the design plan of the Military Department, Wang Kunjun and Xu Shao'an, the nominal supreme commanders of the Flying Dragon Pioneer Battalion, also have the rank of major general composed of a shield sword, a pine branch, and a plum blossom symbol -- from this it can also be seen that the crossing team is not small, and the Flying Dragon Pioneer Battalion will never stop at the scale of just one battalion.

In addition to the rank insignia, a lifelike dragon was embroidered on the chest of the camouflage uniforms newly issued to the soldiers of the Pioneer Battalion. On the collar, there are also embroidered patterns to indicate their troops: the infantry is a rifle with two crosses, the ranger is a winged horse, and so on.

At this time, on the parade ground under the steps of the "Gathering Hall", the first squadron, the second squadron, the ranger squadron, the third squadron of the artillery squadron, the mortar squadron, the logistics squad and other combat units of the Feilong Pioneer Battalion, which were about to participate in the actual combat operation, were wearing brand-new camouflage combat uniforms, holding flintlock pistols in their hands, and carrying long knives on their waists, lined up in a neat formation, waiting for the review and instruction of the leaders.

Among these combat units, the artillery squadron is a completely new unit. This squadron was created in the middle of last year as various artillery pieces began to be equipped with the Wyvern Pioneer Battalion - the emblem of the class embroidered on the collar was a bronze cannon with a wheel mount.

The source of the strength of the artillery squadron is divided into two parts, one part is selected from the original soldiers of the Flying Dragon Pioneer Battalion, and the other part is directly drawn from the craftsmen who can operate the artillery in the weapons section of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Prior to that, it was mainly responsible for operating stationary artillery in various places. Now with the advent of mortars, artillery squadrons have also formed mortar squads in due course. On this expedition, the six mortars equipped by the mortar squad will cooperate with the two light direct-aiming front-loading guns of the third artillery squad to provide comprehensive fire support for the operation.

With the advent of new combat units and the shortage of personnel caused by the dispatch of a squad to Kaifeng, the Wyvern Pioneer Battalion inevitably needs to recruit new soldiers. According to the recommendations of the Ministry of Military Affairs and the research of the Commission, there are two main sources for these new soldiers. The first is to recruit from the local farmers who can be trusted by the crossing team, such as the villagers of the former Liangshuiquan Village, the tenants of the former "Jingyuan", the salt farmers of the "Tanggu Salt Farm", etc., and the second is to recruit from the tenants and miners of the Northern Han Dynasty displaced people controlled by the crossing team -- with the large-scale land purchase operation carried out this year to cooperate with the Ministry of Agriculture's increase in production, the number of Northern Han displaced people controlled and controlled by the crossing team is far from being comparable with the original hundreds of people, and the total number has indeed reached more than 10,000 people claimed by Xiao Siwen. As a result, there are ample resources available to the Ministry of Military Affairs. ,

The recruitment process began in the middle of last year when the artillery squadrons were formed, and it has not yet been completed -- the new recruits, except those who have already been added to the combat squadrons, are temporarily on call at home, and they will be trained as recruits after the operation is over. According to the expansion of the military department, after the end of the "Tempering Operation", the number of the Wyvern Pioneer Battalion should be expanded by three to five times at a minimum, to the size of a regiment. Of course, although the recruitment work has been going on all along, whether or not the work of expanding the vanguard battalion can proceed smoothly and whether or not the military department can expand the army in a way that is old and new depends on whether or not the "Temper Operation" can achieve all-round success.

Therefore, at this time, the traversers still focused all their attention on the current action. At 9 o'clock in the morning of May 18, with Qian Yuanshan's command, all the soldiers of the pioneer battalion on the parade ground saluted the traversers on the steps with the most standard posture of standing upright.

After the people on the steps returned the salute with the same standard military salute, Qian Yuanshan asked Wang Kunjun to give a lecture to the soldiers, or to mobilize before the war.

Wang Kunjun took two steps forward, came to the edge of the steps, changed his usual kind expression, and glanced at the soldiers in the audience with solemn eyes. Then, he said loudly: "Brothers, since the establishment of the Flying Dragon Pioneer Camp, you and the others have never fought a slightly decent battle every day except for training and training. So much so that some time ago, there was a discussion in the pioneer camp, saying that they would not go out to fight against others anyway, so why bother to practice hard every day, with that kind of work, it is better to sleep well.

Today, I would like to say a word to the brothers who have this kind of thought, and the opportunity to go into battle and kill the enemy has come when you have been waiting for it all along. As the saying goes, 'raise soldiers for a thousand days, and use them for a while,' everything you have learned in the past two years of hard training in the mountains will soon be useful. Tomorrow, our Flying Dragon Pioneer Battalion will set off as a whole army, go to 'Baihua Village', go to 'Zishi Village', go to 'White Horse Village', try the knife, the gun in your hand, and the cannon in your hand, and try to see if you have learned all the kung fu taught by you in the past two years. ”

Speaking of this, Wang Kunjun paused slightly, glanced at the soldiers below again, and continued: "I know that after the eleventh brother, the twenty-sixth brother and others announced the news that they were about to send troops to pacify Sanzhai, there were also brothers who raised questions, thinking that we have always had an enmity with 'Baihuazhai', and it is natural to fight it. However, the two villages of 'Zishi' and 'White Horse' have no grievances with us in the past, no enmity in recent days, and they are good, and weishenme wants to find people's bad luck. Everyone is a robber who has fallen into the grass, and the well water should not interfere with the river water.

Perhaps many of the brothers agreed with this argument and thought that the brothers who questioned it were justified. However, I am here today to tell you that this kind of thinking is wrong, and it is very wrong. Because since the 'Five Tiger Village' has become the 'Flying Dragon Village', since the day the Flying Dragon Pioneer Battalion was established, you are no longer a bandit and grass coward, but a righteous army to ensure the safety of one side. Have you ever seen a bandit who only trains in a cottage instead of robbing homes and robbing merchants? Have you ever seen a grass coward who does not disturb the people and buys and sells fairly? Therefore, when you go to attack other cottages, it is no longer to seek personal revenge and eat black, but to protect the people and stabilize the place, which is the way for heaven.

Some brothers may say, "Just how many people we can protect and how much land we can safe." Yes, our current Liliang is indeed very weak, and the only people we can protect are the people within a radius of dozens of miles around the cottage. However, being weak now does not mean that you will not be strong in the future. Now, although we only have 500 people, we can only protect dozens of miles of land and the people on it. But in the future, when we have 5,000 or 50,000 people, we can protect the land and the people on it for hundreds or thousands of miles, and we can drive the Khitans out of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, so that all the Han people will no longer be enslaved and oppressed by foreigners. At that time, you will be the heroes who saved the people from fire and water, and the warriors who expelled the aliens. Your righteous deeds will be recorded in the history books and will be remembered for centuries.

Yes, this goal is indeed big, but I am confident that I will achieve it. To achieve this goal, the most important premise is to make yourself stronger and bigger, and pacifying Sanzhai is the first step. Only by taking this step can you become a true warrior, and you can teach new soldiers in the future, how to fight and survive. ,

You might as well tell you in advance here that after the pacification of Sanzhai this time, the Flying Dragon Pioneer Camp will be greatly expanded. Brothers who excel in this battle will have the opportunity to serve as squad leaders, squad leaders, and even squadron leaders in the new Wyvern Pioneer Battalion. Therefore, I hope that the brothers will be able to move forward bravely in the battle and create a beautiful prospect for themselves. ”

Although the goal of "expelling foreign races and going down in history" in Wang Kunjun's speech seemed a little too far away for the soldiers below. However, the phrases "do the right thing for heaven and protect the people" and "save a bright future for yourself" are very attractive to them - after all, "getting promoted and getting rich" and making life better for themselves and their families are almost everyone's wishes, and many people will be desperate if they have the opportunity to realize this wish. And for the minions of the original "Five Tiger Village", it is their dream to be able to wash away the stain of being thieves and to be supported and loved by the people. Now that they have this opportunity, they will naturally not let it go.

Therefore, Wang Kunjun's words made the soldiers in the audience enthusiastic. Seeing this scene, Qian Yuanshan on the stage immediately stepped forward and took this opportunity to wave his fist to the audience and shouted: "Pacify Sanzhai, Feilong will win!" ”

"Pacify Sanzhai, Flying Dragon will win!" The soldiers in the audience, driven by Qian Yuanshan, also shouted loudly in unison. Their loud and passionate voices echoed over Xiayun Ridge for a long time.

Wang Kunjun and other brothers saw that the morale of the soldiers was available, and they were even more confident that the "No. 1 Operation" to pacify Sanzhai would achieve a comprehensive victory.

After the mood of the soldiers calmed down slightly, Qian Yuanshan announced to everyone the battlefield discipline, reward and punishment system, and bereavement system for the pacification of the Sanzhai operation. At this point, this pre-war mobilization came to an end. After Qian Yuanshan announced the order for the disbandment of the whole army and the opening of the whole army the next day, the soldiers returned to their residences under the leadership of their respective commanders to prepare for the upcoming battle.

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