Albacete, a city located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula.

As the formation and training camp of the International Brigade, it was full of newly built military camps, tents, board houses, shacks, and warehouses everywhere, and there were at least twenty soldiers among a hundred people in the stone-paved streets.

At noon, the sky suddenly became overcast, and a sudden thunderstorm enveloped the small city that was struggling with horses.

In the thunder, the rain poured down.

It was on such a day that Zhou Changfeng and his party arrived at their destination.

Most of the houses are hand-plastered gray and white brick and stone walls, and most of the sloping roofs are made of red terracotta.

Perhaps there is no shortage of soldiers in all countries in the world who have volunteered to come to the war, but the so-called "a thousand troops are easy to obtain, but one general is hard to find", although there is no shortage of soldiers in the international brigade, qualified officers seem to be stretched.

If we break it down, there are enough officers at the platoon and company levels, and there is a relative shortage of middle and senior officers at the regiment and brigade levels.

Therefore, the importance of Zhou Changfeng and his party is self-evident.

“…… The 105th Brigade, which was formed half a month ago, is basically Chinese and Vietnamese, and it is necessary to go there as a commander, do you agree? ”

"I'm sorry, Commander, I'm afraid not, I'm not fit to go there."

The commander of the Intercontinental Brigade, Schroeder, was surprised, and the little old man with white hair and beard but full of energy showed a puzzled look, "Can you tell me why?" ”

"I came anonymously and secretly, and if I go there, my identity will definitely be revealed." Zhou Changfeng spread his hands and replied.

"Okay, I understand your concerns." Schroeder stared at the resume and thought for a moment, "The 50th Brigade should be a good place for you, and you can work with your companions." ”

As for Brett, Chrétien, and Roald, they were originally going to the 50th Brigade, and they were all surprised to learn that Zhou Changfeng was also going with them.

Later, after a crackling of typewriters, the adjutant and staff officers handed Schroeder several documents of appointment orders and authorizations, which were neatly signed and stamped, and the light brown brown paper became the proof of their appointment.

"Xia, now you are our commander, 'Your Excellency the Brigade Commander'." Chrétien shrugged his shoulders, pointed to the southeast and said, "I just asked, the formation of our brigade is over there. ”

"Let's go, then."

Xia Yunfan is a pseudonym given to himself by Zhou Changfeng, and he has been using it since he boarded the train in Paris.

Historically, there have been seven international brigades, but now they are different, with one more 105th brigade composed of volunteers from Daming, Vietnam, and North Korea.

In addition, because of the large number of volunteers, in addition to the necessary supplementary soldiers, there was a lot more, so the headquarters created a new 50th Brigade.

The establishment of the Intercontinental Brigade itself is small and chaotic, with some brigades having four battalions and others six; The 50th Brigade is even more unique in that it now has only two battalions and the third battalion has not yet been reorganized.

The formation was located on the outskirts of the southeastern part of Albacete, and the leaderless brigade headquarters was housed in a villa. The owner of the villa was a businessman, but because he was considered by the Republican Army to be connected with the National Army, he was suspected of plotting and organizing a riot, so he was executed and his property was confiscated.

Banners hung on the fences outside the station, and the gray-and-white walls of some houses were painted in red with slogans such as "Bury everything ▇▇▇ molecules" and "Turn Spain into a grave of ▇▇▇".

"Welcome!"

Since the call from the headquarters had already been called, the brigade headquarters of the 50th Brigade hastily prepared a welcoming ceremony.

Obviously, Zhou Changfeng didn't care about this, he asked all the officers in the brigade to come to the brigade headquarters for a meeting, and then walked around the villa while waiting.

It looks luxurious and spacious, but when dozens of people and hundreds of soldiers live in, its elegance and nobility no longer exists.

There is basically no discrimination or contempt for China in the West in this world, for example, some European racists still argue that Chinese should be classified as white.

On the one hand, these people believe that white people are supreme, but they are unwilling to surrender themselves, and at the same time, they are unable to despise the Ming Dynasty, so they have been obsessed with arguing with biologists about the division of races, which can be said to be very funny.

This is actually a microcosm, and even these guys are still like this, let alone the attitudes and opinions of ordinary Europeans.

The yearning and myth of the Orient for thousands of years are difficult to break, and the "China fever" of the 17th and 18th centuries has fascinated Europe.

Perhaps in the eyes of the Ming people, it was a great shame to be beaten by the Taixi barbarians, but in the eyes of ordinary Europeans, this was "a failure and a lesson to challenge China's status", and they did not dare to despise it.

"How could the command send such a young man?"

"He's probably not thirty years old."

"I think Ian has more experience......"

In front of a group of middle-aged people who are in their thirties and more in their fifties, Zhou Changfeng can't help but feel a little stressed.

However, pressure is pressure, and a weak heart must not be weak.

He glanced at the dozen or so people present and smiled slightly, "Being young means having a lot of energy, which is a good thing for the commander." ”

Then he said seriously: "I believe that my actual combat experience and theoretical level can effectively command you, I don't like to question, if you are not satisfied, wait until the battle is over and report to the headquarters, now, I ask for absolute obedience." ”

Such an opening statement was really unexpected, the officers looked at each other, and it took several seconds for someone to take the lead in standing and saluting, "Yes!" Sir! ”

Zhou Changfeng took the list and checked the officers present and their positions, and after getting acquainted with them one by one, he began to deal with many affairs with ease.

"What's going on with the 73 battalion now? When can I complete the marshalling? ”

"The equipment planned to be distributed to us has not yet arrived, and the missing rifles and machine guns are not enough to arm the 73rd Battalion." One lieutenant replied helplessly.

"Isn't this a reason, you can't train without weapons? The change of marching formation, the maintenance of offensive formations, the excavation of fortifications, and the response to air raids are enough to practice for a month. Zhou Changfeng frowned and said: "I'd rather wait for a gun than a gun, we may participate in the war at any time." ”

"Yes."

Zhou Changfeng, who had entered the state, began to assign tasks one by one, and demanded that the old French army regulations from more than ten years ago be stopped and replaced with the German army's training regulations and field regulations.

In order to be effective, the order must correspond to the equipment system, and he ordered this precisely because a large part of the weapons and equipment of the Intercontinental Brigade was additionally provided by the German Society.

Although the weapons and equipment provided by the Germans to the Republican Army did not take advantage of the fire to increase the price, they were paid, while those provided to the Intercontinental Brigade were free of charge.

It also happened that someone came to report it early the next morning, bringing good news and bad news.

"Sir, our stuff has arrived, but... Part is missing. ”

(End of chapter)