Chapter Thirteen Preparing for Reorganization

  Wearing an old German army uniform, with the Iron Cross First Class, Iron Cross Second Class, Service Award of the Order, Marne and Verdun Battle Commemorative Medals on his chest, former Colonel Weixs stood at attention in front of Gao Yang.

  Gao Yang stood up and returned the courtesy after his eyes scanned over Weix's chest medals, finally stopping at his collar. There was a large cross medal hanging there, Gao Yang was truly surprised, this kind of medal would only be awarded to senior army officers, what was an officer like that doing as a mercenary?

  After they sat down, Gao Yang said to Wekes in fluent Berlin dialect, "Colonel, sir, I'm curious, why would a seasoned military officer like you come here to be a mercenary?"

  Weixs took off his hat and put it aside, speaking in a low voice to Gao Yang: "Mr. Gao, I enlisted at the age of 18 and spent over 30 years in the army until my retirement. Apart from fighting, I am capable of nothing." His eyes were filled with sorrow as he continued, "One of my sons died in battle, and the other is disabled at home. The only ones left in my household are women and children who have not yet come of age."

  With his emotions under control, Weicks said, "Germany's economy has completely collapsed now. All my marks together can't even buy a meal for the whole family. I couldn't let my grandsons and granddaughters go out to steal potatoes every day. My colleagues introduced me here because I could get three years' salary in pounds first, so I came."

  "I now have 20,000 men and all the equipment is complete. If you were to organize an infantry division according to German military organization, could you do it? How long would it take?" said Gao Yang.

  "I need all the information on personnel and equipment, also among the mercenaries who came this time, there are some retired staff officers, I want to recruit them to compile a plan together. The plan can be completed in three days." Wekes replied.

  "Alright, I'll arrange for someone to work with you. Looking forward to your good news." Gaoyang said and gestured for Wekes to leave.

  Weixs bows and leaves.

  Time flies quickly, by the end of June, the Jiangsu-Zhejiang War has entered its final deployment stage. Governor Cao ordered a division and three brigades from Anhui to be deployed to the Songhu Front, as Marshal Yu has always adhered to the strategy of military unification, warlords all over the country are secretly plotting against him, and a new large-scale reshuffle is about to begin. Gao Yang must seize the opportunity now, this is the best time for fishing in troubled waters.

  Governor Du doesn't know anything about Gao Yang's actions, it's just that according to the universal law at that time, a county can't afford to support tens of thousands of troops. Each soldier gets 10 yuan in regular pay plus 3 yuan for food every month, which adds up to hundreds of thousands of taels per month! Not to mention the expenses for weapons, ammunition, uniforms, and equipment. In this era, who isn't embezzling military pay and drinking the blood of soldiers to fill their own pockets, except for Commander Yu's third division?

  Even if Gao Yang has a little money, it won't take several months to drain him dry. Without military pay, who will follow him? Director Li had already planned that once Gao Yang falls, he would take over everything in Feng County, from the arsenal to the factories!

  Gaoyang didn't know about the supervisor's plan, nor did he want to. Gaoyang had his own plans. Within a few days, Gaoyang first returned to Beidu in his original time and space and bought a large quantity of sulfonamides online. He then had dinner with his parents and flew to Europe to cash out the remaining gold in his hands. Then he flew to Africa and recruited local people to build a road from Libreville to the mining area.

  Gaoyang received good news and arrived at the mining area. In a villa in the town, Gaoyang met with Dr. Will, the leader of the geological exploration team who came to report.

  Dr. Will, with an excited face, said to Gao Yang, "Boss, last month when we drilled a well in a valley about 70 kilometers away from the river bank towards the mountain edge, we found that there is an oil field underground between 1200 and 1500 meters deep in the valley. After preliminary exploration, it can be determined that it has commercial exploitation value, and the specific reserves need to wait for further investigation."

  "Ah, great, you've done a good job. Give the exploration team a $10 million bonus, and you can hand it out." Gaoyang was thrilled that oil meant money.

  "It's really too hot here." After taking a big sip of cold drink, Gao Yang continued, "Now you start arranging the mining work, purchasing equipment, recruiting workers, building oil pipes and so on. You go to find Manager Hansen to handle it. If the reserves meet my expectations, I will give you another red envelope."

  Dr. Will left, and Gao Yang said to the mercenary captain who had been swapped in: "Recruit a batch of security guards from local tribes, first recruit 200 people, and take good care of the mining area. If anyone wants to ruin my good deeds, solve them."

  "Yes, boss." The captain replied loudly.

  Without lingering any longer, Gaoyang quickly rushed back to Bern and gave all the servants a holiday, then shuttled to Fengxian in 1924.

  Three days have passed and Colonel Veirs has completed the reorganization plan and come to Gao Yang's office for review.

  "This plan is based on the German standard infantry division, and has been arranged according to the habits of your country's military and the specific situation of existing weapons and equipment personnel." Weiks explained to Gao Yang.

  The detailed plan is as follows: the division command includes a signal battalion (35 people, including 12 telegraph operators, all equipped with Ruger pistols), a field hospital (200 people, including a guard team of 32 people equipped with MP18 submachine guns), a division reconnaissance company (120 scouts mounted on 260 war horses), a division guard company (120 people equipped with MP18 submachine guns), the division staff office (cartography, telecommunications, intelligence and planning personnel totaling 22 people), and the division kitchen platoon (46 people equipped with 8 field kitchens).

  Logistics Department (122 people) The artillery regiment directly under the division headquarters is organized into 9 105MM howitzer battalions with a total of 36 guns. The ammunition transportation battalion (equipped with 170 horse-drawn carts and 720 horses) The guard troops are organized into 4 companies with 680 people.

  The division had 3 infantry regiments under its command as follows:

  Signal Corps, Field Hospital, Reconnaissance Company, Headquarters Guard Company, Headquarters Staff Office. Headquarters Cook Squad.

  The artillery company of the division has 12 75mm field guns (with 36 horse-drawn carriages and 160 horses) and a guard unit of 170 men.

  The division consisted of three infantry regiments as follows:

  Camp Department (Guard Platoon, Emergency Medical Station, Reconnaissance Platoon, Communications Office, Cooking Class)

  The regiment's firepower support company was equipped with 3 x 75mm field guns (with 12 transport carts and 60 horses) and a guard unit of 36 men.

  The regiment consisted of three infantry battalions as follows:

  Adjutant (Communications Officer, Medical Officer, Cook)

  Attached firepower support team equipped with 4 x 76mm mortars (equipped with 6 transport carts, 28 horses)

  Consists of 3 infantry platoons as follows:

  Deputy leader in charge, under which there are 3 squadrons:

  Each squad is centered around a heavy machine gun fire group consisting of 2 gunners and an ammunition handler. The squad leader and deputy lead 6 riflemen.

  Additionally, supplementary troops were set up for wartime casualties replenishment.

  A transportation corps was also established for wartime ammunition transport.

  There were a total of 19,044 personnel, consisting of 691 officers, 2,822 non-commissioned officers and 15,531 soldiers. In addition, the army was severely short of officers and non-commissioned officers, and it was suggested that all remaining personnel be sent to new recruit training camps for 90 days of military training, but they were still unqualified and recommended to be eliminated from the army.

  Armed equipment includes 3,882 pistols, 14,137 rifles, 772 submachine guns, 266 heavy machine guns, 114 76mm mortars, 58 75mm field guns, 36 105mm howitzers and 536 horse-drawn vehicles.

  Each type of artillery is sufficient and has accessories and spare parts, rifles are sufficient and have accessories and spare parts, and the rest of the weapons are all insufficient. In addition, there is no fixed supply source for ammunition for all equipment, and daily training consumes a lot of intense consumption that needs to be supplemented. Moreover, including telegraph machines, cipher machines, signal guns, various individual equipment, canteens, various medicines, horse-drawn vehicles, and standard military uniforms are all absent.

  After reading the plan, Gao Yang lit a cigarette and thought for a moment before saying to Wei Ke: "I am now appointing you as the Chief of Staff of Anhui Province's Security Regiment, with the rank of Colonel. You will be fully responsible for the reorganization of the troops. The existing personnel and equipment will be allocated by you. As for what is lacking, make a list in quintuplicate. Hmm, we won't need horse-drawn carriages anymore; I want to replace them all with automobiles."

  As for the governor, he only gave him a security guard position and was ignored by Gao Yang. Gao Yang planned to capture the entire province in the Zhili-Fengtian War, and that governor would definitely be forced to leave.

  Before dinner, Gao Yang publicly announced the reorganization and appointment of Wekes in the Grand Campus, and issued certificates. After dinner, he rushed to Modu.

  Gao Yang was discussing procurement matters at Mr. Ruger's home, and Mr. Ruger placed a cup of coffee in front of Gao Yang and said, "Now many people are staring at me, you left the car at Bailingmen last time and they found out about me here, aren't you worried?"

  "Nothing scares me except for a comet hitting the earth." Gao Yang said casually while sipping his coffee.

  "I'll take care of this, sorry for the trouble. As a token of appreciation, here's a new order for your company, Li and Yang Trading Co." Gaoyang handed a stack of documents to Ruger.

  Lu Ge pushed his glasses and started flipping through. Gao Yang finished his coffee, Lu Ge also finished reading the file, closed the file and said to Gao Yang "We can provide all of these things, it's just this bullet production line..."

  "I want the whole set, including the rolling mill, copper plate machine, and bottom plate machine. I also want all the equipment for the gunpowder factory. If one is missing, I will burn down your entire foreign firm." Gaoyang stared into Ruger's eyes and said.

  "Mr. Gao, please rest assured that our reputation is guaranteed." Ruge said with some embarrassment. Some of the small actions he used to play when selling production lines before, Ruge didn't dare to do to Gao Yang, this guy was bold enough to open fire in the French concession, Ruge didn't want to take risks and besides, the price Gao Yang offered was very tempting.

  "The second batch of mercenaries will recruit more officers, and also a group of skilled personnel who can set up a bullet production line." Gaoyang said, putting down a check on the table and standing up to leave.