Chapter 6 Taking Command of the Artillery Battalion

  The next morning, Yang Xing first went to the Grand Governor's Mansion to report for duty. After a brief briefing, the deputy officer led him to the Grand Governor's office.

  After a loud report, General Yin Changheng beckoned with his hand and let Yang Xing enter.

  "Yang Xing, I just flipped through your resume. How come you're still not a member of the Communist Party?"

  Upon hearing this, he also knew that due to his own negligence, after crossing over for several months, he hadn't even put on a decent outer garment. He immediately replied: "Reporting to the Grand Governor, the student knows that Premier's Three Principles of the People is the only magic weapon to save China, but unfortunately has no connections and no one to introduce him to join the Tongmenghui."

  Laughing and looking at Yang Xing, he exclaimed in surprise: "Does Zheng Dong know about the Three Principles of the People?"

  "I did not expect such a question, and I replied lightly: 'The Three Principles of the People were proposed by the Premier in Guangzhou after the failure of the revolution in 1906. They are nationalism, democracy and people's livelihood. Today's "Expel the Tartars, restore China, and establish a republican government" is an embodiment of nationalism.'"

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  Upon seeing Yang Xing answer the Three Principles of the People, he was overjoyed and said: "Very good, very good. Since you know my Three Principles of the People, you are also a revolutionary hero, much stronger than those gangsters. Alright, write an application to join the party, and I will introduce you to the Tongmenghui."

  As soon as Yun Dado introduced himself to join the Alliance, it was an honor. He immediately bowed and said: "The student thanks General Dado for his cultivation. General Dado is not only the teacher of the students' military school, but also promoted the students in the military school, and also introduced the students to join the alliance. General Dado's kindness to the students is like rebirth, even if the students sacrifice their lives, it would be difficult to repay him."

  Yin Changheng exclaimed with great joy: "This is what should be, the revolution needs you young people, only when the Yangtze River's rear waves push forward can China have an opportunity."

  Afterwards, after a conversation, it was only known that although the Sichuan army was very poorly equipped, but in large numbers. After the revolution, the Sichuan Revolutionary Garrison was reorganized into five infantry divisions, namely: Infantry Divisions 1 to 5.

  The 1st Division was reorganized from the original 1st Town, with Zhou Jun as the division commander.

  The Second Division of the Reorganized Comrades-in-Arms Army, with Peng Guanglie as division commander.

  The original touring naval army was reorganized as the 3rd Division, with Sun Zhaorong as division commander.

  The commander of the 4th Division is Liu Cunhou.

  The commander of the Fifth Division is Xiong Kewu.

  Originally, the artillery was dispersed among various divisions, with each division directly controlling an artillery company. However, during conversations with foreigners, emphasis was placed on firepower strikes, and the Northern Warlords' firepower advantage during the Wuchang Uprising left a lasting impression on the Southern Revolutionary Party.

  At the military academy, two doors could not be used as small steel cannons. After Yang Xing's manipulation, they were actually usable. At that time, Minister of Military Affairs Hu Jingyi was asked to collect scrap steel cannons for reporting.

  It was unknown until it was sorted out, and when it was sorted out, the upper and lower reaches of the Yangtze River were shocked. The abandoned and scrapped small steel cannons turned out to be more than 20.

  If more than 20 small cannons that cannot be used can be repaired and half of them can be used, it will also be an important armed force, enough to form a artillery company.

  But in the first year of the Republic, how many people were proficient in artillery? After searching for several days, except for some semi-skilled workers who had fired cannons before, no one was able to repair them.

  Recently, Yang Xing surprisingly managed to repair two unusable small cannons and even fired three shots in a row, hitting the target every time.

  Overjoyed, he decided to let Yang Xing graduate early, on the one hand repairing these twenty-odd small steel cannons, and on the other hand forming a new artillery company.

  The Artillery Battalion is directly under the Model Division of the Grand Governor's Office, and the commander of the Model Division is Tao Zekun. He was originally an instructor at the Sichuan Army Primary School and a trusted aide to Governor Yin.

  He immediately let his old friend, Minister of Military Affairs Hu Jingyi select more than 200 literate new soldiers to form the backbone of the artillery company.

  Unexpectedly, the artillery company he took over was in such a state, and Yang Xing's enthusiasm was immediately reduced.

  It seemed that Yin Daidu felt Yang Xing's disappointment, and he sighed: "Zhen Dong, this artillery company is not simple. On the surface, it is a company, but the number of people in the formation is over 200, which is a typical reinforced company. Of course, I also know that it will be difficult, so for the sake of the Sichuan Army's future, I won't let you graduate early before you finish your studies, don't blame me for this."

  Upon hearing this, he immediately stood up and said: "Thank you, General, for your concern. I will not disappoint your kindness and complete the task."

  After a brief report on the training plan, under the leadership of the deputy officer, came to the model team stationed not far from the Grand Governor's Mansion and met with Tao Zekun.

  Tao Zejun, with no detailed historical records, assisted Yin Changheng in suppressing the rebellion led by Zhao Erfeng, thus preventing the restoration of the Manchu people.

  When I saw Yang Xingjin coming, I took a closer look at this young military officer who was close to fame. He had a round face, was about 1.75 meters tall, wore neat and tidy clothes, and had an air of modern military dignity.

  When he saw Yang Xing enter, he beckoned him to come over and said: "Zheng Dong, you've arrived just in time. Take a seat, everyone will be working together from now on, so don't be polite with me, your teacher. I'm completely clueless about artillery, but now that the personnel have all been recruited, we're just waiting for your younger brother to arrive and start training."

  Overjoyed, he stood up and saluted, saying: "Thank you, Comrade Commander. As this is my first time leading troops, I hope you will forgive any shortcomings and make allowances for me."

  Seeing Yang Xing being so polite, Tao Zekun nodded and said with satisfaction: "This is nothing, we are revolutionary soldiers, don't you understand? The more we practice, the more we'll know. As long as we work together for the public good and dare to take on tasks under General Yin's command, what problem can't be solved?"

  "That's it, that's it." Yang Xing said with a stutter.

  After briefly reporting the training plan to Tao Zekun, Tao Zekun was overjoyed and said: "Zhen Dong, regarding this artillery, although I am your teacher, I am also an outsider, so don't interfere. However, there is one thing you need to know, which is that I will support you 100%. If people are needed, I'll provide them; if money is needed, I'll give it; if shells are needed, I'll supply them. As long as you can train a powerful and majestic army for the Grand Commander at the right time, that's all that matters, as long as it doesn't damage the reputation of our model regiment."

  Overjoyed at the news, he immediately thanked Captain Tao for his kindness.

  What was discussed has almost been settled. Tao Zekun picked up his military cap, put it on his head, pointed outside and said: "Let's go, go to your artillery company to take a look. The commander ordered that the artillery is the guarantee of our army's victory, and asked me to pay attention to it. I also have no experience in organizing artillery, so I consulted with Director Hu, and on the basis of a battered artillery company, we selected more than 100 soldiers who were familiar with literature from the whole army, and formed an artillery company of 200 people.

  Yi Wen was overjoyed and said: "Thank you, Director Tuan and Minister Hu, for your help."

  "Never mind the thanks," Tao Zejun waved his hand repeatedly, "After these old soldiers were transferred over, there was no one to manage them for a while, and they actually became a vegetable market. It's been quite a headache for me."

  Oh, it turns out to be like this, making one inevitably full of doubts.

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  Just entered the artillery camp, feeling chaotic, only saw everyone walking back and forth in the camp, like a vegetable market.

  Tao Zejun's face was also iron-green, and he called the deputy officer to scold him severely, although not to the extent of dismissing him from his post, but this soldier had been trained into such a state.

  The deputy officer also looked innocent and embarrassed, saying: "Commander, the artillery is a technical branch, everyone has to recognize two words. Originally, each person was a treasure in their unit, and they were arrogant and used to it. Just formed, no one listens to anyone else, and although I strongly rectified them, the effect is limited."

  Tao Zekun's anger grew even greater upon hearing this: "How can the troops not be disciplined? Look, does this resemble the model battalion of my great commander-in-chief's headquarters? It simply looks like a group of peasants."

  He immediately ordered the bugler to sound the assembly call, and it took ten minutes for these more than 200 people to barely assemble.

  Seeing the sparse and scattered troops in front of him, Tao Zekun's face turned iron-green. He asked his deputy company commander, "How can it take ten minutes to assemble a revolutionary army and form a simple formation?"

  The deputy commander of the artillery company smiled bitterly and said, "Sir, this is not a rare formation training. Don't look at our scattered appearance, we are all revolutionary soldiers, we are all intellectuals. I used to be in an artillery company too, it was always like this. But if we go into battle, take the last attack on Zhao Erfeng's headquarters for example, it was a tough fight, we pushed forward more than ten guns and bombarded fiercely, immediately knocking down the enemy."

  Tao Zejun was even more furious upon hearing this and shouted a string of nonsense.

  Seeing Tao Zekun getting angry, the new official on duty couldn't let these old soldiers be deceived, so he stepped out and bitterly smiled: "So you're saying that the artillery company only used a few battles, how did it suffer such heavy losses, with over ten small steel cannons damaged and unusable? What's the reason for this?"

  Liu Bo, the deputy commander of the artillery company, smiled bitterly and said: "The British stuff is good, but it's not easy to use. The brothers used them for half a day when attacking the Grand Governor's Mansion, and unexpectedly more than ten exploded. It seems that Zhao Erxun was cheated by the British and bought second-hand goods."

  Yang Xing's face turned stern, and he said to the crowd: "We are all soldiers now. I'm afraid some brothers will say that I haven't even graduated from the Army Officer School, yet I've come to lead this glorious traditional unit. Is it just dumb luck?"

  "Now that the Grand Commander has let me, your brother, take charge of this artillery battalion, there must be a reason for it. I don't care about what British officers or past superiors have demanded from you; now you are my soldiers, so you will do things according to my demands."

  To this opening remark, these artillerymen felt quite strange, and the atmosphere on the scene was no longer as depressing as it was at first.

  "We're all old soldiers now, has anyone seen the Beiyang Army's artillery?" He asked three times in a row, but no one responded. Suddenly it dawned on him that the Sichuan army had been holed up in Sichuan for a long time and hadn't participated in any Northern-Southern joint exercises, so how could they possibly know about the Beiyang Army's artillery being powerful?

  He took a deep breath and said loudly, "That's what I call mighty. Each and every one of them was dressed neatly, just like a new groom. Their artillery fire was extremely accurate, at a distance of two or three miles, truly hitting the target with every shot. It was his battalion of artillery that bombarded Hankou for three days and nights, making our revolutionary party people tremble with fear, forcing us to abandon Hankou and Hanyang and retreat to Wuchang.

  Many people were amazed: "Fighting for three days and three nights, how is that possible? Is it because the cannons didn't have any problems?"

  Yang Xing burst out laughing and said, "Has any of my brothers seen the old-fashioned cannons in the past? They wouldn't explode after firing two or three shots, would they? Britain is a world power, how can their big guns not even compare to those old-fashioned ones?"

  Everyone heard this and immediately burst out like a boiling pot: "Yes, how can the British artillery not even compare to our own? It seems that Zhao Erfeng's corruption and being killed by the Grand Governor was well-deserved."

  After raising his hands repeatedly to signal the crowd to quiet down, the venue finally calmed down again. Yang Xing took out a manual for the use of steel cannons from his backpack and said to the crowd: "Zhao Er-feng was corrupt and unjust, but through my inspection of the two small steel cannons, it can be seen that they are genuine British-made goods. Why did the small steel cannons explode after firing a few shots? The main reason is that everyone's usage has problems."

  The scene erupted again, and it took a long time to calm down. After a long while, someone said, "Officer, I heard you can repair the mini-cannon. Can you teach us?"

  "Some said: 'Officer, I heard that you can not only talk to the foreigners but also understand their things. Can you teach me this skill?'"

  Of course, some people don't think it's a big deal and say: "They're just making mistakes, bragging. Young people like to show off."

  Seeing that the morale of the officers and soldiers has been mobilized, Yang Xing smiled and said: "Of course, as long as you are willing to learn, I can teach you all. As long as everyone is willing, I guarantee to teach you at that time."

  Everyone was overjoyed upon hearing this.

  He continued: "But everything has a process, when we were young, our parents told us not to walk without learning, and then learn to run. Our artillery company is the best in the Sichuan army, just as I said earlier. The soldiers of our artillery company are all literate brothers, so they should be a model for their fellow comrades, don't you think?"

  Who doesn't want to be superior, when they heard that the artillery regiment was the first-class and number one heroic division of the Sichuan Army, when it was the model of the Sichuan Army, these officers and soldiers shouted with all their might, shouting in unison.

  Some officers and soldiers might think that way, after all they are young. The company commander is indeed young, originally thought it would be a new broom sweeps clean, but unexpectedly was fooled like this.

  Suddenly, the atmosphere on the scene didn't feel right. The new officer was furious, his face red with rage, and he shouted at everyone: "I said our artillery unit should have this appearance, but look at it now! It's not even as good as a bandit gang. Look, some people haven't even buttoned their uniform buttons, and others have beards all over their faces, dirtier than the toilet inside. The team assembled for a whole minute, even bandits wouldn't take that long to gather. Look at everyone standing here, do you look like revolutionary soldiers? You're hunched over and stooping, worse than peasants working in the fields. The whole process is chaotic, more chaotic than a vegetable market. What kind of revolutionary soldiers are you? Even the worst troops from Sichuan would be better than you all! Are you worthy of being called elite soldiers?"

  Unexpectedly, the atmosphere in the entire venue suddenly turned around, and Lian Chang, who was smiling just now, actually publicly scolded everyone.

  But it's unbearable and there's no way out, how can the discipline of a regular army unit degenerate to this extent.

  He immediately shouted to the crowd: "This situation must be changed immediately, our artillery will start training soon. For those who can't bear hardships and are not in harmony with everyone, leave quickly, lest you hurt your brothers' face at that time. Is there anyone who can't bear hardships and wants to leave? As long as you speak up, I'll approve it right away."

  After asking three times, the crowd burst into waves of disturbance, but surprisingly no one chose to leave.

  At a time when everyone felt chilled to the bone, this big mouth was shouting loudly again: "Since everyone doesn't want to leave, then I, as the company commander, will announce the training plan for the artillery company. From today on, we'll have rice and meals every day, and the company commander will ensure that everyone is full. The regimental commander is here, and he has already promised that all military pay will be issued in accordance with actual conditions. What needs to be done, the regimental commander and I have already done, what's left is for you brothers to show your manhood. Now, let me re-announce the military rules: those who are late, leave early, or don't attend on time will be dealt with according to military law; those who disregard military rules will be directly expelled from the artillery company."

  "Now I give you all one month's time. One month later, a full assembly will be held to assess everyone. Those who fail the assessment will be expelled. Those who cannot march in step will be expelled. Those whose formation is not good will be expelled. Those whose uniform is not proper will be expelled. Those who do not obey orders from superiors will be expelled. Those who are physically unfit and cannot run 1000 meters within one minute will be expelled."

  He took a deep breath and said in a soft voice, "Of course, for those who behave well, I will establish an instructional team. I will impart the knowledge of disassembling firearms, disassembling steel cannons, and cannon skills to them without reservation. Then they can tell you how to maintain the small steel cannon and how to fire it. For those who are particularly excellent, I will recommend them to the regimental commander for priority recruitment and promotion."

  New official takes office, unexpectedly gives everyone a warning, fires four people on the spot, nearly stirring up a hornet's nest.

  Some people called it a good thing, while others cried foul, saying that the new company commander was purging the old guard.

  Tao Zekun, who had been standing by the side, saw that the scene was somewhat chaotic and shouted repeatedly: "What kind of revolutionary army is this? It's noisy like a vegetable market. This situation should have been rectified long ago, but there hasn't been a suitable candidate, so I've endured it until now. Now it's time to change."

  So many talented people calmed down and accepted Yang Xing's leadership.

  From that day on, Yang Xing had meals with everyone and did morning exercises together. When everyone practiced goose steps and ran, he was busy and happy.