At two o'clock in the night, Commander-in-Chief Chiang led a group of all-powerful Northern Expeditionary Army generals to discuss military and state affairs diligently in the headquarters camp in the east of the city. After more than four hours of hard work, he came up with a battle plan to storm Hesheng Bridge:
General Li Zongren served as the frontline commander and led the 45,000 highly motivated officers and soldiers of the Fourth and Seventh Armies. They divided into two groups and worked closely together to capture Hesheng Bridge and march straight to Wuchang City! The First and Second Divisions of the First Army
Serve as the reserve force of the entire army. The main force is scheduled to attack in the early morning of the 29th. The Fourth Army will advance along the railway to the main position in front of Hesheng Bridge. The Seventh Army will quickly attack from the northeast of Xianning and attack the Wang Benxuan and Yuhuaping lines where a large number of enemy troops are entrenched.
, defeated the enemy and took the city of Hubei directly.
At the same time, An Yi in the Shuangheqiao camp in the southwest of the city was also busy going to court to interrogate a sudden major case of male thieves and female prostitutes that seriously threatened the healthy development of military-civilian relations.
An Yi was sitting in the main hall of the battalion headquarters in a quadrangle. Four or five fully armed brothers on duty brought the two naughty soldiers like chickens. As soon as the four brothers let go of their hands, the platoon leader Lu Xiong who was standing aside said:
Before they could scold them, the two coward soldiers, whose legs and feet were weak from fear, knelt on the ground and begged loudly for mercy.
An Yi, who is very aware of human rights, originally wanted the two cowards to squat down. Seeing how boneless the two were, he just let it go. He was about to drink a cup of tea to moisten his throat and start the interrogation.
After being promoted, they were very motivated. Huang Yingwu and Yang Fei, who had been patrolling the camp, heard the news and came over. A group of lively and fierce people moved the benches one after another and sat on both sides of An Yi and Yin Jinan to watch the fun. Dong Yazi also quickly nodded two
A horse lantern illuminates the main hall.
The two coward soldiers who had long been frightened almost fainted when they saw such a grand gesture, especially when Lu Xiong, whose arms were thicker than other people's thighs, stood beside him. The invisible murderous aura emanating from his whole body almost made the two coward soldiers faint.
Suffocating with fear.
The sharp-eyed Beard was shocked when he saw the nameplates on the chests of two cowards in their early twenties. He strode forward, took off the lantern and held it out in front of the two cowards. After confirming it, he laughed angrily:
"What a fool... you actually dared to dye the rim of the badge red with color. At first glance, I thought it was a general, grandma! I am the yellow rim of the school officer until today, and a group of brothers who are fighting for life and death are also
It's the lieutenant's blue border and the sergeant's black thread strung with three-pointed stars. These two madmen actually made it red bordered and three-pointed stars. They are almost catching up with our Commander-in-Chief Chiang Kai-shek. Haha... look at these two
The most idiotic person is only in his early twenties. Aren’t you afraid of losing your head if you do this?”
The brothers gathered around to take a look, and burst into laughter. The two cowards were so frightened that they trembled all over, and their upper and lower teeth clicked together. Their speed was several times faster than the second hand. An Yi almost spat out a sip of tea.
come out.
An Yi saw that the two naughty soldiers looked good-looking, so he sent the brothers back to their seats and laughed: "No wonder the kiln sister who chased for more than ten miles just for two pieces of ocean lost her sight. She must have thought she was rich.
The high-ranking officials came to the door, haha... You two, please raise your heads. I know that you don't understand our military regulations, and you just want to make a fool of yourself and do whatever you want. It's a good thing you didn't let the military police patrolling the city discover you, otherwise you will die.
You have to peel off your skin! Okay, I don’t blame you, let’s talk! Tell me what your names are and which part you belong to? First, I’m warning you two, don’t lie to me, otherwise I will really throw you into the gendarmerie.
go."
After hearing An Yi's words, the two bad soldiers felt reassured and pushed each other twice. The shorter one on the left bravely confessed:
"My name is... Shen Jianping, and his name is Tao Xun. We are both... recruits who were forcibly recruited by the Seventh Army in Puqi. There is... an ordnance station in the Beida Camp in Puqi. Governor Chen founded it a few years ago, specializing in repairing guns and artillery for the garrisons in Hunan and Hubei. When we were fifteen, we were recruited into the Hanyang Arsenal as apprentices. Last spring, we were still workers at the Hanyang Guns and Artillery Bureau and were transferred to the Puqi Ordnance Factory. I have been working there for more than a year.
Two months ago, the Red Party riot in Puqi was very violent. More than a dozen guns and more than 30 bolts were stolen from our ordnance depot. Shangfeng stopped work for strict inspection and stopped paying wages. Many old people left in anger. , but we brothers thought that we would have to get some money before we could return to Wuhan. Unexpectedly, the revolutionary army came over and recruited more than thirty of us soldiers without any explanation, asking us to help them. Repair the gun.
Most of our people escaped along the way from Puqi to here. We also escaped quietly when we arrived here... I am from Shenliao Village, twenty miles northeast of Xianning. I have been familiar with Xianning City since I was a child. I escaped with Tao Xun. I didn’t have any money at the end, so I wanted to... I wanted to have a good meal and escape back to the village to hide for a while, but I didn’t expect to be discovered by the madam, so I..."
The brothers shook their heads when they heard this, and An Yi then asked: "How much is your monthly salary at Chen Jiamo's ordnance station?"
"The stipulation is seven oceans, but only four oceans are given to us. The officials said that we can eat more and use them more. Three oceans will be deducted every month. The monthly salary of several masters will be much more. Two oceans per month Ten oceans is not a deduction, but most of us can't get the ten oceans monthly salary of a second-level worker. In fact, although we are young, we can do the most work, and our skills are not much worse than those of the masters."
After Shen Jianping spoke for a while, he slowly calmed down and his body stopped shaking.
An Yi whispered a few words to Yin Jinan, and Yin Jinan nodded and left. An Yi said kindly: "Stop kneeling, stand up... When I saw your badges, I was curious, how did you come up with the idea of drawing a red border and three stars? From the stars?”
The two stood up hesitantly. Shen Jianping poked his partner next to him. The tall and thin Tao Xun had no choice but to answer:
"When I was at the Guantangyi camp, I saw a short, middle-aged general, accompanied by a group of officers, coming to inspect. He was different from most of the other officers. He could speak Mandarin and was kind-hearted. He walked up to me and squatted down, pointed at the machine gun parts in my hand, and asked me if a broken American machine gun could be repaired. I replied that I just needed to get the parts from the Hanyang factory. Although the Hanyang factory didn't make replicas, it could. After producing most of the parts, he praised me a few words and left. He talked to a group of officers around him in the language of Guangxi for a long time. Those officers were all obedient, so I... I used it after escaping. On the ink pads and black oil paintings that had been hidden in advance, I saw two or three three-pointed stars on the badges on the chests of the officers, but I didn’t know the difference between the red edge and the blue edge. I thought...I thought …”
The brothers laughed loudly, and Yang Fei said in surprise that it must be General Li Zongren. No one in the Seventh Army was qualified to wear the nameplate with three stars on the red border except him. An Yi was also very happy.
After a while, Yin Jinan led Zeng Changgeng to bring two heavy large cloth bags and put them down in front of the two unlucky men. After opening them, they revealed two piles of dismantled parts of the American light machine gun and the German flower machine gun, as well as two sets of weapons at that time. Repair tools provided with the gun.
The two unlucky guys immediately understood that An Yi wanted to test whether he was lying. Without waiting for An Yi's instructions, they squatted down and carefully inspected the parts. Suddenly, the panic and fear in the two pairs of focused eyes suddenly disappeared and became bright and meticulous. , making An Yi and others nod secretly.
Shen Jianping skillfully assembled the flower machine gun, and then disassembled it when it was mostly installed. He took the two damaged parts of the retracting part and said to An Yi:
"Sir, these two parts are the most easily damaged. Problems usually occur after firing seven to eleven magazines in a row. This kind of gun was copied by the Henan Gongxian Gun Factory at the end of the year, but it is far less popular than foreigners. It is strong and durable. After the Spring Festival last year, they came to our Hanyang factory with several broken guns and these parts. Finally, they found my master. My master said that there was nothing he could do. The foreign steel was like this and our steel was better. No, it won't work even if they are made. I suggest they keep a few broken guns to try and think of other methods.
After the people in Gong County left two broken guns and left, my master took a few of us and secretly cast a few blanks with British bearing steel, selected the best two, polished them, installed them, and took them to the factory to make some. A technician tried it, and the next day several technicians came back and said it was OK. They fired 600 rounds in a row, and the barrel was still fired after it was red. So from then on, the Hanyang factory made a batch of re-entry components. , but the Gong County factory thought the price was too expensive and stopped buying it after buying two batches. My master was so angry about it that he didn’t say a word for several days."
An Yi nodded with satisfaction: "How old is your master? How long have you been following him?"
"I have been with the master for five years, and followed him half a year after I entered the factory. He is already sixty-three this year. Two years before Zhang Zhidong died, Zhang Taibao even specially rewarded me with a gold-encrusted enamel snuff bottle. Master, it’s just that my master is not in good health. He has been coughing up blood since last year. He said that his lungs are bad. I am very worried about his old man. I don’t know how he is now. I want to hide away for a while and go back to see him..."
When Shen Jianping said this, his eyes turned red and his filial piety was beyond words.
No one among the brothers laughed at him anymore. An Yi wanted to comfort him, but when he saw Tao Xun turning to Zeng Changgeng behind him to ask for machine gun parts, he insisted that Zeng Changgeng must have deliberately hidden it to embarrass him. He also said that such an American machine gun He has repaired more than 20 guns, and this gun has been used for at most two thousand rounds, so it is impossible for those parts to break.
The honest Zeng Changgeng looked at Yin Jinan nonchalantly, not knowing how to answer.
An Yi looked at the brothers, who were also looking at him, obviously surprised that these two young men in their early twenties had such abilities.
An Yi was overjoyed. He originally planned to recruit a few gun repair technicians to join his team after conquering Wuhan. But now God opened his eyes and allowed him to meet him by chance in this place, and he was still so young. He immediately made up his mind that he would not do it no matter what. Let go.
The two unlucky guys saw An Yi and others looking at each other and wondered what they would do to them. They couldn't help but worry again. They stood in the middle of the hall with their heads lowered and didn't know what to do. They wanted to ask for mercy but lacked the courage to recover. To the point of shivering in panic.
An Yi laughed and asked loudly: "Shen Jianping, and Tao Xun, let me ask you, if I take you in, would you be willing? Don't worry, your deserters will be wiped out from now on, pretending to be generals to visit brothels I've also helped you with the whole mess of cheating and sex, and I've also given you both a military salary that satisfies you. As long as you ask, I'll agree, and I'll immediately give you one month's salary first, and then I'll pay you a few more. How about I give you a promotion after you win the battle? Do you agree?"
Shen Jianping and Tao Xun looked at each other in surprise, not knowing what to do for a moment.
An Yi smiled again, walked up to Tao Xun, pushed him away, took a few hidden parts handed over by Zeng Changgeng, immediately squatted down, and quickly assembled the dismantled light machine gun, installing the parts one by one. Yi's skilled and dexterous hands fiddled with it, making a crisp metallic sound. Finally, they heard a clean sound of the bolt being pulled, and everyone saw that the machine gun in An Yi's hand had been assembled.
Shen Jianping and Tao Xun, who had been watching from the side, were surprised and admired. Their confidence could not keep up with An Yi's assembly speed, and the little confidence in their hearts slowly drifted away.
An Yi handed the gun to Zeng Changgeng and said kindly to Shen Jianping and Tao Xun: "Don't be surprised, as long as you go through disassembly and assembly training more than three hundred times, you can catch up with me, haha! I'll tell you the truth, I Before I joined the army, I was in this business like you, but now that I am an official, I have to take care of the food, sleep, training and fighting of the five hundred brothers under my command. I have no time to do my old job anymore.
I am about the same age as you, and have similar experience. We are all children from poor families, including the brothers in this hall. Although they may look fierce, they are actually very kind-hearted. They are all born into poor families. One year ago It’s not even as happy as yours. The reason why we are here today is because of our hard work step by step, so I very much hope that you two brothers can also join our big family. You will experience a kind of happiness that you have never had before. How about a new life, respected by others, with status and money? Do you agree?"
Shen Jianping and Tao Xun had been moved by An Yi's words and deeds, but they were still afraid of the army. They discussed in low voices for a while, and the more courageous Shen Jianping timidly asked An Yi:
"Sir, can you give us one month's salary now?"
"Okay! But you haven't told me yet, how much salary do you want per month?" An Yi said with a smile.
Shen Jianping thought for a while and said boldly: "We don't have the skills of a master, so we only need fifteen yuan a month!"
An Yi laughed, pointed at Zeng Changgeng behind Tao Xun and said: "Even Chang Geng, a brother who has just joined the army for a month, has a monthly salary of fifteen yuan plus seven plus eight. You only have fifteen yuan, don't you look down on yourself? We The monthly salary of ordinary soldiers in the Revolutionary Army has been increased to 12 yuan, haha! Let's do this. The monthly salary of you two will be set at 20 yuan for now, and if you do well, we, the superiors, will give you additional rewards. How about it?"
"real?"
Tao Xun opened his eyes wide in surprise.
"Dong Yaozi, bring over forty oceans."
An Yi laughed, and when Dong Yazi handed over the forty yuan, he asked the two of them to continue: "Take it, I always keep my promise, but you can't go to the brothel without paying me anymore, you are all poor children, We all know that living in this world is not easy. Two oceans in the city are enough for one person to spend a month. In the country, a family can live well in a month, so you must remember to save some money and help. Helping the family is a filial son. Another thing is, don't smoke or gamble, otherwise no amount of money will be enough to fill the gap.
Shen Jianping, didn’t you say that your home is in Shenliao Village, twenty miles away? If you want to go home, I will send two brothers to take you there tomorrow, ride on our tall horse and put on your new military uniform. I’ll give each of you a shell gun, and go back in good spirits and in good spirits, so that your family and fellow villagers can take a good look at it, haha!”
The words made the two ignorant young technicians extremely grateful. Shen Jianping lowered his head guiltily: "Sir, I just tested you on purpose. I'm sorry for you...Sir, aren't you afraid that we will take the money and run away?"
An Yi laughed loudly, punched him lightly and laughed loudly: "With your little skills, you still want to hide it from me? If you want to run away, take the money and leave now. It means we are destined to be here. We got to know each other in a remote place. From now on, we will be old friends and friends when we meet again, haha..."
Shen Jianping and Tao Xun were so moved that they didn't know what to do. They put the money into Dong Yazi's hands and both made an oath to An Yi that they would die for their confidants!