After yesterday's two rounds of elimination, the military skills competition of the model camp has entered the key final stage. After six kilometers of 20-kilogram armed cross-country, 100-meter chest target shooting, individual soldiers digging to avoid bomb craters, and fully armed 600-meter obstacles.
In this competition, the whole battalion had a total of more than 1,400 people, including 300 newly assigned prisoners and more than 140 broken soldiers who had returned sporadically. Whether they liked it or not, they were all in the company of those fierce veterans.
Under the whip of the platoon leader, yesterday's two rounds of preliminaries were completed, and finally 367 people were left to qualify for the semi-finals this afternoon.
At 8:30 in the morning, in addition to the more than 100 officers and soldiers of the machine gun company who served as camp security and the 60 officers and soldiers of the guard company who went out for reconnaissance, all the 1,410 new and old officers and soldiers of the model camp gathered outside the gate of the academy.
The company units lined up neatly in three directions: southeast, west and east of the playground, quietly waiting for battalion commander An Yi to arrive and issue the order for the competition.
As the officer on duty gave a loud command, all the officers and soldiers stood silent and solemn. An Yi, who was wearing a straight military uniform and hanging his left arm, strode into the playground accompanied by Hu Jialin, Yin Jinan, Gu Changfeng and other school captains.
The warm morning sun coated An Yi's pale face with golden soft light. His tall body, firm steps and sharp eyes made all the officers and soldiers ignore An Yi's age and forget about his injuries. The eyes of the veterans flickered.
There was a glow of enthusiasm, and the faces of the recruits were filled with surprise and awe.
An Yi quietly scanned the audience, nodded with satisfaction and praised Hu Hu and Yin Jinan's organizational skills in a low voice. Then he straightened his still weak body and walked to inspect. Wherever he went, officers and soldiers stood at attention and saluted with their guns raised, the sonorous sound unique to the majestic military.
The spirit is clearly visible, and the entire bleak late autumn space suddenly becomes hotter.
Every time An Yi and his lieutenants came to a formation, they stopped uniformly, listened to the chief officer's loud report, and solemnly returned the salute to the officers and soldiers. Although there was no word, it impressed the officers and soldiers more than all the words.
They were shocked and their morale soared.
Returning to the broad high platform to the north, An Yi glanced at the dozen stubborn captive officers on the side of the high platform, stopped and told Hu Hu and Yin Jinan to take charge of the host, and told Lao Chang to move seven or eight tables and a dozen chairs to the high platform.
After setting it up for observation, he immediately walked towards the sixteen captured enemy officers with different expressions. He secretly laughed in his heart that these Sun Tzu, who were either arrogant or restless, did not understand current affairs, and yet they still put on such an appearance that made people look at them.
I want to feel like I am in pain.
It turned out that sixteen stubborn and lucky captains hurriedly changed into soldier's clothes when the city was breached, and mingled among the two thousand prisoners. After being captured, they were not found out by the gang from the Second Division Headquarters after two inspections.
The guys were screened out and assigned to the model camp again. They thought they had passed the test and thought that they would get a chance to escape easily once they arrived at the camp outside the city. They were all secretly proud. But once they arrived at the model camp, it was completely different.
Not to mention that the camp was heavily guarded, as soon as they entered the camp, Huzi led dozens of veterans and ruffians to pick out the sixteen captains one by one, and then interrogated them separately, and then verified them one by one. Soon, these unlucky guys were able to escape.
The identity, military rank and brief resume of each unlucky person were sorted out and reported to An Yi. In desperation, these unlucky people also showed their prestige when they were officials, regained their lost dignity, and refused to cooperate with each other indifferently.
Although An Yi was not happy in his heart, he had a smile on his face. He stopped, looked at the group of madmen under the eaves who were unwilling to join his team one by one, and extended an invitation very politely and sincerely:
"Everyone, I have offended Shang Qinghaihan so much in the past few days! I know that many of you have high military ranks, are more senior than me, and have far more military experience, ability and knowledge than me, so I would like to take advantage of this rare opportunity.
I take this opportunity to humbly ask you for advice. Please sit on the stage together and observe the military skills competition that our battalion has planned to hold for a long time in the past two days. We will discuss other matters after the competition is over in the afternoon, please!"
This group of captives who looked down on Huangpu graduates who became lieutenant colonels at such a young age were indifferent, but they also appeared to be quite surprised. Finally, under An Yi's sincere smile, Yang Bin, the deputy lieutenant colonel with the highest rank, reached an agreement with his colleagues and followed An Yi.
Behind Yi and others, he fearlessly walked up to the high platform and stood arrogantly behind the tables and chairs neatly arranged in a row. An Yi seemed not to see everyone's faces and politely invited everyone to sit down and enjoy tea.
Watch slowly.
Yang Bin, who was about 30 years old with thick eyebrows and big eyes, was quite surprised by An Yi's polite treatment. He hesitated for a while, and generously led his fifteen brothers to sit down and picked up the tea on the table.
They drank the tea without ceremony. Some of them had the fragrant and warm tea in their mouths and were reluctant to swallow it for a long time. They closed their eyes and raised their heads and looked extremely intoxicated. After a while, they swallowed the long-lost fragrant tea and sighed in a low voice: These days
I want to drink tea so much that I want to go crazy!
An Yi sat very naturally between Yang Bin and the slightly thin major named Ye Cheng. Gu Laoer stood quietly behind An Yi, with a pair of slender red phoenix eyes half open and half closed, as if overlooking the playground below the stage.
, in fact, he was watching every move of everyone around An Yi vigilantly. If anyone dared to attack An Yi, he would probably be beheaded by Gu Laoer, who had extraordinary martial arts skills and struck like lightning as soon as he stood up.
On the playground, eighty officers and soldiers selected from each of the four newly formed engineering companies stood in the center of the four sides of the playground with their chests raised. They shouldered the important task of competing for a 500-yuan bonus for their companies, and various materials and tools were prepared in advance.
Neatly placed in front of the four teams.
At this moment, the officers and soldiers were all like taut bowstrings and sharp arrows about to be shot. They watched their respective company commanders attentively reporting to Huzi who was standing in the center of the playground, waiting for Huzi to give the order and start immediately.
Yang Bin touched his strong chin, which was covered with stubble, and looked at it again and again. He couldn't figure out what was going on. Finally, he put down his reserve and asked An Yi beside him in a low voice: "Excuse me, Battalion Commander An, the officers and soldiers of the four teams on the field.
What are you going to do?"
An Yi replied in a low voice: "I heard that the Baoding Military Academy where Lieutenant Colonel Yang once studied has a training ground with a circumference of 450 meters. It has runways, deep pits, high walls and a narrow three-meter high platform and other obstacle facilities.
So I want to build a similar simple training ground to see what it will look like, so I can have an idea of what it will look like, so that if I talk to others about this in the future, I won’t appear ignorant."
Yang Bin looked at the playground below in surprise, then turned to An Yi: "The circumference of this playground is at least 500 meters. How long will it take to build so many facilities?"
An Yi calmly replied: "I don't feel confident now, because in the tough battle I fought with you a few days ago, more than half of the engineers from my two companies were killed or injured. These four participating teams are four new engineer companies.
Among the 150 officers and soldiers of each company newly formed, about fifty of them are the surviving veterans who I personally brought out. The rest are recruits who have just undergone basic training for a few days, so they are here.
Cooperation and coordination are restricted. If my estimate is good, the game will be over in two and a half hours. There will be two pits four meters long, three meters wide and two meters deep in front of us, with two sides three meters wide and two meters high.
Three wooden walls, two single-plank bridges two meters high and six meters long, and two barbed wire fences 70 centimeters long and five meters wide each from the ground."
"This is impossible!" Yang Bin said loudly.
An Yi smiled and said: "Nothing is impossible, how about... I make a bet with you?"
Yang Bin was stunned. Looking at An Yi's cunning eyes, he was frightened. He snorted and looked at the playground in front of him noncommittally.
The bearded man on the high platform in the center of the field gave a brief signal to all directions, and immediately blew the whistle. The participating officers and soldiers from the four directions quickly moved into action. In less than five minutes, 320 engineer brothers were scattered around the playground with a circumference of about 500 meters.
There was intense construction all around, with flying dust and clanking hammers. The more than a thousand officers and soldiers watching the battle cheered loudly and laughed louder than ever.
The referee team led by Yin Jinan kept coming and going. Among the thirty referee team members, more than half of them either had white gauze wrapped around their heads or injured soldiers with their arms hanging on their chests. Each of them had been from the establishment of the engineer company until today.
The lucky ones, who are experienced and skilled, are all the best among engineers, and naturally have enough authority to judge the small construction in front of them.
Huang Yingwu, the new company commander and instructor of the 1st company directing the construction in the east, was very involved. He yelled and cursed amidst the flying dust and bursts of noise for a long time. He licked his dry lips and looked at the 3rd company to the west. When he
Seeing the silhouettes of the dozen brothers from the Third Company digging the pit getting shorter and shorter, the single-plank bridge in front of the pit was erected almost at the same time as the single-plank bridge on his side. He rushed to the front of the hundreds of brothers watching the battle in a hurry, and then
They begged and bowed, begged for support, and received the consent of nearly a hundred old brothers among them. They couldn't help but be ecstatic, and immediately sang loudly, danced and beat time. The war hymn that was sung in the barren mountains and ridges on the border between Hunan and Guangdong in the early days of the engineering battalion was once again
The sound rang out, and more and more brothers joined in the singing. Even the officers and soldiers of the machine gun company who were on guard duty and the logistics brothers of the battalion headquarters around the high platform could not help but sing loudly. The singing became more and more uniform and louder.
The humorous and helpless lyrics and the sonorous and heroic music sounded instantly and spread to all directions.
"Come on, do it, hehe, forget it if you die, hehe..."
The sixteen officers and prisoners on the stage stared at everything in front of them in great surprise. They were dumbfounded when they heard such a vulgar song that sounded very much like a labor chant. An Yi, who was sitting in the middle, laughed happily and kept saying "What the hell!"
"After scolding him endlessly, several brothers who served as orderlies happily came up to add tea. After retreating, they immediately put down the teapot and crowded to the front of the high platform to look excitedly in all directions.
The captured major staff officer Ye Cheng, who was sitting to the left of An Yi, was shocked and sighed. The 27-year-old Ye Cheng graduated from Nankai University with a major in liberal arts education. Before going to Japan for further studies, he was recommended by Sun Chuanfang's division commander Chen Yi to become an army officer in the Anhui Army.
After graduation, he was assigned to Sun Chuanfang's division Zheng Junyan as company deputy of the independent regiment. After working hard for three years, he was promoted to staff officer of the independent regiment. Within a month, he was ordered to come to Fengxin garrison to assist Fengxin garrison Lin Tongjiang.
The brigade fought against the revolutionary army.
In the early stages of the previous Battle of Shangfu, Ye Cheng was the only one who questioned the Lin Tongjiang Brigade's defense plan for Shangfu Town, and then fiercely opposed the plan of deputy brigade commander Zhang Yerong to lead his troops to rescue. However, others were despised and ignored for their slight words.
Ridiculously, he could only grit his teeth and shut up, watching a brigade of friendly troops being cannibalized step by step by the Revolutionary Army's Second Division but unable to do anything. During the fierce battle in Fengxin, Ye Cheng served as the commander of the former enemy in the south of the city. It was Ye Cheng's command that made Ruoding
The Fifth Regiment of the Second Division returned without success with heavy casualties. If the north of the city had not been breached, he would not be An Yi's guest today.
Seeing the blueprint drawn by An Yi taking shape bit by bit, Ye Cheng, who was open-minded and had always identified with the Three People's Principles, thought for a long time. Finally, like Yang Bin, who was in a state of ups and downs, he lowered his arrogant head, turned his face and asked kindly: "An Ying.
Sir, can I ask you two questions?"
"Don't ask for advice, I still want to ask you for advice, haha! Major Ye, feel free to speak out, but I will tell you everything I know." An Yi, who was in a good mood, looked at Ye Cheng with a smile on his face.
Ye Cheng smiled awkwardly and asked: "In the past two days, I heard that your skills competition is to select top soldiers. I want to know what your engineering battalion does to select top soldiers? Furthermore, I heard that the one who broke into our city was the Revolutionary Army Model Camp. The playground is in front of
There happens to be a model camp flag planted on the high platform in the center. How many model camps does your Second Division of the Revolutionary Army have?"
After Ye Cheng finished speaking, the surrounding officers and prisoners all came over to show their respect, and Yang Bin also looked curious.
An Yi laughed: "First of all, I have to explain to you that the battle flag of the 'Model Camp' on the high platform and the title of the Model Camp were proposed by Commander-in-Chief Chiang Kai-shek of the National Revolutionary Army and approved by the Military Commission of the National Government and the National Revolutionary Army Headquarters.
Approved, jointly awarded to us by the General Political Department of the Revolutionary Army and the First Army of the Revolutionary Army. Among the eleven existing armies of the National Revolutionary Army, there is only one title and flag of the 'Model Battalion', which is my younger brother's Engineer Battalion, haha
!”
Looking at the astonished faces around him, the proud An Yi continued: "Now let me answer your other question. The reason why this competition is held to select top soldiers is because our model camp will soon be expanded into a regiment.
The troops will account for two-thirds of the entire regiment, and my engineer battalion not only has professional skills, but also has a combat effectiveness that is no less than that of the main regiment. For example, in the previous Battle of Shangfu, our battalion was born out of the guard of the engineer company.
The platoon, machine gun company and infantry company launched first, cutting off the retreat of Lin Tongjiang's brigade in one fell swoop and gaining the overall initiative. Even General Lin Tongjiang was captured by my brothers. Our division has great righteousness and has sent General Lin Tongjiang and his party away.
He left, but his belt became a trophy for my brothers. It is on the waist of the brother behind me at this time. You are probably familiar with this general's belt. You might as well turn around and take a look...
Under the painful and shocked gazes of Yang Bin and others, Gu Laoer, who was behind An Yi, deliberately stretched out his belly to let the bright sunlight reflect the luster of the exquisite general's lanyard around his waist, shaking Yang Bin who was closest to him.
He and Ye Cheng were extremely sad and depressed.
Unexpectedly, An Yi seemed unaware and continued to state his achievements: "To tell you the truth, it was my younger brother who commanded his two companies in Fengxin City who took the lead in breaking through the northwest city wall. Unfortunately, the killing was too deep, and two of my brothers were killed and injured before the attack.
Three hundred, so the brothers were more ruthless. After a hard fight, all the more than ten officers of the Gui army guarding the west and north of the city were killed. Otherwise, one or two of them might recognize me. At that time, I was commanding fire suppression and expansion at the top of the city.
As a result of the battle, my lower abdomen was pierced by a blind bullet, so today I can only sit here and watch with you, otherwise you may see me wielding a shovel and hammer. Our engineer battalion not only controls infantry
It lacks professional skills and has its own strict system in terms of military skills and combat training. What it lacks is just the experience of repeated battles, the experience of large-scale coordinated operations and heavy firepower, otherwise it would not have the current honors and achievements."
Yang Bin and his unlucky colleagues were dejected. An Yi's words deeply hurt them, and also deeply touched their ideals and ambitions that were about to become dormant. They felt a strong confidence and a kind of cheerful kindness from An Yi's words.
Qiu's heroic and emotionally delicate Ye Cheng could even feel the heart-warming and passionate heroic spirit in An Yi's words.
"Captain An, do you mean that what we see in front of us is just a warm-up before the official competition?" asked Yang Bin, who admired the combat effectiveness of the model camp.
An Yi smiled and nodded: "It can be said that the competition being held now is not a competition for us to select elite soldiers, but to take this opportunity to test how much combat effectiveness is left after losing more than half of my engineers and soldiers? Let's also test the four new soldiers.
The command level and military skills of a group of temporary company platoon commanders in the engineer company have boosted the morale of the officers and soldiers who have lost their comrades and brothers and established the confidence to win. At the same time, they have created and maintained the unique spirit of our "Model Battalion"
Show it out, let the new brothers feel it, and then integrate into it well, and prepare as best as possible for the upcoming battle."
Yang Bin sighed slightly: "It turns out that Commander An is planning for the future... Commander An is prepared for danger in times of peace and takes the lead step by step, which is admirable! As far as I know and with my own experience and experience, in this powerful country where internal and external troubles are everywhere,
In the era of wars where all kinds of doctrines are flying everywhere, generals are always unable to understand what kind of army they want to have, what kind of opponents they will face, and what kind of goals they will achieve. Battalion Commander An said this
What do you think?"
An Yi shook his head helplessly: "Actually, I don't quite understand. Since Lieutenant Colonel Yang mentioned it, I can only share my superficial feelings... As for the ideal army for a general, I think it is very simple. It is an army in the heart.
We must always act in the interests of the motherland and the people, have advanced concepts and equipment, scientific training methods, and more importantly, have an army with an iron-blooded spirit that is not arrogant in victory and not discouraged in defeat! This may seem very far away, but it is actually around you. I am not afraid of your laughter.
I have too much ambition but too much wishful thinking, and all I am doing now is to work hard in that direction... Look at the playground below, how are my engineers doing... Almost half of the workload has been completed, can't you imagine?"
Seeing everyone's astonishment, An Yi increased his persuasion according to the planned strategy: "As for the opponent's question, it is difficult to answer. Let's put it this way, the war between us makes me uncomfortable. I really don't want to fight with myself.
Fighting with our compatriots, no matter what your beliefs are, as long as they are Chinese, I am not willing to pick up a gun, but I can’t do it without fighting! I might lose my life if I retreat, so I can only fight until everyone is willing to turn their guns and attack the outside world in unison.
.
The people we aim our guns at are our sworn opponents. I can tell you clearly that all the aliens occupying our Chinese land are my opponents, and you, including Sun Chuanfang, Zhang Zuolin, Yan Xishan, Feng Yuxiang, and Yang Sen
, Liu Xiang, Long Yun and other separatist warlords and local forces are all our own, strictly speaking, fighting with you is like fighting in the same room. Those who are close will hate the enemy, but under the current situation, they have to fight and unify China as soon as possible.
Externally, our country and nation are about to be in catastrophe!
Maybe I shouldn't say these words, many people will think they are alarmist, but I saw it, and I have to say it, otherwise it will always be heavy and uncomfortable in my heart... What I am doing now includes the battles I fought with you,
In fact, it is all a warm-up for the real battle that is about to come. I hope I can have an iron-blooded army that will move forward and never give up."
An Yi's words deeply touched the hearts of Yang Bin, Ye Cheng, Lu Mingdi and others. They stared blankly at An Yi's slightly sad eyes, then turned to the heated competition scene in front of the audience, and couldn't help but fall into deep thought...