A fast horse galloped eastward from the west road, bringing up a long trail of dust and smoke. The second lieutenant of the scout on the horse reined in the horse at the foot of the hillock and loudly reported to An Yi on the hillock:
"Regiment Commander, the rear outpost security team reported that thirty-seven large trucks were coming from the west. The certificates they showed when they passed my temporary inspection post were from the Artillery Command directly under the General Headquarters. The vehicles used were all artillery tractors, of which three-thirds were
Two of the vehicles are fully loaded, and the rest are empty, without towed artillery. The outpost has been released as usual. It is about 3.5 kilometers away from here at this time. Report completed!"
"Continue to monitor!" An Yi replied, already feeling confident.
"Yes!" the second lieutenant rode away.
Huzi asked in surprise: "When did the General Headquarters have this artillery headquarters directly under it?"
An Yi replied with a smile: "It's probably because Brother Cai Zhonghuan has been promoted. After several major battles, the headquarters finally discovered the shortcomings of sporadic use of artillery. Brother Cai also kept sending reports to the superiors outlining the pros and cons.
After the capture of Nanchang, the General Headquarters began to discuss the issue of centralized use of artillery. I remember once in Nanchang I went to ask the principal to allocate ammunition. The principal was in a good mood. After signing my application report, he asked me about the centralized use of artillery.
Questions about the merits and demerits of
He replied that when resources are limited, centralized use is much better than scattered equipment for divisions and regiments, especially for large battles and sieges. The principal nodded and smiled and said nothing more. Now it seems
, Brother Cai is very satisfied, haha!"
Yang Bin suddenly thought of the twelve brand-new French Schneider 1923-type 75mm mountain guns and twenty-four miscellaneous artillery pieces that had been captured. His heart pounded, and he quickly reminded An Yi:
"Xiao Yi, don't laugh. I heard you clearly just now. The thirty-six tractors did not pull the artillery. If the estimate is correct, we may not be able to save the thirty-six artillery pieces that have not yet been warmed up!"
The brothers immediately realized the seriousness of the problem. An Yi woke up and had a headache. He walked around on the hillock twice and was unable to do anything: "Why didn't I think of it? Grandma... I won't care about it for now. We will talk about it after we meet... Beard, old man
Yang, assemble the team to greet the artillery brothers!"
"yes."
Thirty-six tractor trucks drove into the temporary playground. More than two thousand officers and soldiers of the Independent Regiment lined up neatly and solemnly. Under the command of the signal soldiers of the Independent Regiment, the thirty-six vehicles parked one by one on the grassland south of the hillock.
superior.
Before the motorcade came to a complete stop, Cai Zhonghuan, wearing a new major general uniform, strode forward with seven or eight of his subordinate generals, smiling brightly at An Yi and others who were coming to meet them.
An Yi stopped and saluted loudly: "An Yi, the leader of the independent regiment, led the crowd to welcome the general's arrival!"
Cai Zhonghu returned the greeting seriously, but before he could say anything, two flashes of light for taking photos were heard accompanied by a low "pop" sound. An Yi looked in surprise at the three photographers who suddenly appeared four meters away, and found three men and women in military uniforms.
There was an old acquaintance among them.
Cai Zhonghu laughed loudly, strode forward and punched An Yi:
"Good boy, good fight! Your An Yi's name and the reputation of the Model Battalion and the Second Division Independent Regiment have spread throughout Nanchang City. The picky General Cheng Qian also praised your boy full of praise at the headquarters meeting. Li Delin
The general said that the three major battles you fought after entering Zhejiang were all classified as above.
The principal is very proud of his work! No, the "Central Daily News" sent a reporter here, let me introduce to you... This is the talented current affairs editor He Jing, this is the senior photographer Zhuang Fengshuo, and this
It’s the famous and charming chief editor Ye..."
"General Cai, Xiao Yi and I have known each other before. I interviewed him when he was a student at Huangpu University." Ye Qing, who had the latest Zeiss camera hanging on his chest, smiled brightly, took two steps forward, and greeted An openly.
Yi stretched out his little hand, his charming big eyes full of joy: "Hero, you turned into a man in the blink of an eye!"
An Yi saw Ye Qing in military uniform and admired her very much. He respectfully stepped forward and stretched out his warm hand, gently shaking her little hand:
"Ms. Ye, you are only a year or two older than me. Why do you talk so old-fashioned and want to gain some advantage? I thought about it again and again, and it seems that I have not offended such a beautiful woman like you?"
Everyone laughed, and Ye Qing's oval face, which was already red from the cold, turned even redder. She glared at An Yi fiercely, pouted her pretty little mouth and whispered a lesson to An Yi, and then smiled sheepishly.
He smiled and stepped aside.
An Yi stepped forward to shake hands with He Jing, a young and elegant reporter wearing a pair of black-rimmed myopia glasses, and Lao Zhuang, a photographer with an artist's beard. He turned around and found that Cai Zhonghuan had already met with Hu Hu and his junior brother from Baoding.
Yang Bin chatted affectionately in a low voice, and the deep brotherhood formed by fighting side by side in the Battle of Nanchang was beyond words.
"Here, the letter your eldest sister asked me to bring you."
Ye Qing came to An Yi's side again and handed a letter to An Yi.
An Yi happily took it and thanked him repeatedly. He glanced at the familiar Juanxiu font on the envelope and felt extremely warm in his heart. He folded it carefully and put it in his coat pocket. A pair of stern eyes washed away by the flames of war and blood shone with warmth.
Ye Qing has been secretly watching the expression on An Yijun's face, looking at his more upright body and increasingly mature masculine temperament. While praising him, he was deeply moved by An Yi's charming smile. She really
It is unimaginable that after less than a year, An Yi’s pleasant youthfulness and agility will no longer be seen, and that bright and slightly naughty smile will no longer be seen.
The calm and unhurried movements of his hands and feet gave people a sense of incomparable confidence. Behind his seemingly enthusiastic and easy-going eyes, the keen and versatile Ye Qing was unable to grasp his true emotions. In his memory, he
The handsome face with soft lines has quietly changed. The firm chin and beautiful naturally closed lips are filled with a unique charm of resoluteness and the extraordinary demeanor unique to a soldier.
An Yi cleverly thanked Ye Qing in a low voice again, who was staring at him blankly. He turned around and squeezed into the circle of people talking and laughing loudly, interrupting everyone's conversation boldly:
"Stop standing here chatting. It's hard enough for more than two thousand brothers to stand upright and look at us, haha! Laoqu, please go and order the disbandment, let the instructors of each battalion lead the team back, and inform each battalion to add dishes tonight, so that
Each battalion and company brought out all the good things to celebrate
Congratulations, let the brothers from the artillery company and machine gun company of the regiment take all the brothers from the artillery regiment back and give them a good reception! As for us, we will go back to the regiment headquarters to have a drink together, haha... Dong Yazi, take you with me
Come here with the twenty good horses from the Signal Company!"
"yes!"
The instructor of the communications company, Dong Yazi, strode away.
Everyone returned to the regiment headquarters in the north of the city, washing their faces and drinking tea. Cai Zhonghu's adjutant Cai Peiyuan returned to the hall after washing and quietly asked Yang Bin how to arrange the brothers and three reporters from their regiment tonight? Yang Bin smiled brightly.
Cai Peiyuan said that he did not hesitate to ask An Yi for instructions on this matter, so Cai Peiyuan asked Yang Bin to go with him to ask An Yi for instructions.
Yang Bin enthusiastically accompanied Cai Peiyuan out of the gate to the yard. When he saw Cai Zhonghu and An Yi standing side by side under the big tree in the yard, chatting with their heads on their heads, they stopped far away and did not dare to step forward. They could only
Just wait for the two bosses to finish talking.
An Yi put Commander-in-Chief Chiang's personal letter and a cash check of 100,000 yuan into an envelope and stuffed it into his coat pocket, sighed and asked in a low voice:
"Brother, the principal is too worried. Although these thirty-six cannons are worth a million or more, as long as the principal says so, I will leave everything to you, so there is no need for extra rewards.
My little brother has a hundred thousand yuan? Did he do something wrong and make the principal angry so he is so exposed?"
Cai Zhonghuan waved his hand and smiled softly: "It's not that the principal is too worried, it's that you are too preoccupied! On the contrary, the principal is very proud of his trust in you. At the end of last year and at the beginning of this year, he focused on Gan
Huangpu students use you as an example to teach those middle and low-level officers who have high ambitions and low abilities. None of your brothers and sisters
Those who are not convinced, as soon as your name An Yi is mentioned, everyone feels amiable and admirable. Even the generals from the headquarters and allied armies who graduated from Baoding or Japanese military academies also praise you with admiration and regard you as a person trained by Huangpu.
As an outstanding representative, someone from the Military and Political Department has proposed to upgrade your independent regiment to instructor.
The reason why the principal ordered me to personally deliver you a check of 100,000 yuan this time is that the principal already knew that the 50,000 yuan in cash that was awarded to you last time was not sent to you. For this reason, he was very angry. If it hadn't been for Brother Ming (
Jiang Dingwen) tried to persuade you, but the principal had long reprimanded your division commander and chief of staff and ordered them to be returned, so this time the principal not only asked me to send you a check, but also specifically pointed out
I sent you the newly arrived twenty-four French 81mm mortars and 5,000 rounds of artillery shells. I praised your mortars for their excellent use! Other ministries only received 500,000 rounds of various machine gun bullets, grenades and military uniforms.
Military shoes and so on, I will order my subordinates to drive the three trucks over later to unload them, and the other twenty trucks of supplies will also be transported to Lanxi and handed over to Vice President Bai at the former enemy headquarters to receive them."
An Yi smiled gratefully: "That's great! Let's go, brother. I guess the cooking class is almost ready. Let's have a good drink today."
"Hold on! There is something else Brother Ming asked me to tell you. He said that the report you submitted to establish the 'First Army Nanchang Recruitment Office' has been approved by the headquarters. The principal has signed it. It is iron-clad. You
The group of people sent are in Lao Nan
He asked me to ask you on his behalf that Mr. Kong Xiangxi intends to invest in Jiangxi and establish Nanchang Telegraph and Telephone Company and Nanchang Thermal Power Plant. What do you think of these two projects? Do you want to invest?
One share?”
After Cai Zhonghuan finished speaking, he looked at An Yi with admiration, and even more admired this young man's ability to make money.
An Yi said "Ah" in surprise, his mind was spinning rapidly, and he quickly made up his mind: "These two are good projects! Especially for the Telegraph and Telephone Company, it is not an exaggeration to call it a huge profit. If we match it again,
With the postal service and parcel express delivery all over urban and rural areas, it is difficult to get rich, but my financial resources, manpower, and energy are limited.
I haven’t even scratched the surface of those few projects yet, so how can I see how high this mountain is? If Brother Jiang is so interested, he might as well invest in it. It only takes half a year to complete the business and it will be effective. As for the younger brother, he still has to use his limited energy.
Put financial resources into manufacturing and processing industries. Young people are familiar with these two industries and have a good understanding of them. How can we dare to hope for others?"
Cai Zhonghu laughed, slapped An Yi on the back, and hugged him back together:
"I know you are a pragmatic and prudent boy, okay! You can reply to Brother Ming's letter tonight. Tomorrow my adjutant will take the twenty-four old cannons back to Nanchang and distribute them to the Sixth Army. Once they are done, they will transport another one immediately.
A batch of supplies was brought back and delivered to the former enemy headquarters, and he was asked to take the letter back and hand it over in person.
Just three brothers, I will stay and follow your troops until Hangzhou is captured. I hope you can help me seize a few more good cannons. At present, including your twelve French mountain cannons, I only have one and a half
The regiment’s good artillery equipment is far from the four regiments’ goals.”
"etc!"
An Yi happily stopped and asked in a low voice: "If that's the case, can you help me take some seized supplies back to old Nanchang? When I come back, I can bring back a brother from the company escorting General Yang Shijun from Jinan, so that I don't have to go again.
Please ask the big guys from the Military Transportation Group."
Cai Zhonghuan smiled proudly and said: "It's a trivial matter! Twenty-four vehicles dragged the artillery back and all the carriages were empty. You can install whatever you want. If it's not enough, I will send you five more vehicles."
"That's enough, that's enough! How can I have so many things, little brother? A lot has been captured in these battles. After each regiment of our division was sorted out, there were still more than two thousand broken guns that could not be repaired and a batch of unusable Zhejiang weapons.
I am worried about how to deal with the military uniform. With the help of my elder brother, my big problem can be solved! But since this is the case, then help me by the way.
Transport a batch of seized steel bars, iron nails, iron wire, hammers, shovels and other materials together back to Old Nanchang, and hand them over to my brother's ordnance repair shop and the brothers in the "Recruitment Office" for arrangement and use, so as to save time to buy more.
It will cost a lot of money, haha! It is estimated that seventeen cars can be loaded, and twenty cars will be much more comfortable." An Yi was relieved and excited.
Cai Zhonghuan was shocked: "What? Seventeen carts? Grandma's... It turns out that you got so many good things without saying a word. You usually don't look at it in anyone's eyes. I guess most of the troops can kill one."
The place left in a hurry without caring about this. Only you kid can search in such detail. It’s all money after all!”
An Yi quickly explained: "Except for some broken guns that can be repaired, most of the fifteen or six carts of supplies are captured building materials, which are leftover from the construction of barracks and fortifications by one division and three brigades of the Zhejiang Army.
, some of which were transported by Situ Wei, the general of the Zhejiang Army, for sale but were seized by his younger brothers before they could be used. All these supplies were transported back to Old Nanchang and were also used in the 'Recruitment Department' camp.
In the construction of houses and office buildings, more than 2,000 tons of cement have been used by the younger brother to exchange it with local gentry and businessmen for slaughtered pigs, sheep and rice noodles. Otherwise, how could the younger brother have so much money to support thousands of people who have just joined the army?
The captured soldiers? Without your help, big brother, the little brother would have to sell it to local profiteers at a low price. It makes me feel bad to think about those two thousand tons of cement!"
Cai Zhonghu laughed loudly: "Brother, I am completely convinced by you! No wonder the principal and Brother Ming like you so much and are full of praise for several industrial projects in your plan. I don't think we will have to fight you one day.
You will definitely become a very rich man, so don’t forget your big brother when the time comes."
"What are you talking about? Do you think your little brother is so miserable? Come on, I have to punish you with a few drinks!"
An Yi laughed loudly, and after walking a few steps, he saw Ye Qing standing on the steps in front of the door with a smile on his face. An Yi quickly put away his smile and politely came forward to greet:
"Don't stand outside when it's cold. I'll freeze you to death. I can't bear this!"
Ye Qing smiled with satisfaction: "You still have some conscience... What were you talking about so happily just now?"
Cai Zhonghuan knew that Ye Qing was responsible for interviewing An Yi and the model camp this time. When he saw his adjutant coming to the side as if he had something to do, he politely said goodbye and walked into the hall with his adjutant and Yang Bin.
An Yi climbed up the steps and motioned to Ye Qing beside him to come into the room and chat: "It's windy outside, let's go in and talk. It's better to chat while eating hot pot. Brothers will be there by then, so it's convenient for you to interview whoever you want."
"I just want to interview you... Huh? Have you read your sister's letter? I don't have much time. I have to follow the convoy back to Nanchang tomorrow to publish the article. You are such a kid."
Ye Qing heard what An Yi said and guessed that An Yi had not read Gong Qian's letter, otherwise he would not have known the importance and urgency of his interview.
An Yi patted his forehead and laughed. He immediately took out Gong Qian's letter and went to the side to open it and read it carefully.