When Xiang Xiaoqiang heard someone shouting "Your Majesty's convoy" below, he immediately turned around and looked towards the end of the road to the west. He saw several armored vehicles appearing in the middle of the road under the dazzling sun setting in the west.
The first thing I saw was an armored reconnaissance vehicle.
This is the standard armored reconnaissance vehicle of the Ming Dynasty. It is also used as an artillery observation vehicle. It is produced by "Taipingji". It is officially called "Haifeng 33 Artillery Observation Vehicle" and has the military number tp33/aep. Although this armored vehicle is fully tracked,
It is very fast and equipped with a rotating machine gun tower, 1.5-meter rangefinder and radio. Zhu Yourong's convoy brought two of these armored vehicles this time.
Behind the armored vehicle are five armored personnel carriers. This full-track armored vehicle is also produced by "Taipingji", its full name is "Haifeng 33 Armored Transport Vehicle", and its military number is tp33/mg34/y10. This is what the Ming Army did in the Nanjing Defense Battle
An armored vehicle that shows off its skills. Two drivers, ten soldiers, and one machine gun. This time the convoy brought ten of this type of armored vehicle.
Both of these two types belong to Taipingji's "Haifeng 33" series of armored vehicles.
Behind them are four "Taipingji" armored command vehicles with identical appearances. But only one of them is Zhu Yourong's vehicle. The other three vehicles are used to carry Zhu Yourong's entourage, and secondly, they also serve as cover and confusion.
Behind the three command vehicles were five more armored personnel carriers. Then came two trucks. They contained the supplies for the entire convoy, as well as items carried by the Queen on her tour. At the end was another armored reconnaissance vehicle, taking the rear.
Because it was close to the battlefield and the surrounding situation was complicated, the entire convoy was not driving very fast. The machine gun turrets of the two armored reconnaissance vehicles at the front and rear were opened, and an observer's upper body was exposed, observing the surroundings like a tank commander.
situation, from time to time I would pick up a telescope and take a closer look somewhere.
There are ten armored personnel carriers behind, and a soldier stands in each vehicle to observe the situation on all sides.
…
The guards and exercise referees around the small observation fort on the high ground were all excited. Some people joked about placing bets on which car His Majesty would come out of.
Suddenly, two gunshots floated in the distance, followed by two more. Four gunshots were almost synchronized, followed by a series of compact machine gunshots.
Xiang Xiaoqiang was startled. He took off his binoculars and looked around. It turned out that an ambush tank of the Blue Army had opened fire in the distance. Four white smoke drifted away from the muzzles of the four tanks. After a few seconds, the four tanks started to fire.
, began to rush forward. The armored vehicles behind also started to follow up quickly.
The several exercise referees at their feet were also stunned for a moment. They raised their binoculars and took a quick look. They saw that the ambush location of the Blue Army tanks was less than a hundred meters away from the groups of Red Army scouts. Without saying a word, they announced on the spot that the four Red Army tanks were commanders.
The vehicle was destroyed, half of the people on board were killed and half were seriously injured.
But one kilometer away, the Queen's motorcade suddenly became nervous.
The commanders of the two armored reconnaissance vehicles immediately got into the machine gun tower and closed the top cover. The observers on the armored personnel carrier also sat down and lowered their heads. The entire convoy slowly stopped and inspected the machine gun tower on the roof of the vehicle.
As it rotates, the periscope on the roof of the command vehicle also rotates, observing the nearby situation.
At the same time, the radio next to Xiang Xiaoqiang also rang, and the commander of the Queen's convoy was asking what was going on.
The commander of the Queen's motorcade this time was Li Changgui, commander of the People's Guards Guards.
Xiang Xiaoqiang made a gesture to Xiaoqiang. Under the observation fort, Xiu Xiu handed over the radio headset. Xiang Xiaoqiang put it on and immediately said loudly:
"Chang Gui, this is Xiang Xiaoqiang. You don't need to panic, this is a combat drill... At your two o'clock direction, about 600 meters away, the reconnaissance forces of the red and blue armies are engaged in a small-scale battle... I have already set up a battle here.
We have established an observation point for His Majesty to observe... The terrain is gentle, and the convoy can drive up directly."
Xiu Xiu gave a few instructions to a drill referee. The drill referee took out a signal flag, climbed to the top of the observation fort, and waved a flag in the direction of the Queen's motorcade.
Li Changgui's voice sounded in the headset:
"Ah, sir, you are polite... Your Majesty's safety is of paramount importance. I'd better stop here first and wait until the battle is over before going over..."
Xiang Xiaoqiang was disappointed for a while, but still pretended to be nonchalant and said:
"Okay, I'll observe here and let you know after the battle is over."
"Oh, wait..." Li Changgui said suddenly, "Sir, please wait..."
After a few minutes, the commander's voice sounded again:
"Sir, we are going to your place now, please be ready."
As the sound fell, the armored convoy on the road in the distance started spewing out blue smoke again and drove towards this direction. And the speed was much faster than before, it could almost be called "speeding".
…
Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at the motorcade heading towards him in the distance, and felt warm in his heart. He knew who had given Li Changgui the order just now.
The battle below was still going on. Xiang Xiaoqiang glanced at him, and with a thought, he ordered the red and blue sides below to suspend the fighting. The order was passed on, and a few seconds later, the tanks, armored vehicles, and motorcycles from both sides in the distance stopped.
The infantrymen also sat down on the same spot, breathing heavily.
The Queen's convoy passed through the battlefield quickly. Zhu Yourong was in the command car, looking out through the narrow shooting window. Seeing the battle that was still in full swing outside just now, everything stopped for him at this moment. The tanks and cars in the field,
The anti-tank guns were parked there, and the soldiers stood up and saluted their convoy...
She closed the armored cover of the shooting window, slowly sat on the sofa, and habitually played with her official kiln tureen...
Next to him, Wei Zijin was sitting next to the radio, wearing a headset and looking intently, his body swaying slightly with the sway of the vehicle.
…
The convoy drove all the way to the high ground. Ten armored personnel carriers parked in a circle around the observation fort, with ten machine guns on the vehicle pointing outwards. 100 People's Guard soldiers jumped out of the vehicle first, holding submachine guns, and surrounded the small high ground, vigilantly
Staring outside.
In the protective circle, everyone lined up in two lines and stood at attention. Everyone's face was red with excitement. Except for Xiang Xiaoqiang and Xiu Xiu, no one here had ever seen Zhu Yourong before.
Xiuxiu had visited the palace several times with Zheng Yucong and met Zhu Yourong several times, but she still couldn't help but feel a little nervous. And she was not as excited as others. She just stared at the cold and thick armored door of the command vehicle in front of her, with thoughts floating in her mind.
It gives rise to an indescribable feeling.
Four armored command vehicles were parked in the middle of the protective circle. The door of the first command vehicle opened, and two People's Guard majors jumped out and stood at attention outside the door.
Everyone was staring at the door of the car, knowing that Her Majesty the Queen was about to come out.
However, what came down was a Colonel of the People's Guard.
This is convoy commander Li Changgui.
After Li Changgui came down, he stood at attention and saluted Xiang Xiaoqiang. After returning the salute to Xiaoqiang, he turned around, trotted to the door of the third command car in a standard manner, and stood at attention.
He adjusted his military cap and adjusted his uniform, then opened the armored door, stood at attention again, and saluted at the door.
So, everyone faced the car, stood at attention, and saluted.
…
A hand wearing white gloves was placed on the steel plate of the door, and then Zhu Yourong, dressed in military uniform, appeared at the door of the armored command vehicle.
Zhu Yourong held the car door with one hand and his hat with the other. He glanced around the crowd, smiled slightly, and nodded in greeting. Then he jumped down gently, stepped on the ground with his shiny leather boots, and stomped his feet twice to relieve the fatigue of the long car ride.
numbness.
She smiled and looked around at everyone again. When her eyes passed over Xiang Xiaoqiang, she didn't pause much, and then said with a smile:
"My dear friends, thank you for your hard work. You don't need to be formal, just think of me as an officer."
Everyone laughed cooperatively "haha" a few times, but they all still stood up straight.
Zhu Yourong's eyes stayed on Xiuxiu, nodded and smiled:
"Xiuxiu."
At the same time, he reached out his hand to her.
Xiuxiu was flattered all of a sudden. She didn't expect that Her Majesty the Queen would take the initiative to shake hands with her. She nervously held Zhu Yourong's hand and shook it carefully.
Zhu Yourong felt the ring on Xiuxiu's ring finger through her gloves. She glanced down quickly -
...Ryukyu Star.
Then Zhu Yourong glanced at Xiang Xiaoqiang next to him, smiled softly and said:
"Xiang Qing."
Xiang Xiaoqiang wanted to smile back, but for some reason, his heart felt like it was suppressed by a stone and he couldn't smile. He just bowed slightly and bowed.
Zhu Yourong turned his eyes slightly sadly and smiled at Xiuxiu again:
"Xiuxiu, let me get to know everyone here."
Xiuxiu observed the reactions of the two people, feeling slightly relieved. She smiled intimately at Zhu Yourong, then took a deep breath and introduced generously:
"Your Majesty, this is General Heinz Wilhelm Guderian, the chief adviser to the German Volunteer Corps in Ming Dynasty. General Guderian originally served as Director of Armored Forces in the German Army."
Zhu Yourong had already guessed that this German general was the legendary Guderian, the armored wizard that Xiang Xiaoqiang had been talking about to her and finally spent a lot of money to get him.
She extended her hand to Guderian, smiled and said in German:
"Good afternoon, General Guderian. Welcome to Daming. I hope you will regard this place as your home."
Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at Zhu Yourong, quite surprised. He only knew that Zhu Yourong was proficient in English and French, but he never knew that Zhu Yourong could also speak German.
Guderian didn't change his expression. He just took off his military cap and tucked it under his arm. Then he straightened the Iron Cross medal on his chest, held Zhu Yourong's hand, did not kiss it, but bowed and said:
"Your Majesty, it is a great honor to meet you."
Then, Xiuxiu introduced Hu Jiong and the remaining officers to Zhu Yourong one by one. Although Zhu Yourong mainly wanted to get to know Guderian, he still smiled and shook hands with the other junior officers one by one. These junior officers had experienced a lifetime of
It was an unforgettable moment. I was so excited that I almost fainted.
Everyone also felt from the bottom of their hearts that hanging out with Xiang Xiaoqiang was really promising.
…
Accompanied by Wei Zijin, Xiu Xiu, Guderian, Li Changgui, Hu Jiong and Xiang Xiaoqiang, Zhu Yourong walked into the observation fort built with sandbags.
She was a little stunned as soon as she entered. She didn't expect that this temporary fortification, which looked dirty and crude on the outside, would be so spacious, clean, and even comfortable inside.
Zhu Yourong looked at the sofa, the small tea table, and stared at the vase of flowers placed on the small tea table.
She stared blankly for several seconds, kneading her gloves subconsciously with both hands. At this time, Hu Jiong behind her said with a smile:
"Your Majesty, this observation fort was specially built for you by Sir Xiang. The interior was also decorated by Sir Xiang himself. This vase of flowers was also personally decorated by Sir Xiang... uh..."
He suddenly stopped, glanced at Xiuxiu, and then smiled:
"My lord Xiang... I put it here with my own hands, haha..."
Zhu Yourong turned to look at Xiang Xiaoqiang, and smiled after a few seconds:
"Xiang Qing is interested."
Two junior officers brought in a folding table and spread the map on it.
Xiang Xiaoqiang said:
"Your Majesty, please allow me to brief you on the basic battle situation."
With that said, the two of them walked to the map table at the same time. Xiang Xiaoqiang used red and blue pencils, a set square, and a compass to make basic marks on the map, marking the current situation of both sides, while making casual introductions.
Zhu Yourong also asked one or two questions from time to time, and Xiang Xiaoqiang also answered them casually.
The two gradually entered the state of military class, almost forgetting that there were several people around them.
Xiang Xiaoqiang suddenly raised his head, stared into Zhu Yourong's eyes, and said:
"Your Majesty, the situation between the two sides is roughly the same. Now, let me give you a practical demonstration."
Without asking for Zhu Yourong's opinion, he strode away from the map table and came to the observation window. Zhu Yourong also followed him to the observation window involuntarily.
Xiang Xiaoqiang said to the outside:
"Order the exercise to continue!"
The drill referee outside immediately passed the order on the radio.
Almost a few seconds later, the sound of gunfire outside reappeared. A few hundred meters away in the field, the contact battle between the red and blue army reconnaissance outposts began again.
…
The four tanks of the Blue Army destroyed the four officers' vehicles of the Red Army at the beginning, but there was still a certain distance. Now both sides knew that Her Majesty the Queen was watching them, and they both exerted their full energy.
The remaining scouts of the Red Army immediately lay down and crawled quickly in the crop fields. Before the Blue Army tanks rushed in front of them, they first unhooked the four 37mm anti-tank guns behind the four officers' vehicles. Almost in an instant, four
The anti-tank team was formed. They used the "destroyed" officer's car as cover, and took advantage of the 37 cannon's low profile and easy concealment in the crop fields. They crawled and turned the cannons around and aimed at them.
An approaching Blue Army tank.
Four Blue Army tanks charged and strafed, and eight Blue Army armored vehicles also surrounded them from other directions. Within a few seconds, the two Red Army anti-tank gun groups were declared dead. But...
"boom!……"
"boom!……"
The remaining two small cannons emitted two puffs of white smoke in the crop field almost simultaneously. Two seconds later, the sound of the cannons also reached the observation fort.
A few seconds later, a Blue Army Lightning 2 tank was immediately declared "injured", two crew members were killed, and the tank temporarily lost its combat effectiveness.
But three other tanks had already moved forward, and under machine gun fire, the last Red Army anti-tank battery was wiped out.
Eight armored vehicles of the Blue Army continued to fire at them. At the same time, the soldiers behind the vehicles jumped out with submachine guns and began to rush over to engage the remaining scouts of the Red Army in hand-to-hand combat.
After a burst of gunfire, the reconnaissance outpost of the 1st Red Division was wiped out.
…
By this time, the sun had already set in the west. Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at his watch and saw that it was already five o'clock.
Facing the approaching night, Xiang Xiaoqiang didn't know what arrangements Rommel would make. Whether he would choose to fight at night, or keep a distance from the Red Army and wait until tomorrow to attack again.
Since this day, the Red Army, which has been suffering from air raids, has long been looking forward to darkness.