Chapter 328 Street Fighting
Chapter 328 Street Fighting
"James, congratulations on your successful escape."
Hearing the gentleman's way of addressing him, Jiang Chunlin, who had good English, knew that the two were very familiar with each other, so familiar that they called each other by their first names instead of their surnames.
"But you finally escaped, but you didn't flee abroad and came to see me. This is very dangerous. I am a public figure and it is easy for me to be targeted."
"Mr. Bart, you are our leader. If you can use your prestige to call on the Irish to stand up and resist the plunder of Irish farmers by English landlords, the people will surely respond in droves. Even if I am caught and hanged again, it will be worth it."
"No, I will do my best to fight for the interests of my compatriots in Parliament, but I oppose your violent behavior. The power of the British Empire is beyond your comprehension, and armed resistance is hopeless. This is my personal sponsorship of your exile expenses, but I do not approve of violence."
The congressman put a check for five hundred pounds under the fruit plate, put on his top hat, picked up his cane, tucked his umbrella under his arm, and left the room gracefully.
James picked up the check and sighed, "I don't want money. Alas, is it really hopeless for our brotherhood to revolt vigorously?"
James' frantic voice suddenly came from the copper pipe, "Come here! Call a few more drinking companions and bring me a barrel of the strongest gin. I have money now..."
There was nothing more to listen to, so Jiang Chunlin ordered, "Stenographer, translate the conversation between the two people and send it to the Marshal via the dedicated line and our code."
…………
Guangzhou, outside Xiaobeimen, Beijiaochang.
The terrain here is vast and there are no villages. It was favored by Shao Quanzhong and Tian Xing and turned into a training ground for the Huai Army's First Tank Division.
"Thumbs up!"
The steam tractor stopped, and a large number of muscular artillerymen, four men per gun, lifted the four-pound field gun off the tractor. Guangzhou was hot and humid in the summer, and the sturdy artillery auxiliary soldiers' uniforms were soaked with sweat, and some simply worked with their shirts off.
The soldiers of the rapid-fire artillery battalion were also carrying the rapid-fire artillery down from the tractor.
After the Williams rapid-fire gun was deployed, it immediately fired at the imaginary enemy trenches dug in the distance to suppress the fire.
The artillery auxiliaries quickly set up their gun positions and watched the hot air balloon rise immediately.
"Boom! Boom!"
The gunner began to aim with a slide rule, and the shells accurately fired at the enemy trenches dug ahead.
Steam wheeled personnel carriers from two forward support battalions and an engineering battalion drove to the battlefield, with sixty infantrymen crammed into each transport vehicle.
A battalion of infantry jumped out of the vehicle and ran in an orderly manner towards the special transport vehicle carrying tanks.
The engineering battalion ran towards its transport vehicles.
The rear deck of the tank transporter was opened, with two thick iron bars on it. Soldiers took down the support from the vehicle and propped it up on the turned-over rear deck. On the long flatbed, the tracked tank, which had already started, slowly drove down the transporter, emitting black smoke.
The artillery began to extend its fire, the rapid-fire guns stopped their fire support, and two battalions of 180 tracked tanks followed the barrage and rushed towards the enemy trenches. Behind each tank, eight fully armed infantrymen followed with their guns drawn.
The Gatling machine gun on the tank spewed out flames and began to suppress the firepower of the trenches. As they gradually approached the trenches, the soldiers shot and threw bombs, and the dummies in the trenches kept breaking into pieces and flying into the sky.
Approaching the trench, the soldiers put their guns behind their backs, took off the engineer shovels from their backs, and jumped into the trench to fight in hand-to-hand combat. The tanks did not stop, but drove straight through the narrow trench.
Medical soldiers wearing white armbands crouched and ran up to give emergency bandages to the "wounded" soldiers. They also lifted the "seriously injured" on stretchers and transported them to the rear.
The rest of the soldiers followed the tanks to the next trench. Shells kept whistling overhead, but the soldiers had no expression on their faces and remained calm.
The people here are all re-recruited veterans of the Huai Army. They have mastered the coordination between infantry and artillery during the Western Expedition, and now they are mainly practicing the coordination between infantry and tanks.
The tank stopped in front of the next trench, which was wider. The engineers behind him immediately rushed forward, throwing sandbags on their backs into the trench, forming two elevated passages.
The tank slowly drove through the narrow passage that tested driving skills and rushed to the finish line.
The first trench at the back had been filled in and leveled by engineers, and a wheeled steam transport vehicle followed, loaded with more sandbags, simulating the situation of encountering more trenches in combat.
Seeing the big flag with the word "Shao" inserted into the enemy's "headquarters", the soldiers jumped and cheered. Tian Xing, who was watching the battle with a telescope, shook his head and sighed, "Alas, the battlefield has become something I don't recognize. No wonder you, my second brother, refused to go to Wudang to learn martial arts."
"In a battlefield like this, martial arts are of no use."
Shao Quanzhong shook his head. "No, I don't learn it because martial arts are not very useful to commanders. Many places still need specially trained soldiers, but I haven't figured out how to use them yet."
"Second brother, you have a plan in mind. How did you come up with this complex coordinated operation?"
"We are just getting started. We don't even have an air force yet. Otherwise, we would have to equip anti-aircraft machine gun air defense forces, and air-to-ground coordination would be even more complicated."
"However, we need to train for river crossing operations and test how tanks can break through the pontoon bridge built by the engineering battalion."
"Report to the Marshal, there are two urgent telegrams."
The quiet and delicate Isabel wore an officer's uniform and a boater's hat, looking very charming, and she really didn't look like someone who should be on the battlefield. But Nanny Wang behind her looked like a general, mainly because of her chef's belly.
Shao Quanzhong took the first telegram, which was from Baoding.
"Marshal, you didn't allow Grant and I to participate in the battle command against the French. Thank you for your consideration."
"But the Marshal has done Emily and I a favor. I am from the Huai Army and I can give the Marshal some suggestions on the battle in Paris."
"The people of Paris are very patriotic. If the Huai Army enters the city, two million Parisians may become enemies."
"Parisians have a tradition of building barricades and street fighting. In the battle to overthrow the Bourbon dynasty in July 1830, Parisians built 7 barricades in a short period of time, with an average of one barricade for every 4000 Parisians."
"Besides, there are many buildings along the streets in Paris, and there will be constant cold gunfire."
"Our previous siege warfare model is not suitable for attacking a modern metropolis like Paris where the entire population is determined to defend the city. Once we use regular troops to attack, it will cause very heavy casualties."
"So I suggest that the best strategy is to use heavy artillery and firepower to force the weak French government to surrender, rather than confronting the militant Parisian citizens head-on."
"I don't understand why you said you must attack Paris. But if you must do that, after thinking about it for a while, I have made the following four suggestions..."
Shao Quanzhong shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Do you think I love street fighting? Aren't there 900 million francs waving at me?"
After carefully reading Emery's suggestion, he pulled Tian Xing's sleeve and said, "Brother, your job is here!"
After explaining the mission to Tian Xing, Shao Quanzhong ran back to the temporary headquarters and shouted to Isabel who followed him in breathlessly, "Bring paper, a square, a pencil, and a compass."
Not to mention, Shao Quanzhong is still using the square and compass on the badge of the club he joined, making him worthy of being the Far East leader of the club.
Two hours later, Shao Quanzhong came out with two stacks of papers in his hands, "Isabelle, call two guards who have performed well."
Two guards ran in with excited faces. Since leaving the Western Regions, the telegraph network in the mainland has been dense, and there has been no mail delivery work for a long time. We have all been waiting impatiently, and it is finally our turn to advance.
Two loyal fellow villagers from Jiangyan carried the important documents drawn by Shao Quanzhong himself, mounted their horses and rushed north to Hailing. After more than two years, the 800-mile express journey was started again.
(End of this chapter)