Sword: Heart of Iron

Chapter 144 Air Force Instructor
The adaptation plan has been finalized and the various departments have immediately begun to integrate.

Although it has been downsized, its scale is going to expand.

Eight columns.

Except for the 16st column, the remaining seven columns were composed of infantry and artillery. Including the attached support troops, the number of people exceeded K.

The entire garrison division, including the reserves, had a population of over 150K.

conscription!

Wang Feng has submitted the detailed conscription bill to Song Wenjie.

Zhao Fangyuan walked in and said, "Sir, the supplies sent from the rear have been transferred to our logistics station."

Wang Feng stood up and stretched his muscles: "Come on, take me to see it."

"This batch of equipment is enough to equip a whole column, right?"

Zhao Fangyuan nodded: "One column... no problem!"

"Sir, which unit should I assign it to?"

Wang Feng thought about it and said: "Let's give it to the First Column. The weapons we have retired can be handed over to other troops for use."

Whether a unit is elite or not cannot be judged solely by the number of people.

I remember when I was playing games in my previous life, although the line-filling troops had a large number of soldiers, they were not given guns and had to rely purely on human wave tactics to fill the line.

This is definitely not possible in reality, but the general idea is the same.

After the two men left the house, they took a jeep and quickly arrived at the logistics station.

On the open ground.

Twelve cannons were lined up in a row. Wang Feng walked forward and observed them carefully.

The domestically produced Type 75 1897mm field gun mainly follows the design of the French M75 mm field gun.

That is the famous "Miss France 75".

And on this basis, a series of improvements were made.

The original "Miss France 75" was a direct-fire artillery with a very small elevation angle. It could only attack within the line of sight range and could hardly threaten enemy forces behind cover.

In view of this, the technical personnel in the rear improved its elevation angle during design.

It combines the dual features of a cannon and a howitzer, and is referred to as a cannon-howitzer.

Wang Feng put his hand on the gun barrel and said, "How do you feel about deploying this field gun to the column artillery battalion, with 12 guns in each battalion?"

Zhao Fangyuan was shocked: "12 doors? Isn't that a bit too many?"

By this calculation, a column has 24 field artillery pieces alone.

Wang Feng frowned: "Not too much."

"If the artillery is skilled in operation, the theoretical rate of fire can reach 15 rounds per minute. In actual combat, the rate of fire can reach 10 rounds per minute."

"If there is enough ammunition and they can fire 5.5 kg high-explosive grenades, then two artillery battalions at full firepower can pour more than one ton of shells into the enemy positions in one minute."

"If used sparingly, a five-minute pre-battle bombardment could have dumped at least three tons of shells on the enemy."

Zhao Fangyuan smiled and said, "Sir, that depends on the production capacity of the arsenal in the rear."

Wang Feng: "This morning I went to the war zone headquarters for a meeting and formulated the next combat strategy. Commander Li made it clear that the next battle in Tengxian-Linyi will be taken over by the Tang and Sun armies."

"During the war of resistance in Changzhi, did the 108th Division retreat?"

Zhao Fangyuan nodded: "The Eighth Route Army has established a base behind enemy lines and launched multiple attacks on the Japanese garrison, which has attracted a lot of attention. Now the Japanese troops in Shanxi are in a difficult situation."

"Yan Laoxi cannot deal with Wei Lihuang in southern Shanxi, and his ruling area is still unstable. He is simply unable to attack Changzhi again."

Wang Feng: "That's great. We should seize this window of opportunity. I'm afraid the intensity of the battles will get higher and higher."

According to clear information, there was a conflict between the Kwantung Army and the Army General Staff over the handling of the 2nd Division, and the division has now withdrawn from the battlefield.

Turn to the Pingjin area for maintenance.

The only Japanese division still able to participate in the battle on the front line was the unit led by Rensuke Isogai.

Zhao Fangyuan walked over and lowered his voice: "Sir, then shall we stay in Xuzhou forever?"

Wang Feng raised his eyebrows and asked, "What else?"

Zhao Fangyuan looked hesitant: "Sir, our garrison divisions are in Jin, Chahar, Hebei, Sui, and Hubei. It seems that there is no Su?"

"Su" is the abbreviation of Jiangsu.

Wang Feng sneered: "Don't you understand what Chongqing means?"

"The so-called garrison division is nothing more than a strategy to drive the tiger to devour the wolf."

Zhao Fangyuan bit the byte: "Drive the tiger to swallow the wolf."

"I see!"

The garrison divisions and war zones overlap and their functions are similar.

It was obvious that Wang Feng was going to compete with Yan and Fu for their jobs.

But no battle that needs to be fought will be lost.

Chiang Kai-shek had long realized that the Xuzhou battlefield would become another main battlefield after Songhu and Nanjing.

Troops from all over the country are being mobilized to support the Fifth War Zone's war of resistance. There are nearly 200,000 troops on the road alone.

The garrison troops are naturally also included in the sequence of participating in the war.

Wang Feng: "The battle of Taierzhuang was just a prelude. The Japanese army is also mobilizing troops from all over the place. There are still many battles to be fought."

"Go down and get ready."

"Also, send a message to Song Wenjie to ask about the oil field."

Zhao Fangyuan responded.

Regarding the oil field issue, Wang Feng set his sights on the Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum Official Factory.

Right now, this oil field is in the hands of the Eighth Route Army, but everything can be negotiated.

Wouldn't it be better if we could cooperate in mining?

The only drawback is that they are far apart.

But there is no way.

Shanxi is limited by its geological structure and lacks the conditions for the formation of oil, and the few small oil fields it has are not worth exploiting at all.

Fortunately, Wei Lihuang's troops had established a "transportation corridor" in southern Shanxi, so safety could still be guaranteed.

The rear vehicle manufacturing plant has been completed, and the project of converting transport trucks into tanker trucks has now been launched.

Dozens of technicians are working day and night, and it won't be long before it can be mass-produced.

----

The evening of July 3.

Wang Feng sat on the chair, in a very good mood, his face slightly flushed, and he was already a little drunk.

After the 22nd Army withdrew from the front battlefield and Wang Mingzhang arrived in Xuzhou, the first thing he did was to go to the garrison camp and pay a personal visit.

If it weren't for Zhang Hu's troops, the 122nd Division would have been completely wiped out if the Red Flag Column had rushed to Teng County.

At the dinner table, the two of them drank and talked happily, enjoying themselves very much.

Wang Mingzhang was filled with great enthusiasm. He stood up and drank three cups in a row to express his gratitude for saving his life.

Wang Feng was not a bad person either. The troops had no combat missions in the short term, so it was a rare opportunity for him to indulge himself. He drank as much as Wang Mingzhang did.

By the way, I fulfilled my wish.

Two tons of artillery shells were used to exchange for Wang Mingzhang and his Sichuan Army.

The drinking party lasted until late at night. After the guests left.

Zhao Fangyuan knocked on the door and strode in with a bowl in his hand: "Sir, this is the hangover soup made by the brothers in the kitchen. Please drink it first."

"The air force instructor you invited has arrived at the camp."

Wang Feng shook his head and drank the sobering soup in one gulp. He had indeed drunk a lot just now, but he had a good alcohol tolerance and was not drunk.

"Bring people in quickly."

Wang Feng stood up and straightened his military uniform.

Zhao Fangyuan turned around and shouted to the outside of the door: "Guards! Bring the person in!"

The voice just fell.

A young officer walked in from outside.

"Sir! Yuan Botao, the former flight instructor from the Northeast Air Force Command, is here to report!"

Looking at the officer in front of him with an upright posture and a resolute face, Wang Feng smiled and nodded.

"Come on, Zhao Fangyuan, bring a stool over here!"

Yuan Botao glanced sideways and saw the leftovers on the round table in the room: "Sir, this is..."

Wang Feng: "A few friends came over just now, what's going on?"

Yuan Botao stood there, hesitant to speak.

Wang Feng frowned: "If you want to say something, just say it!"

After hesitating for a long time, Yuan Botao stammered: "Sir, this is... drinking in the barracks."

Wang Feng was not angry.

This statement makes sense. Since ancient times, drinking in the army has been a taboo for military strategists.

But special matters need special treatment, and some things can only be resolved over a dinner table.

Wang Feng smiled awkwardly: "Our army has strict military discipline, and drinking is indeed wrong."

"Well, I will set an example by deducting one month's military pay from myself as punishment for tonight!"

One month's salary.
To be honest, he had never paid attention to how much his military salary was since he graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy.

Compared with the inheritance left by our ancestors, this amount of money is just a drop in the bucket.

Seeing Wang Feng like this, Yuan Botao's eyes lit up with hope, and he saluted again: "Thank you, sir!"

"I've heard for a long time that your troops have strict discipline. Today I see that it's true!"

At the same time, he silently said in his heart: "With such a leader, maybe we can really improve the Air Force."

Wang Feng sat down and leaned back in his chair.

Zhao Fangyuan moved a stool over and motioned Yuan Botao to sit down as well.

Wang Feng asked curiously, "How did you do in the Northeast Air Force?"

Although the instructor's general information is made up by himself, the other party is always a living person.

But how can such a magnificent life experience be summarized in just a few lines?

Yuan Botao smiled bitterly and shook his head: "The Northeast Air Force is nothing more than an old warlord team."

"Sir, I would like to make a suggestion."

Wang Feng: "You say."

Yuan Botao thought for a moment and said, "The Air Force is different from the Army. Military discipline must be strict. Otherwise... Alas."

Wang Feng understood what he meant.

It seems that there is a reason why Yuan Botao is so sensitive about military style and discipline.

It is estimated that he was incompatible with his colleagues in the Northeast Air Force, suffered from exclusion, and had become discouraged.

Wang Feng took a sip of hot tea and said, "Go on."

Yuan Botao gritted his teeth and said: "The previous Northeast Air Force lacked good organization and management. Soldiers were sometimes close to bandits, and various accidents occurred frequently."

"I remember that in the 14th year of the Republic of China, Marshal Zhang suddenly wanted to watch an air force flight show."

"As a result, due to management negligence, the two planes collided during formation flight, resulting in one pilot being killed and one being injured."

Wang Feng was shocked after hearing this.

Airplanes are not cheap, and pilots are even more precious.

It's such a pity that it's ruined like this.

Yuan Botao continued, "In 1916, it seemed to be in Zhengzhou. Some pilots ignored the instructions in the manual and flew low at will. One plane crashed into a tree trunk and all the crew members were killed. In another plane, the pilot was shot and killed by a rifle on the ground."

"Also, the flight instructor allowed family members to ride on the flight when training the trainees. As a result, due to improper operation, all of them died."

"These planes were bought with the hard-earned money of the people in Northeast China! Who would have thought that they would be destroyed by their own people before they even went to the battlefield."

Wang Feng was surprised again and again.

Can family members still board the plane?
How lax would the military style and discipline become?

Due to poor organization and management, the losses caused by the Air Force were more serious than those of the Army.

The cost of building an airplane is much higher than that of a rifle or artillery.

Yuan Botao: "Logistics staff only work for a short time and do not do practical work. Playing mahjong has become a daily routine and opium smoking is rampant. Key pilots are well paid and have more money, so they marry concubines, visit brothels, and spend money like a slut. Many of them even contract syphilis."

"You said this"

"I didn't want to be part of their corrupt practices while in the military, and I reported this to my superiors many times, but not only did I not get any response, I also..."

Having said this, Yuan Botao didn't want to continue.

If the army he serves in the future remains like this, he would rather go home and live a stable life with his wife and children.

Wang Feng understood everything and turned to look at Zhao Fangyuan: "How is the expansion of Sergei's internal security forces going?"

"We are still training and formulating complete military discipline and regulations." Zhao Fangyuan replied, "I came to ask half an hour ago, sir, what are your requirements in this regard?"

Wang Feng thought for a moment and said, "No smoking of opium, this is the bottom line. Entertainment activities such as playing mahjong must also be controlled, and visiting brothels is not allowed!"

"As for corruption, once discovered, they will be detained immediately!"

"As for the remaining details, ask Sergei to draft them and give them to me for approval."

Zhao Fangyuan responded.

Wang Feng turned to look at Yuan Botao: "I plan to set up an aviation academy and appoint you as the chief instructor and director of the political department!"

"How about it?"

Yuan Botao stood up and saluted: "Thank you for your training, sir!"

Wang Feng smiled and said, "Okay, you will be responsible for formulating the specific organizational management framework, and you can send it to me when the time comes."

Yuan Botao thought he had misheard, and it took him a long time to recover.

For him, serving as the director of the Political Department and strictly enforcing college discipline is an excellent opportunity to realize his ambitions.

Then participating in the formulation of the organizational management framework is equivalent to giving wings to his ideals.

Live to the death! Damn it!
Yuan Botao said solemnly: "Please rest assured, sir! I, Yuan, will definitely live up to your trust!"

Wang Feng waved his hand and motioned him to sit down: "Okay, I bought a training plane from Europe, it will probably take some time to arrive."

"Get the job done as soon as possible. I want you to build a force capable of seizing air superiority on a local battlefield within a year!"

"Are you confident?"

Yuan Botao nodded: "One year, no problem!"

(End of this chapter)