Courtyard House: I Rely on Time-Space Trade to Build a Nation

After Xin Bao'an submitted his battle report, he received a reply from the Central Military Commission that same day.

The telegram was concise and clear: We are aware of the performance of the newly formed 1st Armored Division in the New Bao'an operation.

After your unit has rested for one day, it shall proceed toward Tianjin and be placed under the direct command of the Northeast Field Army Front Command to participate in the siege and liberation of Tianjin.

This order is to further test your unit's combat capabilities in siege and urban warfare environments.

Upon receiving the order, the troops, who had just fought a tough battle, quickly sprang into action again.

In one day, they replenished fuel and ammunition, repaired vehicles, treated the seriously wounded, and handed over prisoners.

On the morning of December 9th, this massive mechanized force set off again, a steel torrent winding eastward toward Tianjin.

Five days later, on December 14, Zhao Ping'an led his troops to the designated area in the eastern suburbs of Tianjin and made contact with the 8th Column of the Northeast Field Army, which had arrived earlier.

The commanders of both sides met and demarcated the defense zones and assembly areas.

The comrades of the Eighth Column looked at this brother unit with its unique equipment and numerous vehicles with curiosity and scrutiny in their eyes.

After settling in, Zhao Ping'an did not rush to request a mission, but instead ordered the troops to rest on the spot while awaiting further instructions from the leaders of the Northeast Field Army Headquarters.

He knew that Tianjin was a tough nut to crack, and the tactics for fighting it were completely different from those for annihilating the enemy in the field at Xinbao'an. He knew that the troops, especially the commanders at all levels, had to be fully prepared and think things through.

Taking advantage of this rare pre-battle lull, Zhao Ping'an convened several operational summary and discussion meetings for officers at the company level and above at the division headquarters.

The topic was clear: to review the new security campaign, speak freely, identify problems, and summarize experiences, especially in preparation for the upcoming urban assault and street fighting.

The atmosphere at the meeting was somewhat reserved at first, as many battalion and company commanders were still not comfortable in front of Zhao Ping'an, their "teacher".

But as Zhao Ping'an repeatedly encouraged everyone to "only talk about problems, not achievements" and "not to pursue wrongdoings, because not speaking out might lead to bloodshed in the future," people slowly started to open up.

Sure enough, someone raised a pointed question.

A former armored infantry company commander who had served as the vanguard in the assault on the 267th Division stood up and spoke frankly: "Division Commander, esteemed officers, let me be frank. The 12.7mm heavy machine guns on our armored vehicles are more than capable of taking down infantry and lightly armored vehicles; they're quite formidable."

It was barely effective against the enemy's field bunkers reinforced with bricks, stones, and earth, but against permanent fortifications made of cement, especially some semi-buried ones, bullets sometimes couldn't penetrate them or collapse them.

In the end, we had to wait for the Type 59 tanks to come up and use their main guns to "point out" them before we could finish them off.

If this were in Tianjin, where the enemy had taken up positions inside sturdier concrete buildings, wouldn't the machine gun be even harder to reach?

If our infantry dismounts to attack, the risk of casualties will be much higher.

Once this topic was brought up, several company commanders with similar experiences chimed in.

The problem lies in the lack of direct fire support accompanying infantry, and the reliance on tank main guns for attacking fortified positions. In urban warfare, this could lead to the separation of tanks from infantry, or infantry being exposed to enemy fire for too long.

Zhao Ping'an had actually considered this problem long ago. He even had a ready-made "upgrade plan"—the system store had more advanced models in the BTR series, such as the BTR-86. The turret on top of that thing was equipped with a 20mm autocannon, which was definitely more effective at attacking fortifications than a 12.7mm machine gun.

After the meeting, Zhao Ping'an kept Lao Xu behind, and the two of them started doing accounts in a small notebook.

"Old Xu, look, the current armored vehicle model is called BTR-80, and the price is about half that of the Type 59 tank (100 million system coins)," Zhao Ping'an said without giving a specific figure.

"Yes," Old Xu nodded.

"But there is an improved version, equipped with a 20mm autocannon, which has a much better attack capability. It is model BTR-86 and costs about the same as the Type 59 tank, or even 5% more."

Zhao Ping'an looked at the price of 210 million on the system with some helplessness. There was nothing he could do; both armored vehicles were second-hand goods in the system, and the sales volume depended entirely on the "system's mood."

Old Xu gasped: "5% more expensive than a Type 59 tank?"

"Yes." Zhao Ping'an tapped the notebook with his pen.

"So I'd like to discuss this with you. If our goal is to enhance the direct-fire support for our accompanying infantry, should we add armored vehicles equipped with 20mm cannons, or should we use roughly the same amount of money, or even less, to add a genuine Type 59 tank?"

"Comrade Ping An, I've noticed a problem with your thinking that needs to be corrected," Old Xu suddenly said.

"Comrade Ping An, you are too protective of the soldiers' lives. What revolution is without sacrifice?"

"No, Lao Xu, I'm discussing equipment with you, but what you're saying is a bit confusing." Zhao Ping'an was taken aback by Lao Xu's words.

"Comrade Ping An, don't you already have the answer in your heart? Except for slightly higher mobility and failure rate compared to armored vehicles, tanks are better than the more advanced Type 86 armored vehicles you mentioned in other aspects. But Comrade Ping An, what are you still hesitating about?"

You said that one tank can be equipped with four 122mm howitzers, two Type 80 armored vehicles, and nearly 30 trucks. I can figure it out. Tanks plus trucks for troop transport, along with some 122mm howitzers, are definitely better than tanks equipped with armored vehicles, and are more suitable for our division now!

Comrade Ping An, what are you hesitating about?

Are they worried that soldiers will suffer increased casualties if they are not protected by armored vehicles?

But before, without artillery, tanks, or trucks, we still defeated the Japanese devils with millet and rifles. How come after a couple of good days, we've forgotten how to fight?

"Hmm?... " Old Xu's words hit Zhao Ping'an's nail on the head. Although it had been almost a year since he transmigrated, and he had become the commander of a division with more than 10,000 men, and even had a certain impression and status in the hearts of many leaders because of the system,

But in essence, Zhao Ping'an did not completely change the core of the post-2026 world's cattle and horses, and fully adapt to this era.

In 2026, only the lives of people at the University of Tokyo will truly matter. In any other country or city, can anyone imagine a situation where the head of government would be forced to resign if more than 35 people died?

In this day and age, people starving to death is a common occurrence.

"Yes, Lao Xu, I understand." After thinking for a while, Zhao Ping'an replied.

"We still need to develop industry as soon as possible. I have blueprints and factory equipment for these things. When we can manufacture them ourselves, the cost will be much lower."

Let's focus on winning the war as quickly as possible first, and then develop industry.

"By the way, Lao Xu, after Beiping is liberated, you must help me apply for these factories. I can't wait to build them."

"Haha, Comrade Ping An, you!..." Old Xu saw that Zhao Ping An had turned the corner, so he didn't say anything more.