Bright Sword: The Flowers of War

Chapter 156 Be prepared
Ever since the news broke that the Japanese were going to attack Wutai County, the atmosphere in Wutai County has become extremely tense.

There were far fewer pedestrians on the streets, and many people were heading to the countryside with their families. Faced with this situation, Su Yaoyang did not stop them. Instead, he ordered the troops below to clear the roads and help the people leave.

In response to this attack, Su Yaoyang spent most of his time cashing out supplies. Every day, a large amount of supplies were cashed out and distributed to warehouses and various units.

The consequence of doing so was that he consumed a lot of mental energy, leaving him listless every day with dark circles under his eyes. Song Mei was so scared that she thought they had been having sex too frequently these days, so she quickly told Xiao Lu not to bother Su Yaoyang for the time being and to let him rest. Then she prepared a lot of nourishing food for her man.

However, there are also benefits to doing this. After more than a week of ascetic practice, Su Yaoyang's mental strength has been greatly improved. In addition to becoming more closely connected with the necklace, it has also become easier and more abundant to redeem items.

On the square of the 1st Artillery Regiment's barracks, more than ten miles away from Wutai County, dozens of M1 155mm howitzers with a bluish luster are neatly arranged.

Whether they were new recruits or veterans, they all gathered around the cannons, staring in astonishment at the brand-new, gleaming artillery.

Zhang Zhihao paced silently around the gun emplacement, his boots crushing a few grains of sand beneath his feet.

When he placed his slightly rough hands on the hydraulic spade, the calloused surface of his hands contrasted sharply with the brand-new paint.

A newly arrived captain suddenly bent down to examine it closely, recognizing the curved latch unique to American munitions at the breech.

His Adam's apple bobbed violently twice, and he couldn't help but ask, "Commander... this... this is the 155mm howitzer that was newly allocated to us?"

Zhang Zhihao glanced at him and asked, "What... can't you see for yourself? Or can't you believe it?"

"No, no..." The captain chuckled awkwardly, "I had only heard that the Central Army had a few German-made 150mm howitzers, which they treasured very much. It was said that no one was allowed to touch them without orders from Chongqing. I never thought we would have 155mm howitzers. If word got out, the Central Army would be green with envy."

"That's right, I told you long ago, following the CEO is a sure bet!"

Zhang Zhihao smiled smugly and patted his colonel's rank on his shoulder. "Back in Nanjing, I was just a captain in the 48th Division. Now look at me."

In less than a year, my buddy became a regimental commander, earning a full eighty silver dollars a month. This treatment was unparalleled, not only among other miscellaneous troops elsewhere, but even within the Central Army.

The captain wanted to refute, but couldn't utter a single word; everything the other person said was the truth.

Despite the fact that the Nationalist government issued the "Provisional Army Pay Regulations" in 1933, which stipulated that the lowest-ranking privates (equivalent to privates) would receive seven yuan a month, due to inflation, the money soldiers received was barely enough to buy anything.

In addition, the practice of officers at all levels falsely reporting the number of soldiers and "receiving salaries without working" was rampant, and the actual pay received by soldiers was often less than half. This led to widespread discontent among the soldiers. In 1937, seven yuan could buy 160 jin of rice, but by 1938, seven yuan could only buy 60 jin.

This is no longer inflation, it's a currency explosion.

In contrast, the Shanxi militia received much better treatment. They were paid genuine silver dollars, not the worthless legal tender that even dogs wouldn't accept. This alone put them ahead of most other military units in China.

They have good equipment, good benefits, and their military pay is never delayed. Even if someone is killed or wounded, they receive a generous compensation. Who wouldn't be confused?

"Beep beep..."

A sharp whistle rang out, and as the duty officer blew his whistle, the troops began to assemble, and the soldiers began their new training under the orders of their respective officers.

Meanwhile, dozens of miles away from the artillery regiment, at the garrison of a regiment, the sweltering sun beat down on the training ground, and dark sweat stains appeared on the back of the gray military uniform of Li Qingxiang, the company commander of the first company.

A group of machine gunners surrounded him.

He knelt on one knee on the sand, his rough fingers tracing the heat dissipation holes of the M1919A4 machine gun, the metal surface making his fingertips red from the heat.

"Look carefully, this thing doesn't need to be filled with water."

His voice was hoarse as he tapped the empty slide with the barrel of his gun. A group of machine gunners, who had been in a semi-circle around the gun, gasped. None of them hadn't handled a leaky M1917 heavy machine gun before.

Almost everyone has burn scars on the back of their hands.

Li Qingxiang suddenly pulled the trigger, and with a muffled gunshot, a dense barrage of bullets shot towards the target in front of him, only stopping after the entire ammunition belt was emptied.

He picked up a clamp and lifted the entire machine gun with one hand. "Twenty-eight pounds. It's a full twenty pounds lighter than that old M1917."

"With that weight, any one of us could easily carry it around!"

"Hahaha……"

Perhaps recalling the harrowing experience of several machine gunners carrying a 78-pound water-cooled heavy machine gun during a march, the machine gunners all burst into laughter.

"What a joke!"

Li Qingxiang glared at the machine gunner who had laughed, then yanked open the receiver cover. "The M1917 needs water drained to release pressure when changing the barrel, and now..."

He put on asbestos gloves, ripped out the red-hot barrel of the gun, and threw it on the ground, sending up plumes of smoke.

"Three seconds, just three seconds! We can replace the barrel of this machine gun with a brand new one."

"Wow..."

The barrel was replaced in just a few seconds.

He raised his head, his cold gaze both a warning and a threat. "Remember, the advantage of an air-cooled machine gun is that it is lighter than a water-cooled machine gun, but it cannot fire continuously for six or seven hours like a water-cooled machine gun."

This weapon must be stopped for a few minutes or have its barrel replaced after emptying two ammunition belts; otherwise, its accuracy will decrease, it will jam, or even the barrel will deform or burst.

At another firing range not far from here, Wang Shouxin was crouching beside an M2HB 12.7mm heavy machine gun, shouting to the machine gunners around him:
"This thing is indeed very heavy, weighing a full 116 kilograms including the tripod, but you should know that this behemoth can penetrate a brick wall three kilometers away."

Moreover, with this, we no longer need to fear the Japanese's tiny tanks. After switching to armor-piercing rounds, you can easily destroy their lightly armored tanks from two miles away.

In the military camps of Wutai County, there are many similar scenes. Countless officers and veterans are tirelessly and patiently teaching new recruits the rules of battlefield survival and the performance of weapons, preparing them for the upcoming major battles...

(End of this chapter)