A Journey Through the Flames of War in the Republican Era

Standing on the deck of the luxury cruise ship, Song Hongfei felt the slightly salty sea breeze and gazed at the vast sunset in the distance, which cast golden rays onto the calm sea and painted the sky with a magnificent evening glow.

His emotions were far from calm; a complex mix of thoughts was swirling within him.

Song Hongfei knew that this trip would undoubtedly be arduous and long, and that it might face many difficulties and be full of variables. Whether the interests of both parties could be aligned was still unknown.

Regardless, this mission represents an effort by China during a difficult period and may bring a turning point to the current predicament.

Song Hongfei was filled with mixed emotions. Recalling the miraculous experiences of the past few years, he didn't know if his choices and actions were right or wrong, but he knew that since God had given him such a miraculous opportunity, he had to do his part for the country and the nation.

Responsibility, honor, country, nation, future, ideals, and ambitions stirred Song Hongfei's emotions, further strengthening his beliefs and filling him with anticipation for the trip.

A phrase from a later era came to Song Hongfei's mind, and he said to himself, as if talking to himself, "Our journey is to the stars and the sea."

Gao Muyu, the special agent accompanying Song Hongfei, stood silently beside him.

The two were already acquaintances. Last year, when Song Hongfei traveled from the United States to Europe, Gao Muyu was his companion. This time, he was promoted, from Junior Gao to Captain Gao, while another agent vigilantly observed the surroundings from a short distance away.

Gao Muyu watched Song Hongfei's figure gazing absently at the horizon, deeply feeling the gravity of this mission. He recalled that before departure, Director Chen Liren of the First Division of the General Staff Office, who was in charge of this special security operation, had given him a strict order: to ensure Song Hongfei's safety by any means necessary and at any cost.

After a long voyage, the mail ship finally arrived in Venice, northern Italy, and the group then traveled to Austria to meet up with some advance members of the European delegation.

Song Hongfei and his group had one purpose in taking the route through Austria: during the Battle of Xi'an, the Military Commission witnessed the powerful combat capabilities of armored forces and the direct-fire effect of anti-tank guns. The high command, putting themselves in the shoes of others, realized that armored vehicles facing the formidable enemy of the East would need sufficient anti-tank gun firepower. Therefore, they planned to purchase a batch of Austrian-made "Berlu" 47mm anti-tank guns.

At that time, the National Revolutionary Army's reorganized divisions were equipped with German-made Pak 35/36 37mm anti-tank guns. While this type of gun was good, it had a drawback: it was too heavy, weighing 450 kilograms during marches. It was also inconvenient to disassemble and carry, relied excessively on mules and horses, and could only fire horizontally.

The Berlusconi 47mm anti-tank gun can use both armor-piercing and high-explosive shells, enabling it to engage enemy tanks with direct fire and provide indirect fire support for infantry. The gun features a bipod mount, providing a wide area of ​​fire coverage.

This cannon can be easily and flexibly disassembled into eight parts, each weighing about 30 to 40 kilograms. A gun crew can complete the assembly and disassembly within 10 minutes. It is very convenient to transport, as it can be towed by mules and vehicles, or easily disassembled and transported by manpower. For the Nationalist Army, which had not even fully adopted mules and relied mainly on manpower, this cannon was perfectly suited to the national conditions.

Song Hongfei once again set foot in Hans Berlin. Kong Yongzhi's special envoy delegation had visited Britain, Switzerland, Italy, France and other countries. At this time, he was still in Paris, having arrived a few days earlier than the delegation.

Song Hongfei received high attention and a warm welcome from Hans' senior management and experts because he carried top-secret information on cracking the Enigma machine. Of course, the most crucial secrets were stored in his mind.

For several days in a row, Song Hongfei and the Hans experts discussed cracking cipher machines and modern computer technology in a secret room at the Ministry of National Defense.

Although it was called a discussion, it was mostly Song Hongfei explaining. The usually arrogant German experts once again sat down in the audience with heartfelt admiration and humbly became students.

German experts were horrified to discover that their supposedly impenetrable Enigma cryptosystem had become incredibly vulnerable to modern technology. The experts, sweating profusely and pale-faced, exchanged bewildered glances, all marveling at this world-changing technology—modern computer technology.

When Song Hongfei informed the experts that the computers of the Huaxia Ordnance Bureau were undergoing improvements in binary, electronic, and programmable modes, they were all impressed, realizing that the Chinese were indeed at the forefront of the world in this regard.

An expert was diligently taking notes in the audience, and later, during the discussion, he brought Song Hongfei's groundbreaking doctoral dissertation to ask him about binary code and logic circuits.

Song Hongfei offered his guidance without reservation. The expert listened intently, completely absorbed, seemingly lost in the moment.

This man's name was Conrad Zuss, a name Song Hongfei knew.

Historically, it was Conrad Zus who invented the world's first binary programmable computer, the Z1, in 1938.

Suddenly, Song Hongfei had a thought. Was all of this so miraculous because of his arrival?

Given this situation, will the first binary programmable computer in human history be invented by the China Ordnance Bureau or by Zu Si?

Song Hongfei felt a strange, unpredictable feeling creeping into his heart.

The guests and hosts enjoyed themselves immensely, the results were fruitful, and everyone was delighted.

Subsequently, Field Marshal Blomberg, Minister of War and Commander-in-Chief of the Wehrmacht, met with Song Hongfei and invited him to visit the German armored forces.

Somewhat to Song Hongfei's surprise, he met two German generals who would later become famous. One was Guderian, who was known as the "Father of the German Panzer Forces" and served as the Inspector General of Panzer Forces and commander of the 2nd Panzer Division.

Another was Rommel, who was then the commander of the Führer's guard and the special liaison officer of the Adolf Youth's operations department. At the beginning of the year, Rommel's famous book "Infantry Offense" was published and became a sensation in the German army, receiving high regard from the Führer.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Field Marshal Blomberg specifically invited Guderian and Rommel, two experts with profound knowledge of mechanized warfare, to discuss armored forces and modern infantry tactics with Song Hongfei. They had in-depth discussions on all aspects of mechanized warfare, including equipment, organization, training, tactics, and strategy.

As the saying goes, an expert will know if something is there as soon as he makes a move.

Guderian and Rommel had long admired Song Hongfei, and had both studied his book, "Mobility, Firepower, Protection, and Communications: Mechanized Warfare," in detail. This was their first face-to-face meeting. Initially, their words were veiled and they probed each other, but after several exchanges, they grew to respect each other and found themselves getting along well.

Guderian and Rommel were surprised. Although Song Hongfei was young, he was very calm and composed, spoke eloquently, and had an extraordinary demeanor. What was even more unbelievable was that he had a profound and wise military strategic thinking and vision that was far beyond his years.

Rommel was secretly amazed that Song Hongfei was 20 years younger than him, yet he held the same rank of colonel.

The two of them couldn't imagine why such novel concepts as armored forces and mechanized warfare could be developed so effectively in China, a country considered backward and weak by the West, and even successfully carry out the world's first armored assault combat.

In the internal battle report sent back by the advisory group stationed in Schaferkenhausen, it was this man who commanded a battalion-sized armored assault force that broke through the enemy's rear with unstoppable momentum, sweeping away four enemy regiments. This battle caused a sensation in the German Wehrmacht.

On a blackboard, Song Hongfei drew the terrain, deployments, and offensive and defensive postures of the Battle of Xijing, revealing to the German generals for the first time some details of the breakthrough and deep penetration of the battle.

Guderian and Rommel were deeply impressed, feeling a sense of awe at the vastness of the world and the abundance of talented individuals. They greatly admired Song Hongfei's ability to command and execute a battle; such real combat was vastly different from mere exercises.

Field Marshal Blomberg sincerely praised: "I greatly admire your achievements in mechanized warfare. Your theories and practices have brought about tremendous changes in modern warfare."

Song Hongfei smiled and said, "Thank you for your praise, Marshal. You have a large number of outstanding generals and military strategists who are constantly exploring and innovating."

Guderian smiled and nodded, saying, "You have successfully carried out a very brilliant armored assault operation. Your experience, insights, and candid sharing are invaluable to us."

Song Hongfei said, "In the end, it was just a small skirmish at the battalion level. I believe that mechanized armored warfare is the future trend, which can greatly improve combat efficiency and mobility. Your side has advanced mechanized equipment and highly qualified soldiers, and has formed armored forces with three divisions. Such a large-scale, deep-penetration mobile assault concept and thinking is admirable."

At that time, the German "blitzkrieg theory" was still in its infancy, and Guderian was still struggling to explore and persist. Song Hongfei's words immediately gave him a sense of kinship.

Guderian smiled and said, "We are also exploring this. Your army's combat experience shows that mechanized warfare must have a scientific and flexible organization and combat formation, which is crucial."

Rommel smiled and said, "Multi-service mechanized infantry units develop corresponding strategies and tactics based on different situations and combat missions. Future operations can no longer follow the traditional infantry combat methods."

Song Hongfei nodded and said, "We came to this conclusion through brainstorming and exploration in actual combat. The best way to deal with tanks is to use tanks, but tanks should not fight alone. Tanks and mechanized infantry need to complement each other and cooperate with artillery, air force and other branches of the armed forces to form integrated combat units in order to maximize the combat elements of firepower, mobility and protection."

"Infantry-tank coordination, infantry-artillery coordination, air-ground coordination—your army has a formidable and powerful air force and artillery, which we greatly envy." Song Hongfei paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "We have to pool all our national resources to barely assemble an armored regiment and a few artillery regiments."

Field Marshal Blomberg was astute enough to understand the unspoken meaning in Song Hongfei's words.

He smiled and said, "Colonel, I might as well reveal something to you now: the Führer is very supportive and agreeable to all matters concerning further military cooperation between the two sides."

Song Hongfei gave a knowing look, and smiled, saying, "Thank you very much, Marshal."