"Bang!" A quiet gunshot came from the distance, and a thick cloud of white smoke came from the entrance of a barn.
The motorized infantrymen knew that someone was shooting at them with black powder bullets. The truck team didn't speed up in panic, nor did they stupidly stop. They just slowed down and continued to move forward slowly. The sides of the truck were covered with iron sheets, and the inside of the truck was piled with sandbags. Black powder weapons basically didn't have the ability to shoot through this kind of moving bunker from a few hundred meters away. The infantrymen crouched behind the bunker and opened the firing ports. The rubber canvas canopy that covered the entire truck had some small holes, and the muzzles of the guns poked out.
The real attackers were the artillerymen. The truck that dragged the 37 cannon stopped, and the gunners in ponchos threw off their ponchos and quickly confirmed the shooting parameters. The first shot didn't hit its target, and the second shot didn't hit its target either. The next three consecutive shots hit the barn. Flames and smoke burst out of the barn's windows and doors. The third round of incendiary bombs quickly set the flammable contents of the barn ablaze.
Two trucks drove out of the line and stopped. The infantrymen jumped out of the trucks one after another. They didn't choose to directly advance along the narrow path that the people and animals had stepped on. Instead, they followed a more concealed route to surround the barn. The artillerymen on the open ground were ready to support their infantrymen with firepower at any time.
When they got close to the farmhouse, there was another group of resistors who used black powder weapons to put up a fierce resistance. After a round of rounds from the 37 cannons, the resistance was completely weakened. The rifles of the Liberation Army rang out for a moment, and the small-scale battle centered around the wooden houses and farms, which were common in Oregon or the Western United States, was over.
Qi Rui wore a dark green rubber poncho like the ordinary soldiers. Although it was heavy, it blocked the wind. The strong wind on the beach couldn't penetrate the poncho, let alone the light wind and rain on the plains. Qi Rui observed the entire battle with binoculars. He actually wanted to participate in this kind of battle himself, but his rationality restrained Qi Rui's impulses. Qi Rui just walked along the battle process a few times after the battle, and summarized the battle pattern in his mind according to the descriptions of the combatants.
"Public order warfare destroys morale the most. The human mind is a process of constantly strengthening. After many battles like this, as long as they saw similar buildings, their first reaction would be to sense danger. It's easy to have psychological problems if you're in danger all year round. "Recalling his father's words, Qi Rui couldn't help but sigh. Sometimes, his father's way of looking at a problem was very different from that of a normal person. It often made people feel that it was inexplicable. Only when he really started to work did he realize that his father had already anticipated some unsolvable problems.
The terrain of Washington and Oregon was similar. The western part was coastal plain, and the eastern part was mountainous. Led by Qi Rui, the Motorized Reinforcement Regiment set out from Portland to sweep the south. In less than five days, this kind of battle had already happened dozens of times. "Fortunately," the vanguard was the motorized unit, and every battle did not delay the advance of the troops. Just like now, only two infantry squads and three artillery squads were truly engaged in battle. The rest of the troops continued to advance. After a while, these combat troops could retreat and catch up to the convoy in front of them on a safe road.
Behind the convoy came the cavalry and three divisions of infantry. With their marching speed, they could just keep up with the motorized infantry. The farmhouses and farms that were occupied along the way could be guarded by the troops and become strongholds on the communication line. Before receiving his father's reminder, Qi Rui really didn't expect the motorized infantry to play such a role.
At first, the motorized infantry were excited by the continuous battles, but after five days, the troops started to show signs of mental stress. Although it didn't affect the battle, Qi Rui clearly felt the changes in the troops. Now, Qi Rui began to pay attention to his father's words. According to his father Vézé's prediction, it would take about two months for the troops to be revised and rotated. If they followed this train of thought, within two months, which was the end of January, they had to completely occupy the entire plains of Washington and Oregon. Also, they had to control the main roads in the mountains and prepare for the start of the war in the spring of 1889.
Based on the map and the performance of the motorized infantry over the past few days, in this weather with an average temperature below 10 degrees, the motorized infantry could maintain a distance of 30 kilometers per day …
Just as he thought of this, he heard the screams of women in the distance. Qi Rui let out a long sigh. The battle was certainly demoralizing, but the ending of the battle was actually not much better. The final step was basically to capture prisoners and let the heroic Liberation Army fight. The soldiers naturally had no objections. But letting the soldiers capture women and tie them up with ropes and drag them out of their homes while they were overly frightened would damage the morale of the soldiers even more than the battle.
When his father used Japanese ronin to clean up the natives, Qi Rui initially felt that it was a bit excessive. Now, the young man had to admit that it was really the best way.
In the distant Xinxiang City, the Chief Political Commissar of the North American Theater of Operations, who was also the highest-ranking officer of the theater, Shen Xin, was also thinking about this matter. A thousand special operations teams from Korea were about to arrive in North America, and some of the dirty work would be done by them. The frontline report had already mentioned the work of dragging American women and children out of their houses. Although they did not expect these people to be effective against American men, they could at least be used against American women and children.
When people described the war, they could, of course, use their imagination to decorate the war with countless gold powder and petals, spray perfume and fine wine. But those who were really involved in the war could only feel pain and tedium.
The speed of the Military Governor Of Vaize's actions was really amazing. A thousand Koreans arrived in North America on December 24. The ship did not even reach Vancouver, but directly docked at Portland Harbor. After two days of bumpy truck journeys, two capable young men in railway police uniforms appeared in front of Qi Rui. The one in the lead saluted Qi Rui, and the young man said loudly, "Political Commissar Qi Rui, I am Yuan Shikai, deputy manager of the Korean Railway and Telegraph Company. This is Wang Shizhen, political commissar of the police brigade of the Korean Railway and Telegraph Company. "
When Qi Rui stepped forward to shake hands with Yuan Shikai and Wang Shizhen, he asked with a straight face, "Can the Koreans bear the responsibility of dealing with women and children?"
Yuan Shikai couldn't help but look at Wang Shizhen, and then asked Qi Rui, "How to deal with them?" This order was so strange that Yuan Shikai could not understand it at all. Half a month ago, the Military Governor Of Vaize directly ordered Korea to send a thousand people to North America to support the battle. Yuan Shikai did not expect such a good thing to fall into his hands. What an honor and opportunity it was to be able to fight side by side with the Liberation Army. Commanding a thousand people in the Liberation Army was the strength of two battalions, and he was at least a deputy regimental cadre. War was also a great place to render meritorious service. A young regimental cadre, or even a future divisional cadre. If he returned to Korea with such an identity, Yuan Shikai would be able to steadily become a real power in Korea. Without saying a word, Yuan Shikai gathered the police team of the Korean Railway and Telegraph Company. After giving each of them a considerable amount of settlement allowance, he pulled them onto the ship.
Yuan Shikai did not expect that the order he received after arriving in North America was to deal with North American women and children. If it weren't for the young lieutenant colonel's serious expression, without the slightest hint of mockery or frivolity, Yuan Shikai even wanted to ask the lieutenant colonel, "Are you kidding me?"
Wang Shizhen's mood was not affected. He said calmly, "Lieutenant Colonel Qi Rui, can you give us some specific advice? We can take people to try it out first. "
Such a calm attitude made Yuan Shikai feel that his impetuous mood had also calmed down a little. On this trip, he almost forcibly brought Wang Shizhen with him. Without this old buddy coming to North America, Yuan Shikai always felt that something was missing. In the face of the lieutenant colonel's strange question, if it weren't for this old buddy's calm response, Yuan Shikai found that it was easy for his emotions to dominate his actions.
"You guys take 10 people. I will tell you what to do when the fight starts. "Qi Rui was very satisfied with Wang Shizhen's reaction. There were some words that Qi Rui didn't want to say so much. He also felt a little guilty when it came to women and children, so he didn't want to explain in detail.
More than three hours later, Yuan Shikai and Wang Shizhen completed their first mission. It was Yuan Shikai's first time participating in the binding and dragging of European and American women. He didn't expect the other party to be so tall and strong. Wang Shizhen's body was far less strong than Yuan Shikai's, so she couldn't help but gasp. The Korean police officers were a little scared when they were suddenly pulled into the battlefield. Later, they found out that they were just grateful for the binding and escort work, which they often did in Korea. In the past, most of the people they dealt with were men, but now they were dealing with foreign women with high noses and deep eyes. It seemed that they were very happy about it.
Seeing that Qi Rui was looking at the Korean people who were obviously laughing, Yuan Shikai picked up a rifle and rushed up to the smiling Korean people without saying a word. He hit and scolded them at the same time. After a while, the Korean people understood. Other than nodding and bowing to apologize, they also returned to their usual neat state.
Wang Shizhen didn't explain. Any explanation would be meaningless at this time. Since her partner saw the crux of the problem, Wang Shizhen asked, "Political Commissar Qi, are we only letting the Koreans take on these tasks?"
"Yes, I don't expect them to fight. Take on these tasks and do a good job. I am very satisfied. " Qi Rui could finally throw the dirty work at hand to the Korean people. Although Yuan Shikai's methods were simple and crude, it seemed to be quite effective on the Korean people. Wang Shizhen showed a good understanding of the situation. This pair of partners was also quite reassuring.
"Is the job of burying the corpses done by the army? Or the Koreans? "Wang Shizhen continued to ask. He deliberately emphasized that he and Yuan Shikai were Chinese. If the Liberation Army thought that they were Korean, it would be terrible.
Qi Rui didn't think of this for a moment. The motorized infantry only cared about fighting and capturing people. The corpses were thrown to the infantry behind to deal with. Now that Wang Shizhen mentioned this, Qi Rui's evaluation of Wang Shizhen improved a lot. If the army only cared about fighting, it would be easy to maintain morale. However, a lot of rubbish work couldn't be avoided. Wang Shizhen's observation skills and initiative in taking on the task made Qi Rui have a good impression of her. His serious face finally couldn't help but show a trace of a smile. He said with a somewhat relieved voice, "Let the Koreans do it."
After that, Qi Rui looked at Yuan Shikai again. After a round of beating and scolding, the Korean people's behavior was somewhat in line with what a battlefield should look like. More importantly, the Korean people didn't show any signs of resistance or dissatisfaction. In front of Yuan Shikai, they were as obedient as lambs. Although Qi Rui had a good impression of Wang Shizhen, he didn't want to underestimate Yuan Shikai.
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