The Iron-Blooded Army of Beacon Fire

Chapter 478 Grand Parade, Grand Exercise 1
It had never participated in the Military Commission's large-scale nationwide inspection, but was included in the national review that was originally only for the first-phase training troops directly under the Military Commission, and then the Chairman's Secretariat personally participated in the review and inspection.

The level and importance of the review of the Assault Corps have been continuously increased. In response to this, the Assault Corps has naturally put in more rigorous training, more complete preparations, and more exciting and outstanding exercise plans to deal with it. After another month of intensive training and preparation, this high-standard review finally arrived as scheduled.

On July 2, 1939, a large convoy of vehicles with military license plates and spotless operation was slowly driving on a simple road three kilometers outside the assault corps camp. The black exquisite cars and gray military trucks were extremely conspicuous against the backdrop of the surrounding green mountains and loess road.

As the convoy moved forward quickly, soon five German Zundap three-wheeled military sidecar motorcycles appeared on the road and moved towards the huge convoy. When the motorcycle team was two hundred meters away from the huge car convoy, the five motorcycles stopped moving one after another, made a temporary U-turn, and one after another changed from moving towards the car convoy to leading the way in front of it, leading the way forward.

The word "Tu" was written on the front license plate of each motorcycle, and the officers and soldiers on the motorcycles were fully armed, wearing helmets and neat and new tactical vests specially used by the Assault Corps. There was no doubt that these were motorcycles of the Assault Corps.

The huge convoy of cars drove slowly under the guidance of motorcycles, gradually approaching the camp of the assault corps. When it was less than two kilometers away from the camp of the assault corps, rows of armed officers and soldiers appeared on both sides of the road where the convoy was located. These officers and soldiers on both sides of the road were five meters apart, and all of them were fully armed, wearing helmets, the standard single-piece military uniforms of the National Army, gray-black rubber-soled cloth shoes on their feet, and the new dark green leggings on their calves were tied tightly.

Some of the soldiers stood solemnly holding a Czech-made vz24 rifle with a bayonet in one hand, while others stood on the spot with a machine gun slung across their body. The bullet belts and grenade bags on their tactical vests were bulging with various ammunition. Their steady and neat military posture was meticulous, and their clean and tidy uniforms were brand new.

Whenever a convoy passed by, the soldiers on the roadside would extend their left forearm horizontally to the right in front of their chest, with their palm facing inward and five fingers straight and aligned, lightly supporting the top of their guns, while looking at the convoy and performing a standard gun-holding salute. Their movements were standard, clean, neat and pleasant.

What is even more eye-catching than the equipment and movements is the spirit of the soldiers. Every soldier's mental state is extremely full and high-spirited, and the soldiers' physiques are also very strong. Whenever the soldiers salute, there is a sense of uplifting vigor and majestic spirit arising spontaneously.

This huge convoy of vehicles being escorted and guided is the convoy for all the inspectors who came today to check, review and visit the exercises of the Assault Corps. Those who came to review the Assault Corps today can be roughly divided into three systems, including the Military General Staff Department headed by Lieutenant General Xu Yongchang, Minister of the Military General Staff Department of the Military Commission, General He Jingzhong, Minister of the Military and Political Affairs Department of the Military Commission, the Military and Political Affairs Department, and the Military Commission system including some personnel from the Military Training Department of the Military Commission, as well as a group of senior military advisers from the Chairman's Secretariat system.

In addition, there were several Soviet military advisers, inspectors from different systems, as well as entourage and guards, totaling more than seventy people, which accounted for the huge convoy on the road.

These scenes on the roadside were also seen by the "passengers" in the huge convoy.

Sitting in the back seat of a Ford sedan in the convoy, Xu Yongchang, the head of the Nationalist Military Commission's Military Affairs Department, exclaimed in amazement, "I've heard of this assault corps before. It was my Military Affairs Department's idea to transfer them to the auxiliary capital for defense. It was also me who took the lead in leading the Military Affairs Department to decide on the task of having this unit defend the auxiliary capital against the Japanese airborne attack."

"It's just that I'm busy with military affairs, and I've left the specific matters to my subordinates, so I don't know the specific situation of this unit very well, and I haven't met the chief officer of this unit. I only know that this unit is very capable. In the Yangxin victory, it severely defeated a Japanese field brigade. It is very combat-effective. After seeing it today, I found that this unit is indeed different. Apart from other things, these soldiers on guard on the roadside are extraordinary. They are in good physique and spirit. And the equipment they wear is something I have never seen before. By the way, I heard that he specially contacted the Air Force for the combat exercise of this review. I don't know what's going on. It seems that today's review will be worth watching."

Next to Xu Yongchang, He Jingzhi, the Minister of Military Affairs of the National Military Commission, also looked out the window at the saluting officers and soldiers slowly passing by, but he said with a proud tone: "Haha, this unit has repeatedly won great victories. The unit commander He Wei is very good at leading troops. He was a student of the eleventh infantry science class of Huangpu Military Academy. At the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War, he graduated early and was assigned to Li Mo'an's Tenth Division as a trainee officer. During the Battle of Xinkou, he was still a trainee platoon leader. Later, he was promoted to company commander. He made great contributions in Xinkou and seized the Japanese tanks and regiment flags. With this merit, he went to Nanjing and was promoted to major. During the Battle of Nanjing, he was the commander of the special forces battalion of the Nanjing City Defense Command and also made great contributions."

"Haha, the Japanese royal family member who died in Nanjing was killed by him. Later, when he arrived in Wuhan, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel because of his military exploits, and his troops were expanded into an assault corps. Only then did he achieve such a great feat."

"He has fought all the way to where he is now. In just two years, he was promoted from second lieutenant to colonel based on his military exploits. He is definitely not an ordinary person. I have also met him. He is a very good young officer cadre. He has the same spirit as the Whampoa Military Academy during our Northern Expedition. This is called the young are to be feared. This time, the review of the assault corps was even participated in by the chairman's attendant room. This must have been instructed by the chairman himself, which shows that the chairman also values ​​the assault corps very much."

Xu Yongchang nodded slightly and said with a smile, "Indeed, apart from other things, his promotion speed is indeed reminiscent of the Whampoa Military Academy during the Northern Expedition. During the Eastern Expedition and Northern Expedition, Whampoa students were promoted quickly, some of them were promoted from second lieutenant to colonel and major general within two years of graduation. Nowadays, many Whampoa graduates graduate from the military academy and are promoted to major after five or six years of service. He Wei's promotion speed is really too fast, and it really has the flavor of those Whampoa Military Academy's first and second batch students during the Eastern Expedition and Northern Expedition, tut tut."

After Xu Yongchang finished speaking, he turned to Minister He and asked casually, "Minister He seems to know the commander of the assault corps very well. I see his last name is He as well. Could he be a relative of Minister He?"

"No, no, his He is different from my He. I am from Guizhou, and He Wei of the Assault Corps is from Liaoning, which is far away. He Wei is a very good young officer, who can fight and fight. I admire him very much, so I pay more attention to him. However, we are not relatives. He and I do have some fate. He was awarded a medal for his military exploits in Nanjing, and it was I who awarded him the medal. Later, his troops were expanded into the Assault Corps and classified as troops directly under the Military Commission. I also met him several times when he came to the Military and Political Department to handle business and replenish equipment. I believe that today's inspection and exercise will definitely be good. We are going to broaden our horizons today."

Minister He looked a little strange, waved his hand and said, then quickly changed the subject with a smile.

Xu Yongchang saw that Minister He knew He Wei's resume so clearly, and since they had the same surname, he obviously suspected that He Wei was a trusted son of Minister He's family. After all, for a minister to know so much about the promotion experience and details of He Wei, a colonel, Xu Yongchang couldn't help but be suspicious.

But how shrewd is Minister He? He certainly knows the hidden meaning in Xu Yongchang's words. He openly asks if He Wei is a relative of his He family, but in fact he is testing Minister He to see if He Wei is his man. If we look into it more carefully, it means he is asking Minister He if he wants to incorporate the assault corps into his faction? How can Minister He answer this question truthfully? Although He Wei is his actual confidant, and he has a close relationship with him and interests, how can he easily tell others about this matter? Moreover, Minister He's personality in the national army is to not control any troops and not catch any good people in the troops. This is his way of being an official and governing.

So, Minister He brought up He Wei's hometown, but did not say that the two of them were very close. He just laughed a few times to cover up Xu Yongchang's curiosity.

Xu Yongchang was also a shrewd man, and seeing this he did not ask any more questions. While the two old hands were laughing, the convoy had already driven a two-kilometer section of road and turned into the gate of the assault corps camp. Amid the loud commands and neat salutes of the spirited officers and soldiers of the assault corps at the camp gate, the convoy slowly entered the gate with the words "Army Assault Corps" inscribed on it. To the sound of the Whampoa Military Academy school song played on the loudspeakers in the camp, various cars and trucks drove into the camp of the assault corps and parked in order in the spacious reserved parking lot.

The motorcade stopped, and the officials and their entourage who came to inspect the vehicle got off one after another. The size of this inspection team of more than 70 people was quite large, but there were also differences in rank and status among these people. After getting off the vehicle, a group of people quickly organized themselves into teams according to their military ranks and grades.

The ones surrounded by the crowd at the front were naturally the two veterans and top bosses in the army, Xu Yongchang, the Minister of Military Affairs, and He Jingzhi, the Minister of Military Affairs. Standing behind them were two middle-aged officers with the rank of major general and three old Slavic Russians in suits with blue eyes and big noses.

As for the remaining staff, their military ranks were actually not low either. Most of them were colonels, and there were also some lieutenant colonels and majors. However, compared with the big guys in front, they were really nothing, so they could only stand back.

At this time, He Wei, who had been waiting in the temporary parking lot for a long time, stepped forward quickly and ran to meet the inspection team. When he saw Xu Yongchang and Minister He in the uniform of Lieutenant General, he immediately ran forward, stood at attention and saluted, "Report to the commander, the commander of the Army Assault Corps, He Wei, has been ordered to lead his troops to welcome the inspection. Please give your instructions, commanders!"

Minister He looked at He Wei, who was wearing a colonel's woolen military uniform and long riding boots, and nodded slightly. It must be said that after He Wei was promoted to colonel, not only did he still have the murderous aura honed on the battlefield, but he also gained some more official authority after being promoted to a middle or senior officer. Now, standing in front of Minister He, he looked very energetic.

Minister He spoke first, "Very good. We are here to review and inspect your troops and to watch your military exercises. You must perform well today. Come, let me introduce you to the main officers and personnel for this review."

After that, Minister He raised his hand slightly to Xu Yongchang and said, "This is Minister Xu Yongchang of the Military Affairs Department. I think you are familiar with the Military Affairs Department. Your department's deployment to the secondary capital and the task of preparing for the secondary capital's defense are all handled by the Military Affairs Department."

"Hello, Minister Xu!"

He Wei stood at attention and saluted.

Xu Yongchang smiled and returned the greeting, saying, "To be honest, although the combat readiness and deployment of the assault corps after it arrived at the temporary capital were arranged by our military headquarters, I have not seen you many times. I met you today and you are indeed a young hero, a Whampoa man, and worthy of being an outstanding cadre of our army who won the great victory in Yangxin."

"Thank you for the compliment, Minister."

He Wei replied.

"This is Director Yang of the Military Training Department, Major General Yang, Senior Counselor Huang of the Chairman's Office, Major General Huang, and these international friends, who are military advisers sent to our country by the Soviet Union."

He Wei saluted the following people one by one, and he had an idea in his mind. The Military Training Department is in charge of the training business of the troops, and is also a department under the Military Commission. This time the Military Commission came to inspect the Assault Corps, and one of the main purposes was to check the Assault Corps's military expansion results and training level, and this naturally involved the Military Training Department.

Not to mention those old Russian big nose guys, they were military advisers sent by the Russians. As for that senior adviser Huang, he was obviously a "big man" sent by the chairman to review the assault corps.

After exchanging pleasantries with a few people, He Wei simply saluted the remaining dozens of people who came with him, then pointed in the direction of the drill field of the assault corps camp and said to the two ministers He and Xu: "Two commanders, the headquarters has already lined up on the drill field. My corps has the First Infantry Battalion, the Second Infantry Battalion, the Third Infantry Battalion, the Artillery Battalion, the Direct Engineering Company, the Communications Company, the Baggage Company, the Search Company, the Tank Defense Artillery Company, the Anti-aircraft Artillery Company, the Special Service Company, and the Field Hospital. Except for the Special Service Company that has just completed the guidance and guard mission and is returning to the camp, and the Field Hospital cannot be reviewed due to mission requirements, the main forces of the combat forces have been assembled. Please instruct the review method!"

(End of this chapter)