Chapter Fifty-Seven New Official Takes Office

  "General, if you rearrange these machine guns, the effect will be better." A foreigner beside Nie Shi said calmly, looking at Nie's shocked face.

  "Mr. Burton, what do you mean?" Nie Shi Cheng said with a smile, he was truly grateful to this person, who was the armament engineer of Shanghai Bofors Ordnance Company, and it was him who taught the use, maintenance and upkeep of mortars, hand grenades, machine guns and automatic pistols.

  He came on purpose this time, to observe the use of these weapons on site. Even the machine gun ambush just now was done under his command.

  "It's quite simple, you distribute them to the various forts, with machine guns as the core for future defense, best if they can form crossfire, and infantry as auxiliary, but these machine guns are of poor quality, prone to problems, so it's best to have two per fort. Bofors has already manufactured an improved version of the Maxim gun under license, using smokeless powder, with no quality issues, and equipped with a tripod mount. Twenty of them and one million rounds of ammunition have just arrived in Shanghai, if you need them, you can buy them." Burton said.

  "Alright, I will speak to the Emperor on your behalf." Nie Shi Cheng said with a smile.

  The news of Cheng Xun's second major victory was transmitted to Li Hongzhang, who was reading a telegram from Xue Fucheng through the Consul General in Singapore, Huang Zunxian.

  "This Yang Feng is an interesting guy, he actually came to assist in the war. Xue Shu said that he not only brought five warships but also six landing ships and more than 4,000 troops, preparing to take advantage of the situation to plunder Japan. If I have a chance, I really want to meet this bold and daring guy." Li Er Guizi said while looking at the telegram to Sheng Xuanhuai who was sitting below him.

  "Plunder Japan?" Shen Zhenhuai's eyes almost popped out of his head. This was too outrageous!

  "Yes, Uncle You said that his ship can directly rush to the beach and then put down the landing board. The soldiers will rush ashore from inside. Each ship can carry two battalions of soldiers. Landing and withdrawal can be completed within half an hour. Moreover, each ship has eight 75mm caliber rapid-fire guns, which can fire more than 20 shells per minute. Only with cannons can we block the pursuing enemy."

  And all the officers in his department were foreigners, assisted by some Chinese Americans, mainly recruited from the town with high salaries to get their bravery. The quick guns and cannons, the precision of military equipment, even the Western armies had something to surpass.

  The commander is Langweili.

  And Yang Feng's five warships, one of which was a fast battleship with a waterline armor belt, far surpassing the Yoshino in terms of speed, firepower and armor. The remaining four were high-speed destroyers equipped with the latest diesel engines, capable of reaching speeds of up to 35 knots, swift as flying on the sea, assisted by the latest steam-powered gas torpedoes, even a large ironclad could be sunk with one hit." Li Er Guizi's face grew increasingly solemn as he read the telegram.

  Sheng Xuanhuai still didn't understand his thoughts and said with a worried face, "This person's plan is probably difficult to predict!"

  "No matter what he's after, let's deal with the Japanese first. Old Master Weng wants to see me make a fool of myself? Let him take a good look." Li Ergouzi said coldly.

  "General, the Navy has sent a telegram with good news. Nie Shicheng's troops have defeated the Japanese army for the second time at Chenghuan Post House, capturing and killing over 1,000 enemy soldiers. The Japanese army's Daisho Brigade is demoralized and has retreated to the north bank of the Ancheng River." At this moment, Wen Xiang brought in a telegram and said.

  "Good, this An Gongting is indeed worthy of my trust." Li Erguizi smiled with great satisfaction. From the start of the battle to now, whether on water or land, they had won every fight. He wondered what kind of expression those who were waiting to see him make a fool of himself were wearing now.

  However, Nie Rongzhen also mentioned one thing. He said that compared to the Japanese army, our military's bravery and marksmanship are worlds apart. The two victories in Chengdu were entirely due to superior equipment: the first battle relied on howitzers and hand grenades, while this battle relied on mortars and submachine guns, with the latter being even more important.

  The two soldiers fired more than 150,000 rifle bullets, but the results of this battle were not as good as the results of a few minutes with these two things. The combat effectiveness of the soldiers on both sides was vastly different. If they relied solely on their rifles to fight back, they might be no match for the Japanese. To ensure complete safety, it would be necessary to purchase large quantities of this thing." Yu Shi Mei continued.

  "Railgun?" Li Hongzhang smiled wryly, he had a deep impression of this thing, to be honest, he was also a veteran of the battlefield, how could he not know that these things were useful? However, whether it was recoilless guns or railguns, using them in small quantities wasn't a problem, but if they really wanted to mass-produce and supply them to all the troops, their financial resources would be completely exhausted. It's not just a gun, it's a bottomless pit that swallows bullets!

  "Never mind, let's focus on the present first. Let's see who has this thing and buy a batch to meet the urgent need." He sighed and said.

  Nie ZhenTai said, "Bofors has just received twenty new ones, and they come with one million smokeless bullets." Yu Shiming said.

  "Then buy it!" Li Hongzhang said immediately, he had no idea what this choice meant for this war.

  Dagang Port, this originally inconspicuous small port has undergone a complete transformation. Twelve newly added large berths are neatly lined up inside the port, and on the shore is a seemingly endless array of warehouses. Additionally, there is a dock capable of accommodating 5,000-ton vessels. These facilities are quietly awaiting their owners.

  Of course, it wasn't just them. Since morning, a large number of various bird and beast zombies had gathered by the shore, each one stretching their necks like ducks, staring with wide eyes at the entrance to the bay. There were even several wearing military uniforms, carrying swords at their waists, puffing out their chests, trying to look spirited and valiant. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before they succumbed to the smoke, tears and snot flowing from their eyes, as the attendants beside them hastily offered them smoking equipment.

  A military officer wearing a second-class hat looked at these guys with displeasure, the two people sitting next to him slightly sneered, and inside there was actually a yellow fish, the yellow trigram on his body was soaked with sweat, stuck to his body, making this forty-year-old dark and thin middle-aged man look more ridiculous. At this moment, he suddenly saw a soldier waving a signal flag at the top of the distant mountain.

  "Here it comes, here it comes!" The birds and beasts immediately erupted into a relieved laughter, among them a stout middle-aged man of the second rank stood up and waved his hand. The waiting drum and cymbal team quickly began to play music, in the midst of which the Ye family's small firewheel was seen slowly entering the bay from afar, followed closely by the familiar black bat-shaped ship of the people of Dagou Port, and then came something that made everyone involuntarily take a cold breath.

  The ones that came were all ironclad warships. The one in the front was over a hundred meters long, with twin main guns at the front, their barrels as thick as thighs pointing towards the sky, and five more of the same barrels protruding from each side, with another set of twin main guns at the back.

  Behind the warship were four smaller ones, followed by six larger ones that looked a bit strange. Behind them were four merchant ships. A fleet of 16 giant wheels lined up in a long queue and slowly entered the port. Under the command of Jin Yuan Company's employees on the dock, each ship was moored at its berth. The four smaller warships shared two berths.

  In the midst of stunned gazes, all ships came to a halt. It was then that the black bat-shaped ship finally docked last, and as it did, countless soldiers clad in green uniforms poured out from those six strangely-designed warships.

  These soldiers were all dressed in Western-style uniforms, and many of them were actually foreigners. They were all carrying long guns with gleaming bayonets that made the eyes of the people on the shore dizzy. The few who had not finished smoking their pipes were trembling with fear. Then they saw these soldiers disembark from the ship, form up in neat rows on the dock, and suddenly raise their guns simultaneously. This was followed by a dense barrage of gunfire. Before the sound of the guns had even faded away, the main cannons on all the warships let out a thunderous roar, like a bolt of lightning on a clear day. The few who were trembling with fear immediately fell to the ground in terror.

  But there was no sound of artillery explosions.

  On the "Looters", Xue Fu Cheng looked at Yang Feng's mischievous smile with a speechless expression, but he also admitted that this move was indeed effective. As the suddenly appearing Taiwan Governor and General, this murderous debut ceremony could scare all those who had ulterior motives into trembling with fear.

  After the cannon fire, the hatch of the "Plunderer" finally opened. Xue Fucheng, wearing a specially sent Bao Fu Shi official uniform from Hong Kong, walked down the gangway with a smile on his face, accompanied by Yang Feng and Lang Weili on either side, while Zhang Quan followed behind in a bought Daoyuan official uniform.

  "Uncle, you've finally arrived!" Fatso Erpin said with a bow and a smile all over his face to Xue Fu Cheng. The various birds and beasts behind him immediately followed with a wave of enthusiastic applause and even kneeling and worshiping sounds.

  "Wei Qing, my younger brother, I'm not not going to Taipei, so it's unnecessary for you to make this trip." Xue Fucheng hastily stepped forward, smiling as he supported Tang Jingcun, the Taiwan Governor, who was making a gesture of bowing down. Then he turned to those officials behind him and said: "Thank you all for coming to welcome me from afar."

  Then there was another flattering voice, and the gongs and drums were noisy, making Yang Feng frown, until they expressed their emotions for almost half an hour, Tang Jingrui looked back at Xue Fucheng with a puzzled expression and asked: "Uncle Yun, where is General Yang?"

  "What? Looking for me? I'm right here!" Wearing a very casual Hawaiian-style T-shirt and flower shorts, with a flat-top haircut and wearing frog-shaped glasses, Boss Yang suddenly appeared from behind.

  A burst of cold air sucked in on the dock.

  "You, you, are utterly lawless and dare to shave your head, where do you put your ancestors?" A seemingly book-stupid little official pointed at Yang Feng and stuttered.

  "Are you talking to me?" Yang Feng said, dazed. After getting a affirmative answer, he walked out of the air-conditioned cabin and, feeling hot and annoyed, went forward and knocked off his official hat. Then, grabbing his braid, he said: "What the hell are you talking about ancestors? Did your ancestors have this thing too?"