Chapter 62

In modern times, in Seoul, South Korea, Gao Yang was on the phone with Zheng Xiujing, explaining, "Shuijing, I'm very sorry, I can't keep my promise to you. I have something very important to deal with right now. I'm sorry."

After a brief silence on the other end, Zheng Xiujing's somewhat restrained voice replied, "It's okay, Oppa must have something very important to do. We can celebrate later when there's time. Good luck."

Gao Yang gritted his teeth and softly said, "I'm really sorry this time. I'll handle it as soon as possible. Wait for me." After hanging up, Gao Yang sat quietly on the sofa for a while before activating the time travel to 1925.

Inside the Nanjing Army Officer Academy, Zhang Xinghai and others had taken a shower and were returning to their dorms to prepare for the evening class. Zhang Xinghai lived in Room 201, Building 5, and his roommate was Wang Dashan. When he returned to the room, he saw Wang Dashan writing something on the table.

"Dashan, writing a letter home?" Zhang Xinghai asked with a smile while putting away his toiletries.

"Yep, Brother Xinghai, I want to ask my father if Erbao has enlisted," Wang Dashan said, scratching his head and smiling.

"Your brother is a military family member. As long as he's old enough and passes the physical, he will definitely be enlisted. But you are already in the army, why do you want your brother to enlist too?" Zhang Xinghai asked, leaning against the bed, puzzled.

Wang Dashan put down his pen and smiled, a bit embarrassed, "I have three younger brothers, but our family only has about ten acres of land. My father said the land is definitely not enough for all of us. He said since the conditions in the military are so good now, he wants all the brothers to join the army and earn a living. My second brother is old enough this year, and my father wrote in his last letter that Erbao has already signed up."

Zhang Xinghai sat up on the bed and said with a smile, "Oh, I see. Actually, in your situation..."

Before he could finish, a sudden, urgent military bugle call from outside the window interrupted him. Both of them were startled, exchanged a glance, and quickly got up to put on their uniforms.

This was the signal for an emergency assembly! According to regulations, they had to dress quickly, pack their bags, and carry all their belongings to the parade ground within ten minutes. Being late was a violation of military rules!

In other rooms, the roommates were also quickly packing their belongings, and the sounds of clattering and thumping filled the air. As Zhang Xinghai quickly packed his things, he wondered, "What's happening?"

Ten minutes later, all the students, except those on duty, gathered in front of the teaching building on the large parade ground. Colonel Brandt, with a serious expression, was waiting with the instructors in front of the teaching building. "1, 2, 3, 4..." The roll calls and hurried footsteps mixed together, creating a chaotic atmosphere. The large iron gates of the academy were already open, and one after another, Dodge trucks drove in, forming a long convoy, their headlights illuminating the entire parade ground.

Soon, all the students had assembled. As the student captain, Zhang Xinghai stepped forward, ran up, saluted, and reported loudly, "Report to the education officer, the first batch of students at the Army Officer Academy, a total of 1,582, 1,459 present, 116 on duty, 7 on sick leave, assembly complete, awaiting instructions." Brandt returned the salute and said loudly, "Return to your ranks."

Brandt took a few steps forward, looked at the thousands of students in front of him, took a deep breath, and said loudly, "We have just received orders. All students of the Army Officer Academy will immediately proceed to the Sixth Division as intern officers to prepare for combat! Now, all students will board the trucks according to the instructors' instructions, no noise, understood!" The logistics minister of the academy, a bio-warrior, translated the order loudly in Chinese after Brandt finished speaking.

The expressions of the thousands of students varied—some were surprised, some excited, some worried, but no one made a sound. Brandt nodded, satisfied with the education they had received. The instructors took out the lists and began to call out names loudly. Once everyone was accounted for, they boarded the trucks and left, the entire operation proceeding smoothly.

Zhang Xinghai and 11 other students boarded a truck, which then started and left the officer academy. It was not yet 8 PM, and many citizens of Nanjing were out for a walk.

Since the power plant began generating electricity, and Gao Yang charged the cost price for electricity, most shops and households in Nanjing had installed electric lights, and many streetlights had been built. Many citizens enjoyed walking around after dinner. Seeing the trucks loaded with fully armed soldiers heading out of the city, they began to ask, "What's happening?"

On the truck where Zhang Xinghai was sitting, a student named Zhang Zhonglin, who was sitting opposite him, asked, "Brother Xinghai, the education officer said we are going to participate in a battle. Who are we fighting?"

Zhang Xinghai smiled but did not speak. He took out a box of cigarettes from his backpack and passed them around to his classmates. After lighting one with a Zippo, he said with a smile, "Since the education officer didn't say who we are fighting, we don't need to know. Just remember, it doesn't matter who we are fighting. What matters is that we fight whoever our commander orders us to. Understand?"

At the same time, at the Army Air Corps in Dajiaochang, the officers and soldiers were busy loading supplies onto various vehicles. Except for the pilots and the airport guard units preparing to fly to the Changzhou airfield early the next morning, the other soldiers would travel by truck to Changzhou airfield overnight.

Meanwhile, Gao Yang had already boarded the Hai Rong, a protected cruiser, where his command post was also set up. When Gao Yang boarded the ship, the first thing he said to Captain Ouyang Ji was, "It's so small." Captain Ouyang Ji was taken aback and then said, "The entire navy sincerely thanks the commander for purchasing ships for the navy!" He then led the sailors behind him to salute Gao Yang.

The news of Gao Yang's plan to buy ships from Britain had already spread throughout the navy. Gao Yang smiled but did not say anything more, and walked to the rest cabin prepared for him by Ouyang Ji. After Gao Yang boarded the ship, the Yangtze River Fleet, gathered at the Xiaguan Wharf in Nanjing, set sail and headed towards Jiangyin.

The next morning, after Gao Yang woke up, washed up, and had breakfast in the officer's dining room, he went to the bridge. The first thing he said to Captain Ouyang Ji was, "Why didn't you sound the wake-up call?" Ouyang Ji replied, "To avoid disturbing your rest." Gao Yang stared at Ouyang Ji seriously for a moment and then said, "Don't do that again." "Yes, sir," Ouyang Ji saluted and said.

At that moment, Wei Ke stepped forward and handed a document to Gao Yang, "Sir, this is the battle plan." "Oh," Gao Yang took the document and flipped through it. Not understanding the technical details, he quickly glanced through it and returned it to Wei Ke, saying, "Just give me a brief summary."

Wei Ke opened the document and said, "The 19th Division will adopt a defensive posture in northern Jiangsu, northern Anhui, and southern Anhui to resist possible attacks. A part of the Sixth Division will be deployed along the north bank of the Yangtze River, and another part will advance to Yixing as a flank guard. The main force will be concentrated in the Jiangyin area, planning to break through the Zhejiang army's front line within 12 hours with the support of the navy and air force. After that, they will advance along the Ninghu Line railway to Shanghai. The key to this operation is speed. Our army should occupy Shanghai as quickly as possible. The staff estimates that once our army occupies Shanghai, the Zhejiang army will face collapse, and potential hostile forces will be intimidated by our powerful strength and will not dare to attack us."

Gao Yang nodded slightly and said, "Very good, let's do it. When will the attack on Jiangyin begin? Are the troops in position?"

Wei Ke closed the document and said, "The 2nd and 3rd regiments of the Sixth Division have already entered their starting positions, and four other regiments are in reserve. The remaining regiments are still on the way. The artillery units have completed their deployment and will begin firing at 8:00 AM, with a 40-minute bombardment planned before the infantry launches the attack. The air force reports that the aircraft have completed their relocation, but the logistics vehicles are still on the way, and the Changzhou airfield only has a small number of hand-thrown bombs. The naval aspect will be introduced by Colonel Ouyang Ji." He stepped back to make way.

Ouyang Ji stepped forward and said loudly, "The naval ships have completed their pre-battle preparations and are ready to bombard the Zhejiang army's front line at any time!" Gao Yang nodded slightly, touched his chin, and thought for a moment, then said, "Tell the air force to drop all the bombs on the Zhejiang army's heads. Order the military police to speed up road clearance and give priority to the air force's convoy. Also, send someone to investigate why the Changzhou airfield has no combat reserves! The rest will proceed according to the plan." Gao Yang was very dissatisfied that the Changzhou airfield only had a small number of hand-thrown bombs.

After the military factory equipment purchased from Germany was installed, the Jinling Arsenal had been producing at full capacity. However, due to a lack of workers, technology, and raw materials, the production did not meet Gao Yang's expectations. Gao Yang had been continuously purchasing finished military supplies from Germany. He remembered issuing an order that all forward airfields should have at least three times the amount of small bombs that could be mounted on the wings of Fokker aircraft.

Gao Yang looked at Yang Dong, who was standing in the corner, and asked, "How is your preparation?"

Yang Dong stepped forward two steps, bowed slightly, and replied, "Report to the commander, everything is arranged. It will be carried out simultaneously when the troops launch the attack." Gao Yang nodded slightly.

At that moment, Captain Ouyang Ji suddenly said, "Commander, this morning, Commander Du from Shanghai sent a telegram saying that Commander Lin Jianzhang of the Shanghai Sea Fleet is willing to swear allegiance to you."

"Hmm?" Gao Yang was slightly surprised and asked, "Wasn't he negotiating with the British to buy ships? How did he get in touch with Lin Jianzhang?"

Ouyang Ji smiled slightly and said, "Commander, since the news of your plan to buy large ships for the navy spread, all naval personnel across the country want to join you. This time, Commander Lin must have taken the initiative to contact Commander Du and made the request. What do you think about this?"

"You navy people have no sense of confidentiality! As soon as you have an idea, the whole world knows! If we go to war with other countries in the future, they will know our departure time and route before we even leave the port! What are you thinking!" Gao Yang was very angry and slammed his hand on the command table several times. The navy had no sense of confidentiality at all; what kind of army was this?

Ouyang Ji was taken aback. He had intended to take credit but ended up getting a scolding. He stammered, "This, this, this..."

Fortunately, at that moment, Wei Ke stepped in to help, "Sir, it's time to attack."

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