Chapter Nineteen: Conflict
When war has entered a non-physical contact form of combat, when the distance between firing has evolved from several meters to hundreds of meters or even tens of kilometers, when rifles, machine guns and artillery have replaced swords, spears and bows and arrows, when someone has proven that higher-level military equipment is absolutely a meaningless slaughter for the other side, war has actually evolved into an overall struggle of military equipment technology, military logistics supply and soldiers' tactical literacy, and all this can be seen in the evolution process of the 20th century.
Of course, the most direct way to put it is that the side with stronger overall strength no longer needs to compare the number of combatants with the disadvantaged side. The number of soldiers is no longer a major component of war. The side with fewer people can completely use other means to turn the tide and create an era where the minority wins over the majority in hot weapon warfare.
On February 25, 1914, the Revival Party, which belonged to the Zhongzheng Group, had just been established and was continuously improving its organizational structure and various functional departments over the next few days. However, from afar in the East came extremely bad news. On March 2, Yuan Shikai promulgated a law called the Police Regulations for Maintaining Peace and Order, which prohibited any political associations or alliances to go on strike.
"Isn't it delightful when friends come from afar?"
Last year's squabble left Guangxi's provincial capital empty, originally planning to let the former American group help Lu Rongting transport various goods to Nanning, but the two sides quarreled and parted ways. For America, the most lost was the right to continue building railways to Guilin, while other local projects continued to be carried out in a tense manner. However, for Lu Rongting's military government, apart from receiving a lot of demolition fees and land occupation fees in advance, after one quarrel, the two sides did not even discuss how to collect taxes, and the American group quickly completed its reorganization, with all factories officially put into production. Trains and heavy trucks were working hard to transport various products overseas, but the military government didn't even collect a single penny of tax. It was rare to welcome a big taxpayer, but the relationship between the two sides became estranged, and Liuzhou was stuck between Lu Rongting's two major power points, making the military government extremely uncomfortable.
With the help of "law", the military government soon found a price that could be negotiated with the Zhongzhong Group, and the person they sent to Liuzhou was impressive, especially Zhang Yu. He had a particularly deep impression of this person. He was Liu Guxiang, the former commander-in-chief of Liuzhou. At first, no one knew how he planned to leave Liuzhou for Lu Rongting, but after Zhang Yu's investigation, it was discovered that his subordinates had problems, and many soldiers supported the Second Revolution. However, their commander Liu was a coward who feared death, so he left Liuzhou voluntarily to prevent military mutiny, leaving behind a power vacuum in Liuzhou for the Zhongzhong Group.
After more than a year of interaction and integration, the Zhongzhong Group has established an unbreakable bond with Liuzhou. The local people's increased income and wealth are all thanks to the group. Just the daily consumption of food, vegetables, fruits, and meat by the group's tens of thousands of employees is measured in tons, which has had a very positive impact on the local economic development and has driven the increase in income for many surrounding areas. At this time, when Zhang Yu was considering the establishment of the Liuzhou People's Autonomous Government, an envoy from Guilin arrived at the group.
"I think it's because the highway is open, they'll be riding horses over and it'll take them a few more days!" Zhang Yu Sheng didn't go downstairs to welcome Liu Gu Xiang and his group, but instead stood on the balcony with a cup of hot tea in hand, watching their slow arrival. However, he soon discovered something extremely amusing: outside the company's office building was a large concrete open space, with only partial parking lines drawn, but no dedicated horse stable had been set up. Liu Gu Xiang and his companions' horses simply couldn't find anywhere to be tied up.
In less than five minutes, Zhang Yu-sheng saw Liu Gu-xiang alone, not because the group wanted to forgive and forget and not let others in, but because the other people who came could only wait outside, with no place to tie their horses, and the masters had to hold them there. Liu Gu-xiang's horse was still being held by a soldier, one person holding two horses was enough trouble, and what was even more unique was that the soldier was the same one who had caused trouble for everyone at the entrance of the Military Governor's Mansion that day, truly verifying the saying "enemies are bound to meet again".
"Please sit down, Lord Liu!" In the small conference room, Zhang Yusheng still received this "messenger" with great courtesy, and a steaming cup of good tea was served. "May I ask what brings General to come here this time?" Zhang Yusheng said comfortably after taking a sip of tea.
"It's nothing, just delivering a letter!" Liu Guoxiang, dressed in military attire, stood up and pulled out a letter from his bosom, handing it to the attendant standing beside him. "The Commander-in-Chief wants to host a banquet at the Governor's Mansion next week, and this time he specifically asked me to deliver the invitation!" After handing over the letter, Liu Guoxiang added another sentence before sitting back down to sip tea, saying no more.
"Believe me, I'll take a look, but since it's a banquet, you should go back and thank the governor on my behalf. Lately, things have been too busy within the group, I'm afraid I won't be able to get even half a moment of free time, but if the governor is willing to come over, I guarantee that I'll treat him well!" After finishing speaking, Zhang Yu Sheng took the letter and directly threw it into the drawer.
"By the way, the governor asked me to pass on a message to you." Liu Gu Xiang saw Zhang Yu Sheng's behavior and naturally couldn't sit still anymore. He stood up, touching the gun at his waist but didn't draw it out. With great disdain, he stared at Zhang Yu Sheng and said: "Don't forget where you are!"
"You also tell the governor a message for me, to remember where I am!" Zhang Yu-sheng said after finishing, opened the drawer and directly tore the letter into pieces, in front of Liu Gu-xiang's face threw it into the sky. Then added: "You can go now, no need to see you off!"
On March 7, the talks left behind only a piece of scrap paper in a small conference room on the second floor of the Zhongzhong Group office building and several piles of horse dung in the parking lot. Apart from this, there was no trace of what had happened here. However, outside in the wilderness, all sorts of things were happening that were much more lively than this place.
The sniper is like a lone wolf on the battlefield, wearing a cold and stern mask, burying his inner world. He's like a stone, an unthinking stone, without any emotions to speak of, just quietly watching the battlefield from a dark corner, silently witnessing the glory and greatness, sorrow and weakness on the battlefield. But who can know what's in his heart? Underneath the steel-hard face, there's also a fragile heart, a heart yearning for peace. Every time an enemy falls, every time a comrade sacrifices himself, it cuts into this flesh-and-blood heart like a knife, branding new scars onto this heart, until this heart becomes scarred all over, or is pierced by another bullet and no longer bears any scars.
"The icy gaze behind the crosshairs is as sharp as a knife's edge, and any moment of weakness, fleeting sympathy, or hesitation can make your forehead the target. All you need to remember is that in this world, there's only you and the enemy you're aiming at."
A gentle breeze swept across the land, and the tender grass swayed back and forth in the wind. The trees on the mountain slope also danced to the rhythm of spring. Among the trees and weeds, even mischievous animals could be seen frolicking about. Not far down the mountain, people were diligently working in the fields, hurrying to plant the freshest vegetables for market sale, earning a tidy profit. The sound of laughter and shouts accompanied the gentle breeze, slowly carrying into the ears of two people hidden among the grass.
"Your life and gun are one, when you're there, your gun is there; when you die, your gun dies."
Holding a monocular telescope filled with weeds, occasionally saying a few words is the fully camouflaged Zhang Yu. Lin Xuewen was an extremely talented soldier, and his ability to learn cultural knowledge was also very strong, especially in precise shooting, which showed absolute talent. So Zhang Yu attached great importance to such a talent, and had never cut off the supply of ammunition from the security company all along, actually to a large extent, it was to feed out one sharpshooter after another with countless bullets, especially Lin Xuewen by his side.
"Your value doesn't lie in how many people you kill, but what kind of impact you can bring to the other side. Compared to limited casualties and psychological intimidation, the latter has a greater impact on an army. Moreover, snipers are not killing machines, but just soldiers who follow orders. The goal is always singular, shoot to hit. Fire, take down that running rabbit, today's training is over."
As soon as the words fell, in front of Zhang Yu and his team at eleven o'clock, a running fat rabbit stopped suddenly. The bullet fired by Lin Xuewen entered its left eye, stirred up a pulp in the brain, and came out from the right eye. The rabbit died quietly without any hesitation or pain, becoming the twelfth enemy and the twelfth corpse of Professor Zhang Yu's twelfth lesson with Lin Xuewen.
The wind grew stronger, and the strong gusts slowly approached the hillside where Zhang Yu and his companion were. The two of them stopped lying on the ground, sat up, drank the last bit of water from their canteen, picked up the shiny shell casings that had fallen to the ground, shouldered their rifles, and set off on the road back.
"Today, the wind speed you estimated and the actual deviation are still a bit large. The bullet will be affected by the wind from firing to entering the target. In future long-range sniping, we need to consider wind speed, even tomorrow's air humidity, gravitational deflection, etc. If you try shooting over 1,000 meters, you'll understand what I'm saying today. Of course, our current sniper rifle is not yet at the 1,000-meter level. From these days of training, it can be seen that a distance of 800 meters is already very suitable for this sniper rifle, but farther distances are still a problem, though it's already usable." Zhang Yu said to Lin Xuewen, who was driving the jeep.
"Commander, if we could use 12.7mm bullets, we would definitely be able to shoot further and the trajectory would be more stable! The penetration power and destructive effect that the bullet head can bring will also be stronger. Why not let the technicians at the military factory try to make a large-caliber sniper rifle with a caliber of 12.7mm?" The jeep was bumping unusually on the country road, but it did not affect the conversation between the two people.
"12.7mm? That's not a sniper rifle, it should be called an anti-material rifle. It will come later, but not now!"
The two of them continued to discuss many issues until they returned to the security company's office building, where Zhang Yu saw Zhang Yusheng standing there and stopped talking. Lin Xuewen also quickly dropped off Zhang Yu and then sped back to the parking garage.
"What's wrong?" Zhang Yu, with a puzzled expression on his face, looked at his older brother standing at the entrance of the small building with a serious face.
"Lu Rongting sent someone over, saying I had to attend a banquet next week, but of course I declined the invitation...". Zhang Yusheng followed behind Zhang Yu and in just a few words explained everything that had happened that morning.
"That kid actually dares to come again? If I were you, I'd make them take away the horse dung too, what's the point of this!" Zhang Yu said, after applying some special ointment and rubbing his face vigorously under the faucet for a while, his whole face became spotless. After taking the towel from his brother and wiping himself dry, he said: "You're the same, anyway we've already cut ties with each other, why bother being so pretentious. If he dares to cross the river and offend us, then we'll have nothing to say!"
"So I'm in such a hurry to find you, Liu Guoxiang coming to negotiate is clearly a signal of reconciliation. What does the breakdown of negotiations mean? We should be clear about it!" Zhang Yusen wasn't afraid of anyone, but he was worried that it would affect the good situation of the group's development. Recently, he has been busy integrating the surrounding situation in Liuzhou, and if successful, Liuzhou can be used as a super-large base. But what he fears most is that Lu Rongting will get involved. "So let's make necessary preparations!"
As the saying goes, what people worry about most is what heaven will give them. On March 9th, Lu Rongting sent someone to deliver a notice, requiring the Revival Party to disband completely before April 2nd, otherwise it would be considered a rebellious party and troops would be dispatched to suppress it. Almost at the same time, Lu Rongting mobilized three thousand troops stationed in Guilin and Nanning.
On April 1, a fully loaded train of the Zhongyuan Group was detained at Nanning Railway Station, and the highway was also cut off. On the same afternoon, a transport fleet returning from Europe was seized as soon as it arrived at Fangchenggang Port. These measures decisively pushed the Zhongyuan Group to the opposite side of the military government. Therefore, Zhang Yu-sheng almost convened a meeting of the Liuzhou People's Autonomous Government on the evening of April 1st, and the meeting formally decided to reorganize the Zhongyuan Group after its transformation, putting all its factories and facilities under government ownership, appointing several major department heads, most importantly, the security company underwent military restructuring, refusing to recognize the legitimacy of the Guangxi Military Government, and demanding that Lu Rongting's troops release the detained personnel and vehicles, ships, etc. before the 2nd.
The People's Self-Defense Army quickly made corresponding deployments and actions. Although it had only one regiment of troops, the combat effectiveness of this regiment was enough to reassure everyone about the safety of Liuzhou. At 1:00 a.m. on April 2nd, a sharp alarm suddenly sounded in the barracks area of the People's Army. Unlike before, the People's Army, which had already changed its sleeve badges and added military flags, quickly sprang into action, completing armed boarding within three minutes. The frequent movements of the enemy in Nanning and Guilin had given this side sufficient warning of war or conflict.
One battalion was led by Lieutenant Colonel Tang Renhui, and his unit was responsible for solving the enemy's invasion of Guilin. With a personnel configuration of just over 600 people in one battalion, they dared to stand up and take on the heavy responsibility of defending against the northern enemy because they had enough capital.
The infantry battalion of the People's Army is extremely well-equipped, with each of its three infantry companies having its own direct fire platoon, and the battalion also has its own artillery company. This single artillery company alone has three 75mm field rapid-fire guns, five 81mm mortars, and several 60mm mortars. Each squad is equipped with a brand-new Type-14 light machine gun, and the position of the Maxim heavy machine gun in each platoon has not been replaced by the general-purpose machine gun, which still needs to undergo rigorous testing. However, each company's direct fire platoon carries two general-purpose machine guns as a precaution.
The firepower configuration of a camp is even considered excellent in World War II, so Tang Renhui naturally has enough confidence to defeat the enemy. The second battalion was led by Zhuang Jiaming and was responsible for advancing south along the highway towards Nanning, with the main responsibility being to quickly capture the enemy in Nanning, so they brought two more ammunition transport heavy trucks and also brought two 105mm field guns. The third battalion and the direct artillery battalion were responsible for defending Liuzhou and conducting emergency training for thousands of volunteer soldiers who had been recruited.
At this moment, the collision of the two greatest forces in Guangxi is about to occur. On one side is Lu Rongting, a traditional warlord with nearly 20,000 soldiers under his command, but with extremely simple equipment; on the other side is the newly risen industrial force, the Liuzhou Autonomous Government, which has inherited sufficient financial and technical strength from the industrial group to equip itself with advanced weapons.
April 2, 1914, the war against the warlord regime, known as the "First Southwest Mix-up", officially began. The first to exchange fire was the northern battlefield, where Tang Renhua, with his overwhelmingly strong firepower advantage, clashed with Lu Rongting's 3,000-strong army in Lüzhuang, just over a hundred kilometers from Liuzhou. The outcome of the battle was clear: the People's Army, with its superior weapons and tactics, annihilated the entire force in less than two hours, and during the battle, sniper He Liang of the 1st Battalion Reconnaissance Company shot and killed Lu Rongting.
The reconnaissance team was not supposed to be equipped with a sniper, but due to Tang Renhui's special habits, he needed the sniper to serve as "long-range artillery" for the exposed reconnaissance team when necessary. However, no one expected that this sniper, who was known for his quick shooting but mediocre accuracy, would achieve such great merit. The subsequent autopsy also proved this point. At the time, the reconnaissance mission had been completed, and during the withdrawal, they were discovered by a sentry. Just as He Liang was about to take out the opponent's camp machine gunner to cover the retreat of the reconnaissance team, he unexpectedly spotted Gui Shou Lu Rongting, who had just returned from inspecting the deployment and had not yet dismounted his horse. As a result, He Liang did not hesitate and fired a shot without aiming. The bullet did not hit the head as sniper instructor Lin Xuewen had taught, but only struck the lung. In an era with extremely backward medical conditions, difficulty breathing and inability to stop bleeding, combined with the strong kinetic energy of the bullet that created a fist-sized hole in his back after passing through his body, quickly led to the demise of this invincible governor within ten minutes.
The subsequent battle was even less suspenseful, with the general-purpose machine gun and squad light machine gun shining in this rout after the commander's death. The performance of the mortar was also exceptionally excellent, often when the enemy swarmed on the highway to escape back to Guilin, the mortar teams could quickly deploy and the six rounds of rapid fire would bring a very impressive killing effect.
The battle lasted until a company of troops set up machine guns and mortars on a mountain directly opposite the highway turn, after dozens of casualties were paid, the remaining two thousand people surrendered.
Lu Rongting reorganized the provincial troops under his control in 1913. The army had two divisions, a mixed brigade and six patrol teams, which he also called "armies". The most important ones were Chen Bingkun's First Division of the Army, Tan Haoming's Second Division. In other aspects, Huang Baitiao was the commander of the Mixed Brigade, Wei Rongchang was the commander-in-chief of the First Patrol Team, Lin Juntin was the commander-in-chief of the Second Patrol Team, Long Qiguang was the commander-in-chief of the Third Patrol Team, Song Anshu was the commander-in-chief of the Fourth Patrol Team, Liu Guxiang was the commander-in-chief of the Fifth Patrol Team, and Chen Chaoping was the commander-in-chief of the Sixth Patrol Team.
Actually, only one mixed brigade and one patrol team came from Guilin, and it was not until the final count of personnel and interrogation of intelligence that it was discovered that Lu Rongting's one brigade and one patrol team were not fully manned. In fact, most of Lu Rongting's troops were still in the hands of other generals, especially in Nanning, where Chen Bingyun's First Division was stationed, and Tan Haoming's Second Division was deployed in Yulin. Several patrol teams were deployed in Beihai, Hezhou, Hechi, Baise and other places, and there was still a patrol team left in Guilin City.
For this, Liuzhou quickly made corresponding deployment adjustments. The third battalion urgently set out to rush to Wuzhou to eliminate a patrol team stationed there, and then sent troops from Yulin; Tang Renhui's first battalion quickly integrated the captured and quickly cleared the two patrol teams in Hechi and Guilin. As for the second battalion that had almost reached Nanning, the attack plan was not convenient.
It was thought that Chen Bingkun would defend Nanning City and not come out, but as soon as the Second Regiment broke through the highway hub of Kunlun from Nanning to Liuzhou, they directly collided with Chen Bingkun who had received orders from Lu Rongting to issue a command in Liuzhou. The vanguard of the Second Regiment quickly took advantage of the mobility of the vehicles and retreated while fighting under the cover of the truck-mounted general-purpose machine guns, but Chen Bingkun's First Division did not let go, and on the Liu-Nan Highway, they staged a good show of infantry chasing jeeps.
Chen Bingkun and Lu Rongting were sworn brothers, his brilliant achievements not only included wine, color, gambling, corruption, extortion, and private pockets, but also in deducting military expenses, he was very skilled. Such a self-satisfied, clever, strong and tyrannical person quickly led his troops into the defensive position of the second camp's emergency deployment, and this time he saw the power of medium artillery for the first time. A 105mm caliber shell would overturn a large area of people when it fell among them, not to mention those continuously firing light and heavy machine guns, and from time to time, there were bursts of whirring sounds in the air, and people with good eyesight could even see the shells falling into the crowd and blowing up a piece.
On April 3, the second battalion of the First Division quickly advanced into Nanning City, rescued the detained motorcade and train drivers, left a squad to maintain local security, and then rushed to Qinzhou, Beihai, and Fangchenggang. The next day at 2:00 am, they officially completed their raid mission, rested until 8:00 in the morning, and then quickly marched northward with great speed. Similarly, the second battalion that attacked Wuzhou was also pursuing speed, as war is a test of speed and initiative. Whoever moves slowly and lacks sufficient striking power will only be left with failure.
The internal strife in Guangxi that broke out on April 2, 1914 lasted until April 10 before finally coming to an end. The eight-day conflict began at a very fast pace and ended just as quickly, but the impact it brought was profound. Apart from giving birth to an outstanding record of achieving victory with inferior forces, there are many issues that deserve deep reflection.
P.S. As for the civil war, this book will not delve into it too much and will definitely be written hastily. The fratricide is indeed too trivial to mention, but as it is necessary for the development of the plot, I can only write about it briefly and apologize for any offense!
