Chapter 40 My Guard Corps
Equipment updates take time, so the first to complete the update was Kang Fan's guard battalion. This newly formed guard battalion is as follows: Due to some higher-level instructors taking on teaching positions, the loyal and dedicated original Blue Demon team members who were guest instructors in the Qing Sheng Battalion eagerly resigned from their instructor positions and requested to return to Kang Fan's side. Except for intelligence personnel and some officers holding important positions in the regular army, other team members reorganized and recruited a group of soldiers from the Jin Army's regular army, forming a guard battalion of over 300 people. Since they only undertook daily guard duties, the guards were only equipped with 96-style rifles, sniper rifles, automatic pistols, military knives, and wooden-handled grenades, without artillery equipment. Despite this, their firepower was still not to be underestimated in that era.
What's even more frightening is that in July 1899, Kang Fan prioritized the equipping of the Guard Corps with 16 newly produced Iron Horse armored personnel carriers, making the Guard Corps the first fully armored mechanized force on Chinese soil!
This armored personnel carrier is planned to be equipped with the Jin army's standing army in large quantities. It is made by installing a newly designed closed armored vehicle body on the chassis of an iron horse military transport truck, with a self-weight of 16 tons. The whole car can withstand the attack of various common rifle bullets or shell fragments used by modern infantry. The front of the car is the driver's cab, and the rear is the cargo compartment. The driver's cab has a front and rear double-row seat layout, with the front row being the driver's seat and the assistant seat, and the rear row being a weapon station. There are two shooters inside, responsible for operating weapons. The weapon station can be equipped with 96-style general-purpose machine guns, 82 recoilless guns or 82 mortars as needed. However, all the iron horse armored personnel carriers equipped by the guard battalion are uniformly equipped with 96-style general-purpose machine guns. The machine gun is fixedly installed on the top of the weapon station, which is also the top of the driver's cab, and uses a rotating gun mount to implement flexible hemispherical shooting, and has an arc-shaped bulletproof plate to protect the shooter; The top and rear of the cargo compartment are equipped with doors, and there are seats and storage racks inside the carriage, which can carry more than 20 officers and soldiers and all their weapons, ammunition, equipment and supplies. They can rush at a speed of over 70 kilometers per hour on the open field. After being equipped with this military vehicle, the guard battalion has integrated mobility, firepower and protection, and no army in modern China will be able to stop their actions!
As the management side expanded, it was no longer enough to just ride horses, so Kang Fan modified the small Gong's SX2300 to better suit his needs for handling official business. The SX2300 is over 10 meters long, 2.5 meters wide, and 3 meters high, with a load capacity of 15 tons, leaving plenty of room for modification.
After the modification, the SX2300 became: the original text markings on the vehicle were erased, and it was repainted in green/gray/green camouflage colors. Additional equipment such as fuel tanks, water tanks, batteries, spare tires, and complete electrical and living facilities were installed. The driver's seat on the left side of the driving compartment and the assistant's seat on the right side were retained. A wireless radio and corresponding control devices were installed on the dashboard.
Behind the two seats, there are two tool cabinets, one on each side, used to store weapons, equipment, and tools. Between the tool cabinets, a passageway was opened to connect to the living quarters in the rear, with a wooden door that can be pushed open to enter the living quarters directly from the driving compartment.
The living quarters is a newly designed and manufactured armored vehicle compartment installed on the vacant space after dismantling the original rear compartment of the SX2300. The entire compartment was welded together using steel plates and armor steel plates, with wooden wall panels and floorboards inside. The front half is a bathroom and kitchen/dining room, while the back half is a bedroom. Multiple multifunctional cabinets were installed in each room, all equipped with windows.
The windows, which are quite large and can be opened and closed, provide good lighting and ventilation conditions inside the vehicle. Additionally, a safety door was installed on the right side of the compartment between the kitchen/dining room and the bedroom, providing an additional entrance and exit route.
All the modification work was done under the personal participation of Kang Fan and Zhong Hanqiang, with Zhong Hanqiang arranging the interior and exterior layout to be very beautiful and comfortable. Now that Ningwu Prefecture's coal chemical industry has sufficient production capacity for automotive fuel, damaged equipment and spare parts on the vehicle can also be repaired and replaced in a timely manner.
With Ningwu Prefecture's growing strength, it is no longer necessary to worry about any impact. The modified SX2300 provides Kang Fan with excellent conditions for survival in the wilderness, making it an ideal vehicle for him, who has been traveling extensively for many years.
In August 1899, Hu Buzeng was dismissed from office by Empress Dowager Cixi for supporting the Reform Movement and returned to his hometown. Empress Dowager Cixi then appointed Kang Fang to take over as Governor of Shanxi and went to Beijing to receive imperial edicts.
Mei Xiang was delighted to have the opportunity to go on a trip with Kang Fan, and had carefully prepared everything they needed, including clothes, medicine, food, and daily necessities, which she had packed into the car. Kang Fan, however, was preoccupied with his arsenal, and in addition to the 95 military knife and 92 pistol he carried with him, he also loaded a telescope, night vision goggles, compass, flashlight, batteries, 88 sniper rifle, a brand new 96 carbine, a 96 rifle, and plenty of ammunition into the car's toolbox, causing Mei Xiang to grumble again.
Kang Fan, make it clear: this time is to enter Beijing for promotion, not to go to war! Mei Xiang said angrily.
Kang Fan smiled, you and I are my favorites. If I'm here, you're here, how can the weapon not be here?
Plum fragrance is also hard to say anything.
Kang Fan only brought 12 guards this time, divided into two iron horse armored personnel carriers to follow. The space inside the car was spacious enough for the soldiers to stretch out and sleep in the cargo compartment. At this time, the Boxer Movement that had risen in Shandong Province was getting bigger and bigger, affecting the Zhili area, and Western powers stationed in Beijing were also taking advantage of the chaos. The domestic situation was very unstable. For safety reasons, the Security Bureau sent six experienced intelligence personnel to provide close protection for Kang Fan and Mei Xiang. They were all former Blue Demon team members, old acquaintances, and there was no lack of excitement. Three vehicles with green/gray/green camouflage, high and mighty steel monsters, sprayed clouds and smoke, rumbling along the way, causing earth-shaking dust to rise everywhere, startling people and animals alike!
Commander, isn't our movement too big? A guard battalion officer asked Kang Fan through the vehicle-mounted wireless radio.
Kang Fan glanced at the rearview mirror, couldn't tell which soldier in which car asked the question, so he didn't mention a name either. He picked up the microphone and laughed: What's this?! The bigger noise is yet to come!
The official road winding through the mountains was bumpy and uneven, with extremely poor road conditions. Even Kang Fan's sx2300 and the soldiers' iron horses, which had excellent independent suspension systems and four-wheel drive systems, were shaking violently. Although the ride was very uncomfortable, it was getting faster and faster, and could be described as swift and rapid.
The whole way, no one left the car, and after a series of stops, Kang Fan and Mei Xiang arrived in Beijing early the next morning, causing a huge sensation! Empress Dowager Cixi was so excited that she personally led the civil and military officials out of the palace to watch.
Kang Fan wore a brand new Jin army summer uniform, with a light green short-sleeved shirt tucked into dark green trousers, the stars on his shoulder badges shining brightly. His military boots were polished to a high shine. A gray-green synthetic fiber combat belt was wrapped around his waist, holding a handgun holster, ammunition pouches, and a scabbard for his military knife. The black grips of his 92-style handgun and 95-style military knife protruded slightly, exuding an air of menace.
Mei Xiang wore a white floral dress with bare arms and legs, her feet clad in high-heeled sandals. Her slender figure complemented Kang Fan's majestic physique perfectly. As they stepped down from the vehicle, hand in hand, they seemed like celestial beings against the backdrop of the powerful and ferocious sx2300 car.
Behind them stood 18 officers and soldiers wearing the same new-style military uniforms and equipped with new-style weapons, each one looking strong and confident. The onlookers were all stunned into silence!
Cixi looked up at the sx2300, which was almost twice her height, and asked Kang Fan in surprise: "Is this your carriage?"
Kang Fan smiled and said: "Exactly. I respectfully invite Your Majesty to get on the carriage and try it out."
Cixi waved her hand and smiled: Spare him, spare him. This thing looks very ferocious, I'd better not get close to it. You use it yourself!
Kang Fan knew that Cixi didn't have the guts, so she didn't insist anymore. With Meixiang on either side supporting her, they walked towards the inner palace. The civil and military officials followed behind, enthusiastically discussing and speculating without end.
Cixi said: You think things are like magic! My son does not accept your advice, the reform is not successful, and it ends up in such a mess!
Although Kong Fan understood in his heart, he didn't know what to say and kept repeating: Your subordinate is ashamed, your subordinate is ashamed!
Cixi smiled and said: Now, the great name of Kangzhifu is well-known to every household, and the wealth and strength of Ningwu Fu are also known to all. Why do you say that you are ashamed?
Kang Youwei said: When the Empress Dowager was saving the Qing Dynasty from crisis, I was still in England, far across the ocean, and could not contribute, so I have some regret.
Cixi smiled kindly and said: I have already heard of this matter, you don't need to blame yourself. What you did was truly astonishing heaven and earth, and moving ghosts and gods! The Qing Dynasty is fortunate to have you, very fortunate indeed! Now that I have resumed control of the government, it is also something that had to be done. If only you had accepted my advice at the beginning, why would we have invited such disaster? This time the situation has just been settled, but the storm has not yet subsided, and it's exactly when we need people like you. Therefore, I am ordering you to take over Hu Bingshen's position as Governor of Shanxi, to share my worries and difficulties.
Kang Fan bowed his head in gratitude.
Cixi warmly grasped Meixiang's hand and said to Kangfan: I will have a private conversation with Meixiang in the bedroom, you may take your leave.
Mei Xiang turned her head and smiled mischievously at Kang Fan, then skipped after Cixi.
After bidding farewell to the officials in the palace, Kang Fan left alone and arranged for food and lodging at the post station. He suddenly thought of He Shui Xiu and couldn't hold back his inner urge, so he went to visit her on foot with the accompaniment of intelligence personnel. Due to the large number of onlookers, the guards had to carefully watch over the vehicles, so they all stayed at the post station. Although it was very hot, the intelligence personnel insisted that Kang Fan wear a bulletproof vest, and although he was very reluctant, he could only do as they said. The intelligence personnel changed into casual clothes for convenience.
