Chapter 44 I am a soldier

  The most daunting task in the construction of the Jehol Special Administrative Region is long-distance transportation. The current railway is not enough, and only automobiles can be used for transportation. Although there are no existing highways, the Iron Horse transport vehicle has inherited the excellent off-road driving ability of the SX2300 military vehicle, and the terrain that needs to be traversed from Shanxi to Heilongjiang, including most of the temperate mountainous and grassland areas of Zhili and Mongolia, is already very ideal for the Iron Horse. All automobiles currently used by the military and civilian departments in Shanxi Province have been requisitioned, while all enterprises related to automobile and engineering machinery production in Shanxi Province are working around the clock, with workers taking shifts day and night to rush production, immediately increasing production speed several times over. New batches of wheeled automobiles and tracked engineering machinery are being produced one after another. Along the way, the rumbling sound of automobiles has attracted countless onlookers, while the majestic and distinctive military uniforms of the Jin Army officers and soldiers have made the people think they have seen the legendary heavenly soldiers!

  All the engineering troops of Shanxi-Heilongjiang automobile transportation line were transferred to undertake the arduous task of emergency opening of simple roads, transporting and repairing roads at the same time. Simple supply stations were set up along the way to provide services such as refueling, maintenance, replenishment, rest, medical care and other aspects for passing vehicles. Kang Fan and some officers and soldiers of the Guard Battalion served as the first batch of pioneers on the Shanxi-Heilongjiang transportation line, providing valuable on-site guidance for road opening work and helping to solve many problems. The Ningwu aircraft was also used for route selection, topographic mapping, communication liaison and other aspects, providing great convenience for road construction. At the same time, through Kang Fan's, Shou Shan's and Hui Feng's hard lobbying as well as Cixi's intervention, local governments along the way, including Zhili and Inner Mongolia, also gave full support to this work, with most labor and materials being solved locally, achieving great results.

  "This is the benefit of central administrative intervention!" Kang Fan said to Zhong Hanqiang.

  Yes. Zhong Hanqiang also agrees that a country as large as China cannot do without strong central administrative intervention. Unfortunately, the Qing court's ability to intervene is getting weaker and weaker. The two regions of Zhili and Inner Mongolia are still manageable, but further away, it becomes a problem.

  Kang Fan smiled, "Don't we have us? Let's go support this dynasty and make it stronger!"

  Zhong Hanqiang smiled with relief, relying on you Kang Fan.

  It's up to all of us! Kang Fan said.

  To speed up the road opening, Shanxi-Heilongjiang automobile transportation lines all try to connect existing official roads. The military and civilian versions of iron horse transportation vehicles have low requirements for road conditions, plus the increasing use of new tracked engineering machinery and the hard work of Jin army engineers, so the road opening speed is surprisingly fast. Mei Xiang's male classmate in charge of road opening couldn't believe what he saw was real, and when he mentioned it to Kang Fan, he got excited with trembling hands and feet.

  Kang big brother, your Jin army is really damn good! This male classmate was forced to use a swear word to emphasize his tone.

  Kang Fan patted his shoulder, you little guy is a good commander!

  Kang Dagei, if you can give me two more years, I guarantee to build a strategic-level cement road for you! The male classmate said.

  Kang Fan smiled and said: Let's wait until this road is open, I'll wait for you then, it's not possible now.

  Actually, Kang Fan wished he could have a strategic cement road overnight! After having such a highway, relying on the rapidly growing automobile industry in Shanxi Province to produce a large number of cars continuously, it would be possible to closely link distant Heilongjiang and Shanxi, playing a decisive role in both peacetime and wartime. If the next step is to build a railway with stronger transportation capacity, it will be more beneficial for the construction and defense of Heilongjiang. But now time does not allow it, the Eight-Nation Alliance invasion of China is about to break out, he must do something, can't wait any longer!

  As the Shanxi-Heilongjiang transportation line was continuously improved, the transportation volume also increased exponentially. Under the personal dispatch of Kang Fan and Hui Feng, the construction work in the Huining area was fully launched after the New Year. Three Ningwu-type aircraft were transported from Shanxi in disassembled form to support geological exploration, topographic mapping, road construction, urban planning, and agricultural water conservancy site selection in this area. After Kang Fan and the ground crew assembled the planes, he took off for a reconnaissance flight. He circled high above, admiring the magnificent natural scenery of the northern border of his motherland in early spring, with waves of emotion: On the vast opposite bank of the Heilongjiang River was that country called Russia, which could be compared to Japan in terms of greed, ugliness, baseness, and shamelessness. If he wanted to protect Shanxi's future granary and the northeastern gate of the Qing Empire, he had to guard against this ambitious neighbor first! It would be best to launch a war that would overthrow its ruling foundation, so it would never dare to have any more evil intentions again. The October Revolution in 1917 was not worth waiting for; even if it came, what use would it be? Wouldn't the lost territory still be lost? Beasts would always be beasts and could not become kind-hearted just because they changed their skin or adapted to a new season. The best way to deal with them was to use your hunting rifle well!

  Under the pretext of repairing and protecting railways, Russian troops have infiltrated Northeast China, forming a situation where they are intertwined with local Qing army garrisons. The defense situation in Hunchun is very severe. Although Shoushan and Huifeng have made great efforts in military construction, they have not received strong support from the imperial court. Many soldiers have been recruited, but their weapons and equipment are extremely outdated, and logistical supplies are not guaranteed, making them fundamentally unprepared for modern warfare. If a battle were to break out, the outcome would be obvious. To defend the Hunchun area, relying on the Jin army is not feasible. Whether the Jin army is a good hunting rifle can only be tested in actual combat.

  Kang Fan started the reorganization of the provincial garrison troops on the day he took office as Shanxi Governor, and selected more than 30,000 qualified officers and soldiers from them to form the Jin Army's standing army. The rest were all dispersed and resettled in various government-run enterprises within the province. With the addition of military personnel from outside the province who came to join the Jin Army and those transferred from the internal security forces, the total number of Jin Army troops swelled to over 60,000, which was already a large scale. However, subsequent work such as the production and allocation of new-style weapons and equipment, troop training and integration, infrastructure construction, and defense engineering projects were still heavy tasks. Despite the efforts of the General Staff in coordinating all parties to speed up the process, there was still some distance from completion. Therefore, at present, only the initial 10,000 or so troops are ready for battle, and they have to bear the heavy responsibility of defending both Tianjin and Jinzhou, which is still insufficient in terms of troop strength. After careful analysis, Kang Fan believed that the Tianjin base was currently under the protection of the US government, with many American soldiers stationed there, and its safety was guaranteed in the short term. Moreover, under the guidance of Empress Dowager Cixi, the Jin Army had been integrated into the sea defense system of Tianjin, and all aspects of work were being consolidated. In contrast, the construction of the Jinzhou area had just begun, and all aspects of work needed to be improved, making it a priority for protection. After considering these factors, Kang Fan discussed with Hui Feng and decided to dispatch one artillery regiment, one cavalry regiment, one logistics regiment, and two infantry regiments from the Jin Army's standing army to garrison in the Jinzhou area, where they would work together with the local troops to defend the region and immediately start building up their combat readiness. This part of the Jin Army's standing army was temporarily under Hui Feng's direct command as an independent armed force. The infantry troops stationed in Jinzhou were largely equipped with new-style horse-drawn carriages to enhance their mobility, and planned to be equipped with wheeled and tracked military vehicles in the future when conditions permitted, in order to better adapt to mobile warfare tasks in the vast Heilongjiang region.

  After the smooth implementation of the construction plan of Shanxi Province, various industries in Shanxi have once again gained an opportunity for development, exercise, growth and expansion. This has also accelerated the pace of construction and improvement of various social undertakings within the province. At this time, Kang Fan had to go to Tianjin - he wanted to use actual combat to temper his Jin army!

  Must it be like this? Mei Xiang was on the verge of tears.

  Kang Fan nodded, yes, it must be this way.

  If that's the case, I'll go with you. Mei Xiang said gritting her teeth.

  Kang Fan shook his head resolutely, fighting is a soldier's affair. I am a soldier, shouldering the mission of defending my home and country. And you... Kang Fan suddenly felt a pang of sadness as he spoke, his eyes moistening as he gently stroked Mei Xiang's tear-stained face, I want to protect you, I also want to protect millions and millions of compatriots, and more importantly, our motherland. I'm telling you, Mei Xiang, you are the spiritual pillar that makes me decide to do this, and also the driving force for me to fight without regard for anything else, so you must be safe!

  Mei Xiang finally couldn't bear it and burst into loud sobs.

  Kang Fan smiled and asked: Mei Xiang, don't you think I can win this battle?

  Mei Xiang stopped crying and looked at him with tearful eyes, who said that?!

  No one told me. Kang Fan helped her wipe away tears, but if you cry like this, how can I fight well?

  Mei Xiang wanted to laugh a little, but she just couldn't laugh, and instead made her tears flow even more happily.

  Victory forever belongs to the great Chinese nation! Kang Fan clenched his fist and swung it forcefully in the air.

  Mei Xiang finally smiled, Kang Fan, I believe you will definitely win the battle!

  Kang Fan nodded and hugged her very tightly.

  After bidding farewell to Mei Xiang and others, he arranged all the work in the Ai Huan jurisdiction to the relevant Shanxi government departments, and handed everything over to Hui Feng for unified coordination. Kang Fan then dispatched a battalion of Jin army regular troops to Tianjin.

  The Jin army officers and soldiers who went to Tianjin this time, as well as their weapons, ammunition, and combat supplies, were all transported by train. Kang's vehicle was also taken there by train, so the marching speed was very fast. Along the way, the officers and soldiers could get a good rest in the comfortable passenger carriages, unaffected by wind, rain, cold or heat, hunger or thirst, no longer having to endure the slow and exhausting marches of the past, regardless of distance, and suffer from the harsh weather conditions and natural environment along the way. This is real progress!