Chapter 40 of Part One

  The weather in mid-June has become increasingly hot, and the cicadas have started to emerge. The south wind blows gently, carrying with it layers of water vapor that rise from the surface of the sea, creating a cool sensation that is both rough and yet refined.

  Several warriors sat under a tree, wiping their steel guns with rags and tung oil. One of the young warriors, Xiao Ye, said: "Comrades, come here! I'll let you in on a secret." The warriors resting under the tree all crawled over to surround Xiao Ye, who looked at them with satisfaction and continued: "Have you heard? The troops in the north have all changed their guns." Xiao Ye sighed and stroked his steel gun, his eyes filled with envy. He glanced at the warriors listening intently beside him and said: "They're not using our kind of gun anymore. The main field troops have switched to the new Chinese rifle (the current Type 56 automatic rifle, which can fire all the bullets in one shot). The old weapons like ours have been given to the local troops in the north." After pausing for a moment, he added: "I also heard that they're all equipped with the new Chinese machine gun." He licked his lips and said: "That thing is really powerful."

  Xiao Zhang sat beside him, smoking a Chinese cigarette and wiping his submachine gun. His mind wandered back to the battlefield in Quanzhou, where he had been shot in the abdomen and leg. The pain had filled his entire brain, and he remembered the smell of charred flesh and the sight of the bodies of his comrades and enemies mixed together. He recalled how he had instinctively grabbed his gun and cursed: "This is terrible! How did they shoot so accurately? These Qing troops are really stubborn." His body had been cold to the touch, and it wasn't until someone came to clear the battlefield that he was discovered. When they cleaned his wounds, the blood had already coagulated on his thigh, and when they moved him, the pain was excruciating. He was covered in blood, some of which may not have even been his own, making him look a bit frightening. Although he wasn't actually scary, or at least not to ordinary people, who might have found him rather endearing, the new nurses fainted when they first saw him.

  "Actually, I'm not the scariest one," Xiao Zhang thought to himself, defending his appearance in his mind.

  The bugle call sounded throughout the military camp, and all the soldiers rushed over. Zhang Lian stood in front of these high-spirited soldiers with his hoarse voice and said: "Comrades, the northern warriors are now charging forward without looking back, achieving victory after victory. But we are now shrinking in this place, Zheng Chenggong and other rebels, for their own selfishness, disregarding the will and life and death of millions of Taiwanese people, refused our suggestion to unite with us, instead holding back our legs. Now, the commander-in-chief hopes that we can cooperate with the navy and air force to take down Taiwan with firepower. Comrades, do you have confidence?

  "All warriors almost shouted in unison: 'We have confidence! For the Chinese Empire, we will advance with no hesitation! Advance!"

  Zhang Lian Sheng nodded in satisfaction and continued, "As we rush to the battlefield, let's sing a military song once." He led the singing: "Forward, forward, forward. Prepare to start!"

  "Forward, forward, forward. Our troops are like the sun, with feet on the great land of China, we are the hope of the nation, we are the armed forces of the people."

  At the same time, the ground crew of the airship team is carefully checking the condition of the airship. The airship was pushed to various flight positions on a specially designed airship base (a base that can be rolled out for easy storage and maintenance at the base after landing). Blue Sky shouted to the standing pilots: "Get on the airship, prepare for departure!"

  The navy, each fleet has taken action and is in position. Shi Lang stands at the bow of the ship, looking at what is currently the world's largest warship, also the most advanced warship, stroking the railing of the warship with emotion. The flag language between the warships began to communicate, and the formation was quickly formed. This was all a course that had been trained in peacetime. Zeng Qing looked at it from the side, nodded his head very satisfactorily, this speed, this effect is exactly what he needs. This action is faster and more orderly than the best results of Shi Lang's usual training with him. This proves that training still has results.

  I stand on the edge of the Jinmen cannon platform, which was newly built in recent months. Listening to the singing voices coming from Zhang Lian's army side, yesterday evening's study continued until this morning, intense debates and repeated simulated confrontations were practiced countless times on the sand table, finally deciding that the navy would cooperate with the army to occupy the Penghu Islands first and implement firepower suppression against Taiwan, the airship troops carried water mines and laid them around the harbor before Zheng Chenggong's fleet set sail, blocking Zheng Chenggong's fleet, so Taiwan was like a tiger with its teeth knocked out, nothing to be afraid of.

  "Report!" On the Navy's flagship Xingzhong, Shi Chuan glanced over without moving and said to the guard, "What is it? Just read it out."

  The guard immediately said: "Penghu Islands encountered strong resistance and the army found it difficult to approach."

  Shi Lang fell into deep thought, muttering to himself: "Without advanced weapons, we can still hold out for so long. Is our army really that useless? What's going on with this promotion of Zhang's troops?" He turned to the guard beside him and ordered: "Pass down the order, have each warship take turns firing without interruption, focus on one spot and pound them until they can't even stick their heads out."

  The guard stood at attention with his feet together and gave a military salute before walking out.

  The fleet's artillery fired again, and unlike before, it was a continuous point-blank attack that left the enemy no chance to lift their heads in the face of overwhelming firepower. The army also seized the opportunity to start landing, with sporadic gunfire sounding unusually crisp amidst the intense cannon fire as more troops landed. The cannon fire gradually subsided. Zheng Chenggong's troops were well-trained, but they were at a disadvantage in terms of equipment and weapons. They might have been stronger than us in individual combat, but in group battles, there was no way to compete with our tactics. The flag of the Chinese Empire was soon planted firmly on the Pescadores Islands.

  When Zheng Chenggong's fleet was about to set sail upon hearing the war drums, the blue sky was already filled with airships hovering outside the harbor. Special torpedoes were dropped from more than 20 airships. The ships that moved first hit the dormant torpedoes and exploded on the spot. At this time, two ships had already rushed out, but the other ships did not dare to move again.

  After occupying Penghu, Shi Lang's fleet immediately moved towards Taiwan Island. At this time, the two wooden warships that had escaped first fired at our fleet. This was undoubtedly a tickle for the ironclad warship in the front row. The wooden warship slowly sank under the power of several incendiary shells.

  Zhang Lian's army has largely landed. Zhang Lian once again ordered the soldiers: "Remember, be sure to get along well with the common people."

  For several days in a row, the team has been attacked by some of the common people. Although this made us lose a few soldiers, Zhang Lian Sheng was still suppressing his anger and the girls from the propaganda team were even more actively promoting, although there were only a few old hundred people left.

  For the harassment of civilians and small troops, Zhang Lian Sheng had to take a defensive approach. For the ordinary people, they could only do their best to do ideological work, while those soldiers who harassed us did not have such good luck and treatment.

  In the temporary conference room of the military department, Lv Hui said on the side: "I think this won't work. Our army's target is too big, which affects the overall mobility of our troops. Giving the enemy such an obvious target makes it too easy for them to strike. I think we should disperse our forces and launch a surprise attack at night after disguising ourselves. As long as we surround Zheng Chenggong's isolated city, cut off their water and food supply, Zheng Chenggong's benevolent nature will surely make him surrender."

  "En, I think this matter is not so simple. Zheng Chenggong has taken a fancy to us wanting to occupy Taiwan, and he must have stabilized his heart before daring to fight with us. If he wins, then he will clearly win. Moreover, he can take Fujian and other places in one fell swoop, which would put our army in a very good position and we would have to give up the Qing army and turn around to destroy him. But if he loses, then as long as he surrenders, it's all right." He sighed and said: "This Zheng Chenggong is really a two-for-one deal!"

  The other staff members nodded in agreement with this opinion.

  Zhang Lian Sheng glanced at Lü Hui and said, "Lü Adviser, I think your plan to scatter the enemy is good, but you must be careful to protect yourself. Leave a small part of the army in this military camp to guard it, but make sure to create a show of force, to numb the enemy, making them think we are not moving here. Then the other troops will advance towards Zheng Chenggong's isolated city."

  Outside Taipei City, more and more people are gathering in the forest. Zhang Lian Sheng looked at the thin soldiers and said: "Get your uniforms, weapons, and ammunition ready to prepare for the siege."

  Taipei has been surrounded by our army for over 10 days, and the navy has also turned north after capturing Zheng Chenggong's naval forces. The airship troops have left only one ship here to drop food and distribute flyers into the city every day, while the rest of the airship troops have already headed north.

  Finally, under the siege of the large army, the people in the city had already begun to waver. Although there was only one airship left, the daily harassment by the airship made the people anxious. Zheng Chenggong quickly abandoned his original principles and sent out a letter of surrender agreeing to surrender.

  "In the provincial government conference room in Fuzhou, Fujian, I happily said to Zheng Chenggong: 'Comrade Chenggong, being able to return from a wrong path is indeed a great fortune for my Chinese Empire.'"

  "Alas, the commander holds me in such high esteem, but I, Zheng, am unworthy and truly ashamed. Let us not speak of it again. Let us not speak of it again."

  "I stood up and said: 'Comrade Sheng, I order you to be the commander of the South China Fleet of the Chinese Empire Navy. You will take charge of the more than 200 wooden ships that originally belonged to you. All these wooden ships will be converted into iron-clad wooden ships. In addition, one new ironclad warship will be assigned to you as your flagship, named 'Hui Gui' (Return). The temporary task of the South China Fleet is to crack down on pirates and Japanese bandits in the coastal areas of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces. Comrade Sheng, this is a heavy responsibility. You must ensure the safety of the people's lives and property. At the same time, I grant you the rank of Major General."

  Zheng Chenggong stood up and also learned to salute with a non-standard military salute, saying: "Thank you, Commander!" As a soldier, especially one who is in the navy, Zheng Chenggong has seen the power of ironclad warships. I think what he dreams of now is having an ironclad warship of his own.

  Looking at Zheng's successful smile, I continued: "Feng Xifan, as a master of the Qunying School, should be transferred to the Military Academy to teach martial arts." Turning to Chen Jinnan, I said: "I think the Tiandihui can merge with the Mingfeng Corps and form a larger intelligence network, with Song Mingfeng and you in charge." Chen Jinnan also saluted me respectfully, saying: "Thank you for your trust, leader."

  I looked at Liu Guoxiang and said, "Guoxiang, just stay by my side as the commander of my guard battalion." As I spoke, I glanced at Zhang Lian's gaze that was about to stop him and said, "Liansheng, you also go north with Li Lei to Shandong. I hope that within two and a half months, that is, by the time of the Beginning of Autumn, there will be no Manchu army in Guannei."

  After I finished speaking, several people stood up and said: "Yes, Commander, we guarantee that we will complete the task."

  At this time, my bodyguard walked in and whispered in my ear: "Leader, something has happened to Xichuan."

  From Chapter 38 to this chapter, it's what I wrote after seeing Taiwan preparing for a referendum recently. Here, I hope all the descendants of Yan and Huang will take action. Contribute their own strength for the unity of the motherland. Long live the motherland, unify Taiwan!