Chapter 3: The Master (Part 1)

  Tan Xiao's temporary 23rd division headquarters was not set up in Lingling City, but actually it was the original Lingling Security Command. Now their situation can be described as "one team with two nameplates": The temporary 23rd Division also served as the local security function of the Lingling Security Brigade.

  After the initial excitement, Tan Xiao slowly calmed down and savored the victory in his hands, only to find that the taste was not as sweet as it seemed. This temporary 23rd Division is nominally a direct unit under the Central Army, but it carries the title of "Pursuit and Annihilation Army", which means that when the "pursuit and annihilation" ends, the temporary 23rd Division may immediately return to its original form. Unless the temporary 23rd Division can really get a regular army number at that time, but this is not an easy thing to do, and it's hard to repeat the situation of fishing in troubled waters like the Xiangjiang Battle.

  Whether the number can be obtained, whether the team can be kept, it is not something that a small temporary regimental commander can control. It can only take things one step at a time. Now, what he needs to do is to sort out the troops and train them well. Tan Xiao began the first step of sorting out the troops: integrating resources.

  Because the old man had been doing military hardware business for many years, he refurbished and maintained some old guns and sold them to the Red Army, bandits and minority leaders. As a result, Tan Xiaoshou unexpectedly had a small workshop-style arsenal that could produce a small amount of ammunition and repair firearms. This was a valuable resource, as machinery could be bought with money, but skilled workers were not so easy to cultivate.

  As for the weapons in hand, the quantity is quite impressive: 11,306 rifles of various types, and unlike most armies, they are all well-maintained. But looking at the contents makes one's head spin: The majority are those that fire round-headed bullets, made by Hanyang Arsenal, with 5,315 pieces; followed by imitations of Mauser using pointed bullets from multiple manufacturers including German-made, Nanjing Jinling Factory, Shanxi Taiyuan Factory, Henan Gongxian Factory, Hunan Hengyang Factory, Guangzhou Shiying Factory, and Guangxi Nanning Factory, totaling 2,438 pieces; Japanese-made and Shanxi Taiyuan Factory's imitation of Type 38 Arisaka with 1,263 pieces; Soviet-made Mosin-Nagant with 622 pieces; and less than a hundred pieces of British-made Lee-Enfield, Italian Mannlicher, French M1916, American Springfield 1903, American-British hybrid P-14, Remington, and domestically-made unmarked single-shot guns... Oh my god, there are even three original Mauser 1888s - is this an arsenal or a museum?

  Machine guns are better, light machine guns are basically Czech-style, 83 genuine ones, 32 imitation ones, and other models are four French-made M1924/29. This 7.5mm caliber thing has good performance, it was a gift from the Guangxi Army to Tan Dechang's 50th birthday two years ago.

  The heavy machine guns are a bit of a nuisance: nine Maxim heavy machine guns from three countries: four British, three Soviet, and two German, also using three different calibers of ammunition, namely 7.7mm, 7.62mm, and 7.92mm. There are also two French Hotchkiss, the large-caliber M1930 with a caliber of 13.2mm and the M1914 with an 8mm caliber.

  Submachine guns also had a batch, with 146 MP18s, 31 MP28s, and 12 American Thompsons.

  The artillery unexpectedly had six doors, all of which were picked up before and after the Xiangjiang Battle, including two 82mm French-style mortars and one original 81mm French cannon issued by the Military Affairs Department this time. There were three mountain cannons, all with a caliber of 75mm, from three countries: one was a German Krupp seized during the war, and the other two were left behind by the Red Army after running out of shells, produced in Japan and Sweden respectively.

  No wonder people say the anti-Japanese national army's weapons are of all kinds, now just one division's arsenal is enough to hold an exhibition. Although I had mentally prepared for this, Tan Xiao was still startled: how can this be? Which model should we equip with?

  Take another look at the ammunition, and can't help but admire Old Man's meticulousness and Warehouse Manager Uncle - Military Supply Officer Liu Taihe, unexpectedly all weapons are equipped with ammunition - including those three Mauser 1888!

  Having is better than nothing! Even if it's just two sets of Type B equipment, it's more than enough. As for the ones that aren't needed, as long as they can be sold, they can be turned into money! Looks like it's time for a thorough clearance sale again.

  Facing those military uniforms that can form a two-party coalition of eight provinces, three steel helmets... Tan Xiao suddenly felt dizzy, not figuratively, but literally about to faint...

  After reviewing the military equipment, let's calculate the financial situation: The basic monthly salary of a second-class soldier is 10 yuan and 50 cents, food expenses are 3 yuan, and training ammunition consumption is 4 yuan (a lot, calculated based on Tan Xiao's training volume), totaling 17 yuan and 50 cents. The full division has about 6,000 officers and soldiers. In addition to the monthly salary, rations, and training for all levels of officers and soldiers, there are also expenses such as artillery training, ammunition, and transportation, feeding livestock, etc. It turns out that the Ministry of Military Affairs allocates 132,000 yuan each month, which is just enough. Tan Xiao couldn't help but scold the corrupt officials of this era in his heart. The military expenditure is sufficient; if there was no corruption, every branch of the army would be basically fully equipped and trained. How could the Japanese have invaded so easily? It seems that the difficulty of resisting Japan mainly lies in human factors.

  Despite the various debates and research results of later generations, Tan Xiao actually still looked down on the small Japanese army in his heart. He always believed that even if the equipment was not as good as others, as long as the training was good and the tactics were right, it was still possible for his own troops to achieve a fighting force that was one against three or even more uneven. Therefore, next, he wanted to carefully list the training content. Also, there is the organization of the troops, these are all important guarantees of combat effectiveness.

  Just as he was about to start writing these materials, a duty soldier came to report: The Chief of Staff has arrived.

  Ji Ping brought the news that the Guangdong and Guangxi armies' representatives would come to celebrate his promotion. Indeed, previously, the Security Brigade was only responsible for local security in the area west of Lingling on both banks of the Xiangjiang River. Now he had become the garrison commander of the entire Lingling region, with a larger territory and greater power. His friends who collaborated in opium trafficking were naturally delighted and it was time to celebrate.

  Regarding the dirty business of trafficking opium, Tan Xiao did not intend to stop. This was originally the main source of income for the security team. Stopping it would likely offend many people, unless there was a better source of income. However, Tan Xiao was unlike many other time-travelers who were skilled at doing business and could easily earn tens or hundreds of millions as if it were child's play. In his original timeline, he was just a poor soldier and did not know how to do business. Therefore, taking advantage of the fact that his territory and power had increased, this opium business should be made even bigger. Anyway, there would always be someone doing it, and others who earned money without knowing how to spend it. By earning money himself, he could prepare more for the resistance against Japan. So, he decided to expand the business.

  Two people came from the Guangdong Army, one named Chen Kui-zi, who was a battalion commander of a neighboring unit and an old acquaintance with whom he often did business. The other was named Chen Chong, who surprisingly came from Guangzhou and served as an attendant by Chen Jitang's side. On the Guangxi side were Yu Shi-xi, the commander-in-chief of the Quanzhou militia, and Wang Shi-lin, a staff officer of the Seventh Army, it seems that with promotion comes higher status, and all those who came were dual representatives of both the central government and local authorities.

  At this time, Tan Xiao discovered that he had missed an item when making the financial budget: public relations and entertainment expenses! This is a huge sum of money! He started to feel dizzy again. As someone from the 21st century, he actually overlooked this, which was really inexcusable. Being a leader is not easy at all; you have to be good at both fighting and drinking.

  The Hunan army leaders of this era all loved to eat, and it is said that this was a habit passed down from Tan Yankai, the first calligrapher and gourmet of the Republic of China. Hunan cuisine was also promoted by Tan Yankai, so much so that Tang Shengzhi, another Hunan warlord, brought his own chef with him when he went to Nanjing to take office, making Dong'an chicken famous throughout Jinling.

  Business matters were settled in less than half an hour, nothing more than expanding the scale, and what's left is still the content on the wine table: money! wine! women!

  Tan Xiao is not that kind of person who likes to talk about women in public gatherings, the Liberation Army soldiers are still relatively pure, and now with his future father-in-law by his side, he doesn't dare to speak recklessly. Instead, he makes the atmosphere a bit cold, people from both Guangdong and Guangxi think he's just being cautious after taking office, but some of the older veterans on their side find it strange: this guy used to go whoring with Old Dad and Father-in-law, how did he change his character after becoming a commander?

  Suddenly, Tan Xiao asked Chen Chong, a new friend: "Are your Guangdong troops now equipped with 7.7mm rifles? What happened to the military supplies the Japanese sent you before?" He was referring to the batch of weapons and equipment that Japan had given to the Guangzhou government during the merger of Guangdong and Hunan provinces.

  "Haha, you've really asked the right person! In the past, it was equipped to the troops, but after Shanghai resisted the war, the Guangdong Army was reorganized and all returned to storage. A while ago, I was with the team taking stock, and it's still there, just not well maintained. At that time, everyone was discussing how to dispose of it, what does Commander Tan think?"

  "It's just right, I was about to reorganize the 23rd Division, and the equipment in my hands is quite miscellaneous. I want to make them all consistent, and the Japanese Type 65 is actually not bad. I'm looking for a way to get some, because military funds are limited, so let's see if we can find some old goods that haven't been maintained. It doesn't matter if they're not well-maintained, everyone knows I have an arsenal here, as long as it's cheap."

  "Alright, I'll send a telegram tomorrow to ask about it. Don't let them melt it down. With so many good guns, why choose the Japanese Type 38? When my brother returns, I'll tell the commander and maybe he can sell you some Guangzhou-made Mausers at a discount. Their quality is comparable to the original German ones, which are better than the Type 38 anyway."

  "Haha, thanks for the offer, big brother, but I really like the Type 38, it's got less recoil, great for training new recruits and easy to maintain."

  "That's good, Sanba is Sanba, I'll take care of this...". Chen Chong said with a hint of disdain in his eyes, probably thinking that Tan Xiao was being stingy.

  In fact, Tan Xiao had long decided that the 23rd Division would be equipped with the Type 38 Arisaka rifle. In Tan Xiao's view, the Japanese Type 38 Arisaka was the most successful imitation of the Mauser family: it had a simple structure, was easy to maintain, and in this regard was even better than the German 98k. Additionally, its recoil was small, which was very beneficial for troops engaged in fierce battles. From his experience in another time and space on the training ground, when intense confrontations lasted for two hours, the fatigue caused by rifles with smaller recoil was much less than that of rifles with larger recoil. In the third hour of confrontation, the shooting accuracy would be significantly improved. This was very important for the National Army, which was always on the defensive.

  The Type 38 Arisaka had a third major advantage: high precision, good ballistic performance, and long range. Ordinary Type 38 Arisakas could even be used as sniper rifles. For riflemen, the most important thing was to hit the target. The fourth major advantage was that the muzzle flash was small, making it difficult to detect even at night, which made it particularly suitable for nighttime battles. The fifth major advantage was its light weight, although it was longer than the standard rifle, but overall it was lighter, and for the National Army, which relied on foot marches, a lighter rifle was of course better.

  As for bayonet fighting, Tan Xiao didn't think much of it, and he even opposed actively engaging in bayonet fighting. If emphasis was placed on bayonet fighting, it would be better to use cold weapons instead. The Type 38 Arisaka had another advantage: the cost of its ammunition was low, and compared to Mauser's ammunition, it was a lot cheaper. This was a very good choice for China, which was engaged in a difficult war of resistance.

  As for the claims made by later generations on the internet that the Type 38 Arisaka had low killing power, Tan Xiao didn't care about this. Firstly, he thought that such statements mostly came from the Chinese army's attempts to boost morale and exaggerate individual cases, reducing soldiers' fear psychology. The Type 38 Arisaka's killing power wasn't as weak as claimed; secondly, in his experience on the training ground, he had come into contact with too many types of weapons and ammunition, and he knew how to increase the killing power of the Type 38 Arisaka.

  For shooting little Japan, Tan Xiao would not have any mercy. He had already calculated to make a simple small lathe, and use it to cut the 6.5mm bullets obtained from various channels or other sources into a flat-nosed hollow-point shape. The process was done on a jig, so it didn't affect the shooting accuracy much, but the range would be shorter. However, the lethality would become terrifying.

  As for the bullets he made himself, they were even more ruthless: directly making them into full-metal jacketed hollow-point bullets, especially with a segment of plastic particles in front of the lead bar. When the bullet was fired, the high temperature would melt the plastic, and when the bullet tip burst open, the melted plastic would be squeezed by the lead bar and shoot out in a thread-like shape. Due to the rapid cooling, it would solidify into a thread-like hard object, entangling with internal organs, muscles, and bones, making it extremely difficult to clean up. Even if it could be cleaned up, the long surgical time would likely cause sufficient blood loss and infection opportunities.

  Oh, and dyeing the plastic particles red beforehand would increase the difficulty of cleaning them up. This was a cheap special killing bullet that was hated by the world in the 21st century, but using it on little Japan, Tan Xiao thought it was just right.

  Upon learning that he might be able to obtain a batch of cheap 38 guns, Tan Xiao's interest was piqued, and the entire banquet turned into a discussion about arms deals. He talked with both the Guangdong Army and the Guangxi Army. Tan Xiao was particularly interested in the French 75mm infantry cannons that could be easily purchased from the Guangxi Army. As for his discussions with the Guangdong Army, they mostly revolved around purchasing a type of British six-pound (57mm) infantry cannon that the British had stored in large quantities but deemed useless. In another time and space, Tan Xiao knew that this type of cannon was later discovered to be effective against German tanks, capable of destroying even the German Type IV tank. As for the thin-skinned Japanese tanks, they were no match for it!

  At the banquet, everyone did not know Tan Xiao's mind. His subordinates only knew that the master had a great ambition to wash his heart and make a big deal. The two from Guangdong thought that Tan Xiao was a new official who wanted to perform well and was relatively stingy, specializing in buying old goods. The two from Gui system thought that Tan Xiao was a bit inexplicable: it was originally a gathering to discuss opium, but it ended up being an intention to trade military supplies.

  The host and guests were all happy, Tan Xiao's father-in-law and Ji Ping, Yang Qing and other guests continued to have fun, while Tan Xiao insisted on not going and persisted in returning to the teacher's office to write materials. Everyone said goodbye here.

  This drink is worth it! Tan Xiao swayed back and forth in the car, happily letting his mind replay those Japanese soldiers who were blown to pieces by his devilish bullets and those tanks and armored vehicles that were reduced to scrap metal in front of the six-pound cannon...

  In the end, he didn't return to the department to write materials - he passed out on the road and was sent back home by the guards.