Chapter 8: Just Obey

  When Xuyang arrived at the cafeteria, his companions had already finished eating. At this time, they were sitting in their respective positions, chatting in low voices in twos and threes.

  Xu Yang felt like he had lost all his strength, as if he was about to collapse. As soon as the students saw him push open the door and walk in, they all turned their heads to look at him. A few young men who were quite close to Xu Yang walked over with a smile, and just like usual, they helped take off the heavy bag on his back and roughly dragged him to his seat for meals.

  Gallagher brought Xu Yang the food for that evening, which was a 10-gram serving of coffee; a 50-gram serving of condensed milk; and a 100-gram serving of liver sausage.

  The cadets at the Young Seed Military School have their daily food strictly rationed, which is actually not commensurate with the sweat they pay. In fact, relying on these foods alone, the cadets are unable to replenish enough calories.

  "Brother, today's weighted bag is one more than yesterday." Galilee looked somewhat indignant, his hand holding a five-pound backpack-style weighted bag.

  The expressions on the faces of other students were a bit strange, their eyes focused on Xu Yang, hoping to get a reason for the instructor's actions.

  Xu Yang didn't rush to answer, he was desperately swallowing his food. The meal was very brief, he picked up the paper towel on the wooden table and wiped the corners of his mouth, "Comrades! Captain Eugene said that we will be given weapons tomorrow."

  The students were stunned for a whole minute before they reacted, and the cafeteria erupted in excited cheers. They finally had their own weapons like a real soldier.

  All the students gathered around, eager to know what kind of weapon they would get, their faces filled with excitement.

  Gallagher almost pulled Xu Yang's arm off while asking, "Older brother, is what you're saying true? Really? That's great!"

  Xu Yang somewhat discontentedly shook off Galileo's hand, "Mauser, eternal Mauser! Good heavens! That rotating bolt-action manual rifle!"

  Compared with their disappointment at Xu Yang, the trainees erupted into cheers once again when they heard that it was a Mauser-made rifle.

  Seraphina Sicauber was a very perceptive young man who picked up on Xu Yang's tone of disappointment and began to ask about the name of the rifle.

  The Mauser Model 1898 A-type rifle is currently the standard-issue rifle of the Spanish Army.

  The students' mouths were agape, they couldn't understand why Xu Yang was introducing the Mauser rifle in a sighing tone. The reason for their fondness of it was because when inspecting troops, standing at attention with the rifle was really cool!

  Xu Yang was very clear about what it meant to fall behind, if history had not been distorted, Britain and France would now be developing semi-automatic rifles. He couldn't tell his comrades this, looking at them, they all wore happy smiles, as if eagerly awaiting the arrival of tomorrow.

  Traditional and stereotypical cost Xu Yang had already anticipated, he thought with great depression, why not the family-produced 1928-style rifle with a cup-shaped pressed bottom, was it just because of distrust?

  Xu Yang decided to have a good talk with Feng Xike. He struggled to get up, swaying his weak body to squeeze through the encirclement of his companions, and walked out of the cafeteria in a somewhat floating pace.

  Von Schlicht's quarters were not near the cadets' barracks, and compared to the cadets' humble dormitories, this respected general's residence was well constructed. At that moment, Von Schlicht was having dinner, just as he was about to put a piece of beef on his fork into his mouth, there came a knock at the door.

  "Come in!" Feng Xikete adjusted his clothes and stood up, with a very displeased expression on his face. He hated being disturbed during meals. When he saw that the person who pushed open the door was Xu Yang, Feng Xikete became even more dissatisfied. He asked in an icy tone: "Stark, are you here to protest?"

  Xu Yang gave a military salute to the national defense army, just about to speak, when Feng Xike rebuked him first: "Are you still a soldier of the national defense army now?"

  "Yes!" Xu Yang stood up straight and said loudly: "Your Excellency, I'd like to have a word with you."

  Feng Xike strode up to Xu Yang, raised his hand and almost pointed at the tip of Xu Yang's nose, bellowing: "Don't you know that interrupting an old man's meal is extremely impolite?!" After finishing speaking, he ignored Xu Yang's embarrassed face and walked back to sit down, redirecting his anger towards the food.

  Xu Yang stood there stupidly, not daring to move a single step. He couldn't understand why Feng Xike was so angry, and he even thought gloomily: Good heavens! I haven't offended this notoriously strict and terrifying instructor, have I?

  Three minutes and twenty-one seconds, Feng Xueke finished all the food on the table. Hmm? Why did Xu Yang know the time so accurately? There was a clock hanging on the wall behind Feng Xueke!

  "Are you here to complain?" Feng Xikun's anger had not dissipated, "If you're here to complain about the training, then you can leave my quarters. Tomorrow, you can choose to leave the Young Sprouts Military Academy or accept even more rigorous training. Remember! The amount is twice that of your other comrades!"

  Xu Yang swallowed hard, and he finally knew why Feng Xike was acting so abnormally. But he couldn't refute it, as it didn't conform to the German's obedience, he could only quickly state the purpose of this trip.

  "Respected sir, I completely obey your arrangement. Before that, I..." Xu Yang's voice was interrupted by Feng Xike again.

  Feng Xike's tone changed a bit, but still sounded somewhat unpleasant: "'I'? Who are you? Who are you!"

  "Yes!" Xu Yang almost shouted: "Cadet K001 of the Young Sprouts Military Academy salutes you, sir! Please allow... uh... allow..."

  "Stark troops, serial number K001 troops!" Feng-Xi Ke reminded.

  Xu Yang's nerves were stretched taut, he almost forgot the purpose of this trip, "Yes! Serial number K001 requests to speak!"

  Feng Xikete's face looked a bit better, he nodded seriously, "Allowed."

  "Sir, K001 Private hopes to have a word with you about the selection of firearms during training."

  Feng Xizhe held his head high and asked: "How did you know that we will be issued guns tomorrow?"

  "It's all over!" Xu Yang lamented in his heart, honestly answering: "It was mentioned by Instructor Ogen. No matter what punishment you want to give me, please let me finish speaking. The 1929 model rifle produced by the Strak family is more excellent than the Mauser 98a rifle, please consider replacing the gun selection during training."

  Von-Westecht surprisingly did not lose his temper, "I know, but your suggestion cannot be accepted. The Young Shoots Military Academy was established with the consent of the Ministry of National Defense, and all training must be approved by the Ministry of National Defense. We have no right to choose any training equipment on our own. I hope you understand; no matter how good your reason is, obedience is a soldier's duty!"

  Munich welcomed the spring of 1930, and for the past two months, cadets at the Infantry School had been repeating physical training every day, even though instructors with rifles hadn't distributed bullets for shooting practice. This was somewhat different from what they had imagined, but training continued nonetheless.

  Exercise changes people, this sentence is absolutely correct. A group of young men who originally looked weak and frail became not only physically strong but also showed a kind of temperament that only soldiers have after a short period of training.

  On this day, under Xu Yang's efforts, or the influence of Harl and other noble families, the StG 1928 rifle was finally transported. The history of gun production at the StG factory is not long, or rather very short, it started producing firearms only in the last decade. In fact, this has something to do with Xu Yang, how it developed is no longer important, what's important is what role the StG military factory will play in Germany's history in the future.

  With Xu Yang's Stardak family, don't expect this family will remain low-key anymore, this family is destined to be in the spotlight of the world.

  The StG 1928 is a semi-automatic rifle that uses the partial energy of the firing cartridge and spring tension to complete the shooting cycle, unlocking, ejecting and loading the next round into the chamber until all rounds in the magazine are fired. Since it does not require manual ejection and reloading, it increases the rate of fire of the rifle, reduces shooter fatigue, and allows the shooter to focus on observing and aiming at the target. The rifle's magazine can hold 10 rounds, with a combat firing rate of approximately 30 rounds per minute, and an effective range of 300-400 meters.

  Xu Yang also grasped the psychology of German soldiers, setting this rifle as a style that can be inspected, which not only improves shooting firepower but also benefits from not being rejected by German soldiers. Unfortunately, this rifle has not been tested and its performance cannot be guaranteed.

  The Mauser rifle was so popular in part because of its elegant appearance, which made it suitable for parades, and also due to its high accuracy. However, its drawback was a slow rate of fire, making it unable to effectively form a wall of firepower. To understand the significance of this on the battlefield, consider that while a few seconds wasted by one soldier may not affect the outcome of combat, if an entire platoon or company wastes several seconds, it can be disastrous, allowing enemy forces to breach defensive lines and launch threatening charges.

  ……

  "K001, fall in!" The person shouting was Eugene, originally a soldier with a warm smile on his face. Since Xu Yang sold him out to Feng Weixi last time, he hadn't smiled since then. Of course, he had also developed a habit; whenever there's an opportunity, he would torment Xu Yang to death!

  Xu Yang quickly ran out of the ranks and came before Ogen, giving a rifle salute: "Yes! Private K001 reporting for duty to Lieutenant!"

  "Prone shooting! 250 meters ahead! Now!!!"

  Xu Yang quickly lay down on the ground, loaded his gun and fired at a target 250 meters away. Perhaps it was related to his past life, he was used to firing in bursts, which was different from the shooting method of this era. At that time, soldiers were more accustomed to using the fastest speed to fire all the bullets in the barrel in the shortest time. Xu Yang called this phenomenon "Mauser aftermath syndrome".

  "Rat-a-tat-tat" The continuous three-round burst of gunfire rang out, and the center of the ring target 250 meters away was filled with bullet holes. Xu Yang emptied the magazine in 16 seconds, looked up at Eugene, waiting for further instructions.

  Eugen was extremely satisfied with Xu Yang's performance, he thought Xu Yang was a born shooter, and from his body, it was completely impossible to see that he was a rookie who had just come into contact with firearms. However, this is not all, Eugen deeply expected that when the training ground was built, Xu Yang would learn tactics and strategy, because good marksmanship can only make one a soldier, and only if one has talent in tactics and strategy, can he possibly become a commander.

  "K016, roll out! Crouching shooting!"

  Trainee with the number K016, named Gabriel-Olin, is a self-proclaimed angel and a conceited boy. He has a very deep personality and never jokes around with any trainees. He thinks that only Xu Yang and a youth named Diba are qualified to talk to him.

  Aorin is not tall, a young man with golden hair, giving people an overall feeling of being a bit lazy. From the speed at which he ran out of line, he seemed somewhat absent-minded: "K016 salutes the assistant instructor."

  Look, even speaking seems lukewarm, completely unlike a hot-blooded military man. Oh... forgot to mention, his old man has the title of Earl.

  Aoling's shooting method is different from Xuyang, his is a single shot type, and the firing speed of each gun is almost the same. His half-squatting posture is a bit strange, it's better to say that it's not a half-squatting style but a horseback riding posture.

  Eugen furrowed his brow, but he didn't interrupt Olin's shooting motion. After Olin finished shooting, Eugen fell silent for a moment before rebuking in an extremely cold tone: "K016, do you think this is a picnic? Do standing and single-knee kneeling exercises until I'm satisfied!" He turned to the trainees who wanted to laugh but didn't dare make a sound and bellowed: "All of you, follow me! K001, come with me!"

  Xu Yang followed Eugen to the target.

  Ou Gen carefully counted the rings on the target, and when he found that Olin's ring count was almost the same as Xu Yang's, he muttered to himself with a hint of resentment: "That stubborn little noble, does he not know this is the military?"

  Xu Yang remained silent, wanting to say that the noble young master seemed to be a noble young master as well, but he didn't show any dissatisfaction and instead stood still waiting for Eugene's next instruction.

  Eugene took down the paper targets, "Your shooting...hmm, where did you learn your shooting style?"

  Xu Yang was a bit unsure what Eugene wanted to do, and replied truthfully: "Captain, this is my innate talent!" Not counting lies, he had indeed received similar training in his past life.

  "Oh... " Eugen asked Xu Yang to explain the principle of the so-called three-bullet burst.

  Xu Yang replied: "The recoil of the 1928 model is a bit big, the structure of the gun barrel and the principle of the bullet's ignition increase the recoil, the hit rate of continuous shooting will be very poor. Burst firing can reduce the aftermath of recoil and increase the hit rate. I accidentally found that the hit rate of the first three shots is the highest, and it can also effectively select the shooting position. The recoil easily causes the gun mouth to rise, in the combat process, it is impossible to effectively press down the gun mouth, the bullets will all fly into the sky, unable to hit the target."

  Ou Gen handed the rifle on his shoulder to Xu Yang, who replaced a new magazine and made an aiming action, aiming at a tree about 180 meters away. He pulled the trigger, this time it was single-shot firing, only hearing a gunshot, a bullet hole appeared on the trunk of the distant tree. Then came three consecutive shots, this time only two more bullet holes were added to the tree.

  Eugene looked thoughtfully at the angle of the gun muzzle and turned his head to say: "Stark, did you discover this yourself?"

  "Yes!" Xu Yang reflexively stood up straight.

  Ou Gen's face showed its first smile in two months, and it was a somewhat sly one. He warmly patted Xu Yang's shoulder and said, "The old general had me cleaning toilets for a month. Ah? You know? The stench could kill people. Starks, how should you compensate me?"

  Xu Yang said sensibly: "I will write this set of shooting theories into a manuscript for your review."

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