Insufficient balance

  Gu Bao Yu also knew the importance of Pig Head Mountain, not only did he send one of his original teams to support it, but he also dispatched two new teams of recruits. However, during the multiple night attacks launched by the National Army last night, the scale was not small, and nearly half of Gu Bao Yu's troops were new recruits, who didn't even have many modern firearms, mostly old single-shot rifles, and even some muzzle-loaders. At first, these troops held up okay, but after continuous casualties appeared, they began to falter, and Gu Bao Yu was forced to withdraw a team from Pig Head Mountain to defend the main front line.

  While the sky was still dark on the second day, Gu Bao Yu, who had not slept all night, heard the rumbling sound of cannons. From this cannon fire, he knew that the National Army must have 75mm big guns. Anxious in his heart, he hastily dispatched someone to inspect the casualties at Pigs Head Mountain.

  When the sky was slightly bright, those who went to check on the situation at Pigs Head Mountain finally rushed back in a hurry: "Sir, many of our brothers on Pigs Head Mountain have been injured or killed, I'm afraid they won't be able to hold on!"

  Upon hearing this news, Gu Bao Yu's face was filled with dark lines!

  At least a dozen people were killed and more than 50 injured in the shelling of Pig's Head Mountain before dawn, while many new recruits saw the shelling and panicked on a large scale. In less than half an hour, those new recruits ran away, leaving only about 100 old soldiers to hold their ground.

  But before Gu Bao Yu sent out reinforcements, Lin Fei Tai had already issued the order to attack! First, a company of soldiers dispersed and then launched a charge under the cover of two heavy machine guns and rifle fire from the rear. When the defenders on Zhu Tou Shan hastily counterattacked, the Nationalist Army's company quickly retreated - this was just a probing attack.

  Soon, heavy machine guns and artillery began firing at the place where the enemy's firepower was concentrated just now!

  "Squad leader, I think the enemy's firepower isn't very strong, at most only a company or so! What do you think? Should we launch a general attack?" Just then, someone suggested that Lin Fei Tai launch a general attack.

  However, Lin Fei Tai did not adopt this suggestion. Instead, he launched three probing attacks with small-scale charges and figured out the weaknesses of the enemy's defense line before ordering a general offensive.

  As Lin Fei Tai's order was given, a battalion of troops quickly deployed and immediately charged forward rapidly! Although the defensive line of Pigshead Mountain was solid, the defending army had fewer troops and low morale, and there was no possibility of withstanding the charge of a battalion. After just one hour, Pigshead Mountain was already occupied by the National Army.

  Lin Fei Tai revealed a smile, this was his first time commanding such a large-scale battle, so he was extremely cautious during the command, now that they had successfully occupied Zhu Tou Shan with less than 100 casualties, it made him feel much more at ease.

  After the loss of Zutou Mountain, Gu Bao Yu originally wanted to command his subordinates to retake it, but at this time, the first regiment on the front line also launched a containment attack against them, making it impossible for him to withdraw troops.

  By noon, Gu Bao Yu's defense line had been breached in a thousand places!

  "General, let's surrender! This is the lives of over a thousand brothers!" Facing such a desperate situation, the officers began to persuade Gu Bao Yu to surrender.

  Gu Bao Yu's heart was also conflicted, although he didn't want to surrender, but after fighting until now, he understood that this battle couldn't be fought anymore. However, if he surrendered, how would Ma Cheng treat him? Could he continue to lead troops like Chen Xie?

  Just as Gu BaoYu was hesitating, the several military officers beside him exchanged a glance and then drew their pistols. After several shots rang out, Gu BaoYu was killed by his subordinates in his hesitation. Afterwards, the Qing army in Fuding surrendered with white flags.

  "Alright, today's battle is won, the northeastern part of Fujian is settled!" Ma was extremely delighted: "Quickly, send a telegram to the Governor immediately and say that my troops have successfully captured Fuding without disgracing their orders, requesting further instructions for the next step!"

  He turned back and said to Lin Fei Tai: "In this battle, Fei Tai made great efforts. I will personally ask for your reward!"

  When Chen Jingyun received the news of the capture of Fuding, he was having lunch with An Hualin at the Governor's Mansion. When the messenger read out the good news, An Hualin smiled all over his face: "General Ma is indeed the governor's trusted general. Now that Fuding has fallen, the entire northeastern coastal area of Fujian will fall, and even Wenzhou will be captured in no time!"

  Chen Jingyun's face was filled with a smile: "Ma Cheng is indeed capable!" He then turned to the orderly behind him and said: "Send a telegram to Ma Cheng, promoting him to Senior Colonel, Lin Fei Tai to Lieutenant Colonel, and let the other meritorious officers and soldiers report back for rewards according to their merits! Also order the First Brigade to garrison in Funing, and eliminate local bandits and other illegal armed forces!"

  The military ranks in the National Army were changed by Lin Wenyin and others from the Military Department, along with matching uniforms, shoulder badges, etc. The main change was to replace the original "Zhengtongling" and "Xietongling" with Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, and various levels of captains. When organizing the three regiments and one brigade, this set of military ranks was implemented. Currently, the military ranks of officers are mainly assigned according to their positions: Chen Jingyun considered himself a Major General, Lin Zhaomin and Feng Qin were Colonels, the three regimental commanders were Lieutenant Colonels, deputy regimental commanders, brigade commanders, and several senior officials in the command center were Majors, deputy brigade commanders, battalion commanders, etc. were Captains, company commanders, deputy battalion commanders were First Lieutenants, platoon leaders, deputy company commanders were Second Lieutenants, squad leaders were Sergeants, deputy squad leaders were Corporals, former combat soldiers were First-Class Privates, auxiliary soldiers were Second-Class Privates, and new recruits were Private Soldiers.

  Of course, the above rules are only for existing military personnel to wear epaulets. The promotion of officers in the future is another set of rules. For example, the position of brigade commander has a standard rank of colonel, but major general can also be used. The position of regimental commander has a standard rank of lieutenant colonel, but colonel can also be used. In comparison, the current national army's military ranks are generally lower, mainly considering future promotions. After all, there will be many wars in the foreseeable future, and if the military ranks are given too high now, it will not be good for promotion in the future. Non-commissioned officers also have upper, middle, and lower ranks, but considering the future promotion of soldiers, only squad leaders were given middle rank and deputy squad leaders were given lower rank.

  When the National Army wipes out other Qing forces in Fujian, it will also be able to promote the military ranks of officers and non-commissioned officers to a normal level.

  Even so, high-ranking military officers like Ma Cheng were also promoted compared to before. For example, Lin Fei Tai, who was previously a team officer, was only a positive army school, equivalent to an upper army school, and was awarded the rank of lieutenant colonel when he was appointed as the commander of the three brigades.

  "Now that the northeast has been pacified, the Ministry of Finance's tax reform must also quickly cover the corresponding controlled areas!" Chen Jingyun instructed An Hualin: "Now, in the south, Yuan's side is also approaching Quanzhou, and in the north, Li Jimin is about to arrive at Yanping Prefecture. These local governments naturally have Mr. Zheng from the Ministry of Civil Affairs in charge, but taxation is your Ministry of Finance's affair, don't slack off!"

  "Please be assured, Governor," An Hualin hastily said. "The tax reform is currently proceeding steadily and has been initially completed in the vicinity of Fuzhou. I have now prepared personnel to go to other regions!"

  "Oh, it seems you've been ahead of the game all along!" Chen Jingyun greatly appreciated An Hualin's way of doing things, as he didn't need to be urged on and could take the initiative to handle matters well on his own. This included clearing up the finances of the former Qing imperial family, tax reform, and issuing paper currency, all of which were done in this manner. In comparison, the other members of the military government were not as diligent or hardworking. Zheng Zuyin, although in charge of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, spent his days at the provincial governor's office, liaising with a group of councillors from the Provincial Assembly, and gradually became estranged from the Tongmenghui. He claimed to be preparing for the establishment of a provincial assembly, to achieve parliamentary politics. Meanwhile, Lin Wenying, the Minister of Military Affairs who had been sidelined by Chen Jingyun, was in constant contact with members of the Tongmenghui, and would often come to Chen Jingyun, led by him, to demand that they launch a northern expedition! They wanted to support the revolution in Jiangxi, support the revolution in Zhejiang, and support the revolution in Hubei!

  When Chen Jingyun asked them where their money came from and where their military equipment came from, they were speechless!

  While another group of people in the military government, such as Hong Zitai from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, have not been seen for several days since they took on the task of minting copper coins. According to reports from subordinates, he did not consider the minting of copper coins to be his responsibility, but instead wore the hat of Minister of Industry and Commerce every day, worrying about his own industry. Chen Jingyun had already heard that within half a month, he had swallowed up two small textile mills. The remaining Foreign Minister Lin Changming was originally brought in by Zheng Zuyin, and when this foreign minister showed some reluctance and hinted at wanting to resign.

  Other department heads and deputy heads are also busy with their own things, although they can be seen from time to time, but when they see them, they can't find anything else to talk about except for asking for office expenses.

  In general, in the entire military government, except for An Hualin who was promoted by Chen Jingyun and followed him to do things, others were either idle or had ill intentions towards Chen Jingyun.

  Chen Jingyun was not in a hurry, as long as he still held the Ministry of Finance and had tens of thousands of troops at his disposal. In a short period of time, this military government was nothing to be concerned about. Later, when his own power grew stronger, he could naturally take full control of the military government. As for now, let them make trouble!

  After the two had finished their meal, An Hualin left and Chen Jingyun walked to the General Staff Department. For convenience of work, Chen Jingyun also set up the headquarters of the Fujian National Army in the Governor's Mansion, while the General Staff Department, Equipment Department, and Logistics Department under the command of the National Army were located in nearby civilian houses.

  As Chen Jingyun walked in, the many military officers and non-commissioned officers of the General Staff Department all stood up. After saluting, Chen Jingyun didn't stop and went straight to Feng Qin's place.

  At this time, Feng Qin was dealing with a large pile of documents in his hand. When he saw Chen Jingyun enter his office, he immediately stood up: "Director, how did you come? If you want to see me, just order it and I'll be there!"

  Chen Jingyun waved his hand: "Never mind, you go to mine, I'll come to the staff department, it's all the same, besides, it's just a few steps away!"

  Chen Jingyun didn't sit down either and directly asked: "Where did Li Jimin and Yuan Fang go?"

  Feng Qin replied after listening: "Li Jimin's second brigade received a message yesterday that they had already arrived at the outer suburbs of Nanping! However, today's message has not been sent back yet. Yuan Fang's third brigade has arrived in Huian and clashed with one regiment under Cao Chunfa who was stationed in Huian, after defeating this regiment, Yuan Fang has occupied Huian and is currently marching towards Quanzhou."

  Although major cities in Fujian have already laid out telegraph lines, some small places still do not have them. In areas without telegraphs, messages can only be delivered by horseback, which is troublesome and greatly delayed. However, military wireless equipment was a rare commodity at that time, with large sizes, mostly installed on warships or assigned to high-level units such as divisions or armies. Chen Jingyun could not afford such high-tech products for the time being. Not to mention Chen Jingyun, even the Beiyang Army did not have them. Throughout China, only the Navy was equipped with a few of these advanced devices!

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