Chapter Thirty-Four Qian Siqiang

  After occupying NN City, one regiment of the division left a battalion to guard the prisoners, maintain stability in NN, and issue announcements throughout the city to calm the people's minds. The logistics medical team also began to rescue wounded soldiers, regardless of whether they were enemy or their own fighters, after all, everyone is Chinese.

  Before the army surrounded the city, all the old people in the city stayed at home and closed their doors tightly. The soldiers and civilians who stayed at home heard the rumbling cannons and gunfire outside, and they were all scared to death. They prayed that the shells wouldn't hit them, if they fell on their own homes it would be a tragedy. Fortunately, the cannon fire was very far away, until the heavy artillery brigade aimed its big guns at the city to eliminate the artillery positions inside the city. The residents around the artillery positions heard the huge sound right next to them and almost ran out of their homes, ready to escape from the city. However, fortunately, it didn't take long for the heavy artillery brigade to eliminate the artillery positions in the city, and they didn't affect the surrounding areas either. This was also thanks to the strong training of the artillerymen every day, and the high accuracy of the cannons produced by Chen Shao, which did not cause too much panic.

  Soon after, the People's Army entered the city, the artillery fire stopped, but the gunfire intensified, causing residents to panic and fear for their lives. Some even prepared kitchen knives at home, ready to fight to the death if soldiers came in to loot. This was not uncommon during the warlord era, as many warlords' soldiers were recruited from all over the place or simply reorganized bandits, so the quality of the soldiers was uneven. Looting during battles was a common occurrence, and when there were many looters, officers couldn't punish them, and some even allowed their troops to loot and profited from it themselves. No wonder Boss Hai was afraid, worried that the soldiers outside would come in and loot. As the tanks entered the city, the ground trembled slightly with the rumble of the tanks, adding another layer of fear to the residents' hearts.

  Not long after that, the gunfire and artillery fire stopped, and some brave residents began to peek out and look outside, only to see a group of soldiers carrying rifles putting the bodies on the ground into a large bag, then loading them onto trucks. Several strange trucks were moving slowly on the road, with the front ones sprinkling water, and the back ones having many brushes like big brooms rotating non-stop. As the trucks moved forward, the bloodstains on the road disappeared, and it was even cleaner than before, as if the whole road had been washed by rainwater several times. These few trucks were the cleaning vehicles modified by Chen Shao based on later generations, and they seemed to be quite effective. In order to reduce the panic caused by war among civilians, Chen Shao stipulated that every battle must be cleaned up immediately, especially in urban battles, where more attention should be paid to the emotions of local residents, and absolutely no large-scale panic can occur. Moreover, Chen Shao also stipulated that the dead must be put into sealed bags, which was also to prevent bacterial growth and avoid some diseases from occurring. The bodies were then handled together, generally by cremation, with the ashes of their own soldiers being placed separately, and each soldier's identity marked, and they had to be brought back intact and placed uniformly.

  It's been almost an hour since the entire NN city was destroyed outside the collapsed city wall, and it looks much cleaner than before the battle. If no one said anything, outsiders who saw this would absolutely not believe that a fierce battle had just taken place here. At this time, many bold residents also began to slowly come out of their homes and appear on the streets. Before long, the entire NN city started to bustle with activity, and some people who knew each other were engaged in heated discussions about who won.

  "Old Li, who do you think won?" A middle-aged man asked another man beside him.

  "It seems that the one who was just shouting outside the city won, eh, Old Zhang, look at those soldiers' clothes, they look quite strange, but it feels pretty cool, there are a lot of gadgets on them, absolutely not the soldiers under Li Dapao's command before." This man called Old Li pointed to a patrol team that had just passed by and said to the man next to him called Old Zhang, looking curious about the People's Army combat uniform, especially the tactical backpacks on the soldiers' backs were full of trinkets.

  "Ah, did you just see that? Those strange big vehicles can even sweep the road, I almost fell out of the window when I saw them."

  "Look at that, fresh enough, can spray water to sweep the road car, eh, you say, which warlord is this? How come I've never heard of it before?"

  "Who knows, anyway the big guns in several surrounding provinces are not that rare, if I hadn't seen that all the soldiers were Chinese, I would have thought it was foreigners attacking."

  "There were also a few strange iron vehicles just now, without wheels, but with two rolling belts underneath. A metal pipe protruded from the top of the vehicle, looking very fierce and making a lot of noise as it ran, causing the ground to shake."

  "Honestly, I've never seen so many weird things in my life as I have today."

  At this time, a young man wearing glasses next to him interrupted and said: "Let me tell you, that iron box that can run is called a tank. Foreigners call it that too, but I didn't expect our country to have such advanced stuff. That thing is bulletproof, people can sit inside and shoot outwards, and the iron pipe on the car, which is the cannon barrel, can fire at distant places. One shot can penetrate walls, it's really powerful. I read in the newspaper that foreigners don't have many of those things either, and they don't look as good as ours." As people around them gradually gathered to listen to their conversation, when they heard what the young man said, everyone nodded in agreement with a sudden realization.

  "How did you know?"

  "I just returned from abroad and also saw it in the foreign newspapers." The young man explained the pedestrian's question. In fact, he had a lot to say but was more interested in the patrol soldiers who had just passed by. The soldier's face was filled with an inner confidence and pride, and there was a unique military aura about them. He had seen many American soldiers in the US, but none of them gave him the same shock as these soldiers did, making him want to get close to them and understand them better. At that moment, he made up his mind to find out where this unit came from and go there to take a good look.

  This young man with glasses, Qian Siquan from Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, had just graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States and refused his teacher's repeated attempts to persuade him to stay, insisting on returning to China to develop his career. Before returning home, he had vowed to use his knowledge to change the fate of the Chinese nation with great determination. However, after returning to China, he met with many warlords, but when he sought to share his knowledge of physics and was repeatedly rejected, he became thoroughly disillusioned with the warlords and felt a deep sense of pain for his country's plight, and his hopes for the future of his motherland gradually faded away. When he happened to see a recruitment notice in the newspaper, he decided to go take a look, hoping not to be disappointed again. The content of the recruitment notice was related to his field of expertise: Longteng Group is recruiting various physics professionals nationwide to establish China's own physical laboratory and serve as physics lecturers at Zhonghua University, contributing to China's future physics endeavors. The company address is: Guangxi Province Huashi County Qinghe Village, welcoming patriots from all over the country to join forces.

  Only after seeing this message did he appear in NN City, planning to go to Huashi County the next day. However, it was not the right time, and as soon as he entered the city, he encountered a battle. Fortunately, he had already found an inn and hid there for a while until the gunfire stopped, then he walked out of the inn with other guests.

  At this moment, a three-wheeled motorcycle stopped beside the crowd, and a soldier got off, took out a red paper with black characters written all over it, and posted it on the wall. After posting it, the soldier did not leave, but stood beside the red paper and shouted: "Ladies and gentlemen, we are soldiers of the Chinese People's Army. Please rest assured that our army is the people's army and will absolutely not harm your safety. The battle has ended now, and NN City has been taken over by us. The notice beside me will give you an explanation. Please don't crowd together. Those who can read will read it out loud for everyone to hear. If no one can read, I'll do it for you."

  The Chinese People's Army now allocates two hours every evening for cultural study since entering the barracks. After several years, all soldiers are literate and have a minimum education level of elementary school graduate. This is also Chen Shao's handwriting. Only when the army's cultural level is high can they better use equipment, obey orders, and understand why they fight. In the future, with the Chinese People's Army equipping various new equipment, without a cultural foundation, it will not be easy to use them flexibly. Ordinary soldiers are like this, let alone aviation, armored, and naval officers. Chen Shao has even higher requirements for their culture.

  At this time, Qian Siqiang squeezed into the crowd and walked to the front of the announcement to take a look. After finishing reading, Qian Siqiang had even greater hopes for this trip to Huashi County. Calmly settling down, he turned around and said to the citizens surrounding the notice: "Now I'll read out loud the words on it:"

  Due to the Guangxi warlord led by Li Zongren, disregarding justice and recklessly starting a war, unreasonably attacking our Huashi County, after careful consideration by Chen Shao, the highest commander of the Chinese People's Army in Huashi County, we have risen up to overthrow the oppression of the Guangxi clique. This has caused many serious negative impacts on the people. Chen Shao, the highest commander of the Chinese People's Army, hereby apologizes to all the bosses and citizens for the disturbance.

  To compensate everyone, each household in NN City can receive 10 kilograms of rice and 10 cans of beef. Now NN City is under my jurisdiction, and I will do the following things:

  Firstly, all citizens within my jurisdiction can go to the Military Governor's Office to receive high-yielding grain seeds for free on their first visit. Seeds for the second year need to be exchanged with grain.

  Secondly, factories will be built around NN City. Citizens who come to work in our factory can enjoy discounts when purchasing fertilizers and receive a monthly salary of 2 yuan. Those with technical expertise will also receive additional pay.

  Thirdly, all citizens under my rule will have the opportunity to receive a free medical examination. A temporary medical clinic will be set up next to the Military Governor's Office, where ordinary illnesses will be treated for free until the end of the examination.

  Fourthly, two primary schools, one middle school, and one high school will be built in NN City. All children who reach school age will receive free education, and we also welcome teachers from all over to apply.

  This is to inform you and ensure public safety, hoping everyone can help spread the word.

  March 3, 1921, Chen Shao, County Magistrate of Huashi and Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese People's Army

  The surrounding residents were in an uproar after hearing the news, with some believing it and others not. After all, who would have thought that a warlord like Chen Shao would actually do something for the people? In their eyes, Chen Shao was just another warlord, and warlords didn't usually spend money to recruit soldiers or build facilities for the benefit of the people. This made some of the villagers skeptical.

  However, when truckloads of rice and canned goods stopped on the road and began to be distributed, everyone believed it. Under the organization of the soldiers, long lines formed as people prepared to receive their share of rice and canned goods. This gave the ordinary people a sense that perhaps their future would be better.

  Qian Siqiang didn't go to collect the things, he wasn't a local resident, even if he wanted to collect them, he couldn't get them, however his curiosity about Huashi County was infinitely expanding, now he couldn't wait to go to Huashi County and take a look at this mysterious warlord.