From Youzhou to Zhongdu, it takes eighteen hours by ordinary train.
If you take the "American Star", it only takes six and a half hours. It is faster and has many stops along the way.
Small station...how many people can afford it?
Because of this, the "American Star" has become an express train that does not stop at small stations along the way. Of course, to a certain extent, this is also the fundamental reason why it is so fast.
Zhang Pengju, who was wearing a colonel's military uniform, was sitting in a second-class seat by the window. After getting on the bus, he sat there quietly reading the newspaper. Under normal circumstances, no one would disturb him.
of an Imperial officer.
The military uniforms worn by the Imperial soldiers are not only the armor of this era, but also symbolize the majesty of the Imperial soldiers.
Colonel!
He is undoubtedly a high-ranking official in the empire. Ordinary people will never disturb him. This also allows him to read the newspaper quietly.
The American Star high-speed train roared past, passed the city, and finally traveled quickly across the vast land of South America.
The scenery outside the carriage recedes quickly!
The carriage seemed very quiet. The passengers were either reading books or reading newspapers. Except for the occasional steward pushing the carriage and asking what drinks or drinks they wanted, there was no other sound.
Your Majesty summons you.
The sudden summons made Zhang Pengju a little nervous. He didn't know why His Majesty summoned him, but one thing that was certain was that there must be something big going on.
When was the last time?
During the surprise attack on Santiago, he and the captain...
Counting the days, fifteen years have passed.
The captain is now the Governor-General of Kenya and has just been promoted to Army Brigadier General.
And what about him?
Army colonel brigade commander.
Although the success of the "Surprise Raid on San Diego" was the pride of his life, that was all.
In the past few years, he almost completely missed the big battles. He did not go to the expedition to France. He had just been promoted to regimental commander in the "Brazil Campaign" and had just completed the training of the troops. Before he went to the front line, the war ended.
Already.
Sometimes, life's encounters are magical.
Just when Zhang Pengju thought his life would stop here, a sudden summons changed everything.
A few hours later, in the royal study room of the palace, he not only met His Majesty, whom he had not seen for many years, but also an airship officer.
"You guys should get to know each other first."
Emperor Zhu Da said without raising his head.
"Zhang Pengju, commander of the 23rd Army Brigade."
"Aerospace Force 13th Regiment, Commander Han Chengjie,"
After the two introduced themselves, Emperor Zhu Da raised his head, looked at them and said.
"I called you here today for one thing!"
The two men, holding their military caps in their hands, stood motionless in front of the table.
"Do you know what this is?"
"Parachute, rifle."
They both answered at the same time.
"right,"
Emperor Zhu Da nodded,
"Parachutes are used by aerial troops, while rifles are used by infantry. I have always had an idea. This idea is very simple, which is to give wings to infantry!"
Give wings to the infantry!
His Majesty's words made both of them stunned at the same time. They even looked at the rifle and parachute on the ground in surprise. After a moment, Han Chengjie said.
"Your Majesty, you mean the paratroopers?"
Paratroopers... This is a concept proposed by the aerospace force a few years ago, which is to use airships to transport infantry and use parachutes to airdrop behind the enemy's rear.
"Um!"
Although His Majesty expressed his thoughts, Han Chengjie knew very well that the paratrooper experiment could not be said to be successful at all.
"Your Majesty, as early as three years ago, we conducted research in this area. The experiment was not very successful. Limited by the number of airships, even if two regiments were deployed, it would not be possible to airdrop a thousand paratroopers at a time.
After the paratroopers are airborne, they will be scattered everywhere, and they can easily be scattered and defeated by the enemy..."
Zhang Pengju said directly without waiting for Han Chengjie to finish.
"Chief Han was surprised by what he said. The use of paratroopers is not to attack by force, but to attack the enemy when they are unprepared. Just like in the "surprise attack on Santiago" that year, if the assault troops were to attack by force, they would definitely fail, but what they launched was a surprise attack.
It means attacking the enemy unprepared and attacking the enemy unprepared."
Zhang Pengju, who had experienced the "surprise attack on San Diego", glanced at the parachute on the ground, then turned to His Majesty and said.
"Your Majesty, I believe that paratroopers are completely feasible. Just like what Your Majesty taught back then, a small number of elite troops attacking with surprise troops will definitely achieve miraculous results!"
Facing His Majesty, Zhang Pengju realized that this was his opportunity - a brand new opportunity.
"If we can select elite soldiers and generals from the entire army and form an elite assault force, equipped with parachutes, then this elite force will definitely be able to carry out various special operations, such as..."
Zhang Pengju thought of the words His Majesty said back then.
"For example, during the decapitation operation, during the expedition to Paris, although the airship troops obtained intelligence about the German high command in Versailles and bombed it, the results were unsatisfactory. But what if the paratroopers had carried out a surprise attack behind enemy lines?
"
At this time, Zhang Pengju seemed a little excited. He seemed to have seen a brand new combat mode as he said.
"If we had paratroopers at that time, we might have had a chance to infiltrate the Palace of Versailles and end the war through a surprise attack like in Santiago - well, the right way to catch the thief is to capture the king first!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Han Chengjie said.
"This is impossible. When I proposed the establishment of paratroopers three years ago, the biggest problem I encountered was that there were too few people. This would cause them to be easily surrounded. Moreover, if they were to airborne, they would not be able to airdrop heavy weapons. The weapons that soldiers can rely on
, with only rifles and pistols, and at most a few grenades, how can such light infantry fight against fully equipped infantry?"
This is also the reason why he appears here. He was the one who proposed the idea of "paratroopers" three years ago, but this experiment did not persist.
"On the battlefield, the survivability of light infantry with only rifles is very poor..."
"I said that the key to a surprise attack is to be surprised, not to let them go head-to-head with the enemy's large corps!"
"The war itself is a head-to-head encounter. Why has the surprise attack never been carried out again after the "surprise attack on Santiago"? The surprise attack on Santiago relied not so much on surprise soldiers as on Spencer rifles. At that time, the Chileans used muzzle-loading guns.
, in terms of firepower, we have an overwhelming advantage, it is not an exaggeration to say that one can defeat ten. This is the key to success."
Listening to the argument between the two of them, Emperor Zhu Da smiled.
"You don't need to argue about this matter. If you don't have enough troops, you have to use firepower. You have to try boldly!"
Emperor Zhu Da raised his hand to indicate that the two of them did not need to argue anymore and looked at them.
"My idea is very simple. It is to set up an army commando team, select the best soldiers from the entire army, conduct the most rigorous training, and form them into airborne troops, equipped with the most sophisticated weapons, to carry out airborne operations behind enemy lines. Of course,
This kind of airborne landing does not necessarily require the use of a parachute, but an airship can also be used for rappelling, which we have experience with in Africa."
Looking at the two officers, Emperor Zhu expressed his thoughts one by one.
"In short, in this new era, we must be brave enough to try new tactics!"