Due to the Russo-Japanese War, the mortar in front of him immediately caught Wang Zhenyu's interest. A tall blonde white man standing next to Ye Zuowen, speaking stiffly, introduced it to Wang Zhenyu: "Respected General, this cannon weighs 80 kilograms, is 1.3 meters long, has a shooting angle of 40-70 degrees, and a maximum range of 800 meters. Infantry can disassemble it and carry it on their backs, and this is already an improved version for our country's army."

  The maximum range is only 800 meters, which is also a bit too close. If you encounter an opponent with heavy artillery, you'll be dead in no time. Wang Zhenyu grumbled to himself for a while, but thinking about it, this was better than nothing. With this thing around, bullying opponents who didn't even have this would still be possible.

  Ye Zuwen is also considered to be a master of procurement, and he actually managed to get this batch of military supplies from the Russian concession. This 60mm caliber mortar, they got twenty pieces, eight hundred shells, and five thousand Russian-made wooden-handled grenades. Haha, I estimate that at the time, the merchant who was doing business with Ye Zuwen was drunk, and not only did he give him all the goods, but also threw in a machine gun for free.

  The price they charged wasn't excessive either, a total of only 30,000 big yuan for themselves. In this era, it's just the price of a Shanghai-made 70-ton coal-fired passenger ship, and in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, it's just the cost of building a one-acre villa. You know, these are military supplies, which are currently scarce and highly sought after.

  Talking about cargo ships, Wang Zhenyu and Ye Zuwen are planning to set up a shipping company in Wuhan. After some thought, Wang Zhenyu still thinks that the transportation industry is the most reliable in this era. As for railways, it's not worth considering, not only because of state monopolies but also because they would be requisitioned by warlords during wartime. Currently, the Yangtze River waterway, which is controlled by both Britain and Japan, seems more suitable for the development of the transportation industry. Therefore, setting up a shipping company has been put on the agenda. The first step in establishing a shipping company is naturally to purchase cargo ships. Wang Zhenyu and Ye Zuwen discussed this and thought that buying ships wouldn't be too difficult, as there are plenty of sources in Shanghai. However, this matter is not easy to handle. After all, having ships alone is not enough; they also need people who can operate them. Recruiting and training sailors is a problem in itself. Wang Zhenyu, who is used to being a boss, wouldn't spend time and energy thinking about these trivial matters, so he handed everything over to Ye Zuwen and didn't ask about it again.

  Back to this batch of arms, the Russians are indeed reliable. Not only did they sell arms, but they also sent several instructors to teach the use of mortars and hand grenades in a very responsible manner.

  These few Russian sons gave Wang Zhenyu a very ordinary feeling, except that their alcohol capacity was indeed very large, and their military quality was even a bit unqualified. In the three days, the mortar was barely taught how to disassemble and use it basically, and there was nothing more than that. It's estimated that they themselves rarely play with this thing in peacetime. So, wanting to master it proficiently and train a relatively qualified artillery team is extremely difficult, and it seems that we still have to continue to explore on our own.

  As soon as the grenades were brought into the military camp, they became a hot commodity, with each battalion and company scrambling to get them. Wang Zhenyu thought for a moment, assigning four per person, no more than that. However, the Russians promised to send another batch from their home country, so it was still possible to replenish them, it just needed time. Wang Zhenyu naturally entrusted Ye Zuwen to pay attention to this matter, as these things were essential tools for infantry whether defending or attacking.

  Due to the scarcity of supplies, the newly added grenade throwing training used only mock hand grenades, which simply put, had no explosives or fuses. This type of training could only help people practice their arm strength and aiming skills, but couldn't let them truly experience the power of these things.

  The grenade-throwing technique was still easy to master, and the first battalion, under the organization of Battalion Commander Xu Yuanquan, went through short-term intensive training and even produced several grenade-throwing experts. 50 meters away from a basket, these experts threw at it, and in ten attempts, they could throw it in once or twice. The scene was as thrilling as watching Ronaldinho's edited free kick collection in later years, making Wang Zhenyu feel incredibly wonderful while watching the training.

  Before the final departure to Nanjing, Wang Zhenyu specially decided to organize a live ammunition throwing exercise for the whole brigade. On the one hand, it was to test the effect, and on the other hand, it was to let everyone get familiar with it and practice their courage. As soon as the order was given, each battalion was boiling with excitement, and everyone wanted to see the power of this foreign toy.

  Wang Zhenyu arranged the first live ammunition bombing training of the First Brigade on the first day of February in the Gregorian calendar. Before that, the whole brigade was ordered to work on the embankment of the Han River for two days and dug out a large slope. The slope had an angle of 45 degrees, with a width of 20 meters and a length of 50 meters, and the excavated soil alone was not less than 1,000 cubic meters, which was a big project. Then, according to Wang Zhenyu's requirements, waist-high sandbags were piled up in a zigzag pattern to prevent accidents.

  Regarding the civil engineering capabilities of the entire journey, Wang Zhenyu was very dissatisfied. Because according to the standard of modern engineering troops, 1,000 people digging earth, the basic completion quantity should reach 9,000 cubic meters. But now 6,000 cubic meters took two days. Thinking of this, Wang Zhenyu couldn't help but bite his lip, such a level of engineering capabilities can't meet the needs of modern warfare. It seems that he still has to go to Nanjing to think of a way, when the new army was established at the end of the Qing dynasty, the engineering troops were built as an important project. Almost every town had its own engineering troops, and they were equipped with German-style equipment. However, the new army in Hunan did not have this condition due to financial difficulties, and no engineering troops were formed according to German standards at that time. Wang Zhenyu's plan was to go to Nanjing to see if there were any relevant talents, take advantage of the opportunity to recruit some, and then think of a way to build his own engineering troops.

  With a mind made up and in high spirits, Wang Zhenyu took Zhao Dongsheng and the other guards to the training grounds.

  Today, there were no female students to cheer them on, as Wang Zhenyu had sent the ancestral grandmothers back to their rented quarters a few days ago under the pretext of departing. However, despite this, the live ammunition training site was still very lively. With the throwing out of the first hand grenade, the entire battalion quickly completed the transformation from being stunned to eager to try, with each one rubbing their fists and palms together, that excited feeling rivaling that of children in later generations setting off firecrackers during the New Year.

  Wang Zhenyu thought that with this live grenade throwing training, each person would throw two grenades, and there were over a hundred people in total. With just one round, nearly 2,000 grenades would be used up at once. There was no other way; after all, hand grenades were meant to be used once and then discarded. In order to increase the combat effectiveness of his troops, he could only grit his teeth and endure the pain.

  As the Hubei military government had been informed in advance of this training exercise, and the Qing army on the other side of the Han River had also received a military liaison notice, such an earth-shaking scene did not attract any attention.

  Wang Zhenyu thought it would be better to try shooting the mortar together, this thing really needs to be tried on the battlefield, otherwise it will be a joke. There were twenty mortars in total, two of which were allocated to the teaching team, and the remaining eighteen were divided among three battalions. Whether it was Xu Yuanquan, Song Xianfu, or Hao Bing, they all knew their troops, so when the mortars were distributed, these people immediately lit up. In recent days, as long as there was free time, they would personally go to watch the training and disassembly of the newly established battalion artillery team, but unfortunately, there was no opportunity for trial shooting. Now that Wang Zhenyu said each door can be tried five times, they were naturally overjoyed, immediately took Wang Zhenyu's note with them, and rushed to Ma Xicheng to get ammunition.

  The mortar was indeed easy to operate, and after the third shot, these mortarmen, who were former soldiers with strong learning abilities, had a basic understanding of the mortar's temperament. The subsequent two shots mostly accurately hit targets over 600 meters away.

  Wang Zhenyu was very satisfied, and led the applause for these artillerymen. Then, in front of everyone, he announced that each of the forty artillerymen would be rewarded with ten big oceans, which naturally brought on a round of cheers.

  The mortar test firing is over, and the next step is to continue with live grenade throwing training. To be honest, although I understand the point, it's still a bit frustrating that these guys are allowed to throw away two-fifths of them so easily. Wang Zhenyu is still a bit sore about it. But there's no other way around it - if they don't throw out a few real ones, just throwing fake ones every day won't cut it. If they really get onto the battlefield, even the best soldiers will have an 80% chance of making mistakes due to fear or nervousness. If they end up blowing up their own people instead of the enemy, that's not a joke, that's a tragedy.

  Looking at the things that were thrown out by the excited soldiers, Wang Zhenyu felt that they were not hand grenades, but his own white and fluffy ocean. Hehe, fortunately, Wang Zhenyu had already made up his mind to make a name for himself, so the pain was temporary.

  After a series of explosions, the entire training ground was shrouded in white smoke, and the air was filled with a strong smell of gunpowder. Because he was afraid of accidents, Wang Zhenyu originally wanted everyone to take a break and wait for the smoke to clear before continuing, but then thought that on the battlefield, there wouldn't be such luxuries, so he endured and didn't speak up, and then an accident really happened...

  Finally, it was the third battalion's turn. Hao Bing looked at his comrades in front of him and felt an itch in his heart. So during the third battalion's grenade practice, he, as the battalion commander, was the first to take position and threw out his two grenades without hesitation. When he returned, he laughed loudly: "It's exhilarating! More exhilarating than setting off firecrackers on New Year's Eve when I was a kid!"

  The result earned Wang Zhenyu a cold stare, "Damn it, your family's fireworks are that expensive?!"

  The company commander *** of the 3rd battalion and 8th company has been in a great mood lately. Originally just a deputy platoon leader, he was favored by the brigade commander and first entered the instructional team. After coming out, he unexpectedly became the lieutenant company commander. This poor boy from Yiyang Nan County rural area lived for 20 years without thinking that he would become an officer one day, let alone the company commander in charge of over a hundred brothers. Looking at the development momentum of this team, as long as he does his job well, this company commander is likely to be just a starting point.

  After becoming the company commander, *** did things very carefully, and every day he was the first to get up in the whole company, while at night he was the last one to fall asleep. Wan Yaohuang's training plan was executed with strictness in his hands. Because he didn't smile much, in a short period of time, the platoon leaders and soldiers under him developed an inexplicable sense of awe towards him. They respected him because he was strict with himself, and they feared him because he was too harsh. After a long time, behind his back, everyone secretly gave him a nickname: "Cold-faced Tiger".

  He will know soon enough, but he doesn't mind, and daily work training is still the same as before.