As he grasped the gangway, just about to board the ship, someone behind him called out "Captain Wang". Turning his head, he saw that it was a refined and elegant young man with a pale complexion, fine whiskers, and an air of refinement, who had called out to him. He looked somewhat familiar, but for a moment, he couldn't recall where they had met before.

  The two guards in front and back saw Wang Zhenyu like this, knowing that he was not a familiar person, and immediately tensely put their hands on the gun holster. This was a detail that Captain Zhao Dongsheng had specially instructed them to do. However, Wang Zhenyu thought of himself as just a small shrimp, and had no conflict of interest with others, and those who did have conflicts of interest had been sent underground by him, so for now he was safer than anyone else.

  That person naturally knew that Wang Zhenyu didn't remember him, and he wasn't concerned about the excessive tension of the guards in front of him. He just smiled slightly: "Commander Wang, you're a busy man, I'm Wan Yaohuang, the operations staff officer from the wartime headquarters. I was the little staff officer who received you when you returned from the great victory at Hankou."

  "Ah! Haha!" Wang Zhenyu remembered, and recalled that there was indeed such a polite and courteous adjutant at the time. He even asked himself about the details of the battle at Yudai Gate back then. "Adjutant Wan, this is all because you're not wearing your uniform, forgive me for my poor eyesight, I didn't recognize you at first, sorry, sorry. Weren't you supposed to go to Nanjing with Commander Huang? Why are you here?"

  Wan Yao-huang: "Hehe, where are you going? General Wang, you don't know that I used to work in the Hubei military government. When Director Huang was promoted, it was my duty to stay behind and take care of things. However, I resigned from my position yesterday and am preparing to go to Nanjing to find a job and join the Northern Expedition. And now, I'm just waiting for a chance to hitch a ride with you, won't you mind?"

  Wang Zhenyu somewhat liked this well-spoken young man, and hurriedly said something there, then gestured to the guards beside him to help Wan Yao Huang with his luggage, while he himself chatted with Wan Yao Huang as they boarded the boat.

  Sometimes people are just so strange, some people meet every day but can't say a few words, and often one sentence is not in harmony; but some people, although it's the first time they've met, are like old friends, and their conversations are very harmonious.

  Wang Zhenyu and Wan Yaohuang were probably the latter, after boarding the ship, the two of them started chatting, discussing current events, customs, and the more they talked, the more they found common ground, as if they had known each other for a long time.

  "So you're not familiar with Director Li either, just temporarily sent to the headquarters. What's your plan going to Nanjing?"

  "I haven't thought it through yet, but now Huang Shaoqing and Li Canzhang are both big shots in the Nationalist government's central executive committee. As a small staff officer, I'd probably have to go to the Ministry of War to get an appointment first. Without some connections, it's not certain that I could meet with them, but staying in Hubei won't amount to much either. Now that Lei Yuxiang is content with the status quo and the various factions in Wuchang are exhausted, I think if we want a revolution, we'll have to go to Nanjing."

  Wang Zhenyu thought for a moment: "Let me tell you, don't look for acquaintances to pull strings anymore. My 9th Brigade has just been established and there's no chance of expansion at all. You and I are about the same age and we get along well in conversation. How about this? You come here to be the head of the Training Department, follow me closely, and take charge of the specific work of expansion. The military rank will be temporarily reduced to Lieutenant Colonel, and later it will be adjusted according to the situation. What do you think, Xiao Wan?"

  "Alright, General Wang thinks highly of me, I, Wan Yao Huang, have no reason to decline, I'll follow your instructions." Wan Yao Huang also felt that the Wang Zhenyu in front of him was very much to his liking, although he was a lieutenant general, he had not a bit of airs about him, and so he was happy to work with him, naturally responding without any pretenses.

  After dinner, Wang Zhenyu and Wan Yaohuang came out of the cabin to the deck to watch the sunset. Zhao Dongsheng and the instructors, as well as the guards, were all on this boat, so there was no need to worry about safety.

  When they walked onto the deck, they found that the sun had already set, the sky was dark, and the two of them didn't hurry back to the cabin. Instead, they stood on the deck leaning against the ship's side, feeling the river wind blowing towards them with a hint of chill.

  Wang Zhenyu suddenly wanted to test Wan Yao's skills: "Little Wan, now that we're on the same side, I've had some questions that I couldn't figure out and need someone to help me deliberate."

  Although Wan Yao Huang was not accustomed to being called "Xiao Wan", he was delighted by the familiarity: "Director Wang, please speak freely, just don't laugh at me for my shallow learning and speaking incorrectly."

  Wang Zhenyu nodded: "You think our country will be a situation in the future, you say your prediction, no need to consider others."

  Wan Yao's thoughts were meticulous, and he knew that Wang Zhenyu was testing himself. He smiled slightly and said: "Then I'll be blunt, judging from the current situation, the fall of the Qing dynasty is already a matter of time, perhaps we don't even need to wait for our northern expedition, this Qing will collapse on its own."

  Wang Zhenyu was immediately surprised, coming from the future, he naturally knew about the abdication of the Qing dynasty. However, as a small staff officer, how could Wan Yaohuang have known? It's worth noting that historically, the fate of imperial power has always been a matter of life and death.

  "How did you arrive at this conclusion?"

  Wan Yao-huang said: "Since the Wuchang Uprising, how many governors and viceroys have been seen to be loyal and dedicated to the great Qing dynasty? Not to mention the governors, even those royal families and eight banner nobles who have relied on the imperial court for support for generations, how many of them went south to fight? The group that benefited the most from this imperial court, with the greatest gains, is not willing to sacrifice themselves for it. Do you think there is anyone else who can reverse this trend? Since the Manchu nobles don't even have the courage to kill themselves, what else can they do but surrender and kneel down? After all, this is also what they are used to doing in front of foreigners over the past few decades."

  Wang Zhenyu nodded in agreement, apparently very much in line with Wan Yao's point of view: "Then after the fall of the Manchu dynasty, what kind of situation do you think it will be?"

  Wan Yao Huang scratched his eyebrow with his middle finger, and that sword-like brow had already furrowed into a ball. This son hesitated to say: "General Mo, please don't be offended, Wan Mou may look at the problem more negatively, but there's also something to be said."

  Wang Zhenyu smiled and said: "Didn't I say that before? Honestly speaking, it's nothing serious."

  Wan Yao-huang, encouraged, spoke up: "In the battle of Yudaomen, General Wang, you won, but I can tell you that you only won by a hair's breadth. If not for your clever tactics and taking advantage of the situation, occupying the strategic location, if we had faced each other head-on, the brothers from the Hubei and Hunan armies would have suffered greatly."

  Wan Yao Huang paused for a moment, then continued: "The enemy's troops on the opposite side are actually the Beiyang Sixth Division trained by Yuan Shikai. These soldiers have performed exceptionally well in previous battles. I've heard from seniors that among all the armies in the country, only the Eighth Division in Wuhan and the Ninth Division in Nanjing can be compared to them. However, in reality, during the battle at Hankou, the Eighth Division was defeated by them, almost annihilated. The attack on Yubaomen, you were there, wasn't it? Just that less-than-one-brigade Beiyang army crushed our tens of thousands of soldiers. From training to equipment, the Beiyang Sixth Division is top-notch, and compared to the land armies of major powers, they don't need to give in much. Although we have gained half of China now, from a military perspective, I'm afraid we are not their match! Military power is the guarantee of politics; if we can't even balance each other militarily, then the future of the North and South...".

  The rest of the story is self-evident, but Wang Zhenyu isn't worried about the future. In comparison, he's more delighted that he's picked up a treasure. If Xu Yuanquan belongs to the professional tactical level, then this Wan Yao Huang in front of him belongs to the professional strategic level. And what he lacks most now is talent; otherwise, there would be no need to bother with the coaching team. Wang Zhenyu is very clear that without talented people to assist him and relying solely on personal intelligence to reverse an era's trend, even if it were possible to predict, it would be unrealistic - that would be purely fictional.

  The next day at breakfast, Wan Yaohuang shocked Wang Zhenyu again: "Commander Wang, I've read the military training manual issued to each company in our brigade. It's very well-written. But I have a small suggestion."

  Wang Zhenyu had just eaten a steamed bun and heard that there was a suggestion, immediately became interested, put down the chopsticks in his hand, and said sideways: "Say, say, let's hear it."

  Wan Yao Huang said: "First of all, it's the setting of firepower positions. You also saw in this battle of Hankou that those Maxim heavy machine guns had very powerful firepower. In future battles, such weapons will be used on a large scale. However, this thing is expensive to use, so we need to pay attention to how we use it. I once did some calculations in Hanyang. Look at these three bowls, each bowl represents a heavy machine gun position. If you scatter them in a line, each machine gun can only cover the front of its muzzle, and the firepower is limited to that. Once you encounter an enemy with fast movements, such firepower is also easy to break through."

  Wang Zhenyu recalled that when Lu Diping easily took the Boai Academy, he didn't just bypass the Qing army's heavy machine guns and sneak in from the side to succeed. Thinking of this point, Wang Zhenyu naturally nodded hastily at Wan Yaohuang's words.

  However, if three machine guns are arranged in a reverse triangle formation on a straight line, with the advantage of terrain, they can form a firepower depth. Once the enemy launches an attack, they will face crossfire from three directions. Even the most ferocious and sharp army would find it difficult to break through solely relying on manpower, unless they have stronger firepower for suppression.

  Wan Yaohuang became more and more engaged as he spoke: "This is the application of heavy machine guns like the M2 Browning. As for defensive positions, I also believe that they should not be built in a straight line. The zigzag-shaped positions currently being promoted in Europe are very good, making it easy to construct defensive depth and form localized firepower stacking, while also facilitating withdrawal. However, this also increases the requirements for the quality and workload of engineers."

  Wang Zhenyu didn't interrupt, he just quietly listened while taking out a small notebook from his shirt pocket and recording everything down.

  Wan Yao Huang was after all a young man, and his views were highly valued by the superior officer, so he was naturally very excited and proud. His heart was filled with energy: "Right, Commander, there is another question, that is, defense and attack in field battles against enemies. The battlefield changes suddenly, and unexpected situations are inevitable. For example, when encountering the enemy, it may be too late to build a complete defensive fortification. At this time, the army should be organized to form an effective V-shaped deployment."

  "V-shaped deployment" Wang Zhenyu, who has read "The Korean War", knows that the so-called V-shaped attack means to block the enemy head-on and encircle their rear from the sides. But that's for offense, I guess it's not what Xiaowan said.

  "It's within the effective range of firepower, unfolding in a V-shape, similar to a pocket. The key is at three points, with the most critical one being holding down the bottom point, thereby protecting the two top points from the sides and rear. And if the two top points can hold on, they can in turn support the bottom point, forming a three-sided firepower attack. Provided that the terrain and geographical advantages are favorable." Wan Yao Huang explained succinctly.

  Although Wang Zhenyu couldn't digest these military concepts for the time being, and even if he could, it wouldn't be a matter of one or two days to promote them throughout the army, he was still very excited: "Yao Huang, do you have any other suggestions? Go ahead and say, don't hold back."