In the former German fortification group built by the fortification group less than one kilometer from Qingdao Military Port, Jiang Qiwei, the commander of the shore defense artillery regiment, was commanding the engineers and subordinates, shouting slogans. With the assistance and guidance of German engineers, the last naval gun with a caliber of more than 200 mm was installed in place.

"Bang..." A deafening metal collision sounded, which directly meant that the naval gun was installed. Suddenly, the deafening cheers roared out of the mouths of more than a thousand people.

Looking at his excited and excited subordinates, the regiment commander Jiang Qiwei climbed directly onto the three-meter-high cannon body.

After a quick glance at the subordinates who gathered around the naval gun, Commander Jiang Qiwei pressed his hands and said loudly: "Brothers, everyone has seen it. The large-caliber naval guns in front of us are the guys we will have for the future. At the same time, they are also a weapon for us to defend the Qingdao military port."

"My requirements for everyone are very simple. After one month of training, the hit rate of all gunners must exceed 60%. Otherwise, don't say that you are my shore defense gun. In addition, I would like to tell you a good news. With the approval of the military captain, we agreed to give us a training ammunition of twenty rounds of no naval guns. Therefore, I hope that in the next time, we will not let down the trust of the military captain, train well, and help the military captain guard the Qingdao military port. Wait for one day in the future, use the naval guns in our hands to severely deal with the Japanese fleet that dares to invade our Qingdao military captain. Tell me if you have confidence..."

“Yes…..yes…”

The security division has high fees and never deducted military pay; it is full every day, and it also has meat meals every day; it has generous rewards and a perfect pension system. In addition, the land that my family has successively divided after entering eastern Shandong... under the support of this one after another, a generous condition that I had never dared to imagine before. Whether it was the former security division officers and soldiers or the former Northern Expedition Army prisoners, after no worries, they maintained a very high morale from beginning to end.

"Wrong, wrong, not right, turn left... at six o'clock, with a distance of 15,000 meters, load it immediately..."

In a huge reinforced concrete turret on the mountainside, accompanied by the orders of the platoon leader and observer, the gun barrel that was several meters long slowly extended out the black hole muzzle under the control of several gunners and began to move...

The artillery was quickly aimed at the pre-determined coordinates. A shell weighing 150 kilograms was directly inserted from the tail of the gun barrel into the thick barrel at the tail of the naval gun with the assistance of a special loading vehicle.

"Close the gun bolt and conduct final aiming detection..." The platoon leader, who had been paying attention to the progress of his subordinates, ordered again with his greatest voice.

"Bang..." A huge metal collision sounded in the concrete turret, and the heavy gun bolts, driven by the joint force of the two gunners, hit the barrel heavily. At the same time, the two gunners also conducted the last inspection of the gun shooting elements at the first time. After confirming that it was correct, they directly reported...

“Prepare…”

"Fire the gun..." With the order of the platoon leader, a shelling drill ended successfully.

Just as everyone in the fort was about to breathe a sigh of relief, and was panting and resting on the pedestal of the fort. A retired German Navy officer who had been guarding the cannon position and had never left his pocket watch in his hand roared with an unhappy look on his face.

"You can't rest. Let me stand up. Your loading and aiming speed are still too slow... In my German Navy, your current results can only be ranked last... Each of you must be clear about one thing. On the battlefield, especially in the naval battle, if the rate of fire of each shell can be increased by one second, it directly means that within a minute, you can shoot one more shell than the enemy."

"Do you know what this shell means? I tell you that in a real naval battle, it is very likely that this shell will be a shell that directly takes the other party or your own lives... So, I am very dissatisfied with your current results. Now I order: everyone, start training again immediately, when will they achieve the results I want, and take the time to continue training..."

Although everyone was very angry about the roar of the German devils. However, even if they were angry, they should be trained. Because before training, the regiment seats, not just the regiment seats, even the chief of staff of the army, Jiang Baili, righteously promulgated a military discipline: During the training of the troops, the orders of these German instructors are the commands of the superiors. As a unit, the orders of the instructors must be carried out unconditionally. Otherwise, at the least, the military law is engaged in the worst, and at the worst, they will be expelled from the troops.

More importantly, these people are aware of the fact that although the instructor in front of him is scolding him, what he said is very correct. More importantly, these are all for their own good and for giving them more opportunities to save their lives on the battlefield.

Thinking of this, more than a dozen people did not hesitate at all. They directly endured the fatigue that kept coming, stood up from the ground, and under the command of the platoon leader, they once again entered a new round of intense training...

Half a month later, under the gaze of the German instructor, more than a dozen gunners completed a series of aiming and shell loading actions in just five seconds...

The new round of training was completed, with more than a dozen gunners, including more than a dozen ammunition players in the rear. Under the command of the platoon leader, he quickly stood on the side of the naval gun, waiting for the German instructor's lecture...

"Very good... Chinese soldiers, you did a very good job..." The German instructor first gave everyone a positive answer.

"I can proudly tell you: You are the best soldiers I have ever met. In just less than a month of training, I have reached 80% of the level of German naval naval gun officers and soldiers. Now, I can tell you very confidently. With your current shooting speed, you can suppress the artillery fire of the Japanese Navy on the battlefield..."

"Since the initial training level has met my requirements, we will start the final stage of practical training. I hope everyone can continue to maintain high morale and complete live-fire training in the shortest time... Now I order to rest for an afternoon, and start from tomorrow to formally conduct live-fire training..." The German instructor ordered very satisfied.

"Boom..." A deafening roar sounded in the turret. The huge reinforced concrete turret couldn't help but tremble because of the rumbling sound. Just as these gunners looked at the cannon in front of them with a pale face, shocked by the power of the cannon. After dozens of seconds of flying shells, they had already smashed hard on the predetermined sea surface with a sharp whistling sound of breaking through the air.

"Instructor, how about it? Did you hit the target..." The platoon leader, who reacted from the shock, listened to the increasingly faint sound of shells whistling through the air, quickly asked back...

"Boom..." When a dull sound of shell explosion reached the shore and reached the ears of these gunners, the German instructor who had been guarding the radio station shook his head helplessly and spoke.

"I'm very sorry that the bounce point is about two hundred meters away from the target... But, young men, don't worry, this is the first artillery shell we practice in live ammunition, and we don't understand the habits of this naval gun in front of us. I believe that after several times of the same live ammunition training and understanding the habits of this naval gun, the achievements we have achieved will definitely be better..."

After regret, the German instructor's face became serious in an instant. He decisively opened his orders to the dozens of subordinates who were also full of regret in front of him.

"Now I order everyone to rest for five minutes and prepare for the second live-fire drill..."

"Yes, instructor..."

The staff department of the shore defense artillery regiment, more than 20 experienced gunners and staff members, was guided by five German instructors. Based on some simple data provided by the German instructors, the specific coordinates of their shelling targets were quickly calculated...

Soon, a combat staff officer rushed to the regiment commander Jiang Qiwei and reported loudly with excitement: "The reporting team has been calculated, and the distance is 12,540 meters..."

"Very good, report the coordinates to the front-line artillery troops immediately..." Commander Jiang Qiwei ordered decisively.

"Yes, the regiment..." Looking at the combat staff who were leaving quickly, Commander Jiang Qiwei's eyes quickly shifted to Major Jim, the captain of the German instructor, who led the team, beside him, and asked.

"Mr. Major, I wonder what you think of the performance of these soldiers?"

"Captain Jiang, I can tell you with certainty that the soldiers in front of me are definitely the most diligent and hardest soldiers I have ever seen in my life. Over the past half month, their progress has been very fast, which is beyond my imagination..." Major Jim first gave a positive answer.

Just as Jiang Qiwei was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Major Jim's words turned directly and criticized mercilessly: "However, Captain Jiang, for the lives of thousands of soldiers of the entire shore defense artillery regiment, I still have to tell you a very bad fact. The calculation speed of these soldiers in front of him is not even half of the level compared to the German artillery with excellent mouths."

"So, in order for your soldiers to find the enemy more easily and destroy it. Let your subordinates have more chances to survive on the battlefield, everyone's calculation speed must be increased by at least 20% on the current basis. Otherwise, once they go to the battlefield, they will only have the fate of being passively beaten..."

"Thank you Major Jim for your reminder. I will definitely let my brothers continue to work hard..." Jiang Qiwei's heart became nervous again and replied quickly.

When the First Strait Defense Artillery Regiment, a subordinate of the Ninth Army, started live-fire drills at Qingdao Military Port, what Li Guosheng and others did not expect was that the sound of artillery artillery invisibly exposed the incident in Qingdao.

When the Japanese Consulate in Jinan heard the report from his subordinates, the Consul Nishi Tianjingi almost couldn't believe his ears. He asked in shock at the subordinates in front of him: "Nakata, what you said is true. Qingdao Military Port is undergoing live-fire drills, and it has been starting for several days."

"Hayi, Beiyi can follow the decision. According to the news sent back by the merchant ships, the explosion of shells that occurred outside the Qingdao military port was definitely only emitted by large-caliber naval shells..." Facing the Sitianyi Ikari, Captain Nakata, the head of the Consulate's intelligence, replied firmly.

"This is even more impossible... As far as I know, there are no other warships in the entire Qingdao Military Port except for a gunboat equipped with a caliber of 150 mm. Even if a military drill is conducted, a naval gun that is about to be retired will not be able to practice continuously for several days."

"What's more important is that according to the order sent by the military headquarters, all the military operations of Qingdao's defenders must be reported to the military headquarters for approval before they can be carried out. For such a big military drill, who gave Qingdao headquarters such great rights to decide on his own."

"There is a problem. There must be problems that are unknown to us..."

Speaking of this, a sharp gaze flashed through the pair of speeds of Nishi Tiani. He asked Captain Nakata in confusion: "Nakata, is there any problem with the contact with Qingdao Command during this period..."

"Report to your Consul, no problems occurred.... As usual, as usual, we have a regular contact with Qingdao Command at 8 o'clock every night..." Captain Nakata answered quickly.

"Uh...this is strange..." Consul Nishitiani immediately showed a solemn expression on his face.

After a brief contemplation, he directly ordered: "No matter what, we must figure out what the explosion of ship gun shells that have occurred outside Qingdao in the past few days? After this, you immediately send a telegram to the Qingdao headquarters to inquire about the specific situation... At the same time, some intelligence personnel were dispatched to go deep into Qingdao by land and sea and land respectively to investigate the situation in Qingdao...."

"Hayi, Consul..."

Infantry, artillery, shore defense artillery troops, navy... As the training of these troops slowly got on the right track, the commander Li Guosheng's mind was directly placed on several weapons and ammunition production lines that had been purchased from Germany and had arrived.

Just as Li Guosheng studied and modified the ammunition production line in front of him based on what he learned and based on his studies with German engineers who came to China, a guard who had been following Chief of Staff Jiang Baili rushed in panting.

Before Li Guosheng could react, the guard's anxious voice came to Li Guosheng's ears: "Military Commander, Chief of Staff urgently ordered you to return to the military headquarters immediately, and you will be in a hurry..."

"What's the matter? I'm so anxious..." Li Guosheng's brow frowned and asked subconsciously to the guard in front of him.

"I don't know whether Bei Yi knows... but before the Chief of Staff issued an order to Bei Yi, he suddenly received a telegram from Qingdao?" The guard shook his head and replied.

"Qingdao... Could it be that the news of Qingdao's fall had been known by the Japanese..." Li Guosheng immediately had a bad premonition in his heart, and he thought to himself.

Then, without any stop, he ran all the way with the help of the war horses and returned to the military headquarters located in the county...

Seeing that the war room was facing the combat sand table, the Chief of Staff Jiang Baili, who also had a solemn look on his face, Li Guosheng asked directly without caring about the fatigue caused by riding a horse.

"Chief of Staff, is the matter in Qingdao exposed..."

Under Li Guosheng's gaze, although Jiang Baili didn't want to, he still nodded helplessly and said, "Military, even if it has not been revealed yet. However, I can be sure that the news that we have captured Qingdao will be known by the Japanese army tonight at the latest."

"What happened... You know, according to our original idea, this news can be hidden for at least half a month?" After confirmation, Li Guosheng's heart suddenly became nervous and asked with a solemn look on his face.

Chief of Staff Jiang Baili directly raised the telegram that had just been received in Yang's hand and spoke.

"We have calculated it so much that we forgot about one very important thing, that is, the live-fire drills that the shore defense artillery regiment is currently conducting... According to the situation of the Japanese army in Qingdao, there is no strength to carry out any military drills. Therefore, our shore defense artillery regiment just started to carry out live-fire drills, which attracted everyone's attention, including the Japanese..."

"Just an hour ago, the Japanese Consulate in Jinan just sent a phone number to Qingdao to inquire about the live ammunition drill. Although our radio operator responded temporarily and replied to the Japanese. However, I can be sure that the Japanese Consul's consul would never believe the telegram we returned. So, if nothing unexpected happens, the Japanese intelligence personnel have entered Qingdao city..." Jiang Baili replied.

"Damn the Japanese, you have a pretty good nose..." Li Guosheng couldn't help but curse with hatred.

Then, as if he had thought of something, he asked Jiang Baili directly: "Chief of Staff, since the matter has been exposed, it means that the Japanese Navy may invade our Qingdao Military Port within one week at the latest.....Strait Defense Artillery Corps, how are our shore defense artillery regiments trained? Do you have the ability to fight against the Japanese Navy junior forces...."

"It's very difficult..." Jiang Baili shook his head helplessly and said.

"According to the report of Commander Jiang, the live-fire drill has just begun for three days. Without a naval gun, three rounds of training shells were fired. More importantly, the hit rate of these gunners has been less than 30% so far. If we face the elite Japanese naval forces, we will pay a very heavy price even if we win by chance..."

"So serious... It seems that Qingdao, which we have just occupied for a short time, is facing an unprecedented crisis again..." Li Guosheng's brow frowned and fell into deep thought. (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!