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Chapter 643: Train Home 602
Chapter 643: Train Home 602
“Ever seen paratroopers like us?” Sitting on the train, the squad leader looked at Xiang Ziyu and joked, “It’s too frustrating, we still have to take a train to go home.”
They had been sent to Donghe Bridge by plane, where they also killed the King of Qi Country, Jiang Xian. Now that their holiday was over and they had no further assignments, they could only return to their original base by train.
The latter half of the train was filled with wounded soldiers, some without arms, some without legs. These men would be taken to hospitals in the rear for careful treatment and then assigned to local offices to perform clerical work.
There was no helping it; literate and qualified civil servants were simply too rare to meet demand, and the military had kept the best talent for themselves. For those soldiers phased out due to injuries, being placed in local positions was definitely a coveted opportunity.
It was said that squad leaders who were injured could at least become village heads if placed locally, and platoon leaders could even become county heads.
As for company and battalion commanders being sent to local positions, there was still no news. After all, commanders of this level in the Tang Army rarely died in battle, and those with specialized injuries were even fewer.
...
“It’s nothing, it’s much safer than flying,” Xiang Ziyu didn’t feel riding a train home was anything to be ashamed of.
At least, they all came back safely. The urns of their comrades’ ashes and the collected personal effects stored next to them could no longer voice any complaints.
The entire train carriage was like a place where a smoke grenade had been dropped; nearly everyone was smoking, puffing clouds of smoke without feeling there was anything wrong with it.
Those who had been on the battlefield quickly needed a mental crutch, and cigarettes were probably the cheapest and most effective form of such a dependance. As long as soldiers had these, they could calm down during tense battle breaks and numb all sensations.
Xiang Ziyu originally didn’t smoke, but now he had learned to. With a cigarette pinched between his fingers and the second-class Blade Medal hanging on his chest, he looked quite imposing.
Soldiers who could earn a second-class Blade Medal in their first battle were truly brave warriors. Such people would be quickly promoted and treated as talents for key training.
In fact, on his return this time, Xiang Ziyu would be awarded the first-class Blade Medal, becoming the first soldier in the entire military to receive this level of commendation.
He was now a star amongst the paratroopers, as well as a War God in the eyes of the infantry. His posters had already begun to be distributed everywhere, representing the valiant fighting spirit of the soldiers of the Great Tang Kingdom.
All the paratroopers in the carriage had enjoyed a seven-day holiday in the King City of Qi Country. They could walk in the streets enjoying the peaceful sunlight and see the Nobility of Qi Country bowing and scraping to them, while also witnessing the perverse opulence of the old world.
To be frank, if a place was backward and isolated enough, entertainment could flourish to stupefying levels—King City of Qi Country was as flashy and debauched, with some “amusements” that could only be described as perverted.
As long as one had money and power, it seemed that King City of Qi Country was also a paradise, comparable to the paradise of Brunas.
And the Tang Army, which had just occupied this place, seemed to have both money and power, meeting the conditions to be above others here perfectly.
Therefore, in the past seven days, the life of Xiang Ziyu and his companions was enviable. Every day when they woke up, their tables would be piled high with all sorts of food, as if the world had never known what it was to worry about food shortages.
When Xiang Ziyu, with a second-class Blade Medal on his chest, stepped out of the carriage, the officers on the platform stood at attention and saluted in unison.
This was the glory reserved for frontline combat heroes; officers and soldiers below the rank of colonel must stand at attention and salute upon seeing such heroes.
However, this salute was more ceremonial in nature and did not require awaiting a response before the saluter could finish the gesture. Xiang Ziyu earnestly returned a military salute and then followed his comrades towards the exit of the platform.
The war had not ended yet; they had no extra leave. They were to wait here for new weapon equipment, then begin adaptive training.
Tang Mo planned to give priority in distributing the new weaponry to the paratroopers to enhance their combat capability.
After all, paratroopers were few in number, of higher soldier quality, rich in combat experience, and in greater need of handy weapon equipment.
The weapon distributed to the paratroopers was the newly produced AK assault rifle, named in the Tang Army as the Type 56 assault rifle—Tang Mo simply did not want to explain to his engineers why this rifle was called the Kalashnikov-47 model.
So, he directly assigned a number and named his mass-produced AKM assault rifle the “Type 56” assault rifle.
As for why the number 56 was chosen, Tang Mo bluntly answered that he liked the number, with no special significance.
In any case, the newly mass-produced Type 56 assault rifles from the Great Tang Group were immediately issued to the paratroopers to replace the Thompson Submachine Guns in the paratrooper units. The deployment also began with the new 7.62x39mm ammunition.
Seizing the opportunity of the rifle upgrade, the paratroopers also switched to a brand-new Beretta 92F pistol. The new pistols had already been distributed to many officers for a series of battlefield tests.
Although the 9mm pistol rounds couldn’t outperform the .45 caliber rounds, they still had their own advantages: the new 9mm caliber pistol could carry 2 additional rounds, giving soldiers more options on the battlefield.
At the same time, against unprotected targets, the 9mm round’s stopping power was still sufficient.
Moreover, the downsizing of pistol calibers matched with the increase in the primary weapons’ firepower for the paratroopers: although their pistols were slightly reduced in power, the replacement of the submachine guns with assault rifles significantly improved combat effectiveness.
The Type 56 assault rifles distributed to the paratroopers featured a metal folding stock, considered a special provision.
Once the paratroopers had tested the new weapons, they immediately fell in love with them, preferring them over the submachine guns for their greater firepower, lower recoil, shorter barrels, and easier handling.
They were not too keen on what was called the Model 9 pistol— the Beretta 92F, feeling the 9mm bullets lacked the power of the .45 caliber rounds.
However, with the assault rifles in hand, they were not opposed to making their secondary weapons more portable.
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