For Yan Xishan, Meng Xiang can't say that he hates it. Although Yan Xishan was a warlord, he was able to benefit the people and make Shanxi's industry firmly in the forefront of China, especially heavy industry. When everyone else was for the golden ten years of low investment and quick return on light industry, he was able to stabilize his mind and founded the Northwest Industrial Company, which owned a series of industries such as mechanical processing and steel mills.

It's a pity that as soon as the system was formed, it was occupied by Yue himself, and the thousands of machines that Yan Xishan had worked so hard to accumulate were moved to the Northeast and the local area. Later, the industrial system of the Northeast had some credit for the Zhang family, some of the credit for Lao Yan, and of course, there was also his continuous investment there. But compared to the resources they plundered, that investment was far from enough.

In order to occupy the northeast permanently, he is willing to invest, and recently with the insecurity of the Bohai Sea route, it has led to difficulties in transporting some resources. Therefore, some people proposed to set up a factory on the spot to produce nearby, so as to avoid being sunk by the submarine of the Vanguard Army during transportation. I considered the cost of the response and the needs of future development, and agreed to this approach.

Meng Xiang couldn't help but be overjoyed when he heard this, the more he put in that place, the more he felt a sense of accomplishment when he received it in the future.

Anyway, this time, he will definitely not let the Russians fight the autumn wind last, and the locust type will not even let go of the iron nails. On the contrary, he was going to Soviet Russia to take a trip with food and take.

However, Yan Xishan still did not dare to agree with this statement. In his opinion, it is already very difficult to take back Outer Mongolia, and he still wants to touch Soviet Russia again? In case Soviet Russia and Huaxia really fight, and there is a leak next to him, won't Huaxia really want to perish?

Although everyone has not yet made it clear, but in this era when there are 100,000 horses and 50,000 guns are big warlords, the rumored vanguard army with one million soldiers is definitely much stronger than other Chinese armies that have several times more people than guns, even if the central army is only one million, it cannot guarantee one gun per man. But the vanguard army was able to reach two guns per person.

There are more tanks than the Central Army, more planes than the Central Army, and even more warships than the Central Army.

The strength of the vanguard army was very strong at this time, and even Yan Xishan acquiesced, otherwise he would not have come to the door. This kind of strength is enough to be the king in China, but it is still a lot worse to deal with Soviet Russia.

"What if we had 10 million of them?" Meng Xiang said confidently, and suddenly suppressed Yan Xishan.

"Ten million?" Yan Xishan couldn't imagine who could stop the vanguard army of 10 million equipped with sophisticated weapons, but the cost of this 10 million army would definitely collapse the Chinese economy. Even if there is an army like a million pioneers, no one else can afford to raise it, ten million?

Meng Xiang looked at the eyebrows on Yan Xishan's face and turned into a sneer at the corner of his mouth in surprise, and he also understood what he was thinking.

"Within five years, we will have 10 million of these troops!" The strong confidence in Meng Xiang's tone was undoubted, making Yan Xishan's eyes tremble for a while, as if he really felt the shadow of tens of millions of troops pressing behind him, and the hands he held were unconsciously twisted white.

"We have other sources of funding." Meng Xiang's tone softened slightly, and he chuckled, "It won't disturb people's livelihood too much." ”

Yan Xishan suddenly felt in his heart, the rumors were indeed true, there was someone behind the vanguard army to support, otherwise it would be absolutely impossible to quickly gather so many troops.

Meng Xiang had long known that he would have such an expression, although his brilliance would be taken away by the inexplicable forces behind him, but at the same time, he also reduced his danger a lot. The equipment and clones at the base can't be explained clearly, and there is just a force to cover up. Besides, in the future, as the vanguard army becomes stronger, he himself will appear as the leader of the new generation of the forces behind him, which will not affect his majesty at all.

So, Meng Xiang briefly talked about the old-fashioned Longteng organization. The source of funds, intentionally or unintentionally, is biased towards the ancient shipwrecks and pirate relics that have sunk to the bottom of the sea. At that time, the gold and silver of the Americas created countless fairy tales, and Meng Xiang didn't mind appropriating one. The undersea treasure, coupled with years of technological accumulation and economic investment, has the capital to support the expansion of the Vanguard Army.

This is not the first time Meng Xiang has said that as he comes to the forefront, he has received more people's attention, and some identity issues need to be completed. At this time, in some places in the South Seas, the United States, and Europe, those spies not only infiltrated the establishment of shadow companies, but they were also tasked with completing the identity of the clones.

It is difficult for a person to make up a lie, even in troubled times, he can be touched to the end. But if it's a group of people who make up lies, others can only go around in it.

Meng Xiang didn't need to say it in a daze, for a smart person like Yan Xishan, he only needed a little bit of vagueness, and he would figure out a lot of it himself. In short, Meng Xiang said a few words lightly, and let him guess the rest.

The two sides talked a lot, and Meng Xiang tried to avoid the Chinese domestic situation that he was not familiar with, but focused on the international trend. Meng Xiang, who has been nurtured by the information age in later generations, is easy to do with the affairs of various countries, and he has a style of scolding the country, which makes Yan Xishan also moved. No one likes to survive in the cracks. Yan Xishan also has no choice, so he will compromise, govern Shanxi wholeheartedly, and lay a good foundation.

Meng Xiang also took a fancy to his ability to govern the local area and lay the foundation, so he planned to use him.

Lao Yan and Lao Jiang and others can be in high positions, and none of them are simple. It may always feel simple to watch others do things, but in reality, the pressure of a county magistrate or a mayor is enough to make people unable to stretch their hands. And Lao Yan has been through ups and downs for more than 30 years, and among the 40,000 people in China, only these few people can reach the pinnacle, and their abilities are naturally not comparable to ordinary people.

However, if Meng Xiang dares to use him, he is naturally not afraid of him turning the sky. As long as he captures the army, it is enough to dispel all his strange thoughts. As long as the other warlords are pinched in their money bags, they have to be soft even if they have guns, but Meng enjoys the base, as long as there are people in his hands, under the control of the clones, he can sit firmly in the Diaoyutai.

As long as the cost of betrayal is beyond their means, anyone can use it. Of course, it also requires a huge cost to maintain this deterrence, some characters do not have a high use value like Lao Yan, and Meng Xiang is too lazy to woo him.

After the first round of negotiations between the two sides, although Yan Xishan did not make a clear statement, the two sides had reached a consensus on the matter of attacking Taiyuan. At this time, the Jin army continued to lose, and it was difficult to protect itself, and it was even more extravagant to obtain Taiyuan, so it was better to give it directly to the vanguard army. It's one thing to knock it down, it's another thing to govern it. After all, Lao Yan has been in Shanxi for a long time, and he still needs to rely on him for some things.

Yan Xishan thought about it this way, so he gave up Taiyuan City and waited for the next move of the vanguard army. Even if he didn't care much about the loss of the Jin army, although the two sides did not negotiate, Yan Xishan also roughly figured out the other party's grasp of him. It seems that defecting to the vanguard army is the trend of the times, but it will definitely not be able to lead troops in the future, and only then can you see the hearts of the people, and you can also find out your own lineage and support your subordinates to occupy a certain position in the vanguard army. He even secretly installed a few middle-level officers to defect to him and establish his own power first.

No matter how strong the vanguard army is, it will certainly not be like an iron bucket inside. As long as there are people, there are factional disputes. With the mountain, there is his chance. But he didn't know that the interior of the Vanguard Army was not at all what he had imagined. Although the clones were understaffed at this time and could not be placed at the squad level, after being placed at the company and platoon level, they were able to supervise the entire unit in place. As long as it is stable, it is not afraid of the small hill.

As soon as the two sides settled, the offensive in Taiyuan over there had already begun.

"Oh my God, that's so big!" The Jin army was still guarding the west, but it did not attack, but only defended there to prevent the devils from escaping. But before the battle began, two Kirov airships had already appeared in the sky of Taiyuan City, provoking their unison of exclamation. The golden airship looked down on Taiyuan City in mid-air like a golden-armored giant beast that had just flown out of the Heavenly Palace, and it was like two golden clouds covering the sky.

Such a huge aerial object was unseen by everyone, and the oncoming breath seemed to weigh on the heart.

Anyone has a kind of horror at a huge object, and at this time, the airship marked with the logo of the vanguard army made the devil feel a sense of powerlessness in his heart.

Not only them, but also some of the people of various forces who watched the battle around them also began to be amazed by this huge airship, although it was not the first time that the vanguard army's airship battle, but the number of people who saw it that time was small, and the description could not withstand the shock of seeing it with their own eyes. Especially those in Taiyuan City can only look up at the top of their heads, which is even more frightening.

"That's our airship!" The soldiers of the New First Army and the New Eighth Army, who were in charge of the siege, saw the five-star mark of the vanguard army on the huge boat, although many of them saw this kind of airship for the first time, but it did not affect the instant increase in their pride.

"Although airships are somewhat restrained in the face of aircraft and antiaircraft weapons, if they occupy air supremacy, the use of airships against ground forces is a great weapon both psychologically and tactically." Sun Liren also looked at the airship suspended in the air of Taiyuan City, and his thoughts kept churning.

It wasn't the first time he had seen such a trial airship. The last time I was dealing with the Mongolian army, I had already seen a rain of bullets from airships. This time, he also vaguely looked forward to such a spectacular scene in his heart.

"With only these two airships, we are powerless to resist!" Sun Chu put down the telescope in his hand, shook his head slightly, and said helplessly. In the Jin army, there was only a little air defense weapon that was traded with the vanguard army, and most of them were not brought because of the relative safety near Taiyuan, so there was no way to face such a huge airship. They can only be allowed to attack overhead, and they have no power to fight back.

"Luckily, fortunately!" Yang Aiyuan looked at the airship that had been parked near the city in the distance and muttered a few words. He had no doubt about the fierceness of the guns clearly visible on the pod above.

As he expected, an airship suddenly opened fire, and 36 12.7mm machine guns sprayed flames simultaneously in all directions. The bullet casings that popped out fell like rain, striking on the stone pavement and the cyan bricks and tiles in Taiyuan City. And mortar shells kept falling on the devil's defensive front at the head of the city.

In the past month, although the vanguard army did not attack Taiyuan City, it did not let the devil be stable. In addition to knocking out the fortifications outside Taiyuan City little by little, there were also constant aircraft bombing and attacks, so that the anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-aircraft guns in Taiyuan City had basically been blown into parts. The devil has also learned to be obedient, and he can use the building to dodge the attack from the sky.

But in the face of Kirov's direct and continuous attack hovering in mid-air, the devil could no longer dodge, unless he ran into the building. And for the attack of the airship, they have no way, the anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns are almost gone, how to deal with the threat from overhead?

The bullets and shells on the airship were still falling, sweeping the devil's position near the city walls from the outside in.

And the siege team of the vanguard army also swarmed up, and the bombardment of heavy artillery directly broke several large holes in the city wall.

"The accuracy of the artillery is okay!" Fu Chengguan stood on the bridge of a forklift and looked into the distance, and saw that section of the city wall collapsed in the sound of cannons, and the dust in the sky blocked his vision, but it did not affect him to see several tanks rushing forward from the gap accompanied by the infantry. In later street battles, tanks played little role, mainly because there were too many weapons that threatened tanks. But now that the frontal assault is followed by infantry, the tank can still be used as a steel shield.

"Those heavy artillery are so close, what else can't be missed? Besides, aren't the coordinates all set? Luo Baozi next to him pursed his lips and said, "Captain Fu, when we rush over, some buildings can't be demolished randomly." Those are all cultural relics and monuments, all left to us by our ancestors! ”

Fu Chengguan didn't say much, once Luo Baozi next to him opened his mouth, he wouldn't stop talking.

Taiyuan is also a historical city, with many cultural relics and historic sites, which are easy to be destroyed during war. But what can be avoided as much as possible, Meng Xiang still hopes to leave it to future generations. In view of the protection of cultural relics and monuments in various places, the Association for the Protection of Cultural Relics and Monuments has been established. When fighting, some protective measures will also be taken into account in advance.

Just like this siege, Meng Xiang did not let people destroy the city gate again. It is not only the focus of the devil's defense, with heavy troops, but also the city gate tower can be completely preserved, and it will also be a scenic spot in the future. Meng Xiang chose to demolish the city wall not far away.

In the future, with the expansion of the city, although Meng Xiang will not build man-made attractions after demolishing all the city walls as in later generations, some of the city walls will definitely need to be demolished to facilitate the smooth flow of roads. Therefore, according to the newly released road planning and design drawings of Taiyuan City, Meng Xiang directly used heavy artillery to break through the part of the city wall that needed to be opened.

In the same way, some important monuments in the city have also been marked and paid attention to, and they should not be easily destroyed unless they are a last resort. Luo Baozi was followed by the Cultural Relics and Monuments Protection Association to assist in the work, of course, his big name is Luo Bao, and Luo Baozi is just a nickname given to him by Fu Chengguan. After all, Fuchengguan is a newly formed experimental team of the vanguard army to attack the city and fight in the streets, and it is specially here to engage in sabotage. During this period of time, Luo Baozi stared at Fu Chengguan.

It is impossible for a war to be without damage and casualties, and compared to those cultural relics and monuments, Meng Xiang is more worried about the lives of his soldiers. People are alive, and behind every soldier there is a family. If there are too many people sacrificed for the sake of a monument, it will not be worth the loss. If it weren't for this attack on Taiyuan, the vanguard army had a great grasp and made all the preparations, and Meng Xiang would not have ordered special attention to those monuments. Only when people live can they create more miracles and inherit more Chinese civilization.

However, the vanguard was indeed well prepared. Although the New First Army and the New Eighth Army did not come under pressure from the whole army, the drills of the teams participating in the siege have not stopped during this period of time, and they are waiting for this practice.

As soon as the walls were broken, the soldiers rushed in with the tanks, while the devils who were blocking the surrounding were suppressed by the artillery of the vanguard army. Mortar shells, large and small, are not just coming from outside the city, but also overhead.

"Why are there so many mortars on the airship?" The commander of the 109th Division, Anan Weiji, also saw the airship in the sky, and he couldn't say a word at that time except for shock. The performance of the vanguard army has exceeded his knowledge of Huaxia. Such a large airship is rare in the world, and after World War I, the airship that was easily beaten into a big fireball has withdrawn from the battlefield. Now even in civilian use, with several accidents, the airship has become a declining phase. But at this time, the appearance of the vanguard airship made him stare dryly after losing his anti-aircraft weapons.

Originally, he relied on the buildings in the city to prepare for street fighting, but at this time he suddenly discovered that street fighting also needed the support of air supremacy. Otherwise, it will be beaten intuitively and passively like now.

Looking from his hidden headquarters, he could faintly see the constant falling mortar shells from the airship, constantly exploding clouds of gunpowder over the fortifications near the city walls. Naturally, he did not know that the airship was carrying four M19 self-loading mortars.

When the Kirov airship first appeared, it used four 76mm cannons, which were okay for long-range fire, but for dealing with this situation, this kind of gun was somewhat inappropriate. And the huge recoil also leads to a large error. So Meng Xiang changed them to the current M19 self-loading mortar.

Because it was on the airship, the protective armor was removed and an automatic reloading system was installed, so that the mortar could fire at a maximum rate of 120 rounds per minute. And the huge bomb load of the airship also relieved it of its worries about ammunition. So the mortar fire on the airship at this time was like a gun several times over. Hail-like shells fell on the devil's defensive position, smashing the devil so much that he didn't dare to stick out his head. The artillery scouts on the airship also constantly guided the artillery outside the city to clean up the fortifications around the city wall little by little.

"The eastern wall has fallen!" Anan Wei's ears heard a reminder from the adjutant's staff officer.

"Got it!"

It didn't take long for a new battle report to arrive.

"The position of the southern wall has been lost!"

"Got it." Anan could see it himself, the pillars of smoke there were soaring into the sky, and the sound of gunfire and shouting of killing had drifted here.

"The northern wall is lost!" The loss of the staff officer was not that one point was broken through by the vanguard army, but that the entire point was attacked by the vanguard army. The remaining stubborn resistance won't last long.

"I see!" Anan Wei glared at the staff adjutant with red eyes, and the staff adjutant shrank his neck slightly, but he still stood straight, and acted as a punching bag with some grievances in his heart.

He listened to these unfavorable battle situations, but he didn't have a good way. Although they had expected the attack of the vanguard army to be fierce from the beginning, they also had the will to die, and made what they thought was the most rigorous arrangement. But when it came to the end, the swiftness of the vanguard attack was still beyond his expectations.

The heavy guards guarding the city gate did not work, and they were blocked by the vanguard army that broke through the gap in the city wall, and the mortar and machine guns were grinded to death, and the soldiers on the city wall were scattered by the airships in the air, and even some of the arrangements of the commanding heights were destroyed. In addition to the huge hull of the airship that brings the devils a depressed sense of powerlessness, the weapons it carries also make the devils frightened.

The few remaining anti-aircraft weapons of the devil were also killed by a few more Il-10 attack planes, and there was no threat of anti-aircraft weapons, and the airship landed even lower, which made the machine guns and mortars on the top more fully used.

The airship was like an ammunition depot, the machine guns and mortars seemed to never stop, and the devils had spotted another threat on the airship - snipers.

After all, it is urban warfare, no more than the unobstructed rain on the plains that can seem to be feared and just dump ammunition. Based on the experience of the last time he fought in the mountains, Meng Xiang added some snipers to the airship to accurately suppress the devil's firepower. Street fighting is more about dealing with a single target, and sometimes a sniper is more useful than a machine gun.

In order to facilitate the sniper's attack, the airship fell to a height of several hundred meters, and the huge hull pressed on the top of the head made people feel more like Mount Tai was overhead. Its most important bombing mission was temporarily put on hold because of the needs of the battlefield.

Condescendingly, and with the armor protection of the airship pod, the safety of the snipers is guaranteed to a certain extent, they just need to solve those troubles in the air. Of course, simple sniper rifles are still a little difficult in the air, and these snipers use sniper rifles modified from anti-tank guns because they don't need to move around the place.

The modification force was limited, and at this time it was equipped with only two types, the German 7.92mm PZB39 and the Finnish L-39 Elephant.