83: Chapter 83 Expansion of the Army, Navy, and Air Force

## I. Steel Torrent

The sixty thousand modern infantry from the second super deluxe gift package appeared suddenly one morning.

That morning, Li Ling was eating breakfast in the military camp when his adjutant ran over in a hurry to report: "My Lord, a large number of troops have suddenly appeared outside the city. There are about sixty thousand of them, well-equipped and well-trained, and they claim to be... to be your direct troops."

Li Ling almost spat out the bun in his mouth. He naturally knew where these troops came from—sixty thousand modern infantry manifested by the system, even more elite than his elite troops. But he could not show it and had to pretend to be surprised.

"Let's go take a look."

He rode his horse to the outskirts of the city and saw a neat military camp rising from the ground from afar. The barracks were arranged neatly, as if measured with a ruler, with the same distance maintained between each building. Around the barracks were training grounds, shooting ranges, warehouses, and various facilities, all in perfect order.

Sixty thousand soldiers stood in formation on the parade ground, wearing unified camouflage combat uniforms, steel helmets, military boots, and holding the latest rifles. They stood straight with piercing gazes, exuding the murderous aura of battle-hardened elites, like a pack of tigers ready to pounce on their prey at any moment.

Li Ling stood on the reviewing stand, looking at those soldiers, a surge of pride rising in his heart.

"Brothers!" he said loudly, "From today on, you are Li Ling's soldiers! What you need to do is listen to my orders, protect my people, and defeat my enemies! Do you have confidence?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" sixty thousand people shouted in unison, the sound shaking the clouds and startling the birds in the distant forest.

"Very good!" Li Ling nodded with satisfaction, "All units, return to quarters and train according to the predetermined plan. Three days later, I want to see you all in a state of combat readiness!"

"Yes!"

After the troops returned to quarters, Li Ling began to arrange the organization and deployment of these new soldiers.

The sixty thousand men were organized into two Infantry Divisions. Each division comprised three infantry regiments, one artillery regiment, one reconnaissance battalion, one engineer battalion, and one logistics battalion. Each infantry regiment consisted of three infantry battalions, each infantry battalion had three infantry companies, and each infantry company had three infantry platoons. The structure was strict, the command clear, and it was set up entirely according to modern military standards.

The weaponry made Li Ling even more overjoyed. Every soldier was equipped with the latest automatic rifle, with an effective range of eight hundred meters and a rate of fire of six hundred rounds per minute, with firepower far exceeding any Army of this era. Each infantry squad was also equipped with a light machine gun, each infantry company was equipped with two Mortars, and each infantry regiment was equipped with one Heavy Machine Gun company and one Artillery Company. The artillery regiment was equipped with thirty-six 105mm howitzers, with a range of up to twelve kilometers and amazing power.

"System, aren't these weapons too advanced?" Li Ling touched a light machine gun, unable to put it down, "Placed in this era, it's simply bullying."

"Host, this is a dimensional reduction strike." the system said proudly, "Using 21st-century weapons to fight a 19th-century Army, there is no suspense about the outcome."

"However, being too advanced is also a problem." Li Ling frowned, "Training and logistics are big issues. These weapons require a large amount of ammunition and accessories. Can the Production Base keep up with the supply?"

"The Production Base can meet the demand." the system said, "Moreover, the host can arrange for personnel to go to the Production Base to learn maintenance and repair technology, and gradually establish your own logistics system."

"That's good." Li Ling nodded, "Feeding and housing sixty thousand people is not a small number. I have to prepare in advance."

## II. Spreading Wings in the Blue Sky

Before the organization of the sixty thousand infantry was fully sorted out, the Aviation Squadron also arrived.

Twelve biplanes were neatly arranged at the airport, their silver-white fuselages shining with dazzling light in the sun. Each plane was about eight meters long with a twelve-meter wingspan, equipped with a 300-horsepower piston engine, with a top speed of 180 kilometers per hour, a service ceiling of 4,000 meters, and a range of 500 kilometers.

Li Ling circled the first plane several times, his hands trembling with excitement.

This was the first time he had seen a plane since he transmigrated to this era. Although in his past life, this type of biplane was just an antique in a museum, in 1899, they were definitely the overlords of the sky, and no weapon could threaten them.

"System, can these planes carry bombs?"

"Yes." the system replied, "Each plane can carry four 50kg-class aerial bombs, or two 100kg-class aerial bombs. The bombs use impact fuzes and have high throwing accuracy. In addition, machine guns can be installed on the nose or wings for ground strafing."

"Can they fight in aerial combat?"

"Yes. But the host needs to understand that there are no other countries' planes in this era. So air combat will not happen in the short term. The main mission of these planes is ground attack and reconnaissance."

Li Ling nodded and called over the commander of the Aviation Squadron—a young man in his early thirties named Commander Zhao Peng, who was a flight expert manifested by the system.

"Commander Zhao Peng, from today on, you are the captain of the Aviation Squadron." Li Ling patted his shoulder, "I will give you three months to make all twelve planes combat-ready. I want to see the pilots master all subjects such as takeoff, landing, formation flying, and ground attack."

"Yes!" Commander Zhao Peng saluted, "My Lord, I have one more request."

"Speak."

"We need more pilots." Commander Zhao Peng said, "Twelve planes need at least twenty-four pilots and the same number of mechanics. Currently, the squadron only has twelve pilots and twelve mechanics, which is far from enough."

"That's easy to handle." Li Ling nodded, "Select a group of smart and healthy soldiers from the Army and send them to the Aviation Squadron for training. In addition, transfer a group of technical personnel from the Production Base to supplement the mechanics."

"Thank you, My Lord!"

## III. First Flight

Five days after the Aviation Squadron was formed, Li Ling decided to test fly it himself.

Commander Zhao Peng turned pale with fright when he heard the news: "My Lord, this is too dangerous! You are the master of an Army, if there is any mishap..."

"Where do all these 'what ifs' come from?" Li Ling interrupted him, put on his flight suit, flight cap, and goggles, "Let me tell you, as for flying a plane, in my past life... never mind, I won't tell you. Anyway, I know what I'm doing."

He climbed into the cockpit, fastened his seat belt, and checked the instruments and joystick. Although this set of equipment was much simpler than the advanced fighter jets he had come into contact with in his past life, the basic principles were the same—throttle, joystick, rudder; the operating logic for takeoff and landing was not essentially different.

Commander Zhao Peng stood beside the wing, watching him with a worried face: "My Lord, do you really know how to fly?"

"Watch." Li Ling pushed the throttle, the engine roared, the propeller rotated at high speed, and the plane began to taxi forward.

The speed became faster and faster, and the trees on both sides of the runway retreated rapidly. Li Ling gently pulled the joystick, the nose of the plane lifted, and the plane left the ground, wobbling into the sky.

"Good!" The soldiers on the ground cheered.

Li Ling circled in the air a few times, feeling the wind blowing on his face. Although the performance of this plane could not be compared with the fighter jets of his past life, the feeling of flying freely in the sky was the same.

He did a roll, then a dive, and then pulled up the nose, rushing into the high sky. On the ground, the cheers of those soldiers became farther and farther away, smaller and smaller, and finally disappeared in the roar of the engine.

"Host, take it easy!" the system shouted in his mind, "The structural strength of this plane is limited, it can't withstand you tossing it around like this!"

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Li Ling laughed, "It's been a long time since I flew, my hands are a bit itchy."

He flew in the air for about twenty minutes, then aimed at the runway and landed slowly. The landing gear shook slightly when it touched the ground, and the plane stopped steadily on the runway.

Li Ling jumped off the plane, took off his goggles, and let out a long breath.

"Refreshing!"

Commander Zhao Peng ran over, looking at him with disbelief: "My Lord, when did you learn to fly?"

"In a dream." Li Ling said solemnly, "Alright, don't ask so many questions. From today on, the training intensity for all pilots will be doubled. I want to see these twelve planes fully capable of combat within a month."

"Yes!" Commander Zhao Peng saluted.

## IV. Air-Ground Coordination

While the Aviation Squadron began training, Li Ling was also planning tactics for air-ground coordination.

He summoned the commanders of the Army and the Air Force to hold a tactical seminar.

"Future wars will no longer be single land or naval wars, but three-dimensional wars integrating land, sea, and air." Li Ling stood in front of the blackboard, drawing diagrams with chalk, "The Army advances on the ground, the Air Force provides support in the air, and the Navy provides fire support along the coast. Only by coordinating the three can we exert maximum combat effectiveness."

The commanders looked at each other. Although they believed in Li Ling's judgment, they still had a half-understanding of this brand-new way of fighting.

"My Lord, how do we fight with air-ground coordination?" an Army general asked.

"Simple." Li Ling drew a picture on the blackboard, "For example, if we want to attack an enemy position. First, use the Air Force to bomb and destroy the enemy's fortifications and firepower points. Then the artillery opens fire to suppress the enemy's remaining firepower. Finally, the infantry charges to capture the position in one fell swoop."

"What if the enemy has anti-aircraft weapons?" another general asked.

"Anti-aircraft weapons?" Li Ling laughed, "What anti-aircraft weapons are there in this era? Even if there were, they couldn't hit a plane at an altitude of 4,000 meters. Therefore, our Air Force is invincible in this era."

The commanders nodded one after another, their eyes full of excitement.

"Therefore, the focus of the next training is air-ground coordination." Li Ling continued, "The Army must learn how to guide the Air Force to strike targets, and the Air Force must learn how to identify friend from foe and drop bombs accurately. Both sides must cooperate tacitly to win battles."

"Yes!"

After the meeting, Li Ling stood alone in front of the window, watching the planes training at the airport.

"System, do you think the Northern Expedition will be much simpler with these planes?"

"Much simpler, but not without risks." the system said, "After all, the plane is still a new piece of equipment with a high failure rate and complex maintenance. Moreover, pilots need a lot of training to form combat capability. If you rush into battle, problems may arise."

"I know." Li Ling nodded, "So I'm not in a hurry. Take it slow, step by step."

He turned around, walked back to the table, and continued to improve the Northern Expedition plan.

Outside the window, the sun was setting, and the golden sunlight sprinkled on the airport, dyeing those silver-white planes into a golden red.