Tao Chengzhang was not a petty person. Since he had handed the Guangfu Army's Dare-to-Die Corps over to Xu Xilin, he didn't play any small tricks. Xu Xilin was even more so; since everything he wanted to say had been said, when it came time for bloody battle, Xu Xilin didn't want to talk nonsense at all.

The Dare-to-Die Corps was a permanent military unit within the Guangfu Army. This military unit undertook assaults and storming fortifications; whenever there was a battle with the greatest casualties and highest danger, the Dare-to-Die Corps had to undertake the majority of it. Not only in the Guangfu Society, but in the armed forces formed by other revolutionary parties, the military unit of the Dare-to-Die Corps existed without exception. This could also be considered a tradition. Historically, this kind of troop had a title called "Tooth Soldiers" (Ya Bing). It probably took the meaning of the sharp fangs and teeth of a fierce beast when attacking.

Of course, as a Dare-to-Die Corps, while facing much higher risks, they also enjoyed more privileges. For example, in terms of equipment, besides each man having a standard long gun, officers also had short guns (pistols). The supply of bombs was also provided to the Dare-to-Die Corps on a priority basis. Ordinary organic Guangfu Army units only had long guns. As for the troops developed and led by Guangfu Society members who rushed over later, each unit was given a certain number of firearms. For other vassal troops that came along, the Guangfu Society only had verbal appeasement and the provision of food support.

This was also something that couldn't be helped. The Guangfu Society was not a great god possessing brainwashing techniques; it was impossible to turn everyone standing under the Guangfu Society banner into a warrior who feared not death. This organization could only distinguish closeness and distance based on the degree of obedience to the organization. From this perspective, the gap in closeness and distance between the various heroes within the Guangfu Society was no smaller than the relationship gap with the People's Party.

Now the Dare-to-Die Corps had about five hundred people, which wasn't much different compared to before the Hangzhou campaign. It was just that the old Dare-to-Die Corps now had nearly two hundred wounded soldiers who hadn't returned to the unit, and the newly replenished ones were personnel recommended by various factions from different places afterward. The Dare-to-Die Corps not only had preferential treatment in equipment, but the Dare-to-Die Corps itself was also a status. In front of other Guangfu Society comrades, one didn't need to put on other airs; just saying proudly "I am from the Dare-to-Die Corps" would immediately make one be looked upon highly. Now there was also a rumor outside regarding the Dare-to-Die Corps: "Wait until Nanjing is conquered, everyone in the Dare-to-Die Corps will be given an official title." Under such stimulation, after Xu Xilin took charge of the Dare-to-Die Corps, people coming personally to recommend themselves or asking others to intercede came in an endless stream. Most of the interceders were of humble origin, aiming to get a chance to sell their lives by joining the Dare-to-Die Corps. If they didn't die on the battlefield, they would be an official of some size in the future and would never be ordered about by others again.

Xu Xilin originally thought of taking advantage of the last few days before setting off to rectify the Dare-to-Die Corps well, but his work was interrupted time and again by people coming to intercede. This couldn't help but make Xu Xilin feel very annoyed. For the first two days, he personally handled this; later, Xu Xilin simply refused to see such people at all.

When inspecting Anhui, Xu Xilin and others had also inspected the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army. At that time, Xu Xilin really had his eyes opened. From basic skills like marching in formation to weapon assembly and maintenance, and even more advanced things like shooting and grenade throwing, the military literacy of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army gave Xu Xilin a great intuitive cognition of how an army fights. When Xu Xilin really wanted to pass this precious knowledge on to the Dare-to-Die Corps, he suddenly understood an idiom: "Handan Toddle" (imitating others and losing one's own ability).

It is said that the person who went to Handan to learn the walking posture didn't manage to learn the elegant walking posture of the Handan people; instead, he even forgot how he used to walk before, and finally had to crawl home. Take the training of "weapon disassembly" for example. The People's Party's training purpose was very clear: first let everyone know the structure of the firearm and the shooting principle. When encountering problems during rifle shooting, one could quickly troubleshoot and continue to engage in combat. Rifle malfunctions were very common in these years, and mastering such technology was very necessary; Xu Xilin agreed deeply with this.

The problem lay in that Xu Xilin simply didn't figure out why the People's Party attached such importance to firearm maintenance. Because they adopted infantry squad and platoon tactics, the People's Party's troop deployment density was far lower than the infantry tactics adopting line infantry volley fire ("queuing up to be shot"). If one rifle in a People's Party squad dared to malfunction, it meant losing nearly 10% of the firepower on a very long battle line. But for the formation model adopting line infantry volley fire, on a defensive line where the People's Party used a squad as a unit, they could put three or even five times the troops of the People's Party. If just one or two guns malfunctioned, the problem simply wouldn't show.

Seeing only the manifestation but failing to understand the deep reasons under this appearance, the results of Xu Xilin's weapon disassembly training were greatly discounted. Not to mention that firearm disassembly itself was also a science. On the first day of training, firearm disassembly led to several rifles being damaged. And quite a few people installed the rifle parts back, and when the rifle was roughly restored to its original state, they found there were a few "extra" parts they didn't know where to install.

Rifles were very precious equipment for the Guangfu Society. Damaging firearms before fighting even started made the Guangfu Society cadres, who had no concept of logistical maintenance at all, feel great heartache. After finally installing the firearms and exchanging them for new ones with great difficulty, the logistics department cadres begged in a pitiful tone, "Mr. Xu, please don't add to our mess anymore. We beg you."

There were few people who understood firearm installation to begin with. If Xu Xilin insisted on conducting this kind of dangerous training again, this part of the personnel would be tired to death just wiping Xu Xilin's ass. Looking at the pleading gazes of these personnel, Xu Xilin had to agree to their request.

If firearm disassembly couldn't continue, the subsequent "test firing and calibration" training naturally couldn't proceed smoothly. Xu Xilin had once asked Chen Ke a question: how can one shoot a gun accurately? As the side with inferior troop strength, Xu Xilin hoped very much that "every bullet wipes out an enemy." Chen Ke then talked about "test firing." Originally, Chen Ke didn't understand these either. Chen Ke once thought maintenance was just wiping the gun and oiling it to prevent dust and sand from entering the bore. Although he knew about the rifling inside the barrel, Chen Ke's understanding of maintenance absolutely didn't include "calibration."

The first ones to bring the concept of "calibration" into the army were actually a few "gunners" (hunters/bandits) who joined the "Insurance Corps." As "gunners" who made a living by shooting, although they lacked theoretical knowledge, they knew that without sufficient "calibration," they simply wouldn't know "where the bullet would skew to." These "gunners" didn't shoot purely by aiming; they could adjust the aiming angle according to the different firearms in their hands.

At the "Soldiers' Meeting," the gunners who performed excellently in shooting training stammeringly confessed their secrets under the questioning of the soldiers. The troops immediately spontaneously started primitive "calibration." Later, at the military democracy meeting, "calibration" was learned by the Military Commission. After a discussion linking theory with practice, the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, still named "Insurance Corps" then, began to formulate a systematic "calibration" system. Every rifle had to undergo "calibration" adjustment regularly. This greatly improved the shooting accuracy of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army in combat.

The knowledge Xu Xilin got from the People's Party was all superficial knowledge. He couldn't possibly be very clear about the significance of "calibration." Moreover, "calibration" was to coordinate with infantry squad and platoon tactics. If there was no column offensive training, but instead nesting in a bunch for massed shooting, the importance of "calibration" was even more greatly discounted. With the time to do this kind of fine work, it would be more efficient to practice throwing bombs more.

Grenade throwing training also failed to achieve the results Xu Xilin imagined by far. The People's Party used standard hand grenades. Grenade throwing training was completely standardized large-scale training. The Guangfu Society used homemade bombs. Leaving aside the explosive power of the bombs, just in terms of mass and volume, they were all different. Throwing relied entirely on personal aptitude and imagination, and the effect couldn't be guaranteed even more.

After undergoing this training, the Guangfu Society's Dare-to-Die Corps consumed tremendous energy but failed to universally improve combat levels. The comrades all felt extremely exhausted, and their spirits were even worse than before training. Helpless, Xu Xilin accepted the suggestion of cadre Xu Shuisheng to suspend training and let the Dare-to-Die Corps rest completely and thoroughly.

"Shuisheng, how do you think we should train next?" Even the energetic Xu Xilin showed fatigue after a few days.

"Mr. Xu, the plan for today is nothing better than letting everyone dare to rush forward during battle. When two armies meet, the brave one wins. Doesn't our Restoration Army rely on courage to surpass the Qing army?" Xu Shuisheng's suggestion was quite serious.

"Mm." Xu Xilin nodded in agreement.

Although he proposed a very serious suggestion, Xu Shuisheng felt quite complicated in his heart. Xu Shuisheng was a People's Party man. He was originally doing business in Anhui. During the first Battle of Anqing, he was forcibly taken back to the base area as a Manchu Qing official for some reason. After screening, it was found they caught the wrong person. So they issued travel expenses and dry rations to let him go home. This kind of "benevolence and righteousness" was inevitably too shocking in this era. Xu Shuisheng was initially like a fish slipping through the net, but after walking in the disaster area for three days, he found he simply couldn't walk out on his own. Although there were still dry rations, money couldn't buy food in the disaster area. In desperation, Xu Shuisheng ran back to Fengtai County and boldly asked if he could follow the People's Party's fleet back to Zhejiang.

The People's Party arranged for them to leave with the next round of the fleet. During the stay, having more contact with the People's Party, Xu Shuisheng's fear gradually faded, and he became interested in the People's Party instead. He was originally a relatively down-and-out small merchant, so he naturally hoped to attach himself to a big power. Back and forth, Xu Shuisheng expressed his willingness to work in the base area. At that time, the base area lacked people. Since Xu Shuisheng requested it himself, Xu Shuisheng, who could write and calculate, was recruited.

Half a year ago, Xu Shuisheng was ordered to return to Ningbo to form a team and join the Guangfu Society. Xu Shuisheng's hometown Ningbo didn't lack coolies; money was enough to raise a team of twenty or thirty people. Tao Chengzhang called on the Zhejiang revolutionaries to gather in Hangzhou, and this unit possessing seven or eight guns went to Hangzhou. The treatment for having guns and not having guns was different, especially for small units that had no connection with the Guangfu Society before. After all, having worked in the base area, while Xu Shuisheng's insight improved, his feeling for military affairs was naturally different too. When attacking Hangzhou, Xu Shuisheng and his unit performed quite outstandingly and soon became one of the main forces of the Dare-to-Die Corps.

At the same time, the People's Party's intelligence agency obtained a large amount of internal news of the Guangfu Society relying on this insider line, Xu Shuisheng.

Xu Shuisheng didn't know before why the base area talked big about standardization. "Close enough is fine," this was Xu Shuisheng's view. Only after comparison did he understand now that this wasn't a problem of "close enough," but a big problem of "a miss is as good as a mile." Close enough applied to products like standard weapons; there would definitely be various differences. But if there were differences in guiding ideology, don't look at how similar the external imitation is; in reality, it's not the same thing at all. Xu Shuisheng even realized a problem close to the philosophical field: under Chen Ke's leadership, the People's Party was "acting according to laws," while the Guangfu Society was pursuing "the result they hoped for." What exactly was the difference between the two, Xu Shuisheng couldn't see clearly no matter what, but he could feel that the difference between the two was as far apart as heaven and earth.

Taking back his wild thoughts, Xu Shuisheng pulled his attention back to the problem facing reality. Because he performed well usually, Xu Xilin handed the daily work over to Xu Shuisheng to manage. After dealing with the matters at hand, Xu Shuisheng went to report. At Xu Xilin's door, he heard an argument going on inside, but heard a woman's voice asking, "What if the foreigners send troops?"