Li Zhongyue did not say much. Upon receiving the order, he led his search team members to mount their horses and galloped into the distance. The 180 search team members had been reborn and were equipped with the best equipment. Every one of them was equipped with Type 03 rifles, Type 92 pistols, three Type 09 armored vehicles, twelve Type 63 personnel carriers, one communication vehicle, one medical vehicle, one logistics vehicle, two Hongq-9 anti-tank missile vehicles, and twenty-four assault vehicles equipped with heavy machine guns and Type 80 95mm recoilless cannons.
The firepower of the search brigade of 180 people was stronger than any of the garrison regiments under Zhang Xiao Qiang's command. Li Yao, the commander of the 1st Garrison Regiment, was almost envious to death. Just the armored transport vehicles that transported ammunition and supplies were more than the armored vehicles that he had seized by force.
Zhang Xiaoqiang looked at the distant search team with gratification. This time, all the good stuff he had obtained from the barracks had been used on the search team and the main force.
Especially the main force, the twelve main tanks, nineteen Type 09 IFVs, twenty-one Type 04 IFVs, as well as the related armored command vehicles, armored maintenance vehicles, and missile defense vehicles formed the armored battalion, which became Zhang Xiaoqiang's sharpest saber.
Compared to the main force that had expanded to 2200 people, the other units were not so good. The cavalry regiment's equipment was slightly worse, but they had enough rocket launchers and standard weapons. The first battalion was equipped with M4A1 imitation rifles, while the second battalion was equipped with Type 95 assault rifles. Although the two rifles were of different models, the caliber was the same. They were all equipped with 5.56mm NATO ammunition. Although the two battalions looked a little messy, it was nothing to Zhang Xiaoqiang. First, the two rifles could be equipped with rifle grenades to supplement the lack of artillery fire. The recoil was small, allowing the rider to fire quickly and accurately.
When it came to the garrison regiment and the independent regiment, everything became a mess. Type 95 rifles, Type 81 rifles, AK74 rifles, as long as there was one, they were all equipped. Needless to say, there were machine guns, some from the Soviet Union, some from China, some from the old, and some from the Soviet Union. The heavy firepower was even worse. Zhang Xiaoqiang was too biased, equipping the rocket launchers and 85mm and above cannons to the artillery battery of the main force. The other units could only watch and drool.
Compared to the garrison regiment and the independent regiment, Alatan Aodu was in a worse state. They did not even have enough ammunition. Although they had more than 500 cavalry, they did not have sabers, and they were all plundered by Tie Zhongyuan. There was a serious lack of vehicles. The infantrymen were all on foot, and the remaining vehicles did not have any fuel. The only thing that was better than the garrison regiment was that their weapons were all AK74s, which could be considered institutionalized. They did not lack light and heavy machine guns and rocket launchers. They even had their own artillery battery, but these could only be used as decorations. From top to bottom, they could only hope that the Minister of Industry, Xiang Fei, would give them some ammunition.
Compared to the chaos of the second line of troops, the Silver Stream Army was gradually recovering. They had replenished the soldiers that Zhang Xiaoqiang had given them. They had three infantry battalions and one armored battalion. They did not lack weapons or ammunition. The only thing that made Wang Shaohua feel ridiculous was that the soldiers that Zhang Xiaoqiang gave him were all Mongolians.
After these Mongolians were reorganized, they participated in training together with the previous veterans. The scene was as strange as it could be. Although they did not cause any big trouble under the suppression of the higher-ups, whenever they were eating or having fun, both sides would inevitably get into fights. This had also become a specialty of the Silver Stream Army. Every day, there would always be someone going to the infirmary to have a heart-to-heart talk with an old virgin nurse.
Finally, after all the troops were reorganized, Zhang Xiaoqiang's direct subordinates consisted of the main force and the search brigade. In addition to the search brigade's personnel, there were 2,500 people in total. The three garrison regiments had 3,000 people, the independent regiment had 1,200 people, Xu Hao's cavalry regiment had 800 people, and Alatan and Ao Du's Blood Wolf Flag had 1,500 people.
Adding all the soldiers together, Zhang Xiaoqiang's direct subordinates had 9,000 people. If he added the Silver Stream Army's more than 2,000 people, his military strength had finally exceeded 10,000 people. He could be considered as the overlord of an entire region.
The only thing that made Zhang Xiaoqiang feel regretful was that he still could not find a helicopter. He heard that there was more than one border regiment in Inner Mongolia. He was not sure if every regiment had a helicopter. Zhang Xiaoqiang did not have high hopes. After all, unless the helicopter was being maintained or repaired, it would be exposed to the rain. Once it was exposed to the rain, it would become a piece of scrap metal.
Now, Zhang Xiaoqiang's military strength had reached its peak. With the addition of various talents, he was gradually on the right track. Xu Hao had led the cavalry battalion to sweep through the entire western region. They had almost recovered all the small towns in the western region. They had also killed more than 80% of the scattered zombies. The only place that was close to the border town was Qi County. However, because of the distance, Zhang Xiaoqiang did not want to consume too much fuel, so he did not plan to attack it. His eyes were fixed on the area along the Yellow River to Baotou. There were a lot of resources there. At the same time, he might also be able to find scattered survivors.
"When will Li Grassland's second battalion arrive …"
After sending Li Zhongyue off, Zhang Xiaoqiang turned his head to look at the commander of the second battalion, Zhang Yunzi. Zhang Yunzi was not old, but he was an old soldier who had followed Zhang Xiaoqiang through all the battles. He was also one of the few recruits who had escaped from the attack of the helicopter. He gradually accumulated merits in the subsequent battles and finally became the commander of the garrison battalion.
In the defensive battle of Salt Lake Town, his company alone repelled two battalions of infantry twelve times. In the end, he stood out and became the commander of the cavalry regiment's second battalion. It must be known that when the garrison battalion was transferred to the battle battalion, it was at most one level.
However, he had been promoted two levels and surpassed the deputy commander to become a battalion commander.
Now, he was temporarily stationed in the new county with his battalion, waiting for Li Grassland's second battalion to come and take over the defense of the new county. At the same time, there were also all kinds of people who were good at management. They were going to establish a new government. Once a city was formed, the establishment of a government would become an urgent matter. All kinds of development planning, infrastructure construction, and material production needed people to be in charge.
While they were talking, a large convoy came from afar. The convoy was under the protection of the cavalry company and was approaching the new county. When Li Grassland came to Zhang Xiaoqiang's side to report, thousands of soldiers in uniform got off the vehicles and lined up. Their encampment was not in the city. Although there were enough empty houses in the city, Li Grassland felt that it would be better to let them build their own camp to give them a sense of belonging.
The temporary county government made up of more than twenty people stood in front of Zhang Xiaoqiang and saluted him. No one was dissatisfied with this de facto ruler. Zhang Xiaoqiang's status as a ruler was not obtained through election, but through continuous battles. A military ruling represented absolute power.
Zhang Xiaoqiang did not have the self-awareness of being a ruler. He also did not think that he would one day become an emperor or the head of a country. He had always thought that he was just a small character hiding in the cracks. He only relied on his luck to get to where he was today.
Looking at this group of people, Zhang Xiaoqiang felt very strange. After officially forming the government, these people would become official officials. He had never been interested in officials. He had always thought that the so-called officials were a group of idiots who did things for their subordinates and mistresses when they had nothing to do. However, when he formed his own force, he could not lack such idiots. When he thought about how a group of vermin was born in his hands, he felt strange.
Looking at this group of seemingly respectful faces, Zhang Xiaoqiang stopped on a tall guy. This guy had different skin and hair from the people around him. To be exact, he was a Westerner, a Westerner in his forties.
Zhang Xiaoqiang could not see his specific race. This guy had a big beard and a face full of wrinkles. He looked quite old. His brown eyes looked at Zhang Xiaoqiang and did not show much respect. Although this person did not look like much, his collar and cuffs were quite neat. Obviously, he was a man who paid attention to details.
The man had a head full of silver hair. Zhang Xiao Qiang did not know if he was born this way, or if it was because of his age. Zhang Xiao Qiang's eyes scanned the man's body a few times before landing on his hands. His hands were different from most people in the apocalypse. They were very clean, too clean. It was obvious that he had not done any heavy work. Even his fingernails were trimmed cleanly.
"What's your name?"
Zhang Xiao Qiang couldn't speak any language other than Mandarin, so he asked the foreign man in Mandarin. The man raised his head and looked deeply at Zhang Xiao Qiang, who was riding on the big horse. He lowered his head to show respect to the superior, but said in pure and thick Mandarin, "Steven, full name is Steven Spielberg …"