1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2431
After lunch, Tao Donglai followed Shi Diwen to visit the arsenal in the base.Due to the special geographical environment of Zhoushan, in order to prevent damage to the buildings on the island caused by various extreme weather at sea, the arsenal was deliberately chosen to be built on the mountain. To be precise, a row of caves was dug on the mountain as a Warehouse for storing weapons.On the periphery of this row of caves, solid high walls and sentry towers were built with stone strips as protective measures, which looked like a small castle from a distance.

Shi Diwen did not explain Tao Donglai's identity to the managers of the arsenal, but only said that he was an official who came to inspect Zhoushan on behalf of the Executive Committee, but this was enough to make the relevant people cheer up and be careful. Receive this unknown big shot.

"There is an infantry platoon stationed here all year round in charge of security work. The daily entry and exit registration and inspection procedures for weapons and equipment need to be signed and approved by the platoon leader on duty, the warehouse management officer and the representative of the security department. As for the consumption and damage of weapons and ammunition, each Every time, I personally review it, and strive to ensure that the weapons and equipment will not leak out to the greatest extent."

After entering the high-walled courtyard of the arsenal, Shi Diwen took Tao Donglai to the archives room where the entry and exit records were registered, and asked people to move out the written records in recent years to explain the management measures here to Tao Donglai.The Executive Committee has very strict control over the arms trade. Tao Dong repeatedly emphasized this point after he came to Zhoushan. Shi Diwen felt that he had a clear conscience. Naturally, he arranged for Tao Dong to come to the arsenal in person to confirm that the Zhoushan garrison had a good understanding of the weapons. Equipment management has not been slack.

Of course, it is definitely not enough to just look at these written records. This thing can only be used to trace the responsible person when something goes wrong, but it is difficult to find the problem directly from the text.Tao Donglai actually didn't have a clear idea of ​​how many weapons and ammunition were in the Zhoushan arsenal, but what he was good at was observing the reactions of others, and what he paid attention to was not only Shi Diwen, but also those standing beside him listening to orders. related people, etc.If there is something tricky about the arsenal, perhaps some signs can be seen from the expressions of these people.

However, seeing that these people all looked normal, and they were not particularly nervous, they didn't see any problems.Tao Donglai read a few records, and asked to go to the warehouse to actually check the inventory of weapons and equipment. Shi Diwen agreed and ordered the warehouse officer to lead the way.

Tao Donglai randomly chose one of the several cave warehouses in this row, and the warehouse officer immediately stepped forward to unlock it with a key, then opened the heavy door, and brought several windproof oil lamps, and then invited Tao Donglai and Shi Di The text enters.

Open flames should have been strictly prohibited in the arsenal, but there were no candles in this cave, and only a little natural lighting could be obtained through the opened door. The visibility was already extremely low after walking a short distance inside, so auxiliary lighting was still needed.There is a glass lampshade outside the windproof oil lamp, which is considered a relatively safe lighting tool.

"The ground and walls in the warehouse have been waterproofed, and a large amount of quicklime is used as a desiccant, which is replaced regularly, so although the cave is a bit cold, the air is not humid." Shi Diwen personally took a A windproof oil lamp led the way, explaining the design of the warehouse to Tao Donglai as he walked.

Tao Donglai noticed that the ground and walls in the cave were hardened with cement. In addition to the piles of wooden boxes in the warehouse, there were indeed bags of quicklime everywhere. It can be seen that when these warehouses were built, It is indeed quite caring.The environment of Zhoushan Island is special, and such measures are naturally to avoid rusting of weapons and dampness of ammunition as much as possible.

Tao Donglai stopped, pointed to a pile of wooden boxes next to him and said, "Move the upper two layers of boxes away."

Shi Diwen made a gesture, and several soldiers stepped forward immediately, and moved the boxes on the top according to his instructions.

Tao Donglai pointed to the exposed box and said, "Just this box, carry it outside and put it away first."

The soldier immediately followed his words and carried the long box out.Judging by its shape, it should be a loaded rifle.In this way, Tao Donglai randomly designated boxes of different sizes in several places as the next inspection objects.Shi Diwen didn't intervene in the command during this process, and only asked the soldiers to follow suit.In fact, inspection methods like this are not new. Even Shi Diwen himself occasionally conducts random inspections to ensure that the management system of the arsenal can be strictly implemented.

After the group returned to the outside, Tao Donglai began to compare the written records, checking the seals on these boxes and the number information marked on them.The weapons and equipment produced by the Sanya Arsenal will be sealed with a seal after packing, and the number information marked on the seal can be traced back to the production batch and production date.When these weapons and equipment are transported into and out of the warehouse in Zhoushan, the serial number information will be registered.

The warehouse officer reported the serial number on one of the boxes. Tao Donglai checked the record and asked the soldiers to open the box for inspection.After breaking the seal and opening the box cover, the inside was covered with straw. After digging out the stuffing, five rifles fixed on the wooden frame inside the box were revealed.

Tao Donglai leaned over and took out one casually, took a look in his hand, and carefully checked the serial number engraved on the gun body, it was indeed consistent with the seal on the box, and then put the rifle back into the box with satisfaction.Then I opened a few more boxes and checked them in the same way, but found no problems.These boxes that have been temporarily sampled will be affixed with a new seal, which will indicate the date and reason for opening the box.

"Good job." After Tao Donglai completed the inspection, he flattered him.Keeping weapons and equipment well is the job of the overseas garrison, so there is no need for special praise.

The garrison in Zhoushan is dominated by the navy, and operations at sea are fine, but cross-border military operations on land are more sensitive. The garrison troops rarely enter the mainland for activities, and they rarely use rifles.So logically speaking, the number of spare guns and ammunition stored here will not be too much.

However, considering that the distance between several ruling areas in the north and Sanya is too far, Zhoushan, where the sea port is located, also undertakes the function of storage and transshipment. A considerable part of the munitions sealed up here all the year round is for the northern garrison. Be prepared, if the situation in the north becomes turbulent and needs to enter the combat state in a short time, then these stocks in Zhoushan can be immediately transported to the north for emergency, which is at least ten days and a half months faster than organizing transportation from Sanya, which can effectively avoid delays The warplane situation arises.

Therefore, in addition to guns and ammunition, the arsenal in Zhoushan also has a lot of heavy weapons such as artillery, special weapons such as landmines and grenades, as well as a large amount of military supplies such as tents, shoes, clothing, backpacks, and medical equipment.Last year, Haihan sent troops to attack Hirado, Japan, and the year before last, Haihan sent troops to North Korea to block the invasion of the Qing army. At that time, a considerable part of the combat supplies were transported from Zhoushan to the front.With the scale of weapons and material reserves in this place, coupled with the delivery capabilities of the East China Sea Fleet, the Haihan Army can launch a local war in coastal areas or islands within a radius of thousands of miles at any time.

Tao Donglai's attitude towards the use of military means overseas is actually relatively conservative, but it still makes him very gratified to see that there are all kinds of weapons and military supplies here in Zhoushan. In his opinion, these are not just The supplies hidden in the cave are the strength for Haihan to negotiate with other countries.

"To be honest, if the executive committee allows it, I really want to find an opportunity to invite all the big shots in Jiangsu and Zhejiang to Zhoushan to visit our fleet and arsenal, so that they can truly realize our strength, and maybe we can shake the mountain and shake the tiger." Let us encounter less trouble." Seeing that the verification passed smoothly, Shi Diwen was also a little emotional at the moment.

Tao Donglai said with a smile: "I remember a large-scale exercise was held in Hangzhou Bay the year before last, right? Didn't you say that the effect was pretty good?"

Shi Diwen nodded and said: "The effect was really good at the time, but after a long time, some people with poor memory may gradually forget it... We still have to find an opportunity to show our force at the right time."

The military exercise Tao Donglai mentioned was that in 1637 North Korea faced the invasion of the Qing Dynasty and asked Haihan to send troops to help the war. At that time, Haihan organized a multinational fleet to go north. After completing the supply at Dinghai Port in Zhoushan, he organized it in Hangzhou Bay There was a wave of maritime military exercises, and officials from surrounding states were also invited to attend and observe.On the one hand, this military exercise frightened the officials in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, and on the other hand, Shi Diwen created momentum for Qu Yutong, the prefect of Ningbo, so that the superiors did not dare to easily replace the local official who had a good relationship with Haihan.

The effect of the military exercise at that time was indeed quite satisfactory. After observing the huge armed fleet on the spot, many officials who were originally hostile to Haihan lost the courage to continue to fight against it, because as long as the eyes are not blind, they can see very well. It is clear that the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions simply do not have enough military power to compete with the increasingly powerful Haihan Armed Fleet.Back then when the Haihan soldiers approached the city of Hangzhou and blocked the Qiantang River, I can still vividly remember that if there was an armed conflict with Haihan, the coastline stretching for thousands of miles, as well as the Qiantang River and the Yangtze River, could become targets of the Haihan fleet everywhere. .

In the past two years, although the Haihan Army has frequently attacked overseas, places such as Hirado, the Korean Peninsula, and Liaodong Jinzhou are too far away from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, and the brilliant achievements of the Haihan Army are not spread here enough. Therefore, it is inevitable that some situations that make Shi Diwen unhappy will gradually occur.Some newly appointed officials seem to regard Haihan as a fat sheep who can take whatever they want, and they have no idea how Haihan took Zhoushan under the noses of Jiangsu and Zhejiang officials.

Considering the close trade between Zhoushan and other places in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Shi Diwen is not willing to resort to force to solve such problems. Anyhow guy.Since it is inconvenient to use force, it might be a good idea to demonstrate force through military exercises. After all, it has been used before and it works, and it can be used for at least two or three years.

However, this kind of large-scale military exercise is not something he can make a decision with a single sentence. The plan must be reported to the executive committee, and it can only be implemented after approval.Just this time when Tao Dong came to Zhoushan for inspection, Shi Diwen looked at the opportunity to put forward his plan and test Tao Donglai's tone.If the other party has no objection, then take advantage of the trend and then propose a plan to the executive committee, the possibility of approval will be higher.

Tao Donglai said: "Military exercise? Do you have a corresponding plan? How to deal with the expenses?"

"How about half of the cost being borne by the Ministry of National Defense, and the other half being borne by the local government?" Shi Diwen seemed to have a joke when he heard Tao Donglai's tone, and Dang even said that the cost could be negotiated.

The military exercise in Hangzhou Bay two years ago did not have such a problem. It was because the coalition fleet was going northward through the waters of Hangzhou Bay, and it was very likely that it would directly participate in the war after going to North Korea. The coalition fleet also needed to be adjusted. , so it is also a very reasonable arrangement to conduct a warm-up military exercise by the way, and the relevant expenses are naturally borne by the Ministry of National Defense.

The exercise proposed by Shi Diwen this time does not have a similar environmental background, so Tao Donglai naturally wants to ask how to solve the expenses incurred during this period.If Shi Diwen intends to let the state treasury bear the burden, he can only follow the rules and submit a report to the Ministry of National Defense and the Executive Committee for application.Of course, if the local finance is willing to bear the cost by itself, then the possibility of approval will naturally be greatly increased.

Tao Donglai said: "The budget of the Ministry of National Defense is also very tight! Do you know how many people report and apply for the budget of the exercise every year? For the army, actual combat exercises are of course indispensable, but the problem is that even if it is an exercise, it consumes It will also be close to actual combat... You are leading troops yourself, so you should be very clear about this. And naval exercises are more costly than the army, you can ask Wang Tom, how long has it been since the North Sea Fleet he is leading now has not arranged actual combat exercises."

Shi Diwen smiled bitterly and said, "Mr. Tao, the situation over Tom's side is different from mine. The North Sea Fleet has to sweep the Liaodong Peninsula at least once a year. That's actual combat, so there's no need for special drills! And I heard that he This winter, I took the fleet all the way north to the Soya Strait. This trip back and forth is not better than holding several military exercises? Look at my East China Sea Fleet. After defeating Hirado last year, there is nothing to do, soldiers We are just guarding Zhoushan’s one-acre three-point land, the knife will rust if it is not sharpened, and the soldiers will fall behind if it is not trained. If things go on like this, the combat effectiveness of the East China Sea Fleet will definitely decline!"

Tao Donglai said: "If you want to talk about your ability to complain about suffering, it is really no worse than leading troops to fight! Then, tell me first, where the East China Sea Fleet is planning to carry out this military exercise, and how many troops you plan to invest. What training content is there, I will listen to your arrangement if it is suitable."

"That's right!" Shi Diwen said happily: "Mr. Tao, listen to me one by one. If you think my arrangement is appropriate, you can agree to it."

(End of this chapter)