1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 338 The Uninvited Guest of Dawanshan Island

For the Haihan militia who had seen big scenes on the Annan battlefield, the battle in Lijiazhuang was actually relatively easy. Compared with the Haihan militia, the entire combat process was almost a crush.

However, for the Li Family Mintuan who set foot on the battlefield for the first time, many people showed discomfort when facing the bloody war for the first time.Especially this round of intensive cannonball shooting knocked down the bandits rushing in rows. The scene caused many people to fight against each other, and there were even some guys who lost control at this time.

From tearing down the parapet and firing, to the time when the bandits were defeated and fled, the entire battle process actually lasted very short time.None of the bandits rushed within 50 meters of the defense line, and basically fell outside this distance.And the number of bandit corpses who died on the battlefield this time far exceeded the sum of the two victories of the previous day.

"Should we let our people go out to chase a section?" Chen Yixin asked a little unwillingly seeing his opponent collapse and run away so quickly.

Tom Wang put down the binoculars in his hand, shook his head and said, "There's no need, these people will probably never return to this place... Tell the people in Lijiazhuang to prepare to clean up the battlefield."

It was the first time in the life of the people in Lijiazhuang that they saw so many dead people. In today's battle alone, the bandit gangs left nearly [-] corpses outside Lijiazhuang, and there were no less than this number of wounded. Lying everywhere in the field.In the past, it was just rumors about how powerful the Haihan people were. After this battle, the local people obviously had a more intuitive and clear understanding of such rumors.

At this time, the weather was getting hotter. In order to prevent the outbreak of the epidemic caused by the corruption of corpses, Xiao Liang had already made a request to the Li family before the battle, asking them to clean up the battlefield as soon as possible and dispose of the enemy's corpses.After the battle, the peasants appeared outside the village pushing several flatbed carts, carried the corpses on the ground one by one into the carts, and transported them to the dug corpse pit on the east side of the village for burial.

"As you have just seen, to deal with this kind of large-scale charge, shotguns with a large killing area are an excellent choice. However, this tactic also has certain limitations, that is, the range of shotguns is relatively short. Putting the target in close range can effectively kill the target. At this time, the frequency of shooting needs to be considered in advance, so as to prevent the opponent from seizing the gap in shooting and launching a short-distance charge..." Wang Tom seized the time and gave the military academy students tactics while the iron was hot explain.

Some students raised their hands and asked, "Why don't you try to increase the range?"

Wang Tom explained: "Increasing the shooting range requires increasing the amount of propellant. In that case, the barrel may not be able to withstand the explosive force during firing. If the barrel is thickened for this purpose, it is equivalent to redesigning the barrel." A new gun has been designed... Zheng Ting, what's your problem?"

Zheng Ting asked: "I have never seen this kind of shells before. May I ask the captain, will this kind of shells be sold outside in the future?"

Wang Tom shook his head and laughed: "I don't know about this. The organization that decides to export weapons now is the 'Haihan Military Industry', not our military. If you Annan are interested in this new type of shell, you can wait until you return to Victory Port. You can go to the relevant units and ask.”

The military-industrial complex "Haihan Ordnance Industry" was officially established when it crossed the annual meeting, and it has been more than a month since then.However, because this organization involves too many aspects, most of the time after its establishment is still straightening out internal relations, and it is not in a hurry to develop business externally.Therefore, although the research and development, production and external sales of military products have been taken over in theory, in fact, not many people outside the group are aware of this change, so Zheng Ting still subconsciously asks military officials like Wang Tom for information.

The work of cleaning the battlefield continued until the afternoon when the sky was getting dark before it was declared over.According to the counting results, in this two-day Lijiazhuang defensive battle, the Communist Party of China killed 670 three rogues and captured 320 people. Although the result is not as good as the Annan battlefield, it is quite good. This result is still worthy of the money they spent in hiring the Haihan militia.

However, most of the captured rogues were injured, and the existing medical conditions are unlikely to treat so many people. Even according to an optimistic estimate, at least some of the captives About half of the people will eventually die due to serious injuries, so the actual hard labor obtained through this battle is actually not much, and it is far lower than the pre-war estimate.Of course, this result was also due to the limited troops invested by the Haihan militia, unable to encircle and chase the fleeing bandit forces in time.

News came before dark, and after identification by several captives, the bandit leader Liao Dabi who organized the gangsters to besiege Lijiazhuang this time was found among the corpses.The officers were keenly aware of the political significance of the news, and immediately ordered the body to be restrained, but they could not just throw it into a pit and bury it. It is definitely something that can be hyped positively, and the corpse will be carried to the police later.The Li family who rewarded silver or something may not be taken seriously, but if the Li family village and the Li family militia can receive public awards from the government, it will reduce a lot of resistance when deploying armed forces locally in the future.

As for the other spoils of war, there was nothing to show for it. Even the Li family’s militia didn’t like the shabby weapons, so they had to take them back to the furnace for refurbishment, and the total amount of property found by these gangsters was only a few hundred taels of silver. Not even a fraction of the military expenses of the Haihan militia.

After counting the results of the battle, the next step is to calculate the military expenditure for this battle.According to the agreement in advance, Li Jiazhuang will be responsible for paying all the expenses of the Haihan militia dispatch, and will pay in cash or "Haihan Bank" bank notes within ten days after the war.Considering the long-term friendly and cooperative relationship between the two sides, the military expenditure standard listed by the military for Lijiazhuang is also a friendly price with a discount, which is less than the cost of sending troops to Annan.Even so, the Li family father and son were still taken aback by the list issued by the military.

The basic expenses of the militia are divided into two parts. One is the military salary stationed abroad, which is one yuan per person per day, and the other is combat expenses, which is one yuan and fifty cents per person per day.This time the militia has more than three companies in combat formations, with a total of more than [-] people. For this item alone, the daily military expenditure has exceeded [-] yuan. This day's expenses are at least enough for the Li family's militia for two or three months. Daily expenses.This expense is not calculated when the militia arrives in Lijiazhuang, but is based on the time when they leave Shengli Port.

Ammunition expenditure is also calculated separately. This data is calculated by the Haihan military itself. The Li family can't even review it, so they can only write as much as they want.Just for the shotgun shells fired in the battle the next day, the military quoted as high as 20 yuan a shot.For the Li family, that meant that more than 20 cannons destroyed more than 1000 taels of silver in a short period of time.

Then there is another big expense that is freight. The military has the cheek to count the [-]th company that rushed to Panyu in the early stage as starting from Shengli Port, so the three companies add the round-trip expenses of the corresponding ships, and the calculation is also the same as the battle. The cost is about the same.As for the platoon that Xiao Liang brought over from Guangzhou, the military "magnanimously" wiped out the travel expenses of this small team as a discount—anyway, this platoon will stay and eat with the Li family, so it's nothing actual cost.

The only thing that makes the Li family father and son feel lucky in the calculation of military expenditure is that the Haihan militia did not suffer any casualties during this battle. Otherwise, according to their pension standards, they would pay 50 yuan for minor injuries, [-] yuan for severe injuries, and die in battle. Eight hundred yuan, it would be really painful to pay for it.

After the final calculation, the Li family needed to pay nearly 3000 yuan for this operation, which took only one and a half days of actual combat time.In order to show the sincerity of the auxiliary partner, Tom Wang partially reduced the fee according to the executive committee's wishes, and directly erased the fraction and calculated it as a whole number.Li Jifeng didn't bargain with Wang Tom again on the specific amount, and he readily accepted the account and took the money.

But besides the pain, Li Jifeng was also thinking that if he used money to ask the officers and soldiers to dispatch to guard Lijiazhuang, about three to four thousand taels of silver would be enough, but the effect of this battle would definitely not be comparable to that of the Haihan militia.But then I thought that although the asking price of the officers and soldiers is low, they are not as easy to deal with as the Haihan people.After thinking about this level, Li Jifeng felt that the high price the Haihan people demanded seemed to be worth it, at least what he said was true, and the matter could be resolved satisfactorily without leaving any sequelae.

The Haihan militia stayed in Lijiazhuang for another two days, and then withdrew by boat to Dawanshan Island at the mouth of the Pearl River.Xiao Liang and a platoon led by him will continue to stay in Lijiazhuang, waiting for the Li family father and son to finish handling the affairs of the village, and then return to Guangzhou City with them.

After a week of construction, Wanshan Port has begun to take shape. A number of passenger and cargo trestles have been built in the harbor, and a military camp that can accommodate 400 people has also been built on the gentle slope of the bank. A reservoir with an area of ​​about [-] square meters has been built in a mountain depression in the distance. At present, warehouses for storing armaments and coastal fortifications located in the north and south of the port are being built.

The ability to have such a fast construction speed is not only related to the detailed on-site survey and engineering plan in advance, but also to the use of a large number of prefabricated parts during the construction process.As the frequency of foreign colonization operations is gradually accelerating, relevant departments have also made more detailed adjustments to the construction plans of the colonization sites. For example, a large number of houses in the colonization sites have adopted standardized designs.The advantage of this is that part of the prefabricated parts can be produced in Shengli Port first, and after being transported to the local area, only the foundation needs to be cleaned up, and the structure can be quickly assembled, and a livable house can be built in a short time.

Although this kind of dwelling is relatively simple except for the load-bearing structure, and the walls and roof are even made of bamboo strips, its practicality is still much better than that of the traditional Qiongzhou boat house.In the past, it took at least ten laborers two to three days to build a boat-shaped house that can accommodate five or six people. However, after using the new standard, the construction efficiency has increased by at least two times compared to the past.As for the military and government officials who have the status of time traveler, their residences are still mainly prefabricated houses that have been demolished from Fort Victory.However, with the gradual increase of overseas bases, the stock of prefabricated houses is not much. The Ministry of Construction has begun to establish a project to study prefabricated houses based on the production capacity of this time and space. It is expected that in the near future, metal structures plus bamboo boards pieces of new mobile homes will appear in overseas colonization points.

A group of intact rogues captured in the battle of Lijiazhuang were also escorted to Dawanshan Island to serve hard labor. The first task they will undertake is very difficult-to build a bridge from Wanshan Port to Dawan Mountain, the highest peak on the island. In order to provide better living conditions for the outposts stationed on the top of the mountain.There is basically no possibility of escape on this island, so there is no need to build a special prison house. If anyone wants to escape the supervision and play a desert island to survive on this place, the result may only be starving to death on the island. In the dense forest.

"We need a playground, otherwise the troops stationed on the island will not be able to conduct daily training here." Chen Yixin seriously made a plea to Liu Shanxia, ​​who is in charge of the construction work: "Commercial facilities can be built in a hurry, but the training of the troops cannot stop!"

Liu Shanxia shook his head and said: "Xiao Chen, you have also traveled around the island. The island is full of slopes, and there is no place suitable for building a playground near the port. If you insist on leveling such a large piece of land, then The labor force to be occupied is overrun. What to repair first and what to repair later are all planned in advance. Now you want me to transfer hundreds of people to build a playground for you on the ground, I have no ability."

Chen Yixin thought for a while and said, "Then, Brother Liu, you can help us with the planning and site selection, and the construction will be left to our military."

While the two were bargaining, Chen Yixin's orderly came over and reported to him: "Captain Wang, please report to the combat headquarters immediately!"

"That's the deal!" Chen Yixin picked up his military cap and put it on his head, and walked out of the thatched office of the Port Construction Headquarters while talking.

When Chen Yixin arrived, he saw that all the crossing officers on the island had arrived, and it seemed that there was an emergency.

"Is everyone here? Then let me report the situation first." Wang Tom got to the point succinctly: "This morning, the peak post has discovered an unidentified ship moving back and forth in the northern waters of the island for three consecutive times. According to the observation results, The possibility of Ming army warships can be basically ruled out.”

"Could it be fishermen? The waters near here have always been famous fishing grounds, and the Ministry of Agriculture also plans to develop the fishing industry in Wanshan Port." Someone expressed his opinion.

"It's unlikely that the fisherman is a fisherman. The boats observed by the outpost are not fishing boats," Tom Wang responded.

"So someone has already discovered our existence?" Chen Yixin was not surprised by this: "Since you have been wandering around the island, maybe they are observing our movements?"

"The possibility you mentioned cannot be ruled out. So I plan to call up the sailors and meet them at sea for a while." Wang Tom looked around at the officers present and said, "During this period, Lieutenant Chen Yixin is in charge of the island's defense for the time being!"

None of the officers voiced any objection to Wang Tom's decision to lead the team to sea.Among these officers, no one can compare with Wang Tom, who is almost a professional navigator, when it comes to sea skills.Moreover, the three warships of the "Exploration Class" are now resting and waiting for orders in Wanshan Port. Except for the shipboard artillery of the latter two ships, which have not yet been fully assembled, other facilities have reached wartime standards, and they are going to patrol the sea. Definitely not a problem.

Soon the assembly number sounded on the port pier, and the sailors quickly gathered on the pier from the barracks, and then boarded the ship under the command of the officer to prepare for departure.In order to be safe, Wang Tom ordered the three ships to be dispatched together.

The fleet filed out from the harbor on the west side of the island, and then sailed northward from the Nanpingmen waterway between the big and small Wanshan Islands.According to the observation of the outpost on the top of the mountain, the unidentified ship should be currently operating in the waters between Baili Island and Dawanshan Island.

An hour after the fleet set off, through the observation of the telescope, the target was found in the northeast of Dawanshan Island, near the southern tip of Baili Island.This is a single-masted Cantonese ship. Wang Tom estimates that its displacement is about sixty or seventy tons, and it is sailing towards the west.However, when the opponent also discovered the existence of the Haihan fleet, they immediately turned their sails and tried to turn back to the east.

"I want to run with a guilty conscience!" Tom Wang put down his binoculars and issued a pursuit order.

In this kind of sea pursuit battle, the speed advantage of the "Explorer Class" warship is fully revealed. The new soft sail that can make full use of the wind and the optimized streamlined deep V hull make its speed exceed the opponent by a full double.

After chasing more than ten nautical miles to the east, the distance between the two sides has been shortened from the first few miles to two to three hundred meters. Even with the naked eye, the panicked crew on the deck of the ship can already be seen clearly.

"Fire the gun at the bow, first aim at the front of the opponent's ship, and fire three times quickly." Tom Wang decisively issued a combat order.

With the sound of a cannon, a shell flew by with a trajectory almost parallel to the front ship, and fell into the water about 40 meters in front of its bow, splashing a wave.When firing the second shot, the gunner obviously corrected the firing angle, and the landing point was probably less than 20 meters from the bow of the ship.There was a small problem during the third shot. Under the turbulence of the waves, the course of the cannonball changed after it was fired, and it almost flew past the side of the ship in front before falling into the sea.If it was a little bit higher, the shell would probably knock off a large part of the ship's side.

(End of this chapter)