1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3765

Judging from the performance we have seen so far, the training results of these students are obviously unsatisfactory. If we make a horizontal comparison, the combat level of Arab warriors using muskets is probably far inferior to the musketeers of neighboring countries who were established earlier.

Great powers like Persia and the Ottoman Empire had long since purchased "advanced" weapons and equipment from Western countries through various channels and had established organized firearms units.

The equipment and tactics of the firearms forces of these countries are certainly not as good as those of their Arab counterparts supported by Hai Han, but they should have certain advantages in training levels and combat experience.

If the armed forces of the Hihu tribe want to stand out in this region and become the little overlord of the Persian Gulf, they still need to have strong skills. This musket tactics is the most basic housekeeping skill. If they can't even practice this well, then these Arabs don't have to hope to sweep across the Persian Gulf on their own.

Of course, these Arabs have only received one month of training so far, and it is unrealistic to expect them to reach the level of veterans.

It was precisely with this in mind that Takahashi Minami did not publicly comment on their performance, but simply called little Abdullah to his side and pointed out to him the various shortcomings of these Arab fighters.

After hearing this, little Abdullah said with a look of shame: "The general is right. I will definitely make them strengthen their training and show a performance that will satisfy the general as soon as possible!"

Takahashi Nan corrected him, "No, you are wrong. Their training goal is not to satisfy me, but to become qualified soldiers and warriors! If they fail to meet the standards, they will most likely lose their lives on the battlefield in the future, because their enemies will not be like me, who can give them the chance to start over again and again."

At this point, Takahashi Nan emphasized, "If we give them two or three years of training, I believe they will all become qualified fighters, but we don't have that much time. After two months, no matter what the training results are, they must step onto the battlefield and begin to participate in real combat operations."

"If you care about their lives and hope that they can all become strong men who can fight against a hundred people alone, then you have to make stricter demands on them like I did. You have to make them understand that they must do their best in training and master the combat skills we teach them, so that they can survive in the cruel battlefield in the future."

"You have to tell them that if they want to become heroes of the future Xihu country, they must first become qualified warriors!"

Little Abdullah nodded repeatedly, indicating that he would follow Takahashi Minami's instructions and strengthen the requirements for trainees.

Takahashi Minami had actually said something similar to this to military trainees from many countries, but he was not sure whether it would work on the Arabs.

Generally speaking, foreign troops trained by Hai Han would not truly understand the tactics they were practicing until they had experienced real combat operations. There were also cases where they performed poorly in the early stages of their formation due to lack of actual combat experience.

Takahashi Nan had not seen the past combat performance of these Arab warriors. In fact, he was a little worried. In the absence of sufficient mutual understanding between the two sides, whether this new army could fully follow the training model of the Hai Han Army and reach the same level as those auxiliary armies in East Asia.

Compared with Fubo Port, which has received assistance from local forces, the situation in Zhenhai Port, which is far away at the junction of Asia and Africa, is even more difficult.

The Special Operations Division currently has only a few hundred personnel deployed in Zhenhai Port. In addition to building port infrastructure and garrison bases, they also have to undertake combat patrol missions in nearby areas. Of course, there does not seem to be any hostile force in this area that is qualified to be Hai Han's opponent. The purpose of this patrol is not to fight, but to familiarize themselves with the surrounding environment, and then gradually establish Hai Han's sphere of influence in the nearby area, and then control the waterways in and out of the Red Sea.

Ever since the special operations division fleet destroyed a pirate force in the Gulf of Aden a few months ago, nearby forces have gradually learned that a new tough guy has arrived. The waters from the port of Aden to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait have become much quieter, and the pirate forces that usually operate nearby have also tactfully stayed away from the area where Zhenhai Port is located.

But this did not bring much change to the trade situation in Zhenhai Port. The reason was very simple. There were not many goods for sale in Zhenhai Port.

There is the entire Indian Ocean between this place and Phuket Island behind it, with a sailing distance of more than 12,000 miles. At present, there is no fixed commercial route to be established, and at this stage it is difficult to have the commercial functions designed by Qian Tiandun for this place.

Within hundreds of miles of Zhenhai Port, there was no decent country, only a few scattered tribes.

These African tribes were still in a relatively primitive period and had not even formed a systematic language or writing system. Therefore, it was difficult for the garrison at Zhenhai Port to communicate with them, let alone cooperate in various fields.

The Port of Aden, more than 500 miles northeast of Zhenhai Port, is the nearest source of supplies. Food and other daily necessities needed by the garrison troops can basically be found in the Port of Aden.

However, due to the limited demand of Zhenhai Port itself, merchants in Aden Port were unwilling to travel more than a thousand miles back and forth to deliver the goods, so the garrison troops had to drive their own boats to Aden Port for purchase.

The labor force needed for various infrastructure projects in Zhenhai Port can currently only be obtained through the slave market in Aden Port.

Purchasing slaves is certainly not cheap, but if you calculate the cost carefully, it may still be lower than the cost of bringing in immigrants from Hai Han.

However, the military budget of the Special Operations Division was limited, so this method of supplementing the labor force was inevitably limited. After a few months, they only bought a few hundred slaves. This amount of labor could only contribute to the progress of local infrastructure projects.

What is even more frustrating is that after exploring the surrounding areas, no high-value minerals were found nearby, and the land can only be described as barren and not suitable for agricultural development.

Although Qian Tiandun originally chose this place to establish Zhenhai Port because it was located in a position to control the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that leads to and from the Red Sea, there were no major rivers or estuaries here, which meant that it was difficult to establish a trade route to the interior of Africa, and the only way to earn some income was to serve passing ships.

Without local output, the value of this place in the trade system will be reduced by at least half. At best, it can only serve as a transit port in the future, and it will be difficult to become a regional trade center in the true sense.

Although the garrison troops here are doing their best to build the port, the poor surrounding environment still casts a shadow on the future development prospects of Zhenhai Port.