1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3956

When Chen Pingliao left the Shi residence, the moon was already high in the sky. Although he had drunk quite a bit at the banquet, it was still within his control, and he remained about 70-80% clear-headed.

Steward Ma Hong waited outside the gate of the Shi residence with a carriage. After picking up Chen Pingliao, he returned directly to his residence.

Chen Pingliao did not immediately return to his room to rest. Instead, he asked Ma Hong to brew a pot of strong tea to help him sober up and bring it to his study. He had not forgotten his mission; he still needed to quickly draft a telegram to send back to his father that night, informing him of his learning experience from the short training course and the content of his meeting with Shi Diwen that day.

Regarding the dispatch of personnel from various regions to serve in the special operations division, Qian Tiandun did not proactively inform Chen Yixin of all the details, and Chen Pingliao knew even less. If it weren't for this trip south, the northern region would probably have taken a long time to learn the specific situation, and sending personnel then would have been somewhat passive.

After Chen Pingliao watched the communications soldier send out the telegram, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He then summoned Ma Hong and asked if there was anything he needed to handle in the past two weeks.

Ma Hong replied, "There's nothing major going on for now. The purchased supplies have all been loaded onto the ship. There are a few invitations, though; I would like to ask the young master to take a look."

Chen Pingliao looked at the invitations that Ma Hong brought. Most of them were invitations to various banquets, including several familiar second-generation rich kids and the sons of salt merchants he had met before enrolling in school.

However, there was one invitation that Chen Pingliao took particularly seriously. Although the invitation also mentioned a banquet, the person in charge was not a local.

"Li Yuande?" Upon seeing this name, Chen Pingliao immediately recognized the other party's identity.

They had mentioned this name during their previous meeting with Shi Diwen. He was one of Qian Tiandun's most capable subordinates; they hadn't expected him to have already arrived in Hangzhou.

As agreed, the special operations division would send someone to Hangzhou to act as a guide for Chen Pingliao and his group as they set sail. Chen Pingliao vaguely guessed that Li Yuande was probably the person Qian Tiandun had sent to meet him.

He showed Ma Hong the invitation and asked, "When was this invitation sent?"

Ma Hong glanced at it and respectfully replied, "Young Master, it was five days ago."

Chen Pingliao nodded and said, "Then go and give them a reply tomorrow, and set a meeting time."

The first guest Chen Pingliao met after leaving the National Defense University and returning to Hangzhou was Li Yuande, who had come from afar.

Li Yuande was clearly aware of Chen Pingliao's recent movements. After meeting him, he congratulated him on successfully completing his advanced studies and that he was about to be promoted.

Chen Pingliao laughed and said, "I've heard that Brother Li has followed Commander Qian for many years, and he is indeed very familiar with military affairs!"

Li Yuande said dismissively, "It's just running errands for Commander Qian. As for military affairs, I wouldn't dare to interfere."

After a few brief pleasantries, the two turned to business.

Li Yuande clearly understood the current situation and needs of the Special Operations Division better than Shi Diwen, and the information he could provide to Chen Pingliao was also more detailed.

Of course, the most crucial aspect is the large-scale military operation that the special operations division is currently preparing for. "There are still many problems to be solved; military spending, troop strength, and most importantly, transportation capacity are all severely insufficient."

"If the Northern Region were closer, Commander Qian might have written to Commander Chen long ago, asking him to send troops to join the war."

Li Yuande's description slightly surprised Chen Pingliao. The fact that a special operations division, with its unparalleled strength, had a manpower shortage was somewhat puzzling to him.

Li Yuande quickly offered an explanation: "That area is too large, the battle lines are too long, and it is extremely inconvenient to move troops between various ports. Moreover, the place where Commander Qian's battle plan requires the troops to be concentrated is about farther from us than the port from Sanya to Hangzhou. Furthermore, local supplies are inconvenient, and we have to rely on supplies from the rear across the sea."

"Currently, the special operations division has a considerable number of troops according to its organizational structure, but the mobile force that can be mobilized for combat is only about three regiments. If we want more, we would have to bring in reinforcements to guard the rear for the special operations division."

"The problem is that the nearest Star Island region is currently pouring all its resources into the Southern New World, so there's no way to expect Star Island to send troops to fight. As for drawing a large number of troops from the mainland, that's even more unrealistic."

Chen Pingliao frowned and said, "If I had known this would happen, I should have brought more troops south from the north."

Li Yuande shook his head slightly and said, "Transferring troops from the northern region is not a solution either. It took the soldiers of the special operations division several years to gradually adapt to the climate there. Even if you bring troops from the northern region regardless of cost, they will hardly be combat-ready in a short period of time."

Chen Pingliao did not insist further, but he knew in his heart that what Li Yuande said was not without reason. If it weren't for this concern, Qian Tiandun would probably have already asked Chen Yixin to send troops to reinforce them.

He had also read descriptions of the special operations division's base environment in the documents, and it could be said that there were few similar environments in Haihan. Phuket and Ceylon were typical tropical island climates, unbearably hot and humid all year round. Fubo Port and Zhenhai Port were also hot, but the environment was drier, with very little rainfall; both places had a tropical desert climate.

For troops in the north who are used to the damp and cold climate, it is indeed necessary to take some time to readjust to the environment in order to minimize the troubles caused by acclimatization issues.

As for the long journey to the special operations division's base, Chen Pingliao didn't see it as a major problem.

Unlike the traditional northern army, Chen Yixin's troops were not landlubbers. Even if they were not as good swimmers as the southern troops, they were no strangers to going out to sea and traveling by boat.

Since the time when Qian Tiandun was stationed in the north, the garrison troops have included naval operations in their regular training. Even the army troops have to arrange at least one or two naval training exercises every year, and this has been the case for more than 20 years.

Although the journey to the special operations division was long and more than half of the way through completely unfamiliar waters, Chen Pingliao felt that as long as they could stop at ports a few times along the way to rest, there should be no major problems.

With Li Yuande, a familiar and experienced person, as his guide to arrange the itinerary, Chen Pingliao had far fewer worries along the way, and his mood was much more relaxed.

However, Chen Pingliao still cautiously asked Li Yuande what supplies needed to be purchased before leaving Hangzhou, and showed him a list of the various goods that had already been purchased, asking him to check for any omissions.

After carefully reviewing the supplies, Li Yuande said to Chen Pingliao, "We don't need to buy too many of the various supplies that we will need to consume along the way. We will dock in Sanya once after heading south, and it will be convenient to purchase them there. However, we can buy more of the various valuable local specialties from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. They are all valuable items overseas, and the proceeds from selling them can at least cover the cost of this voyage."

(End of this chapter)