1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 751 Field Military Training
"I heard that there is braised pork in the cafeteria today!"

"Is there such a good thing? Then you have to go there quickly. If it's too late, it will be snatched up by the veterans again!"

When Sun Zhen heard the news, he couldn't care less about the fatigue from training, and trotted all the way back to the dormitory with his team, quickly picked up the bowls and chopsticks, and rushed to the cafeteria.Although the Haihan militia's food supply is good, you can see oily meat every day, but most of them are cheap seafood, and there is very little poultry and meat food supply.It takes ten days and half a month to eat meat dishes like braised pork.The last time when the cafeteria served twice-cooked pork, the recruit squad that Sun Zhen was in was too slow. When they went to the cafeteria, only leftovers were left. In the end, everyone was given a few pieces of meat the size of fingernails.

However, he learned a lot from a pitfall, and this time Sun Zhen reacted quickly to ensure that he did not miss the opportunity of the tooth-fighting festival again.And today the cafeteria serves not only braised pork, but also two meat and two vegetarian stir-fries in each class.After each team finished eating, they still had to sit around the dining table and wait for the military discipline officer to announce that the meal was open. Sun Zhen took advantage of this gap to ask the veteran he knew at the table next to him: "The food is so good today, is it a holiday?"

The old soldier glanced at him and said: "When you don't touch the world and don't touch the ground, what's the festival? This is the time to send out troops! Let's hold a tooth sacrifice first, and after a while, I guess we will have to eat dry food for the field!"

"Send... send troops?" Although Sun Zhen was very nervous, he couldn't help becoming nervous when he heard this statement: "I haven't finished the training of recruits yet, so I'm going to the battlefield?"

The veteran smiled and said, "Sending troops doesn't necessarily mean going out to fight... Don't guess, General Qian is here, and there must be something to announce later."

Sun Zhen turned around and saw Qian Tiandun appearing in the cafeteria surrounded by several guards.It was unusual to see Qian Tiandun appearing at this time and place. After all, his three meals were prepared by the cook and sent to the office alone, and he would not eat with ordinary soldiers in the cafeteria.

"General Qian is here!" With a shout, everyone stood up and stood at attention, holding their breath and waiting for Qian Tiandun to speak.

"Before dinner, I will announce something." Qian Tiandun's voice was not loud, but everyone could hear him clearly: "After lunch tomorrow, the first company of the special warfare battalion and the third company of recruits will arrive The No. [-] pier of Magong Port will set off for a week-long field survival training. The specific destination and training content will be announced at that time, that’s all, let’s sit down and eat.”

After Qian Tiandun left, the cafeteria immediately became lively. Many people were wondering where the training destination would be, and why two companies, one old and one new, would be arranged to train together.

Although the news announced by Qian Tiandun was only for training rather than setting foot on the battlefield, Sun Zhen didn't feel much relieved, because he now belongs to the third company of recruits mentioned by Qian Tiandun just now.Before that, Sun Zhen had already experienced a field survival training, but at that time, except for the instructor who led the team, they were all recruits, and there was no tactical goal requirement. As long as everyone can complete the field survival within the specified time, they will pass the test.But this time he will actually act with veterans, Sun Zhen feels that this time it may not be as easy to pass the training as last time.

After dinner, I returned to the dormitory, and sure enough, the company commander arrived soon.The company commander of the third company of recruits, surnamed Wu Mingqin, is a naturalized officer of Annan origin, and was also Qian Tiandun's former subordinate when he served in Annan.

Wu Qin came to the dormitory to make a supplementary explanation to what Qian Tiandun announced just now: "Training will be suspended tomorrow morning to tidy up the internal affairs. This training needs to bring all personal equipment. Brothers, pack it up early, don't just find out about it when you leave. I didn’t bring any equipment. In addition, this training is armed training, so three combat base ammunition will be distributed before departure. I want to emphasize here that the results of this training may affect the future of the brothers. Everyone cheer me up, understand?"

The firearms currently used by the recruit company for training are 2-style front-loading flintlock guns. Each combat base is [-] rounds of ammunition. Based on the average shooting frequency of [-] minutes, one base number of ammunition is enough for a musket The troops fought a low-to-medium intensity battle.And three bases of ammunition are distributed at one time, which has never happened in the past training of the recruit company.After all, recruits usually receive shooting training, and each time they only have ten rounds of ammunition.Just the amount of ammunition that was issued made Sun Zhen already smell something unusual. If it was just field survival training, there was no need to put on such a big posture.

Although Sun Zhen was also equipped with muskets in the last field survival training that Sun Zhen participated in, each person was only equipped with five rounds of ammunition, and it was stipulated in advance that they should not fire unless there were extreme special circumstances.During the entire training process, there was indeed no time to use a musket.After all, the previous training was arranged on Wang’an Island, south of Penghu Island, where there were neither ferocious beasts nor potential enemies. The purpose of carrying guns was to keep the trainees in a simulated combat state, rather than self-defense or killing.

At noon the next day, after the third company of recruits had assembled in the camp, it immediately rushed to Pier No. [-] to stand by.In addition to personal weapons, the recruits also brought some supplies, such as thin blankets, instant dry food, drinking water, tents, military flags, bugles and so on.Although Sun Zhen is a new recruit, he can also feel that this training is a bit unusual. If it is pure field survival training, he does not need to bring so many things out.It is not so much survival in the wild, but more like an armed training that is usually carried out.

Soon another company of fellow veterans also came to the dock to stand by.The First Company of the Special Warfare Battalion was a unit that Qian Tiandun personally formed in Annan, and it was also the prototype and template of the later Annan Special Warfare Troops.This company is almost equivalent to Qian Tiandun's personal guards, and it is also the elite of the Annan militia.At present, all the officers above the platoon level of the special warfare battalion led by Qian Tiandun are basically from this company.

And the personal equipment of this company is undoubtedly outstanding among the Haihan militia.My main weapon is the large-caliber version of the 31-style rear-loading flintlock. The barrel is about a quarter shorter than the model installed by the Militia Army, but the caliber is nearly one-third larger. more lethal.The secondary weapon is a Type [-] flintlock pistol. Although it is a single shot, it can still save lives at critical times.

It is worth mentioning that the Type 31 flintlock pistol is a copy of the original historical M1836 flintlock pistol. This kind of pistol originally produced in Massachusetts, North America from 1836 to 1844 produced a total of more than 10 pieces, and it is also the last one in the United States. A military flintlock pistol.This kind of pistol has quite good shooting accuracy within [-] meters, and the reloading speed is relatively fast. A skilled gunman can reload three to four times per minute. In a close combat environment, its combat effectiveness even exceeds that of a rifle.

After Haihan Military Industry produced this pistol in small batches, it was handed over to Qian Tiandun's special warfare battalion for trial use.A small-bore police version with a shorter barrel was later developed for use by the police forces of the Ministry of Justice.In the entire Haihan militia, only some companies under Qian Tiandun's command were equipped with such flintlock pistols on a large scale, while in other troops, at least the platoon leader was qualified to be equipped with such weapons.

In addition, the soldiers' tactical daggers, personal carrying backpacks, and short leather boots are all uniform standard equipment, which makes the recruits very envious.Of course, what makes the recruits most envious is the conspicuous armbands on the military uniforms of these veterans.Although the military uniforms of the recruits and veterans are the same, the armband of "Special First Company" with red letters on a black background shows the unusual identity of this team.

Sun Zhen looked at the weapon in the veteran's hand, and then at the fire stick in his own hand, not only feeling a little emotional about the gap between the two sides.However, he also knows that this gap only exists at the current stage. If he can successfully pass the recruit training, he will have a certain chance to become one of these majestic veterans.

The two "Explorer Class" sailboats have already set up the springboard, but neither company has yet received an order to board the ship.After nearly 300 people stood on the pier for about a stick of incense, Qian Tiandun in military uniform finally appeared on the pier.At the same time, he also brought a slightly unexpected news to the soldiers present, that is, he will personally lead and direct the training.However, Qian Tiandun still didn't mention the destination of this training.

The two companies quickly boarded two sailboats respectively, then unmoored and hoisted the sails. After leaving Magong Harbor, they passed through the waterway between Penghu Island and Baisha Island, and turned to sail northeast.This heading also made the soldiers on the ship a little confused, because the northernmost Jibei Island in the Penghu Islands is just north of Penghu, and the distance is only about ten nautical miles. You can see the outline of Jibei Island on Baisha Island , obviously not in line with the current direction of travel.

After another two hours of voyage, the officer finally informed the soldiers on board that the destination this time was somewhere on the west coast of Dayuan Island.Of course, according to the standard Haihan place names, this place should be called Taiwan Island.

For the veterans who have been stationed here for several months, Taiwan Island has of course been one of the topics they talk about after dinner.Although the Executive Committee has never issued an order to march into Taiwan Island, these veteran subordinates have seen Qian Tiandun show his willingness to occupy Taiwan Island more than once in public.As for this secret trip to Taiwan Island, it is obvious that Qian Tiandun is about to take action.Most of the veterans are very excited about this. After all, expanding the territory means that there is another military merit to be obtained, but some people still have doubts—why do they have to bring a group of soldiers to such a military operation? A rookie who hasn't finished training for recruits yet?
Of course, Sun Zhen was also very excited when he heard the news. After all, he has been here for almost two months and has never been out of Penghu.But there is still more anxiety. I heard that Dayuan Island is not a no-man's land. There are not only red-haired people and Frangji people from the West on the island, but also natives who drink hair and blood.It's no wonder that so much ammunition was distributed before departure this time. Presumably the chief is also worried that he will encounter enemies that suddenly appear on the island.

The speed of the two sailboats was not fast, and it was not until dusk that the people on the deck finally saw the outline of Taiwan Island.After confirming the current position, the crew traveled north along the coastline for a while, and saw the mouth of Zhuoshui Creek.

The two sailboats stopped slowly about three or four hundred meters away from the mouth of the sea, and then lowered the boat from the boats. Several sailors rowed and carried a squad of militia soldiers to the mouth of the sea to explore the way.

The map and hydrological data in Qian Tiandun's hands are all hundreds of years later, and there are certain errors with the current actual situation, so it is necessary to conduct pathfinding to determine the hydrological situation.

About an hour later, the Pathfinder team returned to the boat.The initial detection situation is not very good. The water depth at the mouth of Zhuoshui Creek is relatively shallow, and there are many kinds of gravel deposits on the bottom of the water, and the condition of the channel is relatively complicated.Although the draft of the "Explorer Class" sailboat is not too deep, there is still a risk of scratching the bottom of the boat.

There are not many existing warships in Penghu, and the military supporting docks in Penghu have not yet been completed. Once the ships are damaged, repairing them will be a hassle.Therefore, Qian Tiandun did not intend to let the sailboat venture into Zhuoshui Creek, but chose to anchor at the seaside south of Zhuoshui Creek, and transported personnel and supplies to the shore with small boats.

In later generations, this place is the industrial area of ​​Formosa Plastics, and has a large-scale dedicated port.However, at present, Haihan does not have such engineering construction capabilities, and it is estimated that even the pier will not be able to be repaired in a short while.Having said that, there is indeed no good natural harbor on the west coast of Taiwan Island. The only places that can make the military look good are the estuary of the Danshui River in the north, Dayuan Port in the south, and the later Kaohsiung Port in the south. .

However, the location of Kaohsiung Port and the Penghu Islands are separated by Dayuan Port, so it is not convenient to develop the local area before the Dutch are resolved.The Danshuihe area in the north is also very close to the Jilong Port occupied by the Spaniards. The land is only separated by Yangming Mountain, and the straight-line distance is only a few dozen miles.Although the environmental conditions of the two alternative addresses are not bad, but with the two stumbling blocks of the Netherlands and Spain, it is not convenient to settle there after all.This is also one of the main reasons why Qian Tiandun and other high-level military officials wanted to find a reason to drive away the Western colonists on Taiwan Island.

By the time the personnel and supplies on board were transferred ashore, it was already dark.Qian Tiandun assigned a platoon from the first company of the special warfare battalion to set up a guard post on the periphery, while the others were responsible for quickly setting up the camp.In the past field survival training, the trainees did not have such configurations as tents and collective camps to enjoy at night. Both new recruits and veterans can feel the difference between this "training" and the usual at this time.

(End of this chapter)