1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 752 A Preliminary Exploration of the Turbid Water Stream

In the past field survival training, although there were also training subjects for collective action, they would never be equipped with such complete logistical equipment for setting up camps.For this operation, not only were there enough marching tents for two companies, but a large number of multifunctional engineering shovels were also distributed for building simple fortifications in the wild.In addition, among the equipment unloaded from the ship, there was even enough barbed wire to surround the camp near the sea.Such strict defensive measures were generally only adopted during wartime or military exercises in the past, and daily training rarely reached this level.

Together with other recruits, Sun Zhen dug the trench for two full hours under the light of the fire.And just as the veterans expected before departure, the content of the dinner has also become a single-content field ration.Although the taste is actually okay, it doesn’t matter if you eat a meal or two once in a while, but thinking about having to live on it for more than ten days in the next day, it will still make people miss the food at the Penghu base.

When the recruits were sweating profusely at the border of the camp, Qian Tiandun called together the officers of the battalion headquarters and the two companies, one old and one new, and began to deploy the next military training plan.Hanging behind Qian Tiandun is a map of the vicinity of Zhuoshui Creek, which has already marked the approximate topography within [-] kilometers from north to south of Zhuoshui Creek with contour lines.And the officers have become accustomed to the fact that the chief can take out maps of unfamiliar areas every time, and they don't think there is anything wrong with it.

Qian Tiandun explained: "The content of our training this time is mainly to find out the topography and landforms along the Zhuoshui River from west to east, as well as the conditions of the people living in the local area. What you need to pay attention to is that the terrain drawn on this map It is not completely accurate, and one of the missions of this operation is to correct the map through exploration. In addition, the people living here may be hostile to outsiders, and may even take some hostile actions. If you encounter people who are unwilling to accept our goodwill In case of any situation, each combat unit may defend itself or counterattack as appropriate."

"General, since it is possible to use force, why do you need to bring a company of recruits?" Someone asked in confusion.

"Don't worry, even if there is a battle, the intensity of the battle will not be too great. It's just a good time to train the recruits and let them know what their role will be in this army in the future." The quality of the recruits has been trained for almost two months, whether it is a mule or a horse, you should be able to see some clues now."

Although the special forces under Qian Tiandun's command also had the army's standard [-]-day military training period, the training content was much more extensive than that of ordinary army units.And according to Qian Tiandun's experience in leading troops in the past few years, after learning the most basic combat skills subjects, the effect of using combat as a substitute for training is obviously much better than shouting and killing nothingness targets in the camp all day long.Many people can be lively on the training ground, but when it comes to the real battlefield, they become bewildered and overwhelmed.Some people are born fighters, and some people are not suitable to set foot on the battlefield no matter how hard they are, what Qian Tiandun has to do is to survive the fittest during the training process, keep the most elite fighters in his army, and let them compete in the battlefield. Continuous tempering in large and small battles.

Some of the recruits currently being trained will be gradually eliminated in the previous large-scale field training. The number of soldiers who can really complete the recruit training period and stay in the special operations force is only about half of that when they enlisted.Of course, the eliminated personnel will not be discharged immediately, but will be assigned to other troops to continue their service.

According to the information learned beforehand, it is very unlikely that there will be Westerners settling in this area, and the armed level and combat capabilities of the aborigines are very limited. Qian Tiandun believes that it is not enough to pose a great threat to the troops he leads , That's why a group of recruits were brought along in this military operation to explore unknown areas.

Qian Tiandun is scheduled to lead the troops all the way upstream along the south bank of the Zhuoshui River until the border of the mountains, in order to complete the task of investigating the coastal plain along the Zhuoshui River.From the coastline to the scheduled end point, the straight-line distance is about eighty miles, which is similar to the distance from Changhua Port on the west coast of Hainan Island to the inland Shilu mining area.

If there is no obstacle to this distance, the march can be completed in at most two days, and Qian Tiandun set the operation time at ten to fifteen days, and he also wanted to take this opportunity to thoroughly understand the situation in the Zhuoshui River Basin, so as to provide Provide reference for the next step of immigrant settlement.

The lower reaches of Zhuoshui River are alluvial plains with excellent soil quality, which are very suitable for reclaiming large-scale collective farms.Qian Tiandun believes that as long as two to 3000 people immigrate, they can gain a foothold in this place.As for the subsequent expansion, you can plan slowly, first occupy the place first, and with Haihan's colonial ability, it only takes one or two years for a small city to be born here out of thin air.

In the early morning of the next day, although there was no usual wake-up call, and they had spent most of the day on the boat and worked as migrant workers for several hours, the recruits still woke up automatically one after another as soon as the time came.The two-month training period has allowed them to form a very accurate biological clock, and they will wake up from sleep at this point every day, so as not to be punished for not being on time for work.When I was at the Penghu base, there was a wake-up call every day, but during the field training, Qian Tiandun ordered the cancellation of the wake-up call and the light-off call, so as not to disturb the imaginary enemies that might be lurking nearby.

The breakfast was the same as the previous day's dinner, dry pancakes with jerky and pickles. Although it was not delicious, the portion was basically enough to fill the stomachs of the soldiers.Although there may not be a clean drinking water source in real field battles, Qian Tiandun dug a place near the river bank the day before in order to avoid non-combat loss of soldiers due to water source problems in this unfamiliar environment. cistern and clarified overnight with alum.

Sun Zhen lined up, fetched water with the bamboo kettle on his body, and then carried the kettle across his chest.The water fetching queue next to it is a company of veterans, all of them are all cowhide water bottles, which are much lighter than the equipment of the recruits - of course, the cost is also a lot higher.

Sun Zhen's platoon will follow the veterans out of the battalion for reconnaissance today. This is a dangerous but exciting job, because even these veterans who have been in the army for several years, this is the first time they have set foot on Taiwan Island.For everyone, this is a new and unfamiliar environment.

The new and old companies each left a platoon to garrison the camp. The veterans were in charge of guarding and defending, while the recruits continued to work as engineers. They cut off the branches of the felled trees and made them into logs, which were then used to build the camp around the camp. wall.If the reconnaissance of the area along the Zhuoshui River goes well this time, it is very likely that the temporary camp built by the sea will be preserved and garrisoned, so as to provide a basic safe zone for accepting immigrants in the future.And building relatively solid fortifications on its periphery has become one of the tasks to be completed by the troops stationed in the camp.

What makes Qian Tiandun regretful is that there is no dangerous terrain to deploy defense lines or large-scale fortifications here, and there is basically no danger to defend against the sea. It's hard to feel more secure.It may be enough to defend against wild animals, but if it is a war, the defense provided by a wooden wall of only two meters high is very limited.Of course, this naturally provided more reasons for the military to attack the territory occupied by foreign devils on both sides of the north and south in the future-how could I sleep peacefully if I didn't kick them out?

At about [-] o'clock in the morning, Qian Tiandun led his men through the thin morning fog and embarked on a journey of exploration to unknown areas.The marching team was filled with veterans from head to toe, while Sun Zhen's recruits were caught in the middle, forming a state of protection intentionally or unintentionally.

Before they set off far, the vanguard was the first to discover traces of human activities—a path in the woods that had been trampled repeatedly.The veterans surveyed the ground carefully to make sure that this was the work of man and not beast, and soon found several shoe prints on the trail.

"The footprints are very flat. These should be cloth shoes." Qian Tiandun knelt down to check the soil himself after arriving at the scene, and poked the soil with his fingers: "It's already very dry. There hasn't been rain on the beach in recent days. At least The footprints were left five to seven days ago. The footprints lead to the river, maybe they were left by fishing by the river."

"General, is this the local you mentioned yesterday?" the subordinate next to him asked.

Qian Tiandun patted the dirt on his hands lightly, stood up and said: "The natives here are either barefoot or wearing straw sandals. The ones who left these footprints are probably not locals, but foreigners like us. But Don't be nervous, I guess most of them are Han Chinese who immigrated from Fujian."

Before formulating this plan, Qian Tiandun also inquired about the early immigration status of Taiwan Island in many ways, so he knew something about it.As early as 1621, Yan Siqi, a sea merchant, landed in Bengang on the west coast of Taiwan Island and established a colony to set up camp and farmland.The location of Bengang is about fifty or sixty miles south of the mouth of the Zhuoshui River, which is the mouth of the Beigang River.Yan Siqi built ten camps along the Beigang River, and recruited immigrants from Fujian for reclamation.

After Yan Siqi died of illness in 1625, Zheng Zhilong, who took over power, quickly reorganized the old team into Shibazhi, and continued to introduce immigrants from Fujian to settle there.However, because the war with the Fujian government became more intense, after Haihan intervened in the Fujian war with military aid in 1628, the wave of immigrants from the mainland to Bengang gradually subsided.However, there are still thousands of Han people who have settled down in the local area, and the farmland they have reclaimed can basically achieve self-sufficiency, and they often trade some agricultural and forestry products with the aborigines of the neighboring Pu nationality.

However, due to the hydrological conditions of Bengang, it is only possible to build a wharf, but it is difficult to build a large port. Therefore, Shibazhi still set up the base of the maritime armed forces in Penghu, and regarded the colonial area here as the rear.When Shibazhi was defeated and evacuated from Penghu on May [-]th, Bengang also carried out a large migration. Some immigrants followed Shibazhi to Miyako Island by boat, but there were still some immigrants who did not want to be displaced and stayed in In the stockade near Bengang.

After Haihan occupied Penghu, he was busy with infrastructure construction, and he has not freed up to clean up the area around Bengang.Considering that there should be many family members or stakeholders of the pirates among the people who settled there, Qian Tiandun didn't want to enter the area rashly.Therefore, the mouth of the Zhuoshui River in the north was chosen as the landing point.But before he came here, he was not very clear about the scope of activities of the immigrants in the south. If there were really Han immigrants from Bengang, it would mean that the relationship between the Han people and the aborigines here is not as hostile as imagined.

"Extend the outer reconnaissance range to one mile, and report immediately if you find something!" Qian Tiandun issued a new order to expand the reconnaissance range to the south.He believes that if there are villages settled by Han people here, it should not be too far from Zhuoshui River.

The news soon reached the ears of the recruits, and everyone subconsciously clenched their muskets tightly.Although they still don't know whether the people living nearby are friends or foes, their two-month training has already made their immediate reaction is to be on guard.

Sun Zhen watched several veterans in camouflage military uniforms quickly disappear in the forest, and in his heart not only admired the officers for coming up with such a concealment method.These scouting soldiers not only wear clothes that are easy to blend into the environment, but also have a circle of grass leaves on their hats, and their faces are painted colorfully with grease and grass mud. As long as they stand still in the woods, it is difficult to distinguish them differentiated from the surrounding environment.

The longer the training time, the more Sun Zhen felt that there were too many skills in this army that he didn't know before.Originally, I thought that being a soldier was about practicing swords and guns and learning how to fight, but after enlisting in the army, I learned far more than that.Every new training subject seems to open up a new world for him.He planned to find some time to ask his company commander how to become this kind of scout who moves secretly and comes and goes like the wind.

After the large troops marched eastward along the Zhuoshui River for about six or seven miles, some scouts came back and reported that they found a village in front of them. According to visual inspection, there were about [-] or [-] households, and the surrounding walls were built with civil structures.Judging from the appearance of the houses, it should be a village inhabited by Han people.

"Find a few soldiers from Fujian and shout out first." Qian Tiandun immediately issued another order.

Although most of the soldiers and officers in this army are of Annan descent, there are also people with native places in Fuzhou and Guangxi. Soon a soldier went to the front with the scouts.

The troops temporarily stopped marching, staying where they were and waiting for the results of the negotiations ahead.Although the waiting time was not long, the recruits were always tense.Even Sun Zhen kept thinking, what if the general ordered to attack the village?
(End of this chapter)