Lu Ming

Chapter 572

Generally speaking, the first day when the landing fleet came to Halong Bay, the progress was smooth: by the evening, the engineering personnel who had landed earlier had built a temporary camp at the landing point.

The makeshift camp consists of a small patch of tents.In just one day, the engineering personnel first dug temporary ditches in the camp, and then raised the foundation as much as possible.All that's left is to pray, and who knows if the camp will be destroyed by a storm or heavy rain at night.

On the outskirts of the small camp are the last important supplies that were brought ashore under the setting sun: barbed wire.

In the seventeenth century, barbed wire was a well-deserved defensive artifact.Aboriginal people here, including Western colonists, have no way to deal with the barbed wire.The only downside to this good thing is that it's expensive, and it's also difficult to transport and deploy.

Fortunately, this time the landing operation is very important, and the person in charge has deduced the impact of the Annan rainy season on the landing in advance, so in the first batch of cabins, a lot of temporary appliances such as barbed wire tents were loaded first.

In just one day, in the tropical rain that fluctuated from big to small, relying on small boats to transport bulks back and forth, the energetic builders finally built a small temporary camp before nightfall.

Next came the evacuation: all tools and supplies were left behind, and personnel were withdrawn to the fleet empty-handed for the night.

Then Sanye Wu hit the jackpot: he and his men, as well as another squad temporarily commanded by him, were ordered to keep watch at the camp until the end of the night.

Standing on the shore, taking advantage of the last gleam of the setting sun, the third master pointed at the skiff that was rowing away and jumped to his feet, cursing: You rats who dare not share weal and woe!

The pioneering army colleagues on the small boat laughed while rowing, and put up the disdainful middle fingers they learned from the boss. Everyone knows that it is the safest and most comfortable to go back to the cabin at night, and the devil is willing to stay on the shore to soak in the rain. What about mosquitoes?

The third master seemed unwilling, but military orders are military orders, and he couldn't disobey them.So when it was completely dark that day, he directed the brothers who stayed behind together to get busy for the night watch.

The first step is to eat, of course, how can I not eat after a busy day.

Although kerosene is a hot commodity in the trade market and is always out of stock, there is no shortage of goods for the South Fleet.This is a very simple truth: if you want to get it, you must first invest.Now, as long as the supplies that the passing forces can provide, the southward fleet will be given priority.

Soon, a kerosene fire was lit in the tent, and an iron pan was placed on the cast iron kerosene stove chassis.Next, several large tinplate green military cans with a net weight of one kilogram were opened, and pork egg rolls from Taiwan and duck legs from the countryside of Yingde were all boiled into the pot.

The gurgling soup, the faces of Ming soldiers against the fire of industrial civilization, and the sound of rain outside the tent constitute a strange picture of time and space intertwined with ancient and modern.

After eating this calorie-rich dinner, the third master first ordered things like empty cans to be hung on the barbed wire—although the sound of the rain will affect the hearing, but this kind of sound passed down from "above" As a veteran driver, the third master will definitely follow the defensive tips.

Then began to arrange manpower for the night.

The lurking post is the hardest and needs to be ambushed and observed in the rain.Swimming sentry is not much better, need to patrol in the rain on slippery and muddy land.The fixed whistle is better, you can stand by in the tent.

After a circle was arranged, the third master ordered the whole camp to turn off the lights and enter the silent mode.

At the same time, he turned his head to look towards the coast.The fleet on the open sea has long since disappeared in the rain and darkness, only the sound of the tide beating against the coast is still heard from time to time.

The third master knew that the fleet had also entered a state of blackout.

Before joining a certain force, Wu Sanye, who was born as a purely wild man, never imagined that there are so many meticulous and persistent rules in an army.This is completely different from Daming's ranks.Don't think that the third master doesn't know what virtues are in the Ming army. He has taken in many deserters under his command.

Today, the third master standing on the coast of Annan has already understood what the so-called "strong army" should look like: strict military laws, sharp equipment, rich military pay, and sufficient food and grass.

The long night finally passed.

There is no thrilling rainy night raid scene.The military force capable of making such tactical actions was the core force in the core in the seventeenth century, no matter what force would take it seriously, no one would put their core force on the coast where no one would shit.

The only one who was upset was Mr. Wu.

As the temporary commander, the third master didn't close his eyes all night.Not only did he have to patrol and check everywhere in the rain and mud, but he also arranged for the guards to change.Every hour, I have to go to the tent to talk to the fleet and report the situation.

The huge command pressure made the third master nervous. He had to sneak into the tent to smoke a cigarette to stimulate his spirit until the moment when the sun rose.

On the second day of landing, after feeling that one foot had been firmly planted on the shore, the pioneers moved more and more.

In the early morning, the fleet first took action: after the first batch of transport boats set off, the two smallest frigates left immediately, heading straight to Catba Island not far away in the glow of the sun.

Catba Island is not far from the mouth of Halong Bay, and is the largest of the thousands of scattered islands nearby.The entire island is 24 kilometers long and 18 kilometers wide, with a total area of ​​315 square kilometers.

In later generations, Cat Ba Island, with its natural white sandy beaches, is the pearl of North Vietnam and a vacation paradise.There are natural bathing beaches, various forest landforms, and a lot of precious wood, and the sea area is rich in cuttlefish.

However, in the seventeenth century, Cat Ba Island, like the coastal islands of Daming, was just a wild island that was ignored.

After the second batch of small boats set off, the big fleet also moved.

Yesterday, because I just arrived here, I don't know if I can stand on the shore, so the fleet anchored in the open sea.Today, considering that there is already a preliminary defense force on the shore, it is time for the fleet to move: enter Halong Bay.

In the rainy season, there are often storms along the coast of An Nam, so it is the right choice for the fleet to berth in Ha Long Bay for shelter from the wind.

At this time, the effect of sending ships to investigate in the early stage is reflected.Under the guidance of the pilot ship, the fleet avoided all kinds of bright and dark reefs blocking the way, and sailed smoothly into Halong Bay.

While the fleet was moving, the shore was already in full swing.

Today is different from yesterday.According to the plan, the engineering personnel who went ashore today will not evacuate in the evening, but will spend the night in the camp, so people are working hard, trying to make themselves safer when night comes.

Today's top priority is the trestle.

There must be a trestle first, even if it is the simplest one that can only unload light materials, after all, the efficiency of using small boats to transport materials in bulk is too slow.

So a large number of construction workers gathered at a beach facing the inland sea of ​​Halong Bay, and began to repair the trestle bridge in the most primitive way: manually digging pits, laying bottom piles, and laying bridge slabs.

The good thing is that although the plan is old-fashioned, the tools in the hands of the construction workers are serious crude steel products, including measuring tools and nails, which are all regular products produced by the Kiln District Tool Factory.In addition, the wooden piles and boards used to build the trestle bridge are also pre-processed standard parts.

As a result, the construction progress of the trestle bridge is very fast.In the case of lowering the passing standard, it took only one day for the base of the trestle to penetrate into the sea water.Depending on the situation, at most tomorrow, the small boat can come up to unload the cargo.

In the evening, the work outside the camp also came to an end.

Using a variety of sharp tools, the construction workers cleared the vegetation in sight for 200 meters. Now the camp has not only expanded its area, but also has a circle of bare open space around it that does not affect the shooting range.

The last program of the day was the return of the two frigates.

After the return of the two frigates, they quickly brought their harvest ashore: a dozen or so fishermen from Cat Ba Island who were captured.

The arrival of the new force accelerated the construction of the camp.Due to the language barrier, these Annan local fishermen were extremely panicked at first.Later, I found out that the food on the construction site was good, and I could receive golden Daming copper coins after work every day, so I gradually relaxed my mind and stopped thinking about running away.

In this way, another two days passed, and the hard-working pioneers finally waited for the second fleet from Qiongzhou.

As mentioned earlier, Qiongzhou is only a day or so away from Halong Bay.The reason why the reinforcement fleet came today was because they had to tow a special vessel: the floating dock.

Due to the low level of technology, today's floating docks are all disposable.After being towed to the designated location, the dock can be put into use after a series of procedures such as beach fixing.

The arrival of the floating wharf has greatly increased the speed of cargo loading: cargo ships can finally dock directly to load and unload cargo without the need for small boats.

Next, a batch of simple hoisting means of transport went ashore.After the tools were installed, a large amount of construction materials were landed on the pontoon.

And Zheng Yangyang, the traverser in charge of infrastructure construction in the Southward Military and Political Group, also went ashore in Halong Bay with the large force.

Zheng Yangyang is less than 30 years old this year and is one of the youngest time travelers.Before crossing, this gentleman worked in black engineering in the United States and studied house design. After crossing, he designed the standardized wooden houses built in Taijiang in the early days.

As a matter of fact, Zheng Yangyang presided over the revision of the standard wooden house model that is now being built in various construction sites and new districts in Fujian and Guangdong, as well as the industrial standards for wood production, processing, and transportation involved behind it.

The main advantage of Zheng Yangyang's ability to go south to participate in the pioneering business this time is that he is young: several older construction industry leaders are unwilling to go to Nanyang to work hard under the scorching sun and mosquitoes.

And Zheng Yangyang's main task is of course to build the city. There is a long list of place names waiting for him, the chief designer, to design the city or castle.

So when Designer Zheng came to Halong Bay on the second day, he drew a circle on the map: "First dig a ditch, and then build a circle of grass sheds, Hon Ki Fort, I think it will work!"

(End of this chapter)