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Chapter 1377 Battle of Enbird Port 6
According to military regulations, after each battle, commanders at all levels must submit a combat report, analyzing and summarizing the battle process from their own perspective, identifying shortcomings, and finding erroneous orders. Simply winning a battle does not earn full credit; one must also be able to summarize, identify problems, and propose improvement measures.

Therefore, this rule was often criticized by the first generation of veteran naval officers. They were good at fighting and winning battles, but they lacked cultural knowledge and were not good at writing. As a result, their promotions were generally slower than those of the second batch of formally trained graduates.

However, the sole function of this report is not to reward merit, but rather to ensure relative fairness. If a lower-ranking officer disagrees with an order from a superior but has no choice but to comply at the time, they can use this method to absolve themselves of responsibility afterward, or even file a complaint.

This report was collected by the military police and personally delivered to the staff of each service branch by communications ship. It was explicitly forbidden for officers of all ranks to view or inquire about it, which minimized the possibility of falsification and also provided a channel for appeal for junior officers.

Now Zhu Neng was about to exercise this power and complain to the Naval Staff about Xiao Si's incompetence. For example, he had failed to ascertain the enemy's details after three days of fighting, and he lacked oversight of the proper use of ammunition, allowing the Khosa soldiers to waste it recklessly.

This is not an attempt to vent personal grievances, nor is it based on hearsay or unfounded rumors; it is the real situation of the battle. Anyone with ears and eyes can see and hear it, and no one can deny it.

"...Are you really in a hurry? Come, come, sit down and have a smoke to calm down. It really wasn't my idea to get reinforcements from you to reinforce the city; whoever lies will die a horrible death! But I came here to ask for your help; this battle is really going to be tough!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Si immediately deflated. Regardless of whether Zhu Neng was right or wrong, this phenomenon objectively existed. Even if the Naval Staff investigated after the war and didn't blame him, it wouldn't look good. Moreover, he wasn't entirely without responsibility, and it would be difficult for him to escape unscathed if investigated.

What to do? Easy, just be nicer. The two of them had been stationed in this land far from family and friends for more than three years. They couldn't be said to have a very good personal relationship, but they could be considered fair-weather friends.

They often secretly went out hunting to improve their meals, and frequently traded canned goods with the Xhosa people for their homemade sugarcane wine. If they had just spoken up and explained their difficulties clearly, things wouldn't have escalated to this point.

"...This, this is my cigarette! You, surnamed Xiao, have gone too far! Not only are you cowardly and disorganized in battle, but you've also stolen officers' personal belongings. You wait, you wait, I'll write a report right now to rid the navy of this evil, and I will not tolerate it!"

Seeing Xiao Si soften his stance, Zhu Neng secretly gloated. The talk of writing reports and impeachment was just talk. There was no question of anyone abusing their power among peers; any conflicts could be resolved through superiors, without needing to trouble the Naval Staff.

But as soon as he took the cigar, lit it, and took a puff, he was instantly enraged. This time he was truly desperate because their precious food supplies had been stolen. The war could go on for who knows how long, and for a smoker, not having a good cigarette was worse than not having enough to eat.

Coincidentally, this brand of cigars was produced domestically in the Ming Dynasty, and was basically not sold in Enbird City. Soldiers rarely smoked such expensive cigars; they relied entirely on communication ships to carry them regularly. Each cigar smoked was one less available, and once they were gone, there was nowhere to find them. You couldn't expect the communication ships of this time to be carrying cigars; even if they did, they wouldn't be able to dock!

"Hey, hey, Brother Zhu, Brother Zhu, calm down, calm down... Look what this is? Look closely, if you don't recognize it, it's a good deal for me!" Xiao Si had expected this, and put his arm around the rampaging Zhu Neng, and pulled out an even thicker and larger stick-like object from his shirt pocket.

"Holy crap...it can't be empty, can it!" As soon as Zhu saw the yellowish-orange stick-like object, he immediately stopped struggling, but he still didn't let his guard down.

"Bo...look for yourself! I got this from Governor Zhang's house, and there's still more than half a box left. I guarantee it's a brand His Majesty likes. Just promise me one thing and it's all yours!" Xiao Si didn't waste any words. He opened his mouth, bit one end of the stick-like object, and with a slight shake of his head, he actually bit it off. No, not bit it off, but pulled it out. The stick-like object was a bamboo tube, exquisitely crafted. At first glance, the material looked like wood but wasn't, and the color resembled copper but wasn't—very high-end.

Its origins were indeed of high caliber; it was a tribute item, specially presented to the emperor by cigar manufacturers. Since it was a tribute item, it was certainly not something ordinary people could obtain, so Xiao Si took the opportunity to explain its origins to avoid any further misunderstandings.

"Want to bribe me? Name your terms first!"

Can a half-box of cigars really get an Imperial Navy officer to go up to the capital? Zhu Neng's answer is not necessarily! If the other party doesn't ask for much, like being asked to call him grandson, he can probably satisfy him.

"The city walls' defenses are too rudimentary, and heavy firepower is severely lacking. The enemy has been digging trenches to try and get closer these past two days. Since we don't have enough artillery available, I can only have my men throw grenades to stop them. Do you think you could transfer 50 artillery pieces from the port area? Any type will do."

"Unsolicited kindness is always suspicious; the ancients were right! 50 guns? Do you think the port's fortifications are just for show? These were designed by the General Staff. Each gun has its purpose; if one is missing, there will be a blind spot, and the entire defense line could be breached, understand?"

"No, we don't have any artillery, but we do have some grenades. I'll get you a few dozen boxes to tide us over. They might get tired of attacking by tomorrow. They've been fighting for three days already; there can't be no casualties! Europeans aren't made of iron; will they just stand by and watch so many people die?"

Upon hearing that artillery was needed, Zhu Neng simply turned his head to the other side, preferring to ignore it. Then he proceeded to present the facts and reasons why artillery was not being provided, turning the tables and discussing the correct tactics for urban defense.

"How about... 30 guns, no less than that, and I'll take the grenades too!"

Xiao Si and Zhu Neng both knew whether the loss of a few cannons in the port's fortified defenses would create blind spots in fire. The answer was that, theoretically, yes, but in practice, it would be very difficult to detect.

Because the General Staff was designed with redundancy in mind from the beginning. We can’t say that all fortresses have double backups, but at least three backups are needed for important nodes.

Therefore, reducing some firepower will not have a significant impact on the entire defensive line. Zhu Neng's statement was merely a bargaining tactic, as there are consequences for unauthorized deployment of heavy firepower, and no one wants to easily provoke such a decision.

"Tsk, tell me first how many enemies came, and what tactics they used to make things so difficult for you? Explain yourself, and if it's really necessary, I'll send out 150, not just 50. If you can't explain, don't even think about taking one. But you have to leave this one here first, consider it compensation for listening to your rambling!"

Seeing Xiao Si's troubled expression, Zhu Neng roughly guessed the truth. Unless he had encountered an insurmountable obstacle, this scion of a military family would never have come to him, especially with gifts.

(End of this chapter)