Chapter 924 Sense of Belonging
With so many foreign personnel organized into a force, Yan Chujie couldn't help but think of the French Foreign Legion, a multinational force that was very famous in the world in time and space before time travel. This force was established in 1831 by the then French King Louis Philippe. Its original intention was to replenish the French army soldiers who were killed and injured in the war, and at the same time solve the domestic crime problem of foreigners, allowing volunteers to conceal their nationality and name to sign up.
This regiment has participated in countless wars, large and small, in the more than 100 years since its formation. It is one of the troops in the French army that has performed the most transnational combat missions. During the Sino-French War at the end of the 19th century, they also fought against the Qing army twice in Xuanguang, Annan and Yuemeishan, Keelung, Taiwan. Before the implementation of the crossing operation, this multinational force already had more than 8,000 volunteers from 136 countries, including three infantry regiments, two cavalry regiments, one parachute regiment and two engineering regiments. In comparison, the composition of Roger's multinational force seemed very ordinary.
The French Foreign Legion later became a shortcut for foreign youths to obtain French citizenship. As long as they were willing to work hard for France, they would have the opportunity to apply for naturalization by serving in the Foreign Legion. Roger's troops could also be regarded as a lifeline for slaves to escape from the sea of suffering. Straw, as long as you are selected into this army, you will basically say goodbye to your slave status in advance. After the training period, you will pass the inspection and officially join the army. In fact, you will have obtained the Haihan native place. For these people, it is tantamount to getting a new starting point in life.
Yan Chujie casually walked up to a tall black soldier and stopped. When Roger saw this, he understood and ordered: "Soldier, tell me your name!"
The black soldier understood Roger's instructions. He raised his chest and raised his head and replied loudly: "Reporting to the commander, I am Private Marcus of the 1st Special Forces Company!" Although the pronunciation was not standard enough, it was basically understandable. level. Although this unit has not yet been formally established, the ranks of the soldiers are still the same as those of the regular army. Of course, since they have not participated in any battles since joining the army, they have no military exploits that can be used for upgrades, so the current military ranks of these soldiers are all the basic privates.
Yan Chujie asked: "How long have you been in the army?"
This question obviously stumped Marcus. I don’t know if he was not very good at counting or had difficulty expressing it in Chinese. There was a rumble in his throat for a long time, but he couldn’t speak. Roger glanced at the platoon leader standing next to him. The platoon leader quickly stepped forward and answered for Marcus: "Report to the leader, Marcus joined the army in February this year."
Yan Chujie thought that it had been eight months since he joined the army in February, so it was no wonder that this big black man could listen and speak. He then asked: "Where is your hometown?"
Marcus did answer this time, but the answer was the same as what he didn't say: "Reporting to the chief, my hometown...is very far...very far away!"
Just looking at Marcus's dark and shiny complexion, Yan Chujie could deduce that he should be from the area south of the Sahara Desert. Even though his hometown is the east coast of Africa, which is relatively close to Asia, the flight from there to South Asia is terrifyingly far, literally thousands of miles away. With his current level of navigation, if he was brought here from his hometown by slave traders, he would have to wander at sea for at least several months. For African natives who lack experience in ocean navigation and the concept of measurement, the only way to describe his feeling is "far away".
Yan Chujie had no choice but to give up his plan to get to the bottom of things, and instead asked about his current treatment in the army: "How do you feel about joining the army? Can you adapt to army life?"
Marcus nodded decisively and responded: "Reporting to the leader, Marcus can eat every meal, which is good!"
Although this answer is simple and crude, it does partly reflect the understanding of the current situation of these former slave soldiers. Their living conditions after joining the army are naturally a hundred times better than when they were slaves. Although the training is hard and they are scolded by their superiors and veterans from time to time, at least they have food and housing, and no need to worry anymore. It's a question of your own survival. In addition, after these soldiers were recruited, they were constantly indoctrinated with ideas such as loyalty to Haihan and loyalty to the Executive Committee while learning Chinese. After several months, most of these originally simple young people accepted " Haihan Guardian", and feel honored and proud of it.
Compared with the soldiers Haihan recruited from the Ming Dynasty in the past, although these soldiers from different countries and regions have many differences in language and culture, there is no doubt that they are more dependent on the Haihan regime than the Han soldiers. For them, joining the Haihan Militia and serving as soldiers is almost their only way out. Otherwise, they can only work as slaves and slaves. Therefore, they subconsciously integrate their own interests and mission, and have a deep understanding of Haihan. The sense of belonging is not weaker than that of Han soldiers.
"Very good!" Yan Chujie reached out and patted Marcus' thick shoulder gently, then walked towards the next soldier.
"Reporting to the commander, I am Private Du Lu of the 1st Special Operations Company!" Seeing Yan Chujie stop in front of him, the soldier took the initiative to announce his identity.
Yan Chujie heard that his accent was quite standard, and his appearance was somewhat similar to that of Han people, but his skin color was slightly darker, so he asked him: "Are you Han?"
"Reporting to the chief, I am from Aceh, but my grandfather was indeed born in Guangzhou Prefecture of the Ming Dynasty, and he can be regarded as having Han ancestry." Dulu responded in a deep voice.
Yan Chujie immediately understood that this Dulu was a mixed race. Since his grandfather was Chinese, he had at least a quarter of Han ancestry. It was no wonder that his Chinese was much smoother than that of Marcus, the big black man just now. many. Yan Chujie asked with interest: "How did you get here?"
"The villain was originally a member of the Acehnese army. He lost the battle with the Portuguese last year and was captured. Later, he was sold to Ampana Island. Fortunately, he was appreciated by the chief and was able to join the militia army." Duru's answer Yan Chujie was a little surprised, but he didn't expect that he was still an expert.
Aceh is a country located in northern Sumatra and was founded a century ago. Because this country is located in a key area at the junction of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, it has many conflicts with Western colonists, especially the wars with the Portuguese that have continued for years. The current ruler of Aceh is Iskandar Muda, who is at the peak of Aceh's power and has repeatedly sent troops to attack the Malacca area occupied by Portuguese colonists. However, wars are mutually victorious, and it is inevitable to be captured by the opponent during the battle. This is one of the unlucky ones. Originally, after the Portuguese captured indigenous prisoners, they mostly executed them themselves to avoid wasting precious food. However, after Haihan started the slave trade in Ambona Island, the Portuguese immediately sent the originally worthless prisoners of war here in exchange for profits. This Dulu was also blessed with great fortune. He was not injured when he was captured, so he was picked and transported by slave traders and sold to the Haihan people who had extremely high requirements on the physical condition of their slaves.
Duru himself is a soldier, and there is no big barrier with Haihan in terms of language and culture. Therefore, he quickly adapted to the training environment here after being drafted into the army, and his performance is considered outstanding among these newcomers. . Yan Chujie noticed that he was looking straight ahead and had a professional soldier's demeanor, so he stopped in front of him. The Haihan military has always been happy to accept "semi-finished products" like this. Soldiers like this who have served in other countries or regions will naturally be able to understand who is stronger and which is weaker after comparing them with the Haihan militia. , and the survival instinct of following the strong will also help increase their sense of identity and belonging to Haihan.
Yan Chujie asked: "If you were given a chance, would you like to go back to your hometown or stay here?"
Dulu hesitated for a moment, then responded loudly: "The villain wants to make military exploits in Haihan, get promoted and make a fortune, and then return to his hometown in glory!"
"Have ambition!" Yan Chujie did not feel dissatisfied, but instead greatly appreciated Du Lu's straightforwardness: "One day, if you feel that you have enough military exploits and a high official position, come to me and apply, and I will grant you a special six-month family leave! ”
"Thank you, chief!" Dulu almost knelt down and kowtowed when he was so excited. Fortunately, Roger next to him glared at him, so he remembered that there was no rule of kneeling and kowtowing in the Haihan Army.
Yan Chujie randomly selected a few people to ask about their personal circumstances. As expected, almost all of them were slaves who had been trafficked from overseas. These people also had their own life backgrounds before being transported to Ambona Island. The only way for them to merge together is the melting pot of the military camp.
"Mr. Yan, do you want them to practice a few projects for you to see now?" Roger asked proactively.
Yan Chujie waved his hand and said: "Forget it for today. These soldiers under your command have been practicing for a day and they should be tired. If we practice again now, it will affect the effect. Let's arrange it until tomorrow morning!"
The next morning, Roger once again gathered his troops, for whom he had high hopes, and gave a brief mobilization speech to the soldiers: "...If your performance today satisfies the commander who came to inspect, you can officially receive the Obtaining military status is the first step for you to get ahead, get promoted, and make a fortune! If you don't perform well, you can only serve as a militiaman on this island for a few years, and then go to the farm to farm until the day you die. There is a way for you to think clearly now! I have given you a chance to be reborn. Whether you can seize this opportunity depends on your next performance!"
Roger's mobilization was simple and crude, but it was more straightforward. If he wanted to explain the truth to these soldiers who were not familiar with Chinese, it would probably just end up playing the piano to an ox, but this kind of superficial explanation would make them understand better. The importance of today's exercise. Roger will not personally direct the drill. He will sit with him on the rostrum so that he can explain the drill items and content to Yan Chujie and Mu Xiabai nearby.
The items of the exercise are actually the same as those of the ordinary troops of the Haihan Militia, and are mainly divided into several stages: marching, reconnaissance, and combat. These combat environments have relatively clear requirements for queues and action steps, and the main test is the team's collaborative combat capabilities. Yan Chujie has reviewed not only 100 but also 80 troop drills in the past few years. Naturally, the training level of a troop can be seen from these fixed items.
As for the individual soldier quality emphasized by the special operations force, it is not the part that Yan Chujie values most. After all, this unit has not had real combat experience since it became an army. No matter how powerful it is on the training ground, the reaction on the battlefield will definitely be It will still vary greatly. What can guarantee the lower limit of this unit's ability is not the quality of individual soldiers, but their overall training level. On the battlefield, even if some people are unable to perform to their normal level due to panic, as long as the majority of people can stabilize, the team's combat effectiveness can still be maintained. On a relatively high level.
This inspection will be jointly reviewed by Yan Chujie and Mu Xiabai. If the two people have major differences in their opinions, Yan Chujie's opinion will still be the main one, but the approval procedures may be more troublesome, and a second inspection may have to be organized. Second inspection review.
The drill started at nine o'clock in the morning and lasted for more than three hours before ending. After the exercise, Yan Chujie and Mu Xiabai had a brief discussion and informed Roger of the results: "We believe that the training level of this unit has reached the requirements of the militia army, but if we measure it by the standards of a special operations unit, , there are still many shortcomings, and there is no actual combat record as a reference, so we think we can give a temporary establishment. As for whether we will make adjustments in the future, it will depend on the actual combat performance in the future!”
"Yes!" Roger clenched his fists and gave himself more strength. The recognition from Yan Chujie and Mu Xiabai means that the time and efforts he spent on this unit this year have not been in vain.
As for the temporary establishment of this arrangement, he actually expected it. After all, as Yan Chujie pointed out, although the training level of this unit seems to be good, its lack of actual combat experience is also very obvious. I think that when Qian Tiandun formed the Annan special battle company in Heitu Port, it was also a temporary establishment at first and only enjoyed the treatment of ordinary militia troops. Later, because of his repeated achievements in the Annan battlefield, he was upgraded to a real special battle company. troops, and their establishment scale has been gradually expanded to strengthened battalions. Roger believed that as long as his unit could get a chance to fight, he could expect to gain the favor of the Military Commission by accumulating military exploits.
"Pass my order to kill a few pigs from the farm today and bring them over for extra meals for the brothers!" Roger was so excited that he didn't forget to reward these men who had gained face for him. Because the establishment has not been solved before, this group of people does not currently have military pay, so they can only be rewarded in terms of food.
(End of chapter)