Chapter 1019 Practical Difficulties
Bai Kesi and Yu Yao are both determined people. They know very well the mission they need to complete when they come here, and they do not have too much compassion for the uncivilized natives of this era. If the local aboriginal people in Miaoli are unwilling to accept the fact that Haihan is stationed, then Baikes and others will probably not have the patience to slowly communicate and negotiate with them. Instead, they will try the most direct and effective means of force to suppress or even expel these indigenous tribes to provide oil fields. Clear obstacles and pave the way for exploration and mining work.
For Haihan, if a small-scale battle can solve the problem quickly, then the time saved is far more valuable than the military expenditure spent. Being able to reach an understanding with the local aborigines is not the goal that Bai Kesi is pursuing, because he knows very well that getting these mountain aborigines to leave their tribes and join the Haihan is not a task that can be completed in one or two generations, and time travelers are not so More time to wait for the mountain people to slowly change their mentality.
After the Miaoli oil project is implemented, Haihan will gradually introduce Han immigrants to the area to facilitate subsequent development and construction of the area. In the future, a petrochemical base and supporting urban facilities may even be built here as needed. These measures are bound to cause conflicts with indigenous tribes over land ownership issues. Rather than waiting until then to solve the problem, it is better to start early and be prepared to drive the indigenous people out of this Haihan-demarcated area from the beginning.
To take such tough measures, Bai Kesi is not an expert, so he must also listen to the opinions of military personnel. Among the travelers in Penghu, only Yu Yao has been to Miaoli and knows the actual situation best. But from Yu Yao's tone, Bai Kesi could vaguely feel that he was not very optimistic about using force.
"Can you elaborate a little more?" Bai Kesi asked.
Yu Yao nodded and said: "Mr. Bai, let me tell you straight. The two companies you brought here this time were originally stationed near Sanya. The local natural environment is somewhat different from that of Miaoli, and the oil fields The place we are located in is already in a mountainous area. This kind of wild environment will definitely take some time for troops who have no experience in mountain jungle combat to adapt to the poisonous insects, snakes and ants in the mountain forest, the hot and humid environment, and even our supply lines. It may become a bigger trouble than the indigenous tribes. In other words, if you take these people into the mountains rashly, I think there will be certain risks.”
Baikes turned to look at Morgan and said: "I think there should be some objective reasons for the Ministry of Defense to make such an arrangement."
Morgan said calmly: "Among the Haihan Army establishment, the troops with the mountainous and jungle environment as the main combat direction are of course General Qian Tiandun's special operations battalion. However, this unit is now far away on the front line of Zhejiang, and there will be more to come. There will be other important tasks assigned to them, and it is unlikely that they will be transferred to Taiwan Island to perform tasks. Although the two companies assigned to the oil field exploration team for escort tasks have not been trained in mountainous environments for a long time, they have all done so before. The troops on the battlefield have no shortage of actual combat experience. Coupled with the garrisons on Penghu and Taiwan Island, a battalion of troops can be assembled in the Miaoli area in a short period of time. This should be more than enough to deal with the natives who only have bows, arrows and bamboo spears. ”
The two insisted on different opinions. It was obvious that the senior officials of the Ministry of National Defense and the front-line commanders had different ideas and had inconsistent understandings of the arrangement of this task. In fact, the two companies transferred to Bai Kesi by the Ministry of National Defense are really not weak. In 1631, there was a riot in the Shilu Mining Area. Among the troops that entered the Qiongzhong Mountains to quell the rebellion and recover the fugitives, the two companies that came to Penghu this time were included. Speaking of experience in fighting in mountainous and jungle environments, I actually have some experience. Moreover, the existing garrison on the island of Taiwan has been there for about a year, and should have adapted relatively well to the environment and climate on the island. When necessary, some companies can be mobilized to Miaoli to perform tasks.
Yu Yao did not insist on opposing Morgan, but shook his head slightly and said: "I'm not saying that our troops can't deal with the aborigines, but this process may not be as easy as you expected."
Bai Kesi asked: "It seems that when you went to the local area for inspection, the treatment you received may not be just unfriendly, right?"
Yu Yao nodded and said: "Although there was no direct armed conflict at that time, the hostility shown by the local indigenous people was already very obvious. They did not welcome foreign ethnic groups to enter the area. As far as I know, in the early years, Shibazhi also When I was in Taiwan, several groups of immigrants moved there, but due to the obstruction of the indigenous people, they were unable to take root there. ”
Bai Kesi asked: "What is the reason why they are so xenophobic? Is it for the land or some strange belief?"
Yu Yao responded: "I think it's for food. Miaoli's local terrain is dominated by mountains and hills, and the few plains are mainly concentrated in the Houlong River Basin. The food crops grown by the Dajia people are concentrated in these alluvial plains. area. Whether it is the Han immigrants who settled there before or us, the first choice is definitely the local indigenous food-producing area, which will of course lead to irreconcilable conflicts.”
Bai Ke thought for a while and said: "If it is possible, how about we exchange food for peace? We can provide food to the indigenous tribes at low prices and let them exchange the output of the mountains."
Yu Yao shook his head and said: "Mr. Bai, what you are talking about is the old method used to deal with the Li and Miao people on Hainan Island, but the situation here is a little different. The Li and Miao people can be considered semi-civilized after all. The nation is willing to accept the canonization and management of the Han court, and is more admiring than rejecting advanced civilization, and is also willing to accept our well-intentioned help. However, most of the indigenous tribes on the island of Taiwan are still basically in a primitive state. , there is only one kind of outsider, and that is the enemy. They do not trust outsiders and will not accept any exchange conditions. Of course, if we are willing to spend more time and slowly get in touch, we may be able to change their ideas and attitudes. Unfortunately, the only thing we lack is enough time.”
What Yu Yao said is more essential. The ethnic policy implemented by Haihan on Hainan Island does not apply to Taiwan where the situation is different. Although communication and negotiation are not impossible, the Executive Committee probably will not Be happy to let Baix's team spend too much time dealing with this "small problem". This time, the fleet departed from Sanya nearly two weeks ahead of schedule because the executive committee hopes that every second counts on this project, and the sooner the oil field can be put into production, the better.
When Bai Kesi heard this, he also felt that what Yu Yao said was indeed worthy of attention, so he asked Morgan for his opinion. Although Morgan is a doctor, his hands that can hold a scalpel can also play with various murder weapons. Before coming here, he was mentally prepared to use force, and what Yu Yao said These only further affirm the need to use tough measures.
Morgan shrugged and said: "I think Yu Yao has made the situation very clear. If we don't want to waste time, it's best to start formulating a specific action plan as soon as possible. You should have prepared a sandbox here, right?"
Yu Yao went to Miaoli for a field trip before. One of the purposes was to make a sand table for deduction. He then took Bai Kesi and others to another spacious room. As expected, there was a huge four-meter-square table on the ground. Sand table model. The mountains, rivers, and coasts above are clearly outlined. Bai Kesi and others have all seen the satellite images of Miaoli in the large database. They are at least 80% similar to the sand table in front of them. Considering the changes in water and soil over the past few hundred years, the shape of this sand table The accuracy is quite good.
"Although the accuracy is not very precise, the error is not too big." Yu Yao is quite satisfied with the sand table he made by himself: "You can see the general terrain of the Miaoli area from the sand table. The main points are I also marked the location on the sand table in advance. "The central mountain range on the island of Taiwan runs through the entire island from north to south, leaning towards the east coast. The west coast is mostly coastal plain terrain, but only in Miaoli, the mountains extend all the way. to the coastline. This kind of terrain is vividly reflected on the sand table. Only the areas along the Houlong River Basin have relatively flat valley terrain. The flow of this small river is also quite tortuous. It has gone through at least two 90-degree turns between the mouth of the sea and the destination of Chulunkeng. The location of Chuluang Pit is no longer on the alluvial plain downstream, but is located along a river valley in the mountainous area.
Morgan made an estimate based on the scale and asked Yu Yao for confirmation: "From the end of the plain upstream, there are still about three kilometers left?"
Yu Yao nodded and said: "Yes, this distance is also the most dangerous. The plains downstream are relatively open, making it easier to immigrate or deploy troops, but the terrain for a few miles into the mountains is completely It is a virgin forest. Due to the terrain, Houlong River cannot be navigable all the way. It must be reached by land. With our current conditions, we can only open a forest trail in the local area in the short term.”
< br>
Bai Kesi couldn't help frowning and said: "With so many drilling tools, it is not easy to transport them several miles in the mountains."
The drill pipes used for drilling are all iron rods that are several meters long. It is indeed a hard job to carry these materials into the mountains manually. Although this rough work does not need to be done by the time traveler himself, the large amount of time and manpower required must also be considered.
Liu Shanxia, who had been silent until now, suddenly said something: "When I was working on a project in Kaohsiung Port in the south, I heard that Taiwan Island also has a rainy season. Will the water level in Houlong River be slightly higher during the rainy season?"< br>
Yu Yao said: "Strictly speaking, there is no real rainy season in Taiwan, only plum rain, which is probably in April and May. However, there is no data for reference as to whether the water level of Houlong River will rise during this period. ”
The last time Yu Yao went to Miaoli was in March, and the rainy season had not yet entered. Before him, no Haihan people had gone so far inland to survey the terrain.
Bai Kesi said: "If the water level of Houlong River can ensure navigation during the rainy season, then our early work will be much easier. I think we can give it a try."
Bai Kesi was the person in charge of this project, and all the actions of the military personnel during this period were just to cooperate with his work. Seeing that Bai Kesi had made up his mind, Yu Yao said nothing more. After all, the objective conditions are like this. If we miss this year's rainy season, we will really have to use manpower to slowly transport all the materials into the mountains.
But even if Houlong River could be navigable all the way, it would still be a very difficult task to bring a huge team to station there. The delivery batches of material personnel, the deployment of armed escorts, the protection of supply lines, emergency response plans, etc., there are many things that require careful discussion by Baikes and others. But before that, Bai Kesi had to check the transportation situation first.
"At the end of last year, Sanya shipped four small steam engines. How are they being used now?" Baikes asked.
"It has been installed on the ship and tested in the military port. It can be used normally." Yu Yao responded: "But considering the actual local conditions, don't expect any good performance in terms of speed. It is estimated that from now on The speed of sailing upstream from the mouth of Longxi can be up to three knots.”
Inland river steamships have previously served passengers and freight on the Tiandu River and Linchun River in Sanya. The technology of marine steam engines is also relatively mature. Last year, several steam engines were shipped to Penghu and installed and built here in advance. cargo ship. This kind of cargo ship can tow several barges behind it, and can transport a larger amount of materials and personnel at one time. However, the Houlong River was narrow and shallow. Although the ship's steam engine was powerful enough, it did not dare to move forward at full power. Otherwise, the barge behind would be stranded on the river beach, which would be a big trouble.
Bai Kesi nodded and said: "This time we also brought two spare steam engines. There are six ships in total. If we can go directly to the sulfur pit, we can transport the supplies in two or three days at most. You can make arrangements and transport them as soon as possible. The steam engine has also been put on board in the past two days.”
Morgan said: "Since time is urgent, there is no need to delay. I suggest sending a team of troops as soon as possible to establish an advance base near the mouth of Houlong River."
Regarding how to land on unfamiliar coasts and establish temporary bases, this is a basic combat skill that must be learned by the Haihan Army regardless of land or sea. With a base on the coast, the Haihan Army can advance, attack, retreat or defend, and it has a basic supply point, which gives it more options for action. The Penghu base has already prepared relevant combat materials, and is just waiting for a suitable departure time. Baikes has now temporarily put the issue of the indigenous tribes behind him, and how to take action as soon as possible is the current priority.
(End of chapter)