Chapter 1032 Hope Oilfield (6)
Xu Yuzhuo is currently serving as the commander-in-chief of the Navy in the Zhangquan area, commanding the most elite fleet in the Fujian Navy. He has also commanded the Ming Navy's coordination and cooperation in military operations led by Haihan many times. He has a close relationship with the senior military leaders of Haihan Also relatively familiar. When Wang Tom commanded the Haihan Navy to attack Miyako Island last year, Xu Yuzhuo also accompanied the Ming army as a military observer to watch the battle. Xu Xinsu sent him to Penghu to inquire about the news when the situation was unclear, which was considered an appropriate arrangement.
After hearing Xu Yuzhuo's intention, Wang Tom comforted him with gentle words: "General Xu, don't worry, our fleet is just passing through Penghu, heading to Zhoushan, Zhejiang, to replace the local garrison. During this period, it will not dock at any port on the coast of Fujian, nor will it It will disturb the local people.”
Tom Wang did not mention a word about the real purpose of the fleet heading to Zhejiang, nor did he reveal the next plan to attack Taiwan Island. These two matters are directly supervised by the Executive Committee, and the confidentiality level is the highest. Before achieving phased results, the Haihan military does not want the Fujian government to get the news for the time being.
Xu Yuzhuo felt relieved after hearing this, because he also knew that the possibility of Haihan using force against Fujian was very slim. Even if one day the Haihan people were so ambitious that they wanted to go to war with the Ming Dynasty, Guangdong, which was closer to Hainan Island, would definitely suffer first. As for whether the purpose of this fleet going to Zhejiang is to change defenses or have other plans, that is not an issue that Xu Yuzhuo needs to worry about. I heard that there have been a lot of people in the Zhejiang officialdom recently. It is very likely that Haihan has begun to make efforts to clear out dissidents in the local officialdom. This time the fleet was dispatched, maybe it was also to maintain a large enough external influence on the local government. pressure.
However, as an ally of Haihan, Xu Yuzhuo still had to say something polite: "General Wang's words are quite exaggerated. If your fleet needs anything while passing through Fujian, we are determined to help."
In the past, when the Haihan Army went to Fujian to carry out military operations, they would not be polite to the government here. Not only did the Fujian officials have to provide people and efforts, but most of the time they also had to pay for food and bear part of the Haihan Army's consumption, and the reward was " ally” status and the opportunity to participate in Haihan-led military operations. Although it seems that Fujian officials have paid more, in fact, everyone gets what they need. Compared with other provinces in the Ming Dynasty, the combat power of Fujian Navy is definitely one of the best. This is mainly due to the cooperation with Haihan. long-term cooperation in the military field.
Xu Xinsu was a calculating businessman before entering the officialdom, and of course it was impossible to do business at a loss. Although it gave Haihan many military benefits, thanks to the South China Sea route opened by Haihan, the sea trade under Xu Xinsu's control also declined. He made a lot of money, and the benefits even far exceeded the military expenditure. Moreover, after Xu Xinsu had been in the officialdom for several years, she also deeply understood that her current status was due to the support of Haihan. Helping Haihan was actually helping herself. The fundamental nature of the two things was the same. Therefore, whether it is the Penghu base or Haihan troops passing through, Xu Xinsu is willing to spend a little more money to consolidate the relationship with Haihan.
Although Wang Tom said that there was no need for official assistance from Fujian this time, Xu Yuzhuo donated 200 dan of rice and 1,000 taels of silver to Haihan in his own name as military supplies. Wang Tom knew that if he did not accept the gift, Xu's family might not be able to feel at ease, so he accepted the gift list and comforted Xu Yuzhuo before sending him away.
Although the task force had an absolute advantage in terms of strength, Wang Tom still did not order an immediate march to Miaoli out of careful consideration. He first learned about the general situation from the Miaoli garrison through the radio, and then began to prepare relevant combat readiness materials. Considering the hydrological conditions of Houlong River, the flagship will definitely not be able to dock at the coastal camp, and the local opponents only operate on land, so there is no need to dispatch large warships to deal with them. In addition, the local climate and environment cannot be ignored. A large number of rainproof equipment and medicinal materials for dispelling wind and dehumidification must be prepared to prevent the troops from suffering from various diseases due to acclimatization and large-scale non-combat attrition after entering the area.
However, formulating a combat plan has become a relatively simple step in preparing for war. In addition to not being familiar with the geographical situation, the Haihan Army had advantages in other aspects. Basically, there was no need to think too much about tactics and they could just push forward and crush them. Given the disparity in combat effectiveness between the two sides, the indigenous tribes really had little chance of making a comeback in a frontal battlefield confrontation. Now that the troops have arrived here, Wang Tom is not in a hurry to take action in the next day or two. He plans to wait until everything is ready, and then use a thunderous force to wipe out the indigenous tribes in one fell swoop.
"Tom Wang will arrive in Miaoli in three days." Bai Kesi shared the telegram he just received with Morgan: "The combat operations at that time will be jointly commanded by you and Tom Wang."
Although Wang Tom's establishment is in the Navy, his current military position is indeed a little higher than Morgan, and there is nothing wrong with him even if he directly takes over the local military command. Of course, Morgan doesn't care about such details. He and Tom Wang were very good friends before time travel. The fact that they can cross half the world together to participate in this time travel operation with no return can already explain their relationship. Being able to work together again to command operations is undoubtedly the best arrangement for them.
This operation to clear out the indigenous tribes in the Miaoli area was planned by Morgan. The main targets were the Maoli She in the mountains on the west bank of Houlong River and the Dajia She in the upper reaches of Houlong River to the east of the oil field camp. After pulling out these two nails, I hope that the oil field project will be able to enter the normal operation stage. Otherwise, Haihan, as the defender, will have to be nervous day and night to prepare for the sneak attacks of the natives, and there will be no time to send more Focus on oil projects.
After drilling started that day, it was not smooth at first. No oil was found after drilling for more than 60 meters. Although this drilling depth is not large, it is not consistent with the oil field data Haihan has. You must know that the first person to discover this oil field used a hoe to dig it out on his own property. It is obvious how shallow the burial was.
Seeing that the situation was not right, Tian Yeyou decisively stopped drilling, moved to a different location, and spent two days re-erecting the drilling rig. As expected, oil was found as soon as he drilled down. He immediately ordered the workers to lower the casing and pour cement for solidification. well, and then temporarily seal the wellhead. The reason why mining is not carried out immediately is mainly because the supporting refining facilities and the required storage containers are not ready, and there is no way to start regular production at the moment.
According to the oil field development plan originally formulated by the Ministry of Industry, the construction of these supporting facilities should have been carried out simultaneously when the camp was built. However, due to capacity constraints, weather conditions, external instability, etc., the supporting facilities have not kept up with the development at all. Progress, even if oil has been drilled now, there is no way to start production immediately.
However, in this way, Miaoli's limited local human resources will be prioritized for infrastructure projects. Currently, in addition to a company of army personnel, there are also various engineering and technical personnel plus migrant workers stationed in the oil field camp. There are a total of six to seven hundred people. The goal of the first phase of the oil field camp project is to build a small town that can accommodate a thousand people, or it is more accurate to call it a stronghold based on the current situation. After all, the periphery still faces threats from indigenous armed forces, and for the time being it still needs to rely on the army and fortifications. Ensure the safety of the camp area. While waiting for the arrival of reinforcements from the base camp, sneak attacks by indigenous armed forces continued. Even with strengthened defenses, the fleet passing through Houlong River inevitably became the main target of the indigenous attacks. Compared with the almost inaccessible Haihan stronghold, the fleet with limited defense is obviously easier to deal with in the eyes of the natives, and the attack is more effective.
After the first death occurred, Haihan was unable to eliminate casualties. So far, two more soldiers have been injured and died in battles with natives while escorting the fleet, and the number of injured personnel has reached double digits. Another migrant worker died in a sneak attack while collecting wild vegetables outside the camp. His head was cut off by the natives, which temporarily caused the mood of the people in the camp to fluctuate. Morgan had to issue a more stringent ban, prohibiting people in the camp from going out without military protection.
Even if Tom Wang did not lead a large force to come for reinforcements, Morgan was already thinking about how to solve the trouble caused by the natives as soon as possible. Although the scale of the local garrison is limited and unable to carry out large-scale encirclement and suppression, Morgan believes that using the elite troops at hand, especially the group of sniper trainees he brought from Sanya, there is still a chance to lurk near the tribe and carry out several targeted operations. The beheading operation may be used to deal a heavy blow to the indigenous tribes.
Of course, Wang Tom's arrival undoubtedly minimized the risks of Haihan's actions, and the results were certainly unmatched by the beheading operation. But in order to be able to coordinate the command operations with Wang Tom, Morgan had to temporarily leave the oil field camp for a few days, return to the coastal camp first, and wait for Wang Tom to arrive to plan and arrange a specific action plan.
"While I'm away, the command here will be handed over to you, Lao Bai." Morgan was still a little uneasy after making this decision. After saying that, he asked again: "Lao Bai, are you okay?"
Bai Kesi smiled and said: "Even if I have never commanded a battle, I still have hundreds of professional soldiers under my command. How can I still defend this camp? You should be careful. Recently, the natives have launched sneak attacks along the Houlong River. Don’t let anything happen to you on the road.”
Morgan responded: "If the natives dare to come, that will be exactly what I want. Then I will let them know what a professional gunman is!"
Although Morgan said he didn't take the natives seriously, he still spent some time preparing for the trip back to the coastal camp. He divided his sniper trainees into two teams. One team stayed in the oil field, and the other team set off together as his personal bodyguard. In response to the attack methods of the natives, carpenters have recently made reinforcements and modifications to the river barges. Not only have the sides of the boats been raised to increase protection, but several roofs have been added to each barge to allow the crew on board to use bows and arrows against the natives. Ability to dodge when ejected from shore. In order to ensure safety, the ship Morgan was traveling on was temporarily reinforced twice. The sides of the ship were raised and the roof was connected into one piece. Only about a foot of gap was left on the sides of the ship on both sides. The people on the ship could stand on the deck just right. It can expose above the shoulders, so aiming and shooting are not affected.
Of course, such a specially reinforced barge is also very conspicuous in the fleet. It is very likely to have side effects, causing the natives to notice this ship with special protective measures, so as to concentrate their firepower. Attack it. However, Morgan believed that this risk was worth it. If he could attract the attention of the natives and pursue the ship to attack, then he and the more than ten gunmen on the ship could play a good role.
On the morning of May 8, Morgan led the team to board the barge fleet and prepared to return to the coastal camp. The barges on the return journey were almost empty as they had little cargo to carry. This time, a total of five fleets set out from the oil field camp together, and all the cargo was only a few barrels of crude oil samples that were to be transported back to Sanya by sea. Each fleet's barge had a squad of army personnel serving as escort.
In addition to him and his escorts, there were two boatmen on the ship Morgan was on. One was responsible for steering the ship, and the other was responsible for the operation and operation of the steam engine. The boiler of this steam engine is installed at the back of the ship. During operation, it takes about ten minutes on average to open the furnace and add coal, which is also a laborious task. While the steam engine on the ship was still being warmed up, the two boatmen had already taken off their shirts and were working with their upper bodies naked.
"Let's set off!" Seeing that all fleets were ready, Morgan gave the order to set off. When the staff on the dock saw the signal given by the Morgan ship, they blew the copper whistle to signal the fleets to leave the shore.
Morgan looked at the mountains and forests on the other side of Houlong River, thinking that maybe the natives had arranged observation posts there. Every time they saw a fleet setting off from the oil field camp, they would pass the information downstream so that their companions could wait for the opportunity. Launch a surprise attack. However, he quickly rejected this speculation. The natives lacked the means to transmit information over long distances. It was at least twenty miles from this place to the conflict-prone river section. The natives should not be able to transmit the message in a short time. The greater possibility is that the indigenous tribes organized teams from time to time to guard Haihan's fleet near the river bank.
But such squatting is also a huge drain on the low-productivity indigenous tribes. These young men must be the main labor force in the tribe. They will lose one day of work when they go out to squat for one day, and they may also work during the period. There were casualties, and these natives were so persistent in confronting Haihan. It was indeed a situation that Haihan had not anticipated when he originally planned this project.
(End of chapter)