Chapter 1234 Sneaking into Johor
Although Roger described this action plan as very relaxed, when it was actually implemented, it would not be so grand. Although it was only a small team sent out for a few days of reconnaissance operations, the local garrison was mobilized and was required to enter a state of war alert during this period. The men chosen by Roger are even more elite in the military. They are basically veterans who have been in the army for more than two years, and most of them have officer positions. Marcus, a black officer who once served as Han Zhengshan's military training instructor, was also among them. He was physically strong and not only equipped with his own personal equipment, but also carried field radios and batteries weighing more than ten kilograms during the operation. . In addition, half of the only four local snipers will be taken away by Roger.
Considering that they have to operate in the field for several days and cannot obtain supplies from Star Island during this period, the reconnaissance team needs to bring a lot of materials and equipment to the other side of the strait. In addition to ensuring the rations, medicine, bedding, etc. required by all members, etc., as well as ropes, ammunition, guns, etc. The supplies this team of people need to carry have exceeded fifty kilograms per person. However, they will not carry everything on their backs during the operation. After arriving on the other side, they will find a hidden location to set up a temporary station, leave some spare supplies, and then move forward lightly to perform reconnaissance missions.
According to Roger's plan, the reconnaissance team will use the landing point as the center of the circle to conduct a fan-shaped search of the surrounding area. Set aside an area for reconnaissance every day, and then return to the temporary base at the landing site to spend the night. Although the search range would not be too large, the information Roger received from the prisoners was that the Johor Army had begun to gather in the area near the strait, and he should be able to grasp the opponent's preparations for war without going deep inland.
While Roger was talking to Tan Juren, the two clippers responsible for the transportation task were already on their way to the Strait of Johor carrying some supplies. Although only one ship was enough to transport the reconnaissance team, out of caution, Roger still deployed an extra ship as a backup. However, there is no need for eye-catching warships. Roger is worried that his warships breaking patrol rules and appearing in the Johor Strait will alert the other party, which may easily expose their reconnaissance operations.
Tan Juren also woke up early the next day and went to the military camp to see Roger and others off. Although Roger explained everything very clearly, Tan Juren was still a little uneasy as he took on this important task for the first time. Roger also saw that his mood was not too calm, so he comforted him immediately: "Okay, you don't have to worry too much, just take care of your family. Once three days are over, the command power will be returned to me. Okay, you better think about how to live your life as a general these days!”
Tan Juren laughed and said: "I have no ambition to be a general. I won't say more. You should be more careful. I will celebrate your success when you come back!"
"Let's go!" Roger got on his horse and gave the order. All the men mounted their horses and slowly headed north.
Han Zhengshan, who was following Tan Juren, saw his acquaintance Marcus at the end of the team and waved to him. Marcus saw Han Zhengshan on horseback. He had a mission and could not stop to talk, but he responded by hugging his fists in Chinese etiquette.
Tan Juren watched the group of people slowly disappear into the morning mist before leaving the military camp and returning to his official residence.
Although Roger handed over the temporary command of the garrison to Tan Juren, he did not intend to occupy the military office during Roger's absence, let alone the idea of becoming a general as he had joked before. Although nominally he has to exercise command power on behalf of Roger these days, as long as there is no war, all the work in the army will still proceed step by step, and there is no need for him to directly intervene in management. Even if there is an emergency, Ruan Fu can take charge of it alone. The main role that Tan Juren can play is actually to stabilize the morale of the military and let everyone know that there is still a leader sitting in Starport, which is enough.
Compared with military affairs, Tan Juren is still more concerned about the matters at hand. At present, two-thirds of the construction progress of resettlement housing has been completed, and the current housing allocation problem for the people will soon be solved. After settling this matter, he can concentrate on implementing local development plans. The existing cultivated land area in Xingdao is far less than Tan Juren's expectations. He hopes to start promoting collective farming locally as soon as possible to improve the existing agricultural production efficiency. In addition, we should vigorously promote farms that grow tropical cash crops. Only with farms and plantations with stable profits can the local economic situation be further improved.
Of course, all these plans have two unavoidable prerequisites. One is that there is enough local labor force to develop these projects, and the other is the safety and stability of the surrounding environment. If these two points cannot be achieved, then no matter how perfect Tan Juren's plan is, it will be difficult to succeed. Now it seems that these two conditions are a bit out of reach. The development of the situation obviously did not go according to his wishes, and the implementation of the plan can only be postponed. As for how long it will be postponed, Tan Juren has no idea. Now besides watching step by step, he can't seem to think of any reliable way.
Roger and his party rode horses and traveled north for about twenty miles. There was already a dense forest in front of them that the pack horses could not travel with, so they had to dismount and move forward on foot. The reconnaissance team dismounted, took their backpacks, and continued marching into the dense forest, while several soldiers took their horses back to the star port camp along the same route.
After walking for about ten miles through the dense forest, the reconnaissance team finally arrived at the northernmost coastline of Star Island. Looking north from here, across the Johor Strait, which is less than two kilometers wide, is the southernmost mainland of the Malay Peninsula. . Roger didn't even need a telescope. He could clearly see the undulating coastline on the other side with his naked eyes, and that was his destination this time.
This was one of the five temporary outposts that Roger had set up before. The reason why he chose this place as the starting point for crossing the strait was mainly based on the confessions of the prisoners. The place where the prisoners crossed the strait by boat was still a few miles to the east, and the Johor Army assembly point was also a few miles to the east on the other side. Roger deliberately avoided the area where the Johor Army was gathering in order to hide the reconnaissance team as much as possible. His whereabouts are not noticed by the other party.
The two ships that set out a day in advance did not appear here. They would not sail in from the entrance of the strait at the east end until after nightfall today, and then meet the reconnaissance team here. What the reconnaissance team has to do now is to wait patiently for night to come.
After nightfall, the two boats appeared near the coastline at the agreed time. The flashing lights on the boats quickly attracted the attention of the sentries. It was a signal agreed upon in advance. The shore quickly gave a response signal, guiding the two ships to sail slowly to the shore in the dark. There are no reefs on the coastline here, so there is no need to worry about ships running aground when docking at night. When there were still seven or eight meters across the shore, the people on the boat threw out the cable, and the people on the shore dragged the boat to the shore manually. Then a springboard was put down on the boat for the reconnaissance team to board. Roger and others quickly boarded the boat, and then the sailors on the boat used poles to push the boat away from the coast, and slowly floated towards the north shore with the help of wind and current. The other spare ship stayed here directly and did not participate in the operation.
Looking from the bow of the boat to the north shore, all we can see is darkness without any light. According to the intelligence, the village closest to the coastline in Johor is several miles away from the coastline. The area near the chosen landing point can be said to be an uninhabited area, and the risk is relatively small.
Roger has also traveled to many places overseas in the past few years, but at this moment, somehow, he suddenly recalled the night when the Crossing Group landed at Yulin Bay. When the boat he was on sailed towards the coastline, it seemed to be the same scene. But at that time, I was full of anxiety about the future, but now I am working hard to expand territory for the country of Haihan and work hard for my own record. The five-member North American party that worked together at that time is now on separate sides and fighting on its own. If we want the five of us to get together again, we don't know what year or month it will have to wait.
However, this sudden and unconstrained distraction did not last long. Roger had been in the army for so many years, commanding troops to conquer all directions, and his determination was no longer what it was before. After being distracted for a moment, Roger returned to his focus. Back in front of me. Although Roger spoke very relaxedly to Tan Juren, the risk of this mission would not be reduced because of this relaxed attitude. He only led a small team into an unfamiliar area in Johor to conduct reconnaissance. This was probably the first time he had participated in it in recent years. This is the riskiest action of all.
The water in this section of the strait is not wide, and the sailboat Roger and others were riding in quickly reached the other shore. Before the ship stopped, several soldiers jumped from the bow of the ship over the side of the ship into the water, and waded ashore to determine the topography of the shore. Whether the boat can be docked. Others were watching the situation on the coast on the deck. If anything happened, they would have to cancel the reconnaissance operation immediately.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly, and the sailboat docked smoothly. The group landed through the springboard, and then quickly transferred the various supplies ashore. After the people and supplies landed on the shore, the ship sailed away from the coast silently and turned back to the south. According to the agreement, in the next three days, the transportation ship will return here at a fixed time every night to pick up the reconnaissance team in time in case of any emergencies.
Not far from the coast was a dense mangrove forest. After confirming the direction, Roger directed his men to march north. Carrying large and small bags of supplies, the soldiers entered the mangroves silently under the moonlight. This tree grows in the upper intertidal zone of the coast and is flooded by periodic tides, so this is not a place to stop and rest.
The root system of the mangrove forest is very developed and has the function of breathing and supporting the tree body. Traveling through it is also quite laborious. After walking through the mangrove forest, there is a real primitive jungle ahead. Roger stopped to study the soil here and determined that it was no longer an area that could be affected by the tide, and immediately ordered to find a suitable place in front of him to set up a temporary camp.
Soon some soldiers found a good place, a mound about ten meters high, from which they could monitor a large area nearby. If they climbed into the tree again and had the bonus of a telescope, the surveillance range would be During the day it can be expanded to at least a radius of about five miles. As long as some simple defense measures are set up on the mound, it can be turned into a temporary stronghold with a commanding height advantage. The best thing is that there is an underground spring gushing out next to the mound, and it has no salty taste and is 100% fresh water, which saves you the trouble of finding a water source.
After inspecting the place, Roger was very satisfied with the place, so he called on everyone to move the supplies up, and deployed several people to guard the perimeter. A few hours before dawn, they need to seize the time to rest and wait until it gets dark before setting off so that they can confirm the target from a safe distance.
After settling down, Roger looked at the time and saw that it was only about ten o'clock in the evening. Before setting off, he made an appointment with Tan Juren to contact him via the radio at this time every night. He asked Marcus to bring over the radio, and he personally operated it and contacted the Star Island Base to inform him of the progress of the operation.
According to the pre-plan, they only need to bring a day's worth of supplies when they set off, and they still have to come back here to rest every night, so the items they need to carry during the operation are not too many, mainly weapons and ammunition. rations, drinking water, as well as binoculars, compasses, trauma medicine, ropes, matches and other necessary items.
The equipment of Roger's team is slightly different from that of the army. The main weapon they use is not the Trinity flintlock, which is currently the most commonly equipped by the Army. Instead, it has only begun to be used in special operations in the past year. A seven-shot rifle issued to front-line officers in the army and army. This imitated Spencer M1865-style rifle has been highly sought after by users since it came out. The increase in firepower output intensity brought about by its ultra-high rate of fire and convenient loading method is obvious to all. Soldiers who are skilled in operation can even reach every level. With a firing rate of 21 rounds per minute, this rate of fire is at least five times that of the Sany-type rifle. Its combat power can be imagined.
Of course, due to the complexity of the gun body structure and the need to use fixed-loading ammunition with brass cartridge cases, the production cost of this breech-loading rifle is far beyond that of the Trinity rifle. So even though everyone knows that this rifle is an advanced weapon of the era, the Executive Committee and the military have never made a decision to carry out a large-scale re-equipment of the Army. Even front-line troops like the Xingdao Garrison only have twenty or thirty Type 3 or Type 3 repeating rifles issued. Ordinary soldiers don't even have many opportunities to see the real thing, and they only have squad and platoon-level rifles. Only officers with high operational costs can temporarily equip this weapon with extremely high combat costs according to the needs of the mission.
(End of chapter)