Chapter 1289 A different military exercise
Compared with the various banquets and delicacies along the way, the meals the inspection team enjoyed at the Danzhou garrison base were relatively simple. There was no sumptuous reception banquet arranged to entertain them, but they were only arranged to eat in the officers' canteen at the base. But this is not a bad thing for Liu Shang. He has eaten too much oil and water along the way, and his stomach has become a little unbearable. It would be good to eat some simple home-cooked food to adjust.
While eating, Liu Shang also paid attention to Officer Haihan who was coming in and out of the meal. These officers are all wearing gray military uniforms, and their different branches and ranks can only be distinguished by their collar badges and armbands. Everyone has their hair trimmed extremely short and their skin is tanned. It is impossible to tell from their appearance that they are originally The Han, Li, and Miao people still come from other surrounding countries.
There was also an accompanying officer, Lu Ting, in the inspection team. However, he was a scholar. He joined the Sanya Militia in his early years, and was later transferred to the regular army as a clerk. He also worked as a lecturer at the Military Museum in Victory Port for two years, and because of his eloquence, he With a certain cultural foundation, he was transferred to the Political Propaganda Department of the Ministry of National Defense, specializing in propaganda work. Although Lu Ting is a civilian officer, he joined the army earlier and has been working in the agency, so his military rank is not low. The collar badge symbolizing a major is enough for most of the officers here to take the initiative to salute him.
But when he was halfway through the meal, Lu Ting suddenly put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth and stood up, raising his hand to salute a military salute. Before Liu Shang could recover, he saw other people in the room also starting to express their gratitude. Stand up quickly, even Yu Xiaobao has stood up. Liu Shang knew that a big shot was present, so he didn't bother to look back, so he quickly stood up before talking.
The visitor came directly to Liu Shang's table: "I heard that the inspection team is here, so I came over to see everyone."
Only then did Liu Shang see clearly that the person coming was a middle-aged officer in his forties, surrounded by a group of officers. Although they were all wearing the same military uniform, his collar badge did not have a rank mark, only a red and blue one. Hainan flag logo. But judging from the reactions of the people in the room, this person was obviously a very high-status figure. Recalling the few words he heard before, Liu Shang guessed that the person in front of him was Yan Chujie, the head of the Haihan Ministry of Defense. In the Ming Dynasty, he would be as big a figure as the Minister of War. It is no wonder that this room is full of large and small cultural relics. The officials stood up.
The people on the inspection team naturally respect Yu Xiaobao's official position, and he and Yan Chujie have known each other for many years and have long been like family members. At that moment, because Xiaobao came forward, he exchanged a few words with Yan Chujie and briefly talked about the conditions he saw everywhere along the way.
Yan Chujie just came over to say hello and encouraged everyone. Then he called the officer in charge of logistics at the garrison base and asked him to add some more dishes to the inspection team. Everyone thanked them quickly. Of course, this is not because their food quality is really bad, it's just that the boss shows consideration for his subordinates and does enough work on the scene.
Everyone sent Yan Chujie off respectfully, then sat down and continued eating. However, the grassroots officials who rarely have the opportunity to see such a big shot couldn't help but be very excited. Several people couldn't help but whisper to each other about the reason why Yan Chujie would come to Danzhou to direct the military exercise.
Liu Shang is naturally thinking about this issue, but the outside world knows very little about the situation of the Haihan military. Apart from a few outstanding military generals, the most talked about thing about the Haihan military is that they are invincible. The past achievements of this powerful armed force have been revealed, but the outside world knows very little about the organization, garrison arrangements, weapons equipment, combat methods, deployment status, etc. of this powerful armed force. It was too difficult to speculate on the movements and intentions of its leaders with limited information. Liu Shang listened to others' discussions and pondered in his heart, but he still had no clue.
Yu Xiaobao naturally noticed everyone's discussion and ended the topic: "You don't have to guess anymore. The military's arrangements are always kept secret, so just wait and see the military exercises with peace of mind!"
After everyone finished eating, they returned to the barracks. They did not have much freedom of movement here. No one, including Yu Xiaobao, could move around the barracks at will without the permission of the military. Although this inevitably feels like being under house arrest, the confidentiality regulations require this, and they can only abide by the system.
However, an officer came not long after and informed them that they would set off with the troops tomorrow morning to participate in the next three days of military exercise observation. This news naturally made everyone excited, but Liu Shang was thinking that the military exercise would last for three days. The scale of the operation was probably not just a matter of ordering troops on the school field and just doing a drill in the military camp.
Liu Shang didn't know that Haihan's military exercise was very different from Ming's military exercise. It was not a show-off to deal with superior officials and defraud the court of military expenses, but a real exercise to practice actual combat tactics in a wild environment. And there are often large observation groups participating. Among these observers were officials from Haihan, some specially invited guests with special status, and even senior military officers who came from other countries to participate. There are at least three or four teams of observers like them living in this base alone.
Yu Xiaobao was afraid that everyone would be overly excited and affect their mental state the next day, so he asked everyone to turn off the lights and rest early. Liu Shang was lying on the bed, but he couldn't help but continue to wonder about the truth of Haihan's military exercise. It wasn't until midnight that he couldn't help but fall asleep due to fatigue.
Early the next morning, Liu Shang woke up to the loud sound of the wake-up call. He was not unfamiliar with such horn sounds. When he lived in a training center in Sanya, he could hear the wake-up call from the army base next to him every morning. But Liu Shang didn't expect that one day he would live in the Haihan Military Camp. When he woke up from the sound of the trumpet, he was a little confused about where he was.
After getting up, washing up, and having breakfast, an officer came to inform them that they were ready to set off. Except for a small number of personal items that are needed every day, they don't need to carry too much luggage on the road.
What came to pick them up outside the barracks were still the same carriages that had brought them to the barracks. Just as Liu Shang had expected, the carriages were heading towards Danzhou Bay, presumably to go out to sea with the navy. When they left the military camp, they noticed that the garrison here was also marching slowly outside the camp, presumably to participate in this military exercise. However, not far after leaving the military camp, the carriage turned around and headed towards the north of Danzhou Bay. It seemed that it did not intend to go to the Baimajing Pier where they landed when they came. Sure enough, as soon as the direction changed, they made a big circle along the coast of Danzhou Bay. After crossing two bridges, they returned to the coastline again. After getting off the car, Liu Shang looked at the sun, then at the entrance of Danzhou Bay, which was clearly visible on the sea in the distance, and judged that his location was on the easternmost coast of Danzhou Bay, which was also the farthest from the exit of the bay. place. Liu Shang visually estimated that the straight-line distance between here and the Baimajing Pier in the west is at least about ten miles. Could it be that the military exercise arranged by Haihan was at this place?
But Liu Shang's doubts were soon dispelled. There was a fully equipped sailboat waiting for their arrival on the dock on the shore. The Haihan military flag was hung on the mast of the sailboat, indicating the identity of the ship.
At this moment, someone had already asked the officer leading the way, since they were going to sea, why not board the ship directly at Baimajing Pier. Although the officer's tone was very polite, he did not reveal anything at all: "This is the arrangement of the command. I am just following the order and bringing you here to board the ship. I don't know the other circumstances. You just need to board the ship. , the next actions will be arranged by the officers on the ship.”
Among this group of people, perhaps only Yu Xiaobao and Lu Ting, who were officers themselves, knew better why there was such an arrangement. It was obvious that there were some secrets at Baimajing Pier that were not open to non-military personnel, so they were specially arranged to take a carriage detour here to board the ship. As for whether there is any new equipment there that has not yet been publicly unveiled, or whether it is a special personnel whose identity is relatively sensitive and should not be shown in public, it is temporarily unknown.
Although Danzhou Bay is large, there are actually only two or three military docks. It is inconvenient for the military to arrange for them to board the ship at Baimajing dock, so they can only send them here. Although the location is a bit out of the way, taking a boat out to sea will not waste too much time.
After boarding the ship, the sailors on the ship unmoored, raised the sail, and set sail toward the exit of the bay on the west. It seems that they are the only passengers on this ship, but there are several troop transport ships like this docked on the shore. It seems that there may be other visitors boarding the ship from here to go to sea.
Sure enough, not far after their boat sailed out of the pier, Liu Shang saw several more carriages parked on the pier, and many people got out of the cars. It's just that they were far away, so they couldn't see clearly what these people were wearing, and there was no way to deduce their identities.
When their ship approached the mouth of Danzhou Bay, Liu Shang discovered that all the warships he had seen when he came yesterday had disappeared from the berths at the docks on the shore. It seemed that they had set off first. However, they saw that the ship they came on was still at the berth where it docked yesterday. The ship they were originally on was also an official ship, and the sailors and crew on board were all employees of the Ministry of Shipping, but they were still not allowed to participate in the military exercise. This shows that the level of confidentiality is indeed very high.
After the ship sailed out of Danzhou Bay, it turned north. At this time, the naval officers on the ship finally showed up and introduced them to the general arrangements for the military exercise.
In fact, similar large-scale military exercises are basically held in the Beibu Gulf every summer. The only difference is the size of the participating troops and the number of military subjects practiced. The Ministry of National Defense named this military exercise "Leap Over", and the annual military exercises include The year indicates the difference. For example, this year's military exercise was named the "Stride 1635" exercise in accordance with the command principle.
Liu Shang didn't understand why Haihan's dating method was so weird, and he didn't understand where 1635 came from. He only knew that this year was the year of Yihai, which was also the eighth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty. These Haihan people had too many tricks, and he couldn't understand all their customs and habits.
The officer continued to introduce that last year, because the Haihan Army had constant foreign missions in the first half of the year, the scale of the exercise was relatively small. It was only a day-and-a-half amphibious landing exercise organized by the garrison in the Qiongbei area. But this year's exercise plan formulated by the Ministry of National Defense is the largest in recent years. Not only do the navy and the army consist of troops stationed in Hainan Island, but there is also the Annan Navy who came specially to participate in the exercise, and Liu Shang listened to it. The Guangxi navy frowned. The Haihan Army expects to invest more than 2,000 troops in the exercise, and the foreign army estimates that the total strength will be just over 3,000. It is a major operation that will last for three days, and the scale is indeed not small.
How much strength the navy in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions still has is a data that Liu Shang's camp has never fully understood. The Haihan Navy had controlled several major seaports in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions a few years ago, while the functions and scope of activities of the Ming Dynasty Navy were shrinking day by day, and it had basically been reduced to an inland river navy. A large number of sailors even switched to serve in the Haihan Army under Haihanming's secret recruitment. The navy in many areas along the coast of Guangdong and Guangxi has long existed in name only, leaving only a short establishment.
Liu Shang had not heard of any remaining naval units in the coastal areas of Guangxi, and they could be brought along by the Haihan Navy. The only possibility is that the Guangxi Navy is probably just a puppet army relying on the structure of the Ming Dynasty Navy and actually taking orders from the Haihan military.
There are many countries invited to send representatives to visit the Haihan military exercise this time. In addition to the Ming and Guangxi governments, there are also many countries including Annam, Champa, Siam, Matalan, Portugal, and the Netherlands. Coupled with the inspection groups and observation groups sent by the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Ordnance Industry, the Ministry of Shipping and other departments, there were hundreds of spectators watching the military exercise alone.
When Liu Shang heard this, he couldn't help but feel confused. The Haihan Army had clearly set a confidentiality threshold for this military exercise. They just invited people from relevant yamen in the country to come and see it. Why did they specially invite foreigners to come and see it? This was not a show. Are there no secrets left? But he immediately changed his mind. Of course, this kind of military exercise is also a good opportunity to show off his power to other countries. He deliberately took this opportunity to show off his force. After the military exercise, he also promoted and sold weapons. Isn't that flattering?
Haihan's arms sales business is as famous as its military performance. As far as Liu Shang knows, the Fujian military is probably the largest buyer of Haihan arms and equipment in the Ming Dynasty. Coastal areas, especially the navy, are almost exclusively equipped with equipment. In recent years, even warships have been gradually updated to weapons made by Haihan. As for the South China Sea countries such as Annan and Champa, their main armies were built by Haihan, and the amount of arms purchased from Haihan every year is not a small amount. Haihan invited representatives from various countries to come and observe, presumably with the intention of taking the opportunity to sell arms.
(End of chapter)