Chapter 2196
In fact, Dai Chengrong had already thought of the problem that Ma Zhengping was worried about. He distributed all the remaining fresh water on the ship in advance in the morning so that the salt merchants' children who had not bathed for several days could use this little water to wash their faces and wipe their bodies, and then change into a clean suit. He put on his clothes and tied his hair into a bun to avoid losing etiquette in front of Haihan officials. Although I still smell like sweat, at least it doesn't look too bad.
"As you can see, Haihan's national ships have strong guns and strong military power. This is why I came here for training. But please remember that we and Haihan are in a cooperative relationship. Both parties get what they need, so There is no need to belittle oneself. We must remember that everything we say and do in Zhoushan represents the face of Huizhou salt merchants, and we must not mess up in front of the Haihan people!”
Although Dai Chengrong was also shocked by the numerous Haihan warships in the military port, he was the person in charge of this training mission after all. He still did not forget to remind his companions before disembarking that they should not be in trouble because of this. Haihan behaved too humbly in front of senior officials.
But self-confidence ultimately comes from strength. The strength of the children of salt merchants is mostly limited to the economic aspect. In the Ming Dynasty, they were definitely considered to be the top wealthy business class, but this may not be the case in Haihan. The rapid rise of this emerging country has led to a large number of people becoming rich quickly. Rich businessmen with assets worth tens of millions are everywhere. In addition, Zhoushan is a place where maritime merchants from all over the world gather. The children of salt merchants have no obvious financial resources here. Advantage.
Of course, they probably haven't had the chance to fully understand this yet. After all, they will be sent to the military camp for training after disembarking from the ship. Even their tuition fees have been paid in advance by Ma Zhengping, so there will be no chance to show off their financial resources during this period. .
Under the command of the guidance ship and shore flags, the fleet from Yangzhou finally docked at the shore pier. However, after the sails were lowered and the moorings were lowered, the people on the ship were not immediately allowed to disembark. Someone on the dock held up a tin trumpet and shouted loudly, asking them to put down the gangplank first, and the military personnel boarded the ship for registration and inspection.
This place is a military port, and as a military zone, it is necessary to implement these procedures. Moreover, Shi Diwen will be here to greet this special group of students today, so the security work must be even more careless. In addition to the Navy's own personnel, the Military Intelligence Bureau and the Ministry of Security also sent people over to assist with the security work on site.
The dock is full of locals, so the ones to watch out for are of course the outsiders on the ship. The military first needs to conduct a preliminary inventory of the people on the ship and check the personnel list before putting the trainees ashore. As for other crew members and sailors, they are not included in this. They can only stay on the ship and wait for follow-up arrangements.
"Boss Ma, let's get on the boat together first and take a look?" Duan Tiancheng saw that the gangplank had been put down on the boat, so he invited Ma Zhengping to go with him.
Ma Zhengping had this intention and quickly agreed. He knew that the junior who led the team this time was Dai Chengrong from the Dai family. He quite admired this junior's maturity and stability. However, Dai Chengrong had never dealt with the Haihan people, so Ma Zhengping had to be present to ensure that this group of There will be no problems connecting students to the military.
When Dai Chengrong saw Ma Zhengping accompanying a Haihan officer on board the ship, he knew that this was probably a high-ranking Haihan official who came to greet his group, so he quickly stepped forward to greet him.
"Master Duan, this is Dai Chengrong, the youngest son of Dai Yingda, the head of the Dai family." Ma Zhengping hurriedly introduced Dai Chengrong to Duan Tiancheng. He specifically named Dai Chengrong's identity to remind Duan Tiancheng that this young man was not a leader picked randomly, but a young figure with a certain status within the Huizhou salt merchants.
"Grassman Dai Chengrong meets Mr. Duan!"
Dai Chengrong knelt down on the ground as he spoke, and Ma Zhengping quickly stopped him: "Please don't kneel down, good nephew, Haihan country does not want this!"
Dai Chengrong was stunned for a moment, wondering why this section was not mentioned in the letter you sent back? However, he reacted very quickly and immediately changed his attitude to bowing deeply.
"It doesn't matter. It's understandable that Master Dai is new here and doesn't understand the customs of our Haihan country. He will naturally get used to it after staying for a while. From now on, when he is trained in the army, he can use our Haihan army's military salute every day. "Duan Tiancheng has seen many immigrants who first arrived in Zhoushan behave like this, so he doesn't find it strange.
Ma Zhengping hurriedly continued: "My dear nephew, Master Duan will be responsible for your training in the next few months. You must cooperate well with Master Duan's command."
Upon hearing this, Dai Chengrong immediately turned to signal to his subordinates, and quickly wrote a book: "This is the roster of trainees who will go to Zhoushan this time. Please take a look at it, Mr. Duan!"
Duan Tiancheng took it and flipped through two pages at will, then handed it to his subordinates to hold, saying: "There is no rush. We will gather for roll call after we disembark. Let me tell you the arrangements for your disembarkation first."
Duan Tiancheng succinctly explained the process to Dai Chengrong. Trainees were not allowed to carry personal belongings when disembarking, and they had to undergo a basic body search to ensure that no one was hiding weapons secretly. After landing, gather together and check the roster to make sure there are no mistakes or omissions in the landing personnel. After completing these preparations, Zhoushan's highest officer Shi Diwen will appear in person to welcome Dai Chengrong and other students.
After all, Dai Chengrong still didn't know enough about Haihan's social conditions. He couldn't really appreciate the social status of a high-ranking official like Shi Diwen in Haihan Kingdom, and he couldn't imagine how difficult it was to get Shi Diwen to receive him. After hearing the news, he just subconsciously felt that having a senior official from Haihan come forward to receive him was because the Yangzhou salt merchants had face, but he did not regard this treatment as particularly important.
Duan Tiancheng felt that this young man was quite calm, so he immediately asked Dai Chengrong to organize the students on each ship to disembark and assemble, and also to see how his commanding ability was.
Dai Chengrong also knew that this was his opportunity to perform. He immediately organized the people on his own ship to be inspected by Haihan soldiers and then disembarked to gather. At the same time, he sent personnel to notify other ships and asked them to follow the regulations.
Although they were not satisfied with the fact that they needed to be searched before landing, no one insisted on acting like a hero at this point when they saw the Haihan soldiers with guns and live ammunition on the pier. They didn't have any ulterior motives in the first place. Since the Haihan people had to make sure that no one was hiding weapons, it wouldn't hurt to cooperate.
Although the entire landing process during the body search was relatively slow, it was basically smooth and there was no conflict that Dai Chengrong was worried about. In fact, it was also because these salt merchants' sons saw the East China Sea Fleet parked in Dinghai Port, were aware of Haihan's strong military strength, and knew that they were unable to resist the Haihan Army's arrangements, so they accepted it calmly.
If someone wanted to search their bodies in Yangzhou City, even if they were from the government, military, and government agencies, it would probably be difficult to get them to cooperate so obediently, and they might even start doing it on the spot. After all, these salt merchants' children are not people who are afraid of trouble. The worst they can do is take money to break up. However, this method obviously does not necessarily work in Haihan Kingdom, so it is better to be honest when you first come here. Of course, many people are taking this opportunity to observe the Haihan soldiers to see if the person they are going to study next is that powerful.
In fact, the Haihan soldiers don't look majestic at first glance. They are all wearing plain cotton military uniforms. At first glance, there is no one wearing armor. Even senior military officials like Duan Tiancheng only wear a suit of slightly different materials. Just better military uniforms. In the eyes of the children of the Salt Gang, this is simply a bit poor and does not look like the army of a rich and powerful country. You must know that even the most remote guard station in Yangzhou Prefecture can produce at least dozens of decent sets of armor during military training.
However, to say that the Haihan army is poor does not seem to be the case. In addition to the many warships parked in the port, these Haihan soldiers on the dock each have a standard musket in their hands, which is obviously a standard individual weapon. . And Dai Chengrong even noticed that Duan Tiancheng had a leather holster on his waist, which contained a short fire blunderbuss. This was obviously a weapon only equipped by senior military attaches.
Although the Ming Dynasty official army had firearms battalions, its actual scale was very limited. After all, the purchase and use costs of firearms were much higher than those of cold weapons. With the financial resources of the Yangzhou salt merchants, it would be very difficult to quietly form a private armed force using muskets. However, infantry using muskets seems to be a standard unit in the Haihan Army. This is obviously a sign that there is no shortage of money.
And after reaching a relatively close distance, everyone can see that these Haihan soldiers are all in high spirits, with rosy faces, bright eyes, and strong strength. They are completely different from the guards soldiers who usually see them, or their faces are ashen and defeated. Either he is skinny and weak, and his physical condition and mental state are completely different.
However, the reason for this difference is not unfamiliar to the children of salt merchants. The martial arts warriors they raise to guard the home and guard the courtyard are probably in the same state as Haihan soldiers. As long as you eat well and drink well every day, have enough food and clothing, and exercise regularly, you will naturally be able to maintain a better condition. The living conditions of Haihanjun were obviously quite good to have the appearance they saw.
However, the cost of raising a few guards was obviously incomparable to the cost of raising thousands of soldiers, so Dai Chengrong quickly thought that the reason why Haihan's soldiers did not wear armor was not for economic reasons, but for deliberate reasons. There was only one possibility. The Haihan Army had no intention of fighting in close combat with its opponents, so it completely abandoned its protective but very heavy armor.
Dai Chengrong's inference was almost true, but he didn't know that the Haihan Army actually had simple armors used to protect the vital parts of the torso, but they were usually only worn in special combat situations and would not be used as a tool to show off family wealth to outsiders. exhibit.
Duan Tiancheng didn't know that there were so many thoughts in this young man's heart. He stood not far away and watched with Ma Zhengping as Dai Chengrong ran back and forth to gather the team.
Ma Zhengping was still a little worried that Dai Chengrong's performance would not meet Duan Tiancheng's requirements. While observing his words, he said some kind words for Dai Chengrong, hoping that Dai Chengrong could successfully pass this first test.
Duan Tiancheng was actually quite satisfied with his performance. The young man was able to bring this fleet from Yangzhou, hundreds of miles away, to Zhoushan without any problems along the way. After arriving in Zhoushan, we did not enter the port rashly. Instead, we stayed at a nearby island for one night and packed up before docking the ship. No matter who made the itinerary plan, the fact that it can be executed smoothly shows that the commander has relatively strong abilities.
After briefly chatting with Dai Chengrong, Duan Tiancheng even saw in him the shadow of himself when he first joined the army, cautious, curious, and responsible...
At least from the first impression, Duan Tiancheng believed that the quality of the leader selected by the Huizhou salt merchants was pretty good. With time and practice, he might be able to develop into an outstanding commander.
Of course, Duan Tiancheng would not speak out about these comments right now. As the instructor of this special team, he knew that it was still too early to evaluate these students. He would have to train for at least ten or eight days before he could slowly see the true side of these students.
As for the candidate for the commander of this team, although the salt merchant recommended Dai Chengrong, he may not be the only candidate. Duan Tiancheng will still decide whether to replace the candidate based on his performance during the training process.
After everyone came ashore, Dai Chengrong took some time to complete the team and then reported to Duan Tiancheng.
"Then let's start calling the names!" Duan Tiancheng stretched out his hand, and someone had already handed the roster to his hand.
Ma Zhengping was a little anxious beside him. He was already counting the roster. Why didn't Shi Diwen show up yet? Could it be that something happened temporarily and he couldn't come?
In fact, when Dai Chengrong started organizing the disembarkation, Duan Tiancheng signaled his men to go to the headquarters to report the progress here to Shi Diwen. If Shi Diwen had other plans, he would have time to make adjustments. The messenger did not bring back any other instructions after returning from the headquarters, so he obviously went ahead as planned. So Duan Tiancheng didn't panic at all. Only Ma Zhengping, who didn't know the secret, was still guessing whether Shi Diwen would show up.
Halfway through the roll call, a group of cavalry came from a distance, guarding a four-wheeled black carriage. Of course, the young men from the Salt Gang who were being called upon also noticed this conspicuous team, and all turned their attention to the huge carriage.
Seeing this car, Ma Zhengping finally felt relieved. He had met Shi Diwen several times, so he naturally recognized that this carriage was Shi Diwen's exclusive car. The appearance of Zhoushan's highest official symbolized the importance that Haihan officials attached to these salt merchants' children, which was also one of the key points that Ma Zhengping cared about the most.
The training price and weapon sales price quoted by the Zhoushan authorities were simply astronomical. Ma Zhengping didn't know that this was the Haihan people's intention to rip off, but he still paid the money, in addition to considering that the Huizhou salt merchants really needed training. The purpose of raising a private armed force to protect oneself is actually to seek asylum from Haihan.
After paying the expensive protection fee, Ma Zhengping also wanted to make sure that his money was not wasted. This matter would be paid enough attention by Haihan officials, and Shi Diwen's attitude was an extremely important symbol.
(End of chapter)