Chapter 2224
The naturalized officers who have been promoted the fastest in the Haihan Army over the years are generally divided into two situations. First, ordinary people without any family background can only rely on Takahashi Minami to accumulate military merits by constantly fighting on the front line in exchange for promotion in military rank. This type of officer generally joins the Haihan Army at an early stage, has a solid foundation in the army, and is deeply trusted by senior generals.
The second category is those with good family backgrounds and outstanding personal conditions. They have a better understanding of the military system and combat methods advocated by Haihan, and can implement the intentions of the top military officials. Because this type of officer has a certain cultural foundation, they will be arranged to learn more advanced tactical theoretical knowledge during the training stage. After being assigned to the military, most of them will work in positions such as combat staff.
The latter type has only gradually increased in recent years after Haihan gained momentum, but because of its stronger comprehensive ability, and the reasons why some of them joined the army have other implications, it can be understood that the relationship between Haihan and these people A political exchange of power, so their promotion speed is no less than that of their predecessors.
Although Chen Xiaoyu didn't know about the gray operations, he also knew that people like Dai Chengrong would probably have better prospects in the military than himself. Since Dai Chengrong respects him so much, he is also willing to give the other party more reference opinions. What's more, his boss Duan Tiancheng has given him instructions to pay more attention to the mental state of these students in peacetime. If there are more students who are willing to join the Haihan Army, Need to focus on.
After hearing this, Dai Chengrong remained silent for a long time. After coming to Zhoushan to really come into contact with Haihan's army, his eyes were opened. He gradually realized why the Ming Dynasty tolerated Haihan's many offenses in the past few years. He was afraid of the combat power of the Haihan Army and just didn't want to cause such a big trouble.
Within a few days of entering the camp, this group of students had already been given several courses dedicated to military history. Although there might be elements of Haihan's self-bragging, they also learned about the glorious achievements of this army from the side. .
Many of the achievements of the Haihan Army in the South China Sea cannot be verified, but the achievements in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and northern Shandong, Liaodong and other places were widely spread in the Ming Dynasty. However, because the official attitude has always been silent on this, most of them come from hearsay and folk rumors. . The wars described from Haihan's perspective simply opened the door to a new world for them, allowing them to understand that so many wars had occurred near the Ming coastline in the past few years.
The protagonists of these wars were almost all the Haihan Army, and the Ming Dynasty's role in them was extremely limited. The official army's occasional appearance was almost always on the opposite side of the Haihan Army, and there were no impressive victories. It was really not very glorious. Dai Chengrong was inclined to believe the statement given by the Haihan Army. After all, if the Ming Dynasty had the upper hand in these armed conflicts, how could it not publicize its achievements?
The Haihan Army has few opponents from the south to the north. Dai Chengrong has been planned by his family since he was a child to learn martial arts and join the army. After learning about the deeds of the Haihan Army, it is natural that he will admire him and even want to imagine what he will be like. The scene of one of them fighting all over the world.
But wanting to do it are two different things. Although Dai Chengrong yearns for the combat effectiveness of the Haihan Army, it is another matter to join the Haihan Army. Even if he had his own ideas, he would not be able to violate his family's will and give up on his mission.
People like Chen Xiaoyu had no worries in the Ming Dynasty. Joining the Haihan Army gave him a new life. However, Dai Chengrong's background was completely different. To join the Haihan Army, he would have to give up his identity as a citizen of the Ming Dynasty. This was a must for him. Another objective factor to consider.
As for the possibility of getting promoted in the Haihan Army, even if what Chen Xiaoyu said was true, Dai Chengrong didn't think it was enough to make him give up his original identity.
Seeing Dai Chengrong's silence, Chen Xiaoyu knew that the other party should still have some scruples about it, or that joining the Haihan Army was not attractive enough to him, so he took the initiative to raise his glass and said: "Since today is I’ll take you out to relax, so don’t think about such troublesome things. Come on, I’ll lend you a flower and offer it to you.”
Upon seeing this, Dai Chengrong quickly raised his glass to greet him and drank it all in one gulp. He has been walking around with the elders of the clan since he was a child, and has participated in many social activities. In addition, he has been practicing martial arts for many years, so he has a pretty good drinking capacity. Even if he drinks this pot of jade wine by himself, it will not be a big problem.
But Chen Xiaoyu doesn't have as good a drinking capacity as him. Before Chen Xiaoyu joined Haihan, his family was poor and he didn't drink much good wine. After joining the army, although his financial situation was better, he had fewer opportunities to drink. After having a few drinks with Dai Chengrong, he couldn't help but look a little red because of the alcohol.
"Instructor, wait a moment, I'll ask the waiter to get some refreshing hangover food." Dai Chengrong was quite eye-catching, and when he saw this, he took the initiative to get up and went out to find something for Chen Xiaoyu to hangover.
The waiter who had led them upstairs received the order from Shopkeeper Wang and waited at the door. After hearing Dai Chengrong's request, he responded: "Master Jun, how about some ice-cold fresh juice?"
Dai Chengrong raised his eyebrows and said: "Your branch office is really good. We have all the main offices here...then send it over quickly!"
The waiter responded and hurried downstairs. This local method of making ice is not unusual. Ice can be made by dissolving saltpeter in water. In places with a large demand, such as restaurants, the principle of evaporation and crystallization can also be used to extract saltpeter from ice water for repeated use. Of course, even so, the production cost is not affordable by ordinary small shops, and only the customer groups of high-end restaurants have enough spending power to enjoy this kind of service.
Dai Chengrong was about to return to the room when he saw an acquaintance.
"Chengrong, why are you here?"
This acquaintance was Ma Zhengping. He also saw Dai Chengrong and couldn't help but be very surprised - how did Dai Chengrong get out of the heavily guarded military camp at this time?
Dai Chengrong responded: "Uncle Ma, I am accompanying the instructor on some errands in the camp. I will have dinner on the way and will return to the camp after eating."
Ma Zhengping asked curiously: "The instructor brought you out? Then you two have a good relationship! Can I meet you?"
"Why not? Uncle Ma, please come with me!" Dai Chengrong did not dare to neglect and quickly led Ma Zhengping into the private room.
Ma Zhengping lives in Zhoushan temporarily on behalf of the seven surnames. First, he discusses trade cooperation with Haihan, and secondly, he supervises the military training provided by Haihan Army to the children of the seven surnames. Dai Chengrong was appointed by Dai Yingda as the leader of this group of people before setting off, so Ma Zhengping was naturally particularly concerned about his movements.
Ma Zhengping entered the room and saw that the instructor sitting inside looked familiar. He must have seen him on the training ground. Dai Chengrong immediately introduced him. The two exchanged a few polite words, and Ma Zhengping toasted with a glass of wine before taking the initiative to stand up and leave.
Dai Chengrong sent him outside, and Ma Zhengping said: "I still have guests over there, so I won't greet you. Return to camp early after dinner, and remember not to cause trouble outside."
Dai Chengrong responded respectfully and did not dare to ask Ma Zhengping who he was hosting. Of course, if he asked, he might not be able to finish the meal with peace of mind.
When Ma Zhengping returned to his private room, Xuan Xiangming greeted him: "Old Ma, why have you been gone for so long? Could it be that you were so drunk that you secretly vomited it?" Ma Zhengping smiled and said, "I have a mediocre capacity for drinking, but my drinking ability is mediocre. The quality is not that bad. I just went out and met a familiar junior, so I went to say hello, so I was delayed for a while.”
Xuan Xiangming said: "Don't make excuses to fool us. Shouldn't the juniors who are familiar with you on this island stay in the military camp?"
Ma Zhengping said: "I also thought he should be in the military camp, but I didn't expect to meet him on the second floor."
Duan Tiancheng sensed something was wrong as soon as he heard this, and immediately asked: "Is this the disciple you sent to Zhoushan for training? Who is so capable and can sneak out at this time?"
Ma Zhengping said: "Dai Chengrong, it was his instructor who brought him out. He said he was out to do some work and have a meal on the side. This should be okay, right?"
Ma Zhengping deliberately told the whole story because he also wanted to test Duan Tiancheng's attitude. If Duan Tiancheng is furious about this and wants to deal with Dai Chengrong and the instructor, then Ma Zhengping will probably follow the trend and try to push his own son to replace Dai Chengrong.
Hearing this, Duan Tiancheng took a deep breath, nodded and said, "I see. Then there must be something serious to do. I'll find time to ask what's going on later."
Hearing his tone, it was obvious that Ma Zhengping would not pursue the matter at least for the moment. It seemed that he was trying to cover up this matter, which didn't sound quite according to the rules.
He just noticed there that Chen Xiaoyu did not have an officer's rank mark on his uniform. He was obviously just an ordinary soldier serving as an instructor, and his status was probably far from Duan Tiancheng. This can lead people out of the military camp without being held accountable. It seems that there is something else going on.
Of course, Duan Tiancheng would not admit to Ma Zhengping that what Chen Xiaoyu did was partly due to his instructions. This involved the Haihan official's true attitude towards these trainees and could not be disclosed to the outside world. Although Ma Zhengping has previously stated that it is acceptable for trainees to choose whether to stay in Haihan for development in the future, there is still a subtle difference between voluntarily staying and Haihan creating conditions to attract them to stay.
Duan Tiancheng believes that this difference may affect the Huizhou salt merchants' attitude towards Haihan, and thus have a negative impact on the in-depth cooperation between the two parties. Therefore, his handling method is also more subtle, hoping to get this matter over with as soon as possible. Avoid Ma Zhengping paying too much attention to the details.
However, Duan Tiancheng probably didn't expect that Ma Zhengping was also making small plans. He hoped that the children of the Ma family who were sent to Zhoushan for training would perform outstandingly in the military and be recognized by the Haihan people, so that they could return to Yangzhou to form a joint militia group with seven major surnames in the future. When organizing, you may be able to have more say.
If a few of them can be favored by the Haihan people and choose the opportunity to join the Haihan Army in the future, it will be equivalent to having another strong support for the Ma family. In the future, if one or two of the younger generations of the Ma family reach the level of Duan Tiancheng, it will be much more convenient whether they are in Yangzhou or dealing with Haihan officials.
Of course, Ma Zhengping cannot arrange the development direction of the situation as he pleases. After all, he has not been dealing with Haihan for a long time, and there are still many things that need to be understood slowly and patiently. Even if he gets a "noble man" like Duan Tiancheng, He gave the other party a lot of benefits, but that didn't mean that Duan Tiancheng would give him much special care.
Both parties have their own concerns, but neither will tell them face to face. Ma Zhengping saw that Duan Tiancheng was deliberately avoiding the topic, so he took the initiative to change the topic.
However, Chen Xiaoyu and Dai Chengrong in the other room did not know about this. Seeing that Chen Xiaoyu was too drunk, Dai Chengrong stopped trying to persuade him to drink. He poured most of the remaining bottle of wine into his own glass and let Chen Xiaoyu drink the iced juice that had just been served.
The topic of changing nationality was too heavy, and both of them lacked a clear understanding of the details of the operation, so they did not discuss this topic in depth.
It was a rare opportunity to communicate alone, so Dai Chengrong took the initiative to ask Chen Xiaoyu about his past combat experience and wanted to hear him explain in detail what it was like on the real battlefield.
It happened that Chen Xiaoyu participated in the East China Sea Fleet's expedition to Hirado a few months ago. During that period, there were indeed many battles that left a deep impression on him, so he chose the one where the East China Sea Fleet blocked the Hirado Strait and bombarded the Hirado Port for days. A paragraph, tell and listen to Dai Chengrong.
Although Chen Xiaoyu's vocabulary was limited and it was difficult to describe the tense atmosphere on the battlefield at that time, he was also a witness, so under Dai Chengrong's constant questioning, he slowly added many details. And Dai Chengrong seemed to have used his own imagination to outline the scene of the artillery fire in Hirado Port.
"Well, since Hirado Castle is an important trading town in Japan, why is the city defense so sparse? The city defense was broken before the Haihan Army could break through the port!" When Dai Chengrong heard what happened, it was the army that attacked Hirado from the land route that succeeded first. Very puzzled.
Chen Xiaoyu explained: "This is because General Shi considered that there are many coastal defense batteries deployed in Hirado Port, and letting the fleet rush into Hirado Port may cause unnecessary losses, so our combat plan at the time was originally to attack at sea. Bait, attract the enemy's attention, and the main attack direction is on land."
"And the so-called Hirado Castle is not comparable to cities like the Ming Dynasty. It has walls, towers, moats and other defensive means. It is just a small castle located on the seaside highlands. And the city outside this castle is incomparable to our Haihan Army. Fortification doesn’t make much difference.”
Dai Chengrong nodded and asked further: "The muskets equipped by the Hirado clan army are the same as the weapons of the musketeers of the Shanshan salt merchants?"
Chen Xiaoyu understood what he meant and responded with a smile: "We have compared them after the war, and they are indeed exactly the same muskets. The Hirado clan had thousands of musketeers, and they were not completely wiped out by us, so you Don’t worry, Yangzhou’s enemies can still do something great! We have plenty of means to deal with their tricks!”
(End of chapter)