Chapter 2238
When it comes to the ranking of military strength, North Korea has never seemed to be within the scope of powerful countries. Whether it is Japan and the Qing Dynasty, which once invaded North Korea militarily, or the Ming Dynasty and Haihan, which were successively regarded as protective umbrellas by North Korea, any one of these countries is randomly selected. None of its troops are a match for North Korea.
Of course, the rulers of North Korea will not be satisfied with this status quo. They have been trying various methods to strengthen their country's military strength for a long time, but they have never been able to get in, until Haihan said that he could train military personnel for North Korea. And assisted North Korea in forming a new type of army with stronger combat effectiveness, which gave it a glimmer of hope to change the status quo.
However, the North Koreans are not sure how effective this kind of military assistance from Haihan will be. In addition, the costs related to sending military personnel to study in Haihan are very expensive, so the first batch of North Koreans who came to Sanya for training There are only a dozen soldiers.
However, after Li Zhi arrived in Sanya, he learned more about Haihan's training of military personnel for his allies, and he gained more confidence in this operating model. After all, North Korea has had many successful examples before. Since other countries can benefit from this model of military cooperation, North Korea can certainly use this method to strengthen its military strength.
Li Zhi counted the days when these officers arrived in Sanya for training. More than half a year has passed. According to the scheduled study abroad plan, the study time for overseas students in Sanya is limited to one year. Now it seems that there are still about two months left. Then we arrived. In the end, how effective is the training of Andao Shi's group in Haihan? Whether their abilities have reached or even exceeded the level of trainees from other countries, it is indeed necessary to use an objective standard to measure it.
Li Zhi was originally very confident in the training effect of this group of people. After all, these people are elites selected from the military. As long as the Haihan people are willing to teach them their true skills, it will definitely take their abilities to a higher level. But after listening to Andao Shi's self-report just now, it seemed that he was not sure of winning this competition, which also forced Li Xie to re-examine his own military strength.
In the multinational military alliance built by Haihan, North Korea was only a latecomer. Military personnel sent by many parties had been trained in Sanya long before. Old allies like Annan and the Fujian Xu family even send a group of military officers to Sanya for training every year. Compared with these forces, as North Korea's first batch of trainees, An Daoshi and others will inevitably have a relatively large gap in their ability to adapt to the geographical environment and the Haihan military system.
Realizing this, Li Yan slowly understood why Ando Shi's statement was extremely cautious. North Korea had almost no advantage in this kind of military skills competition. It was not easy to defeat other opponents on the school field. goal.
Li Zhi couldn't help but feel a little frustrated when he thought that the reward he had promised might not be paid out at all. If he had figured it out earlier, it would be better to increase the reward just now to make himself look more generous.
After An Daoshi left Li Xie's residence, he went straight back to the Army Academy in Luhuitou. He first canceled his leave and then informed the school of Li Xie's reply, confirming that North Korean students would participate in this competition.
After completing these formalities, he returned to the barracks and informed the other companions of the Crown Prince's decision. These Korean soldiers had already expected that they would eventually participate in the competition, so they were not surprised at all by Li Xie's decision. However, the reward promised by Li Zhi also caused a small discussion. After all, for most of them, five hundred taels of silver was no longer a small amount, let alone the special position of imperial captain.
Even Andao Shi, who has always been relatively stable, became interested in this. It's just that the Korean soldiers all know how difficult it is to win the first place in the competition, so everyone can only collectively covet the reward given by Li Xie. As for whether they can get it, no one can. I have full confidence.
Soon after they started receiving training, they realized the gap between themselves and students from other countries. The contents of Haihan's military training for foreign students are roughly the same, and other countries' militaries have long begun to imitate Haihan's military system. These students had an understanding of Haihan's military system and military environment before coming to Sanya. The adaptability is obviously better than that of North Korean students.
Moreover, North Korean students are almost all exposed to the same training content for the first time, but most students from other countries have already received relevant training in their own armies before coming to Sanya, and their progress in the training process is much faster than that of North Korea. students.
Therefore, objectively speaking, North Korean trainees are among the last group of trainees in the same period. Even if some of them may perform reasonably well in individual training subjects, overall they are indeed different from trainees from other countries. Obvious gap.
They didn't have high hopes for the upcoming competition. As long as they didn't get beaten, it would be a good result.
Of course, An Daoshi would not dare to take the initiative to report thoughts like this to Li Xie. He could only encourage his companions to do their best and not to embarrass themselves in front of the crown prince.
In the first issue of "Haihan Times" published in August, it was publicly announced in the name of the Ministry of National Defense that the fourth military skills competition for foreign military personnel was held. Although there have been several competitions in the past, they were all operated quietly by the military. Only some invited guests knew the specific arrangements. However, this is actually the first time that the news has been announced on the platform of an official newspaper. Second-rate.
Li Zhi has been in Sanya for less than a year. Even if he saw the news in the newspaper, he would not notice any difference from the situation in previous years. But some thoughtful people noticed this detail and secretly wondered what Haihan’s purpose was in holding this high-profile event this year.
"Brother Li, the military has made a special report on this year's competition. What do you think it means?"
In a restaurant in Sanya city, Su Keyi put down the newspaper that he had just received and still smelled of ink, and asked Li Nai a question. When he was handing over the goods at the dock a few days ago, he wanted to make an appointment with Li Nai for dinner. However, the other party was busy with work, so it took two or three days to make the appointment.
This newspaper was a copy he bought at the door when he arrived at this restaurant just now. Although the news about this competition is not much, it occupies a space on the front page, which also shows that the official attaches great importance to this event. Attention.
Su Keyi has been in Sanya for several years. Although due to some objective reasons, the Dutch East India Company has never sent anyone to Sanya to receive military training provided by the Haihan military, Su Keyi has always maintained a strong interest in the military training services provided by Haihan to various countries. He was paying attention and roughly knew the situation of the previous competitions, so when he saw this official news in the newspaper, it immediately attracted his attention.
Li Nai, who met today, can be regarded as a real Haihan expert. He has a close personal relationship with Haihan senior management. The internal information he has is definitely more reliable than the external rumors, so Su Keyi also wants to try to find out from Li Nai. See if you can gain anything.
Li Nai actually just learned about this news from the newspaper. He went to Fort Victory a few days ago, but no one took the initiative to mention the martial arts competition to him. Therefore, he actually did not have any internal information. When he heard Su Keyi's question, he could only respond helplessly: "Brother Su, I don't know much about this matter. Maybe the Ministry of National Defense feels it is necessary to expand the scale and influence of this activity." , so he will try to win the public's attention by publishing it in the newspaper." Su Keyi said: "I heard that many people in the Golden Shield Transport managed by Brother Li receive training in the military every year. Don't you plan to participate in this competition? ”
Li Nai responded: "Brother Su is well informed, but Jindun has not yet been notified by the Ministry of National Defense, so it is not clear whether he will be eligible to participate in this event."
Su Keyi said in surprise: "No way, this Jindun is an organization jointly run by Fulifeng and Haihan. He is also half a biological son to Haihan. Why don't you arrange for Jindun to participate?"
Li Nai said: "Perhaps it is because the relationship is too close that the Ministry of National Defense finds it inconvenient... But it is too early to draw a conclusion at this time. After all, this event will not be held for a few days, and maybe the Ministry of National Defense will issue a notice tomorrow. Come here and arrange for the golden shield to come in.”
As a civilian armed organization affiliated to the Ming Dynasty, Golden Shield actually has a strong background in the Haihan military. Almost all the personnel who hold command tasks at all levels have experience in serving in the Haihan army, and some even After retiring as an officer, he transferred to Jindun to serve.
A situation similar to that of Yuan Tao, the shop owner of Zhoushan Branch, who serves as a senior manager in Jindun as a Haihan native, is basically the norm. The Ministry of National Defense will also transfer some of its "own personnel" from Jindun from time to time to return to Sanya for further training.
On the one hand, this kind of training is to improve their military quality and upgrade and strengthen the various military skills they have mastered. On the other hand, it is also to provide them with a special social environment so that they can have the opportunity to communicate with all parties. Contact military officers who have studied abroad and cultivate personal connections to create conditions for Jindun’s future operations in relevant areas.
As the nominal boss of Jindun, Li Nai naturally knew these situations. However, most of these people who received further training were Haihan people. To avoid suspicion, he usually would not take the initiative to ask about the specific arrangements for these people sent back to Sanya by Jindun for further training.
Precisely because he knew the inside story, Li Nai believed that the possibility of the Ministry of National Defense letting Jin Dun participate in the competition was not high, because almost all of the people Jin Dun was studying in Sanya were retired personnel from the Haihan Army, and their strength would definitely be better than the vast majority. Foreign military cadets, allowing them to participate in the competition is actually unfair to other participants. If the people from Golden Shield achieve outstanding results by then, it may also greatly dampen the enthusiasm of other forces to send military personnel to study abroad in Haihan.
Based on this view, Li Nai felt that no one mentioned this to him when he went to Fort Victory that day, which was a tacit agreement that Golden Shield would not be arranged to participate in this competition. But whether this is the case, Li Nai can only go back and find out, but he will definitely not explain the inside story too clearly to an outsider like Su Keyi.
Su Keyi said: "If the people from the Golden Shield can't go to war, then the trainees from other countries should be greatly relieved."
"Brother Su is joking. We, Jindun, are just a private escort agency. We are not that powerful to compete with soldiers from various countries." How could Li Nai be easily fooled by the other party's words? His immediate response was still watertight.
Seeing that direct questioning was not going to work, Su Keyi changed the subject: "In Brother Li's opinion, among the soldiers from various countries currently training in Sanya, which one will win in this competition?"
Li Nai smiled and said: "Brother Su is really concerned about this matter!"
Su Keyi responded calmly: "I just want to have a casual discussion with Brother Li about gossiping after drinking."
Of course, Li Nai understands why Su Keyi is particularly concerned about this. As the envoy of the Dutch East India Company in Sanya, Su Keyi is also responsible for collecting intelligence information in various fields of Haihan, and military information is naturally indispensable.
Among the military alliances built by Haihan, the East India Company is not a member, and is not qualified to send people to participate in the training services provided by Haihan's military. The East India Company has always regarded Haihan as its main competitor in the South China Sea. , in addition to paying attention to Haihan's military development, of course he is also very concerned about the military level of Haihan's allies. This kind of competition is a good way to get a glimpse of the leopard and get some relevant information.
Although it is difficult to deduce the true strength of the forces to which these trainees compete by watching them, this is almost the upper limit of Su Keyi's ability. He did not have the conditions to visit various countries to observe the military training and operation of these forces, and he did not dare to secretly set up an intelligence network in Haihan like the Spaniards did. He could only slowly piece together some rough information from various sources. information.
But Su Keyi himself is not a military expert. He knows that his knowledge of this field is limited and it is difficult to make correct judgments based on very little information. Therefore, he is more willing to listen to the opinions and views of some professionals to support his own ideas. . Although Li Nai is not a military person, Su Keyi believes that he is also the operator of Golden Shield after all. His knowledge and knowledge in this field are far better than his own, and his judgment must be more accurate than his own.
As long as the topic of military secrets was not involved, Li Nai could have a chat with Su Keyi, and then he followed the conversation and said: "In my humble opinion, Brother Su, please give me some advice."
Su Keyi said: "I don't dare to take it seriously. Brother Li, please tell me!"
Li Nai said: "The first people to be sent to Haihan for training were the Annan Kingdom. The soldiers sent for training every year were all sent by Annan's young prince himself, which shows how much the Annan Kingdom attaches great importance to this. It is said that after these trainees returned to China , were immediately assigned to various places to take charge of the new army. It can be seen that they have indeed learned their true skills during the training in Sanya! Therefore, I think Annan will be the most outstanding party in this competition.”
(End of chapter)