Chapter 2932
October 1656, Cavite base port in Manila Bay, Luzon Island.
According to the traditional lunar calendar, the "Frost Descent" has passed at this time, and late autumn is about to enter winter. However, Manila Bay, located in the tropics, is not cool, and the temperature is still around 30 degrees. Moreover, this is the transition between the dry season and the rainy season, and the weather changes rapidly. It is often sunny for half a day and rainy for half a day, and the air is hot and humid.
This day was no exception. It was only sunny for half a day. Suddenly, a dark cloud came from nowhere and covered the entire Manila Bay. Thunder and lightning were omitted, and it started to rain heavily.
A Barracuda-class troop carrier is slowly approaching the dock. The sailors on the ship throw out the cable and let the dock workers put the cable on the biting pile and fix it. A mobile gangway has been prepared on the dock. Once the ship has stopped, the dock workers will push it nearby and connect it to the ship's side so that the people and goods on the ship can land as soon as possible.
There are fourteen or five troop carriers of the same model floating on the sea next to this ship. They all have to rush to deliver the troops to the shore before dark, so in order to save the docking time of each ship, each berth on the dock is operating at the highest efficiency.
Most of these troop transport ships came from various colonial points in northern Luzon Island. After receiving instructions from the Manila headquarters, they rushed here day and night. The farthest places even required five or six days of sailing at sea to reach here. For many soldiers who enlisted locally, this large-scale transfer has been called an "expedition."
After several sharp whistles sounded in the cabin, someone loudly ordered: "Everyone listen to the order, put on your poncho, pack your personal equipment, and line up to get off the ship. The squad leader is responsible for organizing the team and counting the number of people! After disembarking, at the dock Go to the assembly and don’t move around at will!”
The soldiers took out the oilcloth poncho from their backpacks and put it on their bodies. This cloak-style poncho can cover both the person and the backpack, and is very effective in preventing rain. In the Philippine Islands during the rainy season, if this thing is missing during an expedition, the injury rate of the troops will increase by at least 30%.
This kind of oilcloth poncho has many functions. It not only protects soldiers from wind and rain, but can also be used as camouflage clothing, rainproof cloth, and moisture-proof mat in various battlefield environments. It can also be used as a material to transform into hammocks and stretchers. use.
Of course, good things won't come cheap, and the Ministry of National Defense is not that generous. The number distributed to the Luzon Region is far from enough for each person. The Luzon region does not have a local textile industry chain, so it cannot make this kind of poncho by itself. It can only make up the difference by purchasing it.
In fact, except for a few leather military products that can be made locally in Luzon, most weapons and equipment must rely on the channels of the Ministry of National Defense. It was not until this time that the Executive Committee decided to start a new round of military expansion in the South China Sea that the Luzon Region once again received a large amount of military supplies from the Ministry of National Defense.
As for whether we can still get support from the Ministry of National Defense in the future, it may depend on the actual performance of the Luzon Region in this round of operations.
In the dim cabin, after Zheng Agui put on his raincoat three times, he saw that the kid next to him was messing with his butt for a long time and couldn't get it right, so he went up and kicked him and said: "First put on the backpack, then put on the raincoat, and finally Get the gun!”
After teaching this idiot, Zheng Agui looked around through the light leaking from the gap in the ship's plank above to check the preparations of his other men. If the disembarkation time is delayed because these guys didn't pack up, he will inevitably have to be punished. As a newly promoted squad leader with only one year of military experience, Zheng Agui is actually not much better than the recruits under his command. This is also the first time he has performed a mission away from his station.
Zheng Agui's home is in the Balanga settlement on the west coast of Manila Bay, just a few dozen miles away from the Cavite base. However, his unit is stationed in the Bangui area in the northwest corner of Luzon Island, and is separated to the north. The bus strait between Taiwan and Luzon is thousands of miles away from Manila Bay.
Bangui is one of the places closest to the East Asian continent on Luzon Island. Two rivers there merge into the sea, forming a seaside plain surrounded by mountains near the coast.
Being the closest to the mainland, with abundant water resources, fertile land, and various preferential treatment provided by the local government to immigrants, these conditions in Bangui have attracted many Han immigrants to choose to settle there.
Today, there are about four to five thousand Han people settled in Bangui, with an infantry battalion and a small maritime patrol stationed there. The pirates in the Bashi Strait had been wiped out by the Haihan Army many years ago. Therefore, the tasks of the local garrison were only to maintain local security and do some disaster relief work after the typhoon passed through. It was relatively easy and There are few higher-risk combat missions.
It was in this environment that Zheng Agui spent his first year of service. He only had to stay in Bangui for another four years. After he was discharged, he would receive a considerable pension and thirty acres of land, and this was It's just a guaranteed treatment. If you can get an official position during your service, you will probably be recruited by some government agencies when you retire, and you will be directly provided with a golden job.
For civilians like him, joining the army is not only a way to make a living, but also an opportunity to break through class. It's just that Bangui has always been a calm place. At most, there are some noisy civil disputes, which can be solved by the police. There are rarely situations where the garrison is required. It is not easy to earn military merit.
Logically speaking, given his military qualifications, it would not be his turn to lead new recruits. However, Zheng Agui was smart and good at dealing with things, and was highly appreciated by the company officers. After this year's recruits joined the army, the company commander transferred him to train new recruits. After the 100-day training was over, he was naturally promoted to squad leader. Of course, he would continue to take care of these new recruits whom he had personally trained.
Zheng Agui thought that most of his military career would consist of living in peace for the past few years in Bangui, but he did not expect that ten days ago, the army suddenly received an order from Manila, requiring Bangui to activate a wartime system and let the police and militia take over local security. affairs, the garrison only has a small number of personnel left behind. The large troops need to carry their own equipment and supplies and report to the Cavite base within ten days.
As soon as the military order was issued, Bangui, which had been peaceful for a long time, suddenly entered a wartime system, which inevitably led to a lot of chaos. It took the garrison two or three days to hand over to the temporarily organized security forces, and then marched to Manila in batches by boat.
Although Zheng Agui was leading new recruits, the transfer order did not mention the exception of new recruits, so he followed the company on the troop transport ship in a daze and floated at sea for six days, finally arriving in Manila Bay before the time limit. During this period, he also tried to find ways to get information, but the biggest officer on the ship was the company commander, who was also confused about the purpose of the trip.
(End of chapter)