Chapter 2985
The place where Outpost No. 7 is located was once a horse farm run by the Spanish, but the horses raised here were all taken away by the Spanish when they evacuated early. When the Haihan Army arrived, it was already empty.
However, the Spaniards may still have the idea of taking back this place in the future, so they did not destroy the infrastructure here when they left. The work sheds, water wells, fodder warehouses, stables, etc. where the Wranglers lived were all preserved intact. The Haihan Army There is no problem in moving in directly.
Among the more than 200 local people sent to work here, only a few are employees of the horse farm, and the vast majority are forcibly recruited from other areas in Cebu.
Naturally, the horse farm does not have so much accommodation, so these temporary workers can only live in stables and warehouses. Although the conditions were very poor, they were able to survive the war, which was a good way out for these people who had no foundation and nowhere to go.
According to the temporary control decree issued by the Haihan Army, these people must complete three months of hard labor before they can regain their freedom. Those who refuse to cooperate, or engage in resistance or sabotage activities, will be punished with whipping, food deprivation, confinement, and in severe cases, exile or even death.
Of course, these people will not receive any income during their labor, and the Haihan Army will only provide them with the most basic living conditions so that they can complete their designated labor tasks.
The food and accommodation conditions of the Haihan Army are naturally better, but not much better. Currently, all supplies have to be transported from Cebu Port, and the racecourse is more than ten miles away from Cebu Port, and the road conditions are not very good, so supplies are basically replenished every three days or so.
Zheng Agui stuck his head out of the window, checked the weather conditions outside, and then ordered: "Qiu Gui, go take out your raincoat, it's raining outside!"
Qiu Gui quickly got the oilcloth raincoats and distributed them to everyone.
Zheng Agui threw away the cigarette butt in his hand, put on his raincoat, reached for his rifle, and led the way out of the house: "It's done! Qin Bo, follow me to the stable to get the people, while Qiu Gui goes to get the tools!"
The guard outside the stable saw Zheng Agui coming, nodded to him, then opened the door of the stable and shouted inside: "Get to work!"
Not long after, a group of workers filed out. After Zheng Agui nodded, he signed his name on the guard's register, and then asked Qiu Gui to distribute various tools to the team.
According to the project schedule, as long as the weather conditions are not too bad, the workers have to work every day. These workers are divided into teams of about fifty people, and Zheng Agui's team is responsible for commanding and guarding such a labor team.
The construction site is right next to the horse farm, and the current main task is to build a fence to isolate the mountains and forests to the west.
On the route planned in advance, the workers used hoes and T-picks to dig pits about two feet deep in the ground, with each pit being one foot apart. After digging, straight logs were buried vertically. After burying, the ground was still about seven feet high.
Some of these logs were dismantled from the buildings of the horse farm, and some were transported from nearby mountain forests by other labor teams responsible for logging. In the area responsible for Outpost No. 7, a total of more than 300 such logs will be buried as foundation piles for the next step of construction.
In the area between the two logs, a horse made of sharpened branches will be erected next, and barbed wire specially shipped from Manila will be laid in some key areas.
Every other mile, a wooden watchtower will be built for observation.
Of course, such a setup is far from meeting the Haihan Army's standards for setting up defensive positions, and it will certainly be difficult to defend against a concentrated attack by a large group of troops. However, conditions in Cebu are limited. To erect such a separation wall for more than ten miles outside the city in a short period of time is the best that can be achieved at the moment. In order to achieve the purpose of isolating the remaining resistance elements, the construction period must be as short as possible, so all construction sites, including Outpost No. 7, are working day and night.
Zheng Agui is not very interested in supervising the work. He prefers to take the initiative to enter the mountains and forests to eliminate enemies, rather than spending time and materials building a separation wall here. But since this is an order from his superiors, he will still comply with it.
Zheng Agui only hoped that the Spaniards hiding in the mountains and forests could come out and surrender as soon as possible, or that they could compete on the frontal battlefield. But today's opponents' tactics are to continuously launch harassment and fight guerrillas on the edge of the city, which is really a headache.
"Squad leader, how long do you think we have to stay in this hellish place? You won't just arrange for us to stay in Cebu to guard the border wall, right?"
Hearing the questions from his subordinates, Zheng Agui found it difficult to give an answer. He could only respond with a wry smile: "You ask me, who should I ask? But I went to the company headquarters for a meeting two days ago and heard that the next action plan has been suspended. , I won’t fight to the south for the time being. I guess the higher-ups want to clean up Cebu first!”
Qin Bo said: "Squad leader, there were so many casualties in the attack on Cebu. If we didn't capture a few high-ranking enemy officials in the end, it would be difficult to explain!"
Zheng Agui said: "It depends on how the battle report is written. I think if this is done well, maybe we can get some resources for the Luzon region."
"How do you say this?" Qin Bo asked in confusion.
Zheng Agui explained: "Think about it, if the cause of our army's casualties is that the weapons and equipment are not advanced enough and we have to fight the enemy at close range, exchanging lives for lives, then can we show sympathy and let the Executive Committee Distribute more advanced weapons to the Luzon region?”
Qin Bo said disapprovingly: "The executive committee is so wise, how could it be deceived?"
Zheng Agui smiled and said: "It is precisely because of the wisdom of the Executive Committee that we cannot tolerate any damage to our reputation. Our army encountered a minor failure in Cebu. If this battle report is made public, it must be justified. The reason is good. What reason do you think is better? Is it the executive committee’s mistake, our army’s incompetence in fighting, or is it more appropriate to be hindered by the level of armaments?”
Qin Bo touched the stubble on his chin, nodded thoughtfully and said: "What you said, squad leader, makes sense... I think the division commander should ask you to be a staff officer!"
Zheng Agui said: "I can think of things that Master can't think of? Stop guessing, the superiors will definitely handle this matter beautifully. If you don't believe it, just wait and see. Not only will there be no punishment for this matter, maybe Instead, there will be rewards.”
Although Zheng Agui's guess was not entirely correct, it was not very different from the actual situation.
In the battle report of the Luzon Region, it was claimed that they encountered a full-scale resistance from the Spanish colonial armed forces on Cebu Island. Although the Haihan Army fought hard to conquer the Cebu Port, they also suffered a certain amount of casualties due to the fierce fighting.
Along with the battle report, sent back to Sanya, there was also a stack of documents applying to the Ministry of National Defense for nuclear merit awards for more than 200 people who had made military exploits during this period.
(End of chapter)