Chapter 1019 Practical Difficulties

Bai Kesi and Yu Yao are both determined people. They know very well the mission they need to complete when they come here, and they will not have too much compassion for the uncivilized indigenous people of this era. If the local indigenous people in Miaoli are unwilling to accept

Given the fact that Haihan has entered the country, Baikes and others will probably not have the patience to slowly communicate and negotiate with them. Instead, they will try the most direct and effective means of force to suppress or even expel these indigenous tribes, paving the way for the exploration and production of oil fields.

the way.

For Haihan, if a small-scale battle can solve the problem quickly, then the time saved is far more valuable than the military expenditure spent. Whether it can reach an understanding with the local aborigines is not what Baikes is pursuing.

goal, because he knew very well that getting these mountain natives to leave their tribes and join the Haihan was not something that could be accomplished in one or two generations, and the travelers did not have that much time to wait for the mountain people to slowly change their mentality.

After the Miaoli oil project is implemented, Haihan will gradually introduce Han immigrants to the area to facilitate subsequent development and construction of the area. In the future, a petrochemical base and supporting urban facilities may even be built here as needed.

These measures will inevitably lead to conflicts with indigenous tribes over land ownership issues. Rather than waiting until then to solve the problem, it is better to take action as early as possible and be prepared to drive the indigenous people out of the Haihan-defined area from the beginning.

To take such tough measures, Bai Kesi is not an expert, so he must also listen to the opinions of military personnel. Among the current travelers in Penghu, only Yu Yao has been to Miaoli and knows the actual situation best. But

From Yu Yao's tone, Bai Kesi could vaguely sense that he was not very optimistic about using force.

"Can you elaborate a little bit more?" Bai Keshui asked.

Yu Yao nodded and said: "Mr. Bai, let me tell you straight. The two companies you brought here this time were originally stationed near Sanya. The local natural environment is somewhat different from that of Miaoli, and the oil fields

The place we are located in is already in a mountainous area. This kind of wild environment will definitely take some time for troops who have no experience in mountain and jungle combat to adapt. The poisonous insects, snakes and ants in the mountain forest, the hot and humid environment, and even our supply lines will all be affected.

It may become a bigger trouble than the indigenous tribes. In other words, if you lead these people into the mountains rashly, I think there will be certain risks."

Baikes turned to look at Morgan and said: "I think there should be some objective reasons for the Ministry of Defense to make such an arrangement."

Morgan said calmly: "Among the Haihan Army's establishment, the troops whose main combat direction is in mountainous and jungle environments are of course General Qian Tiandun's special operations battalion. However, this unit is now far away on the front line of Zhejiang, and there will be more to come.

There will be other important tasks entrusted to them, and it is unlikely that they will be transferred to Taiwan Island to perform the task. Although the two companies assigned to the oil field exploration team as escort tasks have not been trained in mountainous environments for a long time, they have all done so.

The troops on the battlefield have no shortage of actual combat experience. Coupled with the garrisons on Penghu and Taiwan Island, a battalion of troops can be assembled in the Miaoli area in a short period of time. This should be more than enough to deal with the natives who only have bows, arrows, and bamboo spears.

Already."

The two insisted on their own opinions. It was obvious that the senior officials of the Ministry of National Defense and the front-line commanders had different ideas and had inconsistent understandings of the arrangement of this task. In fact, the two companies transferred to Baikes by the Ministry of National Defense were really not weak, 1631

During the riots in the Shilu Mining Area in 2001, the two companies that came to Penghu this time were included in the troops that entered the Qiongzhong Mountains to quell the rebellion and capture the fugitives. In fact, they still had some experience in fighting in mountainous and jungle environments.

Moreover, the current garrison on the island of Taiwan has been there for about a year, and should have adapted relatively well to the environment and climate on the island. When necessary, some companies can be mobilized to Miaoli to perform tasks.

Yu Yao did not insist on opposing Morgan. He just shook his head slightly and said: "I'm not saying that our troops can't deal with the aboriginal people. It's just that this process may not be as easy as you expected."

Bai Kesi asked: "It seems that when you went to the local area for inspection, the treatment you received may not be just unfriendly, right?"

Yu Yao nodded and said: "Although there was no direct armed conflict at that time, the hostility shown by the local indigenous people was already very obvious. They did not welcome foreign ethnic groups to enter the area. As far as I know, in the early years, the Shibazhi still

When I was in Taiwan, several groups of immigrants moved there, but due to the obstruction of the indigenous people, they were ultimately unable to take root there."

Bai Kesi asked: "What is the reason why they are so xenophobic? Is it for the land or some strange belief?"

Yu Yao responded: "I think it's for food. Miaoli's local terrain is dominated by mountains and hills, and the few plains are mainly concentrated in the Houlong River Basin. The food crops grown by the Dajia people are concentrated in these alluvial plains.

Region. Whether it is the Han immigrants who settled there before or us, the first choice of settling down must be the local indigenous grain-producing areas, which of course will lead to irreconcilable conflicts."

Bai Ke thought for a while and said: "If it is possible, how about we exchange food for peace? We can provide food to the indigenous tribes at low prices and let them exchange the output of the mountains."

Yu Yao shook his head and said: "Mr. Bai, what you are talking about is the old way of dealing with the Li and Miao people on Hainan Island, but the situation here is a little different. The Li and Miao people can be considered semi-civilized after all.

The nation is willing to accept the canonization and management of the Han court. It admires rather than rejects advanced civilization and is willing to accept our well-intentioned help. However, most of the indigenous tribes on the island of Taiwan are still basically in a primitive state. For them,

, there is only one kind of outsider, and that is the enemy. They do not believe in outsiders and will not accept any exchange conditions. Of course, if we are willing to spend more time and slowly get in touch, we may be able to change their ideas and attitudes.

Unfortunately, the only thing we lacked was enough time."

What Yu Yao said is more essential. The ethnic policy implemented by Haihan on Hainan Island does not apply to Taiwan where the situation is different. Although communication and negotiation are not impossible, the Executive Committee probably will not

We are willing to let Bai Kesi's team spend too much time dealing with this "small problem". This time, the fleet set off from Sanya nearly two weeks in advance because the executive committee hopes that every second counts on this project and the oil field can exceed

The sooner it goes into production, the better.

When Bai Kesi heard this, he also felt that what Yu Yao said was indeed worthy of attention, so he asked Morgan for his opinion. Although Morgan is a doctor, his hands that can hold a scalpel can also play with various murder weapons.

He had already been mentally prepared to use force before coming here, and what Yu Yao said only further confirmed the necessity of using strong methods.

Morgan shrugged and said: "I think Yu Yao has made the situation very clear. If we don't want to waste time, it's best to start formulating a specific action plan as soon as possible. You should have prepared a sandbox here, right?"

Yu Yao went to Miaoli for a field trip before. One of the purposes was to make a sand table for deduction. He then took Bai Kesi and others to another spacious room. As expected, there was a huge four-meter-square table on the ground.

Sand table model. The mountains, rivers, and coasts above are clearly outlined. Bai Kesi and others have all seen the Miaoli satellite image in the large database. It is at least eighty similar to the sand table in front of them. Considering the changes in water and soil over the past few hundred years,

The accuracy of this sand table can be considered quite good.

"Although the accuracy is not very precise, the error is not too big." Yu Yao is quite satisfied with the sand table he made by himself: "You can see the general terrain of the Miaoli area from the sand table. The main points are

I also marked the location on the sand table in advance."

The central mountain range on the island of Taiwan runs through the entire island from north to south, leaning towards the east coast. The west coast is mostly a sea-facing plain terrain, but only in Miaoli, the mountains extend all the way to the coastline. This kind of terrain is very vivid on the sand table

Reflecting this, only the area along the Houlong River Basin has a relatively flat valley topography. The flow direction of this small river is also quite tortuous. Between the mouth of the sea and the destination Chulunkeng, it passes through at least two 90-degree places.

A turning point. The location of Chusulf Pit is no longer on the alluvial plain downstream, but is located along a river valley in the mountainous area.

Morgan made an estimate based on the scale and asked Yu Yao for confirmation: "There are about three kilometers left to go upstream from the end of the plain?"

Yu Yao nodded and said: "Yes, this distance is also the most dangerous part of the road. The plains downstream are relatively open, making it easier to immigrate or deploy troops, but these few miles into the mountains are all

It is a virgin forest. Due to terrain reasons, Houlong River cannot be navigable throughout the entire journey, and the intended location must be reached by land. With our current conditions, we can only open a forest trail in the local area in the short term."

Bai Kesi couldn't help frowning and said: "With so many drilling tools, it is not easy to transport them several miles in the mountains."

The drill pipes used in drilling are all iron rods that are several meters long. It is indeed a hard job to carry these materials into the mountains by manpower. Although this rough work does not need to be done by the traversers themselves, it must also be considered.

A lot of time and manpower are required.

Liu Shanxia, ​​who had been silent until now, suddenly said something: "When I was doing engineering work in Kaohsiung Port in the south, I heard that Taiwan Island also has a rainy season. Will the water level in Houlong River be slightly higher during the rainy season?"

Yu Yao said: "Strictly speaking, there is no real rainy season in Taiwan, only plum rain, which is probably in April and May. However, there is no data for reference as to whether the water level of Houlong River will rise during this period.

Already."

The last time Yu Yao went to Miaoli was in March, when the rainy season had not yet entered, and before him no Haihan people had gone so far inland to survey the terrain.

Bai Kesi said: "If the water level of Houlong River can ensure navigation during the rainy season, then our early work will be much easier. I think we can give it a try."

Bai Kesi was the person in charge of this project, and all the actions of the military personnel during this period were just to cooperate with his work. Seeing that he had made up his mind, Yu Yao said nothing more. After all, the objective conditions were like this. If he missed this year

During the rainy season, we really have to use manpower to slowly transport all the materials into the mountains.

But even if Houlong River is fully navigable, it will still be a very difficult task to bring a huge team to the local station. The delivery of materials and personnel, the deployment of armed escorts, and the protection of supply lines,

There are many things that require careful discussion by Bai Kesi and others, such as the emergency response plan. But before that, Bai Kesi needs to confirm the transportation situation first.

"At the end of last year, Sanya shipped four small steam engines. How are they being used now?" Baikes asked.

"It has been installed on the ship and has been tested in the military port. It can be used normally." Yu Yao responded: "But considering the actual local conditions, don't expect any good performance in terms of speed. It is estimated that from now on

The speed of sailing upstream from the mouth of Longxi River can be up to three knots at most."

Inland river steamships had previously served passengers and freight on the Tiandu River and Linchun River in Sanya. The technology of marine steam engines was also relatively mature. Last year, several steam engines were shipped to Penghu and installed and built here in advance.

A flat-bottomed cargo ship. This kind of cargo ship can be towed with several barges behind it, and can transport a relatively large amount of materials and personnel at one time. However, the Houlong River is narrow and shallow, and although the marine steam engine is powerful enough, it does not dare to run at full power.

Move forward, otherwise the barge behind will run aground on the river beach, and you will be in big trouble.

Bai Kesi nodded and said: "This time we also brought two spare steam engines. There are six ships in total. If we can go directly to the sulfur pit, we can transport the supplies in two or three days at most. You can make arrangements and ship them as soon as possible.

The steam engine has also been loaded on the ship in the past two days."

Morgan said: "Since time is urgent, there is no need to delay. I suggest sending a team of troops as soon as possible to establish an advance base near the mouth of Houlong River."

Regarding how to land on an unfamiliar coast and establish a temporary base, this is a basic combat skill that the Haihan Army must learn regardless of land and sea. With a base on the coast, the Haihan Army can advance, attack, retreat, or defend, and it can have a place

With basic supply points, there are more options for action. The Penghu base has already prepared relevant combat materials, and is just waiting for a suitable departure time. Baikes has now temporarily left the problems of the indigenous tribes behind.

How to take action as soon as possible is the priority at present.
Chapter completed!