Chapter 1022 Advance Team (3)

Due to the continuous rains in recent days, the rising river water could not hold back its forward momentum in this bend of the river with a large turning angle. It had overflowed the river bed and formed a mudflat about 200 meters wide on the bank. The muddy level was also

It is far better than the river bank at the mouth of the sea. This scene made Morgan a little disappointed. He originally expected to set up a stronghold here with the back of the river bend, so that it would face the water in the east and north directions, and the defense area and corresponding pressure would be smaller.

It will be much smaller, but judging from the scene before us, it is obvious that the stronghold camp must be kept at a safe distance from the river bank, otherwise the camp will be flooded during the rainy season.

Except for groups of leisurely wild ducks, there were no traces of human activity on the river beach. Morgan led the soldiers to find a slightly higher slope. After simply determining the surface soil quality and surrounding conditions, they cleared this area of ​​about 100 meters in radius.

The sloping land is designated as an alternative location for the base camp. There are no traces of reclamation in the area as far as the eye can see. It seems that it is not the daily activity area of ​​the local indigenous people. Perhaps when building a base here in the future, it can be more smoothly avoided.

residents.

After completing the inspection of this river bend, Morgan saw that it was already noon and ordered the team to stop for dinner. However, it was raining non-stop and there was no shelter nearby, so it was a bit difficult to bury the pot for cooking.

Trouble, I can only eat some dry food to make up for it. After eating, I boarded the boat again and continued upstream. To Morgan's relief, the channel of Houlong River has always maintained a width of two to three hundred meters, and the water flow is passable.

There is definitely no problem with the existing flat-bottomed barges, but we don't know how long the water conditions can last and whether we can still have such conditions after the rainy season.

From here, continue to go upstream all the way south. Houlong River basically extends forward as a straight waterway. However, it is not difficult to see from the alluvial plains on both sides that this small river has changed its course many times in history and flooded, so that it can stretch here.

A valley about three or four kilometers wide was carved out of the mountains.

The local indigenous tribes obviously lacked experience in using such a fertile alluvial plain. There were no traces of land reclamation for farming along the way. It was not until about an hour after leaving the previous river bend that Morgan saw the distance in the telescope.

There seem to be acres of cultivated fields, but the scale is still very limited. There are only twenty or thirty acres of land as far as the eye can see. Although these fields are still about a kilometer away from Houlong River, Morgan has no hope.

The barges traveling on the river can hide their tracks, and the water vapor and soot released by the steam boilers can be easily discovered even from a greater distance. As long as the aboriginal people here are not blind, they will find these people coming and going in Houlong River.

It's only a matter of time before the strange ship gets on board.

But the encounter with the aboriginal people came faster than Morgan expected. After the boat moved forward for a while, Morgan noticed several people wading and fishing on the river bank a hundred meters ahead. But the tools they used

It was not a fishing net, but a bamboo harpoon. These natives were topless. Almost at the same time that Morgan discovered them, they turned their heads and stared blankly at the steamship approaching in the distance.

"Be on guard!" Although Morgan knew very well that the opponent's threat was extremely limited, he did not become careless and immediately issued the order.

Several soldiers on the bow of the boat immediately aimed their rifles at the natives in front, but these natives seemed to be more nervous. They ran up the river bank yelling and began to flee, but they did not forget to lift it up the river bank when they fled.

There were bamboo baskets filled with fish on the side. Naturally, Morgan would not go out of his way to order the soldiers to hunt down these natives, and just watched them disappear behind the bushes on the river bank.

Seeing the panicked natives running ashore and fleeing, Morgan did not feel relaxed. The subconscious actions of these uncivilized natives actually reflected their vigilance and distrust of outsiders. If the other party was not even willing to make contact,

, then the possibility of peaceful coexistence between the two sides in the future is very slim.

There is another point worth noting. Since these natives come to the river to fish, it means that their tribe should not be far from Houlong River. If this tribe is hostile to Haihan in the future, then the nearby river will obviously be under the influence of natives.

The range that armed forces can cover is also a potential threat that must be guarded against.

But now Morgan has to rush upstream to survey the terrain, and he has no time to explore the specific location of this indigenous tribe. Otherwise, he would really like to use his personal equipment to track these natives and see where their hometown is.

At what location.

In the next few miles, Morgan noticed that the west bank of Houlong River gradually transitioned from plains to hills, while the change on the east bank was just the opposite. Looking at the map in his hand, Morgan knew that the next 90-degree bend was just ahead.

This river bend presents an arc with a large radius from north to east, but it does not turn as firmly as the nearly right-angled bend downstream, so the water flow is not as rapid as the downstream bend. Morgan still followed the previous operation method,

Get off the boat and go ashore to conduct a walking survey, looking for an area suitable for establishing a camp. However, judging from the terrain here, it is unlikely that Morgan will find a location with natural defense advantages, which will inevitably increase the amount of work in the subsequent construction of the stronghold.

The only advantage of this kind of terrain is that it can easily observe the dynamics of the surrounding area. As long as a three- or four-story observation tower is built in the stronghold, it is enough to see clearly the situation within several miles.

.

In fact, when Yu Yao came here for a field trip last time, he also made a brief stay in these places, but at that time it was mainly to verify the collation map, but he did not come with a specific purpose like Morgan, and meticulously surveyed the topography and landforms.

Conduct inspections. The location Morgan selected here is basically certain to be the place where Haihan will carry out major construction projects in the future.

After inspecting this river bend, the sky had already darkened. Considering the unfamiliar geographical environment here, Morgan would not take the risk of sailing a boat again, so he found a nearby river bank with a slightly slower current to dock, and then everyone got off the boat and went ashore.

, a temporary camp was set up.

Although the troops led by Morgan were not a field army, due to the special nature of this mission, a lot of field equipment was distributed before departure. The marching tents, kitchen utensils, simple defenses, etc. were arranged very quickly.

After an hour, we had hot food. At this time, the pouring rain finally stopped. Taking advantage of the warmth while eating, the soldiers took off their wet military uniforms and put them by the fire to bake. Although everyone had their own clothes.

I was issued a military raincoat, but after a whole day of outdoor activities, it was inevitable that a lot of rainwater would soak into the inner layer of the military uniform from the collar.

At present, Haihan has trial-produced a rubber-coated raincoat. The chemical industry department has used charcoal and sulfur to prepare carbon disulfide, which is used to dissolve the rubber and coat it on the surface of the cloth to achieve an excellent waterproof effect. This method

It was originally invented by the Englishman Mackintosh at the end of the 19th century, and the word "raincoat" in English was also named after the inventor Mackintosh. However, after the time travelers had the rubber production capacity, they did not hesitate to let it go.

This invention appeared more than two centuries early.

However, due to production costs and capacity issues, this rubber-coated raincoat is temporarily only available to time-travelers and a small number of naturalized senior cadres and military officers. The standard raincoats currently issued by the military are still made of

Although the tarpaulin material made of fabrics soaked in oil has a good waterproof effect, it is extremely flammable and poses certain safety risks. It is only because of its relatively low cost that it has become the first choice for military procurement.

Morgan still followed the agreed time and sent a telegram to the Penghu base to inform him of the progress of today's expedition. He also briefly mentioned a few words about encountering natives in the wild. The campsite Morgan chose today is already located on the edge of the mountainous area, and is expected to be 100 meters away from the destination.

It is only a three to four kilometer journey from Dilukeng. If everything goes well, we will arrive at our destination tomorrow morning. Of course, the premise is that this waterway has sufficient navigation conditions. Otherwise, if we want to abandon the ship and go ashore, we will have to go overland.

It’s hard to predict the time.

The next morning, Morgan and his soldiers set out on the road just before dawn and continued eastward by boat. Although the mountains in this area are not steep and steep, the ridges with an altitude of about 500 meters are as high as the coastal plains on the west coast.

, there is already a very obvious gap.

The mountains here run north-south, and the Houlong River originating from the central mountain range cuts this ridge horizontally from east to west, ruthlessly tearing it into two pieces. What Haihan is looking for is out of the sulfur pit.

The oil field is located in this valley that stretches across the ridge.

Although the rain has basically stopped, the water volume of Houlong River does not seem to be affected. Morgan watched the plains on the river bank disappear little by little, replaced by rapidly rising mountains on both sides. Although Morgan also knew this place

Most of the mountainous areas are home to indigenous tribes, but as far as what we can observe right now, this place is completely untouched virgin forest. As far as the eye can see, there are towering trees with several people hugging each other, and the chirping of birds and insects in the forest.

, full of life.

However, Morgan was not in the mood to appreciate the natural scenery. At present, this channel was much narrower than the plain area outside the mountains, only less than 30 meters wide. Fortunately, the water depth was still normal for navigation. Morgan asked the boatman to slow down.

, and asked two soldiers to stand on the bow of the boat with bamboo poles, constantly exploring the bottom of the river to make sure there were no rocks or shoals in the water that would threaten the boat's progress.

Morgan recalled the information provided by Yu Yao, who had mentioned that there were many shoals in the upper reaches of Houlong River, making navigation difficult, but he had not encountered such a situation along the way. It seemed that it was also a positive impact of the rainy season.

Of course, there was another strange phenomenon that also attracted Morgan's attention, that is, when he was traveling from the mouth of Houlong River to here, he did not find any boats of the indigenous tribes on the river, not even canoes and bamboo rafts.

None of them saw it. If it wasn't that the natives' craftsmanship was too poor to build water vehicles, then it was most likely that they were hiding their strength and deliberately didn't let the Haihan people see it.

Morgan believes that even if these natives living in the mountains cannot build large ships that can go to sea, building low-tech water vehicles such as canoes or bamboo rafts should not be a problem for them. And if they are among the Haihan people,

Hiding the vehicle he made before arriving was a bit thoughtful.

Morgan couldn't figure out the starting point of the native's behavior for the time being, so he could only think of trying to find a way out. But one thing Morgan was sure of, no matter how many tricks the native had, in Haihan's absolute

In the face of the superiority of force, it is still difficult to change the balance of strength between the two sides. Let him come in any way, I only go all the way, with the gun in hand, Morgan is not afraid of how big a battle the primitive armed forces nearby can create. He only brought two

The fact that only ten people dared to enter the mountain also showed full trust in Haihan's own force.

About two hours later, Morgan's team arrived at their intended destination. Even though Morgan had a more detailed map and Yu Yao's instructions, it still took him more than ten minutes to determine the location, which was what the executive committee was thinking about.

Chulunkeng, the location of the legendary underground oil field is on the gentle slope of the south bank of Houlong River. Of course, this place is still in an undeveloped primitive state, and there seems to be no obvious human traces. This should be considered a good news for Haihan

A piece of good news. At least when Haihan develops this area in the future, he will not have any disputes with the aborigines over the ownership of homesteads. Of course, the premise is that there are no aboriginal tribes within ten miles of this area, otherwise the other party will definitely still

We will regard this area as our own and will not sit back and let the Haihan people settle down here.

However, God was unfavorable. When Morgan's team arrived at the sulfur pit, it began to rain continuously. Morgan could only put aside the excitement of finding the destination and directed the soldiers to set up tents on the shore and move some supplies off the ship.

.Although he has found this place, Morgan is not going to just take a quick look and then go back. He must first roughly confirm the surrounding environmental conditions here, such as whether there are conditions for building a dock, and whether it is possible to build supporting refining for the oil field here.

Facilities and living quarters for workers, etc.

The most important thing is to make sure that there are no indigenous activities in the surrounding area. If the occurrence of armed conflicts can be avoided, that would be the best. The pressure on Haihan to build oil fields and settlements will also be greatly reduced.

Morgan divided his men into two teams. One team was carrying and guarding supplies on the shore. He led the other team and began to explore the mountains. He planned to find a slightly higher place and observe the area from a high position.

Situation. The ridge on the south side of Chulunkeng is about 500 meters above sea level. The mountain is relatively gentle and is suitable for use as a temporary observation point.
Chapter completed!