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, which is located in the tropics, is not cool, and the temperature is still around 30 degrees. Moreover, this is the dry season and rainy season.

At this time, the weather changes rapidly. It is often sunny for half a day and rainy for half a day. 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 pier. 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 pier, just waiting for the ship to stop.

After that, 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, the pier is

Each berth is operating at maximum efficiency.

Most of these troop transport ships came from various colonial points in northern Luzon. After receiving orders from the Manila headquarters, they arrived day and night. The farthest places even required five or six days of sailing at sea to reach here. For many who enlisted locally

For the soldiers, this large-scale mobilization can be 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 forming 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 an oilcloth poncho from their backpacks and put it on their bodies. This cloak-style poncho can be used to cover a person and his backpack, and it has a very good rainproof effect. In the Philippine Islands during the rainy season, if this thing is missing when going on an expedition, then

The injury rate of the troops must be increased 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, 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 will not come cheap, and the Ministry of National Defense is not that generous. The number allocated to the Luzon Region is far less than one per person. And the Luzon Region does not have a local textile industry chain, so it cannot

If you make this kind of poncho yourself, you 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 of the weapons and equipment must rely on the channels of the Ministry of National Defense. Until this time the Executive Committee decided to start a new round of military expansion in the South China Sea, Luzon

The region has 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 cracks in the top of the ship to check the preparations of the other men. If the disembarkation time was delayed because these guys didn't pack up, he would be indispensable.

You need 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 closest places on Luzon Island to the East Asian continent. 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.

There are about four to five thousand Han people settled in Bangui today. There is 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, so the local garrison

The mission is only to maintain local security and do some disaster relief work after the passage of the typhoon. It is relatively easy, and there are almost no combat missions with higher risks.

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 being discharged from the army, he would receive a considerable pension and thirty acres of land, and this was

It's just a guaranteed salary. 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 given a golden job directly.

For civilians like him, joining the army is not only a way to make a living, but also an opportunity to break through class. However, the place in Bangui has always been calm. At most, some rough and tumble civil disputes can be resolved by the police.

There are very few situations where it is necessary to dispatch troops to garrison, and it is not easy to earn military merit.

Logically speaking, given his military experience, it would not be his turn to lead new recruits. However, Zheng Agui is smart and good at dealing with things, and is highly appreciated by the company officers. After this year's recruits joined the army, the company commander transferred him to train new recruits.

, when the hundred-day training was over, it was a matter of course that he was promoted to squad leader. Of course, he would continue to lead the new recruits he had trained personally.

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.

For affairs, the garrison only has a small number of personnel left behind. The large troops need to carry their own equipment and supplies and rush to the Cavite base to report within ten days.

As soon as the military order came out, even though Bangui had been in peace for a long time, it was inevitable that it would suddenly enter a wartime system. It took the garrison two or three days to hand over to the temporarily organized security forces, and then in batches

Depart for Manila 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 thought

He tried to find out more information, but the company commander, the biggest officer on the ship, was also confused about the purpose of the trip.
Chapter completed!