Section 71: Before the War (3)

"The doctor will be sent over when the war comes, and now I will give you a few nurses and Chinese medicine doctors to maintain basic health care. When you get there, the health workers in the army and labor should be sent back. ”

After He Ping left, Shi Yuanren began to bury his head on the table again, drawing schematic diagrams on the board with unskilled skills. His idea was to have a few standard procedures for the healthcare workers who were being trained. He knew that indigenous health care workers were poorly qualified, poorly educated, and receptive. Therefore, I want to use the method of atlas to simplify the difficulty of education.

"Damn, this thing looks so spectacular," Mei Wan looked at the locally produced steam construction machinery from Lingao that was slowly spewing black smoke and steam from a distance.

It's not so much "driving" as "climbing". It's so slow that you can barely notice that they're moving. Even the ox carts on the highway overtook them one by one.

"New equipment. I think the performance is much better than Lokomotiv Meteor 1. Although the support team led by Shan Daoqian used ox carts, they still arrived a long way ahead of the construction machinery.

The task of building the road was entrusted to Shan Daoqian, who was recalled from Sanya, -- Shan Daoqian completed the construction of the improvised railway in Sanya, and he entrusted Ji Runzhi to do the work of building the road in Sanya.

The renovation of the post road was almost entirely new for Shan Daoqian - he did not use any modern construction machinery and relied entirely on the support of the local industry in Lingao. The Machinery segment manufactures several bulldozers and rollers that use the Suichao steam engine.

Steam rollers and bulldozers using the principle of pot camel machines slowly climbed onto the road from the industrial area of Bairen City at a speed of less than 3 kilometers per hour, followed by a group of workers and jishu personnel, and several ox carts full of spare parts and maintenance equipment. Despite their poor performance, leaking and smoking, and crunching screams, the way the steel monsters writhed and staggered far more than the more modern agricultural vehicles and jeeps.

However, for Shan Daoqian, the reliability of these devices is not good. Three steam-powered rollers and bulldozers stop and go, making repairs and adjustments to the machinery from time to time. It took almost 24 hours to get to the construction section.

But as soon as we arrived at the section, the mechanical liliang was revealed. Although the steam engine equipment is inconvenient to use and breaks down one by one, the efficiency is still much higher than that of manpower and animal power. Ox-drawn rocks are no match for steam rollers. As for the bulldozers, although they can use less than six hours a day, they can do enough earthwork for a hundred people to work for a day.

Shan Daoqian set off from Ma Yuan to renovate the post road to Chengmai. The first batch of army units and militia that had been mobilized were used as laborers to build roads and advance in the direction of Chengmai. As for Mei Wan herself, he presided over the construction of the Ma Yuan base.

As an important salt-making base of the Lingao regime, Mayuan is located at the junction of Lingao-Chengmai. Originally, the Planning Institute set up a local administrative organization in Jihua, Ma Yuan Commune, to enrich some of the new immigrants and serve as the eastern support point of the small cross road Jihua.

In the preparations for this anti-encirclement and suppression operation, the Mayuan Peninsula was again put on the agenda as a key target that needs to be defended. The construction of the city began immediately.

According to Meiwan's original jihua, Ma Yuan built the city only to build a European-style fortress, with a company stationed in it, and a dozen artillery pieces to control the port and salt works to ensure that the enemy could not engage in sabotage in the local area.

However, in the official implementation of Jihua, Mayuan has become a fortress city, which is not only prepared to be used as an army base for a long time to garrison a considerable number of troops, but also to store a large amount of military supplies and have a certain ability to repair and maintain weapons -- the General Staff has prepared to make Mayuan Fort the main military base of the army in the future, and the main force of the army will be stationed here in the future. For this purpose, a large training ground and shooting range are planned in the vicinity.

According to He Ming's revision, all the army forces participating in the anti-encirclement and suppression operation: four infantry battalions, one artillery battalion, and one engineer company will be successively concentrated in Mayuan for training and reorganization, forming a field army. Wait for the Ming army to assemble at Qiongshan before setting off for battle.

Although the Fort was still under intense construction, He Ming and his staff team and most of the officers had already arrived at Mayuan and opened the field army headquarters in the original turret.

He Ming set up his headquarters in Ma Yuan, and there were also veterans who avoided Bai Ling and Bo Pu too densely. Although he had already greeted the Senate, he would not receive any non-official senators. But they can still find all kinds of reasons to come to the command. All of them were very enthusiastic in making suggestions for future operations - since the Senate was no longer discussing this issue, it was more convenient to talk directly to the officers. Some people talk about strategy, some talk about the use of tactics, and some people offer their own plans for "new weapons." He Ming was so annoyed by such a visitor, he simply moved to Ma Yuan with the headquarters team earlier.

Because of its special importance, Yanchang Village opened a cable telegraph system next to the turret very early, and after He Ming came with the headquarters, the cable telegraph station was immediately expanded, not only increasing the number of telegraph operators, but also adding some equipment to enable it to serve the army effectively. Li Yunxing even sent a telecommunications engineer, Hu Muye, to the telecommunications bureau of Bairen to take charge of equipment maintenance. He also brought a radio station as a backup

Hu Muye took the equipment and set off from Bairen on a slow ox cart, and there were He Ping from the Ministry of Health, Wu Shimang from Lingao Church, and Yang He, the head of the quarantine camp. The specific tasks of these men varied, but the overall purpose was the same - to prepare for the expected captives.

A few people chatted and talked along the way, starting from dawn and arriving at Mayuan almost at noon. In the distance, you can hear the sound of snare drums and flutes, white cooking smoke and black smoke. From time to time, the roar of gunfire can be heard.

On the flat training ground, groups of infantry were practicing to the accompaniment of drums and flutes. The non-commissioned officers shouted commands in lengthened voices, and sometimes there were shouts in unison: "kill, kill, kill" and "fire".

Around the unfinished ramparts of Fort Ma's Horse, all the leeward slopes and cols were dotted with gray-white tents. Rows of artillery and vehicles were neatly parked in the clearing. Smoke fills the field cooking trucks. Queues of soldiers in gray uniforms with rifles on their shoulders passed by from time to time.

On the post road to Chengmai, groups of laborers, soldiers and construction machinery are busy, and steam rollers spew out puffs of black smoke from time to time. In the distance, people can be seen building a bridge over the river.

"It's only a few kilometers to the house. After the Heshe is the place of Chengmai County. "Because Wu Shimang needs to preach, he knows more about the geography of Lingao.

"Now that our highway has been repaired, I'm afraid the life of Chengmai County Order will be difficult. I guess it's going to be like an ant on a hot pan."

"He can pretend to be deaf and dumb like Wu County's order, and become a member of the CPPCC or something in the future."

"I know that I am still a smart person who pretends to be deaf and dumb, but I am afraid that I don't know whether I am alive or dead. Then I have to send him to the western heavens. ”

"So many cars," He Ping suddenly let out an exclamation.

Ox carts carrying grain, baggage, ammunition, and building materials moved slowly, one after another, forming a long line along the road, with no end in sight. It looks spectacular.

They usually know the liliang of the industrial society, but everyone is very excited to see the great energy of the industrial society they have created.

The perimeter of the construction site of Ma Yuan City has been completely put under martial law. Everywhere there were barbed wire, deer barricades, surveillance towers and trenches. As soon as their ox cart reached the turn, it was stopped by the sentry and checked everyone's papers and command documents. He Ping saw that in addition to the fixed sentry posts, there were small groups of mobile sentry patrolling everywhere. He Ping saw that the guards here were so tight, and he was a little bit of a battle-ready style.

They easily got to the headquarters. He Ming was not there, and the staff officer on duty made arrangements one by one according to their intentions. As for the opening of a field hospital, Dongmen is of course very welcome.

"There are no captives to treat you now, but there have been many drills and drills recently, and some of you have been injured. The other thing is epidemic prevention. Thousands of people have already opened up in such a small area. Although every company has a hygienist, it is reassuring to have someone from your health department to take charge. ”

"I'll check out the camp first. In particular, toilets and drinking water are the two pieces. If we do a good job, there will be no large-scale epidemics. ”

"Okay, you can take a look first. The Ministry of Health has given us a centralized water purification station, and it is now mandatory for all troops to go to the water station to get water. ”

At the moment, the rain blew at the east gate and led everyone to a camp, where several rows of simple houses had been erected, and a sign was hung at the door. These were the offices and lodgings of the representatives of the various departments who had been sent to Ma Yuan for the purpose of the operation.

He Ping's Ministry of Health office is ready. There was only a plank bed and a folding table, and there were no chairs to sit on the bed and work.

Dongmen Blowing Rain said: "The conditions are simple, let's overcome them first." The hospital in Mayuan has just started, so you can move there when it's finished. ”

"It's okay, I'll take a look at the epidemic prevention situation first."

"Xie Shu" shouted at the east gate blowing rain.

"Yes" Immediately came out from behind them, and a young officer stood up and saluted. He Ping looked at him, this man was about the age of his early twenties, dark skin, good facial features, and his hair was shaved short like all soldiers. He wore an army uniform with the rank of second lieutenant, but with a red bar on his sleeve representing the staff officer. This is presumably an indigenous trainee staff officer.

"Xie Shu is a trainee staff officer, in charge of logistics. Let him accompany you. Then he ordered, "You take the comrade commissioner to check the health security situation."

"Understood," Xie Shu asked in a neutral voice, "Chief, where are you going to inspect first?" ”

"Let's start with the water station."

He first looked at the water purification station. He recognized the hygienist in charge of the water purification station as Niu Yutian, who had just graduated from the Ministry of Health's hygienist training course a few months ago, and had fled from the mainland to Lingao three months ago. At the age of fifteen or sixteen, he looks very white and clean, and he is also soft when he opens his mouth. When he was assigned, the staff felt that he was too delicate, so he was assigned to the sanitary outlet to become a hygienist. The hygienist wears a white armband on the sleeve of his uniform, which is emblazoned with the mark of the health department: a blue snake wrapped around a wooden staff.

He Ping inquired about the status of the water purification station. I know that this mobile water purification equipment used by the army has only recently been shipped. The water is filtered with fine sand and activated charcoal, and then disinfected with bleaching powder. Drinking water also needs to be boiled. The entire water supply station can be dismantled and towed by livestock. It's very convenient to use. He Ping checked the condition of the equipment, and then checked whether the activated carbon and sand were properly installed and replaced. Checked the distribution history of bleaching powder.

After looking at it, he decided that there was no problem with the water station itself, but the water supply was insufficient. Especially when he found that this water station had no pumping equipment and relied entirely on manpower to carry water, He Ping shook his head. Such a supply can only barely guarantee the daily training of the field army. It was difficult to supply on the march.

"This set of equipment is a field water supply equipment at the battalion level." Xie Shu said, "It's not enough to supply so many troops. ”

He Ping knew that most of these were samples from the mechanical department, which were used for experiments. He secretly called it a mess, and according to the current size of the garrison and population of Mayuan, it was appropriate to set up a waterworks.

"Let's go see the camp."

The units of the field army were stationed separately in battalion and company units, and each garrison was surrounded by deer bars. Small pillboxes were also built with stones at the front and rear of the camp gates, leaving firing ports, and each pillbox could accommodate up to three people to sentry and shoot. In the event of a surprise attack, you can resist for a while, buying time for the troops to assemble.

Rows of military tents in the camp were neatly tied. There was an open space in front of the gate that had been leveled for the roll call, and the roads in the camp were neat and tidy. All kinds of vehicles and utensils are grouped together. Toilets were set up in each camp according to the number of soldiers, and disinfectants were prepared.

The soldiers had gone out for training, and only a few of the battalion's logisticians were left to cook and guard the camp. Seeing that a chief had come to inspect, everyone stood up together, neatly and silently saluted them side by side.

Even a layman like He Ping could see that the barracks were highly disciplined and the soldiers were well-trained. I couldn't help but admire: "These troops are really well trained. ”

"It's all well trained by the chiefs." Xie Shu said.

To He Ping's ears, this is a bit of flattery. He couldn't help but glance at the young officer, and saw that his face was calm and extremely sincere, and it didn't seem to be a boast.

"Oh, this set of Australian military management methods has not really fought a war yet. How do you feel about the comparison with the border army of the Ming Dynasty? ”

Xie Shu said seriously: "It is the four words 'order and prohibition', which are far superior to all the armies of the Ming Dynasty. ”

Discipline is indeed one of the biggest differences between modern and ancient armies. This young officer didn't talk about what the great advantage of firearms could most shock the natives, but talked about discipline first, so that He Ping looked at it differently. He couldn't help but be interested:

"I've also heard that the discipline of the officers and soldiers is not good—"

"No, I don't mean that the discipline of the people is good or bad, but that the chief can train the troops to advance and retreat as freely as the limbs and limbs."

He Ping nodded, feeling that his insight was really not bad. I couldn't help but be interested in him.

"Where are you from?"

"I'm from Tongchuan, Shaanxi."

"You're from a border army." He Ping heard that he was from Shaanxi. I think there are very few northerners here, most of them are deserters from the official army.

"It's not." Xie Shu said with a smile, "My family was originally a small grain household, and my father was a showman. In the year of the Apocalypse, there was a lot of trouble in his hometown, and he really couldn't stay anymore -- the rogues and the officials and soldiers took turns to spoil them. The family had no choice but to flee to the Central Plains. My father said that the Central Plains was the land of the four wars, and he couldn't wait, so he ran south, and ran to Guangdong. ”

"Why did you get to Lingao again?"

"The family does a little bit of coastal business to get by. Not to mention the government's extortion, the Zuihou ship was also robbed by the sea owner. My father was angry and said, 'Everywhere we go, we are bullied by thieves and officials, so let's just become thieves.'" When Xie Shu said this, he suddenly realized that he was scolding the chiefs for being thieves, and quickly stopped talking.

He Ping smiled: "We are indeed thieves, we are thieves." ”

"The actions of the chiefs, don't say that the sea lord is a coward, even the Ming Dynasty is less than one in ten." Xie Shu said, "I used to be a good soldier at home, I have read a lot of "Wujing General Essentials", "Wubei Zhi", and "Ji Xiao Xinshu", and the one I admire the most is Qi Shaobao. I have also thought about how to train a strong army. When he arrived in the Fubo army, he found that what he was thinking ......" He didn't say any more, only shook his head.

He Ping felt that it was very fresh, and most of the indigenous officers and soldiers, administrative staff, and students he met were taken into custody, and all of them were either bitter and hateful, or desperate. Gratitude and worship for the traverser comes from the bottom of my heart. But Xie Shu's "worship" has no taste of "gratitude", nor does it have the bitterness of hatred. He talked about his own affairs and was a little ridiculous.

Moreover, this young man's speech and attitude are completely different from those of the natives, if it weren't for his strange Mandarin, He Ping would have thought that he was an old man he didn't know

"Follow us as thieves, aren't you afraid of being exterminated by the official army?" He Ping asked deliberately.

"The government can't even exterminate the rogues in our hometown," Xie Shu said with a smile, "Fighting with Donglu is also more defeated than victorious, and it is even more delusional to defeat the Fubo army." ”

"There's a bandaging room down the hill over there." Xie Shu asked, "Does the chief want to go and see?" ”

"Of course I want to go." He Ping asked, "Why has a bandaging center been opened?" ”