He was disappointed that the conversation between Ensign Frey and Captain Concicao had not made any progress. However, in addition to being disappointed, he did seriously consider what the mayor of Jiaohebao said, that is, beware of the Portuguese creating some trouble on the border.

On 25 March, after returning to Ping'an County to report on his duties, Second Lieutenant Fu Lei was soon dispatched to Baoan Township, the northernmost part of the county, to investigate some Portuguese businessmen who were stranded in the county together with the agents of the Mei Agency. These businessmen are fanatics who don't care about anything for money, and many of them even have criminal records on the Brazilian side, and they are still using some mountain paths to smuggle all kinds of daily necessities to the east coast after the Brazilian colonial authorities ordered the closure of the border trade in the Gérard Mountains.

From an economic point of view, the people of the East Coast welcomed the continuation of this border trade, after all, over the years, the Portuguese in the Gérard Mountains had formed a whole chain of goods for the East Coast market. The upstream and downstream of this industrial chain have a large population, the technology is not bad, the quality of the goods produced can be regarded as medium and upper, and they are mostly small daily commodities that are relatively scarce on the east coast and cannot be produced by large industries, and there are also some Brazilian specialties for processing and export (such as candied candy, etc.), the sales on the east coast are very good - and the people on the east coast are also more dependent on this kind of trade, according to the statistics of the border trade market located in Baoan Township, the total import and export of the two sides in 1652 has reached more than 330,000 yuan, and the scale is quite large.

But who would have thought that the situation would change dramatically, as foreign policy on the east coast became more and more clear and more inclined towards the Dutch, and the colonial authorities of the Kingdom of Portugal and Brazil were disappointed. It's rare to be strong. The order was given to interrupt the border trade between the parties. and report a series of initiatives of the East Coasters to Lisbon, asking the local government to make a final decision on whether to take the next step; Until the latest directives are delivered in Lisbon, the Brazilian colonial authorities will make decisions that they deem reasonable at their own discretion.

Of course, in this new continent full of adventurers and outlaws, Portuguese merchants who were dissatisfied with the orders of the Brazilian colonial authorities because of the loss of economic interests, and even the inhabitants of the towns that had sprung up as a result of the border trade in the Gérard Mountains were dissatisfied, so it was natural that some of the two sides joined forces and continued to smuggle into the country, a one-sided smuggling trade. That is, they do not register with the Portuguese customs office for tax (after all, they are smuggling), but after entering the territory of the east coast, they honestly go to the customs office of Baoan Township to register and pay taxes.

The reason why Second Lieutenant Fu Lei came to Baoan Township this time was to assist in the investigation of some suspicious Portuguese businessmen, and the relationship between the East Bank and the Brazilian colonial authorities was not harmonious, and although most of these businessmen came for money, it was difficult to guarantee that there were no spies mixed in with them, and they must be carefully monitored and investigated -- Ping'an County was the largest industrial base in the Republic of China on the East Coast of China, and there must be no mistakes.

The meticulous investigation came to an end when Army Major Zhu Liang arrived in Baoan Township, and the Portuguese businessmen who came looked normal, no one probed their brains to find out the news, and no one went to the place where they shouldn't go. In short, it looks normal, just a pure businessman.

"After the São Paulo flag team returned to Brazil. There is a vacuum in our armed forces in the Jiaohe River Valley, but this is not a big problem. According to the information I have received, since the second half of last year, a variety of diseases have been prevalent among the indigenous Indians of our northern territories, and many people have died, which is much more effective than the painstaking efforts to go into the old woods to play hide and seek with them. In this regard, it goes without saying that Consicao has made a great contribution, but this kind of thing cannot be admitted to the outside world, nor can it appear in any summary or record of a literal nature, and this must be remembered. In the conference room of the army barracks in Baoan Township, Major Zhu Liang said at the military meeting.

"Also, although the shape is better, we can't take it lightly. With the withdrawal of the St. Paul's Banner Corps, the existing westward march along the Jiaohe River valley must be suspended, and no new settlements should be established west of Jiaohe Fort in principle, and the existing immigrants assigned to the North Yazihu area should be mainly to enrich the old settlements for the time being. Zhu Liang continued, "And before that, what we need to do is to strengthen our vigilance, increase vigilance, and be prepared for the enemy's surprise attack at any time." ”

"Commander Zhu, what kind of enemy do we want to guard against?" A staff officer of the North Duck Lake Regional Garrison Command raised his hand and asked.

"It is necessary to guard against the internal enemy, the Indians, and against the external enemy, the Portuguese, but on the whole, it is to guard against the external enemy, that is, to guard against the Portuguese dog jumping over the wall, and those São Paulo slave catchers suddenly cross the border and strike at us, so that the fun will be great. Of course, this possibility does not seem very great at present, and the details of those flag teams must be well known to all of you, the combat strength is mediocre and demoralized, and the weapons and equipment are all stuck in fifty years ago, and they may not have the courage to brush our tiger whiskers. But it's better to take precautions against everything, these people still have the ability to sneak in and create small troubles for us. Zhu Liang held a horsewhip in his right hand and said while waving it.

"Commander, do you need to convene the armed forces chiefs of the townships and towns and the militia chiefs of the villages for a meeting? Is it necessary to carry out an ideological mobilization for them first, so that they will not be in a hurry when carrying out partial military mobilization in the future? A staff officer asked again, the militia is now the most reliable military force of the people on the east coast, and once they are mobilized, it means that the situation has deteriorated to a certain extent.

"Yes!" Zhu nodded and agreed, "In fact, the military department will have an order to come over in the next two days, ordering the militia in the three townships of Liming Township, Jushu Township, and Liushuying Township in Ping'an County to strengthen training, and increase the frequency of collective drills to twice a month; Ping'an Township, Coal River Township, and Baoan Township will not move for the time being, but the armed forces ministers and militia directors of these townships should inspect the weapons and material depots more often to see if the war readiness materials are sufficient, and not wait for the time when they are really needed but be blind. It's really that job, but it's not a joke to engage in military law! ”

"Got it!" Whether it is the officers of the garrison command. Or a spy of the intelligence system. At this moment, they all replied in unison. They know it in their hearts. This mobilization was extremely slight, and it seems to have something to do with the fact that the current situation is not very serious. This made everyone feel relieved and a little lost at the same time, soldiers, aren't they looking forward to war? Because only war can make everyone promoted and rich, and can make the pockets bulge, but unfortunately the Portuguese don't give them a chance!

Their main army force should be in the northeast of Brazil at this moment with the Dutch West India Company, right? I heard that in 49 the Portuguese had won a heavy victory in a certain battle, and Yan zhòng had weakened the armed forces of the Dutch West India Company in Brazil, and now they are beating the water dogs. Intend to take advantage of the victory to drive the Dutch into the sea in one fell swoop, so they shouldn't have time to take care of the East Coasters, right? After all, this is not how brain-dead play, and Brazilians can't afford to fight on both sides!

"Plus!" At this time, Zhu Liang suddenly knocked on the table with a horsewhip, raised his voice and said: "You can also look for some young militiamen with excellent military skills during this time, the more numerous, the better." The situation in Brazil is tense, and Ping'an County, as an important industrial town, is quite deficient in its defense strength, so the military department intends to expand the garrison force of Ping'an County, and reorganize the 2nd Army Company currently stationed here into the 2nd Army Battalion, and the shortage of soldiers will be recruited on the spot in Ping'an County. In the future, the replenishment place of the 2nd Battalion of the Army will be set as Ping'an County......"

If Zhu Liang's earlier military mobilization only caused a small wave in everyone's hearts, then his later words caused a monstrous wave in everyone's hearts. What the? The Army, which has been in decline since its disarmament four or five years ago, is also going to rise? It's going to be reorganized. Is there such a good thing? Will those white shirts in the House of Ministers agree? The Navy, which has always been in collusion with civilians, will also agree? It's as unrealistic as living in a dream!

The young staff officers of the North Yazihu Regional Garrison Command were immediately excited, and they asked Zhu Liang about the company's reorganization, and after Zhu Liang's detailed explanation, they finally figured out the key points.

After the Second East-West War, the Executive Committee, which was heavily cut in military spending, cut many troops, 5 of the 12 infantry companies were eliminated, only 3 of the 6 cavalry companies remained, and 3 of the artillery companies were also retained, in addition to the number of baggage companies was also reduced, and the engineering company was only retained as a reinforced platoon, and these troops, together with the guards, staff and miscellaneous personnel directly under the War Department and some headquarters, the total strength was compressed to a pitiful 2,980 people.

Naturally, such a "pocket-sized" army is not acceptable to those militarists, so they have been arguing with the executive committee and the navy for many years in order to expand the current size of the army. It is a pity that the Executive Committee has decided that there is not much military pressure on the land on the east coast, and there are still elite guards cadet regiments and a large number of cannon fodder militias to use, so it has not agreed to expand the size of the army, which has made the War Department more and more resentful.

This sudden strain in relations with the Portuguese undoubtedly gave hope to many in the War Office. At the same time, they engaged in a war of words with the navy at the Joint Staff Headquarters, jumping up and down in the hope of expanding the size of the army -- the pilot project of changing the company into a battalion is the plan they put forward this time, that is, the two infantry companies stationed in the capital and Ping'an County will be reorganized into infantry battalions, and the battalion will have four infantry companies, one artillery company, one cavalry company, one baggage company, and one engineering platoon, and the total strength of the guards and miscellaneous personnel will be about 1,450 people, and it will have a strong independent combat capability.

Many of them come from civilian backgrounds and naturally oppose the expansion of the strength of the military department, but to tell the truth, the army has been pressed by civilian officials and the navy for nearly five years, and they must also take care of their situation, otherwise if they make something happen in private, the executive committee will not end well.

Therefore, this incident of company to battalion strongly led by the War Department, Major Zhu Liang estimated that it would eventually be dealt with with the mud. That is to say, most of the executive committee will make a discount and only agree to the formation of a new infantry battalion, and at the same time, most of the technical arms in this infantry battalion, such as artillery, cavalry, baggage troops, and engineering troops, will have to transfer the existing units to complete the organization, so what the War Department has really earned from this company to battalion is actually only three new infantry companies and some miscellaneous personnel, and the total strength of the army has increased by about 750 people, and there may still be a little bit of distance from the original goal of a group of militarists.

If the Army really wants to restore its former glory, it still has a long way to go! (To be continued......)