April 6, 1643, Monday, February 18, the sixteenth year of Chongzhen of the Ming Empire.

In the early morning, a rare formation of transport ships of the Chinese and US Navy appeared in the open sea of the overseas territory of Pearl Island, consisting of six large transport ships and escorted by one frigate. The formation carried 226o officers and men of the Eastern Brigade of the 6th Army of the Chinese and American Defense Forces, and the number of transport ships dispatched accounted for half of the Chinese and American Navy, which can be described as a strong lineup.

In the past two months or so, the officers and men of the Eastern Brigade have completed the first phase of the formation training at the overseas consulate of Yueshan Island in the Indian Ocean. Even if there are a considerable number of veterans, it may take several months for the entire brigade to truly form combat effectiveness.

More than two months ago, Brigadier General Deng Jian, former commander of the Haizhou Regional Command, was ordered to come to Mingzhu Island and became the supreme commander of the Far Eastern Regional Command of the Sixth Army.

It has probably not been seen for many years that the Wehrmacht has been stationed on such a large scale, and when more than 2,000 officers and soldiers of the Eastern Brigade lined up to pass through the city of Guò, almost 10,000 people in the entire Pearl City were empty.

Except for the serious officers, the soldiers of the Eastern Brigade all changed into tropical thin cloth uniforms, even if the steel helmet was tied around the waist and only a soft cloth hat was worn on the head, it was still all kinds of sweaty wolf bèi, but no one dared to wipe it lightly. A team of more than 2,000 people pulled out a curved queue in the city and walked like a long snake towards the 6th Army garrison camp in the west.

In addition to the hundreds of recruits recruited from Pearl Island, most of the officers and men showed curious eyes at this large Far Eastern town with a population of nearly 3oooo and prosperity no less than that of the mainland.

"It used to be just a dilapidated fishing village and a bunch of beggars. Now it's plump enough to mock Nanshan Harbor and Yuexi City, and even England Dancing Girls. But it's still so hot and annoying, it's such an uncomfortable place......"

At the crossroads, in front of the newly built Far Eastern Regional Command building, the officers of the brigade headquarters broke away from the ranks. Prepare to be received by Brigadier General Deng Jian. The officers were smiling at the cheering townspeople, while Makarov, who was the sergeant major at the brigade headquarters, was staring intently at the elaborate and atmospheric street garden and a pub not far away. Although there are some mean words in his mouth, there is a gleeful look in his eyes.

"Lieutenant Colonel Qiao Yan, before Colonel Jean arrives, you will temporarily serve as the training director of the Far Eastern Regional Command, do you have any opinions?" 6 After continuing to meet several old subordinates. Deng Jian turned his head towards a silent Chinese lieutenant colonel among the officers, only to see that the other party was looking a little distracted in a certain direction of the city.

“…… I'm sorry, General, but I guess it's going to be more difficult with my abilities, right? Qiao Yan hurriedly turned around and saluted, not hiding the cautious nature of his honest character.

"Hehe, I'm still very cautious. But it's not good to be too modest. I read General Scott's report earlier, and he spoke highly of your ability to organize and train troops. I think General Scott recommended a number of excellent officers for us this time. Although the Eastern Brigade is a brand new unit, it can definitely grow into the strongest elite of the Wehrmacht! ”

Deng Jian, who was born as a migrant worker at the wharf, was the most typical iron-blooded soldier of the 6th Army, and did not have too many strong pro-Oriental emotional impulses, and Deng Jian led the affairs of the 6th Army in the entire Far East, which was the best choice for the General Headquarters of the 6th Army. After his status and knowledge have continued to rise over the years, Deng Jian has also become more elegant. Facing the old subordinates who were still unknown in the Northern Campaign, Deng Jian seemed full of ambition.

"Yes, General, I'll do my best." The team around him continued to advance, and Qiao Yan accidentally saw Yu Shan, so he accepted Deng Jian's appointment after squeezing out a smile.

……

In the cheering crowd, a Chinese Navy sergeant major, who seemed to be on vacation, was holding a child watching the ranks of the 6th Army, while beside him, another middle-aged Chinese couple had a slightly bad expression.

"So many soldiers came into the city. Isn't there something big...... Huzi, is there really no problem for a big girl to go to the capital these days? The middle-aged sister-in-law of the Chen family tightly dragged a girl about fifteen or sixteen years old beside her, looking a little nervous.

"The teacher said that Duman City is much bigger than here, and the newspapers are all written. It still snows in the winter. People are so old that they have never seen snow ......."

The girl next to the sister-in-law of the Chen family saw that her mother was worried about her admission to Manchester City Vocational and Technical University, so she quickly tightened her mother's sleeve.

"What are you talking about? What kind of Rausch son was born, and the daughter's family thought that the wings were stiff after learning a few words, and they thought that life here was uncomfortable? If you dare to leave the house, your mother and I will have to break your legs! On the other side, the man of the Chen family glared angrily, and resolutely opposed his daughter's behavior of holding the school's chicken feathers as an arrow, "Huzi, tell your niece reason, don't think that the outside is the world of flowers, I don't know the depth!" ”

The girl of the Chen family, who was scolded by her parents, is the baby girl who Huang Huer entrusted to the Chen family to raise more than ten years ago, and is now about to graduate from middle school. Huang Hu'er herself, on the other hand, officially applied to move to Pearl Island three years ago to serve in the Asian Fleet for long-term volunteer service, and finally became neighbors with the Chen family.

"Brother Chen, this is a good thing. Now the Higher Vocational and Technical College in Pearl City will have to wait a year to get it done, and the big girl is born to study, and it is not a shame to go to learn to see the world. ”

Huang Hu'er touched the head of her son in her arms, smiled at the girl of the Chen family who was flushed, and began to help speak: "Sister-in-law, when the child arrives in Manchester City, if you are not at ease, you can go to my sister and brother-in-law's house to live, and I will write a letter for the eldest girl to bring with me." ”

"Uh-huh, I'm going to live at my aunt's house!" When the Chen family girl heard that someone supported her, she immediately laughed like a flower.

"Hey, a girl's house, is it appropriate to run to the capital...... Why don't I go and watch her too? Seeing that the people he trusted the most had pushed the children out, the sister-in-law of the Chen family was also a little hesitant.

"Hmph, it's embarrassing in the future. Don't come back! Seeing that his wife's attitude was relaxed, the Chen family man blew his beard and stared, so he simply turned around and walked home.

"Don't worry, why don't I send you a telegram a week to help you ask?" Huang Hu'er smiled again, and was a little helpless about the old-fashioned elder brother of the Chen family.

"No, I don't. No! The telegram is a dime a word, how expensive is that, and now you are also dragging your family...... Why not once a month? The sister-in-law of the Chen family saw that her husband was leaving in a huff, and quickly lowered her voice embarrassedly.

A family episode faded away in the midst of the bustle, and when the back of the last officer and soldier of the Eastern Brigade disappeared to the edge of the city, the Pearl City regained its old rhythm and atmosphere. Predictably. The arrival of a large number of troops will inevitably bring a lot of economic income to the local area.

In a number of six farm areas on the outskirts of Mingzhu City, the first season of rice is ripe and about to be harvested. Nearly 10,000 acres of rice fields are already golden, several steam tractors with combine harvesters are doing the final inspection work, and a number of farmers wearing sunshade hats are standing on the side of the road with a smile and pointing.

With large-scale import channels of rice from Siam, Champa or Annam, the cultivation of local rice in the overseas territory of Pearl Island can only be regarded as a symbolic industry. Due to the high cost of labor and employment, and the low purchase price of the state, it has not been taken seriously by local farmers. But starting this year, the Mingzhu Grain Bureau suddenly raised the local rice purchase price, and the price of rice offered to rice farmers on Mingzhu Island reached an all-time high of US$15 per tonne of rice.

Old citizens and farm operators like the Chen family have contracted 1oo acres of paddy fields. Excluding various costs and taxes, this year's two crops of rice alone can earn a net profit of about 4oo US dollars, not including vegetables and fruits planted between the two crops. These earnings are proper landlords in Daming, and the days are quite promising.

Affected by local policies, many rice farmers on Pearl Island are considering whether to continue to buy or lease land to expand the scale of rice cultivation. Although rice is by no means a local agricultural project that makes a lot of money, it is better to be familiar with it, and even if the price of rice drops again in the future, it can be planted with other crops.

……

A week after arriving at the new station, it did not wait for all officers and men to adapt to the local climate. The second phase of military training of the Eastern Brigade began again. Now this month, the climate on Pearl Island is a little more humid than that of the Caribbean and Madagascar, which makes more than 2,000 officers and men a little unbearable.

The day after Ren Xingzhong arrived on Pearl Island, he received a promotion notice from the Ministry of Defense and became a captain of the 6th Army. In addition to serving as the commander of a company. He also served as the deputy commander of the first battalion. Today, at least half of his company is made up of soldiers from the mainland, which is one of the most unaccustomed companies.

“…… Dear Anne, this season, the climate of Pearl Island is similar to that of the Caribbean, but it is more humid, and the military uniform may be soaked with sweat after only an hour of exposure to the sun. Of course, we probably won't really be here in the future...... The city of Pearl is more beautiful than I thought, and the half-sleeved tulle skirt and pigeon-feather sunhat that were popular in Manchester City last summer were popular in the boutique here, presumably due to the climate...... Sergeant Major Yu Shan has been transferred to my battalion, and with the help of an experienced veteran like him, my job will be easy......"

The sky is the most spicy sun, the ears are all kinds of slogans of the training officers and soldiers, hundreds of sweaty soldiers are doing the tactical action of crawling forward, and a group of non-commissioned officers are shouting. In the pergola of the training ground, Ren Xingzhong looked at the coconut groves and banana groves in the distance, and began to write letters.

"Captain, I think we should rest for two more days." Yu Shan, who was fortunate enough to be transferred to any battalion as a battalion sergeant major, walked down from the training ground with a trace of wild banana leaves in his mouth and poured bitter water on Ren Xingzhong.

"This is the training schedule drawn up by Sergeant Major Makarov at the brigade headquarters, I thought you must have communicated with Guò before." Ren Xingzhong covered the diary with a smile and handed over the kettle beside him, "Probably he hopes to make the soldiers sweat thoroughly for a few days before they can really adapt to the climate here." ”

"That premise is that he must ignore the fact that there are more than fifty unlucky ghosts with diarrhea in the camp now, and they were shivering from the cold a few months ago......," Yu Shan poured water into his mouth, looking very dissatisfied, "That big monkey must be overexcited, you should know how dark the psychology of a person like him is!" ”

Yu Shan's "intermittent resentment" was well known to passers-by in the Eastern Brigade for a short time, and the soldiers liked this little sergeant major who spoke for the little soldiers. And Sergeant Major Makarov's rudeness and sometimes wise foolishness also impressed the officers. The two experienced and experienced sergeant majors from the homeland are trusted by the Far East Regional Command of the 6th Army.

"Then today's training will be counted at 15 o'clock in the afternoon. Other than that. Getting soldiers to drink more saline can help improve environmental adaptation. Ren Xingzhong looked at the sun above his head, took out his pocket watch and looked at it, and finally respected Yu Shan's opinion.

"Sergeant Major Yushan! Please report to the Regional Command at 5 p.m. for inquiries. ”

When two people are exchanging training affairs. A herald ran into the training ground and handed Yu Shan an order.

"Just me? Didn't say anything? ”

Looking around, Yu Shan pinched the sweat-soaked command paper, his expression was a little puzzled, and he thought that he had offended some big person. Or that the goods commissioned by himself and Makarov from Moonhill Island have arrived on Pearl Island, and then they are known to others.

"I heard that it was the recommendation of Sergeant Major Makarov. It seems that people are selected to go to the North Big 6, and I don't know about the rest. The herald was also honest, and when he saw that the order arrived, he gave a military salute and ran away again.

"the big monkey! Is it only a few days before we go to war? Yu Shan looked at the back of the herald in the distance, and his face was rotten again.

"There are still a few hours left, you can go back to the camp early to rest and prepare. That's right. Last time you were talking about a shipment with Sergeant Major Makarov from Molsan Island? If it arrives, I will entrust it to the people of the Oriental Union Group to get it. Sergeant Yushan, I know this is a rare opportunity, but I think your energy should be more focused on the troops. ”

Ren Xingzhong seemed to know what Yu Shan was thinking at this time, took out a business card of a business manager of Oriental Union Group in the Far East from his pocket, quietly stuffed it into the other party's hand, and then walked away.

"Young Master Ren is getting more and more official...... This year. It's not easy to make some money. Yu Shan glanced at the business card in his hand, revealing a helpless expression.

……

The office of the Far Eastern Regional Command of the 6th Army is still in the process of simple renovation from the time it was bought. It used to be the hall where the Far East Branch of the Oriental Union Group was first established, and it was only one street away from the city hall. In the internal meeting, an ad hoc meeting under the instructions of the Ministry of National Defense was underway, which was attended not only by Deng Jian, but also by Fan Li, head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Far Eastern Affairs, and Jin Xiaohan, director of the Asian Intelligence Department, who had arrived from Hong Kong.

“…… With the cooperation of Zhao Mingchuan, the problem of Zhao Youheng, the governor of Guangdong, was basically solved. With the loan assistance provided by the Oriental Union Group, the Liangguang gentry and the Nanhai firms influenced by us were the backstage, and they participated in the formation of Zhao Youheng's Guangdong New Army behind the scenes. ”

"Also. Sun Erxi has helped Zhang Jianye to take refuge in Zhao Youheng and serve as the chief instructor of the New Army. Zhao Youheng acquiesced in Zhang Jianye's construction and will bring in military advisers from us to coordinate the formation and training of the new army. In terms of equipment, OUCC intends to follow the Irish and Temasek models. Sold Type 34A breech-loading flint guns and 8-pounder field guns to the Guangdong New Army. The first batch of weapons and equipment ordered by Zhao Youheng was shipped from the mainland last month, and it will probably take another month and a half to arrive. Because of the problem of production capacity, it is necessary to complete the production and supply of all tens of thousands of 34A breech-loading flint guns, which I am afraid will continue until the beginning of next year. ”

Jin Xiaohan flipped through his notepad and explained the progress of the past month one by one.

"Even if Zhao Youheng and Zhang Jianye are in charge, it is unlikely that we will swagger in and send people in, right? Judging from Xiaojin's meaning, for such a scale of the Guangdong New Army, we must transfer at least 50 non-commissioned officers. The Eastern Brigade is still in training, and it is unlikely that it will be able to draw up so many manpower to deal with several directions. Deng Jian looked at the "Guangdong New Army Support Plan" drawn up by Fan Li and Jin Xiaohan in their busy schedules, and was still a little hesitant.

"Hehe, it's not shocking, as early as the Apocalypse, the Ming Dynasty repeatedly hired Portuguese officers and gunners from Macao to help the Ming army train, and even participated in battles. As for the manpower issue, we will mainly hire personnel from the Blackwater Security Company, all veterans of the 6th Army. Deng Jian, you can send some high-level backbones here. According to our plan, our main military advisers will be concentrated in Qiongzhou, and with the Nanhai Company and the Oriental Union Group there, everything will be easier to operate. ”

Fan Li waved his hand with a smile, indicating that he had already considered the actual situation.

"Well, in that case, that's fine. However, this advisory group must be under the general control of regular non-commissioned officers, and even if it is armed by landlords, it must really act like an army. Otherwise, those old oilmen of the Blackwater Security Company who have been scattered for a few years, God knows what bad problems they will bring to Daming. In this case, I have entrusted the specific matters to Lieutenant Colonel Qiao and Sergeant Major Makarov, and they will decide on the specific list of personnel to be sent. ”

Deng Jian saw that the matter was very well thought out, so he agreed to the final plan.

"By the way, what does Luzon say? You've got a lot to do this year. Just as he was about to end the meeting, Deng Jian suddenly asked again.

"With our favoritism, Li Guozhu's Luzon Independence Army basically took control of the situation, and all that remained was to talk to the Spanish plenipotentiary, and the whole negotiation process is estimated to be several months. Xiaojin and I can't get out of it, and the cabinet has entrusted Pearl Mayor Aniel as a temporary representative, responsible for participating in the entire diplomatic negotiations. ”

Fan Li's expression was very calm, and he seemed to be full of confidence in the "hermit crab" plan that he had outlined for many years.

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