"After this period of investigation, taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of several sites, I think it is appropriate for Humen Pass Fortress to be here." Major General Mo Rufeng, dressed in military uniform, stood on the hillside and pointed ahead.

The place where he pointed is a bend between two mountains, the mountain pass is about 400 meters wide, and it is in the shape of an "L", which is very special.

The proposed Humen Pass is located under the "L" shape, with a reinforced concrete city wall spanning it, with a height of 5.6 meters, filled with rammed earth gravel, built with hidden soldiers' holes, ammunition depots, batteries and shooting holes, and small bastions at both ends, which are extremely fortified.

In front of the Humen Pass fortress is a relatively straight passage nearly 2 kilometers long, the perimeter is unobstructed, and some protrusions or depressions under the mountain will be flattened in the later stage of the fortress construction, and it is required that no dead ends of firepower are left.

The main purpose of Humen Pass is to prevent the attacker's artillery fire from destroying many houses and buildings in Humen Pass with the help of mountain cover, so as to enhance the continuous combat capability of the fortress and greatly improve its survivability in bad battle conditions.

This valley passage from Morgada to the Italian-controlled territory was once an ancient river channel that evolved over the centuries into a natural passage through the mountains as the African continental plate was uplifted.

The location of the Humen Pass Fortress is not the narrowest place, nor the most dangerous place, but it is the most ingenious place, Major General Mo Rufeng especially sees the advantage of the tall mountain to shield the rear of the Humen Pass Fortress, and he can protect the nearby fortress buildings from enemy artillery fire.

I have to say that such a design is very ingenious.

On the hillside

A group of fellow bosses pointed at the bend of the empty valley, and after consulting with each other, they generally agreed that the Humen Pass Fortress should be located here.

Although Wu Mozhou, the general manager, is not a military expert, but has rich experience in the construction of large projects, he measured the value of the Humen Pass fortress from his own point of view, said;

"There is no such thing as an impenetrable barrier in the world, and what we need to do is to show our strong confidence in rejecting the enemy from the country, and this project will be implemented as a top priority.

The Grand Governor will give priority to £60,000 for the early construction of the fort.

I very much appreciate General Mok's views;

The most important thing for a fortress is not how strong it is built, but how important it is to have strong logistics to support continuous combat.

The Humen Fortress was built at a big bend, using the natural geographical advantage to protect the fortress buildings in the rear, so as not to suffer from the enemy's firepower, and continue to provide sufficient medical aid for the front line, rotate resting places, and there is no shortage of food and drinking water, then the fortress can hold on for a long time.

This is a very good idea, we will build a wide and flat road from the fortress of Humen to the town of Morghada in the rear, and provide strong support for the whole line, and this work will start now.

Belch...... Brother Kai, how much manpower and material resources can Somali Province mobilize to participate in the construction of this important project in the near future? ”

Gu Kaizhi, a high-ranking Somali official, was born as a secretary of the Red Fort, and his practical work ability was very strong, so he replied after a little thought;

"Returning to the Lordship;

We can now transfer 4,000 black coolies who are building roads, and it is expected that no less than 2,000 black coolies and more than 1,000 Chinese craftsmen will be mobilized within half a month, which can basically meet the needs of fortress construction.

Supplies...... The construction of Xi'an - the city is suspended, and the production capacity of the cement plant is fully invested in the construction of the fortress, and the first ship of cement can be sent out in almost 15 days, with a total amount of no less than 400 tons, and steel and other materials will also arrive at the same time.

The black coolies who arrived in the early stage could open the mountain to quarry, dig the foundation to build the rammed earth structure, and wait until the materials were brought in before pouring the reinforced concrete walls, without delay.

Calculated like this;

If the construction funds can keep up, it will take about two and a half months ~ three months to basically complete the main body of the Humen Fortress. ”

"Hmm...... Very good, I will find a way to deal with the gap in funds, and your local government will try to raise some money, and you can rest assured that the main project of the fortress will be completed as soon as possible. Wu Mozhou decisively made a decision, he turned his head to Major General Mo Rufeng and asked; Your Excellency, what are your plans regarding the garrison of the fortress? ”

"The Afrika Korps side will send a battalion of officers and soldiers to station, with a total of about 400 people, in addition to strengthening a company of artillery, with a front-line combat strength of about 500 people."

"Will there be fewer troops?"

"Please rest assured, this year's recruits are being trained, and the Afrika Korps side will arrange for no less than 300 people to be stationed in the fortress later, and the total strength of the fortress will increase to more than 800 people, which is enough to cope with any contingencies."

Speaking of which

Major General Mo Rufeng looked at Li Yong, who was standing next to him, with a smile on his face, and continued; "What's more, this place is very close to the town of Moldada, Sir Li must not sit idly by, right?"

"But if you have an order, don't dare to disobey." Li Yong hurriedly stepped forward and replied.

"Hmm...... This arrangement is possible. Wu Mozhou nodded thoughtfully.

He was well aware of the family background of the African Expeditionary Legion, which originally had a strength of more than 10,000 troops, but was divided into two after the situation in Mozambique was completely pacified.

At the end of 1886, the newly formed commander of the Mozambican garrison had a force of more than 4,400 men, and only one field division and an independent cavalry battalion remained under the expeditionary corps, with a total strength of less than 6,000 men.

Although 4,000 recruits were subsequently replenished, a considerable number of veterans were also discharged, and the total number of troops remained at more than 7,600.

Considering the vast area of more than one million square kilometers in Mozambique, Pinsuri has to carry out heavy tasks such as escort, encirclement and suppression, combat patrols, etc., which is really not a large number of troops.

The ability to draw more than 800 troops is almost one-ninth of the total strength of the Afrika Korps, which can be regarded as a great level of support.

After everyone discussed for a while, the construction of the Humen Fortress was basically finalized.

The use of a new type of reinforced concrete structure to build the Humen Pass fortress is far more efficient than the traditional way, and the completed fortress structure is also stronger, and the ability to defend against direct artillery fire is stronger.

At present, the most important thing is to erect the main body of the fortress first, have a reliable defense capability, and then gradually build the auxiliary facilities of the fortress in the later stage, so there is no hurry.

After everything is settled

The people on the hillside walked down one after another, preparing to return to the town of Molgada.

Mo Rufeng motioned to Wu Mozhou to stay for the time being, he still had something to say;

"Lord Soza;

As you must know, the Afrika Korps has a heavy task of encircling and suppressing the armed resistance of sporadic black tribes in Mozambique, and the current strength is not abundant.

In the long run

The Count's plan to attack the Kingdom of Madagascar was put on hold for the time being, but it was not canceled.

By supporting the separatist forces within the Kingdom of Madagascar, we have initially established two large settlers on the island, which require a certain amount of military garrison, and are undoubtedly important as a front-line springboard for future attacks on the Kingdom of Madagascar.

Under these circumstances, in line with the principle of commanding in the vicinity, I considered handing over the Humen Pass Fortress to the Somali Garrison Command.

In this way, it is quite a reasonable arrangement, and I hope that the head office will support the deployment of the Afrika Korps. ”

After saying this, Major General Mo Rufeng's eyes were staring at Chief Manager Wu Mozhou, full of expectation.

The Governor-General of Africa is equivalent to the role of Governor-General, in charge of the military and political power of one side, with jurisdiction over the provinces of Mozambique, Somalia and the Special District of Guinea, and is the immediate boss of the Mozambique Garrison Command and the Somali Garrison Command, and has the right to supervise and recommend to the Afrika Korps.

On the issue of whether or not to transfer the deployment of troops to the local security headquarters at Humen Pass, Major General Mo Rufeng only has the right to make suggestions but not the right to decide; according to the procedure, he must obtain the consent of the African General Administration and report to the General Staff Headquarters, and only after approval can he implement it.

Wu Mozhou knew what he meant;

It is just that he does not want the Humen Pass Fortress to occupy the establishment of the African Corps, and the size of the 800-strong force is not a small number, which is equivalent to the combat effectiveness of two battalions.

If the application is approved by the General Staff of the Army, it will be equivalent to an additional Humen Pass fortress under the command of the Somali garrison, with more than 800 officers and men, which is the strength of six infantry companies plus one artillery company, which will make the local military strength more than 2,000 people, and it will be more comfortable to deal with unexpected situations.

"Well, I think this plan will work, and the reasons are sufficient, and I don't dispute it." Wu Mozhou finally nodded in agreement.

Major General Mo Rufeng breathed a long sigh of relief and said with a smile in a relaxed tone; "Don't hide it from Lord Chief, my troops are indeed stretched, and the Boers in the south near Eswatini are active frequently, and often cross the border into our side, which is a headache.

Two companies of my cavalry battalion have been sent to the south, but because the area is too large to take care of the head, a new cavalry battalion is being prepared to be sent to the south to drive out the Boers who cross the border to capture black slaves.

Therefore, my soldiers are really used as two, and there is no superfluity at all. ”

"Hey, hey, hey...... I know that. Wu Mozhou walked down the hillside, saying as he walked; Those Boers are slave traders, and sooner or later they will have to look good. ”

Wu Mozhou is an old man over half a hundred years old, and his body is fat and his legs are not good, when he went downhill, Mo Rufeng walked beside him and stretched out his hand to help him; "Lord Soza, you look at the road under your feet...... As far as I know, the Red Fort is doing its best to break into the financial markets of Johannesburg, and I am afraid that we will not be allowed to take drastic measures against the Boers, lest we aggravate relations between the two sides. ”

"That's right, the Boers' gold mines are all over Europe, especially the British."

"What Lord Soisa said is that the British have been trying to deal with the Boers for more than a day or two, and this is almost an open secret, but I don't know when to start?"

"That's a matter for the Political Intelligence Department, anyway, one Mozambique is enough for me to worry about, so I don't want to think so much for the time being." Wu Mozhou patted Major General Mo Rufeng's hand with a friendly expression, stood beside the sedan chair and said; "Thank you, general, my old arms and legs can't ride a horse, and I can only sit in a sedan chair."

"Lord Chief, please ......," Major General Mo Rufeng said and took a step back.

This simple sedan chair was carried by four strong black slaves, and a simple awning was built on it, and after Wu Mozhou sat on it, the others got on their horses and followed them, slowly moving in the direction of Morghada Town.