"There are so many difficulties in the world, I don't care about your so-called difficulties, I only know that the banditry in western Hubei has not been pacified for a long time, and it has been more than ten years now. Repeated successes, but only ten months to commit it again, again and again, is this a concealment or dereliction of duty? ”

The nature of the matter was elevated to the level of deception and dereliction of duty, and the emperor's attitude was already obvious.

Lin Xi, who is indirectly related to this matter, has been criticized, although he is completely unaware, but he has to be held responsible in his position, which has nothing to complain about.

The other ministers had their own affairs to do, so he made a phone call to the staff office of the Grand Governor's Office.

"Whyzao, what's going on? It's just three things, I'm afraid that the report of the Hubei Governor's Mansion is false. ”

Hearing Lin Xi's helpless words, he looked helpless, and said with a wry smile: "Your time in the cabinet is very short, and it is normal to not know the situation, the bandits in these two places are like this every time, they can't be caught, and if they are caught, they often let them slip away, and it takes a lot of effort to suppress them, and most of them are wiped out every time, and few of the rest escape......

"And then it will come back to life?" Lin Xi, who had been criticized, was in a bad mood at the moment, he "tsked" for a moment, and said in a deep voice: "This matter can be described as shocking to the government and the opposition, and it should not be underestimated, we must cut it to the roots!" ”

"Cutting the grass and eradicating the roots? My old Lin Ge, what you said is light, but how many people and things do you have to do it? ”

"No, it's about the prestige of the imperial court, it's a political issue, regardless of the cost and expense."

In fact, in Cheng Han's view, taking the initiative to suppress these stubborn bandits is very much worth the loss.

In the past, it was not without precedent, and the dispatch of large armies cost a lot every day, and in the end, it often took several months to achieve certain results, and in the end some remnants of bandits would slip away. Especially after the defeat, it is even more difficult for the remnants of the bandits to trace them.

With the same cost, it is better to strengthen the defense and garrison of the surrounding states and counties.

But since the order is so, it can only be done.

Since it is "shocking the government and the opposition", this matter is naturally known to Zhou Changfeng.

However, after being surprised, he just complained, and then continued to get busy with business.

The "cross-regional exercise" he applied to the military headquarters a few years ago was finally approved, so the entire 1st Marine Regiment was in full swing preparing for it.

The so-called "meeting exercise" is actually a joint exercise, and the exercise process applied for this time is to set off from Tianfu, go to Wuxi Prefecture in the form of a field march, and then conduct landing training at Taihu Lake.

The middle distance was more than 370 miles, and the reason why it was not transported by rail was because Zhou Changfeng felt that it was harmless to carry out a long-distance field march training by the way.

In the early morning of the 17th day of the first lunar month, more than 4,000 officers and men of the regiment immediately set out after completing their equipment on the riverside.

Since it is known as the place where the elite of the whole army gathers, all the officers and men of the 1st Marine Regiment can be called well-trained. Even the so-called "recruits" have undergone a full three-month recruit training.

At that time, the navy was very strict in the selection of soldiers - at most one of the military assessment results of individual soldiers was allowed to be good, and all others had to be excellent, so as to be eligible for transfer to the Marine Corps.

After a month of running-in, the unit composed of such a group of officers and soldiers quickly formed a certain combat effectiveness, but Zhou Changfeng thought that this was just a passing grade.

"You have to pay attention to this way, if there is a disturbance to the people, I will be embarrassed by someone who has a copy of ginseng."

Yao Liangchuan took off his square half-rimmed glasses, blew them, and put them back on.

Zhou Changfeng raised his hand and looked at his watch, and replied casually: "It must be avoided as much as possible, but any situation can happen, and it is better to be 100% precautionary than to prevent it from 20% and make up for it." ”

In the early spring, everything will begin to recover, and the desolation of autumn and winter has not yet completely faded.

Unlike the Mixed 3rd Brigade, which is fully motorized, the 1st Marine Regiment can only be said to be half-horse-drawn and half-motorized -- artillery units and regimental baggage units are equipped with trucks for towing and transporting goods, while the subordinate battalions are still mainly mules and horses, with only a small number of motorcycles and off-road vehicles.

The long procession marched on the wide concrete road, dusty, and the trees on both sides of the road were still bare, and the buds of new branches and leaves were just emerging.

The sun rises and the moon sets, and the sun sets and the moon rises.

The Marine Corps' code of conduct and doctrine are in many ways copied from the Army, at least in terms of marching rules.

The 1st Marine Regiment marched along the official road to the destination in accordance with the standard march in wartime, passing through Jurong County, Danyang County, and Wujin County, and the marching speed was maintained at about 40 km per day, which was the standard speed of regular marching.

The whole group can be said to be a little elated, after all, after boring training for so long, how fresh it is to be able to "go on a long trip".

However, it backfired, and along the way, Zhou Changfeng tossed everyone a lot.

At one moment, it was "encountering enemy mines, and immediately organizing their removal"; at other times, they were "discovering the enemy's airdropped delayed aerial bombs and organizing detonation of them," and at another time, they were "suddenly encountering one of the enemy's parts and changing to a combat posture on the spot."

All these things came every once in a while, so that the officers and men suddenly lost a little bit of their original enthusiasm.

"There are still five miles left before the scheduled big resting place, regiment commander, about two quarters of an hour to arrive."

"Oh, so fast, in this way, give the order, find the enemy reconnaissance plane, all the staff are hidden on the spot, and prepare for air defense."

Zhao Hanfeng had a bitter face and hesitated: "I only practiced yesterday afternoon, do you still want it today?" Then I am afraid I won't be able to make it to the camp tonight. ”

"Hey, you're a staff officer, how can you not take this kind of thing into account?" Zhou Changfeng waved his hand, "The actual combat situation is changing rapidly, if there is a battle, it is difficult to rush on time against the enemy's air raid." ”

"Yes. After the end of the air defense posture later, the whole army turned to a rapid march and accelerated for two hours, so that it could reach Wuxi before sunset. ”

"No problem, you can organize and adjust."

Soon, the shrill air defense sirens sounded.

Several signal soldiers shook the hand-cranked alarm in their hands vigorously, and the mournful and piercing sound startled the tired soldiers.

"Quick! Air defense stance! ”

"Get out of the way!"

"Damn, how did the camouflage net fold yesterday? It's a mess! ”

"Deal with rut marks! Bring a shovel! ”

Although there were some fragmentary mistakes, the whole team still completed the initial concealment in just half an hour.

Soldiers lay on both sides of the road, artillery, trucks, and tanks were parked under trees and covered with camouflage nets; More than a dozen anti-aircraft machine guns belonging to the battalion and regiment were also deployed, and the slender barrels were pointed diagonally towards the sky.

"Look, the progress is still obvious, and it's getting stronger every time."

From the initial procrastination and confusion to the current rapidity, it can be said that the progress of the 1st Marine Regiment is considerable, and Zhou Changfeng is very satisfied with this.

He put down the binoculars, crossed his waist and ordered: "Later, the big break will turn into a small rest, and then speed up, and rush to Wuxi before dark, and the marching drill will be successfully over." Send a report to the local county government and ask them to prepare some ingredients and have a good meal tonight. ”

(End of chapter)