Chapter 1289 A different military exercise

Compared with the various banquets and delicacies along the way, the meals the inspection team enjoyed at the Danzhou garrison base were relatively simple. There was no sumptuous reception banquet arranged to entertain them, but they were simply arranged to eat in the officers' canteen at the base.

But this is not a bad thing for Liu Shang. He has eaten too much oil and water along the way, and his stomach has become a little unbearable. It would be good to eat some simple home-cooked food to adjust.

While eating, Liu Shang also paid attention to the Haihan officers who came in and out of the meal. These officers were all wearing gray military uniforms, and their different branches and ranks could only be distinguished from their collar badges and armbands.

Their hair is cut extremely short and their skin is tanned. From their appearance, it is impossible to tell whether they are originally Han, Li, Miao or from other surrounding countries.

There was also an accompanying officer, Lu Ting, in the inspection team. However, he was a scholar. He joined the Sanya Militia in his early years, and was later transferred to the regular army as a clerk. He also worked as a lecturer at the Military Museum in Victory Port for two years, and because of his eloquence, he

He also had a certain cultural foundation, so he was transferred to the Political Propaganda Department of the Ministry of National Defense, specializing in propaganda work. Although Lu Ting was a civilian officer, he joined the army earlier and had been working as an errand in the agency, so his military rank was not low.

The collar badge symbolizing the major is enough for most of the officers here to take the initiative to salute him.

But when he was halfway through the meal, Lu Ting suddenly put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth and stood up, raising his hand to salute a military salute. Before Liu Shang could recover, he saw other people in the room also starting to express their gratitude.

Stand up quickly, even Yu Xiaobao stood up. Liu Shang knew that a big shot was coming, so he didn't bother to look back, so he stood up first before talking.

The visitor came directly to the table next to Liu Shang: "I heard that the inspection team is here, so I came over to see everyone."

Only then did Liu Shang see clearly that the person coming was a middle-aged officer in his forties, surrounded by a group of officers. Although they were all wearing the same military uniform, his collar badge did not have a rank mark, only a red and blue one.

The Haihan national flag logo. But looking at the reactions of the people in the room, this person is obviously a very high-status figure. Thinking about the few words he heard before, Liu Shang guessed that the person in front of him was Yan Chujie, the head of the Haihan Ministry of National Defense.

In the Ming Dynasty, he was as big a figure as the Minister of War. No wonder the room full of cultural relics officials stood up.

The people on the inspection team naturally respected Yu Xiaobao's official position, and he and Yan Chujie had known each other for many years and had long been like family members. At that moment, because of Xiaobao's appearance, they briefly exchanged greetings with Yan Chujie and briefly talked about it.

The conditions seen everywhere along the way.

Yan Chujie just came over to say hello and encouraged everyone. Then he called the officer in charge of logistics at the garrison base and asked him to add some more dishes to the inspection team. Everyone thanked them quickly. Of course, this was not their food.

The level is really low. It's just that the boss shows consideration for his subordinates and does enough work on the scene.

Everyone sent Yan Chujie off respectfully, and then sat down to continue eating. However, the grassroots officials who rarely had the opportunity to see such a big shot couldn't help but be very excited. Several people couldn't help but whisper to each other that Yan Chujie would come to Danzhou to command the army.

The reason for acting.

Liu Shang is naturally thinking about this issue as well, but the outside world knows very little about the situation of the Haihan military. Apart from a few outstanding military generals, the most talked about thing about the Haihan military is that they are invincible.

The past achievements of this powerful armed force have been revealed, but the outside world knows very little about the organization, garrison arrangements, weapons equipment, combat methods, deployment status, etc. of this powerful armed force. They want to use limited information to speculate on the movements and intentions of its leaders.

, it was actually too difficult. Liu Shang listened to others' discussions and pondered it secretly in his heart, but still had no clue.

Yu Xiaobao naturally noticed everyone's discussion and ended the topic: "You don't have to guess anymore. The military's arrangements are always kept secret, so just wait and see the military exercises!"

After everyone finished eating, they returned to the barracks. They did not have much freedom of movement here. Without the permission of the military, no one, including Yu Xiaobao, could move around the barracks at will. Although this would inevitably be a bit disturbing.

It feels like house arrest, but the confidentiality regulations require this, so they can only abide by the system.

But not long after, an officer came and informed them that they would set off with the troops tomorrow morning to participate in the next three days of military exercise observation activities. This news naturally made everyone excited, but Liu Shang was thinking about this military exercise.

It lasted for three days, and the scale of this operation was probably not as high as calling out troops at the school grounds and doing a drill in the military camp.

Liu Shang didn't know that the Haihan military exercise was very different from the Ming Dynasty's military exercise. It was not a show-off to deal with superior officials and defraud the court of military expenses, but a real exercise to practice actual combat tactics in a wild environment.

And there are often large observation groups participating. These observers include officials from Haihan, some specially invited guests with special status, and even senior military officers who come from other countries to participate. Like

There are at least three or four teams of observers like them living in this base alone.

Yu Xiaobao was afraid that everyone would be overly excited and affect their mental state the next day, so he asked everyone to turn off the lights and rest early. Liu Shang was lying on the bed, but he couldn't help but continue to wonder about the truth about Haihan's military exercise until after

It wasn't until midnight that I couldn't bear the exhaustion and fell asleep.

Early the next morning, Liu Shang woke up to the loud wake-up call. He was not unfamiliar with such sounds. When he lived in a training center in Sanya, he could hear the wake-up call from the army base next to him every morning.

.But Liu Shang did not expect that one day he would live in the Haihan Military Camp. When he woke up from the sound of the trumpet, he was a little confused about where he was.

After getting up, washing up, and having breakfast, an officer came to inform them that they were ready to set off. Except for a small number of personal items that were needed every day, they did not need to carry too much luggage on the road.

What picked them up outside the barracks were still the same carriages that had brought them to the barracks. Just as Liu Shang had expected, the carriages were heading towards Danzhou Bay and were probably going to sea with the navy. They left the barracks.

At that time, they noticed that the garrison here was also marching slowly outside the camp, presumably to participate in this military exercise.

However, not far after leaving the military camp, the carriage turned around and headed towards the north of Danzhou Bay. It seemed that it did not intend to go to the Baimajing Pier where they landed when they came. Sure enough, the direction changed and they headed along Danzhou Bay.

They made a big circle on the coast and crossed two bridges before returning to the coastline. After getting off the car, Liu Shang looked at the sun, then looked at the entrance of Danzhou Bay clearly visible on the sea in the distance, and judged that

His position is exactly on the easternmost coast of Danzhou Bay, which is also the farthest place from the exit of the bay. Liu Shang visually estimated that the straight-line distance between here and Baimajing Pier in the west is at least about ten miles. Could it be that the military exercise arranged by Haihan is in

This place?

But Liu Shang's doubts were soon dispelled. There was a fully equipped sailboat waiting for their arrival on the dock on the shore. The Haihan military flag was hung on the mast of the sailboat, indicating the identity of the ship.

At that moment, someone had already asked the officer leading the way, since we were going to sea, why not board the ship directly at Baimajing Pier. Although the officer's tone was very polite, he did not reveal anything at all: "This is the arrangement of the command, I just follow it.

Execute the order and bring you here to board the ship. I don’t know the other situation. You only need to board the ship, and the next actions will be arranged by the officers on the ship."

Among this group of people, perhaps only Yu Xiaobao and Lu Ting, who is an officer, know better why there is such an arrangement. It is obvious that there are some secrets at Baimajing Pier that cannot be opened to non-military personnel.

That's why they were specially arranged to take a carriage detour here to get on the ship. As for whether there is any new equipment there that has not yet been publicly unveiled, or whether it is special personnel whose identities are too sensitive to be shown, it is not known for the time being.

Although Danzhou Bay is large, there are actually only two or three military docks. The military cannot arrange for them to board the ship at Baimajing Pier, so they can only send them here. Although the location is a bit remote, it is still possible to go out to sea by boat.

It won't waste too much time.

After boarding the ship, the sailors on the ship unmoored and raised the sails, and set sail for the exit of the bay in the west. It seemed that they were the only passengers on the ship, but there were several troop transport ships like this docked at

On the shore, it seems that there may be other visitors who will board the boat and go out to sea from here.

Sure enough, not far from the dock, Liu Shang saw several more carriages parked on the dock, and many people got out of the carriages. However, they were far away and could not see these people clearly.

Their clothes and attire make it impossible to infer their identities.

When the ship they were traveling on approached the mouth of Danzhou Bay, Liu Shang discovered that all the warships he had seen when he came yesterday had disappeared from the berths at the docks on the shore. It seemed that they had set off first.

However, they saw that the ship they came on was still at the berth where it docked yesterday. The ship they originally took was also an official ship. The sailors and crew on board were all employees of the Ministry of Shipping, but they still could not participate in this event.

Among those observing the military exercise, it can be seen that the level of confidentiality is indeed quite high.

After the ship sailed out of Danzhou Bay, it turned north. Only then did the naval officers on the ship finally show up and brief them on the general arrangements for the military exercise.

In fact, similar large-scale military exercises are basically held in the Beibu Gulf every summer. The only difference is the size of the participating troops and the number of military subjects practiced. The Ministry of National Defense named this military exercise "Leap Over", and the annual military exercises include

The year is used to indicate the difference. For example, this year's military exercise was named the "Stride 1635" exercise in accordance with the command principle.

Liu Shang didn't understand why Haihan's way of counting dates was so weird. He didn't understand where 1635 came from. He only knew that this year was the year of Yihai, which was also the eighth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty. These Haihan people had too many tricks, and he didn't understand.

It is impossible to understand all their customs and habits.

The officer continued to introduce that last year, because the Haihan Army had constant foreign missions in the first half of the year, the scale of the exercise was relatively small. It was only organized by the garrison in the Qiongbei area to conduct a one-and-a-half-day amphibious landing exercise. But this year, the Ministry of National Defense has formulated

The exercise plan is the largest in recent years. Not only are the navy and the army drawn from the garrisons from all over Hainan Island, but also the Annan navy who came specially to participate in the exercise, and the Guangxi navy, which made Liu Shang frown after hearing this.

The Navy and the Haihan Army estimate that more than 2,000 troops will be involved in the exercise, and the foreign military estimates that the total strength will be just over 3,000. It is a major operation that will last for three days, and the scale is indeed not small.

How much strength the navy in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions still has is something that Liu Shang's camp has never fully understood. The Haihan Navy had already controlled several major seaports in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions a few years ago, and

The functions and scope of activities of the Ming Dynasty Navy have shrunk day by day, and it has basically been reduced to the river navy. A large number of sailors even switched to serve in the Haihan Army under the secret recruitment of Hai Hanming. The navy in many areas along the coast of Guangdong and Guangxi

It has long existed in name only, leaving only a short establishment.

Liu Shang has not heard of any remaining naval forces in the coastal areas of Guangxi, and they can be brought by the Haihan Navy. The only possibility is that the Guangxi Navy probably only relies on the Daming Navy.

The organization is actually a puppet army that takes orders from the Haihan military.

There are many countries invited to send representatives to visit the Haihan military exercise this time. In addition to the Ming and Guangxi governments, there are also Annam, Champa, Siam, Matalan, Portugal, the Netherlands and many other countries.

Coupled with the observation groups sent by departments such as the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Ordnance Industry, and the Ministry of Shipping, such as the inspection team, there were hundreds of spectators watching the military exercise alone.

Liu Shang couldn't help but feel puzzled when he heard this. The Haihan Army had clearly set a confidentiality threshold for this military exercise. It was just asking people from relevant yamen in the country to come and see it. Why did they specially invite foreigners to come and see it? This was not a show.

Are all the secrets gone? But he immediately thought about it. Of course, this kind of military exercise is also a good opportunity to show off one's power to other countries. He deliberately took this opportunity to show off his force. After the military exercise was over, he also promoted and sold weapons. What's the point?

Not flattering?

Haihan's arms sales business is as famous as its military performance. As far as Liu Shang knows, the Fujian military is probably the largest buyer of Haihan arms and equipment in the Ming Dynasty. Coastal areas, especially the navy, are almost exclusively equipped with equipment.

In recent years, even warships have been gradually upgraded to weapons made by Haihan. In the South China Sea countries such as Annam and Champa, their main armies were built by Haihan and purchased from Haihan every year.

The amount of armaments is not a small amount. Haihan invited representatives from various countries to come and observe, presumably with the intention of taking the opportunity to sell arms.
Chapter completed!