At noon, on Shimen Lake northwest of Anqing, seventeen water boats lined up in a column, rowing back and forth across the steaming lake.
"Every meter and millet they eat, and every coin and silver they receive, are all obtained from Pang Pang people, from thousands of people. Therefore, it is the bounden duty of marines to protect the people. To achieve this duty, marines should become the most elite soldiers. Pang Pang people
I am required to obey the commander's military orders, strictly abide by military discipline and practice hard..."
The marines on the deck howled together, and Tang Erchuan moved his mouth a few times. Although he had to recite it every day, his mind went blank every time he recited it alone. He usually just used it to get by, but fortunately he was able to recite the instructions several times during random checks.
Didn't hit him.
"...the retreating marines will die on the execution ground, but the brave ones who move forward to break the formation will live. There is never a strong enemy in front of the marines!"
At this point Tang Ershuan could remember, and he shouted together with the other soldiers, "Protect! Protect! Protect!"
This was the end of the instruction. After Tang Ershuan wiped the sweat from his forehead, his throat was a little dry and he quickly took a sip of water.
Today is the first combat ability assessment of the Marine Corps. Ranking is based on the unit. It is said that it will involve part of the salary and future officer promotion, so everyone is quite nervous.
On this tanker, there was a marine from the flag team. He looked back and saw that flag general was behind with the captain and helmsman. This assessment also included the water camp. The three of them probably had the highest monthly salary on the ship. They seemed to be better than
Others were even more nervous. Mr. Qi kept looking to the right.
The ship with two red flags on the far right was the captain's seat, and it was also the ship where the commander-in-chief of Shuiying was riding. After a cannon was fired, the flag on it was waving. Tang Erchuan couldn't understand the flag of Shuiying, but the captain and
The helmsman understood, the captain shouted the order, the oarsmen paddled hard, and the sails were adjusted accordingly.
The formation of the cannons began to change, with groups of four ships scattered to both sides. The captain observed the ships in front and behind to prevent collisions with each other. The helmsman and captain kept shouting, asking the sailors to adjust the sails.
There were ships sailing all around, and Tang Erchuan was also nervous. He and several other captains stood on both sides of the ship, holding bamboo poles in their hands to prevent collisions. He heard a noise on the right, followed by a bang, and everyone on the ship started to rush.
Standing up and looking over there, I saw two ships colliding together. The mast shook violently a few times. A sailor standing on it fell down and grabbed a cable fixing the sail in mid-air.
The mast swung in the air, causing another burst of exclamations.
"Don't talk! What's there to see?"
Mr. Qi strode to the front deck, grabbed a cable, looked sideways for a while, and asked Tang Ershuan next to him, "You have good eyesight. Count the ships we hit."
Which game is it from?"
Tang Ershuan squinted his eyes for a moment and said carefully, "General Flag, it seems that there are three flags in four rounds, and one flag in three rounds."
As he spoke, the two ships had slowed down, and the soldiers on the deck hurriedly tried to separate the two ships.
"A good thing, a good thing." Mr. Qi turned to the boat and shouted, "The fourth round and the third round have collided. Let's compete with the first round and the second round for the first place. Let's go ashore more quickly. No one can hold me back."
Tang Ershuan returned to his team and counted the people again. Apart from him, only one of the team commanders in the team was a veteran. The Marines performed well during the Hezhou reconnaissance, Pukou landing and Chuzhou campaign, and were given the opportunity to expand. The original personnel were
More than half of Chuzhou's casualties were lost, and the remaining dozens of people were basically promoted. Because there were really not enough officers, five people were even transferred from the army camp.
Tang Ershuan is the acting captain of a small team of the Second Flag Team of the First Bureau. Because of his excellent performance when crossing the Qingliu River, he directly skipped the step of team leader. He can become the official captain only after passing the assessment. At that time, he can get a five-cent increase.
A monthly salary, but Tang Ershuan did not feel lucky. Now that he had ten people under his charge, he had more to worry about than when he was a top soldier before.
"Fortunately, I didn't get promoted to Flag Commander." Tang Erchuan thought in his heart, and his eyes unconsciously looked towards Flag Commander. Flag Commander needs to read the flag and listen to the drum trumpet. Not only does he need to understand the several formations of the team, he also needs to understand the three formations.
The formation of the flag team, and now the formation of the ships, has changed from the marching snake formation to the one-line formation. Each ship transports a flag team, plus the troops directly under the command of General Bai, there are four ships in one round.
, all the marines were on board the seventeen ships, which could deliver troops to the shore in the shortest possible time. I have already mentioned this before, but Tang Ershuan thought about it for a long time and still didn't understand what the difference was between sequential landings and one-time landings.
, there are so many people on the left and right.
"Reef sail! Paddle!"
The captain shouted from behind again, and the sailors shouted slogans, slowly lowering the sails into a pile. The oarsmen paddled hard, and the helmsman behind controlled the direction, and the ship accelerated forward, each round opened.
After a long distance, the four ships inside also began to convert into a linear shape, and the fifteen ships gradually lined up in a row and headed towards the shore, with the two ships that collided falling behind.
Ahead is a beach on the west side of Shimen Lake, with only a few reeds. The boat is close to the shore, and the rowers start to paddle backwards. When the speed of the boat slows down, the person holding the bamboo pole inserts the bamboo pole forward, and the boat stops one after another.
Marines and sailors put the foot boats on both sides into the water together. Two sailors grabbed the thick ropes along the side of the boat and slid down, followed by the marines. Each boat could transport six soldiers at a time, but usually it transported one corps.
Cao boats are neither troop carriers nor landing ships. They are mainly used for transporting passengers and cargo to the docks. They are generally not equipped with foot boats. Shuiying's cao boats have just been modified and are used for landings in non-pier areas.
Although there have been several trainings, there were still many problems in the transfer process. People fell into the water from each boat, and the boat capsized in the third round. In the chaos and tension, Tang Erchuan finally got on the boat, and the hull left and right
Shaking violently, he quickly crouched down and waited for other soldiers.
With everyone on their backs, the boat swayed towards the shore, until the bow of the boat rose after shaking. Tang Erchuan knew that the bottom of the boat was held up by the mud, so he quickly said hello and took the lead to slide from the bow into the water. The mud under his feet swallowed his
knee.
There were densely packed figures on the lake beach. Hundreds of marines jumped into the water and advanced one step deeper and the other shallowly in the mud.
"The shoes are finished."
Only then did Tang Ershuan remember that he had forgotten to stuff his cloth shoes into his arms before entering the water. No officer saw it. Fortunately, there was a ferry crossing later. He could wash his shoes clean without worrying about being criticized when he returned to the camp to inspect the equipment. He quickly used the flag gun.
The pillar was stuck in the mud, and he trudged toward the shore.
"The people from Yiqi are running ahead. How can we lose to them? Let's hurry up!"
Someone was shouting next to him. Tang Ershuan turned around and took a look. It was his soldier Lu Xianfeng. He was not a veteran. He only joined the Marine Corps when it was expanded. He seemed to particularly like military life. He was physically strong and tried to take the lead in everything, but he had a temper.
Guilty was not able to become a team leader, but he did things like boosting morale, and he was more like a captain than Tang Ershuan.
After a while, they landed on the shore. Tang Erchuan hurriedly counted them. Fortunately, there were not many people. The soldiers were cleaning up the mud, and the quick ones had already put on their shoes. There were boats on the lake, and the soldiers who had come ashore encouraged the flag team.
Those who had just landed reported the numbers loudly, and the officers kept shouting orders. The shore was very lively, and some farmers in the nearby fields watched from a distance when they heard it.
When the last group of people landed and the formation of the two flags was completed, the captain of the flags counted them all and quickly ran to the General Office to report. The other two flags and directly subordinate personnel then counted them. The General Manager did not delay at all, and after a whistle sounded
The whole group marched quickly southward along the river. Some people who landed late were hopping on one foot while quickly putting on their shoes.
The shoes were slippery inside, so Tang Ershuan didn't dare to take them off and stuff them into his arms. He strode forward with a sullen expression. Normally, these five miles were nothing to him, but these shoes were a bit in the way today, so he might as well go barefoot.
.
The five-mile journey was quickly completed with the sound of booming footsteps. Tang Ershuan still remembered to check the team on the way. The most important thing was not to leave anyone, otherwise it would be a big mistake. When the final points were counted, the results would be invalid if there were less people.
He won't stop until he's beaten to death.
When they arrived at the stopping position of the first round, President Bai howled loudly, the flag bearers waved, and everyone stopped and lined up. They were the first to arrive. The soldiers distanced themselves, and everyone gasped for breath. President Bai did not immediately give an order.
, but kept paying attention to the back. He had to let the soldiers take a break before they were chasing after him.
Tang Ershuan was wearing leather armor. He got it when he was in Nanjing, and he has been wearing it ever since. It is much lighter than the chain armor he had tried before, and it is not as stuffy as the scale armor. Although it is already October, the temperature has happened to be up again these two days.
It was a little higher, but it was still hot and uncomfortable after running at this time.
After adjusting the breath for a moment, the flag of the second game appeared on the road. The chief executive blew the whistle, and then the flag captain howled, and more than a hundred people from all over the world rushed into the river on the left.
This river is the waterway from Shimen Lake to the Wan River. The water flow is relatively gentle. The water surface in this section is about fifty steps wide and the water depth requires floating. More than a hundred people stirred the river surface until the water was boiling, like a boiling pot.
Tang Ershuan swam sideways with one hand, holding the flag gun close to his side and raising it high to indicate the position to the soldiers and avoid poking the people next to him. His vision was blurred by the water flow. After a few strokes, he had to raise his head to count the number of people, but there were splashes everywhere.
Where can I see clearly for a moment?
After fluttering to the other side, the formation was a little scattered. Tang Ershuan hurriedly stood on the riverside, raised his flag gun, and asked the team members to assemble as soon as possible.
Before the drowned Marines lined up, a wave of arrows fell from the sky, hitting their helmets with a dull thud, and a group of cavalry ran on the side.
Fifty steps away on the shore was a row of archers. One fell down in front of Tang Er Shuan. The arrow was lighter than ordinary light arrows, and it was not pointed. It was also wrapped with a layer of cloth. Tang Er Shuan had experienced the Battle of Qingliu River and always felt that
It's quite different from a real bow and arrow.
But even this was enough to panic a large number of recruits. Some of them were hit in the face by arrows and immediately covered their faces and screamed. There was a lot of yelling and screaming at the waterside. The officers shouted hoarsely, kicking and pulling the confused recruits.
.
"Come up here, I can't kill you bastard with this arrow!"
In the commotion, Lu Xianfeng's voice sounded clearly next to him. Tang Ershuan looked back and saw Lu Xianfeng dragging people. He suddenly became excited and quickly inserted the flag gun into the mud. He returned to the river and recognized himself.
The people in the small team dragged them ashore and asked them to stand under the flag.
The arrows fired from the opposite side continued, sometimes throwing and sometimes shooting flatly. Tang Erchuan was cursing in his heart while pulling people in. The archers in Lu Ying were not good at it. They usually only asked for far more accuracy than accuracy. I never thought they were as accurate as today.
.
According to the steps of the drill, they need to count the number of people before launching an attack. They must rush to the archer's position in an offensive formation and knock down a row of scarecrows before the attack ends.
With the efforts of all the officers and corps commanders, there was no one in the river. Tang Ershuan confirmed again that there was no one in the river next to him, and then hurried back to his flag gun. The formation of each flag team was a bit chaotic, but
The flag general's recognition flag was raised. The patterns of each flag team were different and very easy to identify. The front line of a bureau was not long, and the soldiers would quickly find their own team.
When he got the flag gun, Lu Xianfeng pulled him and said in a panic, "The second team is missing one."
"ah!?"
…
"Your Majesty, the exercise has ended at this point. The Zhenfu soldiers have picked up a total of thirty-two pieces of weapons and equipment lost by each department in various places, including thirteen weapons, all in each bureau. The second land battle bureau is in the first place, and one person is injured.
, three games were in third place, two people were injured, four games no one was injured but fell to the end, one game was already in second place, one person was injured... and one person is missing."
Under the red guerrilla recognition flag a hundred steps away, Pang Yu nodded slightly after listening to Yang Xueshi's report. Today is a test of the combat capabilities of the entire Marine Corps, and it is also an exercise. He has been leading troops for some time, and Pang Yu knows that being a soldier is far away.
Far from just killing people with knives, the losses of soldiers are not only on the battlefield. This time, troops from the Marine Corps were mobilized to simulate the combat scenarios of Marines as much as possible, allowing the soldiers to gain some combat experience.
"Where did it disappear?"
"It was right at the place where we crossed the river. He was still there during the roll call before crossing the river. The corps commander and above from the first round went down to the river to search."
Pang Yu didn't say much. It's not like the marines and water battalions didn't die when they were training on the river. But if people died on such a short ferry, it would be unjustifiable, because when selecting soldiers, their water properties were tested, and the worst
He can also swim five hundred steps.
"Ask everyone here who is proficient in water properties to help. Inspections from other Marine Corps bureaus will continue as usual."
Yang Xueshi felt a little guilty. Although it had nothing to do with him directly, he was responsible for the inspection after all. After hearing this, he quickly summoned the nearby soldiers who knew how to use water and quickly went to the first station.
More and more people are participating in the search in the river, and officers are walking downstream one after another. It seems that the missing soldier is in danger.
Pang Yu is generally very satisfied with this exercise. After returning from Nanjing, there have been no large-scale movements of nearby bandits. The weather is also suitable during this period, so the garrison battalion is training hard. The three divisions of the land camp have completed their combat assessments one after another. Pang Yu
Yu hopes to get the marines into combat strength as soon as possible, and the missing soldiers can only be regarded as a minor flaw.
There was a sound of hoofbeats behind him, and Pang Yu did not look back. A moment later, He Xianya's voice sounded from behind, saying that he was now working in the Chengfa Room of the Garrison Mansion.
"Sir, Shi Daotai invites you to go to Taihu Lake."
"Did Master Daotai say anything?"
"Prime Minister Lu was transferred to Xuanda University, and the new Prime Minister for the suppression of bandits in the five provinces is Wang Jiazhen, who is stationed in Kaifeng. Shi Daotai is worried that bandits will become rampant during the transition between the old and the new, so he probably wants to arrange with you how to control the bandits along the mountain."
Pang Yu frowned. It had only been a year since Lu Xiangsheng took office. The great victory of Chuzhou had curbed the development of rogue bandits in Jiangbei. Gao Yingxiang had just been arrested. The situation in the Central Plains was improving. As soon as all parties got familiar with it, they were immediately transferred away. In terms of personnel, it was not
Appropriate. From September until the beginning of next spring, it is the peak period of rogue bandit activities. It is now October, and Pang Yu can already imagine that the rogue bandits are coming out one after another. Changing the commander at this time is definitely not a good idea.
In the summer of previous years, rogue bandits mainly spent their summers in the mountainous areas at the junction of Shaanxi, Henan, and Huguang. But this year, there are several groups of rogues operating in the Dabie Mountains north of Anqing, and they are not small groups. Even in August, there were Ma Shouying and Hun Shiwan
Two groups of bandits are operating in Fengdu's jurisdiction.
In the past two years, they have become familiar with the Jiangbei area and have a tendency to use the Dabie Mountains as a stronghold. Spring and summer are the low ebbs of rogue bandit activity, and entering the mountains for summer also consumes their material reserves. As the weather turns cooler, another rogue bandit activity occurs.
The peak of the peak is coming soon. After the autumn harvest, food and grass are abundant in various places, and the weather is also suitable for marching. Out of the need to seize survival materials, the bandits must come out of the mountains, and it does not depend on the strength of the official army. If the official army is strong, they will be killed at most.
If you leave the mountain, you will definitely starve to death, so going out to plunder is the only option.
As the most important water and land route in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, Anqing's situation this year is more severe than last year, because the bandits in the nine years of Chongzhen did not pass through here, and a certain amount of wealth can be gathered in one year, making it more attractive than the dilapidated Hezhou area.
Under such circumstances, Pang Yu definitely did not think that it would be beneficial to Anqing's defense for a newcomer to serve as the premier of the five provinces.
"Then let's go and listen to Shi Daotai's advice."