Chapter 2167 - A New Battle

Xu Ke had arrived yesterday. Not long after arriving, boats had successively delivered weapons captured in battle and prisoners.

Among these weapons, there were quite a few well-crafted firearms, especially a dozen or so bird guns and light Folangji cannons—things bandits rarely possessed.

In previous security pacification operations, they had captured bandit firearms before, but those were mostly crude tube-type firearms crafted by village blacksmiths, outwardly imitating government weapons but extremely rough in quality and inaccurate in design—clearly counterfeit and inferior products at a glance. Even under great maritime lords like Zheng Zhilong, many of the cannons and muskets on board were quite crude private castings.

These bandits' weapons were clearly standard-issue Great Ming government military weapons!

Could it be that all the bandits were supported by Xiong Wencan? On second thought, support was perhaps possible, but Xiong Wencan likely didn't have the ability to directly supply weapons to bandits—most of these things were probably captured from the Ming army, or simply brought by scattered Ming troops. This was evident from the confessions obtained in preliminary interrogations; about one-third of the captives were former government soldiers.

The Yao rebellion had destroyed many Ming military outposts and encampments, captured several county seats, and government firearms had dispersed widely, seized not only by Yao militias but also flowing into bandit hands along with the scattered soldiers.

No wonder the current security situation had become so complex, Xu Ke thought. Scattered soldiers and lost firearms had directly or indirectly strengthened the bandit and Yao militia forces. Back in the day, the most combat-effective forces under Li Zicheng were also mutinied garrison troops from the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region of the Ming army.

This infusion of personnel and firearms was reflected not only in equipment but also in combat: these wooden cannons were proof.

This was the first time he had seen wooden cannons—he had heard of this primitive firearm: using a thick, hard-grained trunk, they would hollow out a chamber inside to use as a cannon. In the north, old elm was commonly used; in Liangguang, ironwood and lychee wood were preferred.

Such non-metal cannons had appeared in both Asia and Europe. The Korean army had used wooden cannons during the Imjin War, and the Swedes and Russians had used leather cannons. Whether leather or hardwood, both lacked the strength and toughness of bronze and iron, so these cannons couldn't be loaded with too much gunpowder, and the cannonballs they could fire weren't large either—mostly grapeshot, with a 4-pounder being quite large, and the range wasn't far. They weren't durable either; after firing several times, they would typically deform and crack. Korean wooden cannons had also experienced breech explosions in combat, which was why the government troops they had previously encountered didn't equip such things.

The few wooden cannons before him were lychee wood—a common local tree species. The chambers were drilled accurately, clearly not done by hand but using some kind of hand-crank drill rod. Touching them, the inner walls were smooth, apparently polished. Though the bore diameter was pitifully small compared to the outer diameter, they could probably fire a 4-pounder ball. Iron hoops had also been added to the wooden bodies.

Although they were carefully made, wooden cannons were still far easier to produce for bandits than iron cannons. Lychee wood and ironwood were found everywhere locally. Not durable? Just throw them away when they break.

Though crude and heavy, these things could still achieve results in battle if properly positioned and fired at the right time. In this ambush, the bandits sinking the gunboat, while partly a case of blind luck, had shown clear effectiveness.

"...Without a doubt, the bandits we face are not ordinary gangs or local ruffians; they're more like irregular forces mixed with Ming army soldiers. Both in equipment and combat effectiveness, they're far stronger than ordinary bandit groups," Xu Ke summarized. "Analyzing recent security battle reports, it's evident that the bandit leaders have considerable military expertise—very likely including Ming army officers."

"It's three parties ganging up against us alone now." Bei Wei smiled. "But that's actually good. The reason bandits are hard to deal with is that they're small, scattered, and mobile. Now that they're gathering together to make big moves, it's actually beneficial to our suppression operations."

Xu Ke said, "But if we let them continuously capture towns and strongholds, it will negatively impact our political prestige along both banks of the West River, so we must consider the political factors."

Bei Wei nodded. "So we still need to implement Xue Ziliang's old method."

"Village consolidation?"

"Yes. Our troops are too few to protect every village," Bei Wei pointed at the map under the glass plate. "Large villages have many able-bodied men and can defend themselves; small villages have almost no defensive capability. Merge small villages into one with better defensive conditions, organize militia, and they'll develop a certain self-defense capability. Only then can we effectively guard against bandit raids, and only then can we free our hands to hunt down bandits—otherwise, the troops will be running themselves ragged.

"The banks of the West River are our priority security zone and the main agricultural area of these riverside counties, concentrating most of the population and farmland, so our security focus is here." Bei Wei glanced at the three naturalized officers at this point. Operational considerations didn't need to be explained to naturalized officers, but he felt it would be better to share a bit, so they could start developing a holistic awareness now. "You all need to have a sense of the big picture now; don't just limit yourselves to roles like garrison captain or infantry company commander."

"Yes!" All three stood at attention.

Next, Bei Wei announced new orders: Mi Longtao was appointed as the Mobile Security Team Leader of the Three Counties of Cangwu, Fengchuan, and Yu'nan, fully responsible for security operations in these three counties. He would have unified command over the garrison troops of these three counties in combat. Li Shenggang was appointed Deputy Team Leader.

"...As for you, you still lack actual combat experience. However, your company has performed outstandingly, so learn from these two team leaders."

Zhu Si secretly groaned; this was clearly a setup to keep him here. He wanted to find a reason to return to Wuzhou but didn't dare say so directly. He quickly saluted: "Report! Thank you for the Chief's cultivation! However, I am still the Battalion Commander of the Wuzhou National Army Garrison Battalion. If I'm to stay with the Mobile Security Team, should we handle the relevant procedures..."

"There's no rush for that." Bei Wei smiled slightly. "Isn't there a Captain Li who came out on patrol with you? I hear he performed well too; I'll have him temporarily act in your position."

Zhu Si quickly said, "Yes, yes." But he felt rather uncomfortable inside.

The analysis meeting continued until noon, discussing the joint security model for the three counties, including key surveillance in the Wuzhou direction. The meeting decided that all reconnaissance forces currently in the three counties would deploy fully to gather intelligence from the surrounding areas. The focus would be on gathering intelligence from Yu'nan County and the Wuzhou direction, ensuring that once a large enemy gathering was detected in this area, forces would be concentrated to strike.

The field hospital of Fengchuan County was set up in the Confucius Temple. Fengchuan was a small place, and though there were various temples, most were not large. The only usable location with sufficient buildings was the Confucius Temple.

The Confucius Temples of prefectures and counties were not only sites for sacrifice but also the location of prefectural and county academies, with more buildings, making them convenient for accommodating the sick and wounded. So Lin Motian, in charge of field medical care for West Guangdong, had set up the field hospital here.

Lin Motian was a surgeon. Originally, he had applied to go to Guangzhou to establish the Provincial-Hong Kong General Hospital and create a medical school, but now the front line urgently needed experienced medical personnel. Before his seat in Guangzhou even got warm, he came to "support the front."

"The conditions here are simply unbearable to look at..." Liu San, who had come to inspect with Bei Wei, said after touring the field hospital.

Liu San, though currently only responsible for medical work in Guangzhou, was in fact the recognized head of health affairs for all of Guangdong.

"You should have been mentally prepared." Lin Motian had a cigar clamped in his mouth—technically, smoking wasn't allowed in the hospital, but he had picked up the habit since arriving in Fengchuan. The thick smell of blood in the hospital couldn't be masked by all the disinfectant in the world.

"Yes, yes, I was indeed mentally prepared; I knew the situation would be bad, but I didn't expect it to be this bad." Liu San let out a heavy breath. "I originally thought the basic simplified clinics we set up in Hainan were rough enough, but after seeing the front line, those simplified clinics look like triple-A hospitals..."

The entire West Guangdong Field Hospital had only one Senator doctor, three naturalized doctors, and ten "medical assistants"—these people were roughly at the level of "barefoot doctors" from the old timeline. By old timeline standards, the only one who qualified as a "doctor" was Lin Motian alone.

Setting aside the medical staff's skill level, to guarantee wartime medical support for the more than ten thousand naturalized soldiers and civilian cadres deployed in West Guangdong, these personnel were utterly insufficient.

Within the modest Confucius Temple, the front and back halls, as well as the corridors, had all become wards. Because there were too many inpatients, several other temples within the city had to be requisitioned as additional ward buildings, barely managing to separate the serious and light casualties and the sick.

It was morning now. The last batch of casualties brought in last night had all been processed, and no new wounded had arrived yet, so Lin Motian was temporarily free and able to chat idly with Liu San who had come to inspect.

"Our medical logistics work, to be honest, was severely underprepared: personnel, supplies, medicines... all in short supply. The only thing we don't lack is regulations." Lin Motian complained.