Chapter Seventy-Two: Exercise

“The siege exercise will be held in a moment. There are always a few people injured in each exercise. Chief Dongmen has instructed the medics to also participate in the exercise.”

“I want to see the exercise.”

“Please follow me.” Xie Shu said, leading He Ping to the hill where the dressing station was located, and brought him a telescope. It was just a small hill. Many officers were already standing on it. He Ping saw that He Ming was also there, holding a telescope and looking at something. Behind him stood a group of army officers. He Ping saw that Wei Aiwen, Ying Yu, Zhang Bolin, and others were all there, wearing gray uniforms, with leggings tied, and each with a telescope hanging on their chest and a leather map bag slung over their shoulder. Some were holding map clips and pencils. Several staff officers were laying out maps on a folding table, busy with their work.

Behind them stood a dozen or so orderlies and guards, carrying short-barreled Minie rifles or Lingao-made revolvers. They stood with bated breath, waiting for orders.

In this typical nineteenth-century war scene, there was also a radio, and several female operators were calling out in code.

Seeing He Ping coming over, He Ming nodded slightly to him without speaking.

He Ping stood silently in a place that was not in the way and looked in the direction they were looking.

About two or three kilometers away from the hill, there was a temporarily built earthen city. This earthen city was very small, and the distance between the two opposite city gates was only about one hundred and fifty meters. Although the sparrow was small, it had all its internal organs. There was a cross street in the city, with shops and houses on both sides of the street, and a bell and drum tower in the center of the cross street. The common defensive measures of a Ming dynasty city were all there. It was surrounded by a moat. Outside the moat, there were also abatis, and the defense was very tight.

“This was built in three days by the third battalion with the cooperation of the engineer company,” Xie Shu said. “The outer walls are not covered with bricks and tiles, and the main gate is also made of tree branches.”

About a kilometer away from the earthen city, through the thin mist, He Ping could see the neatly arranged troops. In terms of scale, there was about one infantry battalion. Twelve cannons were lined up behind the gun emplacements, and the artillerymen were busy running back and forth.

He knew that this was the start of a siege exercise. He looked through the telescope and could vaguely see figures moving on the city wall, probably soldiers playing the role of the defenders. A flag was flying on the bell and drum tower in the center of the city, but he couldn’t see clearly what was written on it.

Suddenly, a green rocket flew into the sky. Five minutes later, three red signal rockets rose into the air. The twelve cannons deployed at the front line fired one by one. White smoke spewed from the muzzles. It was the first time He Ping had seen such a dense artillery barrage. The trajectories of the 12-pounder cannons and 24-pounder howitzers drew white smoke trails in the air. The spherical cannonballs smashed into the earthen city, and dirt and tree trunks flew into the air. The power of the 12-pounder solid shot stunned He Ping. Some cannonballs directly blew away the brick and stone battlements and parapets. A dummy cannon used as a target was hit by a cannonball and was directly broken in two and flew out. The 24-pounder howitzers swept the human-shaped targets on the city wall that were acting as substitutes for the defenders. The city wall was filled with black smoke, and debris flew everywhere.

An enemy tower on the city wall was hit by a concentrated fire from the 12-pounder cannons and quickly collapsed.

A red signal rocket flew into the air. Amidst the rapid beating of the military drums, the attacking troops began to charge in company column formation. In front of the column were the grenadiers in skirmish line. The soldiers charged forward at a run, many carrying bundles of fascines, and some carrying light scaling ladders.

The artillery began to extend its fire, suppressing the defenders’ reinforcements to the city gate. High-explosive shells flew over the city wall and landed on the streets and houses near the city gate, sending tiles and wood flying.

At this time, the war drums beat in unison, shaking the heavens and the earth. The soldiers shouted “Kill!” at the top of their lungs, and the charging soldiers all had their bayonets fixed, flashing with white light. At this time, the sound of cannons on the city wall was also incessant, and clouds of smoke rolled.

The grenadiers rushed to the foot of the city wall and opened fire on the top of the wall, suppressing the firepower on the top of the wall. Some of the infantry quickly cut open the abatis with axes, and some used poles with hooks to pull open the abatis, opening a gap for advance. While they were destroying the abatis and opening a gap, the others shouted and continuously fired fiercely at the top of the wall. On the top of the wall and at the bottom, the sound of killing was deafening, the sound of guns and cannons was deafening, and smoke covered everything. A gust of wind blew, and the smoke dispersed slightly. In a flash, all three company columns had opened a gap. Bundles of fascines were thrown into the moat, and scaling ladders were quickly set up. The grenadiers who were originally responsible for suppressive fire began to climb the wall, and at the same time, they continuously threw grenades onto the top of the wall.

In a flash, the grenadiers had cleared the “enemy” on the top of the wall. Some of the riflemen continuously climbed the wall to expand the breach, while some began to attack the city tower, preparing to open the city gate. The defending “enemy” relied on the condescending advantage of the city tower to use firearms for fierce resistance. The grenadiers, while firing and throwing grenades, quickly advanced to the bottom of the city tower and cleared the defenders. A moment later, the city gate was wide open, and the drawbridge was also lowered. All the infantry who were providing suppressive fire outside the city rushed in. The government army flag flying on the bell and drum tower was pulled down. Three red signal rockets then rose into the air, announcing the end of the attack.

“Great!” He Ping couldn’t help but exclaim. He looked at his watch. From the first shot to the end of the battle, the whole process only took 34 minutes. Not only was the firepower swift and fierce, but the coordination of the soldiers’ offensive movements was extremely tacit. They were indeed a well-trained army.

The officers around He Ming were commenting:

“At the beginning, we should have concentrated our artillery fire on the city tower, so that the enemy could not rely on the city tower to suppress the gate-seizing troops.”

“The grenadiers still have too few grenades. Some of them ran out when they reached the city tower.”

“The artillery should have accompanied the infantry. We have light 12-pounder mountain howitzers that can completely advance with the assault columns. If the enemy gathers a large number of reserves near the city gate, and the enemy counter-attacks as soon as we open the city gate, it is very likely that the siege troops will be pushed out.”

“With howitzer suppressive fire, it is impossible for the enemy to gather troops behind the city wall.”

“If we had cavalry, we could have waited outside the enemy’s range for the city gate to open and then charged, instead of having to gather near the city gate under enemy fire.”

…

He Ming did not express his opinion. He waited until everyone’s comments had come to an end before saying: “The third battalion fought well. All parts cooperated very tacitly.” He then asked: “Who commanded the grenadiers?”

“Huang Ande, the platoon leader of the 1st platoon of the grenadier company of the third battalion.”

“It’s very good to be able to do this the first time commanding the grenadiers of the whole battalion,” he said. “The handling of the situation when the assault on the city gate was blocked was very decisive.”

“This Huang Ande seems to be from the Ming army.”

“Yes,” Wei Aiwen quickly said. “He is from a Shandong camp soldier background, and is also a clansman of Huang Xiong. The two are cousins within five generations.”

“Huang Xiong,” He Ming quickly thought of this person. This person was one of the earliest army personnel, and was also from a Ming army officer background, so he had some impression. “This person is very brave, and seems to be one of the first to be promoted to second lieutenant. Where is he now?”

“He’s leading the mine guard platoon at the Jiazi Coal Mine.”

He Ming nodded. He remembered that in addition to Lingao, there were also security issues at several other outposts.

The security of the Jiazi Coal Mine would not be a problem for the time being. There was a mine guard platoon and hundreds of miners who had received military training, and the place was remote.

As for the sugar factory in Leizhou, although its combat power was weaker, it still had hundreds of workers—Leizhou was a place where the sky was high and the emperor was far away. The government’s ruling power was not strong, and the strength of the sugar factory was enough for self-protection. In case of any accident, Xuwen was opposite Lingao, and it was very convenient to rescue them. They didn’t even need to dispatch the army, just naval reinforcements would be enough.

However, it was not enough to just issue an order to them to “pay attention to prevention.” At the post-war review meeting, people would definitely pick on it. At the very least, a hat of “indifference to the safety of the Elders” would definitely be put on him.

Everyone didn’t know that he was thinking about these things. They thought he wanted to see Huang Ande, but they didn’t expect him to just say:

“What other opinions does everyone have on this exercise?”

Pan Da said: “The power of the artillery is very strong. My assault engineers were not used at all.” In the operational plan, if the action to seize the city gate was not successful, Pan Da’s engineers would deliver explosives to blow up the city gate.

“This city is not large. If we were to fight a big city, your assault engineers would be useful,” He Ming said. “After all, it’s a play. It can only test part of the combat effectiveness. If we were to fight a big city, our firepower would not be enough to look at.”

Lin Shenhe said: “If we are to attack a heavily fortified big city, and the enemy’s fighting will is very determined, we should just carry out a regular siege battle, digging zigzag trenches to approach, and then use siege guns to bombard the city gate at close range, and break in directly.”

“The Armstrong rifled gun is not a large-caliber smoothbore gun. There is no need to approach with zigzag trenches to bombard. Even if it’s not accurate from a distance, firing from a kilometer away is enough,” Ying Yu said. “Using zigzag trenches to approach the enemy city for the infantry to charge is still a very useful tactic. And use mortars to cover.”

The city wall was a major problem for the Fubo Army to overcome. The Ming Dynasty was a dynasty that paid great attention to fortification. Even the city walls of county towns were built very solidly. Let alone 19th-century artillery, even in the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War of the 20th century, modern artillery firing high-explosive shells was helpless against many county town city walls. Sometimes the artillery had riddled the city wall with holes, but it was rare to be able to collapse the entire section of the city wall.

“If we can launch a large number of rockets, we can further disrupt the deployment of troops in the city and lower the enemy’s morale. It’s just that the damage to the buildings and people in the city is too great.”

… He Ping was not interested in listening anymore. He saw another team heading towards the earthen city, carrying handcarts, various tools, and building materials. Xie Shu told him that they were going to repair the city. After this earthen city was repaired, it would continue to be used as a facility for exercises.

“Take me to the dressing station to have a look.”

“Yes, sir,” Xie Shu led him down the slope.

“What were you writing down during the exercise?”

He Ping saw that he was fully focused during the exercise and was writing something in his notebook.

Xie Shu said: “I was recording the process of the exercise, and also my own opinions.”

“Really? You are very dedicated to tactics and the art of war,” He Ping said. “Why be a logistics staff officer? Why not be a combat or training staff officer?”

“Because your way of fighting is fighting logistics. The Fubo Army’s system, not to mention that the government army is far behind, even in the military books of all dynasties, no one has written about it,” he said. “Everyone knows that supplies go before the army moves, but this is just a general statement. The Fubo Army is different. Everything has to be calculated to the tenth degree.”

“This is modern warfare.”

“What did you say, sir?”

“Nothing,” He Ping said. “Being a logistics staff officer is very trivial. Don’t you find it troublesome?”

“I don’t find it troublesome. Although being this ‘grain and fodder officer’ is indeed very trivial, everything is in order, and there is a set of rules. It is particularly methodical,” Xie Shu said. “I heard that in the government army, there are also certain rules and various thresholds for handling grain, pay, clothing, and weapons, but the secretaries who handle them all regard them as family secrets and do not show them to others, and there are no detailed records in the military books.”

He Ping found it increasingly strange. This person’s eyes lit up when he talked about these things, a bit like a military enthusiast from the old time-space. He thought to himself, is this person reliable? How did the army recruit such a character!

“Why did you think of becoming a soldier? You seem to be doing quite well. And the Ming Dynasty has always valued literature over martial arts.”

Xie Shu was a little embarrassed. He nodded: “My family actually had some silver when we came to Lingao, and my father is doing quite well in Lingao. I joined the army because I saw the Fubo Army’s training and felt that besides firearms, the Australians’ art of war was also infinitely profound. I thought that I had read countless Chinese military books, but I didn’t understand the Australians’ art of war. It just so happened that they were recruiting, so I joined the army.”

“Just like that?” He Ping found it incredible.

“Just like that,” Xie Shu nodded solemnly.

“What does your father do in Lingao?”

Xie Shu looked at him strangely: “He is a doctor under the Ministry of Health…”

He Ping suddenly remembered that the Ministry of Health had indeed recruited many traditional Chinese medicine doctors from the immigrants and local natives. There were about twenty of them, and their skills varied. There was indeed one with the surname Xie.

“Are you Xie Yao’s son?”

“That’s my father.”

He Ping laughed. Xie Yao was a very interesting person. His family had indeed come to Lingao on their own initiative and settled in the Jialai Commune. He was not actually a doctor, but had read many medical books and liked to practice medicine. In fact, his medical skills were not high. When the Ministry of Health was recruiting doctors from the immigrants, he also insisted on applying, saying that the Australians’ medical skills were profound and he wanted to get a glimpse of them. Not only did he insist on being a doctor, but he also insisted on learning surgery.

This father and son were very similar. They both had a strong desire for knowledge and were able to put it into practice.

He Ping went to the dressing station and made a round. A dozen or so wounded had already been sent here. They were all injured in the exercise just now. Most of the injuries were not serious. The most serious one was a person who was hit by a piece of wood sent flying by a cannonball during the exercise because he did not dodge in time. It seemed that his bone was broken. A trauma doctor was setting his bone. The others were mostly bruises or burns. The medics applied medicine and bandaged them, and it was fine.

He Ping looked at the dressing station, including the instruments and equipment inside—all kinds of medicines and instruments were well prepared. This dressing station was at the battalion level, mainly responsible for receiving and preliminary treatment. Apart from two or three traditional Chinese medicine doctors, there were only medics. He Ping looked at the registration book for the wounded and saw that the military registration number, name, and unit of each wounded person were clearly registered. Each person also had their own medical record. The management was very standardized. He couldn’t help but nod in approval.

He Ping then looked at the other health and epidemic prevention measures and pointed out many shortcomings. Xie Shu recorded them all one by one.

After the inspection, it was already evening. Dongmen Chuiyu sent an orderly to invite him to dinner. He Ping readily agreed. On the way, he met Wu Shimang and Yang He. The three of them went to the officers’ mess hall together.

He Ping had already been to the officers’ mess hall once in the afternoon when he was inspecting the hygiene. It was a shed built with bamboo poles and reed mats. It was for officers of the rank of second lieutenant and above to dine. In fact, the officers of each unit all ate in their own companies. Only the officers of the headquarters and the directly subordinate units ate here. It was very empty inside.

According to the policy of the General Office, He Ping and the others had all received meal tickets before they set out. This was one of Yi Fan’s specific measures for building a clean government, which completely cut off the expenditure on official entertainment. Personnel on business trips received meal tickets daily. With the tickets, they could receive a standard meal at each unit, or they could eat at the village offices along the way. Afterwards, the招待单位 would settle the bill with the Ministry of Finance, which made it easy to audit at any time.

“Amazing, there’s actually spam today,” Dongmen Chuiyu raised his eyebrows as he returned with his food. “This thing is getting rarer and rarer.”

On the plate was bitter melon stir-fried with spam. The spam was cut into domino-sized pieces. Although small, there was a lot of it in the dish, at least one-third was spam.

“Of course, if we don’t eat it, it will expire,” He Ping thought of the last time he went to inspect the old time-space food in the warehouse directly under the Planning Institute. There were still many unopened cans, all of which were approaching their expiration date. They were originally stored for the most critical moments, and this time they were probably all taken out.

The food supplied by the officers’ mess hall was simple but nutritious. Because they were facing a major battle, even kvass, which contained a small amount of alcohol, was not supplied. Everyone drank tea instead of wine.

“When the prisoner of war camp is built, our church will build a small chapel to guide these lost lambs,” Wu Shimang said, eating the bitter melon stir-fried with spam in large mouthfuls.

“The army doesn’t like you training future soldiers to be believers.”

“Future soldiers?” Wu Shimang shook his head. “How can these professional soldiers of the Ming Dynasty be soldiers! They are all old soldiers and scoundrels. The army has no interest in absorbing them in large numbers. At the very least, they have to be laborers for a few years to change their temper and habits. At most, the army will not recruit believers. I think nine out of ten will be sent to Sanya or Vietnam.”

“It would be great if they were sent to Taiwan to develop Taiwan.”

“I think it’s good to send them to Southeast Asia to start a colony to mine and grow rubber. Since we are going to advance south, these ruffians may not be very capable in other things, but they are first-rate at harming the common people. Let them go to Southeast Asia for military farming.”