Chapter 185: The Agricultural Armored Brigade

At the entrance of the agricultural machinery station stood a burly man with a dark complexion, wearing a rattan safety helmet, a towel around his neck, and a greasy, washed-out work uniform. He had a military belt around his waist, with not only a pistol but also many miscellaneous tools.

This person was none other than Bai Yu, the “Inspector General of the Armored Corps.” This title was not self-proclaimed but an official position within the General Staff. However, since D-Day, he had not done anything related to the armored corps. Most of his time was spent serving the Agricultural Committee and the General Construction Company, specializing in training tractor drivers and carrying out construction machinery tasks. Therefore, he was also the commander of the “First Marine Mobile Brigade of Agricultural Reclamation,” the director of the “Lingao County General Agricultural Machinery Station,” and the commander-in-chief of the “Agricultural Committee’s Directly Subordinate General Agricultural Machinery Brigade.”

“Old Chang, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time,” Bai Yu was very enthusiastic towards Chang Shide. He felt that Old Chang was a “true-tempered” man. Although they had no common interests, they had hit it off at the annual meeting.

Chang Shide exchanged a few pleasantries with him, chatted about some women’s topics, and then moved on to the mission to Qiongshan.

According to the order, the marine mobile brigade would be transferred to Qiongshan to cooperate with the agricultural restorative production in Qiongshan and then to develop the planned intensive farms.

Although the name “First Marine Mobile Brigade of Agricultural Reclamation” was so grand, its essence was the “wheat harvesters” commonly seen on the Central Plains in the old timeline during the summer harvest, who would carry a sickle in their belts, ride trains, and sleep in the fields to harvest wheat for others—or, in standardized language, “seasonal agricultural migrant short-term workers.”

“You have a lot of big guys here,” Chang Shide said. Although he was used to seeing the various large agricultural machines at the agricultural machinery station when he was at the Tiandihui, he was still quite shocked to see so many big guys gathered together.

“One was scrapped last week, three are under major repair, and twelve are under medium repair and routine maintenance,” Bai Yu knew his assets like the back of his hand. Not only here, but he was also very clear about the equipment status of the Agricultural Committee’s directly subordinate general brigade, which all used equipment from the old timeline.

“Another one scrapped? Boiler explosion?” Chang Shide had personally seen a steam tractor boiler explode, and the driver was blown dozens of meters away on the spot.

Bai Yu nodded. “Two boiler explosions. One was too badly damaged, so it had to be scrapped. The other one, the people from the general machinery factory came to see it and said it could be repaired with a new boiler.”

Chang Shide said, “That sounds terrifying. You’re playing with your life here.”

“How could it not be? The boilers are much better now than before. Zhou Bili’s skills are getting better and better, and his apprentices have also been trained,” Bai Yu said. “But the steam tractors themselves are not very safe.”

“Is there a problem transporting them to Qiongshan?”

“No problem. It’s very safe to transport them by ship, it’s just that loading and unloading is troublesome—but there’s no steam-powered thing that’s convenient to use,” Bai Yu had taken a long time to get used to the “slowness” of steam power. The mechanics had to start the fire several hours before departure to get the equipment started on time.

There were very few ships that could transport such heavy equipment, and the operation of the brigade also required a large number of parts, power coal, and supporting equipment—the boilers needed special water, so special boiler water treatment equipment also had to be transported. So the entire brigade had to be transported in several waves.

At the agricultural machinery station, the workers of the Agricultural Committee, wearing army uniforms but with “agriculture” badges on their armbands, were busy. Some were dismantling parts, some were packing and bundling fragile parts, some were emptying the water in the boilers and cleaning the ashes in the furnace. And some were transporting the workers’ luggage—army-style backpacks and military blankets.

The First Marine Mobile Brigade was well-equipped. In addition to professional equipment, it also had mobile field kitchens and water purification equipment that were only equipped in the army.

The workers were not only skilled but also well-trained. The whole scene was busy but not chaotic, with a very military air.

“This is not some agricultural machinery station, it’s an armored division,” Chang Shide complimented.

Bai Yu smiled without any false modesty. “When we produce tanks, they will be the seeds of the armored division.”

Although the manufacture of tanks and armored vehicles was not on the Planning Commission’s schedule at all, Bai Yu was still working hard to cultivate the “seeds of the armored corps.” Not only did he provide corresponding training for the agricultural machine operators, but he also occasionally conducted infantry-tank coordination exercises with the infantry. Dongmen Chuiyu and Wu Nanhai were also quite supportive. In their vision, agricultural reclamation was originally a team of armed farmers, the vanguard of future armed colonization. Adding some military color would have a certain effect on the cultivation of combat effectiveness.

“I’ve already discussed the shipping plan with the joint logistics headquarters,” Bai Yu led him to his office. “The date has also been set. The advance detachment will set off the day after tomorrow morning. How about it, will you go with the ship or with the main force?” Bai Yu asked.

“Of course, I’ll go with the main force,” Chang Shide fanned himself. “I still have to wait for the Elders from the agricultural technology department. We’ll go together then.”

After some discussion in the Agricultural Committee, it was finally decided that Wanlihui would lead a “post-disaster rush harvest and rush planting work group” with Chang Shide to Qiongshan. Wanlihui’s task was to help the local farmers with rush harvesting and rush planting to restore production.

Wanlihui stood on the pier, supervising the loading of the Agricultural Committee’s “disaster relief materials” onto the ship. The so-called disaster relief materials were not food, clothes, blankets, or tents, but grain seeds, special fertilizers, and pesticides. The grain seeds brought were mainly fast-growing and high-yield sweet potato seedlings, as well as many corn, buckwheat, and legume seeds, to be quickly replanted in the gaps after the water receded. No matter how many differences there were in land and agricultural policies, real food was the most important thing.

Wanlihuang stood beside him, watching the various agricultural materials being loaded onto the ship. This time, Ye Yuming had originally wanted to send him—after all, Wanlihui’s position was more indispensable. But in the end, Wanlihui felt that his brother was still a bit too young and had not done much expatriate work in Lingao. It might not be safe to go to a new area rashly, so he proposed to go himself.

“After I leave, you have to pay more attention to the breeding farm and the experimental fields. Everything will be handed over to you. Don’t cause any trouble,” Wanlihui said to him earnestly. To be honest, he was also not at ease with his brother being in charge of everything alone. Earthworms and fly maggots were currently the main sources of protein feed in the Agricultural Committee’s feed factory, and the breeding farm also provided a large amount of mature fertilizer. If anything went wrong, it would be a major responsibility accident.

“Don’t worry, big brother. I can handle this,” Wanlihuang said with dissatisfaction. “Besides, the group of naturalized citizens under me are also doing a good job…” He seemed to remember something as he said this. “Big brother, when can we go to Japan to shoot…”

Wanlihui was very unwilling to answer this question, because it seemed that the possibility of shooting freely in Japan was getting smaller and smaller. Especially recently, the Senate had organized a business delegation to Japan, and they had actually chosen an Elder who claimed to be from the “Ping family” to be the leader. Of course, Wanlihui had nothing to say except to complain privately—first, he didn’t know Japanese; second, he knew very little about Japanese society, economy, and history; third, his “grand cause” of shooting in Japan would obviously not be supported by the Senate.

“Why are you asking so much? Anyway, we’ll go eventually. Just do the work at hand first!” Wanlihui was originally not in a good mood, and some recent events had made him emotionally unstable. At this moment, he directly cut off his brother’s words.

“Tell me, what did you all see?”

This sentence was constantly being said in the homes of the various large households and gentry in Qiongshan County.

After the legitimate sons of the various gentry and large households finally finished writing their essays and returned home, it was already two or three days after they had returned to Qiongshan. The various families more or less understood Director Liu’s meaning, and then they became much more “open-minded.” Apart from inevitably going to Hai Shuzu to complain and cry poverty, they no longer rushed to oppose anything themselves. Regardless of whether they planned to “cooperate deeply” with the Australians, they were eager to know more about the Australians’ background from their children’s mouths.

“Father, your son has already inquired. The Ao-Song government does not hold imperial examinations. To become an official, one must learn their new language, write simplified characters, be good at mathematics, and obtain the so-called A, B, and C diplomas. Then one must undergo some kind of training before finally becoming an official. Everyone, regardless of who they are, must start as a minor official. It is a system where officials and clerks are one… It’s just that the Australian government seems to have a prejudice against the scholars of the Great… er, the Ming Dynasty. Except for a Zhang Xingjiao who followed them from the very beginning, I haven’t seen any other scholars who can become officials and hold positions.”

“So, we really have to send your younger brother and sister to study the Australians’ learning?” This was the dialogue of a family that was not willing to be lonely. “I think your third mother’s child is also grown up. It’s a waste to keep him at home. It’s better to send him to study. It won’t cost much.”

“Father, that was truly amazing! When I went to that Liu Youren’s house, they were clearing wasteland. I saw a big iron ox that swallowed coal and spewed fire let out a roar, and a big iron plow of several thousand jin grabbed the ground. The clods of earth were turned over and broken up into ridges. It’s a hundred times better than our old plows pulled by people and oxen!”

“Did you inquire how much it costs to rent this big iron ox?” This was the dialogue of a family that was focused on farming.

“The whores there are really well-behaved. They all hang up signs and line up in the roadside sheds… I heard that there’s a Zhiminglou that’s the most high-class brothel, but there was no tour arranged. As for the most glamorous, it’s the Australian maids. They are all so fair and tender, and their clothes even show a section of their thighs!”

“You unfilial son! All you know about is these sensual pleasures! Forget it, you don’t have to apologize. Quickly tell your father how depraved and shameless the Australians are. Are there any novel things?” This was the dialogue of a family of teacups and cupboards.