Xinshun 1730

Chapter 1256 After the voyage to the Western Ocean ([-])

The water next to Fort William can also be regarded as Ganges water in a broad sense.The combat engineers with their hair burned soaked in the water of the Ganges and smeared cheap, smelly soap made from unknown cottonseed oil or animal fat from the whale sea on their bodies. They did not chase the soap bubbles floating on the water. interest.

On the shore, several large pots were boiling water, soaking their military uniforms in them, using this method to remove the lice eggs on the military uniforms.

A few naval cadets walk the ship's cat on a rope, which is a very important task.

Trainee military cadets have to learn various navigation skills, longitude and latitude measurement, etc. on the ship, and they can't be idle when they go ashore.In that case, if the cat is lost during a long-distance voyage, it will be a big trouble.

The soldier who was taking a bath saw that he was walking the cat, and knew that the place he was going this time might be extremely far away.However, they had just experienced two crushing battles, and their mood was still relaxed and happy.

On the shore, people from the staff and logistics department of the Dudu Mansion were shouting loudly, telling these people to hurry up and get down to business after taking a bath.

"Every company, if you want to exchange your trophies, hurry up and exchange them, and if you don't want to exchange them, hand them over to the logistics department for storage. Hurry up and launder them!"

In the river, Ergou kept smearing soap under his dark body, muttering and cursing: "Hurry up your mother? Let me tell you, don't store small things in the logistics side, they are often thrown away. .Wear what you can carry on your body.”

Zhao Lisheng next to him has also gradually adapted to this kind of fighting life. The so-called one who is close to the vermilion is red and the one who is close to the ink is black. In the previous battle of Fort William, Zhao Lisheng saw Ergou stabbing a surrendered British officer to death—— Ergou Let the officer walk forward with his hands raised, and suddenly he was stabbed twice in the back, and it was said that he was trying to escape.

Of course, the advantage of doing this is that Ergou got a beautiful gold-plated belt buckle and a pocket watch.Zhao Lisheng, who worked with him, got a beautiful silver snuff bottle, and they shared 20 silver coins equally.

At least a year ago, Zhao Lisheng was a standard soldier of high-quality soldiers who came from peasants, and he also obeyed military discipline when training in Ceylon.

But starting from Ceylon, we only fought a few battles, and basically learned all these things.

In the Battle of Fort William, they also received a lot of rewards.The higher-ups were quite conscientious in their work. After the warehouse in Fort William was seized, each soldier was divided equally into two bolts of Indian silk according to his rank, and the officers got velvet.

Apart from these public rewards, what they can get depends entirely on their own abilities.

For them, what is the purpose of serving as a soldier?It's not about robbing money, food, and girls.

Since the idea of ​​building an army is the idea of ​​expanding the imperialist colonial wars to strengthen the power of the bourgeoisie, the soldiers of Dashun naturally reached this level.

As for the grandeur of saying that the three treasures will go to the West 300 years later, it is meaningless to these soldiers.Only officers at the battalion and company level and above who have received the most basic education in the new sense of community awareness can make such a sigh.

After all, we are all human.Without intentional or unintentional education, you can't even speak, let alone a more complex consciousness.

These soldiers are basically illiterate, and they are basically not good people. In these days, there is no "good law-abiding man" in the traditional sense, and they will not appear in the mines of Ceylon. The thieves are not members of the leader, and the remaining [-]% are also those who were forced to flee after their families were destroyed during the Songsu reform.This is not much different from those who went to colonies in Europe. For example, in North America, most of them are heretics who violate the "Confession of the State Religion Law" and cannot get along in their own countries.

Just like Zhao Lisheng, if you say that you can let him serve as a soldier for military pay, to be able to grant land in the Southern Ocean after retirement, and to make a fortune on the battlefield, it is definitely possible.

If it is for the court, for His Majesty... His whole family was almost killed by the court, his brother was almost killed when he went to the black gold mine due to Liu Yu's salt policy reform, and he sold himself as a slave to Ceylon, that is true. It doesn't make sense.

But they don't have much culture, but it doesn't mean they are stupid. A lot of wisdom of being a soldier has accumulated a lot in practice.

After taking a shower, he ate dumplings and eight-treasure rice at night, and when his clothes were dry the next day and he started to pack his bags, Zhao Lisheng already knew that the place he was going this time would definitely be far away.

Because the quartermaster came to the company to distribute blankets, woolen military uniforms and trousers that these people who have been serving in Ceylon have heard of, never seen, and never worn, and a pair of standard linen and cotton blended trousers , and even sent out a pair of leather boots that can't be worn here at all.

"Pack up these blankets and fall uniforms and board the ship at 01:30 p.m."

The company commander gave the order. Zhao Lisheng looked at the blanket and woolen uniform, clicked his tongue and said to his companions: "It seems that we have gone far enough this time? Where are we going? I ran from northern Jiangsu. I haven't seen such thick clothes for many years."

Most of the soldiers in the company are no strangers to autumn clothes. Before they fled to Nanyang, most of them had seen it even if they hadn't.

In the past few years, most of these soldiers are actually soldiers from the Huanghuai River Basin, and they have forgotten that there is actually snow in winter.

Most of the officers in the General Staff of the Privy Council have never been to Europe, so they can only understand the world from the general education they received.

They know that the Cape of Good Hope and the Southern Ocean and the northern hemisphere are spring and autumn reversed, and they also know that the latitude of Gibraltar is similar to that of Xinxiang.According to the climate in Dashun, it must be quite cold there. At least the military uniforms in Ceylon are made of shorts. It feels that going to Xinxiang for the winter is not suitable.

The logistics bureau of the General Staff Headquarters was specially prepared by Liu Yu for the trans-oceanic operations. If these basic material preparations are not in place, it will cost your head.

This time, blankets and duffel uniforms were distributed to the battalion going to Gibraltar.In addition to guessing the temperature by looking at the latitude, there is also the fact that Dashun Jinghai Company's fur is sold to Europe in large quantities. Based on their reasoning, they guessed that if Europe is as hot as Ceylon and wears underpants all day long, it is estimated that this fur will not be able to do so. Big sales.

These blankets and dungarees gave these soldiers a sense of fantasy about distant places.Although most of them have seen snow, they haven't seen it for so many years. At this time, when they see this kind of clothes prepared for the snowy winter, they always have some indescribable emotions.

Under the urging of the officer, the soldiers still pack these things into backpacks with all kinds of guesses.There is still a period of time to wait for boarding, and the ministries can move freely within the prescribed range.

In the distance, an officer wearing an officer's pheasant feather hat was sitting on the slope of Fort William, holding a flute and playing something.

A few officers nearby were singing babbling songs.

"Let the sea dry up and the stones rot, and the festival will always be worthwhile. Finally teach the Huns to be frightened, and to serve Handewei together... Finally, to teach the Huns to be frightened, to serve Handewei together..."

These officers were not high enough to know where they were going, but they also guessed from the leather jackets and boots they distributed that this time they really were going tens of thousands of miles away.

They all sang in Mandarin, and the soldiers might not be able to hear them clearly when they sang, but they just felt that the sound of the flute was miraculously able to arouse people's emotions.

Gradually, Zhao Lisheng and others gathered by the middle embankment, looked up at the officers who were singing there, and asked after they finished singing, "Sir, this flute makes people feel uncomfortable and itchy. Are we going to Where to go?"

Maybe it's the inexplicable emotions, or maybe it's the sadness that they are about to die tens of thousands of miles away, which may be very strange, and they will be buried in a foreign land when they die. These officers are also very good-tempered today.

After singing Su Wu's shepherd song, the officer who was playing the flute and wearing the pheasant feather hat turned around and didn't say what the song was about, but smiled at the soldier and took out a very beautiful girl from his arms. The silver cigarette case, said: "Brothers, try it, Havana is the best. Don't care where he goes, anyway, the earth is round, and it only takes [-] miles to go around."

The cigarette case was thrown from the middle embankment, and Zhao Lisheng took it, tsk tsk secretly in his heart, this cigarette case is very beautiful.It's not that the material is so good, but it's made of silver, and it's not like they haven't seen it before.

But the workmanship is very delicate, obviously not the kind of simple worldly goods.They don't know where this Havana is, and they don't know that the quality of the cigarettes there is really good. Of course, it is impossible to know that this kind of goods are basically in Dashun. In fact, most of them come through diplomatic gifts. If you have to pretend to be stupid, it can also be translated into tribute.

At the back of the cigarette case was a stack of cigarette papers with a faint scent, which was completely different from the "two-finger width" used by soldiers like them. It smelled like a faint honey.

Skillfully tore off a piece of cigarette paper, gently stroked the center of the cigarette paper with his thumb, poured tobacco leaves on it, rolled it skillfully, and handed the cigarette pack to someone else.

After waiting for the people around to finish rolling, he took out a phosphorus sulfide match from the side of the cigarette case, wiped it on his trousers, and everyone leaned over to light it.

"Hmm... It seems that when I had a sore throat, I drank egg tea with sesame oil."

Waiting for the puff of cigarette to swallow his throat, Zhao Lisheng gave a very high evaluation in line with his status as a soldier.

The so-called egg tea is boiled water with eggs.Added sesame oil, very tender and smooth.

When he said this, the soldiers next to him also agreed.

The officers above all smiled. After all, they are not in the same circle. They don't quite agree with this metaphor, and they can't understand how high this evaluation is among the soldiers.

After the soldiers boarded the ship, they were definitely not allowed to smoke and could only eat chewing tobacco.But it is naturally different for officers who have reached a certain level or are related.

Not to mention smoking, the captain's meal can be served in a luminous cup of wine every day, plus the chef's special production.

After taking two sips, Zhao Lisheng climbed to the side of the middle embankment, handed over the cigarette case, and thanked him.

"Thank you, sir. Are we going to fight Havana, sir?"

When the officers above heard this, they all laughed and said, "Havana is under the control of the Spaniards, and we are fighting the British in India. Don't talk nonsense."

"As for where we're going, we don't know. We'll get on the boat and we'll know when we get there. We can fight wherever we are told."

"You combat engineers are doing really well in India. You all work hard, and the heavenly dynasty will be powerful in all directions. This is one action."

(End of this chapter)