The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 241 Overseas Garrison
Malta is a small island located in the center of the Mediterranean Sea. It was once known as the "home of knights". On a narrow peninsula in the Bay of Malta at the northeast end, stands the huge Castle of the Knights of St. John. The castle is surrounded by thick stone walls, which are covered with holes, arrow holes, and even many bullet marks, making it full of history.

There are stone pillars and arches in the castle, the neat streets, mottled stone walls, and the oncoming sea breeze make people feel relaxed and happy. Entering the castle, you can see some ancient decorations and sculptures. There are also towering white towers. A flagpole is erected on the stone battlements, and a dazzling red and yellow dragon flag is hung.

"No one could have imagined that just a few years later, the power of the Qi people has penetrated deep into the Mediterranean." Rudy Gobert, captain of the French merchant ship "Albi", withdrew his gaze with a wry smile on his face. , "In the past hundreds of years, we French have had to compete with the Venetians, Genoese, and Spanish in this sea area. Later, we had to fight with the English, trying to extend our influence to the entire Mediterranean. Now, we welcome the Qi people from the Hanzhou continent."

"Compared to the English, the Qi people are probably more difficult to deal with." said Matthias Lessort, the captain of the Bordeaux Warrior: "Because this country has a larger population, stronger economic strength, and, most importantly, Yes, their maritime power is also stronger. Yes, the Qi-British War that only ended two years ago has fully proved this. It seems that no country can challenge the Qi people on the ocean. "

"So, what about on land?" Rudy Gobert asked with a smile.

"The people of Qi are killing all sides in the Indian Ocean, and they are almost invincible. However, they do not seem to have had direct conflicts with European countries on land. Even the war between Qi and Britain that just passed was mostly fought at sea." Matthias Lessort thought for a while and said with some uncertainty: "Oh, by the way, I heard that their army size seems to be less than 80,000 people, which is comparable to the Kingdom of Prussia. If it faces our army of the Kingdom of France, its strength should be limited. Of course, if they try to cross the sea to attack our French homeland, they will definitely suffer a shameful failure."

"Matthias, my friend, you may have forgotten that Qi's army has actually fought against our European countries. Moreover, this country is very powerful and has defeated the Baltic Overlord."

"Oh, are you talking about Russia?" Matthias Lessort showed a look of disdain. "Although Russia has defeated Sweden, they purely relied on their brute force and the depth of their territory, plus their alliance. Prussia, Denmark and Poland launched a siege against Sweden and barely won the final victory... Well, Russia is not a European civilized country. "

"But no matter what, Russia is the only country in Europe that has a large-scale ground war with Qi. Oh, even though they lost miserably and almost lost all the captured Caucasus, they experienced it first-hand. The nation’s army combat capability.”

"The Qi army stationed in Persia seems to have only seven or eight thousand troops, so the scale of the entire battle should be small. It cannot be compared with the grand battles in the European battlefields that often number tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands."

"It's so boring." Wu Jinding curled his lips, then leaned against the wall, wrapped his military coat a little tighter, then took out a cigarette from his pocket out of boredom, lit it with a fire pleat, and took a puff of smoke comfortably. lock up.

"Yes, the people of Qi have stretched their hands too far." Matthias Lessote said with a wry smile: "Actually, after the War of Spanish Succession, the people of Qi have already extended their hands to Europe. So. , we have seen that some major affairs involving the European region are no longer decided only by France, England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and other major European powers. Qi has gradually become an important and decisive influence. factor.”

"Hey, look how nervous you are!" Wu Jinding couldn't help but sneer when he saw Shen Fuan with a cautious look on his face, "It's a cold wind outside, so the commander won't come here to check the situation."

"Is there a difference?"

"Oh..." After hearing this, Shen Fu'an's tense body immediately relaxed and he even moved his hands and feet a little.

"This is not surprising." Matthias Lessort saw a group of carriages loaded with goods filing out of the city gate, and he quickly avoided the roadside with his companions. "No matter how powerful the Ottoman Empire is, it can only stop at Vienna was unable to enter the hinterland of Europe. The Persian Empire collapsed after being attacked by Afghan tribal forces, and could only fall into the arms of the Qi people and try to support the framework of the empire. "

If the patrol officer saw the squad leader lazily leaning against the wall and smoking, he would probably be severely reprimanded. Will he be implicated?

“Didn’t the Russians finally sign a peace treaty with Persia?”

As the two captains talked, they slowly walked into the city of Ningjin (now Valletta, Malta), preparing to stay here for a short night to replenish some water and supplies before continuing to Venice.

"Yes, the arrogant Qi people." Matthias Lessote complained: "From the East Indies, to the Indian Ocean, to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean, they have occupied almost all strategic maritime locations. We also control the key points on the east-west route, and it seems that wherever we go, we can feel the influence of the Qi people.”

"But Russia is different. Although they are located in the wild Eastern Europe and are in a backward Slavic civilization, it is undeniable that Russia should be regarded as a big European country whether in terms of land area or population size. The Slavs in the Balkans are of the same species as them. If Russia is allowed to invade Moldavia or Wallachia, it will inevitably grow in the Black Sea region. If not, the entire European continent will be impacted by them. Don't forget. "The size of Russia's army is second only to that of the Kingdom of France, and since Peter I, the entire country has shown a strong aggressiveness and expansion."

"I can see it." Rudy Gobert seemed to have thought of something, "The people of Qi are not only satisfied with the dominance of the Indian Ocean region, they want to seek hegemony of the entire world. Oh, I have to say, the people of Qi The ambition is really crazy, he wants to dominate the world and control the world.”

"...Squad leader, I don't bet." Private First Class Shen Fu'an continued to stand at attention and alert, and replied in a low voice.

"I don't understand why the people of Qi are so guarded against Russia and spare no effort to suppress it. More than ten years ago, they supported the Ottoman Empire in Moldavia and Wallachia to resolutely resist Russian expansion. For several years Before that, it collaborated with the Persian Empire to expel the Russians from the Caucasus; coupled with the Qi State's strong support for the Kingdom of Sweden to counter Russia's westward strategy, this left almost no opening for Russia to expand westward. "

"Oh, yes. The Qi people almost control the Persians' domestic and foreign affairs, and can be regarded as the masters behind the Persian Empire."

"In case, if an enemy comes..."

Seeing this, Shen Fu'an couldn't help but look to both sides worriedly.

"I guess those two people are Dutch." Sergeant Wu Jinding, third company of the 2nd Battalion of the 25th Mixed Regiment of the Army Stationed on Zhongyang Island (i.e. Malta Island), was lying on the city wall, looking at the pedestrians who were constantly coming and going. He turned to his companion and said, "Would you like to bet a dime with me?"

"But the Qi people used these seven or eight thousand people to defeat tens of thousands of Russian troops. They were almost unable to fight back and were driven all the way to the banks of the Manech River. They finally ceded territory to the Qi people and asked for peace."

"The enemy is coming?" Wu Jinding couldn't help but be happy, "Our Zhongyang Island is located deep in the Mediterranean Sea, and enemies can't just attack us! Besides, with the power of our Qi State, which country is so bold? God dares to attack?"

"..." Rudy Gobert couldn't help but be startled after hearing this, "But shouldn't these be our own affairs in Europe?... The people of Qi have stretched their hands too long!"

"It's so boring!" Wu Jinding took a deep breath from the cigarette, and then puffed out smoke rings one after another in boredom, "Fu'an, do you know where is the most comfortable place for our army to be stationed?"

"...Is it local?" Shen Fu'an replied subconsciously.

The local area is prosperous and lively, and there are many noisy cities. It has almost all the goods in the world, and the prices are still very low. You can buy a lot of good things and even take them back to your hometown.

Even if the garrison is not stationed in Hanzhou itself, as long as it is in the governor's territory near Hanzhou, that is also excellent. Because, in this case, it will be very close to my hometown.

"Bullshit!" Wu Jinding took another puff of cigarette, "What good is it to be stationed in the mainland? Oh, besides being closer to home, what else is there? Nothing, no credit, no battlefield seizures, not even a damn thing. "...By the way, where are you from?" "Squad leader, I'm from Luzon," Shen Fu'an said in a low voice.

Remember, a few months ago, when I came to this island with a group of supplementary soldiers, didn't I already tell the squad leader?
"Hey, Luzon, that's far enough." Wu Jinding smacked his lips, "You have to walk for about four or five months to come from Luzon, right? I'm wondering, why doesn't the chief of the Military Service Department take you there? Should I be assigned to Nanyang or Ryukyu nearby?"

"...I don't know." Shen Fuan responded in astonishment.

Yes, I was born in Luzhong Island in Luzon (today’s Wu Island in the Philippines). Not to mention that I have never been to the mainland of Hanzhou, and I have never even been out of the island. However, I never thought that after serving in the military, I would be assigned to Such a distant Mediterranean.

He also didn’t know where his companions in the village who had joined the army with him were assigned.

When I was studying in school, I learned from geography textbooks that our country has a vast territory, and we have territories all over the world. I think those soldiers who have just joined the army are scattered everywhere like him. .

"Squad leader, you haven't said where is the most comfortable place for our soldiers to be stationed?" After chatting for a while, Shen Fu'an was very curious about the question.

"Oh, where is the most comfortable place to be stationed?" Wu Jinding took the last puff of the cigarette in his hand, and then threw the remaining cigarette butt on the ground, "Of course it is to be stationed in India. There, regardless of the officers, they can live a good life. Living like a big boss, even us big-headed soldiers are extremely blessed. We can call on those Indian natives to serve us at will. I heard that for just a few cents, we can take care of a beautiful sixteen or seventeen-year-old. The woman wrapped herself up on the bed...Hey, in India, as long as we are from Qi, we can simply walk sideways. Even if there is a war, it is not our Qi army's turn to take action. We can only supervise those Indians with guns. The local servants charged into the battle. We didn't even have to pick the things we captured on the battlefield. The servants sent them to you. And the best ones were sent from his grandmother's station in India. Almost everyone who has retired from the army will be able to build a big house and marry a beautiful wife after returning to his hometown... Not to mention how beautiful those days were!"

"Really?" Shen Fuan's eyes showed an extremely envious look.

"Of course, the number of Indian garrison troops is limited. There are only 12,000 people. You can't just go if you want to." Wu Jinding said: "But, in addition to India, Persia, Ryukyu, and Japan are also good. Oh, by the way. , the Kingdom of Ireland in Europe is also a good garrison. In these places, we Qi people have high status and good welfare. With a little money, we can find a woman to give birth to your child. "

"What about those overseas governor's territories?"

"It depends on where you are." Wu Jinding leaned on the wall and said leisurely: "It's probably in the Nanyang region. Although it's close to the mainland, the climate is hot and the rainforests are all over the place. It's not a good place. Maybe, it's not a good place. They wanted to kill the native tribes who refused to accept the king's rule. Even if they won, they would not get much benefit. As for Qianzhou (today's South Africa), Puzhou (today's Angola), and Weizhou (today's Angola), they were all extremely poor. Mozambique and other areas are not very popular, and the women there are so slutty that you really can’t talk about them. It’s best not to go to the strongholds under the Red Sea Governorate. In the middle of summer, it can be very hot!”

"What about Egypt?"

"What are you thinking about?" Wu Jinding was stunned for a moment, "Although Egypt has been infiltrated into a sieve by our Qi State, and all aspects are controlled by our Qi State, it is still the territory of the Ottomans after all. How can our Qi State troops be allowed to station there? However, if you are discharged from service, you can find a job as an armed escort there. I heard the salary is quite generous."

"Oh..." Shen Fu'an nodded, and then asked: "What about Zhongyang Island where we are currently stationed?"

"This broken island is surrounded by the sea and has such a sparse population. How can there be any oil or water?" Wu Jinding complained: "You don't know that when the English captured this island a few years ago, they almost ransacked it. Once it was empty, the stolen gold and silver jewels filled two large ships. Hey, it was their bad luck! They encountered our Qi navy fleet in the Alboran Sea. After a battle, the treasure ship was intercepted, and finally all of them were captured. It helped the navy and the government. Later, our Qi State captured the island and implemented military control for two years. The valuable things on the island were looted again, and not even a hair was left. Tell me, we stayed there. Apart from looking at the sea and blowing in the sea breeze, what other pleasures can there be here? There are fewer and fewer idiots! There is no place to go to relieve the anger and have fun..."

"Wu Jinding, that's how you deserve to be sent out!"

While he was fooling around, an officer of the imperial martial arts school (captain) strode over. Seeing Wu Jinding lazily leaning against the wall, he couldn't help but lower his face and scolded loudly.

"Sir!"

"Sir!"

Shen Fuan was so frightened that his face turned pale.

I'm afraid I will be punished by the superior!
"Sir..." Wu Jinding was a little nervous when he was stared at by the company commander, but he still squeezed out a smile and showed a flattering expression.

"You are also a veteran. How can you set an example?" Company Commander Lu Shuhong asked coldly.

"Hehe... Sir, this is not because I was thinking about sending out the whistle, so I became a little relaxed."

"Relaxed?" Lu Shuhong looked at the veteran up and down. "If all the officers and soldiers in the company are as lax as you, wouldn't they all have diarrhea when they really have to perform military duties?"

"Huh?" Wu Jinding was moved after hearing this, "Sir, are we going to go out to perform military duties?"

"What do you say?"

"I'm just a top soldier, so I don't have the right to speak. ...Sir, where are we going?"

"Venice." Lu Shuhong said: "I have been busy organizing the house these past few days, packing my luggage, and waiting for the assembly order, but don't cause any trouble to me. Otherwise, hum..."

"Venice? Oh, that's not right. Aren't there two battalions of troops stationed there? Why are they still sending troops to Zhongyang Island?"

"The Venetians are rioting." Lu Shuhong said calmly: "We have to help the brothers over there put down the riot."

"...Hey, okay!"

(End of this chapter)