This team that appeared in the vast snowy field was the scout squadron of the New Army's Second Brigade.
Because the tasks are different, the organization of scouts and ordinary troops is different.
A scout squadron has about thirty more people than an ordinary infantry company.
The main reason is that the scouts are separated from the large troops and fight alone. The environment they face is very complex and dangerous. Therefore, some additional establishments need to be added to assist in combat.
The scout squadron has more than an ordinary infantry company, two mortar teams and one engineer team.
The mortar team is used to improve firepower, while the engineering team is used to improve many indicators such as field survival, movement, and concealment.
After leading the army to Lushun, Huang Sanhu directly dispersed the entire reconnaissance brigade before he was familiar with the local conditions.
In his words, the biggest danger does not come from within Lushun, but from nearby Houjin.
Therefore, it is the top priority of the second brigade to keep abreast of Houjin's movements and make arrangements according to the situation.
After all, the second brigade only has 5,000 men. Once Hou Jin attacks with all his strength, it will be impossible to defeat them.
Even if Huang Long and others repeatedly assured him that the mountains would be closed due to heavy snow in winter, the Jurchens would not be able to survive at all.
The first tenet Huang Sanhu learned from Zuo Mengeng was that there should never be any thoughts of impossibility on the battlefield.
Huang Sanhu knew better that the Second Brigade was alone in Liaodong, and it would be very difficult for Shandong to support it, and it might not be timely. So you have to rely on yourself for everything.
The reconnaissance brigade took the order and plunged into the ice and snow resolutely, regardless of the cold weather and the dangerous roads.
They have two tasks, one is to detect Houjin's movements, and the other is to survey the nearby terrain.
The map provided by Huang Long and others made Huang Sanhu furious.
He didn't give these veterans any face.
"Are you worthy of being called a map? In the military academy, if you drew a map like this, you would definitely be punished by washing the toilet."
Man Liao and the others are the second squadron of the reconnaissance brigade. According to the mission arrangement, under the cover of the other two squadrons, they will go directly to the Jinzhou Guards to see the movements of the Jurchens in the Jinzhou Guards.
The whole journey from Lushun to Jinzhouwei was more than 150 miles, and there was originally an official road that could be taken. However, because Jinzhou Guard was occupied by Houjin, both sides must have placed warnings along the way, so the Second Squadron chose to take the mountainous road after research.
In such weather, it is easy to imagine walking on mountain roads.
If the training of the reconnaissance brigade had not been very strict, there would have been many casualties on the way there.
Even so, everyone has a deep understanding of winter in Liaodong.
"Captain, our clothes are not good enough to protect us from the cold."
Since it was a summary, someone immediately spoke.
The first problem raised was that the military uniforms were too thin.
Their cotton military uniforms were no problem at all in Shandong. But when we arrived in Liaodong, the temperature was extremely low.
Later, in order to keep out the cold, they had to take out their blankets and wrap them in their clothes, but the effect was still not satisfactory.
Man Liao was very conscientious and asked: "What exactly is wrong? Is it because there is less cotton used, or is the fabric not thick enough?"
Someone said: "There must be less cotton, it feels like the little wind is blowing in. The fabric is not good either, it feels like paper."
Man Liao took a deep breath into his hands and wrote down the questions the soldiers responded to with a pencil.
This was also one of the tasks given by Huang Sanhu when they came out.
Summarize the winter outdoor experience in Liaodong and provide experience for subsequent army operations.
Seeing his gesture of shaking hands, someone else said: "Our gloves are not good either, they will be frozen to the core in a short time."
Seeing many people putting their hands in the blankets, Man Liao combined with his own feelings and knew that this problem also needed to be solved by Zhen.
"anything else?"
One of the frost-resistant guys took off his hat and showed it to him.
"I need to talk to the people in the equipment department when I get back. There needs to be more cotton wool inside this hat. Otherwise, when I sweat and get cold, my hair will freeze with the iron shell and I won't be able to pull it off."
Guan Xu thought of something and said quickly: "Also, you must not lick iron objects with your tongue in the wild. That idiot Wang Ercai almost lost his tongue."
Amidst the roar of laughter from everyone, Wang Ercai's face turned as red as a monkey's butt.
"Captain, I wasn't eating steamed buns. Who would have thought that the dagger was still stuck on your tongue?"
Man Liao reminded seriously: "It is extremely cold here in winter, and iron tools are even colder than ordinary things. Human tongue contains moisture and is relatively soft. As long as it comes into contact, it will definitely stick. So remember, in the future I wouldn’t dare do such a stupid thing.”
The current military caps of the New Army are still in the style of the Ming Army.
Made of wrought iron and lined with cloth. In order to keep out the cold, the soldiers had to put cotton cloth inside. Not to mention it's ugly, it's also inconvenient.
Man Liao still wrote it down, but also revealed some.
"I heard from the brigade commander last time that we will need to change our clothes soon. This imperial leather will not last long."
When talking about this, everyone became energetic.
"Captain, what do the new uniforms look like?"
"I heard people say that the new military uniforms are very beautiful."
"My brother is over in Jiaozhou Bay. He said he saw Minister Wang handing a cotton coat to the counselor. I don't know if it is right? I wonder if we can get a turn?"
Man Liao quickly stopped him.
"Okay, okay, why are you so anxious? You'll know when you get it, won't you?"
When the scene became quiet, he continued to ask: "Are there any other questions?"
Zhang Jing raised his hand.
"Captain, everything else is easy to deal with. You need to talk about the shoe issue carefully when you get back. These cotton shoes cannot be used on snow. If the snow is stained on the shoes, it will not melt. Once it melts, the shoes will immediately become transparent. Wang Fengxue's toes were almost frozen off. Fortunately, he was discovered early."
Man Liao also felt that his cotton shoes were wet and uncomfortable, and his whole foot was cold. Even if he moved his toes back and forth, the feeling was minimal, as if the toes were not his own.
"Well, Zhang Jing, this question is very important."
Xie Shouyi took the potato flour from the cook and took a sip of soup without saying anything.
The sour and spicy hot soup slid down the mouth and into the stomach, making the whole person come alive.
"I have to ask the equipment department if they can think about it and get some tools for walking on ice and snow. Walking on snow is much more tiring than usual."
Someone said: "I heard that people here use horse-drawn sledges to travel in winter. How about we do the same when we go back?"
Man Liao rejected it on the spot.
"What are you thinking about? Horse-drawn sledges are used on flat ground, and the snow must not be deep. Look at the road we are walking, the snow is up to our necks, how can a horse run? Besides, we are scouts, Get a horse-drawn sledge out, we're afraid the enemy won't see us, right?"
Xu Zheng used a needle and thread to mend the hole in his butt, and said distressedly: "Then we're just going to crawl in the snow? Oh my god, I don't want to walk on this road again."
Wang Ercai embarrassed him.
"What are you afraid of? Will you encounter a blind bear again and again?"
Xu Zheng picked up a ball of snow and threw it over.
"Touch your grandma."
Everyone laughed again, and then all picked up the hot and sour potato noodles.
After walking for a day, my whole body was frozen. Only a bowl of potato starch can help them regain consciousness.
Watching everyone eating quietly, Man Liao carefully put away his notebook.
What is included here are all your personal experiences of this field mission. I believe that when I go back and hand it over to the superiors, I can help more colleagues adapt to the horrible weather here.
This kind of behavior is inconspicuous, but it is done all the time in every team of the New Army.
Just such seemingly inconspicuous little things, when gathered together, can become the basis for improving the new army's equipment, increasing combat effectiveness, and adapting to the environment.
The strength of an army is gathered bit by bit like this.
This is where the new army was far different from any other army at that time.
Holding the rice bowl in his hand, Man Liao was not in a hurry to enjoy the food, but looked to the north involuntarily, his expression full of doubts.
No matter how difficult and exhausting it was, he never forgot his original mission.
Their second squadron lurked under the Jinzhou Acropolis very well and completed the reconnaissance mission.
Although he had never entered the city, a situation still attracted Man Liao's attention.
While they were conducting reconnaissance, an army of 500 people from the Jinzhou Guard hurriedly left the city and headed north.
What on earth is going on in this freezing cold weather that makes it worth heading out of town?
