"Okay, Captain!"
As expected by Uncle Tang, after hearing his words, only a few people in the slightly lazy team responded feebly. Most of the others seemed to have not heard them and ignored them at all. They just looked after themselves. He continued to move forward with heavy steps. The dense woods, the ubiquitous vines and tree roots, and the venomous snakes that showed up from time to time. The venomous insects had successfully overdrawn their energy. At this moment, they just wanted to return to the camp as soon as possible and have a good rest on the comfortable straw mats.
You know, before coming to this alien continent, these people had never left their village for more than thirty miles, so they had no idea how painful it was to march on complex terrain carrying heavy weapons, although this was only half the time. In this hour, they only walked more than a mile, but the desert island had never been developed (the chamber of commerce behind the restaurant only set up a small camp in the south of the island for fleets that had deviated from the route to repair, replenish water, and dry out the moisture) goods, the northern part of the island is a desolate area that has never been touched by anyone), which is not the developed plains and mountains of their hometown at all. Every time they take a step forward, the advance team may have to use their waist knives to chop down the flexible vines for a long time, and sometimes even The logging ax carried by the team will be used to completely clear away some low shrubs so that the team can pass smoothly.
Therefore, the physical strength of the advance team members who have not been systematically trained is lost very quickly. There are even some thin guys who are shaking all over and the soles of their feet are floating. The reason why they can follow the team without falling behind is entirely due to the fear of the unknown. They are afraid of being alone. Staying in this unfamiliar forest, God knows when a wolf or a wild dog will break out. Therefore, although they were very tired, they gritted their teeth and continued to persevere. But now they heard that their new commander not only did not show sympathy for them, but even accelerated the pace of the march. It is no wonder that these former farmers who are accustomed to digging in the soil for food They didn't look good on Uncle Tang.
"You, you, you two, go to the front and take a look. Remember to bring a musket. If you encounter anything, fire a warning shot!" Seeing the cold reaction of his men, Uncle Tang was not worried and just silently took out the gun he carried with him. Then he lit the tobacco stick and started smoking beautifully. He knew very well that his first priority at the moment was to complete what the leader had told him, rather than to get angry with these rookies who knew nothing about the battlefield. He thought that as long as he could successfully complete the task, the position of commander would be taken over. He sat firmly, and then no matter how dissatisfied the group was, they would have to bow to him... After smoking a bag of cigarettes, Tang Bo made up his mind and immediately sent two guys who still had energy to go to the front of the team to explore the terrain. , lest the large group of men and horses encounter any insurmountable ravines when marching later, thereby delaying the leader's important event.
"Okay, Commander, we get it!" In the crowd, the two guys named by him reluctantly responded and began to pick up their weapons and walk deeper into the woods. They actually don't want to break away from the large group and act alone, but an order is an order. Once it is given, there is no room for bargaining or more, unless they no longer want to stay in the Chiyang fleet. But judging from the current situation, these people have no intention of leaving the fleet and living alone. Therefore, no matter how unhappy they were with Uncle Tang, this weird, mean, and sinister middle-aged man with pigtails, they still had no choice but to be obedient. Otherwise, they would be able to break through the team rules and regulations formulated by the big leader Kang Lin without Uncle Tang taking action. Minutes cost them their lives.
"I really want to blow that bastard's face off. Who does he think he is? Just a spineless Han Chinese with a shaved head. How dare he treat us like this? We must know that we have nothing to do with the leader, Yan Zanhua, Fan Guandu, Zheng Like the captain of the sentry, he is an upright Han Chinese, not a weakling like him who shaves his hair to change clothes and forgets his ancestors! If it weren't for the fleet gang rules, I would have slapped him in the face from the boss, what the hell!"
However, not daring to disobey orders does not mean that the recruits recognized Tang Bo and his philosophy of running the army. Although they did not dare to openly confront their superiors, they were privately dissatisfied with this man who was parachuted into their armor to serve as their armor. The long, middle-aged man with braids had a lot of criticisms. Everyone thought that Tang Bo was too strict in running the army, and he didn't care about the lives of his soldiers in order to cater to his superiors! You must know that they were just farmers digging in the fields before, not well-trained soldiers. If you let them do farm work, they may be very good at it, but let them march with heavy loads, especially if they are marching with heavy loads in a strange and complex environment. It was a bit too much to force people to do something difficult, and Tang Bo, the leading officer, knew this situation and instead of comforting them with gentle words, he kept scolding and insulting them. How could this not make them hate this guy from the bottom of their hearts? And there is an old saying in China. Very good, "Love the house as much as the crow, hate the crow as much as the crow." Due to Tang Bo's indifference to the soldiers, the braid on the back of his head became an original sin in the eyes of the soldiers, and they were often brought up to talk about it in private.
"Shut up, why don't you leave quickly? Do you want to be whipped..." Unfortunately, the person involved, Uncle Tang, had no consciousness of doing anything wrong. He was not aware of the anger directed at him in the originally calm team. It was brewing unknowingly, but the distance between it and the real explosion was not bad at all. The sudden shout from the depths of the woods relieved the awkward atmosphere in time, and everyone's attention was immediately drawn to the sentry who quickly ran back. Attracted, they all intentionally or unintentionally slowed down their pace and turned their attention to the panting sentinel.
"What's in front of you? Take a sip of water and talk slowly..."
"There is a deep ravine more than a hundred steps ahead, about five or six feet wide and a long armor. It seems that our large group of people cannot get through..." Seeing that everyone around them was looking at them with burning eyes, the two of them The outposts did not dare to keep their immediate superiors and companions waiting. They just drank a little water to moisten their throats and continued to report their investigation results to everyone.
"You, put down your weapons, return immediately along the same route, and report to the leader what happened here. The others will rest where they are, and you two will take me to see the ravine." After listening to his men's report, Tang Bo thought for a moment. He had a plan, and while he ordered people to return to the shore to report the investigation results here to his leader, he also ordered two outposts to take him to see the deep ditch blocking his way. He still did not give up at this moment. , wanting to see if they could find another way to pass through the deep trench and continue their unfinished exploration mission.
At the same time, on the beach where the advance team landed, a group of ragged prisoners were cutting down trees under the supervision of Chiyang infantry and building a temporary trestle for the Cangshan ship, the smallest tonnage in the fleet, to dock. The main force of the first infantry post responsible for responding to the advance team needs to remove the two artillery pieces on the ship to strengthen the firepower. After all, in the face of the sudden rush of natives, the artillery filled with stones, iron nails, ceramic tiles, and lead bullets is more powerful than The peasants and soldiers' messy musket shooting was much more reliable, and the trestle was undoubtedly more convenient than rowing boats for transporting heavy artillery. Therefore, under the threat of swords and guns, more than thirty prisoners living in the bottom cabin of the escort ship were quickly escorted ashore. They were told that their group needed to complete the construction of the temporary trestle within the designated time. As a reward, the prisoners who complete the work ahead of time will receive a smelly salted fish and a full bowl of grain porridge. However, if the construction of the temporary trestle is not completed within the designated time, there will also be punishments. In addition to starvation, Waiting for them are the bamboo whips and red-hot irons of the overseers. The overseers will not be merciful if they are killed. They will seize the opportunity to severely repair these unruly former pirates!
"Get out of the way, the advance team is reporting urgently, everyone should stay out of the way!" However, no matter how heavy their work tasks are and how tight their working hours are, these prisoners who have lost their freedom do not dare to block the way of the messenger. You know , the unlucky guy who stopped the messenger last time is still hanging on the swing on the main mast of the Hebei Ren. They don't want to be hung on the mast to eat the sea breeze. Therefore, when they see the messenger of the advance team, they are in a hurry. Rushing over, these former pirates armed with logging axes and hammers immediately put down what they were doing and stepped aside, allowing the messengers carrying black triangular flags to pass first.
"Discovered a ravine that cuts off the central slope?" After repeated reports, Conlin quickly received the latest news from the advance team. He had just finished a brief meeting and was walking in all directions. He walked to his cabin, and immediately stopped after hearing the news, and turned his inquiring eyes to Yan Si, the fleet painting officer who followed him down from the cabin, "Should we send a boat to the north of the island to take a look?" Look, I’m still a little worried if I don’t understand the specific situation on this island. I always feel that something bad will happen..."
"Lord Leader, in my humble opinion, this matter is unnecessary. After all, the island is so big, and our advance team has explored the south of the island, so there should not be any large groups of enemies... "However, in the face of Kang Lin's cautious attitude, Yan Si put forward a different opinion. He did not think that the enemy would continue to tolerate it when Chiyang's troops landed and went deep into the island. What kind of virtues did the Mamat natives have? I have seen it before. Those barbarians are bloodthirsty and violent. They are not a calm race at all. It is impossible not to react when seeing the massive invasion of aliens. But now the advance team has reached the center of the island, but they still haven't encountered them. What's the situation? There must be no outsiders on this island... At this thought, he nodded, organized his thoughts, and said to Kang Lin, "Besides, we don't have much time. Medical Officer Lei has been here before. , saying that Mr. Liu’s injury can no longer be delayed and that he must seek help from a famous doctor immediately..."
