Chapter 895: The Meaning of a Meal
After initial contact, the expeditionary force and the Saints Legion reached a temporary agreement to establish a joint command.
Although the political and economic aspects were not included in the interim agreement, a substantial military alliance between them had been established.
In this temporary agreement, the Alliance still respects the Saints Corps.
After all, it's a startup group.
In the joint command, the cooperation between the two sides is not particularly close, but it can be considered a joint command overall.
In actual ground combat, when the two sides fight side by side, they will generally determine who will be the leader of a joint operation in a direction or a battle, and it may be someone from both sides.
At the beginning, the main characters in the ground battle were still the Saints and the mortal troops they formed - the Crusades.
After all, they are fighting at home and are familiar with the situation on Alert Planet and the enemy.
After the allied forces landed, it was natural for them to listen to others and learn from them with an open mind for a while.
But soon, the alliance became the leader of the battle.
The reason is simple: money.
And many times, having money itself means being able to fight.
…
Raymond Weiss heard many reports of frontline battles.
He actually had no doubt at all about the fact that the Alliance Army was 'rich'.
Just look at how new and beautiful their warships are and you’ll know.
However, based on his years of experience in the Human Empire, he still lacked a realistic concept of the extent of this so-called "wealth".
Until one day, something happened that made him feel it truly.
He was on his way to the front lines to reinforce a somewhat difficult battle.
He saw a Union company falling back from the front.
This company looked like the most ordinary Alliance Army, with full combat uniforms, lightweight ceramic vests and helmets. There was no feedback power armor, and there were only a few exoskeletons. There were a dozen heavy-bolter machine guns and two individual plasma beam cannons, all of which were used for position deployment and fixed firepower. There were five melta guns, plus individual anti-armor rockets, high-explosive grenade launchers, and platoon mortars loaded on military trucks, ready to use... Anyway, it was a whole truck.
Raymond Weiss is not envious at all.
What's wrong? Our elite infantry battalion in the Crusades can also have this configuration!
You said this is the alliance's cannon fodder company?
The Alliance Army does not have this organizational name, don't lie to me!
He could only comfort himself in this way and find psychological balance.
What made him feel even more comforted was that when he passed by, he heard several ordinary soldiers in the company complaining about the food.
They were cursing that the logistics troops were a bunch of people worse than pigs and dogs. They worked so hard and fought so hard on the front lines, but in the end they were forced to eat this pig food. They have been eating it for nearly half a month, and there is no improvement at all!
Raymond Weiss is not a dark person, and he will not feel happy if the Alliance soldiers are not living a comfortable life. But... there must be a little balance, otherwise the Seven Star Corridor has been the backbone of the 30 years, and the mortal army he is proud to build with his own hands, the Crusade Army, will not seem too lame?
But he soon lost his joy and even his expression changed a little.
He saw the alliance's 'cannon fodder', and what on earth they were cursing as 'pig food'.
It was a standard individual supply pack, which contained a self-heating food pack, high-calorie carbohydrate foods such as noodles/rice/white bread, sauces, meat and dried vegetables, which could be heated and eaten in one minute after opening.
A snack, usually a sandwich cookie or a small piece of cake.
Two cans of meat, which looked like some kind of animal meat and seafood meat.
In addition, there are some snacks, such as cheese sticks, candies, jellies, energy bars, and chocolate bars, which are more random.
A quick supplement, a combination of energy/vitamins/proteins, one stick for a whole meal. Soldiers were too lazy to eat this stuff, unless they were in a war and had no time to use their supply packs, then they would take out one stick to deal with a meal.
In addition, there are beverage packs, which are usually powdered tea, beverage powder, milk powder, instant coffee powder... There are all kinds of them, which can be drunk immediately after mixing with water.
What does Raymond Weiss say about this?
He recalled that he had never eaten so well since the war began!
Space Marines are strong and consume a lot of energy. They must consume a lot more calories than ordinary soldiers. However, the taste and variety are not so rich. It is probably a composite energy bar. Eat a few more, or even just a heated synthetic starch block...
Of course, it’s not that he really can’t afford it.
He is the leader. If he must satisfy his appetite, what can't he satisfy? Even a big eater like a Space Marine will not go bankrupt if he eats a lot.
However, he cared less about the desire for words and was determined to make a gesture and share the joys and sorrows with the lower-level soldiers.
This kind of role model does have some effect.
When ordinary Crusade soldiers could not even get full by eating synthetic starch, when they thought that their leader, the Emperor's Angel of Death, the noble living saint, ate the same food as them, perhaps their morale would be a little better?
That's true.
However, this effect is still very different from the Alliance's real guarantee that every soldier can eat well. In comparison, Raymond Weiss can clearly realize that what he did was just a show when there was no other way.
Can you fight if you eat well?
As an experienced commander, Raymond Weiss's answer was undoubtedly: Yes!
If you eat well, you can fight well.
No matter how advanced the equipment is, the soldiers' tactical actions still require sufficient physical strength and a strong physique to support them.
Simply feeding the soldiers might help them maintain their physical fitness, but maintaining their physique is a bit difficult and they have to eat well.
Eating well also brings high morale bonus. The soldiers of the Alliance complained about the "pig food", but it did not prevent them from fighting bravely. But if they were fed real pig food, it would be another matter.
What is most terrifying is the significance behind the phenomenon of allowing soldiers to eat well.
The alliance's productivity, the alliance's military logistics support...these are the keys to victory.
Food supply is, of course, a very important part of logistics. Soldiers need weapons and equipment to fight, but they also need to be well fed. However, after ensuring basic food supply, the importance of food quality quickly decreases.
After all, there are more important things that need to be transported in military operations than the quality of food.
The alliance's rationing of military supplies was definitely not a problem at all. They even had enough surplus to ensure that the soldiers had good taste in food, and even cultivated their taste for food.
Even the taste issue can be guaranteed, let alone other things.
…
After fighting at the front line and solving the key attack target, Raymond Weiss returned to the base camp without forgetting what happened before.
He went to take a special look to see what the food in the alliance was like.
That was a division headquarters of the Alliance, and the place where the soldiers ate could be considered a field restaurant.
There is more than one, and more than one style.
One dining car after another was used as a kitchen. In Raymond Weiss's opinion, the cooks in the logistics department were no different from the chefs in high-end restaurants. They skillfully served pot after pot of freshly cooked dishes to the table.
At that moment, if there weren't wilderness around and if the people eating weren't wearing military uniforms, Raymond Weiss would really think he was in a food street.
Okay, give up.
But at the same time, another kind of thought began to grow from this soil.
Now, he already knew very well what the Alliance had done in the past hundred years, after the Age of Cataclysm.
The expeditionary force gave him a thorough scientific education.
He wasn't very skeptical.
This thing can't lie.
A look at the morale of the Alliance soldiers is an indirect proof of this; the Alliance controls more than ten dark side cosmic domains of the Empire and occupies almost one-third to one-half of the dark side's area, which proves how successful the dark side expedition is.
In terms of legitimacy... Legitimacy is bullshit! The one who can achieve such a feat has the greatest legitimacy!
Raymond Weiss has had enough of Holy Terra.
…
Gu Hang had already paid attention to this place when the battle of Alert Star just started.
The strategic value of opening a channel to the other side of the empire is self-evident.
And having the Saints Corps here is an even better thing.
There is no doubt that the Seven Star Corridor is completely in the hands of humans instead of being occupied by Chaos, which saves the Alliance Expeditionary Force a lot of trouble.
If not, when all seven planets are occupied, they are almost sandwiched in the Scarlet Scar because they are too close to it. If Chaos takes over this place, within ten years, all seven worlds will be semi-warped. At that time, if we want to fight, it will be like an expedition to the warp. Demons will emerge in an endless stream directly from the land of the world. The entire Western Front Expeditionary Force may have to use the same strength as the Battle of Ohmgeria to win, and the losses will be very heavy.
And now, an advance fleet is enough to get things done.
Gu Hang's order has been issued to the Western Front Command.
Yan Fangxu has a very important task next, which is to deploy defenses in the Seven Star Corridor. At the same time, he must focus on clearing the Mingshu Star Region that is connected to the Seven Star Corridor on the dark side to ensure the stability of these worlds.
Then, the administration of the alliance will quickly catch up and quickly carry out alliance reforms in Mingshu Star Region. With heavy military suppression, this process should be relatively smooth. A large amount of investment will follow, striving to build Mingshu Star Region into a key front-line military industrial area, so as to be able to supply the Seven Star Corridor nearby.
The ultimate goal is to make the Seven Star Corridor as solid as a rock. The seven fortress worlds have the saints' base in front, the support of the Mercifat star field, and the support of the Mingshu star field built by the alliance in the back, which greatly enhances their stability.
At the same time, after the construction of the Qixing Leiju Tower is completed, Gu Hang will also devote some of his energy to focus on maintaining this channel.
Then, after stabilizing the Seven Star Corridor, the Alliance could consider passing through this corridor, crossing the Scarlet Scar, and transforming the Dark Side Expedition into a true recovery operation for the entire empire and the entire territory.
As for whether this part of the task should be handed over to the Western Expeditionary Force or a new front should be formed to be responsible for this area, we will study it when the time comes.
Another surprise comes from the Saints themselves.
When the Battle of Alert Star was basically over, the Fourth Advance Fleet provided a batch of supplies to the Saints and the Crusades free of charge, and was preparing to move deeper into the corridor when Raymond Weiss put forward some conditions.
He hoped to sign a series of more in-depth cooperation agreements with the Alliance and the Imperial Dark Side Committee in the name of the Saints Legion, in the name of the protectors of the Mercifat star field, and in the name of the living saint of the state religion.
In name, the Saints would certainly not join the alliance. But in reality, Raymond Weiss's initial opinion was that he wanted to join the Empire Dark Side Committee.
To this end, they were even willing to accept administrative officials from the Alliance in the Mercifat Star Region; they were willing to accept the Alliance's investment, even if it was on the condition of sharing control; they were willing to incorporate the Saints' Chapter itself, the twelve Saints' Sub-Chapters it had called upon, and the so-called Crusades that the State Religion had established in the name of the Chapter Auxiliary Army, which had broken through the restrictions of the Imperial Law, into the Alliance's combat command system...
Of course, there are many details. Raymond Weiss did not sell himself for nothing, and he also made many demands. For example, he asked the alliance to invest more in the Mercifat star field, guarantee religion, invest in the defense of the Seven Star Corridor, and make subsequent expedition plans to the other side of the corridor, the so-called Imperial Holy Territory...
There was nothing for Gu Hang to refuse.
Many of the conditions proposed by Raymond Weiss were what the alliance had originally planned to do. It was just a matter of increasing the intensity of the conditions.
The extra investment will earn you the chance to join a startup team, which is totally worth it.
In this battle, the Seven Star Corridor itself is naturally the alliance’s biggest demand, and its strategic value is too high.
The Saints Regiment is what Gu Hang wants next.
Before this, he was still thinking about where to make a breakthrough and coax this battle group into his hands.
Unexpectedly, they came to my door on their own initiative.
According to this initial intention, even in name only, the saints are all "our own people".
Gu Hang was looking forward to how the system's battle group interface would judge the status of the Saints Battle Group.
This was the first time that he had the opportunity to have a startup regiment recognized by the system.
(End of this chapter)
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