Chapter 825: Consumables for the Rise of the Empire (Second update, please subscribe)
A good man has ambitions to travel the world!
This sentence can be used to describe all the men of the Ming Dynasty, even the Japanese men. Since October of the fifth year of Shengde, more than 150,000 Japanese men have traveled thousands of miles through the South China Sea, crossed the Sunda Strait and entered the Indian Ocean, and landed on the coast of East Africa or the coast of West Africa.
March inland, into the heart of Africa.
In the first month of the sixth year of Shengde, the 36th Mixed Battalion where Akiyama Yoshifuru was stationed landed in Mombasa, a city built by Arabs seven centuries ago that was ceded to the Ming Dynasty by Sambadari to prevent the slave trade.
When they landed in Mombasa, the old city in the east had completely turned into ruins. At the end of last year, local Arab slave traders attacked the Ming army, killing dozens of soldiers. In retaliation, the Imperial Navy razed the entire city to the ground and executed all the rebels, almost all the local men.
"The dignity of the empire cannot be challenged!"
This was the first term that Akiyama Yoshifuru learned after landing, and they were the tools to implement this term. After a brief rest, his mixed brigade began to march inland.
Even in January, the weather in East Africa was hot, and swarms of flies chased the marching troops, circling and flying over the heads of the soldiers covered in sweat and dust. Yellow dust, yellow uniforms, marching on the green wasteland.
The 36th Mixed Battalion, which left Mombasa two months ago, had lost one-third of its military horses. Almost all of the horses were used to pull carriages and artillery. As for the cavalry squadron where Akiyama Yoshifuru was located, it had now become infantry.
"Oh, these ropes are such annoying things!"
As Tsuguchi spoke, he wiped the sweat off his face with a towel.
"Yes, I think these flies may be a greater threat than those natives."
"Haha, to deal with those natives, you don't even need to use a gun, just a samurai sword will do. One strike will cut them in half..."
Like everyone else, whether infantry, cavalry, or artillery in the mixed brigade, they all carried samurai swords. Sometimes, samurai swords were even more useful than guns.
"Wow, this place is so vast. We have been walking for such a long time, but we haven't reached the end yet!"
"Oh, I heard that Africa is bigger than China. I can't even walk there in a year, not to mention three months!"
While Tsuguchi and others were talking, Akiyama Yoshifuru silently followed the team forward. The equatorial sun tanned him like everyone else. In just a few months, the young boy had lost his childishness.
As they were marching and chatting, a bugle suddenly sounded, signaling a rest. After the marching team stopped, the order to camp was issued, and the soldiers immediately set up tents.
Just as Akiyama Yoshifuru and his comrades were setting up their tents, a messenger came running over.
"Akiyama Yoshifuru, the captain is calling you,"
"yes!"
Soon, he arrived under the commander's tent, stood at attention and saluted.
"Report to the commander, Akiyama Yoshifuru reports in!"
"Well, take a break."
Zhao Hong, who had just washed his face, smiled.
"I'm going to give you a mission. You will lead your squad to set up a sentry post on the west wing of the unit to protect the unit overnight. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir!"
After Akiyama Yoshifuru left, Zhao Hong said to the deputy captain Li Chengyu beside him.
"Deputy Captain, you seem to admire him very much!"
"He's a good guy. When we fought Hahd last time, after the squad leader was killed, he immediately took over the command and directed the squad to launch a counterattack in cooperation with the Sixth Squad. In the end, it was he who chopped off Hahd's head. If he wasn't too far away from the headquarters, I would recommend him for promotion to sergeant."
“Too fast.”
Zhao Hong shook his head.
"Observe him for a while. If he is a promising talent, contact the headquarters after he arrives at the destination and recommend him to the military academy. Each brigade has two vacancies this year. He speaks Mandarin very well and writes Chinese characters very neatly. He should be a good candidate."
"Then let's wait and see..."
Nodding, Li Chengyu turned his head and asked.
"Staff Officer Narita, how far are we from our goal?"
"About 200 kilometers. At the current marching speed, we will reach Lake Victoria in about 20 days, if nothing unexpected happens..."
Lake Victoria is the target of the 36th Brigade. Although the straight-line distance on the map is about 800 to 900 kilometers, in reality they may need to walk thousands of kilometers or even further. Without a guide, they have to draw maps as they walk.
At most, they could only walk a dozen kilometers a day. If it rained, they could not continue to march. The most worrying thing was whether the river ahead would rise and hinder the march. Half a month ago, in order to bypass a river bend, they had to go around for five days before finding a suitable place to cross the river. After all, they could not abandon the baggage wagons or the artillery.
Just as they were talking, a medical officer with a red "Wan" armband on his sleeve walked by and reported.
"Reporting to the commander, thirteen more soldiers have been infected with malaria today. Private First Class Yamamoto Jusan and Private First Class Harada Hiroshi have died..."
Doctor Murata's report made Zhao Hong sigh and say.
"I understand. Cleanse their bodies. I will preside over their funeral in the evening!"
People died in the brigade every day, not from bullets, nor from the natives' machetes or spears, but from disease.
That evening, after dinner, the brigade held a grand cremation for the fallen soldiers. Everyone except the sentry officers participated.
The soldiers dug a big pit for their comrades and placed them in the pit with their heads facing north. Then, Zhao Hong, the captain of the battalion, walked to the corpse and cut off a small lock of hair from the dead man's ear with scissors. The squadron leader, the squad leader and the squad leader also cut off some hair and wrapped them in white paper. Then, they piled firewood on the corpse, and the corpse burned in the fire. All the officers and soldiers saluted with guns or knives, and then they squinted at the fire on the pile of firewood.
Looking at the blazing flames, Zhao Hong's expression was solemn. As their captain, he felt a little heavy-hearted. After the funeral, he returned to the tent and wrote in his marching diary.
"April 13, the sixth year of Shengde, sunny, no battle today, marched about 23 kilometers, lost one horse, and two soldiers died of disease. Since our unit set out on January 24, 316 soldiers have died of various diseases, 17 were killed in action, 1,091 were infected with malaria, and only 27 were not infected with malaria. The commander suggested that the biggest enemy in Africa is the harsh environment, and we should establish a corresponding tropical disease research institute to overcome tropical diseases..."
After finishing his march diary, Zhao Hong felt a little dizzy. The familiar feeling made him realize that he was sick again. Putting down his pen and putting the diary in his leather bag, Zhao Hong shouted.
"Orderly, orderly..."
When the orderly came running over, he was already lying on the bed.
"Go call Dr. Murata, I might have a fever..."
It was at this moment that the hyenas stopped whimpering in the night and began to make a strange, almost human cry...
(End of this chapter)
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