Chapter 130: Temporary First Battalion

Where there are new dependents, there will be a New Affiliated Army.

On the drill ground at the center of Chikan Military Camp, Han Bo, in front of all one hundred native warriors, used an electric megaphone to announce an appointment from the Great Office: effective immediately, a local force subordinate to the Tainan Pacification Command is established, the "First Battalion of the Provisional Regiment," abbreviated as "Temporary First Battalion."

The soldiers of the Temporary First Battalion are all composed of local natives; its current actual strength is one hundred men, with two hundred vacancies to be filled.

The post of Temporary First Battalion Commander is concurrently held by Tainan Pacification Command Chief of Staff Wang Xiaohui; Deputy Battalion Commander is Gongda.

That is all.

No native could understand that string of words Han Bo rattled off in fast Mandarin, not even Gongda, who could already stammer out some Chinese. It didn't matter, though — soon several young natives in full military uniform walked over and, with great difficulty, began to explain to their clansmen.

Before this, the transmigrators had gradually selected some "native attendants" from among the new dependents. The youths were assigned to various departments that frequently dealt with natives, basically becoming some transmigrator's tag-along. In this environment of full-time following, some clever youths quickly learned simple everyday Mandarin phrases. The ones assigned to the troops were no exception; they all did quite well and were considered part of the orderly establishment.

Next came arranging dormitories for the natives, bathing, and the whole series of new-recruit preludes. During this process, thirty men remained standing at military stance on the drill ground the entire time. Drenched in sweat, they seemed like air amid the noisy camp — everyone turned a blind eye to them, a pitiful sight.

It was not until just before dinner that the one hundred native soldiers were finally settled in.

After the meal came the uniform change. The main weapon of the Temporary First Battalion remained the javelins the native soldiers brought themselves — a point the transmigrators did not intend to change: the primary fighting would be done with firearms, so what the New Affiliated Army warriors carried made little difference. Besides, the opponents were also low-threat natives, and for a certain faction currently very short on iron, primitive javelins were sufficient.

Offense could only be that way, but on the defensive side, something could still be done: rattan armor.

Born from the later-era Yunnan Meng Huo Folk Custom Park, yellow rattan breastplates — crafted from local Taiwan yellow rattan through thirteen processes including machine-tool grinding, tung-oil soaking, steaming, and machine weaving — now gleamed with a hard, black, oily luster as they were issued one by one to the New Affiliated Army warriors.

This rattan armor was tightly structured, cross-layered in weave, tough and rainproof, resistant to blade cuts and spear thrusts — an excellent piece of defensive gear for the southern rain-heat regions, its sole weakness being that it was not fireproof.

After a live demonstration of the rattan armor's defense was given right there on the drill ground using the natives' own spears, the morale of the Temporary First Battalion's warriors soared. Armor that could mutually destroy an opponent's javelin was equivalent to an extra life between life and death. Most native warriors who had experience with tribal war pacts and head-hunting grasped the value of the rattan armor instantly — this needed no translation at all.

The inner lining of the rattan armor was made from some cotton cloth scraps. Soon, a clever fellow who had traded with the Japanese before suggested the lining should be deerskin… Good grief, so many demands? Even rich American GIs who wanted better accessories had to pay out of their own pockets, let alone the currently dirt-poor transmigrator faction… Take a tally — how many want the upgraded version? Send your own people back to the village to send word. One suit of armor, counting the installation fee, is two deerskins. Deliver them nearby to the Kiln District, and you'll get two of the new model…

Fine, being able to coax the natives into happily handing over their deerskins without killing anyone or burning houses — this could barely count as one point where the transmigrators were cleverer than the Dutch.

The noisy day finally ended. Early the next morning, the two units of soldiers in the camp began forming ranks on the drill ground. The Temporary First Battalion warriors held spears, uniformly wore bamboo hats, rattan armor on their upper bodies, cropped pants below, and straw sandals.

The thirty Army Cadets were wrapped up even more tightly: gauze hood bamboo hats, short jackets and gloves on top, leg wraps below, with cloth covers and straw sandals bound around their feet — not a single spot on their entire bodies was left exposed.

With a loud shout from the electric megaphone, the troops began to move out. Their destination was — a loop and back.

A unit that has not undergone training and integration — at least in the transmigrators' view — cannot be sent onto the battlefield. Even as rough as the native warriors were, they were just as precious right now, with enormous room for improvement. Once tempered into elite warriors, they could save the transmigrators a great deal of manpower and resources in the future — this point was very important.

The requirements for so-called elite warriors were actually not high: be able to operate in the 17th-century Tainan Wilderness covered in primeval vegetation, coordinate well with the main force carrying AKs, and serve as good auxiliary soldiers — that would be OK.

This objective, from today onward, began to be implemented.

The first thing the soldiers of the Temporary First Battalion had to learn was marching formation. They had to learn to maintain single-file or double-file marching and to start and stop on command. The transmigrators' demands of them were not high — no need for neatly synchronized military columns, only that they understood orders and learned to line up and follow, like workers queuing for meals in a large factory, with basic order being sufficient.

After setting out, the column headed east, walking toward the Island Interior. The pace along the way was not fast; at intervals, transmigrator soldiers wearing boonie hats, rifles slung on their backs, and short sticks in hand maintained order. The column would often halt abruptly on command from the loudspeaker. During this process, with the greeting of black ebony short sticks, the native warriors quickly learned how to march in formation, follow, and pause for rest.

The thirty gleeful cadets followed at the rear of the column — at last, no more military stance and formation drills! The lads had machetes tucked at their waists, smiles on their faces. They marched with neat steps, feeling the springy resilience of the fresh wild grass beneath their feet after the slash-and-burn — their mood as pleasant as a countryside outing.

The "rotting land" policy, centered on Chikan New District, had been slowly expanding into the Island Interior. The wild grass near the coast had either been burned off or cut away to make straw sandals; the land they left behind was sown with rush seeds.

The shrubs and woodlands further inland received the same treatment. The web-like streams were being cleared and dredged layer by layer, simple wooden bridges erected, and the dead water ponds along the way filled in.

So, the main force's operation today was still quite relaxed. The officers, intent on training formations, added no difficult subjects today — it was simply about familiarizing the natives with various commands and formations, having them queue up to cross bridges as required, and ford streams at selected points.

The column wound back and forth over the "rotting land" within a radius of less than five kilometers, marching for the better part of the day. At noon they even had a battlefield meal of bamboo tube rice: rice mixed with vegetables and diced fish was packed into bamboo tubes — each man had been given one before setting out. At noon the troops made fires on the spot, heated the bamboo tubes, and ate.

This mixed rice had already been cooked beforehand, so there was no need to add water on the spot. In Tainan's heat, a slight warming made it ready to eat — convenient and fast. The drawback was that it did not keep well; it was best not eaten overnight.

According to the training subject requirements, half the men in the column ate it hot today, while the other half ate it cold directly. After eating, all the bamboo tubes were discarded. Then everyone refilled their water canteens with purified water from several orange folding buckets.

In the afternoon, just before returning to camp, the main force deliberately stepped beyond the safe "rotting land" zone to make a circuit through a vegetation zone thick with shrubs and broadleaf plants, hurrying back to camp before dusk.