Chapter 432: Testing the Achievements

The Flying Tiger Battalion's full entry into the remaining veins of the Yan Mountains this time was, in essence, still a large-scale troop training exercise.

At this time point, the Eight Banners' main force had not yet completely withdrawn from the Corridor, so everyone could only circle around in the mountains, conducting practical combat drills, and couldn't charge out for large-scale operations.

Thus, after entering the mountains, the troops immediately dispersed into five parts at the first moment, unfolding a large reconnaissance screen, and the personnel vanished into the vast, boundless mountains.

In theory, this kind of dispersion would easily lead to a loss of communication, so ancient cavalry, apart from the scouts sent out, would not have their main force act this way.

However, under the connection of later-generation communication equipment, the Flying Tiger Battalion's seemingly scattered formation was actually still a tight network, capable of reacting to discovered situations at any time.

The Command Post, overseen by Special Forces Commander Qian Tieshan, sat like a spider mother at the center of the entire screen, constantly sending and receiving intelligence from all sides and exercising central command.

This section of the Yan Mountains' remaining veins that the troops entered, measured from the Ji Garrison at the mountain pass on the corridor's west side, all the way to Qian'an at the mountain pass on the east side, had an east-west length of 200 li.

The thickest section of the mountains in between was the stretch from south of Zunhua to Qian'an, with a north-south span of 100 li. The over 500 cavalrymen and nearly a thousand horses that entered the mountains vanished right into these hundred-li-thick mountain ridges.

In later generations, this distance would be just a two-hour drive; the Changchun–Shenzhen Expressway cuts right through the mountains, easy and pleasant.

In the seventeenth century, however, the roads were far from easy.

In the northern mountain lands of winter, remnant snow lay everywhere. The hills and valleys were covered in chaotic woods and shrubs, occasionally blocked by frozen rivers, mountain streams, and villages—according to regulations, the Flying Tiger Battalion soldiers on this field exercise had to circumvent these scattered mountain villages and could not be discovered by the mountain folk.

Because of this, a mountain range only 100 li thick from north to south took Mei Fuxi's team, maintaining a slow search formation, a full four days to see its end.

At noon, facing the heatless sunlight, standing among the trees on a mountaintop, the entire detachment sat on their horses, quietly gazing north.

From their angle, they could already faintly make out the distant plain through the gradually thinning mountain gaps ahead. The Zunhua Plain, only 10 kilometers wide, was positioned to the detachment's left front; they could enter it after crossing just a few more hills.

However, the unit would go no further than this; the subsequent infiltration plan required the personnel to be even more dispersed.

At this current position, there was already a very high chance of encountering Eight Banners scouts, so the previous search formation was no longer needed. Combat formations of three, or at most four, people per group were the optimal choice.

After finishing the communication and report to the Command Post, Chen Huoding told Mei Fuxi: "Battalion HQ orders us to rest and reorganize on the spot."

Upon receiving the order, Mei Fuxi immediately assigned tasks: two team members with binoculars went to both sides of the hilltop to serve as lookouts, while the rest dismounted on the spot and began their rest and reorganization in this mixed forest, mostly comprised of cypress trees.

The team members skillfully began setting up camp. Some took out feed bags mixed with wheat, black beans, and buckwheat and hung them one by one on the horses' heads. Others lit kerosene stoves, shoveling clean remnant snow from nearby into the pots.

Along this journey, the initial alcohol fuel used for testing had long been exhausted, so now they could only use kerosene for cooking.

Compared to the smokeless and odorless alcohol fuel, kerosene produced a little smoke and a kerosene smell. But in the mountain forests of the seventeenth century, this faint smoky smell was nowhere near enough to be observed by distant human eyes, so it was still very safe.

The snow water in the two kerosene stoves quickly began to bubble and boil, and then some salted meat and dried vegetables were thrown into the pots. At the same time, a thin iron steaming rack with mesh holes was used as a pot lid, with some meat pies placed on top.

Marching in the northern winter had this advantage: all food was frozen rock-hard by the cold before going into the pot, with no risk of spoilage or rot.

One must know that it was already the seventh day since the entire Flying Tiger Battalion had set out from Jinwei. Had this been in the south, seven days would have caused most of the food to grow mold.

The team preparing to eat did not yet know that, at the very moment they were boiling salted meat, the canning ship carrying the battlefield artifact was already drifting off the coast of Tianjin. By the time the Flying Tiger Battalion next formally deployed for combat, Mei Fuxi and his men would be able to eat southern fruits.

From this perspective, the army truly deserved its title as the nation's number one money-burning powerhouse.

In later generations, the Rabbit's annual military expenditure was around 700 billion, and what was the total net worth of the two Mas that everyone knew so well?

This ratio was normal. If you have assets, you must have corresponding military force to protect them. A brainless style like the Great Ming's, raising the army like beggars in peacetime and then expecting soldiers to transform into fierce warriors overnight on the battlefield—it would be strange if the nation didn't fall.

The transmigrators from later generations naturally aligned their approach to military treatment with later-generation concepts.

A single can of lychees, whether sold locally in Tianjin or shipped to Beijing, could be sold for 10 taels of silver per can in the seventeenth century with one's eyes closed.

How did that poem go? A rider's red dust makes the consort smile; none know it is for lychees that he comes.

Regarding the attitude of ancient northerners toward southern lychees, Emperor Ming Yellow of Tang and Lady Yang could testify—this was completely a commodity that could make local tyrants brainlessly pay out silver.

So the transmigrators gritted their teeth on this matter: even just distributing a few cans to soldiers before battle represented a huge military expenditure.

When the thick meat and vegetable soup in the pot began to roil, the meat pies on the steaming rack were also softened by the steam. At this moment, the team members each took out their military iron mess tins, took turns filling them, and began to eat and drink contentedly in the forest where the temperature was below zero.

At the same time, the two kerosene stoves could not rest yet: the freshly melted snow water would be used to water the horses.

An hour later, all the horses had eaten their fill of concentrated feed and drunk enough water.

In northern warfare, to put it bluntly, horses were more important than men. Because the transmigrators had been active in the south before this, mainly playing with ships, they had not estimated the importance of horses, especially the needs of elite cavalry and scouts regarding mounts.

This time, through the report sent back to Dayuan by the northern delegation, the Cabinet and the General Staff finally realized the importance of warhorses at certain times. The Army's half-dead horse farm finally saw the dawn; the embryo transfer work for Arabian horses had been put on the agenda, and it seemed a batch would be imported by cutting in line.

After finishing this high-quality field lunch, the unit began to rest. Several people now pulled out cigarettes from their bosoms, and Mei Fuxi was no exception; from his pocket, he took out a hard pack of Yellow Crane Tower, the most expensive brand.

After some joking and horseplay with the team members who came over to bum a smoke, the rich second-generation kid ended up treating them after all.

The only one not smoking was Chen Huoding, Chen Erye.

After joining the Special Operations Team, Erye no longer smoked while on a mission. Smoking would cause a strange smell to emanate from the body, making it easy to expose oneself during missions requiring stealth and infiltration.

However, this did not mean Erye had no pastime... Picking up the MK17 Rifle in his hands, Erye began to expertly clean the gun.

Back in the day, when following his elder brother Zhou Tong to Hangzhou to meet the rebel Daoist Cao, the mountain bandit Chen Erye had still clamored for a pistol before he would agree to rebel.

Now, Erye was sitting in the northern mountain lands a thousand li away, cleaning an automatic rifle in his hands, with an M9 pistol stuck in his waist—completely armed to the teeth. Thinking about it, the world's affairs were truly unpredictable!

Just as Erye was happily cleaning his gun, a grinning Mei Fuxi sidled over and began cleaning his gun alongside Erye.

In Mei Fuxi's hands was a Type 38 Rifle.

After over a month of training and adjustment, the Flying Tiger Battalion had already eliminated the weeds and kept the flowers, promoting the superior and weeding out the inferior, stabilizing the entire unit's structure. By this time, scout team leaders like Mei Fuxi, responsible for reconnaissance, had been permitted to receive shooting training and subsequently issued firearms.

Grinning as he cleaned the unit's only firearm, Mei Fuxi once again tried to cozy up to Erye, attempting to borrow that "Repeating Musket" in Erye's hands to play with. If that really wasn't possible, the sharp short musket at Erye's waist was also a fine thing!

However, a certain someone was destined to fail once again; Erye simply ignored this slick fellow. In Erye's view, anyone who hadn't fought and killed on the battlefield was nothing but a slickster...

Just at this moment, the radio emitted a signal again.

Upon hearing the notification tone, Chen Huoding's expression turned solemn. He put away his gun and stood up, walking behind a large tree as per regulations, and turned on the radio. Then, a string of words mixed with many code phrases came through the earphones.

After listening to the message passed from Battalion HQ, Chen Huoding replied back using some code phrases as well. After a few exchanges between both sides, Chen Huoding turned off the radio.

The message from the radio was very simple: three Tartar scouts were heading in this direction.

The order issued by the radio was also very simple: they did not wish to see ten people swarm the Tartars to finish them off; they required Chen Huoding to seize this rare opportunity to test the unit's training achievements.

Chen Huoding indicated he understood.

In fact, far ahead of natives like Mei Fuxi in the so-called reconnaissance unit, the Special Operations Team members had long been spread out in a net at the mountain range's edge, monitoring the area.

The Special Operations Team members, in groups of two, had split into ten groups, not only monitoring the several main mountain passes entering the mountains from the Corridor, but last night, some members had even advanced to the vicinity of Zunhua City to conduct reconnaissance.

Therefore, for the Eight Banners scouts entering through these mountain passes, their every move was under surveillance.

"Gather." Chen Huoding, emerging from behind the tree, quickly assembled the ten team members, then publicly relayed the superior's instructions to Mei Fuxi: organize the Scout Team to advance and reconnoiter; the rest of the personnel were to stand by on the spot.

After hearing this, Mei Fuxi had no suspicion of anything else. Following the previously practiced pattern, he designated two team members on the spot to form a vanguard group together with himself.

After the three-man group packed their gear and weapons, they assumed a triangular formation and descended into the valley floor along the gentle slope on the left side of the mountaintop. Following the direction Chen Huoding had pointed out earlier, they scouted ahead along the route.

At this time, Chen Huoding was also riding a horse, following behind the group at a slightly farther distance. The four of them formed an irregular diamond shape.

Half an hour later, the vanguard group, having just turned into a section of the valley floor, encountered the Tartars.

Both sides spotted each other simultaneously in this short, stubby valley, separated by a distance of three hundred meters.

Three against three.

Chen Huoding had not yet turned the corner at this moment.