Strictly speaking, this is not the first time that an aircraft has bombed ground troops. In Tripolitania, North Africa, the Italian Air Force used "Strong Wind" fighter jets to successfully bomb the Ottoman Empire's ground troops, but due to insufficient bomb load
, the effect was not obvious, so it did not attract attention.
Compared with the "Strong Wind", the "Albatross" is a model specially used for bombing, with a larger bomb load and more accurate delivery. Eighteen 50-kilogram bombs were thrown into a small town with an area of less than one kilometer.
The whole town was immediately in flames.
Before the bombing started, the mercenaries were still cheering.
When the town turned into a sea of flames, the mercenaries also fell silent.
In the face of absolutely superior weapons, personal combat effectiveness is really not important. The mercenaries are well-equipped and the individual soldiers are strong. It is not a problem to bully the East Indian servants. They can even compete with the regular German troops. But if they are faced with this
In this situation, how many people can survive?
It can be said that at that moment, many mercenaries were planning to retire. Anyway, it would be nice to go back to southern Africa and become a farmer. There is really no need to stay in the umbrella and live in life and death.
Middleton was one of them. He was probably awakened by the violent explosion. Middleton came to Hicks with sleepy eyes. Seeing Xianda who had turned into a sea of fire, he was stunned: "This, this is...
"
I don't even know how to express my feelings.
"Fortunately, we don't need to fight airplanes!" Hicks was also shocked, but he didn't have Middleton's unnecessary thoughts.
"Is your Lordship taking a takeaway flight?" Middleton realized a serious problem.
"We are selling all fighter jets, not this kind of bomber. Even if we sell them in the future, do you think the Lord will let us risk being bombed to go to war?" Hicks is not worried, the pension of the Umbrella Company is also very expensive, and hiring
Soldiers are used to bully people and pick up mistakes, not to fight tough battles. The top management of Umbrella has a very accurate positioning of mercenaries.
Otherwise, the Umbrella Company would not have refused the requests of Italy and the Ottoman Empire to hire Umbrellas to fight in the war.
Because of the many conflicts in Nyasaland, Southwest Africa, and Tanganyika, the Umbrella Company has become famous all over the world.
When the Italians and the Ottoman Empire purchased aircraft in Nyasaland, they hoped to hire mercenaries from the Umbrella Company to participate in the war, and the price they offered was very high.
It is a pity that this request was also rejected by Roque. After the conflict with Southwest Africa ended, Roque's positioning of Umbrella Company gradually became clear. Umbrella is a commercial enterprise after all, so Umbrella will not be involved in wars between major powers and avoid becoming a major power.
It's OK to be a victim of the strife between them and use it to bully countries like the Netherlands. For traditional powers like Britain, France and Germany, the umbrella must still be respected, so that the umbrella can live longer.
Middleton was so distraught that Middleton couldn't listen to anything Hicks said.
"Don't worry, because the East Indian Lord will never sell the aircraft to the Dutch. Even if it is sold, there must be a countermeasure, and the Umbrella Company will participate in the war." Hicks is actually not very sure.
, but you can only convince yourself.
While he was talking, three more "Albatross" roared over, dropped eighteen more bombs on Xianda, which had become a sea of flames, and then flew away.
"It's a bit of a waste -" Hicks was still in a mood to comment. He must not have known that once the bomber takes off, it must still light the bomb before it can fly back to avoid danger when landing.
So fighting a war is really a very expensive thing.
A bomb costs one or two hundred rands even if it is a friendly price, and a dispatch of six planes costs several thousand rands. If you don't have the financial strength, you really can't afford high technology.
Unlike the pessimistic Middleton and optimistic Hicks, recruit Huang Gang's mood was turned upside down.
A month ago, Huang Gang was an ordinary worker in the Medan plantation. His daily job was tapping rubber, pressing oil, or harvesting sugar cane. If nothing unexpected happened, Huang Gang, like his father, would find a Chinese family at an appropriate age.
A girl may start a family and continue her unchanging job, or she may be unlucky and find a girl from a Javanese family and gradually become a Baba Nyonya.
Now Huang Gang has more choices. He can continue to serve in the Medan army, or he can work hard to train and join the umbrella to become a well-paid mercenary. It is more likely that he will immigrate to southern Africa and become a farmer.
Any choice is more promising than the job of plantation worker.
If Huang Gang had doubts about various rumors in southern Africa before, these doubts have disappeared without a trace now.
Southern Africa has strong economic strength. Even an ordinary mercenary would be a wealthy man in East India.
Southern Africa has strong military strength. The Dutch, who have ruled East India for hundreds of years, are vulnerable to the mercenaries of Southern Africa.
It is said that these seemingly omnipotent mercenaries are not the most powerful force in southern Africa. Huang Gang racked his brains and could not imagine how powerful the most powerful force in southern Africa could be.
With Huang Gang's limited imagination, he can only think that they are probably similar to those gods in mythology.
One thing is certain, the citizens of Southern Africa will not worry about invasion by foreign enemies, and will not suffer humiliation. Even if they work on a farm in Southern Africa, the work content is similar to that on an East Indian plantation, they should still be happier at work.
.
Lunch an hour later opened a new door for Huanggang.
Because they were with mercenaries, Huang Gang's class also enjoyed the treatment of the mercenaries of the Umbrella Company. Each person received two boxes of cans, one meat and one vegetarian, as well as a piece of bread and an apple, as well as the food being heated on the fire nearby.
coffee.
When he got the can, Huang Gang didn't know how to open it.
The mercenaries around him were not polite. They used their bayonets to pry open the cans, and then there was a lot of wailing.
"It's the damn lunch meat again—"
"I have braised pork. Who would like to exchange a can of soybeans with me?"
"Not bad, mine is whitebait——"
The mercenary who got the canned whitebait was immediately surrounded by people. Huang Gang didn't even know what whitebait was.
"Eat?" Hicks still had soybeans, and both cans contained soybeans. This was a perk of being the captain.
"I don't want to eat it. I want to take it back to my sister. She hasn't seen it yet." Huang Gang prepared to have a hungry meal and carefully put the can in his pocket. The two sisters happened to have one for each, but they would definitely share it.
Hicks did not persuade him any more, and of course he did not ask the cook to get two more boxes for Huang Gang. Logistics supplies are all rationed. If we get two more boxes for Huang Gang now, there might be a mercenary going hungry tomorrow. Don't look at these guys.
Now you are picky and picky. If you really don't give any of them, these guys will cause trouble.
However, Hicks did not turn a blind eye. As soon as the second box of canned soybeans was opened, Hicks handed it to Huang Gang: "I'm full, you can take this box -"
Now that you have opened it, you have to eat it, otherwise the stuffy heat of the tropical rainforest will turn rancid in minutes.
"Sir, thank you -" Huang Gang wanted to refuse, but more cans were immediately handed over.
"Eat this, or I'll beat you to death!"
"Boy, I'm giving you an advantage. This is braised pork. Look at the finger-thick fat. Eat it slowly -"
"I haven't opened this one yet. How about changing it to your apple?"
The guy who changed the apple was immediately ridiculed by a group of people.
If it were a guy with a stronger self-esteem, he would probably feel humiliated.
But Huang Gang didn't feel this way. This group of seemingly tough guys were really thoughtful, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to survive on the battlefield until now. They wanted to make Huang Gang not too embarrassed, so they used these tough-looking guys.
method to force Huang Gang to accept.
Like Huanggang, the guides from the Medan Army had a lot of cans in their hands, most of which had been opened but not eaten at all, or only a little bit, and some were not even opened at all.
Judging from the appearance of these mercenaries, they are really not charity. Many of them really hate these beautifully packaged foods from the bottom of their hearts.
In East India, even tin boxes like this are not willing to be thrown away.
Now Huang Gang finally believes that in southern Africa, even an ordinary mercenary is a rich man, because in East India, even rich men are not so generous.
When Huang Gang was working at the Lingzhi Plantation, he saw the children of the Lingzhi family eating these expensive cans. Even the Lingzhi family would only open one or two for each meal, and they would put them on the dining table as a formal sign.
After finishing the dishes, the boxes must be carefully put away.
They won't just throw them around like these free-spirited mercenaries.
The coffee after the meal once again refreshed Huang Gang's knowledge. East India is actually an important producing area of coffee. Banda Aceh, the northernmost tip of Sumatra Island, produces the best coffee in East India. The farm where Huang Gang worked in the past actually also produced coffee, but
Huang Gang had never drank it, and had only secretly tasted the taste of coffee beans.
Without ground coffee beans, it really doesn’t taste very good.
The coffee dispensed by the Umbrella Company is instant coffee made by grinding coffee beans and adding milk powder and sucrose. This kind of coffee tastes much better than eating raw coffee beans.
The key is that the mercenaries do not limit the amount of coffee. They pour large bags of coffee directly into a vat filled with boiling water and stir it. Anyone who wants to drink can just use a cup to put it in. Some people even drink coffee directly from a steel helmet. The taste is a bit ugly, but the quantity is
The boss is full.
Huanggang didn't have a special coffee cup, so he just took a canned soybean box and washed it to put it in.
The rich aroma is mixed with the smoothness of milk and a hint of the bean flavor of canned soybeans. It is so sweet that it is almost greasy after a sip. Huang Gang is instantly happy and satisfied.
