When David was holding a pre-war preparation meeting, Huang Gang, a recruit in the Medan recruit training camp, was maintaining his weapons according to the instructor's requirements.
Huang Gang just got a brand new Lee Enfield the day before yesterday. This is a standard Lee Enfield produced by the Nyasaland Military Industrial Group for export. The gun is 1130 mm long, 0.303 inch caliber, and has a magazine capacity of ten rounds. It is the same as the British
The export model is also equipped with a magazine partition.
This type of magazine divider has been abolished in southern Africa, but it is still used in the United Kingdom. This batch of rifles was originally going to be sold to the Ottoman Empire. At the strong request of the Ottoman Empire, the Nyasaland Military Industrial Group also distributed it.
Upper magazine divider.
The reason why the Ottoman Empire requires the use of magazine dividers is very simple. Like the British War Department, the Ottoman Empire also believes that the ten-round magazine is too many, which will cause a lot of unnecessary consumption and put greater pressure on logistics.
Therefore, we need to use a magazine divider to turn the original ten-round magazine into a single-shot rifle.
The first lesson for all recruits when they get their weapons is how to maintain their weapons. The Medan Army inherits the tradition of the southern African army and must take care of their weapons as much as they care for their own eyes, regardless of whether there is live ammunition shooting that day.
When maintaining weapons, instructors from the training camp will personally check the maintenance status.
Perhaps because they were about to join the war tomorrow, the recruits around Huang Gang were quietly sorting out their equipment, and no one spoke.
After maintaining the rifle according to the instructor's requirements, Huang Gang placed the rifle and the scabbard with the bayonet on his bed, and then began to tidy up his clothes.
There are three sets of clothes and two pairs of shoes in total, two sets of training clothes, one set of regular clothes, and both pairs of shoes are short boots that can cover the ankles.
According to the instructor's request, when the troops join the battle, they must bring two sets of training uniforms and shoes, leaving only one set of regular uniforms. Huang Gang plans to ask the instructor for leave later. If possible, Huang Gang wants to send this set of regular uniforms home.
To my youngest brother.
Before joining the Medan Army, Huang Gang was a worker in the Lexus plantation. He also had his grandmother, parents, three younger brothers and two younger sisters at home.
Huang Gang and his other two younger brothers were drafted into the army, and only the youngest brother was at home.
After the regular clothes were distributed, Huang Gang only tried them once, and then folded them neatly. He originally planned to send them home.
"Stand at attention!" came the squad leader's command from the door. No matter what they were doing, the recruits all put down what they were doing and stood up.
The person who walked into the tent was instructor John, and he also brought a recorder.
"We are leaving tomorrow. As usual, we have to leave a suicide note. A suicide note is a letter to our family members. Relax, gentlemen. Leaving a suicide note does not mean that we are going to die, but it is so that you will not leave any regrets. If
Unfortunately, we died in battle, so don't worry, the pension will allow our families to bury us happily." John's words did not make the recruits relax, but the atmosphere became more solemn.
"Sir, if we die in battle, how much pension will our families receive?" A recruit bravely asked.
"What's your current monthly salary?" John asked.
"One pound." The recruits responded quickly. They had just received their salary.
Like all colonial governments around the world, in order to more conveniently plunder East Indies, the Dutch colonial government used Dutch guilders issued by the colonial government itself in East Indies, which was different from the Dutch guilders used in the Netherlands, so the Medan troops paid their salaries in
is a more secure pound.
"The pension is your two years' salary, so it's about 24 pounds." John sat down on the only chair in the tent. This pension should satisfy most people.
"24 pounds?"
"Are there really that many?"
"I won't give it to you--"
The recruits finally broke the silence and expressed their surprise at this number.
There is nothing surprising. A human life is worth this price these days, let alone 24 pounds. For a few pennies, some people will take risks and kill people.
"There is no doubt that if one of you unfortunately dies in battle, his family will definitely be able to get the money." John emphasized that pensions are very useful, not only to comfort the families of soldiers who died in battle, but also to
It is an encouragement to other fighters, so it is impossible not to give it.
Even the East India Servant Army actually has a pension system, but the system may not be strictly enforced.
The Medan army certainly does not have this problem, unless Rock wants to abandon East India.
"Don't worry, we won't go directly to the battlefield this time, but we will go to feel the atmosphere of the battlefield in advance, which is what the saying goes: see the blood -" John didn't understand the situation well enough, so when he said "see the blood"
, many recruits are a little embarrassed.
Don’t forget that this is 1910, and there are still conflicts between tribes in East India. It is probably the first time for these recruits in the Medan Army to go to the battlefield, but when it comes to seeing blood——
Many of them may have seen blood earlier than John.
People in this era are not flowers in the greenhouse, and even the aristocrats are not indifferent to the four bodies and five grains in the legend. On the contrary, many aristocrats have received elite education since childhood, and their abilities and vision must be extraordinary.
"——Maybe you can make a small fortune. Our most dangerous task is probably to clean the battlefield. If you pick up anything then, be sure to turn it in. It will be distributed uniformly after the war. All combatants will have different levels of danger according to the task.
There are rewards for the size of your contribution. If you don't turn in the things you pick up, be careful that a grumpy mercenary will shoot you." There are many things John wants to remind you. The Umbrella Company has strict regulations in this regard.
Cleaning the battlefield is actually not easy. Anything can happen on the battlefield. There is always such a thing as pretending to be dead, but it is also difficult to escape in the end. After all, when cleaning the battlefield, you need to touch up your swords or guns.
After finishing the knife and gun repair, you still have to clean up the corpse. It takes a lot of mental ability to peel off the clothes from the blood-stained corpse, not to mention prying open the mouth to see if there are gold teeth.
Therefore, in Umbrella Company, only African-American employees can do this job. This is the conclusion reached after many practices. There will always be omissions in battlefields cleaned by white mercenaries or Chinese mercenaries. Only African-American mercenaries have cleaned the battlefields.
The battlefield is the cleanest.
"Sir, I would like to ask for leave and go home." Huang Gang finally found the opportunity to ask for leave.
"Why go home?" John did not refuse directly.
"I want to give this suit of clothes to my brother. If I die in the battle, I won't have any use for it." Huang Gang was very calm when he said this, not too sad.
The psychological quality of people in this era is surprisingly good, and separation between life and death is commonplace. Huang Gang was supposed to have two brothers and a sister, but unfortunately they all died young.
"The best gift you can give your brother is that you come back alive. This is why we leave a suicide note before every war. We have to write down everything we want to say to our families, so that we can be free from the consequences.
Go to the battlefield with concern, don't cry with a sad face, the bullets on the battlefield all have eyes, the most timid and cowardly person will die first. If someone runs away, I will kill him first without the enemy shooting!" John said
You are not polite when you are cruel, and it is very common to run away from battle, so the troops keep emphasizing it.
There is nothing that can be done about it. Mercenaries have no faith. Professional soldiers in southern Africa can still say that they fight for the country and their families. The mercenaries fight just for money. Many mercenaries are lonely and do not even have their families.
No, if you die, you will die, and no one will even collect the body.
Therefore, mercenaries can fight with favorable conditions, but once they are at a disadvantage, few mercenaries can persist until the end.
Of course, so far, Umbrella Company has not faced a situation that required fighting to the last moment. Bandar belongs to the battle of Medan Force.
"You don't have to worry. I've left a lot of suicide notes. I'm still alive and well. You don't have to worry about your personal belongings. Before departure, sort out your personal belongings and give them to the administrator, and then leave an address.
After the battle, go to the administrator to get it back. Unclaimed items will be sent by the administrator according to the address." John showed up and tried his best to dispel the recruits' doubts.
"Okay, gentlemen, now tell me what you want to say to your family, one by one -" The recorder came out at the right time, and the recruits immediately gathered around.
"Huang, fight hard for your family. Even if you fight to the last moment, don't flinch, let alone run away. If you run away, you will be shot, and your family will not have any benefits, no honor, no pension, and your relatives will not receive any compensation.
Take care of those deserters on the battlefield who will eventually become a shame to the family." John called Huang Gang to stop, a little worried about Huang Gang's condition.
"Please rest assured, sir, I will never become a shame to the family." Huang Gang was determined. If he were a white man, the shame would be a shame, as long as he could live.
Compared with white people, Chinese people pay more attention to family honor. If they do something that insults their family, they will not be able to see their ancestors after they die.
On June 3, Umbrella Company's mercenaries and Medan troops set off from Medan Port and Medan respectively, heading towards Lake Toba.
Lake Toba, a hundred and fifty kilometers away, was already boiling. The Second East Indian Division was burning, killing and looting all the way. It seemed that they did not realize that Lake Toba was also a part of East India and that the people on the shores of Lake Toba were also East Indians.
.
Also because too many things were looted along the way, the current team of the Second East India Division is very bloated. The troops of less than 10,000 people actually have more than 2,000 carts, and each soldier is covered with all kinds of stolen goods.
The fabrics are so colorful that they look ugly to the sky.
It doesn't matter whether it looks good or not, but when it comes time to fight, it might save a life.
However, these old experiences from the past may not be effective now.
