The Armada began a month-long rest and recuperation in Coulombo. After conducting a series of battles, personnel, firearms, supplies, and ships all needed to be refitted.
For more than a month, the continuous sea voyages and battles at the Port of Coulombo have made the soldiers nervous. The sea voyages encountered scorching heat and hurricanes, and everyone has undergone tremendous tests. Although their will and quality have been tempered,
But after all, we are all made of flesh and blood, and our emotional tension and physical fatigue must be relieved.
Physical fatigue and consumption can be easily solved. Get more meat, improve the diet, let the brothers rest more, and perform some targeted maintenance to improve the physical condition. But mental fatigue is also a problem that requires extreme attention.
.
The torment of leaving home, missing your family, parents, wives and children, and the psychological anxiety caused by successive bloody battles will have a great impact on the soldiers. There is a common state of mental stress in the army. Soldiers will suddenly wake up in the middle of the night.
, grab the soldiers
Qi Qi shouted to join the enemy. Others also got up and shouted for war. This happened many times. During the day, they talked about it as a joke. But in fact, in the eyes of Zhang Yanling and other army generals, this
But it was because I was too nervous.
Not only that, there were many violations of military discipline in the military. These things were unimaginable before. But they happened.
Since the Armada set off, there has been almost no time to relax. The soldiers and horses have been fighting for almost a year, and the battle in a strange country is full of unknowns and blood. Those who survive are the iron-blooded warriors, the best who have been tempered into steel.
However, most people actually have limits. Especially psychological limits.
Strings that are stretched too tightly can easily break. That's why Zhang Yanling decided to take a month-long break. Such a long break made Zhang Yin and others a little puzzled.
Zhang Yin, Chen Shi, Wang Hong and others had long been rushing to attack Guri and Goa in South Asia. They were very unhappy with Zhang Yanling's decision to take a month's rest, thinking it was a waste of time.
But Zhang Yanling still decided to do it because Zhang Yanling felt that it was necessary to do so.
In order to relieve the pressure on the soldiers in all aspects and completely relieve and boost their morale, Zhang Yanling actually summoned Chen Shi, Zhang Yin, Wang Hong and others to discuss how to solve the physiological needs of the soldiers. This simply made Chen Shi, Zhang Yin and others
People almost had their eyes popped out.
In their view, this kind of thing is the most damaging thing to the soldiers' energy and undermines the discipline of the army. It is absolutely impossible for a man like the Duke of Guo, who has extremely strict requirements on military discipline, to allow this.
The Shibo Army also has clear military disciplines in this regard. Soldiers are not allowed to molest local women, and prostitution and visiting brothels are prohibited behaviors. Violators will be severely punished. Now that the Duke of the country would take the initiative to bring up this matter, this makes
They even thought that the Duke was joking on purpose.
Of course Zhang Yanling was not joking. It was in response to some problems in the army that Zhang Yanling decided to do this. Recently, there have been several cases of soldiers raping local women in the army. There was also an incident where soldiers from a small banner went to Ceylonese in groups.
Having fun in brothels has extremely bad consequences.
The corresponding soldiers were also severely punished, but these things gave Zhang Yanling a lot of thinking.
One of the soldiers who committed the crime confessed that he couldn't bear it anymore. After fighting for such a long time, he didn't know whether he would live or die tomorrow, or what the future would hold. He thought that he was not married yet and had not tasted the taste of a woman, so he saw
The local woman got on the horse forcibly when her head got hot.
Another soldier said that he really couldn't sleep at night. The brothers in his barracks couldn't talk about it either. Everyone was talking about women and they were very angry. So they made an appointment to go to a local brothel together.
Everyone returned home satisfied and had a very sweet sleep at night. Until the incident came to light the next day and they were all arrested by the military discipline team.
There were also two cases of violent murders, and incidents of soldiers fighting with each other in the military camp also occurred in the past few days.
Of course, this does not mean that there will never be some disciplinary incidents in the military. That is impossible. But if they occur in a concentrated manner, it is a bit abnormal. Zhang Yanling believes that this is the consequence of the physical and mental exhaustion of the soldiers. Under circumstances of great pressure,
Some emotional and behavioral loss of control.
Zhang Yanling believes that solving the physiological needs of soldiers may be a means of adjustment. Although it seems to be a very absurd behavior, from a human and psychological perspective, this is actually a kind of comfort and care.
Zhang Yanling believes that there are at least several benefits.
First, the situation of soldiers raping local women and having fun privately will be eliminated. This is good for local security and the improvement of relations with the Ceylonese people.
Second, solving physical problems in an organized manner will give soldiers a sense of psychological comfort, instead of causing pessimism and disappointment such as not knowing whether they will live or die tomorrow.
The third is that venting energy can help ease the tense atmosphere and emotions in the military. Even if this is not psychologically supported, at least it can be supported physiologically.
Finally, this is actually the most tangible reward, which has a great effect on boosting morale. A man’s original motivation for fighting is to defeat his opponent, grab money and women, and satisfy his possessive desire. This is also
The most effective means of motivation throughout the ages. So in the past, after soldiers and horses fought and conquered the city, the generals would indulge the soldiers in looting for three days, killing, raping, looting and setting fire to them. This was reward and incentive.
The army is about to face another decisive battle. At this time, morale encouragement is extremely important.
Of course, Zhang Yanling's request is that this matter should be carried out in an organized manner. Arrangements should be made by selecting local women who are engaged in this kind of business and women who voluntarily engage in this matter to earn money. Of course, everything should follow the principle of voluntariness, and it must not be done.
There is no compulsion.
These women must undergo health checks to prevent the spread of diseases to the army. In addition, it is impossible to indulge the soldiers in this matter. They should be released once every ten days in turns, which will not have much impact on the body and energy. Moreover, it is required
No one is allowed to mention this matter, and no one is allowed to make fun of it in the camp. The place where things are done is also far away from the camp, choose a fixed location, and proceed in an orderly manner.
Faced with Zhang Yanling's explanation, Zhang Yin, Chen Shi and others were noncommittal. They couldn't say anything. Logically speaking, soldiers visiting prostitutes was not a big deal in the Ming army. It was even more common in the Beijing camp. As long as you have money.
Go prostitute, no one will care about you. It's just that under Zhang Yanling, this matter is prohibited.
Since the prince thinks this matter has so many benefits, what can they say? Besides, the women from Ceylon outside the military camp are blocking the entrance of the military camp in groups, waiting to solicit business. A group of hard-blooded people who are far away from home.
It is indeed very uncomfortable for the men to hold it in like this every day.
Everyone actually understands that the next battle will be a decisive battle, and it will also be a fierce battle. Thinking that many brothers may really die soon. And most of them have never even tasted the taste of a woman.
, which is indeed a bit unbearable.
So the matter was decided. Zhang Yanling did not make it difficult for others. He decided to go to King Kled himself and clarify the matter with them. He asked King Kled to send someone to organize local women to engage in this industry.
Arrange this matter secretly and properly.
Of course, the charges are unavoidable. Fortunately, the property that the Folangji men searched was seized, and a large sum of gold and silver was enough to pay for the expenses of the brothers.
It's funny for Zhang Yanling to think about this matter. Who would have thought that he, the great Duke of the Ming Dynasty, would actually work for the physical problems of his brothers, making himself like a pimp. Zhang Yanling's only hope is,
This kind of physical pleasure and the comfort of a woman can make the soldiers under his command more motivated and psychologically comforted.
In fact, the reason why Zhang Yanling decided to take a month's rest was not just to allow the soldiers to adjust physically and mentally. There were other factors as well.
For example, one of the factors is that Zhang Yanling wanted to avoid the hot weather in July and August, as well as the frequent hurricanes during this period.
This is detrimental to navigation operations, and even more detrimental to the Armada. The impact of bad weather is still great on the soldiers. We cannot rely entirely on luck and willpower. No one wants to fight for their lives in the stormy sea. That is actually better than fighting.
It's scary in itself.
Another reason is to consider the enemy's situation.
Judging from the information obtained from the interrogation of Munilla and others, the Francois have accumulated heavy troops in Guri and Goa, and there are indeed a lot of soldiers, horses and warships. Although the figures given by several Francois generals are not exactly the same.
, but basically it can be known that there are more than 30 warships in Guri Port, and the Eastern Fleet and the port garrison have more than 10,000 people. More importantly, the two ports on the Indian mainland are lined with forts, and the defense facilities are very complete and
Solid.
This is actually not difficult to understand. You must know that the first fierce battle of the Eastern Fleet of the Folanji people was to snatch the two ports of Guri and Goa from the Garo Empire. It was after they established a foothold in the Indian mainland that they obtained the Folan
With the support of the nobles and kings in Langji's country, they provided more ships, recruited more adventurers, and launched further attacks on the eastern countries.
The two ports of the Gallo Empire originally had very strong city walls and defensive facilities. Almeida also relied on the cooperation of the pirate Timothy to capture Guri Port with great difficulty. It can be seen that even with strong ships and powerful guns, Almeida
, it also takes a lot of effort.
After the Francois occupied Guri Port and Goa Port, they naturally started a lot of business and construction. The two port cities were originally located in difficult terrain, plus fortified cities and high-walled castles, plus various forts, arrow towers and other defense facilities.
, that is definitely a tough nut to crack that is armed to the teeth.
Why didn't the opponent concentrate their forces to fight to the death with him at Coulombo Port? Zhang Yanling believed that one of the important reasons must be that Alfonso believed that fighting at Guri Port would be more foolproof. The defense facilities there were more solid and perfect.
Moreover, the Jialuo Empire obviously has a deep connection with the Folangji people. It is impossible to say whether they, like the Ceylonese, also sent out troops to fight against themselves. Compared with the Ceylon Kingdom,
Generally speaking, the Garo Empire has more soldiers and horses and is more powerful.
It was precisely because of various considerations that Zhang Yanling had to carefully adjust the army and armaments, sort out morale and firearms equipment, inspect ships, and a series of other things. Moreover, he also had to find good strategies to defeat the enemy and plan a perfect combat plan.
Facing a powerful enemy, perhaps this is the last battle of the Ming Dynasty's Invincible Fleet. And this battle requires Zhang Yanling and the soldiers of the Armada to be in the most perfect condition and fight an absolutely perfect battle in order to win.