At 8:17 PM, military vehicles slowly moved into the dock under the guidance of police cars.
The commander jumped off the jeep and quickly approached to salute Secretary Lu and Vice Mayor Qin, accompanied by the deputy commander.
The warriors jumped off the vehicles one after another, lining up under the command of the company commander and platoon leader.
After each company assembled, they reported to their respective camp commanders.
The three camp commanders then ran to report to the chief of staff.
The chief of staff, seeing all participating officers present, imdiately reported to the commander.
"Comrade Commander, the entire regint has assembled, awaiting instructions!"
"At ease!"
"Yes!"
The participating officers, ard and ready, stood tall facing the sea breeze, adding a tense atmosphere to the dock.
Commander Ding looked at his subordinates, turned, and said: "Secretary Lu, Commander Wang, our superior has ordered our regint to follow the transport troop's command on our way to the exercise area."
"Commander Wang, please give an introduction."
"Alright."
Commander Wang imdiately gestured, and Han Yu, Li Mingsheng, and Chief of Staff Zhang hurriedly stepped forward.
"Commander Ding, this is Comrade Han Yu, the branch captain of our Binjiang Reserve Team, this is Comrade Li Mingsheng, the Political Commissioner of the Binjiang Reserve Corps and the Big Commander of the Binjiang Civilian Transport Team, and this is Zhang Ming, the Operations Staff of the Navy East Sea Base. The three of them are responsible for transporting you to the exercise area."
"Hello Commander Ding, I am Han Yu. It's an honor to carry out the task of transporting you to the exercise."
How could the branch captain be so young?
And he looks like a ship repairman, wearing deep blue overalls instead of the Civilian Militia Reserve Force uniform.
Commander Ding was stunned, not knowing what to say next.
Han Yu had familiarized himself with their code numbers in the morning, and he said aningfully: "Commander Ding, is your Major General Liu participating in the exercise this ti?"
"Captain Han, you know our Major General?"
"I've attended etings with him and had a few drinks together."
Had a few drinks together!
Are you kidding? With your drinking capacity, you dare to act like a bigshot here!
Secretary Lu, Vice Mayor Qin, and Commander Wang couldn't help but laugh, but they had to admit he did know their Major General, had indeed gone to the capital together for a comndation eting, and indeed had had drinks together, just that he passed out after one glass.
Han Yu didn't care about much else, knowing that when you're in a car, you listen to the driver, and on a boat, you listen to the captain. Moreover, mariti transport is different from road transport; safety is a major concern.
He didn't answer Commander Ding's question but instead, in an indisputable tone, said: "Commander Ding, as you ntioned earlier, your regint will now follow our arrangents. Political Commissioner Li and Chief of Staff Zhang have already worked with your Deputy Commander Wang and Chief Yu to develop a boarding plan. Please organize all officers orderly according to the plan and board the ship."
The local leader and Military District Commander trusted this young man, and he indeed seems to know the Major General.
Commander Ding didn't dare hesitate, answered with "Yes," and turned to issue the boarding order.
The deputy commander and chief of staff dared not delay and imdiately organized the participating officers to board the ships, with Ding Mingsheng and Chief of Staff Zhang's assistance.
Their base was far from the sea, so they certainly hadn't carried out such tasks before. Han Yu didn't want to miss this opportunity for them to quickly get used to being on a sea vessel, so he smiled and reminded: "Commander Ding, according to the plan, you should board Jiangyu 628.
I've spoken with the captain, and there's a crew cabin reserved for you on board. You can take this ti to establish a command center on the ship. Boxed als will be delivered soon, with dinner served at 9 PM. After the comrades finish eating, we will broadcast the precautions for the ship's passage. Please organize all officers to study."
"Alright, thank you."
"You're welco."
You must adapt to whatever situation you are in.
If you're taking soone else's ship, you must follow their instructions.
Commander Ding had no choice but to run to the jeep, grab his luggage and equipnt, accompanied by a chief from the Military District, and board the ship.
Secretary Lu didn't expect Han Yu to show so authority, and couldn't help but laugh and ask: "Is it appropriate to rush them on board like this?"
"They're all landlubbers; they will get seasick. If they don't use this precious ti before departure to adapt, they'll have worse seasickness once underway."
"Will boarding help them acclimate?"
"When the boxed als are delivered on board, we'll organize the fleet to depart and anchor outside the harbor. Big waves are rolling; they'll quickly acclimate, though the boxed als Secretary Hua prepared might go to waste."
Recalling how Han Yu organized water police, Changhang police, and military rescue team trainings over the years, Vice Mayor Qin asked with amusent: "You deliberately make them seasick, knowing they'll throw up, just to get it over with quickly?"
"Mayor Qin, they're here for a landing exercise, not a tour."
"Alright, you're the branch captain; do as you see fit. But don't bla for not warning you that you'll upset a regint, hahaha."
"What upset, their Major General Liu would thank for it."
"Sounds sowhat reasonable." Secretary Lu sympathized with the army officers boarding, chuckling: "If most of the officers get seasick and puke up their boxed als, what then when they're hungry, surely they can't just gnaw on their compressed biscuits they brought."
"Secretary Lu, if they feel hungry and have an appetite after vomiting, that's actually good; I'm just worried that they won't want to eat anything after vomiting, and even if they force it down, they'll throw up again."
It directly impacts combat effectiveness!
Commander Wang couldn't afford to joke; he focused on Han Yu and asked: "Will the seasickness be that severe?"
"Possibly worse than imagined, but rest assured, I've prepared well."
"What have you prepared?"
"I've had each ship prepare plastic bags. Once they board, they'll each be given two, specifically for vomiting."
What kind of preparation is this?
Commander Wang was bemused, and Han Yu continued, "I've also prepared seasickness dicine on each ship, though I'm not sure if it'll be effective."
Just then, the boxed lunches arrived.
Minister Li imdiately organized the civilian soldiers to take the lunches onto the ships.
Commander Ding found his assigned ship and, with the help of the crew, located the crew cabin Han Yu ntioned.
The crew cabin was very small. Even though there was a small window, the nauseating sll of fish was still present, making it hard to eat.
When he exited the cabin and reached the front deck, intending to lift the spirits of his n seated there, two crew mbers squeezed through. Distributing convenience bags and seasickness pills, they spoke in heavily accented Mandarin:
"Comrades, sitting on a sea ship is different from a river ship, and this is a small fishing vessel. It rocks heavily on the sea, so you might get seasick. Leaning over the side to vomit is dangerous. If you fall into the sea, rescue might not be possible. If you want to vomit, use the bags..."
"Anyone who wants seasickness pills, raise your hand. I have them here. Take two at a ti. If you need water, get it from the cabin."
"It's cold at night, wear more layers, but thankfully the weather forecast says no rain for the next couple of days."
The warriors were all excited to participate in the landing exercise.
Those who had never seen the sea before were even more thrilled about the sea journey.
They didn't think they would get seasick, so naturally, they didn't think they needed the convenience bags or seasickness pills. However, they were eager to find out more about the precautions for being on a ship.
One warrior raised his hand and asked, "Comrade, where do we throw away the boxed lunch containers and disposable chopsticks after eating?"
"There's a woven bag ahead. After you finish, put them in there. This is a port and a fish port at that, so it's different from being at sea; you can't just throw things into the sea."
"What if we need to use the bathroom? Is there one on the ship?"
"There are two buckets ahead, you can use them."
"What about for bigger needs?"
"The sa."
Are you kidding ? They expect us to crouch over a bucket for big needs?
A warrior skeptically asked, "Comrade, how do you usually handle this?"
"We handle it simply, but you can't. The superior orders that you can only use the buckets. Oh, I also prepared toilet paper for you."
"..."
The conditions are just too rough.
Commander Ding heard everything clearly and suddenly regretted volunteering for the landing exercise. If he had been with the other brother units transported by rail for a land exercise, he wouldn't have to endure this hardship.
While secretly lanting, the loudspeaker on the ship started broadcasting announcents from the Binjiang Civilian Transport Team.
Li Mingsheng sat in the broadcast room, holding the script, and read into the microphone with great modulation, "Attention all officers and soldiers on board, attention all officers and soldiers on board, per higher authority's requirents, we now broadcast precautions for the duration of the ship journey, we now broadcast precautions for the duration of the ship journey:
One, we will next organize for each ship's crew to set safety ropes on the front and rear decks. Safety belts and buckles will be distributed. Please fasten them under the crew's guidance. During anchoring and sailing, do not undo the buckles unless necessary. If necessary, report to the crew on duty."
Two, the convoy will depart the port at 9:30 on schedule and anchor three nautical miles outside the port waiting for orders. Due to large waves at sea, so comrades may experience seasickness. Be ntally prepared for seasickness..."
The instructions were detailed and comprehensive.
Commander Ding felt a mix of emotions. On his way here, he thought they'd treat him as a guest, but instead, they treated them like "cargo" or even "animals," having to follow every command and defer to the ship captain and crew on each vessel.
Han Yu wasn't sure what Commander Ding was thinking. As the ti arrived, he gave orders to each transport squad.
The soothing sound of the ship's whistle echoed, followed by the rumbling of the main and auxiliary engines. Under the dockmaster's instructions, every fishing boat sailed out of the harbor in orderly fashion.
And off to sea they went!
Commander Ding faced the sea breeze. Looking at the dark sea surface, he took another glance back at the well-lit fish port, feeling both excited and sowhat conflicted.
The warriors were even more excited, but that would soon change.
As the fishing boats continuously headed east, the lights of the fish port gradually disappeared from sight. Surveying the surroundings, they could only see the navigation lights of other fishing boats. The swells grew larger and the previously safe feeling fishing boat rocked and swayed on the ocean like a leaf, in a completely random manner.
Everyone started to feel a bit dizzy, followed by nausea.
Having anticipated this, the ship captain picked up the radio: "Port command, port command, Jiangyu 628 calling."
Han Yu picked up the communicator: "Port command received, 628, go ahead."
"The swells here aren't too big. Should we sail two nautical miles further east?"
"What's the water depth two nautical miles further east? Can we anchor there?"
"The water depth is less than six ters, we can definitely anchor there."
"Agreed, ensure anchoring safety."
"Received."
Li Mingsheng heard it all clearly and reminded, "Secretary Han, this will scatter the convoy."
Han Yu observed the radar screen and mused, "It's better to spread out. Since it's an exercise, we should mimic real combat. Anchoring too close together is dangerous. One enemy shelling and we could be completely wiped out."
"That's true. I'll notify the squads to spread out and anchor separately."
"As long as they're within this area."
Han Yu drew a circle on the nautical chart, then looked up and said, "Chief of Staff Zhang, report to the higher-ups that all participating officers and soldiers have boarded, and the Binjiang Civilian Transport Team is ready."
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