Chapter 3990
Chapter 3990
Chapter 3990
Compared to his previous visits to Phuket and Hambantota, Chen Pingliaofu could clearly feel the different exotic atmosphere of Fubo Port.
As they rode away from the port, they could see a large number of camel caravans waiting in the vicinity of the port area. Hundreds and thousands of camels lay or stood on the edge of the high sand dunes, creating a spectacular scene. Some camel drivers brought large amounts of water and fodder to feed them, while others were adjusting their saddles and bridles and loading the packed goods onto the racks on both sides of the camel humps.
These camel caravans are the means of transport for the distribution of goods in Fubo Port. In areas where vehicles cannot pass, camels, known as the "ships of the desert," are the most efficient means of transportation. Currently, tens of tons of goods are distributed to various parts of the nearby desert every day through these camel caravans.
Besides the enormous camel herds, the ubiquitous Arabs are also a major attraction. These natives are dressed in distinctive local clothing, completely covered from head to toe with headscarves and robes—clearly an effective, ancestral measure to protect against wind, sand, and sun.
Upon entering the military camp, the group was surprised to see quite a few young and strong Arab men. Before Chen Pingliao could ask, Qian Shaobao explained, "In order to support the Kingdom of Shihu, we have been training local officers for the past two years."
Training foreign officers has always been a tradition in the Haihan Army, but the Special Operations Division has historically focused more on combat missions and generally wouldn't handle such training. However, the territory of the Kingdom of Xihu is located south of the Strait of Hormuz, thousands of miles away from the Haihan homeland. Sending the native officers back for training would be too costly, so the Special Operations Division ultimately took on the task itself.
Chen Pingliao asked curiously, "What is the quality of these hope Hu soldiers?"
Qian Shaobao explained, "They grew up eating beef, mutton, camel meat, and seafood, so their physical fitness is quite good. It's hard to assess their cultural literacy, since their language and culture are different, and their cultural education leans more towards religion. As for their military skills, that depends on the situation."
"In terms of the ability to lead troops into battle, they are still in the era of cold weapons, and their main tactic is to charge on horseback. Their so-called combat experience is mostly small-scale brawls in our view, and they have almost never participated in large-scale battles. They have no experience in cross-regional operations, so we have to teach them a lot of military knowledge from scratch."
"However, they are born and raised here, and their ability to survive and move around in the desert environment is very strong. Most of them are skilled in horsemanship, which is better than ours. If we want to establish ourselves in this region, and even send troops to conquer the Suez region, which is also a desert, we will definitely need the assistance of these Arab soldiers."
Chen Pingliao said, "So, when it really comes to war, we can't expect hope Hu's army to be on the front line. They can only play a supporting role and do some logistical and supply work."
Qian Shaobao laughed and said, "Someone has to do the rough and heavy work. Our special operations division has limited manpower. With auxiliary troops to handle miscellaneous tasks, it will be much easier when fighting."
In fact, the tasks that the Hitler Army, as an auxiliary force, can undertake are not limited to menial tasks. For example, as a reconnaissance unit, its indigenous ethnic advantages are something that special operations divisions can never match.
The Arabian Peninsula, with a land area far exceeding that of the Han mainland, lacks tropical rainforests and major rivers, with only some mountains and hills along its eastern and western coasts. More than a third of the peninsula is desert. The combat environments in which special operations divisions were accustomed to are almost non-existent here, making local auxiliary troops indispensable. Therefore, Qian Tiandun took the training of local auxiliary troops very seriously, personally overseeing the selection and training of the first batch of trainees, with the goal of organizing a usable Arabian cavalry force as quickly as possible.
The series of military operations by the Shihu Kingdom to rapidly expand and annex surrounding tribes over two years were a form of training through combat. This allowed Shihu officers to operate alongside special forces divisions, quickly familiarizing themselves with the tactics and methods of the Haihan Army, while also enabling the special forces soldiers to become acquainted with the unique desert environment of the Arabian Peninsula.
Of course, this is no easy task. After all, Arabs and Han Chinese belong to different ethnic groups and cultures, and their values are quite different. Although they submit to the powerful force of the special operations division and choose to serve in the special operations division, they may not necessarily believe that the Han civilization is superior to their own national heritage.
Qian Tiandun was experienced in leading troops, and he quickly realized that such differences could not be eliminated in the short term. To make hope Hujun as easy to command, it was not enough to simply raise his military skills to a certain level.
However, there was no better solution than to establish schools that enrolled local children and taught them from a young age. This way, the proportion of children who would identify with Haihan education when they grew up would naturally be much higher than that of officer cadets who started their training halfway through.
This approach has successful precedents within Haihan. Many of the high-ranking officials who now hold power in vassal states such as Korea and Annam had studied in Sanya during their youth. These individuals' identification with and reliance on Haihan as their suzerain state far exceeds that of their fathers. Although the results are slow, they are extremely effective.
However, special operations divisions are inevitably constrained by their own structure when taking such measures. After all, cultural affairs involving promoting culture and education and civilizing foreign ethnic groups are not the primary responsibility of special operations divisions. They also lack the corresponding personnel and organizational structure, so it is certainly not going to be smooth sailing.
Therefore, among the immigrants Li Yuande brought back from China this time, there were also several teachers hired at great expense. Their mission was to establish schools in various areas under the jurisdiction of the special operations division, to provide primary education for soldiers and immigrant children, and at the same time, to recruit local indigenous school-age children to carry out the task of civilizing the barbarians.
Qian Shaobao explained that the Fubo Port Military Camp Affiliated Primary School has already opened and enrolled twenty or thirty local students, but for the time being, officers are taking turns serving as teachers.
The officers were adequate at teaching basic literacy and arithmetic, but they weren't good at systematic teaching. They could only spend most of their class time imparting military skills, so this affiliated primary school had a hint of a junior military academy.
Chen Pingliao said, "Professional matters should be handled by professionals. It is the right thing to invite teachers to come and teach. In addition to soldiers who can fight, we also need scholars who can read and write."
Qian Shaobao laughed and said, "That's what my father thinks too. He said that soldiers are only responsible for expanding territory and guarding the borders. The land conquered by the special forces division needs to be built by someone. We need a large number of educated workers, farmers, sailors and craftsmen to make these new territories as prosperous as the country. So running schools and training soldiers are both essential links."