Chapter 1697 - New Military Uniforms
"Not bad at all. But it doesn't mean much for the Guangdong Campaign," Chen Sigen remarked. "Fresh vegetables are available year-round in Guangdong."
Xi Yazhou shook his head. "You can't think of it that way. Remember the total annihilation of the Danzhou work team back in the day? Local procurement of vegetables carries its own risks. Besides, the Navy can use these too."
Xun Suji then had the naturalized workers bring out numerous boxes and bags of various sizes, placing them all on the large table in the center of the room.
"This is dried meat," Xun Suji opened a box, revealing neatly stacked rectangular paper packages. "Five varieties in total: horse, pork, poultry, fish, and squid. Each block weighs fifty grams. Packed in standard shipping crates, they can be transported with the unit's heavy baggage for use by field kitchens."
"Why give squid its own category?" Xi Yazhou asked. "Don't squid and cuttlefish count as seafood?"
"They're technically not fish, and the texture and cooking methods for field rations differ considerably," Xun Suji explained. "Based on my experience, dried meat is best suited for making soups or rice dishes like curry rice and rice bowls."
"Transported with heavy baggage? These can't be eaten directly by soldiers, right?"
"The Joint Logistics Command instructed us to use these products to prepare camp quick-rations. Each crate contains a full meal for a company: dried meat, dried vegetables, and seasonings pre-portioned. When making camp, you simply dump it all into a pot and cook." Xun Suji pointed at the wooden boxes of various sizes. "These are all standard military packing crates. Different sizes are used depending on the unit being supplied and the specific dishes."
"Very convenient," Xi Yazhou nodded repeatedly. "Much better than the Grassland Ration paste we used to cook back in the day."
"By the standards of this timeline, our supply provisions can truly be called the best in the world."
He then proceeded to introduce all manner of "military foodstuffs": soy sauce powder, fruit candy, rice crackers, pickled sour plums, dried rice balls...
"There's even toffee?" Chen Sigen suddenly exclaimed as if he'd discovered a new continent.
"This is something we've planned as a quick energy boost for the troops. Roughly equivalent to chocolate," Xun Suji said. "Our cocoa plantations aren't yet sufficient to support a chocolate industry."
"I thought toffee required cream. Do we have that much milk?"
"This isn't real toffee." Xun Suji produced one piece. "It's made from blackstrap molasses—the waste molasses left over from sugarcane processing shipped from Leizhou and Taiwan. We melt it down, mix in peanuts and sesame seeds, then pour it into molds to set and cool. And there you have Lingao Toffee."
Blackstrap molasses contained substantial amounts of sugar, enough to quickly replenish physical energy. It also possessed a certain nutritional value, and with the addition of nuts became a rapid energy supplement for the Fubo Army.
Before he could finish speaking, Xi Yazhou let out a cry: "It's stuck to my teeth!"
Next, they sampled "quick-cook rice"—cooked rice that had been flattened and then dried in a drying room with hot air. Add water and simmer, and it would reconstitute in very short order. In emergencies, it could also be eaten directly.
"The drawback is that chewing and swallowing can be difficult. You probably couldn't eat it without water."
Then came the stir-fried flour. Of course, it contained no actual wheat flour. This was something Xun Suji had developed inspired by the "fried flour" used by Chinese volunteers during the Korean War, except the main ingredient was rice flour, mixed with nuts, dried vegetable powder, and salt, all stir-fried in bone marrow oil—a byproduct from the bone-glue factory. Compared to the similarly composed but compressed "Grassland Rations," the fried rice flour contained a certain amount of fat, had a better taste when eaten dry, and required less water. It was easier to chew and swallow. In actual practice, the Grassland compressed rations had earned the nickname "teething sticks" and were generally boiled into a paste—unless absolutely necessary, few people ate them directly, which rather defeated their original purpose as "quick food." In comparison, Xun's Fried Flour was far more convenient to both carry and consume.
Xi Yazhou was a man who had led troops, and he immediately recognized that this item was more valuable than all the other things Xun Suji had shown him—no matter how flowery your product descriptions, what mattered was whether you could produce sufficient quantities, and whether soldiers could conveniently carry and consume it. That was the crux of the matter.
"This fried flour is good, very good," he nodded emphatically. "We need to focus production on this."
"Now try this one. It's also something I've newly developed..."
When they emerged from the food factory, both men felt their stomachs heavy and stuffed with various "military foods."
"Come with me to check on the garment factory," Xi Yazhou said.
"I can't. I need to get to the Special Reconnaissance Team and take the new recruits through their five-kilometer ocean swim. Otherwise, I'll gain at least three kilograms by tomorrow." Chen Sigen was someone who paid extreme attention to weight management.
The two parted ways at the intersection. Xi Yazhou boarded his "official carriage" and drove straight to Ma'ao Fortress. This was the garrison of the First Infantry Battalion. The First Battalion not only bore the responsibility of defending the capital but also shouldered the duties of the army's training cadre—the entire army's recruit training brigade, as well as the army's NCO and officer training schools, were all located here. Consequently, the barracks construction was the most complete.
The bamboo fence marking the boundaries of Ma'ao Fortress enclosed the entire Ma'ao Peninsula. As the first pilot site for the military's "base consolidation" deployment, Ma'ao Fortress contained not only troop barracks, training grounds, mess halls, offices, and warehouses, but also supporting living and cultural facilities. The Joint Logistics Command had established repair shops, stables, a hospital, and a whole series of logistical support institutions here.
The sentries at the main gate checked their credentials, and the carriage quickly entered Ma'ao Fortress Base. Following PLA barracks traditions, the base was extensively planted with various trees, and the roadsides were shaded by greenery. Red brick buildings nestled among the foliage. Soldiers in neat uniforms shuttled to and fro along the cinder-paved roads. As their carriage, flying a one-star major general's flag, passed proudly along the road, passing soldiers and officers all stopped to salute.
Xi Yazhou lowered the window curtain and looked with satisfaction at the crisp creases of the wool uniform he wore: five years already, and he had finally made it to a general officer's wool dress uniform.
The uniform he wore was the Year Five Pattern, which had been issued for limited trial use since Operation Engine. Its primary purpose was to replace the crude Year One Pattern uniform. With the mainland campaign now underway, the Fubo Army needed to present an entirely new military image before the people of all China. For a new-style army that wore neither armor nor battle robes, a distinctive and splendid uniform would not only boost morale but also serve to display military might.
The old Year One Pattern uniform, while having rank insignia, featured a simple and identical design, with the only distinction between officers and soldiers being the number of pockets. The cotton fabric wasn't stiff enough, and the garment factory only made three sizes—large, medium, and small. Without a belt, many soldiers looked like they were wearing flour sacks.
Now the Yuan Council was in a far different position than before. Six years of the transmigratorss' arduous labor, blazing trails and building from nothing, had brought about a tremendous leap in productivity. They were no longer the paupers who had to consider whether making shorts for the Security Army might save fabric.
Coarse and fine woolens, cottons, and linens shipped in large quantities by the British and Dutch filled the Yuan Council's warehouses. The previously vexing dye shortage had also been resolved—although the Chemical Department couldn't yet supply chemical dyes on a large scale, through trade the Yuan Council's dyeing and weaving industry had secured enough natural dyes to outfit an army of tens of thousands in new uniforms.
Though among the uniform enthusiasts there were quite a few advocates of the gorgeous uniforms of the age of line infantry—indulging in fantasies of multicolored plumes, striped trousers, gold braid, decorative cords, pompoms, horse-hair tails, Minerva-style helmets, and bearskin caps—and some had even privately made so-called "personal uniforms," such as a certain transmigrator cavalry officer on Jeju Island—most people recognized that excessive ornamentation was not only wasteful but also impractical beyond the parade ground.
After a hard march or fierce battle, no matter how splendid the uniform, it would end up a dirty grayish-brown. In combat, uniforms would lose various accessories, become ragged, and be stained with blood, dust, and mud.
Therefore, the design philosophy of the Year Five uniform was to adopt a simple, practical style while choosing relatively splendid colors, supplemented by minimal accessories, balancing appearance and utility.
The carriage stopped before a red brick building. The guard on the footboard jumped down, quickly unfolded the folding steps, and opened the carriage door.
Xi Yazhou stepped down from the carriage in measured strides, entered the main door with head held high amid the sentries' salutes, his boots clacking and his sword chain rattling.
He didn't go upstairs but went directly into the conference room to the right of the small building. Several officers were already waiting in the conference room. With a shout of "Attention!" all the military personnel present snapped to attention.
"At ease!" Xi Yazhou called out with feigned authority. Several transmigrator officers were present, so he couldn't put on too much of an official air. He unfastened his command sword and handed it to his orderly. "We're all comrades here, so let's not stand on ceremony. Let's get straight to business."
The transmigrators present included Zhu Mingxia, commander of the First Mixed Brigade, still wearing the old Year One Pattern uniform, and Hong, a transmigrator from the Joint Logistics Command, who had already changed into the Year Five uniform. It had to be said that the Year Five uniform looked quite imposing on transmigrators with larger bellies.
Apart from them, everyone else was naturalized—both officers and civilians in cadre attire.
In the conference room stood several wooden mannequins dressed in uniforms, their height and build set according to the current average measurements of Fubo Army personnel.
Transmigrator Hong produced a folder, cleared his throat, and said: "Comrades, I will now introduce the new version of the Year Five uniform. Actually, this uniform isn't an entirely new design. During Operation Engine, the Shandong Detachment was already using this type of uniform—at that time as a trial winter uniform for northern regions."
(End of Chapter)