The conversation between Lieutenant Frey and Captain Consicao ultimately failed to make any progress, which disappointed him very much... But in addition to disappointment, he did seriously consider what the leader of Jiaohebao said, that is, be careful of the Portuguese causing some trouble at the border.

On March 25, after returning to Ping'an County to report his work, Second Lieutenant Fu Lei was soon sent to the northernmost Baoan Township of the county. Together with the spies from Mei's agency, he investigated some Portuguese merchants stranded in the local area. These merchants were all crazy people who didn't care about anything for money, and many of them even had a case in Brazil. After the Brazilian colonial authorities ordered the closure of border trade in the Geral Mountains, these people were still using some mountain paths to smuggle various daily necessities to the east coast, which was extremely bold.

From an economic perspective, the people of the East Coast actually welcome this kind of border trade to continue. After all, over the years, the Portuguese among the Geral Mountains have formed a complete commodity industry chain for the East Coast market. The upstream and downstream of this industrial chain have a large population and good technology. The quality of the goods produced can be considered medium and upper-middle, and most of them are daily necessities that are relatively short of machines and cannot be produced by large-scale industries. In addition, there are also some processing and exports of Brazilian specialties (such as candied candies, etc.), and the sales on the East Coast are very good - and the people of the East Coast are also relatively dependent on this trade. According to statistics from the border trade market located in Baoan Township, the total import and export volume of both sides reached more than 330,000 yuan in 1652, which is quite large.

But who would have thought that the situation has changed suddenly, because the foreign policy on the East Coast is becoming more and more clear and tending towards the Dutch. The Brazilian colonial authorities in the Kingdom of Portugal were disappointed. They were rarely aroused. The border trade between the two sides was interrupted. They also reported a series of measures of the East Coast people to Lisbon, asking the local people to final ruling whether to take the next step; and before Lisbon has the latest instructions, the Brazilian colonial authorities will make decisions based on their own judgment.

Of course, in this new world where adventurers and lawless people are everywhere, there are many Portuguese merchants who are dissatisfied with the orders of the Brazilian colonial authorities because of their economic interests. Even the residents of many towns that have emerged due to border trade in the Geral Mountains were very dissatisfied. So some of the two sides naturally colluded and continued to conduct smuggling trade in the territory - a unilateral smuggling trade. That is, they do not register taxes at the Portuguese customs office (after all, it is smuggling), but after entering the east coast, they honestly went to the customs office of Baoan Township to register and pay taxes.

Second Lieutenant Fu Lei came to Baoan Township this time to assist in investigating some suspicious Portuguese merchants. The relationship between the East Coast and the Brazilian colonial authorities is not harmonious now. Although most of these merchants are for money, it is difficult to guarantee that there are no spies in it. Careful surveillance and investigation are required - Ping'an County is the largest industrial base in the East Coast Republic of China, and there must be no mistakes.

The meticulous investigation came to an end when Army Major Zhu Liang arrived in Baoan Township. The Portuguese merchants who came seemed normal. No one looked around for information, and no one went to places that should not be "strolled". In short, they all seemed normal, they were just pure merchants.

"After the Sao Paulo flag team returned to Brazil, our armed forces in the Jiaohe River Basin appeared to be vacuumed, but this is not a big problem. According to the news I received, since the second half of last year, a variety of diseases have begun to spread among the Indian indigenous peoples in the northern territory of our country, and there are many deaths. This is much better than if we worked hard to play hide-and-seek with them. On this point, it is no secret that Consicao made great contributions, but you cannot admit this to the outside world, nor can you appear in any text summary and record. This must be kept in mind." Major Zhu Liang said at the military meeting in the army barracks conference room in Baoan Township.

"In addition, although the situation is good, we cannot take it lightly. With the withdrawal of the St. Paul Banner Team, the existing move to advance west along the Jiaohe River Basin must be temporarily suspended. In principle, new settlements will no longer be established west of Jiaohe Fort. The existing immigrants assigned to the North Yazi Lake area are mainly to enrich old settlements. Everything has been discussed after the upper level of the military and the Executive Committee has a clear statement." Zhu Liang continued, "Before this, what we need to do is to strengthen our vigilance, be vigilant, and be prepared for the enemy's raids at any time."

"Commander Zhu, which enemy should we guard against?" A staff officer from the Beiyazihu ​​District Security Command raised his hand to question.

"We must be guarded against both the internal enemies - the Indians, and the external enemies - the Portuguese. But overall, we must be guarded against external enemies, that is, we must be guarded against the Portuguese's dogs jumping over the wall. The Sao Paulo slave-catching flag team suddenly crossed the border and counterattacked us, and the fun would be great. Of course, this possibility seems not very large at the moment. I believe everyone here is very clear about the details of those flag teams. The combat power is usually large and the Indian slave soldiers are mainly low-spirited, and their weapons and equipment are also staying fifty years ago. They may not have the courage to strode our tiger whiskers. But they should be more careful. These people still have the ability to smuggle and cause small trouble for us." Zhu Liang held a horsewhip in his right hand, waving and flew across his mouth.

"Commander, do you need to convene the armed ministers of each township and the militia directors of each village to hold a meeting? Do you need to mobilize them first so that they will not be in a hurry when conducting local military mobilization in the future?" A staff officer asked again. The militia is now the most reliable military force for the East Coast people. Once they are mobilized, it means that the situation has deteriorated to a certain extent.

"Yes!" Zhu Liang nodded and agreed, "In fact, the military headquarters will have an order to come over the past two days, and ordered the militias in Liming Town, Jushu Township and Liushuying Township of Ping'an County to strengthen training and increase the frequency of collective exercises to twice a month; Ping'an Township, Meihe Township and Bao'an Township will not move for the time being, but the armed ministers and militia directors of these townships should check the arsenal and material warehouses to see if the combat preparations are sufficient, and don't wait until they are really used but they are blind. It's really up to that point, but it's not a joke to be engaged in military law!"

"I understand!" Both the officers of the Security Command and the spies in the intelligence system replied in unison at this moment. They knew in their hearts that the degree of mobilization this time was extremely mild, and it seemed to be related to the current situation. This made everyone feel relieved and a little disappointed. Are soldiers looking forward to fighting? Because only war can make everyone get promoted and make money and make their pockets full. Unfortunately, the Portuguese don't give them a chance!

Their main army should be at the moment tug-of-war with the Dutch West India Company in northeastern Brazil, right? I heard that in 1949, the Portuguese won a major victory in a certain battle, seriously weakening the Dutch West India Company's armed forces in Brazil. Now they are beating the dogs in the water. They intend to take advantage of the victory to drive the Dutch into the sea. Now they should not be able to deal with the East Coast people? After all, the brainless people are not playing like this. The Brazilians can't afford to fight on both sides!

"Also!" At this time, Zhu Liang suddenly knocked on the table with a whip, and said with a voice: "You can also find more young militias with excellent military skills in this time. The more people the better. The military is now arguing with the Executive Committee. The situation in Brazil is tense, and Ping'an County, as an industrial center, has insufficient defense. Therefore, the military intends to expand the garrison force of Ping'an County and reorganize the 2nd Company of the Army, which is currently stationed here into the 2nd Battalion of the Army, and recruits the vacancies on the spot in Ping'an County. In the future, the replenishment of the 2nd Battalion of the Army will be designated Ping'an County..."

If the military mobilization mentioned by Zhu Liang only caused a little disturbance in the hearts of everyone, then the following passage caused huge waves in the hearts of everyone. What? The army, which has been slumped since it was tragically disarmament four or five years ago, is going to rise up? It is going to be relocated. Is there such a good thing? Will the white shirts of the State Council agree? The navy, which has been colluding with civil servants, agree? It is as unrealistic as living in a dream!

The young staff members of the Beiyazihu ​​District Security Command were immediately excited. They asked Zhu Liang about the company's reorganization. After Zhu Liang's detailed explanation, they finally figured out the key points.

Speaking of the past few years, the Army has been really sad. After the Second East-West War, the Executive Committee, which was cut off military expenditure, has abdicated many troops. 12 infantry companies were laid off, 5 were abdicated, and only 3 were left in 6 cavalry companies. The artillery company also retained 3. In addition, the baggage company was also reduced in number, and the Engineer Corps was only retained. These forces, plus the guards and staff members of the Army Department and some headquarters, the total force was compressed to a pitiful 2,980 people.

Such a "pocket-sized" army is naturally not something that militarists can accept, so they have been arguing with the Executive Committee and the Navy over the years in order to expand the current scale of the continental army. Unfortunately, the Executive Committee believes that the land military pressure on the east coast is not high, and there are also elite guardians and a large number of cannon fodder militias to use, so they have always disagreed to expand the scale of the continental army, which makes the Army Department increasingly resentful.

The sudden tension in the relationship with the Portuguese this time undoubtedly made many people in the Army Department see hope. So they began to connect everywhere and put pressure on the Executive Committee. At the same time, they had a verbal battle with the navy in the Joint Staff Headquarters, jumping up and down in the hope of expanding the scale of the continental army. The company's restructuring pilot project was the plan they proposed this time, that is, to reorganize the two infantry companies stationed in the capital and Ping'an County into infantry battalions. The battalion will have 4 infantry companies, 1 artillery company, 1 cavalry company, 1 baggage company and 1 engineering platoon. With the guards and sergeants, the total force is about 1,450 people, and they have strong independent combat capabilities.

The proposal of this plan naturally posed a problem for the members of this executive committee. Many of them came from civil servants and naturally opposed the expansion of the military's power. But to be honest, the army was suppressed by civil servants and navy for nearly five years, and their emotions must be taken care of. Otherwise, if they do something privately, the executive committee may not end well.

Therefore, Major Zhu Liang, this company's reorganization incident led by the Army Department, is expected to eventually deal with it. That is, the Executive Committee will most likely give a discount and only agree to establish a new infantry battalion. At the same time, the technical troops in this infantry battalion, such as artillery, cavalry, baggage, engineering corps, etc., most of them have to draw the existing troops to complete the formation. Therefore, the Army Department's real profit in this company's reorganization has only three new infantry companies and some complicated personnel, which has increased the total strength of the army by about 750 people. It may be a little far from the initial expected goal of a group of militarists.
Chapter completed!