Binjiang Police Affairs

Chapter 1402 - 204: Mayor Han’s Lover (Part 2)

The refitting of the first transport ship carries an experimental nature; once accepted as satisfactory, it will be "standardized."The military region and fleet attach great importance to the acceptance work, the military region has deployed a mechanized infantry battalion from Zhehai and the fleet has coordinated the replenishment ship squadron of the Binjiang Navy Rescue Ship Battalion and Linghai Reserve Battalion Third Company through the military region to conduct a small-scale landing exercise in the East Sea area.

The transport ship was originally a passenger ship with a 12-year lifespan. Due to the competitiveness of coastal passenger transport being akin to Yangtze River passenger transport, it was straightforwardly converted into a roll-on-roll-off ship. However, due to its structure, it still differs slightly from a true roll-on-roll-off ship.

The transport fleet, consisting of the transport ship and Bin Xun, sailed to the designated position. The Commander of a regiment of the East Sea Reserve Transport Group ordered the anchor to be dropped, and the Deputy Chief of Staff opened the loudspeaker, instructing the participating troops to prepare for landing.

The Captain stood at the helm continuously giving orders, striving to control the vehicle’s posture.

Under the order of the overall commander of the exercise from the East Sea Base, Bin Xun’s Captain Wang Hongbing and Linghai Reserve Battalion’s Third Battalion Commander Ma Jintao immediately dropped anchor two kilometers from the transport ship’s port side, organizing crew to use the ship’s crane to quickly lower six power boats and bridge equipment.

While Ma Jintao, Xiao Yu, and Chen Jian drove the power boats towing bridge boards similar to steel floating boxes toward the beach, the transport ship opened its cargo hold door and used a winch to lower a huge ramp, clearly visible with the tanks of the mechanized infantry battalion already started, exhaling black smoke in the cargo hold, producing a rumbling noise.

The transport ship was originally a "roll-on-roll-off ship," with large tonnage and deep draft, unable to dock.

Ma Jintao received the commander’s order, checked the current and wind direction, planned the navigation route, held the steering wheel, drove the power boat towing the massive bridge board, and was the first to "dock" with the transport ship.

There wasn’t prior coordinated practice, and they didn’t even know the soldiers of the East Sea Reserve Transport Group.

There was no mutual understanding between them, and "docking" in the rapidly changing wind and high waves at sea was not a straightforward task. After nearly an hour of joint effort with the soldiers of the Transport Group, the large ramp of the transport ship finally securely rested on the power boat.

A sound beginning is half the battle.

With the transport ship’s large ramp fixed on the power boat, power boats 5 and 6 immediately came over, applying simultaneous force from both sides of power boat 1, placing the number one bridge board of Linghai Reserve Battalion’s third battalion onto Ma Jintao’s power boat 1 and securing it.

Following this, the other end of the number one bridge board was set up on power boat 2.

This process was repeated continuously until 4:30 in the afternoon when a 55-meter-long floating bridge was finally established on the sea surface.

The long-waiting mechanized brigade soldiers slowly drove two tanks and two infantry fighting vehicles onto the floating bridge.

Including Han Yu, members of the acceptance group were sweating profusely as tanks, these heavy equipment, were driving on the floating bridge, which was not stable.

Although this sea area is very shallow and the equipment would likely cause no casualties if it fell into the water, salvaging the dozens of tons of tanks is not an easy task.

More importantly, the floating bridge is very short and narrow, with the end about one kilometer from the beach exposed above the water. Tanks and armored vehicles reaching the end cannot go ashore or turn around; they have to reverse the way they came from the transport ship.

With the tide starting to rise, the floating bridge is slowly shifting.

Director Feng stood at the bow of the transport ship, facing the sea wind and said, "It seems that establishing a few reserve transport groups isn’t enough; a few sea bridge groups need to be formed as well."

Participating in the exercise are not amphibious tanks. In the future, most of those needing to land in a war will be the Army’s main battle tanks, armored vehicles, and trucks.

Director Yang felt that today’s landing exercise, although not large in scale, lacking sufficient equipment, and carrying high risks, was nonetheless necessary,

He rarely goes out to sea and is somewhat seasick; holding onto the ship’s rail, he whispered, "There are too few transport ships that can dock. I’ve participated in exercises on Dongshan Island; even at low tide, fishing boats couldn’t dock. Our equipment largely lack amphibious capabilities. In any actual war scenario, reliance on occupying enemy ports and wharves and utilizing enemy port facilities to transfer main forces will be futile, so the Military Region Commander required Salted Fish’s Rescue Ship Team and the Linghai Reserve Battalion to participate in the exercise."

"Is this also an experiment?"

"If feasible, using the current equipment of the Linghai Reserve Battalion as a prototype, several reserve units possessing offshore bridge construction capabilities will be formed in coordination with the four reserve groups currently being assembled."

"Salted Fish, do you think this is feasible?" Director Feng asked, turning his head.

Han Yu pondered for a moment, furrowing his brows, and said, "The power boats of the Linghai Reserve Battalion are too small, lacking high strength; the sizes and strengths of the bridge boards are similarly insufficient."

"The larger the bridge board, the higher the strength, and the greater the weight, making this floating bridge harder to construct."

"Thus, professional matters require professional people; our reserve units can only play a supporting role. To actually form combat power, reliance must be placed on professional boat bridge troops."

...

The sea drill lasted two days.

The summary took one day.

Tomorrow morning, the officers and soldiers of the Rescue Ship Team and Linghai Reserve Battalion participating in the drill will take the practical training ship back to Binjiang. The East Sea Base Commander arranged for a specialist to guide them on a tour of the base and its vessels as a commendation for the reserve soldiers’ outstanding performance.

East Sea Base, at longitude 121.4 degrees east and latitude 31.2 degrees north, is China’s largest naval port.

The military wharves are mainly located at Wusong Port where Huangpu River flows into Yangtze River; after years of construction, the infrastructure is excellent, with fifty berths.

Permanently docked there are some frigates and small combat vessels.

Walking west along the wharf, one can see many auxiliary vessels and landing ships.

If you sail upstream of Huangpu River, there comes the famous Hudong Shipyard and Jiangnan Shipyard. The former has built almost more than half of China’s Navy frigates and a plethora of missile boats; while the latter is the main producer of China’s destroyers and submarines, boasting strong technical prowess.

Because of this, East Sea Port can offer repair capabilities that other naval bases cannot match, one of its advantages.

But East Sea Base also faces certain issues, mainly that the Huangpu River Channel has been increasingly crowded in recent years, and the area of East Sea City continues expanding, civilian buildings have surrounded military facilities, resulting in warships having to dock in completely open waters, posing certain risks. Therefore, while there are many berths here, docking too many ships, especially combat vessels, is not ideal.

For Ma Jintao and Chen Jian, their first tour of the naval port was exhilarating.

Han Yu, though physically at East Sea, had his heart set on his hometown.

Xiao Yu knew exactly what he was thinking and couldn’t help but ask in his hometown dialect, "Salted Fish, are you thinking about Mayor Han?"

"I just called, but she didn’t pick up. I really don’t know what she’s so busy with."

"The mayor is definitely busy, needing to conduct research, attend meetings, inspect work, and there are endless social events. Mayor Shen is like that, rarely seen."

"Boss Lady" became the vice mayor of the Standing Committee, and Salted Fish became the man behind Mayor Han.

Ma Jintao also found it amusing and said calmly, "President, your wife is both a member of the Standing Committee and a vice mayor. She has to attend meetings of the Changzhou City Committee and the City Government. I heard she also serves as the Party Secretary of the Yangtze River Bridge Industrial Park, so she must have a lot of work. Truly a person with countless tasks."

Gao Jichun had never seen Han Yu so frustrated before and couldn’t help but say, "Chen Da drove for Secretary Ye for several years, so Chen Da knows best how busy city leaders are."

Chen Jian suppressed a laugh and nodded, "As long as they’re city leaders, they’re definitely not idle. There’s always something happening."

With his wife becoming the vice mayor, how will the days ahead be?

Han Yu found it hard to accept, and despite the expensive long-distance roaming charges, he took out his phone again and dialed his senior classmate while walking.

This time he finally got through, but it wasn’t his classmate who answered; it was a man!

"Is this Director Han?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"Director Han, this is Xiao Yu from the Secretariat of the Government Office. Mayor Han is attending a Standing Committee meeting and it’s inconvenient for her to take the call. Perhaps after the meeting, she can call you back."

"..."

She even has a secretary now, and it’s a male secretary!

Han Yu didn’t know what to say for a moment, and Secretary Yu on the other end of the line added, "Director Han, if there’s something particularly important, you can also tell me, and I’ll see if there’s a way to help."

Who do you think you are?

Why should I tell you about my family matters? Why should I tell you what’s going on at my home!

The more Han Yu thought about it, the more frustrated he became. But remembering Old Ge, Director Feng, Yu Xiangqian, Zhang Junyan, and Sister Zhu, all elders who insisted he support "Mayor Han’s" work and maintain her authority at all times, he could only feign calm and say, "It’s nothing, I was just calling to check in."

"Alright, should I hang up now?"

"Yeah, go ahead, goodbye."

...

He hung up the phone sullenly and wandered aimlessly around the military port before returning to the base guesthouse for a "farewell meal."

Director Feng’s old subordinate, Vice Commander Yu of the East Sea Base, personally came to toast everyone.

As soon as Vice Commander Yu saw Han Yu, he raised his glass and said with a smile, "Salted Fish, congratulations! I just found out this afternoon that your wife has become the vice mayor and joined the Standing Committee. She’s now a city leader of Changzhou. Let’s have a toast to celebrate!"

Isn’t he just bringing up the very thing I don’t want to hear?

Han Yu was both amused and exasperated, raising his glass and said, "Commander, I can’t drink alcohol. I’ve got a soft drink in my glass."

"Everyone knows you’re a one-shot drunk, so no one will force you to drink, but you still have to finish your soft drink."

"Yes!"

Vice Commander Yu drank it all in one go and turned back with a smile, "Director Yang, I almost forgot to tell you that Salted Fish’s wife is not only a member of the Changzhou City Committee and vice mayor but also the first secretary of the Binjiang Reserve Regiment’s Changzhou Reserve Camp in the Jiangnan Army Reserve Division. You mentioned in the meeting this afternoon about organizing a reserve bridge group in conjunction with reality. This is an opportunity!"

"Ask Salted Fish’s wife for help?"

"She’s a member of the Standing Committee, so they decide. And as far as I know, Changzhou’s economic development is quite good, possibly the best among the several districts and counties in Binjiang."

"Salted Fish, if it wasn’t for Vice Commander Yu reminding me, I wouldn’t have known you have such resources! With your wife’s support, we can certainly build the Changzhou Reserve Camp into a reserve bridge group. Once I return, I’ll seek instructions from my superiors, and you can be responsible for organizing the implementation."

For matters like forming reserve units, the troops really do require the local party and government to step in because the troops only have staffing but no funds. The local party and government need to contribute people and money.

The reserve bridge group is different from the artillery or infantry reserve units because it not only requires high standards for equipment but also for the quality and skills of the reserve soldiers. It requires significant manpower and financial input, something economically underdeveloped areas really can’t manage.

Seeing Director Yang full of expectation, Han Yu felt overwhelmed, thinking to himself, do I have to go back and ask "Mayor Han" for a favor?

Vice Commander Yu knew well that Han Yu didn’t want his wife to become a city leader. In fact, most men don’t like their wives to become city leaders, so he pretended not to know and said, "Mayor Han was an old subordinate of Minister Feng, and Minister Feng has told me that Mayor Han has always supported Comrade Salted Fish. This task given to Salted Fish will certainly be fine."

"That’s great."

Director Yang didn’t expect forming a reserve bridge group to be so easy and laughed, "By convention, the first secretary of the reserve camp should also be the deputy political commissioner of the reserve regiment. I’ll ask the Jiangnan Province Military District and the Jiangnan Army Reserve Division. If they haven’t appointed anyone, we need to do it promptly."

Before, even though Sister Xiang Ning was formidable and managed Salted Fish very strictly, it was only at home. In public affairs, it was mainly Salted Fish in charge, so much so that many people knew only Salted Fish and not Sister Xiang Ning.

Now it’s reversed, with leaders constantly mentioning "Mayor Han," and Salted Fish isn’t as important as before.

The more Xiao Yu thought about it, the more amusing and delightful it seemed. Once the commanders finished toasting and left, he tugged Han Yu’s arm, "Salted Fish, don’t overthink it. Sister Xiang Ning has her role as vice mayor, Yu Zhen is her general manager, they handle their business, and we have our fun. When we get back, I’ll play Red Alert with you!"