Binjiang Police Affairs-Chapter 900 - 607: Hong Kong Garrison

At eight in the morning, the torrential rain that had lasted nearly the whole night finally stopped.

was anchored a kilometer downstream from a Yangtze River sluice gate that had long been blocked. Yao Lirong, supporting Master Xi, disembarked onto the temporary plank set up by Captain Fan and Zhu Baogen.

On the river embankment was a sub-dam made of sandbags, with its inner side extremely muddy.

As Master Xi and Yao Lirong stood firm, Master Xu, Liu Wei, and Xiao Chen followed suit.

From the moment they received orders from "headquarters" last night, the Binjiang Police boat 001 had hoisted the "Linghai Reserve Camp" and "Heroic Assault Battalion" flags!

Yao Lirong, Captain Fan, Liu Wei, Xiao Chen, and the village group leader Old Wang also donned the camouflage uniforms sent by the regiment a few days ago, wore reserve ranks, put on the homemade camouflage helmets, fastened the gear belts, and slung green military canteens.

Master Xi was a member of the Linghai Reserve Camp’s expert group, also equipped with a camouflage uniform, and a pair of high-top military boots even Salted Fish didn’t have. However, he hadn’t brought them when coming over, and even if he had, he wouldn’t have worn them.

After all, his current identity was not only as a senior flood prevention expert of the Linghai Reserve Camp but also as a flood control expert of the Yangtze Flood Control Command.

Zhu Baogen also had camouflage clothing, but since he had to work in the engine room daily, he didn’t want to get his pristine uniform greasy, so he was reluctant to wear it.

Seeing Master Xu envy Yao Lirong’s military uniform, Zhu Baogen straightforwardly lent his uniform to Master Xu. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Yao Lirong joked that from the moment Master Xu put on the Linghai Reserve Camp uniform, he became a senior member of the camp’s expert group.

Master Xu felt honored and asked if there was a certificate.

Certificates are just tricks, trick one at a time.

Yao Lirong, representing Salted Fish, agreed without hesitation.

But it was too muddy on the shore, and after just a dozen meters, their clothes were splattered with mud and water. Master Xu was very concerned, Liu Wei and Xiao Chen even more so, wiping as they walked, almost tripping.

Ahead was a temporary tent, inside which a cadre was on duty.

Seeing several liberation army soldiers escorting a man in his fifties wearing a white shirt on top, black pants below, with rain boots on his feet, heading towards them, the cadre mistook Master Xi for a high-ranking official coming for inspection and hurriedly ran out to greet them.

"Hello, may I ask who you are..."

"Comrade, I am an engineer from the Yangtze Flood Control Command, my surname is Xi."

If you are an engineer, you’re quite important too. During flood prevention, everyone must listen to the hydraulic engineer, not to mention that this person is an engineer from the Yangtze Flood Control Command.

The cadre calmed his nerves and cautiously said, "Engineer Xi, are you here for an inspection? Our Village Chief Liu just went to patrol the embankment. He doesn’t have a phone or a walkie-talkie, so it might take a while before he returns."

"We’re not here for an inspection. I wanted to inquire about something. Is there a military unit here supporting flood relief, and where is it stationed?"

"Engineer Xi, you’re looking for the military?"

"Yes."

"They were here yesterday, helped stack these sandbags, and left once they were done. Our Village Chief Liu said they seemed to have gone to Yanjiatai."

"Comrade, we’re not familiar with the roads here. Could you find someone to guide us?"

"Engineer Xi, are you planning to walk there?"

"The sluice is closed, and our boat can’t go through, so we have to walk."

"Alright, I’ll find someone to guide you, but... but..."

"Don’t worry, we’ll keep an eye on the embankment for you."

...

Just as the embankment guard said, Yanjiatai was quite far from the riverbank.

The group followed the guide for about a kilometer, coincidentally encountering an old truck. They showed their credentials, had a lengthy friendly chat with the driver, and eventually offered a hundred yuan before the driver agreed to give them a ride.

Upon arriving at the Yanjiatai embankment section by truck, they saw over a hundred liberation army warriors assisting the local government in dealing with a pipe burst emergency near a grass pond.

After stopping a local cadre and asking around, they learned that this emergency was discovered by a middle school student.

He saw that near the grass pond, a small sand hole was spewing water and ran to the sentry shed on the river embankment to report it. The shed then reported it upstream, and the officers and soldiers of the nearby 404th Division responded to the news, assisting the cadres and masses responsible for the embankment section to surround the area with soil around the grass pond.

The local flood control command substation sent someone to inspect it, deeming the situation not serious, instructed those responsible for the section to observe it, and then left.

Here, they lacked everything, and even when they wanted to make a third-level filter ring well, they couldn’t find any woven bags to fill with sandy soil, so they could only use nearby muddy soil to surround it simply.

The soldiers of the 404th Division also intended to retreat after seeing the flood control command team’s departure.

This kind of defense was too careless, but without resources, there was no alternative...

Master Xi and Master Xu carefully examined the situation and found a Major officer, asking, "Major comrade, are you from the 404th Division?"

"Yes, how did you know?" The Major looked over at Yao Lirong and the others and couldn’t help but laugh, "Brothers, you’re from the reserve forces. Does the reserve also issue camouflage uniforms?"

"Shouldn’t reserve forces be issued military uniforms?"

"Logically, they should, as required by the Reserve Officer Law, but I’ve never seen higher-ups issue military uniforms to the reserve forces. At least, the reserve forces near our military station haven’t received any."

They have not only camouflage uniforms but also arm patches and ranks.

The arm patch has the word "Ba Yi" at the top and a "Y" below.

The officers’ ranks also have a "Y," while the soldiers’ ranks are directly "Y," without dividing into private, first-class private, or corporals and sergeants, looking rather odd...

The Major had never seen reserve soldiers like Yao Lirong and Xiao Chen, who thought he couldn’t help but laugh, "Comrades, your helmets are interesting. At first glance, they look like they’ve come from the Hong Kong Garrison. I really thought the Hong Kong Garrison came for flood relief just now."

Yao Lirong understood they had been here for three or four days and jumped right into action upon arrival.