Nine Hundred and Fifty Nine: Cutting Through the Waves
The conversation between several people just ended, and the troops were ready to set off. It was only seven minutes after Qiao Wei read out the order.
It was not that the soldiers were extraordinary in speed, but that this unit always undertook the military's combat readiness duty. Before the establishment of the airborne division, it was all members of the Marine Corps; after the establishment of the airborne division, it was all officers and soldiers who had completed chip implantation.
All personnel and weapons and equipment in the base are always in combat readiness. After receiving the order, the troops only need to put on their personal equipment and get on the car.
Qiao Wei personally rushed to the training ground to see them off, and all the officers and soldiers who stayed at the base also came spontaneously and lined up to see off their comrades.
Although this trip is not thousands of mountains and rivers, it is hundreds of millions of kilometers away. When the troops return triumphantly, many familiar faces will disappear forever in the distant Jupiter.
The troops were ready to go. Several people shook hands and said goodbye. Qiao Wei solemnly asked: "Take care!"
Ye Han nodded heavily and stepped onto car No. 1: "Let's go!"
The driver started the car and accelerated towards the camp gate. Qiao Wei, who was standing aside, screamed: "Salute--"
Swish--more than 30 people who stayed at the base raised their right hands together, and a rolling torrent of steel rushed past the front of the queue.
At the same time, Ye Han in the car also raised his arm, and only put it down silently after driving out of the camp.
The convoy rushed all the way and arrived at Qiongzhou Military Port in just over ten minutes.
There were several large transport ships parked on the dock of the port. There were high-stacked military containers everywhere on and under the ships. The cranes went up and down under the command of the ground, constantly delivering containers to the ships.
Since the rail elevator was built, Qiongzhou Military Port has become one of the main sea-land transfer stations. Today's situation is better. At the busiest time, not only was the port full of warships, but there were also many warships with nowhere to rely on parked on the sea.
Before the convoy entered the dock, the sentry commanding the traffic stopped the convoy. Ye Han showed the order to the sentry, who then called someone over, grabbed the door of car No. 1, and directed the convoy to move forward, leading the convoy to a corner of the dock.
Ye Han saw a unique ship docked at the dock from a distance. At first, he didn't pay much attention to it. It was not until the sentry brought the convoy under the ship that he realized that this was the vehicle for this trip.
The ship that transported the airborne division was not a naval ship, but a passenger and cargo roll-on/roll-off ship requisitioned by the military, the Yuzhu.
The Yuzhu is nearly 200 meters long and nearly 30 meters wide, with a standard displacement of nearly 40,000 tons. After the hatch on the side of the ship is opened, the convoy can drive directly into the cabin. In just a few minutes, more than 2,000 troops and all equipment are on board.
However, the Yuzhu must set off together with the military's transport ship and escort fleet. The airborne division moved too fast, and the transport ship was not full.
Ye Han took advantage of this time to arrange the troops. With the help of the crew, he took the soldiers out of the cargo hold and placed them on the decks according to the organization.
It was almost one o'clock in the afternoon. Ye Han originally planned to let the soldiers have a meal with field food. Who would have thought that before the order was given, the captain found Ye Han and said that the restaurant had prepared lunch.
This really surprised Ye Han. This was a meal for more than 2,000 people!
It was hard to refuse the kindness, and the military paid for it. Ye Han didn't be polite to the captain. He rushed to the restaurant and saw that the food standard was not low.
So Ye Han gave an order, and all the officers and soldiers of the airborne division were divided into two waves to take turns to eat.
After the meal, the transport ship was finally filled with supplies. The ships slowly left the port with a low whistle, and the Yuzhu followed very cooperatively.
After the ship sailed to the sea, it joined the two escorting frigates. More than a dozen ships faced the sea breeze and cut through the waves, heading all the way to the Ladder Island.
The fleet finally set off. Ye Han was worried about his wife and children at home, and was also worried about the upcoming mission. He couldn't tell what he felt.
Because he was in a bad mood, Ye Han wandered around the deck alone and found that the environment of this ship was really good. Not only did it have regular settings such as guest rooms and restaurants, but it also had KTV boxes, chess and card rooms, cafes and bars, and even a sightseeing deck for walking, which was comparable to the legendary luxury cruise ships.
Using such a cruise ship as a troop transport really made Ye Han feel like a waste of natural resources... In fact, this is the illusion brought by luxurious decoration. If we only talk about the cost, the cost of a warship is much higher than that of a cruise ship!
For example, the cost of the two escorting frigates is close to 2 billion, while the cost of this passenger and cargo roll-on/roll-off ship is only 400 million. The warship is definitely a few blocks away from the cruise ship.
But warships are practical, without any extra packaging, and naturally look far less upscale than cruise ships.
He was running around like a headless fly, and somehow he came to the bow. The sea breeze with splashing water hit him in the face. Ye Han couldn't help but take a deep breath, holding the railing with both hands, looking out at the endless sea, and his depressed mood seemed to be relieved a lot.
A voice suddenly appeared behind him: "Master Ye is in a good mood!"
Ye Han turned around, and it was Captain Zhong of the Yuzhu behind him. He waved and greeted him quickly, but did not explain why he was here. He took the initiative to find a topic: "Captain Zhong, I was just looking for you. How long will it take us to get to Ti Island?"
"That's a long time." Captain Zhong walked to Ye Han, "About three to four days."
Ye Han was shocked: "So long?"
Captain Zhong asked curiously: "How long do you think it will take?"
Ye Han touched his nose awkwardly: "I thought it would take at most a dozen hours."
"More than ten hours?" Captain Zhong almost thought there was something wrong with his ears, "Don't make trouble, it will take more than eighty hours no matter what."
"Why does it take so long?" Ye Han asked puzzledly.
"Is this still long? Oh, I understand, you must be used to sitting on warships." Captain Zhong thought of a reason, "Just pay attention to people, warships are fast, thirty knots per hour, transport ships and ro-ro ships It’s not that fast. We will only run twenty if we risk our lives. We are only fifteen knots now. It is more than 1,300 nautical miles from Qiongzhou Port to Tidao, and it will take more than eighty hours at the very least.”
Ye Han suddenly realized, thinking that I am used to sitting on warships, but they are not navy warships, but space fleet warships. It takes less than an hour to cover more than a thousand nautical miles.
If the speed were at its peak during a long voyage, it would probably not even take a minute to fly over this distance.
He smiled mockingly: "So we have to sit there for at least three days? I thought we could get there in one night!"
Captain Zhong also smiled: "It would be great if the orbital elevator could be placed in Qiongzhou... Hey, you guys are also stationed on the island, right? I heard that several groups of people have been on it. Is Ladder Island so dangerous?"
Ye Han glanced at Captain Zhong calmly: "I really don't know if it's dangerous or not. I will take the team wherever the superiors tell us to go."