Chapter 1109 Climbing the Liaohai Road
The Miaodao Islands are composed of thirty-two large and small islands. They are located at the intersection of the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, in the sea area between the Jiaodong Peninsula and the Liaodong Peninsula, with a total area of more than fifty square kilometers. Looking far into the distance from Danya Mountain in Dengzhou, you can see the Miaodao Islands like gems inlaid on the blue waves.
The archipelago is divided into three island groups from north to south. The North Island Group includes Nanhuangcheng Island, Beihuangcheng Island, Daqin Island, Xiaoqin Island, etc. The middle island group includes Tuoji Island, Gaoshan Island, Ji Island, etc. The South Island Group includes Nanchangshan Island, Beichangshan Island, Miao Island, Daheishan Island, Xiaoheishan Island, etc.
Among the legendary three sacred mountains of Penglai, Yingzhou and Fangzhang on the sea, Penglai Island refers to Nanchangshan Island, the largest island in the Miaodao Islands. According to records in "Historical Records", Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came to Danya Mountain in Dengzhou to pray for immortality to the Penglai Fairy Mountain in the sea.
Of course, what Wang Tom cares about is not these myths and legends spread among the people. What he pays attention to is the role of the Miaodao Islands in the Dengliao Sea Channel. In the future, if Haihan wants to enter the Liaodong region by sea and control the Bohai and Yellow Sea waterways, it will rely on these islands to build maritime strongholds and material transfer ports to a certain extent.
Since the early Ming Dynasty, the imperial court has used Denglai, Shandong Province as its strategic base, and traveled northward to Liaodong. In the fourth year of Hongwu, Ming generals Ma Yun and Ye Wang led their troops across the sea from Denglai, Shandong, to the north and occupied the southern end of the Liaodong Peninsula. They then gradually advanced north and west, bringing the entire territory of Liaodong under the rule of the Ming Dynasty. However, Liaodong at that time had been war-torn for a long time, with a vast territory, sparsely populated areas, and insufficient supplies of materials. Therefore, military and logistical supplies had to rely on the sea lanes between Deng and Liaoning to be transported from Shandong. Therefore, a large number of Shandong soldiers and their families were placed in Liaodong to garrison. For example, the Dingliao left guard in Liaoyang was composed of 5,600 Qingzhou soldiers, while the Dingliao right guard was all Laizhou soldiers.
It is precisely based on this close dependence and connection that when the National Judicial Supervision Department was established in the 29th year of Hongwu, the jurisdiction of Liaodong Dusi was organized into the Liaohai Dongning Branch Patrol Road under the Shandong Judicial Supervision Department. Judicial Supervision Affairs All are under the jurisdiction of Shandong. Decades later, during the Zhengtong period, civil affairs throughout Liaodong were officially assigned to the Liaohai Dongning branch under the Chief Secretary of Shandong.
In addition to the logistics transfer function, because the capital of the Ming Dynasty was still in Nanjing at the time, the Liaohai Road was also the main road from the capital to the Liaodong region. If you take the land route around Shanhaiguan, the journey will be thousands of miles longer. Therefore, in addition to transporting materials, the appointment and dismissal of Liaodong officials and the exchange of envoys from North Korea are also transported through the Liaohai Sea Road. As a result, Dengzhou was upgraded from a state to a prefecture and gained a higher administrative status.
Although the Deng-Liao shipping played an important role in stabilizing the foundation of Liaodong rule in the early Ming Dynasty, after entering the middle Ming Dynasty, due to the northward migration of the capital, the conflict of regional interests between Deng-Liao, and the imperial court's implementation of a sea ban, this maritime channel was Gradually abandoned and eventually extinct, the Temple Island Islands were once occupied by refugees, deserters and pirates.
During the Wanli period, the border defense situation in eastern Liaoning became increasingly severe, and the imperial court was forced to order the reopening of shipping to Liaoning. Most of the materials and personnel needed to assist Liaodong have landed in Shandong, which has put heavy pressure on the social stability and economic development of this region. However, such assistance failed to save the war situation in Liaodong. By the Tianqi period, tens of thousands of refugees had fled across the sea from Liaodong to Denglai, and civil regional conflicts became more and more serious.
These conflicts and grievances finally broke out in the fourth year of Chongzhen. The troops led by Liao Army General Kong Youde mutinied in Wuqiao and turned to attack various prefectures and counties in Shandong. Since a large number of refugees from Liaodong were concentrated in Dengzhou City, it was also the starting point of Kong Youde's army. After the local residents learned of the Liao army's mutiny, they immediately massacred the Liao people in the city. After Kong Youde's troops broke the city, out of revenge A massacre was also carried out on the Dengzhou people in the city. The mutual assistance relationship between Dengli and Liao that was originally established in the early Ming Dynasty ended in the tragedy of the soldiers and civilians of the two places killing each other.
In fact, before the Wuqiao Mutiny, Sun Yuanhua, the governor of Denglai, and Wang Zheng, the military supervisor, were already preparing a battle plan to use Dengzhou as a strategic base to march by sea to regain Liaodong. However, Kong Youde's rebellion completely disrupted his plan. In 1633, he took a large number of men, horses and weapons and fled across the sea to Liaodong and surrendered to Houjin. After that, he led his troops to capture Lushunkou on the Liaodong Peninsula, completely interrupting the invasion of Liaoning Sea. waterway, and also had a profound impact on the subsequent war situation in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Haihan's plan for the Liaodong region has actually been around for a long time. The Liaodong Peninsula is of great strategic significance for controlling Northeast Asia. It can be said to be Haihan's must-occupy territory in the future. However, due to the long distance, the main bases are all in the southern sea. The Han army was always beyond its reach and could only advance north step by step. One of the reasons for establishing a stronghold in the Jiaodong Peninsula is to prepare for the next move into the Liaodong Peninsula. The Bohai Strait and the Miaodao Islands in between have naturally become the areas that the Haihan Navy will focus on for inspection next.
Early one morning at the end of August, a group of Haihan warships left Zhifu Bay, rounded the east corner of Zhifu Island, and then turned westward. Wang Tom personally led the fleet to inspect the coastal areas west of Zhifu Bay and the Bohai Strait.
The distance from Zhifu Bay to the coast near Dengzhou City is only about forty nautical miles. With the speed of the Haihan Fleet, it only takes more than half a day to get there. In order to avoid causing unnecessary panic, the fleet maintained a distance of about ten nautical miles from the coastline. Under the cover of sea fog, it was not easy to be discovered by the Ming army on the shore. At present, the garrison in Dengzhou Shuicheng has not been restored. There are only a few small-tonnage transportation ships, and they rarely go to sea to perform tasks, which is not enough to pose a threat to the Haihan Fleet.
When there were still about ten nautical miles away from Dengzhou City, Wang Tom left the flagship and transferred to a reconnaissance boat, heading to the offshore waters to observe the location of Dengzhou Water City. However, due to the weather, it was difficult for him to clearly observe the channels leading into and out of Dengzhou Water City's harbor through his telescope, and he could not get too close to alert the defenders, so he turned around and left in frustration.
However, this is not a setback for Wang Tom. After all, Dengzhou Water City is currently just an empty shell, and the potential threats are also very limited. The main investigation direction of the fleet is still in the Bohai Strait north of Dengzhou.
The land at the north and south ends of the Bohai Strait is about 60 nautical miles apart. In the south, there are Miaodao Islands distributed vertically, which divide the strait into more than a dozen waterways connecting the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, including the Laotieshan Waterway, Changshan Waterway, and Dengzhou Waterway. However, now that the sea transportation through Dengliao Channel has been cut off, there are very few ships traveling in this sea area. In addition, Kong Youde's troops defected to Liaodong last year. In order to prevent Hou Jin's spies from lurking near the coast of Dengzhou, the government has moved all the people from the Miao Island Islands to the mainland and implemented a defensive strategy of strengthening the walls and clearing the country for these islands.
Of course, whether this method is really effective remains to be tested by time. After all, it was only last year that the Ming Dynasty lost the Liaodong Peninsula, and Hou Jin may not be able to digest the newly occupied areas so quickly. Because of this, the navy led by Wang Tom can safely and boldly land on Changshan Island and launch a comprehensive investigation of the island.
Wang Tom also followed the army to Nanchangshan Island. There are still many vacant houses on the island, but the few cultivated lands here are basically abandoned and have been overgrown with knee-high weeds and shrubs. When the Haihan Ministry of National Defense first planned its northward movement, this was one of its alternative destinations. If Haihan's level of development is used, at least several thousand residents can be settled on this island with an area of more than 12 square kilometers. The only problem is that it is too close to Dengzhou City. It is so close that you can see the mainland across the sea when the weather is fine. It is really inconvenient to use your hands and feet in the early stage, and the harbor conditions are slightly worse than Zhifu Island, so in the end the military chose Zhifu Island is directly connected to the mainland.
There are sandbars connecting South Changshan Island and North Changshan Island, but North Changshan Island is slightly smaller, with mountainous and hilly terrain accounting for most of it, and the land area available for cultivation and growing grains is also smaller. Although the islands north of Changshan Island are also habitable, their developable area is much smaller. The fleet stayed at Changshan Island for about two hours before continuing its journey north. Although the islands north of Changshan Island are also habitable, their area is much smaller. Before dark that day, the fleet arrived at Beihuangcheng Island, the northernmost tip of the Miaodao Islands. The island covers an area of less than three square kilometers and is only a small area in the sea. More than twenty nautical miles further north from here is Laotieshan, the southernmost tip of the Liaodong Peninsula. Wang Tom was not in a hurry to go to the Liaodong Peninsula overnight, and ordered to camp on Beihuangcheng Island for one night, and then set off after dawn tomorrow.
Early the next morning, after breakfast, the fleet officers broke camp and set sail, continuing their journey north. The sea area from Beihuangcheng Island to Laotieshan is the junction of the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea. The waves of the two seas meet here, so the sea conditions here are also very dangerous. However, when viewed from the sea level, because the water of the Yellow Sea is bluer and the water of the Bohai Sea is yellower, a clear dividing line of water flow is formed here, which can be regarded as a rare maritime wonder. Almost all the officers and men of the fleet came from the south. Most of them had never seen such a scene, and they were all amazed by it for a while.
"Chief, the place emerging from the sea in front is Laotieshan!"
The person who reported this information to Wang Tom was Sun Bing, the navigator on the flagship. He used to serve in the Fuzhou Guard Army in Liaodong. Later, the Liaodong area was encroached and annexed by the Hou Jin Dynasty, and many places were lost. In order to save his life, Sun Bing fled with his family across the sea to Deng. state. Later, in the early days of the Denglai Rebellion, the Liao and Shandong people killed each other indiscriminately. Sun Bing saw the opportunity early and took his family to escape from Dengzhou City, the center of the chaos, and fled south to Huai'an Prefecture. In Haizhou, he took refuge with a local recruiter of immigrants. Zhejiang maritime merchants traveled all the way to Hainan Island under the rule of Haihan.
Because he was born in the Northeast and had military experience, he was naturally selected to join the army by the Ministry of National Defense who wanted to make a career in the Northeast. Later, he was assigned to the navy. After a year of training, because he was relatively familiar with the situation near the Liaodong Peninsula, he was temporarily designated as a navigator and followed the fleet north to Shandong. This time Wang Tom led a team to inspect the Bohai Strait, so he naturally took him with him. Of course, if we just talk about the familiarity with this sea area, then Sun Changmi, who once studied at Dalian Maritime University, may be more suitable to be a navigator. However, he has other important things to attend to on Zhifu Island now and is specifically following the fleet. This trip also felt a bit like killing a chicken with a knife, so in the end Wang Tom chose Sun Bing, a native of Northeast China, to complete this job.
"Lao Tieshan..." Wang Tom watched the outline of the land appearing on the sea level gradually become clearer, but he was thinking about another thing in his mind.
According to the historical process, Hou Jin should have captured the Jinzhou Guard at the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula last year. It is very likely that observation posts were also deployed on the coast here to respond to the Ming Dynasty Navy's cross-sea operations from the Denglai area. Provide timely response. If the arrival of the Haihan Fleet is discovered by the Hou Jin Army, it is indeed possible that its strength will be exposed in advance.
However, the Haihan Ministry of National Defense believes that if Hou Jin can be given the illusion that Ming Dynasty is going to counterattack the Liaodong Peninsula, then Hou Jin may focus part of his attention on the Liaodong Peninsula, which can slightly reduce the military pressure on Ming Dynasty in the direction of Shanhaiguan. Therefore, Wang Tom had no intention of deliberately hiding his tracks for this reconnaissance operation - of course, anyone who is not blind would definitely notice a fleet of this size appearing near the coast. If Hou Jin set up a sentry post high on Laotieshan, then the theory should have noticed the abnormal situation at sea.
"Sun Bing, when you came out of Liaodong, did you ever think you would come back one day?" Wang Tom asked with interest.
Sun Bing responded: "Reporting to the commander, I thought about taking a humble position, but at that time I never imagined that I would come back in glory as a navy and Han army!"
"Then if we have to fight with the Hou Jin people, are you still afraid?" Wang Tom asked with a smile.
Sun Bing glared and said: "Chief, I fled Liaodong because I couldn't bear the death of my family in the war, not because I was greedy for life and afraid of death! Now that our Haihan army is approaching, the Jin barbarians will not be able to surrender in the future. There is nothing good about it." Scared!”
Wang Tom felt a little unhappy when he heard what he said was a bit slippery: "Then what if Hou Jin doesn't take the initiative to surrender?"
Sun Bing responded: "Then don't blame our Haihan army for being rude! Sun Bing is not talented and is willing to fight to the end for the Executive Committee!"
After Wang Tom heard his expression of loyalty, his face brightened slightly and he said: "Sooner or later, the grievances between these Northeastern wild boar skins and us Han people must be settled. When the army enters Liaodong, it will be a good opportunity for you Northeastern soldiers to make meritorious deeds. By then, Perform well, and maybe after conquering Liaodong, you will be able to become a high official and honor your ancestors!”
Sun Bing quickly stood at attention, saluted with a military salute, and said loudly: "Thank you for the heads up!"
As they spoke, the fleet was getting closer and closer to the coast of Laotieshan, and they could already clearly see the rugged rocks and cliffs on the seaside. In one of the highlands, a line of black smoke was rising from the trees.
(End of chapter)