Chapter 1133: Chasing the Remnants
"Actually, we don't need to do it ourselves..." Wang Jinmin gently shook the rolled-up wanted notice in his hand and said: "As long as you are included in the wanted list with a reward, the people who want your head will probably travel half a mile away. If you have any restless thoughts, it’s best to think about the consequences first.”
It seems that there is a choice, but in fact there is no choice. The consequence of non-cooperation is probably a dead end. Gan Sheng obviously will not consider this road as one of the alternatives. But now that the Haihan people had caught him, even if he wanted to escape during this period, he had to first consider the consequences of being added to the wanted order luxury package. These Haihan people often offered hundreds of taels of silver to offer rewards. Gan Sheng thought that his life was probably not worth that much money. If he became a wanted target, he might be the first to beheaded. The person who received the reward was his younger brother Gan Qiang.
Although the situation is difficult, Gan Sheng will not give up the chance of survival. He knelt on the ground, looked up at Sun and Wang, and said tremblingly: "As long as I can survive, the villain is willing to do anything!"
Gan Sheng has now figured out that if he works for the Haihan people, he may still have a chance of survival, but if he works for Gan Qiang, the chance of survival is very slim. Although they are called brothers, they have no family ties. In today's troubled times, it is the truth to save your own life first.
After confirming the opponent's plan, it was not difficult for Sun Zhen and Wang Jinmin to organize a counterattack. They asked the frustrated Gan Sheng to return to Guxian Town first and continue to act according to Gan Qiang's arrangements. At the same time, people were sent back to Zhifu Bay to apply for reinforcements from the headquarters. After all, the current personnel configuration of this small team was not suitable for fighting in the mountains, and without knowing the opponent's strength, it would be safer to prepare more manpower. The men and horses in the special operations battalion have been idle recently and have no tasks, so they can come here to stretch their hands and feet.
On September 20, the first batch of cargo ships bound for Pi Island set sail from Zhifu Bay. This fleet consists of three Haihan cargo sailing ships and a warship belonging to Dongjiang Town that accompanied Shen Zhixiang to Shandong. The ship carried about 20 tons of grain that had just arrived from Zhejiang, as well as other medicines and daily necessities. . For Pidao, which is experiencing a shortage of food and materials, this can be said to be a life-saving straw in a desperate situation. Shen Zhixiang can even imagine that the Ming army on the island will explode after seeing the goods brought back this time. What cheers.
Shen Zhixiang saw Haihan's strength with his own eyes on Zhifu Island this time, and he was already convinced of the promise of Wang Tom and others. For Dongjiang Town, having a cooperative partner like Haihan proactively come to the door during the current predicament is really a blessing from God, and there is really no room for pickiness. The request made by Haihan seems to be very reasonable. It even seems to Shen Zhixiang to be taking the initiative. He actually wants to help Dongjiang Town share the refugees on the island. This is a condition that Dongjiang Town desires.
The Liaodong refugees on the island were evacuated in batches and exchanged for Haihan's support in food, materials and even ordnance. Such a transaction was worth a thousand dollars to Dongjiang Town, and its re-emergence seemed to be just around the corner. Moreover, Haihan seemed to be very interested in helping Dongjiang Town retake Liaodong. Shen Zhixiang believed that the plan to jointly send troops was feasible, and all that was needed now was Shen Shikui's nod. The Haihan people thought very carefully. They even deduced for him how to persuade Shen Shikui to agree to this plan after Shen Zhixiang returned, and worked out the details to ensure that the cooperation between the two parties would not get stuck at Shen Shikui's level. The road has been paved, and the next result depends on Shen Zhixiang's execution.
However, if Shen Zhixiang sets off from Zhifu Bay one day later, he may temporarily change his itinerary and stay in Dengzhou for a few more days. Because just the day after he set off, one of the teams that went out to inquire for information sent someone back to report that signs of activities of Gan Qiang, one of the bandit leaders of the Wanjia Army who was currently on the wanted list, had been found near Guxian Town. And after obtaining some valuable information from the captured gang members, team commander Sun Zhen applied to send additional reinforcements to the area to implement subsequent encirclement, suppression and arrest operations.
Of course, Shen Zhixiang also visited the hard labor camp of Haihan during his stay on Zhifu Island, and learned about the identities of these locally captured prisoners of war and the process of their capture. He was very interested in the mysterious combat effectiveness of the Haihan Army, and had always wanted to observe the combat operations of the Haihan Army up close. However, it happened that everything was calm when he was there, and there was no movement even at Qishan Qianhu Station. If Haihan Army During this period, if the Han Dynasty took external military actions, Shen Zhixiang would definitely ask to accompany the army on the expedition.
Takahashi Minami adjusted his military cap carefully before entering the headquarters, and then stepped inside. Although the messenger did not mention the reason for Qian Tiandun's urgent summons, Gao Qiaonan judged based on his many years of experience following Qian Tiandun and knew that he probably had a mission and had to lead his team into battle.
This is of course a good thing for Gao Qiaonan and the special operations battalion. Apart from the first few days here, there is still some work to do. After the Wanjia Army is defeated, the special operations battalion will be idle most of the time. Although the training during this period has not completely stopped, Takahashi Minami is not a person who can live with nothing. Seeing that his naval colleagues have gone to Liaodong and returned, he has never caught anything. What a decent errand. The only field mission is to send people to cooperate with the cavalry battalion to perform reconnaissance missions in the surrounding areas of Fushan County. However, only one company is dispatched for this mission at a time, which does not do much to maintain the overall combat effectiveness of the special operations battalion. Big help.
After entering the headquarters, he saw that Qian Tiandun, Wang Tom, Chen Yixin, several senior military officials, and the head of the intelligence agency Hao Wanqing were all present. Gao Qiaonan knew that his hunch was correct. This must be a relatively large operation. Let these high-ranking officials put aside what they are doing and come together to discuss plans.
As he wished, Qian Tiandun immediately informed him succinctly of the situation discovered by the reconnaissance team in Guxian Town, and appointed him as the field commander to lead the first and fourth companies of the special operations battalion to the local area to capture the remaining members of the Wanjia Army. .
Qian Tiandun ordered: "Gan Qiang has only the courage of an ordinary man. He can live or die as long as he is caught. But if Pu Xueguang is there, try to catch him alive. He controls the whereabouts of materials and wealth hidden by Wanjiajun in the mountains. These Things are valuable to us and cannot be lost to the public in vain.”
Wang Tom also added: "Before the official operation, in order to avoid alerting the enemy, your troops will be transported from the sea to the coast near Guxian Town. You will be stationed there for the time being. After our informants implement the intelligence, we will attack Cishan to capture Capture the target.”
Takahashi Nan asked: "What about the enemy's military strength?"
Hao Wanqing took over and answered the question: "The information the informant can provide us is very vague at present, and the other party is also gathering troops in a nearby area, so it is difficult to infer a more accurate number for the time being. However, based on the information confessed by previous prisoners of war, Judging from the extent of our attack on the Wanjia Army, the opponent will not be able to gather more than 500 local troops in a short period of time.”
The combat personnel establishment of the special operations battalion has always been an enhanced version. The two reinforced companies have about 400 people. Even considering the relatively unfamiliar area, judging from the combat experience and weapons and equipment advantages of the special operations battalion, it is necessary to It shouldn't be a problem to deal with a bandit force of comparable strength. When Takahashi Nan heard this conclusion, he was already convinced.
Hao Wanqing continued: "There are currently no Ming troops stationed in the area, but we should try our best to avoid disturbing the people during the operation, and do not use excuses such as Haihan invasion. The official attitude of Dengzhou towards us is still uncertain, so we should keep a low profile for the time being. After the first winter, we will slowly settle accounts with those people. "Haihan's current situation in Dengzhou is indeed a bit delicate. On the one hand, the government believes that Haihan's presence will help improve the local public security situation and solve some problems that should be solved by the government. The relief issues undertaken can even organize people to resume production and restructure the local economy. On the other hand, the military insists that Haihan's presence is equivalent to invading the Ming Dynasty. His actions are not essentially different from the local bandit armed forces in Dengzhou. At this stage, all the goodwill shown to the government are just Haihan's disguise. Once Once they have established a foothold, it will be difficult to expel them.
Although in terms of military strength, Haihan does not need to fear the local garrison, if the Ming army openly takes action to confront Haihan, it will inevitably affect Haihan's various activities in this area. The command headquarters is well aware that economic losses are secondary. If the implementation of major policies is delayed because of this, it is the last thing the executive committee wants to see. Therefore, Zhifu Island must try its best to avoid giving clear instructions to the state government. The army provided an excuse to take action. When the infrastructure project is completed next year, the relationship between various departments is straightened out, and Zhifu Island begins to operate as Haihan's main stronghold in this area, then we will be able to deal with those who try to go against Haihan. Of course, there is no need to wait until next year to take action against people like the remnants of the Wan Family Army. The sooner they are eliminated, the better.
After receiving the order, Takahashi Nan immediately returned to the camp to gather his subordinates. That afternoon, he took a boat from Port No. 2 on the west coast of Zhifu Island to the coast near Guxian Town to meet up with the team led by Sun Zhensuo who was stationed there.
Although reinforcements were mobilized, it was not easy to capture the bandit leader Gan Qiang. Judging from Gan Sheng's confession, it is unlikely to lure Gan out of the mountain without leaving any trace. The most feasible way is to follow the opponent's idea and still have the small team pretend to be fooled and follow Gan Sheng into the mountain. Step on the opponent's trap, wait for the opponent to launch the attack first, and then have the main force following behind counterattack.
But there is a problem that is not easy to solve, that is, the Haihan Army is not familiar with the geographical conditions of Cishan. In order to avoid alerting the enemy, it is difficult to conduct on-site reconnaissance of this area in advance. Moreover, where Gan Qiang will eventually set up the ambush location has not yet been determined, so this will also be a great test for the special operations battalion's ability to respond on the spot. However, the two accompanying intelligence officers from the Ministry of Security disguised themselves as merchants and stayed at Gan Sheng's inn to monitor him.
On the afternoon of September 24, Gan Qiang finally sent someone to deliver a message to the inn, asking Gan Sheng to lead the Haihan Army to a place called Chenjiagou in Cishan. After Gan Sheng agreed on a time with the messenger, the messenger returned to the mountain to resume his duties. Gan Sheng hurried to the wing where Haihan intelligence officers lived and informed them of the news they had just received.
Before the sun set, Takahashi Minami, who was stationed at the seaside, received the news from Furugen Town, and then convened the officers for a combat preparation meeting and agreed on a rough plan of action. The two local guides selected among the immigrants before setting off from Zhifu Bay came into play at this time. According to what they said, Gao Qiaonan predetermined the approximate location of Chenjiagou and also had an idea of the next day's actions. Have a clearer plan. The troops broke camp overnight and first went around Cishan to the west of Guxian Town to station themselves.
The next day, Gan Sheng met Sun Zhen and others outside Guxian Town as promised and took them into the mountains to find Gan Qiang. Gan Sheng didn't know Haihan's combat arrangements. Seeing that there was still only Sun Zhen's team, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
Gan Sheng's worry and insecurity were all written on his face. Sun Zhen naturally saw it and immediately comforted him: "You don't have to worry about the lack of people. We have other arrangements. As long as Gan Qiang shows up this time, we won't be able to do anything." There will be another chance to escape!”
"Yes, yes, the villain is worrying too much!" Gan Sheng felt a little relieved.
Chenjiagou is only six or seven miles away from Guxian Town. After riding horses for a while, everyone began to enter the mountainous area. After there was no official road, they could only follow the trails that the mountain people had stepped in and out of the mountains. The horse team was also stretched out in a long formation, stretching for a hundred meters in front and back. As the mountain gradually became steeper, some sections were difficult to pass, and the soldiers had to dismount and hold the reins to move forward.
Although he knew that he had not yet reached the opponent's encirclement, the increasingly dangerous terrain had made Sun Zhen wary. Wang Jinmin caught up and said with a wry smile: "It seems that today's life is not easy!"
"Are you afraid?" Sun Zhen asked.
Wang Jinmin sighed: "I have nothing, but if these horses are damaged in any way, my head will probably be furious again after we go back."
"If you run out of horses, you can buy them again! There are many horses in Shandong, and it's not like you don't know." Sun Zhen had no clear understanding of the value of these horses. He just chatted with Wang Jinmin wordlessly to relieve the tension at the moment. mood.
"More than a mile ahead is Chenjiagou."
After Sun Zhen received the guide's report, he ordered all personnel to enter a state of combat readiness. Although he knew that the reinforcements were not far away from him, the task of his team was to lure the enemy to show up. They had to face the enemy's first wave of offensive and hold the enemy back until the reinforcements arrived. The risk is still quite high.
(End of chapter)