Chapter 1358 Another Battle at Lushunkou
Not to mention the excitement in Dengzhou after receiving the news of the Haihan fleet's attack, the fleet turned north after sailing past the coast near Guxian Town, heading towards the Liaodong Peninsula. The straight-line distance from here to Lushunkou is only more than 70 nautical miles. With the fleet maintaining a speed of about six or seven knots, it only takes a dozen hours to reach the destination.
In the past year, Haihan had sent fleets several times to clean up the east coastline of the Liaodong Peninsula, making it almost impossible for Hou Jin's armed sailing ships to station there, and had no choice but to hand over control of the coastline. However, this is not Haihan's ultimate goal. The military still hopes to occupy a piece of land in Liaodong and establish a stronghold as soon as possible, and then form a restraint on Houjin from this direction, thereby alleviating the external pressure faced by Ming Dynasty.
The existence of the Ming Dynasty regime is beneficial to the development of Haihan. This is a consensus reached by Haihan's senior officials long ago. Although Haihan and Daming have been having territorial disputes and even had several armed conflicts in recent years, the relationship between the two countries cannot be said to be very friendly. However, based on the principle of putting interests first and sharing the same roots and sect, the senior officials of Haihan did not want Ming Dynasty to be destroyed by the wild boar skin outside the customs in a few years as it was in the original history. To the best of one's ability, share some pressure for Ming Dynasty and achieve its own strategic goals. This is Haihan's attitude in the future.
Although Ming may not be willing to cooperate with Haihan's "painstaking efforts", Haihan's senior management did not consider Ming's attitude too much when planning these strategic goals. This can be said to be contempt, but it is also a relatively sober judgment. It is impossible for Ming Dynasty to ignore Haihan occupying a large amount of its own territory in a way that is tantamount to invasion. Even if the two countries have the same stance on dealing with Hou Jin, it is impossible for Ming Dynasty to ignore it. It was impossible to get Ming's strategic cooperation. Therefore, Haihan simply did not expect to get any help from Daming. He just implemented the development plan step by step at his own pace.
Haihan chose to set off in the afternoon, so that after a night of sailing and arriving at the destination in the early morning, most of the soldiers could get sufficient rest time on the way and be able to engage in combat immediately after arriving at the local area.
When morning came, each ship sounded the bugle for the first time, waking the soldiers from their sleep. They had about an hour to eat, drink, and eat, and then they had to start packing up their equipment and preparing for the next landing at Lushunkou.
This is no longer a new task for some of them. Every time the Haihan Army comes to Liaodong, Lushunkou, located at the southernmost tip, is the first stop they will inevitably visit. The landing at Lushunkou has become a routine task that the army must complete every time.
It is not that the Houjin Army stationed here had not tried to prevent Haihan from landing, but under the condition of severe insufficient coastal defense firepower, the defensive measures they could take were extremely limited. After suffering several losses under the bombardment of Haihan naval guns, the Hou Jin Army no longer tried to resist the enemy at sea, but retracted its defense line inland and no longer prevented the Haihan Army from landing. Although this seemed to increase the risk of defense, the Hou Jin Army had realized that Haihan's attack was only superficial and would not stay locally even if they won, so they accepted this offensive and defensive posture with peace of mind.
Due to the terrain, every time the Haihan fleet approached the Liaodong Peninsula from the southern sea, it would often be spotted first by the Jin army from a high place. Therefore, when the fleet arrived at Lushunkou, the enemy would be prepared in advance. In fact, it was not There will be no surprise effect. This operation was no exception. When the Haihan fleet was still several nautical miles away from the coast at the southern end of Lushunkou, it was discovered by the sentinels of the Hou Jin Army. Before they arrived at Lushunkou Bay, the warning had been sent. Arrive at the stronghold on the north shore of Lushun Port.
Of course Haihan knew this, but the fleet's long-range firepower had an absolute advantage, so neither Wang Tom nor Qian Tiandun cared whether the Hou Jin army on the shore would resist. The fleet controlled the entry and exit channels of Lushun Port without encountering any resistance, and then dispatched several troop transport ships in a familiar manner. Under the cover of warships, they attempted to land on the Laohwei Peninsula on the southeast side of the harbor.
In the past several operations to land at Lushunkou, Haihan, without exception, first controlled the Laohwei Peninsula and established a beachhead here before proceeding to the next step. This tactic seems simple and crude, but it is not easy to crack. The Jin Army had previously tried to send infantry to the Laohuwei Peninsula to prevent the Haihan Army from landing, but under the gunfire of the warships, no matter how strong the infantry was, they could only be turned into cannon fodder.
Moreover, the Later Jin Army also discovered that the individual weapons equipped by the Haihan Army were far sharper than the blunderbuss in the Ming army. They tried to rely on the past tactics to deal with the Ming Army, but they simply could not restrain the weapons of the Haihan Army. Instead, they were defeated by the Haihan Army. The sharp rotating shooting tactics made the fight miserable. Regardless of whether they were infantry or cavalry, the Hou Jin Army had already tried, but the result was the same. They simply couldn't rush forward to engage in hand-to-hand combat. After trying a few more times, Hou Jinjun gave up the idea and simply huddled in the stronghold, letting Haihan toss around the coastline. They knew that Haihan would only retreat in four or five days, so they were in no rush to take the initiative.
This time, as usual, the Houjin Army gave up the defense of the Laohuwei Peninsula, allowing the troop transport ship to easily dock and complete the landing and occupation. Several soldiers jumped into waist-deep water and pulled the cables to the shore. After securing the ship, a springboard was put down on the ship to allow the soldiers to transfer various supplies to land.
Different from previous operations, when the Shandong headquarters planned this clean-up operation, it had already decided to capture the Jinzhou Zhongzuo city in the north of the harbor that originally belonged to the Ming army, and wipe out the city stationed at Lushunkou. The Jin army in the area was preparing to seize this area after the beginning of spring. The Tiger Tail Peninsula will be used as a logistics position for this operation, where various combat preparation materials will be piled, as well as hundreds of horses for the cavalry battalion.
Since it was not a matter of just shooting and running away, Haihan was more prepared this time than before. Troop ships continued to transport soldiers ashore, and a large number of marching tents were quickly set up on the Laohuwei Peninsula. Various materials are also being hoisted ashore from the ship. This mixed land and sea force has more than 2,000 troops. The amount of ammunition and supplies consumed during the battle with so many people is not a small amount. Only Haihan has this kind of transportation. With the ability of materials, the preparation and transportation arrangements of materials were completed in just a few days.
Haihan did not rush to launch an offensive against the Houjin stronghold across the harbor, but spent most of the day completing unloading and building a camp on the Laohuwei Peninsula. This kind of action also puzzled the Hou Jin Army. In the past, the Haihan Army would launch an offensive soon after landing here. After a tug-of-war that lasted for two or three days, the Haihan Army would withdraw on its own. But this time It seems that the situation is a little different this time. The commander Houjin stationed in the local area was named Muteb, which means "capable" in his language. Muteb's official position was Jiala Ezhen, and he commanded five Niulu. Each Niulu had 300 warriors, each led by Niulu Ezhen. However, not all of the more than a thousand people under Muteb's command were Jurchen bannermen. They were divided into three identities: Aha, armored men, and bannermen. The highest-status bannermen are naturally Jurchens, and the lower-ranking armored men are actually descendants, and they exist from all ethnic groups and tribes in the Northeast. The lowest Aha are equivalent to slaves, mainly composed of Liaodong Han and Koreans.
The elite of the bannermen are called Baya La soldiers, and they are composed of the seventeen most powerful warriors provided by each Niulu. However, these soldiers were directly subordinate to Baya La Zhongzhangjing of each banner. Muteb, the Jia La Ezhen, could only command dozens of Baya La soldiers assigned to him by Zhuzhang Jing. This special unit is similar to the special operations battalion and cavalry battalion in the Haihan Army. They both pay more attention to individual combat capabilities. However, these elites in the Later Jin Army are much worse than Haihan in terms of equipment. During the battle, they did not You won’t find many opportunities to develop your personal abilities.
Muteb was only transferred from Fuzhou Guard in the first half of this year, and the predecessor he replaced died in the Haihan Fleet's shelling from the opposite shore at Lushunkou. Since the Haihan people began to visit the Liaodong Peninsula at the end of last year, the Houjin Army stationed in Lushunkou has undoubtedly been the most severely damaged unit in the entire Liaodong Peninsula. Every time the Haihan fleet arrives, it always causes at least three-digit casualties here. During this period, Niulu Ezhen and Jia La Ezhen died in battle many times.
However, Hou Jin did not find an effective solution to this situation. After all, the Hou Jin court focused all its attention on Shanhaiguan and regarded Ming Dynasty as its main opponent. The Haihan Army came to attack from time to time. The bloodletting of the last knife did not attract much attention. After all, the three-digit casualties were only a mild effect on Houjin when viewed in the context of the general environment. However, the Haihan fleet's constant attacks on the east coast of the Liaodong Peninsula gave Hou Jin a headache. He could only withdraw all his limited maritime armed ships to the inland rivers, or transfer them to the Bohai Bay to station in order to avoid Haihan's suppression. .
The Later Jin court believed that as long as the Haihan people did not establish a long-term stronghold on the Liaodong Peninsula, then this bloodletting style of warfare would not harm the overall situation even if it continued. Therefore, in response to Haihan's repeated provocations, Hou Jin only strengthened the defense of Jinzhou Zhongzuo City, from the initial few hundred people to the thousands currently commanded by Muteb. If you include family members and slaves doing farm work, the number of people stationed by Hou Jin in this area has exceeded 3,000. Ironically, after a year of hard work by the Haihan Army, the population of Houjin living here has actually increased a lot compared to when they first came.
Of course, even if this number is doubled or even several times doubled, it will not shake the determination of Haihan senior officials to capture Lushunkou and even the Jinzhou Peninsula. It will just cost a little more effort when the time comes.
When Muteb came here with the order, he was ordered to defend the city in the center and left, rather than fight the Haihan people in the wilderness. Although he didn't quite understand his boss's arrangement and why he wanted the troops to perform city defense tasks that they were not good at, but thinking about his predecessors and former predecessors who died in this place, Muteb decided to follow his boss's instructions.
Although it is a city defense mission, not everyone is staying in the city behind closed doors. According to previous practice, Muteb also deployed multiple outposts near Lushunkou. This arrangement was not to try to prevent the Haihan people from landing at Lushunkou, but to provide timely early warning so that the stronghold could know about the Haihan people. receive news of military incoming attacks from the sea so that appropriate defensive measures can be taken.
Just like in the past, after Mutebu learned about the appearance of the Haihan fleet, he left only a few scattered reconnaissance cavalry on the periphery to monitor the Lushun port to confirm that the Haihan people would not do anything unexpected here. tricks.
Muteb did not immediately order martial law throughout the city, but ordered all combatants to return to their teams and wait for Haihan to take action before deciding on subsequent response measures. The opponent's performance did not seem to be anything new. After landing on the Laohuwei Peninsula, they began to build a camp unhurriedly, pretending to be prepared to fight a protracted war locally.
After hearing the relevant reports, Muteb felt relieved. The weather is getting colder now, and winter is just one step away. When there is a few heavy snows, the Han people living in canvas tents may not know how they died. . Judging from the weather conditions this year, it gets colder earlier than in previous years. Maybe it will start snowing in ten days and a half. Of course, maybe the Haihan people will retreat on their own before the heavy snow appears.
However, Muteb did not take his opponents lightly. He knew that every time the Haihan Army came to Lushunkou, there would be armed conflicts with the local garrison. They would have to fight several battles before withdrawing, and this time should be no exception. Before this, Mutebu had already fought against the Haihan Army once, and he also roughly knew the Haihan Army's tactics. If he was not careful, he would easily be caught by the Haihan Army and kill everyone.
Muteb will not send troops to attack the Laohwei Peninsula. Such an approach has been proven to be futile. The most effective and safest way is to hold on to the stronghold and wait for the Haihan Army to attack. Placing one or two cavalry outside the city prevents the opponent from focusing on the siege. After a few days of this, the Haihan people would retreat.
This tactic has proven its effectiveness several times in the past year, and has now become the standard tactic used by the Jin Army to deal with the Haihan Army. Muteb did not want to make any changes to this mature tactic. He still followed the past method and ordered two Niulu Ezhen to lead their cavalry to ambush on the north and south sides of the city.
(End of chapter)