Chapter 1380 The meaning of war
Towards the end of the year, snowfall becomes more frequent as the season begins. Fortunately, the living facilities on Zhifu Island are relatively complete, and the construction aid cadres who have just arrived here from the warm south do not have to worry about starving and freezing. After three consecutive days of snow, the fleet that crossed the sea to fight in Liaodong finally returned to Zhifu Island. More than a dozen combat ships and more than 20 supply ships and troop transports returned to the port. Their formation was quite astonishing. Many new immigrants who had just arrived on Zhifu Island were dumbfounded. Some even asked if this was what Haihan planned to do. Shandong has raised troops.
When Liu Shang was in Hainan Island, he had watched the live-fire exercises of the Haihan Army in Danzhou, and later the battle to defeat the Spanish invading fleet off the coast of Sanya, so he was no stranger to the Haihan Navy. However, when he saw that Haihan had such a large fleet stationed in the remote Shandong waters, he couldn't help but secretly admire Haihan's military strength. He remembered that he had heard on the ship on the way that the Ming Navy in Shandong was afraid of avoiding the Haihan Fleet, which seemed to make sense.
To station a fleet so far away from the mainland for a long time, and to go to the Liaodong region further north from time to time to fight, one can imagine the amount of logistical support required. The closest supply point to Shandong is Zhoushan, Zhejiang. Such large cross-sea supplies that require long-term maintenance can only be completed by a maritime power like Haihan. However, the Hou Jin Kingdom, which was entrenched in Liaodong, was even worse at naval warfare than the Ming Dynasty, and presumably was far from a match for the Haihan Navy.
Sure enough, the news brought back by the fleet caused joy on Zhifu Island. This expedition had successfully occupied Port Arthur, a port with excellent navigation conditions in Liaodong, and the special operations battalion of the army's ace unit was also stationed there. The new The armed stronghold was named Lushun Fort. It was the first armed stronghold established by Haihan in the Liaodong region. It also meant that Haihan's plan to march into Liaodong had achieved phased results.
Like many local cadres, Liu Shang was actually not very able to understand why Haihan went to Liaodong to attack the areas under Hou Jin's control. The war between Hou Jin and Ming Dynasty has been going on for several years. This matter is known to the whole world. With the intelligence ability collected by Haihan, he naturally knows the situation very well. This was supposed to be a situation where Haihan would sit on the mountain and watch the fight between tigers and let the two countries fight to the death in order to profit from it. However, Haihan decided to fight Hou Jin regardless of the cost in order to contain Hou Jin's southward attack. The footsteps of Ming Dynasty.
But no matter what the purpose of the Executive Committee is, the victory of the war can be a great inspiration. At this time, no one will doubt whether the official decision to attack Liaodong is cost-effective or has any deep political significance. Everyone was simply proud of the Haihan Army's consistent victory. Even a person like Liu Shang, whose identity and position was not innocent, could not help but be infected by such an atmosphere.
The military prepared a grand celebration banquet in advance for the return of the fleet. Pigs and sheep were slaughtered on the island as if it were a Chinese New Year. All the naval officers who returned to Zhifu Island attended the banquet, and Liu Shang and other cadres who went north were also invited to attend. Liu Shang's interest in the banquet was average, but he was still very interested in the attitude of the military generals at the banquet. Haihan stationed heavy troops in Shandong, and the targets he had to deal with were the Ming Dynasty and the Houjin Dynasty in Liaodong. The military's attitude toward these two families was what Liu Shang wanted to understand most now.
As usual, at the celebration banquet when the army returns in triumph, the generals will give speeches, showing off their military exploits and explaining to the audience the significance of these battles to Haihan. The generals who led the army to Liaodong this time were Navy Commander Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun, known as the first general of the army. It is not an exaggeration to call this the strongest configuration of the navy and army. They naturally commented on this battle. It also attracts more attention.
As an official of the political propaganda department, Liu Shang's speeches by these big figures were originally the content of his work. He should understand the spirit of their speeches and then publicize them to the general public in a more understandable way. This is the main purpose of political propaganda. One of the tasks. He even brought pen and paper to prepare to write down some key points in the speeches of the big shots. Of course, because of his current status, no one would think there was anything wrong with his behavior.
Army General Qian Tiandun was the first to stand up at the banquet to speak. The Army Special Operations Battalion he commanded achieved great results in this battle. They defeated Hou Jin's cavalry on the front battlefield with infantry and cavalry, killing and wounding Hou Jin's cavalry. There were nearly a thousand Jin soldiers. They cooperated with the cavalry battalion to conquer Hou Jin's local armed fortress and captured hundreds of war horses, which greatly expanded the strength of the cavalry battalion.
After Qian Tiandun stood up, the banquet hall became quiet. He raised his glass and said loudly: "War requires us to maintain enough awe and cherish the hard-won victory. This glass of wine is dedicated to all the soldiers who died gloriously in this battle. Their spirits will definitely be with us!"
There was a solemn atmosphere in the hall. Qian Tiandun spilled the wine in the glass on the ground, then put the glass back on the table, and then started to get back to the topic: "Before this expedition, the command's scheduled goal was to occupy Lushun Port. If Based on this standard, it can be regarded as overfulfilling the task. Before we came back, we had basically eliminated the Houjin armed forces in the Lushunkou area, and it was unlikely that the other side would organize a large-scale counterattack this winter. Unexpectedly, after the beginning of spring, the Lushunkou area will be officially included in the territory of our country! ”
After saying this, everyone couldn't help but applaud. Although everyone seems to be used to Haihan acquiring new territory overseas every once in a while, when he has the opportunity to experience such a moment of opening up new territories, he can't help but feel very excited.
Liu Shang's mind was a little awkward. Haihan attacked the Houjin-controlled area and caused great battle damage. This is indeed a gratifying thing, but the Lushunkou area occupied by Haihan's army used to be the Ming Dynasty. The area under the jurisdiction of the Jinzhou Guard Zhongzuo Office of the Liaodong Dusi was, in short, originally the territory of the Ming Dynasty, but was only temporarily occupied by Hou Jin. But listening to Qian Tiandun's current tone, it is obvious that these lands in Liaodong no longer have any subordinate relationship with the Ming Dynasty. After the Haihan army occupied the local area by force, these places will be classified as Hainan in the near future. Han territory.
Liu Shang would not doubt the effectiveness of Qian Tiandun's words. When he was still working as a storyteller at Xinlong Teahouse in Sanya Port, he had seen many reports about this legendary general in Haihan official media in the municipal library over the years. Almost every territory of the Haihan Kingdom from the north of Hainan Island is inseparable from Qian Tiandun. It can be said that the many islands and ports currently occupied by the Haihan Kingdom by force along the coast of Ming Dynasty are all under his command. masterpiece. Qian Tiandun said that a certain place was already under the name of Haihan, which might be more effective than what the person in the Forbidden City said. Qian Tiandun pressed his hands down to signal for silence, and then continued: "Occupying Lushunkou is not the end of our operations in Liaodong. After the beginning of spring, we will continue to launch large-scale offensives against the Jin armed forces, and The goal is to completely occupy the area south of the Jinzhou Isthmus, so everyone here should not relax. This winter is a period of rest and preparation, and there will be fierce battles for non-combat units such as logistics and civil affairs after the spring. , we must also try our best to cooperate with the military’s arrangements and not be held back!”
When Liu Shang heard this, he couldn't help but turn his head and glance at Su Yu, who was at the same table. He thought to himself that as soon as he came to Shandong, he had a few military personnel imprisoned. He didn't know if it was a hindrance. Su Yu looked calm and composed, seemingly unaware that his previous actions would harm the military. Of course, this may be because he has the backing of the Ministry of Security. After all, now that he has the status of a special consultant of the Ministry of Security, most people have to think twice before making trouble for him again.
"...Some people may ask, in the bitter cold land of Liaodong, what is the point of us working hard to attack Liaodong and seize the territory from Hou Jin?"
When Liu Shang heard these words, he immediately woke up from his distracted state. He knew that this time he should talk about the key issue that he was most concerned about. He quickly pricked up his ears and listened carefully to Qian Tiandun's speech. At this time, several soldiers had already used bamboo poles to hold up a regional map behind Qian Tiandun.
"The greatest strategic significance of occupying the Jinzhou area in Liaodong lies in the control of the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea." Qian Tiandun walked to the map and raised his hand to mark out the areas of the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea: "As everyone knows, I, Haihan, am Establishing a country based on sea control, only with sea control can Haihan continue to develop and grow. This theory has the same effect whether it is in the south or in the environment we are in now. We have established ports and routes on the Liaodong Peninsula, which can be attacked. It can be retreated and defended, echoing the Shandong base. It can control the entire Bohai Sea to the west and the Yellow Sea to the east. After gaining control of the sea in this area, it will be able to carry out colonization, trade, or further military expansion in the future. You will get twice the result with half the effort”
After Qian Tiandun said this, he suddenly felt as if he had stolen Tom Wang's lines. He immediately looked at Tom Wang and said, "Commander Wang, please say a few words. After all, you are the supreme commander of the navy, so I won't do it for you." ”
Wang Tom was not worried at all. He stood up and walked to the map and said: "General Qian has actually already talked about most of the strategic significance of fighting in Liaodong. I will just add a little bit of political content."
"Some people may think that attacking Houjin is a thankless move. After all, our country is not bordering Houjin. It is difficult to recover the cost of cross-sea operations through war." Wang Tom said eloquently: "But I want to be here I would like to remind everyone that the war between Hou Jin and the Ming Dynasty has been going on for several years, and the situation of the Ming Dynasty has become more and more passive every year. The Executive Committee and the Ministry of Defense agree that the complete defeat of the Ming Dynasty is only a matter of time. The war situation is not about how much land and population has been lost, but a real crisis of national annihilation! ”
Liu Shang was shocked when he heard this. He had been in Haihan for so long, and of course he had heard many rumors that Haihan's senior officials were dissatisfied with Ming's trend in the northern battlefield. These rumors are true, but Liu Shang has always believed that they may be a propaganda method concocted by Haihan officials to brainwash the people. Today was the first time that he heard Haihan's military leaders express their attitude so clearly, and they used such a terrifying term as "destroying the country."
Liu Shang didn't know much about the battle situation on the northern front, and he couldn't tell much from the official Di Bao, which reported good news but not bad news. However, after the Jin army went south to knock the pass every year, the border area was getting larger and larger, which showed that the Ming Dynasty really failed to take advantage of the northern war. In the past few years, the entire Liaodong Peninsula fell under the control of Hou Jin. Even the rebels in Shandong's civil strife chose to cross the sea to Liaodong to seek refuge with Hou Jin. This shows that Ming Dynasty has completely lost control of the areas outside the customs.
But Liu Shang always believed that this was just a temporary defeat in some areas. With the vast territory and strong national power of the Ming Dynasty, as long as the civil strife of the peasant army in the Central Plains region was quelled first, it would be easy to recapture the small Liaodong after freeing up his hands. He never thought that it would be easy Zuohui, the Ming Dynasty, was threatened by barbarians outside the pass.
As the commander of Haihan Navy, Wang Tom's words can basically represent the true attitude of Haihan's senior officials. Moreover, this celebration banquet was all attended by Haihan military and official insiders, so there was no need for Wang Tom to release some false information on such an occasion. Liu Shang was secretly worried when he heard this. Could it be that the Ming Dynasty was really about to lose its national destiny and it had to rely on external forces like Haihan to save it?
"At this stage, what Haihan needs is a stable Ming Dynasty that can provide our country with a sales market for labor, raw materials, and commodities. Even if the Ming Dynasty is wary and unwilling to take the initiative to engage in in-depth cooperation with our country, Haihan cannot turn a blind eye. Wang Tom continued: "The Ming Dynasty's internal problems can only be solved by the Ming Dynasty. It is inconvenient for our country to directly intervene, but it can help fight against the Hou Jin." , On the one hand, it can restrain them from going south, and on the other hand, it can also give the Han people in Liaodong an extra way out. For our country, there will never be too much labor. If we fight against Hou Jin, our country can get more Han people. Immigration is worth it even if it costs more.”
Qian Tiandun and Wang Tom respectively explained Haihan's intention to march into Liaodong from both military and political aspects. However, they were limited to the atmosphere of the celebration banquet. Obviously, neither of them really elaborated on the issue, but only briefly and to the point. Click till then. This made Liu Shang, an audience with a strong thirst for knowledge, feel unsatisfied. He really wanted to hear more about the views of senior officials from Haihan on the current situation. This kind of opportunity is really rare, but it is hard to ask for. I won’t do it next time. I know when there will be such an occasion.
(End of chapter)