Chapter 1419 is in full swing
In fact, it was not the first time that Gao Qiaonan heard about this battle plan. In fact, last year's special operations battalion's attack on Lushun was also part of the Liaodong strategy. The purpose was to prepare for this year's large-scale operation. At that time, Gao Qiaonan Already informed of the arrangements for the spring offensive. However, the combat environment that the special operations battalion is good at is complex terrain such as mountains and hills, and it rarely participates in such frontal position battles on the plains. Therefore, it is definitely a lie to say that Minami Takahashi has no doubts about the arrangements of the Ministry of National Defense. human. But in front of foreign generals like Shen Zhixiang, he would not show any inappropriateness, but he had already begun to think about how to use the battalion of Ming troops sent by Pidao to assist in the battle in order to make up for the shortcomings of his own troops.
Morgan actually doesn't have much experience in commanding large-scale military operations, far less than generals like Qian Tiandun and Wang Tom who have been commanding operations on the front line for a long time. Therefore, he did not notice that Gao Qiaonan and Shen Zhixiang had their own thoughts in their silent attitude. . His attention is still focused on the large map of Liaodong hanging on the wall. Although he will not be the general commanding the battle, at this time, it is necessary to let the senior officers present as much as possible understand the combat plan formulated by the Ministry of National Defense. The key point. After all, all orders issued by the commander-in-chief during combat must be executed by the officers present.
However, similar combat meetings will be held several times before the arrival of spring. First, to gradually improve the details of the combat plan. Second, there are still a large number of participating troops that have not arrived in Liaodong at this time. Naturally, various departments also need to communicate through combat meetings. opinions so that a tacit understanding can be reached on the battlefield.
Morgan's explanation was naturally focused on land routes. He personally went to the front line to conduct reconnaissance for several days a few days ago, and he also had a relatively clear understanding of the local geographical environment and natural conditions. After returning, Morgan compiled the information collected on the front line and had some ideas of his own about specific troop formations.
"... The terrain of the Golden State Isthmus is flat, and the width of the battlefield is relatively limited. In fact, this is more beneficial to our side with fewer troops, so that we can concentrate firepower to attack the local area!" Morgan said while gesturing on the map: "The enemy has the most The most powerful thing is the cavalry, but the narrowest area on the battlefield is only a few miles. We can try to use long-range firepower to block the enemy's attack channels and seal them in their strongholds, making them unable to play the role of the cavalry!"
< br>
Shen Zhixiang asked: "My lord, I have heard that the Golden Thieves have built many forts for stationing troops in the area and dispersed their troops throughout the area. If they want to completely block their attack channels, I am afraid that a large number of artillery will have to be deployed to achieve this effect." Right? ”
"Don't worry about this." Morgan responded confidently: "Before the spring, artillery troops transferred from the south will arrive in Liaodong to cooperate with the land offensive. No matter how many strongholds they build, they are only temporary defenses. Those earth walls Fences are useless in front of shells!”
"Artillery unit!" Gao Qiaonan and Shen Zhixiang's eyes lit up when they heard this word. Although Haihan had also invested in artillery in the previous Liaodong battle, there were usually only a few cannons, and the artillery organization was no more than a company level. And what Morgan is saying now is that artillery troops were specially mobilized from the south, which is probably a big move.
Haihan's artillery force has always maintained a relatively decentralized organization. Combat units such as special operations battalions are generally equipped with at least one artillery battery. In addition, in colonies such as Zhoushan in Zhejiang, Zhifu Island in Shandong, and Ambuna Island in the South China Sea, The garrison will also maintain an artillery company. But there are no special artillery battalions set up further up. This is not because Haihan has no money to build artillery, but the old problem is that the troops are limited. There are only so many artillery soldiers trained every year. Naturally, it is impossible to station a battalion in a certain place. place.
What's more, not all of these artillery units belong to the field troops. The gunners required for the forts in various ports and armed strongholds, as well as the new naval warships launched every year, are not a small number. The newly released artillery every year is something that everyone wants to grab. Therefore, the army's artillery establishment level has not been greatly improved. During large-scale combat operations, artillery can only be mobilized from other places in advance to assemble at the destination.
The situation in Shandong has stabilized recently. Most of Haihan's artillery units stationed in Shandong have been transferred to Liaodong. However, the existing artillery units will be deployed on the battlefield to attack the Jinzhou Isthmus. According to Gao Qiaonan and others, Coming is not enough. However, if the Ministry of National Defense really transfers another batch of artillery from the south, whether it is attacking armed strongholds or dealing with the torrent of Hou Jin's cavalry, it will be much more confident than it is now.
Of course, even if such a big setback is not wasted, as long as Haihan gathers a sufficient number of troops near the Jinzhou Isthmus, sooner or later he can kill the Hou Jin army stationed there. And in going to such great lengths to mobilize artillery troops from the south to fight, the Ministry of National Defense may have some intention of training troops in it. In addition, some new weapons and equipment that have been tried out in military exercises last year need to be tested in harsher battlefield environments to ensure that their performance is sufficient to meet combat needs.
While the officers were meeting in Lushun Fort to discuss the battle plan, Liu Shang was at the port responsible for receiving more than 1,500 Han immigrants sent from Pidao. After arriving in Lushun, these people will be resettled in the area currently occupied by Haihan at the southern end of the Liaodong Peninsula. Naturalization will be gradually opened to them in the future, so that the status of these people will change from Liaodong refugees to Haihan nationals. Liu Shang's task is to explain the local situation to these newly arrived people and the Haihan official's next resettlement measures for them.
After telling the propaganda content again as written, Liu Shang returned to the bamboo shed on the pier, put down the tin speaker in his hand, and then took a sip of the tea on the table. Drinking warm tea made his dry throat finally feel better. Although he was not a squeamish person, he was the only one responsible for preaching to the immigrants who were disembarking in batches. This job was indeed not easy.
However, Liu Shang's attention was not entirely focused on these dull-eyed immigrants. He had long noticed that there was a Ming Dynasty Dafu ship that came to Port Arthur with these immigrant ships. He had heard before that the Ming general who hurried to Port Arthur after disembarking from the ship was a certain general on Pi Island, and it seemed that Pi Island would also send troops to participate in the upcoming spring offensive.
The officer responsible for maintaining order on the dock is Sun Zhen, who returned to Lushun with Gao Qiaonan the day before yesterday. Although this job seems to be a bit overkill for a special operations battalion officer, Sun Zhen doesn't care, because he was originally recruited by Haihan as a refugee, and he understands these desperate people. What kind of environment is needed to feel at ease? The first thing is the sense of security brought by order.
The special operations battalion has always been fighting on the front line of Haihan's outward expansion, so many times this ace force has to take on the task of detaining prisoners or accepting immigrants, which should be done by the logistics force. Sun Zhen is no stranger to immigration matters. While stationed in Shandong, most of the officers in the special operations battalion were responsible for accepting immigrants in turns. In Sun Zhen's opinion, the performance of the refugees from Liaodong in Pidao was quite honest. Perhaps they had been warned numerous times by the local Ming army before setting off, and they regarded Haihan as a new master who could not resist.
"Brother Liu is tired. There are many people arriving in Hong Kong today. I'm afraid I will be busy until the afternoon." Sun Zhen saw the tired look on Liu Shang's face who was drinking water, so he comforted him with a few words.
Liu Shang put down the tea cup, smiled and waved his hands and said: "It's my duty to do something, so why bother? By the way, I have something to ask Brother Sun." After Sun Zhen agreed, Liu Shang asked: "Today Pidao I don’t know who this gentleman is.”
Sun Zhen did not doubt that he was there, and responded casually: "This is Mr. Shen Zhixiang, Pidao Counselor. Brother Liu should have heard of it, right?"
Liu Shang nodded and said: "After arriving in Shandong, I heard about the reputation of Shen's uncle and nephew on Pi Island. I didn't expect to see him in person so soon. I heard that Mr. Shen also spent a lot of time on Zhifu Island, working with him. Will our troops eat and live together?”
Speaking of this matter, Sun Zhen also became interested: "When Mr. Shen came to Zhifu Island, he was not a tourist, but came to receive military training. It was a coincidence that I lived in the same barracks with him. After a while.”
"No wonder he greeted you specially when he got off the boat." Liu Shang suddenly said.
Sun Zhen continued: "Master Xiao Shen is also a studious person. After staying on Zhifu Island for a while, he went south with Commander Wang of the Navy. I heard that he spent the last winter in Zhoushan to learn naval maneuvers. Pidao can cooperate with our army in the Liaodong Sea, and it seems that he has a share of the credit for attacking Houjin after the beginning of spring. "
Liu Shangxin said that although General Shen was still wearing the military uniform of the Ming Army, he was afraid that he no longer regarded himself as a general of the Ming Army. This was not the first time he had seen this kind of thing. When he left Hainan Island and went north with the fleet, almost every Haihan colony he visited could see Ming officials with high or low official positions speaking openly or covertly. Methods appear locally, even for generals like Shen Zhixiang.
These officials of the Ming Dynasty had various purposes for interacting with Haihan. Some were to accept bribes, some were to cooperate with Haihan in business, some were to rely on Haihan's thighs to seek support, and some were in Cao's camp and their hearts were in Han. People who secretly support Haihan. The more Liu Shang read, the more he felt that the Ming Dynasty's plan to drive out or even destroy Haihan in the south was just a delusion in the minds of some court officials. Many people retained their status as officials of the Ming Dynasty, but were working for Haihan, and this situation could no longer be changed by issuing a few decrees from the capital.
Regarding the situation of Pidao, Liu Shang had learned some information before. He believed that the uncle and nephew of the Shen family who were in charge of the local military power might surrender to Haihan more completely than the Xu family in Fujian, because the Ming Dynasty could not give them any practical information at all. The benefits are great, but Haihan can at least let them live in glory. Sun Zhen's words seem to confirm this point. Shen Zhixiang's performance may have gone beyond the scope of a partner, but he really intends to play for Haihan.
Of course, with Liu Shang's current mentality, he will no longer secretly scold Shen Zhixiang for treason and surrendering to the enemy. After all, for Pidao who needs to survive, working for Haihan is almost the best way out. But when Liu Shang looked at the Ming Dynasty's great fortune ship on the dock, he still couldn't help but sigh for the declining empire.
While Liu Shang was lamenting Pidao's change of course, a large fleet was slowly sailing out of Zhoushan Dinghai Port. The huge hulls of the first two majesty-class flagships could be seen from miles away. Civilian and merchant ships entering and leaving the port gave way to the waterway and lowered half-sail to pay tribute to the fleet entering the port.
This fleet departing from Zhejiang gathered the main battleships of the Navy's East China Sea Fleet and Northern Fleet. There were also dozens of large and small troop transport ships carrying more than 2,000 army and marine personnel gathered from all over the south, as well as There are dozens of heavy-duty cargo ships and comprehensive supply ships transporting various combat supplies, and the number of ships in the entire fleet has exceeded a hundred.
This mixed fleet is still commanded by Navy Commander Wang Tom. After recuperating on Zhoushan Island for a winter, the sailors finally embarked on a new journey. Shi Diwen, who was based in Zhoushan, originally wanted to go north with him to participate in this rare "grand event" in Liaodong. However, the concubine he married last year was already ten months pregnant and was about to give birth. At this juncture, it was difficult to put down household chores and lead the army. fight. Of course, what's more important is that neither the Executive Committee nor the Ministry of National Defense approved his application. After all, Zhoushan is close to Zhejiang, and the garrison has taken away most of it, so it still needs to have senior military officials in charge.
As a senior military official, Wang Tom knew very well that the plan to attack Liaodong had actually been discussed at the staff meeting of the Ministry of National Defense for several years. However, in the past few years, Haihan's hands could not reach such a far place, so it was just a plan on paper. Now that the time is finally ripe, the Haihan army has the opportunity to once again open up territory for this emerging country.
The battle in Liaodong is very likely to be Haihan's last large-scale military operation in the north in recent years. After that, the occupied areas in the north will enter the stage of cultivation and recuperation, and will not continue to expand further north for the time being. . This is not because the Executive Committee has been satisfied with the status quo and has no ambitions, but because Haihan's existing colonies are too scattered, and if it continues to expand its territory to the north and south, there will be more troubles in both military and administrative aspects.
Although the Ministry of National Defense is not so willing to this point, it also understands that the concerns of the Executive Committee are not unreasonable. After all, the distance between the north and south of Haihan's current controlled area is thousands of miles away. If it wants to expand rapidly, it must have more Stable centralization and stronger military power will do. For Haihan State, which is expanding too fast, this is not a problem that can be solved in a short time.
(End of chapter)