Chapter 1451 Reconstruction Project
The words "all under control" are easy to say, but not so simple to realize. In addition to the huge financial investment, there is also a lot of specific work to be done. There are too many uncontrollable factors in the process of finding allies, opening up connections, and lobbying the court in Ming Dynasty official circles. Therefore, in order to increase the certainty of success, it is necessary to increase control over the controllable parts to ensure that nothing goes wrong.
For example, if Haihan wants to claim credit from the Ming Dynasty in the name of Dongjiang Town for his current achievements in Liaodong, he must ensure that the situation in Liaodong will not repeat in a short period of time. If Hou Jin had taken back the Jinzhou Isthmus within a few days, and even pushed the front line back to Lushunkou in the south, then the act of asking for credit might become an international joke, or even counterproductive. Therefore, Haihan's current primary task in Liaodong is to stabilize the isthmus defense line and ensure that Houjin cannot take an effective counterattack.
Looking at the existing defense fortifications based on Haihan's military standards, it is naturally difficult to describe the design here as qualified. This kind of thin wall-like fortification can only prevent harassment by a small group of enemy troops at most. If it is a battle of a thousand-man level, it is actually easy to find a breakthrough point with relatively weak defense on this defense line that is several miles long. At the beginning, the Liaodong Ming Army failed to defend this key pass with fortifications. After Jin took over, due to limited engineering capabilities, he was unable to carry out large-scale transformation of the entire defense line, and only repaired the damaged areas.
After all, they believe that the possibility of the Ming army fighting back to Liaodong is extremely slim, and there is no point in investing a lot of manpower and material resources on this line of defense. Besides, even if the Ming army fights back, they have won the first battle from the Ming army. , you can grab the second time. But Hou Jin also did not expect that in addition to the Ming army, there would be such a powerful enemy as Haihan in the world. He could use an unheard-of combat method to quickly overcome what they considered a very strong defense line. .
Qian Tiandun believed that the strategic position of the Jinzhou Isthmus was very important to Hou Jin. Even if the other side was temporarily unable to recapture the Jinzhou Peninsula controlled by Haihan, it would never let Haihan take root here. Therefore, the counterattack against the Jinzhou Isthmus defense line will inevitably be continuous, but the scale of the battle may not reach the level of this battle - Jin can afford to lose once in this kind of battle, but it may not be able to afford to lose a second or third time.
What Qian Tiandun needs to start now is to arrange the reconstruction project of the defense line as soon as possible. Before he led his troops to leave Liaodong, at least part of the key areas of the defense line here had to be reconstructed, and fortresses on the main transportation routes like Jijiabao and Sujiabao were the top priority.
The Haihan military would definitely look down on the old-style tower-style fortress. Based on the experience of conquering the South and the North over the years, in order to fully utilize the power of firearms when facing an enemy with superior strength, the configuration of a bastion and auxiliary fortifications is undoubtedly the most clever combination. The three-dimensional cross-fire network and the peripheral defenses that are difficult to break through quickly have won Haihan many battles. There are also ready-made samples of relevant architectural design drawings for reference. Just make slight changes according to the terrain characteristics. Construction can begin.
But specifically in the Jinzhou Isthmus, there are still some problems that need to be solved first. One of the main building materials needed for a large bastion is large, hard stones. If there is no quarry with suitable conditions nearby, then the original fortress will probably be completely dismantled and the building materials will be used for construction. New bastion.
In addition to building materials, labor is also one of the factors that will constrain this large-scale project. Since the local residents were relocated in advance by Houjin, almost all the labor force that could participate in the construction of the defense line could only be transported across the sea from Haihan. Judging from the current situation, Pidao and Dengzhou, Shandong are the two closest population sources. If the defense line reconstruction project is to achieve initial results in the short term, at least two to three thousand laborers must be maintained at the construction site for several months. construction, and this does not include the labor required for quarrying, logging, transportation and other links. This will be a big test for Haihan's mobilization and command capabilities and logistical support.
Qian Tiandun is a good man when leading troops in war, but when it comes to civil engineering, construction, and local development, he takes a lot of trouble. Even if this project is closely related to the military, it is far less effective for him than scolding Fang Qiu on the battlefield. Comfortable and refreshing. So regarding the project of rebuilding the defense line, he just made the decision and handed over the specific matters to Chen Yixin. After all, Chen Yixin spent a lot of time dealing with civil affairs and infrastructure projects during his stay in Shandong, so he is quite familiar with it.
Compared with the defense line reconstruction project, one task that Qian Tiandun needs to personally carry out now is the redeployment of Haihan's troops stationed in Liaodong. During the previous battle with the Hou Jin Army, troop movements were extremely frequent. Today it is the defense area of this unit, and tomorrow it may be transferred to another unit. By the end of the war, many units were stationed in locations that were very different from the original arrangements. Far away and less reasonable. For example, the current garrison of Sujiabao is mainly based on cavalry, which is obviously not a suitable troop configuration for defending the city.
Another problem is that the ownership of the troops currently stationed in the Jinzhou Isthmus is relatively complicated. In addition to the two battalions of the Army, there are also Qian Tiandun's special operations battalion, Harugong's cavalry battalion, and Wang Tom's Marine Corps. , the artillery units mobilized from various colonies, the specially trained demolition engineer team from Sanya, and the Pidao Army affiliated to the Ming Army, etc., a total of more than 3,000 troops need to be deployed in a coordinated manner.
After the spring offensive, some of the troops participating in the war will leave here one after another, especially the three elite troops of the special operations battalion, cavalry battalion and Marine Corps, as well as Morgan's sniper team. It is obviously impossible for the Ministry of National Defense to deploy them in the distant Liaodong for a long time. Guard the border. Once the situation stabilizes, these troops will basically leave Liaodong and continue to perform military missions where they are needed more.
But before that, Qian Tiandun must first negotiate with other generals about the deployment and task allocation during this period to ensure that the isthmus defense line is foolproof.
"The two battalions of the Army are stationed here in the gap position. The special operations battalion and the Marine Corps are stationed in Sujiapu and Jijiapu respectively. Then my troops will provide support from the center. That's enough." Harugong said quickly, and was the first at the meeting. put forward their own ideas.
Tom Wang shook his head and said: "The Marine Corps will continue to carry out the mission of harassing behind enemy lines and will not be stationed here."
The special operations battalion's continued activities in the coastal areas of Liaodong can attract Houjin's attention to a certain extent and reduce the military pressure that Jinzhou Isthmus will face in the near future. This was a plan before the war, and Harugong was also an insider. He frowned and said, "Then let the Pi Island Army take over."
"I'm afraid that the combat effectiveness of the Pidao Army is a bit poor. If we have to deal with the Houjin Army on our own, it will probably be a bit difficult." Qian Tiandun obviously did not particularly trust the strength of the Pidao Army. For a strategically important pass like the Isthmus Defense Line, he did not dare to hand it over to the Ming army at the risk of something happening.
"What about breaking up the Ming army and mixing it up?" Chen Yixin, who was sitting next to Qian Tiandun, added: "Anyway, Shen Zhixiang is obeying our instructions now. If we ask him to temporarily break up the troops and station them, he probably won't object to us. "I'm afraid he won't say it, but he has thoughts in his heart." Qian Tiandun didn't have much confidence in this matter, but he knew that if he were in Shen Zhixiang's position, he would not accept the breakup even if he was beaten to death. This behavior of our own troops is not acceptable even if it is just a temporary one. This should be an unacceptable arrangement for any good commander.
Chen Yixin was reminded by Qian Tiandun and obviously thought of the key point. He could think of Shen Zhixiang's feelings when comparing his feelings, so he stopped talking at the moment.
"Morgan, what do you think?" Wang Tom asked Morgan, who had never spoken. Morgan is the oldest among this group of people and can be considered mature and prudent, so his opinions certainly have greater reference value.
Morgan coughed dryly and said: "In my opinion, pure defense is not a good solution. Think about it, we have to rebuild this line of defense. The construction period will be at least three months, and it may last for half a year or even It will take longer. If we only passively defend during this period, the enemy only needs to send small groups of cavalry to harass the construction site from time to time, and the construction period will be difficult to proceed smoothly. For us, it will be a long night and a lot of dreams. You don’t want to stay in this remote place for a long time, do you?”
"Then what do you mean, continue to fight Hou Jin?" Wang Tom's eyes lit up after hearing this. He can be regarded as a standard hawk. As long as there is a fight, he will fight. Even if there is not, he will fight to create opportunities.
According to Wang Tom's opinion, the most useless unit in this spring offensive was probably his Marines. All friendly forces severely damaged their opponents on the frontal battlefield. Only his troops set up camp to defend and almost suffered a loss. Although there was a clean and tidy ambush battle later, Wang Tom always felt that he was still satisfied. The ambush battle could at best make up for his mistakes, but it was not a record that could be used to show off to his peers. Moreover, as the Marine Corps was the only unit among the navy participating in the war that actually participated in the battle, it was difficult for its performance to meet the standards that he could recognize.
So as soon as the war here ended, Wang Tom had already assembled the Marines and was preparing to continue to the northern coastal areas to carry out harassment operations according to the pre-war plan, in order to allow the Marines to accumulate combat experience as soon as possible and evolve into a genuine elite force. teacher. But he also knew that it would be difficult to achieve any remarkable results in this kind of combat if the navy relied solely on its own strength, and friendly forces might not be happy to see the Marines acting like they were eating alone. If the entire army can be encouraged to continue the spring offensive, perhaps the Marines will get more opportunities to prove themselves.
The problems Morgan talked about are indeed very realistic. If Haihan wants to invest thousands of migrant workers on the construction site, it will inevitably attract harassment from Houjin. It is impossible for the other side to just watch Haihan build a more unbreakable pass here. They will definitely try every means to stop the construction. If Haihan wants to ensure the smooth progress of the construction, it will be the easiest way to continue to advance the front to the north. The most efficient option.
"I think it works." Harugong agreed with Morgan's idea. This of course has a lot to do with the cavalry battalion he commanded. As the battle line continues to advance north, it will inevitably rely on the mobility of the cavalry battalion. The space left for Harugong to perform may be greater than that of the Marine Corps, and he must be happy to see it happen.
Of the five senior generals present here, three of them have expressed their attitude, and only Qian Tiandun and Chen Yixin are left. Chen Yixin has always followed Qian Tiandun's lead. Their two votes are actually equivalent to one vote, so everyone's attention is focused on Qian. On Tian Dun’s body. As the commander-in-chief of the spring offensive, Qian Tiandun still has the power of veto. Even if several other people agree, he still has to make the decision.
After Qian Tiandun pondered for a moment, he nodded and said: "Morgan is right. Since we don't want the enemy to get in the way, we can only drive them further away."
Qian Tiandun made the decision, and the matter was settled. However, to what extent the next battle should be controlled and how to arrange the troops are also issues that need to be considered, and the generals will naturally have to discuss them carefully.
Shen Zhixiang, who was stationed in Jijiabao, had been waiting for orders from the headquarters. He knew that the Haihan people would not trust him to completely entrust the defense of an important place like Jijiabao to him. The next place to go might be the material transfer center in the rear. Maybe it's a construction site on the defense line. In short, the Pidao Army should not be responsible for the task alone. However, the documents subsequently sent by the headquarters were completely beyond his expectations. Qian Tiandun not only wanted to hand over the defense of Jijiabao to the Pidao Army, but also appointed him as the temporary commander-in-chief of the East Route Army.
Although the East Route Army currently only has the Pidao Army and a Haihan Artillery Battery as combat units, this commission still makes Shen Zhixiang feel honored. He believes that this is a symbol that he has gained the full trust of Haihan, but there is no I immediately realized the meaning behind this. It wasn't until the headquarters sent another transfer order the next day to transfer the artillery battery that Shen Zhixiang vaguely realized that Haihan's transfer seemed to have another purpose.
Three days after the Battle of Jinzhou Isthmus, Jijiabao, which had been one of the main battlefields in the battle, was transformed from a forward position into a rear camp. The Haihan Army used the east and west roads as the main force and advanced another ten miles to the north. Jinzhou City was already within the sight of the forward.
In Jinzhou City, Azig, who had just gathered the remaining defeated generals, couldn't help but feel a little surprised when he heard that the Haihan Army continued to advance northward. What he knew was that Haihan did not pursue the retreating Yanguli troops after the battle at the Isthmus Defense Line. This was obviously a signal that the troops would not advance northward for the time being. But I didn't expect that the Haihan people did things very haphazardly. They raised troops again within a few days of the truce. Azig couldn't even imagine that the Haihan people's move was just to provide cover for the upcoming defense line reconstruction project.
(End of chapter)