Chapter 1511 Who does Liaodong belong to
However, this feeling of freedom did not last long, and someone knocked on Mei Shengchuan's door: "Sir, there is a secret report!"
The voice of the person outside the door was not loud, but it was just enough for Mei Shengchuan inside the room to hear clearly. Mei Shengchuan, who was lying on the rattan rocking chair, suddenly opened his eyes, got up and quickly walked to the door and opened it. Outside the door was one of his entourage, whose external identity was a clerk, but in reality he was a spy of Jin Yiwei. Although it was difficult for the Jin Yiwei to enter the Jinzhou area in Liaodong under the occupation of Hou Jin, almost all the soldiers and civilians in Dongjiang Town and the civilians recruited by Haihan in Shandong were Han Chinese. It was not too difficult for the Jin Yiwei to mix some sand into them. So long before Mei Shengchuan arranged this trip, there were actually Jin Yiwei's eyes and ears in the Liaodong area secretly collecting all kinds of information.
After Mei Shengchuan and his party arrived in Lushun today, some people naturally looked for an opportunity to contact their colleagues lurking in the local area to learn whether Haihan had any special arrangements for Mei Shengchuan's arrival. Although Mei Shengchuan was sure that the Haihan people would not set up a Hongmen Banquet specifically for him, being able to learn more relevant information through secret channels would always be beneficial to the subsequent negotiations.
The spy reported in a low voice: "Sir, Shen Zhixiang from Dongjiang Town suddenly disappeared from his station a few days ago and is currently missing. In addition, the main force of the Haihan Northern Fleet also left the port at the same time. It is suspected that the Haihan people may be launching an attack on the north from the sea. An offensive.”
Mei Shengchuan frowned slightly. He remembered that at the banquet just now, Sha Xi had clearly said that Shen Zhixiang was leading the army on the front line. How could he suddenly disappear? This was inconsistent with the spies' intelligence. Could there be some inside story involved?
Mei Shengchuan came here from the capital more out of trust in Shen Shikui, his old friend in Dongjiang Town, than out of trust in the Haihan people. He knew that Dongjiang Town chose to embrace Haihan, but he also knew that the top officials of Dongjiang Town still wanted to be with the Ming Dynasty, and at least they did not hide anything in providing Haihan intelligence. Of course, maybe the intelligence they provided to the court was also Haihan. The Han people wanted to let the court have information through this special channel.
Mei Shengchuan dared to come to Liaodong with only a few dozen followers, partly because he was convinced that the Ming army in Dongjiang Town would protect his personal safety during this period. However, after arriving in Lushun, he had not yet met the generals of Dongjiang Town, and the escort work was all handled by the Haihan Army. At this time, he also heard that Shen Zhixiang had been missing for several days, and some prisoners couldn't help but wonder, what exactly did the Haihan people arrange in this way? Is it intentional or unintentional?
He was not worried that Haihan would suddenly attack the generals of Dongjiang Town, because according to the intelligence that Dongjiang Town had previously sent back to the capital, Haihan was also very concerned about the military training of the generals of Dongjiang Town. Shen Zhixiang, in particular, had received many favors from the Haihan people. Special care was taken. Even in military operations that Dongjiang Town did not participate in, the Haihan people would often arrange for Shen Zhixiang to accompany the army, so that he could observe the battle closest to the battlefield and learn these rare combat and command experiences.
The Haihan people wanted to train Shen Zhixiang, and Mei Shengchuan could understand their thoughts. After all, talents like Shen Zhixiang, who were born and raised in the north, understood the customs, geography, and the customs of Liaodong, and who knew how to lead troops in war, must be extremely rare among the Haihan army who came from the south. of. And Shen Zhixiang has always shown an attitude of being close to Haihan, so the other party will naturally think that he is someone who can be used for his own purposes, and it is reasonable to spend more money to train him.
However, Mei Shengchuan did not dare to make a judgment on this. Since Sha Xi said that he would see the general of Dongjiang Town in a few days, there must be no need for the other party to be careless about this kind of matter. They can only wait and see if there are any new changes in the situation. . The other information sent back by the Jinyiwei spies did not have much intelligence value. Many of them were content that the Haihan people had already reported to him on their own initiative. For example, the family members of Dongjiang Town were resettled in a place thirty miles away from Lushun Fort. Currently, more than 3,000 people have settled in this area. Another example is that the main force of the Haihan Army is almost concentrated on the front line of the Jinzhou Isthmus, while the Lushun Fort in the rear only has less than a thousand army and navy troops stationed.
When the Haihan people informed Mei Shengchuan of these military intelligence, they did not seem to worry at all that he would pass the news on and attract the Ming army to attack this place. Mei Shengchuan believes that this is probably because Haihan has very strong confidence in his own defense capabilities. After all, there are so many artillery battleships parked at the port, and there are several forts on the shore, and the defense of Fort Arthur is not bad. He came It was noticed that the outer perimeter of the fortress was transformed into an irregular wall outline. Mei Shengchuan didn't know that this kind of fortification was called a bastion, but he could intuitively feel that the defensive capability of this new type of fort should be very strong - after all, the number of forts had increased several times compared to the old Lushun Fort. If someone tries to attack Fort Arthur, the casualties paid will definitely be considerable.
Mei Shengchuan dismissed his men, closed the door and digested the intelligence information he had just learned. He felt that there were almost no measures he could take. After all, there were only dozens of people around him who could use it, and most of them were still being used. It was arranged to be stationed outside Lushun Fort, which was extremely inconvenient to deploy. Mei Shengchuan decided to find an opportunity to visit the headquarters of Dongjiang Town. Maybe there were many people there who were interested in the Ming Dynasty and could be used for his own purposes.
Early the next morning, Sha Xi arranged for Mei Shengchuan to review the local garrison. This process was originally supposed to be carried out yesterday, but it was getting dark when Umeikawa arrived yesterday, so the review was arranged for the next day.
Mei Shengchuan has been accustomed to reviewing the Ming army for a long time, but this was the first time in his life to review foreign troops, and he couldn't help but be curious about how the Haihan army would perform. Haihan's military parade basically drew on the practices of later generations. He hired a group of drum and buglers to play and beat, and then Sha Xi accompanied Mei Shengchuan to review the formations of the army and navy on foot.
Mei Shengchuan didn't have any special feelings about the formations and weapons of the Haihan Army. After all, the Ming Army could also produce these things. At most, the performance of the weapons was just a bit inferior. However, as long as the formations had been trained seriously for a few days, they were afraid of standing still. Not neat enough? What really shocked Mei Shengchuan was the aura exuded by these Haihan soldiers. It was the murderous aura that can only be gained after fighting bravely for several times on the battlefield, and the confidence that can only be gained by constantly winning in battles. . Although the troops being reviewed were only one company each from the army and navy, the invisible aura displayed by such troops who had been on the battlefield during the review left a very deep impression on Umeikawa.
"These two companies have participated in our country's combat operations to eliminate the pirates Shibazhi in the South China Sea in the early years. In recent years, they have participated in many operations in Fujian, Taiwan, and Zhejiang. They can be regarded as troops forged on the battlefield." Sha Xi He was very attentive in introducing the situation of the troops under review to Mei Shengchuan. I don't know if he meant to show off or to scare the other party.
Sha Xi said that in these places, except Taiwan Island, which is not the official territory of the Ming Dynasty, the Ministry of War has some places to submit battle reports on the wars in Fujian and Zhejiang. Mei Shengchuan had a general impression of several military operations that Sha Xi did not mention in detail. Haihan captured many islands from the Ming Dynasty through these military operations. Fujian is letting the Haihan people do what they want and is colluding with them. Although Zhejiang took action, the price paid in the end was even greater. Not only did several high-ranking officials disappear mysteriously, but an arson case was also committed later, allowing the Haihan people to find an excuse to send troops to Hangzhou and sign the so-called "... The armistice agreement opened up Haihan's trading rights in Zhejiang in disguise.
At that time, there was great controversy in the court over the way the Zhejiang government handled the situation. Many people believed that the armistice agreement was suspected of treason. But there are also some officials who believe that the Zhejiang government's ability to calm down the war as soon as possible is a great achievement. After all, everyone knows that the Ming Dynasty does not have the extra energy to open up a new battlefield, not to mention that the opponent is the Haihan Army, which has never been defeated in the south. . Officials from Fuzhou and Guangzhou had many entangled interests with Haihan. Naturally, they were also on the side of Zhejiang in the court. In the end, Emperor Chongzhen did not dare to take the risk of re-escalating the settled matter and could only acquiesce. Learned the practices of the Zhejiang government. The Zhejiang chief envoy Wang Ji, the commander-in-chief Liu Feng, and the Hangzhou prefect He Guanzhi all received secret edicts from the palace afterwards, requiring them not to give any other special treatment to the Haihan people, let alone condone them in the Ming Dynasty. A large number of real estates and properties were acquired within the country and immigrants were recruited.
Of course, it was not Emperor Chongzhen who had the final say as to how far these requirements could be achieved. The sky is high and the emperor is far away. This place is thousands of miles away from the capital. How can it be possible to follow the ideas of the emperor in the palace who can only govern the country through memorials? Haihan's cross-border trade in Zhejiang has been booming in the past two years, and more and more people in Zhejiang have begun to have interests with Haihan through these trade channels, either directly or indirectly.
It was precisely because the situation in the south gradually became peaceful that Haihan was able to mobilize his troops to the north and began to have the idea of Liaodong Peninsula. Although Mei Shengchuan was not too clear about the details, it was not difficult for him to deduce the cause and effect from the information he had.
"Your army is used to fighting on the battlefield. Only a victorious army can have such momentum!" Mei Shengchuan praised from the bottom of his heart, somewhat jealous of Haihan for having such a strong army.
Sha Xi thought to himself that you are also a knowledgeable person. After visiting the queue, he arranged a shooting training that the Haihan Army was proud of, which opened the eyes of the Minister of War of the Ming Dynasty.
Before Mei Shengchuan came to Liaodong, like many people, he believed that the description of the combat effectiveness of the Haihan Army was exaggerated. In particular, the intelligence sent back from various places claimed that the performance of the Haihan Army's guns and artillery was invincible. Mei Shengchuan never mentioned this. Take it completely seriously. The Ming Dynasty also had many skilled craftsmen, and it took less than a year or two to make muskets. Moreover, the Ministry of War had studied the rifles exported by Haihan and believed that although its performance was good, the manufacturing process was extremely complex and its cost was not suitable for large-scale manufacturing and deployment for troops. If the two armies faced each other, the Ming army could also use its strength advantage to smooth out the gap in weapon performance.
But the weapons displayed by Haihan Army at this time were obviously very different from the guns he had seen exported by Haihan. It could even be said that they were not the same thing at all. The rifles equipped by the Haihan Army can not only fire several rounds continuously, but their ammunition loading, range, accuracy, lethality, and performance are almost all-round superior to all musket weapons that Umeikawa knows.
Finally, when the sniper showed up and accurately hit a head-sized earthen jar from a hundred feet away, Umeikawa swallowed hard. Although Sha Xi did not explain this in detail, Umeikawa could see that this was far from the shooting limit of this terrible rifle. Once this kind of weapon is put on the battlefield, its ability to influence the battle situation is not comparable to that of an ordinary individual soldier. As long as a few officers and generals of the enemy are killed, the opponent will naturally be in chaos and win without a fight.
The performance of the artillery did not disappoint the audience. Umeikawa was very interested in the breech-loaded artillery, but he could not understand Sha Xi's explanation at all. He was determined to touch this sharp weapon up close and see what the secrets were, but Sha Xi seemed to have read through his mind and deliberately did not arrange such a visit. Although Mei Shengchuan was full of curiosity, he could only endure it.
He remembered that the intelligence sent back by the spies yesterday did not mention these powerful weapons at all. It goes without saying that the Jinyiwei people were not able to sneak into the Haihan Army's garrison and had no idea about the existence of these standard weapons. Affection. Although this is not a dereliction of duty, at least it is a failure to do things well. If the two armies confront each other, the Ming army, which has a serious lack of understanding of Haihan, will definitely suffer heavy losses.
In the intelligence sent back by Dongjiang Town before, it was mentioned that the Haihan Army could defeat the cavalry with infantry, and that the infantry alone could deal with the Houjin Cavalry, which was stronger than itself. At that time, Mei Shengchuan still scoffed at such intelligence, thinking that Dongjiang Town was probably exaggerating the facts intentionally to brag for the Haihan Army. But after seeing the performance display of Haihan Army's weapons, he suddenly realized that the intelligence sent by Dongjiang Town was not a lie, but that it was really possible. If not, how could Hou Jin be willing to give up this good port in the south of Jinzhou and provide the Haihan people with a stepping stone to enter Liaodong.
The more powerful the Haihan Army showed, the more Mei Shengchuan felt that the Ming Dynasty had little chance of retaking Liaodong from it. If calculated based on combat effectiveness, Haihan could repel thousands of Jin soldiers stationed in Jinzhou and firmly defend the captured area. Then how many troops did the Ming Dynasty need to achieve such a goal?
Mei Shengchuan silently calculated in his mind that he would need to send at least 20,000 Ming troops to the Liaodong region to achieve the same goal. But the problem is that the Ming Dynasty currently does not have such sea projection capabilities in the Bohai Bay area, otherwise it would not have watched the troops in Dongjiang Town being expelled from Liaodong by the Jin Army.
(End of chapter)