Chapter 1780 The overall situation is important
When Qian Tiandun left, he did not leave on the Speedy, but left the yacht to his wife. Wuzhizhou Island is very close to the coast. Qian Tiandun asked the island to transfer a small sampan for him, and took it to Tielu Port to disembark. Then he recruited a carriage from the local area and drove from Tielu Port via Baishi. The valley passage at the foot of the mountain returns to the vicinity of Tiandu, and then takes the train back to Sanya city. This journey takes about thirty miles. Although we have to transfer twice in the middle, it is still faster than taking a boat from the sea back to Victory Port.
It is worth mentioning that the valley connecting Tielugang and Tiandu housed nearly Qianfushan Dongli people who migrated from the inland mountains a few years ago. Now thousands of acres of orchards have been cultivated in the valley. and tea gardens. With the guidance and help of the government, these Li people have a stable source of income and no longer need to continue the slash-and-burn farming method. After seeing the world outside the mountains, many young Li people chose to leave Li Dong, either to join the army, or to work in the Tielugang salt field or Tiandu Industrial Zone. The range of choices they have is no longer limited to being a farmer or a hunter. Fu Li, who walked out of Fushandong, has now become a high-ranking official in Haihan, and is the idol and role model they worship.
Although the Li people living here still maintain some traditions in their living habits, their language and clothing have obviously begun to be assimilated by the Han people, and they have gradually changed their barter trading methods and begun to accept the circulation of official banknotes. Most of the salt produced in the Tielugang Salt Field is sent directly to Tiandu Industrial Zone by land for use as industrial raw materials. There are many vehicles and horses passing by, so this valley passage has become the lifeblood of local economic development for the Li people. Routine maintenance is done pretty well. When Qian Tiandun passed here by carriage, he saw Youli people repairing the ruts on the road caused by the heavy carriage.
But even if he took a shortcut, it was already after dark when he arrived in Sanya. Fortunately, after arriving at the Ministry of National Defense, Yan Chujie, Wang Tom, and Harugong were all there, sitting around and getting ready to start eating.
"You are very accurate in this, and you are just in time for us to have dinner!" Yan Chujie saw Qian Tiandun arriving in a hurry, and quickly put down his chopsticks to greet him: "You haven't eaten yet, right? Let's eat some together?"
"Let's talk while we eat!" Qian Tiandun didn't refuse and sat down next to Yan Chujie.
Yan Chujie told Qian Tiandun what he knew so far. The information Haihan had was actually very limited, especially the military intelligence on the mobilization and assembly of Qing troops was almost zero. This also brought difficulties to the decision-making of the Ministry of National Defense. Big trouble. If the Qing army wanted to invade North Korea, they only had to assemble and cross the Yalu River. If Haihan wanted to intervene in the Korean War, the main combat troops had to rush over from Hainan Island. Not only was it time-consuming and laborious, but the long journey would also affect the actual combat effectiveness of the troops. Coupled with the huge disparity in military strength between the two sides, there is indeed a relatively large operational risk for Haihan.
After Yan Chujie introduced the situation, he concluded: "For us, there are too many uncertainties in the situation in Liaodong. The only thing that is certain is that we cannot stand idly by as the situation in North Korea worsens. Even if we cannot prevent the Qing army from invading, we must get ahead of it." Rescue North Korean politicians.”
North Korea is an ally that plays a very important role in Haihan's foothold in the north. Qian Tiandun, who has been in Liaodong for a long time, naturally knows this very well, but North Korea's military strength is so weak that it is difficult to complain. If If Haihan did not take action in time, North Korea would surely fall under the iron heel of the Qing army as quickly as it did in history.
"Rescue dignitaries and establish a government in exile?" Qian Tiandun immediately thought of Yan Chujie's intention.
Yan Chujie nodded and said: "This is probably the last resort. We must ensure our influence on the Korean Peninsula. Of course, it is best not to go to this step, because we are worried that if we let them leave their hometown, the Koreans Maybe they will choose to surrender to the Qing army.”
Although the situation Yan Chujie mentioned is extreme, it is not completely impossible. Historically, when the Qing army invaded North Korea, it took almost a month. If North Korean politicians really wanted to flee overseas, there were actually many opportunity, but they did not choose to flee after the defeat, but surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. Nowadays, Haihan's senior officials are not sure whether this period of history will completely repeat itself. Therefore, even if Haihan can provide such a way out, the North Koreans may not appreciate and obey the arrangement. After all, after surrendering, one should be the king or continue to be the king, but if one chooses to go into exile overseas, maybe the Qing army will immediately support a new person to become the king.
"Isn't it a little weird that the North Koreans want to move reinforcements, but they look to us instead of the Ming Dynasty?" Qian Tiandun didn't know the process of the North Korean envoys looking for Tao Donglai and Yan Chujie for help, so he raised this question very cautiously.
"Although the North Koreans have not admitted it, I guess they have tried to contact the Ming Dynasty. Needless to say, the result is of course. After all, the Ming Dynasty can't even take care of Dongjiang Town, so how can it care about North Korea. Besides, it has been at war with the Jin people in recent years. In this situation, the Ming Dynasty has always suffered defeats, and we have beaten the Jin people in front of the Koreans. It is obvious who is more reliable." Yan Chujie explained, and finally emphasized: "The Koreans also know that they must fight against the Ming Dynasty. If we choose one or the other, then of course the one who is willing to send troops will support him.”
Next to him, Tom Wang stretched out two fingers and shook his head: "The North Koreans offered two thousand taels of gold to beg us to send troops, which can be regarded as a huge investment. No matter whether the Qing army will take action next, for this money, we will definitely It has to be expressed.”
Even though Qian Tiandun had a calm temper, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he heard this figure: "Two thousand taels of gold? It seems that the North Koreans are really worried that they are going to be beaten."
Haihan has been dealing with North Korea for more than a year. During this period, Haihan basically put forward demands and conditions, and North Korea implemented them. North Korea offered to hire Haihan to garrison troops for a fee, which was an unprecedented first. At least when Qian Tiandun was stationed in Liaodong, North Korea had not seen such a tendency to cling to its thighs at all costs. After hearing the news, he had the same idea as Yan Chujie and others, thinking that this was probably because the North Koreans had smelled the danger, so they had to pay a lot of money to invite Haihan to send troops, because this was very likely that North Korea was being invaded. The only hope now.
Yan Chujie said: "So the result of my discussion with Mr. Tao is that the navy will definitely go there. Even if it doesn't work, it can cause some trouble for the Qing army in the Yalu River. As for whether it is necessary for the army to send troops, we also want to hear your opinion. .”
Qian Tiandun slowly put down his chopsticks and said in a deep voice: "The North Koreans are willing to pay this money for two purposes. One situation is that if the Qing army invades, we need to send troops to retreat in time. The other situation is that The Qing army did not move as fast as us, so that was the request made by the Super Fresh Envoy before, asking us to station troops there to provide shelter.”
"Let me talk about the former situation first. If the Qing army moves quickly and takes action before us, then the navy can at best harass the opponent's logistics supply line in the offshore area and the Yalu River Basin. Even if the Marine Corps goes ashore to fight, it will have to It is impossible to stop the main force of the Qing army on the frontal battlefield. At most, it will only delay the defeat of Korea. The situation may look better if the army goes, but it may not be able to stop the Qing army." Qian Tiandun stopped here. After looking at Wang Tom, seeing that he did not express any disagreement, he continued: "If it is the latter situation, it would be easier to handle. Station half of the fleet to North Korea and find a suitable place for them to repair one." The military port is used by our navy, which can be regarded as killing two birds with one stone. The army does not need to rush there. Compared with North Korea, I think the Jinzhou defense line needs army troops to be stationed, but the most important thing is to understand the movements of the Qing army so that we can predict it. Determine whether this battle can be fought."
Qian Tiandun's opinion is basically consistent with the results of previous discussions among the generals of the Ministry of National Defense, that is, without detecting the accurate movements and troop concentration intelligence of the Qing army, it is difficult to say how much effect the dispatch of army troops to the area can have. Moreover, the area of the Korean Peninsula is much wider than that of Jinzhou. Even if Haihan sends thousands of troops, it will be difficult to defend the country for North Korea.
"We have given an order to the Jinzhou garrison, asking them to find out the latest movements of the Qing army in the Liaodong area as soon as possible." Yan Chujie said: "But we have too few combat ships staying in the area, so we may need to let Dongjiang Town It will take a few days to get accurate information.”
Qian Tiandun was silent for a moment, and then responded: "Well, let's make preparations for the expedition first. I will notify the troops to cancel their vacation and assemble as soon as possible."
"Okay, I will ask the logistics department to prepare the materials needed by the special battle group as soon as possible." Yan Chujie was secretly relieved when he heard Qian Tiandun's statement. No matter how the situation in Liaodong and North Korea changes, with the main force of the army, the special operations group, rushing to take charge there, the Ministry of National Defense will have a lot less to worry about.
"Don't forget to pay the departure fee!" Qian Tiandun reminded. The special operations group has to cancel its vacation in advance, and the destination of the expedition is the northern region where it has already bid farewell. Although it is based on the overall situation and obeys the arrangements of the Ministry of National Defense, according to the rules of the military, such a transfer must give the soldiers a bonus. A bounty is justifiable. Of course, when Yan Chujie proposed conditions to the North Koreans, he originally used this as a reason.
Although senior officials of the Ministry of National Defense have reached a consensus on sending troops, it is not easy to regroup several troops that have been on vacation. Those who are in Sanya are fine, and they will be notified within a day or two at the latest. However, some soldiers whose hometowns are in other cities and counties on Hainan Island have already left Sanya one or two days ago, and it will take about a week at the fastest. It would be quite troublesome to notify these people to come back immediately to assemble. All the Ministry of National Defense can do is send telegrams to various places, and then local officials will distribute the news layer by layer and try to notify these soldiers to rush back to Sanya. If we really can't notify you, we can only give up.
Gao Qiaonan stayed in Sanya and did not leave. Although Qian Tiandun specially granted him a long leave to arrange his personal affairs, Gao Qiaonan still did not go anywhere and stayed at the army base on the Luhuitou Peninsula. With.
Takahashi Nan's seclusion is not because of autism, but because he has been assimilated with Qian Tiandun for a long time, his interest in social interaction has become less and less. During his breaks, he would rather stay in his room to read military books and study Check the map, or take out your own gun and saber and take care of it carefully. When it's time to eat, you go to the officer's mess hall on the base to eat. After eating, you go back to your residence and continue to do your own thing.
At this time, usually only Shiro Amakusa and a few other Japanese naturalized officers would take the initiative to visit him. Usually, they would have a few drinks together in the evening and talk about their experiences back in Sanya.
Soldiers like them who have been fighting in the field all year round will find that every time they return to Sanya, they will find that the place has changed from the last time they left. There are several more buildings around Victory Square, and several new streets have been added to the commercial areas on both sides of the landscape avenue. At the port, we saw Middle Eastern dancers and tall camels brought by Arab businessmen. Military primary schools have required students to participate in children's activities since last year. Military training... there are many things that will become their topics of conversation. Then they will soon find that although they are on vacation now, they seem to be more accustomed to staying in the military camp.
"Captain, you said that I've only had a few days off and I've come up with another mission. Am I too busy?" Amakusa Shiro became drunk and couldn't help but start to complain: "When I got home, my wife asked It's not that I won't leave. He asked me to quickly withdraw my military pay and combat bounty. He said that he was going to buy a house in the new city. He also said that his brother-in-law came to Sanya to settle down and asked me to find some connections to arrange a leisurely job. What can I do? Arrangement? He is a weak scholar, should he be allowed to join the army and serve as a soldier in the special forces? "
Takahashi Nan smiled and said: "I remember you didn't say that when you were in Manila. You were talking about going back to Sanya early every day, and you even showed off to us the letters ghostwritten by your brother-in-law. You said that there was a scholar in the family, and the children could learn to read early. Three years. Why did the wind change just a few days after I came back?”
Amakusa Shiro said with a bitter face: "I don't understand why I want to go home when I'm outside, but when I get home I feel bored and want to go out. Captain, where do you think we will be transferred after this holiday? Stationed? ”
Just as Takahashi Minami was about to answer his question, he heard someone knocking on the door. Amakusa Shiro jumped up from the bench and hurried to open the door in front of Takahashi Minami, and then returned soon with Qian Tianton's warrant.
"All personnel canceled their vacations and prepared to leave." After reading the warrant, Takahashi Minami smiled bitterly at Amakusa Shiro: "You crow's mouth, you are really right!"
(End of chapter)