Chapter 1794 Unsatisfactory
If you want to measure North Korea's war preparations by Haihan's standards, it is naturally far from the passing line. According to the requirements put forward by Haihan's Ministry of National Defense, the North Koreans should have done the most basic preparations before the fleet arrived. Preparatory work, such as providing complete port facilities to allow the fleet to dock smoothly and obtain supplies, coming up with a decent logistics support plan to discuss with the fleet command, and providing a certain number of local armed forces to cooperate with Haihan, but currently it seems that these No aspect of the job has been done well enough to satisfy Tom Wang.
Jin Shangxian had really felt Wang Tom's dissatisfaction, so after landing, he offered to arrange a dinner for Wang Tom and other generals to wash away the dust. Of course, Wang Tom knew very well whether eating, drinking and enjoying military affairs were more important. How could he be fooled by this North Korean veteran? He was noncommittal about the dinner arrangements, but he still insisted on taking a look at the local preparations for war first.
In desperation, Jin Shangxian could only take Tom Wang to visit the granary on the island. There are thousands of hectares of fertile land on Ganghwa Island, and the grain produced locally is used as war reserves. It is transported directly to the state-owned grain depot on the island and will not be circulated on the market, so the grain reserves are relatively sufficient. But in addition to other military supplies, such as medicinal materials, quilts, canvas, etc., the quantity already in place was far less than Haihan's requirements.
As for the logistics support plan, Kim Sang-heon could not come up with any specific plan. He only claimed that he would summon 10,000 to 20,000 civilians to take charge of the logistics during wartime, so as not to hinder Haihan. But Tom Wang would not easily accept such a promise. After all, it seems that not even half of the preparations promised by the North Koreans earlier have been realized. God knows what level of logistical support they can provide in wartime.
Wang Tom sighed secretly in his heart. With North Korea's attitude towards war, it is no wonder that it was pushed down by the Qing army in a wave of history. In the end, the king and ministers chose to surrender and accepted the Qing Dynasty as their suzerainty. The so-called loyalty to the Ming Dynasty has no real strength to guarantee it, and in the end it can only remain in words.
But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel worried. It was okay to ask North Korea to provide logistical support to Liaodong. After all, Haihan's military operations in Liaodong would not completely rely on North Korea. Occasionally, there were delays and mistakes, and Haihan generally did not deliberately pursue the responsibility. But if the next step is to cooperate with North Korea to fight against the Qing army's invasion of the peninsula, then based on the current preparations of the North Koreans, Wang Tom really does not dare to feel confident and bold enough to let his troops be at the forefront to work for these North Koreans.
When things got to this point, Wang Tom couldn't help but start to wonder whether the Executive Committee's decision to agree to the North Koreans' request to send troops to aid North Korea was right or wrong. The Qing army's attack on North Korea is still a high probability situation in this time and space with Haihan, but whether North Korea only makes symbolic resistance as in history, or fights desperately with the Haihan army, the consequences may be It's completely different.
According to the plan of the Ministry of National Defense, the best strategy is of course to mobilize the whole country of North Korea and pile up elite troops on the northern border to cooperate with the Haihan Army to defend the enemy outside the border. If this method does not work, then several lines of defense will be set up from the northern border of North Korea to Seoul, and the tactics of fortifying the wall and clearing the country will be implemented. The North Korean army will then conduct interception operations against the Qing army, while the Haihan army will detour back to the enemy's rear and cut them off. The supply transportation line strives to prevent the Qing army from being able to take care of both ends and retreat on its own.
As for the next step, that was Haihan's original plan when he received Li Xi's request for help, to wait and see what happened, and when North Korea could no longer withstand it, he would try to take out the dignitaries and place them in other safe places to establish an overseas government in exile. Prepare for future military intervention in North Korea. However, since North Korea has paid and provided food for Haihan to garrison troops, it will certainly not accept this last option. It will inevitably require Haihan to take action on the frontal battlefield to attack the invading Qing army.
"Sir Jin, with all due respect, with your country's current war preparation progress, once the Qing army invades south, let alone pulling out the troops to fight, even if it is just a huddle defense, I'm afraid they won't be able to resist for long." Wang Tom decided to tell the truth. Tell the truth, lest North Koreans continue to feel good about themselves and lack accurate judgments about the prospects of war.
"What General Wang said, I also agree with." To Tom Wang's surprise, Kim Sang-hyun admitted frankly to this unkind criticism: "Our country has limited military strength and is not good at fighting. This is why Lee The reason why I asked your country for help in Sanya is that with your country’s help, maybe our country can avoid this disaster!”
Wang Tom said: "But judging from your country's war preparations, I really can't see that your country has a sense of urgency for the upcoming war. Mr. Jin, if you want to win this war, you must use all your resources to win the war." Don’t think about leaving a way out for yourself, because that will make you lose the courage to fight!”
Kim Sang-hyun said: "I am ready to die for my country, but to be honest with General Wang, North Korea has not yet unified its position, and there are still disputes over whether it is war or peace, so various war preparations will inevitably be affected."
Tom Wang asked in confusion: "Hasn't the king of your country already decided to fight?"
Kim Sang-hyun explained: "His Majesty the King has indeed made a decision, but there are still some officials who believe that peace talks are the best solution to the crisis and oppose all war preparations. They believe that doing so will further anger the Qing Dynasty and speed up the dispatch of troops. ”
Tom Wang sighed and said: "If peace talks can solve the problem, then why do you need the army? You have no qualifications to bargain on the battlefield, but you are delusional to be able to sit on an equal footing with your opponents at the negotiation table. What a ridiculous idea! Qing Qing If the Qing army asks your country to sever diplomatic relations with the Ming Dynasty and our country, will your country agree? The result will still be that the differences will be resolved through force. When the Qing army comes to the city, what can you give them in exchange for peace? Head? ”
What Wang Tom said was quite rude. If North Korea still treats the upcoming war with this attitude, then he must re-examine Haihan's position and evaluate whether military intervention in the crisis on the Korean Peninsula should be carried out at this time. A country that does not have a strong will to fight is certainly not worth sacrificing the lives of Haihan soldiers to assist. Moreover, there are no natural harbors on the west coast of North Korea. It is difficult to build large naval bases like other overseas colonies. It is actually useless for the navy. .
Even though Jin Sangxian was mature and prudent, he still blushed at Wang Tom's words and could only argue: "General Wang, our country is not unintentional to fight the Qing army. His Majesty the King has also ordered troops from all over the south to be mobilized to the north. , to resist the threat of the Qing army. However, our army lacks combat experience, so we hope that your country can provide assistance. In fact, His Majesty the King has already recognized all the requirements, but it will take time to implement them one by one. ”
Wang Tom said: "It's useless to talk more. I will definitely decide whether to station troops in your country after seeing the actual results. I will stay on Ganghwa Island for another three days. If the combat readiness here does not improve significantly, then I'm sorry. I will order you to leave here. Also, your country's diplomatic ambassador Li Xi promised our country two thousand taels of gold for the cost of sending troops. I believe your country has received the news. Please pay the money within three days. Once it’s in place, there’s no need to talk about the rest.”
Tom Wang has now begun to feel that the promises made by the North Koreans may not be credible. No matter whether they want to station troops in North Korea next, they must first pocket the debts that should be collected. Two thousand taels of gold is really not a small amount. Since the North Koreans have promised this money, they must take it back no matter what. If there is really going to be a war later, military expenses will definitely have to be calculated separately. Jin Sangxian smiled bitterly and said: "The gold is already on its way to Ganghwa Island. General Wang, don't worry, it will arrive the day after tomorrow at the latest. As for other war preparations, I will definitely step up the urging and strive to satisfy General Wang as soon as possible." ”
Wang Tom said: "Master Jin is wrong. My dissatisfaction is a secondary issue. Now it is your country that must cheer up and save itself. If you don't even have the desire to save yourself, how can you expect others to save you? That's all. , I hope that everyone in your country will work harder to give our army and yourself more confidence!”
At this time, Tom Wang was not in the mood to attend the reception banquet hosted by Kim Sang-hyun, so he declined his invitation and returned to his temporary residence on the coast. At this time, many small and medium-sized warships have docked one after another, and large ships like the Majesty-class without suitable berths can only anchor on the periphery and rely on springboards to connect with other warships, so that the ships can The sailors can more easily disembark from the ship to rest and recuperate.
"It seems that Korean food is not to your liking!" Qian Tiandun saw that Tom Wang's expression was not good when he returned, so he joked: "Can't you eat kimchi?"
"What are you going to eat! These Koreans are really unreliable!" Wang Tom couldn't help but get angry when he thought of what he had just seen and heard, and told Qian Tian roughly what he learned after landing. Don knows.
Qian Tiandun was also quite surprised after hearing this: "Why do I feel that the Koreans are a bit shabby? They know they can't defeat the Qing army, so they don't even have the energy to prepare for war? Since they don't have peace of mind to fight, why don't they spend money to treat us?" What are you here for?”
Wang Tom said: "I don't care what the North Koreans think, anyway, I have to take back the two thousand taels of gold first. If they don't want to fight with peace of mind, then we will withdraw as soon as possible after collecting this deposit. It is better to station troops here." Go to Liaodong and do a few more big ones!”
Qian Tiandun said: "Did Kim Sang-hyun tell us how to arrange the several alternative locations we requested?"
"How else can we arrange it?" Wang Tom said angrily: "They have no arrangements at all! According to Kim Sang-hyun, the main warlords and the two factions in North Korea have not yet unified their opinions, so there will be certain resistance to war preparations. . You said that the Qing army is about to take action, and the Koreans themselves are still debating whether to fight. It’s damned if they can defeat the Qing army!”
Wang Tom was so excited mainly because the battle plan he had made before was likely to come to nothing. The military had been tossing it back and forth for a month, and in the end I was afraid that all plans would have to be overturned and re-made.
Qian Tiandun said: "Since the North Koreans are unreliable, then don't include them in the battle plan, just let them provide money and food. We fight at our own pace without paying too much attention to what the North Koreans think. When necessary, It’s okay to let the North Korean troops act as cannon fodder to attract firepower.”
Qian Tiandun's mood was much calmer than that of Tom Wang when he said these words. His expectations for North Korea were not high to begin with. He had already had this view since he was dealing with North Koreans when he was stationed in Liaodong last year. The work efficiency of the Koreans is far from keeping up with the operational requirements of Shanghai and Han. The navy, which can move freely on the sea, may not have that deep experience, but the army has been greatly affected.
Last year, North Korea sent about two to three thousand civilians to Liaodong to assist in the war. In addition to completing their labor, these civilians actually received a certain amount of remuneration. However, the officials in charge of them deducted it so much that these civilians were very resentful. Inefficiency was inevitably caused during the work. It was common for materials transported from Lushun to the front line in Jinzhou to be delayed for a day or two on the way. Apart from scolding Haihan, there was nothing he could do to punish North Korean civilians and related officials at that time. After all, this kind of war support operation was funded by North Korea. If there was any slack in the process, Haihan could only punish him. I endured it.
Qian Tiandun, as the army chief in the Liaodong region at the time, had a bad impression of North Korea. Although he did not openly oppose sending troops to aid North Korea when he was in Sanya, he was not optimistic about the prospects of such an action. North Korea's messy war preparations once again confirmed his view. From a military perspective, North Korea is not an ideal ally. Instead, it risks becoming a pig teammate.
At this time, generals from several other countries also returned to the temporary camps after inspecting the nearby environment. Xi Mang was the first to express his disappointment with the environment here: "The Koreans actually used a fishing village wharf that has not been completely transformed as a military base. I don’t understand why they asked Haihan to send the fleet here. There is no way to provide station conditions for our fleet here!”
"I noticed that there seemed to be some palaces built on the island. I heard that they were specially used by the royal family of Korea, but they seemed to have forgotten to build a decent port on the island." Zheng Ting also complained about the poor port conditions here. : "They must at least build a military port according to the standards of a sea port, right?"
"It will probably take a few years to see a standard military port like you said. If North Korea could build a port like Zhoushan Dinghai Port so quickly, there would be no need for the Ming Dynasty to send troops to help them resist the Japanese invasion." Xu Yuzhuo knew more about North Korea than the other two, but he did not show mercy to him.
(End of chapter)