Chapter 1798 Oppressive Reconnaissance
Although the Qing army was good at fighting on horseback, they could only stare blankly at the armed fleet sailing into the Yalu River. The bows and arrows equipped by the cavalry had a short range and could not hurt the warships in the center of the river. They had to carefully keep their distance. Out of range of the Haihan rifle. After several attempts and suffering, these Qing troops stopped trying to attack the warships with bows and arrows, and retreated from a distance to watch the fleet continue to move upriver.
Naturally, the coalition forces would not continue to waste ammunition for these shrimps. Seeing that the cavalry on the shore retreated knowingly, they stopped shooting at them. In addition, Wang Tom did not intend to use the heavy weapons on the ship before a large number of enemy troops appeared.
The speed of the Qing army in delivering messages on land must be faster than that of the fleet going upstream, so when the fleet sailed fifty miles into the Yalu River, the Qing army's cavalry that appeared near the river bank became more and more orderly and not as panicked as before. Wang Tom believed that the Qing army's headquarters had received the news and began to make corresponding arrangements.
As for whether the Fujian Navy in the lead would be attacked by the Qing army, Wang Tom was not afraid. At any rate, the Fujian Navy also had a lot of practical experience. The tricks that the Qing army could use would probably be difficult to pose a real threat to them. But as soon as this thought occurred, the fleet ahead sent a signal of an attack.
As for the attack methods that the Qing army might launch in the Yalu River, Wang Tom discussed with the officers at the combat preparation meeting before departure. He believed that the Qing army, which lacked an organic surface armed force, would probably be difficult to gather enough warships to attack head-on. In a duel, the most likely method is to load a small boat with fire starters and lower them from upstream, try to disrupt the formation of the combined fleet with fire attacks, and then fish in troubled waters.
However, this method must prepare a large number of small boats filled with fire starters upstream in advance. Even if the Qing army collected all the large and small boats on the Yalu River, they would definitely give priority to using them as vehicles for crossing the river and would not use them. This kind of method does not know when it will be launched. Even if the Qing army really went all out and used this extraordinary method, at most it would only cause a little trouble for the Fujian Navy, and it would be difficult to affect the main force of the fleet that kept a safe distance from it.
The method of launching an attack from the river bank is nothing more than the use of long-range firepower. With the military technology level of the Qing army, the heavy weapons that can be used are mainly artillery and catapults, and there may be some sporadic attacks. Gadgets such as indigenous rockets passed down from the Ming Dynasty were more effective in deterring than in actual combat. There was no sound of artillery coming from the front, so we can basically rule out artillery or other explosive firearms. Perhaps catapults with simple principles and low costs were the means by which the Qing army launched an offensive against the warships of the Fujian Navy.
The actual situation soon confirmed Wang Tom's judgment. The Qing army set up several catapults on the river bank at the bend of the river ahead, and were shooting stone projectiles about the size of a human head at the naval warships.
The Qing army undoubtedly used their brains to choose this battle location. Not only is the river here narrower, but also the ships on the river need to sail a longer distance to pass through this area, which means that there are more attacks from catapults on the shore. Chance.
However, compared with the naval guns of the Fujian Navy, although the catapults used by the Qing army basically had no disadvantage in range, there was a clear gap in attack efficiency, accuracy and shooting power. More than ten of them were thrown in the first round. When firing stone bombs, the nearest one was still six or seven meters away from the naval warship.
Xu Yuzhuo did not panic when faced with the sudden attack from the river bank. This situation had been anticipated in advance. Before setting off, he had obtained the permission to fire freely from Wang Tom, and immediately ordered the artillery to be in position to fight back. , and at the same time send an attack signal to the rear to put the Haihan Navy on alert in advance.
The Fujian Navy is worthy of being a combat force built on the Haihan Navy model. It responded very quickly. Before the catapults on the shore launched the second round of offensive, they fired artillery and launched a counterattack on the shore.
Compared with the Haihan warship, the warships of the Fujian Navy do not have many guns. There are only about five cannons on each side of the ship. However, after these ten warships form a formation, the intensity of the firepower output is still considerable. More than a dozen shells hit the area where the catapult was, causing chaos in the enemy's position. However, the Qing troops on the shore quickly made adjustments and fired a second round of stone bombs.
After a brief adjustment, the accuracy of this attack was improved. Two stone bullets hit the target. One ripped a hole in the sail and flew into the water, while the other hit the side of the ship. The bullet entered the water and caused no casualties. But the second round of bombardment from the Fujian Navy achieved greater results. Several shells directly hit the target, and broken catapults flew out, injuring many people.
The Qing army found that this method of fighting was not worth the gain, so they quickly ordered a retreat and gave up continuing to engage in firefights with the warships on the river. Xu Yuzhuo was a little disappointed with this. He really wished that the Qing army could form an attack on the shore, so that he could show off more in front of the Haihan people. Now after just two rounds of bombardment, the enemy troops ran away again, obviously not intending to fight head-on with the coalition fleet.
Wang Tom had a panoramic view of the brief artillery battle through his telescope. He understood this round of offensive launched by the Qing army as a tentative attack. Once it was confirmed that the fleet deep into the Yalu River had relatively strong firepower , and took the initiative to withdraw from the river bank and leave the battlefield. But whether the Qing army will arrange larger stone-throwing arrays or even artillery positions upstream can only be confirmed after exploring.
However, what surprised the coalition fleet was that during the next voyage, the Qing army did not deploy any blocking measures on the shore. Even the cavalry team that had been following the fleet became smaller and smaller, and gradually decreased from nearly a thousand to sporadic Count rides. This gives people the illusion that the Qing army did not have any large garrison strongholds in the upper reaches of the Yalu River, so the cavalry on the shore did not follow them.
However, Wang Tom believed that this was just a ploy by the Qing army to mislead the troops, and deliberately created such a scene to make their own side think that the upstream area was no longer of value to continue reconnaissance. However, the headquarters has passed various information and signs and concluded that the Jiuliancheng area is the best choice for the Qing army to gather large forces. If Huang Taiji really plans to attack North Korea, then there will definitely be signs of a large army stationed near Jiuliancheng. Wang Tom will definitely have to go to the local area to see it with his own eyes before he can draw a final conclusion.
However, there are obviously many Qing cavalry nearby. As a result, Wang Tom cannot easily put the Marines ashore. Although as long as the Marines had their backs to the river, it would be difficult for the Qing cavalry to break through the fire cover provided by the warships, but as long as a large group of enemy cavalry appeared around them, the Marines would have to stop and form a formation to fight, and the speed of their march would definitely increase as a result. affected.
Seeing that dusk was approaching, the voyage was still thirty to forty miles away from the target. The combined fleet was not familiar with the hydrological conditions of the Yalu River, so advancing in the dark was obviously not a good idea. Wang Tom then ordered to move closer to the North Korean side of the east bank where the river is slightly wider in front, and stay there for one night before moving on tomorrow. Although the width of the river is only a few miles, after the two previous confrontations, I believe that the Qing army will not be too interested in crossing the river at night for a sneak attack. If you send fewer people, you will just die in vain. If you send more people, there will be a lot of movement. I am afraid that they will be discovered before they cross the river.
After docking, Wang Tom ordered someone to call Xu Yuzhuo, and together they confirmed the exact location of the fleet. The maps held by the Haihan Navy are all from that time and space four hundred years later. There are still certain differences between the actual terrain along the Yalu River and the map, and some places need to be corrected. However, Jiulian City is located at the intersection of the Kui River and the Yalu River. The North Shore is an unmistakable destination.
"For the rest of the voyage, the river surface may be relatively narrow, and there will be terrain such as sandbars and rocks in the middle of the river. The Qing army may also take advantage of the terrain here and use some special attack methods. You must be careful. "Wang Tom warned Xu Yuzhuo: "If you encounter an enemy, no matter how strong the enemy's troops are, don't rush to pursue them, and fight steadily. Remember that we are here to find out the progress of the Qing army's build-up, not to solve the problem with one battle. .”
The Qing army has not shown a strong willingness to attack so far. Wang Tom believes that there may be two reasons. One is that the Qing army does not have a large number of troops stationed in this area, so the scale of the offensive it can launch is naturally limited; another possibility It is the Qing army that is not willing to attack Haihan here and now, because once the troops gathered nearby are discovered by Haihan, the entire subsequent combat intention will actually be exposed. This is for those who want a wave of It was not a good thing for Huang Taiji to be exiled from North Korea.
Xu Yuzhuo said: "The Qing army is better at swords and bows but weaker at water warfare. As long as we keep the fighting environment on the river, I believe it will be difficult for the Qing army to threaten us. However, this effect is also mutual. If we don't Going ashore will not put enough pressure on the Qing army. They can hide their troops in Jiulian City and prevent us from discovering them. "
Wang Tom said: "Because of the possibility of the Qing army stationing troops in Jiulian City, we need to be more stable. Our fleet has a total of more than 2,000 people, and we have brought enough supplies for more than half a month. If it doesn't work, we can still come from North Korea. If the Qing army gathers food nearby, it can block this section of the river for a long time. But if the Qing army is already in progress or is about to be completed, how long can a hundred thousand troops wait here? They will eat tens of thousands of kilograms of food every day. There are no grain-producing areas nearby, and the supplies probably have to be transported across mountains and rivers from Shenyang. We can afford it, but the Qing army can't. They will either choose to be a coward, or they will have to use all their strength to force us away."
"The pressure we want to exert on our opponents is not just direct attacks such as gunfire and bombardment. It also puts pressure on their logistical support and forces them to adjust their original deployment until more information is exposed. It is also a A means of oppressive reconnaissance.”
Xu Yuzhuo nodded and continued to ask: "Since our fleet is capable of blocking the Yalu River and can maintain it for a period of time, why not order all the troops stationed on Jianghua Island to go north, so that we can be more confident in blocking the river? .”
Wang Tom explained: "Even if all the troops are transferred to the Yalu River, the river surface we can blockade will only increase by dozens of miles at most. On the contrary, our full strength will be exposed prematurely. There is another thing you need to understand. The purpose of our aid to Korea is to save North Korea from being destroyed. But if we successfully block the Qing army in the Yalu River and the Koreans have not felt the pressure of the war from beginning to end, then what is the meaning of our aid to Korea? ?”
Xu Yuzhuo opened his mouth slightly when he heard it, and then nodded heavily to show that he understood what Wang Tom meant: "Only when the Koreans are hurt by being beaten will the importance of our aid to Korea be highlighted even more!"
Wang Tom said: "Whether you are Fujianese, Portuguese, or Annanese, you must have a good record on the Korean battlefield before you can negotiate terms with them in the future, right? If the Qing army has not set foot in North Korea, then How do you prove your strength? ”
Naturally, these words of Wang Tom cannot be heard by the North Koreans. From the beginning, Wang Tom did not intend to place the decisive battle on the Yalu River. Instead, he wanted to use the Qing army as a weight to ask North Korea for more benefits that would benefit Haihan. conditions. But for now, the naval base that Tom Wang wants most has not found an ideal location in this area.
Although as North Korea's rescue soldiers who had finally moved from overseas, this approach is somewhat unkind, but Wang Tom has been in a high position for many years and has a clear understanding of international relations. A country like North Korea can only become a A vassal of a powerful country. Since North Korea needs a suzerain state in the traditional sense, and the Ming Dynasty has shown signs of decline in recent years, it is undoubtedly most appropriate for Haihan to replace it. The worse the situation in North Korea becomes, the easier it will be for Haihan to take over the position of the suzerain in the future.
Anyway, what the Koreans want is to keep the country and not be destroyed by the Qing Dynasty. Wang Tom believes that there is still a good chance of realizing this. As long as North Korea can fully implement the plan formulated by Haihan, even if it cannot defeat the Qing army on the frontal battlefield, it can still force the Qing army to cease the war and withdraw by itself through other means.
The life-saving strategy that Wang Tom found for North Korea was to control the supply of the Qing army. The first is to control the natural moat of the Yalu River, and the second is to achieve strong walls and clear the country in North Korea in advance, so that the Qing army cannot collect food on the spot. Once the front line is lengthened, the supply problem will naturally drag down the Qing army's offensive.
If the Jiuliancheng area was the troop gathering place chosen by the Qing army, then there must be several places to store grain nearby to support the Qing army's offensive after crossing the Yangtze River and moving south. But now that the coalition fleet has appeared on this section of the river, even if the Qing army crosses the river south in the future, they will still have to station heavy troops in Jiulian City to protect the granaries, which will invisibly reduce the strength of the troops entering the DPRK.
Since the situation of this war is theoretically partially controllable, Wang Tom has the remaining power to strive for more benefits for Haihan during this period.
(End of chapter)