Chapter 1799 Jiulian City
When it first received the request for help from the North Koreans, the Ministry of National Defense thought that it might be too late to send troops to prevent the Qing army from invading North Korea, and that there would even be an extreme situation where the country would choose to surrender to the enemy before reinforcements arrived in North Korea. Therefore, the combat plan formulated by the Ministry of National Defense at that time was based on the premise that the Qing army had invaded North Korea, and the bottom line was to ensure that the North Korean rulers could be rescued in time, and did not include controlling the Korean war situation as one of the options. Besides, with the scale of troops that Haihan can send to North Korea, the Ministry of National Defense would not dare to have such a reckless idea.
But after the coalition fleet arrived in North Korea, Wang Tom discovered that although the preparations here were not satisfactory, fortunately the Qing army had not yet taken action, and there was still a certain buffer time for the coalition forces to adjust their strategies. Wang Tom believes that judging from the current situation, the crisis facing North Korea is not irreversible, and there may even be opportunities to obtain more benefits for Haihan. The degree of control over the natural chasm of the Yalu River may become a key to regulating the situation in the Korean War.
Xu Yuzhuo was a little bit behind-the-scenes about the winding intestines in the belly of the Haihan people. However, the Fujian navy and Haihan were in the same camp, and he had trained under Wang Tom, so he would naturally think that this was beneficial to Haihan. The choice makes sense. As for whether North Korea would ultimately choose Ming Dynasty or Haihan as its suzerain state, Xu Yuzhuo had no grudges. In comparison, Haihan, who was closely related to the Xu family, was much closer to the Zhu family who ruled the Ming Dynasty. He personally preferred North Korea. Go to the Haihan side, so that it will be much easier for Fujian to carry out trade with North Korea through Haihan matchmaking in the future.
Before setting off from Jianghua Island, Xu Yuzhuo was warned by Wang Tom, saying that tens of thousands of Qing troops might be gathering in the upper reaches of the Yalu River, and they must not be careless during the execution of the mission. However, Xu Yuzhuo believes that the disparity in military strength will not actually bring too much trouble to his own side, because the gap in equipment of the coalition fleet is huge and cannot be made up by military strength. The previous helpless performance of the enemy cavalry on the river bank This was also confirmed. Therefore, even though he knew that the enemy might have gathered heavy troops upstream, Xu Yuzhuo still didn't feel much nervous. Even if the situation was unfavorable to his side, he could still retreat to the sea along the same route - for the Qing army, the sea was almost untouchable. restricted area.
The preparation meeting this night was mainly to unify the strategic awareness of the commanders. As for various emergencies that may arise, plans were actually prepared in advance. However, Wang Tom didn’t want to spend too much time in the Yalu River due to long nights and dreams. After tomorrow’s reconnaissance activities were over, he planned to lead the fleet back to the sea before making the next step.
As expected, everything went smoothly that night. The Qing army probably knew it well and did not try to launch a surprise attack at night. Early the next morning, the combined fleet docked on the river bank on the North Korean side set sail again and headed upstream.
There were Qing army cavalry waiting on the opposite bank of the river for a long time. They looked worried and kept watch all night to prevent the Haihan people from sneaking ashore in the dark. Seeing the warships of the United Fleet leaving the river bank, these rangers whistled a few times and then retreated further away from the river bank. They should also be on guard against cold shots being fired from the ships to kill them.
In the next few river bays, there were no more ambushes of the Qing army. It seemed that the other party had clearly understood that the temporarily deployed positions could not stop the fleet's actions, and decisively gave up the useless method. Tom Wang was a little curious as to how the Qing army planned to deal with the fleet that had already hit their faces.
"Sir, the Wafer Island is right ahead."
When Xu Yuzhuo heard the report from his subordinates, he looked at the river ahead with his binoculars. A few miles away, he could see that the upstream river was divided into two, and there seemed to be a large island in the middle.
Waihua Island is one of the largest islands in the Yalu River. According to the information available to the Haihan military, the island's area reaches about sixty square kilometers. To the south is the Yalu River, and to the north is the river surface after the Yalu River merges with the Kuei River.
This island is historically regarded as an important place closely related to the beginning of Lee's Korea. In 1388, the Goryeo general Li Chenggui was ordered to unite with Mongolia to attack the Ming Dynasty, which had just been founded. However, because Li Chenggui believed in the doctrine of serving the country, he did not Instead of being ordered to attack Liaodong, he sent his troops south to attack the city of King Jing of Goryeo, deposed the King of Goryeo, executed ministers who were pro-Yuan, and proclaimed himself king in 1392. Two years later, Li Chenggui moved the capital from Kaesong to Seoul, and this was the Li Dynasty that continues to this day.
It was on this Waihua Island when Li Chenggui started the incident. Today's North Korea also comes from a bold decision made by Li Chenggui more than two hundred years ago. Therefore, this place has special significance for North Korea. However, North Korea has not deployed a formal garrison on Waihua Island. Only a small number of North Koreans have settled on the island. Once a war breaks out, this place is only separated from Jiuliancheng by a river. The islands in the Kehe River are probably the first places to bear the brunt.
According to the information provided by North Korea, the seat of Uiju is near the river bank on the north side of Wihwa Island, with no more than a thousand troops stationed. If a war breaks out on the border, such a small number of troops will probably only be able to resist symbolically at the beginning, and the coalition forces will not pin their hopes of resisting the Qing army on the North Korean border guards.
As of the time when the coalition fleet arrived at the mouth of the Yalu River, there had been no news that Waihua Island had been captured by the Qing army. This was considered good news. It allowed the coalition fleet to choose a route from both sides of Waihua Island without worrying that the island had already been captured. With the Qing army setting up an ambush, you can safely enter the direction of the Suihe River - Jiulian City is located on the north bank of the intersection of the Suihe River and the Yalu River.
About two hours later, a signal flare was fired from the deck of the Fujian Navy warship, the vanguard force. It exploded in mid-air and then released red fireworks that could be seen for miles. This move was to convey a pre-arranged message to the main force of the fleet in the rear through a signal flare - an unusually large dock facility was discovered on the river bank.
One of the results of Wang Tom's discussion with the officers last night was that if the Qing army gathered large forces near Jiuliancheng, they would most likely choose this section of the river as the path to cross the river and enter North Korea. The military camps on the shore of the army can be built in the inland areas beyond the sight of the river, and the ferries can also be hidden in more hidden tributaries upstream. However, if tens of thousands of troops want to cross the river to fight, one piece of engineering is necessary. What was completed ahead of schedule was the dock facilities.
This is a hurdle that cannot be bypassed no matter what. If people and materials want to quickly pass through the Yalu River, there must be an efficient port and relatively complete terminal facilities. Whether a wharf on the river bank is an ordinary fishing port or a specialized military wharf can be distinguished at a glance.
Of course, if it were Haihan who implemented this river-crossing battle plan, there would be some tricks to cover the sea, such as building a pontoon bridge at the narrowest part of the river in a relatively short period of time, and allowing people, vehicles and horses to cross the river directly on the bridge. This saves you a lot of trouble. It's just that the Qing army, which is not good at water warfare and lacks ships, probably does not have such technical strength at present, and can only choose the traditional transportation mode of ferry to complete the army's crossing of the river. The discovery of the vanguard basically confirmed the advance predictions of Wang Tom and other generals. The Qing army had built dock facilities beyond the normal scale in this section of the river in advance. The most reasonable explanation is probably that the Qing army was going to carry out cross-river operations here. .
However, North Korea did not provide this key information to Haihan beforehand, which made Wang Tom somewhat confused. It stands to reason that the place where the Qing army built the dock is only across the river from Waihua Island. If the North Koreans did a little reconnaissance work, it would not be difficult to get such detailed information. However, the North Koreans either ignored the importance of this intelligence information. Sex, or deliberately hiding something from Haihan. No matter what the situation was, Tom Wang could not understand it.
About half an hour later, the dock facilities on the river bank also caught Wang Tom's sight. He didn't even need a telescope to see clearly the trestles, cranes and warehouses on the bank, extending upstream along the river bank. , at least about one mile in scope. Given the tense relations between the Qing Dynasty and North Korea, it is obvious that building a dock of this size on the border would not be for civilian or commercial purposes.
But what is a little strange is that this is obviously a large riverside dock that can accommodate hundreds of ships, but the entire dock area is empty, and not even a sampan can be seen on the shore. The only reasonable explanation is that the Qing army has transferred all ships away from this place in advance. The reason is self-evident, of course, to avoid the coalition fleet that swaggered into the Yalu River yesterday.
With the experience and lessons learned in the previous two years, the Qing army knew very well what the consequences of fighting Haihan warships on the water would be, so they should have made a wise decision to move all the ships upstream to avoid the Haihan warships. . As for the dock facilities that cannot be moved, we can only let Haihan do whatever he wants. Fortunately, it will always be much faster to rebuild than to rebuild the ship.
When Wang Tom saw this posture, he understood what the Qing army was up to. This kind of avoidance of fighting has actually been encountered several times in the navy's previous operations to sweep the Liaodong Peninsula. Wang Tom would not simply think that this was a sign of the Qing army's fear of war. It was actually a choice to preserve its strength. If the Qing army mobilized all its ships at this time to fight against the combined fleet, the result would definitely still be one-sided. situation, losing a number of ships in vain will also affect their combat plan.
If you continue to look for these hidden ships upstream, you may indeed be able to find them in a day or two. However, if you go too far inland, even if you have equipment advantages, the risks that the fleet will have to bear will gradually increase.
Now that it was basically confirmed that this was one of the places chosen by the Qing army to cross the river, Wang Tom decided not to go upstream for this reconnaissance activity. However, Wang Tom planned to find out how many Qing troops had gathered in Jiuliancheng.
"Slowly approach the dock. If there is an attack by Qing troops on the shore, fire immediately to counterattack!" Wang Tom quickly issued an order to prepare the fleet to dock here and send the Marines to land.
There was no solid bunker at this river bank dock. The Qing army knew how powerful it was and did not set up a formation here. The warships of the combined fleet approached the river bank one after another, but they did not encounter any resistance. To be precise, there was not even a single person on the pier. It was like arriving at a deserted and abandoned port.
But Wang Tom was already observing the Jiulian City Castle in the distance with a telescope at this time. Although it was just a fortress built on the border, this place had been continuously renovated and expanded by several dynasties, and its scale had indeed become a castle. Small town level. Under the city wall, there is water flowing in from the Jue River to act as a moat, and behind it are the continuous mountains. It is not a problem to hide tens of thousands of troops.
Jiuliancheng is only about two miles away from the river. Wang Tom sent the Marines ashore in order to try to attack Jiuliancheng, put more pressure on the Qing army, and expose the forces gathered here.
Several troop carriers carrying the landing force successfully docked, and then the soldiers took control of this section of the dock area without any effort. Under Wang Tom's instructions, the engineers began to load explosives at some key locations. This trip could not be in vain. Before leaving, they had to leave some souvenirs for the Qing army.
After the three infantry companies of the Marines completed landing, they first searched the warehouses near the dock, but basically found nothing. These warehouses were either empty, or they only stored some materials such as ship planks and logs, and even food. Not a single grain was seen.
After receiving the report, Wang Tom believed that the Qing army should not be able to empty these warehouses overnight. It seems that most of the food and other combat materials have not yet been fully transported to Jiulian City, so these warehouses have not yet entered the final state of combat readiness. .
Although the Qing army retreated again and again, Wang Tom did not carelessly order the attack on Jiulian City immediately. After carefully observing the city defense, he found that there were many artillery on the top of Jiulian City, which was far beyond the level that a border stronghold should have. He judged that these should be the weapons that the Qing army brought here when they assembled south to prepare for the war in Korea. After the alarm was sent back yesterday, the Qing army deployed these big guys on the top of the city to prevent Haihan from coming here. Landing and siege.
If it was just an ordinary city, Wang Tom must have ordered the attack. Although the Marines were equipped with a small number of artillery, they were still capable of dealing with small and medium-sized fortresses. However, this Jiuliancheng is where the Qing army gathers. There were thousands of cavalry seen yesterday. If the Marines were allowed to advance to the city to launch an offensive, they would be separated from the fire cover from the river. Wang Tom was also a little worried The opponent will release a large number of cavalry to block the Marines' retreat. There may be thousands of cavalry hidden behind Jiulian City. If the opponent decides to attack the Marines regardless of losses, then no matter how hard the Marines fight, these few hundred people will not be able to withstand the charge of the large cavalry force.
(End of chapter)