Chapter 1806: Defend by the River
Considering the low operational efficiency of North Korean officials, Wang Tom even had the urge to transfer civilian workers from Liaodong to build a naval base. Of course, this is just a thought. If Jinzhou’s social production is to be stopped and the limited labor force is transported across the sea to build military bases in North Korea, even if the Jinzhou authorities and Dongjiang Town have no complaints, the Executive Committee will definitely not I agree with this crazy approach.
Although the situation on the Korean Peninsula is also very important to Haihan, it is never more important than his own territory. After all, the Jinzhou area is Haihan's most important colony in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea areas, and its priority far exceeds that of North Korea, which has not yet been finalized. base. Even if Tom Wang wants to dig the east wall to make up for the west wall, he must first weigh whether the east wall can be dug.
Before the construction of the base was finally implemented, Wang Tom could only continue to maintain the current standoff on the Yalu River and try his best to gain buffer time for the construction of the base in the rear. However, as of now, the coalition forces still do not have an accurate grasp of the strength of the Qing army assembled near Jiulian City and the direction of their next actions. The lack of intelligence in this area prevents Wang Tom from making more radical deployments.
As for the Fujian Navy, which had no combat missions for the time being, the order they received was to maintain vigilance upstream to ensure that no large Qing troops would come down the river from the upstream to attack the coalition fleet. In this way, as long as the entrance to the sea and the upstream river are under surveillance, Wang Tom can rest assured that all the main warships of the fleet will be deployed near the dock position to serve as fire support for the Marines.
Judging from the geographical environment, it is unlikely that the Qing army would choose to cross the upper reaches of the Yalu River. Less than thirty miles further upstream from Jiuliancheng, there are already continuous mountainous areas on the Korean side of the Yalu River. If It was just a small force crossing the river. It would be extremely troublesome for a large army to travel long distances in these areas. Even if the Qing army had a considerable number of cavalry and pack horses, it would be difficult to advance quickly in this area. As for the relatively flat downstream area, almost all of it was under the surveillance of the coalition fleet. It was extremely difficult for the Qing army to find a new breakthrough point in the Yalu River to cross the river.
Xu Yuzhuo actually hoped to fight the Qing army on the frontal battlefield, but the troops he led were mainly sailors. If they fought ashore, it would easily hold back the Marines. Therefore, he could only follow Wang Tom's instructions and lead his fleet to patrol and garrison in the upper reaches of Waihua Island. Xu Yuzhuo's troops did not stop at the surveillance range designated by Wang Tom. They had already explored a position about fifty miles upstream of Jiulian City, but still did not find the fleet used by the Qing army to cross the river.
Xu Yuzhuo judged based on the map provided by Wang Tom that the Qing army should have gathered all the ships used to cross the river to the upper reaches of the Gehe River where the river was narrower after discovering that the coalition fleet had broken into the Yalu River - the assembly point was located in the area occupied by the Qing army. , which will obviously make them feel more secure.
With the strength of the coalition fleet, of course, there is no need to worry so much. If they rush upstream along the Sui River, it should be difficult for the Qing army to implement effective blocking measures. Xu Yuzhuo was quite eager to try this. If Wang Tom hadn't disagreed with this radical approach, he would have led his troops into the Suihe River.
The confrontation and testing around Jiuliancheng continued calmly. Wang Tom also tried several times to have the Marines advance closer to Jiuliancheng, but as soon as the Marines began to leave their position, the troops in the mountains and forests opposite The Qing army's cavalry will appear, waiting for an opportunity to cut off the Haihan army's retreat. Wang Tom will definitely not take such unnecessary risks while taking the initiative, so as long as he sees the opponent's cavalry making moves, Wang Tom will We will immediately order the operation to be terminated and continue to stay behind closed doors.
However, Haihan did not take further action, and the Qing army did not take the initiative to attack. They really avoided fighting and seemed to be in no hurry to go south and invade North Korea. The Qing army's calmness was different from Wang Tom's initial expectations. When he decided to occupy the Jiuliancheng Riverside Wharf, he was optimistic that this move would force the Qing army to take the initiative to expose its strength, and then he could use it conveniently. The opponent's preparation progress was judged, but the actual situation was not the case. After the failure of the night attack, the Qing army made no further attempts and did not seem to intend to start a head-on confrontation with the Haihan army in this area.
Wang Tom is still unable to confirm whether the Qing army's calm reaction is because the troop assembly and war preparations have not yet been completed, or whether they have other plans for the invasion of North Korea. Although Haihan still occupies the active advantage on the battlefield, this advantage is being worn away bit by bit due to the reaction of the Qing army. Wang Tom even began to consider whether he should ask Qian Tiandun to bring the troops from Ganghwa Island, and then build a relatively large fortress on the bank of the Yalu River for long-term garrisoning, so as to gain more support for building a military base in the rear. time.
However, such a plan will also have many practical difficulties, such as the building materials and manpower required to build large strongholds, which is a problem that is not easy to solve for the Haihan Army. Wang Tom really does not believe in North Korea's work efficiency and engineering construction capabilities. If it is left to the North Koreans, the situation on Ganghwa Island will inevitably be repeated again.
After this stalemate lasted for another four days, the previous memorial written by Kim Sang-joo finally came back. King Yi Jong of North Korea ordered Kim Sang-heon to take charge of a thorough investigation of the serious dereliction of duty and concealment of military information by the Uiju government and the garrison. And dispatched a commissioner to Yiju to take charge of the logistical supply support requested by Haehan. The conditions proposed by Haihan for building a military base at the mouth of the Datong River have been approved by the North Korean court, and civilian laborers will be recruited to start construction in the area from now on. Of course, there is currently no clear statement on the specific construction period.
This is finally good news for the coalition forces. Qian Tiandun also made a slight concession on behalf of Haihan during the negotiations on Ganghwa Island, allowing North Korea to send a force of 3,000 people to Wahwa Island to serve as an auxiliary to the Marine Corps. strength. Of course, this unit was actually designated by Haihan. The first batch of weapons provided by Haihan to North Korea last year were installed in this unit. Its strength is stronger than other North Korean troops that still use swords and bows as their main weapons. A lot has come out.
The issue of military expenditure sharing raised by Qian Tiandun to Kim Sang-heon encountered certain resistance. Just like Kim Sang-hyun's reaction when he first heard this request, the princes and ministers of North Korea also believed that the price offered by Haehan was too high, and it was beyond what North Korea's finances could bear. With Haihan's military expenditure, Korea might have already gone bankrupt without waiting for the Qing army to reach Seoul.
Although Qian Tiandun gave Kim Sang-hyun some pointers, the methods he gave could not be made public after all, so even if they were feasible, Kim Sang-hyun could not persuade other officials to accept the offer. However, the king's authority came into play at this time. After listening to Kim Sang-heon's private report, King Li Jie chose to believe Kim Sang-heon and authorized him to investigate the problems of Uiju officials. As long as Kim Sang-hyun can prove the crimes of the Uiju officials, he will naturally have a way to extend the scope of the investigation and set off a major purge in North Korean officialdom.
In the blink of an eye, it was late May, and the tense situation along the Yalu River remained unchanged. However, from the east coast of the Liaodong Peninsula controlled by the Qing Dynasty to the mouth of the Yalu River, frequent landings and harassment by foreign armed forces began to occur. According to the reports received by the local officials, the troops attacking these coastal areas were not the Haihan Army or the Ming Army, but Westerners who had never been seen before. For this reason, the Qing government sent special personnel to investigate the attacked areas. Finally, based on eyewitness accounts and other evidence, it was determined that the group of militants who attacked the coastal areas were Portuguese. Many officers of the Shandong rebels who defected to Liaodong had worked with Portuguese mercenaries under Sun Yuanhua and were familiar with the Portuguese, so this situation was basically confirmed.
The Qing court was a little confused about the appearance of the Portuguese fleet in this area. According to what they learned, the Portuguese's main activity range was in the distant South China Sea. They had never appeared in this area, let alone launched an armed attack. . The armed strength of these Portuguese was not much inferior to that of the Haihan Army. The scattered local armed forces could not defeat the intruders with live ammunition. In just a few days, police were alerted in many coastal villages and towns, and hundreds of local people were abducted.
The Qing government had to adjust its deployment and dispatch troops from the Liaodong Peninsula to rush to the area under attack to establish control. However, for a coastal area that is four to five hundred miles long, it is difficult to fortify everywhere. If there are too few troops stationed, there is a risk of being eaten. During this period, the situation of being exhausted and running back and forth after receiving the Portuguese landing warning frequently occurred.
The ones that repeatedly attacked the east coast of the Liaodong Peninsula at this juncture were naturally the Portuguese fleet from the coalition heading north. In addition to the Fujian navy that went to the Yalu River with Wang Tom, there were also fleets from Annan and Portugal temporarily stationed on Ganghwa Island. Due to the geographical climate and other comprehensive reasons, many soldiers of the Annan fleet were acclimatized. Therefore, they had to stay in Ganghwa Island to recuperate. The Portuguese fleet was in much better condition. After staying on Ganghwa Island for more than ten days, Simang took the initiative to ask for a battle and led the fleet out to find something to do.
Haihan was happy to see the positive attitude of the Portuguese, so he asked Simang to take his troops to the east coast of the Liaodong Peninsula where the Qing army's defenses were relatively loose. Since these areas have been repeatedly raided by the Haihan Navy many times, there are almost no fishing boats on the seashore, and the Portuguese fleet's activities in this sea area basically do not pose much risk. Of course, Ximang would not stop at sea. After confirming that the Qing army basically had no means of defense against the sea, he quickly organized several landings and raided some villages and towns not too far from the coast.
The villages and towns attacked by the Portuguese were basically dominated by Han people. However, after these areas were occupied by Hou Jin, the status of the Han people was suppressed, and most of them were used as slaves and became the slaves of various banner owners and Niu Lu. private property. When the Portuguese attacked, it was very easy to distinguish the identity of the armed personnel that could be organized in these places. Those who could ride horses and wear armor were basically Manchu bannermen, while the civilians dressed up and held hunting bows and so on. Those who use weapons to fight as "soldiers" must be Han people.
Ximang had already received guidance from Qian Tiandun before setting off. During the battle, he gave priority to the Manchus. Often, after killing the Manchu warriors who were leading the charge or responsible for command, the remaining people lost the will to continue fighting. Some Haihan soldiers from the Northeast led by Xi Mang would take the opportunity to shout loudly, asking the Han people to surrender.
This tactic was very effective. When the 300 infantrymen led by Simang fought with the local armed forces of more than 1,000 people in Zhuanghe Town, it took less than a stick of incense to quickly defeat the enemy and defeat them. More than four hundred Han prisoners were captured. Later, Haihan soldiers came forward to inform these prisoners that they would be transported to Jinzhou and North Korea for resettlement and a new life.
Upon hearing such news, some of the prisoners were overjoyed to be free, while others were deeply uneasy about being separated from their families. However, under the threat of gunpoint, no one dared to object to such an arrangement. But in any case, being able to get rid of the oppression of the Manchu court was ultimately a good thing for them.
For Haihan, the Han people from Liaodong were undoubtedly the best source of population for establishing a new colony. These people can adapt well to the environment of the region. Most of them have a deep hatred for the Qing Dynasty because of the severe oppression they suffered. And because they have been separated from the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty for a long time, they do not have a strong sense of belonging to their original nationality. It is easy to accept Haihan's targeted ideological propaganda offensive and become a subject of Liaodong's new colony.
Of course, among these Han groups, there must be some scoundrels who had taken refuge in the Qing court early on, so a preliminary identification of these prisoners would be made later, and the "dangerous elements" among them would be singled out for separate treatment.
Since the Qing army had no maritime power in this area, it was impossible to monitor the whereabouts of the Portuguese fleet. After Simang's fleet landed in a certain village in the morning and plundered some villages, they might appear on another coast a hundred miles away in the afternoon to repeat the same operation. Sometimes they even swept through four or five villages and towns in one day, plundering A population of thousands.
In order to cooperate with the actions of the Portuguese fleet, Haihan also specially dispatched several idle troop transports and cargo ships from Jinzhou and Jianghua Island to pick up the captive populations of the Portuguese at the mouth of the Yalu River and Changshan Islands respectively. Then transported back to the place of departure for placement.
Of course, the Portuguese did not work so hard to do good deeds regardless of remuneration. According to the agreement between the two parties, all the property obtained by the Portuguese during the operation would be distributed by themselves. In order to earn back the military expenses of this trip north, the Portuguese did not slack off at all.
(End of chapter)