Chapter 1817 Unsolvable Problem
Judging from the current strength, equipment level and combat experience of the Qing army, it is actually considered to be a quasi-first-class strength in Northeast Asia. Even if it faces the main force of the Ming army, it is not at all afraid. However, how can it encounter the difficulty of Haihan who fell from the sky? After pestering his opponent, no matter how he acted, he was always being restrained. Huang Taiji could only lament that the passing years were unlucky.
Huang Taiji actually summoned the civil and military ministers to brainstorm ways to deal with Haihan. The ministers thought of many ways, but in the end there was one problem that could not be solved - how to eliminate Haihan's advantage at sea.
In the eyes of the Qing monarchs and ministers, the fundamental reason why the Haihan Army has always had an advantage on the battlefield does not lie in the obvious aspects of weapons, tactics, and military strength, but in the sea control brought by its powerful shipping capabilities and armed fleet. The Haihan Army could deliver thousands of armed forces to any point on the long coastline of the Liaodong Peninsula at any time, and after achieving its combat objectives, it could quickly withdraw from the sea, leaving the Qing Army unable to deploy effective defense methods. It would be easy to fall into endless public security wars - just like the situation currently faced by the Qing-controlled areas.
If the Qing army wants to change its passive decline, this problem must be solved first, but no one can come up with an effective solution. Although many members of the Ming Dynasty Navy who defected to Liaodong are still serving in the army, they have no place to use them. After being swept away by the Haihan fleet for more than two years, not even a sampan can be seen on the coastline of the Qing-controlled area, and all the shipbuilding areas have been destroyed. There is no hope of the navy's revival at all. .
Of course, the Qing Dynasty could also try to build secret shipyards in the upper reaches of the inland rivers, but there would still be other problems. The rivers near the coast of the Liaodong Peninsula basically do not have very good navigation capabilities, so they could just build some small boats for fishing and crossing the rivers. It is more difficult to build a large warship, and because the shipyard requires a lot of personnel and materials, it is extremely easy to expose its location. Once discovered by the Haihan people, they will come and destroy everything - this has happened before and has never happened before. A situation where a solution can be found.
The ships used by the Qing army to cross the river this time were secretly built in the upper reaches of the Jihe River. Although they were hidden from the reconnaissance of Haihan and North Korea, the displacement of these ships was generally small, and the hull structure was also designed to rush the work. Without special reinforcement, it is not suitable for use as a warship, or even for sea voyages. It can only be used to undertake short-distance passenger and freight tasks on inland waterways.
Naturally, these small boats could not be used to fight against Haihan's armed fleet, so after the Haihan fleet entered the Yalu River, the Qing army moved all these small boats to the upper reaches of the Gehe River to hide them, and they were not put into use again until the Haihan fleet retreated voluntarily. . Of course, this cannot completely control the navigation rights on the Yalu River. The Qing army's combat plan still has great hidden dangers. And the news that the Haihan fleet is frequently attacking in the Liaodong Peninsula has even clouded the Qing army's actions in North Korea. A shadow, God knows when they will fight back to the Yalu River and cut off the Qing army's retreat.
Huang Taiji was not worried about the retreat route of the Qing army. In the worst case, they would retreat to the upper reaches of the Yalu River in the north. After all, the Haihan fleet could not keep going upstream. However, if the Qing army wants to continue fighting in Korea, supplies from the rear must be transported across the Yalu River. If the river crossing point is moved to the north in order to ensure the transportation line, the transportation distance will have to be extended a bit, and the transportation efficiency will be reduced. A further decline will inevitably greatly slow down the Qing army's march south, which will in turn affect the implementation of the entire combat plan.
This time Huang Taiji held a combat meeting in Longchuan City, but the generals still failed to come up with a reliable response plan to the current situation. In the end, they could only order the people in the coastal villages and towns to be relocated inland as soon as possible to avoid being kidnapped by the Haihan army. As for the defenders, they should also try to avoid direct combat with the Haihan Army, with the primary goal of preserving their strength.
Of course, the senior officials of the Qing Dynasty, represented by Huang Taiji, did not believe that this method could effectively prevent Haihan's plundering operations in Liaodong. They also knew that completing the migration and resettlement of a large number of people was not as easy as issuing an order. , by the time this order was conveyed to the local area, the Haihan people might have erased the names of these villages and towns from the map.
"We must know whether the Haihan people have really fallen out with North Korea!" This is probably the only goal that Huang Taiji can achieve at present. Although the North Korean officials he bribed in Yiju suddenly lost contact, but then As the number of places captured since entering the DPRK increased, some local officials became prisoners of the Qing army. The actual relationship between Haihan and North Korea can also be learned from these North Korean officials.
If there really is a falling out, it will of course be great good news for the Qing army, and they can continue to advance southward with confidence and boldness. But if there is something fishy in it, the Qing army must be careful of the two countries colluding to lay out their plans.
Two days later, the Qing army captured Xuanchuan, which was the fourth small town it occupied after entering North Korea. Although the process was relatively smooth, everyone had realized that the progress of the operation was much slower than the previous three days. On the one hand, this is because North Korean troops who retreated from Longchuan, Yanzhou, and Tieshan have gathered here in Xuanchuan, and the resistance is much greater than in the previous places. On the other hand, Xuanchuan is located in a mountainous area, and the terrain is relatively rugged. , the Qing army was unable to fully launch its offensive, which greatly reduced its combat effectiveness.
After conquering Xuanchuan, the Qing army obtained an important piece of information related to Haihan from the prisoners - North Korea allocated a piece of land to Haihan on the bank of the Datong River and allowed him to build a military port and garrison troops there. But fortunately for the senior officials of the Qing army, this place was said to be a remote place. Even if the Haihan people obtained this land, they would not be able to build a military port on the scale of Lushunkou for a while.
But as for the most critical information, whether Haihan has parted ways with North Korea, there is still no more accurate and credible answer here. After all, the level of information that local officials here have access to is limited, and when the Haihan people withdrew from the Yalu River, they did not even say hello to the local authorities. Longchuan, which was closest to the border, was almost completely unprepared for the incoming Qing army. Part of the reason was that they did not receive timely warning from the upper reaches of the Yalu River, so that the Koreans thought that the Haihan fleet was acting as a barrier on the river, and they did not expect it at all. The Qing army could suddenly attack at the door of the house.
In addition, it is worth mentioning that not far from the sea near Tieshan and Xuanchuan, there is Pidao where the soldiers and civilians of Dongjiang Town in the Ming Dynasty once stayed for a long time. In the past, these two Korean towns were responsible for providing food all year round. The task of providing material supplies to Dongjiang Town. After the troops from Dongjiang Town moved to Jinzhou last year, the burden on the people in these two places was greatly reduced. However, it was a pity that the Qing army invaded just a few days after the good times.
The Manchus had been fighting with Dongjiang Town soldiers and horses for many years. Even though they had known for a long time that their opponents had defected to Haihan and moved to Jinzhou, they still felt uneasy about their past residence. In order to ensure that there would be no enemy ambush nearby, the Qing army also specially requisitioned the small fishing boats of Korean fishermen nearby, and went to Phi Island and nearby Shenmi Island to conduct reconnaissance, and confirmed that these places had become uninhabited islands. , the generals were slightly relieved.
At this time, news of the successive losses of the northern border had not yet reached Seoul. However, at the new garrison on the bank of the Datong River, Qian Tiandun had received a radio report from the forward reconnaissance force, confirming that the main force of the Qing army had arrived in Xuanchuan. "If nothing unexpected happens, by the time we are discussing strategies for fighting here, Xuanchuan should have fallen, and the Qing army may have already marched towards the next target, Dingzhou."
Qian Tiandun explained the battle situation on the front line in a calm tone. He tilted the teapot in his hand slightly and made a cup of hot tea for Kim Sang-heon who was sitting opposite. Ever since Haehan announced that he would withdraw his troops from the Yalu River Basin, Kim Sang-hyun came here from Seoul to guard the area. On the one hand, he wanted to ensure that the Haehan people would not completely abandon North Korea. On the other hand, he hoped that the well-informed Haehan people would be more capable. Quickly provide the country with information about the fighting on the front line.
But so far, all Kim Sang-hyun gets from Qian Tiandun every day is bad news. There are almost no enemies of the Qing army in the towns in northern North Korea, and it is difficult to even delay the Qing army's advance. If there is any good news, it is probably that in order to pursue the speed of advancement, the Qing army still chose the narrow plain area close to the coastline for its march route, while the more extensive inland mountainous areas have not yet been attacked by military forces.
At this time, Jin Sangxian no longer had any angry reaction when he heard such bad news, but he still had a wry smile on his face. This kind of defeat was faster and more tragic than he expected. After the news spread back to Seoul, Cui Mingji and others would have the opportunity to jump to the stage to advocate the theory of "peace talks to protect the country."
"Can't your fleet create some trouble for them? Even if it just delays their march a little!" This is not the first time Kim Sang-hyun has made such a request, although Qian Tiandun pushed it back every time. However, he still hoped as always that he could make the Haihan people change their minds through his repeated persuasion.
"The time has not yet come." Qian Tiandun's reply to Kim Sang-heon also repeated the old saying: "We hope to launch operations after the main force of the Qing army arrives at the Datong River. By then, the length of the Qing army's front in your country will have exceeded four There are a lot of loopholes to catch in Baili, and we can get the maximum results at the minimum cost, which is much more cost-effective than fighting the Qing army with high morale now."
"But... as long as the Qing army is in our country, the people will suffer one more day!" Jin Sangxian argued.
Qian Tiandun glanced at him, smiled and said: "But if we take action one day later, we will have one more day of preparation time and one more chance of defeating the Qing army. I believe that the result your country wants is not just to destroy the invaders." The Qing army is blocking the Ping An Road, but we must drive them out so that they can learn a profound lesson and give up their plans to invade your country again... If we want to achieve such a goal, we must endure for now. "
Kim Sang-hyun thought to himself that you are really stupid if I still believe you. You promised to block the Qing army in the Yalu River before, but in the end, you withdrew the fleet without saying a word and allowed the Qing army to cross the river into North Korea without blood. What time is it now? If he hasn't arrived yet, it's very likely that he's just prevaricating himself. But he did not dare to turn his back and question Qian Tiandun's statement. After all, the current war situation was extremely unfavorable to North Korea. If the Haihan people really stopped interfering, North Korea might not be able to survive this summer at the pace of the Qing army's advance. Therefore, even though Kim Sang-hyun was very critical of Qian Tiandun in his heart, he still had to make a friendly and courteous gesture on the surface and continue to ask Haihan for help.
Qian Tiandun can certainly feel Kim Sang-hyun's unconcealable resentment, but in the current situation, everything must be based on Haihan's interests. At this stage, North Korea can only serve as a victim to attract the firepower of the Qing army. Even if North Korea No matter how great the resentment between the government and the opposition, the Haihan Army would not choose to confront the Qing Army at this time.
"I have already finished what I need to say. Since Mr. Jin is so concerned about the battle situation on the front line, let me say it again. If your country wants to protect the country, in addition to using the lives of the three armies to try to delay the Qing army's march southward, there is also the need to step up local efforts. Only after this place is put into use can our army better defend the natural moat of Datong River. Whether it can block the Qing army’s offensive depends on the progress of the project here!”
Qian Tiandun repeatedly emphasized the importance of this military base. The purpose was to make North Korea devote all its efforts to speed up construction so that the Haihan Army could rely on this base to establish a defense line and block the Qing Army north of the Datong River.
At first, North Korea only promised to send hundreds of craftsmen and 3,000 civilians to assist Haihan in construction. However, after the invasion of the Qing army, the anxious Koreans realized that Haihan's military base might be the last life-saving straw. Let nearby Pyongyang and other places send more civilian workers to come here for construction work. As the Qing army moved southward, Kim Sang-hyun had ordered the entire Ping'an South Road to do their best to recruit civilians and rush to the mouth of the Datong River as soon as possible to participate in the project. According to statistics on the construction site, there are currently more than 3,000 Han refugees transported from Liaodong and more than 4,000 Korean civilians who came from nearby to participate in the construction of the project. At least 3,000 Korean civilians are still being recruited and on their way to the project. There are still more than 4,000 people, and the number of workers on the construction site is expected to exceed 10,000 in the near future.
For this reason, Haihan specially transported a large number of labor tools from the two colonies of Shandong and Liaodong in advance to ensure that the project could proceed smoothly. As for the supply of logistical materials, they are provided by North Korea. For this purpose, Pyongyang City has opened an official warehouse and transported more than 60 ships totaling 150,000 kilograms of snacks to the Datong River Estuary. For the local government, which is not wealthy, this can be regarded as a huge investment.
(End of chapter)