Chapter 1824 stops here
The parties that formed the coalition participated in this war for different purposes. Portugal and Annan mainly wanted to obtain trade treatment from North Korea and expand their commercial routes to the Yellow Sea. The Fujian Navy, which had long been allowed to enter this area, not only wanted to obtain the trade rights of North Korea, but also had an important purpose of training troops.
Because it was too sensitive to send troops in collaboration with Haihan without authorization, the Fujian Navy did not even plan to declare military exploits to the Ming court. After all, for Xu Xinsu, who was not short of money and did not want to be transferred out of Fujian, the reward from the court was not of much significance. It has practical significance. With the example of Haihan in front of him, Xu Xinsu believed that building a strong local army would be more practical for the Xu family to ensure its long-term prosperity. Therefore, even if sending troops to join the war in North Korea would cost a lot, Xu Xinsu still firmly chose to join the coalition organized by Haihan.
As the commander of the Fujian Navy, Xu Yuzhuo also implemented this idea. Every action after arriving in Liaodong was to actively ask Wang Tom for a fight. The Fujian Navy's status as a Ming army did make it easier for them to carry out operations in North Korea, so they gained Wang Tom's full trust and sent them out alone to perform combat missions.
After returning to the Datong River defense line, the Fujian Navy was also the first fleet to launch as a surface force. This made Xu Yuzhuo quite proud. He believed that the Fujian Navy's performance in the Datong River and Qingchuan River was indeed recognized by the Haihan people. Through the actions during this period, Xu Yuzhuo also realized that although the Qing army was good at land warfare, it immediately became weak when it encountered water. As long as it was active on the river, the Fujian navy did not have to worry about the Qing army creating too much trouble for itself. trouble.
Compared with surface forces, the independent regiments and Marine Corps responsible for defending the land defense line are under much greater pressure. Before the coalition fleet returned from the north, the independent regiment had already begun practicing various tactics on the defense line in order to exert its full combat effectiveness in the battle. The Marines who had just returned to the Datong River base with the fleet also marched to the defensive positions immediately after landing. They needed to become familiar with the defense area they were responsible for - the river banks on the east and west sides of the base - as soon as possible.
Although the terrain of the base surrounded by water on three sides is very favorable for building a defense line, the Army still has many dissatisfaction with the temporary defenses. It can only make up for the shortcomings of the defenses by increasing the deployment of troops. Fortunately, thousands of migrant workers worked day and night, and the overall project was completed before the Qing army arrived.
After the Qing army occupied Anzhou, they spent an extra day to rest and reorganize their troops before setting off to continue their march south. The next target of the Qing army is very clear, which is Pyongyang City, located more than a hundred miles south of Anzhou.
In this era, Pyongyang City was the capital of Pyongan Province in northern North Korea and an important town near the west coast of North Korea. However, during the Ding Mao Rebellion in 1627, Pyongyang City was captured by the then Jin army. A large number of people were kidnapped as slaves and the city was also destroyed. Extremely serious damage. Although the city defenses have been repaired in recent years and many special policies have been given to the local area to restore social production, it has still not been able to return to the level before the war.
According to the original historical trajectory, this city would be captured by the Qing army again during the Bingzi Rebellion in 1636. However, due to the intervention of Haihan in this time and space, the historical development process was changed to a certain extent. The Qing army's invasion of North Korea was delayed by more than a year, and the speed of its advance to the south was also greatly affected. It took two months to Advancing to Pyongyang, Pyang City is located on the bank of the Datong River and is divided into two parts, south and north. However, the North Korean army does not have much confidence in defending the city, and the Haihan Army does not intend to transfer its army troops to Pyongyang. To assist in defense, Haihan simply suggested that North Korea abandon the defense of Jiangbei City and directly retreat to the south bank to defend the river. After North Korea learned about Haihan's battle plan, they agreed to the plan and moved all the personnel and materials on the north bank to the south bank, leaving only an empty city area for the Qing army.
The cavalry troops of the Qing Army's Pioneer Battalion rushed outside Pyongyang City after setting off from Anzhou. However, the bellicose Qing Army was not frightened by the empty city strategy and sent a small group of troops to test the area near the city wall. When there was no response, they decisively separated more than a hundred people from their horses, threw them to the top of the city with grappling hooks, and then climbed up. Soon the Qing army determined that there were no defenders in the city. To be precise, the Koreans had abandoned the city, and the city was deserted, leaving nothing of value to the Qing army.
The generals of the Pioneer Battalion were a little dumbfounded when they saw this situation. Since entering North Korea, although the opponent's combat power is not strong, they have not given up a city so directly. Especially when they attacked Anzhou City a few days ago, the Qing army really struggled to capture the place. The Pyongyang City's defenses were more solid than those of Anzhou City. The defenders actually chose to retreat without fighting. It was really shocking. A surprising approach.
When Huang Taiji received the news from the front line, he could not understand the true intention of the North Korean defenders' move. The only reasonable explanation seemed to be the chain reaction caused by the Haihan people's cancellation of military aid, which caused the defeat after defeat. The North Korean army voluntarily gave up half of Pyongyang. As for where the defenders will retreat, it is obvious. The Datong River that lies in front of the Qing army does not seem to be a natural chasm that can be passed within a day or two.
The Pioneer Battalion did not organize a forced crossing on the spot, because there were no ships visible near the north shore, and all surface vehicles had been cleared by the authorities and sent to the south shore. If the Qing army wanted to cross the river quickly, they would probably have to go to the city and dismantle door panels to make rafts. However, after discovering the shadowy sails on the other side of the river, the generals of the Pioneer Battalion decisively gave up this unrealistic tactic. With the experience of the previous two battles with enemy fleets on the river, the Qing army knew very well that forcing a river crossing at this time would only lead to death in vain.
One day later, the main force of the Qing army arrived in Pyongyang one after another. They did not encounter any armed resistance on the way. To be precise, in the more than one hundred miles from Anzhou to Pyongyang, the Qing army did not even see a single living person. North Korea very resolutely implemented the tactics of fortifying the wall and clearing the field in this area. This approach made many Qing generals feel a little chill.
In the invasion of North Korea ten years ago, the Jin army at that time also attacked Pyongyang City with overwhelming momentum. However, the defenders did not abandon the city directly, but defended it for four days and three nights. Declare the fall. This time, the North Koreans had obviously much more time to deploy defensive measures than ten years ago, but the other side decisively chose to abandon the city. This is weird no matter how you look at it.
After Huang Taiji arrived in Seoul, he did not immediately start crossing the river. Instead, he first deployed cavalry to conduct reconnaissance along the river bank upstream and downstream to find a suitable crossing point, and then convened a meeting with his civil and military officials to discuss countermeasures.
In land operations, it can be said that the Qing army is not afraid of any opponent except the Han army at sea. Even the Portuguese army, which was also equipped with muskets in batches, suffered moderate losses when confronting the Qing army in Liaodong. But if the battlefield is moved to the water, in any environment such as rivers, lakes and seas, the equipment disadvantages of the Qing army will be infinitely magnified, leaving them with no ability to fight against the opponent's armed fleet.
The opponents grasped this shortcoming of the Qing army very accurately, so they were blocked by Jiang He several times during the invasion of North Korea. But now this situation has occurred again. The natural chasm of Datong River is lying in front of them. If it drags on here for another month, even if the casualties are ignored, it will cost a lot of materials for the Qing army. Nowadays, the Qing army's material transportation in North Korea is all by land. It is hundreds of miles from the Yalu River to the current location. Every additional day of delay in combat operations will increase the pressure on logistics.
Although the Qing army had strong land mobility, in an environment where North Korea consciously implemented the tactics of fortifying walls and clearing fields, it had to rely more on its own logistical supplies. The daily supplies and combat equipment required by tens of thousands of people were a great test for logistics, and the Qing army's capabilities in this area were not yet professional. The combat meeting held by Huang Taiji did not discuss any clever strategies. They could only adopt a cautious strategy first and wait to confirm the defense strength on the river before making any plans.
The preliminary reconnaissance results made Huang Taiji feel even lower. There were obviously a large number of large warships on the other side, and he obviously did not intend to abandon the Datong River as well. If you want to cross the river here, you will inevitably pay a considerable price in casualties. What's more, North Korea had cleared the nearby river banks in advance, and the Qing army simply could not get enough vehicles to complete a large-scale crossing operation in a short period of time.
If the invasion of North Korea can be re-planned, Huang Taiji may reconsider the trouble caused by Haihan's intervention in the war, and even re-plan a march route closer to the inland, even if it has to pass through numerous mountainous areas. It would be much better than dragging along the river for more than half a month.
But now it seems that it is too late to re-plan the march route and bypass the armed blockade on the Datong River. Tens of thousands of Qing troops have to enter the inland mountainous areas and detour hundreds of miles to avoid the Datong River basin. Firstly, it is time-consuming and laborious. Secondly, It would have a great impact on morale, and Huang Taiji did not want his personal expedition to turn into a farce of hide-and-seek with the Haihan army. If possible, he certainly hopes to defeat the Haihan people on the frontal battlefield to prove that the Qing army is the most powerful armed force in the region.
The Qing army spent the next two days conducting reconnaissance on the upper and lower reaches of the Datong River, but the results were not optimistic at all. On the river dozens of miles upstream of Pyongyang, the Qing army's reconnaissance cavalry saw the Ming army fleet cruising on the river. The conspicuous "Xu" flag on the mast indicated that this fleet was the fleet that had been stopped in Anzhou. The naval force of the Qing army for more than half a month.
The scouts who went downstream along the river bank discovered a new town a hundred miles away. But this place is a blank on the map of North Korea. In theory, there should be no city. But now you can see the smoke from cooking stoves, densely packed houses, and docks on the river bank. But when the scouts tried to get closer, they discovered that this so-called "town" was not that ordinary. Not only was there a defensive zone built with iron nets to block horses, but trenches and forts could also be seen faintly taking shape. Although this place has no city walls, it is obviously a large armed stronghold.
The Qing generals were also puzzled as to why the city of Pyongyang was directly abandoned by the Koreans, but an armed stronghold with a large population apparently appeared in the lower reaches of the Datong River. But according to the reconnaissance results, this is probably the only place on the north bank of the Datong River that is still inhabited.
There is a theory that the Koreans may have internal divisions of opinion, just like what happened in Anzhou. Some people want to withdraw from the battlefield, while others intend to fight the Qing army to the death, so Pyongyang emerged. The city was empty but a new stronghold was built downstream.
Naturally, there are many unreasonable aspects of this idea, but judging from the current situation of the Qing army, this seems to be a more likely situation.
It is not that no one thought that that place might be related to the Haihan people who had claimed to withdraw from the Korean battlefield, but the information the scouts could provide was too little, and there were no details to connect this place with Haihan. In addition, most people are subconsciously unwilling to accept the reality that the Haihan people are still in North Korea, and are not even willing to consider this direction.
So in the absence of detailed information, Huang Taiji allocated 5,000 soldiers and horses to Azige's command and asked him to go downstream to find out.
In order to avoid being detected by the enemy, Azig deliberately stayed away from the river bank when he led his troops south, and arrived at the north side of the Datong River base a day and a half later.
After all, Azig was a general who had commanded many large-scale battles. After observing from a distance, he found that the environment in this place was somewhat unusual. Between the two water veins that flow into the Datong River in the east and west, there is an area surrounded by water on three sides. And where this area is connected to the inland, a weird and winding defense line has been built.
The outermost perimeter of this line of defense is an artificially dug trench, followed by various fortifications. Azig had a long-term confrontation with the Haihan army in the Jinzhou Isthmus, and he could already identify these fortifications with obvious traces of the Haihan army at first sight.
"Why are they from Haihan again!" Azig suddenly became depressed. Didn’t the intelligence say that the Haihan people had given up military aid to North Korea, so how could they quietly build such an armed stronghold on the bank of the Datong River? Could it be that it was rumored that North Korea gave a piece of land to the Haihan people to use as a military base, and it was at this place ?
Seeing this line of defense reminded Azig of his days in Jinzhou. He really didn't want to deal with the Haihan people on the battlefield. Even if the defense line here looked very crude, it still seemed to Azig to be full of dangers. .
(End of chapter)