Chapter 1866 If you fall behind, you will be beaten
For King Li Zhu, he actually didn't mind sending his son to Haihan to study abroad. After all, this would be of great benefit to his personal growth and national development. However, although his two sons have their own merits, they cannot be sent out together due to objective environmental reasons, so they can only choose one of them. The palms and backs of his hands were full of flesh. He was always indecisive about who to give away and who to keep.
But Li Hao's hesitation inevitably gave rise to other interpretations for the ministers, especially senior officials like Kim Sang-heon who had already chosen the crown prince. At first, they naturally hoped that the king would send the second son Li Hao to study abroad. Let the crown prince stay in the country to assist the government in order to reduce the level of competition between the two princes and consolidate the crown prince's political status.
Jin Sangxian knew very well that the second prince Li Hao was also supported by a group of officials headed by Cui Mingji. These officials did not necessarily want to provoke the brothers to compete for the right to inherit the throne. Most of them were just a long-term political investment. But if the situation in the palace really changes and Lord Fenglin has the opportunity to replace him, these officials will probably start to make moves.
Privately, Kim Sang-hyun does not want his favored crown prince to be challenged by competitors in the future, and publicly, he does not want future turmoil in North Korea due to the next generation of rulers competing for succession rights. But after a period of in-depth contact with Hae Han, Kim Sang Heon also wavered in his previous thoughts, that is, whether sending the second prince Li Hao to study abroad would really help consolidate the crown prince's status.
It can be seen from the fact that the military is very active in operating officers to study abroad. Gold plating in Haihan has become a shortcut for some people to seek rapid promotion. Many people on the study abroad list have backgrounds that cannot be ignored. And if a prince is sent to study in Sanya, he will spend the next period of time getting along with these young officers who have high hopes from North Korea. It will not be difficult to unite these people around him as long as he is a little careful.
Then the question arises. The key officers of this new army built with North Korea's resources will almost all be sent to Haihan to study abroad. If there is a dispute over the selection of the successor to the throne in a few years, the officers will definitely be more inclined to this person. A prince who went to Haihan to study abroad and shared the same experiences and thoughts with them. If the prince obtains the support of the new army, it is almost equivalent to receiving the endorsement of the military, which will undoubtedly have a great advantage in the future battle for the throne.
Although North Korea is a civilian-run military system, the disadvantages of low combat effectiveness of the military caused by this seemingly stable system have been gradually exposed in wars over the years. One of the purposes of the king's creation of a new army is also to gradually change this The current situation, so the new army will be directly loyal to the king in the future and will not be controlled by Bingcao Yamen. In this way, this armed force has become an independent and special existence. If the new army chooses to support a certain heir to the throne, it is very likely to cause violent turmoil in North Korea's political situation before and after the handover of the throne.
If the second prince Li Hao is sent to study in Haihan, and then recruits the key officers of the New Army during this period, the situation a few years later makes Kim Sang-hyun shudder when he thinks about it - by then the second prince has learned weapons from Haihan The manufacturing technology, coupled with the combat power of the new army, and the dedication of some officials in the court, this combination is definitely unparalleled in North Korea. As for which side the Haihan people will take when the time comes, it is self-evident.
Although these situations are currently just Kim Sang-heon's imagination and speculation, they are indeed situations that are very likely to happen in the future. Therefore, Kim Sang-hyun does not dare to give advice to the king on which prince to send to study abroad. If this step goes wrong, the development of North Korea's domestic situation in the next few years will most likely be irreversibly affected.
The matter was so important that Kim Sang-hyun did not dare to make a public statement on this issue easily, and he did not want the two princes to be too active in this matter to avoid being taken advantage of by the Haihan people. But judging from the current situation, the two brothers Li Hao and Li Hao almost had the words "I want to study abroad" written directly on their faces. The Haihan people were also very happy about this, so they arranged a series of The activities allowed the two brothers to stay at the Datongjiang base for a few more days. Although Jin Sangxian knew that the motives of the Haihan people were impure, he also knew that his opposition was useless and he could only stay as a guest.
Haihan's next arrangements for the two North Korean princes were mainly to visit local military training. After the competition, what interested the two princes was the daily training of Haihan's army.
Compared with the Korean army, the Haihan army's organization, tactics, weapons and equipment, training content, etc. are all very different. The Li brothers are also curious about such an armed force that can defeat the Qing army in a foreign environment. How to train soldiers on a daily basis. But this kind of thing is definitely considered a military secret for a country. If Haihan hadn't taken the initiative to invite it, they would probably have had a hard time seeing it.
The combat effectiveness of the Haihan Army is a topic that everyone talks about regardless of class in North Korea. It has even become more and more deified after various disseminations, beyond the scope of normal praise. But to be honest, no matter how exaggerated the folk rumors are about the Haihan Army, they are not as impactful as seeing them with your own eyes.
The next morning, Qian Tiandun specially selected a heavy infantry company from the independent regiment to demonstrate their standard combat methods to North Korean dignitaries on the exercise ground.
The reason why it is called a heavy infantry company does not mean that these soldiers are traditional heavy infantry wearing armor, but that this company-level combat unit is equipped with heavy weapons such as artillery. Although they are only two 85mm light field guns with the smallest caliber, their firepower output cannot be ignored.
"If we encounter the enemy in a wild environment, usually we will immediately assemble in platoon units to ensure the intensity of firepower output." Qian Tiandun pointed to the troops gathering on the training ground and said: "The infantry will cover the artillery and set up gun emplacements as soon as possible. If there is enough time, the soldiers will also try to build bunkers in front of the gun emplacements in order to protect the firepower points to the greatest extent.”
While listening to Qian Tiandun's explanation, the Li brothers watched with interest the Haihan soldiers forming formations for training. The soldiers formed a dense battle formation very skillfully, and then under the command of the officers, they began to fire in the direction of the imaginary enemy.
This firing immediately showed the difference from the collective shooting of the North Korean New Army during training the day before. Compared with the intensity of firepower output of Haihan, the level of the North Korean New Army was simply that of amateur players, and the difference in shooting frequency was really too big. Even people like the Li brothers with limited knowledge of military affairs can feel that this is not a troop of the same level at all.
Then two light field guns quickly joined the battle. The shells they fired had a much longer effective range than rifles. Although their power was limited, they were artillery equipped to company-level troops. Shen Jingzhen, the military judge who was watching, was envious of this. The number of field artillery in the Korean army was very small, and most of them were Fo Lang machine guns purchased from the Ming Dynasty and imitated by themselves. Their range and power were difficult to compare with the one displayed by Haihan. Light field artillery. Qian Tiandun continued: "With the combat effectiveness of this heavy infantry company, it is basically no problem to deal with cavalry with five times the strength or infantry with eight to ten times the strength in the wild environment. If it relies on a formed defense line Or fortifications are used for defensive warfare, and the proportion of combat power will be further increased.”
Qian Tiandun was not bragging when he said this. Haihan had repeatedly defeated the Qing army with less, especially in response to the cavalry charge that the Qing army was proud of. The Haihan army already had a A whole set of coping tactics. However, the Qing army had no good way to deal with infantry units such as the Haihan Army, which had extremely powerful firepower output. They often had to rely on their strength to fight hard. However, in the face of a fire net composed of rifles and artillery, even if it had a strong impact, The cavalry could only break down and sink into the sand.
Before this incident, the Li brothers had only seen descriptions of the Haihan Army's battles in memorials. Although the descriptions of gunfire and bullets were very vivid, they could not compare with the shock of seeing such combat scenes with their own eyes. Although the shooting direction of the Haihan Army was only a piece of earth slope a hundred feet away, in their eyes, they had automatically imagined the Qing Army's thousands of troops. Seeing that the dirt slope was covered with dust by gunfire, they couldn't help but feel excited. They secretly thought that if the Qing army was charging on the opposite side, they would have been beaten to the ground by this time.
Li Pu couldn't help but ask: "General Qian, how strong is the new army currently being trained here compared with this heavy infantry company?"
Qian Tiandun smiled and said: "Although the difference in strength is seven to eight times, if we meet in the wild, your country's two thousand new troops are unlikely to be able to defeat this heavy infantry without artillery." ”
Qian Tiandun did not answer Li Bo's question directly, but the answer he gave was very ruthless. After hearing this, Li Pu couldn't help but smile bitterly and asked: "Really don't even have half a chance?"
Qian Tiandun said: "Based on normal battle conditions, it is indeed difficult to have a chance. Unless the heavy infantry company has been affected by some reasons before and cannot exert its full combat effectiveness. For example, if it runs out of ammunition and food, and Or be ambushed or attacked in a certain environment, in which case there is definitely a chance.”
Li Bo was not pleased after hearing this answer. It was obvious that Qian Tiandun had a clear preference for the comparison of strength between the two sides. Even the new North Korean army with muskets was still difficult to match the combat effectiveness of the Haihan Army. Make a comparison.
Although Li Bo felt a little dissatisfied, he actually understood that Qian Tiandun was just telling the truth. It was not difficult to draw a conclusion just from the performance gap of the weapons and equipment between the two sides. In a head-on confrontation, the new North Korean army would not even be able to defeat the enemy. The combat distance is reduced to within the effective range of your own weapons.
Seeing Li Shu's unhappy expression, Qian Tiandun comforted him: "Your Majesty, in fact, your worries are unnecessary. Our two countries have become allies. The new army must be cooperating with our army when they go to the battlefield. How can there be a war?" Is it possible? With the equipment level of the new army, as long as it trains for another year and a half, it should be able to deal with the Qing army with comparable strength. "
These words finally made Li Pu feel a little better: "As long as we can defeat the Qing army, it will be cost-effective for our country to invest huge sums of money to build this new army! But I heard that the Qing army is also equipped with a lot of muskets and artillery, which is much better than ours." How is this new army?”
This issue is very important to North Korea. After all, the country's number one enemy is the Qing Dynasty, and sooner or later they will fight on the battlefield. Several other Koreans present also immediately pricked up their ears to hear Qian Tiandun's answer.
Qian Tiandun explained: "Most of the firearms equipped by the Qing army were brought to the Qing Dynasty by the rebels of the Ming Dynasty. Of course, they also brought with them the technology to make these weapons. But you can rest assured that the number of firearms equipped by the Qing army Very limited, and the performance is not as good as the weapons we provide to your country. And according to the information we have, their weapons manufacturing workshops mainly rely on Han craftsmen brought to Liaodong by the rebels. The production capacity of firearms is very limited. If it is comprehensive. Once the war begins, the production speed will soon be unable to keep up with the consumption. When your country's self-built arsenal is put into production, the equipment level will be able to crush the Qing army!"
Qian Tiandun's answer gave all the Koreans present a shot in the arm. What they were most worried about was that after receiving all-round military assistance from Haihan, what would they do if they still couldn't defeat the Qing army in the future?
However, the Li brothers received another hint from this: The technology of making weapons is indeed very important, and they must try to learn more advanced technology from Haihan!
Qian Tiandun added: "Your country couldn't defeat the Qing army on the battlefield before. The main reason is its backwardness. It has backward weapons, backward training, and backward tactics. This is reflected in its backward combat effectiveness on the battlefield. If you fall behind, you can only be beaten." , this truth is applicable to all countries. Your country is choosing the right direction now. If you want to be independent, you must first have a strong army. To build a strong army, you must first solve the problems of equipment and training. As an ally, our country must first solve the problem of equipment and training. We will provide assistance to your country to the greatest extent possible, but to what extent your country’s military combat effectiveness can be improved depends on your country’s investment.”
Li Ming said: "These two thousand new troops are the fire. In the future, new troops ten times or a hundred times this size will appear to gradually replace the old troops... General Qian, our Korean army will definitely make a northern expedition to the Yalu River one day!" ”
"Have ambition!" Wang Tom lost no time in expressing his appreciation for Li Bo's heroic words. Of course, he would not say that with North Korea's current national strength, it would be extremely difficult to maintain a new army of 20,000 people. The Northern Expedition and other things will probably be over in the next few years. I can only dream about this subject. Although the Qing army suffered an ugly defeat in its attack on North Korea this time, the skinny camels were larger than horses, and their combat effectiveness was still considerable. If the North Korean New Army were to fight alone against the Qing Army in the future, it would probably have to be a fight if the troops were evenly matched. Once there was a serious imbalance in the balance of forces, the North Korean New Army would not be able to achieve a record of defeating more with less.
(End of chapter)