Chapter 2338
In the military confrontation in the Golden State Isthmus in the past two years, most of the confrontations between the two sides were only sporadic battles at the patrol level. Scenes of armed conflicts of this scale have rarely occurred. The intensity of firepower displayed by Haihan's side in the battle seemed to be much greater than when Dongshan was used to make a fuss in the past.
There are many discerning people in the Qing army, and they will naturally notice this unusual performance. They soon realized that the Haihan Army had deployed more troops in Dongshan this time. Combined with the fact that the Haihan Army had recently suddenly increased its strength south of Daheishan. The intensity of patrols in the area prevented the Qing army from detecting the movements of the Jinzhou defense line. It is obvious what these actions mean.
"The Haihan people... want to have a big game before the heavy snow closes the mountains!" After listening to the report from his subordinates, Azig made a clearer judgment on the current situation.
Although there have been several snowfalls in the Liaodong Peninsula, the snow conditions are not bad and are far from making it difficult for infantry to move. If it enters the middle of winter, the snow in mountainous areas like Dongshan will be one or two feet thick, making it difficult for the army to station for a long time. Therefore, in previous years, when the Haihan army entered Dongshan before winter came, the Qing army would not have much trouble. In response, they knew that even if they could not drive the Haihan Army away, the Haihan Army would retreat on its own after a few more heavy snowfalls.
However, although the deployment of the Haihan Army this time was different from previous years, Azig judged that the east mountain direction was still a feint attack and deliberately pretended to be heavily stationed to attract attention, while the real main attack direction should be towards the Jinzhou Isthmus.
From a geographical point of view, the corresponding location of Dongshan is the Qing Army's East Camp at the foothills on the east side of Dahei Mountain, while the Jinzhou Isthmus is located to the west of Dongshan, and the corresponding location is exactly the Dahei Mountain area. Just like the Haihan army could not stay in Dongshan in the deep winter, the Qing army could not camp in the Dahei Mountains for the winter. After entering the deep winter, the large forces could only withdraw and garrison the east and west camps on both sides of the foothills of the Dahei Mountains.
On the hillside of Dahei Mountain facing the Jinzhou Isthmus, a large number of fortresses have been built in the past two years. Qing troops are stationed in them except in winter, which serve as the main line of defense to block the Haihan army from advancing northward. If the Haihan Army intends to invade Daheishan, then the period after winter and before heavy snow closes the mountains may be the only opportunity.
If the Haihan army can really seize this window to invade Daheishan and solve the supply problem of the garrison, it will be a big bad news for the Qing army. The entire defense line of the Qing army will be divided into east and west parts. Daheishan is like a wedge embedded in the middle, which will make it impossible for the Qing army to block the Haihan army in the Jinzhou area.
Of course, considering the harsh environment in which mountains are blocked by heavy snow for several months in winter, even when the Qing army evacuates Daheishan, it is still not easy for the Haihan army to occupy this area. How to obtain supplies is A big problem that is hard to solve. Daheishan is still about ten miles away from the Jinzhou Isthmus in the south, and the middle is all flat terrain with no undulations. If Haihan wants to provide supplies to Daheishan from the Jinzhou Isthmus after occupying this area, he will probably have to do it every time. It would take a large army to escort them.
Azig had not worried about the safety of Daheishan in winter before. The Qing army's camp was close at hand, and it was very difficult to supply the fortresses and garrisons in the mountains, not to mention the need to transport supplies to Daheishan from ten miles away. If the Haihan Army advances rashly, it is likely that they will be trapped in the mountain and find it difficult to escape.
It is precisely for this reason that the Haihan Army has indeed not made such a dangerous attempt before, but the situation this year seems to be a little different. Looking at the current posture, it seems that it is planning to make a breakthrough from the front of Daheishan.
Azig believes that this may be because Haihan has found some way to solve the winter supply problem, which is enough for them to risk launching a winter offensive towards Daheishan. Of course, if Haihan masters such a method, maintaining the current deployment in Dongshan will be no problem.
Moreover, Azig also thought of a possibility that Haihan would enter Daheishan after occupying Dongshan. In this way, he would actually have a supply route to Daheishan from both the Jinzhou Isthmus and Dongshan. The Qing army would implement this The difficulty of interception will naturally be doubled.
Of course, this may just be Haihan's deliberate bluff. In fact, the opponent does not have the necessary conditions to occupy Daheishan in winter. He just wants to make the Qing army uneasy and mobilize troops on a large scale during this period, thus consuming the Qing army's precious winter time. supplies.
Since the coastal areas of the Liaodong Peninsula have been repeatedly raided by Haihan troops in recent years, it has been difficult for the tens of thousands of Qing troops guarding the Daheishan defense line to obtain sufficient supplies nearby. Many supplies can only be transported by land from Shenyang, which is 700 miles away. The transportation costs Very expensive. The consumption rate of materials during wartime will be several times that of normal times, and transportation in winter is very difficult. Once a large-scale war breaks out, it will be a great test for the Qing army's material reserves. Even if Haihan failed to successfully occupy Daheishan, as long as the Qing army's supplies were consumed sufficiently, it would actually be the Qing army that suffered in the end.
What competes in battle is logistics, and Haihan's advantage in this aspect is also very obvious. Compared with the Qing army, it is obviously much easier for the Haihan army in the Jinzhou area to obtain supplies. Bulk supplies can be transported to Jinzhou by sea from both North Korea and Daming Shandong, and the transportation speed is much faster than that of the Qing army from Shipping from Shenyang is much faster.
However, the Qing army is currently unable to detect the movements of Haihan's army in the direction of the Jinzhou Isthmus. Therefore, Azig cannot judge the true intention of Haihan's actions, and it is difficult to make corresponding deployments.
"Pass me an order to have the troops besieging Dongshan withdraw first. Send two battalions from the Han Army Banner to cut off the enemy's attack route from Dongshan to Daheishan." Azig paused, and then added: "Immediately strengthen the attack on Jin Reconnaissance in the direction of the Isthmus of Zhouzhou, I want to know what the Haihan people are doing secretly!”
When the weather is clear and visibility is high, the outline of the Daheishan Mountains more than ten miles away can be seen from the city wall fortifications of the Jinzhou Isthmus. Similarly, the ten-mile-long defense line of the Jinzhou Isthmus Defense Line can be observed from the Daheishan Mountains. Fortification group. But no matter which side it is, if it wants to know the specific movements of its opponent, it must send reconnaissance personnel to the opponent's controlled area for observation and intelligence collection.
This is of course an extremely dangerous job. In order to keep their own defenses as secret as possible, both sides will send patrols to roam in the middle area. Of course, these patrols themselves also carry the task of detecting the enemy's situation. Once they find enemy personnel approaching, they will ruthlessly eliminate them. Incidents such as armed conflicts between patrol teams on both sides occur basically once or twice a month, and casualties are common.
Soldiers who can be selected into the patrol team to perform tasks must not only be proficient in riding skills and corresponding cavalry tactics, but also be familiar with the Liaodong wild environment, so as to ensure their survival rate in sudden battles.
Although this job is quite risky and can be said to be done with your head in the air, there are also many opportunities to gain military merit. Therefore, for those heroes who want to gain rapid promotion by accumulating military merit, striving to serve in the patrol team is considered a good option. shortcut. Those who are lucky may be able to become an officer based on merit and reward in just a few months. Of course, there are some special circumstances. For example, some people like to stay in the patrol team and perform various high-risk tasks. They are not necessarily seeking excitement, most of them have their own special reasons.
Zhu Chen is one of these special people. He was originally a soldier from Dongjiang Town, and his family had been eating military food for several generations. Although his surname is Huang, he actually has nothing to do with the Zhu family that is in power.
The last few generations of Zhu Chen's family have been military households guarding the border in Liaodong, and his father and two brothers were killed in battles with the Hou Jin Army in the past. It can be said that they have a hatred of the Manchus for annihilation. For Zhu Chen, whether he was on duty in Dongjiang Town or now transferred to Jinzhou to serve the Haihan people, as long as he could go into battle to kill the Tatars, which country he was loyal to was not that important.
Zhu Chen was known for his outstanding personal force when he was serving in Dongjiang Town. In just a few years after entering the army, he personally chopped off more than forty Tartar heads and became an officer by virtue of his military merit. Later, Dongjiang Town surrendered to Haihan. Shen Shikui, the governor of Pi Island, personally recommended Zhu Chen and others to the Haihan generals. He became the first batch of personnel from Dongjiang Town to be recruited to serve in the Haihan army.
However, Zhu Chen was not very interested in commanding operations from behind. The only thing he wanted to do was to go to the battlefield to fight the Qing army and use the heads of the Qing soldiers to commemorate his deceased relatives. The Haihan Army also followed the principle of making full use of people's talents and resources, and arranged Zhu Chen to be the reconnaissance cavalry that he was best at.
With rich combat experience and sophisticated equipment unique to the Haihan Army, Zhu Chen's enemy-killing efficiency has improved a lot compared to the Dongjiang Town period. Zhu Chen was able to overcome various difficulties and complete some extremely risky reconnaissance missions, thus gaining the trust of the generals and giving him many special permissions.
For example, in the reconnaissance team commanded by Zhu Chen, each person was selected by him from among the former Dongjiang Town personnel. This team can be assigned the best war horses and equipped with the best-performing new weapons. Zhu Chen also has the right to decide on his own action plan for various tasks he receives, without having to completely follow the instructions of the garrison headquarters.
In addition, the reconnaissance cavalry team led by Zhu Chen is also one of the very few troops in the Haihan Army that retains the practice of beheading to ask for credit. It is not so much to ask for credit, but it is Zhu Chen's personal hobby. However, the tree attracts the wind. It is said that the Qing army also placed a reward on Zhu Chen's head all year round. As Zhu Chen chopped off more and more heads, the reward offered by the Qing army also increased, from the initial fifty taels of silver to one now. Thousand taels.
But as of now, Zhu Chen's head is still on his neck. There are indeed many Qing soldiers who want to chop off his head to receive the reward, but most of them have already lost their heads.
When Chen Yixin summoned his commanders to hold a combat preparation meeting for Operation Snow, Zhu Chen was also one of the officers qualified to attend. Zhu Chen didn't have much idea about the rather complicated battle plan formulated by Generals Haihan. All he cared about was how big a role he could play in this plan, or how many opportunities he could have to fight with the Qing army. .
Azig guessed that Haihan's offensive was both virtual and real, but the reality was virtual and the virtual was real. There was a lot of room for change, but he never expected that all the actions of Haihan Army so far They were all just tactics to lure the enemy, and the entire movement in the Jinzhou direction was just a feint attack.
To make the feint more realistic, the Qing army must be put under enough pressure to block the area before the Jinzhou Isthmus and Daheishan, and shield the Qing army's information sources, which is also part of the feint.
Zhu Chen's understanding of this combat goal was very simple and crude, which was to kill every Qing army that appeared in this area and make this area completely a blind spot under the eyes of the Qing army.
This is already the third day that Zhu Chen has led his team to operate in this area. At this time, it has become inconvenient for the cavalry to move in the wild. Fortunately, the activity range is just outside the Jinzhou Isthmus defense line, and they can return to their home territory every day. When resting, there is no need to carry a large amount of supplies, and there is no need to worry about the supply of food, grass and ammunition.
Zhu Chen is not a conservative person, so in addition to the saber and hunting bow commonly used by cavalry, his war horse also has a seven-shot rifle that only the elite troops of the Haihan Army are qualified to equip. After he used this new weapon, he decisively realized the advancement of muskets in terms of combat performance. He also took the initiative to practice shooting for a period of time, and then changed his main battle weapon to a rifle, leaving only the sword and bow as a weapon. Reserved.
With this new weapon, Zhu Chen can save the time of chasing and fighting with his opponents and use the simplest way to make the final decision. In his opinion, as long as he can kill the Qing army in the fastest way, he doesn't need to care what kind of weapon is used. As for the heads of the Qing soldiers, whether they should be beheaded or not, there is nothing wrong with beheading them after being shot to death.
In view of last year's incident where the patrol was attacked by the Qing Army's musketeers, the patrol is now very careful when performing tasks and will try to avoid being too concentrated. Zhu Chen's team is no exception. According to the latest tactical arrangements, every patrol during the march There was always a distance of at least one foot between the riders. There is a rider on the left and right at the front and rear, keeping enough vigilance about the surrounding environment. If there is any disturbance, a signal will be sent out, and the team will deal with it together.
Zhu Chen sat on the horse and slowly chewed the fried noodles and army rations in his mouth. This was his lunch, and it was quite difficult to swallow. But the water in the portable kettle was already cold, and there was even a little bit of ice left in it. When you drink it, it will immediately feel cold from your throat to the soles of your feet. It feels really uncomfortable. Zhu Chen knew the importance of keeping his body warm in this outdoor environment, so only when he felt his mouth was dry, he would open the kettle and take a sip to avoid affecting his condition.
(End of chapter)