Chapter 2345
The people who originally lived in Jinzhou were moved to the interior of Liaodong during the Manchu occupation to prevent them from escaping to the Ming Dynasty by sea. Such measures have led to the decline of people's livelihood in this area, the desolation of fields, and the complete stagnation of social production. When the Haihan Army captured Jinzhou in 1635, there was basically no decent output here, and agricultural production could only be restarted from scratch.
Although after two or three years of hard work, Jinzhou has finally restored a certain social production capacity, many areas are still in a state of waste, and a considerable part of daily necessities, including food, still require external supplies.
After all the soldiers and civilians of Dongjiang Town were moved to Jinzhou, the local population was only tens of thousands. It was not easy to resettle thousands of impoverished refugees in such an environment and ensure that they could survive the winter safely. A simple thing. The resettlement measures used by the Ming Dynasty to relieve refugees by relying solely on Shimibu porridge were obviously not suitable for the social conditions under Haihan and the special environment of the Jinzhou area.
In addition to the basic needs for survival such as food, clothing, housing and transportation, there are also a lot of things in medical care, public security, education, work, etc. that require the government to take corresponding safeguard measures. This is a great test for the government's coordination and execution capabilities. . Without officials with rich operational experience like Liu Shang to take command and comprehensive support based on local garrison, it would be very difficult to resettle so many homeless refugees in the short term.
A large number of people quickly flowed into Jinzhou from the areas under the control of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, which means that the strength of both sides is ebbing and flowing. The increase or decrease in population will definitely amplify the effect through the gap in productivity. The situation in this region will soon be affected by the spring. Make a real impact.
Just when the Jinzhou authorities and the Manchu Qing Dynasty thought that this winter's confrontation was over, a battle suddenly started in the rear only forty or fifty miles away from the Qing army's Dahei Shandong Camp.
After Qian Tiandun and Wang Tom finished the mopping up operation in the Zhuanghe area, they originally planned to lead their troops back to the Datong River base for rest. However, when they counted the supplies, they found that not even half of the combat supplies prepared for this operation had been consumed. When they arrived, they still felt unwilling to just go back home.
So the two of them asked the troops to withdraw from the sea to Guanglu Island in the Changshan Islands, allowing the troops to rest on the island for a few days. At the same time, they also created the illusion for the Qing army to retreat on their own initiative, making them think that the Haihan Army had already Stopped moving on.
Of course, this kind of rest also has another purpose, which is to wait for the weather to improve. If the snowfall continues and the snow on the land is too thick, it will be difficult for the Haihan Army to carry out large-scale combat operations on the nearby coast.
The troops waited on Guanglu Island for seven days. Just when Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun were about to give up, the weather suddenly improved. Not only did the snowfall stop, but there was even a rare warm winter sun.
Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun had already determined their goals and formulated an action plan in these days. The target they chose was Dengshahe Town, which is located forty miles northeast of the Qing Army's East Camp.
The reason why this target was selected is that it is very close to Guanglu Island where the troops are currently hiding, and the straight-line distance is only more than 40 miles. Moreover, after sending a boat to investigate, it was found that the Dengsha River next to Dengsha River Town was not frozen and ships could still sail in. This saved the Haihan Army from having to march ten miles through the snow to reach their destination after landing on the coast. Instead, troop transports can be used directly to drop troops nearby.
Another reason is that the Qing army personnel captured during this operation confessed that there were many Manchus in Dengshahe Town, and many family members of the Qing army's front-line troops stationed in Daheishan settled near Dengshahe Town. In fact, this town was originally a settlement that was slowly formed in the past year or two due to the migration of a large number of Manchus. Therefore, the Haihan Army did not launch an attack on this place before this raid on the Liaodong coast.
Because of the external threat of the Haihan Army, there were not many Manchu settlements near the coast of the Liaodong Peninsula. If they could find such a target, Wang Qian would not let it go easily. The effect of attacking such a target will definitely be much greater than clearing out a town full of Han people, and it is very likely that valuable intelligence will be obtained from the operation.
On December 16, a fleet appeared at the mouth of the Dengsha River at dawn. After determining the river conditions, the fleet sailed into the river mouth and sailed upstream to the town of Dengsha River upstream.
The width of the lower reaches of the Dengsha River is less than one mile. After the fleet traveled a few miles, there were more and more ice floes on the river. To ensure safety, Gao Qiaonan ordered the ship to dock early and land.
The cavalry team took the lead to board the river bank through the erected springboard, and then the whole team quickly set off towards their destination. Their mission was to detect whether there were large Qing troops stationed in the area and to block the town's roads to the inland areas in advance.
According to the intelligence obtained previously, there were no heavy troops stationed in this town, so Takahashi Minami did not plan to transport big things like artillery ashore, and only invested one battalion of musketry infantry in the operation.
Before the people in the town were aware of it, the Haihan Army had arrived outside the town and formed an encirclement from the north, east, and south, leaving only the Dengsha River in the west. However, the river here is not completely frozen, so it is not easy to escape from the river to the west bank.
After confirming that all the ministries had arrived at the combat position, Takahashi Nan issued the order to attack. The Haihan Army in white cloaks slowly tightened the encirclement in the snow. It was not until they were only about a hundred feet away from the town that they were captured by the people in the town. After discovering it, there was an immediate uproar.
However, there were no fortifications built outside the town at all, so it was difficult to organize a decent defense in a hurry. Soon, twenty or thirty cavalry soldiers rushed out of the town from different directions in an attempt to break out, but what greeted them were rows of merciless bullets. In just a few breaths, these soldiers were all shot off their horses. No one could escape.
After realizing that the outside of the town had been surrounded by enemy troops, the people in the town decisively gave up their plans to break out and prepared to rely on various buildings in the town to resist foreign enemies. But no matter in terms of troops, weapons and equipment, or on-the-spot command, the Haihan Army had an absolute advantage. After entering the town, they quickly completed the cutting of the town, and then split up to encircle and suppress it.
The scattered and disorderly resistance had basically no chance in front of the whole team of musketeers. Most of them had already been shot when they showed off their weapons. For a while, gunfire continued in the town, and the smell of gunpowder and blood mixed together and enveloped the town. Covering the whole town. Takahashi Minami's request for this operation was a quick victory, and there was no provision for shooting the resisters, which meant that the soldiers could decide whether to fire based on the situation. Compared with trying to subdue the opponent, it is naturally more efficient to open fire and kill. Therefore, after entering the town, the Haihan army began to shoot one-sidedly.
During the entire snow-stepping operation, the resistance the Haihan Army encountered in Dengshahe Town was far more intense than that in other places. However, this was not enough to cause enough trouble for the Haihan Army. At most, it was just too much. It just took some time and ammunition. The number of people killed during the armed conflict also hit a new high since this operation.
About two hours after launching the offensive, the Haihan Army basically completed the cleanup of the town. During this period, about two hundred militants were wounded and killed. Of course, these wounded people will definitely not receive treatment from the Haihan Army, and what awaits them can only be a last-ditch attack after the battle.
During the fighting, a few people tried to escape to the west through the Dengsha River, but the nearby river was not completely frozen, and there was a lot of broken ice floating. Whether they wanted to step over the ice or swim up the unfrozen river, None of it is easy.
The Haihan Army did not stop this behavior, which was tantamount to suicide, and allowed these people to do whatever they wanted. Gao Qiaonan also wanted to let some people out and report the matter to the Qing army in Dongda Camp. This place is dozens of miles away from Dong Daying, separated by a river. By the time the reinforcements arrive after receiving the news, the Haihan Army will have already finished withdrawing.
According to the intelligence obtained, it was not difficult to find out during the subsequent census of the local people that the majority of the residents in this town were Manchus, which was exactly the opposite of the situation in the villages and towns that the Haihan Army had visited before. It is true that the Manchus living here are basically the family members of the Qing army. However, some prisoners were interrogated on the spot, and there was no mention of any local people with special status.
This result also made Takahashi Nan a little disappointed. He hoped to capture important figures such as Qing generals or their families here to obtain more valuable intelligence, but now it seems that this is obviously just a luxury wish. , those with status should not live in such a place without even fortifications.
The Haihan army captured about 600 people in this town, about three-fifths of them Manchus. Of course, Gao Qiaonan would not let these people go and ordered them to be escorted downstream to board the ship. After clearing the town, the Haihan army lit fires inside and outside the town, burning all the houses here.
When all the Haihan troops boarded the ships and evacuated to the sea, thick black smoke could still be seen rising from about ten miles away. This is not the first time that the Haihan Army has taken such destructive measures. In fact, the Haihan Army followed the same method and burned all the houses in all the villages and towns captured during Operation Snow. If the Manchu and Qing dynasties want to restore these settlements in the coming year, they will have to tear down all the ruins and rebuild them. This will definitely be a big trouble for the Manchu and Qing dynasties, which already have a serious shortage of manpower.
Gao Qiaonan believed that there was another reason why his superiors chose this place to take action. It was very close to the Qing army camp. Since the Haihan army could attack Dengshahe Town, it was naturally possible to launch an attack on the Qing army camp at any time. This can create more pressure on the Qing army, making it impossible for the other side to live peacefully this winter.
However, Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun were still not satisfied with the results of this operation. There was no organized Qing army musketry unit in Jinzhou. They believe this is because the pressure exerted by the feint attack in the direction of Kinshu is still not enough to force the Qing army to use their most powerful means - such as the weapons updates brought about by the advanced ordnance technology from the Hirado Domain of Japan. .
The military has been worried that the Hirado clan's ordnance technology will flow into the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, allowing the Manchu and Qing Dynasties to mass-produce standard weapons such as muskets and artillery in Liaodong, thereby training firearms troops that can truly pose a threat to the Haihan Army. However, judging from the current situation, it seems that there is still a lack of corresponding evidence to prove such speculation.
Of course, there is another possibility, that is, the Manchu Qing Dynasty deployed troops equipped with new weapons to another front to deal with the Ming army, which was already inferior in strength. The weapons sold by the Hirado Domain to the Manchu Qing Dynasty have obviously surpassed the Ming army in terms of combat performance. If they are installed in large quantities into the army, they are likely to have a dimensionality-reducing impact on the Ming army during battles, just like The Haihan army fought the same as the Qing army on the Korean battlefield.
If the latter situation is the case, it will be much easier for Haihan, and it may even prompt Daming to request Haihan for arms purchases. Then it will be a real big deal.
Just as the Haihan Army calculated, it was already the afternoon of the same day when Azig received news of the attack on Dengshahe Town in Dongda Camp. Hearing that the Haihan Army had landed in the area in large numbers, Azig did not dare to hastily send troops to support the area. After all, there had been many cases like this before where the Haihan Army had set up ambushes and encirclement points for reinforcements. If he rashly sent an army, The cavalry rushes to rescue them, but they may fall into the opponent's trap again.
By the time the Qing army confirmed that the Haihan army had evacuated and burned all the buildings in Dengshahe Town before leaving, it was already that night. At this time, the fleet of the Haihan Army had been divided into two groups. The fleet carrying the special battle group was on its way back to the Datong River base, and another fleet was sending the personnel captured here to the port of Dalian Bay.
Azig, who was enjoying dinner, was so angry that he threw his bowl on the spot after receiving the final confirmation. The attack on Dengshahe Town was not only a provocation to the Qing army, but also hundreds of Manchus captured in that town. They are family members of the Qing army. If this news spreads among the army, it will definitely affect morale greatly.
Moreover, a landing attack was carried out by the Haihan Army so close to Dongdaying. This was comparable to the last winter when the Haihan Army lurked near Dongdaying and attacked the Qing Army's musketeers.
The Haihan Army repeatedly carried out attacks on the Liaodong coast by sending troops from sea to land, and succeeded almost every time. This has become a major problem that the Qing army cannot avoid and cannot solve. The Qing army currently does not have warships and surface troops to prevent the Haihan Army from approaching the Liaodong coast, nor can it deploy enough troops along the hundreds of miles of coastline to resist the Haihan Army's attacks. The effect of moving inland has become very limited.
Although there are thousands of miles of mountains stretching hundreds of miles between the coast of Liaodong and the center of Manchu power, these small actions of the Haihan Army will not threaten the rule of the Manchu, and they will not even damage the bones. This kind of ongoing trouble will indeed make the Manchus very uncomfortable.
(End of chapter)