Chapter 2350
Tom Wang did not despise the caution shown by the North Koreans in this matter. After all, this country had always struggled to survive in the cracks in the past. Almost all its neighbors had overwhelming military superiority over it, and it was almost defeated by foreign enemies several times. Destroy the country. It will indeed take some time for him to change his mind and straighten his back, or even take the initiative to settle old scores with his old rivals.
However, from another perspective, this is not necessarily a bad thing. North Korea’s own lack of strength and self-confidence makes it rely more on Haihan’s support and assistance. This of course also makes it easier for Haihan to maintain a large enough influence in North Korea. .
After Wang Tom explained the issues that needed to be answered, he planned to leave Ganghwa Island as soon as possible. As for the handover of Japanese prisoners, he could not take these people on the road, so he insisted on letting Shen Jingzhen arrange to send them to the Daedong River base.
Shen Jingzhen was very smart and prepared some rice, noodles, vegetables and fruits on Ganghwa Island in advance as supplies to Wang Tom's fleet. Although the quantity is not too large, there are not many local products on Ganghwa Island. It is obvious that many things were shipped from Seoul, and it seems that some thought was put into them.
However, Tom Wang could also imagine that an old fox like Shen Jingzhen would not show off his courtesy for nothing. He would go to great lengths to flatter this person. This was probably because he wanted something for himself.
As expected, Shen Jingzhen soon took the initiative to ask Wang Tom, hoping that his son Shen Xueyi could also move with the Haihan fleet.
"Master Shen, I remember that your son should have just returned from a mission in Japan. Aren't you going to let him go home to rest for a few days? And you don't even know where we are going and what we are going to do, so you are so relieved to let him go." Will my son follow us?" Wang Tom was a little dumbfounded when he heard Shen Jingzhen's request. He originally thought that Shen Jingzhen wanted to win Haihan's support to consolidate or even improve his status in the court, but he didn't expect that the old fox had laid so much ground. The result was an attempt to pave the way for his son.
In the earlier coup that took place in Seoul, Shen Jingzhen was the only high-ranking official who stayed completely out of the matter. Therefore, after Li Zhen came to the throne, he also had special trust in him and handed over the cleansing and reconstruction of the army to Shen Jingzhen.
Although his official career was smooth sailing, Shen Jingzhen actually still had regrets. Last year, he did not let his son Shen Xueyi go to Haihan to study with his crown prince Li Xie, thus losing the opportunity to become the king's direct henchman. In the process of rebuilding the army, he could not give Shen Xueyi too much special care to avoid being accused of nepotism.
After repeated consideration, Shen Jingzhen believed that the most appropriate way for his son to ascend to the throne was to win Haihan's recognition and support. In the previous battle of the Kaihan Army against the Hirado Domain, Shen Xueyi had participated in the reconnaissance phase of the operation, and he was already familiar with General Kaihan. Next, as long as he strives for more opportunities to cooperate with Haihanjun, these qualifications will surely become the capital for Shen Xueyi's future promotion in the officialdom.
In this operation by North Korea to attack the Five Islands, Shen Xueyi was the military attache who went to the front line to supervise the battle on behalf of the imperial court. This was originally a good opportunity for Shen Xueyi to obtain military exploits, but due to various considerations, North Korea discounted the action goals set by Haihan during execution, and the results obtained were not so satisfactory to Haihan, so Shen Jingzhen planned to use other methods. way to remedy.
Just as news came from the Datong River, another fleet of the Haihan Army was about to set off southward, and it was not a routine move southward to change defenses, but to carry out a secret military mission. Shen Jingzhen believed that this was an opportunity. If his son could follow the Haihan Army to gain experience, learn skills, and get closer to General Haihan, it would be of great benefit to Shen Xueyi's future career development.
Shen Jingzhen responded: "I can learn some real skills from General Wang. No one can ask for this kind of opportunity. How can I miss it easily? I just hope that the general will not dislike the stupid dog."
According to the military cooperation agreement reached between the two countries, observers can be sent to each other to participate in military operations initiated by the other party. This approach has also been well implemented in past cooperation. Whether North Korean officers came to observe and study in Haihan's army, or Haihan sent people to serve as military advisers in the North Korean army, the purpose was to enhance Haihan's influence in the Korean army, and quite good results were achieved.
Since this has become a tacitly feasible approach for both parties, it is reasonable for Shen Jingzhen to make such a request. Naturally, it would be inconvenient for Wang Tom to refuse without special reasons. What's more, Shen Xueyi has a special status. If he can become a senior official of the pro-Haihan faction, it will also affect Shen Jingzhen's future stance. Wang Tom will definitely be happy to see it happen.
Wang Tom nodded, and Shen Jingzhen immediately called Shen Xueyi in. It seemed that he had already prepared for this. Wang Tom didn't say anything when he saw this, so he asked Shen Xueyi if he could set off immediately.
Shen Xueyi clasped his fists and cupped his hands and said: "The general has an order, how dare I disobey it? Then I will board the ship and go to sea with the general!"
Since the Shen family and his son had made plans in advance, they must have prepared luggage for Shen Xueyi. Wang Tom deliberately asked this, it was just a matter of routine.
Wang Tom immediately announced verbally that Shen Xueyi would join the fleet as a military observer. Although this operation was kept secret during the preparation period, once the fleet returns from its mission, it will automatically leave the confidentiality period. Allowing Shen Xueyi to temporarily join the fleet as a military observer will not have an impact on the next mission to be performed.
The fleet slowly left the port of Ganghwa Island and began to continue sailing south. Along the way, it passed through Chungcheongnam-do, Jeollabuk-do, Jeollanam-do, and entered the Jeju Strait.
This place is no longer unfamiliar to both the Haihan Fleet and Shen Xueyi, who joined temporarily. Sailing four to five hundred miles southeast from here is the seat of the Hirado Domain of Japan.
Shen Xueyi can be considered a very patient person. After arriving all the way here, he finally asked Wang Tom about the next direction of the fleet.
"After crossing the Jeju Strait, we will go east. After reaching the sea off Japan, we will then travel northeast along the coastline." Wang Tom explained the upcoming voyage arrangements in simple language.
Shen Xueyi looked at the chart hanging on the bulkhead and asked with some uncertainty: "Then our destination is...Ezo Land?"
Tom Wang slowly shook his head and said: "Not necessarily... We should go to Ezochi. Maybe we will continue to go north after getting there."
Ezo is the ancient name of Hokkaido. At the end of the 16th century, the Matsumae clan established Fukuyama Castle there, making Ezo an area directly under the shogunate. It was basically the northern end of Japan's territory during this period.
Ezo is two thousand miles away from the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, separated by the entire Sea of Japan. For Shen Xueyi, it was just a geographical name. He never thought that one day he would go to such a remote place. Of course, he didn't quite understand why Haihan was interested in such a remote place. Shen Xueyi said: "I have heard that the Ezo land is very desolate. The Ainu people living there make a living by fishing and hunting. They make clothes from bird feathers and animal skins and live in thatched huts. Their life is very primitive. Why would General Wang plan to go there? Planting a place?”
Wang Tom said: "You don't understand what I mean. Ezochi is just a stop on our trip, not the final destination. And the reason why we go there is not to get anything from the local area, but to explore the unknown areas." An act of exploration.”
Shen Xueyi understood every word, but still didn't understand what Tom Wang meant. If it weren't for finding something precious, wouldn't it be necessary to send thousands of people across the sea to such a distant place?
Looking at his expression, Wang Tom knew that Shen Xueyi failed to understand the significance of this operation, and patiently explained to him: "The sea map you see is actually only a small part of the entire world. There are many unknowns in this world. The area is waiting for us to explore. North of Ezo, there is a very vast area with oceans, islands, land, and countless resources that currently have no real ownership. It depends on who has the ability to occupy these places in the future.”
After hearing this, Shen Xueyi finally understood what Tom Wang meant. Haihan wants to find areas that currently have no ownership and then claim them as his own. But those places are tens of thousands of miles away from Haihan Kingdom. Even if they are occupied, how to achieve effective rule and development is another question that Shen Xueyi can't figure out.
Of course, it was difficult for Wang Tom to explain Haihan's grand goal to him. After all, there was a huge gap in the understanding of the world between the two parties. It was unlikely that Shen Xueyi would understand Haihan's way of expanding his sphere of influence. But that doesn't matter, as long as he can realize Haihan's strength in navigation.
Shen Xueyi looked at the chart, thought about what Tom Wang had just said, and finally couldn't help but ask: "Then General Wang has never been there before? How was this chart drawn?"
Wang Tom smiled and said: "Our country has very powerful technology and can draw nautical charts all over the world, so no matter how far we go, there will be such charts as a reference for setting routes. Although I have never been to Xi'an It’s so far away from Yi Di, but with such a chart, you don’t have to worry about getting lost at sea.”
Shen Xueyi was stunned when he heard this. He actually didn't believe that Haihan had such powerful skills, but thinking about everything he had done since his contact with the Haihan Army, it seemed that Wang Tom's statement was all verified. He remembered that when he went to scout the Hirado Domain, he had seen the Haihan Army take out a detailed map of the area. Also earlier, when the Haihan Army sent troops to North Korea to fight against the Qing army, the maps they used seemed to be more detailed than the maps drawn by North Korea themselves.
Shen Xueyi then thought about it again. Haihan Kingdom is thousands of miles away from North Korea. If he didn't have extraordinary skills in navigation, how could he send his army to fight so far away from the mainland. Even if Wang Tom was bragging, those maps were not fake after all, which showed how powerful Haihan was in this regard.
Shen Xueyi asked again: "Since we are going to enter the offshore waters of Japan, will we have contact with the local people?"
Wang Tom shook his head and said: "We are not here to fight, and there is no need to have an armed conflict with Japan, so we will try our best to avoid trouble. Unless there is a need for supplies or to avoid wind and waves, we generally will not take the initiative to rely on Shore.”
After hearing this answer, Shen Xueyi was relieved, but also slightly disappointed. Although he basically confirmed that this fleet should not be on a combat mission before setting off from Ganghwa Island, it would be a good arrangement in his opinion if he could teach the Japanese a lesson along the way.
Tom Wang pointed at the map and said: "The place we are going to next is the Hirado Domain."
Shen Xueyi's face changed color slightly, and he thought to himself that this was because Wang Tom was dissatisfied with the Korean army's previous actions and wanted to verify the local situation in person.
Sure enough, Tom Wang continued: "Your previous operations only went to the Goto Islands, and you failed to collect enough information about the current situation of Hirado Island, so this trip will stop by to see the situation on Hirado Island."
Judging from the situation in which the Haihan Army burned down Hirado, it would be difficult to restore Hirado Port to its past state in just over half a year. It would take a long time just to replenish the local population. It was originally intended that the North Koreans would provide intelligence information about the local situation through the raid, but they never expected that the North Koreans would modify their action plan and did not go to Hirado at all. Naturally, it was difficult to confirm the local situation.
Since the North Koreans were unreliable, Wang Tom had no choice but to take action himself. It just so happened that we were going to pass by the Hirado Domain on this trip, so we might as well go and confirm the local situation with our own eyes, so we wouldn't have to worry about deviations in the process of collecting intelligence.
However, because there were more than a dozen slow-speed comprehensive supply ships in the fleet, it took another two days to reach the waters north of the Goto Islands.
The fleet sailed slowly less than ten miles away from Uku Island, the northernmost island of the Goto Islands. According to Shen Xueyi, the North Korean army had captured all the few residents on the island before, even if there were still some leaks on the island. Zhiyu should be similar to an uninhabited island.
Fifty miles east from Uku Island is Hirado Island. Wang Tom had no intention of deliberately hiding his whereabouts. The Hirado navy had been wiped out in the last operation and could not be rebuilt in such a short period of time. Therefore, no one in the offshore area should be able to threaten the safety of the fleet.
However, the supply ship was slow and not suitable for participating in reconnaissance operations. Wang Tom ordered four exploration-class warships to escort the supply ship to the northern waters. He personally led the flagship and two exploration-class warships to the Hirado Strait. , check out the local conditions.
Some small fishing boats could be seen on the sea near the shore in the strait. However, when these fishing boats discovered the figure of the Majestic-class battleship, they all fled desperately, fearing that they would be overtaken by this evil star.
(End of chapter)