Chapter 2351
It has been more than half a year since the Kaihan Fleet last blocked the Hirado Strait, but the people here have obviously not forgotten these enemies who almost razed Hirado Port to the ground. As soon as the fishermen saw the majesty-class warship approaching from a distance, they recognized the identity of the visitor and immediately fled to the nearby coast as fast as possible.
Of course, these fishing boats will not make the Haihan Navy fearful. Even if the fishermen escape back to the shore to warn, there is nothing the locals can do to prevent these warships from traveling freely in the strait. After sailing into the strait, Wang Tom ordered the ship to slow down in order to better observe the situation on Hirado Island.
Wang Tom is no stranger to the landforms and sea conditions here in the Hirado Strait. When the Haihan Army attacked Hirado in the first half of the year, he personally led the fleet to perform combat missions here. In the field of view of the telescope, every section of the coast on the east coast of Hirado Island is clearly visible. If there are large ships such as warships docked here, then such a search will definitely be impossible to avoid.
Moreover, Haihan's observation direction was not only on Hirado Island, but also on the coast of Kyushu Island on the other side of the strait. In order to ensure that nothing was missed, Wang Tom even sent a boat to explore the west coast of Hirado Island to ensure that the two waters of Boxiang Bay and Furujiang Bay where the Hirado Navy once roamed would not be missed.
Of course, the focus of this trip is still Hirado Port and the urban areas adjacent to it. In the battle in the first half of the year, the Haihan army captured the port and the city, shipped everything they could take away, and then set fire to almost all the buildings in the city and port.
In the past, the Hirado clan was able to develop in terms of military strength and even dared to challenge Bankaihan, mainly relying on the massive wealth brought by the transnational trade platform of Hirado Port. However, the actions of the Kaihan army completely destroyed Hirado Port. Naturally, this makes the trading activities here unsustainable.
After being destroyed by the war, Hirado Port could not continue to operate cross-border trade, which directly caused the Hirado clan to lose considerable economic benefits. It became extremely difficult for the Tagawa family to make a comeback. The scene observed by the Haihan Army from near the shore also confirmed this speculation.
The harbor of Hirado Port is empty, and there are no merchant ships from all over the world moored as before. The burned-down dock warehouses are still just ruins, with no signs of reconstruction. Although the city in the distance is not clearly visible, since even the port has not been rebuilt, other places must not be much better.
Tom Wang put down the telescope in his hand, turned to the side and asked: "Shen Xueyi, I am going to give you a task, are you willing to take it?"
Shen Xueyi guessed Wang Tom's intention in advance and immediately responded: "I would like to lead a team ashore to investigate!"
Wang Tom was very satisfied with Shen Xueyi's initiative to ask for battle. He nodded and said: "Okay, I will send a platoon to give you command and go ashore to check the situation in the city. Don't go too far inland, just confirm the reconstruction status of the city. At noon Return to the port before returning to life.”
The Marine Corps under Wang Tom is an elite unit of the Haihan Army. Of course, there is no need for a North Korean officer to command the operation. This is not so much giving the operational command to Shen Xueyi, but more like sending a team of people to protect him. personal safety. After all, Shen Xueyi's identity is not an ordinary North Korean officer, and Wang Tom doesn't want him to have any accidents during this trip.
But arranging Shen Xueyi to participate in such an operation that is not too risky, on the one hand, allows Shen Xueyi to see how the elites of the Haihan Army perform reconnaissance missions, and on the other hand, it is also intended to show trust in Shen Xueyi, so that he can better Integrate into the Haihan Army.
In addition, Shen Xueyi followed him out on this trip. If Wang Tom really treats him as a military observer and is only responsible for observing and not participating in the operation, then Shen Xueyi will not receive any achievements after he returns. It is better to arrange some low-risk tasks for him along the way to let him brush up. Once I gain experience, I will have the capital to ask for credit from his father, Shen Jingzhen, after I return to China.
Shen Xueyi is also a smart person, so he naturally understands that Wang Tom's arrangement is purely to take care of him. However, if Wang Tom doesn't point it out, he certainly won't take the initiative to tell the truth. After accepting the order, he will follow Tom Wang's men to make preparations.
The battleship lowered several small boats near the shore, and the sailors rowed the boats slowly towards the Hirado Port pier. It was the first time for Shen Xueyi to set foot on Hirado Island, and the sight he saw gave him a more concrete understanding of the combat effectiveness of the Haihan Army.
Although he had already noticed the ruins of the port when he was observing on the ship, when he got closer and closer to these ruins, he really felt how powerful it was to completely destroy such a large port. thing.
There are hundreds of acres of ruins next to the pier. From the remaining parts, it is not difficult to see that these buildings were originally all of the same regulations and sizes. These buildings are not residences, they are all warehouses on the docks used to store various goods. However, when the Haihan Army evacuated here, basically all the warehouses were evacuated, so the ruins of these burned warehouses were empty. In many places, shrubs and grass over two feet high had sprouted.
After Shen Xueyi landed ashore, he followed the team through the ruins of the dock. The soldiers who landed with him rarely talked aloud, and spent most of their time exchanging information with various gestures. However, they acted in a tacit understanding. After landing, they began to march toward the western city without stopping.
The soldiers kept a distance of about ten feet between each other, checking the ruins along the way as they walked. There were also several stragglers wandering twenty or thirty feet away from the team. Shen Xueyi could only occasionally catch a glimpse of their figures among the ruins. Hide and appear.
Regardless of the direction of the march or the formation maintained during the march, no one asked Shen Xueyi, the "commander", for instructions. This once again confirmed his previous thinking that Wang Tom did not really want to hand over the reconnaissance operations after the landing. Give him the command. The reason why he was appointed commander was simply to give him a reason to participate in the operation.
However, Shen Xueyi thinks this is good, otherwise the soldiers will not know the generals, and the generals will not know the soldiers, and it will be easy to cause problems in command. Moreover, the team sent by Wang Tom were obviously all veterans. They moved unhurriedly and quietly, sorting out the ruins of warehouses covering hundreds of acres of land along the way. This shows that they have a deep understanding of such things. Reconnaissance missions have rich operational experience, and they know how to perform such missions with little need for on-site communication.
The officer leading the team was walking in front of Shen Xueyi, sending hand signals to the left and right from time to time to issue action instructions. With him as the core, the entire team slowly marched towards the city. Although Shen Xueyi had been in the Haihan Army for some time, this was the first time he saw this method of commanding actions with gestures. In addition to the novelty, he couldn't help but want to understand the meaning of these gestures. He secretly thought that he would wait for a while. After returning to the ship after the operation, I wanted to find an opportunity to ask for advice.
The entire port area was eerily silent, with only the scattered footsteps of this group of people marching. It seemed that the place they were in was truly a no-man's land. But this makes Shen Xueyi feel more relaxed. The absence of anyone means that there is no possibility of recovery here, and there will be no danger. But when they entered the city limits, they quickly found signs of human life. Although there are areas of fire ruins as far as the eye can see, the streets here have obviously been cleaned up, unlike the port, which has maintained its original appearance after the fire.
The fire that covered the whole city before was indeed astonishingly powerful. Looking around, the city was also full of scorched earth ruins. If you want to rebuild such a large urban area, the labor force required will not be small. The people in Hirado City were all kidnapped by the Kaihan Army in the last operation. It will take at least several years for the Hirado Domain to move so many people from other places.
In fact, such a situation is also expected, but Tom Wang must verify it in person before he can rest assured. As long as the Hirado clan cannot return to its original strength in a short period of time, there is no need to worry too much that they will still have the energy to form a new armed force.
For safety reasons, the team did not enter the depths of the city, but they had already discovered some newly built shacks on the edge of the city. Perhaps the people who fled to the mountains and forests of the island returned after the war. Live in the city. However, as long as the population here does not increase, the wasteland scene in front of us may continue for a long time.
The team did not stay longer in the city and soon embarked on their return journey. Shen Xueyi thought he would go to those slum areas to capture a few prisoners and bring them back for interrogation, but it seemed that the leading officer had no such plan.
It wasn't until after boarding the boat that the officer took the initiative to explain to Shen Xueyi: "Our mission is to confirm that there is no sign of a comeback in Hirado City. If we arrest a few civilians here and bring them back for interrogation, nothing will come of it."< br>
Shen Xueyi said: "Isn't it necessary to track down the whereabouts of Tagawa Suke and others?"
The officer said: "Since there is no organizational reconstruction here, it means that Tagawasuke has not returned here."
When Shen Xueyi thought about it, it really made sense. The territory of the Hirado Domain is not limited to Hirado Island. There is also a large area on Kyushu Island that belongs to the Hirado Domain. If Tagawasuke wants to regain his strength, it may not be a good idea to choose Hirado Port. After all, it is too eye-catching. Once the Kaihan Army learns about the reconstruction of Hirado, the last outbreak in Hirado may happen at any time. The war is happening again.
Looking at the current situation on Hirado Island, it seems that this area has become an abandoned area. The Tagawa family probably has no intention of investing resources to restore this place to its former prosperity.
Back on the flagship, Shen Xueyi reported to Wang Tom in detail what he observed on the shore.
Wang Tom's judgment was the same as that of the officer who led the team. He believed that Tagawasuke did not return to Hirado Island to organize reconstruction after the war and should have chosen another place to start a new business. It would be of little significance to trace Tagawasuke's whereabouts on the island. As for the scattered residents on the island, it is no longer worthwhile to send large troops to the island to clear them out.
However, Tom Wang did not forget the previous actions of the Korean army, and joked to Shen Xueyi: "Look, if you had gone directly to Hirado Island before, we could have saved a lot of time, and we would not have to come here all the way." Circled.”
Shen Xueyi's face turned red, and he didn't say much at the moment. He just said that Tom Wang had taught him a lesson. At that time, the Korean army was worried that they would encounter the troops of the Hirado Domain when they landed on Hirado Island, so they chose a safe method and only carried out clearance in remote areas such as the Goto Islands. But what I saw when I went to the island today was that Hirado Island was in ruins, and there were no signs of troops stationed at all. If I had the courage to attack Hirado Island at that time, there would actually be no risk at all, and I could brag about it after returning home. Fan.
To know that the last time North Korea took the initiative to send troops to attack Japan, it can be traced back to the "Jihai Eastern Expedition" more than 200 years ago, when King Sejong of North Korea, Yi Sun, sent troops to attack Tsushima Island. Although the war launched by the Korean army against the Hirado clan this time was a plundering raid, which was not comparable to the scale of the Kikai Eastern Expedition, it was still the first in two hundred years. If they could set foot on Hirado Island, it would be enough. It has been recorded in history.
But if the opportunity is missed, it will be gone, and it is not convenient for Shen Xueyi to say clearly that modifying the action plan is the intention of King Li Xie. He is the person sent by the king to the army to supervise the battle, so he can only bear the blame.
Later that day, the warships that went to the west coast of Hirado Island for reconnaissance also arrived and completed the rendezvous with the large force. The situation in the two bays on the west coast is similar to that of Hirado Port. The shipyards that were burned by the Haihan Army have been abandoned, and there are no signs of any large ships operating in the area.
There are various indications that the previous destruction measures implemented by the Haihan Army against Hirado Port did have their due effect, so that after more than half a year, the local area still failed to enter the reconstruction stage. This may be because Tagawa is afraid that the Haihan army will make a comeback at some point, or maybe he is overwhelmed and does not have enough resources and manpower to rebuild Hirado, but in any case, this situation is considered a problem for Haihan. Good news.
Shen Xueyi asked: "Will the general continue to trace the whereabouts of Tagawa Suke?"
Wang Tom shook his head and said: "Without Hirado Port, Tagawasuke is just a mediocre person and can't make any big waves. It's enough for us to be delayed in Hirado for one day. There is no need to waste time here anymore, we should continue on our way. It’s important.”
It was easy for a local power like the Hirado clan to rise based on the trading port, but it also declined very quickly after being suppressed. What's more, the Tokugawa shogunate had long disliked Hirado Port and wanted to replace it with Nagasaki Port, which was directly under the shogunate's jurisdiction. Hirado was burned to ruins by the Kaihan army. Maybe the current shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu knew the news. He will also clap his hands and cheer. The Hirado clan wants to regain its momentum, but there are foreigners who are looking at it and the shogunate inside who is constantly putting pressure. These two mountains are not so easy to climb.
(End of chapter)