Chapter 3237
When Chen Pingliao boarded the ship and set off, at Dengzhou Zhifu Port across the strait, Chen Yixin was also preparing to lead his army to set off.
The scale of the naval fleet assembled at Zhifu Port was much larger than that at Port Arthur. Even the combat ships stationed at the Datong River base in North Korea had almost all returned to Shandong to participate in this operation.
This fleet includes four majestic-class warships, sixteen expedition-class warships, more than thirty exploration-class warships, as well as nearly a hundred various reconnaissance boats, supply ships, troop carriers, and recruited baggage and freight. There are more than a hundred civilian ships.
It is no exaggeration to say that even if several other countries in Northeast Asia are bundled together, it is unlikely that they can match this fleet, let alone the Ming Dynasty Navy, which almost only has a short-term establishment.
In the Bohai Bay, there is nothing that can threaten this fleet. Chen Yixin's combat goal is not a naval battle, but to use the fleet's transportation capacity to achieve rapid cross-sea delivery of armed forces.
Chen Yixin expected that the land attack might encounter a certain degree of resistance, but at sea, the Ming Dynasty had no means to prevent this fleet from attacking hundreds of miles in a short period of time.
This was actually one of the reasons why he arranged for Chen Pingliao to join him in Tianjin by sea. He knew that his son was a bit unconventional in leading the army. If he didn't keep an eye on him personally, God knows what this boy would do on the battlefield. Something happened.
Ma Yuling specially told him when he left home that if Chen Pingliao was injured in any way on the battlefield, he should not expect to look good when he returns home next time. Although Chen Yixin was not a strict wife, he did not dare to put his wife's words behind him.
The "Wei Yao" on which Chen Yixin is riding is a new ship that has only been in service for two years. Many detailed changes have been made in accordance with the requirements of the Northern Fleet, such as a larger and more complete combat command room and the installation of enhanced Masts for radio antennas, more powerful steam power systems, and more.
Chen Yixin was very satisfied with the changes to the Wei Yao, so he designated it as the new flagship of the Northern Fleet to replace the Wei Neng that was about to be retired.
In front of Chen Yixin is a huge wooden table one foot long and five feet wide. On the table is a large map of the Bohai Bay and the capital area. There are many small markers placed on it, representing the locations of the various participating troops.
There is also a thin iron sheet underneath the map, and small magnets are installed under the markers to ensure that when the ship is bumpy, the battle layout on the table will not be easily disrupted.
Next door to this combat command room is the telegraph room for communicating with the outside world. In order to understand the battle situation in real time and issue combat orders, Chen Yixin specially deployed four sets of radio stations on the Wei Yao this time.
In fact, this command center has been operational since last night. Troop movements in all directions are summarized here through wireless telegraphy, and then presented on the map sand table by the combat staff.
The land troops attacking along the Bohai Bay coastline from the north and south have entered the boundaries of Qingzhou and Shanhaiguan respectively.
According to Chen Yixin's plan, these two directions will take the lead in fighting to attract the firepower of the Ming army and reduce the pressure on the sea route to attack Tianjin.
"Report! The troops led by General Sun Bing were attacked by a small group of Ming troops in Shouguang County, Qingzhou, and are currently fighting!"
After a combat staff member read the latest battle report he had just received, another staff member walked to the table and placed the blue logo representing the Haihan Army in Shouguang County, and at the same time placed the representative code next to it. The red logo of the army indicates that the two armies are fighting here.
However, Chen Yixin is not worried about this. The deployment of the Ming army in Qingzhou is basically transparent to him. The small Ming army that carried out the raiding mission, precisely because they were unable to compete with Haihan's army on the frontal battlefield, could only use this method to slow down Haihan's march in order to buy buffer time for the rear.
Qingzhou is adjacent to the Denglai state under Haihan's control, and they know each other well. The Ming army in Qingzhou is probably not willing to take on this thankless task, and most likely will not risk their lives. Soon after, the battle situation in the direction of Liaodong Bay was also reported. Sun Zhen led his troops into the Daming Ningyuan Defense Area and began to attack the local garrison points.
Ningyuanwei is located on the coast northeast of Shanhaiguan. In order to resist the southward march of the Qing army in the early years, the Ming Dynasty built a large number of garrison fortresses in this narrow coastal area, trying to disrupt the enemy's offensive with dense fortress areas.
However, the Qing army chose to bypass Shanhaiguan and attack Shuntian Mansion from the northern mountainous area several times when it went south, instead of chewing this hard nut. Therefore, these painstakingly built fortresses did not play their role very often.
However, now that the Manchu Qing Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty were separated by Haihan, the Qing army could not bypass Haihan's territory in Liaodong to attack the Ming Dynasty.
Now it's the Haihan Army's turn to go into battle and bite this hard nut.
Sun Zhen didn't mind that Chen Yixin gave him this somewhat difficult task. For him, being able to lead his troops back to a long-lost battlefield was such a thrilling feeling that he hadn't experienced in several years.
Since the Ming, Manchu and Qing Dynasties surrendered one after another three years ago, the main task of the Liaodong garrison has changed from expanding the territory to defending the territory. For Sun Zhen, who was accustomed to leading troops on expeditions, he had to adapt again.
However, he also knew that the armistice was not the end of the war. Haihan's expansion would not end here. When he recovered to a certain extent, he would definitely go to war with these two countries again.
Therefore, in the past three years, even though there was no war, Sun Zhen did not stop training his troops and horses, and has been preparing for the next time he sets foot on the battlefield.
Haihan was obviously accumulating strength much faster than its neighboring countries. Just three years after the armistice agreement, it found a reason to start another war.
In Sun Zhen's view, Ming's methods were sinister, and he actually sent assassins to Hangzhou to assassinate the Executive Committee. But since Haihan caught him, and there were both witnesses and physical evidence, why not take the opportunity to remove a layer of Ming's body this time? The skin just doesn't make sense.
A considerable part of the Ming army's elite border guards were stationed in the Shanhaiguan area. This was a tough battle, but it was exactly what Sun Zhen expected.
He wanted to see through actual combat whether there had been any new changes in the strength comparison between the two sides in the past three years.
The fortress that the forward battalion is attacking is called Yong'an Fort. It was built during the Tianqi period. The entire castle is roughly a square with a side length of about fifty feet. The fortress wall is six feet six inches high and is made of rammed earth and an outer layer of bluestone.
There are granaries, wells, barracks, weapons depots and other facilities in the fort, which can be used by the Ming army to garrison for a long time if they are besieged.
There are several small-caliber artillery deployed on the fort wall, and there are various horse traps, deer villages and other fortifications outside the fort. According to information provided by the Military Intelligence Bureau, the number of troops stationed here is approximately five to six hundred.
It is worth mentioning that there are two other forts of similar size about two miles behind and on the side of Yong'an Fort. They form a corner to prevent the enemy from surrounding Yong'an Fort.
(End of chapter)