Chapter 3593
Of course, the implementation process of such a large-scale plan of a national policy nature cannot be completed overnight. Just the expansion of production capacity and relocation of the ordnance industry system will probably take years, and the results will not be immediate.
However, military changes are relatively easy to implement. For example, to expand the military and prepare for war, we can start with the routine autumn recruitment that is about to begin this year, and give some regions a higher ceiling on the number of recruits and a higher-level garrison establishment.
Shi Chengwu, who is on standby in Jiangpu County, has also received new instructions from Hangzhou. He can decide on his own whether to expand the scope of this operation to surrounding areas on the premise of fully controlling the newly occupied area.
Although the term "self-determination" is somewhat vague, Shi Chengwu believes that this is actually the executive committee providing him with the convenience of action.
Fengyang Prefecture, Chuzhou, and Hezhou, which border Jiangpu and Liuhe counties, did not send reinforcements to stop the Haihan Army's actions, which shows that its will to resist is quite weak. After careful consideration with his staff, Shi Chengwu decided to first attack Hezhou along the Yangtze River to the southwest of Jiangpu County.
The reason for this decision is also very simple. The areas where Chuzhou and Fengyang Prefecture are located have exceeded the scope of the East China Sea Fleet's convenient activities.
With the size of the troops that Shi Chengwu can currently command, it is difficult to maintain long-distance land supply lines in the interior. If we want to forcefully enter these areas to fight, problems will arise in the delivery of troops and the supply of materials.
Operating along the Yangtze River can circumvent this shortcoming. Shi Chengwu can use the transportation capacity of the East China Sea Fleet to achieve rapid maneuvers.
The official road from Jiangpu County to Hezhou is more than 80 miles away. If you march by land, it is expected to take two days. However, if you take a boat and take the waterway, you can reach Hezhou on the same day, and the troops will have enough physical strength to immediately go into battle. .
The previous attacks on Liuhe and Jiangpu counties were easily won. The troops under Shi Chengwu were basically not affected much, and their condition was still able to support continuous operations.
The day after Shi Chengwu received the call from Hangzhou, he announced that Jiangpu County would be handed over to officials transferred from Nanjing, and he broke camp and rushed to Hezhou, his next stop.
Before Shi Chengwu set out for this operation, there were actually some rumors reaching the Ming Dynasty ruling area in Jiangbei, saying that this time the Haihan Army would only take Jiangpu and Liuhe, two counties that were originally under the jurisdiction of Yingtian Prefecture, and other state capitals would not be affected. .
Therefore, the subsequent refugee wave was mainly concentrated in these two counties. Some people who fled from Jiangpu County also chose neighboring Hezhou as their destination.
But after all, the plan was not as fast as the change. Who would have expected that Shi Chengwu's attack on Hezhou was also an impromptu move. Just when Hezhou was eagerly hoping that the situation would calm down soon, Haihan's armed fleet arrived unexpectedly and appeared on the Yangtze River near Hezhou City.
The Hezhou defenders tried to prevent the Haihan army from landing, but after suffering a barrage of naval gunfire on the river bank, these Ming troops quickly chose to withdraw and fortify themselves in the city.
Although Hezhou is a state at the administrative level, the city defense level of the government office and the state city is not much better than the two county towns that Shi Chengwu previously captured. The only long-range firepower on the city was the defenders' more than a hundred archers, a dozen matchlock guns, and four squatting cannons with limited range.
After the Haihan Army landed, they advanced unimpeded all the way to the outside of the city. Shi Chengwu still followed the procedure and first made a persuasion call to surrender. After that failed, he arranged for artillery to fire a volley at the top of the city. The difference in firepower intensity between the two warring parties was too great. The Ming army on top of the city had no power to fight back. A round of artillery fire outside the city covered them, and a group of people fell down in an instant.
As for the city gate that was hit by frontal artillery fire, because sand and gravel were not arranged in advance to block the door opening, it was immediately beaten to pieces and lost its original protective function.
Before the Haihan army outside the city launched their charge, the city was already in chaos. Seeing that their opponents had such powerful attack methods, the defenders who originally had no intention of fighting abandoned the city defense and ran towards the west gate that was not blocked by the Haihan army, intending to escape from Hezhou City from there.
Some people who had no intention of escaping, seeing that the situation was over, quickly waved a white flag on the top of the city to indicate that they had given up and continued to resist.
The entire battle lasted less than half an hour, and the Haihan Army entered Hezhou City and began to clean up the city street by street and take over the city defense.
Shi Chengwu was already familiar with such a situation. After leading his troops into the state government office, he immediately sealed up the warehouses and at the same time posted notices to calm the people throughout the city, announcing that Haihan had officially taken over Hezhou.
Although there were small-scale battles in this battle, it did not cause too much trouble for the Haihan Army, and the process was relatively smooth.
However, the population centers within the jurisdiction of Hezhou are relatively scattered. In addition to the city, there are also many towns such as Wujiang, Yuxi, and Liyang, as well as Hanshan County, which is more than 80 miles away. It will take at least a few more days to conquer these areas one by one.
Shi Chengwu was no longer anxious at this time. With the scale of his troop dispatch this time, occupying this state and two counties would require almost half of his troops to be stationed. If he attacks elsewhere, he can defeat them, but the strength of the troops will be unavoidable. It's a bit stretched.
If reinforcements cannot be obtained immediately, then the operation will probably have to be suspended here in Hezhou. After digestion to a certain extent, the defense will be gradually handed over to the security forces, mainly the police and militia, and then the troops will be regrouped to attack the area. A destination.
The Jianghuai area will be in the possession of the Donghai Region in the future. The military operations to seize these areas in the future will definitely be led by Shi Chengwu. This military success will not slip into other people's pockets, so there is no need for him to rush. .
There was someone else who was really anxious at this time. Yue Shizong, the Ming Dynasty Ambassador to Haihan, had been extremely busy these days. Letters for help from the rear kept coming like snowflakes, but he could only keep asking to see a few members of the Executive Committee. A senior official, hoping to prevent Haihan's new round of military actions through diplomatic channels.
Yue Shizong really didn't understand. In recent months, Haihan had clearly focused on overseas affairs. The military news published in newspapers was all about what happened in Japan, the South China Sea and other places. Ming Dynasty was not involved at all. Why did Haihan suddenly change his position? The gun was fired at Daming.
The senior Haihan officials he met only explained the reason for the sudden attack on the Ming Dynasty on the grounds that the traditional administrative ownership of Jiangpu and Liuhe counties was Yingtianfu. In his opinion, this was obviously not a reasonable excuse.
After the fall of the two counties in Jiangbei, Hezhou also sent a letter asking for help, saying that Haihan was marching towards Hezhou, which was no longer the traditional territory of Yingtian Mansion. Yue Shizong could only ask to see the executive committee again, but this time the explanation given by Haihan was even more far-fetched, saying that there were many local bandits, which affected Haihan's commercial activities, so he took this opportunity to send troops to Hezhou to clean up.