1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1796 Reconnaissance Action
2000 taels of gold is a lot to say, but when the North Koreans sent it over, it was actually packed in two small iron boxes, which looked inconspicuous.After Tom Wang checked the number, he had someone put a seal on it and put it away.The gold will not be stored in the fleet for too long, and will be sent to Zhoushan when the supply fleet goes south later, and then transported back to China.As for the fleet's expenses in the north, it is mainly based on banknotes internally, and a combination of banknotes and silver externally. Generally, gold, which is listed as a key reserve by the Executive Committee, is rarely used.Although the fleet also brought some gold with them when they set off, they were all gold bars officially issued by Haihan Bank, and the gold received from abroad must first be sent back to the country for recasting and turned into gold reserves in the national treasury before they can be reused. to make the call.

After the North Koreans offered the military expenses, Wang Tom's attitude finally eased a little bit. He didn't see the money, but at least the North Koreans showed their attitude again, and they were willing to spend money and effort to ask Haihan to send troops to defend own country.If the coalition forces want to fight in North Korea in the future, I believe it will not be difficult for the North Korean authorities to continue to pay for military expenses.

However, the other companies in the coalition are not eligible to enjoy the active offerings from North Korea.They can only bear all the expenses of fighting in the north by themselves. At most, they can enjoy the wartime logistical support provided by North Korea as a unified coalition force.If you want to recover your capital after the war, establishing an independent route from the south to this area is basically the only way.Haihan has already given the green light to their needs, but in the end whether things can be done or not depends on their performance in the war.

These companies had already played in the battle of Manila, and their performance was recognized by Haihan. After the war, each of them was rewarded by setting up local trading bases and even enclosing land for development.It is precisely because of such sweetness that these companies are full of great interest in entering Northeast Asia. Even if Haihan declared that the situation here may not be determined by a war like Manila, they still insisted on sending Troops join the coalition.

The coalition headquarters quickly agreed on the next action arrangement, and conducted a more in-depth reconnaissance of the area near the border between the Qing Dynasty and North Korea to confirm whether the Qing army had any tendency to gather troops in the border area.The Fujian navy who took the initiative to fight has also gained the trust of the headquarters and will act together with the Haihan Navy.The Independence Regiment, Annan, and Portuguese troops will continue to stay on Ganghwa Island, waiting for news ahead.At the same time, the headquarters will continue to negotiate with the North Korean authorities, urging them to improve their preparations for war as soon as possible, and the armed forces in North Korea should also be included in the command system of the coalition forces to ensure that the North Korean army can cooperate well with the actions of the coalition forces.

"I'll leave it to you to deal with the North Koreans." Tom Wang unceremoniously dumped the blame on Qian Tiandun who stayed behind on Jianghua Island: "If they make any mistakes, don't bear it, I think they just I owe a lesson!"

"Of course I won't get used to them." Qian Tiandun changed the subject: "But don't be too careless when you go to the north. If you find that the opponent's troops are superior, you should withdraw to the sea as soon as possible. Can't run on four legs!"

Regarding the matter of entering the enemy-occupied area to perform reconnaissance missions, the Haihan generals did not take the Qing army lightly because of their previous advantage in the Liaodong battlefield.According to historical records, the Qing army invaded North Korea with more than [-] troops. Even if the water is removed, the headquarters believes that its combat troops are at least [-] to [-], and Haihan can deploy troops on the Korean battlefield. It may be less than one-tenth of it, and the casualties it can bear are far less than that of the Qing army.If the Qing army has assembled its troops near the border between the two countries, and considering that entering an unfamiliar area to perform missions will inevitably reduce its combat effectiveness, it is indeed a certain risk to go to the north to scout the movement of the Qing army this time.

Tom Wang nodded and said, "I will be careful, and the safety rules still have to be remembered."

The so-called safety rules are some precautions specially formulated by the executive committee for the cross-travelers, especially the generals who lead troops overseas, the personal risks they must face are not small.For generals like Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun, their personal safety can almost be equated with national security, and the executive committee also restricted their actions during command operations to avoid putting them in danger as much as possible.Like this reconnaissance operation that needs to go deep into the interior of the enemy-occupied area, in principle, the traversers cannot lead troops to the front line to take risks. The impulsiveness leaves personal safety behind.

It is worth mentioning that after the Battle of Jinzhou in 1636, Huang Taiji offered a reward for the generals of Haihan. Those who can capture the generals of Haihan in Liaodong alive will be directly granted the king and land, even if they are taken back. Heads can also enjoy high officials and generous salaries.Of course, this kind of reward was more of a means to motivate the soldiers to kill the enemy, and Huang Taiji didn't expect to catch General Hai Han.

During the next two days, the generals gathered to study the plan of reconnaissance operations.The first thing is to determine the target area for reconnaissance. In the past, the border between Daming and North Korea was bounded by the Yalu River. The southeast was the border of North Korea, and the northwest was the jurisdiction of the Liaodong capital of the Ming Dynasty. However, most of the Liaodong area has now fallen to the Qing army. Under the iron hoof, this natural border became the dividing line between Qing Dynasty and North Korea.

The straight-line distance from Shenyang to the Yalu River is less than four hundred miles, but the terrain during this period is almost all mountainous. It is necessary to gather tens of thousands of troops, especially large cavalry troops, from Shenyang to the border line, and Not an easy task.With the national strength of the Qing Dynasty at this time, going to North Korea will also be a great test for their logistical support capabilities.

It is also because of the special terrain in this area that Haihan believes that there are only a few routes for the Qing army to deploy troops, and there are only a few places where the Qing army can gather tens of thousands of troops on the north bank of the Yalu River.Considering that Haihan had repeatedly cleared and suppressed the coastline near the mouth of the Yalu River in the past two years, the Qing army probably would not choose a place close to the coastline as the base camp for launching an offensive across the river. Therefore, Tom Wang believes that if the Qing army wants to gather near the Yalu River to cross the river Jiang, then it must be a little bit closer to the upstream.About a hundred miles away from the coastline, Jiulian City, located on the north bank of the Yalu River, is one of the areas that Wang Tom thinks is most likely to be selected by the Qing army as a rallying point.

Jiulian City was first built in the Jin Dynasty. It was named after nine connected castles of different sizes were built there. It faces the Kui River and the Yalu River in the east, and the Zhendong Mountain in the back. The strategic terrain is very dangerous.In the Ming Dynasty, another Zhenjiang City was built here, and thousands of soldiers were stationed here. It is an important military site on the border of Liaodong and one of the main land routes for business and diplomatic exchanges with North Korea.Now, of course, all of this area has fallen into the hands of the Manchus and has become part of the Qing territory.

If Huang Taiji led the army to start from Shenyang, they could pass through Baitapu, Qinji Fort, Weining Camp, Lianshan Pass, Tongyuan Fort, Xie Lie Station, Fenghuang City, Tangzhan Fort, and march all the way through the mountains to Jiulian City. , crossing the river from here is Uiju of North Korea.This route was the only official road built in this mountainous area during the Ming Dynasty. If Huang Taiji wanted to quickly assemble his army near the border, he basically had no other choice.

The previous reconnaissance operation initiated by the Jinzhou garrison only made routine observations near the mouth of the Yalu River, and did not venture into the inland hundreds of miles, so it is not clear about the situation near Jiulian City.Although North Korea's Uiju government office is just across the river from Jiulian City, only more than ten miles away, the relevant information provided is not of much reference value, because North Korea sent Haihan who was stationed in Jinzhou last year. After the army provided logistical supplies, Hou Jin blocked the Yalu River and banned the exchanges between the two countries.Although the North Korean garrison in Uiju also tried to find out information on the other side, they were worried that they would be caught by the other side and start a war, so they did not act resolutely, and there has been no substantive intelligence harvest.

Of course, given the performance of the North Koreans at this time, Tom Wang may not dare to accept all the relevant information even if he provided relevant information.However, under his strong request, Kim Sang-heon has sent a message to Seoul, requesting the king to order the troops from the northern states to gather in the direction of Uiju, so as to avoid even the slightest resistance from the North Korean side in case the Qing army suddenly launched an offensive. Once the Yalu River defense line is breached, the Linhai Plain on the west coast of the Korean Peninsula will become a fast channel for the Qing army's cavalry to go south. Even if Haihan sends troops, it may not be able to stop this offensive.

The coalition forces spent three days on Ganghwa Island resting and formulating an action plan. During this period, although Kim Sang-heon also tried to get the North Korean generals to join the coalition preparation meeting on Ganghwa Island, they were all rejected by Tom Wang for various reasons. up.Before confirming that the North Koreans are no longer paddling, Tom Wang does not want them to participate in the actions of the coalition forces, so as not to be delayed.

One day in early May, a fleet of more than 30 combat ships, ten troop carriers, and eight supply ships slowly left the pier of Ganghwa Island in the morning fog and headed northwest.

This fleet included ten warships belonging to the Fujian Navy led by Xu Yuzhuo. He was also very excited to win the opportunity to take the lead in this operation.Both Annan and his Portuguese counterparts expressed their envy to him for having such an opportunity, but this time the north trip was mainly for reconnaissance, so although the other two also wanted to play, Tom Wang no longer needed more participants.

Haihan's repeated killings at sea in the past two years have completely wiped out Houjin's few sea armed forces, and the few remaining warships will hardly go out to sea activities on their own initiative. Basically, it belongs to the safe area, and there is no need to worry about encountering enemies in this sea area, and you can proceed boldly with confidence.The fleet will also take this opportunity to touch the coastline in the northwest of the Korean Peninsula again, and check and correct the map data in hand.

Although it has already entered May, due to the impact of the Little Ice Age, the temperature in the north is below [-] degrees all year round, and there will be no strong sense of heat even in midsummer.The southern soldiers who went to this area for the first time will more or less have some symptoms of cold or acclimatization.Fortunately, the army was very well prepared for this, and there were corresponding medicines for timely disposal, and there were no large-scale patients on board.

Two days after setting off from Ganghwa Island, the fleet passed by the west side of Phi Island where the soldiers and civilians of Dongjiang Town were once stationed.However, the soldiers and civilians on the island had all been relocated to Jinzhou for resettlement last year. Now the island is basically depopulated and has become a deserted island again.Officials in nearby Tieshan, Xuanchuan, Dingzhou and other places were relieved to send away the Ming army on the island last year, thinking that no longer providing supplies to them would relieve the local pressure, but it was only a year. Over time, the military threat from the north made them miss the sense of security that the Ming army in Dongjiang Town was stationed nearby.Even though the Ming army on the island was starved and skinny due to lack of supplies at that time, which was not enough to support high-intensity battles, it was still a strong backer for the Koreans during the war.

However, the North Koreans also know the truth that if they burn incense, they must go to the temple to burn it. Seeing that the Ming army is no longer reliable, the Haihan army that can beat the Houjin army back step by step in Jinzhou is obviously the real thigh, so they decisively Find Hai Han for help.Although the Haihan people put forward much more demands than the Ming army stationed in Pidao, this is taken for granted by North Korean officials. After all, the strength is here, and it is normal to ask for more money and grain.

Although Wang Tom rejected North Korea's request to send troops to participate in the reconnaissance operation, he still brought North Korean official Kim Sang-jou along so that he could go ashore to contact the local government in case of emergency.However, regarding the specific arrangement of the reconnaissance operation, the headquarters still did not disclose too much to Jin Shangjiu, so he could only continue to be a spectator during this voyage as before.

"If you're lucky, you'll be out for a tour of the mountains and rivers, and you'll be able to go back in a few days. If you're unlucky...then we might bump into a large group of Qing troops near here, maybe Fight directly." Wang Tom said to Jin Shangjiu: "Of course, Mr. Jin, don't be nervous, I will not arrange for you to disembark to fight the Qing army, you just need to stay on this ship and wait for the news. If there is no accident, you Maybe you won’t even see the shadow of the Qing army.”

Jin Shangjiu was quite puzzled by this: "Since it was General Wang who said it was so easy, why didn't your army want to take our army with us?"

Tom Wang coughed twice, patted Jin Shangjiu on the shoulder and said, "Master Jin, it is precisely because I didn't take your country's army to act together that I can talk about it so easily!"

(End of this chapter)