1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2335
As far as the purpose of the operation is concerned, this task is indeed relatively simple. It is literally called "snatching", sending troops to rob food, robbing money and robbing people. As long as all the things that can be robbed in Hirado are taken away, it is considered complete. Task.

Of course, the significance of this kind of action is not just to act as a robber to rob. On the one hand, it is to exercise the actual combat capabilities of the new North Korean army. , so that the Hirado Clan could not recover its strength quickly.

Especially for the latter purpose, if the Haihan army is dispatched in person, it will definitely be a loss-making business. It is better to hand over such combat tasks that do not require high combat effectiveness to the Allied Forces.

The Hirado navy had already been wiped out before this, and the North Korean army did not have to worry about fighting at sea. Even if they encountered strong resistance after landing locally, at least they could withdraw from the sea safely, and there would be no major security issues. The problem.

Shen Xueyi and An Daoshi still felt as if they were dreaming after receiving the task.A year ago, North Korea was still in the predicament of foreign invasion, and it needed the assistance of other countries to barely keep the country.And a year later, North Korea would send troops alone to attack its old enemy, Japan. This was something they never dared to think about before.

However, there is also a detail that makes them slightly regretful, that is, the imperial court requires that the North Korean army not to show their identities in the battle, so as to avoid such looting actions targeting local areas being regarded by the Japanese shogunate as a signal of war between the two countries.Although this seems to them to be a bit deceitful, the Japanese did the same thing in the past. After sending troops to plunder the southeast coastal areas of North Korea, they just dumped all the blame on the pirates and the pirates. Use this as a reason to start a war with Japan.

Of course, if the Japanese shogunate refuses to accept this, and wants to seize this opportunity to settle accounts with North Korea, then the Haihan army should not stand idly by.An Daoshi, who had studied in Haihan for a year, even had a vague feeling that the Haihan people might wish for the Japanese shogunate to cause trouble, so that they could have a good reason to launch further military operations against Japan.

At present, there are only more than a thousand new troops available for this operation. It is not safe to rely on this manpower alone, so other troops must be mobilized to cooperate during the operation.In particular, the sailors that need to be mobilized across the sea to Hirado need to make overall arrangements, otherwise the journey of thousands of miles back and forth is likely to become the most risky link in the entire operation.

As for how much supplies and people need to be brought back from Hirado for this operation to maintain capital or even make a profit, neither An Daoshi nor Shen Xueyi paid much attention to this issue.What they value more is the symbolic meaning of doing something to Japan, and the economic benefits are obviously not the primary consideration.

Haihan selected two officers from each of the navy and army to participate in this year's crusade against Hirado, and participated in the formulation of the combat plan as military advisers.As for the combat troops, Wang Tom did what he said and did not intend to send organized troops to participate in this mission.

It wasn't just the officers who received the mission who were enthusiastic about this plan. Soon Li Yan couldn't hold back anymore, and personally participated in the process of formulating the combat plan.During his study abroad in Sanya, he also went to the Military Academy to attend theoretical classes for a period of time, and went to the municipal library to make up a lot of previous battle reports of the Haihan Army. Although he was not as experienced as a general in the army, But Li Yan can also give advice on the activities of formulating a battle plan on paper.

Of course, there is another reason why Li Yan won't say it out loud, that is, he is indeed a little worried.It has been less than a year since the formation of this new army. What is the level of combat effectiveness? It has not yet been tested in actual combat. Li Yan is also a little worried about whether this army can perform overseas combat missions, so he wants to personally ask about this. thing.

Wang Tom was not too surprised when he heard the news. Anyway, the battle plan formulated by the Joint Command had to be submitted to him for approval in the end, so there was no need to worry about Li Yan's unthinkable action plan led by an outsider leading an insider.Since Li Yan is so concerned about this matter, it can also reduce some troubles for the military and get stronger support in the deployment of materials and personnel.

Compared with the errand given to the North Korean army, the next combat mission that the Haihan Army will perform is the highlight of this winter.

As the situation in Seoul gradually calms down, the troops who went south from the Datongjiang base to quell the chaos are also preparing to withdraw.According to the habits gradually formed in the past few years, the Haihan Army will conduct another sweep of the coast of the Liaodong Peninsula before winter, as a routine year-end military training.

The two elite units of the Special Operations Regiment and the Marine Corps will continue to serve as the main force in this operation.Although most of the time the Manchu Qing could not organize a decent line of defense on the long coastline, but they would gather some soldiers and horses in the counties near the coast to resist the harassment of small groups of Haihan landing troops.

On the other hand, when the Haihan army landed and fought in the area controlled by the Manchu Qing, they usually moved in and out quickly, and would not spend time chewing on some tough bones with relatively complete defense methods.Therefore, in this kind of mopping-up operation, large-scale battles usually do not break out. The local government of the Manchu and Qing dynasties shrink their defenses in an attempt to protect themselves, and wait for the Haihan army to rob them and withdraw on their own, just like the troops on the northern defense line of the Ming Dynasty. The same attitude towards the Qing army's southern invasion.

Of course, the initiative has always been in Haihan's hands whether to attack a large target such as a county seat. If he is determined to take down a city near the coastline, it will be difficult for the local Qing army to stop Haihan's thunderous offensive.It's just that the value of this kind of target is limited, and it's not worth sending troops to garrison for a long time if it is defeated. The Haihan Army with limited troops has always had little interest in it.

In the last winter operation, the marines entered the enemy-occupied area and successfully pulled out a musketeer team formed by the Qing army. This was also the most intense battle against the Qing army in the winter operations over the years.

But what really worries Haihan is not how many musket troops like this are still in the Qing army, but whether the Hirado clan has taught the Manchus the latest technology for making flintlock guns and artillery.

During the Denglai Rebellion, there were also some weapon craftsmen among the Ming army who defected to Liaodong to join the enemy, but the ordnance technology they brought to Liaodong was relatively primitive, and the weapons they produced had limited performance. Firearms troops could only be used as auxiliary arms on the battlefield. , and it is difficult to pose a threat to the Haihan army.Later, the Qing army musketeers who attacked the Haihan patrol on the Jinzhou defense line were equipped with flintlock guns from the Hirado clan. If the relevant manufacturing technology flowed into the Qing Dynasty, it would mean that the Qing Dynasty would start a lot of training. Musketeers, this will be a very dangerous situation for Haihan.

Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun believed that this kind of situation was very likely to happen. In the future, the Qing army stationed in the Liaodong Peninsula would only become more and more difficult to deal with, so now it is necessary to intensify the attack on the coastal areas of the Liaodong Peninsula, so that the Jin army stationed in the Liaodong Peninsula will be more and more difficult to deal with. It was more difficult for the tens of thousands of Qing troops in the north of the state to obtain supplies and civilians nearby, which indirectly weakened their combat effectiveness.

So this winter, they are going to launch a large-scale mopping up operation, let Chen Yixin launch a feint attack on the Jinzhou Isthmus, and contain the Qing army stationed in the area.The Datongjiang garrison cleaned up the Liaodong coast from east to west.

The code name of this operation is "Treading Snow". Wang Tom expects that the navy and army will invest at least 6000 troops in the operation, and the entire operation may last until the end of the year.

Although the Haihan army has an absolute advantage in combat effectiveness, the size of the army stationed in the north is still far from enough to launch a war of annihilation against the Qing Dynasty. It is only [-] miles away from Jinzhou to Shenyang. The supplying Haihan army retreated.Therefore, raiding and harassing operations in coastal areas have become the main way for the Haihan army to attack the Manchus at this stage.

After reporting to Sanya, both the Executive Committee and the Ministry of National Defense expressed their support for this action plan, and asked the troops participating in the war to check whether the Qing Dynasty had obtained the military technology of the Hirado Domain during the operation.

"There is only one way to determine whether they have obtained Hirado's technology, and fight with them!" Wang Tom understood Sanya's requirements quite thoroughly.

The country spent a lot of money to deploy the most elite troops in the Liaodong area. Of course, it was not for the sake of decoration, but to allow them to effectively contain the expansion of the Manchu Qing, so as to reduce the military pressure on Ming Dynasty, in exchange for Ming Dynasty's support for the Qing Dynasty. Haihan's acquiescence in various privileges along the coast.As for the most effective means of containment, of course it is a military strike.

After reading the telegram, Qian Tiandun also agreed with Wang Tom's understanding: "This year, the Qing army has been surprisingly quiet in the direction of the Liaodong Peninsula. It has hardly launched a large-scale offensive against the isthmus line of defense. I also feel that they seem to be quietly holding back It's a big move. This winter, we can't let them live too comfortably."

It is not an easy task to formulate a large-scale cross-regional combat plan, and it is necessary to cooperate with the Golden State Garrison in time, which has extremely high requirements for the naval fleet responsible for cross-sea delivery missions.Fortunately, the attack on the coast of the Liaodong Peninsula has become a routine program every year. The troops participating in the war are already familiar with this kind of combat method. Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun have a lot less worries when formulating the combat plan.

In order to ensure the confidentiality of the snow stepping operation, they did not even notify the North Korean side on purpose to avoid leaking the news.Although Li Yan was a little perplexed by Haihan's indifference to the matter of harvesting Hirado, he never imagined that their attention was actually on Manqing's side.

When Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun led their troops to evacuate Seoul, the preparations for the war in Jinzhou in Liaodong were already in full swing.

As the ice-free port with the best port conditions in the Liaodong Peninsula, Lushun Port carries supplies and personnel from the entire Jinzhou region in and out every winter, and it is especially busy during wartime.Recently, three or four cargo ships from Zhifu Port in Dengzhou, Shandong, arrived at Lushun Port every one or two days, where they unloaded a large amount of grain and other materials, and then shipped some local products to the south for cash.

The rice from Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions and the local flour from Shandong were unloaded on the wharf together, and then transported by a military convoy to the front line of the Jinzhou Isthmus hundreds of miles away.

These high-quality grains are purchased by the government and are exclusively supplied to combat troops, and will not be sold in the local market.However, for the merchants who handle this matter, this is a huge fat difference. After all, the military's purchase price is much higher than the private transaction price.

But unlike the fiercely competitive southern colonies, there is no suspense about the ownership of these local fats.The organization of food procurement and transportation in Shandong is all arranged by the Ma family in Fushan County. Yes, this Ma family is exactly Chen Yixin’s old man’s family.

Since getting close to the high branch of Chen Yixin, the Ma family has soared into the sky. In just two or three years, it has become the leading local gentry in Fushan County. Even Majiazhuang has become a well-known material distribution center in Denglai area. .

Two years earlier, Chen Yixin had planned to bring his wife back to the south for development, but an order from Shengli Fort transferred him from Shandong to Liaodong to guard the defense line of the Jinzhou Isthmus.Later, Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun both went to North Korea, so the entire Jinzhou, together with the Zhifu Island area in the south, were all under his rule.

The mountains are high and the emperor is far away, and Chen Yixin is in power, so he naturally loses his mind on going south to develop, and simply settles down to manage well in the north.He didn't have much foundation in the north, so he naturally wanted to support his family vigorously. The Ma family took advantage of this shareholder style and won many lucrative deals.

However, as long as the orders involved military purchases, Chen Yixin would keep an eye on them very closely, and would ask the Ma family to handle them in a seamless manner.

This time, Jiang Sheng, the eldest brother-in-law of Chen Yixin, was the one who escorted the cargo with the ship. After arriving at the port to complete the inspection and handover, Jiang Sheng rented a caravan from a car and horse dealer and rushed to the Haihan Army camp on the Jinzhou Isthmus. .

When Jiang Sheng arrived at the camp, he showed his identity with ease, and entered the camp to see Chen Yixin.

Chen Yixin was slightly surprised to see Jiang Sheng appearing, and immediately withdrew his subordinates and asked Jiang Sheng's reason for coming.He knew that as Jiang Sheng, if he didn't have some important business, he would not have traveled so far to see him in person, he just needed to send someone to send a letter.

"It's about the Fushan Copper Mine." Jiang Sheng took a sip of tea, and explained his purpose straight to the point.He knew that Chen Yixin was busy with business, but he didn't have time to listen to himself rambling.

"The Dengzhou government sent people over, saying that it was the imperial court's order to take the Fushan Copper Mine back to Daming, and let us stop working and withdraw as soon as possible. If the deadline is overdue, we will not comply with the order. I discussed it with your father-in-law. , I feel that if the other party wants to force it, I am afraid that Fushan County will fall into war again, so I made a special trip to Jinzhou to ask you for a solution."

After hearing this, Chen Yixin sighed and said, "Is it the order of the imperial court? I think these people are crazy because they want to get rich. They just make up a reason and want to take the mine away... How can there be such a cheap thing in the world!"

(End of this chapter)