1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2650
Zhu Zian suddenly realized when he heard the words, and wondered how he forgot about this.This kind of regulation is actually not new. As the vassal princes entrusted to the local area, De Wang's lineage also has to abide by similar rules. There are corresponding standards for palace buildings, guards of honor when entering and leaving, and even personal attire. .

As a vassal state, North Korea follows such standards as a matter of course.Judging from the architectural scale of the Jianghua Island Palace, they were very disciplined, and they didn't forget about these taboos just because the emperor was far away.It's just that the North Koreans are unwilling to be lonely and try to make a fuss about the design of the roof, so there are these buildings with uncoordinated shapes.

After visiting the small-scale palace, the group went to Jiachuandun, a military fortress on the east coast of Ganghwa Island, which is one of the few military facilities on the island.

Jin Shangjiu enthusiastically introduced the history here to the visitors: "This place is the gate of Ganghwa Island, and it is also a fortress guarding the mouth of the Han River. It has been used for hundreds of years...According to historical records, during the war with Mongolia 400 years ago, This was the front line!"

However, when the Jiachuandun Fortress was built on Ganghwa Island back then, it was not the Joseon Dynasty that was fighting the Mongols at this time, but the Goryeo Dynasty that had been overthrown by it.It's just that even if Shi Chengwu and others knew about this period of history, they would not expose Jin Shangjiu face to face, allowing him to continue boasting about the dynasty's martial arts and martial arts.

But from a professional point of view, several young officers in the mission would probably give this fort a failing evaluation.

The so-called Jiachuandun Fortress is just a low wall built with bricks and stones on the high ground near the island shore, and several artillery positions are set up so that the defenders can use artillery to block the narrow waterway between Ganghwa Island and the land. .

It may not be a big problem for this kind of fortification to deal with civilian armed forces such as Japanese pirates, but once the opponent adopts a landing and siege plan, the fort that is ventilated on all sides will probably only be able to stand alone.Not to mention that a fleet like Haihan with powerful firepower would not suffer any loss even if it confronted this fortress at sea.From the perspective of actual combat, the symbolic significance of this fortress is far greater than its actual military value.

On the other hand, Zhu Zian noticed the several coastal defense guns deployed here at a glance. The front of the gun barrel is thin and the rear is thick. The diameter of the rear end is about one foot. The length of the gun body is eight feet. Opposite the crenel on the parapet.In his impression, such a large cannon seemed to be rare on the walls of Jinan City before.

Zhu Zian walked up to the cannon without making a sound, and when he looked at it, he saw "Made in Haihan Guotian Du Armory Factory" engraved on the cannon, followed by a string of Haihan numbers that he couldn't understand. Presumably it should be the serial number of this artillery.Obviously, this is not a weapon made by North Korea itself, but obtained from Haihan through some means.

Jin Shangjiu continued to introduce: "...the fort is equipped with six large and twelve small artillery pieces, a total of eighteen artillery pieces, all of which were purchased from your country. The gunners who operated these artillery pieces were all sent to Zhoushan for half a year of training. A reliable skill!"

Wang Anguo said with a smile: "Master Jin, now that your country's surrounding seas are stable, there will be no enemies at sea. In my opinion, these artillery should be deployed to the northern border."

North Korea and the Manchu Qing Dynasty in the north have been enemies for decades. During this period, North Korea was almost subjugated several times. If Haihan hadn't helped, North Korea would have disappeared by now.Although the Manchu Qing had surrendered to Haihan, its territory was still bordering North Korea, and there were still risks in theory, and Wang Anguo's suggestion was also reasonable.

However, Jin Shangjiu's face changed slightly, and he lowered his voice and replied: "This Hanjiang Estuary...we still have to guard it well, and we can't say when something will happen."

Wang Anguo was taken aback for a moment, and immediately understood Jin Shangjiu's implication.The fort built at the estuary of the Han River is not only used to display the achievements of military cooperation between the two countries, but it does have certain military functions.But the object of its defense may not be the Japanese pirates or the Manchus, but the compatriots in the north.

In the more than 200-year history of the Joseon Dynasty, whether it was the Japanese Japanese pirates or the Qing cavalry, even if these opponents who were far stronger than North Korea pushed them to the brink of destroying the country, they did not overthrow the ruler at that time in the end.However, the crisis that really terrified the rulers of North Korea was the frequent palace coups.On this Jianghua Island alone, at least two monarchs who were overthrown and exiled were imprisoned.

Now Haihan supports a so-called small imperial court in the north, dividing and ruling the three northern provinces. In its jurisdiction, there are not only rich reserves of coal, iron and other mineral deposits, but also many primary industrial facilities aided by Haihan. military manufacturing capabilities.

As the king of North Korea, it is impossible for Li Yi to turn a blind eye to potential risks. He knows that his brother in power in the north may launch a coup aimed at overthrowing his rule at any time.Taking a step back, even if Li Hao doesn't want to do this, if the Haihan people feel it is necessary, they may turn to fully support Li Hao to replace themselves at any time.

Of course, Li Yan can't resist Haihan's military means, but at least he must try his best to prevent domestic attacks.For a key location like Ganghwa Island, it is absolutely necessary to deploy some defensive measures to prevent imaginary enemies from entering the Gyeonggi area from the Han River.

However, due to various practical reasons, including fear of Haihan, it was inconvenient for Li Yi to build large-scale military facilities and station heavy troops on Jianghua Island. In the end, he only kept the Jiachuandun fortress on Jianghua Island in the name of military cooperation. , so that at least when necessary, it can have a certain blocking effect on the Han River waterway.

Jin Shangjiu was an official promoted by Li Yi, and his position was naturally on the side of the king. He also knew the meaning of the existence of Jiachuandun Fortress, but it was not convenient for him to point it out in front of these Haihan officials.

Of course, it is also possible that he did it on purpose, to see if he could have a chance to win the support of these young officials for the king, even if it was just to express his opinion.

But these young people in the mission are all the children of high-ranking officials, and they have some understanding of Haihan's various measures in North Korea, so naturally they will not easily choose sides.Although Wang Anguo understood Jin Shangjiu's implication, he didn't respond to it. Instead, he changed the topic and asked about Jia Chuandun's defense and training.

According to Jin Shangjiu, there are 300 artillerymen stationed in Jiachuandun, including 48 elite gunners who have been trained in Zhoushan.These 300 people are divided into three shifts every day, and they are stationed on the fort every day.There are also more than a thousand infantry, archers, musketeers, sailors, handymen, etc., which are all the troops stationed at Jiachuandun.

(End of this chapter)