1627 Rise of the South China Sea

After the artillery troops directed two rounds of intensive bombardment at Yong'an Fort, it seemed to be completely quiet inside.The infantry unit that received the order started again, and slowly advanced towards the gap that was blown out on the east side.

If it weren't for the consideration of saving ammunition, Sun Zhen actually wanted the artillery to razed Yong'an Fort directly to the ground.But the forts here are too dense, and there are still Shanhaiguan in the distance to fight, so we can't consume too many shells as soon as we come up.

Although the two smaller forts on the side and rear of Yong'an Fort tried to send troops to reinforce them, they were stumped by the Haihan cavalry wandering on the flanks of the battlefield.

These cavalrymen were all equipped with seven-round cavalry rifles with short barrels but powerful firepower. They not only moved fast but also had strong firepower. They were far more difficult to deal with than the Haihan infantry.As soon as the reinforcements came out of the fortress, the Haihan cavalry came up to them and opened fire on them tens of feet away.

Although the Ming army also had bows and arrows and muskets, their range and accuracy could not be compared with the weapons of the Haihan army. Rather than fighting back, it was more appropriate to say it was to strengthen oneself.

When they rushed to a closer place with their rifles fired, the Haihan cavalry took the initiative to withdraw a certain distance and continued to suppress the Ming army by taking advantage of the range of their weapons.

After being beaten by Haihan cavalry for two rounds like flying kites, these Ming soldiers realized that a forceful charge was not the way to go. With their strength, even if they finally charged into Yong'an Fort, there would not be many people left.So after dropping more than 20 corpses, they withdrew back in disgrace.

At this time, the vanguard also successfully entered Yong'an Fort. Although there were still a few survivors inside, they could no longer organize a decent resistance.

And for those defenders who are still trying to resist, the Haihan Army will not give the slightest mercy. They have received orders to resolve the battle as quickly as possible, regardless of the opponent's casualties.

A dozen or so captives who managed to escape were quickly escorted to the rear and handed over to the Military Intelligence Bureau.These prisoners of war will be interrogated immediately, and if they provide useful information, they will probably save their lives.

Sun Zhen raised his wrist and looked at his watch. It took about an hour and a half to conquer Yong'an Fort. For him, this kind of performance can only be regarded as quite satisfactory, not particularly outstanding.

However, considering that the troops under his command have not fought such intense battles for almost three years and still need some time to re-adapt to the battlefield, Sun Zhen feels that such results are acceptable.

The two small forts on the side and rear of Yong'an Fort are slightly inferior in strength and garrison strength, but the defenders still did not choose to evacuate, and it seemed that they planned to defend to the end.

The combat effectiveness of the Ming Frontier Army is actually not bad, but the problem is that most of its elite have been wiped out by the Haihan Army a few years ago.Now the newly trained Bingkong has the will, but has little combat experience, and lacks the means to respond flexibly when facing the offensive of the Haihan Army.

Such a small group of fortresses can indeed slow down the advance of the Haihan army, but it is difficult to cause large casualties to the Haihan army, it just consumes more ammunition.

The Haihan army still used the same offensive mode. After blasting the walls of the two small forts with artillery, the infantry was allowed to advance gradually, and the cavalry provided cover on the outside.

This time the Ming army did not defend like Yong'an Fort. Seeing that the front line of defense was broken, they could no longer stop the Haihan army from attacking, and the Ming army that was still able to move gave up their position and fled to the rear.

Sun Zhen's combat headquarters also moved forward and entered Yong'an Fort.

This place is already in ruins, and there is hardly a well-preserved house in the fort. The engineers and soldiers can only clear a place among the ruins and set up a canopy tent to serve as the headquarters' office.

Sun Zhen didn't care about the poor environment. After the radio station moved over, he asked the communications soldiers to immediately set up the antenna and send a message to Chen Yixin to inform him of the latest progress here.

On the other side of Bohai Bay, the situation of Sun Bing, the commander of the Fifth Army Division, was much easier than his colleagues.

The Ming army in Qingzhou was only about [-], and there were only a few hundred people who rushed to Shouguang County to fight in the first time. about one-third.

With such a small amount of troops drawn by the Ming army, it is obviously impossible to prevent the Haihan army from crossing the state and counties and heading north.

After several unnecessary attempts, the Ming army saw that they could not stop them, so they could only retreat two miles away to follow the Haihan army.This is not so much waiting for an opportunity to launch an attack, but more like escorting the Haihan army on the flanks to cross the border.

This kind of behavior is not difficult to understand. Qingzhou must have received the order to stop the Haihan army, but the generals leading the troops must have scruples. If they don't care about it and fight recklessly, the local garrison may not escape the result of annihilation.

In today's world, if you can have thousands of troops under your hands, that is the capital to settle down, and you are also a prince at any rate.If the family property is wiped out, the imperial court will not be able to spend money to re-form a military force and hand it over to Qingzhou.

Besides, the location of Qingzhou was originally stuck on the boundary line between the control areas of the two countries, but there was no natural danger to defend it. The Haihan army would come here for a walk in the name of training every now and then.Qingzhou still belongs to Daming today, it may be difficult to say in a few days, offending Haihan is tantamount to cutting off the road.

Anyway, the Haihan army had already sent news through secret channels. This time the northward trip was just a transit, and they would not attack the city of Qingzhou.Rather than fight head-on with the Haihan army, it is better to put on a show and report back to the court that after several days of hard work, the enemy army has been driven out of Qingzhou and the job is over.

Keep the team in your hand, and if things change after a while, at least you can still have the capital to negotiate terms with Hai Han.

As for the errand of stopping the Haihan army going north, Qingzhou couldn't stop it anyway, and whoever could stop it, let him do it. This credit cannot be taken away.

Sun Bing had already expected the reaction of the Ming army in Qingzhou. He only ordered to be on guard, and did not plan to divide his troops to drive away these scattered Ming troops.

He led the way to the north, and there was no critical pass like Shanhaiguan to attack on the way, so there was no need to get too entangled with the Ming army stationed along the way.

Of course, if any Ming army was brave enough to block the way without fear of death, then Sun Bing would not refuse to take an extra piece of military exploits.

The real battle, Sun Bing thought, might happen after leaving Qingzhou and entering the Jinan prefecture.

The Yellow River that crosses Jinan Prefecture is one of the few natural dangers that the Ming army can defend.Once Sun Bing's troops crossed the Yellow River in Jinan Prefecture, they would have a flat river ahead when they entered Hebei, and there was no danger to defend.If the Ming army planned to resist in a decent manner, it would definitely deploy defenses along the Yellow River.