1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 355
At the end of August 1628, Annan Yongan Port.

"So your army is planning to let us sell new artillery shells to attack the defense line of Zhengjiang?" Qian Tiandun put down the teacup in his hand, and looked at Zheng Ting sitting opposite him meaningfully: "Sending troops to attack South Vietnam is not the same as The battle plan we agreed upon in advance doesn't match!"

After Qian Tiandun cooperated with the main force from the base camp to complete the Battle of Hoi An, he led his troops back to Yong'an Port in North Vietnam to rest.But after two days of rest, Zheng Ting came to the door in a hurry, and the first thing he asked was to buy the new artillery shells that had just started to be equipped with the militia.

When the Traversing Group formulated their action plan in June, they asked the North Vietnamese side to launch a feint attack to attract the attention of the South Vietnamese Army, so as to cooperate with the militia army to launch a sabotage campaign behind the enemy lines.However, at that time, the North Vietnamese side suffered from lack of military funds to carry out large-scale military operations, and they were somewhat reluctant. If it hadn’t been blocked by the Haihan Executive Committee in the arms trade, the North Vietnamese side would not be very willing to participate.

But now that North Vietnam learned that the Haihan militia had destroyed the city of Hoi An like a bamboo in the south, and attracted a large number of South Vietnamese troops to withdraw from the defense line to defend Hue, they decided to take advantage of the chaos in the south to fight.This is a matter of course in the eyes of the North Vietnamese military, but in Qian Tiandun's eyes, it has a somewhat condescending taste - I have persuaded you to send troops to attack together, but you shirk it in every possible way. Immediately jumped out, which is too presumptuous.

Zheng Ting had been a student under Qian Tiandun when he was in the Tushan training camp. Although the two were about the same age, Zheng Ting still respectfully held the ceremony of disciple: "Instructor Qian, there is a saying in "Sun Tzu's Art of War" , Soldiers are impermanent, and water has no shape. Those who can win due to changes in the enemy are called gods. Soldiers must be changed according to the battlefield situation and changes in the external environment. This is also the principle of combat that you, the instructor, taught us back then. Our side decided not to fight because the South Vietnamese rebels were standing on the defense line of the Zhengjiang River, and our army was not superior in strength. The news has already made the people in the battalion panic, and it is a good time to launch an attack. If Instructor Qian is in command of our army, he will definitely not miss this great opportunity."

"It's not bad. After staying in Shengli Port for a few months, I've learned to be able to speak well." Qian Tiandun said with a light smile.

"It's all the instructors who are well-guided." Zheng Ting responded quickly.

"The price of our new shells is not cheap, and you probably know that." Qian Tiandun said unhurriedly.He also knew that Zheng Ting had gone to Panyu to participate in the battle of Lijiazhuang with other military officers during his advanced studies—perhaps it would be more appropriate to say to observe.Almost all the foreign military officers and students showed great interest in the new type of shotgun shells used by the militia army in battle at that time, and Zheng Ting was not the only one who asked Haihan officers about the price of the new type of shells.However, because the price of the new shells is too high, the only one who has clearly placed an order with "Haihan Military Industry" is Xu Xinsu, a local tycoon in Fujian who is not short of money.

Since the Xu Xinsu Group was equipped with Haihan's arms, it has gradually regained its disadvantage in the struggle against the "Eighteen Zhi".For Xu Xinsu, the price of Haihan ammunition is not a problem, the only thing to worry about is that the supply cannot keep up with consumption.Because there are often some inexplicable situations here in Haihan, the production of this kind of gun is temporarily suspended, and that kind of gun needs to be purchased in limited quantities, and several times Fujian has shipped cash to the past, but they can’t buy anything, so Xu Xinsu simply died. He deposited 10 taels of silver in the "Haihan Bank" in Guangzhou, which was specially used to purchase Haihan arms.Not long after the new cannonballs appeared in Lijiazhuang, Xu Xinsu asked someone to draw half of the 10 taels of silver, and asked to buy Haihan's new cannonballs. Regardless of the unit price, you can buy as much as you can buy for 5 taels.

Compared with the big local tyrants in Fujian, the economic situation in North Vietnam can only be described as miserable.Even though they won a rare and great victory with the assistance of the Haihan militia last time, they did not enjoy the war dividends of the victor at all like Haihan did. Instead, they owed a war debt to the Haihan people.It took half a year and it was almost over. A new round of fighting, or a wave of burning money, is coming soon.

"I also inquired about it before I came down. Master Bai of the 'Haihan Military Industry' said that each round of this kind of shell costs 20 taels of silver, and a hundred rounds of shells are sold instead of retail." Zheng Ting replied honestly.

Qian Tiandun laughed secretly when he heard it. He also participated in the research and development of this shell at the beginning, so he was well aware of its manufacturing cost.Although the technical content of this kind of shotgun is higher than that of the original cast iron solid bullet, its production cost has not risen to an exaggerated level of ten times. Bex's quotation of 20 taels a round is somewhat foolish. .Moreover, due to the limited production capacity and the large order placed by Fujian side, Beks has the saying "Baifa is on sale".

"I do have some stock here, but the quantity is limited. I wonder how much you plan to buy?" Seeing Zheng Ting's sincere attitude, Qian Tiandun gave up the idea of ​​continuing to circle around with him, and returned to the topic.

Zheng Ting said cautiously: "One hundred shots..."

"One hundred rounds may not be enough." Before Zheng Ting could finish speaking, Qian Tiandun shook his head and interrupted him: "Let me ask you, how many gates are needed for the width of the landing site in your battle plan?" Artillery, have you done any calculations?"

"Naturally, this has to be calculated." Speaking of the war, Zheng Ting also regained some confidence, and began to discuss with Qian Tiandun: "The South Vietnamese rebels still have nearly 3000 troops fighting for the south bank of the river. Our side If you want to establish a solid beachhead on the south bank, you must land enough troops in a short period of time. According to our calculations, the landing site must be able to accommodate at least 3000 vanguard troops. The light [-]-type army six-pound guns are the main ones. According to the combat rules learned at the Shengli Port Military Academy, based on the scale of [-] people, every [-] troops are equipped with four to six artillery pieces, and a total of twelve to sixteen artillery pieces are required. "

"It's pretty logical. It seems that I have learned something in the past few months. But have you ever thought that if one hundred rounds of new shells are distributed, each gun will only have seven or eight shells, and one quick shot will kill you?" Yes. If the battle is unfavorable and the enemy does not retreat after the new artillery shells are fired, how do you let the beachhead troops deal with the enemy whose strength is several times higher?" Qian Tiandun asked rhetorically while analyzing.

"This..." Zheng Ting was speechless for a while.He actually wanted to say that with the power of the new type of shells, there is no army that can withstand three rounds of shelling at close range without collapsing, and there is no need to distribute too many shells.But Qian Tiandun said so, but he didn't dare to refute. After all, the initiative to sell or not is in the hands of the other party. If he offends the other party with his words, the shells cannot be bought back. The battle can only stay on paper.

"In my opinion, at least three hundred rounds is enough." Qian Tiandun tripled the order quantity with one sentence.

"But this..." Zheng Ting was taken aback. 2000 taels of silver made his father Zheng Bai feel unhappy, and he spent 6000 taels in one go. He couldn't imagine the consequences.

"It's nothing. Just think about it, even if you don't use up the shells when crossing the river, you can save the shells for future battles! If you encounter similar situations in the future, why don't you come to me to buy them temporarily every time?" Be prepared!" Qian Tiandun persuaded in a "kindly" way.

It's not that Qian Tiandun is full of food and has nothing to do, so he wants to play a guest role as an arms dealer. In fact, when he returned to the base camp to report on his work for the anniversary, Qian Tiandun had already proposed to the Executive Committee to increase the military budget of the Heitugang Military Region to meet the needs of the military. Prepare the daily expenses of the growing Black Earth Port troops.This proposal was not approved by the Executive Committee in the end, because the original plan to expand the army was approved by the Executive Committee only after the Heitu Port Management Committee proposed to bear the military expenses.However, this did not bother Qian Tiandun. Under the multi-party coordination of the Military Commission, "Haihan Military Industry" later proposed a compromise method.

Considering that the Heitugang Military Region is located in Annan, and the "Haihan Military Industry" responsible for the manufacturing and sales of military products does not have a special marketing agency in the local area, Beks proposed that the Heitugang Military Region be responsible for part of the military product sales tasks, and part of the profits It is used as a military subsidy for the Heitugang Military Region.And the first batch of experimental products were new-style artillery shells that attracted the attention of many foreign military officers and students.

Like various weapons and ammunition exported in the past, "Haihan Military Industry" also designed a special export model for this kind of high-end artillery shell with promising market prospects. Its power and range are slightly weaker than those used by the militia in Lijiazhuang.The first batch of export models produced has been sent to Fujian for use by Xu Xinsu's troops.And the ones transported to Yong'an Port were brought by ships from the troops who set off from the base camp to Hoi An this time. The number was not large, and there were only less than [-] rounds.

Since it is playing the role of a distributor, the price that "Haihan Military Industry" supplies to the Heitugang Military Region is naturally much lower than the external sales price.For every cannonball sold, the Heitugang Military Region has a profit of ten yuan, and this is basically a month's military expenditure for a militiaman.Under such stimulation, Qian Tiandun naturally became an amateur arms dealer, and spared no effort to sell new ammunition to Zheng Ting.Qian Tiandun's calculations are intuitive and simple - for every [-] shells sold, it is basically enough for a company of militiamen to spend for a month. The more they sell, the less pressure on military expenditures of the Heitugang Military Region.

Qian Tiandun spared no effort to sell in order to reduce the pressure on his own military expenditure, but Zheng Ting had to face his own military budget deficit.At present, North Vietnam has nearly 2 troops stationed on the front line of Zhengjiang, and the military expenditure allocated by Thang Long Mansion to the front line is only [-] taels per month, which also includes the military pay for the soldiers.If it weren't for a large number of cheap farmers and soldiers to enrich the camp, such a small amount of money would not be enough for military expenditures.And it is not a small operation to squeeze out a few thousand taels of silver to buy arms from such a stretched fund.

How much is given to the Haihan people here will be correspondingly deducted from their own military expenditures, and nearly one-third of the current month's military expenditures will be deducted at once. mess.Not only did Zheng Ting dare not bear this blame, but his old man Zheng Bai also couldn't bear it.Therefore, Zheng Ting did not agree to Qian Tiandun's rough sales, but started to bargain with the other party in circles.

The two discussed for half an hour, and finally reached an agreement to purchase 800 rounds of new shells for [-] taels of silver.In addition, as a subsidy for the agreement and the goodwill of the Haihan military, the North Vietnamese military can borrow a batch of offshore small boats from Yong'an Port to participate in crossing the river. Of course, the sailors need to be prepared by the North Vietnamese military. This point does not even need to be remarked in the agreement. .It's not that there are not enough sailors in Yong'an Port, but that every manpower from Haihan's side costs money. If you are injured or die in battle, you have to bear the cost of medical treatment and pensions. This is not true. The North Vietnamese military would like to see the situation.Although these ships borrowed from Victory Port were not charged extra rent, if they were damaged or even sunk during the battle, the North Vietnamese military still had to pay for it.

This is also something that can’t be helped. The North Vietnamese military didn’t have many boats, and they were somewhat reluctant to use them for crossing the river. However, the Haihan people recently brought back hundreds of boats, large and small, from Hoi An. The object of the ship.Zheng Ting almost left Yong'an Port by escaping, because after talking about it, Qian Tiandun actually took the initiative to bring up the plan to send troops to assist the North Vietnamese military in combat. Zheng Ting was so frightened that he left Yong'an Port quickly, because the military expenses could no longer afford it. Expenditures of sky-high mercenaries.

Zheng Ting was speechless about the money-obsessed style of the Haihan people. Fortunately, this visit finally achieved its goal, that is, he bought new artillery shells and borrowed the ships needed for crossing the river.Although Qian Tiandun took a small slap in the face, if this battle can successfully break through the natural moat of Zhengjiang and allow the North Vietnamese troops to set foot on the border south of Zhengjiang again, that would be a great achievement, and the court would not Because of this small military expenditure of a few thousand taels, it will be hard for the generals who are leading the front line.

However, as part of the military assistance plan, the Haihan militia sent an advisory group to the front line of the river struggle as a military observer.This advisory group does not directly participate in the combat, but only provides references for the military operations of the North Vietnamese Army - of course, the most important task is to grasp the current military strength of the two warring parties and changes in the battlefield more intuitively, so as to provide information for the Military Commission's future decision-making. information.

After another five days of careful preparation, on September [-], the North Vietnamese army launched an attack across the river south without warning.

Hundreds of large and small ships loaded more than [-] North Vietnamese soldiers on the coast a few miles north of the mouth of the Zhengjiang River. They sailed into the mouth of the Zhengjiang River when the sky was getting bright and rushed directly to the south bank.The width of the river here is only about [-] feet, and before the sentry posts of the South Vietnamese Army fully reacted, the flat-bottomed boats of the vanguard had already washed up on the beach.

The soldiers hurriedly lifted the six-pound guns and shells loaded on the ship, and began to set up a beachhead according to the predetermined battle plan.It was only at this time that the South Vietnamese defenders realized that it was the North Vietnamese army that launched the landing battle. While warning, they dispatched a small group of troops to attack the North Vietnamese army's beachhead, trying to drive the unsteady North Vietnamese army into the sea.

The South Vietnamese army who rushed forward to fight was still seventy to eighty feet away from the beachhead, and was attacked by muskets mixed with sporadic shells, and retreated quickly after dropping more than 30 corpses.At this time, the first batch of ships that docked had already left the shore and returned to Jiangbei to carry the next batch of troops crossing the river.

Of course, the South Vietnamese defenders knew very well what it would mean to lose the line of defense, so they mobilized the elite troops in the defenders in a very short period of time and launched another attack on the beachhead troops.Among the troops this time, there are new troops who use muskets and artillery to fight.

At this time, the North Vietnamese army had no more than 400 troops on the river bank, and they did not have any firepower advantage when facing an enemy ten times their size.Fortunately, their commander was also a person who had studied in Victory Port. At the beginning of landing, he used the terrain and some planks carried on board to erect a simple parapet as a cover.

Although this kind of crude cover is completely unable to block shells and close-range musket fire, it can still play a certain role in protection at a longer distance-at least it will comfort the soldiers psychologically.At this critical time, the new artillery shells purchased by the North Vietnamese Army from the Haihan people at a large price finally began to play their due role.

Although there were only four six-pound guns that landed in the first batch, when these four guns were loaded with new shells and fired successively at the charging enemy troops, they effectively eased the opponent's offensive.As Zheng Ting expected, in the face of such shells with a large area of ​​destruction, it is difficult for any army to maintain a dense formation and charge within a distance of thirty or forty feet.

Most of the South Vietnamese soldiers fell at a distance of about 100 feet, and they fell in pieces with the roar of the artillery. Some South Vietnamese soldiers who rushed over sporadically between the firing of the artillery could not escape hundreds of muskets. horizontal salvo.Although the South Vietnamese Army invested a large number of troops to attack this small beachhead from the beginning, they did not achieve the desired results.If the muskets used by the South Vietnamese Army want to hit individual targets at this distance, 2% can only rely on luck.There were only two small cannons that fired every [-] minutes, and the shells they fired occasionally penetrated the crude parapet on the beachhead, taking the lives of a few unlucky ghosts.

However, the development of the battle situation did not allow the South Vietnamese Army to slowly wear down the opponent's troops. As the number of ships docked continued to increase, the number of troops on the beachhead quickly doubled from 400 to [-]. The soldiers carried their hands on their shoulders. A large number of artillery were unloaded from the ship and pushed to the gun positions on the beachhead.

(End of this chapter)