1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3890

While the generals of Haihan were holding a pre-battle preparation meeting, the military headquarters in Nanchang was also bustling with activity.

Recently, this place has become one of the busiest places in the city, with a constant flow of cars and people every day, just like a market.

Of course, a government office is still a government office, and this is the department in charge of the Ming army. The people gathered here are not ordinary people who come to the market. Most of them are officers of various ranks from the Nanchang garrison, as well as a large number of messengers who are constantly shuttling back and forth.

The latest enemy intelligence from outside Nanchang was constantly being sent here from all directions, so that the important figures in the government office could make judgments on the situation and direct the deployment of the defending troops.

The highest-ranking military commander in Nanchang at present is Ding Baoguo, the Jiangxi Provincial Commander, who is also a representative of the pro-war faction.

According to the traditional regulations of the Ming Dynasty, civil officials had far greater authority than military officials. So, although Ding Baoguo, a second-rank official, was half a rank higher than Zhao Mingyu, a second-rank official, he usually had to obey the orders of the Provincial Administration Commission.

However, after the war broke out in Jiangxi, or more precisely, after Haihan quickly occupied most of Jiangxi and Zhao Mingyu publicly expressed his desire for peace talks and a ceasefire, Ding Baoguo was no longer willing to obey the orders of the Provincial Administration Commission.

Ding Baoguo's proposal was that since Haihan was unwilling to give up, they should gather the Ming army in Jiangxi Province, with Nanchang as the center, set up layers of defenses, and use harassment warfare and mutually supporting stronghold warfare to continuously deplete Haihan's troops and supplies during the retreat.

Once they advance to the walls of Nanchang, their fighting strength should have been significantly reduced. At that point, relying on the city's strong defenses, they can wait for the enemy to tire themselves out and find an opportunity to defeat the Haihan army's offensive, thereby breaking their myth of invincibility.

This proposal received the approval and support of many in the army, and since there were indeed tens of thousands of soldiers still available for battle in Nanchang, it seemed that there was still a chance of victory.

However, his proposals did not receive the support of the Provincial Administration Commission, and he was unable to organize an effective overall defensive operation during the Haihan Army's attack on Jiangxi.

Seeing that the prefectures and counties of Jiangxi were fighting independently and falling one after another, the Ming army suffered heavy losses and the battle plan had fallen through. Ding Baoguo became increasingly unwilling to cooperate with Zhao Mingyu.

Later, without the support of the Ming army, Zhao Mingyu organized a negotiation team on his own and went outside the city to meet with the Haihan people. Ding Baoguo did not stop him.

Ding Baoguo understood perfectly well that Zhao Mingyu's attempt to persuade the Haihan people to cease hostilities and withdraw their troops had an extremely low chance of success, but if it did succeed by chance, it would be a good thing.

If negotiations fail, at least it will buy the defenders of Nanchang some time. Although this time won't bring reinforcements from the imperial court, it can be used to further strengthen the city's defenses and improve the defensive system. Most importantly, Ding Baoguo believes that the failure of negotiations will shatter the illusions of all those seeking peace. At that point, everyone trapped in Nanchang will have no choice but to unite against the Haihan Army, and perhaps a desperate measure will offer a glimmer of hope.

So when Zhao Mingyu returned after his failed negotiations, Ding Baoguo wasn't particularly disappointed. Instead, he felt it was only natural—the Haihan Army had conquered most of Jiangxi in just two months and had already advanced to Nanchang Prefecture. Why should they stop fighting at this point? Just because of Zhao Mingyu's old face?
However, the situation was already extremely urgent, and Ding Baoguo had no time to gloat. Since the ceasefire negotiations had broken down, the war would soon resume, and the Haihan Army's attack on Nanchang City would not be far off.

The biggest disadvantage for the defending forces is that there are no more organized warships available on the Gan River. Therefore, there are basically no defensive measures on the river in the north and west of the city. The Haihan Army can move freely on the river and even use the cannons on the ships to attack the city walls.

Ding Baoguo's strategy in response was to concentrate the artillery with longer ranges on the city walls in these two directions and use it as coastal defense artillery.

Theoretically speaking, the range and accuracy of artillery mounted on ships cannot compare with those of artillery on land. In naval artillery battles, land-based artillery would definitely have an advantage, and large-caliber coastal defense guns would often become a nightmare for warships.

Therefore, the defenders believed that the city walls on the west and north sides, bordering the river, offered very limited landing space for the Haihan army, making them unlikely to be the main attack direction. They reasoned that simply placing some cannons on the city walls and firing them when enemy ships approached would deter the Haihan army from launching a landing operation.

This would allow the defending forces to concentrate their strength to defend against Haihan's offensives from the east and south, which are more likely to become the main battlefield for the two sides in the future.

However, this assessment deviates somewhat from the actual situation. The East China Sea Fleet did not perform well in its operations in Jiangxi. It mainly focused on troop deployment and material transportation, and hardly participated in the siege operations. Naturally, its firepower capabilities were not fully demonstrated.

The Ming generals in Jiangxi had very little experience fighting against the East China Sea Fleet, and their knowledge of it mostly came from publicly available information. They did not understand the strength of the Haihan's shipborne firepower and made judgments based on their existing experience.

In fact, when Shi Diwen mobilized ships to form an inland river fleet for this operation, he had already taken into account the geographical environment of Jiangxi and included amphibious landing operations as one of the preparation requirements. He specifically selected some warships that had been equipped with new models of cannons to provide fire support for the landing operation.

Improvements in military manufacturing processes have enabled Haihan to produce large-caliber naval guns, which can fire farther and more accurately than older models. Previously, these were installed on newly built large warships like the Slava-class, but now, with increased production capacity, the East China Sea Fleet has also begun to retrofit some smaller warships with these new naval guns.

Of course, the use of large-caliber naval guns also brings some new problems, such as occupying more deck space, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of guns that can be deployed on board. The ship's artillerymen also need to be retrained to adapt to the combat performance and operational requirements of the new guns.

With the support of these new naval guns, Shi Chengwu was confident enough to take on the offensive missions in the northwest. He knew that the landing and siege of Nanchang would not be easy, but as his military education from childhood had taught him, all difficulties on the battlefield stemmed from insufficient firepower. As long as there was enough firepower, it was not impossible to carry out a landing operation right under the noses of the Ming army.

On July 9th, the Haihan Army approached Nanchang City from multiple directions by land and water. Several small groups of Ming cavalry left outside the city attempted to break out through an opening, but the Haihan Army was clearly prepared and had deployed multiple lines of defense in advance. The Ming cavalry spurred their horses forward, but failed to break through the Haihan Army's crossfire; most were either killed or wounded. The defenders also lost all intelligence from outside the city.