Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1666 Rising Wind and Clouds ([-])

Equipped with more than forty cannons, the "Cadiz Rock" heavy warship let out a burst of fire as if venting its anger, smashing several Qing army navy's bird boats to pieces.Two hundred Qing army sailors shouted, abandoned their boats and jumped into the water, and then swam to the shore with all their strength.Since this is near the sea, the people on the east coast were not sure about the water depth of the coastline ahead, and they had no intention of exterminating the ordinary officers and soldiers of the Qing army, so they were allowed to flee, they were just a group of poor people!

Yes, compared with the heavily armed warships on the east coast, the equipment of the navy of the Qing army is indeed too primitive!And aren't the officers and soldiers of the navy of the Qing army who manipulated such primitive equipment to fight against the people on the east bank poor people?

Of course, some people may ask, the Qing court has been hanged and beaten by the East Coast Navy for so many years. Could it be that it has not been dispatched at all, and there is no other way except to move the border and ban overseas?The answer is of course no!In fact, people on the east coast have heard that the Qing army built a Western-style galleon with the help of the Dutch, but they don't know its shape, tonnage, firepower, and speed. This time, the "Cadiz Rock" One of their purposes was to find the ship that was the flagship of the Qing army's navy, but they still haven't found it so far, so they are very angry.

At this time, the "Cadiz Rock" and the two "Star" class light cruisers under the jurisdiction of the Bank of Taiwan - the officers are served by retired Navy non-commissioned officers, and the sailors are recruited on the spot in Ningbo and Denglai - are in the same position. It is the famous Dagukou Outer Sea in later generations.When these three modern warships, which can run rampant in the Liaohai Sea, suddenly rushed directly here, they happened to encounter several small Qing army navy boats training and firing in the open sea, and they killed them directly. The fate of a small Qing army warship.

But, where is the large Qing army warship they were looking for?This ship was built under the guidance of Dutch technicians. At a small scale, it can threaten the existence of ordinary transport ships on the east coast of the Liaohai Sea. At a large scale, it carries the hope of the rise of the Qing Navy. Therefore, it was found and completely destroyed. Shen, not only can continue to consolidate the sea power advantage of the people on the east coast, but also can further attack the vitality of the Qing Dynasty's navy, which is already extremely weak. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

"It's fine if you can't find it. It's probably not on Tianjin Wei's side." Lieutenant Commander Si Dun, commander of the Okhotsk Sea Squadron of the Navy's Third Fleet, captain of the "Cadiz Rock" and Navy Lieutenant Commander, said in a dispirited tone: "I heard that The Tatars built a lot of thick wooden piles on the seabed near the mouth of the Wei River. Small boats with a shallow draft can pass safely, but it is difficult to say for a large ship with a draft of 2-3 meters. Therefore, this large ship should not berth at Therefore, the reason why we come here is just to seek peace of mind."

The southeast wind was still blowing, and everyone was silent for a while.After the people at the bottom reported that they had rescued more than 20 officers and soldiers of the Qing army who fell into the water, Major Sidun finally ordered to retreat. Turn north to east, and go north along the coastline of Suncheon and Yongping two prefectures, while observing whether there are Qing ports and ships built quietly along the coast in these years, while searching for the legendary ship.

The coastlines of Shuntian and Yongping prefectures are roughly the line of Tangshan, Qinhuangdao, and Shanhaiguan in later generations. At the end of Ming Dynasty, the population and economy were not bad. The loss was not large, and they were not harassed by warlords (such as the so-called army of Zuo Liangyu who killed people like hemp) and bandits (such as Chuangxian) in troubled times, so the lives of the people were not bad. .

After the Qing army entered the customs, it became a relatively stable rear area. Except for the fact that Marshal Mo went ashore to plunder the population in the early days, the rest of the time was really "no disease and no disaster". The population grew rapidly and the economy developed. Prosperity is almost the epitome of the entire northern provinces that have been recuperating for many years.

However, what is inconsistent with the rapid recovery of population and economy is that the coastal areas of these two prefectures are still barren, with lush grass everywhere, and occasionally some houses that have collapsed and collapsed. Residential houses that were not burned in time when the border was moved to ban the sea - the barren coastal area has become an ugly scar on the bodies of Shuncheon and Yongping. , this is a price that has to be borne.

Of course, the people on the east coast didn't intend to go ashore to appreciate their "masterpiece", because it was really boring, and they didn't bring any troops to land and fight, so they just slowed down the speed of the boat, and then kept using binoculars to observe every sight near the sea. An inch of land, trying to find a port or dock that would hide the boat.It's just a pity that when they sailed to the sea off Shanhaiguan, they still found nothing. It seems that the Tazi court is very determined to move the border and ban the sea. Except for a very few special ports, the rest will not be opened to avoid being attacked by the dominant East The attack of the navy on the shore only increased the annoyance.

Shanhaiguan still has heavy troops stationed at this time.Not only are there more than 6000 "robust and brave men" in the Eight Banners Horse Team of Manchuria and Mongolia, but the Green Battalion of the Han Army has more than [-] soldiers and horses, and most of them have new weapons such as muskets and cannons. The army attaches great importance to this pass city that communicates inside and outside the pass.

People on the east coast once imagined that if Shanhaiguan was in their hands, the picture would be so beautiful!After all, this is a key location. The money, food, materials, and soldiers sent from the mainland to Liaodong basically pass through here. For example, most of the supplies consumed by Prince Kang Jieshu's department, which is fighting fiercely with the people on the east coast of Liaodong, go from here. For this reason, they almost mobilized a large number of civilian husbands and draft animals from the nearby Shuntian and Yongping prefectures to transfer them.

However, considering that his weak force was not enough to capture this majestic pass city, let alone defend it, he had no choice but to give up.Perhaps when they have established an advantage in the outer northeast and even Manchuria, and have a large number of soldiers, they may consider occupying Shanhaiguan and push the line of defense to the Yanshan Mountains to confront the Qing Dynasty.

On August 1673, 8, due to unfavorable wind and ocean currents, the small group of three east coast warships had to separate here.Among them, the two "star" light cruisers with sails as their entire power source continued to go northward, using near-surface ocean currents to go to Ningyuan, Jinzhou, and even Liaohekou, Gaizhou, and Fuzhou on the west side of the Liaodong Peninsula for investigation; as for the steam propulsion system equipped The heavy warship "Cadiz Rock" crossed the entire Liaodong Bay against the wind and the current, and went straight to Jinzhouwei at the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula. The Jinzhou Wei area should be its most likely hiding place, because it is the only place suitable for berthing large warships.

But it is a pity that the facts disappointed Major Ston again. When they arrived there a few days later and walked around Jinzhou Wei, Jinzhou Zhongzuo and other places, they still did not find the Qing warship, so they only I can stay here for a week in resentment, waiting for the two "Star" class light cruisers belonging to the Bank of Taiwan to come to meet it-of course, they were not idle during this period, and the "Cadiz Rock" used its With good maneuverability and excellent firepower, they bombarded some Tartar villages near the sea along the Liaodong Peninsula (there does not seem to be a forbidden sea here, although the Eight Banners don't know how to sail), which is an act of venting their anger.

After waiting for the two "Star"-class light cruisers that also returned without success, Major Ston finally gave up his efforts to search for the Qing warships, and instead took the three ships directly northward, sailing to the battleship that is currently at the forefront of the war. Dandong Port, the former Zhenjiang Fort in Ming and Qing Dynasties.

After the three ships anchored at the mouth of the Yalu River, Dandong Port immediately sent some small ships to pick up the cargo. Although the three ships were warships, since they traveled all the way from the south to the north to Liaodong, they would of course use their small size The cabin is loaded with some urgently needed materials in Liaodong, such as spare barrels, gun barrels, gunpowder, projectiles, medicines, armor, knives, guns and arrows, etc. There are a lot of them.

The dock laborers at Dandong Port may have recently moved too much military material - after all, it will be the Liaohai Freezing Season in three months, so this will be entering the peak period of material transportation, and Denglai will not hesitate to interrupt The maintenance work of many ships, bearing the cost of the shortened life of the ships, rushed to Liaodong to transport materials - each of them silently unloaded from small barges, and then transported them to heavy-duty ships by flat-bed railcars on a newly built wooden iron-clad track. A freight yard where horse-drawn carriages gather.

Major Ston also took some naval officers and soldiers ashore to rest, and inquired about the current situation in Liaodong by the way, and the news he got was mixed.The good thing is that Dandong, Jiulian City, Kuandian, and some large grain depots (which are also fortresses, such as the Dandong County Depot, which is also the headquarters of the First Division of the Liaodong New Army) that the people on the east coast firmly hold are still firmly under control. In the hands of the people on the east bank, they were not captured by the Qing army; on the bad side, some small fortresses and small food stations in the local area were either captured by the Qing army or abandoned by the people on the east bank. This means that the vast countryside has basically been destroyed. It was abandoned, and the power circle of the people on the east bank was greatly reduced, and they had already retreated to the Yalu River area. For this reason, many pioneers had to be urgently resettled to the territory of North Korea's Uiju on the other side of the river, and the North Koreans were temporarily responsible for their food and drink. , making Li Chao up and down miserable for a while.

In addition, due to the long protracted war, the people on the east bank were almost unable to cultivate land in Liaodong last year and this year, but could only "borrow food" from North Korea to supplement their consumption. It can also be seen that when Shao Shude Ren Denglai When he was the leader of the pioneering team, how important was the Battle of Boeun County, which severely damaged the main force of the Korean Army and signed an unequal treaty with it, otherwise how could the Kingdom of Korea with a population of millions become a cash machine for people on the east bank? It is really abolished, and I am afraid that it will be a very troublesome thing to restore in the future.

All in all, the Liaodong defensive battle commanded by Major Liao Degong was generally quite difficult. Although it has been standing still under the attack of the Qing army, many small fortresses in the area were destroyed, and the soldiers lost in total were also Not in the minority anymore.In addition, the land could not be cultivated, and the houses were burned and demolished by the Tartars. The people who pioneered the wasteland were also killed or captured by the Qing army in the first wave of attacks. How caring the government’s care is, the loss of ordinary people is quite a lot. It is conservatively estimated that the people on the east coast will set back two to three years in the reclamation of Liaodong by the Qing army this time, unless They wantonly blackmailed North Korea after the war in order to recover as soon as possible.

"Poor North Koreans, they have to send troops and food, and they may have to pay for the resumption of production after the war. This Li Dynasty is too unlucky." After hearing the news, Major Sidun said in a slightly In a teasing tone, he said to Lu Xiaozhong, the second lieutenant of the Navy who was following him: "However, the situation in Liaodong will be very difficult in the future. If there is no large-scale increase of troops here, the Qing army can still attack at any time in the future, and the loss will be like that." This time it is generally big. Food, agricultural tools, livestock and houses are actually secondary. The key is the loss of the people who cultivated wasteland. It is a bit helpless. Major Liao has to think about what to do in the future, especially now that the Qing army The combat power has also begun to become stronger and stronger."

"The loss of personnel is really tricky. I heard from my classmates that there is no extra personnel in Denglai to supplement them, because after many years of transportation, the number of immigrants waiting to be transported has now dropped to a terrible level. Many People say that even if the immigrants from Denglai, Ningbo and other places who are willing to spontaneously go to the mainland are included, this is only enough to move to 1675, and the number will decrease every year, so it is impossible to add anyone to the mainland. Land reclamation in Liaodong. Every time Dandong and Kuandian lose a land reclamation farmer, there is really one less person, and there is no way to make up for it in the short term.” Seeing his immediate boss talking to him, Lu Xiaozhong boldly replied: "Now, Commander Liao Xiaoyao of Denglai, I'm afraid he should consider how to continue to recruit people. Otherwise, no one in the local area can afford this responsibility, and neither can Commander Liao. It will ruin his political power. future!"

"Troublesome times..." Major Ston sighed heavily.Having served the East Bank for 40 years, his tone of voice and way of thinking are becoming more and more like a Chinese, and at the same time, he is as open as a mirror to the pettiness between the central government and the Far East governments. with.His judgment is actually similar to that of Lu Xiaozhong's young man, that is, what Commander Liao will have to consider is not only how to deal with the Qing army's multiple attacks, but also how to collect and "store" as many people as possible so that In the next few years, the immigrant transport ship will not be parked in the port doing nothing, then he may really be finished!

Therefore, he is going to come up with some means now!

(End of this chapter)