Chapter 1796 Reconnaissance Operation

Two thousand taels of gold sounds like a lot, but when the North Koreans sent it over, it was actually packed in only two small iron boxes, which looked inconspicuous. After Wang Tom checked the amount, he had someone put a seal on it.

Get up. The gold will not be stored in the fleet for too long. When the supply fleet goes south later, it will be sent to Zhoushan and then transferred back to China. As for the fleet's expenses in the north, they are mainly based on paper currency.

, to the outside world, it is a combination of banknotes and silver, and gold, which is listed as a key reserve material by the Executive Committee, is rarely used. Although the fleet also brought some gold when it set off, it was all gold bars officially issued by Haihan Bank, and

The gold received from abroad must first be sent back to the country to be recast and turned into gold reserves in the national treasury before it can be used again.

After the North Koreans offered this military expenditure, Wang Tom's attitude finally softened a little. He was not blinded by the money, but at least the North Koreans once again expressed their attitude and were willing to pay and hire Haihan to send troops to defend.

own country. If the coalition forces want to fight in North Korea in the future, I believe it will not be difficult for the North Korean authorities to continue to use their pockets to provide military expenditures.

However, other members of the coalition do not have the qualification to enjoy active contributions from North Korea. They can only bear the expenses of fighting in the north by themselves. At most, they can enjoy the wartime support provided by North Korea as a unified coalition force.

Logistics support. If you want to make money after the war, establishing an independent route from the south to this area is basically the only way. Haihan has given the green light to their needs, but in the end whether it can happen or not,

It still depends on their performance in the war.

These companies had already fought in the Battle of Manila, and their performance was recognized by Haihan. After the war, each of them was rewarded by setting up local trade bases and even enclosing land. It was precisely because of having tasted such

Fortunately, these companies are very interested in entering Northeast Asia. Even though Haihan stated that the situation here may not be determined by a single battle like in Manila, they still insisted on sending troops to participate in the coalition.

The Allied Forces Command quickly agreed on the next operational arrangements and conducted a more in-depth reconnaissance of the area near the border between the Qing Dynasty and North Korea to confirm whether the Qing Army was moving towards the border area to gather large forces. The Fujian Navy, which took the initiative to request a war, also received

Having gained the trust of the command, they will act together with the Haihan Navy. The Independence Regiment and the Annan and Portuguese troops will continue to stay on Ganghwa Island, waiting for news from the front. At the same time, the command will also continue to negotiate with the North Korean authorities.

They are urged to improve their war preparation measures as soon as possible, and the North Korean domestic armed forces should also be integrated into the coalition's command system to ensure that the North Korean army can cooperate with the coalition's actions.

"I'll leave the job of dealing with the North Koreans to you." Wang Tom unceremoniously passed the blame to Qian Tiandun, who was staying on Ganghwa Island: "If they make any mistakes, don't bear it. I think they are

Need a lesson!"

"Of course I won't tolerate them." Qian Tiandun changed the topic: "But don't be too careless when you go to the north. If you find that the opponent's troops are superior, retreat to the sea as soon as possible. After all, you will have two legs in a fight.

Can’t run on four legs!”

Regarding the matter of entering enemy-occupied areas to perform reconnaissance missions, the Haihan generals did not take the Qing army lightly because of their previous advantage in the Liaodong battlefield. According to historical records, the Qing army invaded North Korea with more than 100,000 troops.

Even if the water is removed, the command headquarters believes that its combat troops are at least around 40,000 to 50,000. The number of troops Haihan can put on the Korean battlefield may be less than one-tenth of that, and the casualties he can withstand are even greater.

It is far inferior to the Qing army. If the Qing army has gathered its troops near the border between the two countries, and considering that entering unfamiliar areas to perform tasks will inevitably greatly reduce its combat effectiveness, it is indeed risky to go to the north to detect the movements of the Qing army this time.

Tom Wang nodded and said, "I will be careful. You still have to remember the safety rules."

The so-called safety regulations are some precautions specially formulated by the Executive Committee for the generals who are leading troops overseas. The personal risks faced by generals who lead troops overseas must be considerable. And generals like Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun

, whose personal safety can almost be equated with national security, the Executive Committee has also restricted his actions during command operations to avoid being in danger as much as possible. For example, this reconnaissance requires going deep into the interior of enemy-occupied areas.

Action, in principle, travelers cannot personally lead troops to venture on the front line. At most, they can sit and command near the coastline. Qian Tiandun reminded Wang Tom that he also wanted him to stay calm and not to forget about personal safety on impulse.

It is worth mentioning that after the Battle of Jinzhou in 1636, Huang Taiji offered a reward for General Haihan. Those who could capture Haihan and the generals who led troops in Liaodong alive would be directly granted the title of king and fiefdom, even if they took it back.

People can also enjoy high-ranking officials and generous salaries. Of course, this bounty is more of a means to encourage soldiers to kill the enemy, and Huang Taiji has no hope of actually catching General Haihan.

In the next two days, the generals gathered together to study the plan for the reconnaissance operation. The first step was to determine the target area for reconnaissance. In the past, the border between the Ming Dynasty and North Korea was bounded by the Yalu River, and the southeast was the border of North Korea.

The northwest is the jurisdiction of the Liaodong Dusi of the Ming Dynasty, but now most of the Liaodong area has fallen under the iron heel of the Qing army, and this natural national border has become the dividing line between the Qing and North Korea.

The straight-line distance from Shenyang to the Yalu River is less than four hundred miles, but the terrain during this period is almost entirely mountainous. Tens of thousands of troops, especially large cavalry units, must be assembled from the direction of Shenyang to the national border, and

It is not an easy task. With the Qing's national strength at this time, the expedition to North Korea will also be a great test for their logistical support capabilities.

Precisely because of the special terrain of this area, Haihan believes that there are only a few routes for the Qing army to mobilize troops, and there are only a few places where the Qing army can assemble tens of thousands of troops on the north bank of the Yalu River. Considering Haihan

The coastline near the mouth of the Yalu River had been repeatedly cleared in the past two years. The Qing army would not choose a place close to the coastline as the base camp for launching a cross-river offensive. Therefore, Wang Tom believed that if the Qing army wanted to gather near the Yalu River to cross the river, it would be inevitable.

It will be a place slightly upstream. About a hundred miles away from the coastline, Jiulian City, located on the north bank of the Yalu River, is one of the areas that Wang Tom believes is most likely to be selected by the Qing army as a gathering point.

Jiulian City was built in the Jin Dynasty and got its name from the nine connected castles of different sizes built there. It faces the Kuihe River and the Yalu River in the east, and is backed by Zhendong Mountain. The strategic terrain is very dangerous. In the Ming Dynasty, another Zhenjiang City was built here, and With thousands of soldiers and horses stationed there, it was an important military location on the Liaodong border and one of the main land routes for trade and diplomatic exchanges with North Korea. Of course, now all this area fell into the hands of the Manchus and became the Qing Dynasty part of the territory.

If Huang Taiji leads his army from Shenyang, he can pass through Baitapu, Qinji Fort, Weining Camp, Lianshanguan, Tongyuan Fort, Xilie Station, Phoenix City, Tangzhan Fort, and march all the way through the mountains to Jiulian City Crossing the river from here is Yiju in North Korea. This route is the only official road built in this mountainous area during the Ming Dynasty. If Huang Taiji wanted to quickly complete the army gathering near the border, there was basically no other way. Chosen.

The previous reconnaissance operations launched by the Jinzhou garrison only made routine observations near the mouth of the Yalu River and did not venture hundreds of miles inland, so the situation near Jiuliancheng was not clear. Although the seat of Yiju in North Korea is far away from Jiuliancheng, Liancheng is separated by a river, only more than ten miles away, but the relevant information provided is of little reference value, because since North Korea provided logistical supplies to the Haihan Army stationed in Jinzhou last year, Houjin has blocked it The North Korean garrison in Uiju tried to find out information about the other side of the Yalu River, but they were worried about being used to start a war, so they did not act resolutely. There has been no substantive information. Harvest.

Of course, based on the performance of the North Koreans at this time, even if relevant information is provided, Wang Tom may not dare to believe it all. He will definitely have to go through it himself before he can rest assured. However, under his strong request, Kim Sang-hyun has asked people to Send a message to Seoul, requesting the king to order the troops from the northern states to gather in the direction of Yiju, so that if the Qing army suddenly launches an offensive, North Korea will not have even the slightest resistance. Once the Yalu River defense line is breached, the Korean peninsula will The coastal plain on the west coast will become a fast passage for the Qing cavalry to move south. Even if Haihan sends troops by then, it may not be able to stop this offensive.

The coalition forces spent three days on Ganghwa Island to rest and formulate an action plan. During this period, although Kim Sang-heon also tried to get North Korean generals to go to Ganghwa Island to join the coalition's combat preparation meeting, they were all turned away by Wang Tom for various reasons. . Before confirming that the North Koreans would no longer paddle, Wang Tom did not want them to participate in the coalition's operations, so as not to delay them.

One day in early May, a fleet of more than 30 combat ships, ten troop transports, and eight supply ships slowly left the dock of Ganghwa Island in the morning fog and headed northwest.

This fleet included ten warships belonging to the Fujian Navy led by Xu Yuzhuo. He was also very excited to get the opportunity to take the lead in this operation. Both Annan and Portugal's colleagues were very excited about what he could get. He was envious of such an opportunity, but this trip north was mainly for reconnaissance, so although the other two families also wanted to fight, Wang Tom no longer needed more participants.

Haihan's repeated campaigns at sea in the past two years have completely destroyed Houjin's few surface armed forces, and almost all of the few remaining warships will no longer take the initiative to go to sea. Therefore, the current Yellow Sea area has no control over Haihan. It basically belongs to the safe zone. There is no need to worry about encountering enemies in this sea area, and you can move forward with confidence and boldness. The fleet will also take this opportunity to explore the northwest coastline of the Korean Peninsula again and check and correct the map data at hand.

Although it has entered May, due to the influence of the Little Ice Age, the temperature in the north is below 20 degrees all year round, and there is no strong feeling of heat even in midsummer. This is my first expedition to this area.

Southern soldiers will more or less have some symptoms of colds or acclimatization. Fortunately, the military is very well prepared for this, and has corresponding medicines for timely treatment, and there are no large areas of patients on the ship.

Two days after setting off from Ganghwa Island, the fleet sailed past the west side of Pi Island where the soldiers and civilians of Dongjiang Town were once stationed. However, all the soldiers and civilians on the island had moved to Jinzhou last year. Now the island is basically uninhabited.

It became a deserted island. Officials from nearby Tieshan, Xuancuan, Dingzhou and other places breathed a sigh of relief last year after seeing off the Ming army on the island, believing that no longer providing them with supplies could alleviate local tensions.

Pressure, but within a year, the military threat from the north made them miss the sense of security when the Ming army was stationed nearby in Dongjiang Town. Even at that time, the Ming army on the island was starved and skinny due to lack of supplies, which was not enough.

To support high-intensity battles, it is still a strong supporter for the Koreans during wartime.

However, the Koreans also know that if you want to burn incense, it is effective to burn it in a big temple. Seeing that the Ming army is no longer reliable, the Haihan army that can beat the Hou Jin army back step by step in Jinzhou is obviously the real one, so they decisively

They came to Haihan for help. Although the Haihan people made many more demands than the Ming army stationed on Pi Island, this was taken for granted by North Korean officials. After all, their strength was on display here, and they wanted more money and food.

That's normal for civilians.

Although Wang Tom rejected North Korea's request to send troops to participate in this reconnaissance operation, he still brought North Korean official Jin Sangjiu with him so that he could go ashore to contact the local government in the event of an emergency. However, the specifics of the reconnaissance operation were not clear.

As for the arrangement, the headquarters still did not disclose much to Jin Shangjiu, so he could only continue to be a spectator during this voyage as before.

"If you're lucky, you can just go out for a sightseeing trip, and you can go back in a few days. If you're not lucky... then we may run into a large force of the Qing army near here, maybe

Fight directly." Wang Tom said to Jin Shangjiu: "Of course, Mr. Jin, don't be nervous. I will not arrange for you to get off the ship to fight with the Qing army. You just need to stay on this ship and wait for news. If nothing happens, you

Maybe you won’t even see the shadow of the Qing army.”

Jin Shangjiu was quite puzzled by this: "Since General Wang said it was so easy, why is your army unwilling to take our army with us?"

Wang Tom coughed twice, patted Jin Shangjiu on the shoulder and said: "Master Jin, it is precisely because I did not bring your army with me that I can make this matter so easy!"
Chapter completed!