Chapter 1798 Oppressive Reconnaissance

Although the Qing army was good at fighting on horseback, they could only stare blankly at the armed fleet sailing into the Yalu River. The bows and arrows equipped by the cavalry had a short range and could not hurt the warships in the center of the river. They had to carefully keep their distance.

Out of the range of the Haihan rifle. After several attempts and suffering, these Qing troops stopped trying to attack the warships with bows and arrows, and retreated from a distance to watch the fleet continue to move upstream.

Naturally, the coalition forces would not continue to waste ammunition for these shrimps. Seeing that the cavalry on the shore retreated knowingly, they stopped shooting at them. In addition, Wang Tom did not intend to use the heavy weapons on the ship before a large number of enemy troops appeared.

The Qing army must be able to deliver messages on land faster than the fleet going upstream, so when the fleet sailed fifty miles into the Yalu River, the Qing army's cavalry near the river bank became more and more orderly and not as panicked as before.

Wang Tom believed that the Qing army's headquarters had received the news and began to make corresponding arrangements.

As for whether the Fujian Navy in the lead would be attacked by the Qing army, Wang Tom was not afraid. At any rate, the Fujian Navy also had a lot of practical experience. The tricks that the Qing army could use would probably be difficult to pose a real threat to them.

But as soon as this thought occurred, the fleet ahead sent a signal of an attack.

Regarding the attack methods that the Qing army might launch in the Yalu River, Wang Tom discussed with the officers at the combat preparation meeting before departure. He believed that the Qing army, which lacked an organic surface armed force, would probably be difficult to gather enough warships to attack head-on.

In a duel, the most likely method is to load small boats with fire starters and lower them from upstream, try to disrupt the formation of the combined fleet with fire attacks, and then fish in troubled waters.

However, this method must prepare a large number of small boats filled with fire starters upstream in advance. Even if the Qing army collected all the large and small boats on the Yalu River, they would definitely give priority to using them as vehicles for crossing the river and would not use them.

This kind of method is unknown when it can be launched. Even if the Qing army really makes a desperate use of this extraordinary method, at most it will only cause a little trouble for the Fujian Navy, and it will be difficult to affect the fleet that maintains a safe distance from it.

Main force.

The method of launching an attack from the river bank is nothing more than the use of long-range firepower. With the level of military technology of the Qing army, the heavy weapons that can be used are mainly artillery and catapults, and there may be some sporadic attacks.

Domestic rockets and other small gadgets passed down from the Ming Dynasty have a deterrent effect greater than the actual combat effect. There is no sound of artillery from the front, which can basically rule out artillery or other explosive firearms. Perhaps a catapult with a simple principle and low cost can be used.

This was the method used by the Qing army to launch an offensive against the warships of the Fujian Navy.

The actual situation soon confirmed Wang Tom's judgment. The Qing army set up several catapults on the river bank at the bend of the river ahead, and were shooting stone projectiles about the size of a human head at the naval warships.

The Qing army undoubtedly chose this battle site carefully. Not only was the river narrower, but the ships on the river had to travel a longer distance to pass through this area, which meant that there were more attacks from catapults on the shore.

Chance.

However, compared to the naval guns of the Fujian Navy, although the catapults used by the Qing army basically did not suffer in terms of range, there was a clear gap in attack efficiency, accuracy and shooting power. More than ten people were thrown out in the first round.

When firing stone bombs, the nearest one was still six or seven meters away from the naval warship.

Xu Yuzhuo did not panic when faced with the sudden attack from the river bank. This situation had been anticipated in advance. Before setting off, he had obtained the permission to fire freely from Wang Tom, and immediately ordered the artillery to be in position immediately to launch a counterattack.

, and at the same time send an attack signal to the rear to put the Haihan Navy on alert in advance.

The Fujian Navy is worthy of being a combat force built on the Haihan Navy model. It responded very quickly. Before the catapults on the shore launched the second round of offensive, they fired artillery and launched a counterattack on the shore.

Compared with the Haihan warship, the warships of the Fujian Navy do not have many guns. There are only about five cannons on each side of the ship. However, after these ten warships form a formation, the intensity of the firepower output is still considerable. Ten

Several shells hit the area where the catapults were located, causing chaos on the enemy's position. However, the Qing troops on the shore quickly made adjustments and fired a second round of stone shells.

After a brief adjustment, the accuracy of this attack was improved. Two stone bullets hit the target. One ripped a hole in the sail and flew into the water, while the other hit the side of the ship.

The shells entered the water and caused no casualties. However, the second round of shelling from the Fujian Navy achieved greater results. Several shells directly hit the target, and the broken catapults flew out, injuring again.

Many people.

The Qing army found that this method of fighting was not worth the gain, so they quickly ordered a retreat and gave up continuing to exchange fire with the warships on the river. Xu Yuzhuo was a little disappointed with this. He really wished that the Qing army could form an attack on the shore, so that would be fine

Show more in front of the Haihan people. Now after just two rounds of bombardment, the enemy has fled again, obviously not intending to fight head-on with the coalition fleet.

Wang Tom had a panoramic view of this brief artillery battle through his telescope. Regarding this round of offensive launched by the Qing army, he understood it as a tentative attack. Once it was confirmed that this fleet deep into the Yalu River had relatively strong firepower

, they took the initiative to withdraw from the river bank and get away from the battlefield. However, whether the Qing army would arrange larger stone-throwing arrays or even artillery positions upstream could only be confirmed after visiting.

However, what surprised the coalition fleet was that during the next voyage, the Qing army did not deploy any blocking measures on the shore. Even the cavalry team that had been following the fleet became smaller and smaller, and gradually decreased from nearly a thousand to sporadic

Several cavalry. This gives people the illusion that the Qing army did not have any large garrison strongholds in the upper reaches of the Yalu River, so these cavalry on the shore did not follow.

However, Wang Tom believed that this was just a trick of the Qing army, deliberately creating such a scene to make them think that the upstream area was no longer worth continuing reconnaissance. However, the headquarters had passed various information and signs and concluded that the Jiuliancheng area was the Qing

It is the best choice for the army to gather a large army. If Huang Taiji really plans to attack North Korea, then there will definitely be signs of a large army stationed near Jiuliancheng. Wang Tom will definitely go to the local area to see it with his own eyes before he can draw the final conclusion.

However, there are obviously a lot of Qing cavalry nearby. As a result, Wang Tom cannot easily put the Marines on the shore. Although the Marines only need to have their backs on the river, it will be difficult for the Qing cavalry to break through the barrier provided by the warships.

Fire cover, but as long as there is a large group of enemy cavalry around, the Marines will have to stop and form a formation to fight, and the speed of march will definitely be greatly affected.

Seeing that dusk was approaching, but there were still thirty or forty miles away from the target, the combined fleet was not familiar with the hydrological conditions of the Yalu River, and it was obviously not a good idea to advance in the dark. Wang Tom ordered to move closer to North Korea on the east bank of the river where the river was slightly wider in front.

On one side, we will camp for one night and then leave tomorrow.

Although the width of the river is only a few miles, after the two previous confrontations, I believe that the Qing army will not be too interested in crossing the river at night for a sneak attack. If they send fewer people, they will only die in vain. If they send more people

There must be a lot of movement, and I'm afraid they will be discovered before they even cross the river.

After docking, Wang Tom ordered people to send Xu Yuzhuo and together they confirmed the exact location of the fleet. The maps held by the Haihan Navy are all from that time and space four hundred years later. The current actual terrain along the Yalu River is different from the current one.

There are still some differences in the map, and some places need to be corrected. However, Jiulian City is located on the north bank of the intersection of the Kuei River and the Yalu River, so this destination is definitely unmistakable.

"For the remaining part of the voyage, the river surface may be relatively narrow, and there will be terrain such as sandbars and rocks in the center of the river. The Qing army may also take advantage of the terrain here and use some special attack methods. You must be careful.

." Wang Tom warned Xu Yuzhuo: "If you encounter an enemy, no matter how large the enemy's troops are, don't rush to pursue them, fight slowly and steadily. Remember that we are here to find out the progress of the Qing army's build-up, not to solve the problem with one battle.

.”

The Qing army has not shown a strong willingness to attack so far. Wang Tom believes that there may be two reasons. One is that the Qing army does not station a large number of troops in this area, and the scale of the offensive it can launch is naturally limited; another possibility is that the Qing army does not have a large number of troops stationed in this area.

The Qing army was unwilling to attack Haihan here and now, because once the troops gathered nearby were discovered by Haihan, the entire subsequent combat intention would actually be exposed.

It was not a good thing for Huang Taiji who was exiled from North Korea.

Xu Yuzhuo said: "The Qing army is better at swords and bows but weaker at water warfare. As long as we keep the fighting environment on the river, I believe it will be difficult for the Qing army to threaten us. However, this effect is also mutual. If we don't

Going ashore will not put enough pressure on the Qing army, so they can hide their troops in Jiulian City to prevent us from discovering them."

Wang Tom said: "Because of the possibility of the Qing army stationing troops in Jiulian City, we need to be more stable. Our fleet has a total of more than 2,000 people, and we have brought enough supplies for more than half a month. If that doesn't work, we can still come from North Korea.

If the country collects grain from nearby, this section of the river can be blocked for a long time. But if the Qing army's assembly is already in progress or is about to be completed, how long can a hundred thousand troops wait here? Tens of thousands of kilograms of grain will be eaten every day.

There are no grain-producing areas nearby, so supplies probably have to be transported over mountains and rivers from Shenyang. We can afford it, but the Qing army cannot. They will either choose to be cowardly, or they will have to use all their strength to force us away."

"The pressure we want to exert on our opponents is not just direct attacks such as gunfire and bombardment. It also puts pressure on their logistical support and forces them to adjust their original deployment until more information is exposed. It is also a

A means of oppressive reconnaissance.”

Xu Yuzhuo nodded and continued to ask: "Since our fleet is capable of blocking the Yalu River and can maintain it for a period of time, why not order all the troops stationed on Jianghua Island to move north, so that we can be more confident in blocking the river?

.”

Wang Tom explained: "Even if all the troops are transferred to the Yalu River, the river surface we can blockade will only increase by dozens of miles at most. Instead, our full strength will be exposed prematurely. There is another thing you need to understand.

The purpose of our aid to Korea is to save North Korea from being destroyed. But if we successfully block the Qing army in the Yalu River and the Koreans have not felt the pressure of the war from beginning to end, then what is the meaning of our aid to Korea?

?”

Xu Yuzhuo opened his mouth slightly when he heard it, and then nodded heavily to show that he understood what Tom Wang meant: "Only when the Koreans are hurt by being beaten will the importance of our aid to Korea be more highlighted!"

Wang Tom said: "Whether you are Fujianese, Portuguese, or Annanese, you must have a good record in the Korean battlefield before you can negotiate terms with them in the future, right? If the Qing army has not set foot in North Korea, then

How are you going to prove your strength?"

Naturally, these words of Wang Tom cannot be heard by the North Koreans. From the beginning, Wang Tom did not intend to place the decisive battle on the Yalu River. Instead, he wanted to use the Qing army as a weight to ask North Korea for more benefits that would benefit Haihan.

conditions. But for now, the naval base that Tom Wang wants most has not found an ideal location in this area.

Although as North Korea's rescue troops who had finally moved from overseas, this approach is somewhat unkind, but Wang Tom has been in a high position for many years and has a clear understanding of international relations. A country like North Korea can only become a

A vassal of a powerful country. Since North Korea needs a suzerain in the traditional sense, and the Ming Dynasty has shown signs of decline in recent years, it is undoubtedly most appropriate for Haihan to replace it. The worse the situation in North Korea becomes, the more difficult it will be for Haihan to take over the position of suzerain in the future.

easy.

Anyway, what the Koreans want is to keep their country and not be destroyed by the Qing Dynasty. Wang Tom believes that there is still a great chance of realizing this. As long as North Korea can fully implement the plan formulated by Haihan, then even if it cannot defeat the Qing army on the frontal battlefield

, and could still use other means to force the Qing army to cease fighting and retreat on their own.

The life-saving strategy that Tom Wang found for North Korea was to control the supplies of the Qing army. The first was to control the natural moat of the Yalu River, and the second was to clear the country in advance in North Korea so that the Qing army could not requisition food on the spot. Once the front line was extended,

, supply problems will naturally drag down the Qing army's offensive.

If the Jiuliancheng area was the troop gathering place chosen by the Qing army, then there must be several places to store grain nearby to support the Qing army's offensive after crossing the river south. But now that the coalition fleet has appeared on this section of the river, the Qing army will no longer be able to

When crossing the Yangtze River and heading south, heavy troops still had to be stationed in Jiulian City to protect the granaries, which would invisibly reduce the strength of the troops entering the DPRK.

Since the situation of this war is theoretically partially controllable, Wang Tom has the remaining power to strive for more benefits for Haihan during this period.
Chapter completed!