Chapter 1824 Stop here

The parties that formed the coalition participated in this war for different purposes. Portugal and Annan mainly wanted to obtain trade treatment from North Korea and expand their commercial routes to the Yellow Sea. The Fujian Navy, which had long been allowed to enter this area, except

In addition to obtaining the trade rights of North Korea, another important purpose is to train troops.

Because it was too sensitive to send troops in collaboration with Haihan without authorization, the Fujian Navy did not even plan to declare military exploits to the Ming court. After all, for Xu Xinsu, who was not short of money and did not want to be transferred out of Fujian, the reward from the court was not of much significance.

It has practical significance. With the example of Haihan in front of him, Xu Xinsu believes that training a strong local army will be more practical for the Xu family to ensure its long-term prosperity. Therefore, even if it sends troops to participate in the war in North Korea, it will cost a lot.

Despite the price, Xu Xinsu still firmly chose to join the coalition organized by Haihan.

As the commander of the Fujian Navy, Xu Yuzhuo also implemented this idea. Every action after arriving in Liaodong took the initiative to ask Wang Tom for battle. The Ming army status of the Fujian Navy did make it easier for them to carry out operations in North Korea, so

He will gain the full trust of Wang Tom and send him alone to carry out combat missions.

After returning to the defense line of the Datong River, the Fujian Navy was also the first fleet to launch as a surface force. This made Xu Yuzhuo quite proud. He believed that the performance of the Fujian Navy in the Datong River and Qingchuan River was indeed recognized by the Haihan people.

Through the actions during this period, Xu Yuzhuo also realized that although the Qing army was good at land warfare, it immediately became weak when it encountered water. As long as it was active on the river, the Fujian navy did not have to worry about the Qing army creating too much trouble for itself.

trouble.

Compared with the surface forces, the independent regiments and Marine Corps responsible for defending the land defense line are under much greater pressure. Before the coalition fleet returned from the north, the independent regiment had already begun to practice various tactics on the defense line in order to

They exerted their full combat effectiveness in the battle. The Marines who had just returned to the Datong River base with the fleet also marched to the defensive position immediately after landing. They needed to familiarize themselves with the defense area they were responsible for - the river banks on the east and west sides of the base as soon as possible.

Although the terrain of the base surrounded by water on three sides is very favorable for building a defense line, the Army is still not satisfied with the temporary defenses. It can only make up for the shortcomings of the defenses by increasing the deployment of troops. Fortunately, thousands of migrant workers

Despite working hard day and night, the overall project was completed just before the arrival of the Qing army.

After the Qing army occupied Anzhou, they spent an extra day to rest and reorganize their troops before setting off to continue their march south. The next goal of the Qing army was very clear, which was the city of Pyongyang, which is located more than a hundred miles south of Anzhou.

In this era, Pyongyang City was the capital of Pyongan Province in northern North Korea and an important town near the west coast of North Korea. However, during the Ding Mao Rebellion in 1627, Pyongyang City was captured by the Jin army at that time. A large number of people were kidnapped as slaves and the city was also destroyed.

It was extremely severely damaged. Although the city defenses have been repaired in recent years and many special policies have been given to the local area to restore social production, it has still not been able to return to the level before the war.

According to the original historical trajectory, this city would be captured by the Qing army again during the Bingzi Rebellion in 1636. However, due to the intervention of Haihan in this time and space, the historical development process was changed to a certain extent. The Qing army invaded North Korea.

The time was delayed for more than a year, and the speed of the southward advance was also greatly affected. It took two months to advance to the vicinity of Pyongyang. Pyangyang City is located on the bank of the Datong River and is divided into two parts, Jiangnan and Jiangbei.

Partially, but the North Korean army did not have much confidence in defending the city, and Haihan's army did not intend to transfer army troops to Pyongyang to assist in the defense, so Haihan simply suggested that North Korea abandon the defense of Jiangbei City and directly retreat to the south bank to defend the river.

After the North Korean side learned about Haihan's battle plan, they agreed to this plan and moved all the personnel and materials on the north bank to the south bank, leaving only an empty city area for the Qing army.

The cavalry troops of the Qing Army's Pioneer Battalion rushed outside Pyongyang City after setting off from Anzhou. However, the bellicose Qing Army was not frightened by the empty city strategy and sent a small group of troops to test the area near the city wall.

When there was no response, more than a hundred people dismounted decisively, threw them onto the city with grappling hooks, and then climbed up. Soon the Qing army determined that there were no defenders in the city. To be precise, the Koreans had abandoned the city.

The city was already deserted, and nothing valuable was left for the Qing army.

The generals of the Pioneer Battalion were a little dumbfounded when they saw this situation. Since entering North Korea, although the opponent's combat power is not strong, they have not given up a city so directly. Especially when they attacked Anzhou City a few days ago, the Qing Dynasty

The army really spent a lot of effort to capture the place. The defenses of Pyongyang City were stronger than those of Anju City. It was really surprising that the defenders chose to retreat without fighting.

When Huang Taiji received the news from the front line, he could not understand the true intention of the North Korean defenders. The only reasonable explanation seemed to be the chain reaction caused by the Haihan people's cancellation of military aid, which caused the defeat after defeat.

The North Korean army took the initiative to give up half of the city of Pyongyang. As for where the defenders would retreat, it was obvious. The Datong River lying in front of the Qing army did not seem to be a natural chasm that could be crossed within a day or two.

The Pioneer Battalion did not organize a forced crossing on the spot, because there were no ships near the north bank, and all water transportation vehicles had been cleared by the authorities and sent to the south bank. If the Qing army wanted to cross the river quickly, it would probably

The only option was to go to the city and dismantle the door panels to make a raft. However, after discovering the shadowy sails on the other side of the river, the generals of the Pioneer Battalion decisively gave up this unrealistic tactic. After the first two battles on the river,

Based on the experience of the enemy fleet encountering battles, the Qing army knew very well that forcefully crossing the river at this time would only lead to death in vain.

One day later, the main force of the Qing army arrived in Pyongyang one after another. They did not encounter any armed resistance on the way. To be precise, in the more than 100 miles from Anju to Pyongyang, the Qing army did not even see a single person.

Living people. North Korea very resolutely implemented the tactics of fortifying the wall and clearing the field in this area. This approach made many Qing generals feel a little chill.

In the invasion of North Korea ten years ago, the Jin army at that time also attacked Pyongyang City with overwhelming momentum. However, the defenders did not abandon the city directly, but defended it for four days and three nights.

Declare the fall. This time the North Koreans had obviously much more time to deploy defensive measures than ten years ago, but the other side decisively chose to abandon the city. This is weird no matter how you look at it.

After Huang Taiji arrived in Seoul, he did not immediately launch an operation to cross the river. Instead, he first deployed cavalry to conduct reconnaissance along the river bank upstream and downstream to find a suitable place to cross the river, and then convened a meeting with his civil and military officials to discuss countermeasures.

In land operations, it can be said that the Qing army is not afraid of any opponent except the Han army at sea. Even the Portuguese army, which was also equipped with muskets in batches, suffered moderate losses when confronting the Qing army in Liaodong. But if

When the battlefield moves to the water, in any environment such as rivers, lakes or seas, the equipment disadvantages of the Qing army will be infinitely magnified, leaving them without the ability to fight against the opponent's armed fleet.

The opponent grasped this shortcoming of the Qing army very accurately, so it was blocked by the river several times during the invasion of North Korea. But now this situation has occurred again, with the natural chasm of the Datong River standing in front of it.

If it drags on here for another month, even if the casualties are ignored, it will cost a lot of supplies for the Qing army. Now the Qing army's supplies in North Korea are all transported by land, from the Yalu River to

The current location is hundreds of miles away. Every additional day the combat operation is delayed will increase the pressure on logistics.

Although the Qing army has strong land mobility, in an environment where North Korea consciously implements the tactics of fortifying walls and clearing fields, it has to rely more on its own logistics supplies. The daily supplies and combat equipment needed by tens of thousands of people are very important for logistics.

Carrying baggage was a great test, and the Qing army was not really professional in this area.

The combat meeting held by Huang Taiji did not discuss any clever strategies. They could only adopt a cautious strategy first and wait to confirm the defense strength on the river before making any plans.

The preliminary reconnaissance results made Huang Taiji feel even lower. There were obviously a large number of large warships on the other side. Obviously, he did not intend to abandon the Datong River as well. If he wanted to cross the river here, he would definitely have to pay a lot of money.

The cost of casualties was huge. What's more, North Korea had cleared the nearby river banks in advance, and the Qing army simply could not get enough vehicles to complete a large-scale river crossing operation in a short period of time.

If the invasion of North Korea can be re-planned, Huang Taiji may reconsider the trouble caused by Haihan's intervention in the war, and even re-plan a march route closer to the inland, even if it has to pass through numerous mountainous areas.

It would be much better than dragging it along a big river for more than half a month.

But now it seems that it is too late to re-plan the march route and bypass the armed blockade on the Datong River. Tens of thousands of Qing troops have to enter the inland mountainous areas and detour hundreds of miles to avoid the Datong River basin. First, it is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Second,

It will have a great impact on morale, and Huang Taiji does not want his personal expedition to turn into a farce of hide-and-seek with the Haihan army. If possible, he certainly hopes to defeat the Haihan people on the frontal battlefield.

It proves that the Qing army is the most powerful armed force in this region.

The Qing army spent the next two days conducting reconnaissance on the upper and lower reaches of the Datong River, but the results were not optimistic at all. On the river dozens of miles upstream from Pyongyang, the Qing army's reconnaissance cavalry saw groups patrolling on the river.

The Ming fleet on the river, and the conspicuous "Xu" flag on the mast, indicated that this fleet was the naval force that had previously blocked the Qing army in Anzhou for more than half a month.

The scouts who went downstream along the river bank discovered a new town a hundred miles away. However, this place was blank on the North Korean map. In theory, there should be no city, but now it can be seen.

There was smoke from cooking stoves, densely packed houses, and docks on the river bank. But when the scouts tried to get closer, they discovered that this so-called "town" was not that ordinary. There was not only a defensive zone built with iron nets and horses on the outside, but

, you can also see the trenches and forts that have been faintly formed. Although there is no city wall here, it is obvious that this is also a large armed stronghold.

The Qing generals were also puzzled as to why the city of Pyongyang was directly abandoned by the Koreans, but an armed stronghold with a large population apparently appeared in the lower reaches of the Datong River. However, according to the reconnaissance results, this was probably Datong.

The only place on the north bank of the river that is still inhabited.

There is a theory that the Koreans may have internal divisions of opinion, just like what happened in Anzhou. Some people want to withdraw from the battlefield, while others intend to fight the Qing army to the death, so Pyongyang emerged.

The city was empty but a new stronghold was built downstream.

Naturally, there are many unreasonable aspects of this idea, but judging from the current situation of the Qing army, this seems to be a more likely situation.

It is not that no one thought that that place might be related to the Haihan people who had claimed to withdraw from the Korean battlefield, but the information provided by the scouts was too little, and there were no details to connect this place with Haihan. In addition, most people subconsciously

The country is unwilling to accept the reality that the Haihan people are still in North Korea, and is not even willing to consider this direction.

So in the absence of detailed information, Huang Taiji allocated 5,000 soldiers and horses to Azige's command and asked him to go downstream to find out.

In order to avoid being detected by the enemy, Azig deliberately stayed away from the river bank when he led his troops south, and arrived at the north side of the Datong River base a day and a half later.

After all, Azig was a general who had commanded many large-scale battles. After observing from a distance, he found that the environment in this place was somewhat unusual. Between the two water veins that flowed into the Datong River in the east and west, there was a piece of water between them.

It is an area surrounded by water on three sides, and where this area is connected to the inland, a weird and winding defense line has been built.

The outermost edge of this line of defense is an artificially dug ditch, followed by various defenses. Azig once had a long-term confrontation with the Haihan Army in the Jinzhou Isthmus, and he could recognize it at first sight.

These fortifications clearly bear the traces of Haihan.

"Why are they the Haihan people again!" Azig suddenly became depressed. Didn't the intelligence say that the Haihan people had given up military assistance to North Korea? How could they quietly build such an armed stronghold on the bank of the Datong River? Could it be that the rumored North Korean

A piece of land was given to the Haihan people to use as a military base, and this is where it is?

Seeing this defense line reminded Azig of his days in Jinzhou. He really didn't want to deal with the Haihan people on the battlefield. Even if the defense line here looked very crude, it still seemed to Azig that there were many dangers.

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Chapter completed!