Chapter 1834 It’s hard to come back, it’s even harder to come back

Huang Taiji was not afraid of the Qing army's casualties in the battle. After all, no one would die in a battle. Troops with real combat effectiveness are often brave and fearless of death. And when fighting an opponent like Haihan, a large number of casualties would definitely be unavoidable. However,

If after thousands of soldiers died, let alone the dawn of victory, or even the hope of changing the situation of the war, then it might be a different matter.

The Qing army is currently in such a predicament. The troops that are constantly pouring into the battlefield have disappeared in the roar of guns and artillery, and they are still unable to achieve the combat goal of engaging the Haihan army in close combat. And at the current engagement distance

, the Qing army could only suffer a one-sided massacre, without even a chance to counterattack.

The essence of the Qing army's combat thinking is to exchange human lives for the advancement of the front line, and shorten the combat distance to face-to-face fighting before a real chance of victory will appear. However, this tactical thinking has long been seen through by the commander of the Haihan Army and modified.

Taking advantage of it, a special battlefield like this was set up, allowing the Qing army to misjudge the situation and believe that it could rely on its superior strength to break through the Haihan position.

Of course, thousands of casualties have not shaken the fundamental strength of the Qing army, but continuing to fight a war of attrition with no hope of victory is no longer part of the Qing army's plan for this expedition to North Korea. Huang Taiji received rewards from the front line

After hesitating for a moment, he finally ordered Ming Jin to withdraw his troops.

This round of fighting was much shorter than the previous battle, and the Qing army's casualties were nearly half less than last time. General Haihan originally expected that the Qing army would have to pay the price of tens of thousands of casualties.

They would consider stopping, but this moment obviously came earlier than they expected. Qian Tiandun was also a little surprised by this. He even suspected that this was done deliberately by the Qing army, hoping to lure the Haihan army to pursue them and then kill them.

.

"Withdrawal? The enemy is withdrawing now?" Jin Sangxian shivered and held on to the guardrail of the watchtower. He couldn't believe his eyes. Why did the Qing army suddenly withdraw its troops when the battle was still in full swing? He

Of course, I hope that the Qing army can evacuate their country as soon as possible, but I also hope that the Haihan army can inflict heavy losses on the Qing army in the battle as they promised. Today's battle situation is not even as fierce as the last round, which makes Yifenxin want to see

The lively Kim Sang-hyun couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

"It seems that the killing was too brutal!" Qian Tiandun could only use this as an explanation for the Qing army's withdrawal from the battlefield. However, he was not dissatisfied with Gao Qiaonan's on-the-spot command. Once the defense line was breached by the Qing army, the base would be destroyed.

Thousands of coalition troops and nearly 10,000 refugees must have suffered heavy casualties. In this kind of life-and-death situation, there is no room for any oversights. Takahashi Minami's arrangement is actually a very safe approach.

Of course, even though the Qing army withdrew from the battlefield, they did not necessarily have to retreat all the way to Liaodong. They might take a rest for two or three days and launch the next round of offensive. But Qian Tiandun could already feel the Qing army's active retreat.

It seems that the opponent's fighting spirit is dwindling little by little. Perhaps after this battle is over, the opponent will prepare to pack up and go home.

"I think the naval forces can be assembled and ready to go." Wang Tom, who watched the whole battle, was more direct. He believed that the Qing army took the initiative to withdraw its troops before tens of thousands of people entered the battlefield, which fully demonstrated its command.

Officials' attitude. The Qing army is likely to choose to withdraw its troops from North Korea next, which means it will be the navy's turn to take action.

Qian Tiandun had no objection to this, but he still requested that the three fleets of Annan, Portugal and Fujian Navy should continue to be stationed in the Datong River to prevent the Qing army from secretly crossing Chencang.

The current situation is still far from the defeat of the Qing army that Haihan expected. Although the Qing army lost thousands of people on the banks of the Datong River, most of its main force structures were retained, and no senior generals were defeated in the battle.

There are no losses, so the situation of the entire army is relatively stable, and even if the troops withdraw, it is unlikely that chaos and loss of control will occur.

Under such circumstances, the army did not dare to leave its position rashly to pursue the Qing army. On the contrary, it was safer for the navy to go around to the north and use the river environment to intercept. And compared with the one on the bank of the Datong River, which took more than two months to build,

Position, the navy's operational environment faced fewer risks, and it was far easier to intercept the Qing army than the army.

So while the Qing army withdrew its troops and returned to camp, Wang Tom issued an order for all naval personnel, including the Marine Corps, to assemble in the dock area and prepare to set off. A dozen Haihan warships were still patrolling the upper reaches of the Datong River.

They also had to rush back to the base immediately after receiving the order and join in the action of going north to outflank the Qing army's retreat.

There was no movement at the Qing army's camp that day, and there was no big reaction to the Haihan reconnaissance cavalry that began to appear sporadically nearby. But the calmer it was, the more Haihan believed that the Qing army was retreating.

Planned.

The actual situation was exactly like this. After the Qing army withdrew its troops and returned to camp, Huang Taiji summoned the generals to announce his decision to give up the war with Haihan and withdraw his army into the country.

This can be said to be a rare situation in the Qing army's foreign military operations in recent years. Although the war against the Ming Dynasty often ended with the Qing army retreating on its own, it was usually because the Qing army had plundered enough people, money and food in the Ming Dynasty.

Leaving in a swaggering manner with the spoils of war is completely different from leaving in disgrace after a defeat.

Of course, if the Haihan people had not appeared on the Korean battlefield at an untimely time, the Qing army's victory would have continued without any suspense, and Korea would have become another victim of the fall under the iron heel of the Qing army.

The Qing army did not have any special resistance to this. At most, they were a little discouraged by such a complete defeat. On the contrary, many troops who had not been put into the battlefield were secretly glad that they did not have to risk their lives to fight against the Haihan army.

Fight hard and return home alive.

"Evacuate overnight to avoid long nights and dreams!" Huang Taiji was very decisive after making up his mind, not wanting to leave the Haihan Army a chance to pursue them one after another.

But in fact, the operational efficiency of the Qing army still could not meet his requirements. Tens of thousands of people had to assemble and set off at night, and they could not make too much noise to avoid disturbing their opponents. This was a problem for the Qing army who belonged to different tribes.

It is not an easy task. The only troops that can actually evacuate overnight are a few Niu Lu who serve as the vanguard camp. The remaining large troops basically set off from the camp after the sky gets dark. Thinking about this movement

It is basically impossible to hide from your opponents.

When Qian Tiandun woke up in the early morning, he received the latest report on the Qing army's movements. At this time, Wang Tom had already gone to the dock and was preparing to lead the fleet to set off. Although the navy's warships had not yet been assembled in place, Wang Tom

Tom couldn't wait any longer. If he didn't hurry up and set off, the best opportunity would be delayed.

Gao Qiaonan was already waiting outside Qian Tiandun's residence, waiting for his instructions on whether to lead his troops to pursue the retreating Qing army. For the independent regiment, this mission to North Korea took several months, but

Their actual turn to fight has only been in the past few days. Although they have killed a lot of enemies, these two battles certainly cannot satisfy the independent group who are eager to fight.

Qian Tiandun shook his head slightly and said: "Don't worry, the Qing army is not in chaos yet, and the risk of pursuit is too great. Wait a little longer, and when the Qing army is stopped by the naval fleet in the north and cannot go back, then we can go over and chase them away.

One trip.”

After Qian Tiandun finished speaking, he saw that Gao Qiaonan did not take the order to leave immediately. He knew that he probably still had some ideas, so he smiled and said: "Let the scout cavalry keep a closer eye, and send two infantry companies to hang behind. Pay attention to safety."

Distance, don't let the Qing army come back with their carbine!"

Gao Qiaonan has followed Qian Tiandun for many years, and he can roughly understand his boss's intentions after receiving the order. The scout cavalry is responsible for approaching and monitoring the movements of the Qing army, while the infantry company hanging behind is responsible for waiting for opportunities to pick up those stragglers.

The scattered Qing troops - this is most likely the Qing army deliberately leaving behind the troops to monitor the movements of the Haihan army.

The Haihan Army's reconnaissance operations are never one-way. While collecting military information and monitoring the enemy's movements, they must also try to block the enemy's reconnaissance operations against their own side. If the independent regiment wants to leave the position, it will face a force ten times larger than the enemy's.

If your enemy launches an active pursuit, you must not let the enemy know your own movements in advance. Otherwise, just the mobilization of tens of thousands of cavalry in the Qing army's formation will be enough to make the independent regiments fighting in the field drink a pot. And

What's worse is that the Qing cavalry took advantage of their mobility and directly bypassed the independent regiment to attack the Datong River base. Not only would all their previous efforts have been wasted, but it might also give the Qing army a chance to turn the entire battle around.

As the commander-in-chief of the army in the Korean battlefield, Qian Tiandun naturally could not let his troops make such low-level mistakes. Therefore, although he was very assured of Gao Qiaonan's military qualities, he still gave a few extra words of advice to let Gao Qiaonan

Be careful with the retreating Qing troops.

Although the frontal battlefield confrontation between the two armies seems to have come to an end, for the scouts, their battlefield is outside the Datong River position. The scouts in the independent regiment are basically selected and trained by Qian Tiandun himself.

In addition to basic training subjects, troops from cavalry, artillery, sniper, navy and other arms are also specially sent to receive a variety of training to ensure that they have the ability to collect required military information for other arms. It can be said that this independent regiment is

The best among the elite troops.

And its individual equipment is almost at the top level in the army. The mounts are specially supplied by the war horse base on Hainan Island. The rifles, pistols, sabers and binoculars are all special models customized in small batches. All kinds of backpacks and field supplies are also available.

It was designed and manufactured by Qian Tiandun himself. All the equipment is not for sale, and its actual value is difficult to simply calculate using currency.

From the snow-capped dense forests of Liaodong to the year-round hot islands of the South China Sea, the independent regiment's scouts were once the area of ​​activity. Their ability to adapt to the environment is probably unparalleled in the entire Haihan Army. An elite team like this,

Both Qian Tiandun and Gao Qiaonan had great trust in their abilities, so they dared to entrust them with the task of approaching and monitoring the Qing army.

Of course, it is said to be close surveillance, but considering that there are a large number of roving activities outside the large Qing army, the limited number of scouts must first ensure their own safety. In fact, they still maintain at least five points of contact with the Qing army.

A distance of six miles. Fortunately, each of them is equipped with a telescope, so this distance will not pose a big obstacle to their reconnaissance.

As for those Qing army rangers who try to get close to them, the scouts will not take the initiative to fight with them because of their excellent equipment. They know very well that their mission is to detect the enemy's situation, not to capture the enemy's head. When they sense that there is an enemy,

When the cavalry approaches, they will take the initiative to distance themselves and move closer to their companions. If a group of enemy cavalry leaves the large group and wants to drive them away, the scouts will choose to lead them to the rear - within a few miles

Outside, there were infantry units hanging behind, ready to meet them at any time.

The Qing army was not surprised by the Haihan reconnaissance cavalry following them. This was a strategy that any opponent would adopt, even if it was the Korean army that had been beaten by itself and was unable to fight back. When the Qing army moved south,

There have always been scouts operating nearby, but no Haihan people have come so close.

The rangers responsible for monitoring enemy movements on the periphery will report the military situation to the Chinese army where Huang Taiji is located every hour. Huang Taiji is actually somewhat ambivalent about whether the Haihan Army will pursue pursuit actions. On the one hand, he certainly does not want to withdraw.

After the action was intercepted by the Haihan Army, the march speed was slowed down, causing more trouble. On the other hand, he felt that the Haihan Army might choose to go out in full force in pursuit of greater results. In that case, the Qing army would still

You can have the opportunity to take a detour to find a camp and destroy its stronghold, thus changing the direction of the war.

However, after the army set off and marched for dozens of miles, Huang Taiji still had no news that Haihan's army was pursuing him. He felt a huge sigh of relief and was a little disappointed.

At this time, the fleet of the Haihan Navy had sailed out of the Datong River Estuary and rushed to the north at full speed. In order to ensure that it arrived at the scheduled combat location before the main force of the Qing army, Wang Tom even ordered several large-tonnage warships in the fleet to turn on the steam power on board.

system, leaving behind the large troops and rushing to the local area.

Although the main force of the Qing army has moved south, a small number of soldiers and horses have been stationed in various towns that have been conquered along the way, and Koreans have been recruited locally to work day and night to build ships and rafts. The Qing army does not intend to rely on these temporary constructions

The vehicles were designed to compete with the Haihan fleet, but to solve the problem of insufficient logistics capacity. Of course, these vehicles would also play a great role when the Qing army withdraws its troops domestically.

Prior to this, Haihan deliberately gave control of several rivers in the north to the Qing army, in order to allow them to move south confidently and boldly. If it were not for the feelings of the Koreans, Haihan might even have kept the Qing army

Put it in the Han River and then launch a counterattack. For Haihan, the naval fleet can regain control of these rivers at any time. If the Qing army crosses one more water vein when it invades, it will pay countless more casualties when it retreats.
Chapter completed!