Chapter 1835 It’s hard to escape

After the Qing army occupied Anzhou, they left about 2,000 Korean civilians and more than 70 shipbuilding craftsmen there, who worked day and night to build ships and rafts. In addition, dozens of ships were transferred out of the Yalu River and southward through the Yellow Sea.

Anju to solve the problem of insufficient vehicles on the Chongchuan River and Daning River and difficulty in meeting logistical transportation needs.

However, these actions are all temporary measures after all, and their effect is really limited. A few ships can be built in a hurry. The North Korean defenders followed Haihan's command early and emptied the ships in the two river basins, and even the rivers

All the shipbuilding timber that had not been transported away in time sank into the river. If the Qing army wanted to build ships, they had to prepare timber immediately, and the timber for shipbuilding had to be dried in the shade for one to three years. Even if the timber was cut down from the mountains and forests, it would be difficult to survive.

It can only be used for a short period of time when used to build a boat. But it is easier to build a raft. You only need to cut off the trunk and branches of the wood, process it into a similar length and fix it together before launching it into the water.

Of course, based on the Qing army's plan, they probably don't plan to use these improvised vehicles for a long time. They will just use them for a month or two now. When the war is over, these vehicles will be of little use. So for their quality and durability

, no one cares, as long as it doesn't sink or leak when thrown into the water. At this time, no one could have imagined that not long after the army left Anzhou and headed south, it would be driven back by the enemy in disgrace. And what's worse,

The Haihan fleet actually arrived at the Qingchuan River before their own army.

When two large majestic-class battleships suddenly appeared on the Qingchuan River, the unprepared Qing army abandoned all ships and rafts at the first opportunity and took the initiative to shrink the defense line to Anzhou City. Although the Qing army remained in Anzhou

There are more than 2,000 garrison troops in the state, but no one dares to use bows, arrows and spears to challenge this monster equipped with dozens of naval guns.

Wang Tom was worried about fraud, so he ordered two rounds of cannons to be fired symbolically at the dock to confirm that there was no Qing army ambushing here. However, the Qing army's active retreat made the navy's task of cleaning up the small boats and rafts on the river bank much easier.

, because using naval guns to hit these small targets would inevitably be like killing a chicken with a knife. Not only will it consume a lot of ammunition, but the cleaning efficiency will also be very low, which is much faster than manual demolition.

After confirming that the Qing army had given up on river bank defenses, Wang Tom ordered the marines on the ship to land immediately, scuttle the ships on the shore as quickly as possible, dismantle the rafts, and even pour kerosene on the wood piled on the shore and burn them all.

The main task of the navy at the moment is not to destroy the Qing army stationed in Anzhou City, but to try its best to destroy the vehicles that can be used to cross the river, so that it can intercept the main force of the Qing army returning north.

Fires have been lit on the docks here, and a messenger from the south came from the south to deliver an order asking the local defenders to protect the vehicles on the river. They had just rushed into Anzhou City. There was a strange combination of circumstances in less than half an hour, but Anzhou

But these boats and rafts on the riverside outside the city cannot be saved.

By the time the garrison generals listened to the order from Huang Taiji and rushed out of Anzhou City in a panic to try to save the situation, the landed Marines had completed their mission and returned to the ship to evacuate. Faced with this,

The raging fire on the dock and the debris floating on the river made the defenders cry without tears. When Huang Taiji led his army back to Anzhou, some people would definitely have to take responsibility for this situation.

Although Haihan's wave of raids did not destroy all the vehicles on the Qingchuan River, if the Qing army's tens of thousands of troops wanted to pass through this area quickly, they would not know how long it would take to complete it relying on the remaining poor transportation capacity.

.

Of course, this matter is not over yet. The two fastest warships of the Navy turned around and went downstream, and then turned into the Daning River at the confluence with the Daning River. They also carried out inspections on the adjacent water veins.

Same cleanup. The fleet that arrives here later will take over the work of the flagship, enter the Qingchuan River closer to Anju, and block the main crossing points in the lower reaches of the Qingchuan River.

With the capabilities of the Fujian Navy, it was able to successfully delay the Qing army in these two river basins for nearly a month. Now the naval fleet commanded by Wang Tom himself wants to blockade the rivers here. The Qing army wants to cross the river and retreat to the north.

It probably won't be any easier than when it came.

Because they did not want to abandon the thousands of civilians they had captured from Korea, the Qing army's main force retreated northward at a slow pace. It took more than two days to complete the two-hundred-mile journey from Datong River to Anzhou. Although the cavalry troops

They returned to Anzhou more than a day earlier, but were still several hours behind the Haihan fleet, and were eventually intercepted on the south bank of the Qingchuan River.

After hearing the news, Huang Taiji naturally could not remain calm. Even if he ordered the investigation of Jia La E Zhen Putel who was stationed in Anzhou on the charge of delaying the military plane. But even if he chopped off the head of this unlucky guy, the current passive situation

It is irreversible, and this is the biggest headache for Huang Taiji.

Judging from the rapid response of the Haihan army, Huang Taiji became more and more certain that this was one of a series of combat strategies that the Haihan people had formulated long ago. They deliberately sent the Qing army southward in the Yalu River and launched a counterattack on the banks of the Datong River. Then the surface troops continued again.

Intercepting the Qing army on their way back. In this process, the Qing army not only consumed a lot of time, materials and military expenses, but also suffered thousands of casualties. No matter from which aspect, the Qing army's war situation in North Korea was

They were far less than expected and completely failed to achieve the combat goal of raising troops. Although some people and wealth were captured from North Korea during the period, it was still not enough to make up for the losses in this operation.

At this time, if the struggle with Haihan continues in North Korea, casualties will be secondary, and unsmooth logistical supplies will be the biggest problem facing the Qing army. The supplies that these tens of thousands of people need to consume every day are not a small amount. Once supplies are

Interruption may affect the combat effectiveness of the entire army. The Qing army generals knew this very well, but the terrible thing is that their opponents also knew this very well, and they would definitely try every means to block the Qing army's route to obtain supplies.

After Huang Taiji settled in Anzhou, he immediately asked all ministries to report the current food reserves in order to calculate how much time he had left to break through Haihan's river blockade. Since the Haihan people had planned a series of actions ahead, then

It is absolutely impossible to just send a few ships to blockade the Qingchuan River as the end. There will definitely be some actions next. At present, only by leading the army back to the country as soon as possible can Huang Taiji feel at ease.

This southern expedition to Korea ended in such an embarrassing manner. No one thought it would be like this before setting off. Huang Taiji could only be grateful that although his army suffered a setback, it was not to the extent of damaging his muscles and bones. As long as he could

Just get rid of the interception of the Haihan Army and return to the country, and then slowly try to recover the losses from this expedition from the Ming Dynasty.

But the actual situation is not optimistic. After the various ministries made simple statistics on the supplies accompanying the army, the numbers reported were somewhat shocking. If supplies were to be interrupted, based on the strength of the Qing army in the area south of the Qingchuan River, the current grain and grass reserves would at most be enough.

The supply is less than ten days. And this does not include the share of food needed by thousands of Korean civilians among the generals, otherwise the time limit will be even shorter. Faced with such a large demand gap, troops are sent to plunder the surrounding areas.

I'm afraid it's still far from enough for the villages and towns in the region.

If they do not want to go back and seek a decisive battle with the Haihan Army, then there are only two solutions before the Qing army. One is to restore cross-river supplies as soon as possible and continue to obtain food and grass from the north; the other is to try to cross the river and return to the north, further

Shorten the supply line. But no matter which method is adopted, it is a difficult problem for the Qing army, which currently lacks vehicles to cross the river.

Cutting down trees and building ships again? What a joke, the warships of the Haihan people have already sailed into the Qingchuan River and made their debut. At this time, even the Daning River may have been cleaned up. Building ships and launching them again is just a repeat of the warships that were destroyed by Fujian when they went south.

When the navy blocked the river, it was okay to sneak some people to the other side at night, but with an army of tens of thousands, it would take many years and months to get all the people back to the other side with just a few rafts.

But Huang Taiji also understood that under the current situation, it was basically impossible to bring these tens of thousands of people back home intact, and the method of losing soldiers to protect the carriage must also be used.

Huang Taiji ordered that all civilians currently in the army be mobilized to cut down trees and build rafts on the river bank near Anzhou. The main force of the Qing army quietly marched to the Qichuan River fifty miles upstream of the Qingchuan River, searching for boats from the upper reaches.

Crossing the river is carried out in a place where the river is narrow and the water is shallow.

This attempt actually has certain risks, because the Qing army does not know whether Haihan has deployed surveillance upstream. Even if Haihan does not have time to take such measures, it can still leave this task to the North Koreans to complete. And several

The whereabouts of thousands of troops certainly cannot be concealed for too long, and the upper reaches of the Qingchuan River have entered the mountainous areas, which is not convenient for the march of the Qing army. Once Haihan detects his intentions, there will probably be another disaster.

A fierce battle.

But the current situation is urgent, and the Qing army has no more time to slowly plan a foolproof strategy. They can only make a gesture of forcibly crossing the river in Anzhou, in order to confuse the Haihan fleet blockading the river and provide their main force.

Troops move to buy time.

The more you fear, the more likely it will come. Just as the Qing army feared, Haihan indeed gave the task of monitoring the areas around Anju to the Koreans and asked them to use the communication method developed by Haihan - homing pigeons.

This can basically guarantee that the news detected by the North Koreans on the front line can be transmitted to the Datong River base on the same day. Although it is not as fast as the radio, it is already the most time-effective method at the moment.

During the Qing army's retreat to the north, part of the troops from the Datong River base had already sailed north along the river to Pyongyang and were on standby. On the one hand, this was to prevent the Qing army from returning with carbines to attack the Datong River base. At that time, troops could be sent from Pyongyang to outflank the retreat.

On the other hand, by taking a boat from here and continuing upstream, you can go all the way to the upper reaches of the Qingchuan River. The closest straight line distance between the two water veins is less than 40 miles, which can greatly shorten the time required to march to the vicinity of the Qing army.

.The Bichuan area where the main force of the Qing army headed was right between these two water veins.

Without any surprise, when the main force of the Qing army began to move upstream, the North Korean spies lurking in the mountains and forests outside Anzhou City had already noticed this movement, and promptly released carrier pigeons to report the news to Haihan.

So the 1st Battalion of the Independent Regiment in Pyongyang immediately went on the road. Together with more than 600 soldiers mobilized by Annan and Portugal, they boarded more than ten troop transport ships and rushed to the upper reaches of the Datong River. In order to cooperate with the operation, North Korea also sent more than 1,000 soldiers.

The two soldiers acted together. Although they may not be qualified to fight alongside the Haihan Army by then, they could at least serve as guides during wartime.

The Fujian Navy set off together with the remaining Haihan naval warships on the Datong River and rushed from the sea to the Qingchuan River basin to reinforce the Haihan fleet. By now, Haihan had mobilized the main force of the combat force to the north, leaving only the Haihan navy warships on the Datong River.

After arriving at Annam, a small number of warships from the Portuguese and Portuguese fleets cooperated with the North Korean navy in setting up defenses, and the army in the Taedong River base had also set off to march north.

Due to the timely transmission of military information, when the First Battalion of the Independent Regiment arrived and landed about 20 miles south of Bichuan, the forward battalion of the Qing army had just camped on the river bank here in Bichuan. However, they never expected that the Haihan people would pursue them.

They arrived so quickly that the combat troops were less than half a day's journey from their camp.

However, although the straight-line distance is not far, the terrain is mainly hilly, and the marching speed of the first battalion carrying some heavy equipment is not ideal. When the advance team arrived at Bichuan, they found that this country has only a permanent population of more than a thousand

The town had been looted by the Qing Army's forward battalion, and the dozens of Korean corpses hanging on the big trees outside the town were probably their method of dealing with the resisters.

Not far to the north of Bichuan is the bank of the Qingchuan River. However, this area is relatively flat and there is no cover to allow the 1st Battalion to get closer to the Qing army. After Gao Qiaonan arrived here, he decisively ordered the troops to enter.

He went to the empty Biichuan Town and used the houses here to build a position.

The North Korean spies who were monitoring the movements of the Qing army here quickly discovered the whereabouts of the Haihan Army, and then took the initiative to come over and get in touch with the Haihan Army. Based on the intelligence they provided, Gao Qiaonan judged that they were currently camping on the banks of the Qingchuan River.

It is not the main force of the Qing army, so there is no need to rush to take action at this time. The top priority is to pass the news back to the headquarters first.

After another night, the main force of the Qing army gradually arrived nearby. At this time, Gao Qiaonan had already commanded the troops to set up multiple surveillance points in the nearby area to ensure that the movements of the Qing army would not be missed. At the same time,

After hearing the news, the allied fleet also began to march upstream of the Qingchuan River, intending to drive the main force of the Qing army into the mountainous areas upstream.

As long as the Qing army can be driven into the mountains, the power of its cavalry will naturally be greatly reduced. However, independent regiments whose specialty is mountain and jungle combat can maximize their combat effectiveness in such an environment.
Chapter completed!