Chapter 1836 Intercepting and Killing the Qing Army

The Haihan Army was able to arrive so quickly to ambush near the destination of the main force of the Qing Army. On the one hand, it was due to the timely transmission of military intelligence information and the effective organization of the troop march. On the other hand, it was also due to the terrain of this area in North Korea.

The upper reaches of the Datong River north of Pyongyang are all in mountainous areas. There are no roads in this area and basically only have water navigation capabilities. It is extremely difficult for large army troops to pass through this area on land, so the Qing army also gave up on its own initiative.

The plan was to cross the river from the upper reaches. However, the area that the Qing army could not pass was accessible to the coalition forces with a large number of ships. The Qing army's grasp of geographical information was far less comprehensive than that of Haihan, and they did not even have

Realizing that a section of the upper reaches of the Datong River is only a few dozen miles away from the crossing point they chose on the Qingchuan River, otherwise they would definitely not have hurriedly evacuated after plundering Biichuan Town, and would at least be stationed here.

A small team was on guard against the Haihan people who might suddenly appear from the nearby mountains and forests.

After Gao Qiaonan arrived at Bichuan Town, he did not immediately order an attack on the Qing army. Instead, he first built basic defenses in the outskirts of the town and erected the four field guns that had finally been transported here. Although Gao Qiaonan

He is very confident in the First Battalion of the Independent Regiment he leads, but he does not dare to put too much trust in it. If the Qing army besieges this small town with heavy troops in a desperate situation, the First Battalion, which lacks heavy weapons and fortifications, will be temporarily transferred here.

With hundreds of coalition soldiers and a thousand North Korean soldiers, they may not be able to securely hold on to this windy town.

In Takahashi Minami's opinion, the current environment is not suitable for a confrontation with the main force of the Qing army. Even if a fight is to be fought, it is best to wait for the follow-up troops to arrive and form a joint force. He now has full command of the front-line troops.

Decisions like whether to fight or not to fight, and how to fight, can be made by oneself without asking Qian Tiandun for instructions on everything.

After mastering such power, the combat efficiency of the independent regiment has undoubtedly been greatly improved, especially in the current environment, where the coalition command headquarters is two to three hundred miles away from the frontline troops. Even with black technology like a radio station, it is still inevitable

There is a possibility of delaying the fighter plane.

Of course, for Takahashi Minami personally, the more feeling is that his superiors have given him full trust, and this trust means that he cannot make any mistakes in the process of commanding the battle. Defeating the battle is the second best. If he fails,

Qian Tiandun's trust is unforgivable. Therefore, he would rather be a little more cautious in the command process than give the enemy a chance to make a comeback because of greed for credit.

However, the Qing army was not stupid enough to ignore basic combat principles when it decided to withdraw. Most of these generals had fought many battles in the Southern and Northern Expeditions and had rich combat experience. The main force immediately resumed operations after arriving near Bichuan.

An outer warning circle was constructed. So soon a Qing army cavalry discovered something strange in Bichuan Town. There seemed to be human activities in this town that had just been plundered. They immediately assembled a team of people and tried to enter the town to check.

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In fact, when this group of cavalry was still about half a mile away from the village, someone on horseback already noticed something was wrong. The main passage in and out of the town seemed to be blocked by tree trunks and rocks, and this was obviously not the case.

This was done by the Qing troops who had withdrawn after the robbery. As they drew their sabers and tried to rush into the town to see what was going on, the familiar sound of gunfire suddenly came from the front, and then several people at the front were shot and fell from their horses.

Seeing this, the others did not dare to charge any more, and quickly pulled back the reins and changed directions to leave this place where the Haihan army might be ambushed.

There were only a dozen casualties in this brief contact, and all of them were on the side of the Qing army. But this quickly attracted the attention of the Qing army, because only half a day ago, when the Qing army was cleaning up Bichuan Town, no trace of any connection with the sea was found.

There are clues about the Han people, and the local Koreans all unanimously claim that they have never seen the Haihan people. If the Haihan soldiers in this town did not fall from the sky, they have just arrived here.

Abatai, who was responsible for commanding the peripheral security, did not dare to neglect, and immediately dispatched two Niulu cavalry to investigate. If there were not many Haihan soldiers in the town, they would naturally eat them decisively.

The Qing army did not spend too much time to find out that the enemy in the town was not just a small group of people. When the two Niu Lu cavalry launched a decisive charge, the sound of cannons was heard from a temporary fortification somewhere in the town, and it was obvious that several gunfires were fired.

The door cannons fired one after another. This was obviously not a weapon that a small team would carry during a field march. The officer leading the team immediately gave a signal and asked his cavalry to change directions and avoid charging head-on into the town.

Gao Qiaonan also did this deliberately by letting the only four artillery pieces fire one after another. The purpose was to make the Qing army realize that there were a lot of Haihan troops in the town, so that if these barbarians jumped over the wall in a hurry, they would directly dispatch thousands of cavalry to charge.

, then this temporarily deployed defense line may not be able to block it, and once the cavalry breaks through, the more than two thousand troops piled in the town will no longer be able to maintain an advantageous combat distance, and will not even be able to evacuate.

Very dangerous situation.

Sure enough, once bitten by a snake and afraid of well ropes for ten years, the Qing army immediately retreated when they discovered that artillery was participating in the battle in the town, fearing that they would be caught in Haihan's firepower like the cavalry charge on the banks of the Datong River and find it difficult to escape. But Rao was

In this way, this round of artillery fire still killed more than a dozen cavalry soldiers.

The sound of the cannon naturally alerted the Qing military camp on the banks of the Qingchuan River. Many soldiers' subconscious reaction was that the Haihan fleet had been chasing them from the river. But when they rushed out of the camp, they saw that the river was empty and there were many people.

I immediately fell into a state of bewilderment.

"Where did the cannon fire come from?" Huang Taiji was also startled by the sudden sound of cannon in the tent, and quickly stood up and asked.

Soon there were reports from the front line, saying that enemy troops of unknown strength had appeared in a nearby town. Although no identification signs such as flags had been seen, it was basically determined from the gunfire and firepower that they were the Haihan Army. In addition,

Considering that there are several artillery pieces deployed in the enemy's formation, it can be initially determined that the enemy's strength will not be less than a thousand people.

Huang Taiji's heart sank when he heard the news. At this time, he did not expect that Haihan's army would take a boat to get nearby and then land and march over. His first reaction was that Haihan had already predicted the trend of the battle, so he planned to do so in advance.

An ambush was set up in the upper reaches of the Qingchuan River, waiting for the main force of the Qing army to fall into the trap.

Since the Haihan Army took the initiative to enter Bichuan Town to set up defenses without exposing their whereabouts, it can be inferred that they were not afraid of the main force of the Qing Army appearing on the nearby river bank. They were most likely prepared and did not worry about the Qing Army attacking them.

The town launched a large-scale offensive. Combined with the deployment of artillery in the town, Huang Taiji could only estimate the situation in the worst direction. He believed that there were probably thousands of enemy troops ambushing the town and the nearby mountains and forests, and perhaps waiting

When the Qing army went to attack this town, they cooperated with each other inside and outside.

If the Koreans wanted to play this kind of trick, Huang Taiji would have ordered the attack without even thinking about it. A wave of cavalry would have pushed them over, and any plot he had planned would have come to naught. But Haihan’s opponent was different.

The Qing army had almost never taken any advantage in previous battles. Whether it was tactics or strategy, the Qing army was always in control. Every time it thought it had a chance of victory, it was proven after the war that it was actually set up by Haihan.

A trap. As for the Haihan Army that suddenly appeared nearby, whether it was an accident or a premeditated collision, this really gave Huang Taiji a headache.

After thinking about it for a moment, Huang Taiji thought it was better not to take the initiative to get into this trouble. If the Haihan Army was dragged here for another three to five days, then the main force of the Haihan Army in the south would come over, plus the troops on the Qingchuan River.

With the armed fleet attacking from a pincer attack, our troops would no longer be able to safely withdraw into the country.

But the problem is that the whereabouts of the Qing army have now been exposed. With the degree of control the Haihan people have over the battle situation, it should not be difficult to judge the Qing army's next plan. It is certainly impossible to watch the Qing army cross the river here, and they will definitely take action.

To hinder.

"Inform Abatai and ask him to order five thousand soldiers and horses to separate the town of Bichuan from our army camp. The soldiers and horses in the camp will assemble after dark and continue northward along the river. No news will be leaked!" Huang Taiji thought for a moment and then made his decision.

The decision was made to abandon the camp where they had just settled and continue to move towards the upper reaches of the Qingchuan River. Abate's troops were actually used to block the rear. If the Haihan Army took the initiative to attack, then Abate's troops would be responsible for catching them.

In order to get the main force out of its attack range as soon as possible.

Of course, this kind of countermeasure may ruin the thousands of soldiers and horses left behind, and there may not be other Haihan troops lurking in the upper reaches of the Qingchuan River, but now the options before Huang Taiji are getting fewer and fewer day by day, and the number of people who make decisions is

The time limit is getting shorter and shorter, forcing him to find a way out of the cracks. Now he no longer dares to think about how to defeat the Haihan Army. Now he can bring as many of these tens of thousands of troops back to the country as possible to help the Qing Dynasty.

Retaining more fresh troops is a more realistic goal.

The Qing army mobilized thousands of soldiers and horses from the west and north directions to separate the connection between Bichuan Town and Qingchuan River. However, Gao Qiaonan noticed that the Qing army's troops were mainly cavalry and did not dare to attack easily.

We can only try our best to defend this town first, and we have to beware of night attacks by the Qing army.

However, nothing happened all night. In the early morning, when Gao Qiaonan used a telescope to observe the Qing army camp in the distance, he suddenly realized the enemy's true intention - not a single trace of smoke could be seen in the direction of the Qing army camp. It was obvious that

They left this place overnight. The only direction they could go was to continue inland to the northeast along the banks of the Chongchuan River.

The further upstream you go, the worse the river's navigation ability is, and Haihan's huge armed ships may not be able to reach these places. The Qing army will not have to worry about interception from the river when they cross the river. However,

After penetrating deep into the interior of North Korea, we were surrounded by rugged mountainous areas that were inconvenient to travel, and there were often no human settlements within dozens of miles. It was also difficult to obtain supplies, which was no small problem for the large-scale Qing army.

Gao Qiaonan realized that the main force of the Qing army may have escaped from his own surveillance range, and the terrain of these inland mountainous areas is quite complex. At this time, perhaps the best way to fight is to break into pieces and enter the mountains and forests to fight guerrillas. Even if

A brief combat meeting was held in front of the formation, and then the heavy equipment and logistics troops were ordered to withdraw to the direction of the Datong River and meet up with the transport fleet. The combat troops brought sufficient supplies and first exited Biichuan Town to the south, and then turned to the northeast

Enter the mountain forest and use terrain cover to pursue the main force of the Qing army.

At this time, the North Korean troops who were sent to do miscellaneous tasks came in handy. Their familiarity with the local geographical environment was unmatched by the newly arrived Haihan Army. Even if Gao Qiaonan had a more detailed military map in his hand, he had to do it here.

To figure out the best marching route in a mountainous environment with complex terrain, you must have the help of a local guide.

On the way to Kaichuan by boat, Takahashi Minami asked North Korean officers to select a group of people who could serve as guides early on. At this time, these guides who were familiar with the environment and could speak fluent Chinese were assigned to platoon-level units.

Each platoon is equipped with at least three guides.

Although the Qing army led by Abatai also noticed the movement of the Haihan army withdrawing from the town, they did not pursue it with great fanfare. They just sent hundreds of cavalry to chase after them tentatively, keeping a safe distance and watching the sea.

The Han army disappeared into the mountains and forests. Abatai believed that this task was completed satisfactorily. There were no casualties or casualties, and it had the effect of driving away the Han army. At present, he left a thousand soldiers and horses to garrison near Bichuan Town.

Preventing changes, he led his troops to pursue the main force northeast.

Although the Qing army had a large number of cavalry, the actual marching speed was not much superior to the 1st Battalion of the Independent Regiment, which was mainly infantry. They set out one night early and only traveled an extra thirty miles. And by the local

The Haihan Army led by a guide did not need to march along the winding river bank, and could choose a straighter marching route to the upper reaches of the Chongchuan River.

In the evening of the same day, a battalion of soldiers who rushed slowly and hurriedly finally caught up with the main force of the Qing army in Xiangshan, more than eighty miles away from Qichuan. The narrowest part of the Qingchuan River here was only a few dozen feet wide, and one of the river centers was

A large area of ​​rocky beach was also exposed, and the river flow was relatively slow. As long as wooden bridges of a few feet were built on both sides of the rocky beach, the army could quickly cross the river.

When Gao Qiaonan and his troops arrived, the Qing army had already dispatched more than 2,000 people to participate in building the bridge. Thick logs cut down from the riverside were quickly carried to the construction site. Hundreds of soldiers stood knee-deep in the river.

During the process, they carried or lifted the logs and worked together to complete the construction of the wooden bridge. Naturally, a nearby village was not spared. The whole village, young and old, were rushed to the construction site to work as coolies. As for the food in the village, it was softer and softer.

It had been looted long ago.

After looking at the geographical environment here, Takahashi Nan knew that it was unlikely that naval ships would arrive here. For the time being, he could not expect reinforcements to arrive quickly. At the moment, he could only rely on his own battalion to try his best to create more supplies for the Qing army.

Some chaos and casualties.
Chapter completed!