Chapter 2350

Tom Wang did not despise the caution shown by the North Koreans in this matter. After all, this country had always struggled to survive in the cracks. Almost all its neighbors had overwhelming military superiority over it, and it was almost defeated by foreign enemies several times.

Destroy the country. It will indeed take some time for it to change its mind and straighten its back, or even take the initiative to settle old scores with its old rivals.

However, from another perspective, this is not necessarily a bad thing. North Korea's own lack of strength and self-confidence will make it rely more on Haihan's support and assistance. This will of course make it easier for Haihan to maintain a large enough influence in North Korea.

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After Wang Tom explained the issues that needed to be answered, he planned to leave Ganghwa Island as soon as possible. As for the handover of Japanese prisoners, he could not take these people on the road, so he insisted on letting Shen Jingzhen arrange to send them to the Daedong River base.

Shen Jingzhen was very wise, and he also prepared some rice, noodles, vegetables and fruits on Ganghwa Island in advance as supplies to Wang Tom’s fleet. Although the quantity was not too much, there were not many local products on Ganghwa Island, and it was obvious that a lot of things were shipped from Seoul.

Yes, it seems that some thought was put into it.

However, Tom Wang could also imagine that an old fox like Shen Jingzhen would not be so attentive for nothing, and would go to great lengths to flatter him. This was probably because he wanted something for himself.

As expected, Shen Jingzhen soon took the initiative to ask Wang Tom, hoping that his son Shen Xueyi could also move with the Haihan fleet.

"Master Shen, I remember that your son should have just returned from a mission in Japan. Aren't you going to let him go home to rest for a few days? And you don't even know where we are going and what we are going to do, so you are so relieved to let him go."

Son, follow us?" Wang Tom was a little dumbfounded when he heard Shen Jingzhen's request. He originally thought that Shen Jingzhen wanted to win Haihan's support to consolidate or even improve his status in the court, but he didn't expect that the old fox had laid so much ground.

The result was that he wanted to pave the way for his son.

In the earlier coup that took place in Seoul, Shen Jingzhen was the only high-ranking official who stayed completely out of it. Therefore, after Li Zhen came to the throne, he also had special trust in him and handed over the cleansing and reconstruction of the army to Shen Jingzhen.

Although his official career was smooth sailing, Shen Jingzhen actually still had regrets. Last year, he did not let his son Shen Xueyi go to Haihan Kingdom to study with his crown prince Li Xie, thus losing the opportunity to become a close associate of the king. In the process of rebuilding the army, he could not give

Shen Xueyi took too much special care to avoid being accused of nepotism.

After repeated consideration, Shen Jingzhen believed that the most appropriate way for his son to ascend to the throne was to win the recognition and support of Haihan. In the previous battle against the Hirado clan by the Haihan army, Shen Xueyi had participated in the reconnaissance phase.

, it can be considered that he has become familiar with General Haihan. As long as he strives for more opportunities to cooperate with Haihan Army, these qualifications will definitely become the capital for Shen Xueyi's promotion in the officialdom in the future.

In this operation by North Korea to attack the Five Islands, Shen Xueyi was the military attache who went to the front line to supervise the battle on behalf of the imperial court. This was originally a great opportunity for Shen Xueyi to gain military exploits, but North Korea, due to various considerations, implemented the actions formulated by Haihan.

The goal was compromised and the results achieved were not satisfactory to Haihan, so Shen Jingzhen planned to use other methods to remedy the situation.

It happened that news came from the Datong River that another fleet of the Haihan Army was about to set off south, and it was not a routine southward change of defense, but a secret military mission. Shen Jingzhen thought this was an opportunity. If he could let his son follow the Hai

The Han army went to gain experience, learn skills, and at the same time close the relationship with General Haihan, which would definitely be of great benefit to Shen Xueyi's future career development.

Shen Jingzhen responded: "I can learn some real skills from General Wang. No one can ask for this kind of opportunity. How can I miss it so easily? I just hope that the general will not dislike the stupid dog."

According to the military cooperation agreement reached between the two countries, observers can be sent to each other to participate in military operations initiated by the other party. This approach has also been well implemented in past cooperation. Whether it is North Korean officers visiting the Haihan Army to observe and learn,

It was Haihan who sent people to serve as military advisors in the Korean army. The purpose was to enhance Haihan's influence in the Korean army, and quite good results were achieved.

Since this has become a tacitly feasible approach for both parties, it is reasonable for Shen Jingzhen to make such a request. Wang Tom will naturally not be able to refuse without special reasons. What's more, Shen Xueyi's special status, if he can completely become a senior member of the pro-Haihan faction

Officials, it will also affect Shen Jingzhen's future stance, and Tom Wang will definitely be happy to see it happen.

Wang Tom nodded, and Shen Jingzhen immediately called Shen Xueyi in. It seemed that he had already prepared for this. When Wang Tom saw this, he didn't say anything, so he asked Shen Xueyi if he could set off immediately.

Shen Xueyi clasped his fists and said: "The general has an order, how dare I disobey it? Then I will board the ship and go to sea with the general!"

Since the Shen family and his son had made plans in advance, they must have prepared luggage for Shen Xueyi. Wang Tom deliberately asked this, it was just a matter of routine.

Wang Tom immediately announced verbally that Shen Xueyi would join the fleet as a military observer. Although the operation was kept secret during the preparation period, after the fleet returned from its mission, it would automatically leave the confidentiality period and allow Shen Xueyi to temporarily join the fleet as a military observer.

In the fleet, it will not have any impact on the mission to be performed next.

The fleet slowly left the port of Ganghwa Island and began to sail southward. It passed through South Chungcheong Province, North Jeolla Province, and South Jeolla Province before entering the Jeju Strait.

This place is no longer unfamiliar to both the Haihan Fleet and Shen Xueyi, who joined temporarily. From here, sailing four to five hundred miles to the southeast is the seat of the Hirado Domain of Japan.

Shen Xueyi can be considered a very patient person. After arriving all the way here, he finally asked Wang Tom about the next direction of the fleet.

"After crossing the Jeju Strait, we will go east, reach the sea off Japan, and then head northeast along the coastline." Wang Tom explained the upcoming voyage arrangements in simple language.

Shen Xueyi looked at the chart hanging on the bulkhead and asked with some uncertainty: "Then our destination is...Ezo Land?"

Tom Wang slowly shook his head and said: "Not necessarily... we should go to Ezochi. Maybe we will continue to go north after getting there."

Ezo is the ancient name of Hokkaido. At the end of the 16th century, the Matsumae clan established Fukuyama Castle there, making Ezo an area directly under the shogunate. It was basically the northern end of Japan's territory during this period.

Ezo is two thousand miles away from the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, separated by the entire Sea of ​​Japan. For Shin Xueyi, it is just a geographical name. He never thought that one day he would go to such a remote place.

Place. Of course, he didn't quite understand why Haihan would be interested in such a remote place.

Shen Xueyi said: "I have heard that the Ezo land is very desolate. The Ainu people living there make a living by fishing and hunting. They use bird feathers and animal skins to make clothes and live in thatched huts. Their life is very primitive. Why would General Wang plan to go there?

Where to plant?”

Wang Tom said: "You don't understand what I mean. Ezochi is just a stop on our trip, not the final destination. And the reason why we go there is not to get anything from the local area, but to learn about unknown areas.

An act of exploration.”

Shen Xueyi understood every word, but still didn't understand what Tom Wang meant. If it weren't for finding something precious, would there be any need to send thousands of people across the sea to go to such a far place?

Looking at his expression, Wang Tom knew that Shen Xueyi had failed to understand the significance of this action, so he patiently explained to him: "The chart you see is actually only a small part of the entire world. There are many unknowns in this world.

The area is waiting for us to explore. North of Ezo, there is a very vast area with oceans, islands, land, and countless resources. None of these lands and resources currently have real ownership.

It just depends on who has the ability to occupy these places in the future."

After hearing this, Shen Xueyi understood a little what Wang Tom meant. Haihan wanted to find those areas that currently had no ownership, and then take them as his own. But those places were already tens of thousands of miles away from Haihan Kingdom, even if

How to achieve effective governance and development after occupation is another question that Shen Xueyi cannot figure out.

Of course, it would be difficult for Wang Tom to explain Haihan's grand goal to him. After all, there is a huge gap in the understanding of the world between the two parties. Shen Xueyi is unlikely to understand Haihan's way of expanding his sphere of influence. But that doesn't matter, as long as he can

Just let him realize Haihan's strength in navigation.

Shen Xueyi looked at the chart, thought about what Tom Wang just said, and finally couldn't help but ask: "Then General Wang has never been there before? How was this chart drawn?"

Tom Wang smiled and said: "Our country has very powerful technology and can draw nautical charts all over the world, so no matter how far we go, there will be such charts as a reference for setting routes. Although I have never been to Xi'an

It’s so far away from Yi Di, but with such a chart, you don’t have to worry about getting lost at sea.”

Shen Xueyi was dumbfounded when he heard this. He actually didn't believe that Haihan had such powerful skills, but thinking about all the things he had done since he came into contact with the Haihan Army, it seemed that they were all validating Wang Tom's statement. He thought that he had gone to scout the Hirado Domain.

At that time, he had seen the Haihan Army produce detailed maps of the local area. Earlier when the Haihan Army sent troops to North Korea to fight against the Qing Army, the maps they used seemed to be more detailed than the maps drawn by North Korea themselves.

Shen Xueyi then thought about it again. Haihan Kingdom is thousands of miles away from North Korea. If he didn't have extraordinary skills in navigation, how could he send his army to fight so far away from the mainland. Even if Wang Tom was bragging,

But those maps and charts are not fake after all, which shows how powerful Haihan is in this regard.

Shen Xueyi asked again: "Since we are going to enter the offshore waters of Japan, will we come into contact with the local people?"

Wang Tom shook his head and said: "We are not here to fight, and there is no need to have an armed conflict with Japan, so we will try our best to avoid trouble. Unless we need supplies or need to avoid storms, we generally will not take the initiative to rely on

shore."

After hearing this answer, Shen Xueyi was relieved, but also slightly disappointed. Although he basically confirmed before setting off from Ganghwa Island that this fleet should not be on a combat mission, in his opinion, if he could teach the Japanese a lesson along the way,

It's a good arrangement to come.

Tom Wang pointed at the map and said: "The place we are going to next is the Hirado Domain."

Shen Xueyi's face changed color slightly, and he thought to himself that this was because Wang Tom was dissatisfied with the Korean army's previous actions and wanted to verify the local situation in person.

Sure enough, Tom Wang continued: "Your previous operations only went to the Goto Islands, and you failed to collect enough information on the current situation of Hirado Island, so this trip will stop by to see the situation on Hirado Island."

Judging from the situation when the Haihan Army burned down Hirado, it would be difficult to restore Hirado Port to its previous state in just over half a year. It would take a long time just to replenish the local population. The original plan was to let the North Koreans

The raid was carried out to provide intelligence information on the local situation, but the North Koreans changed their action plan on their own and did not go to Hirado at all, so it was naturally difficult to confirm the local situation.

Since the North Koreans were unreliable, Wang Tom had no choice but to do it himself. It happened that he was going to pass near the Hirado Domain on this trip, so he might as well go and confirm the local situation with his own eyes, so that he wouldn't have to worry about deviations in the process of collecting intelligence.

However, because there were more than a dozen slow-speed comprehensive supply ships in the fleet, it took another two days to reach the waters north of the Goto Islands.

The fleet sailed slowly less than ten miles away from Uku Island, the northernmost island of the Goto Islands. According to Shen Xueyi, the North Korean army had captured all the few residents on the island before, even if there were still some leaks on the island.

Zhiyu should be similar to an uninhabited island.

Fifty miles east from Uku Island is Hirado Island. Wang Tom had no intention of deliberately hiding his whereabouts. The Hirado navy had been annihilated in the last operation and could not be rebuilt in such a short period of time, so in

There should be no one in the offshore area who can threaten the safety of the fleet.

However, the supply ship was slow and not suitable for participating in reconnaissance operations. Wang Tom ordered four exploration-class warships to escort the supply ship to the northern waters. He personally led the flagship and two exploration-class warships to the Hirado Strait.

, check the local situation.

Some small fishing boats could be seen on the sea near the shore in the strait. However, when these fishing boats discovered the figure of the Majestic-class battleship, they all fled desperately, fearing that they would be overtaken by this evil star.
Chapter completed!