King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 591 Landing Operation
Going to Seoul to celebrate the New Year is undoubtedly a very radical idea, and the generals present are basically not so optimistic.

Of course, Zhu Jinghong was just joking, and he didn't think progress would be so fast.

"When we attack tomorrow, you must follow the plan and execute it resolutely... Tell the sergeants below that I will take command from the formation, and rewards and punishments will be clear!"

At this point, Zhu Jinghong suppressed his smile and said with a solemn expression: "Those who have meritorious service will be promoted and make a fortune. Those who die in battle will receive generous compensation. Those who shrink from the battle...will be severely punished!"

"Do you understand everything?"

Cai Chuansheng, who had the highest official rank at the scene, was the first to stand up and respond: "I understand, I understand!"

"Huh?" Zhu Jinghong glanced at the others.

The other military attachés stood up one after another, bowed and saluted: "I understand, I understand!"

The military discussion ended, and everyone returned to the military camp.

As soon as he returned to his residence, Yu Hai greeted him and handed him an envelope.

Obviously the Ming army is going to attack, and the only thing North Korea can do now is to mobilize nearby troops for reinforcements as soon as possible.

Heads are military merit, military merit is money and status, and now they just need to harvest.

"Hold on, hold on... Whoever dares to move, I'll chop his head off!" The suppressing officer led his guards and whipped the soldiers along the way.

Vice versa, the Ming army was unable to cross the river for reconnaissance, and both sides could only observe the situation visually during the day.

Because everything had been prepared in advance, their most important task in the morning was to lift the boat crossing the river to the shore.

For example, after the first round of salvos, the North Korean army on the other side suffered only seventy or eighty casualties, but its military formation showed signs of instability.

After giving these instructions, Zhu Jinghong sat back on his chair and looked through tomorrow's battle plan again.

Zhu Jinghong would receive reports from Nan Si every one or two days, and he was no longer surprised by this.

"Yes!"

The soldiers on the front line all pushed the boats into the water. They only had to row about a hundred meters to reach the other side and fight the enemy.

In addition to this incident, the letter also talked about the new situation in Seoul. Chen Taimin, the political leader, was eventually sentenced to exile under the co-protection of the Manchu Dynasty.

"What about people?"

"Attack!" Zhu Jinghong said calmly.

This time, in addition to the guards, only a few staff officers followed, and Cai Chuansheng and other generals went to the front line to command.

After opening the envelope, it revealed the latest situation in Korea, focusing on the landing of Japanese troops, approximately 30,000 infantry troops.

He had no choice but to defend under artillery fire, and casualties were inevitable.

Among them, the newly replaced artillery has a starting range of five to six hundred meters, which can threaten the command center on the opposite side.

The general in charge of the defense on the other side was not sure whether the Ming army was feinting or bluffing as before, but he still ordered the garrison on the shore to be on strict alert.

The night passed quickly, and before dawn, the Ming army soldiers had already begun to move.

"Whether it succeeds or not, it can attract North Korean firepower and reduce pressure on Anju!"

The sound of war drums was beating, and military orders were passed down one level at a time. The soldiers rowed the oars with all their strength, and flew forward like sharp arrows taken off their strings.

These front-line soldiers were all issued with the latest armor. Seeing that less than 30% of the enemy troops on the opposite side were wearing armor, these selected warriors were eager to give it a try.

The military formations lined up on the opposite side, under the cover of artillery fire, soon suffered casualties, even though they had taken precautions.

In addition, there is a sad situation. The North Korean Jinyiwei suffered heavy losses. Of course, this is also their own fault. They did not try their best to hide themselves during the war between the two countries.

This time to counter the rebellion, the Ming army took the strategic initiative and could choose any place to land and fight. North Korea's passive defense could easily be frustrated.

In addition, artillery will be deployed on both sides of the Chinese army, and it is also busy here.

The Ming army's artillery has a worst-case range of three hundred meters. Simply put, it can cover the other side of the river for more than one hundred meters.

As for the most elite artillery of the Ming army, its range can reach eight to nine hundred meters, but now it is only equipped to the guards.

Although it was a feint attack, only Zhu Jinghong and Cai Chuansheng knew about it, so it was a feasible plan.

The difference between artillery and muskets is that if hit by it, it will be shattered into pieces, and its impact on morale will be greater than the damage.

At the same time, the artillery on both sides of the Chinese army began to fire, and the scene was filled with smoke for a while.

Of course, based on the current level of the Ming army, it is actually enough.

Today's Ming army's lineup is more ambitious than that of the past few days. No matter how stupid the Koreans are, they know the danger, but they discovered it later.

Yu Hai replied: "I was discovered by the patrol sergeant on the other side. I finally escaped and was seriously injured... I'm being treated!"

There is a competition on the frontal battlefield, and the underground spy competition is actually going on all the time.

At this most critical beachhead location, the Ming army has been strictly controlling the area within ten miles, so it is difficult for North Korea to send spies across the river to investigate.

In Zhu Jinghong's opinion, if nothing happens tomorrow, he is 70% sure that he can cross the river, occupy the beachhead and cross the river with a large army.

"Your Majesty, it was sent by the Korean Imperial Guards!"

Although it was covered by night, the movements of the Ming army were still noticed by the sentries on the other side, so they immediately reported the situation.

At dawn, Zhu Jinghong arrived at the high ground behind the military formation, which was only two hundred meters away from the first line of positions on the shore. He could clearly observe the situation on his own side and on the opposite side.

"Send a message to Chen Yuntai and ask him to work with Nan Si to contact more loyal people in North Korea and guide them to abandon the dark side and join the bright side..."

"Get ready to shoot arrows..."

"Get ready to fire..."

Looking at the approaching ships of the Ming army, the officers of the North Korean army began to order their men to prepare to meet the enemy.

But at the next moment, they ushered in the second round of shelling by the Ming army, so the most important task of the North Korean army became to stabilize military morale.

This is the benefit of a strong national power. It can use its weapon advantages to carry out attacks and create advantages for one's own side as much as possible.

On the other hand, North Korea also has more than a dozen coastal defense guns, but in terms of loading speed and firepower density, they are vastly different from the Ming army.

As a result, their two volleys failed to achieve any success and only overturned a small boat crossing the river.

There are more than fifty ferries along the entire river, and there are thirty soldiers on each boat.

"Your Highness, our men are about to land, and we should order the artillery to stop firing!"

In Zhu Jinghong's headquarters, a staff officer promptly reminded him.

Zhu Jinghong nodded and said, "Give me the order!"

The tasks of the staff are clearly divided, and Zhu Jinghong will be reminded of decisions at the appropriate time, effectively reducing the coach's workload and fatigue.

These staff officers were deputy qianhu selected from various guards, and all of them were capable people. Those who were just trying to make a fool of themselves would not be able to survive around Zhu Jinghong.

After this period of hard work, we have reached the current level, and Zhu Jinghong deserves a lot of credit for this.

After the cannons stopped, the first batch of landing ships docked in less than a minute, and then they were greeted by a rain of swords and fire cannons.

Although they were protected by fine armor and large shields, more than a dozen soldiers were still killed on the spot, while the remaining soldiers who landed one after another rushed forward desperately with swords and guns.

Only by rushing forward and scattering the enemy troops in front can they have a chance to win.

There were more than 1,500 Ming troops who landed, while the North Korean defenders only had more than 4,000 troops. It was not easy to disperse them.

Although they rushed forward desperately, the Ming army still maintained their basic formation. This was a tacit understanding developed through years of training. Since the distance between the two sides was only fifty meters, North Korea immediately gave up its muskets and bows and arrows after a round of volleys, and was ready for a hand-to-hand encounter.

At this time, the second batch of Ming troops were still boarding the ship. In order to gain the advantage as much as possible, the North Korean army had to push back the Ming troops crossing the river as soon as possible.

So on the battlefield, both sides were advancing, and soon they were fighting hand to hand.

Compared with the second batch of Ming troops crossing the river, the reinforcements from the other side arrived faster.

Zhu Jinghong, who was deep in the highlands, saw a large number of troops rushing to help in the mountains and fields in the distance, and his equipment turned out to be a group of civilians.

This made him relieved that the situation was still under control.

Zhu Jinghong ordered: "Instruct the artillery to push forward as far as they can and attack the enemy troops who are coming for reinforcements!"

You cannot shoot directly at the scene of the battle, but you can shoot at reinforcements from farther away, so that you will not accidentally hurt yourself.

Moreover, the most violent bombardment should be carried out as soon as the reinforcements came into range.

In Zhu Jinghong's view, the reinforcements were ordinary civilians, and they might be able to be defeated directly after a few rounds of shelling.

After the military order was conveyed, the artillerymen on the river bank took action one after another, either pushing or lifting the artillery positions, and the closest ones even placed the artillery on the pebbles by the water.

Due to the rigorous training and Zhu Jinghong's strict military management, it took less than five minutes to move the artillery positions. At that time, the enemy's reinforcements were less than two miles away.

Seeing that the reinforcements were about to enter the firing range, the soldiers in charge of the artillery quickly began to load and waited for the opportunity to fire.

However, because they were too far apart, it was impossible to know the precise distance, so exploratory shelling could only be carried out.

First, a guided cannon is fired, which is equivalent to a benchmark round and is used to estimate the shooting angle for the running group.

"My lord, you can't see the impact point, and the enemy can't see it either!"

Zhu Jinghong had been watching with a telescope, and at this moment he heard him say with a smile: "You can't see the impact point, it's a depression... the enemy has entered it, our army can fire at full strength from this angle of fire!"

He could see the scene situation most clearly, so the command post was arranged here.

As Zhu Jinghong's order was issued, the artillerymen below let go of their hands and launched a salvo.

After a salvo, only half of the shells could see the point of impact, causing damage to the young man rushing down the slope.

But the remaining half, as Zhu Jinghong expected, crossed the high slope of the shore and fell to the slope of the depression, causing greater damage to the young North Koreans who climbed up.

However, as the North Korean side reacted, more reinforcements arrived in the distance and on the north and south shores, but it took time for them to arrive.

After the round of volleys, the first batch of North Korean young men came for reinforcements. Of the 2,000 people who died or fled, more than 1,500 people were killed, and only more than 500 people rushed into the battle formation.

Because there were no more invincible troops within the firing range, the Ming army's artillery group stopped firing again. The soldiers cleaned the artillery as quickly as possible and performed simple maintenance.

Of course, at this time, the first batch of reinforcements, a thousand Ming soldiers, also successfully crossed the river and joined the fierce battle.

Observing the situation carefully, everything was still under control. In Zhu Jinghong's opinion, the landing battle across the river was basically winnable.

Even if he was sure, he was not careless at this time, but continued to closely observe the situation on the front line.

The relevant staff officers reported various news and intelligence to him and marked them on the map.

While Zhu Jinghong listened, he continued to use the telescope to observe everything on the front line.

As he was patrolling back and forth, he suddenly discovered something special. When he returned, he saw that it was the enemy's coach's flag.

As the commander-in-chief of the Ming army, Zhu Jinghong tried his best not to fly flags in order to prevent being beheaded by the enemy. For example, his location today is a very simple high ground, camouflaged by trees and weeds.

"Command the artillerymen to adjust the muzzle... The big flag 150 feet to the northeast is where the enemy commander is. Aim and hit with my long-range cannon!"

"Yes!"

At a distance of four to five hundred meters, it is basically impossible to succeed with current artillery for decapitation shooting.

But even if it cannot be shot, it is necessary to have a deterrent effect on it and disrupt its military morale.

"Isn't my micro management a bit too much?" Zhu Jinghong couldn't help but think at this time.

The artillery started roaring again, and just as Zhu Jinghong said, the enemy's handsome chess flag on the opposite side began to move, but not backwards but forwards.

"That's quite a bit of courage!" Zhu Jinghong praised.

Further away, there are still a large number of enemy reinforcements coming, which are all soldiers and young men from other defense areas.

Because it has no strategic initiative, North Korea needs to defend everywhere, so even if they have the advantage in military strength, they are still at a major disadvantage in some areas.

For example, on the beachhead at this time, with the addition of fresh troops from the Ming army and the formation of the Fire Gun troops to start attacking, the morale of the North Korean army was already at a low point.

Even if the supervising team suppressed them, they could not control the morale of the troops at this time, and some soldiers had already begun to flee.

"Brothers... charge with me!" Haizhou Guard commander Hu Yicheng took the lead in the charge.

He is indeed considered a great general, but he has reached the ceiling of his career. If he wants to move up, he must seize the opportunity. This Ping Dynasty war is his opportunity.

There are many middle-level generals who have the same idea as Hu Yicheng. Almost all of these people have come to the front line of the battle, hoping to seize military glory and build a bright future for themselves.

The fighting has continued for nearly half an hour now, and the North Korean army has reached the brink of collapse.

With Hu Yicheng leading the charge, the North Korean army resisting the front began to collapse, and then quickly caused a chain reaction in the military formation.

These armies fled in disarray, killing even the supervising team. No one could stop them.

The Ming army was pursuing them, but they were all fighting steadily. They only caught up to the beachhead high ground and then stopped, and continued to build a defense system as quickly as possible.

The most important task of these two thousand people was not to expand the results of the battle, but to hold the beachhead and allow the subsequent army to complete the crossing.

In the command post, after issuing the military order to proceed as planned, Zhu Jinghong thought to himself: "Maybe I really am the God of War!"

This landing battle was fought beautifully with the coordination of infantry and artillery, and there was no doubt that they were victorious.

What he feared most at this time was that North Korea would mobilize a large army to attack and push back the Ming army stationed there.

This is not unfounded worry, but reinforcements from North Korea are constantly arriving. These large numbers of fresh troops have a very large strength advantage in the face of the exhausted Ming army.

What's even more terrible is that because the Ming army's position has moved forward, the artillery can no longer be used, and they have lost their biggest support in this battle.

Therefore, the most important thing right now is time, so the Ming army is crossing the river as quickly as possible.

The importance of the plan is reflected here. Ropes have been pulled on both sides of the river to allow ships to cross the river more quickly.

All the drafted boats, about a hundred large and small, were traveling back and forth on the river at this moment. Although the scene was a bit chaotic, it was generally orderly.

This is a great test of organizational ability, and the plan that Zhu Jinghong attaches most importance to, the execution of his subordinates, and the strictest discipline... play a vital role here.

It can be said that in this battle, the Ming army crushed the North Korean side in all aspects from the aspects of weapons, individual soldier quality, command coordination, etc.

Victory is a matter of course, and the defeat of the North Korean army, which has been in peace for many years, is expected.

As more and more Ming troops crossed the river, the North Korean generals who concentrated their forces realized that it was very risky to push back.

At this time, he had two choices. One was to risk driving the Ming army down the river, or to lead his troops to quickly withdraw into Yiju and defend it.

The choice is not simple. There is sufficient food and grass in Yiju City, so it is extremely simple to defend it tightly.

"Withdraw..." the North Korean general issued the order.

Not only must they withdraw, but they must withdraw as soon as possible to prevent being entangled by the Ming army.

(End of this chapter)