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Chapter 794 Taking advantage of the situation
The Liaodong Town in the 17th century overlapped with the Liaoning Province of later times, but the topography was very different. The most obvious one was the swamp, a very huge swamp, called Liaoze.

As early as the Warring States Period, the Yan State in the north had already established Liaoxi and Liaodong counties, which shows that the area was not barbaric at that time, but was effectively ruled. Later, the Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties also included the Liaodong region in their territories and set up prefectures.

But after nearly 2,000 years, why is the Liaodong region still sparsely populated and underdeveloped? There are certainly political, cultural and climatic reasons, but geographical factors are more important, and Liaoze is the first to bear the brunt.

Where is Liaoze? It stretches from Shenyang, Liaoyang and Anshan in the east to Fuxin and Heishan in the west, Taixian in the south and Zhangwu in the north. The Liaohe River is the main stream, including hundreds of tributaries, large and small, forming a huge river network swamp area, which is basically equivalent to more than half of the Liaohe Plain in later generations.

The swamps here are not all muddy, there are grasslands, land, and trees occasionally, but it is impossible to build roads. When it rains heavily, water flows along the large and small rivers and ditches and gathers here, and no roads can be maintained.

But it is not impossible to survive, it is just not suitable for the farming people to be registered as citizens. Therefore, under the productivity conditions at that time, all dynasties were unable to carry out large-scale transformation, and gradually it became a treasure land for nomadic and hunting peoples to recuperate.

The Ming Dynasty invested a lot of money and resources, including large-scale immigration and military settlements, hoping to turn Liaodong into thousands of acres of fertile land. The result is obvious, but it still fell short.

If the Jurchens still followed the production and living mode of multiple tribes and scattered hunting, Liaoze would be beneficial to them. If they felt that farming was more conducive to their development and growth, then the geographical environment of Liaoze would be unfavorable.

In the end, nature was fair. The projects that the Ming Dynasty did not play well were not given any preferential treatment by Huang Taiji. Compared with the Han people, the Jurchens were weaker in infrastructure. If they wanted to reach Jinzhou from the hinterland of Liaodong, they could only take the post road repaired by the Ming army, first reach Haizhouwei, and then go north along the sea.

In later generations, there were a number of large and small cities along this road, including Yingkou, Panjin, Panshan County, etc. However, in the Ming Dynasty, the delta in the lower reaches of the Liaohe River often flooded and was not a suitable place to live. The only city that met the conditions to be a transit center was Haizhou Weicheng.

"Your Majesty, do you want to repeat your old trick and perform Tower Hill Castle again?"

At this point, Yuan Keli fully understood the emperor's intention and immediately thought of the great victory a few years ago, which also took advantage of the sea advantage to transport troops to the enemy's rear, which was indeed unexpected.

"It doesn't matter if there are many methods, as long as they work. But whether this plan can work or not is useless. It depends on whether there is a suitable landing point on the seashore."

Whether Yuan Keli was really praising or teasing, Hong Tao didn't care. Whether a plan is good or not only remains on paper. To realize it, some necessary conditions are needed, which cannot be seen by looking at the map. Detailed data is required.

"Your Majesty, besides Songshan Port, the closest landing place to Haizhouwei is Gaizhouwei City. There are two small fishing ports in the area that can dock armed cargo ships. However, Gaizhouwei City was rebuilt in the fifth year of Hongwu. The earthen walls were replaced with brick walls, which are easier to defend and difficult to attack. There are also beacon towers. After the Liaodong Town was abolished, it was occupied by the Jurchens, and the number of troops is unknown."

Although the Admiral and the Navy Staff were not present, the staff in the General Staff were well aware of the Navy's intelligence. These young staff were very motivated and energetic, not only thinking about their own work, but also making Chief of General Staff Yuan Keli love and hate them.

"The beacon tower is a big problem... Give up Gaizhou and choose another seaside with less wind and waves to ferry people by boat. But we can't just abandon it. Bring enough explosives. If the defenders of Gaizhouwei dare to go out of the city to rescue, we will encircle and annihilate them halfway and then destroy the Gaizhouwei City!"

Songshan Port is definitely not usable, but can Gaizhouwei be used? Hong Tao thought about it for a long time and finally decided to give up. Attacking the city is not difficult, but it is too difficult to completely prevent the defenders from lighting the beacon fire. Once the Jurchens retain the Ming army's alarm system, the news of the attack on Gaizhouwei will soon reach Haizhouwei, which will not only turn the sneak attack into a violent attack, but may also attract more enemies nearby. The risk is not proportional to the reward.

"Your Majesty, the Land War Command only has three thousand soldiers in Dagukou, and the rest are stationed in Weihai. Isn't it a bit weak to raid Haizhouwei with 3000 troops?"

Li Ruzhang was unwilling to see that the combat mission was about to be snatched away by the navy, but he could not openly oppose the emperor's decision. So he had to use the excuse of insufficient troops to try to include the army in the combat plan.

"No, the army has not received sea training and will get seasick if they encounter a little wind and waves. Let the Warrior Battalion and the Marine Commander go together. Ziliang, although the army does not need to participate in the sea raid, it is also one of the protagonists.

You have to find a way to stage a drama for the Mongols and the Jurchens, making it look like they are gathering a large force to support Fuyu City. The more realistic it is, the better. Whether the navy can surprise them depends more on how realistic the army's performance is.

I have a small suggestion for you. Don't just let the army act alone. Disclose some of the news to the border troops, or even bring them along. This way, it will look like a full-scale rescue. As long as the border troops know about this, the Jurchens and Mongols will most likely know about it, and they will believe it to be true!"

Hong Tao knew what Li Ruzhang meant by that. When Yuan Keli was in charge of the navy, Li Ruzhang was still concerned about his reputation and didn't want to compete for military merits. Now that Wang Sheng was in charge of the navy, he had no scruples.

The credit must be taken from one's own pocket, no matter who cares. But it is clear that the army is not suitable for participating in this sneak attack, not because of insufficient combat effectiveness, but because it does not have the conditions for combat.

The key to the distinction between the Army and the Marine Corps lies here. The Army is suitable for large-scale operations on land, while the Marine Corps is more suitable for landing operations following naval ships. Each has its own duties and strengths.

"Your Majesty, if there are people in the border troops who are collaborating with the enemy, why do you still keep them?"

Li Ruzhang had no choice but to agree with the emperor's plan. He thought he was not so sinister as to use his own soldiers. But he was the commander-in-chief of the army after all, and these border troops were under the command of the army. Who would be willing to have a bunch of spies hiding under him?

"Ask Li Qing about this matter. He was the one who came up with the bad idea. I am just relaying it on his behalf. You should decide on the ship, personnel, and time, and then come to discuss it with me. It must be kept secret, and no one else should spread it except those present.

Be careful to take the weather into full consideration and don't take risks. We are in control now, and Fuyu City is not in imminent danger. We don't have to use a surprise attack on Haizhouwei to save it. If you can steal, then steal. If you can't steal, don't force it."

Hong Tao didn't want to answer such a stupid question himself, but he still had to remind the planners. First, don't be careless, and second, don't be greedy for success and rush into things. With the capabilities of the Ming navy and army, as long as they don't make mistakes, they are basically invincible. The only thing to worry about is speculators who are overconfident and gamble their future with battles.

(End of this chapter)