Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 452 The Mountain Rain Is Coming (Part [-])

I wanted to die, but I didn't expect to make a big death!The above sentence is what Mo Ming just laughed at himself about the current situation of the East Coast people.

The main force of the Qing army has almost entered Qingzhou Prefecture across the board.The people on the east coast hardly needed to send out many scouts to get this news, because the small groups of anti-Qing armed forces, refugees and even a few remnants of the Shun army who came in one after another brought rich and detailed latest news from the outside world to Yantai Fort.Although many of these news are products of speculation or conjecture, many are second-hand news from hearsay, and even many news are contradictory and inconsistent, the professional team under the intelligence staff still unearthed many verifiable facts from them.

"On February 2, the Qing army's vanguard, Emengge, entered the Weixian and Changyi areas, and the Laizhou gentry responded enthusiastically."

This is the first fact confirmed by the people on the east bank. The Qing army marched very fast, and basically did not delay in Qingzhou for long.

"The troops of the Qing army spread all over the mountains and plains. There were a lot of cavalry, and the transport troops stretched for hundreds of miles. Their number of slaves seemed insufficient, so they forced or hired many peasants. There were also a lot of livestock. The livestock in Jinan, Yanzhou, and Qingzhou seemed to have been captured concentrated here."

This is the second fact confirmed by the people on the east bank. The Qing army is huge in scale, has a lot of logistics and supplies, and is relatively well prepared.It seems that they did not do nothing during the one and a half months of truce. At least they collected a lot of food and grass. Judging from the severity of the abandonment of the three prefectures of Jinan, Dongchang, and Yanzhou in Shandong that Fang Dayou played, it is not known whether the Qing army will All local food rations were requisitioned.However, there is a high probability that more people will have no food to eat, and the local chaos seems to be further deepened.

"It is difficult for our scouts to get close to their elite troops or artillery supply units. Their number of cavalry is conservatively estimated to be close to 1, and the number of scouts far exceeds ours. The officers and soldiers of the security team have suffered a lot in the past two days. They pay great attention to the battlefield. The interception seems to be to cover up the strength of the troops, the composition of the arms, the quantity of supplies, and the weapons and equipment."

The third fact that the scouts passed back with their lives told the people on the east bank that the Qing army intended to calm down the situation in Shandong this time once and for all. .Although this kind of scouting war often caused the Qing army to suffer more losses, it couldn't stand the large number of them. Therefore, the scouts of the people on the east bank were gradually driven away from the area around some of the main forces of the Qing army.They could only spy on some second-line troops from a distance, and then hurried back.

"The gentry in Dengzhou Prefecture are optimistic and welcome to the Qing army. It's just that our army wiped out a large number of landlords' armed forces a while ago. Therefore, they should not have any military or material help to the Qing army. The Qing army It will become very difficult to replenish food and grass locally in Terengganu or even Laizhou. They can only transfer from the west for a long distance, which will undoubtedly lengthen their supply line, and it is also an opportunity for us.”

The name of the combat staff officer was attached to this comment from the intelligence staff officer, which seems to have been jointly proposed by the two.They believed that the people on the east coast could take advantage of their superiority in controlling the sea. After leaving enough troops to defend Yantai Fort, they could ship a part of the main force to land somewhere along the long coastline of the Shandong Peninsula, and then wait for an opportunity to attack the supply line of the Qing army. Once they succeeded, they boarded the ship immediately. far away.It's just that this kind of action requires extremely high intelligence, and if you are not careful, you will be trapped in a helpless wilderness. If the time is not ripe, Mo Ming dare not take it.After all, who knows if the Qing army will send a brigade or the main force to escort the troops that escort the food and grass?If you suddenly encounter a large group of Manchurian cavalry when attacking the enemy's supply unit that was originally thought to be "weak and deceitful", then the fun will be great.

"Yang Wei in Penglai County (Dengzhou City) even planned to proclaim himself emperor a while ago, but the people at the bottom had mixed opinions, so he held back for the time being. This time when he heard that the Qing army came, the crowd in Dengzhou City was raging, and many officials They were clamoring for surrender, and even some of his subordinates had this idea. Yang Wei himself did not want to surrender, but he had no choice. A while ago, he made such a fuss that he wanted to abandon the army and go to the mountains, but was blocked by Qin Shangxing Qin Shangxing sent someone to contact us secretly two days ago, requesting to lead the army to Yantai for food if Dengzhou is undefended, and our army has not officially replied to him yet."

With the arrival of the Qing army brigade, various people at both ends of the head rat began to find a way out for themselves, and this Qin Shangxing was an example.This person is also a big thief who has been in Qingzhou Prefecture for many years. He also has three or four thousand soldiers and horses under him.But this kind of people would rather hide around than surrender, but they can be considered a bit of integrity, and it is also a strength to take them in at critical moments.Anyway, Zhai Cong'e and Wang Jiazhong's total of [-] soldiers occupying Jeju Island is a bit difficult. If Qin Shanghang's troops are added, then one prefecture and two counties on Jeju Island will just be divided among the three of them, and the situation will be basically the same. stabilized.

After reading the information, Mo Ming sat quietly in her office.It was a thick brick room, dark and small, but undeniably solid.In fact, the small Yantai Fort is basically this kind of building, short, thick, and strong. This is to prevent the besieging enemy from throwing shells into the city with short mortars-although the Qing army basically did not have such equipment.Important facilities such as grain depots, munitions depots, material depots, ice cellars, and water treatment pools are all built underground, and they have not even been fully completed yet. A large number of refugees are still racing against time to build these underground facilities.

"Hey, from the first day I landed in Yantai, I should have expected today. Now most of the facilities in the fort are complete, ammunition is sufficient, the number of troops is also large, and the morale is even higher. If the Manchu Qing wants to capture This castle is nothing short of wishful thinking. They have more than 6 troops gathered here, and they need a lot of food and combat supplies. Judging from the current situation in Shandong, they may not be able to support them in the long run, unless those gentry are bleeding heavily. But you Didn’t you oppose Li Chuang in order not to bleed a lot at the beginning, but then you will inevitably be robbed by the Qing army again, haha, I told you to kneel and lick the tartars! Are you satisfied now?” Mo Ming sank her body comfortably Inside the rattan chair, looking out the window at the Black Eight Banners soldiers patrolling in line, he said to himself.

While he was meditating, the intelligence officer knocked on the door again and walked in, reporting softly to Mo Ming: "The fleet heading to the waters of Jeju Island has returned. 500 people from Wang Jiazhong's department and a 102-strong volunteer team newly organized The soldiers successfully conquered Jingyi County. Hundreds of North Korean soldiers in the city broke up after a little resistance. Now the royal department has officially occupied the county. The volunteer team began to attack and stationed in various places under the supervision of the 300nd Company of the Army and the Black Eight Banners as planned. The North Korean soldiers and horses, these soldiers and horses are less than a hundred people, and more than [-] people are often vulnerable to a single charge. Our army has not only trained the team, but also collected some food and grass. The training staff who accompanied the army thought that The effect of this operation is very good. In addition, Zhai Cong'e's department has completely controlled the situation in the area around Jeju Prefecture in the north of the island. They have eliminated nearly [-] North Korean soldiers in the half-month-long battle, and they have already wiped out Jeju Prefecture. Most of the opposition forces in the area. Our artillery and military troops have boarded ships and withdrew to Jingyi County, and are planning to return after the situation near Jingyi calms down. Wang Jiazhong and Zhai Cong'e discussed and planned to jointly send troops to attack after the situation stabilized. Dajing County—the last county on the island controlled by the North Koreans.”

"Li Chao's army is as bad as ever." Hearing the intelligence staff's report, Mo Ming didn't even bother to sit up from the wicker chair, but signaled the intelligence staff to continue reporting with his eyes.

"Two gunboats of our army sank three North Korean ships in the strait between South Korea's Jeolla Province and Jeju Island. The three ships were all turtle ships. They should be the main ships of the North Korean Navy. The two ships are still in Jeju Island. Wandering in the northern waters, are they asking for instructions to return to Yantai Port?" The intelligence staff first filled the wine glass held by Mo Ming in a doggy manner, and then reported in a soft voice.

"No, tell them to stay there." Mo Ming said without doubt, "There is no need for them to come back for the time being. The North Yellow Sea is still frozen, and their return will not be of much use. Wait until all the ships transporting immigrants return in April." Finally, when the time comes, I plan to organize all the warships to go to Zhenjiang, Lushun, Jinzhou, and Dagukou to patrol around Zhenjiang, Lushun, Jinzhou, and Dagukou, looking for some ships that may exist in the Manchu Qing Dynasty to fight, so as to completely wipe out their sea power. They all These are Junk ships with poor firepower, loose hull structure, and inflexible maneuvering. Our main fleet can basically be sunk as soon as it arrives. After destroying this navy, the entire Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea will be free for us sailed—although it's about the same now."

"Yes." The intelligence staff recorded these orders in his own notebook. These orders must be issued through the combat staff and liaison staff, and they will have to communicate with them when the time comes.

After the intelligence officer left, Mo Ming rested for a while, then put on his dark black military overcoat, picked up his command knife, and went to the top of the city to inspect the troops.

There are rumbles of guns everywhere at the top of the city. This is the final test firing and calibration of the artillery by the gunners.Today, the artillery force of the East Coast people in the Yantai area has been divided into two parts. One part is the Yantai Artillery Company, which is mainly field artillery. It has an astonishing number of 100 artillery pieces and more than [-] gunners. Italian officer Bernini interim second lieutenant served as company commander.

In addition, a total of more than 400 artillery pieces on the Yantai Fortress, the Zhifu Island Fort, and the Kongtong Island Fort were incorporated into the Yantai Fortress Defense Team.The number of these artillery gunners exceeded 100, only 2 were transported from the east coast, and the remaining 102 gunners were assumed by Ming people who were considered reliable after a long-term investigation.The 390 soldiers of the [-]nd Battalion of the Standing Squad were also included in the garrison sequence a while ago, as well as the [-]nd Company of the Army and some [-] musketeers of the supplementary army.The captain of the Yantai Fortress garrison team is Li Wenchang, an experienced artillery lieutenant. At present, the garrison team has basically made all preparations and is waiting for the Qing army to attack.

(End of this chapter)