Chapter 1380
The meaning of war
Chapter 1380 The meaning of war
Towards the end of the year, snowfall also becomes more frequent as the season begins.Fortunately, the living facilities on Zhifu Island are relatively complete, and the construction aid cadres who just came here from the warm south don't have to worry about starving and freezing.After three consecutive days of snowfall, the fleet that crossed the sea to fight in Liaodong finally returned to Zhifu Island.More than a dozen combat ships and more than [-] supply ships and troop carriers returned to Hong Kong, and their formation was quite astonishing. Many new immigrants who had just arrived on Zhifu Island were stunned. Shandong has raised troops.
When Liu Shang was in Hainan Island, he had watched the live-fire exercise of the Haihan Army in Danzhou, and later defeated the Spanish invading fleet off the coast of Sanya, so he was no stranger to the Haihan Navy.However, when he saw that Haihan had such a large fleet stationed in the remote Shandong waters, he couldn't help secretly admiring Haihan's military strength.He recalled what he heard from the ship on the way, that the Daming Navy on the Shandong side was afraid to avoid the Haihan Fleet, and it seemed that it was indeed reasonable.
To station a fleet so far away from the mainland for a long time, and to go to the Liaodong region farther north to fight from time to time, one can imagine the support required in terms of logistics.The closest supply place to Shandong is in Zhoushan, Zhejiang. Such large-scale cross-sea supplies that need to be maintained for a long time can probably only be completed by a sea power like Haihan.However, the Houjin Kingdom, which is entrenched in Liaodong, is even worse at naval warfare than Daming, and it should be far from the opponent of the Haihan Navy.
Sure enough, the news brought back by the fleet made Zhifu Island full of joy. This expedition has successfully occupied a port in Liaodong, Lushun Port with excellent navigation conditions, and the army's trump card special warfare battalion is also stationed there. The new The armed stronghold was named Lushun Fort. This was Haihan's first armed stronghold in Liaodong, and it also meant that Haihan's plan to enter Liaodong had achieved phased results.
Like many local cadres, Liu Shang actually couldn't understand why Haihan went to Liaodong to attack the areas under Jin's control.The war between Houjin and Ming Dynasty has been going on for several years, and the whole world knows about it. With the information collected by Haihan, he is naturally very clear about the situation.This is supposed to be a situation where Haihan sits on the mountain and watches the tigers fight, and let the two countries fight to the death in order to profit from it, but Haihan wants to fight Houjin regardless of the cost, so as to contain Houjin from going south to attack Daming's footsteps.
But no matter what the purpose of the executive committee is, the victory of the war can be very inspiring after all. At this time, no one will question whether the official decision to attack Liaodong is worthwhile, or has any deep political significance.Everyone is simply proud and proud of the Haihan Army's consistent victory. Even Liu Shang, who is not pure in identity and standpoint, cannot help but be infected by this atmosphere.
The military prepared a grand celebration banquet for the return of the fleet in advance. The slaughter of pigs and sheep on the island was like a new year. All the sailors who returned to Zhifu Island participated in the banquet, and Liu Shang and other officials from the north were also invited to attend.Liu Shang is not very interested in the banquet, but he is still very interested in the attitude of the military generals at the banquet.Haihan stationed heavy troops in Shandong, and the targets they had to deal with were Daming and Liaodong's Later Jin. The military's attitude towards these two families was what Liu Shang wanted to understand the most.
According to the usual practice, at the celebration banquet of the triumphant return of the army, the leading generals will give a speech, showing off their military exploits, and explaining to the audience the significance of these battles to Haihan.And the generals who led the army to Liaodong this time were Wang Tom, the commander of the navy, and Qian Tiandun, who is known as the first general of the army. It is not an exaggeration to call them the strongest configuration of the navy and army. Their comments on this battle are natural It is even more attention-grabbing.
Liu Shang is an official of the political work propaganda department. The speeches of these big figures are what he needs to study in his work. He understands the spirit of their speeches, and then publicizes them to the general public in a more easy-to-understand way. This is the main purpose of political work propaganda. one of the tasks.He even specially brought a pen and paper, ready to write down some key points in the big shots' speeches on the spot.Of course, because of his current status, no one would think that there was anything wrong with his behavior.
The army general Qian Tiandun who stood up to speak at the banquet first, the army special warfare battalion under his command had a good record in this battle. There were nearly a thousand Jin soldiers, and they cooperated with the cavalry battalion to capture Houjin's local armed fortress, and also captured hundreds of horses, which greatly expanded the strength of the cavalry battalion.
After Qian Tiandun got up, the banquet hall fell silent.He raised his glass and said loudly: "The war requires us to maintain enough awe and cherish the hard-won victory. This glass of wine is dedicated to all the soldiers who died in this battle. Their spirit will be with us!"
The hall was filled with awe. Qian Tiandun spilled the wine in his glass on the ground, then put the glass back on the table, and then he started to talk about the topic: "Before this expedition, the headquarters planned to occupy Lushunkou Harbor. If Taking this as a standard, it can be regarded as overfulfilling the task. Before we came back, the Houjin armed forces in the Lushunkou area had been basically wiped out, and it is unlikely that the opponent will organize a large-scale counterattack this winter. If we do not Unexpectedly, after the beginning of spring, the Lushunkou area will be officially incorporated into our country's territory!"
After this sentence was finished, everyone couldn't help applauding.Although everyone seems to be used to Haihan acquiring new territory overseas every once in a while, when he has the opportunity to experience this moment of expanding his territory, he still feels very excited.
Liu Shang's mind was a little awkward. Haihan attacked the Houjin-controlled area and caused great damage to it. This is indeed a gratifying and congratulatory thing, but the Lushunkou area occupied by the Haihan army was in the past. The area under the jurisdiction of Jinzhouwei Zhongzuo, the capital of Liaodong, was originally the territory of Ming Dynasty, but it was only temporarily occupied by Houjin.But listening to Qian Tiandun's current tone, it is obvious that these lands in Liaodong have no subordination relationship with Daming. Han territory.
Liu Shang will not doubt how effective Qian Tiandun's words are.When he was still a storyteller at the Xinlong Teahouse in Sanya Port, he had seen many reports about this legendary general in Haihan's official media over the years in the municipal library.Almost every territory of Haihan Kingdom from the north of Hainan Island is inseparable from Qian Tiandun. It can be said that the many islands and ports that Haihan Kingdom occupies by force along the coast of Daming are all under his command masterpiece.Qian Tiandun said that a certain place had been assigned to Haihan, which might be more effective than what the one in the Forbidden City said.
Qian Tiandun pressed his hands down, signaling to be quiet, and then continued: "Occupying Lushunkou is not the end of our operations in the Liaodong area. After the spring, we will continue to launch a large-scale offensive against the Houjin armed forces, and The goal is to completely occupy the area south of the Jinzhou Isthmus. So don’t relax here. This winter is a rest period, and it is also a preparation period. After the spring, there will be a series of fierce battles waiting for you. Logistics, civil affairs and other non-combat units , we must try our best to cooperate with the military's arrangements, and we must not hold back!"
Hearing this, Liu Shang couldn't help but turned his head to look at Su Yu, who was at the same table, and thought that he would put a few people from the military into prison as soon as he came to Shandong like him.Su Yu's expression was calm and composed, as if he didn't realize that his previous actions would harm the military at all.Of course, this may be because he has the backing of the Ministry of Security. After all, now that he has the status of a special consultant of the Ministry of Security, ordinary people have to weigh first if they want to trouble him again.
"...Someone may ask, what's the point of grabbing territory from Houjin in the bitter cold land of Liaodong?"
Hearing these words, Liu Shang immediately woke up from his mind-wandering state, knowing that he was about to talk about the key issue he was most concerned about, so he quickly pricked up his ears to listen carefully to Qian Tiandun's speech.At this time, several soldiers had already propped up an area map with bamboo poles behind Qian Tiandun.
"Occupying the Jinzhou area in Liaodong, the greatest strategic significance lies in the control of the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea." Qian Tiandun walked to the map and raised his hand to delineate the areas of the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea: "As you all know, I, Haihan, To establish a country with sea power, only with sea power can Haihan continue to grow and develop. This theory has the same effect whether it is in the south or in the environment we are in now. We have established ports and routes in the Liaodong Peninsula, which can be attacked You can retreat and defend, echoing the Shandong base, you can control the entire Bohai Sea in the west, and you can see the Yellow Sea in the east. After obtaining the sea control in this area, no matter whether it is colonization, trade, or further military expansion in the future, You will get twice the result with half the effort!"
After Qian Tiandun finished speaking, he suddenly felt as if he had robbed Tom Wang of his lines, so he looked at Tom Wang and said, "Commander Wang, please also say a few words, after all, you are the supreme commander of the navy, so I won't do it for you. gone."
Wang Tom didn't feel annoyed, he stood up and walked to the side of the map and said: "General Qian has already said most of the strategic significance of fighting in Liaodong, so I will add a little bit of political content."
"Attacking Houjin, some people may think it is a thankless move. After all, our country is not bordered by Houjin, and it is difficult to recover the cost of cross-sea warfare through war." Wang Tom talked eloquently: "But I want to be here I would like to remind everyone that the war between Jin and Ming Dynasty has lasted for several years, and the situation of Ming Dynasty has become more and more passive year by year. The executive committee and the Ministry of National Defense agreed that the defeat of Ming Dynasty across the board is only a matter of time. When the time comes, the situation that Ming Dynasty will face The war situation is not about the loss of land and population, but a real crisis of annihilation!"
Liu Shang was also startled when he heard this. He has been in Haihan for so long, of course he has heard many rumors, saying that the senior officials of Haihan are pessimistic about Daming's trend in the northern battlefield.These rumors are telling, but Liu Shang has always believed that this may be a propaganda method fabricated by Haihan officials to brainwash the people.Today was the first time he heard Haihan's high-ranking military express their attitude so clearly, and used such a terrible term as "destruction of the country".
Liu Shang didn't know much about the battle situation on the northern front, and he didn't know much about it from the official mansion newspaper that reported good news but not bad news.It's just that the Jin army went south to knock down the pass every year, and the area where the frontier was tense was getting bigger and bigger, which also shows that Ming did not take advantage of the northern war.In the past few years, the entire Liaodong Peninsula fell into the hands of Houjin. Even the rebels in Shandong chose to cross the sea to join Houjin in Liaodong.
But Liu Shang has always believed that this is only a temporary defeat in some areas. With the vast territory and strong national power of the Ming Dynasty, as long as the civil strife in the peasant army in the Central Plains is first quelled, it will be easy to take back the little Liaodong after freeing up. I never thought The Ming Guozuo Society was threatened by barbarians outside the pass.
Wang Tom, as the commander of the Haihan Navy, said such a thing, basically it can represent the true attitude of Haihan's senior management.Moreover, the celebration banquet was full of Haihan military and official insiders, so there was no need for Wang Tom to release some false information on this occasion.Liu Shang was secretly worried when he heard this, could it be that Daming is really at the end of its national destiny and has to rely on Haihan's external force to save it?
"At this stage, what Haihan needs is a stable Ming Dynasty to provide my country with a market for labor, raw materials, and commodities. Even if Daming is unwilling to take the initiative to carry out in-depth cooperation with our country out of guard, Haihan can't just sit back and watch Watching Daming slipping into the abyss." Tom Wang went on to say: "Daming's internal troubles can only be resolved by the Ming court itself, and it is inconvenient for our country to intervene directly. But Daming's foreign troubles can be easily helped. Fight against Houjin On the one hand, it can restrain them from going south, and on the other hand, it can also give the Han people in the Liaodong area an extra way out. For our country, the labor force will never be too much. If we fight against the Hou Jin, we can get more Han people in our country Immigration, even if it costs more, it is worth it.”
Qian Tiandun and Wang Tom explained Haihan's intention to march into Liaodong from the military and political aspects respectively, but they were limited to the current atmosphere of the celebration banquet. Obviously, neither of them really expanded the issue, but only concisely So far.This made Liu Shang, an audience with a strong desire for knowledge, feel that he was not able to fully enjoy himself. He really wanted to hear more about the opinions of senior Haihan officials on the current situation. Know when such an occasion will happen.
(End of this chapter)
Towards the end of the year, snowfall also becomes more frequent as the season begins.Fortunately, the living facilities on Zhifu Island are relatively complete, and the construction aid cadres who just came here from the warm south don't have to worry about starving and freezing.After three consecutive days of snowfall, the fleet that crossed the sea to fight in Liaodong finally returned to Zhifu Island.More than a dozen combat ships and more than [-] supply ships and troop carriers returned to Hong Kong, and their formation was quite astonishing. Many new immigrants who had just arrived on Zhifu Island were stunned. Shandong has raised troops.
When Liu Shang was in Hainan Island, he had watched the live-fire exercise of the Haihan Army in Danzhou, and later defeated the Spanish invading fleet off the coast of Sanya, so he was no stranger to the Haihan Navy.However, when he saw that Haihan had such a large fleet stationed in the remote Shandong waters, he couldn't help secretly admiring Haihan's military strength.He recalled what he heard from the ship on the way, that the Daming Navy on the Shandong side was afraid to avoid the Haihan Fleet, and it seemed that it was indeed reasonable.
To station a fleet so far away from the mainland for a long time, and to go to the Liaodong region farther north to fight from time to time, one can imagine the support required in terms of logistics.The closest supply place to Shandong is in Zhoushan, Zhejiang. Such large-scale cross-sea supplies that need to be maintained for a long time can probably only be completed by a sea power like Haihan.However, the Houjin Kingdom, which is entrenched in Liaodong, is even worse at naval warfare than Daming, and it should be far from the opponent of the Haihan Navy.
Sure enough, the news brought back by the fleet made Zhifu Island full of joy. This expedition has successfully occupied a port in Liaodong, Lushun Port with excellent navigation conditions, and the army's trump card special warfare battalion is also stationed there. The new The armed stronghold was named Lushun Fort. This was Haihan's first armed stronghold in Liaodong, and it also meant that Haihan's plan to enter Liaodong had achieved phased results.
Like many local cadres, Liu Shang actually couldn't understand why Haihan went to Liaodong to attack the areas under Jin's control.The war between Houjin and Ming Dynasty has been going on for several years, and the whole world knows about it. With the information collected by Haihan, he is naturally very clear about the situation.This is supposed to be a situation where Haihan sits on the mountain and watches the tigers fight, and let the two countries fight to the death in order to profit from it, but Haihan wants to fight Houjin regardless of the cost, so as to contain Houjin from going south to attack Daming's footsteps.
But no matter what the purpose of the executive committee is, the victory of the war can be very inspiring after all. At this time, no one will question whether the official decision to attack Liaodong is worthwhile, or has any deep political significance.Everyone is simply proud and proud of the Haihan Army's consistent victory. Even Liu Shang, who is not pure in identity and standpoint, cannot help but be infected by this atmosphere.
The military prepared a grand celebration banquet for the return of the fleet in advance. The slaughter of pigs and sheep on the island was like a new year. All the sailors who returned to Zhifu Island participated in the banquet, and Liu Shang and other officials from the north were also invited to attend.Liu Shang is not very interested in the banquet, but he is still very interested in the attitude of the military generals at the banquet.Haihan stationed heavy troops in Shandong, and the targets they had to deal with were Daming and Liaodong's Later Jin. The military's attitude towards these two families was what Liu Shang wanted to understand the most.
According to the usual practice, at the celebration banquet of the triumphant return of the army, the leading generals will give a speech, showing off their military exploits, and explaining to the audience the significance of these battles to Haihan.And the generals who led the army to Liaodong this time were Wang Tom, the commander of the navy, and Qian Tiandun, who is known as the first general of the army. It is not an exaggeration to call them the strongest configuration of the navy and army. Their comments on this battle are natural It is even more attention-grabbing.
Liu Shang is an official of the political work propaganda department. The speeches of these big figures are what he needs to study in his work. He understands the spirit of their speeches, and then publicizes them to the general public in a more easy-to-understand way. This is the main purpose of political work propaganda. one of the tasks.He even specially brought a pen and paper, ready to write down some key points in the big shots' speeches on the spot.Of course, because of his current status, no one would think that there was anything wrong with his behavior.
The army general Qian Tiandun who stood up to speak at the banquet first, the army special warfare battalion under his command had a good record in this battle. There were nearly a thousand Jin soldiers, and they cooperated with the cavalry battalion to capture Houjin's local armed fortress, and also captured hundreds of horses, which greatly expanded the strength of the cavalry battalion.
After Qian Tiandun got up, the banquet hall fell silent.He raised his glass and said loudly: "The war requires us to maintain enough awe and cherish the hard-won victory. This glass of wine is dedicated to all the soldiers who died in this battle. Their spirit will be with us!"
The hall was filled with awe. Qian Tiandun spilled the wine in his glass on the ground, then put the glass back on the table, and then he started to talk about the topic: "Before this expedition, the headquarters planned to occupy Lushunkou Harbor. If Taking this as a standard, it can be regarded as overfulfilling the task. Before we came back, the Houjin armed forces in the Lushunkou area had been basically wiped out, and it is unlikely that the opponent will organize a large-scale counterattack this winter. If we do not Unexpectedly, after the beginning of spring, the Lushunkou area will be officially incorporated into our country's territory!"
After this sentence was finished, everyone couldn't help applauding.Although everyone seems to be used to Haihan acquiring new territory overseas every once in a while, when he has the opportunity to experience this moment of expanding his territory, he still feels very excited.
Liu Shang's mind was a little awkward. Haihan attacked the Houjin-controlled area and caused great damage to it. This is indeed a gratifying and congratulatory thing, but the Lushunkou area occupied by the Haihan army was in the past. The area under the jurisdiction of Jinzhouwei Zhongzuo, the capital of Liaodong, was originally the territory of Ming Dynasty, but it was only temporarily occupied by Houjin.But listening to Qian Tiandun's current tone, it is obvious that these lands in Liaodong have no subordination relationship with Daming. Han territory.
Liu Shang will not doubt how effective Qian Tiandun's words are.When he was still a storyteller at the Xinlong Teahouse in Sanya Port, he had seen many reports about this legendary general in Haihan's official media over the years in the municipal library.Almost every territory of Haihan Kingdom from the north of Hainan Island is inseparable from Qian Tiandun. It can be said that the many islands and ports that Haihan Kingdom occupies by force along the coast of Daming are all under his command masterpiece.Qian Tiandun said that a certain place had been assigned to Haihan, which might be more effective than what the one in the Forbidden City said.
Qian Tiandun pressed his hands down, signaling to be quiet, and then continued: "Occupying Lushunkou is not the end of our operations in the Liaodong area. After the spring, we will continue to launch a large-scale offensive against the Houjin armed forces, and The goal is to completely occupy the area south of the Jinzhou Isthmus. So don’t relax here. This winter is a rest period, and it is also a preparation period. After the spring, there will be a series of fierce battles waiting for you. Logistics, civil affairs and other non-combat units , we must try our best to cooperate with the military's arrangements, and we must not hold back!"
Hearing this, Liu Shang couldn't help but turned his head to look at Su Yu, who was at the same table, and thought that he would put a few people from the military into prison as soon as he came to Shandong like him.Su Yu's expression was calm and composed, as if he didn't realize that his previous actions would harm the military at all.Of course, this may be because he has the backing of the Ministry of Security. After all, now that he has the status of a special consultant of the Ministry of Security, ordinary people have to weigh first if they want to trouble him again.
"...Someone may ask, what's the point of grabbing territory from Houjin in the bitter cold land of Liaodong?"
Hearing these words, Liu Shang immediately woke up from his mind-wandering state, knowing that he was about to talk about the key issue he was most concerned about, so he quickly pricked up his ears to listen carefully to Qian Tiandun's speech.At this time, several soldiers had already propped up an area map with bamboo poles behind Qian Tiandun.
"Occupying the Jinzhou area in Liaodong, the greatest strategic significance lies in the control of the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea." Qian Tiandun walked to the map and raised his hand to delineate the areas of the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea: "As you all know, I, Haihan, To establish a country with sea power, only with sea power can Haihan continue to grow and develop. This theory has the same effect whether it is in the south or in the environment we are in now. We have established ports and routes in the Liaodong Peninsula, which can be attacked You can retreat and defend, echoing the Shandong base, you can control the entire Bohai Sea in the west, and you can see the Yellow Sea in the east. After obtaining the sea control in this area, no matter whether it is colonization, trade, or further military expansion in the future, You will get twice the result with half the effort!"
After Qian Tiandun finished speaking, he suddenly felt as if he had robbed Tom Wang of his lines, so he looked at Tom Wang and said, "Commander Wang, please also say a few words, after all, you are the supreme commander of the navy, so I won't do it for you. gone."
Wang Tom didn't feel annoyed, he stood up and walked to the side of the map and said: "General Qian has already said most of the strategic significance of fighting in Liaodong, so I will add a little bit of political content."
"Attacking Houjin, some people may think it is a thankless move. After all, our country is not bordered by Houjin, and it is difficult to recover the cost of cross-sea warfare through war." Wang Tom talked eloquently: "But I want to be here I would like to remind everyone that the war between Jin and Ming Dynasty has lasted for several years, and the situation of Ming Dynasty has become more and more passive year by year. The executive committee and the Ministry of National Defense agreed that the defeat of Ming Dynasty across the board is only a matter of time. When the time comes, the situation that Ming Dynasty will face The war situation is not about the loss of land and population, but a real crisis of annihilation!"
Liu Shang was also startled when he heard this. He has been in Haihan for so long, of course he has heard many rumors, saying that the senior officials of Haihan are pessimistic about Daming's trend in the northern battlefield.These rumors are telling, but Liu Shang has always believed that this may be a propaganda method fabricated by Haihan officials to brainwash the people.Today was the first time he heard Haihan's high-ranking military express their attitude so clearly, and used such a terrible term as "destruction of the country".
Liu Shang didn't know much about the battle situation on the northern front, and he didn't know much about it from the official mansion newspaper that reported good news but not bad news.It's just that the Jin army went south to knock down the pass every year, and the area where the frontier was tense was getting bigger and bigger, which also shows that Ming did not take advantage of the northern war.In the past few years, the entire Liaodong Peninsula fell into the hands of Houjin. Even the rebels in Shandong chose to cross the sea to join Houjin in Liaodong.
But Liu Shang has always believed that this is only a temporary defeat in some areas. With the vast territory and strong national power of the Ming Dynasty, as long as the civil strife in the peasant army in the Central Plains is first quelled, it will be easy to take back the little Liaodong after freeing up. I never thought The Ming Guozuo Society was threatened by barbarians outside the pass.
Wang Tom, as the commander of the Haihan Navy, said such a thing, basically it can represent the true attitude of Haihan's senior management.Moreover, the celebration banquet was full of Haihan military and official insiders, so there was no need for Wang Tom to release some false information on this occasion.Liu Shang was secretly worried when he heard this, could it be that Daming is really at the end of its national destiny and has to rely on Haihan's external force to save it?
"At this stage, what Haihan needs is a stable Ming Dynasty to provide my country with a market for labor, raw materials, and commodities. Even if Daming is unwilling to take the initiative to carry out in-depth cooperation with our country out of guard, Haihan can't just sit back and watch Watching Daming slipping into the abyss." Tom Wang went on to say: "Daming's internal troubles can only be resolved by the Ming court itself, and it is inconvenient for our country to intervene directly. But Daming's foreign troubles can be easily helped. Fight against Houjin On the one hand, it can restrain them from going south, and on the other hand, it can also give the Han people in the Liaodong area an extra way out. For our country, the labor force will never be too much. If we fight against the Hou Jin, we can get more Han people in our country Immigration, even if it costs more, it is worth it.”
Qian Tiandun and Wang Tom explained Haihan's intention to march into Liaodong from the military and political aspects respectively, but they were limited to the current atmosphere of the celebration banquet. Obviously, neither of them really expanded the issue, but only concisely So far.This made Liu Shang, an audience with a strong desire for knowledge, feel that he was not able to fully enjoy himself. He really wanted to hear more about the opinions of senior Haihan officials on the current situation. Know when such an occasion will happen.
(End of this chapter)