Chapter 1511

Who belongs to Liaodong?

Chapter 1511 Who belongs to Liaodong?
However, this happy feeling did not last long, and someone knocked on Mei Shengchuan's door: "Sir, there is a secret report!"

The voice of the person outside the door was not loud, but it was just enough to make Umeshengchuan in the house hear it clearly.Mei Shengchuan, who was lying on the rattan rocking chair, suddenly opened his eyes, got up and walked quickly to the door to open the door.Outside the door is one of his entourage. His identity is a clerk, but he is actually a spy of Jin Yiwei.Although it was difficult for Jin Yiwei to enter the Jinzhou area in Liaodong occupied by the Later Jin, the army and civilians in Dongjiang Town and the people hired by Haihan in Shandong were almost all Han people, so it was not too difficult for Jin Yiwei to mix some sand in it.So long before Mei Shengchuan arranged this trip, there were actually Jin Yiwei's eyes and ears in Liaodong who were secretly collecting all kinds of news.

Today, after Mei Shengchuan and his party arrived in Lushun, someone naturally looked for an opportunity to connect with their colleagues lurking in the local area to find out whether Haihan had any special arrangements for Mei Shengchuan's arrival.Although Mei Shengchuan was convinced that the Haihan people would not set up a special banquet for themselves, being able to learn more about relevant information through secret channels would always be beneficial to the next negotiation.

The spy reported in a low voice: "Sir, Shen Zhixiang from Dongjiang Town suddenly disappeared from the station a few days ago and is currently missing. In addition, the main force of the Haihan Northern Fleet also all left the port at the same time. It is suspected that the Haihan people may be launching from the sea to the north. An attack."

Mei Shengchuan frowned slightly. He remembered that at the banquet just now, it was clear that Shaxi had said that Shen Zhixiang was leading the army to fight on the front line, so how could he suddenly disappear?
Mei Shengchuan came here from the capital, more because of his trust in Shen Shikui, his old friend in Dongjiang Town, rather than his confidence in the Haihan people.He knew that Dongjiang Town chose to hug Haihan's thigh, but he also knew that the top officials of Dongjiang Town still had their hearts on Daming, and at least they didn't hide anything in providing Haihan information - of course, perhaps the information they provided to the court was also Haihan's information. The Han people want to let the court know the information through this special channel.

Mei Shengchuan dared to come to Liaodong with only a few dozen followers, more or less because he believed that the Ming army in Dongjiang Town would definitely protect his personal safety during this period.However, after arriving in Lushun, he hadn't seen the generals of Dongjiang Town, and the guards were all handled by the Haihan Army. At this time, he heard that Shen Zhixiang had been missing for several days, and he couldn't help but murmured a little, what is this arrangement of the Haihan people? Intentional or unintentional?
He was not worried that Haihan would do something poisonous to the generals of Dongjiang Town, because according to the information sent back to the capital by Dongjiang Town, Haihan was also very concerned about the military training of the generals of Dongjiang Town, especially Shen Zhixiang who received many Haihan people. Special care, even in the military operations that Dongjiang Town does not participate in, the Haihan people often arrange for Shen Zhixiang to go out with the army, so that he can watch the battle in the place closest to the battlefield, so as to absorb these rare combat and command experience.

The Haihan people want to train Shen Zhixiang, but Mei Shengchuan can understand their ideas. After all, someone like Shen Zhixiang who was born and raised in the north, understands the local customs and geographical conditions of Liaodong, and knows how to lead troops to fight, must be extremely rare in the Haihan army from the south. of.And Shen Zhixiang has always shown an attitude of being close to Haihan. The other party will naturally think that he is someone who can be used for himself, and it is reasonable to invest more money to cultivate him.

But Mei Shengchuan didn't dare to make a rash judgment on this. Since Sha Xi said that he would see the general of Dongjiang Town in a few days, there is no need for the other party to be sloppy in this kind of thing. He can only wait and see if there are new changes in the situation. .The other information returned by the Jinyiwei spy didn't have much intelligence value, and many of them were the content that the Haihan people had already informed him on their own initiative.For example, the family members of Dongjiang Town were resettled in a place [-] miles away from Lushun Fort. At present, more than [-] people have settled in this area.Another example is that the main force of the Haihan Army is almost concentrated on the front line of the Jinzhou Isthmus, while the Lushun Fort in the rear is only stationed by the army and navy of less than a thousand people.

When the Haihan people informed Mei Shengchuan of the military information, they did not seem to be worried that he would pass the information on and attract the Ming army to attack the place.And Mei Shengchuan thinks this is probably because Haihan has a very firm confidence in his own defense capabilities. After all, there are so many artillery battleships parked in the port, and there are several artillery batteries on the shore, and the defense of this Fort Lushun is not bad. It was noticed that the perimeter of the fortress was transformed into an irregular wall outline.Mei Shengchuan didn't know that this kind of fortification was called a bastion, but he could intuitively feel that the defensive capability of this new type of fortress should be very strong - after all, the number of fortresses was obviously increased several times compared to the old Lushun Fort. If someone tried to attack Lushun Fort, the casualty price paid would certainly be considerable.

Mei Shengchuan sent his subordinates back, closed the door and digested the intelligence information he had just learned. He felt that the measures he could take were almost nothing. After all, there were dozens of people around who could use them, and most of them were still being Arranged to be stationed outside Lushun Fort, it was extremely inconvenient to dispatch.Mei Shengchuan decided to find an opportunity to see the resident in Dongjiang Town. Maybe there are many people who are interested in Daming and can use it for themselves.

Early the next morning, Sha Xi arranged for Mei Shengchuan to inspect the local garrison.This process should have been carried out yesterday, but it was dark when Mei Shengchuan arrived yesterday, so the review was scheduled for the next day.

Mei Shengchuan had long been accustomed to inspecting the Ming army, but this was the first time in his life that he had inspected foreign troops, and he couldn't help but wonder how the Haihan army could perform.Haihan's military parade is basically based on the practice of later generations, getting a group of drum and trumpet players to play, and then accompanied by Sha Xi and Mei Shengchuan to review the formation of the army and navy on foot.

Mei Shengchuan did not have any special feelings about the formation and weapons of the Haihan Army. After all, these things could also be taken out by the Ming Army. At most, the performance of the weapons was only a little bit worse. As long as the formation was trained for a few days, he was afraid of standing still. Not neat enough?What really shocked Mei Shengchuan was the aura emanating from these Haihan soldiers. It was the murderous aura that can be gradually acquired after fighting bravely for several times on the battlefield, and the confidence that can only be acquired by constantly winning in battle. .Although the troops under review were just one company from each of the army and navy, the invisible aura displayed by the troops who had been on the battlefield during the review left a deep impression on Mei Shengchuan.

"These two companies have participated in my country's combat operations against the South China Sea pirates Baishizhi in the early years. In recent years, they have participated in many operations in Fujian, Taiwan, and Zhejiang. They are actually troops that have been tempered on the battlefield." Sha Xi He was very attentive to introduce the situation of the troops under review to Mei Shengchuan, and he didn't know whether he meant to show off, or to deter the other party.

Sha Xi said that in these places, except for Taiwan Island, which is not the official territory of Ming Dynasty, the war in Fujian and Zhejiang was all reported by the Ministry of War.For several military operations that Sha Xi did not mention in detail, Mei Shengchuan had a general impression.Haihan kidnapped many islands from Daming through these military operations.Fujian is to let the actions of the Haihan people be resigned, and they are unanimous.Although the Zhejiang side took action, the price paid in the end was even greater. Not only did several senior officials mysteriously disappear, but an arson case was later made, allowing the Haihan people to find an excuse to send troops to Hangzhou and signed the so-called The armistice agreement in disguise opened up Haihan's trade authority in Zhejiang.

At that time, there was great controversy in the court over the handling of the Zhejiang government, and many people thought that the armistice agreement was a traitorous one.However, there are also some officials who think that the Zhejiang government's ability to quell the war as soon as possible is a great achievement. After all, everyone knows that Daming has no extra energy to open up a new battlefield, not to mention that the opponent is the Haihan Army who has not suffered a defeat in the south. .

Officials from Fuguang and Guangxi provinces had many entanglements with Haihan. Naturally, they were also the lord and faction on the side of Zhejiang in the court. In the end, Emperor Chongzhen did not dare to take the risk of re-creating the matter that had already been settled, so he could only acquiesce. The practice of the Zhejiang government.The governor of Zhejiang, Wang Ji, the commander Liu Feng, the prefect of Hangzhou, He Guanzhi, and others all received a secret decree from the palace afterward, asking them not to give other special treatment to the Haihan people, let alone condone their work in Daming. A large number of domestic mergers and acquisitions of real estate properties, recruitment of immigrants.

Of course, it is not up to Emperor Chongzhen to decide how many of these requirements can be fulfilled.Emperor Tiangao is far away, thousands of miles away from the capital, how can everything follow the thoughts of the emperor in the palace who can only govern the country through memorials.Haihan's cross-border trade in Zhejiang has been flourishing in the past two years, and more and more people in Zhejiang have begun to have interests with Haihan directly or indirectly through these trade channels.

It is precisely because the situation in the south has gradually become peaceful that Haihan has the spare strength to transfer his troops to the north, and begins to make the idea of ​​the Liaodong Peninsula.Although Mei Shengchuan was not very clear about the details, it was not difficult for him to deduce the cause and effect from the information he had.

"At first glance, your country's army is accustomed to fighting on the battlefield, and only the Changsheng Army can have such a momentum!" Mei Shengchuan praised from the bottom of his heart, somewhat jealous that Haihan had such a strong army.

Sha Xi thought that you are also a person who knows goods. After visiting the queue, he arranged the shooting training that the Haihan Army was proud of, which opened the eyes of the Minister of War of the Ming Dynasty.

Before he came to Liaodong, Mei Shengchuan, like many people, believed that the description of the combat effectiveness of the Haihan Army contained many exaggerated elements, especially the information sent back from various places said that the performance of the guns and artillery of the Haihan Army was invincible. It's totally true.There are also many skilled craftsmen in Daming, and it does not take a year or two to make muskets. Moreover, the Ministry of War has studied the rifles sold by Haihan for export, and believes that although their performance is good, the manufacturing process is extremely complicated, and the cost is not suitable for mass production.If the two armies face off against each other, the Ming army can also use its military strength to smooth out the gap in weapon performance.

But the weapons displayed by the Haihan Army at this time are obviously quite different from the guns he has seen exported by Haihan, and it can even be said that they are not the same thing at all.The rifles equipped by the Haihan Army can not only shoot several rounds in a row, but their ammunition loading, range, accuracy, and lethality are almost all superior to all musket weapons known to Mei Shengchuan.

In the end, when the sniper came out and performed an accurate hit on the head-sized crock pot from a hundred feet away, Mei Shengchuan swallowed his saliva with difficulty.Although Sha Xi did not explain this in detail, Mei Shengchuan could see that this was far from the shooting limit of this terrible rifle.And once this kind of weapon is put on the battlefield, its ability to control the situation of the battle is not comparable to that of an ordinary individual soldier. As long as a few officers and generals of the enemy army are in command of the battle, the opponent will naturally be in chaos and win without a fight.

The performance of the artillery did not disappoint the audience. Mei Shengchuan was very interested in the breech-loading artillery, but he did not understand Sha Xi's explanation at all.He was intent on going to touch this sharp weapon up close to see what the doorway was, but Shaxi seemed to have read through his mind and deliberately did not arrange such a visit.Although Mei Shengchuan was full of curiosity, he could only endure it.

He remembered that in the information sent back by the spies yesterday, there was no mention of these powerful weapons at all. Regardless of whether the Jinyiwei people were not able to infiltrate the Haihan Army's station, they didn't even know about the existence of these standard weapons. Affection.Although this is not negligence, it is at least ineffective.If the two armies faced each other, the Ming army, who had a serious lack of understanding of Haihan, would definitely suffer a great loss.

In the information sent back by Dongjiang Town before, it was mentioned that the Haihan Army could break the cavalry with footsteps, and that only the infantry could deal with the Houjin cavalry who were stronger than their own. Dongjiang Town was probably intentionally exaggerating the facts and boasting on behalf of the Haihan Army.But after seeing the weapon performance display of the Haihan Army at this time, he suddenly realized that the information sent by Dongjiang Town was not a lie, but that there was such a possibility.If not so, how could Hou Jin willingly give up this good port in the southern part of Jinzhou and give the Haihan people a foothold to enter Liaodong.

The more powerful the Haihan Army displayed, the more Mei Shengchuan felt that the chances of Daming taking back Liaodong from him were slim.If calculated according to the combat power, Haihan could repel the thousands of Houjin soldiers stationed in Jinzhou, and firmly hold the captured area, then how many troops did Daming need to achieve such a goal?

Mei Shengchuan calculated silently in his heart, thinking that at least [-] Ming troops should be sent to the Liaodong area in order to achieve the same goal.But the problem is that Daming currently does not have such maritime delivery capabilities in the Bohai Bay area, otherwise he would not have watched the troops in Dongjiang Town be expelled from Liaodong by the Houjin Army.

(End of this chapter)