Chapter 1834
Hard Come Chapter Even Harder
Chapter 1834
Huang Taiji was not afraid of the casualties of the Qing army in the battle. After all, there is no one who is immortal in a battle. The troops with real combat effectiveness are often brave and fearless. Moreover, in a confrontation with an opponent like Haihan, a large number of casualties will definitely be inevitable.But if after thousands of soldiers died, let alone the dawn of victory, or even the hope of changing the situation of the battle, it might be a different matter.
The Qing army is currently in such a predicament. The troops that have been continuously thrown into the battlefield have disappeared into the roar of guns and artillery, and they still cannot achieve the combat goal of fighting hand-to-hand with the Haihan army.But at the current combat distance, the Qing army could only suffer one-sided massacres, and they didn't even have a chance to fight back.
The essence of the Qing army's combat thinking is that human lives are exchanged for the advancement of the front line. Only after the battle distance is shortened to a face-to-face fight will there be a real chance of victory. However, this tactical thinking has long been seen through by the commander of the Haihan Army. Taking advantage of the setting of such a special battlefield at the moment, the Qing army misjudged the situation and believed that it could rely on its superiority in strength to break through the Haihan position.
Of course, thousands of casualties have not yet shaken the fundamental strength of the Qing army, but it is no longer within the Qing army's plan to go to North Korea this time to continue fighting a war of attrition with no hope of victory.After receiving the report from the front line, Huang Taiji hesitated for a moment, and finally ordered Mingjin to withdraw.
This round of battle was much shorter than the previous fight, and the casualties of the Qing army were reduced by nearly half compared with the previous one. Will consider stopping, but this moment is obviously coming earlier than they expected.Qian Tiandun was also a little surprised by this, he even suspected that this was done on purpose by the Qing army, in order to lure the Haihan army to go after them and kill them back with their carbine.
"The troops are withdrawing? The enemy is withdrawing their troops now?" Jin Shangxian tremblingly supported the guardrail of the watchtower, some couldn't believe his eyes. Why did the Qing army suddenly withdraw their troops when the fierce battle was still in full swing.Of course he hopes that the Qing army can withdraw from his country as soon as possible, but he also hopes that the Haihan army can inflict heavy damage on the Qing army in the battle as they promised. Today's battle situation is not even as fierce as the previous round, which makes him want to Kim Sang-heon, who was watching the excitement, was inevitably a little disappointed.
"It seems that the killing was too ruthless!" Qian Tiandun could only use this as an explanation for the Qing army's withdrawal from the battlefield, but he was not dissatisfied with Gao Qiaonan's on-the-spot command. Thousands of coalition troops and nearly ten thousand refugees must have suffered heavy casualties. In this kind of life-and-death situation, there is no room for omissions. Gao Qiaonan's arrangement is actually a very safe approach.
Of course, even though the Qing army withdrew from the battlefield, it might not be necessary to retreat all the way to Liaodong, and maybe they would launch the next round of offensive after two or three days of rest.But Qian Tiandun could already feel from the active retreat of the Qing army that the opponent's fighting spirit was gradually diminishing. Perhaps after this battle was over, the opponent was about to pack up and go home.
"I think the naval forces can be assembled and ready to go." Wang Tom, who watched the whole battle, was more direct. He believed that the Qing army's active withdrawal of troops before tens of thousands of people entered the battlefield had fully demonstrated the command. attitude of the officer.The Qing army is likely to choose to withdraw its troops from North Korea next, and it is time for the navy to take action.
Qian Tiandun did not express any objection to this, but he still requested that the three fleets of Annan, Portugal, and Fujian Navy continue to be garrisoned on the Datong River to prevent the Qing army from playing tricks of sneaking into Chencang.
The current situation is still far from the defeat of the Qing army expected by Haihan. Although the Qing army lost thousands of people on the banks of the Datong River, most of its main force's organizational system has been preserved, and no senior generals have been defeated in the battle. Therefore, the situation of the entire army is still relatively stable, and even if the troops are withdrawn, it is unlikely that there will be chaos and out of control.
Under such circumstances, the army did not dare to leave its position rashly to pursue the Qing army. Instead, it was safer for the navy to go around to the north and use the river environment to intercept.Moreover, compared with the position on the banks of the Datong River that took more than two months to build, the navy's combat environment required less risk, and it was far easier to intercept the Qing army than the army.
So when the Qing army retreated back to the camp, Wang Tom gave an order that all naval personnel, including the marines, gather at the dock area and prepare for departure.The dozen or so Haihan warships that were still on patrol in the upper reaches of the Datong River had to rush back to the base immediately after receiving the order, and join in the move northward to outflank the rear of the Qing army.
There was no movement in the Qing army camp that day, and there was no major reaction to the Haihan reconnaissance cavalry who began to appear sporadically nearby.But the more calm it is, the more Haihan believes that the Qing army is planning to retreat.
And the actual situation was exactly like this. After the Qing army retreated to the camp, Huang Taiji summoned all the generals to announce his decision to give up continuing to fight Haihan and withdraw the army back to the country.
This can be said to be a rare situation in the Qing army's foreign military operations in recent years. Although most of the wars against Ming Dynasty ended with the Qing army retreating on its own, it was usually because the Qing army searched enough people, money and food in Daming territory. Swaggering away with the booty is not the same thing as leaving in disgrace after a defeat like this.
Of course, if it were not for the untimely appearance of the Haihan people on the Korean battlefield, the victory of the Qing army would have continued without any suspense, and North Korea would only become another victim of the fall of the Qing army.
The Qing army didn't have any special resistance to withdrawing if they couldn't beat it, at most they were a little discouraged by such a complete defeat.On the contrary, there are many troops who have not yet been sent to the battlefield secretly rejoicing that they can return home alive without risking their lives to fight the Haihan army.
"Evacuate overnight, so as not to have long nights and dreams!" After Huang Taiji made up his mind, he was very decisive, not wanting to leave the Haihan army with a chance to chase after him.
But in fact, the operational efficiency of the Qing army still could not meet his requirements. Tens of thousands of people had to assemble at night and set off without making too much noise so as not to disturb their opponents. But it is not an easy task.The only troops that really managed to evacuate overnight were only a few cattlemen who served as the vanguard battalion.The rest of the large troops basically set off from the camp after the sky became dark. It is basically impossible to hide this movement from the opponent.
When Qian Tiandun woke up in the morning, he got the latest report on the Qing army's movements. At this time, Wang Tom had already gone to the dock and was about to lead the fleet to set off.Although the navy's warships have not yet been assembled in place, Wang Tom can no longer wait any longer. If he does not hurry up and set off, the best fighter may be delayed.
And Gao Qiaonan was already waiting outside Qian Tiandun's residence, waiting for his instructions on whether to lead the army to pursue the retreating Qing army.For the Independent Regiment, the mission to go north to North Korea took several months before and after, but it was only the last few days when it was their turn to fight. , Of course, it cannot satisfy the independent regiment who is eager to fight.
Qian Tiandun shook his head slightly and said: "Don't worry, the Qing army hasn't messed up yet, and the risk of pursuing them is too great. Wait a little longer, when the Qing army is stopped by the navy fleet in the north and can't go back, then we will go there and chase them away." one trip."
After Qian Tiandun finished speaking, seeing that Gao Qiaonan did not take the order to leave immediately, he knew that he probably still had some ideas, so he smiled and said: "Let the scout cavalry keep an eye on it, and send two infantry companies to hang behind, pay attention to keep safe Don't let the Qing army kill the carbine!"
Gao Qiaonan has followed Qian Tiandun for many years, and he can roughly understand his boss' intentions when he receives an order.The reconnaissance cavalry is responsible for approaching and monitoring the movement of the Qing army, while the infantry company hanging behind is responsible for waiting for the opportunity to clean up the scattered Qing soldiers who have fallen behind - this is very likely that the Qing army deliberately stayed behind to monitor the Haihan army Moving horses.
The Haihan army's reconnaissance operations have never been one-way. While collecting military information to monitor the enemy's movements, they must also try to shield the enemy's reconnaissance operations against its own side.And if the independent regiment wants to leave the position and launch an active pursuit of the enemy's force ten times larger than its own, then it must not let the enemy grasp its own movement in advance, otherwise the tens of thousands of cavalry in the Qing army will be mobilized. It is enough for the independent regiment fighting in the field to drink a pot.What's even worse is that the cavalry troops of the Qing army took advantage of their mobility and directly bypassed the independent regiment to attack the Datongjiang base.
As the commander-in-chief of the army on the Korean battlefield, Qian Tiandun naturally couldn't let his troops make such low-level mistakes, so even though he was very assured of Gao Qiaonan's military quality, he still gave a few extra words of advice to make Gao Qiaonan Be careful with the retreating Qing army.
Although the frontal battlefield confrontation between the two armies seems to have come to an end, for the scouts, their battlefield is located outside the Datongjiang position.The scouts in the independent regiment were basically selected and trained by Qian Tiandun himself. In addition to the basic training subjects, they were also specially sent to the cavalry, artillery, sniper, navy and other units to receive various trainings to ensure They have the ability to collect the required military information for other arms, and they can be said to be the elite of the elite troops of the Independent Regiment.
And its individual equipment is almost at the top level in the army. Mounts are exclusively provided by the war horse base in Hainan Island. It was designed and supervised by Qian Tiandun himself. All the equipment is not for sale, and the actual value is difficult to simply calculate with currency.
From the snow-capped Liaodong dense forest to the perennially hot South China Sea islands, the scouts of the Independent Regiment used to be the range of activities, and their ability to adapt to the environment was probably unmatched in the entire Haihan Army.Such an elite team, whether it is Qian Tiandun or Gao Qiaonan, has a lot of trust in their abilities, so they dare to entrust them with the task of approaching and monitoring the Qing army.
Of course, it is close surveillance, but considering that there are still a large number of cavalry activities on the periphery of the Qing army, the limited number of scouts must first ensure their own safety. In fact, they still maintain at least five years with the Qing army. Six miles away.Fortunately, each of them is equipped with a telescope, and this distance will not cause too much obstacle to their reconnaissance.
As for those rangers of the Qing army who were trying to get close to them, the scouts would not take the initiative to fight against them because they were well equipped. They knew very well that their mission was to scout the enemy's situation, not to capture the enemy's head.When they sensed that an enemy cavalry was approaching, they would take the initiative to distance themselves and approach their companions at the same time.If a group of enemy cavalry leaves the main force and wants to drive them away, the scouts will choose to lead them to the rear - there will be infantry units hanging behind them ready to meet them at any time a few miles away.
The Qing army is not surprised by Haihan's scouting cavalry. This is a strategy that any opponent will adopt, even if it is the North Korean army who has been beaten by itself and has no power to fight back. There have always been scouts around, but not as close as the Haihan people.
The Ranger, who is in charge of monitoring the enemy's movements on the periphery, will report the military situation to the Central Army where Huang Taiji is located, and Huang Taiji is actually somewhat ambivalent about whether the Haihan Army will take pursuit actions. On the one hand, he certainly does not want to withdraw the troops After the action was bitten by the Haihan army, the marching speed was slowed down, which caused more troubles. On the other hand, he felt that the Haihan army might choose to go out in full force in pursuit of greater results. You can have the opportunity to detour to touch the camp, destroy its stronghold and change the direction of the battle.
But after the army marched for dozens of miles, Huang Taiji still didn't get the news that Haihan's army was chasing him, and while he felt a big stone in his heart, he couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
At this time, the fleet of the Haihan Navy had sailed out of the Datong River Estuary, heading north at full speed.In order to ensure that he arrived at the scheduled battle location ahead of the main force of the Qing army, Wang Tom even ordered several large-tonnage warships in the fleet to turn on the steam power system on board, and rushed to the local area first, leaving the large troops behind.
Although the main force of the Qing army had gone south, a small number of soldiers and horses were also stationed in the conquered towns along the way, and Koreans were recruited to build ships and rafts day and night.The Qing army did not intend to compete with the Haihan fleet by relying on these temporary vehicles, but to solve the problem of insufficient logistics capacity.Of course, these vehicles will also play a great role when the Qing army withdraws its troops to the country.
Prior to this, Haihan deliberately gave control of several rivers in the north to the Qing army, also in order to allow them to go south boldly with confidence.If it hadn't been for the consideration of the feelings of the Koreans, Haihan might even put the Qing army on the Han River before launching a counterattack.For Haihan, the naval fleet could regain control of these rivers at any time. When the Qing army invaded, if they crossed an extra channel of water, they would suffer countless deaths and injuries when they retreated.
(End of this chapter)
Huang Taiji was not afraid of the casualties of the Qing army in the battle. After all, there is no one who is immortal in a battle. The troops with real combat effectiveness are often brave and fearless. Moreover, in a confrontation with an opponent like Haihan, a large number of casualties will definitely be inevitable.But if after thousands of soldiers died, let alone the dawn of victory, or even the hope of changing the situation of the battle, it might be a different matter.
The Qing army is currently in such a predicament. The troops that have been continuously thrown into the battlefield have disappeared into the roar of guns and artillery, and they still cannot achieve the combat goal of fighting hand-to-hand with the Haihan army.But at the current combat distance, the Qing army could only suffer one-sided massacres, and they didn't even have a chance to fight back.
The essence of the Qing army's combat thinking is that human lives are exchanged for the advancement of the front line. Only after the battle distance is shortened to a face-to-face fight will there be a real chance of victory. However, this tactical thinking has long been seen through by the commander of the Haihan Army. Taking advantage of the setting of such a special battlefield at the moment, the Qing army misjudged the situation and believed that it could rely on its superiority in strength to break through the Haihan position.
Of course, thousands of casualties have not yet shaken the fundamental strength of the Qing army, but it is no longer within the Qing army's plan to go to North Korea this time to continue fighting a war of attrition with no hope of victory.After receiving the report from the front line, Huang Taiji hesitated for a moment, and finally ordered Mingjin to withdraw.
This round of battle was much shorter than the previous fight, and the casualties of the Qing army were reduced by nearly half compared with the previous one. Will consider stopping, but this moment is obviously coming earlier than they expected.Qian Tiandun was also a little surprised by this, he even suspected that this was done on purpose by the Qing army, in order to lure the Haihan army to go after them and kill them back with their carbine.
"The troops are withdrawing? The enemy is withdrawing their troops now?" Jin Shangxian tremblingly supported the guardrail of the watchtower, some couldn't believe his eyes. Why did the Qing army suddenly withdraw their troops when the fierce battle was still in full swing.Of course he hopes that the Qing army can withdraw from his country as soon as possible, but he also hopes that the Haihan army can inflict heavy damage on the Qing army in the battle as they promised. Today's battle situation is not even as fierce as the previous round, which makes him want to Kim Sang-heon, who was watching the excitement, was inevitably a little disappointed.
"It seems that the killing was too ruthless!" Qian Tiandun could only use this as an explanation for the Qing army's withdrawal from the battlefield, but he was not dissatisfied with Gao Qiaonan's on-the-spot command. Thousands of coalition troops and nearly ten thousand refugees must have suffered heavy casualties. In this kind of life-and-death situation, there is no room for omissions. Gao Qiaonan's arrangement is actually a very safe approach.
Of course, even though the Qing army withdrew from the battlefield, it might not be necessary to retreat all the way to Liaodong, and maybe they would launch the next round of offensive after two or three days of rest.But Qian Tiandun could already feel from the active retreat of the Qing army that the opponent's fighting spirit was gradually diminishing. Perhaps after this battle was over, the opponent was about to pack up and go home.
"I think the naval forces can be assembled and ready to go." Wang Tom, who watched the whole battle, was more direct. He believed that the Qing army's active withdrawal of troops before tens of thousands of people entered the battlefield had fully demonstrated the command. attitude of the officer.The Qing army is likely to choose to withdraw its troops from North Korea next, and it is time for the navy to take action.
Qian Tiandun did not express any objection to this, but he still requested that the three fleets of Annan, Portugal, and Fujian Navy continue to be garrisoned on the Datong River to prevent the Qing army from playing tricks of sneaking into Chencang.
The current situation is still far from the defeat of the Qing army expected by Haihan. Although the Qing army lost thousands of people on the banks of the Datong River, most of its main force's organizational system has been preserved, and no senior generals have been defeated in the battle. Therefore, the situation of the entire army is still relatively stable, and even if the troops are withdrawn, it is unlikely that there will be chaos and out of control.
Under such circumstances, the army did not dare to leave its position rashly to pursue the Qing army. Instead, it was safer for the navy to go around to the north and use the river environment to intercept.Moreover, compared with the position on the banks of the Datong River that took more than two months to build, the navy's combat environment required less risk, and it was far easier to intercept the Qing army than the army.
So when the Qing army retreated back to the camp, Wang Tom gave an order that all naval personnel, including the marines, gather at the dock area and prepare for departure.The dozen or so Haihan warships that were still on patrol in the upper reaches of the Datong River had to rush back to the base immediately after receiving the order, and join in the move northward to outflank the rear of the Qing army.
There was no movement in the Qing army camp that day, and there was no major reaction to the Haihan reconnaissance cavalry who began to appear sporadically nearby.But the more calm it is, the more Haihan believes that the Qing army is planning to retreat.
And the actual situation was exactly like this. After the Qing army retreated to the camp, Huang Taiji summoned all the generals to announce his decision to give up continuing to fight Haihan and withdraw the army back to the country.
This can be said to be a rare situation in the Qing army's foreign military operations in recent years. Although most of the wars against Ming Dynasty ended with the Qing army retreating on its own, it was usually because the Qing army searched enough people, money and food in Daming territory. Swaggering away with the booty is not the same thing as leaving in disgrace after a defeat like this.
Of course, if it were not for the untimely appearance of the Haihan people on the Korean battlefield, the victory of the Qing army would have continued without any suspense, and North Korea would only become another victim of the fall of the Qing army.
The Qing army didn't have any special resistance to withdrawing if they couldn't beat it, at most they were a little discouraged by such a complete defeat.On the contrary, there are many troops who have not yet been sent to the battlefield secretly rejoicing that they can return home alive without risking their lives to fight the Haihan army.
"Evacuate overnight, so as not to have long nights and dreams!" After Huang Taiji made up his mind, he was very decisive, not wanting to leave the Haihan army with a chance to chase after him.
But in fact, the operational efficiency of the Qing army still could not meet his requirements. Tens of thousands of people had to assemble at night and set off without making too much noise so as not to disturb their opponents. But it is not an easy task.The only troops that really managed to evacuate overnight were only a few cattlemen who served as the vanguard battalion.The rest of the large troops basically set off from the camp after the sky became dark. It is basically impossible to hide this movement from the opponent.
When Qian Tiandun woke up in the morning, he got the latest report on the Qing army's movements. At this time, Wang Tom had already gone to the dock and was about to lead the fleet to set off.Although the navy's warships have not yet been assembled in place, Wang Tom can no longer wait any longer. If he does not hurry up and set off, the best fighter may be delayed.
And Gao Qiaonan was already waiting outside Qian Tiandun's residence, waiting for his instructions on whether to lead the army to pursue the retreating Qing army.For the Independent Regiment, the mission to go north to North Korea took several months before and after, but it was only the last few days when it was their turn to fight. , Of course, it cannot satisfy the independent regiment who is eager to fight.
Qian Tiandun shook his head slightly and said: "Don't worry, the Qing army hasn't messed up yet, and the risk of pursuing them is too great. Wait a little longer, when the Qing army is stopped by the navy fleet in the north and can't go back, then we will go there and chase them away." one trip."
After Qian Tiandun finished speaking, seeing that Gao Qiaonan did not take the order to leave immediately, he knew that he probably still had some ideas, so he smiled and said: "Let the scout cavalry keep an eye on it, and send two infantry companies to hang behind, pay attention to keep safe Don't let the Qing army kill the carbine!"
Gao Qiaonan has followed Qian Tiandun for many years, and he can roughly understand his boss' intentions when he receives an order.The reconnaissance cavalry is responsible for approaching and monitoring the movement of the Qing army, while the infantry company hanging behind is responsible for waiting for the opportunity to clean up the scattered Qing soldiers who have fallen behind - this is very likely that the Qing army deliberately stayed behind to monitor the Haihan army Moving horses.
The Haihan army's reconnaissance operations have never been one-way. While collecting military information to monitor the enemy's movements, they must also try to shield the enemy's reconnaissance operations against its own side.And if the independent regiment wants to leave the position and launch an active pursuit of the enemy's force ten times larger than its own, then it must not let the enemy grasp its own movement in advance, otherwise the tens of thousands of cavalry in the Qing army will be mobilized. It is enough for the independent regiment fighting in the field to drink a pot.What's even worse is that the cavalry troops of the Qing army took advantage of their mobility and directly bypassed the independent regiment to attack the Datongjiang base.
As the commander-in-chief of the army on the Korean battlefield, Qian Tiandun naturally couldn't let his troops make such low-level mistakes, so even though he was very assured of Gao Qiaonan's military quality, he still gave a few extra words of advice to make Gao Qiaonan Be careful with the retreating Qing army.
Although the frontal battlefield confrontation between the two armies seems to have come to an end, for the scouts, their battlefield is located outside the Datongjiang position.The scouts in the independent regiment were basically selected and trained by Qian Tiandun himself. In addition to the basic training subjects, they were also specially sent to the cavalry, artillery, sniper, navy and other units to receive various trainings to ensure They have the ability to collect the required military information for other arms, and they can be said to be the elite of the elite troops of the Independent Regiment.
And its individual equipment is almost at the top level in the army. Mounts are exclusively provided by the war horse base in Hainan Island. It was designed and supervised by Qian Tiandun himself. All the equipment is not for sale, and the actual value is difficult to simply calculate with currency.
From the snow-capped Liaodong dense forest to the perennially hot South China Sea islands, the scouts of the Independent Regiment used to be the range of activities, and their ability to adapt to the environment was probably unmatched in the entire Haihan Army.Such an elite team, whether it is Qian Tiandun or Gao Qiaonan, has a lot of trust in their abilities, so they dare to entrust them with the task of approaching and monitoring the Qing army.
Of course, it is close surveillance, but considering that there are still a large number of cavalry activities on the periphery of the Qing army, the limited number of scouts must first ensure their own safety. In fact, they still maintain at least five years with the Qing army. Six miles away.Fortunately, each of them is equipped with a telescope, and this distance will not cause too much obstacle to their reconnaissance.
As for those rangers of the Qing army who were trying to get close to them, the scouts would not take the initiative to fight against them because they were well equipped. They knew very well that their mission was to scout the enemy's situation, not to capture the enemy's head.When they sensed that an enemy cavalry was approaching, they would take the initiative to distance themselves and approach their companions at the same time.If a group of enemy cavalry leaves the main force and wants to drive them away, the scouts will choose to lead them to the rear - there will be infantry units hanging behind them ready to meet them at any time a few miles away.
The Qing army is not surprised by Haihan's scouting cavalry. This is a strategy that any opponent will adopt, even if it is the North Korean army who has been beaten by itself and has no power to fight back. There have always been scouts around, but not as close as the Haihan people.
The Ranger, who is in charge of monitoring the enemy's movements on the periphery, will report the military situation to the Central Army where Huang Taiji is located, and Huang Taiji is actually somewhat ambivalent about whether the Haihan Army will take pursuit actions. On the one hand, he certainly does not want to withdraw the troops After the action was bitten by the Haihan army, the marching speed was slowed down, which caused more troubles. On the other hand, he felt that the Haihan army might choose to go out in full force in pursuit of greater results. You can have the opportunity to detour to touch the camp, destroy its stronghold and change the direction of the battle.
But after the army marched for dozens of miles, Huang Taiji still didn't get the news that Haihan's army was chasing him, and while he felt a big stone in his heart, he couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
At this time, the fleet of the Haihan Navy had sailed out of the Datong River Estuary, heading north at full speed.In order to ensure that he arrived at the scheduled battle location ahead of the main force of the Qing army, Wang Tom even ordered several large-tonnage warships in the fleet to turn on the steam power system on board, and rushed to the local area first, leaving the large troops behind.
Although the main force of the Qing army had gone south, a small number of soldiers and horses were also stationed in the conquered towns along the way, and Koreans were recruited to build ships and rafts day and night.The Qing army did not intend to compete with the Haihan fleet by relying on these temporary vehicles, but to solve the problem of insufficient logistics capacity.Of course, these vehicles will also play a great role when the Qing army withdraws its troops to the country.
Prior to this, Haihan deliberately gave control of several rivers in the north to the Qing army, also in order to allow them to go south boldly with confidence.If it hadn't been for the consideration of the feelings of the Koreans, Haihan might even put the Qing army on the Han River before launching a counterattack.For Haihan, the naval fleet could regain control of these rivers at any time. When the Qing army invaded, if they crossed an extra channel of water, they would suffer countless deaths and injuries when they retreated.
(End of this chapter)