Chapter 1839
Zhan Yizhou
Chapter 1839 Zhan Yizhou
When the Qing army was looking for a place to cross the river and enter North Korea on the Yalu River, it made a lot of effort. It inspected many places and made many sets of action plans. In the end, it chose Jiulian City because the local area can be attacked and retreated. It can be defended. The terrain in Yizhou on the opposite side of the river is relatively flat, which is suitable for the rapid advancement of cavalry troops.
And now, if you want to withdraw from North Korea, you have to cross the Yalu River again.In fact, the generals of the Qing army didn’t really want to go back to the vicinity of Jiulian City to cross the river, because the Haihan Fleet was very likely to arrive there before them, and staged the scene of an armed blockade of the river again, which meant that the Qing army had to go around again. Go back upstream to find another place to cross the river.But the Qing army really had no better choice at the moment. They urgently needed to go to Yizhou downstream to obtain supplies. Otherwise, even if they could successfully cross the river upstream, they would not have enough military rations to support them to return to the big city with sufficient food reserves on the other side.
As for whether they will see the Haihan Fleet they least want to meet on the local river, that will only be known when they go there, and there is no time for the Qing army to consider it slowly. The chasing soldiers have been chasing for hundreds of miles from Anzhou. Once they stop, they will be bitten by them within half a day.
The Qing army rushed to Yizhou almost non-stop, but because the road was full of mountains and dense forests, the marching speed of these tens of thousands of horses was quite different, so the distance between the various ministries was also widened, and the team stretched for dozens of miles.It seems that there is a lot of momentum, but the generals of the Qing army know very well that the troops under their command are already very tired, and the food and grass in the army are almost running out. Some troops have not distributed rations to the soldiers since last night.
After entering the territory of Yizhou, all the places where there were people along the way, whether it was scattered farmers or villages and towns, failed to escape the looting of the Qing army.Although the amount of food captured is limited, it is better than nothing, and it can temporarily relieve the pressure of lack of military food.What can really solve their food problem is Yizhou City ahead.
When the Qing army entered North Korea, after crossing the Yalu River, they did not divide their troops to attack Uiju City, which was not on the marching route, but directly advanced to the southeast to attack Yongcheon City.Therefore, Yizhou, the city that was originally the largest distance from the point where the Qing army crossed the river, escaped the attack of the Qing army unharmed.It was only after almost three months that the Qing army came back after going around, and with the limited number of troops stationed in Yizhou City, it was extremely difficult to carry the Qing army's siege battle.
When the Qing army first entered the territory of North Korea, they went down several cities in a row. Naturally, they did not pay attention to the city of Uiju. Raise troops to attack the city.
However, it may be that the combat state did decline after the long march. The first wave of the Qing army's offensive was not smooth. The infantry was shot down by bows and arrows from the top of the city.Although the Qing army also organized archers to throw the city's head in the distance, after all, the condescending side has an advantage in this kind of bow and arrow shooting.
The defenders in Yizhou City were obviously prepared for this battle. When the Qing army built the siege ladder under the city wall, the siege wood, rolling stones and golden soup were constantly thrown from the top of the city, making the siege troops with only a thousand people Immediately there were many casualties.The most terrible thing is that after all this toss, only about half of the dozen or so siege ladders temporarily made by the Qing army are still struggling to support, and when the defensive pressure on the city head is reduced, it will be easier to concentrate troops to attack the city. The defense is one of the few offensive positions.
After the Qing army lost more than 100 lives, seeing that the siege ladder was about to be lost, it was hopeless to take the top of the city in this wave, so they had no choice but to withdraw their troops.
Huang Taiji was very angry after getting the news from the front, and immediately ordered the follow-up troops outside Yizhou City to attack the city in turn, trying to break through the city defense before dark.
It's just that the Qing army seemed powerless in response to Huang Taiji's instructions. Almost all the infantry arrived here after traveling at a rapid march for more than half a day. Their stomachs were already empty, and it was not easy to launch an offensive immediately after arriving.The consequence of the forced siege of the city was that in the next two offensives, the Qing army paid nearly a thousand casualties, but still failed to break through the defense of Yizhou City.By the time the sky was getting dark, the Qing army had gathered tens of thousands of troops outside the city, but it was difficult to make any moves due to the lack of siege equipment.
"I don't care what method you use, we must put our army's flag on the city of Yizhou tonight!" Huang Taiji was furious at the behavior of his subordinates. He couldn't wait any longer. It is possible that the pursuers have already arrived nearby. If the Haihan army joins the battle group, the battle situation will change from simple to complicated.
Since the order to die was issued, the Qing army could only fight desperately.Among the cities that the Qing army invaded North Korea this time, Uiju City was not the most fortified city, and the number of defenders was not the largest, but the Qing army spent the most time and suffered the most casualties during the siege process. of a place.By the time the Qing army attacked the city and planted the first banner, they had already suffered more than [-] casualties in the First Battle of Uiju.
Although the Qing army broke through the city defense that night, the Qing army was unable to enter the city to wipe out the defenders because the defenders blocked the city gate from the inside with rocks and tree trunks in advance. The Qing army could only compete with the defenders in the city street by street, and the battle losses of both sides were not small.
The fighting in Yizhou City lasted all night. By dawn, the Qing army had controlled two-thirds of the city, and there were still more than a thousand defenders who used the houses in the city to build a line of defense to resist resolutely.
Although the Qing army had already occupied the granaries in the city, it would take at least half a day to reopen the blocked city gates at this juncture, so the Qing army officers in the city simply assigned some soldiers to carry them on their backs. Put the rice bag on the city wall, and then hang the rice bag from the city wall outside the city.Although this kind of efficiency is low, at any rate, it can be regarded as hope for the Qing army, which has basically run out of rations.
However, before the Qing army could turn these grains into rice, the chasing soldiers had already arrived.The situation of the two infantry battalions in Haihan is not much better than that of the Qing army. The days of marching and fighting have left most of them exhausted, and there is not much rations and ammunition left. Even the only radio station accompanying the army has malfunctioned. , is temporarily unavailable.Fortunately, before the radio station broke down, they had been notified by the headquarters that the coalition fleet had entered the Yalu River and would provide them with assistance on the river bank near Uiju City.
Gao Qiaonan saw the flag of the Qing Dynasty on the head of Yizhou City through the binoculars, and knew that the city might have been lost.With the force he is currently commanding, of course he can try to regain control of the city, but there is no need to take this risk, let alone the possible casualties during the siege process, if he is surrounded by the Qing army after entering the city, it will be very fast. You will fall into the dilemma of running out of ammunition.
In fact, the troops led by Gao Qiaonan were able to reach Yizhou City at midnight yesterday, but the reconnaissance report said that the Qing army had probably broken through the city defenses, so Gao Qiaonan no longer rushed to approach the city, but led the team to the scheduled meeting location, waiting for the appearance of the supply fleet.
However, since the marching schedule of Takahashi South was uncertain, the exact rendezvous time was not agreed in advance, so it was all for naught. After dawn, Takahashi South couldn't bear to wait, so he asked the large troops to continue waiting and brought his own Some people first came to the vicinity of Yizhou to observe the trend of the battle.
The appearance of the Haihan army did not hide the fact from the Qing army rangers outside Yizhou City. The news was quickly sent to Huang Taiji's big tent, but he was worrying about another thing at this time-sent to reconnaissance The cavalry on the lower reaches of the river brought back news that the Haihan Fleet was active on the river near Jiulian City and Weihua Island.
This almost blocked the passage for the Qing army to cross the river and return to the country from here. With an armed fleet guarding this section of the river, the Qing army could only find another place to cross the river, and this would inevitably be another journey accompanied by countless hours. The long itinerary of scale battles.
Huang Taiji didn't even intend to make some unnecessary attempts to cross the river near Weihua Island, and directly ordered the various ministries to gather troops as soon as possible, take away all the supplies that Yizhou could take away, and then set off to march upstream on the Yalu River.If you don't get rid of the Haihan Fleet, then these tens of thousands of people will never expect to be able to cross the river safely and return home.
However, it is not so easy to leave. When the Qing army finished preparations and planned to leave Uiju, Gao Qiaonan's troops had already completed supplies on the river bank in the northeast of Uiju, and some wounded and sick soldiers were transported. The warships took them away, and at the same time, a battalion of the Independent Regiment and two companies of the Marine Corps landed here to join Gaoqiaonan's team.Not only that, but the new reinforcements also brought about ten field artillery pieces, which was great news for Takahashinan, who had been unable to confront the Qing army due to lack of heavy firepower for many days.
And the Qing army's move to avoid the Haihan fleet did not exceed Gao Qiaonan's expectations. After all, compared with a decisive battle with the armed fleet on the river, it is still more likely to fight the Haihan army on land, at least the strength This superiority can also make the Haihan army fearful in the battle.
Therefore, Gao Qiaonan asked the troops to build a defense line near the river bank [-] miles northeast of Uiju City in advance, trying to block the Qing army again here.After this battle, the Independent Regiment will probably take the initiative to withdraw its troops. After all, with the current state of the troops, it is basically unable to fight. If they continue to fight with the Qing army, they can only kill a thousand enemies. The situation of [-] losses is over. For the Haihan army that has basically achieved its combat objectives, it is not worthwhile to suffer more battle losses on the premise that the Qing army is basically determined to withdraw its troops and return to the country.
The battle started that afternoon without any suspense. After dropping more than 2000 corpses, the Qing army resolutely gave up and continued to attack this line of defense that did not seem to be very strong, and turned south and entered the mountainous area again.The tactical intention of the Qing army is very clear, that is, they would rather go around for dozens of miles, and do not want to fight this kind of confrontational war of attrition with the Haihan army.
This time, Takahashi-nan did not order a forcible pursuit, but let the two newly arrived troops fall behind the Qing army to confirm their direction of action.As long as the Qing army is successfully driven out of North Korea, the mission can be completed successfully.
Starting from the Taedong River counterattack, North Korean officers served as military observers in all the battles between the Haihan army and the Qing army, so they are also very clear about the progress of the war. The counterattack launched by the Han army can only be described as retreating steadily.These battles will be recorded by the North Korean officers accompanying the army and sent back to Seoul, which is enough to make the terrified North Korean monarchs and ministers in the rear lament the strength of the Haihan Army.
If the military assistance provided by Haihan was aimed at repelling the invasion of the Qing army and keeping the country of Korea as the goal, then he was driven all the way from the Datong River back to the Yalu River, and tens of thousands of people were killed in the previous battles. Casualties, the task has already been overfulfilled, and I believe that the North Korean monarchs and ministers will hardly have any criticisms.
Of course, to obtain such a record, the price North Korea has paid is really not small, military subsidy of thousands of taels of gold per month, and also responsible for logistics supplies, providing Haihan with a large amount of materials, personnel, and military command in the theater .This war started from the Qing army on the Yalu River to the last battle outside Uiju City. It has lasted for more than three months, and the treasury of North Korea has basically been emptied. Donations from landlords are struggling.If we fight for another two or three months, I am afraid that even these benefactors will give up and continue to pay, and they will shout that the Qing army will take over North Korea.
For North Korea, the only good thing is that the strategy chosen by the Qing army at the beginning was to advance all the way south along the west coast. Although a few cities were lost in the early stages of the war and thousands of troops were lost, this strategy allowed the vast majority of North Korea to Some areas were not attacked by the Qing army.Until the Qing army was driven back to the Yalu River, the areas directly affected by the war in North Korea were actually extremely limited, and the entire country was not plunged into war.
As for how many people died, how many homeless refugees were produced, and how many Koreans were taken away by the Qing army, this is not a big deal for the rulers of North Korea.As long as the Qing army is repelled and the country is preserved, these losses are completely within an acceptable range.
The battle losses of the coalition forces with the Haihan army as the main body during this period are actually not small. The Annan, Portuguese, and Fujian naval forces each suffered triple-digit casualties. Adding the casualties of the Shanghai Han army, the total is close to a thousand.Although the battle loss ratio with the Qing army is still more than one to ten, which seems to be not bad, but if the gap in combat power between the two sides is taken into account, as well as the advantages of the coalition forces on local battlefields such as rivers and water veins, such a Casualties are already not low.
However, according to the agreement reached between the coalition forces and North Korea before the war, the pensions of these coalition soldiers who died in North Korea will also be borne by North Korea. For North Korea, it will inevitably be hit hard after the war.
(End of this chapter)
When the Qing army was looking for a place to cross the river and enter North Korea on the Yalu River, it made a lot of effort. It inspected many places and made many sets of action plans. In the end, it chose Jiulian City because the local area can be attacked and retreated. It can be defended. The terrain in Yizhou on the opposite side of the river is relatively flat, which is suitable for the rapid advancement of cavalry troops.
And now, if you want to withdraw from North Korea, you have to cross the Yalu River again.In fact, the generals of the Qing army didn’t really want to go back to the vicinity of Jiulian City to cross the river, because the Haihan Fleet was very likely to arrive there before them, and staged the scene of an armed blockade of the river again, which meant that the Qing army had to go around again. Go back upstream to find another place to cross the river.But the Qing army really had no better choice at the moment. They urgently needed to go to Yizhou downstream to obtain supplies. Otherwise, even if they could successfully cross the river upstream, they would not have enough military rations to support them to return to the big city with sufficient food reserves on the other side.
As for whether they will see the Haihan Fleet they least want to meet on the local river, that will only be known when they go there, and there is no time for the Qing army to consider it slowly. The chasing soldiers have been chasing for hundreds of miles from Anzhou. Once they stop, they will be bitten by them within half a day.
The Qing army rushed to Yizhou almost non-stop, but because the road was full of mountains and dense forests, the marching speed of these tens of thousands of horses was quite different, so the distance between the various ministries was also widened, and the team stretched for dozens of miles.It seems that there is a lot of momentum, but the generals of the Qing army know very well that the troops under their command are already very tired, and the food and grass in the army are almost running out. Some troops have not distributed rations to the soldiers since last night.
After entering the territory of Yizhou, all the places where there were people along the way, whether it was scattered farmers or villages and towns, failed to escape the looting of the Qing army.Although the amount of food captured is limited, it is better than nothing, and it can temporarily relieve the pressure of lack of military food.What can really solve their food problem is Yizhou City ahead.
When the Qing army entered North Korea, after crossing the Yalu River, they did not divide their troops to attack Uiju City, which was not on the marching route, but directly advanced to the southeast to attack Yongcheon City.Therefore, Yizhou, the city that was originally the largest distance from the point where the Qing army crossed the river, escaped the attack of the Qing army unharmed.It was only after almost three months that the Qing army came back after going around, and with the limited number of troops stationed in Yizhou City, it was extremely difficult to carry the Qing army's siege battle.
When the Qing army first entered the territory of North Korea, they went down several cities in a row. Naturally, they did not pay attention to the city of Uiju. Raise troops to attack the city.
However, it may be that the combat state did decline after the long march. The first wave of the Qing army's offensive was not smooth. The infantry was shot down by bows and arrows from the top of the city.Although the Qing army also organized archers to throw the city's head in the distance, after all, the condescending side has an advantage in this kind of bow and arrow shooting.
The defenders in Yizhou City were obviously prepared for this battle. When the Qing army built the siege ladder under the city wall, the siege wood, rolling stones and golden soup were constantly thrown from the top of the city, making the siege troops with only a thousand people Immediately there were many casualties.The most terrible thing is that after all this toss, only about half of the dozen or so siege ladders temporarily made by the Qing army are still struggling to support, and when the defensive pressure on the city head is reduced, it will be easier to concentrate troops to attack the city. The defense is one of the few offensive positions.
After the Qing army lost more than 100 lives, seeing that the siege ladder was about to be lost, it was hopeless to take the top of the city in this wave, so they had no choice but to withdraw their troops.
Huang Taiji was very angry after getting the news from the front, and immediately ordered the follow-up troops outside Yizhou City to attack the city in turn, trying to break through the city defense before dark.
It's just that the Qing army seemed powerless in response to Huang Taiji's instructions. Almost all the infantry arrived here after traveling at a rapid march for more than half a day. Their stomachs were already empty, and it was not easy to launch an offensive immediately after arriving.The consequence of the forced siege of the city was that in the next two offensives, the Qing army paid nearly a thousand casualties, but still failed to break through the defense of Yizhou City.By the time the sky was getting dark, the Qing army had gathered tens of thousands of troops outside the city, but it was difficult to make any moves due to the lack of siege equipment.
"I don't care what method you use, we must put our army's flag on the city of Yizhou tonight!" Huang Taiji was furious at the behavior of his subordinates. He couldn't wait any longer. It is possible that the pursuers have already arrived nearby. If the Haihan army joins the battle group, the battle situation will change from simple to complicated.
Since the order to die was issued, the Qing army could only fight desperately.Among the cities that the Qing army invaded North Korea this time, Uiju City was not the most fortified city, and the number of defenders was not the largest, but the Qing army spent the most time and suffered the most casualties during the siege process. of a place.By the time the Qing army attacked the city and planted the first banner, they had already suffered more than [-] casualties in the First Battle of Uiju.
Although the Qing army broke through the city defense that night, the Qing army was unable to enter the city to wipe out the defenders because the defenders blocked the city gate from the inside with rocks and tree trunks in advance. The Qing army could only compete with the defenders in the city street by street, and the battle losses of both sides were not small.
The fighting in Yizhou City lasted all night. By dawn, the Qing army had controlled two-thirds of the city, and there were still more than a thousand defenders who used the houses in the city to build a line of defense to resist resolutely.
Although the Qing army had already occupied the granaries in the city, it would take at least half a day to reopen the blocked city gates at this juncture, so the Qing army officers in the city simply assigned some soldiers to carry them on their backs. Put the rice bag on the city wall, and then hang the rice bag from the city wall outside the city.Although this kind of efficiency is low, at any rate, it can be regarded as hope for the Qing army, which has basically run out of rations.
However, before the Qing army could turn these grains into rice, the chasing soldiers had already arrived.The situation of the two infantry battalions in Haihan is not much better than that of the Qing army. The days of marching and fighting have left most of them exhausted, and there is not much rations and ammunition left. Even the only radio station accompanying the army has malfunctioned. , is temporarily unavailable.Fortunately, before the radio station broke down, they had been notified by the headquarters that the coalition fleet had entered the Yalu River and would provide them with assistance on the river bank near Uiju City.
Gao Qiaonan saw the flag of the Qing Dynasty on the head of Yizhou City through the binoculars, and knew that the city might have been lost.With the force he is currently commanding, of course he can try to regain control of the city, but there is no need to take this risk, let alone the possible casualties during the siege process, if he is surrounded by the Qing army after entering the city, it will be very fast. You will fall into the dilemma of running out of ammunition.
In fact, the troops led by Gao Qiaonan were able to reach Yizhou City at midnight yesterday, but the reconnaissance report said that the Qing army had probably broken through the city defenses, so Gao Qiaonan no longer rushed to approach the city, but led the team to the scheduled meeting location, waiting for the appearance of the supply fleet.
However, since the marching schedule of Takahashi South was uncertain, the exact rendezvous time was not agreed in advance, so it was all for naught. After dawn, Takahashi South couldn't bear to wait, so he asked the large troops to continue waiting and brought his own Some people first came to the vicinity of Yizhou to observe the trend of the battle.
The appearance of the Haihan army did not hide the fact from the Qing army rangers outside Yizhou City. The news was quickly sent to Huang Taiji's big tent, but he was worrying about another thing at this time-sent to reconnaissance The cavalry on the lower reaches of the river brought back news that the Haihan Fleet was active on the river near Jiulian City and Weihua Island.
This almost blocked the passage for the Qing army to cross the river and return to the country from here. With an armed fleet guarding this section of the river, the Qing army could only find another place to cross the river, and this would inevitably be another journey accompanied by countless hours. The long itinerary of scale battles.
Huang Taiji didn't even intend to make some unnecessary attempts to cross the river near Weihua Island, and directly ordered the various ministries to gather troops as soon as possible, take away all the supplies that Yizhou could take away, and then set off to march upstream on the Yalu River.If you don't get rid of the Haihan Fleet, then these tens of thousands of people will never expect to be able to cross the river safely and return home.
However, it is not so easy to leave. When the Qing army finished preparations and planned to leave Uiju, Gao Qiaonan's troops had already completed supplies on the river bank in the northeast of Uiju, and some wounded and sick soldiers were transported. The warships took them away, and at the same time, a battalion of the Independent Regiment and two companies of the Marine Corps landed here to join Gaoqiaonan's team.Not only that, but the new reinforcements also brought about ten field artillery pieces, which was great news for Takahashinan, who had been unable to confront the Qing army due to lack of heavy firepower for many days.
And the Qing army's move to avoid the Haihan fleet did not exceed Gao Qiaonan's expectations. After all, compared with a decisive battle with the armed fleet on the river, it is still more likely to fight the Haihan army on land, at least the strength This superiority can also make the Haihan army fearful in the battle.
Therefore, Gao Qiaonan asked the troops to build a defense line near the river bank [-] miles northeast of Uiju City in advance, trying to block the Qing army again here.After this battle, the Independent Regiment will probably take the initiative to withdraw its troops. After all, with the current state of the troops, it is basically unable to fight. If they continue to fight with the Qing army, they can only kill a thousand enemies. The situation of [-] losses is over. For the Haihan army that has basically achieved its combat objectives, it is not worthwhile to suffer more battle losses on the premise that the Qing army is basically determined to withdraw its troops and return to the country.
The battle started that afternoon without any suspense. After dropping more than 2000 corpses, the Qing army resolutely gave up and continued to attack this line of defense that did not seem to be very strong, and turned south and entered the mountainous area again.The tactical intention of the Qing army is very clear, that is, they would rather go around for dozens of miles, and do not want to fight this kind of confrontational war of attrition with the Haihan army.
This time, Takahashi-nan did not order a forcible pursuit, but let the two newly arrived troops fall behind the Qing army to confirm their direction of action.As long as the Qing army is successfully driven out of North Korea, the mission can be completed successfully.
Starting from the Taedong River counterattack, North Korean officers served as military observers in all the battles between the Haihan army and the Qing army, so they are also very clear about the progress of the war. The counterattack launched by the Han army can only be described as retreating steadily.These battles will be recorded by the North Korean officers accompanying the army and sent back to Seoul, which is enough to make the terrified North Korean monarchs and ministers in the rear lament the strength of the Haihan Army.
If the military assistance provided by Haihan was aimed at repelling the invasion of the Qing army and keeping the country of Korea as the goal, then he was driven all the way from the Datong River back to the Yalu River, and tens of thousands of people were killed in the previous battles. Casualties, the task has already been overfulfilled, and I believe that the North Korean monarchs and ministers will hardly have any criticisms.
Of course, to obtain such a record, the price North Korea has paid is really not small, military subsidy of thousands of taels of gold per month, and also responsible for logistics supplies, providing Haihan with a large amount of materials, personnel, and military command in the theater .This war started from the Qing army on the Yalu River to the last battle outside Uiju City. It has lasted for more than three months, and the treasury of North Korea has basically been emptied. Donations from landlords are struggling.If we fight for another two or three months, I am afraid that even these benefactors will give up and continue to pay, and they will shout that the Qing army will take over North Korea.
For North Korea, the only good thing is that the strategy chosen by the Qing army at the beginning was to advance all the way south along the west coast. Although a few cities were lost in the early stages of the war and thousands of troops were lost, this strategy allowed the vast majority of North Korea to Some areas were not attacked by the Qing army.Until the Qing army was driven back to the Yalu River, the areas directly affected by the war in North Korea were actually extremely limited, and the entire country was not plunged into war.
As for how many people died, how many homeless refugees were produced, and how many Koreans were taken away by the Qing army, this is not a big deal for the rulers of North Korea.As long as the Qing army is repelled and the country is preserved, these losses are completely within an acceptable range.
The battle losses of the coalition forces with the Haihan army as the main body during this period are actually not small. The Annan, Portuguese, and Fujian naval forces each suffered triple-digit casualties. Adding the casualties of the Shanghai Han army, the total is close to a thousand.Although the battle loss ratio with the Qing army is still more than one to ten, which seems to be not bad, but if the gap in combat power between the two sides is taken into account, as well as the advantages of the coalition forces on local battlefields such as rivers and water veins, such a Casualties are already not low.
However, according to the agreement reached between the coalition forces and North Korea before the war, the pensions of these coalition soldiers who died in North Korea will also be borne by North Korea. For North Korea, it will inevitably be hit hard after the war.
(End of this chapter)