Chapter 3593
Chapter 3593
Chapter 3593
This kind of large-scale national policy cannot be implemented overnight. The expansion of the military industry's production capacity and the relocation of its sites alone will probably take years, and will not produce immediate results.
However, military changes are relatively easy to implement. For example, military expansion and preparation for war can start with the routine autumn conscription that will begin this year, giving some regions a higher conscription limit and a higher level of garrison establishment.
Shi Chengwu, who was on standby in Jiangpu County, also received new instructions from Hangzhou, and could decide on his own whether to expand the scope of this operation to the surrounding areas on the premise of fully controlling the newly occupied area.
Although the term "self-determination" is somewhat vague, Shi Chengwu believes that this is actually the Executive Committee giving itself the convenience to act.
Fengyangfu, Chuzhou, and Hezhou, which border Jiangpu and Liuhe counties, did not send reinforcements to stop the Hai Han army's actions, which shows that their will to resist was quite weak. After Shi Chengwu and his staff discussed it, they decided to attack Hezhou, southwest of Jiangpu County, along the Yangtze River.
The reason for making this decision is very simple. The area where Chuzhou and Fengyang Prefecture are located is beyond the range of the East China Sea Fleet's convenient activities.
Given the size of the troops that Shi Chengwu can currently command, it is difficult to maintain long land supply lines inland. If he were to forcibly enter these areas to fight, there would be problems with the deployment of troops and the supply of materials.
Operations along the Yangtze River can circumvent this shortcoming, and Shi Chengwu can use the transport capacity of the East China Sea Fleet to achieve rapid maneuvers.
The official road from Jiangpu County to Hezhou is more than 80 miles long. If you march by land, it is estimated to take two days. However, if you take a boat by water, you can reach Hezhou on the same day, and the troops will have enough physical strength to immediately engage in battle.
The previous attacks on Liuhe and Jiangpu counties were easily captured. Shi Chengwu's troops were basically not tired and were in good condition to support continuous combat.
The day after Shi Chengwu received the call from Hangzhou, he announced that Jiangpu County would be handed over to officials transferred from Nanjing for governance, and he moved his camp to the next stop, Hezhou.
Before Shi Chengwu set out on this operation, some rumors had actually reached the Ming-controlled area in Jiangbei, saying that this time the Hai Han army would only take Jiangpu and Liuhe, two counties that originally belonged to the jurisdiction of Yingtian Prefecture, and other prefectures would not be affected.
Therefore, the subsequent refugee crisis was mainly concentrated in these two counties, and some of the people fleeing from Jiangpu County also chose the neighboring Hezhou as their destination.
But plans are not as fast as changes, and no one could have expected that Shi Chengwu's attack on Hezhou was also a spur-of-the-moment decision. Just as the people of Hezhou were looking forward to the situation being settled as soon as possible, Hai Han's armed fleet unexpectedly appeared on the Yangtze River near Hezhou City.
The Hezhou defenders tried to prevent the Hai Han army from landing, but after suffering a barrage of naval artillery fire on the river bank, these Ming troops quickly chose to retreat back to the city to defend themselves.
Although Hezhou was a prefecture in terms of administrative level, the city defense level of Hezhou City was not much stronger than the two county towns that Shi Chengwu had previously captured. The long-range firepower on the top of the city was only more than a hundred archers, a dozen matchlock guns, and four tiger squat cannons with limited range.
After landing, the Hai Han army advanced unimpeded all the way to the outside of the city. Shi Chengwu followed the procedure and called for surrender. After failing, he arranged for artillery to fire at the top of the city. The difference in firepower between the two sides was too great. The Ming army on the top of the city had no power to fight back. A round of artillery fire from outside the city covered them, and a large number of people fell down in an instant.
The city gate that was hit by direct artillery fire was immediately shattered into pieces because there was no sand and gravel placed in advance to block the doorway, and it lost its original protective function.
Before the Hai Han army outside the city launched its charge, the city was already in chaos. Seeing that the enemy had such a strong attack method, the defenders, who had no intention of fighting in the first place, gave up the city defense and rushed to the west gate that was not blocked by the Hai Han army, intending to escape from Hezhou City from there.
Some people who had no intention of escaping, seeing that the situation was hopeless, quickly raised the white flag on the top of the city wall and gave up any further resistance.
The entire battle lasted less than half an hour before the Hai Han army entered Hezhou City and began to clear the city street by street and take over the city defense.
Shi Chengwu was already familiar with such situations. After leading his troops into the provincial government, he immediately sealed the warehouse and posted notices to reassure the people throughout the city, announcing that Hai Han had officially taken over Hezhou.
Although there was a small-scale battle in this campaign, it did not cause too much trouble to the Hai Han army, and the process was relatively smooth.
However, the population settlements within the Hezhou area are relatively scattered. In addition to the state capital, there are also several towns such as Wujiang, Yuxi, Liyang, and Hanshan County more than 80 miles away. It will take at least a few more days to conquer these areas one by one.
Shi Chengwu was no longer in a hurry. With the scale of the troops he was sending out this time, to occupy this state and two counties, he would have to allocate almost half of his forces to garrison there. If he continued to attack elsewhere, he could still fight, but his military strength would be a little stretched.
If reinforcements cannot be received immediately, the operation will probably have to be suspended in Hezhou for the time being. After the situation has been digested to a certain extent, the defense will be gradually handed over to the security forces composed mainly of police and militia, and then the forces will be regrouped to attack the next target.
The Jianghuai region will be in the hands of the East China Sea region in the future. All future military operations to seize these regions will definitely be commanded by Shi Chengwu. The military merit will not slip into someone else's pocket, so he does not need to rush.
There was someone else who was truly anxious at this time. Yue Shizong, the Ming Dynasty's ambassador to Hai Han, had been very busy these days. Letters for help from the rear kept coming in like snowflakes, and he could only keep asking to meet with several senior officials of the Executive Committee, hoping to stop Hai Han's new round of military operations through diplomatic channels.
Yue Shizong really didn't understand. It was obvious that Hai Han had shifted its focus to overseas in recent months. The military news published in the newspapers were all about situations in Japan, the South China Sea and other places. The Ming Dynasty was not involved at all. Why did Hai Han suddenly turn its guns on the Ming Dynasty?
However, the high-ranking Hai Han officials he met only explained the reason for the sudden attack on the Ming Dynasty on the grounds that the traditional administrative affiliation of Jiangpu and Liuhe counties was Yingtian Prefecture. In his opinion, this was obviously not a reasonable excuse.
After the two counties in Jiangbei fell, Hezhou also sent a letter for help, saying that Hai Han was heading towards Hezhou, which was no longer the traditional territory of Yingtian Prefecture. Yue Shizong could only ask for a meeting with the Executive Committee again, but this time the explanation given by Hai Han was even more far-fetched, saying that there were many local bandits, which affected Hai Han's commercial activities, so they took this opportunity to send troops to Hezhou to clear them out.