Chapter 1069 Preparations for heading north

After all the prisoners from Hangzhou were escorted away, Wan Fa emerged from the secret cabin on the ship. To the outside world, he had been burned to death in the Chengfengxing Merchant Inn outside Hangzhou a few days ago.

If someone discovers that he is still alive in this world, many new doubts will arise about the fire case in Cheng Feng Hang. Haihan does not want this incident to happen again, so he specifically asked Wan Fa to hide his whereabouts on the way home.

, he could not be discovered by other people like him running from Hangzhou to Zhoushan.

"This mission was completed successfully, and the executive committee is also very satisfied with your performance. Sanya has sent a telegram asking you to return to your job as soon as possible." Qian Tiandun paused, and then told the truth: "With the current situation

Judging from the situation, you are not suitable to continue to stay in Zhejiang. There will be other work arrangements for you after returning to Sanya. However, based on the contribution you have made this time, your promotion after returning to Sanya should be stable."

Wan Fa quickly thanked Qian Tiandun. He actually knew that after this mission was over, he would no longer be able to stay in Zhejiang. Regardless of the life or death of Liao Xun and others, he could no longer appear in the coastal state capital of Zhejiang, lest he

Causing unnecessary trouble. In fact, for Wanfa, this mission was a near miss, and throughout the execution process, he only followed Gong Shiqi's arrangements. It was only when he finally evacuated Hangzhou that he knew the full plan.

What's the content? If Gong Shiqi had told him from the beginning that he wanted to cause such a big thing in Hangzhou, Wanfa might not be brave enough to get involved.

Of course, the final result of the operation still made Wan Fa very satisfied. Although there was another person in charge this time, the credit assigned to him should not be small. You must know that these three people were captured from Hangzhou.

A high-ranking court official, he was a big shot that he could never even get close to. Although Wanfa was only a part-time employee of the Security Department, he also knew how high-level this kind of operation was. It should be considered unprecedented even in the Security Department, and he could participate in it.

This is simply a rare opportunity. Even if he has been running a business store in Hangzhou for ten years, the accumulated achievements may not be as good as the gains in just a few days.

However, the confidentiality period for this kind of operation will be very long. It is very likely that Wanfa will not be able to use this experience as bragging rights to brag to his colleagues and relatives before he retires. Fortunately, this credit is real.

, Wanfa thought that after returning to Sanya this time, the leaders of the Ministry of Commerce might also promote him to a position like "director", but Haihan's current control area is huge, spanning thousands of miles from north to south.

, and I don’t know where my next stop will be assigned.

Qian Tiandun said: "It happens that there will be a ship heading south back to Sanya tomorrow. Just work hard and set off with the ship tomorrow!"

Wan Fa quickly agreed, knowing that his superiors were worried that his whereabouts would be exposed if he stayed in Zhoushan for a long time, so they wanted to send him to leave as soon as possible. However, he had no complaints about this arrangement. He had been away from his family for a whole year, and he also

I really want to return to Sanya to reunite with my family as soon as possible.

For the Zhoushan garrison, the completion of this special mission in Hangzhou means that the last obstacle to the northward journey has been cleared. Next, they will begin to mobilize personnel and materials to prepare for the next journey.

On June 27, the Zhoushan Administrative Committee and the garrison held a joint meeting to discuss and arrange various matters related to the trip north. The second fleet departing from Sanya arrived in Penghu yesterday and is expected to rest there for two days.

will continue to head north. According to the usual itinerary, the fleet will arrive in Zhoushan by early July at the latest. After the defense handover is completed, the special operations battalion and the troops that have arrived here can set off.

Taking into account the climate in the north, the earlier the construction work of the footholds is started, the less difficult it will be for the troops heading north to survive the first winter. In order to gain as much time as possible before the onset of winter, the Ministry of National Defense carried out this operation to move north.

No large-scale reconnaissance operations were arranged, but some personnel were placed in the fleet that had previously recruited refugees in the north and some intelligence was collected locally. Compared with the past several operations to expand territory from south to north, the early stage of this northward journey was

Investigation has been relatively infrequent.

"Climate reasons are of course only one of them. We have reduced the investigation arrangements for the north, mainly because many local places are still out of control after the chaos. Many county-level offices have not been restored in time, and the garrison is only concentrated in

Among several prefectures and cities, the scope of control is very limited." Qian Tiandun introduced the general current situation of the Jiaodong Peninsula to Wang Tom.

Wang Tom asked: "Didn't the Ming Dynasty increase the number of troops stationed in Shandong this year?"

Qian Tiandun shook his head and said: "The Central Plains region has become a mess. The Ming Dynasty has focused its main forces on encircling and suppressing the peasant army. Most of Shandong is in an undefended state - at least for us. In

In the early stage of entering the local area, we should not encounter too much military pressure. As long as your navy protects the back road, it will be difficult for the local Ming army to confront us head-on."

"From what you said, it should be easy to go north this time." Wang Tom said with a smile: "But if this happens, we probably won't have much to gain."

"The local climate may be more troublesome than the Ming army." Qian Tiandun's expression was not relaxed: "According to historical records, in the Jiaodong Peninsula during the Little Ice Age, the temperature in winter would be below minus 20 degrees, and there would be blizzards and cold waves.

Possible weather conditions will be a great test for our soldiers who are from the south. When we build a base locally, we must take into account the need for cold protection in winter, which is better than building a base in the south.

The prefabricated house is much more troublesome."

When the Haihan Army opened new strongholds near the equator, they often built prefabricated houses. As long as they can provide shelter from the sun and rain, they are basically qualified. However, these simple houses with poor thermal insulation capabilities are not suitable for the northern climate, and considering

Indoor heating is needed in the north. The fire hazards of wooden houses are too great. At most, they can only be lived in when the weather is warm. They are not suitable for use as winter barracks. However, to build a large number of masonry structures in the local area, the investment required

The manpower, material and financial resources are considerable. Of course, the time required during this period cannot be ignored, so the Ministry of National Defense is in a hurry to arrange for the troops to go north before the end of summer, otherwise it may not be completed before the cold winter arrives.

Necessary infrastructure projects.

Currently, most of the troops preparing to go north on Zhoushan Island are from the south. Even if there are uniformly issued winter clothes, they may not be able to adapt well to the northern climate. The Ministry of National Defense is not prepared to take risks and pin its hopes on winter clothes and soldiers.

In terms of physical fitness, the safest way is to prepare the barracks and supplies needed for winter as early as possible.

As for the choice of location, senior officials of the Ministry of National Defense had reached a relatively unanimous opinion as early as last year, that is, the northern coastline of the Jiaodong Peninsula should be the main base. Although from a geographical point of view, the natural harbor on the southern coastline seems to be more favorable.

There are more, but the factors that the Ministry of National Defense considers are not only the environment of this foothold, but also whether this location can help achieve Haihan's control of the Bohai Bay, and even the next step of crossing the Bohai Bay.

Set foot on the Liaodong Peninsula.

After determining the general scope of the site, the next thing to consider is the environment. The foothold cannot be too close to the local state city and large garrison stronghold, otherwise it is very likely to trigger unnecessary armed conflicts. In addition, there must be

Better port conditions so that a large-scale fleet can be stationed locally. Another point is that considering the limited strength of Haihan's troops heading north, the land defense line should not be extended too long, but at the same time, sufficient area must be ensured to arrange it.

Only the garrison area and the immigration camp that Haihan will open there.

After considering various opinions, the Ministry of National Defense finally determined the Zhifu Island area as the destination for the northbound operation. Zhifu Island is located on the coast a hundred miles east of Dengzhou Fucheng and is the largest land-connected island in China. As shown on the map

, Zhifu Island is like a Ganoderma lucidum growing on the coastline. It is connected to the mainland through a sandbar less than two miles wide, forming a natural breakwater, and behind it is a large natural harbor.

Although Zhifu Island is mainly mountainous and hilly, its area exceeds ten square kilometers, which is enough to accommodate thousands of people. Moreover, the sandbar connecting it to the mainland is very narrow, which is not suitable for the Haihan Army who are good at building fortifications.

, with a little processing, a solid line of defense can be built between Zhifu Island and the mainland to ensure the absolute safety of the land passage. The north shore of the island is almost entirely covered with cliffs, making it impossible for large ships to dock. This is almost

A natural barrier. A terrain like this that is easy to defend but difficult to attack and accompanied by a natural harbor is exactly the type of coastal stronghold location that the Haihan military prefers.

If the Haihan Army wants to enter this area, the biggest threat is Qishansuo located near Zhifu Island. Qishan Qianhusuo is located thirty miles southeast of Zhifu Island. The city is built of blue stone bricks, with a circumference of two miles and a city wall.

It is two feet high and two feet thick. There are four city gates in the east, west, south and north, namely Baodemen, Xuanhuamen, Fulumen and Chaochongmen. There are 16 pavilions between the gates. There is also a circular horse trail on the inside of the city wall.

, the defenders can quickly deploy additional troops and heavy equipment to the city wall during wartime.

According to the intelligence information collected so far, the establishment of Qishan Institute includes one deputy each of Qianhu, Baihu, Limu, Zhenfu, 498 Jingcao troops, and 113 city defenders.

There were 60 troops stationed there, 75 Japanese troops captured, and 18 troops guarding the Dunbao. Among them, the Jingcao army was divided into two squads: spring and autumn. The spring squad was in the first month and the autumn squad was in July. They took turns to go to the capital and compete with the capital.

The battalion will train together. Therefore, the local resident strength will not exceed 500 people at full strength. Considering the local impact of the Denglai Rebellion for more than a year, the actual garrison must still be far behind the paper number.

It's just that the personnel sent by Haihan to Shandong to inquire about information are basically only active near Jiaozhou Bay in the south of Laizhou Prefecture. They have limited knowledge of the local garrison situation in Dengzhou Prefecture on the northern line and can only make inferences based on some fragmentary information. The actual local situation

What the situation is, we will probably have to wait until the Haihan Army arrives there. But the small strength of Qishan Institute should not pose a real threat to the Haihan Army, which is armed with live ammunition.

The current plan of the Ministry of National Defense is to use its own maritime transport capacity to deploy organized troops to the local area in a short period of time, and to occupy Zhifu Island in a separatist style, just like Haihan did in Black Earth Port. After this stronghold is firmly established,

To the north, you can control the Yellow Sea, the Bohai Sea, and even the gateway to the capital, and control the sea route to the Liaodong Peninsula. To the west, you can enter the inland of the Ming Dynasty, and to the east is the almost undefended Korean Peninsula. In the future, you can even use the Jiaodong Peninsula as the basis for planning.

The development of Haihan in Northeast Asia.

Of course, to transport so many people and materials to the Jiaodong Peninsula by sea, the transportation plan to be formulated is also quite complicated, so among the upcoming fleet, there is also Sun Chang, the Minister of Shipping who came to Zhoushan specially.

Mi, he will be specifically responsible for commanding and arranging the maritime transport capacity during the northward operation.

Starting from late June, various materials from all over Zhejiang have been shipped to Zhoushan. Most of these materials are needed for the northward movement, because the local area is short of materials after the war, and it is difficult to produce them on their own. There is even no place to take money.

To buy them, they have to be prepared in the south and transported to the local area. The food supplies needed by these thousands of people stationed there are not a small amount, and the recruitment of local refugees must also be taken into consideration.

needs, so a large amount of food reserves have become as necessary as weapons and ammunition.

On July 3, the vanguard of the second batch of northbound fleet arrived at Zhoushan Port, and in the next two days, follow-up ships also arrived one after another. The size of the entire fleet was as many as forty or fifty ships, but this

The fleet arrived in scattered directions, but did not attract much attention from the merchants entering and leaving the port.

In addition to Sun Changmi in the fleet that came this time, it is also worth mentioning that the Haihan Cavalry Battalion also came to Zhoushan with the fleet. The Ministry of National Defense arranged for the cavalry unit led by Harugong to also go north together.

, went to station in Shandong. This was the first time that the cavalry unit left Hainan Island to station abroad for a long time after it was established. It was also the rare opportunity to participate in actual combat since its establishment. It is said that Harugong himself was holding back a wave of anger.

Jin, I want to show my face well during this mission to the north, so that the people of Haihan Kingdom know that this cavalry team is not just a show off in every military parade, but can actually participate in combat.

An elite soldier who can kill the enemy and change the situation on the battlefield. Of course, whether this cavalry can find its opponents locally is another matter.

Qian Tiandun was not very optimistic about the combat prospects of the cavalry. It was not that he doubted the strength of this unit, but considering the weakness of the local garrison, there might not be any room for the cavalry to play its role.
Chapter completed!