Chapter 1793 The place to stay

Due to the tight time schedule, the fleet's itinerary did not include any arrangements to stop at Jeju Island for rest. Therefore, Wang Tom did not intend to send another person to the island to explain the nervousness of the people on the island. The fleet went directly from the west of Jeju Island.

Pass by the side sea area and continue heading north. After one night, you can already see the coastline of Jeollanam-do, North Korea.

However, there is still about two hundred nautical miles to travel from here to the North Korean capital. Judging from the slow progress of the huge Haihan combined fleet, it will take at least one and a half to two days to reach the mouth of the Han River.

For Wang Tom and others, there is still a problem that is not easy to solve at the moment, and that is the long-term garrison of this unit after it enters North Korea. If we want to examine the terrain of the Korean Peninsula based on Haihan's criteria for choosing a port, then it is probably

Only Pohang, Ulsan, Busan and other places along the southeastern coast of Gyeongsangnam-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do have natural conditions that meet the standards. However, there is basically no place on the entire west coast of the Korean Peninsula, especially the northwest coastline near Liaodong, that can meet the standards.

A natural harbor required for the construction of Haihan Port.

When Haihan chooses colonies and military bases overseas, he often takes geographical conditions as one of the main considerations. The military generally tries its best to choose strategic locations with natural harbors as the location to station organic naval units, such as

Magong Port in Penghu, Dinghai Port in Zhoushan, Zhifu Port in Dengzhou, Lushun Port in Liaodong and other places along the coast of the Ming Dynasty are all products of this operation.

If the navy wants to station troops in North Korea for a long time and provide assistance for the border line between North Korea and the Qing Dynasty, then the scope of military base selection can only be limited to the northwest coastline of the Korean Peninsula, so that it can have time to respond to various emergencies.

The Ministry of National Defense had carefully studied the local geographical environment before, but still could not find a location that was truly suitable for establishing a base. If such a place existed, Haihan would not have been in a hurry to move the soldiers and civilians of Dongjiang Town to Liaodong last year.

As a last resort, Haihan could only temporarily select a few places as reference. The specific location would have to be determined through consultation with the North Korean royal family after an on-site inspection. Before that, the temporary residence proactively provided by North Korea was

Ganghwa Island is located at the mouth of the Han River.

Ganghwa Island covers an area of ​​more than 400 square kilometers and is about a hundred miles away from Seoul. Because the narrow strait between here and the mainland has a large tidal gap, many reefs, and complex hydrological conditions, the Korean monarchs used to encounter strong enemy invasions from the north.

They would flee to Ganghwa Island to escape. When Mongolia invaded Korea in the 13th century, the king at that time was even forced to move the capital to Ganghwa Island.

Ten years ago, when Ding Mao was in chaos and Hou Jin invaded North Korea, the current North Korean king Li Zhu also took refuge on Ganghwa Island, and then upgraded the Ganghwa Protectorate to Ganghwa Remaining Mansion, serving as the companion capital of North Korea. In recent years, the island has

Many palaces and pavilions were built one after another in order to maintain the operation of the court during the war.

If the original historical development trajectory was followed, the Qing army would invade North Korea at the beginning of this year, and the North Korean royal family and major ministers would go to Ganghwa Island to escape the war. The Qing army commanded by Dorgon conquered Ganghwa Island in the first month of the year, and the North Korean monarchs and ministers

All the prisoners were captured, and it was known in history that Bingzi was in chaos. However, under the influence of Haihan, this scene did not appear as expected.

North Korea arranged for the reinforcements sent by Haehan to be stationed on Ganghwa Island, which can be regarded as a way to show its trust in its allies. After all, if a war breaks out, Ganghwa Island will be the last refuge of the princes and nobles, and the current move is

The task of guarding the shelter was handed over to the Haihan Army. Of course, North Korea went through a lot of trouble to bring in reinforcements, so it was not just to expect the Haihan Army to guard the shelter in front of their home. The ultimate goal

We still hope that the Haihan Army can defend the enemy from outside the country and block the Qing Army north of the Yalu River.

But hope is hope. North Korea is not qualified to dictate how Haihan's army will fight. All they can do is to meet Haihan's logistical requirements as much as possible, so that Haihan can help defend them.

Foreign enemy invasion.

Before the fleet went north, Haihan had already contacted the northern garrison via telegram, and informed North Korea of ​​Haihan's support plan and requirements through North Korean officials stationed in Shandong and Liaodong. However, Haihan used black technology to speed up communication.

The improvement obtained is still limited. This important information is sent back to North Korea by ship by envoys, and then the North Korean monarchs and ministers discuss and make decisions, and then feed it back to Haihan. It takes more than ten days to go back and forth.

Such efficiency was naturally extremely slow for Haihan, so when the fleet left Zhoushan, Zhejiang, North Korea still had not been able to provide a better alternative location than Ganghwa Island. In desperation, Wang Tom could only order the fleet to

Go to Ganghwa Island first, and then discuss the follow-up stationing arrangements with North Korean officials after arriving there. In short, you must come up with a plan that can be approved by your own side.

On May 3, the Combined Fleet successfully arrived in the waters near Ganghwa Island. Several North Korean military sailing ships that had been waiting here for a long time took the initiative to meet up with the Combined Fleet. Under the guidance of their North Korean counterparts, the Combined Fleet temporarily docked.

It is on the southwest coast of Ganghwa Island. There is no fully equipped military port here, and the few docks cannot accommodate the ships of the combined fleet. In addition, large warships like the Majestic class cannot enter the small berths.

"The North Koreans are really unreliable!" After Wang Tom confirmed the situation of the dock through the telescope, he couldn't help complaining: "There isn't even a decent military port, and they invited us to garrison them. How can we garrison them? Go and get it.

Jin Shangjiu called over and told him to get ashore quickly and coordinate these messy things!"

Jin Shangjiu was not a god, and he could not conjure several large berths for the Haihan people on the shore. He could only humbly apologize to Wang Tom, saying that his country was not well prepared, and hoped that the Haihan Heavenly Soldiers could try to overcome the difficulties.

.

In fact, the North Koreans are not unaware that Haihan is going to send a big ship. North Korea has been informed of this in the previous situation report. However, if a large military dock is to be built on Ganghwa Island, North Korea must first send craftsmen to survey the site and formulate plans.

The construction plan, the calculation of the project quantities, and the recruitment of civilian workers to start the construction. This series of processes would take ten days and a half no matter how fast it is. And when the Haihan fleet arrived at Ganghwa Island, North Korea had only begun to prepare materials.

The construction crews haven't even entered the site yet, so there's no way they can catch up.

But Wang Tom's outburst will definitely be reported to the North Korean court through official channels. At that time, the officials in charge of this project will inevitably be unlucky because of the delay in the construction period. In order to calm the anger of the Haihan people, they may be dismissed from office.

light.

But in fact, the geographical environment of Ganghwa Island is indeed not suitable for building a large port. Wang Tom had already confirmed this when he came here last year. The Koreans used this place as a refuge during the war, which means that it is difficult for the enemy to find a way to build a large port.

This place launched a large-scale amphibious landing battle, so they had the confidence to hide on the island and wait for the war to end. However, now that the Haihan Fleet is stationed here, but there are not enough berths, it is a bit embarrassing.

Of course, North Korea will not just let Kim Sang-joo handle the reception of the Hae-han fleet from afar. In fact, King Yi Zhu has sent Chief Secretary Kim Sang-heon to Ganghwa Island to receive and settle senior officials of Hae-han.

Fleet officer.

Although Kim Sang-hyun and Kim Sang-gu, who acted as a punching bag in the fleet, have similar names, they are not related. Not only are they a whole generation apart in age, but their status in North Korea is also very different. Kim Sang-hun is a peace critic in North Korea.

The leader of the Qing Dynasty has always advocated vigorously expanding armaments, improving military facilities, and strengthening the defense of the northern border. In the original history, after Huang Taiji became emperor and changed the Yuan Dynasty, the King of Korea also listened to his opinions and announced the severance of diplomatic relations with the Qing Dynasty. Unfortunately, the result was direct

It attracted a military attack from the Qing army.

However, due to the impact of Haihan's entry into Northeast Asia in this time and space, the anti-peace faction has a greater voice in North Korea than in history. The Cui Mingji faction who advocated peace was because of Haihan's arrogance against Hou Jin in Liaodong.

Even now that North Korea is facing the threat of invasion from the Qing Dynasty, the peace advocates still have not been able to gain an advantage in the competition with the peace opponents. King Yi Jie sent Kim Sang-heon to Ganghwa Island to express his gratitude.

Haihan expressed his attitude.

Two hours after the fleet arrived at Ganghwa Island, this popular official in North Korea finally took a transport boat to the Haehan flagship, which was still at sea and could not dock. Since Kim Sang-heon was already sixty-seven years old, the people who boarded the ship

After a lot of effort, he finally lowered the cargo bucket for hoisting supplies from the ship, let Kim Sang-hyun sit in it, and then pulled him to the deck.

Jin Sangxian rearranged his clothes in a leisurely manner, and then, with the support of Jin Sangjiu, he came to Tom Wang to greet him. The two of them had dealt with each other in Seoul last year, so they were not strangers.

"Master Jin, I think you should have noticed that the port facilities on Ganghwa Island are too crude to allow my fleet to be stationed for a long time. This problem must be solved as soon as possible." Wang Tom pointed to the distant coast.

, trying his best to say in a calm tone: "In this situation, we can't prepare properly for war!"

Tom Wang refrained from getting angry. Firstly, he saw that Kim Sangxian was indeed too old. Secondly, he had a noble status in North Korea and was said to be the main advocate of introducing Haihan garrison. Even if he had any dissatisfaction, he could only try to tolerate it. However,

He still had to express this dissatisfaction, otherwise he was worried that the North Koreans would not be able to distinguish priorities, and if they continued to dilly-dally like this, it would definitely affect Haihan's planned action plan.

Jin Sangxian responded: "What General Wang said is absolutely true. This is indeed because the construction progress in our country is too slow. I just went to verify the situation. Currently, 3,000 civilians have been recruited, and the building materials are about to be in place. It is expected to start tomorrow

Construction of a new terminal can begin, and the first batch of new berths can be put into use within half a month."

"That's still too slow." Wang Tom shook his head helplessly: "What about the alternative locations proposed by our country before? Is your country prepared?"

Jin Sangxian said: "To be honest, His Majesty the King has been discussing with the ministers for many days, but there is still no final decision, so in the near future, I may only bother your army to settle here on Ganghwa Island."

Wang Tom was so angry that he wanted to curse. After receiving Li Xi's request for help, Victory Fort was afraid that it would be too late, so he canceled the rare vacations of several troops, mobilized many overseas colonies to complete the supply relay, and hurriedly traveled thousands of miles.

When I came to North Korea, the attitude displayed by the North Koreans was that there was no tense atmosphere. This loose preparation could not be compared with the importance Haihan attached to it.

"It seems that your country is not very concerned about the threat from the powerful enemy in the north. This is probably because the intelligence we received was a bit misunderstood!" Wang Tom said angrily with a smile: "Otherwise, our fleet should go first

Go to Liaodong. If a war really breaks out in your country in the future, we can come from Liaodong to provide support."

The port facilities on Ganghwa Island are far inferior to those of Port Arthur, and North Korea seems to be obviously not ready to receive the garrison. Even though the King of North Korea sent important ministers to Ganghwa Island to greet him, Wang Tom still believes that the plan to send troops to North Korea this time should not be possible.

The method can be implemented smoothly. If it were not for the military alliance between the two countries, Wang Tom might have turned his face to Kim Sang-hyun right away.

Jin Sangxian responded quickly: "General Wang, calm down! His Majesty the King has ordered that the palace on the island be vacated for your army generals to live in. Two hundred private houses and five hundred tents have been prepared for your army soldiers to garrison. Garrison

During this period, our country will also bear the entire consumption of your army! At present, in accordance with your army's request, supplies necessary for five thousand people to live for a month have been prepared on the island, and various facilities are also under construction. This month

If you are brave, please ask General Wang to go to the island to take a look first. If you are still not satisfied, it will not be too late to make other plans!"

After hearing these words, Wang Tom's face brightened a little, and his tone softened a little: "Anyway, this pier must be repaired first. Otherwise, you see, my big ship can't even dock, so how can it be stationed for a long time?

"

"Yes, yes! I will order the construction to start as soon as possible, working in shifts day and night. The local dock facilities must be improved as soon as possible so that your army can enter smoothly." Seeing that Tom Wang's tone had relaxed, Jin Shangxian quickly struck while the iron was hot to show his determination.

Kim Sang-hyun repeatedly invited him, but Wang Tom could not resist, so he agreed and temporarily handed over the command of the fleet to Qian Tiandun. He followed Kim Sang-hun ashore first to check on the progress of local war preparations.

In fact, Kim Sang-hyun is not lying. North Korea is indeed making relevant war preparations, but its low operating efficiency cannot be compared with Hae-han. Even if it knows that the threat of war in the north is getting closer and closer, it understands that this war

The assistance of the Haihan Army was needed to have any possibility of victory, and the North Koreans were still making preparations unhurriedly.
Chapter completed!