Chapter 2345

The people who originally lived in Jinzhou were moved to the interior of Liaodong during the Manchu occupation to prevent them from escaping to the Ming Dynasty by sea. This measure led to the decline of people's livelihood in this area, the desolation of the fields, and the complete stagnation of social production.

When the Haihan Army captured Jinzhou in 1635, there was basically no decent output here, and agricultural production had to be started from scratch.

Although after two or three years of hard work, Jinzhou has finally restored a certain degree of social production capacity, many areas are still in a state of waste, and a considerable number of daily necessities, including food, still require external supplies.

After all the soldiers and civilians of Dongjiang Town were moved to Jinzhou, the local population was only tens of thousands. It was not easy to resettle thousands of impoverished refugees in such an environment and ensure that they could survive the winter safely.

A simple thing. The resettlement measures used by the Ming Dynasty to relieve refugees by relying solely on Shimibu porridge were obviously not suitable for the social conditions under Haihan and the special environment of the Jinzhou area.

In addition to the basic needs for survival such as food, clothing, housing and transportation, there are also a lot of things in medical care, public security, education, work, etc. that require the government to take corresponding safeguard measures. This is a great test for the government's coordination and execution capabilities.

.Without officials with rich operational experience like Liu Shang taking command and all-round support based on local garrison, it would be really difficult to resettle so many homeless refugees in the short term.

A large number of people quickly flowed into Jinzhou from the areas under Manchu rule, which means that the strength of both sides is ebbing and flowing. The increase or decrease in population will definitely amplify the effect through the gap in productivity. The situation in this region will soon be affected by the beginning of spring.

have real impact.

Just when the Jinzhou authorities and the Manchu Qing Dynasty thought that this winter's confrontation was over, a battle suddenly started in the rear, only forty or fifty miles away from the Qing army's Dahei Shandong camp.

After Qian Tiandun and Wang Tom finished the mopping up operations in the Zhuanghe area, they originally planned to lead their troops back to the Datong River base for rest and recuperation. However, when counting the supplies, they discovered that not even half of the combat supplies prepared for this operation had been consumed.

After arriving, they still felt unwilling to just go back home.

So the two men asked the troops to withdraw from the sea to Guanglu Island in the Changshan Islands, allowing the troops to rest on the island for a few days. At the same time, they also gave the Qing army the illusion of retreat, making them think that the Haihan Army had already

Stopped and continued to act.

Of course, this kind of rest also has another purpose, which is to wait for the weather to improve. If the snow continues to fall and the snow on the land is too thick, it will be difficult for the Haihan Army to carry out large-scale combat operations on the nearby coast.

The troops waited on Guanglu Island for seven days. Just when Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun were about to give up, the weather suddenly improved. Not only did the snowfall stop, there was even a rare warm winter sun.

Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun had already determined their goals and formulated an action plan in the past few days. The target they selected was Dengshahe Town, which is located forty miles northeast of the Qing Army's East Camp.

The reason why this target was selected is that it is very close to Guanglu Island where the troops are currently hiding, and the straight-line distance is only more than 40 miles. Moreover, after sending a boat to investigate, it was found that the Dengsha River next to Dengsha River Town is not

When it is not frozen, ships can still sail in. This means that the Haihan Army does not have to march ten miles through the snow to reach its destination after landing on the coast. Instead, it can directly use troop transports to deploy troops nearby.

Another reason is that the Qing army personnel captured in this operation confessed that there are many Manchus in Dengshahe Town, and many family members of the Qing army’s front-line troops stationed in Daheishan have settled near Dengshahe Town. In fact, this

The town was originally a settlement that was slowly formed in the past year or two due to the migration of a large number of Manchus, so the Haihan Army had not launched an attack on this place before this during its raids on the Liaodong coast.

Because of the external threat of the Haihan Army, there are not many Manchu settlements near the coast of the Liaodong Peninsula. If they can find such a target, Wang Qian will not let it go easily. The effect of attacking such a target must be

It is much better than clearing out a town full of Han people, and it is likely that valuable intelligence will be obtained from the operation.

On December 16, a fleet of boats appeared at the mouth of the Dengsha River at dawn. After determining the river surface conditions, the fleet sailed into the mouth of the river and sailed upstream to the Dengsha River upstream.

town.

The width of the lower reaches of the Dengsha River is less than one mile. After the fleet traveled several miles, there were more and more ice floes on the river. To ensure safety, Gao Qiaonan ordered the ships to dock early and land.

The cavalry team took the lead in boarding the river bank through the erected springboard, and then quickly set off for their destination. Their mission was to detect whether there were large Qing troops stationed in the area and to block the roads leading to the inland areas from the town in advance.

According to the intelligence obtained previously, there were no heavy troops stationed in this town, so Takahashi Minami did not plan to transport big guns such as artillery ashore, and only invested one battalion of musketry infantry in the operation.

Before the people in the town noticed anything, the Haihan Army had arrived outside the town and formed an encirclement from the north, east, and south, leaving only the Dengsha River in the west. However, the river here was not completely closed.

Ice, it is not easy to escape from the river to the west bank.

After confirming that all the ministries had arrived at the combat position, Takahashi Nan issued the order to attack. The Haihan Army in white cloaks slowly tightened the encirclement in the snow. It was not until they were only about a hundred feet away from the town that they were captured by the people in the town.

When I found out, there was an immediate uproar.

However, there were no fortifications built outside the town at all, so it was difficult to organize a decent defense in a hurry. Soon, twenty or thirty cavalry soldiers rushed out of the town from different directions and tried to break out, but they were greeted by rows of rows of soldiers.

With merciless bullets and just a few breaths, all these Qing soldiers were shot off their horses, and not a single one of them could escape.

After realizing that the outside of the town had been surrounded by enemy troops, the people in the town decisively gave up their plan to break out and prepared to rely on various buildings in the town to resist the foreign enemies. But whether it was military strength, weapons and equipment, or on-the-spot command, Haihan

The army was absolutely dominant. After entering the town, they quickly completed the cutting of the town, and then split up to encircle and suppress it.

The scattered and disorderly resistance had basically no chance in front of the whole team of musketeers. Most of them had already been shot when they showed off their weapons. For a while, gunfire continued in the town, and the smell of gunpowder and blood mixed together and enveloped the town.

Covering the whole town.

Takahashi Minami's request for this operation was a quick victory, and there was no provision for shooting the resisters, which meant that the soldiers could decide whether to fire based on the situation. Compared with trying to surrender the opponent, naturally

The action of firing to kill was more efficient. So after entering the town, the Haihan Army began to shoot one-sidedly.

During the entire snow-stepping operation, the resistance the Haihan Army encountered in Dengshahe Town was far more intense than in other places. However, this was not enough to cause enough trouble for the Haihan Army. At most, it was just too much.

It only took some time and ammunition. The number of people killed during the armed conflict also hit a new high since this operation.

About two hours after launching the offensive, the Haihan Army basically completed the cleanup of the town. During this period, about two hundred militants were wounded and killed. Of course, these wounded will not receive treatment from the Haihan Army. Waiting for them

It can only be a final blow after the battle.

During the fighting, a few people tried to escape to the west through the Dengsha River, but the nearby river was not completely frozen, and there was a lot of broken ice floating. Whether they wanted to step over the ice or swim up the unfrozen river,

None of it is easy.

The Haihan Army did not stop this behavior, which was tantamount to suicide, and allowed these people to do whatever they wanted. Gao Qiaonan also wanted to let some people out and report the matter to the Qing army in Dongda Camp. This place is 10 kilometers away from Dongda Camp.

The camp was spread over dozens of miles, separated by a river. By the time the reinforcements arrived after receiving the news, the Haihan Army would have already finished withdrawing.

Just like the intelligence we had, it was not difficult to find out during the subsequent census of the local people that the majority of the residents in this town were Manchus, which was exactly the opposite of the situation in the villages and towns that the Haihan Army had visited before. And the people living here were

The Manchus were indeed basically family members of the Qing army, but some prisoners were interrogated on the spot, and no mention was made of any local people with special status.

This result also made Takahashi Nan a little disappointed. He hoped to capture important figures such as Qing generals or their families here to obtain more valuable intelligence, but now it seems that this is obviously just a luxury wish.

, those with status should not live in such a place without even fortifications.

The Haihan Army captured about 600 people in this town, about three-fifths of whom were Manchus. Of course Gao Qiaonan would not let these people go and ordered them to be escorted downstream to board the ship. After clearing the town, Haihan

The army lit fires inside and outside the town and burned all the houses here.

When all the Haihan Army boarded the ship and evacuated to the sea, thick black smoke could still be seen rising from a place about ten miles away. This was not the first time that the Haihan Army had taken such destructive measures. In fact, it was

In all the villages and towns captured during Operation Treading Snow, the Haihan Army followed the same pattern and burned all the houses when they evacuated. If the Manchus and Qing Dynasties wanted to restore these settlements in the coming year, they would have to tear down all the ruins and rebuild, which is a waste of human capital.

It will definitely be a big trouble for the Manchu Qing Dynasty, which is seriously lacking.

Gao Qiaonan believed that there was another reason why his superiors chose this place to attack. It was very close to the Qing army camp. Since the Haihan army could attack Dengshahe Town, it was naturally possible to launch an attack on the Qing army camp at any time.

This will create more pressure on the Qing army, making it impossible for the other side to live peacefully this winter.

However, Wang Tom and Qian Tiandun were still not satisfied with the results of this operation. There was no formalized Qing army musketry unit in Jinzhou. They believed that this was because the pressure exerted by the feint attack in the Jinzhou direction was still not enough.

They were unable to force the Qing army to resort to their most powerful means - such as the weapons updates brought about by the advanced ordnance technology from the Hirado Domain of Japan.

The military has been worried that the military technology of the Hirado clan will flow into the Qing Dynasty, allowing the Qing Dynasty to mass-produce standard weapons such as muskets and artillery in Liaodong, thereby training firearms troops that can truly pose a threat to the Haihan Army. But for now

Judging from the information available, it seems that there is still a lack of corresponding evidence to prove such speculation.

Of course, there is another possibility, that is, the Qing Dynasty deployed troops equipped with new weapons to another front to deal with the already inferior Ming army. The weapons sold to the Qing Dynasty by the Hirado Domain had better combat performance

It has obviously defeated the Ming army. If it is installed in large quantities into the army, it is likely to have a dimensionality reduction effect on the Ming army during the battle, just like the Haihan army fought against the Qing army on the Korean battlefield.

.

If the latter situation is the case, it will be much easier for Haihan, and it may even prompt Ming Dynasty to request Haihan for military purchases. Then it will be a real big deal.

Just as the Haihan Army had calculated, when Azig received news of the attack on Dengshahe Town in Dongda Camp, it was already the afternoon of that day. Hearing that the Haihan Army had made a large-scale landing in the area, Azig did not dare to

Hastily sending troops to local support, after all, there have been many cases like this before where the Haihan army set up ambushes to encircle points for reinforcements. If you rashly send a cavalry to rush over to rescue, you may be hit by the opponent again.

trap.

By the time the Qing army confirmed that the Haihan Army had evacuated, and burned down all the buildings in Dengshahe Town before leaving, it was already that night. At this time, the Haihan Army's fleet had divided into two groups, and the fleet carrying the special battle group was

On the way back to the Datong River base, there was also a fleet that sent the people captured here to the port in Dalian Bay.

Azig, who was enjoying dinner, was so angry that he threw his bowl on the spot after receiving the final confirmation. The attack on Dengshahe Town was not only a provocation to the Qing army, but also hundreds of Manchus captured in that town.

He is a family member of the Qing army. If this news spreads among the army, it will definitely affect morale greatly.

Moreover, a landing attack was carried out by the Haihan Army so close to Dong Daying. This was comparable to the last winter's attack on the Qing Army's artillery team by the Hai Han Army lurking near Dong Daying.

The Haihan Army repeatedly carried out attacks on the Liaodong coast by transferring troops from sea to land, and succeeded almost every time. This has become a major problem that the Qing Army cannot avoid and cannot solve. The Qing Army currently has no war.

We have no ships and surface troops to prevent the Haihan Army from approaching the Liaodong coast, and we are unable to deploy enough troops on the hundreds of miles of coastline to resist the Haihan Army's attacks. Now it seems that even the settlements have been moved inland.

The effect of each move has become very limited.

Although there are thousands of miles of mountains stretching hundreds of miles between the Liaodong coast and the power center of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, these small actions of the Haihan Army will not threaten the rule of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and they will not even damage the muscles and bones.

This kind of ongoing trouble would indeed make the Manchus very uncomfortable.
Chapter completed!