Author: Zero Romance

Chapter 3237

When Chen Pingliao boarded the ship and set off, at Dengzhou Zhifu Port on the other side of the strait, Chen Yizhao was preparing to lead the army to set off.

The size of the naval fleet assembled at Zhifu Port was much larger than that at Port Arthur. Even the combat vessels stationed at the Tatong River base in North Korea had almost all returned to Shandong to participate in this operation.

The fleet included four majestic-class warships, sixteen expedition-class warships, more than thirty exploration-class warships, nearly a hundred various reconnaissance boats, supply ships, troop transports, and recruited baggage and freight.

There are more than a hundred civilian ships.

It is no exaggeration to say that even if several other countries in Northeast Asia are bundled together, it is unlikely that they can compete with that fleet, let alone the Ming Dynasty, which has almost only a short-term establishment.

Outside the Bohai Bay, there was nothing that could threaten the fleet, and Chen Yixin's operational goal was not to engage in naval warfare, but to use the fleet's transport capacity to achieve rapid cross-sea projection of armed forces.

Chen Yixin expected that Lu Zai's attack would encounter a certain degree of resistance, but at Hai Zai, the Ming Dynasty did not have any legs to stop the fleet from attacking hundreds of miles away in a short time.

In fact, that was one of the reasons why he arranged for Chen Pingliao to join him in Tianjin by sea. He knew that his son was a bit unconventional in leading the army. Please don't keep an eye on him personally. God knows that boy will be on the battlefield.

What are you doing?

Ma Yuling specially told him when he left home that if Chen Pingliao suffered any injuries on the battlefield, then he should not expect to be in a good mood when he returns home. Although Chen Yixin did not deny strict henpecks, he still

I don’t dare to forget my wife’s words.

The "Weiyao" that Chen Yixin boarded was a new ship that had only been in service for two years. According to the requirements of the Northern Fleet, many detailed changes were made, such as a larger and more complete combat command room, and the installation of

Enhanced radio antenna masts, more powerful steam power systems, etc.

Chen Yixin was very satisfied with the changes to the Wei Yao, so he designated it as the new flagship of the Northern Fleet to replace the soon-to-be retired Wei Ke.

In front of Chen Yixin is a huge wooden table one foot long and five feet wide. On the table is a large map of the Bohai Bay and the capital area. There are many small markers on it, representing the locations of the various participating troops.

The east side of the map is covered with a thin layer of iron sheet, and the markers are equipped with small magnets to ensure that the battle layout will not be easily disrupted when the ship is bumped.

Next door to the combat command room is the telegraph room for communicating with the outside world. In order to be able to understand the battle situation in real time and receive combat instructions, Chen Yixin specially deployed four sets of radio stations on the Wei Yao that time.

In fact, the command center has been in operation since last night. Troop movements in all directions are summarized there through wireless telegrams, and then the combat staff present them on the map sand table.

Land troops attacking along the Bohai Bay coastline from the north and south have entered the boundaries of Qingzhou and Shanhaiguan respectively.

According to Chen Yixin's plan, those two directions would be the first to start fighting, in order to attract the Ming army's firepower and reduce the pressure on the sea route to attack Tianjin.

"Report! The troops led by General Sun Bing were attacked by a small Ming army outside Shouguang County, Qingzhou, and are currently fighting!"

After a combat staff officer read the latest battle report he had just received, another staff officer walked to the table and placed the blue logo representing the Haihan Army in Shouguang County, and at the same time placed the blue logo representing the Haihan Army next to it.

The red logo of the army indicates that the two armies are fighting here.

Chen Yixin was not worried about this. The deployment of the Ming army outside Qingzhou was basically transparent to him. The small Ming army that carried out the raiding mission was precisely because they were unable to compete with the Haihan army on the frontal battlefield.

You can use this method to adjust Haihan's marching speed to gain buffer time for the rear.

Qingzhou is adjacent to the two states of Denglai in the east controlled by Haihan, and they both know each other's ins and outs. The Ming army in Qingzhou is probably not willing to accept the thankless task of taking over the east, and most likely will not risk their lives.

Soon after, the battle situation in the direction of Liaodong Bay was also reported. The troops led by Sun Zhen entered the Daming Ningyuan Defense Area and began to attack the local garrison points.

Ningyuan Guard is located on the coast northeast of Shanhaiguan. It has resisted the Qing army to the south in the early years. The Ming Dynasty built a large number of garrison fortresses outside the narrow coastal area, trying to disrupt the enemy's offensive with dense fortress areas.

However, several times the Qing army went south to the east and chose to bypass Shanhaiguan in the northern mountainous area and attack Shuntian Prefecture instead of chewing the hard nut, so those painstakingly built fortresses did not come into play much.

If the Ming Dynasty, Manchu and Qing Dynasties were separated from the Ming Dynasty by Haihan, the Qing army could not bypass Haihan's territory in Liaodong to attack the Ming Dynasty.

And now it's the Haihan Army's turn to gnaw that hard nut.

Sun Zhen didn't mind if Chen Yixin gave him the somewhat tricky task. For him, he could lead the troops back to the battlefield where they had not seen him for a long time. He had not experienced such a thrilling feeling for several years.

Since the Ming, Manchu and Qing Dynasties surrendered one after another three years ago, the main task of the Liaodong garrison has changed from expanding territory to defending borders. For Sun Zhen, who was used to leading troops on conquests, it was difficult to adapt again.

He also knew that the armistice was not the end of the war, and that Haihan's expansion would not end here. When he recovered to a certain extent, he would definitely go to war with those two countries again.

Therefore, in those three years, even though there was no war, Sun Zhen did not stop training his troops and horses, and was always preparing for Dong's first step on the battlefield.

Haihan obviously accumulated strength much faster than its neighboring countries. Just three years after the armistice agreement, it found a reason to start another war.

In Sun Zhen's view, Daming's legs were so vicious that he actually sent assassins to Hangzhou to assassinate the Executive Committee. But since Haihan caught him and there were both witnesses and physical evidence, why not take the opportunity to kill Daming off that time?

The layer of skin just said that it was gone.

A considerable part of the Ming army's elite border guards were stationed in the Shanhaiguan area. It was a tough battle, but it was not exactly what Sun Zhen expected.

He wanted to see through actual combat whether there had been any new changes in the strength of the two sides in the past three years.

The fortress that the vanguard battalion is attacking is called Yong'an Fort. It was built during the Tianqi period. The entire castle is roughly a square with a side length of about fifty feet. The fortress wall is six feet six inches high and is made of rammed earth with an outer layer of bluestone.

There are granaries, wells, barracks, weapons depots and other facilities outside the fort, which can be used by the Ming army to garrison for a long time in the event of siege.

There are several small-caliber artillery deployed on the fort wall, and there are various horse traps, deer villages and other fortifications outside the fort. According to the information provided by the Military Intelligence Bureau, the number of troops garrisoned there is about five to six hundred.

It is worth mentioning that about two miles to the side and rear of Yong'an Fort, there are two other forts of similar size, which form a corner to prevent the enemy from encircling Yong'an Fort.
Chapter completed!