Author: Zero Romance

Although the Haihan Army had superior weapons and equipment, the troops deployed here were far inferior to their opponents, and the soldiers were not strong men. After fighting for a long time, they had to stop to rest and eat.

Sun Zhen had no appetite at all at this time. Even if the waiter brought a large bowl of roast pork rice bowl, his attention was still focused on the simple sand table in front of him.

Judging from the effects of the shelling, the attack point selected by Sun Zhen was indeed the weak point of the Shanhaiguan defense line. If the morning shelling offensive could be continued, there would be a chance to further expand the gap in the Great Wall.

But the problem was that he did not have more troops to launch feint attacks in other directions and could not contain the defenders, so that the Ming army could organize attacks unscrupulously and attack the Haihan army's positions from the north and south flanks.

This move by the Ming army was undoubtedly a very smart countermeasure. If Sun Zhen divided his troops to defend the flanks, it would also have the effect of delaying the Haihan army's offensive.

If Sun Zhen sits idly by, then this feint attack will turn into an actual attack at any time. The Haihan cavalry on the flanks has limited strength and may not be able to stop the impact of the large Ming army. If the two armies are in a close-quarters situation, the weapons of the Haihan army will

The advantage will be greatly reduced.

Whether he would break through the Shanhaiguan defense line first, or whether the Ming army would break through his flank first, Sun Zhen was not sure of victory, so he still chose a safe countermeasure.

Although the half-day battle caused considerable losses to the Ming army, Sun Zhen understood that the opponent actually took the initiative in this round of fighting.

If the commander of the Ming Army adheres to the combat thinking of "you have the mace, I have the Tianling Gai" and does not care about the number of casualties on his own side, then the tens of thousands of defenders in Shanhaiguan may really be at loggerheads with the Haihan Army for a long time.

.

Sun Zhen made some calculations. Judging from the intensity of today's battle, if the defenders were determined to die and fought a war of attrition with him, they would have to spend at least several days here. And the combat supplies he carried

and ammunition, but may not be able to last until that time.

As Sun Bing expected, the Ming army in Qingzhou had no intention of fighting the Haihan army. The Fifth Lu Division calmly completed the armed march in Qingzhou and successfully entered Jinan Prefecture.

When Chen Yixin received the urgent call from Sun Zhen, the fleet he led was already less than a hundred miles away from the entrance of the Haihe River.

Of course, the Haihan Army does not have no logistical equipment, but since the Ming army can free up its hands to attack the flanks, it must not be difficult to send cavalry to cut off the land supply channels behind the Haihan Army. The supply methods that can still be relied on at present are:

Probably we can only rely on the sea.

Of course, Chen Yixin was not unaware of how difficult Shanhaiguan was to defeat. His pre-war deployment did not require Sun Zhen to capture Shanhaiguan within a certain period of time. But at that time, Sun Zhen believed that defeating Shanhaiguan was an inevitable outcome, and at least he had to send his troops to the front.

Only by advancing to Yongping Prefecture or even Shuntian Prefecture can we effectively cooperate with Chen Yixin's offensive.

However, the position of the Sixth Army Division must be adjusted for this purpose, otherwise the attack by the defenders of Weihai City near the coast may affect the transfer of logistics supplies from sea to land.

Compared with the fierce fighting on the northern front, Sun Bing's march on the southern front was much easier.

But no matter what, there is no natural danger to defend from Dagukou to the capital. Even if the Ming army gathered on this route to block the Haihan army's offensive, Chen Yixin was determined to push it all the way.

Judging from the wording in the telegram, Sun Zhen's current situation is that he can protect himself, but his attack is weak. If he wants to achieve some decent results, he must increase his troops.

If Sun Zhen had one more regiment of troops, it would be enough to protect the flanks and logistics channels, and he could even conduct rotational operations in the main direction of attack.

At this time, the news of the war between Shandong and Liaodong should have been rushed to the capital through eight hundred miles. The Ming court must have been prepared for the war before, but to what extent were the preparations for the war, and whether the relevant deployment and dispatch were

It has been completed, and Haihan does not have much information.

Sun Zhen studied and studied, and finally found that all the problems could be attributed to one point-insufficient troops.

However, the Ming court had obviously made arrangements in Jinan Prefecture. When Sun Bing led his army to the Yellow River, news came from the Military Intelligence Bureau that there were signs of a large number of Ming troops stationed in Lijin County on the other side, and all civilian ships upstream and downstream had disappeared. It seemed that

It was a plan to defend the river.

According to the battle plan, Sun Bing's troops would not stay and fight in Jinan Prefecture, but would go north along the coastline, enter Hejian Prefecture, and finally reach Shuntian Prefecture.

After Sun Zhen thought for a moment, he called the signal corps. Today's battlefield is not just Shanhaiguan, and the overall situation needs to be considered when mobilizing troops. He has no say in this matter. He must ask Chen Yixin for instructions.

However, the actual situation was obviously different from Sun Zhen's expectation. The Shanhaiguan defenders did not collapse at the first touch, and their fighting will was so tenacious that Sun Zhen was unable to carry out the offensive as originally planned.

For the two small seaside towns on the south side of the Shanhaiguan defense line, the Haihan navy can bombard them from the sea. If necessary, it can also transfer some army troops to land behind the defense line. This may also be a way to break the situation.

Chen Yixin quickly made a decision and transferred the two infantry battalions currently stationed in Jinzhou Camp to Shanhaiguan for reinforcements.

These two camps were originally stationed at the Datong River base in North Korea, and were transferred back a few days before the war began to take over the defense of the Liaodong Peninsula. However, since the war in Shanhaiguan was tense, some troops could only be transferred to the front line.

The content of Sun Zhen's telegram made Chen Yixin a little disappointed. The battle in the direction of Shanhaiguan had only continued on the second day, and Sun Zhen sent a report requesting the dispatch of additional troops. This was a bit too fast.

The direction of the attack commanded by Chen Yixin is currently a blind box to be opened. Perhaps the defense of Tianjin's three guards is as lax as ever, like a thin piece of paper that can be revealed with just one prick; perhaps Mingting has anticipated the attack route of the Haihan Army and planned to attack it in advance.

Heavy troops were deployed locally.

After the large force arrives at the coast of Dagukou for landing, Chen Yixin can also mobilize some combat ships to return to participate in the battle at Shanhaiguan.

This was actually within Sun Bing's expectation. This was one of the few natural dangers for the Haihan army on their way north. If the Ming army abandoned this place, it would mean they were not prepared to resist at all.

Of course, this was not a problem for Sun Bing. He had already prepared a fleet to cross the Yellow River, but it would take some time for the fleet to sail upstream from the estuary and meet up with the Fifth Lu Division in Lijin County.

Although the Ming army made some deployments in Lijin County, it was difficult to prevent the Haihan army from crossing the river downstream of Lijin due to the lack of naval assistance and the lack of the ability to block the waterway.

During this period, a Ming army general led hundreds of cavalry and chased them across the Yellow River to the crossing point downstream, hoping to attack the Haihan army halfway across the river.

But the ferries called by Sun Bing were not civilian ships. These boats were also equipped with small-caliber guns for self-defense. They fired a shot at the Ming cavalry on the river bank from a distance and dispersed them. It seemed that they were not very determined to fight.
Chapter completed!