The reason why Liu Wenxiu asked for coal from the Ming Dynasty was not that he was short-sighted and dared not ask for it, but that he had other motives. In fact, when he led the first fleet south, his purpose was not to capture anywhere, but the main purpose was to contain the Ming army. At the same time, , Wan Lei also instructed him to recruit as many people from Jiangnan as possible to fill Liaodong while confronting the Ming army.
Just because of the need to recruit people, four newly assembled Hua-class ships were also sent to Jiangnan. Unlike Xia-class battleships, Hua-class ships are large cruise ships whose main purpose is to transport people and cargo. The production base of Hua-class ships Just in Liaodong, Huayuan Company funded the assembly and was responsible for the operation, and the funds did not come from the government.
And now it is a war period, Wan Lei naturally has the right to commandeer these ships to pull people. Of course, these ships are coal-burning steam engines. Their hulls are not much smaller than Xia-class battleships. They can transport thousands of people at a time, and behind them are It can also tow a few lucky boats full of people, which of course requires a lot more coal.
Liu Wenxiu's request for coal from the Ming Dynasty was actually a way to obtain local materials, reducing the coal capacity of the Hua-class cruise ship when it went south, so as to increase the transportation capacity of other strategic materials. You must know that the Peking Army has a navy on Zhoushan Island A lot of materials from the base are transported there, and then transferred to Nanyang by other merchant ships for sale. Only in this way can the financial resources of the North Parallel Province be ensured, and a protracted war can be waged.
After all, the Peiping Army only has a strength of hundreds of thousands, which is not enough to sweep the world. The Peking Military Commission also listened to Wan Lei's opinion. This self-defense counterattack is mainly to eliminate the main force of the Ming Army, and then try its best to occupy the north of the Yangtze River to expand territory and population. scale.
In fact, it's not that Wan Lei didn't want to chase Sheng Yong down, it was because he didn't have enough troops. You know, if the world is about to attack, you have to rule it immediately. The southwest and northwest borders are where ethnic minorities live, which has always been difficult. If you don't have hundreds of thousands of troops to govern the land, you can't hope to control the world.
The North Parallel Province now only has a population of more than two million. Even if all the people are in the army, there will only be 500,000 or 600,000 strong men. The North Parallel Province is different from the northern nomadic tribes who make a living by robbery. Production and construction are equally important, so now the most important thing is The most important thing is to expand the population, and expanding the territory is secondary, because only with a larger population can more troops be recruited.
It was precisely because of the need to expand the population that Wan Lei sent the First Fleet to the south of the Yangtze River. Firstly, it was to contain the main force of the Ming army to assist the Peking Army in conquering the north of the Yangtze River. Secondly, it was to recruit people from the south of the Yangtze River to control Liaodong and North Korea. After all, there were The population density is too small for full development.
It was precisely because of the need to recruit more people that Liu Wenxiu invited some elders along the Yangtze River to hold a "lecture meeting" to promote the benefits of joining the North Parallel Province in allocating land and housing, and asked these elders to go back and mobilize their own tribesmen, and then take advantage of the opportunity. Due to the turmoil in the capital, the imperial court was unable to take care of the local situation, so the whole family moved.
Although most of the people in the south of the Yangtze River settled down and relocated, they would still move in times of war. After all, saving their lives was the most important thing. As soon as the First Fleet arrived, they issued three chapters of the agreement, creating the possibility that the Peking Army would move south. The tense atmosphere and the bombardment of Jinling at the same time made the people along the river even more nervous. Because they were worried that they would be used as cannon fodder by the Ming Dynasty, more people fled with their families. With just a little effort, thousands of people would flee. Thousands of people flocked to the river and boarded the luxury cruise ships cruising along the river.
As soon as the Hua-class cruise ship is full of people, it returns at the fastest speed with maximum horsepower. It only takes three days at most from Jiangnan to the Liaodong Peninsula, and can make three or four round trips a month. And four Hua-class cruise ships plus towing The big fortune boat can pull at least 40,000 to 50,000 people at a time. In one month, it can pull in more than 100,000 people.
The longer the First Fleet blocks the Yangtze River, the more people will be taken away. I believe that it will not be long before the area along the Yangtze River and the south of the Yangtze River is full of ten houses and nine empty spaces. As the population decreases and the agricultural and handicraft industries wither, the Ming Dynasty will accelerate. decay.
When the Peiping Army and the Navy were recruiting people from the south of the Yangtze River, on the seventh day of April, the main force of the Ming Army led by Ping An had already crossed the Marco Polo Bridge and marched towards Beiping City. Of course, when Ping An saw the several hundred meters long railway When crossing the bridge, I couldn't help but marvel at the amazing creativity of the North Parallel Province.
"How many cannons can be made if so much steel is dismantled and refurbished?" Ping An lamented. On the one hand, he lamented the wealth of the Peking Province, but on the other hand, he secretly cursed the Peking Army for being a prodigal. If such good steel is not used to make cannons, But using it to build bridges and supplement roads is really the work of a prodigal.
However, Ping An didn't know that it wasn't that the Peiping Army didn't cast cannons, but that the steel output was really high. Only a small amount of refined steel was used to cast cannons, most of which was used to build bridges and auxiliary roads, and a large part was used as cannons. Building materials.
He sighed, Ping An didn't actually order the army to demolish the bridge. After all, the Marco Polo Bridge is the only way to enter Peiping. If it is demolished, he will have to build a pontoon bridge to cross the river. He will not do such a thankless task. Yes, and the Ming army did not destroy the towns in the Hejian Prefecture of Baoding. After all, people would still live in those places in the future, so it would be a pity to demolish them.
On the eighth day of April, the leading troops of the Ming Army arrived at the gates of Peiping City. However, what they saw was an impregnable big city. This city had been rebuilt long ago. The city walls were all made of bricks, reaching a height of four to five feet. And above the city wall , there is a tower every few dozen meters. Judging from the dense holes on the tower, there must be a mystery hidden inside.
At this time, the city wall was still full of defenders. It looked like there were at least tens of thousands of troops, and all of them were wearing dark gray chainmail and holding long spears and sharp blades. They looked very difficult to mess with. In this regard, peace was early. As expected, he ordered the Ming army to camp outside the city, and when the artillery troops behind them arrived, they would attack the city with artillery.
In fact, there are only more than 10,000 regular troops in Beiping City. Most of the people standing on the city head are militia reserves. After temporary training, these people may not be able to fight in the field, but they are more than enough to guard the city head. And Wan Lei, who is dressed in military uniform, also He went into battle in person and stood on a tower in the south of the city, looking at the Ming army that kept advancing.
"Report!" A Jingzhong Guard ran to Wan Lei's side, "Commander Zhao is here to report that the main force of the Second Army has arrived at the designated location and is ready to fight at any time."
"Okay, give him the order to rest in Yongping Mansion first, and at the same time watch the military planes from a distance. As soon as the fighter planes appear, implement the corresponding combat plan." Wan Lei simply gave an order. In fact, how to fight this war has long been decided. After discussions and deductions by the Military Commission, the General Staff also proposed several combat plans.
In short, this war is a premeditated and prepared war, and it is also a war that determines the outcome in one battle, because the main force of the Ming army in the north is here. As long as it is defeated, not only the two prefectures of Baoding and Hejian can be recovered, but also the two prefectures of Baoding and Hejian can be recovered. You can take advantage of the victory to capture Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi and other places.
"By the way, send someone to ask Commander Zhou if the First Army is in place." Wan Lei added.
"Commander Zhou sent someone to report that the first group of 40,000 troops has gathered in the north of Hetao. Because we don't want to alert others, we haven't crossed the Yellow River yet." A staff officer replied.
"Okay, give him the same instruction, say that the layout is complete, and let him take action." A smile flashed across Wan Lei's face, because the first group army was his secret agent.
Even though the 40,000 troops of the First Group Army are not many, in the case of a sudden attack, if they attack directly into the Hetao and then into Shaanxi, the Ming army will not be able to look at each other, and eventually the north will fall into chaos. The army came out in unison and swept across the Central Plains.
"Oh, why are you making so many arrangements? Now that the Ming army is approaching, the most important thing is to defeat the Ming army in front of us first." Next to Wan Lei, Zhao Xueer was still following. She was also wearing armor. If she hadn't come out, She spoke loudly and no one could tell that she was a woman.
"Don't worry, I have already made arrangements. These 200,000 people are not enough for us to kill several rounds." Wan Lei curled his lips because he discovered that there were very few cavalry in the attacking Ming army. Presumably the cavalry troops were all Because of the appearance of the First Fleet, he was dragged back to King Qin.
If there were a large number of cavalry troops, Wan Lei might still be a little wary. The main force of the Ming army was more than 200,000 infantry troops. Although there were artillery, Wan Lei was not afraid at all, because the regular troops of the Peking Army were mainly cavalry. , and he is good at riding, shooting, and close combat. He dare not say that it is possible to fight one against ten or one against five.
The premise is to defeat the Ming Army's artillery unit first. After all, the life of every soldier in the Peking Army is precious. Wan Lei does not want his cavalry to be bombarded by the Ming Army's artillery. Therefore, he first shows the enemy weakness and lets The Ming army first set up artillery to attack the city. As soon as the Ming army's artillery fired, the position of the artillery array would be exposed. When the time comes, hehe...
As expected by Wan Lei, Ping An saw that the Peiping army had been huddled in the city and not going out to fight. While sending people to persuade them to surrender, he also asked his subordinates to set up artillery and prepare to bombard the city of Beiping.
It was already afternoon, and the sky was gloomy. Seeing that his efforts to persuade him to surrender were fruitless, Ping An gave an order, and dozens of artillery were aimed at the direction of the city wall. There was a volley of fire. Countless projectiles came quickly, but most of them fell. The city walls rarely hit their targets.
When Ping An saw this, he didn't blame the gunners in the army. After all, artillery is a high-tech thing. It takes several test firings and adjustments before it can hit the target. This process relies on experience. However, just in case, When Ping An ordered the gunners to aim at a certain point, there was a flash of light from the tower, and then there was a loud noise like thunder.
"boom...."
Hundreds of cannons fired in unison, and countless cannonballs flew from the towers. Although the cannonballs came from different places, they seemed to have eyes, and almost all of them fell on the Ming army's artillery array. It directly performed a carpet bombing for the Ming army, and at the same time used a heavy blow to teach the Ming army a profound lesson: Who said that ballistics cannot be calculated?