In order to successfully conquer Korea, Huang Taiji used all his elite troops.
In addition to having Mafuta and Rausa as the vanguard and Haug and Nikan as the escort, Yanguuli and Cherge were also arranged to lead an advance team of 3,000 people in the rear camp.
These men and horses alone are enough for North Korea to drink a pot.
The main force was divided into left and right wings by Huang Taiji.
The left wing was led by Dorgon, and the right wing was led by him himself.
In addition, He Shuotu led Shi Tingzhu and Ma Guangyuan as the rearguard, transporting red cannons and general cannons to support the operation.
On the third day of December, Liaodong had already been covered by heavy snow, and the Yalu River was also frozen.
Mafuta and Rausa led a vanguard of 300 men, disguised as businessmen, and set out from Shahebao, marking the beginning of the Korean War.
With such a large military deployment by the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, there was no possibility of keeping it secret.
Just when Huang Taiji declared war, Shandong had already received the news.
For this reason, various departments of the Xia Army accelerated the pace of preparations.
The entire Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea have been completely occupied by naval ships.
Various ships shuttled around day and night, transporting massive amounts of supplies to Jeju Island. At the same time, the sea was shielded to prevent people from any forces from entering or exiting.
Jeju Island has now been completely taken over.
Shen Daoxun and Li Chong have lost control of Jeju Island and can only follow orders.
The Fourth Division was stationed on the east side of Jeju Island, and the 1st Marine Division was stationed on the west side, starting to make final preparations for the battle.
At this time, the busiest people are the logistics department and equipment department.
To ensure the supply of materials for more than 100,000 people is definitely an extremely complicated task.
Zhang Yan and Zuo Dai were so busy that their feet could not touch the ground, and even their temples were a little gray.
"These are heavy artillery shells. They are going to the Fourth Division. Why should they be sent to the First Marine Division?"
When someone below made a mistake at work, Zhang Yan reprimanded him on the spot without mercy.
The people below were scolded so badly that they quickly corrected themselves.
Zhang Yan couldn't help but be surprised when he saw another convoy leaving the camp and going to the Fourth Division, with Zuo Dai following him personally.
"Minister Zuo, when did this happen? Why are you still leaving your post without authorization? When will the rocket launcher shells needed by the First Marine Division be delivered?"
Zuo Dai smiled bitterly.
"There is a batch of new equipment that needs to be handed over to the frontline troops. I can only rush there in person, and I cannot delay the delivery of the new equipment. As for the rocket launcher shells needed by the First Marine Division, they will be delivered within three days at most."
Zhang Yan's expression softened a little.
"It's best not to be too late, otherwise that guy Zuo Yong will be nagging again."
Looking at the logistics base that was like a boiling pot, Zuo Dai lamented endlessly.
"At the beginning, I thought I was not good enough to fight, so I retreated to the rear and thought I could be more stable. Now it seems that this is more tiring than fighting."
Zhang Yan found joy in suffering.
"Take care of your health and don't collapse from exhaustion. You can't die in front of those guys going to the battlefield, otherwise you might be laughed at by them."
Zuo Dai laughed and waved goodbye.
The convoy trudged hard in the wind and snow, and finally delivered the things to the Fourth Division two days later.
All the scouts of the Fourth Division had already received orders and came to assemble.
Zuo Dai asked people to unload the equipment one by one and began to explain to the scouts on the spot.
The first thing he took out was a musket.
This musket is completely different from the standard equipment of Xia Jun today.
The gun body is shorter, only one meter. The rear of the barrel, where the hammer should have been installed, is missing, and there is no felt hole for the flash cap.
Instead, there is a small iron handle.
Zuo Dai grasped the iron handle with his hand and pushed it upwards, then pulled it back. With a smooth and crisp sound, the barrel of the gun was exposed.
"Please pay attention, this kind of gun is loaded from here, not from the muzzle."
He took out bullets from another box.
The shape of the bullet is also very strange, it is in the shape of a long pointed cone and glows red. Behind the bullet is a propellant wrapped in paper, which is about the length of the middle finger.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, they saw Zuo Dai press the bullet into the barrel of the gun, and then reset the opened iron handle.
The entire barrel of the gun was closed.
Then Zuo Dai raised his gun, aimed at the target dozens of meters away, and pulled the trigger.
The gunshot fired and the target moved, leaving a hole.
All the experts present were jealous when they saw this scene.
Bai Xiaoqi stepped forward, grabbed the new musket from Zuo Dai's hand, imitated his operation, and immediately felt the convenience of it.
"The rate of fire of this gun is more than three times faster than that of a flash cap gun. How is it done?"
Zuo Dai disassembled the gun in front of everyone.
"You see, a spring is installed here. The pressing force of the spring is used to push the firing pin. The firing pin penetrates into the cartridge, and there is a flash cap inside, which can trigger the gunpowder and fire the bullet."
As the new muskets were distributed, all the scouts began to adapt.
Without exception, the new gun won everyone's unanimous love.
Although the range of this new gun is twice as short as that of the flash cap gun, the rate of fire is more than three times faster. Originally, a range that is too far is not very meaningful on the battlefield, and the rate of fire is more important.
Bai Xiaoqi is greedy.
"Minister Zuo, how many guns are there? We all want them."
Zuo Dai gave him a roll of his eyes.
"There are only so many of them now, and they are all short models, which can only be equipped for reconnaissance troops."
Bai Xiaoqi was very dissatisfied when he heard that there were only dozens of them.
"Why don't we produce more and replace all those flash cap guns. If all our troops are equipped with these muskets, our Fourth Division can reach Shenyang without the First Marine Division taking action."
Zuo Dai sneered.
"Did you know that this spring was handmade by craftsmen. And the warhead was also handmade by craftsmen."
Bai Xiaoqi didn't understand industrial production, so he said carelessly: "What's so difficult about that? You just need to recruit more people."
Zuo Dai took a bite.
"The craftsmen who can make these springs and bullets must at least be at the level of a first-class craftsman. How many do you think there are?"
When Bai Xiaoqi heard this request, he couldn't help but be speechless.
"Doesn't that mean... these good guns won't be able to assemble troops for a while?"
Speaking of this, Zuo Dai was extremely helpless.
"It is estimated that there will be no way to popularize it within ten years. It depends on Qin Luo and Li Meizhi's steam engine research and development. If that thing can be put into industrial production, it may be able to speed up the progress. Otherwise, it will be absolutely satisfactory to just build it manually.
There is no need for the whole army."
The breech-loaded firing pin gun has actually been developed a long time ago. The reason why it cannot be equipped on a large scale is very simple, that is, the technical requirements are too high and mass production is not possible.
Bi Maokang and others have been perfecting their craftsmanship, and in this process, the craftsmen produced a lot by hand.
Although it cannot meet the needs of ordinary troops, it can still be used to provide reconnaissance troops.
So Zuo Menggeng ordered that these weapons be mobilized and distributed to the scouts of the Fourth Division and the First Marine Division.
During the war, they will have to shuttle between high mountains and ridges, always fighting alone. If they have better weapons at their side, they can also protect their own safety.
In view of the combat needs of the scouts, Zuo Mengeng specifically ordered the barrels of these firing needle guns to be replaced with short barrels.
I believe that with these new weapons, the scouts can better preserve themselves and complete their missions.