The Military Intelligence Department of the Chinese Army is still directly in charge of Yin Feng. Some daily affairs are assisted by Zeng Rui. Li Lihua is in charge of some Nanyang affairs. Mai Xiaoliu is the regional director. Hainan Island is placed under the control of the Internal Affairs Department of the Military Intelligence Department.
The information about Yu Zigao going to Hainan to serve as Qiongya General was only obtained after Yin Feng dispatched the Hainan task force.
Therefore, when Yan Siqi landed at Sanya Port, this information was transferred from the Domestic Section of the Military Intelligence Department to his hands.
"Haha. Classmate, I am now a staff general. I was promoted very quickly."
Yan Siqi was wearing a set of European-style aristocratic clothes. He stood at the top of Yazhou City with dignity: "I'm going to Qiongzhou Mansion. Finally, I have to meet our fellow disciples. Haha. There is nothing more wonderful in life than this."
Yan Siqi was once a member of Yin Feng's personal guard. Although he studied in the infantry department and command department of the Chinese Military Academy, he took classes intermittently. The total class duration did not exceed one year, but it took five years to continue taking classes.
End. Therefore, he and many officers and non-commissioned officers who graduated from the Chinese Military Academy were considered classmates. Yu Zigao and he had sat in the same classroom together for a period of time.
Lin Shuisheng and Cao Tai, the supervisor of the Nanyang Task Force, graduated earlier than Yan Siqi based on their military school qualifications. However, they could not call him senior in front of him because Yan Siqi actually entered the school much earlier than them.
Lin Shuisheng said: "Senior Brother Yu entered school a year earlier than me. During the Battle of Kagoshima during the expedition against the Japanese pirates Satsuma Domain, he took the lead in launching a bayonet charge on the castle mountain. He is a brave and strategic general. He should not be underestimated.
"
Yan Siqi sneered: "Humph. So what. He is not the commander yet. He has only been in Qiongzhou for a few months. He cannot command the visiting soldiers from Guangdong and Guangxi. The thousands of people under him can't help themselves in the battle. It's just that.
Not bad." He pointed to several artillery carriages of the Nanyang Regiment that were leaving the city and said: "As long as these 24-pound heavy artillery are pushed into the mountains, the people's lair can be breached in just one day. Let's do this. All your troops, hurry up.
Go north. Drive the Lemin rebels north and let them fight with the imperial officers and soldiers. We will seize the time to consolidate the control area. First avoid fighting with the officers and soldiers, and finally deal with them."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Lin Xiao: "Manager Lin. Brother Lin. Look..."
Lin Xiao chuckled: "You should set off quickly. Regarding the battle, you can discuss and decide on the front line. This is not a job I am good at."
…
Lin Xiao was able to take the initiative to relinquish battlefield command to the frontline generals. However, Jin Qijia, the deputy commander-in-chief of Guangdong, refused to let Yu Zigao lead the army south alone.
No matter how Yu Zigao requested, Deputy General Jin did not allow him to lead his troops south alone and directly attack Wuzhi Mountain. The reason was that the army had already divided into east and west routes to go south. If he sent troops south from the middle route, his troops would be dispersed. In case of Wuzhi Mountain,
If the people in the army suddenly go north to attack Qiongzhou, the defense will be weak. The Jin Qi family actually wants to capture the main force of the officers and soldiers who are going to Hainan Island this time to delay the change and ensure their own safety.
Yu Zigao told him: The Chinese army's intervention in quelling the Li rebellion must be to fish in troubled waters and seize territory.
The Jin Qi family did not believe that these armed forces of the Huaxing Alliance could be tyrannical at sea. But how could they fight against the imperial army on land? They just came here to take advantage of the situation and plunder some things and they would naturally retreat.
Yu Zigao could not convince the Jin Qi family of the strength of the Chinese army no matter what. Jin himself had another consideration. He believed that the Chinese army was powerful at sea. This was a fact unanimously recognized by officers and soldiers along the coasts of Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang. In case of encountering the Chinese The military conflict annoyed them. They used their fleet to cut off the Qiongzhou Strait. Then the Jin Qi family became alone.
In short, due to the timidity of the Jin Qi family to avoid war, Yu Zigao did not take any action within three months after Yan Siqi landed in Sanya. During the same period, the officers and soldiers on both the east and west routes were in a deadlock. In Wuwanshui and Wenlanshui, etc. The ground was blocked.
Lin Xiao received the letter from Yin Feng brought by the logistics fleet. Then he rushed to Yan Siqi's camp under Le'an City in person.
"Look at the ship owner's letter. He asked us to quickly seize the area around Changhua, especially the mountainous area to the west. Then let the exploration masters immediately look for iron ore. What do you think we should do."
Adhering to the strategy proposed by Yan Siqi to drive out wolves and attack tigers, the Chinese army's forward troops have not crossed the Wuzhishan Mountains. The Taiwanese indigenous camp is still on the west coast of Hainan Island. It is still dozens of miles away from Changhua County. It is fighting against a group of civilians. Military entanglement.
Yan Siqi patted his head in distress: "It's really strange. Why is the ship owner so sure that there will be a large iron mine in Changhua? Although Le'an City has been captured, all the surrounding Limin villages have not surrendered. We can't leave now... like this Come on. I will transfer Lin Shuisheng, the Sailor Musketeers, and the newly arrived student battalion to you. You take the troops to Changhua and join the Taiwanese native battalion to occupy Zhanzhou and Changhua."
"Student army, is this possible?" Lin Xiao asked doubtfully.
The so-called student army was formerly the Boy Scouts for which Yan Siqi was the commander. It is now the Chinese Army Military Academy Intern Camp. Generally speaking, the current Chinese Army will not send Boy Scouts to the front line to fight.
Yan Siqi knew what Lin Xiao was hesitating about. He said with a smile: "Brother Lin, we are going to Changhua. There should be only a dozen cottages that have not yet been conquered. No need to fight. We should be able to successfully break through the dangerous roads in the mountains and reach Changhua. Student Army Going here is also a kind of training. After all, we have no chance to encounter large-scale jungle maneuvers in actual combat environments on the island of Taiwan."
Lin Xiao didn't know much about "jungle interspersed sports". But after thinking about it, he felt that there shouldn't be any strong enemies blocking the way. So he decided to lead the team in person. To be on the safe side, he also ordered the troops stationed in Sanya to The Third Fleet Squadron dispatched ten three-masted gunboats and twenty fast warships to set off for Changhua by sea.
Lin Xiao and Lin Shuisheng led the Sailor Musketeers and the student army, totaling 1,800 people, to set off. In just ten days, they broke through the hundreds of miles of Wuzhi Mountain and arrived on the west coast of Hainan Island. They successfully merged with the Taiwanese indigenous camp. They When I arrived at Changhua County, I found that the county was desolate and almost a dead city. It turned out that more than a month ago, Changhua County had been breached by the Limin rebels who crossed the city at night. The walls of this small county were originally short. Now it is even more dilapidated. There are less than a hundred households in the city still surviving. Due to the county magistrates and officials, the officers and soldiers guarding the city were basically killed or fled. For more than a month, Changhua fell into a state of complete anarchy. Some civilian rebels attacked the small town one after another. There were also many Han bandits and pirates who took advantage of the fire to rob. The remaining living people in this small county were like zombies. They were dying and waiting to die.
Lin Xiao and his people began to provide relief to the refugees, while Lin Shuisheng left the Siraya Aboriginal Camp and the student army in Changhua County. He led the troops and set off to find iron ore. Dozens of Chinese and foreign prospectors entered the western part of Changhua under the protection of the troops. Mountainous areas. Start prospecting for minerals.
Within a few days, the Chinese Army's Third Fleet Task Force also arrived at Basuo Port west of Changhua. At the same time, the surveyors sent good news: More than 50 miles west of Changhua County, Captain Yin Feng The place pointed out is in the valley south of a certain river. Copper ore was found on the surface here. It is of the malachite type. It has been named "Shilu Ridge" according to Captain Yin's suggestion. There is no way to dig down the copper ore layer. A few feet away, the best iron ore was immediately exposed on the surface. When Lin Shuisheng was overjoyed, he quickly asked Yan Siqi from Yazhou to send more reinforcements to consolidate the area. At the same time, he also began to build a fortress south of Shilu Ridge. Prepare to control this iron ore area for a long time.
Lin Xiao has been busy rectifying government affairs in the past few days. He has gathered all the refugees living around the county and mobilized food from the squadron to provide relief to them. He also asked Yazhou to quickly mobilize civilian officials to Changhua to restore the social order of the county. .At the same time, he sent dozens of trappers to the north and asked them to find out about the officials and troops in the north.
While he was busy re-establishing the Changhua County government agencies, the spies he sent rushed back to report that a military force had broken through the line between Lingao and Wenlanshui, and had driven all the civilian rebels there into the mountains. .The forward troops are less than thirty miles away from Changhua County.
With the help of improved telescopes and ninja training carried out by special battalions, these Chinese army rookies were in a unilateral and transparent state in terms of intelligence investigation compared to the Ming Dynasty official army.
The hunter who went out to investigate found that this army had some strange banners, but among them was the general banner of Yu Zigao. There were not many people, only about 2,000. However, they fought south from Lingao to the north of Changhua. .Go through tens of thousands of people, rebels, and bandits.
"Yu Zigao. It can only be him." Lin Shuisheng, who had just rushed back to Changhua to collect supplies, scratched his head and said in embarrassment: "We have just defeated several Li villages over there at the iron mine. Iron Construction of the mine fort has just begun. The Marine Musketeers still have to be stationed in that area."
"Changhua County cannot be lost. Otherwise, the garrison at the Iron Mine Fortress will be alone." Lin Xiao shook his head and said, "You must send a few musketeers back to help defend the city."
Lin Shuisheng said: "That's no problem. I'm just worried about the combat effectiveness of the indigenous battalion and the student army. I'll stay here. Brother Lin, you go to Yazhou by sea immediately. You are the person in charge of this Hainan battle. It's up to you to coordinate the reinforcements. suitable."
Lin Xiao laughed: "Come on, Brother Lin. I have also seen big battles. I was also the first to fight in Manila... I have already sent the courier to Yazhou by sea. I am with you in Changhua City. Wait for Yu Zigao. See what your classmates are capable of.
As the officers and soldiers approached Changhua, the Chinese army's recruits began to encounter challenges during field reconnaissance. The officers and soldiers' spies were actually able to enter the jungle area late at night. They fought against the Chinese army's recruits who had experienced training in the dense forests of Taiwan's mountains and the jungles of Luzon. Judging from the opponent's methods, it is obvious that the opponent is also trying to conceal battlefield intelligence. This is the basic battlefield tactical process taught by the Chinese Military Academy.
After Lin Shuisheng heard the report of the Chinese Army's capture of raw soldiers, he couldn't help but smile bitterly and shake his head: "It seems that we all want to go together."