Chapter 1175 The troops are approaching the city

The peasant army dug up the Zhu family's ancestral graves in Henan. This was a great event for the entire Ming Dynasty. Emperor Chongzhen was furious and asked all parts of the country to send elite troops to the Central Plains to participate in the encirclement and suppression campaign. The land of Jiangsu and Zhejiang has always been prosperous, and in recent years it has also

There was no war, so after the imperial court issued the order, the Zhejiang Dusi immediately mobilized elite troops from the various state capitals, and the Zhejiang Dusi commander Huo Binsheng led them to Henan. The strength of the garrison remaining in the various state capitals was greatly reduced as a result, let alone organized resistance.

If Haihan invades, it may be difficult to even preserve its own strength.

Although Haihan's combat operations after entering Zhejiang were infrequent, the strength he displayed was enough to attract the attention of the Zhejiang Dusi. Coupled with the reputation of the Haihan Army along the coast of Fuguang in the south, the Zhejiang Dusi also knew that this opponent was not easy to provoke.

.Otherwise, Yu Pingfeng and others would not have been playing dirty tricks last year, but directly mobilized troops to go to Zhoushan to fight Haihan. I heard that the main force of Haihan left Zhoushan, and the officials in Zhejiang Dusi were secretly relieved.

It took a breath, but I didn't expect that because of such an unknown fire, the Haihan people would break up and start a war.

Judging from the battle reports sent back from Ningbo Prefecture and Jiaxing Prefecture, the local garrison had almost no resistance to the incoming Haihan Army. Although the battle report claimed that "the three armies served their lives, and the formation killed several enemy soldiers," such a request was made while showing merit.

The Hangzhou Prefecture sent reinforcements as soon as possible to repel the enemy, and almost all of its own warships were destroyed. The path between them was naturally very obvious.

Everyone knows that the Haihan Army is good at naval warfare. The navies of Fujian and Guangzhou even rely heavily on it. In the past few years, they have successively purchased many warships and weapons from the Haihan people. Even naval officers know how to do it.

Received training in the Haihan Army. Faced with such a strong opponent, Zhejiang Dusi was not confident enough to defeat the opponent at sea. Even if he wanted to send troops to reinforce the local area, he could only assist in defense on land. The role he could play was actually

Relatively limited.

This is actually the second one. The most critical point is that no one can determine the specific goals and scope of activities of the Haihan Army's armed invasion. They may just show off their force near Hangzhou Bay, but they may find that the Ming Army is unable to resist.

After the situation, they will follow the Qiantang River and enter Hangzhou Prefecture to cause trouble. If the troops defending Hangzhou City are now sent to Jiaxing and other places for reinforcements, then if Haihan comes to Hangzhou by water, how should he respond?

?

In addition, the Zhejiang Ming Army did not have the mobilization efficiency of Haihan. Even if it was just a small-scale local war, it would not be able to pull out troops immediately to fight. When the army in Hangzhou was ready to go, the Haihan people were still there.

It’s hard to say if I didn’t have activities in Jiaxing.

Based on this current situation, the officials in Hangzhou City inevitably had serious differences. Some people believed that they should immediately send troops to give the Haihan people some color, or at least repel their offensive as soon as possible to save the face of the Ming Dynasty; others believed that

Haihan's actions in Jiaxing and other places were just harassment. Perhaps the purpose was to divert the tiger away from the mountains, attract the main force of the Ming army to leave Hangzhou, and then launch an offensive from the waterway. And given the current situation, it is also necessary to immediately send troops to assist Jiaxing and other places.

An operation that is difficult to achieve.

In the end, the opposition's opinions prevailed. After all, Hangzhou is the economic and cultural center of Zhejiang. Almost all important government offices are in Hangzhou. The security environment here is more important than in other coastal state capitals. The limited elite troops should be left alone.

It is safer in Hangzhou City. As for the areas that have been attacked by Haihan, we can only reply to the local "defense and wait for rescue". After all, Haihan's troops are limited, and even if they can capture some places along the coast, they cannot occupy them for a long time. After all,

They will still retreat.

As long as the city is not lost, the current situation is still under control. There is no need to report the foreign invasion to the court, and there is no need to bear corresponding responsibilities. Now that the civil strife in the Ming Dynasty has not been settled, if another large-scale war breaks out in Zhejiang

In war, officials from the chief envoy to the following level are all responsible, and no one is willing to create some situation at this juncture that would make the current emperor unhappy.

While officials in Hangzhou were still arguing over whether to send troops, the Haihan Army landed in Wuyuan Town, Haiyan County, Jiaxing Prefecture. This landing operation basically encountered no resistance, because the Haihan Army had previously

All the combat ships subordinate to the two Qianhushu in Kanpu and Zhapu have been sunk on the pier. Although they have not conquered the two Qianhushu castles on the sea, they have already played a sufficient deterrent effect. Haihan boldly

They chose to land in Haiyan County, between the two Qianhu Stations, and the Ming army did not send any troops to stop them at all.

The Haihan Army landed in Wuyuan Town not to attack Haiyan County, but simply to show force in this specific area. The reason why this place was chosen is also very simple. There is no Ming Army stationed here, so there is no need to worry about the outbreak of a frontal armed conflict.

Compared with the Ming army, which was huddled in Qianhusuo City and avoided fighting, the local people were less nervous about the appearance of the Hai-Han army. Since the Haining Guard commander Ma Yue died inexplicably at sea last year, Jiaxing Prefecture has become less nervous about the Hai-Han army.

The ban on the Han Dynasty has been relaxed a lot, and Haihan products can also be sold in the market of Jiaxing Prefecture. Wuyuan Town itself is a seaside town, and there is no Ming army stationed there. Unsurprisingly, it became a place for merchants from Jiaxing Prefecture to smuggle Haihan products into the country.

Through the window, many local people have given up their lifestyle of farming and fishing to join this emerging lucrative industry.

Compared with the past way of living, the income from engaging in the smuggling trade is obviously much higher. Although most locals can only rely on real smugglers to do errands and menial work, the income level of these ordinary people is still higher than before.

In order to improve. This also makes the local people's view of Haihan become more positive, and they are not disgusted with this group of "armed businessmen" entrenched in the Zhoushan Islands.

Although Haihan used force this time, the arson case in Hangzhou City had been spread intentionally by Haihan a few days before the war began. The people of Jiaxing Prefecture also knew that the Ming army in Hangzhou Prefecture was responsible for the attack on the sea.

The Han Dynasty used dirty tricks to kill people, burn ships and steal property, which offended Haihan severely. Now the retaliatory actions launched by Haihan are objectively reasonable and reasonable. Besides, Haihan's actions only targeted the Ming army and did not harm civilians, so

There is nothing to worry about.

After the Haihan Army landed, most of the people just hid in their homes, and few chose to take refuge in the county town with their families. The soldiers posted many notices in the town explaining that they were only here to

We will retaliate against the "unkind and unjust" actions of the Ming army, but we will not inflict revenge on the people. The landing operation of the Haihan army did not last too long, and they withdrew to the ship after about two hours, but because it was getting late,

, the fleet did not immediately leave for the next stop.

The huge fleet is docked at the seaside of Wuyuan Town. Local people who are walking out of their homes can clearly see this fleet. The real visual impact is more effective than ten thousand sentences of propaganda. The existence of this fleet is

It is enough for the people to understand who is the master of Hangzhou Bay now.

The next day, the Haihan fleet entered the Qiantang River southward and stopped briefly at Xietang Town and Lihai Town in Shaoxing Prefecture on its south bank. Since Wei Shan, the commander of the Linshan Guards, secretly established an interest relationship with Haihan last year,

Therefore, Haihan's actions in Shaoxing Prefecture did not encounter any resistance. In the end, they only symbolically blocked the entrance of the Cao'e River for half a day. This gave Linshan Guards ample reason to report to Hangzhou.

Objectively speaking, Haihan's actions in Hangzhou were not radical. The fleet patrolled Ningbo, Jiaxing, and Shaoxing, but the actual use of force was only to bombard a bunch of unguarded wooden ships in Jiaxing Prefecture. There was no local government presence.

The document calling for help from Hangzhou claimed "fierce fighting". However, this did not prevent these local governments from continuing to request reinforcements from the city of Hangzhou. Whether they were really beaten or pretended to be beaten, they all seemed to be intentionally or unintentionally helping Haihan set up a trap.

If we analyze the situation only from these urgent official documents, then Haihan has occupied more than half of the area of ​​the state capitals along the Hangzhou Bay, and it will soon be the city of Hangzhou's turn to be in danger. The panicked Zhejiang Governor could only order

The neighboring three inland state capitals of Huzhou, Yanzhou, and Jinhua mobilized troops. However, this mobilization was not to organize troops to rush to rescue the place where the accident occurred. Instead, they were all concentrated in Hangzhou City to defend against the daring Haihan people.

In case of an attack on Hangzhou, at least there will still be enough troops to build a defense line.

Four days after the war started, the Haihan Fleet finally approached Hangzhou City from the waterway. Although Zhejiang Dusi had previously gathered all the naval forces in the upper reaches of the Qiantang River in a temporary way, this measure was not effective in facing the sea.

It was difficult for them to play a big role when fighting warships with powerful firepower like the Han Dynasty.

"Is this what Zhejiang Dusi is capable of?" Wang Tom looked at the dozens of Ming army warships on the Qiantang River with disdain, then turned back to Pan Yan and said, "What do you think we should do now?"

Pan Yan was one of the prisoners captured during the Haihan Fleet's first visit to the Liaodong Peninsula. Because General Shen Zhixiang of Pi Island vouched for him, he was able to escape and return to his old career and serve in the Ming Navy again. However, because he had once

After defecting to Liaodong, it was no longer possible to return to the Dengzhou Army. He could only go to Pi Island to work for Dongjiang Town. Haihan's military cooperation with Dongjiang Town included training naval officers for him, and Pan Yan also

He was selected for his outstanding performance and went south to Zhejiang with the fleet.

Although Pan Yan was and still is serving in the Ming army, Wang Tom knew very well that he could no longer be united with the court. There was no need to worry about him betraying Haihan's secret to the Ming Dynasty, so he also took him with him in this attack.

Being around is considered part of the actual training.

Pan Yan had already seen the capabilities of the Haihan Navy twice during his stay in Liaodong, and had long admired it. When Wang Tom took the initiative to ask a question, he didn't think much about it and answered honestly: "With these small boats,

, is not enough to threaten our fleet. In my humble opinion, since the purpose of this trip is not to destroy the Ming navy, we should be able to clear the way with artillery fire to scare the opponent. If there are those who do not know how to advance or retreat, we can just sink them."

Wang Tom probed: "When you saw us fighting the Ming army, didn't you feel a little shaken in your heart?"

Pan Yan said solemnly: "It is not a humble position and one cannot seek political advice. Now that he is a cadet of the Haihan Navy, he should naturally side with the Haihan Fleet."

Tom Wang nodded slightly and said, "It would be great if you could have such an awareness."

Wang Tom quickly issued the order to start the war. The number of ships sent by the two sides was not much different, but the displacement was more than an order of magnitude different. As for the shipboard firepower, let alone the firepower of all the ships of the Ming army added together, the firepower

The strength is still far from the flagship purchased by Haihan. The Zhejiang Navy that was improvised together is obviously just a ragtag group with little combat experience. After Haihan's ship-based artillery began to rumble, it quickly became clear that

A Ming army warship turned around and tried to leave the battlefield.

Obviously, Haihan's armed ships have long been famous, but these temporarily gathered Zhejiang naval forces did not have a strong will to fight. They fled one after another as soon as they saw the opponent starting to use artillery attacks. Within half an hour, except for a few ships

Except for the ship that was injured and unable to move, almost all other ships escaped. Haihan did not pursue this active escape, but only adjusted his formation and began to block the river.

In the revenge plan formulated by Haihan, the armed blockade of the Qiantang River waterway is one of the most important means. After cutting off this extremely important transportation line for Hangzhou, the operation of the entire city will be affected to a certain extent, and the civil society will also be affected.

Resentment will also grow rapidly. If the city officials cannot ensure the normal navigation of the Qiantang River, then the only people in the world who can do this are probably the Haihan people.

The Qiantang River here is about five miles wide. Even as powerful as Haihan, it took nearly two hours to deploy the water blockade and start intercepting passing ships. If it is a civilian ship, in principle, it will be advised to return to the original route. In fact,

If you want to try to break through forcefully, you can only detain the boat first.

Before dark, Haihan seized a total of seven ships, but the number of ships that were successfully driven away was more than ten times that number, which shows how prosperous this waterway is. The news that the Haihan people were approaching the city has spread throughout Hangzhou.

However, some gentry began to worry about whether the government could properly respond to Haihan's offensive, because until now, the government had neither closed the arson case nor accepted Haihan's complaint. It was obvious that the government was holding its breath.

Not only the ordinary people inside and outside the city were confused by the sudden turn of the situation, but even the officials were surprised. No one expected that Haihan would really follow the waterway to the foot of Hangzhou City, and even the Qiantang River.

The shipping line has also been blocked, and we probably won't be able to fight if we try to fight, but it would be too embarrassing to just make peace with our opponent.
Chapter completed!