Chapter 1509 Arriving in Liaodong

Mei Shengchuan came out to carry out this mission as the Minister of War of the Ming Dynasty. Naturally, many of the people he brought with him were elites in the military. These people were even more shocked when they saw the Haihan warship than their superiors. As the saying goes, a layman can see

Lively, as an expert can tell, the naval gun firepower equipped on the Haihan battleship is not just about placing a few more cannons on several decks. This involves the ship's counterweight, hull structure design, gunner training, and other

There are many details in various aspects such as the cooperation of warships and wartime logistical supplies. It is not easy to convert advanced equipment into combat effectiveness. In other words, even if the Ming Navy is equipped with such warships, if there are no corresponding supporting tactics, it will

It is difficult to fully exploit its power.

After the fleet sailed out of Zhifu Port and headed north for a while, they even discovered that the leading Haihan warship seemed to be very familiar with the local sea conditions. The adjustment of the course made full use of the monsoon and ocean currents. This was not the case in Shandong and Liaodong.

He saw that it was a skill that could be mastered by just running around for a few times. At that moment, someone reported to Mei Shengchuan that there might be people from the Ming Dynasty navy on the Haihan warship assisting in the navigation.

Mei Shengchuan did not feel surprised when he heard the news. Since Dongjiang Town has formed a coalition with the Haihan people in Liaodong, it is not an incomprehensible move to send people to the Haihan warship to pilot them. After arriving in Liaodong,

Presumably he will see more jaw-dropping phenomena. Although he has not seen Dongjiang Town's performance in Liaodong with his own eyes, from the information collected from various channels, he can roughly know that the cooperation between Dongjiang Town and Haihan has been very good.

Going deep into it, it’s almost to the point where everything is done with Haihan’s lead.

Mei Shengchuan is a senior official of the Ministry of War, and of course he understands why Dongjiang Town abandoned the Ming Dynasty to embrace Haihan. In recent years, the Ming Dynasty has been plagued by internal and external troubles, and Dongjiang Town's battle situation in Liaodong has become more and more difficult. The year before last year, it was even more exciting to join General Shang Kexi.

Together with his generals, he plundered Guanglu, Big and Little Changshan, Shicheng, and Haiyang Island, with more than 10,000 soldiers and civilians in total. He took away all the military supplies and equipment and defected to Houjin. Since then, the court's trust in Dongjiang Town has been weakened to the point where it cannot be strengthened.

To the point where domestic supplies of materials and personnel were almost completely cut off, Dongjiang Town could only rely on the occasional help from North Korea to survive. Under such circumstances, the Haihan people who had money and food naturally became theirs.

Life-saving straw. What the Ming Dynasty was unwilling to give, the Haihan people were able to give it generously. In order to survive, the people in Dongjiang Town would naturally make choices that seek advantages and avoid disadvantages.

However, Mei Shengchuan guessed something wrong this time. The person serving as the navigator on the Haihan warship was not the Dongjiang Zhenming army, but soldiers from the former Dengzhou Navy.

Pan Yan was kidnapped by the rebels of Geng Zhongming and Kong Youde and defected to Liaodong. He was assigned to be stationed at Lushunkou. Soon after, he was captured by the Haihan Navy who entered the area for the first time. Pan Yan was originally unwilling to serve for Hou Jin and was captured by the Haihan Navy.

After being captured, he decisively took the initiative to seize the opportunity to perform meritorious service. He explained to Wang Tom, who was leading the army at that time, the situation of Hou Jin's garrison in the Lushun area, and assisted the Haihan Army to successfully complete the combat mission at that time. Pan Yan's professionalism during this period

His military qualities also attracted Wang Tom's favor, and he was recruited into the navy under special circumstances. Later, he went south to Zhejiang with the Northern Fleet to spend the winter, and received several months of training on Zhoushan Island.

Because he is relatively familiar with the environment in the Liaodong Sea, Pan Yan participated in almost all combat operations of the Northern Fleet in the past year, and also made many military exploits during the period. He was originally a naval officer of the Ming Army, and his military skills were far better established.

Better than ordinary people, he was promoted quickly after changing his employer. Now on this exploration-class warship, Pan Yan has served as the chief mate, responsible for course planning and command.

Pan Yan originally regretted not being able to follow Wang Tom to North Korea to show off his military power, but after he was transferred to Shandong, he found out that the Ming envoy who was going to Liaodong this time was actually the minister of the Ministry of War, and he suddenly felt that his face was honoured.

.After all, with his past status, how could he have the opportunity to come into contact with such a high official of the imperial court.

However, until setting off from Zhifu Port, Pan Yan actually did not get the chance to face Mei Shengchuan. He only glanced at it from a distance on the pier, and did not even see Mei Shengchuan's appearance particularly clearly. And Mei Shengchuan naturally did not

Knowing that there were officers who originally served in the Ming Dynasty Navy on the Haihan warship leading the ship, they just thought it was Dongjiang Town's arrangement and didn't pay attention to it.

Since the three ships that Mei Shengchuan and his party boarded were all civilian ships, and their speed was much slower than that of the Haihan warship, and the sea conditions were not ideal, the voyage from Zhifu Port to Lushun took a full day to complete.

However, Mei Shengchuan's attention was not focused on the speed at this time. He had been attracted by the construction status of Port Arthur. According to the records of the Ministry of War, the Zhongzuosuo City built by the Ming Dynasty at Port Arthur was the administrative seat of this place.

There are also a small number of naval forces stationed in Lushunkou Bay. When Hou Jin captured this place, in order to prevent the navy from Dongjiang Town from returning, most of the facilities in the port were destroyed, even the lighthouse on the Laohwei Peninsula.

It was dismantled. But at this time the fleet arrived at Lushunkou, and saw from a distance a lighthouse with a height of three to four feet standing on the Laohwei Peninsula in the dusk. The fire burning in the lighthouse was reflected by the mirror, which was enough to make two or three people at sea.

Ships can be seen ten miles away.

Although building a lighthouse seemed to be just a very common move, Mei Shengchuan felt the confidence of Haihan after occupying this place. It was obvious that they had no worries about the Hou Jin or Ming armies taking back the port from the sea. The former was said to be armed

There were very few ships left by Haihan, but the situation of the latter was rather subtle - the ships that led the fleet into the harbor at Laohuwei Peninsula had the flag of the Ming Army clearly hanging on their masts. Mei Shengchuan didn't even need to ask,

One can imagine that this should be the naval force affiliated to Dongjiang Town.

Although they know that most of the troops in Dongjiang Town are doing odd jobs here, this scene can still give the Ming officials who came here to inspect some psychological comfort - at least this place has not completely fallen into the hands of the Haihan people.

, you can also see your own troops entering and exiting here.

However, after the fleet sailed around the Laohuwei Peninsula and entered the harbor, it was difficult to continue such self-deception. At least five or six Haihan-style warships were docked at the dock on the north shore of the harbor, all of which were exploration-class warships.

When compared with the ships flying the flag of the Ming Army, the hulls of the ships were quite a bit smaller, making them look a bit rustic and shabby.

This is also a coincidence for Mei Shengchuan to arrive, just in time for a fleet from Zhejiang north to Liaodong to change defenses to arrive here two days ago, so there is such a scene. There are only exploration-class warships in service in Liaodong.

The remaining one went south to Shandong to meet Mei Shengchuan and his party, while all the other exploration-class warships were taken to North Korea by Wang Tom to show off. If Mei Shengchuan had come a few days earlier, there might not be as many Haihan warships in the harbor as Dongjiang Town.

There are many ships.

Of course, Mei Shengchuan did not know these inside stories. What he was concerned about was whether Haihan's navy was really as powerful as the rumors. According to the intelligence he had obtained beforehand, Lushun already belonged to the rear of Haihan's occupied area in Liaodong.

It is speculated that the main force of Haihan's fleet should be stationed on the coast near the Jinzhou Isthmus in the north. And there are so many powerful warships on standby in Lushun Port at the rear, which shows that Haihan is indeed quite confident in naval warfare.

In addition, Umeikawa also noticed that the port here is not only for military ships to dock. There are dozens of large and small civilian ships docked on another coast about two miles away from these warships.

And judging from the tall mechanical devices used for hoisting cargo on the coast, it is obvious that this is no longer a dock for civilian ships to dock temporarily, but has a special long-term use plan.

Because of Umeikawa's special status, the fleet will naturally not be arranged to dock at the civilian ship docking area, but will dock at the military dock. After Umeikawa disembarked, he met the local chief executive Sha Xi.

The second high-ranking Haihan official I met after Hao Wanqing.

"Mr. Mei must have been very hard after traveling all the way. It's getting late today, so we don't have to rush to talk about business, just eat and drink. I have ordered people to prepare a reception banquet in Lushun Fort to cleanse the dust of Master Mei and his party."

When Sha Xi was in the south, he came into contact with quite a few Ming officials. Sha Xi also had his own tricks on how to win over these pretentious Ming officials. The easiest way to let people off guard was undoubtedly at the banquet.

Eat and drink.

Mei Shengchuan admired the diplomatic attitude of the Haihan people very much. Regardless of whether the conditions were agreed or not, they at least behaved in a friendly manner and did not deliberately create a hostile and tense atmosphere. Moreover, these senior officials from the Haihan seemed to be quite informed.

They did not deliberately put on any airs in front of themselves. If there was any discomfort, it was probably because they consciously or unconsciously showed their sense of superiority as local masters. Obviously this place was still the territory of the Ming Dynasty, but the Haihan people

But he already behaved like a master, which still made Mei Shengchuan feel a little grudge.

Of course, he would not reject Sha Xi's kindness. Relaxing the atmosphere would definitely be conducive to the subsequent negotiations. He knew this very well, so he readily agreed to Sha Xi's invitation. Although the distance from the port to Lushun Fort was

It was not far away, but Sha Xi still specially brought a special carriage to show his attention and preferential treatment to the Umegawa River.

Mei Shengchuan had long heard that the Haihan people were extravagant and very particular about the enjoyment of life. When he saw this carriage with several glass windows inlaid on the dock and a glass oil lamp fixed outside the carriage, he couldn't help but sigh at the Haihan people.

It's hard to imagine how wealthy the country is at home, that people in overseas occupied areas so far away from the mainland are so particular.

After he boarded the carriage, he realized that the appearance was just one of the reasons. The riding comfort inside the carriage was also an unprecedented experience. Not only was the seat under the butt very elastic, the vibrations from the wheels during travel were also greater than those of an ordinary carriage.

It is much lighter, and there is almost no sound when the axle rotates and the wheel touches the ground. He had seen the road here before getting in the car. It was just an ordinary loess road. It was definitely impossible to be so smooth. There must be some ingenious means to achieve it.

Such a shock-absorbing effect.

Mei Shengchuan remembered the rumors he had heard before, saying that Haihan carriages sold for thousands of taels of silver in the south, and due to limited production capacity, they were still rare items that could not be bought on the market. People who wanted to buy them had to pay money to make a reservation.

Waiting for the schedule. Now that I am lucky enough to sit in this car, I feel that it is indeed worth the money. The glass windows on the front, rear, left, right and even overhead of this car are worth at least a hundred taels of silver in the market, Haihan people

They are indeed very particular about these details for enjoyment. If it weren't for the fact that such a carriage would be too ostentatious in the capital, Umeikawa would even have the idea of ​​buying one.

Umeikawa turned his head and looked out of the car window. In addition to the escorts he brought, Haihan also arranged for the cavalry to protect them all the way. However, in addition to sabers, Umeikawa noticed that their weapons were

There are muskets with a barrel length of about three feet, and some people also have shorter handguns on their waists. It seems that the information provided by Dongjiang Town said that the Haihan Company cavalry has been fully equipped with firearms, which should be true.

.

Mei Shengchuan did not know that the muskets equipped by Haihan Cavalry had a continuous fire function, and the power they could exert in battle was enough to suppress the horseback shooting skills of Houjin Cavalry, but he at least felt Haihan's wealth and wealth from this. As the Ministry of War

Minister, he knows very well how terrible the military expenditure required to equip a large area with firearms is. Moreover, equipping the cavalry with muskets means that the basic tactics of the cavalry must be completely adjusted. Probably only Haihan has the capital to try these.

Something new in the military field.

At this time, it had been half a year since Haihan captured Lushun Fort from Hou Jin. Although there were still many private houses and civil facilities under construction outside the fort, the infrastructure inside the fort was basically completed, and it was used to entertain Mei Shengchuan and his party.

The multi-purpose hall was just completed ten days ago, and it came in handy just in time.

The reason why it is a multi-functional hall is that in addition to setting up banquets, this hall is mainly used to hold various meetings. Although the area of ​​the hall is only more than 100 square meters, it is already crowded in the Lushun Fort with limited space.

After a lot of crowding, a piece of land was cleared.

As expected, Sha Xi did not talk about political and military affairs during the dinner. He only chatted with Mei Shengchuan about the customs and customs of Liaodong, and then also talked about some interesting experiences he had in dealing with Ming officials in the south. As Mei Shengchuan listened, he realized,

It turned out that this eloquent high-ranking Haihan official was responsible for dealing with Ming officials when he was in the south. At that moment, he couldn't help but be a little cautious, lest he might neglect the other party's way.

Sha Xi didn't seem to care about this at all, and the content he talked about increasingly involved the top officials of various provinces. Mei Shengchuan, who had drank a few glasses of wine, felt his heartbeat speed up a lot. He didn't know whether it was the effect of alcohol or what Sha Xi said.

The content is too exciting.
Chapter completed!