Chapter 2351

More than half a year has passed since the Kaihan Fleet last blocked the Hirado Strait, but the people here have obviously not forgotten these enemies who almost razed Hirado Port to the ground. When the fishermen saw the Majestic-class warship approaching from a distance

, he had already identified the person who came, and immediately took the boat and fled to the nearby coast at the fastest speed.

Of course, these fishing boats will not make the Haihan Navy fearful. Even if the fishermen fled back to the shore to warn, there was nothing the locals could do to prevent these warships from freely crossing the strait. After sailing into the strait, Wang Tom ordered to slow down for better safety.

Observe the situation on Hirado Island carefully.

Wang Tom is no stranger to the landforms and sea conditions here in the Hirado Strait. When the Haihan Army attacked Hirado in the first half of the year, he personally led the fleet to perform combat missions here. In the field of vision of the telescope, the east coast of Hirado Island

Every section of the coast is clearly visible. If a large ship such as a warship docks here, it will definitely be impossible to avoid such a search.

Moreover, Haihan’s observation direction was not just on Hirado Island. He also arranged for manpower to carefully observe the coast of Kyushu Island on the other side of the strait. In order to ensure that nothing was missed, Wang Tom even sent a boat to Hirado Island.

The west coast of Tojima was inspected to ensure that the waters of Hoshika Bay and Furue Bay, where the Hirado navy once roamed, would not be missed.

Of course, the focus of this trip is still Hirado Port and the urban area adjacent to it. In the battle in the first half of the year, the Haihan Army captured the port and the urban area, and shipped everything they could take away.

Then he set fire to almost all the buildings in the city and port.

In the past, the Hirado clan was able to develop in terms of military strength and even dared to challenge Kaihan, mainly relying on the large amount of wealth brought by the transnational trade platform of Hirado Port. However, the actions of the Kaihan army completely destroyed Hirado Port.

Naturally, this makes the trading activities here unsustainable.

After being destroyed by the war, Hirado Port could not continue to operate cross-border trade, which directly caused the Hirado clan to lose considerable economic benefits. It became extremely difficult for the Tagawa clan to make a comeback. The Kaihan Army observed from the near shore

The scene also confirmed this speculation.

The harbor of Hirado Port is empty, and there are no merchant ships from all over the country moored as before. The burned dock warehouses are still just ruins, with no signs of reconstruction. Although the city in the distance is not clearly visible, since it is connected

The port has not been rebuilt yet, so it is unlikely that other places will be much better.

Tom Wang put down the telescope in his hand, turned to the side and asked: "Shen Xueyi, I am going to give you a task, are you willing to take it?"

Shen Xueyi guessed Wang Tom's intention in advance and immediately responded: "I would like to lead a team ashore to investigate!"

Wang Tom was very satisfied with Shen Xueyi's initiative to ask for battle. He nodded and said: "Okay, I will send a platoon to give you command and go ashore to check the situation in the city. Don't go too far inland, just confirm the reconstruction status of the city. At noon

Return to the port to resume your duties."

The Marine Corps under Wang Tom is an elite unit of the Haihan Army. Of course, there is no need to let a North Korean officer command the operation. This is not so much giving the operational command to Shen Xueyi, but more like sending a team of people to protect him.

personal safety. After all, Shen Xueyi’s identity is not an ordinary North Korean officer, and Wang Tom did not want him to have any accidents during this trip.

But arranging Shen Xueyi to participate in such an operation that is not too risky, on the one hand, allows Shen Xueyi to see how the elites of the Haihan Army perform reconnaissance missions, and on the other hand, it is also intended to show trust in Shen Xueyi, so that he can better

Integrate into the Haihan Army.

In addition, Shen Xueyi followed him out on this trip. If Wang Tom really treats him as a military observer and is only responsible for observing and not participating in the operation, then Shen Xueyi will not receive any achievements after he returns. It is better to arrange some low-risk tasks for him along the way to let him brush up.

Once I gain experience, I will have the capital to go to his father, Shen Jingzhen, to ask for credit after I return to China.

Shen Xueyi is also a smart person, so he naturally understands that Wang Tom's arrangement is purely to take care of him. However, if Wang Tom doesn't point it out, he certainly won't take the initiative to tell the truth. After accepting the order, he will follow Tom Wang's men to make preparations.

The warship lowered several small boats near the shore, and the sailors rowed the boats slowly towards the Hirado Port pier. It was the first time for Shen Xueyi to set foot on the land of Hirado Island, and the sight he saw in front of him also made him sad.

He had a more concrete understanding of the combat effectiveness of the Haihan Army.

Although he had already noticed the ruins of the port when he was observing on the ship, when he got closer and closer to these ruins, he really felt how powerful it was to completely destroy such a large port.

thing.

There are hundreds of acres of ruins next to the dock. From the remaining parts, it is easy to see that these buildings were all of the same size and size. These buildings are not residences, but are warehouses used to store various goods on the dock. However,

When the Haihan Army evacuated here, basically all the warehouses were evacuated, so the ruins of these burned warehouses were empty. In many places, shrubs and grass over two feet high had sprouted up.

After Shen Xueyi landed ashore, he followed the team through the ruins of the dock. The soldiers who landed with him rarely talked aloud. Most of the time, they used various gestures to exchange information, but their actions were quite tacit.

After landing, we started marching towards the city to the west without stopping.

The soldiers kept a distance of about ten feet from each other, checking the ruins along the way as they walked. There were also several stragglers wandering twenty or thirty feet away from the team. Shen Xueyi could only occasionally catch a glimpse of their figures among the ruins.

Hide and appear.

Regardless of the direction of the march or the formation maintained during the march, no one asked Shen Xueyi, the "commander", for instructions. This once again confirmed his previous thinking that Wang Tom did not really want to hand over the reconnaissance operations after the landing.

Give him the command. The reason for appointing him as the commander is simply to give him a reason to participate in the operation.

However, Shen Xueyi thinks this is good, otherwise the soldiers will not know the generals, and the generals will not know the soldiers, and it will be easy to have problems in commanding. Moreover, the team sent by Wang Tom are obviously veterans, their movements are not hasty and slow, but they are silent all the way.

They quietly sorted through the ruins of warehouses covering hundreds of acres of land, which shows that they have rich operational experience in such reconnaissance missions, and they know how to carry out such a mission with little need for on-site communication.

The officer leading the team walked in front of Shen Xueyi, sending hand signals to the left and right from time to time to issue action instructions. With him as the core, the entire team slowly marched towards the city. Although Shen Xueyi was already in Haihan

I have been in the army for a while, but this is the first time I have seen this method of commanding actions with gestures. Although it is novel, I can’t help but want to understand what these gestures mean. I secretly want to wait until I return to the ship after the operation is completed.

, I would like to find an opportunity to ask for advice.

The entire port area was eerily silent, with only the scattered footsteps of this group of people marching. It seemed that the place they were in was really a no-man's land. But this made Shen Xueyi feel more relaxed. The absence of people meant that this place

Without the possibility of recovery, there is no danger.

But when they entered the city, they quickly found signs of human life. Although there were fire ruins everywhere they could see, the streets here had obviously been cleaned up and did not maintain their original appearance after the fire like the port.

.

The fire that covered the whole city before was indeed astonishingly powerful. Looking around, the city was also full of scorched earth ruins. To rebuild such a large city, the labor force required would not be small. And Pingping

All the people in Hucheng District were kidnapped by the Kaihan Army in the last operation. It would take at least several years for the Hirado Clan to move such a large number of people from other places.

In fact, this situation is also expected, but Wang Tom must verify it in person before he can rest assured. As long as the Hirado clan cannot return to its original strength in a short time, then there is no need to worry too much that they still have the ability to form a new clan.

of the armed forces.

For safety reasons, the team did not go deep into the city, but they had already discovered some newly built shacks on the edge of the city. Perhaps the people who fled to the mountains and forests of the island returned after the war.

Now we are living in urban areas. However, as long as the population here does not increase, the wasteland scene in front of us may continue for a long time.

The team did not stay longer in the city and quickly set off on their way back. Shen Xueyi thought he would go to those slum areas to capture a few prisoners and bring them back for interrogation, but it seemed that the officer leading the team had no such plan.

It wasn't until after boarding the boat that the officer took the initiative to explain to Shen Xueyi: "Our mission is to confirm that there is no sign of a comeback in Hirado City. We can capture a few civilians here and bring them back for interrogation, but nothing good can come out of it."

Shen Xueyi said: "Don't we need to track down the whereabouts of Tagawa Suke and others?"

The officer said: "Since there is no organizational reconstruction here, it means Tagawasuke has not returned here."

When Shen Xueyi thought about it, it made sense. The Hirado Clan's territory was not limited to Hirado Island. There was also a large area on Kyushu Island that belonged to the Hirado Clan. If Tagawa Suke wanted to revive his power, then choose Hirado Port.

It may not be a good idea. After all, this place is too eye-catching. Once the Haihan Army learns about the reconstruction of Hirado, the last war that broke out in Hirado may happen again at any time.

Looking at the current situation on Hirado Island, it seems that this area has become an abandoned area. The Tagawa family probably has no intention of investing resources to restore this place to its former prosperity.

Back on the flagship, Shen Xueyi reported to Wang Tom in detail what he had observed on the shore.

Wang Tom's judgment was the same as that of the officer who led the team. He believed that Tagawasuke did not return to Hirado Island to organize reconstruction after the war and should have chosen another place to start a new business. It would be of little significance to trace Tagawasuke's whereabouts on the island. As for the

The scattered residents on the island are no longer worth sending large troops to the island to clean up.

However, Wang Tom did not forget the previous actions of the Korean army, and joked to Shen Xueyi: "Look, if you had gone directly to Hirado Island before, we would have saved a lot of time, and we would not have to come here all the way."

Circled."

Shen Xueyi's face turned red, and he did not argue much at the moment. He only said that King Tom had taught him a lesson. At that time, the Korean army was worried that they would encounter the army of the Hirado clan when they landed on Hirado Island, so they chose a safe way and only attacked the Goto Islands.

These remote areas were cleared. But what I saw when I went to the island today was that Hirado Island was in ruins, and there were no signs of troops stationed at all. If I had been bold enough to attack Hirado Island at that time, there would actually be no risk at all.

And you can brag about it after returning home.

To know that the last time North Korea took the initiative to send troops to attack Japan, it can be traced back to the "Kihai Eastern Expedition" more than 200 years ago, when Joseon King Sejong Yi Sang sent troops to attack Tsushima Island. Although this time the North Korean army launched a war against the Hirado Domain

The war was a plundering raid, not comparable to the scale of Jihai's Eastern Expedition, but it was at least the first time in two hundred years. If we could set foot on Hirado Island, it would be enough to be recorded in the history books.

But if the opportunity is missed, it will be gone, and it is not convenient for Shen Xueyi to say clearly that the modification of the action plan was the intention of King Li Zhen. He was the person sent by the king to the army to supervise the war, so he could only bear the blame.

Later that day, the warships that went to the west coast of Hirado Island for reconnaissance also rushed over to rendezvous with the large forces. The situation in the two bays on the west coast was similar to that of Hirado Port. The shipyards that had been burned by the Haihan Army had been destroyed.

It was abandoned and there were no signs of any large ships operating in the area.

There are various indications that the previous measures to destroy Hirado Port by the Kaihan Army did have their due effect, so that more than half a year later, the local area still failed to enter the reconstruction stage. This may be due to Tagawa Suke's fear of the sea

The Han army made a comeback at some point, perhaps because he was overwhelmed and did not have enough resources and manpower to rebuild Hirado, but in any case, this situation was good news for Haihan.

Shen Xueyi asked: "Will the general continue to trace the whereabouts of Tagawa Suke?"

Wang Tom shook his head and said: "Without Hirado Port, Tagawasuke is just a mediocre person and can't make any big waves. It's enough for us to be delayed in Hirado for one day. There is no need to waste time here anymore. We should continue on our way.

important."

It was easy for a place like the Hirado clan to become powerful by relying on the trading port, but it also declined very quickly after being suppressed. What's more, the Tokugawa shogunate had long disliked the Hirado Port and wanted to use it directly under the jurisdiction of the shogunate.

Nagasaki Port replaced it, and Hirado was burned to ruins by the Kaihan army. Maybe the current shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu will applaud after knowing the news. The Hirado clan wants to regain its power, but Kaihan is watching from the outside, and inside

With constant pressure from the shogunate, these two mountains are not so easy to climb.
Chapter completed!