Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1815

June 1680, 6, was already the third day after the Great War.Lieutenant Colonel Junio ​​sat firmly in a mountain tea shop, enjoying a fairly sumptuous military breakfast while discussing matters with his subordinates.

Bogdan, the commander of the Second Division of the Zhejiang New Army, wiped his mouth with a towel, took a sip of tea from the cup at hand, and then said: "Commander, the results have basically come out. In yesterday's battle, the Qing army lost a total of More than 11 people, of whom more than [-] were captured alive, have achieved great results! The [-] to [-] Qing troops left behind in Yuyao surrendered directly to the No.[-] mixed battalion in desperation, and withdrew from the fortifications and fortresses they were guarding. The area has been controlled by the army from Yin County, and Yuyao County has been taken."

"Yuyao County has been captured, Shangyu County has also been conquered, and half of Shaoxing Prefecture has been controlled by me." Lieutenant Colonel Junio ​​smiled slightly when he heard this, and said: "I expected to win this battle, but I didn't expect to win." It was so crisp and neat. Your second division played the main role in this battle, and you made the most of the contribution. Very good, very good! Master Bo is even more talented as a general, and you are very organized in the battle. In the future, the Southern Pioneering Team will have you Now, I'm very relieved."

After all, without waiting for Bogdan to say anything, Junio ​​stood up and said, "Yuyao has been broken, and we have nothing to do here for a while. Let's take another day off today, and all the departments will start in the morning next year. Return to Shangyu County and join the various ministries."

"Commander, what about after the rendezvous? Do you want to cross the river to the west?" Bogdan asked a question he cared about.And this issue was also the focus of many other people's attention. The dozen or so staff officers who were eating silently in the restaurant also pricked up their ears at this time, listening to what Marshal Ru would think about next.

"Let's see. First gather the tribes of Niu, Xie, and Dong, and then go to the wharf of Baiguan Town to supply food, ammunition, and various military supplies. As for whether to go west, I have to think about it. By the way, secondment How about the No.11 mixed battalion participating in the battle? Has there been any news? Captain Ma agrees or not?" Junio ​​suddenly asked again.

The No.11 Mixed Battalion is a regular east coast unit permanently stationed in the area under the jurisdiction of the Southern Exploration Team (occasionally transferred to Liaodong or the outer Northeast for temporary operations).The commander of the battalion was Major Li Zhixin, who arrived in the Far East in 1450 to replace the Tenth Mixed Battalion that had served in the Far East for many years.

The Qing army that attacked Yuyao County this time, the No.11 mixed battalion performed well and played a great role, leading a servant division and the fifth division of the Zhejiang New Army that came later as reinforcements (less than 5000 people have just been recruited) , which put great pressure on the Qing army.After the main force of the Yuyao Qing army withdrew westward and was completely annihilated by the troops led by Lieutenant Colonel Junio ​​on the edge of the Yao River, they successfully surrendered the thousands of Qing troops who had long been unwilling to fight, and took over Yuyao County.At present, the Ministry is stationed in Yuyao County and has not yet received the next action order.

Lieutenant Colonel Junio ​​is the commander of the 11th Mixed Battalion. Naturally, he is very aware of the combat effectiveness of an elite unit like them that is well-equipped and trained all the year round, so he immediately transferred the unit to his command line. The idea of ​​attacking Shaoxing Fucheng together westward, and Ma Wenqiang of Yin County, which has been formally written, asked him for approval-although Ma Wenqiang theoretically has no authority to govern the No. In command, Liu Jianguo of Denglai temporarily authorized him to mobilize any army on the ground in Ningbo, including the No.11 mixed battalion.

If there is no accident, it should not be a big problem for Ma Wenqiang to approve the westward movement of No.11 mixed battalion. Because Yuyao, Shangyu, Shengxian, Xinchang and other places have all been captured by now, Ningbo Prefecture has instantly become the rear area, which is no longer needed How many troops are defending.Units such as the Third Division of the Servant Army stationed in Cixi and the Fifth Division of the Zhejiang New Army stationed in Fenghua can actually be transferred westward to participate in a possible war. In the local prefectures and counties of Ningbo Prefecture, it is enough to rely on the police to maintain local order. People on the east coast have an absolute advantage at sea, don't they?

However, considering that Ningbo Mansion has been built for many years, has a large population and a relatively developed economy, it really cannot afford any mistakes.Therefore, it is still appropriate to leave some necessary troops to garrison various key points.Therefore, Lieutenant Colonel Junio ​​nominated the No.11 mixed battalion, but did not ask for the transfer of the [-]rd Division of the Servant Army and the [-]th Division of the Zhejiang New Army to the west. This is unrealistic and unlikely to be approved.

As for why the No.11 mixed battalion was mobilized.In fact, it is also very simple, that is to combine it with the Seventh Mixed Battalion to form a strategic general reserve team, which will be put into battle at critical moments, and use its longer range and higher accuracy to attack the Qing troops encountered. Carry out intensive volleys of guns to achieve the final effect.You know, on the west bank of the Cao'e River on the opposite side, many Qing troops have probably already rushed here, and there are cavalry brigades, and their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated.

Now that there are two mixed battalions of 3000 people, in future battles with the Qing army—if there is one—it will become a formidable force, whether it is to destroy the enemy or attack the enemy. , I believe that the Qing army has nothing to do with them, they are simply the winners and losers on the battlefield, how can they not be with them?

On the afternoon of June 6, Junio ​​led the army back to Shangyu County, which had been completely conquered.That night, Major Li Zhixin arrived in Shangyu County with the No.24 Mixed Battalion, which was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Junio.After discussing with the generals, Lieutenant Colonel Junio ​​finally made up his mind to cross the river and march westward. He planned to set off with the whole army the next day and arrive at Baiguan Town Wharf on the east bank of the Cao'e River to supply water and ammunition and collect ships—— Most of the original civilian ships were destroyed after being searched and suppressed by the Qing army, and there were only a few small steamers coming from Ningbo, which were not enough—waiting for the opportunity to forcefully cross the Cao'e River, march westward, and occupy Shaoxing Mansion.

On June 6, after leaving an infantry regiment to guard Shangyu County and collected food and grass around, Lieutenant Colonel Junio ​​led nearly 25 people (2.3 people from Ding Ji's Department of the 3000th Division of the Servant Army have returned to the construction) and arrived at Hundreds. Guanzhen Wharf, meeting with a few naval personnel staying here.At this time, the number of inland shallow water gunboats stationed at this temporary pier has increased to eight, and there are already four 72-ton inland river steamers with a relatively shallow draft.

"Why are there only four small steamers? Isn't that too little?" As soon as he arrived at the pier, Lieutenant Colonel Junio ​​was very dissatisfied and asked the cooperating naval officer: "Four small steamers can only be transported at one time." Hundreds of people. How about my [-] to [-] troops, as well as a lot of food, ammunition, equipment, artillery, war horses and other supplies, how many days do you have to transport me? Besides, you don’t have enough coal here, right? How did you plan it before?"

"Commander, wait another two days, and we can still bring three small steamers over. There is no way, there are only ten small steamers in the area under the jurisdiction of the Southern Exploration Team, two of which were sunk by the Qing army's fort at the mouth of the Cao'e River. One is undergoing major repairs in the dock in Dinghai County. There are only seven usable ships in total, and all of them have been used. In order to transport more war materials to Baiguan Town, our four ships did not carry much coal. At that time, we planned to use one A 'Yaksa'-class armed transport ship was coming in to transport coal, but who would have thought that after we surveyed the water level, we found that the lower reaches of the Cao'e River were heavily silted up, making it impossible for larger ships with deeper drafts to pass, so the plan was stranded." Hearing a little anxious, he immediately explained.

"Why don't you think of a way to recruit some shallow-draft small sailboats from Ningbo?" Junio ​​asked again.

"We also recruited a few small sailboats. The ones that were sunk by the Qing army's fort outside the Cao'e River before. It's just that these wooden sailboats are already very reluctant to sail to the mouth of the Cao'e River under the southeast wind. If they enter the river upstream Upstream, it is really impossible, without him, against the wind and the water.” The naval officer explained: “We are now trying to find some small sailing boats with sculls, but it is more difficult, and the number may not be large. Moreover, this kind of boat When sailing in the Cao'e River, the speed is extremely slow against the wind and the current, so it can only become a living target for the Qing army's fortress, and it is estimated that few ships can be preserved."

"You mean I'll wait until winter to fight again?" Lieutenant Colonel Junio's face darkened instantly, and he didn't care about the anxious naval officer anymore, but went further to the river and looked at the river. The flag of the Qing army was faintly visible on the opposite bank. After a long time, he sighed and said: "This battle is really annoying! Well, I have to find another way. Contact the staff and send me an order. The whole army is ready to evacuate, and they will evacuate one by one after nightfall. Be careful, don't make too much noise! ​​After the evacuation, the whole army went south, questioned the local guide, found a suitable place for landing, and crossed the Cao'e River. I don't believe that the Qing army can block such a long distance! "

After hearing this, everyone responded one after another.Everyone understands that there are only [-] people crossing the river this time, and the number of Qing troops on the other side is not that many, maybe twice or even three times their number. There must be a lot of muskets and cannons, and their combat effectiveness should be strong of.The advantage that the people on the east bank are relying on now is nothing more than the large number of light field artillery, and they have just won a battle, and their morale is high. If there is another big battle, the outcome is still uncertain.

However, the Qing army has been fighting with the East Bank for so many years, and they should have a deep memory of the "sharp cannon" characteristic of the yellow-clothed thieves. If it is not really impossible, they should not be inclined to engage in field battles with the East Bank people.After all, the troops on the east coast come and go like the wind, and they often land from the sea, catching you by surprise, but the troops assembled in a hurry are not large in number, have poor guns, and insufficient artillery, so they will naturally be defeated in field battles.

The best way for the Qing army to give full play to its advantages was to rely on the strong city and use cannons to fight against the incoming army from the east bank.Just like the army stationed in Yuyao County for many years, they built a large number of fortresses and placed more than a hundred artillery pieces, large and small. Incremental——The Qing army’s artillery is actually not much less than that of the people on the east coast in terms of number (before the first Opium War in history, even in the peaceful era when horses were released to Nanshan and knives and guns were put into storage, the number of active artillery in the Qing Dynasty It is also more than five thousand, which is a scary number), and they have attached great importance to the role of artillery since the time of the old slaves.In the Battle of Hunhe, captured Ming army cannons were used to blast away the formation of the Zhejiang army. Later, in the Huangtaiji era, the Liaodong No. 1644 mines brought a large number of foundry talents to cast. The cannon casting industry in the Manchu and Qing Dynasties was still very developed.After entering the customs many times, all the strong cities encountered were breached by bombarding the city walls with heavy artillery. For example, the collapse of the city walls of Taiyuan in [-] is a classic example.

But the artillery of the Qing army has a fatal shortcoming, that is, under the same power, it is often much heavier than that of the people on the east coast, so that they cannot move.Moreover, their thinking in casting guns is also very rigid. Most of the casts are 18-pound naval guns, which are used for siege, and there are very few light artillery for field battles. After becoming a professional military instructor, it slowly changed.

But in any case, the number of light army field artillery used in the Qing army camp is not very large, which may be related to the slow transformation of their military production system.Even some occasional field artillery, the caliber, range, quality, and lifespan are far inferior to those of the people on the east coast. Therefore, it is really too disadvantageous to fight a field battle when the number of the two sides is similar, so they have tried their best to avoid doing so.

But when defending the city, this disadvantage no longer exists.Just like in Yuyao County, there is no problem at all for the Qing army to place a large number of artillery on the top of the fortress, and there is no need to move anyway, just shoot at the people on the east bank, who is afraid of whom!In the Qing Dynasty, there were cannon foundries in Jinzhou, Beijing, Kaifeng, Xi'an, Xiangyang, and Nanjing. With the improvement of some foreign technicians, the quantity and quality of artillery have been improved to a certain extent. Dozens of cannons may not be very useful when they first enter the customs, but today, after 30 years, it is not so difficult to obtain a large amount of manpower and material resources from China.

Therefore, over the years, the Qing army has always used a tactic of fortifying the city and sharpening artillery against the east bank, hoping to use the least amount of troops to achieve the greatest effect, so that they can devote more energy to other places and try their best to solve Dashun. the main enemy.I believe that if the people on the east bank had not taken the initiative to attack Shaoxing Mansion together with the King of Lu a few years ago, the Qing army would have continued to implement this policy until the regime of Li Shun was resolved, and then they would gather heavy troops to solve the troubles of Ningbo and Denglai in one fell swoop.

This time, the people from the east coast captured Shengxian County and Shangyu like lightning, and made dumplings for the Qing army in Yuyao.I just don’t know if the Qing army will start a battle with Junio ​​to lead 3 troops across the river to the west to completely reverse the situation—the people on the east coast hope so, and the Qing army should also have this impulse , because once the field battle is won, the main army on the east bank will be wiped out, and Ningbo will have no soldiers to defend. I just don’t know if the Qing army can resist this temptation.

(End of this chapter)