In order to successfully conquer North Korea, Huang Taiji used all his elite troops.
In addition to Mafuta and Rausa as the forwards and Hauge and Nikan as the guards, Yanguli and Cherge were also arranged to lead 3,000 people as the advance team's rear camp.
These men and horses alone are enough for North Korea to drink a pot.
The main force was divided into left and right wings by Huang Taiji.
The left wing was led by Dorgon, and the right wing was led by him himself.
In addition, He Shuotu led Shi Tingzhu and Ma Guangyuan as the rearguard, transporting red cannons and general cannons to support the operation.
On the third day of December, Liaodong was already covered with heavy snow, and the Yalu River was also frozen.
Mafuta and Rausa led a vanguard of 300 people, disguised as businessmen, and set off from Shahebao, kicking off the Korean War.
With such a large military deployment by the Qing Dynasty, there was no possibility of keeping it secret.
Just when Huang Taiji declared war, Shandong had already received the news.
For this reason, various departments of the Xia Army accelerated the pace of preparations.
The entire Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea have been completely occupied by naval ships.
Various ships shuttled around day and night, transporting massive supplies to Jeju Island. At the same time, the sea is shielded to prevent people from any force from entering or exiting.
Jeju Island has now been completely taken over.
Shen Daoxun and Li Chong have lost control of Jeju Island and can only follow orders.
The Fourth Division was stationed on the east side of Jeju Island, and the 1st Marine Division was stationed on the west side, starting to make final preparations for the battle.
At this time, the busiest people are the logistics department and the equipment department.
To ensure the supply of materials for more than 100,000 people, this is definitely an extremely complicated task.
Zhang Yan and Zuo Dai were so busy that their feet could not touch the ground, and even their temples were a little gray.
"These are heavy artillery shells. They are to be sent to the Fourth Division. Why are they sent to the First Marine Division?"
When someone below made a mistake at work, Zhang Yan reprimanded them on the spot without mercy.
The people below were scolded and hurriedly corrected themselves.
Zhang Yan couldn't help but be surprised when he saw another convoy leaving the camp and going to the Fourth Division, with Zuo Dai following him personally.
"Minister Zuo, when did this happen? Why are you still leaving your post without permission? When will the rocket launcher shells needed by the First Marine Division be delivered?"
Zuodao smiled bitterly.
"There is a batch of new equipment that needs to be handed over to the frontline troops. I can only rush there in person and cannot delay the delivery of the new equipment. As for the rocket launcher shells needed by the First Marine Division, they will be delivered within three days at most."
Zhang Yan's expression softened slightly.
"It's best not to be too late, otherwise that guy Zuo Yong will be nagging again."
Looking at the logistics base, which was like a boiling pot, Zuo Dai lamented endlessly.
"At the beginning, I thought I was not good enough to fight, so I retreated to the rear and thought I could be more stable. Now it seems that this is more tiring than fighting."
Zhang Yan found joy in suffering.
"Take care of your health and don't collapse from exhaustion. No matter what, you can't die in front of those guys who are going to the battlefield, otherwise you might be laughed at by them."
Zuoda laughed and waved goodbye.
The convoy trudged hard in the wind and snow, and finally delivered the things to the Fourth Division two days later.
All the scouts of the Fourth Division had already received orders and came to gather.
Zuo Dai asked people to unload the equipment one by one and began to explain to the scouts on the spot.
The first thing he took out was a musket.
This musket is completely different from the standard equipment of Xia Jun today.
The gun body is shorter, only one meter. The rear of the barrel, where the hammer should have been installed, was missing, and there was no felt hole for the flash cap.
Instead, there was a small iron handle.
Zuo Dai grasped the iron handle with his hand and pushed it upwards, then pulled it back. With a smooth and crisp sound, the barrel of the gun was actually exposed.
"Please pay attention, this kind of gun is loaded from here, not from the muzzle."
He took bullets from another box.
The style of the bullet is also very strange, in the shape of a long pointed cone, and glowing red. Behind the warhead is the propellant wrapped in paper, which is about the length of the middle finger.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, they saw Zuo Dai press the bullet into the barrel of the gun, and then reset the opened iron handle.
The entire barrel of the gun was closed.
Then Zuo Dai raised his gun, aimed at the target dozens of meters away, and pulled the trigger.
The gunshot fired, leaving a hole.
All the experts present were jealous when they saw this scene.
Bai Xiaoqi stepped forward, grabbed the new musket from Zuo Dai's hand, imitated his operation, and immediately felt the convenience of it.
"The rate of fire of this gun is more than three times faster than that of a flash cap gun. How is it done?"
Zuo Dai dismantled the gun in front of everyone.
"You see, a bullet is installed here. The pressing force of the bullet is used to push the firing pin. The firing pin penetrates into the cartridge, and there is a flash cap inside, which can trigger the gunpowder and fire the bullet."
The new muskets were distributed and all the scouts began to adapt.
Without exception, the new gun won everyone's unanimous love.
Although the range of this new gun is twice shorter than the flash cap gun, the rate of fire is more than three times faster. Originally, the range that is too far on the battlefield is not very meaningful, but the rate of fire is more important.
Bai Xiaoqi is greedy.
"Minister Zuo, how many guns are there? We all want them."
Sakuro gave him a roll of his eyes.
"There are only so many of them now, and they are all short models, which can only be equipped for reconnaissance troops."
Bai Xiaoqi was very dissatisfied when he heard that there were only dozens of them.
"Why don't we produce more and replace all those flash cap guns. If all our troops are equipped with these muskets, our Fourth Division can reach Shenyang without the First Marine Division."
Zuodao sneered.
"Did you know that this bullet is handmade by craftsmen. And this warhead is also handmade by craftsmen."
Bai Xiaoqi didn't understand industrial production, so he said carelessly: "What's so difficult about that? You just need to recruit more people."
Zuo Dai took a bite.
"The craftsmen who can make these bullets and warheads must at least be at the level of a first-class craftsman. How many do you think there are?"
When Bai Xiaoqi heard this request, he couldn't help but be speechless.
"Doesn't that mean... these good guns won't be able to assemble troops for a while?"
Speaking of this, Zuo Dai was also extremely helpless.
"It is estimated that there will be no way to popularize it within ten years. It depends on the research and development of steam engines by Qin Luo and Li Meizhi. If that thing can be put into industrial production, it may be possible to speed up the progress. Otherwise, it will be absolutely satisfactory to just build it manually. It’s not what the entire army needs.”
Breech-loading striker guns have actually been developed a long time ago. The reason why it cannot be equipped on a large scale is also very simple, that is, the technical requirements are too high and mass production is not possible.
Bi Maokang and others have been perfecting their craftsmanship, and in this process, the craftsmen produced a lot by hand.
Although it cannot meet the needs of ordinary troops, it can still be used to provide reconnaissance troops.
So Zuo Mengeng ordered that these weapons be mobilized and distributed to the scouts of the Fourth Division and the First Marine Division.
"The Evil God"
During the war, they will have to travel through the mountains and ridges, always fighting alone. If you have better weapons nearby, you can also protect your own safety.
In view of the combat needs of the scouts, Zuo Menggeng specifically ordered the barrels of these striker guns to be replaced with short barrels.
I believe that with these new weapons, the scouts can better preserve themselves and complete their missions.
