I wanted to die, but I didn't expect to die! The above sentence is the words that Mo Ming just laughed at the current situation of the people on the east coast.

The main force of the Qing army has almost entered Qingzhou Mansion. The people on the east coast hardly needed to send out many scouts to get this news, because the small anti-Qing forces, displaced people, and even a few remnants of the Shun army brought rich and detailed news to Yantai Fort. Although much of this information is the product of speculation or speculation, many of it is second-hand information obtained from hearsay, and even many of the information are contradictory and inconsistent, the professional team of intelligence staff officers still unearthed many facts that can be confirmed.

"On February 26, the Qing army's forward Emengge Department advanced to the area of Weixian and Changyi, and the Laizhou squires responded enthusiastically."

This was the first fact confirmed by the people on the east coast, the Qing army marched very fast, and basically did not delay in Qingzhou for long.

"The Qing army was all over the mountains, there were many cavalry, and the baggage troops stretched for hundreds of miles. They did not seem to have enough slaves, so they forcibly recruited or hired many people. There are also a lot of livestock, and the livestock of Jinan, Yanzhou, and Qingzhou seem to be concentrated here. ”

This is the second fact confirmed by the people on the east coast, the Qing army is huge, has a lot of logistical baggage, and is relatively well prepared. It seems that during the one-and-a-half-month truce, they didn't seem to have done nothing, at least a lot of grain and grass were collected, judging from the Yan zhòng Cheng dù of Jinan, Dongchang, and Yanzhou in Shandong, which was abandoned by Fang Dayou, I don't know if the Qing army had collected all the local rations. But it is highly likely that more people will be left without food, and the chaos on the ground seems to deepen further.

"It is difficult for our scouts to get close to their elite troops or artillery baggage units, their cavalry number is conservatively estimated to be close to 10,000 people, and the number of scouts is far superior to ours, and the officers and men of the security forces have suffered considerable losses in the past two days. They paid great attention to the blocking of the battlefield, as if to disguise their troops, the composition of their troops, the number of baggage, and their weapons and equipment. ”

The scouts told the people of the East Coast with a third fact that had been passed down by their lives. This time, the Qing army was in the intention of pacifying the situation in Shandong once and for all, and as soon as the scouts on the east bank who were peeping at the Qing army were discovered, they immediately organized people to round up and arrest them. Although this kind of scout battle is often the Qing army's heavier losses, it can't stop their large numbers, so the scouts of the people on the east coast are gradually driven away from the area around some of the main forces of the Qing army. They could only watch some second-line troops from afar, and then hurriedly returned with their horses.

"The squires of Dengzhou Mansion have an optimistic and welcoming attitude towards the Qing army brigade, but a while ago our army exterminated a large number of landlords' armed forces, so they should not have any help to the Qing army in terms of troops or materials, and it will become very difficult for the Qing army to replenish grain and grass on the spot in Dengzhou Mansion or even Laizhou Mansion. They can only be transported from the west for long distances, which undoubtedly stretches their supply lines and is also an opportunity for us. ”

The name of the operational staff officer was attached to this comment of the intelligence staff officer. It seems to be a joint proposal by the two of them. They believed that the people on the east coast could take advantage of their sea supremacy, and after leaving enough troops to defend Yantai Fort, they would ship a part of the main force to land somewhere along the long coastline of the Shandong Peninsula, and then wait for an opportunity to attack the supply lines of the Qing army. As soon as he succeeded, he boarded the ship and fled. It's just that this kind of operation requires extremely high intelligence, and if you are not careful, you will fall into a helpless field. If the time is not ripe, Mo Ming will not dare to use it. After all. Who knows if the Qing army will send a large group of soldiers and horses or the main force to escort the troops escorting grain and grass? It would be a great pleasure if you suddenly encountered a large group of Manchurian cavalry while attacking the enemy's baggage troops, which were originally considered to be "weak and bullying".

"Yang Wei in Penglai County (Dengzhou City) even planned to be the emperor a while ago, but the people below had mixed reviews, so he temporarily held back. This time, when I heard that the Qing army brigade was coming, the crowd in Dengzhou City was turbulent, and many officials clamored to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. Even some of his subordinates had this idea. Yang Wei himself was unwilling to surrender to the Qing, but there was no way, a while ago he was so troubled that he wanted to abandon the troops and cut his hair into the mountains, but was stopped by Qin Shangxing. Qin Shangxing also sent someone to contact us secretly two days ago. He asked to lead the army to Yantai for food once Dengzhou could not be defended, and our army has not officially replied to him at present. ”

With the arrival of the Qing army brigade, all kinds of people at both ends of the head rat began to find a way out for themselves, and this Qin Shangxing was an example. This person is also a thief who has been crisscrossing Qingzhou Mansion for many years, and he also has three or four thousand soldiers and horses, and he is used to being unscrupulous, and at this time, in the face of the Qing army with more than 60,000 people, he is almost scared. But this kind of person would rather hide everywhere than surrender, but he is also considered to have some integrity, and it is also a force to take them in at a critical moment. Anyway, the total of 3,500 soldiers and horses of Zhai Congge and Wang Jiazhong occupy Jeju Island is a little difficult, if Qin Shangxing's men and horses are added, then the one prefecture and two counties on Jeju Island are just divided among the three of them, so that the shape will basically be stable.

After reading this information, Mo Ming sat quietly in his office. It was a room made of thick masonry, dark, low, but undoubtedly solid. In fact, the small Yantai Fort was basically full of such structures, short, heavy, and sturdy, in case the besieging enemy army threw cannonballs into the city with short mortars - although the Qing army basically did not have such equipment. Important facilities such as grain depots, munitions depots, supply depots, ice cellars, and water treatment tanks are all underground, and they are still not fully completed, and a large number of displaced people are still building these underground facilities in a race against time.

"Hehe, I should have expected this day from the first day I landed in Yantai. Now that most of the facilities in the fort are complete, the ammunition is sufficient, the number of troops is also quite large, and the morale is even higher, it is simply wishful thinking for the Manchus to capture this castle. Their army of more than 60,000 people gathered here, and the food and war materials they needed were massive, and they would not be able to support them in the long run, unless those gentry were bleeding heavily. But didn't you oppose Li Chuang just to avoid bleeding, but when the time comes, you will inevitably be robbed by the Qing army again, haha, tell you to kneel and lick the tartars! Satisfied now, right? Mo Ming comfortably sunk her body into a wicker chair, looked at the Black Eight Banner soldiers patrolling outside the window, and said to herself.

Just as he was in a reverie, the intelligence staff officer knocked on the door again and walked in, and reported softly to Mo Ming: "The fleet headed for the waters of Jeju Island has returned." The 1,500 men of Wang Jiazhong's army and the 1,000 soldiers of the newly formed and trained army soldiers conquered the county seat of Jingyi, and hundreds of Korean soldiers in the city broke up after a little resistance, and the Wang army has officially occupied the county seat. According to the plan, under the supervision of the 102nd Company of the Army and the Black Eight Banners, the Standing Detachment began to attack the Korean soldiers and horses stationed in various places all the way. Our army not only tempered its troops, but also collected some grain and grass, and the training staff officers accompanying the army believed that the operation was very effective. In addition, Zhai Cong's troops have completely controlled the situation in the area of Jeju Province in the north of the island, and they have eliminated nearly 2,000 North Korean soldiers in a total of nearly 2,000 North Korean soldiers in the half-month battle, and have now wiped out most of the opposition forces in the area of Jeju Province. Our artillery and military units have boarded ships and withdrawn to Jingyi County, preparing to return after the situation near Jingyi has calmed down. Wang Jiazhong and Zhai Congge discussed and prepared to jointly send troops to attack Dajing County, the last county seat on the island that was in the hands of the Koreans, after the situation stabilized. ”

"The army of the Li Dynasty is as rotten as ever." Hearing the intelligence staff officer's report, Mo Ming didn't even bother to sit up from the rattan chair, but motioned the intelligence staff officer to continue the report with his eyes.

"Two gunboats of our army sank three North Korean ships in the strait between Jeollanam-do and Jeju Island in North Korea, all three ships were turtle boats, which should be the lead ships of the North Korean Navy. At present, the two ships are still hovering in the northern waters of Jeju Island, and they ask for instructions on whether to return to Yantai Port. The intelligence staff officer first filled the wine glass that Mo Ming had picked up, and then reported softly.

"No, sue them, stay there." Mo Ming said undoubtedly, "I don't need them to come back for the time being, the North Yellow Sea is still frozen, and they can't play a role when they come back." When all the ships carrying the emigrants have returned in April, I am ready to organize all the warlike ships to cruise to Zhenjiang, Lushun, Jinzhou, and Dagukou en masse, looking for some ships that the Manchus may have left in order to completely destroy their maritime power. They are all junk ships, the firepower is very weak, the hull structure is also very loose, and the maneuvering is not very flexible, and the main fleet of our army can basically sink all of them as soon as they arrive. After the elimination of this navy, the entire Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea were left to us to sail freely - although it is more or less the same now. ”

"Yes." The intelligence staff recorded these orders in their small notebooks, and these orders had to be issued through the guò operational staff officers and liaison staff officers, and they had to communicate with them when the time came.

After the intelligence staff officer left, Mo Ming rested for a while, then put on his dark black military coat, picked up his command knife, and went to the city to inspect the troops.

The city was filled with the rumbling of cannons, which were the gunners making final test firing and correction of the artillery. Now the artillery force of the people on the east coast in the Yantai area has been divided into two parts, one is the Yantai artillery company, which is dominated by field artillery, with a terrifying number of 20 guns and more than 100 gunners, and the company commander is Provisional Second Lieutenant Bernini, an officer of Italian origin who has just been promoted.

In addition, a total of more than 50 artillery pieces on the Yantai Fortress Chengtou, Zhifu Island Fort, and Kongtong Island Fort were unified into the Yantai Fortress Garrison. There were more than 400 of these gunners, only 100 of whom were brought from the east coast proper, and the remaining 300 were served by the Ming people, who were considered reliable after a long period of investigation. The 2,000 soldiers of the 2nd Brigade of the Standing Force were also included in the garrison sequence some time ago, along with the 102nd Company of the Army and some additional 390 musketeers. The captain of the garrison of Yantai Fortress was Li Wenchang, an experienced artillery lieutenant, and at present, the garrison was basically ready and waiting for the Qing army to attack. (To be continued......)