Chapter 43 Breaking through the Yalu River and marching to Yongbyon Prefecture

As soon as the Yaogang landing craft landed, the artillery immediately cut a barrier in front of them. The Yaogang soldiers, who landed on the landing craft and gun wagons, immediately occupied the wharf in Yiju, and the tugboat from Yaogang immediately leaned on the wharf with a string of barges, and quickly landed on the shore with a large group of barges.

Without waiting for the North Korean army to react, the Yaogang soldiers quickly established a bridgehead under the cover of artillery trucks and covering the infantry. After the artillery fire was extended, the two regiments of the Yaogang Infantry had already penetrated to the east under the guidance of the artillery carriage. The infantry of these two regiments were followed by two artillery battalions.

Now the Joseon Dynasty is administratively divided into eight provinces. respectively

Gyeonggi-do, including Seoul and Kaesong. The capital is in Seoul Province.

Gyeongsang-do, including Gyeongju House, Sangju Mu, Jinju Mu; There are left barracks, right barracks, left water barracks, and right water barracks. The capital is in Gyeongju.

Jeolla Province, including Jeonju Pastor and Naju Pastor; There are barracks, left water camps, and right water camps. The capital is in Jeonju.

Chungcheong-do, including Chungju pastor, Cheongju pastor, Gongju pastor; Set up a water camp. The capital is in Cheongju.

Huanghai Road, including Huangzhou Pastoral and Haizhou Pastoral Husbandry. The capital is in Huangzhou.

Ping'an Province, including Pyongyang Province, Yongbyon Metropolitan Protectorate, and Uiju Mu. The capital is in Pyongyang Province.

Gangwon Province, including Gangneung Metropolitan Protectorate and Wonju Mu. The capital is in Gangneung.

Hamgyong Province (Ning'an Road), including Hamhung Mansion, Gyeongseong Metropolitan Protectorate, and Northern Qing Metropolitan Protectorate. The capital is in Hamhung Province.

The provinces of North Korea are divided into prefectures, prefectures, counties, and counties. Among them, the five provinces of Gyeongsang, Jeolla, Chungcheong, Hwanghae, and Gyeonggi are divided into two provinces, left and right. Ning'an Road (Hamgyong Province) is divided into two provinces: north and south. The road of peace is divided into east and west. Gangwon-do is divided into two parts: Yeongdong and Yeongseo.

There are Pyongan Province and Hamgyong Province along the Yalu River, and the Koreans had to deploy troops along the Yalu River in order to defend it, and Wei Xiang only attacked his Pyongan Province from Uiju, which is the advantage and disadvantage between attack and defense.

Wei Xiang's tactic was to cross the Yalu River and go directly to the Yongbian Prefecture on Ping'an Road.

After the Yaogang infantry landed, an artillery battalion left behind by the artillery regiment cooperated with the infantry to suppress the Korean army. Only after the infantry artillery was deployed, this artillery battalion began to cross the river.

Since the positions of the North Korean troops on the other side of the Zhenjiang River had been covered by the Yaogang artillery, it was no longer possible to organize a counterattack against the Yaogang army. The Yaogang army crossed the Yalu River with ease. The infantry set up defensive positions along the east bank of the Yalu River, with the cooperation of naval warships, at the landing site along the upper and lower reaches of the Yalu River, three miles away.

It was not until late in the afternoon that the Korean army determined the intention of the Yaogang army, assembled the army, and prepared to cut off the attack route of the Yaogang army, and at the same time recapture the riverbank position occupied by the Yaogang people.

At this time, two regiments of the Yaogang army, and two artillery battalions, were already following the artillery carriage and advancing fifty miles eastward. Two regiments in the back, as well as an artillery battalion of the artillery regiment, were waiting for the North Korean troops on the banks of the Yalu River.

After the North Korean army determined the situation, they surrounded the Yaogang army on the bank of the Yalu River.

The Yaogang army on the bank of the Yalu River dug trenches all around, and a large number of ** were arranged in front of the position, as well as very terrifying anti-infantry jumping mines. Wei Xiang's tactic was to deplete the living forces of the North Korean army here.

The artillery fire covering the positions of the North Korean troops by the Yaogang army killed many of the Korean troops who were heavily defended on the other side of the Zhenjiang River, and wiped out their main generals in the city of Uiju. Among them, in the city of Uiju Mucheng, the envoy of the soldiers and horses who commanded all the troops on the front line of the Yalu River, the envoy who supervised the army sent by the king of Joseon, Yi Liang, and the officials of the Uiju Mu, were all killed in this sudden artillery fire. At the same time, nearly 20,000 soldiers and horses were lost.

The situation of the Korean navy entering the Yalu River was even worse, the commander of the army, the commander of the navy, the imperial court supervising the Chinese army that accompanied the fleet, and hundreds of warships, more than 15,000 people were all annihilated, and only a few sailors who fell into the water climbed ashore to survive.

So as soon as the war began, the North Korean army immediately fell into disarray. It took a full day for the North Korean army to react.

Wei Xiang's purpose in attacking the Yongbyon Protectorate was not only to occupy the area, but also to attract more Korean troops to concentrate on it. Only by concentrating the North Korean army can we give more effective play to the firepower advantage of the kiln gang and consume the North Korean army. Without the army, Li Liang would be honest and obedient.

By noon the next day, the North Korean army had concentrated nearly 50,000 people outside the encirclement, and more than 10,000 people were pursuing the Yaogang army to Yongbyon Prefecture.

The scouts of Yaogang had long observed the artillery positions of the North Korean army with binoculars on a hill. After the scouts reported the parameters to the command, Wei Xiang said: "Don't wait, let's destroy their artillery first!" ”

As soon as the artillery of Yaogang spoke, they were not polite, and even the 203 caliber cannons on the warship participated in the speech. Before the North Korean army could start the battle, two artillery positions were peared by terrifying artillery fire. The smoke cleared, and the scouts reported that there was no need for supplementary firing. North Korean artillery has already been removed from the right to speak.

The artillery was bombed, which angered the North Korean army, and immediately the whole group prepared to start the attack.

The North Koreans thought very simply, they were ready to use cavalry to quickly charge, and strive to rush into the position of the Yaogang people at once, and the infantry followed behind, and the brigade immediately went to fight. Through reconnaissance, they knew that although the kiln gang people had good firearms, their number was very small, not even a fraction of their own, which was why they never thought that the kiln gang people dared to attack.

Wei Xiang was in the command headquarters, watching the situation in front of the battle with a telescope, and said in his heart that since he had conducted a defensive operation against Li Zicheng in Yaogang, he had not fought a defensive battle in a position for a long time, and he had always been attacking.

However, this defense is different from when Li Zicheng was beaten, and the weapons at that time, compared with the current weapons, are simply burning sticks.

The formation arranged by the Yaogang people can be regarded as a backwater battle, which is six miles long in the east and three miles wide on the left and right wings.

The Koreans chose to face the kiln from the east and set up a position. In fact, the staff officers in Wei Xiang's headquarters all said: "General Wei, the effect of shelling them now will be very good!" ”

Wei Xiang shook his head and said, "If you break up in that fight, they will all run away!" I'm going to let them die on the way to attack! ”

The North Koreans placed 5,000 cavalry in front of the formation, and 20,000 infantry behind them, after they lined up, they divided into three roads, left, center, and right, and slowly pressed over in front of the Yaogang people's formation, and the two armies suddenly became nervous in front of the formation. The kiln soldiers loaded their bullets one by one, the artillerymen loaded the shells in the chambers, and the mortars also sent the shells to the front of the muzzles.

The North Korean army marched step by step amid the chaotic sound of horses' hooves, and the air seemed to have frozen. Just when they were still a few hundred meters in front of the formation, suddenly the Korean officer waved the flag, and the Korean cavalry began to charge on horseback, and they wanted to leave a distance for the cavalry to attack. The Korean cavalry all rushed up, and the infantry behind also rushed forward with shouts. Wei Xiang knew that the North Koreans had no chance to stop, so he said, "How can you cooperate so well!" If I don't teach you well, I'm sorry for your cooperation. After muttering and waving his hand, the staff officer shouted at the sweaty microphone: "Fire!" ”

Sixteen 130-caliber cannons of the artillery battalion, as well as two 203-caliber and eight 130-caliber cannons on the battleship, as well as all infantry guns of the infantry, mortars of various calibers, fired at the same time!

The landslide-like shelling began. The 130-caliber shells were all air-burst shells, and their targets were the Korean cavalry phalanx and the infantry phalanx that followed. The cannonballs that fell from the sky and bloomed overhead, scattered metal prefabricated fragments densely on the more than 5,000 cavalry, and each volley exploded cannonball, which would blow up a piece of cavalry, and in the high-speed impact, the cavalry that was hit would immediately roll to the ground with men and horses. The shells that exploded above the heads of those infantry would be like the wind, and the corpses of the soldiers who had been hit by shrapnel below the landing point would be blown in all directions by the air waves. It looks like a flower from the air.

The 203-caliber cannon was aimed at the soldiers who were lined up in the rear of the North Korean army who did not participate in the attack. The 203 caliber cannon hits the infantry, it is simply a bit perverted, a shell falls, and at the same time as a big crater is blown out, the soldiers around the landing point will turn into muddy water and fly, and there will be no trace again. Many of the North Korean officers and soldiers who came closer could not see the wounds, but they would also bleed to death, which was shocking. There are too many people whose ears are so shocked that they can't hear anymore.

Those who rushed through the barrage and approached the position of the kiln gang would often see something black and whirring suddenly flying from the ground, and then this thing would bloom on their heads, and the waves of air would blow them to the ground, and countless shrapnel or steel balls would be hit on their bodies.

There were not many people who could rush within a hundred meters of the Kiln Gang formation, and those Kiln Heavy would scramble to fire bullets at them. However, the infantry in the kiln gang were so angry that they had no chance to shoot at all.

After a burst of artillery fire, more than 1,000 cavalry and 5,000 infantry retreated. Wei Xiang ordered to stop shooting.

Behind the Koreans, in place of the soldier and horse envoy who had died in Uiju, the commander of the attack was a Korean soldier and horse envoy. He was also a general who had fought with the Qing army, but when he saw the situation in front of him, he was so shocked that he didn't know what to do. What a war this is! It's nothing short of a massacre. The officers and soldiers were defeated and retreated, and he did not blame the officers and soldiers. He thought that this battle really couldn't be fought, and if it continued to fight, it would be a joke on the lives of the soldiers. But if you flee now, when you go back, the king will also put the responsibility for the casualties of the soldiers on himself, and naturally there is no way to live. The soldiers and horses made Tima go over and ask one of the king's supervisors to check the defense: "Lord Inspector, the artillery fire of the Ming army is really too powerful, just like that, we have more than 5,000 cavalry, more than 20,000 infantry, and we haven't even seen the opponent, so that's all left!" If we continue to fight like this, we will be irresponsible for the lives of officers and soldiers! ”

There are three types of military supervision in the DPRK: the observer army, the Chinese army, and the inspection and defense. This overseer is a guard. When the overseer heard these words, he scolded in his heart, "Damn! And with you saying, I have long eyes to see. If you don't want to fight, you still have to let me say this, and I will bear the responsibility in the future, and I think it is beautiful. ”

The prison guard said coldly: "How can there be immortals in war? How the battle is fought is your business, as long as you don't do anything sorry for Your Majesty and the country, I will definitely not interfere with your command! ”

Today, when I heard that the commander of the soldiers and horses had died, although I was also shocked, I was secretly happy in my heart, because I could act as the commander of the soldiers and horses on the front line, and if I could make some contributions, I would probably be appointed as the commander of the soldiers and horses. But the prison army in front of him is cunning and cunning, knowing that this battle will not be able to continue, but if he doesn't retreat, many people will die in vain if the battle continues, and there is no possibility of victory at all. But if you retreat, you will go to the guillotine when you go back, which is also a fact.

In fact, their command position here had long been discovered by the artillery scouts, and Wei Xiang insisted that the shells not be allowed to hit the position where they were standing, Wei Xiang knew that if they were killed, the Koreans would scatter in a hurry, and they would not be able to consume them much before this battle.

In the afternoon, more than 10,000 North Korean troops gathered, and the soldiers and horses gritted their teeth and prepared to attack again. He called the officers over and said to them, "Needless to say, we have all seen the battle in the morning." But if we retreat, our country will be finished, and we will not be able to give an account to Your Majesty. And I tell you, retreat, I will die when I go back, but before I die, I will let you die first! We immediately concentrated our efforts and rushed to the death again. You have to be fast, or they'll all be killed by their shells! ”

Although the officers knew that it was useless to rush like this, they knew even more that for the king, they were useless if they did not rush. The officers and men had to pray in their hearts that they would rush forward this time.

This time the Koreans organized an attack, still led by cavalry, but this time they did not have 5,000 cavalry, they barely gathered more than 4,000 cavalry, followed by 20,000 infantry. The routines are the same, but now the attacking North Korean officers and soldiers do not have the murderous aura of the last attack, and the soldiers in Yaogang are more relaxed.

This time, Wei Xiang didn't let the artillery use air-burst shells, he knew that it was too expensive. It was enough for him to use it once and see the terrifying effect, it turned out that he heard the navy say how powerful they were using airburst bombs in Annan, and he didn't have an intuitive impression, but this time it was enough.

Without the use of air-burst shells, the North Korean soldiers thought that the kind of shells of the Ming Dynasty had run out, but the power of ordinary shells was not something they could bear. This time, however, Wei Xiang gave the infantry a chance, and the infantry used various machine guns and automatic rifles to shoot at the North Korean soldiers who rushed through the artillery blockade, and did not let the North Korean officers and soldiers rush fifty meters before the formation.

This time, the Koreans left almost all of the cavalry in front of the battle, but fled back with nearly 10,000 infantry.

Now the front of the position is already filled with the corpses of North Korean soldiers. Wei Xiang was somewhat worried that the North Koreans were going to escape, but the scouts observed that the North Koreans were strengthening the camp outside the Yaogang people's position. Wei Xiang was relieved. But I also think it's strange that the North Koreans lost 30,000 or 40,000 people after two attacks on this day, and the North Koreans obviously can't fight anymore, so why don't they run?

How did he know that the North Koreans would not dare to run! The Koreans learned the lesson of fighting against the Qing Dynasty, and those who did not get the order to retreat without permission were severely punished, regardless of whether they were generals or soldiers.

Thinking that he had picked up a cheap Korean soldier and horse control envoy, he was in the camp at this time, and he really didn't know where to go, he knew that as soon as he led his troops back, King Li Liang was going to surrender unconditionally to the Ming Dynasty again. In that case, not to mention these places that the Ming Dynasty wanted, even if people wanted Wangjing, Hancheng had to be given to others. This battle has come to this point, and the kiln people are too powerful, and they can't turn the situation around by themselves at all. But if you withdraw, you will be a scapegoat, and all the blame will be pushed on yourself, and if you die, the whole family will be implicated. After taking a big sip of wine, the soldiers and horses decided to die in battle tomorrow, so that they could leave a way for their families to live.

At this time, the overseer came to the tent of the envoy and said that he would return to the king's capital and Hancheng at night, and report the situation to the king. The soldier and horse control envoy was usually very afraid of this prison army, and at this time he slammed the wine glass in his hand and shouted: "You are not allowed to leave anywhere!" Tomorrow you will join me in a fight to the death against the Yaogang people. Tomorrow will either perish our whole army, or the people of Yaogang will perish! If you dare to leave the camp, I will kill you immediately!" ”

At this time, the prison army was really afraid of this soldier and horse who wanted to die, so he shook his head helplessly and retreated. The overseer didn't know at this time that it was the words of the soldiers and horses who sent him to the point of no return.

When it was dark, the warships and tugboats of Yaogang patrolled back and forth on the river. Gradually, the North Korean army did not care much about them. But after a while, the army of the kiln gang quietly sorted, they boarded the tugboat, and two infantry battalions went upstream, and two infantry battalions went downstream on barges. The tugboats on both sides were guided by landing craft, and after leaving the shore position of the Yaogang people for a certain distance, the landing craft rushed to the shore that had been reconnoitred during the day. The tugboat used them as a dock and docked next to the landing craft to anchor and unanchor. The infantry of the kiln gang immediately landed by landing craft. Then surround the camp of the North Koreans.

Before dawn, Wei Xiang in the headquarters had already learned through the radio that the two armies were in place.

It was just dawn, and the North Koreans had just started cooking in the camp, when the cannons of the Yaogang people rang out, and the shells smashed directly into the North Korean camp. After the first row of shells passed, the second batch of shells was ***, and the North Koreans were confused by this sudden arrival of shells, and those North Korean officers and soldiers who did not want to fight here took advantage of the chaos to run around. But they suddenly found that blazing bullets could be fired everywhere around the camp, and the fleeing soldiers were knocked to the ground in rows. The desperate North Korean officers and soldiers did not care about the rain of bullets in front of them, and insisted on rushing outward, knowing that they would wait for death if they stayed. In this way, although the Yaogang people surrounded the Korean camp, there were still loopholes in the encirclement network, and thousands of Korean soldiers escaped. When the sun rose, the North Korean soldiers stopped breaking through. They hid in the unburned place, and looked blankly at the kiln soldiers who surrounded them, and nearly 10,000 people probably surrendered.

Wei Xiang left some of his men to clean up the corpses of the Koreans in front of the battle, and sent troops to seize the castles in Pyongan Province, and at the same time informed the division commander who was advancing with two regiments to Yongbyon Metropolitan Protectorate. Tell not to care about the back, the North Korean army behind is no longer able to organize an effective military operation.

Because the mountain road near the Yalu River is very difficult to walk, the gun truck and the tracked tractor can barely pass on the mountain road, and in some places the sappers need to blow it up with ** to let the gun truck and the tracked tractor pass. The Yaogang army, which was attacking the Yongbyon Metropolitan Protectorate, did its best to advance for fifty miles. The next day, the road was better, and they had only gone sixty miles.

However, the North Korean soldiers chasing after them didn't seem to be able to go fast. The two are always at the same distance. The division commander understood that the North Korean army did not want to fight them here, and they were going to Yongbyon to attack them in front and back with the defenders there.

The division commander discussed with the two regiment commanders and the chief of staff, and felt that he should look for an opportunity to fight the pursuers behind. Everyone agreed on this, and a regimental commander led the men to open the way in front, found a valley, and decided to choose the ambush site here. They will bring ** and orient**, and after burying them along the valley, they will ambush a company of soldiers on each side of the valley, and ask the men and horses of the kiln gang brigade in front to continue to advance.

The North Korean pursuers who were staring at the people of the Yaogang Brigade did not expect the Yaogang people to kill back the horse pistol. After the front team of more than 2,000 North Koreans entered the valley, the Yaogang people detonated the **. This ** exploded in the middle of the ranks of North Korean soldiers. These North Korean soldiers had never seen such an explosion, and the team was immediately confused, crowded into the valley and collided. The kiln soldiers in ambush on both sides threw their hands ** at them, and the "boom" continued to explode the hands ** to harvest their lives again, and finally the kiln soldiers rushed down with automatic rifles and completely eliminated them. The Yaogang soldiers did not collect their bodies this time, and handed over such a job to the North Korean army, which followed behind.

After such a return of the rifle, the North Korean troops behind were so frightened that they no longer dared to follow too closely.

However, the Yaogang army marched all the way, and the small battles continued, and it was not until the fourth day that they came to the front of the Yongbyon Metropolitan Protectorate. At this time, the Koreans in the Yongbyon Metropolitan Protectorate already knew that the Ming Dynasty army was coming, but the speed of the Ming Dynasty army was still something they didn't expect. Even many people believe that the army of the Ming Dynasty will not really fight here. So the preparations for the battle were done in a hurry and panic.

The Koreans did not know that at this time, two 5,000-ton ships, several 1,000-ton warships, some landing craft and tugboats, with two infantry regiments, were sailing at sea, and they would come to the mouth of the Datong River after a day's journey. However, they had to wait for the army of Yaogang to take the Yongbyon Metropolitan Protectorate before landing at the mouth of the Datong River.

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New progress in "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty": the Battle of Yashan, the defeat of the Yuan army, the counterattack of the Song army, and the landing in Fuzhou.