Shandong was in the middle and waist of the Qing court's ruling area, and once it was completely recovered by the Ming army, the Qing army on the Jianghuai defense line was under the attack of the enemy. Moreover, from Shandong to Zhili, it can directly threaten the safety of the Beijing Division. Therefore, the Manchus will certainly not give up lightly.

Because, giving up Shandong means to make great strides back, the Yellow River (after Pan Ji tamed the river in the late Ming Dynasty, the Yellow River was basically fixed in Kaifeng, Lankao, Shangqiu, Dangshan, Xuzhou, Suqian, Huaiyin line, that is, the Ming and Qing dynasties) is nothing, and I am afraid that the northern retreat along the canal will be held in Zhili.

No matter how much the Qing court wanted to maintain the current situation, it is an indisputable fact that the advantage of the entire strategy has shifted to the Ming Dynasty.

In terms of troops, the Eight Banners have long been unable to support the battle situation in terms of numbers. Although the northern green battalion is stronger than the southern green flag, out of precaution against the Han people, the weapons and equipment of the northern green battalion are very inferior. Although in desperation, they began to distribute shotguns and small artillery, they could not compete with the Ming army in terms of quantity and quality. Moreover, with the weakening of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the northern green camp also had a centrifugal orientation, and no one wanted to die for a court that was about to perish. Moreover, the supply of food would become more and more difficult, and the Manchus could only boost their morale by plundering the people.

From the perspective of resources, after the transportation is cut off, the production environment in the north is worse than that in the south, and daily necessities such as grain and salt will become more and more scarce; Military supplies such as copper and iron could not be fully guaranteed because of the severance of the Japanese trade and the loss of copper-producing areas in the south. This made it difficult for the Manchus to manufacture artillery in large quantities.

In terms of population, the North cannot be compared with the South. With a small number of people, whether it is recruiting soldiers, organizing production, or collecting taxes, it is not as strong as the South.

As for other aspects. Whether it was domestic affairs or foreign affairs, the Manchus were at a disadvantage. Internally, public resentment is boiling because of the tyrannical expropriation; Externally, the surrounding countries have fallen to the Ming Dynasty and are also in an unprecedented state of isolation.

And the Ming army did not only carry out operations in Shandong, but also in Jianghuai, Jingxiang, Baoning and other places. The growing Ming army also maintained pressure on the Qing army in front of it, making it difficult for it to draw troops. Under such circumstances, the Manchu Qing Dynasty had very limited manpower and material resources that could be used on the Shandong battlefield.

In fact, the Manchus did not realize that the Ming army was relying on Shandong to control the Bohai Sea, and in this strategic encirclement, Zhili was naturally under threat, and Liaodong, why was it not within the scope of the Ming army's attack?

In fact. As early as the Apocalypse, when the scholar Sun Chengzong supervised Ji Liao, he had a strategic plan similar to that now. With the army as the main soldier and the navy division as the surprise soldier, it was very innovative at that time to recover Liaodong. In particular, the landing operation was an important part of Sun Chengzong's strategy to recover Liaodong, and his strategic concept was to mobilize the naval divisions of Dengzhou (present-day Penglai, Shandong), Laizhou (present-day Yexian County, Shandong), and Tianjin to pass through the Bohai Sea and Liaodong Bay. Landing from the Liaodong Peninsula. After landing, first occupy the four guards of Jin, Fu, Hai, and Gai. Then attack Liaoyang and Shenyang.

If Sun Chengzong at that time was unable to implement his strategic ideas because of the failure of military training, then the current Ming army has such strength. As long as Jiaodong can be stabilized, so that the Ming army has a base to control the Bohai Sea, and with the strong naval division of the Ming army, it can enter Liaodong and trap the main force of the Manchu Qing in Guannei.

Even if such radical plans are not adopted. Instead, step by step, first restore the Beijing division and then take Liaodong, then the importance of Shandong cannot be ignored. With Deng, Lai, Yan, Wei and other places as naval bases, the Ming army could also cross the sea to attack important places in eastern Liaodong such as Lushun and Dalian.

Of course, the conservative goal of the Ming army was to temporarily stabilize Jiaodong. But this does not mean cowering in military action. From the beginning of the landing in the Dengzhou area and the rendezvous with the Yuqisho Division, which had an incident in Qixia, the main force of the Ming Army's land division quickly moved south, connecting Kleyang and Laixi, while the Marine Division of the Marine Division landed from Qingdao and attacked northward, conquering Jimo and then joining forces with the army in Laixi, thus completing the cross-section of the Jiaodong Peninsula.

Subsequently, the army attacked the city and plundered the land to the west to expand its territory; The marines and the Seventh Division of the Righteous Army went east to recover the encircled Jiaodong area.

Due to the swift and sudden landing of the Ming army in Shandong, the Qing army in Shandong was completely inferior in the early stage, and the Dubiao and the Green Battalion, who had conquered Yu Qi, engaged in a confrontation with the Ming army in Pingdu. Seven thousand against 10,000, whether it was equipment or numbers, the Qing army was defeated without any suspense.

The Ming army took advantage of the victory to attack, and the Qing army received an order from Zu Zepu to retreat to Zichuan (now Zibo) with a little resistance. This is already under the jurisdiction of Jinan Prefecture, and after meeting with the thousands of reinforcements sent by Jinan, it can be regarded as a little stable position. The Ming army recovered Weixian (now Weifang), thus controlling the throat of the inland hinterland of Shandong leading to the peninsula.

After the Qing court received an urgent letter from Zu Zepu, the governor of Shandong, and made the decision to send the Eight Banners of the Forbidden Brigade and the Zhili Green Battalion to fight in Shandong, another urgent letter suspended the implementation of this decision.

After completing the task of carrying the land on the landing, the Second Detachment led by Yang Yandi of Zhenhai Bo sailed straight to Tianjin, and on 7 June, it lined up outside the mouth of Dagu and launched a fierce bombardment of the Qing army's batteries.

The Qing court strengthened the defense of Tianjin, such as adding the Dagu Haikou Naval Division, building two forts on the north and south banks, and placing 40 artillery pieces; Set up three barrage chains in Haikou, configure iron barrages, install wooden fences, and connect them into giant rafts; In order to strengthen the defense of the flanks, the fort was renovated in the Beitang area, with 12 artillery pieces, and troops were also set up to defend the camp north of Beitang.

However, in terms of the number and power of artillery, as well as the size and scale of the ships of the naval division, the Qing army could not resist. Under the deterrence of hundreds of Ming ships and cannons, the Qing army's Dagu Haikou naval division did not dare to go to sea to fight, but retreated into the White River; Relying on the forts and barrage fortifications, the Ming army and the naval division were blocked.

The shelling lasted for most of the day, and the Ming naval division, relying on the range advantage of the artillery, gained the upper hand and destroyed two batteries. Subsequently, in the afternoon, more than 10 warships rode straight into the Baihe River by taking advantage of the tide of the wind and tide, and took advantage of the darkness of the night to drag down four barrage iron barrages, cut off the first barrage chain, and forcibly landed on the south bank of Haikou with a 1,000-strong marine corps using naval artillery fire as a cover.

This was a fierce feint, or containment and harassment, which showed the Qing court that Tianjin's defense was not impregnable, and that if the Ming army strengthened its forces and sent more warships, it was possible to break through the defense or occupy Tianjin.

Although the Qing court received an urgent response from Tianjin, believing that this was a cooperation with the Shandong war, in order to contain the number of reinforcements and the time to arrive in Shandong, it still did not dare to take it lightly.

This is the role of the sailor, often not to achieve much success, but to prove to the enemy that he can actually threaten his vital place. (To be continued......)