Late Ming Dynasty: From the Defeated Soldiers at Daling River to Ascending the Throne

"Commander Wang, I have something to report."

Wang Jie nodded. "Go on."

Zhao Sheng recounted most of the intelligence provided by Liang Siye, but omitted the dragon tickets and specific seizures.

As Wang Jie listened, his eyes widened. When Zhao Sheng mentioned the amount of grain and gunpowder that Liang Siye had brought this time, the night scouts present could no longer sit still.

"Thirty thousand shi of grain?!" A young night scout beside Wang Jie jumped to his feet, his eyes bloodshot. "How long will that feed the Tartars?!"

Another scout retorted indignantly, "Five thousand catties of gunpowder, how many rounds of cannon fire is that enough for the Tartars?"

"Sit down," Wang Jie hissed. He paused for a moment, his teeth grinding together. "No wonder...no wonder the Tartars have gotten richer and richer these past two years, while we've gotten poorer! Those damned merchants!!"

"This humble servant does not know if I will be able to return to Jinzhou this time. If Commander Wang is able to return, I will certainly report this matter to the General." Zhao Sheng clasped his hands in greeting.

"Of course we must report this to our superiors..." Wang Jie stared at Zhao Sheng again, "But this matter is too shocking. Do you have any evidence?"

Hearing Wang Jie ask this question, Zhao Sheng thought that Wang Jie wanted a share of the credit, and that if he handed over the head to him, the credit would probably have nothing to do with Zhao Sheng and his group.

Zhao Sheng shook his head. "When we heard the cannon fire, we left in a hurry and didn't have time to gather any evidence."

Wang Jie looked at Zhao Sheng for a long time, then patted Zhao Sheng on the shoulder, "Don't be so nervous, I'm just asking."

Chen Feng suddenly spoke up: "Commander Wang, how many teams did your night raids take this time?"

Wang Jie raised his eyes. "A major battle is imminent, and everyone who can move has been deployed. At least twenty teams, scattered across the area within fifty miles of the Daling River. But right now..."

He glanced at his men around him. "The moment that cannon blast went off, chaos erupted within a fifty-mile radius. I reckon many of my brothers ran into the Tartars. I lost three men on my side too."

"If we gather all the spies from the surrounding area, how many would we have?" Chen Feng pressed.

"Hmm?" Wang Jie looked puzzled. "There are more on the north side of the main camp, about fourteen teams, and scattered around here... if you include them all, there should be seventy or eighty riders."

Chen Feng's eyes lit up in the darkness; the thought he had previously extinguished reignited.

"Commander Wang," he said softly, but clearly enough for everyone around to hear, "do you know about that Tartar grain depot south of Yizhou City?"

"I know, what's wrong?"

"The caravan leader said that in addition to 100,000 shi of grain, there were also 50,000 jin of gunpowder inside."

Wang Jie narrowed his eyes. "What do you want to do?"

"Go blow up the Tartars' gunpowder depot," Chen Feng slowly uttered.

Everyone held their breath. Chen Feng's words not only frightened the group of night scouts, but also Chen Feng's own men.

Meng Changgeng previously thought Chen Feng was a bit crazy, but he didn't expect Chen Feng to be this crazy. This is clearly a dead end!

"Are you crazy?!" Wang Jie lowered his voice, but couldn't hide his horror. "The Tartars attach great importance to the supply camp. There were already two Niru (units of military troops) stationed there. Now that a major battle is imminent, there are at least one Jala (unit of military troops) stationed there, and there are also cavalry patrolling the outer perimeter! And we only have a dozen or so men..."

Chen Feng interrupted him, "You just said that at least seventy or eighty scouts could gather around here."

"That's still not enough!" Wang Jie gritted his teeth. "I've scouted that camp. The Tartars have dug trenches, set up chevaux-de-frise, and have watchtowers at all four corners. Even if we include all the brothers in the surrounding area, our small force wouldn't even make a splash if we charged in!"

"Commander Wang..."

Before Chen Feng could finish speaking, Wang Jie interrupted him directly: "Commander Chen, it's not that I'm afraid of death. Night Scouts are lightly armored cavalry. Not only are they unsuitable for charging into enemy lines, but we also lack artillery, so we can't even enter the Tartar camp. Your plan is tantamount to sending our brothers to their deaths! I cannot agree to this!"

Meng Changgeng chimed in, "Boss, Commander Wang is right. Shall we...shall we go back to Jinzhou with Commander Wang? Sending this intelligence up would be a great achievement..."

Chen Feng ignored him and stared at Wang Jie: "Commander Wang, do you want to save Commander Zu?"

Wang Jie was taken aback.

Chen Feng continued, "Dalinghe has been besieged for two months, and the city's food supplies have long been exhausted. They're probably killing horses for food now, aren't they?"

Wang Jie's pupils suddenly contracted. The brothers who broke out of the city two days ago had mentioned that horses were being killed for food. This person was in Yizhou. How did he know that?

Chen Feng naturally didn't have clairvoyance; this was all knowledge of war history learned by later generations.

Chen Feng noticed the change in Wang Jie's expression and slowly said, "Governor Qiu has always coveted military power and deliberately provoked conflict between General Wu and General Song, which is why they suffered heavy defeats in previous attacks when their forces were insufficient."

He paused, his voice growing deeper: "You just said a great battle is imminent. Which lord will be the commander-in-chief? Governor Qiu? Councilor Zhang? Or Commander-in-Chief Sun? I think it should be Councilor Zhang, right?"

Wang Jie stared intently at Chen Feng. "How did you know?"

Chen Feng smiled slightly, it seemed that his time travel had not affected the course of history.

He spoke slowly, his tone much calmer: "Governor Qiu is terrified. Commander Sun should be in the capital coordinating reinforcements from Dengzhou and Laizhou, possibly leading the army. And to lead the troops you mentioned in the 'Great Battle,' there must be at least tens of thousands of men. Therefore, the commander-in-chief this time can only be Councilor Zhang."

Seeing that Chen Feng spoke with such authority and showed no reverence when evaluating these important figures, Wang Jie became more cautious towards the man before him. "Zhang Zhaozhu has a distinguished military record and is a knowledgeable strategist. With him commanding the army, the siege of Dalinghe will surely be lifted!"

"Zhang Zhaobiao is indeed a decorated war hero, but..." Chen Feng changed the subject, "but would Governor Qiu be content to stay obediently in the rear?"

"You...you mean?"

"Governor Qiu will certainly not be content with his position and will interfere with the army's orders from the rear. Add to that the conflict between General Wu and General Song..." Chen Feng's gaze suddenly turned cold. "Do you think Councilor Zhang can still win?"

"You...you...!"

Wang Jie wanted to rebuke Chen Feng for disrupting the morale of the army, but upon further reflection, he realized that Chen Feng's words were not without merit and were quite plausible.

Seeing that Wang Jie had been persuaded, Chen Feng pressed his advantage, "Do you know how many cannons the Tartars have?"

Wang Jie's eyes darted around, unsure of what to say. "About twenty doors?"

Chen Feng shook his head and said, "I guess there will be no fewer than forty."

As soon as Chen Feng said this, the crowd stirred up and said it was impossible.

Chen Feng did not directly refute, "A few days ago at the Xiaoling River, the Tartars first bombarded our entire army with artillery. At that time, the Tartars used at least ten artillery pieces. Do you think the Tartars would bring half of their artillery to the Xiaoling River?"

"That's...indeed." Wang Jie had nothing to say.

"Therefore! If the Tartars' gunpowder depot is blown up, the Tartar army will be thrown into chaos! Tong Yangxing's cannons will become scrap metal after only a few rounds, and the Tartars' muskets will become useless firewood. Zhang Canzheng's chances of victory will greatly increase! At that time..."

Chen Feng leaned close to Wang Jie, almost face to face, and said, "At that time, not only will Commander Zu be able to break through the encirclement, but he will also lead his army to pursue the victory and take Yizhou..."

"This great achievement..." Chen Feng made a fist gesture in front of Wang Jie, "Doesn't Commander Wang feel tempted?"

Chen Feng's words struck a chord in everyone's hearts like drumbeats. Upon hearing them, everyone's blood boiled, and they all turned to look at Wang Jie, their eyes filled with eagerness and anticipation.

The veins on Wang Jie's forehead throbbed in the moonlight as he gripped the hilt of his knife tightly, his knuckles turning white.

"What are you going to do?" Wang Jie squeezed out the words through gritted teeth.

Seeing that Wang Jie had been persuaded, Chen Feng finally smiled. "As long as someone infiltrates as an inside agent, and the brothers outside make a feigned attack after the inside agent sends a signal, making it look like they are about to raid the camp to attract the Tartars' attention, then the inside agent will have an opportunity."

"Perfect! Do as the boss says!" Hao Dadao suddenly shouted.

Wang Jie glanced at Hao Dadao, ignoring the burly man, and then looked at Chen Feng, "But how are we going to sneak in?"

Chen Feng called out, "Scholar!"

Meng Changgeng had a bad feeling.