The New Destiny of the Ming Dynasty

Yang Zhen also knew that he couldn't make any definitive statements now, and even if he did, people wouldn't believe him.

Most importantly, he himself wasn't entirely sure whether he could actually do it, but he knew he couldn't not say it.

After so many years of war, the Ming Dynasty's official army, including the Liaodong army, suffered more defeats than victories when facing the Jurchen army. This led to the vast majority of Ming soldiers being afraid of the Jurchens, especially of encountering them in the wild.

The soldiers under Yang Zhen had fought against the Jurchens for many years and had survived to this day. Most of them had killed Jurchens and knew that the Jurchens were not invulnerable or invincible. However, they were unwilling to give up their peaceful lives and go out to fight the Jurchens.

Yang Zhen was well aware of the war-weariness and aversion to war among his soldiers and officers, including himself, who had even considered feigning illness to avoid going.

But as a time traveler, he knew all too well that there was no peaceful life to be had in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

Therefore, after Yang Zhen finished speaking, seeing that his two loyal subordinates, Zhang Degui and Li Lu, both looked doubtful and even somewhat indifferent, he quickly continued:

"Today I made three requests to Governor Fang and Commander Zu, and they all agreed to them personally! With those three requests, we no longer need to fight according to other people's methods when we march north! We can fight however we want!"

"Although the Tartars are powerful, they are not invincible! Brother Degui, Brother Li Lu, since my father's death in battle, you have always believed in me, Yang Zhen, and followed me without regret. So please, give me one last trust, and give me one last chance! If I fail this time, I, Yang Zhen, am willing to atone with my death!"

As Yang Zhen spoke, he clasped his hands in a fist and bowed to Zhang Degui and Li Lu.

"Oh dear, Young Master Zhen, why go to such lengths! Why go to such lengths! From the day I, Zhang Degui, followed the old commander, I gave him my life. Now that the old commander is gone, my life already belongs to you, Young Master Zhen! As long as you've made up your mind, what can we say? Don't even mention anything about atoning for it with your death!"

After Yang Zhen solemnly finished speaking, Zhang Degui and Li Lu were both shocked and moved.

Although Yang Zhen was close to them before, he had never spoken to them like this before, nor had he ever said such heartfelt words with such pleading. This surprised and moved them, and they could no longer object.

Zhang Degui was particularly sensitive to the politeness in Yang Zhen's words, and kept expressing his loyalty, completely disregarding the topics Yang Zhen mentioned, such as other people's playing styles and his own.

However, once everyone quieted down, Li Lu subtly raised the issue: "Brother Zhang is right! We brothers have followed the old commander and the magistrate for many years. We'd go through fire and water for him, just needing his word. Anyone who even flinchs is a disgrace!"

After saying this, Li Lu paused briefly, then continued, "However—, this time, sir, have you devised a strategy for heading north to Songshan? How exactly should we fight?"

At this moment, Yang Zhen didn't speak. He first turned his head to look at the sky through the broken window. Seeing that it wasn't completely dark yet, he calculated the time. In later times, it would be around six or seven o'clock in the evening. Then he said:

"It's not completely dark yet. Have Yang Zhan'ao go out and prepare some food and drinks, the better stuff, and bring them to my room!"

Yang Zhan'ao was originally a personal guard of Yang Zhen's father, so he watched Yang Zhen grow up. Now he is Yang Zhen's personal guard captain and the first person Yang Zhen saw after waking up from a three-day, three-night coma.

Yang Zhen doesn't know much about Yang Zhan'ao right now, but during the time he pretended to be unconscious, Yang Zhan'ao knelt by his bed more than once, begging Buddha, Bodhisattva, the Jade Emperor, and all the gods and Buddhas to bless Yang Zhen so that he would be safe and wake up as soon as possible.

This deeply moved Yang Zhen, leading him to conclude that this person was trustworthy. Therefore, after "waking up," he made no changes to the selection of this crucial personal guard commander.

After hearing Yang Zhen's arrangements, Li Lu knew that Yang Zhen intended to have a long talk while eating, so he turned around and left to make the arrangements.

At this moment, Yang Zhen quickly stopped him, saying, "Don't rush off! After arranging things for Yang Zhan'ao, go and invite Zu Keyong here yourself!"

Immediately afterward, Yang Zhen turned to Zhang Degui and said, "I'd like to trouble Guerrilla Commander Zhang to personally make a trip and invite Xu Changyong over as well!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Degui and Li Lu knew that they were about to discuss serious matters, so they immediately accepted the order, turned around, and went out to make arrangements separately.

Yang Zhen had seriously considered various ways to save his life when he was ordered to go north to rescue Songshan.

He had also considered using his position as the deputy general of Ningyuan to get a ship and escape to the south, where he could accumulate strength before fighting the Tartars.

But after thinking it over, he still couldn't do it.

First of all, he couldn't abandon his small force of about two hundred men.

If he were to abandon these people, it would be highly questionable whether he could successfully make it to the south, or even if he did, whether he could thrive there.

Secondly, in the eyes of his subordinates, Yang Zhen was a lofty and heroic figure. If he deserted in the face of battle, it would be a big question whether these people would still follow him.

Furthermore, from his own perspective, since he had the opportunity to come to this era and now had the chance to change the fate of the Ming Dynasty in this parallel universe, why not do his best to make changes? Why did he only think about running away before even putting in any effort?

Yang Zhen knew very well that if he chose to escape by boat, he would be unable to convince either his soldiers or himself.

At the same time, while he was pretending to be unconscious, he thought of escaping by boat and also thought of another route to Songshan in the north, a route different from the one in history.

That means taking a boat and traveling north by sea.

By the twelfth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, the once-glorious Ming Dynasty's "Juehua Island" navy had ceased to exist, and the Liaodong army no longer had the ability to attack the heartland of the Jurchens from the sea.

However, Yang Zhen knew that after the Jurchens crossed the ice and captured the naval base on Juehua Island off the coast of Ningyuan in February of the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, although the Jurchen army killed all the people on the island, looted all the property on the island, and burned all the grain and ships that could not be taken away, they did not occupy Juehua Island.

In the first year of the Chongzhen reign, Yuan Chonghuan was appointed as the military governor of Jiliao. After returning to Ningyuan, he quickly restored the grain storage city on Juehua Island and continued to use Juehua Island as a transit point for the supply and transfer of various military supplies from the Ming Dynasty to the Liaodong army.

Moreover, the transport fleet on Juehua Island was capable of carrying Yuan Chonghuan and his entourage across the sea to the southernmost tip of the Liaodong Peninsula—the Shuangdao area. It was there that Yuan Chonghuan forged an imperial edict and killed Mao Wenlong.

Later, Yuan Chonghuan was killed, but the grain depot on Juehua Island and the supply fleet, due to their crucial position, were not affected by this event.

Even now, in the twelfth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, the imperial court's practice of transporting grain and provisions to Liaodong via Juehua Island has not changed much.

It's just another maritime grain depot on Bijia Mountain, which is closer to Jinzhou and Songshan, in addition to Juehua Island.

However, the grain depot on Juehua Island was still in operation, and according to the instructions of the supervisor, grain and provisions were still being transported from Juehua Island to Ningyuan City on a regular basis.

Whether or not there is a naval fleet on Juehua Island is no longer important to Yang Zhen.

For him, the most important thing was that there were already a number of Ming Dynasty shipping ships on Juehua Island, and that was enough.

While thinking about these things, Yang Zhen waited for Zu Keyong and Xu Changyong to arrive. He didn't even notice that Yang Zhan'ao had led a few personal guards to set out several plates of beef and mutton and a jar of strong liquor on the kang table.

"My lord! The food and wine are all prepared! Is there anything else you would like me to prepare?"

As Yang Zhan'ao spoke, he placed a stack of ceramic bowls on the kang table, interrupting Yang Zhen's thoughts on the northward route.

"Take a few men and wait at the courtyard gate. When Zhang Youji and Li Dusi return, come in and tell me immediately!"

After figuring things out, Yang Zhen immediately became a little anxious.

Today is the first day of the third month of the twelfth year of Chongzhen's reign. He will be setting off north in a few days, but there is a great deal of preparation to be made.