The New Destiny of the Ming Dynasty

"At sea?! How can we go by sea?! Brother Yang, my Mongol soldiers are used to riding horses, but they've never been to sea before!"

Upon hearing Yang Zhen's explanation, Xu Changyong's small eyes widened in disbelief.

For Xu Changyong and his Mongol soldiers, they had never been to sea or traveled by sea before. Yang Zhenyi's suggestion to head north by sea was completely beyond Xu Changyong's imagination.

The idea of ​​traveling north by sea was beyond Xu Changyong's imagination, as someone who had spent almost half his life on horseback.

But for Zukeyong, who had a broader perspective, Yang Zhen's words seemed to open up a new world in his mind in an instant.

After hearing Yang Zhen's words, Zu Keyong was stunned for a moment, then muttered to himself, "That's right! There are no Tartars at sea. From Ningyuan to Songshan, there are Tartars everywhere, but there are definitely no Tartars at sea!"

At this moment, Li Lu exclaimed with delight, "Yes! There are no Tartars at sea! Once we reach the sea, from Ningyuan to Songshan, we won't encounter a single Tartar! When we reach the northern sea, we can send people ashore to scout. If the Tartars have deployed defenses along the coast, we won't go ashore. What can they do to us? At worst, we can still retreat unscathed!"

Li Lu drew inferences from one instance to another, and first stated the worst possible outcome.

But even the worst-case scenario Li Lu described was much better than heading north from the grasslands outside the border; at least it wouldn't be a matter of life and death anymore.

Therefore, after Li Lu finished speaking, Zhang Degui immediately added, "That's right! This method is better than going to the border. If we encounter the Tartars there, it's a nine-out-of-ten chance of death, and we have no way out! But if we go by sea, we can always make our own decisions! If there's a chance to enter the city, we'll go ashore; if not, we'll stay at sea and observe! At least we can protect ourselves and have a chance to escape unscathed!"

After Li Lu and Zhang Degui finished speaking, Xu Changyong and Zu Keyong had also figured out the reasoning.

However, after a short while, as everyone calmed down from their excitement, another problem soon arose.

Zu Keyong was the first to raise the question.

Zu Keyong said, "By sea, it's possible! But how? Where are the ships? We have six hundred men, and we need to carry firearms and ammunition, as well as military supplies and equipment. Moreover, I think we should also bring horses! Six hundred men and six hundred horses, how can we travel by sea? Are there that many ships in Ningyuan?"

"There aren't any in Ningyuan City! But there are on Juehua Island! What I mean is, we shouldn't bring horses on this trip. If we have too many horses, we won't be able to stay at sea for long to observe the situation!"

However, Yang Zhen's words were immediately met with opposition from Xu Changyong.

Xu Changyong slammed his hand on the kang table and shouted, "No! How can we go without horses?! Without horses, it's absolutely impossible! My men are all Mongol soldiers; how can we fight without warhorses?! What difference is there between us three hundred men going and not going at all?! Brother Yang, you have to think of a way; we must bring warhorses!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhen thought to himself, "Alright, as long as you don't object to the grand strategy of heading north by sea, we can slowly study the rest." He didn't say anything more, but simply nodded to Xu Changyong, which was considered a concession.

After hearing Xu Changyong's words, Zu Keyong realized that Xu Changyong, who had previously advocated going to the border, now advocated taking the sea route by boat.

"General Zu, is there anything else you don't understand?"

Yang Zhen keenly noticed that Zu Keyong's eyes were shifting uncertainly, clearly indicating he hadn't made a final decision. Therefore, he asked directly, "If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask, and we'll discuss it together! After all, this is my first time traveling north by sea, and there are dangers of storms at sea. I'm not entirely confident either!"

"Although there is a risk of encountering storms while traveling north by sea, compared to the risk of encountering the Tartars, the sea route is definitely safer!"

As soon as Yang Zhen finished speaking, Zhang Degui, Li Lu, and Xu Changyong echoed his words.

At this moment, Zu Keyong asked, "Yang Xiezhen, the brothers are ordered to follow you north. If we take the sea route, where will we land on the vast ocean?"

When Yang Zhen heard Zu Keyong ask this question, he knew that Zu Keyong had basically accepted the general strategy of heading north by sea, so he patiently explained it to him further:

"We can head north along the coast and land at the mouth of the Xiaoling River! From there, Songshan City is only eight or nine li to the west! It will be much easier for either our reinforcements or our messengers to enter the city!"

Upon hearing this, Zukeyong remained noncommittal and continued to press, "What if the Tartars already have troops stationed at the mouth of the Xiaoling River, or on both banks of the Xiaoling River?"

"If the Tartars are prepared there, we can retreat to the sea and find another place to land! If the Tartars are unprepared there, we can even go along the Xiaoling River and land directly at the Niangniang Palace!"

When Zu Keyong heard Yang Zhen mention the place name "Niangniang Palace," he knew that Yang Zhen's plan was safer than Zu Dashuai's plan.

Niangniang Palace is located not far outside Songshan City. It is dedicated to Mazu, the goddess of the sea in China. Zu Keyong visited it more than once when he was stationed in Jinzhou.

Upon hearing Yang Zhen mention the Niangniang Palace, Zu Keyong immediately had no more doubts. He clasped his hands and said, "Commander Yang! This trip is a matter of life and death, so I must ask carefully! Tomorrow morning, I will bring my men here to join forces with your troops! Then we can discuss in detail the specific strategies for heading north by sea to rescue Songshan!"

As he spoke, Zukeyong picked up his wine bowl.

Seeing this, Yang Zhen quickly picked up his wine bowl and clinked glasses with Zu Keyong, Xu Changyong, Zhang Degui, and Li Lu one by one. Then he tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp.

The general strategy of heading north by sea was thus largely settled, and the process was much easier than Yang Zhen had originally anticipated.

That evening, when it was time to leave, after Yang Zhen instructed everyone to keep the secret for the time being, Zu Keyong and Xu Changyong said goodbye and left together.

Yang Zhen didn't know if there were any spies among the Tartars in Ningyuan City, but he was very clear that many civil and military officials of this era had extremely poor sense of secrecy.

If Yang Zhen hadn't told them to keep it a secret for the time being, what he said that night would probably have caused quite a stir in the city the next day.

If the news were to reach the ears of Tartar spies or secret agents, the plan to head north by sea would likely be doomed.

That night, everyone dispersed, and nothing was said. Yang Zhen, who had drunk three bowls of wine, slept soundly for once, which was quite rare.

The next morning, it was another overcast day. The leaden sky, like a giant lid, covered Ningyuan City, making people feel depressed and unable to breathe.

Yang Zhen ate breakfast in a hurry, leaving Zhang Degui in charge of camp affairs. Yang Zhen ordered him to organize the less than two hundred soldiers in the camp to do drills and run laps at the small training ground at the East Gate, while Yang Zhen himself took Li Lu to the Liaodong Governor's Office.

Although the route for the expedition has been determined, there is still a lot to be done, such as the issues of troop transport ships, firearms and ammunition, military supplies and equipment, and command flags, all of which need to be finalized one by one.

In addition, the general strategy of heading north by sea to land at the mouth of the Xiaoling River also needed to be reported to Governor Fang Yizao.

As for Zu Dashou, the highest military commander in Ningyuan at this time, Yang Zhen did not want to get entangled with this Liaodong general about the route of advance.

Yang Zhen had doubts about Zu Dashou's current stance, since this man had surrendered to the Manchus in the fourth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, and now had a large group of brothers, nephews, and family members serving as officials and making a fortune on the Manchu side.

Most importantly, just two years later, Zu Dashou surrendered to the Manchus once again.

Regardless of the reason for the surrender, Yang Zhen felt extremely uncomfortable when he thought about these historical facts, and he felt from the bottom of his heart that this person could not be trusted.

Regarding the plan to travel north to Songshan by sea, if Zu Keyong reported it to him last night, then it would be considered that Yang Zhen had informed him; if Zu Keyong did not report it to him, Yang Zhen was determined to wait until the moment before departure to tell him clearly.

Yang Zhen went to the office of Governor Fang Yizao and successfully met with him. He reported his thoughts to Governor Fang Yizao and explained the reasons he had given the night before in detail.

Yuan Shu, the supervisor in charge of grain and provisions in Liaodong, happened to be working in the governor's office. Upon hearing Yang Zhen's statement, he immediately agreed with it.

Yuan Shu's father was Yuan Keli. When Mao Zedong was in charge of Dongjiang Town, Yuan Keli served as the governor of Dengzhou and Laizhou. At that time, Yuan Shu was in his father Yuan Keli's staff, so he was familiar with maritime affairs and could be considered one of the very few civil officials with a maritime perspective at that time.

Therefore, Yuan Shu greatly admired Yang Zhenhai's idea of ​​a sea-based assault.

Governor Fang Yizao was ignorant of military affairs, and Yang Zhen was the only general he had brought back to Liaodong this time. Therefore, he listened to Yang Zhen and Yuan Shu's words and had no objection to them.

In addition, the day before, when Yang Zhen received his orders, he put forward three conditions, one of which was that he could decide the route of the advance on his own, without interference from the civil and military officials of Ningyuan, including Governor Fang Yizao and General Zu Dashou.

Only a day had passed, and Fang Yizao naturally couldn't go back on his word, so he readily approved the plan to advance by sea.