The New Destiny of the Ming Dynasty

As Yang Zhen's ship rocked, the two parallel ships finally managed to come together successfully with the combined efforts of the sailors on both sides.

Soon, Yang Zhanao led Pan Wenmao and Zhang Guogan, wading through the shallow water, towards the deck where Yang Zhen was.

Most of these people were landlubbers; not only could they not swim, but most had never been on a sea voyage before. In addition, there were wind and waves at sea, so they experienced various forms of discomfort once they boarded the ship.

Fortunately, Yang Zhen had seen the sea in his previous life and had traveled on all kinds of large and small ships. Although it was his first time riding on such a large wooden ship that relied entirely on sails, he did not feel uncomfortable at all.

Moreover, he was a good swimmer and had no fear of ships sailing close to the coast.

On the contrary, sailing on the sea and not being able to see the ancient city of Ningyuan gave him the illusion that he was sailing on a ship in a later era.

By this time, the sky at sea had completely darkened. Yuan Jin had torches lit, and then personally directed his men to climb the simple watchtower on the mainsail mast and hang a lantern high on it.

Before long, all the boats, large and small, that were following nearby hung up lanterns to let other boats know their location.

In this era, sailing in a fleet at night using sails was extremely dangerous. For safety, the distance between boats of different sizes had to be relatively large. However, the distance couldn't be too great, or the boats would easily get separated.

Without an expert like Yuan Jin, Yang Zhen would never have dared to let them sail at night using only the wind.

Meanwhile, Pan Wenmao and Zhang Guogan arrived and, upon seeing Yang Zhen, quickly bowed in greeting.

"My lord! I was almost late and nearly delayed your important business! Please punish me!" Pan Wenmao said, bowing as he saw Yang Zhen.

"Sir! This isn't Old Pan's fault! It's mainly my fault! I failed to do my job properly! If anyone should be punished, it should be me!"

Zhang Guogan quickly took over the conversation and took the responsibility.

In fact, Yang Zhen knew immediately that the problem lay with Zhang Guogan.

Before setting off, he was worried that the "three-headed iron" made by the blacksmith shop under Zhang Guogan's supervision would be difficult to transport, so he suggested that they leave Ningyuan City from the south gate, take the waterway, and meet at the mouth of the Ningyuan River.

Later, when he led his troops out of the city, he did not see Pan Wenmao. Knowing that he might not have finished his business, he sent someone to tell him to pack his belongings and go to the dock outside the South Gate to meet Zhang Guogan and then take a boat to sea together.

Yang Zhen sent the experienced and prudent Pan Wenmao to the South Gate to meet with Zhang Guogan, partly to ensure the smooth handling of matters, since Zhang Guogan always gave people a somewhat unreliable feeling.

Fortunately, Yang Zhen sent someone to order Pan Wenmao to meet Zhang Guogan at the South Gate. If Pan Wenmao hadn't arrived in time with a few of his men, Zhang Guogan's plan would have been a complete disaster.

At dusk that day, Zhang Guogan used the excuse that he didn't have enough manpower to help move the ironware and asked the workers of "Wang's Blacksmith Shop" for help.

After all the ironware was moved onto the ship that Zhang Guogan had arranged in advance, Zhang Guogan made an excuse that the quantity was not right and specifically asked the blacksmith father and son in charge of "Wang's Blacksmith Shop" to come aboard to check the accounts.

To be fair, Yang Zhen had entrusted the wrong person to. Zhang Guogan's appearance was rather ferocious, and the more he forced a smile, the more frightening it became.

The blacksmith father and son seemed to realize that Zhang Guogan had ill intentions, but they didn't dare to offend such a person directly. So they made an excuse and sent their apprentice back to their shop inside the South Gate to ask the shopkeeper to come and settle the accounts.

Seeing that time was running out and it would be difficult to trick the two men onto the boat in a short time, Zhang Guogan gritted his teeth and decided to use force.

While claiming that the quantity of ironware being moved was incorrect, he pretended to be furious and ordered several of his men to forcibly drag the blacksmith father and son onto the boat, while the blacksmith father and son struggled desperately with the help of their laborers.

There weren't many people at the dock outside the South Gate, but there were quite a few soldiers under Zu Dashou who were guarding the South Gate. At first, these soldiers didn't take the dispute between the two sides seriously and didn't pay any attention to it.

However, when Zhang Guogan used force and the blacksmith father and son began to cry for help, some of the soldiers who recognized the blacksmith father and son came out to inquire about the situation.

It was at this moment that Pan Wenmao arrived with several men, carrying iron pots, bows, knives, and bundles. They stopped the soldiers who came out to inquire, showed them the warrant from Ningyuan Deputy General Yang Zhen, and then swarmed forward, dragging the blacksmith father and son, along with two laborers, onto the boat.

Then, the mooring ropes were cut, and the small boat drifted downstream, leaving the dock.

By the time the owner of Wang's blacksmith shop arrived after receiving the news, the small boat had already left.

This matter was eventually reported to Wu Sangui, who was on duty at the time, and Wu Sangui immediately dispatched a troop of cavalry to pursue them.

It wasn't that he was worried about the Wang family's assets being damaged, or that the Wang family would go to their relatives or ancestors to speak to him; Wu Sangui's vision wasn't that narrow.

He did this because he felt that the incident caused by Yang Zhen's men must have been arranged by Yang Zhen, and Yang Zhen's actions in Ningyuan City in the past few days had made him very wary.

If Yang Zhen continues his erratic behavior and manages to actually accomplish the perilous rescue of Songshan, he will likely overshadow Wu Sangui in Liaodong from then on.

When that time comes, the good thing of being promoted to general and in charge of a region will probably fall to Yang Zhen first. Once it falls to Yang Zhen, will he still have room for himself in Liaodong in the future?

Therefore, although Wu Sangui did not know why Yang Zhen's men had kidnapped the two blacksmiths, he instinctively felt that this matter must be beneficial to Yang Zhen's northward rescue mission, and it was of great importance. Since that was the case, he decided to sabotage it first!

Wu Sangui reacted quickly. Upon hearing the news, he immediately dispatched a team of men, ordering them to bring the man back at all costs!

Wu Sangui reacted quickly, sending out cavalry at lightning speed, without wasting any time, but ultimately they were still half an hour late in setting off.

By the time the cavalry caught up, the small boat had already reached the river mouth, and the sea lay ahead.

While on the ship, Yang Zhen listened to the reports from Pan Wenmao and Zhang Guogan. He was also shocked. What he thought was a sure thing almost failed.

"Did you see clearly? Whose men were those cavalrymen chasing you on the shore?!"

Whoever it is, if this person is so perceptive, they must be thinking about me all the time. You have to be careful around such a person.

"My lord! The men chasing us are on the shore. They were very close to us at one point, and we could tell they were all Wu Sangui's cavalry! But it's dusk, so we can't tell whether it's Guo Yunlong or Gao Dejie!"

Zhang Guogan was the kind of person who knew everything in Ningyuan City. Although he had only been stationed in the same city with Zu Dashou, Wu Sangui and other main forces of the "Guan Ning Army" for a short time, only two months, he had found out very well who their subordinates were.

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhen felt a mixture of wariness, envy, and jealousy towards Wu Sangui.

I'm wary of him because I haven't even provoked this kid yet, but he's already started plotting against me behind my back and treating me as an opponent.

The envy and jealousy stemmed from the fact that Wu Sangui was a few years younger than them, yet his extraordinary life seemed to have been blessed with extraordinary abilities, and he now commanded a multitude of fierce generals.

Whether it's Guo Yunlong or Gao Dejie, they are both top-notch cavalry generals in the Liaodong Army, and now they are both under Wu Sangui's command. It's a real waste of these men.

Yang Zhen pondered for a moment, then asked Pan Wenmao and Zhang Guogan, "Have you accomplished everything I assigned you?"

Pan Wenmao looked up into Yang Zhen's eyes and said solemnly, "Don't worry, sir! The product is ready! The quantity may not be enough, but I brought iron pots and leather glue! There's also saltpeter allocated to the ship! If you feel it's not enough, sir, I can continue making more!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhen looked at Pan Wenmao, nodded to him, and then turned to Zhang Guogan, saying, "Those two blacksmiths and their two apprentices, whether they want to help or not, ignore them for now. Let them go hungry for a few days!"

After saying this, Yang Zhen paused for a moment, then continued, "Tomorrow, go find Zhang Chen and install what you've prepared! Modify as much as you can! Remember, you won't be idle now! You still have a lot of work to do, and the most urgent task is to dispense the gunpowder in measured quantities!"

"It wasn't convenient in Ningyuan City before, but now that we're at sea, nobody can stop us! You can fire your guns however you want, and test them however you want! As long as you solve the issue of rationing ammunition, our muskets will be easier to load and have a longer range, then you'll have done a great service!"