The New Destiny of the Ming Dynasty

Just as Yang Zhen and his group arrived at the bay where they landed, the first batch of small boats sent by Yuan Jin's fleet appeared on the sea in front of them.

Both sides were excited to meet again after half a day. A squad leader on the left wing of Yang Zhen's musketeer team waved the musketeer team flag vigorously!

On the small boat at the very front, cheers soon broke the flag of the grenadier squad—which looked like a large black ball with a lit fuse, fluttering in the sea breeze!

At this time, the tide had already begun to rise, and the beach where Yang Zhen and the others had landed was now submerged in the sea, which was rising at a perceptible rate.

Therefore, not only could Yuan Jin's large fleet sail closer to shore, but the small boats that had separated from the large ships and carried soldiers, guns, cannons, and armor could also ride the rising tide and rush to the shore without the need for oarsmen.

Soon, Yang Zhen and the others met the elated Li Lu and Pan happy on a high ground on the sandbar coast. A little while later, they met Zhang Degui and Pan Wenmao, who were also all smiles.

Yang Zhen's vanguard battalion now has its own musketeer team, artillery team, and grenadier team, all of which are now present.

During the landing, not a single man was lost, not a single artillery piece was lost, and not a single hard-won anti-tank weapon, hand grenade, or pre-packaged explosive charge was lost!

The two blacksmiths who had been forcibly abducted by Zhang Guogan and Pan Wenmao, as well as their two laborers, were all brought ashore intact.

Yang Zhen hadn't forgotten the two blacksmiths, so he immediately had them brought over for a meeting. A moment later, Pan happy grabbed one of them by the hand and pushed them in front of Yang Zhen. Behind them were two timid men, who were undoubtedly the blacksmith's apprentices.

Of the four people, it was clear that an older, thin man was in charge, and next to him was a burly man in his thirties.

This burly man wasn't very tall, but he had broad shoulders and a thick waist, with bulging muscles in his arms. He looked like a strong and capable blacksmith. At this moment, he looked a little listless and staggered as he was pushed over.

The elderly man at the head of the group, though unaware of Yang Zhen's identity, saw that everyone revered Yang Zhen. Upon approaching him, he immediately knelt down and pleaded, "General, spare our lives! I am but a blacksmith from Ningyuan City, my family has made a living through generations! I have no grudge against your men, General. I do not know why your men have bound my father and me here, and even implicated the other workers in our shop. My family, the Wang family of Ningyuan, is related to my ancestral family through marriage for generations. In a way, I should know you, General. The Liaodong government troops have always been one family!"

After the old man finished speaking, seeing that Yang Zhen was just looking him over without saying a word, he quickly turned around and beckoned the burly man and the two laborers to kneel down together. He then said, "If the general thinks that I, my son, and the two laborers are of use to the general on this trip, we are willing to serve the general!"

"I only beg the general to consider the Ningyuan Prince's family and release my son and me after this matter is over, so that we can return to Ningyuan City! There are more than ten of my family members there. Without me and my son, they will have no way to survive in these chaotic times of war!"

When the old man and his son were first abducted onto the ship, they were still furious. They thought that with the Ningyuan Wang family as their backer, they could tell that these ignorant soldiers, even if they couldn't release them on the spot, should at least be more polite to them after asking them clearly, and then find an opportunity to release them back to Ningyuan.

However, to their utter surprise, after being abducted onto the ship, they were locked in a dark cabin, as if they had been forgotten. No one gave them food or water, and no one came to question them.

On the first day, the old man and his son were still furious and resentful, but after two days and two nights without food or water and with no one to care for them, they became afraid.

Firstly, he was afraid of being forgotten and starving to death in the cabin. Secondly, he was afraid that the superiors of these people would find out about the stakes but would want to silence him and then clear their names.

And so, another day passed in fear and trepidation. As night fell over the sea this evening, someone came to visit them and gave them some food and water. Only then did they realize that they were about to reach the shore.

Over the past few days, the old man had considered countless possibilities. In the end, he concluded that if these people wanted to kill him, they would have done so long ago. The fact that they hadn't killed him yet meant that he was still useful to them. So, he should just listen to them and do whatever they asked, and one day he would be released.

Yang Zhen, upon hearing the old man's words, smiled and said, "You're useful! Of course you're useful! The reason I invited you here is because time is of the essence, and I had no choice but to resort to this tactic!"

At this point, Yang Zhen stepped forward, helped the old man up, and then told the burly man and two laborers behind the old man to get up as well.

Then, glancing around at the people beside him, and seeing that Zhang Guogan wasn't there, but Pan Wenmao happened to be there, Yang Zhen then smiled and said to the old man, "The person who invited you that day was one of my subordinates. He's a rough fellow and quite impolite! I'll have him apologize to you another day! But there's another person, also one of my subordinates, who happened to be there that day—come, come, Lieutenant Pan! You apologize to the old gentleman first!"

After the old man's repeated polite refusals, Pan Wenmao stepped forward, bowed deeply, and said, "We were deeply offended by what happened that day! However, our desperate measures were not for personal gain or selfish interests, but for the court and the country! Ultimately, it was for the people of Liaodong! If we have offended anyone, please forgive us, Elder Wang!"

At this point, the old man could say nothing more. He quickly bowed and said with a wry smile, "Your Excellency is too kind! But I have no reason to refuse to share the burdens of the court and serve the country!"

After saying this, the old man quickly introduced himself, his eldest son, and the two laborers.

This old man is named Wang Shoutang. He comes from a family of artisans in Ningyuan City and is a renowned blacksmith. After the chaos in Liaodong, the artisan system was basically abolished. In order to protect himself, he registered his household with the wealthy Wang family in Ningyuan, becoming a servant of a powerful family.

Because of his iron-making skills, with the support of his master family, the Wang family, he started the largest blacksmith shop in Ningyuan City, partly to make money for his master family and partly to support his own family.

This time, the burly man who was kidnapped by Zhang Guogan along with him was his eldest son, Wang Duan.

The other two laborers were brothers, orphans from Liaodong refugees taken in by Wang Shoutang. They grew up in Wang's blacksmith shop but had no names, only that their surname was Liu.

Wang Shoutang called the older one Liu Da and the younger one Liu Er.

At that time, Liu Da and Liu Er were eager to protect their master and got into a fight with Zhang Guogan and others. They were then swarmed by Pan Wenmao's men and dragged onto the ship without any explanation, thus suffering this undeserved disaster.

At that moment, Yang Zhen didn't say much to them, only asking them to stay in the camp for the time being and that he would reward them with gold and silver after the war ended, and then let them leave.

The old man and his son felt a little more at ease after hearing what Yang Zhen, the leader, said, and quickly thanked him profusely and agreed to what Yang Zhen had asked them to do.

While Yang Zhen was meeting and talking with the blacksmith father and son, Yuan Jin's fleet was not idle.

Xu Changyong and Zu Keyong's light and heavy cavalry have all boarded small boats and landed on the sandbar. They are now organizing their soldiers to find a way to get their warhorses ashore!

Along the way, not a single warhorse was lost. Since the time spent at sea was not long, the warhorses were in good condition, and none of them fell ill.

However, now that they have arrived at their destination, disembarking is a problem.

Yang Zhen and the others arrived early, but there was no time to set up the dock for them in advance. Now, Xu Changyong and Zu Keyong had to organize their own manpower and start work under the cover of night.

Yang Zhen had already given instructions on the ship: when landing at night, no matter how dark it was or how difficult the movement was, no fires or torches were allowed.

Xu Changyong and Zu Keyong were aware of the dangers of using torches, so neither of them dared to violate the regulations. They worked in the dark, cutting down trees and hastily building the pier and platform over the water.

Fortunately, Xu Changyong and his three hundred Mongol soldiers already had experience in building piers and constructing docks at the mouth of the Ningyuan River. Now, they were busy but not chaotic, and quite organized in their work.

Under the cool moonlight, Zu Keyong led his men to cut down trees, while Xu Changyong and his men built a pier. Each of them was in charge of a section and were busy with their own tasks.