The New Destiny of the Ming Dynasty

With Yuan Jin and Xu Changyong settled, the rest of the team was much easier to manage.

"Brother Zu! Your men are all the heavy cavalry of Commander Zu's central army! Every single one of them is a brave and fierce warrior, selected from the best of the best! Although they cannot bring warhorses this time, your men are still the backbone of our surprise attack!"

"What I mean is, Brother Zu is specifically leading this elite force to intercept and kill the few genuine Tartars in the rear camp! This will give the other tribes the opportunity to set fire to and destroy the Tartars' food supplies! If Brother Zu has any different opinions or better ideas, please speak up and we can discuss them together!"

Zu Keyong thought for a moment, then readily agreed: "I have no objection! Let's do as Yang Xiezhen says!"

He also understood that among the vanguard troops, only his own men were never short of provisions, had excellent equipment, high morale, and had fought countless battles against the Tartars.

If we're talking about which team in the advance camp is capable of taking on this important task, Zukeyong believes that if his team ranks second, probably no other team would dare to rank first!

After arranging Zukeyong's duties, all that was left was his own firearms unit, and Yang Zhen noticed that everyone else was watching him.

After explaining the arrangements for Zukeyong's troops, Yang Zhen didn't keep everyone waiting long. After a moment's thought, he continued, "The musketeer team will be led by me. Once inside the Tartar camp, their main task will be to snipe Tartars and intercept any counterattacks! During the retreat, they will be responsible for covering the rear!"

Upon hearing Yang Zhen's words, Xu Changyong, Zu Keyong, and Yuan Jin all nodded and remained silent.

They all knew that the real difficulty in this raid on the Tartar camp was not getting in, but how to get out.

Once people go inside and the fire is set, if they get caught by the Tartars and can't get out, then they'll be in big trouble.

If the Tartar army at the Niangniang Palace camp on the south bank of Xiaoling River were to react, the vanguard battalion plus the naval battalion would probably not even be enough to fill their teeth!

"As for the artillery, bring ten light tiger-squat cannons! When we break into the camp, you will ambush at the entrance, and when we retreat, use shotguns to bombard the pursuing Tartar troops!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Degui realized that the artillery could be used in such a night raid, and immediately clasped his hands in acceptance of the order. The others also nodded hastily in agreement.

During the retreat, the musketeers were first arranged to cover the rear, and then the artillery was arranged to ambush the pursuing troops. It seemed that the plan was almost perfect, and the generals' confidence increased even more.

"And the grenadier squad! This time, they're of utmost importance. After the Mongol troops storm into the Tartar camp, they need to set fires everywhere, and the grenadiers must follow closely behind, bombing the dense Tartar ranks as well as their granaries and houses! In short, the more chaotic the Tartar camp, the better! As for the pontoon bridge over the Xiaoling River, one or two men capable of taking on ten thousand men will suffice! I'll send someone to take charge!"

Li Lu, who was standing on the periphery of the crowd, immediately stepped forward to receive the order after hearing Yang Zhen's words.

At this time, the bright red sun had already risen above the sea level, and its rays shone brightly on the sandbar not far southeast of Liaodong Bay and the mouth of the Xiaoling River.

Everyone else assumed Yang Zhen's battle plan was complete and was preparing to return to their respective posts when Yang Zhen continued, "This battle is of paramount importance! We only have one chance for a surprise attack! If we fail this time and the Tartars discover our plan beforehand, we'll be in serious trouble! We either have to hold off the Tartars' heavy attack here, or we have to go ashore and confront their heavy cavalry head-on. I don't need to elaborate on which is more advantageous!"

Upon hearing this, all the generals clasped their hands in unison and said, "We understand!"

At this point, Yang Zhen hadn't finished speaking. He looked at the generals in front of him again and then said loudly, "The deployment for this operation has been finalized! If any of you have any objections, please let me know as soon as possible!"

"At 11 PM tonight, all units shall assemble here and advance! Before 11 PM, all preparations for the advance must be completed. Those who need rest should rest now! Those who need to make arrangements should make arrangements now! If anyone misses the opportunity, I, Yang Zhen, will show no mercy!"

After Yang Zhen finished speaking, he looked at everyone with a serious expression. Seeing that they were all solemn and no longer had their joking expressions, he finally said, "In this operation, on the way to the camp, after entering the camp, and during the retreat, all units must strictly abide by military orders and must not panic! I have no other requirements, only two!"

"That means all actions must be carried out under orders! All spoils of war shall belong to the public! This does not mean that the spoils will belong to me, Yang Zhen, personally, but will be distributed equally after the retreat!"

"The key to this operation is speed! Advance quickly! Raid quickly! Set fire quickly! Retreat quickly! Do not linger, do not prolong the battle. You may plunder gold, silver, and valuables, but do not waste time! Our objective is not to kill the enemy and seize their spoils, but to burn the Tartars' provisions! All units must remember this!"

After Yang Zhen finished speaking in a stern tone, everyone knew that this sneak attack was no joke and that a slight mistake could cost them their heads. Therefore, no one cared about Yang Zhen's attitude at this moment.

After listening to Yang Zhen's deployment and military orders, Xu Changyong, Zu Keyong, and Yuan Jin went back to gather their subordinates and make preparations.

Exhausted, Yang Zhen led Zhang Degui, Zhang Chen, Li Lu, Yan San, and others back to their camp.

Now, the vast sandbar has been divided into four sections, with the relatively low southeast corner assigned to Yuan Jin;

The relatively higher area to the east, where the temporary pier and dock were set up, was assigned to Xu Changyong;

The low-lying area in the central part of the southwestern sandbar, which was also the worst part, was assigned to Zukeyong's subordinates.

The best spot, which was the highest point on the entire sandbar, was the camp of Yang Zhen's firearms unit.

Yang Zhen arrived early, so naturally he wanted to take the best spot. On this matter, he wouldn't wrong his subordinates or be modest with others.

Of course, although Yang Zhen occupied a good location, his soldiers, apart from firearms, were practically beggar soldiers.

They had nothing. There were no marching tents, no marching beds, and the few warhorses they had were all sold off by Yang Zhen before they set off.

Otherwise, where would he have gotten the money to buy things when he was in Ningyuan?

Fortunately, although his camp was poor, it was now well-fed and clothed. The musketeer squad, artillery squad, and grenadier squad on the left and right flanks all had their own cooking facilities.

After the teams were divided and their left and right wings were established, Yang Zhen led his personal guards to take turns joining the group. One day they would eat on the left wing of the musketeer team, the next day on the right wing, and the third day on the left wing of the artillery team, and so on.

He ate whatever was available below, and never cooked for himself, which saved him a lot of trouble and allowed him to get along well with his subordinates and soldiers.

This morning he ate a few mixed flour pancakes at Yuan Jin's camp, but wasn't hungry. When breakfast was served, he went to the left flank of the grenadier unit to join them. He ate a few mouthfuls of salty porridge, but had no appetite. He put down his bowl and chopsticks and said to Li Lu and Pan happy, who were squatting around him eating heartily:

"When you guys have nothing to do, you can take advantage of the low tide to go to the beach and collect some seaweed and shellfish! Cook them together, and they'll have some flavor, which will be a good improvement on the brothers' meals! You can also go to the reed beds west of the sandbar, and while you're fetching water, catch some fish, shrimp, and crabs in those mudflats, streams, and ponds! It's not difficult at all! If you just boil some water and add a little salt, after a while, nobody will have an appetite!"