The New Destiny of the Ming Dynasty

Yang Zhen, Zhang Degui, Zhang Chen, Zhang Guogan, Yang Zhanao, and others who were running ahead quickly entered the black pine forest in front of them, with Yan San's help.

The Tartar troops following closely behind these people were about to catch up with the rear guard of the Ming army raiding the camp, but they were unexpectedly stopped in their pursuit by a burst of "Dragon King Cannon" fire. They were not willing to give up so easily!

The Tatar Niru Zhangjing, who was riding behind, brandished his saber and kept cursing his men, probably ordering them to continue the pursuit.

And the real Tartars and the second-rate Tartars, as expected, became desperate and surged out like a tide once again towards the breach in their camp.

This time, however, Yang Zhen was no longer afraid. On the contrary, having recovered from the explosion of the Dragon King Cannon, Yang Zhen was very happy to witness this scene.

Just as the main force of the Tartars poured out of their camp, about thirty paces away at the edge of the woods, the ten tiger-squatting cannons facing them fired the first four shots.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" Four loud bangs followed in succession, like a series of thunderclaps suddenly breaking out in the night sky.

Of course, what was even more terrifying was not the thunderous sound, but the large number of bullets that were ejected at the same time as the thunderous sound!

The tiger crouching cannon had a thick barrel and a large caliber, but a short barrel and a short range. Using such a cannon to attack cities or fortify strongholds would definitely be a waste of ammunition and a waste of effort.

However, if loaded with a large number of shotgun shells and used specifically to target densely populated areas, it becomes a deadly weapon, capable of wiping out large groups of people with a single shot.

Yang Shen arranged for a total of ten tiger-squatting cannons, all aimed at the breach in the camp where the crowd was pouring out. He first lit four cannons and fired them. When the Niru Zhangjing in the Tatar camp once again drove the Tatars and their followers out, three more tiger-squatting cannons fired at the same time.

After three more loud booms, the Tartars who had rushed out were once again wiped out. Almost all of them were knocked to the ground by shotgun blasts. Some were hit in vital areas and died on the spot, while many more were writhing on the ground, groaning in pain.

The breach in the Tartar camp, which was two or three zhang wide, was like a living hell. After just two rounds of scattershot attacks from seven tiger-squatting cannons, the area was filled with dead and wounded genuine Tartars and their collaborators.

Yang Zhen and his men, who had retreated deep into the black pine forest, saw this scene from afar and felt an instant sense of joy. The frustration of being chased and beaten in the Tartar camp was swept away.

"My lord! We can't stay here any longer! All our men have retreated, leaving only Yang Shen's right flank artillery! If the Tartars continue their reckless charge, we'll be in serious trouble if we don't leave quickly!"

Zhang Degui, who had just been blasted by Yan San's "Dragon King Cannon" and was covered in dust and bleeding from his mouth and nose, became anxious when he saw Yang Zhen not only not afraid of the swarming Tartars, but also stopping to watch with great interest. He quickly advised him to leave the dangerous area as soon as possible.

Hearing Zhang Degui's words and seeing his disheveled appearance, Yang Zhen smiled and said, "Old Zhang! You take the matchlock musketeers and the wounded from the musket team and retreat first! We'll stay behind a bit longer to wait for Yang Shen. Without us, who will cover the artillery unit's retreat?!"

Upon hearing Yang Zhen's words, Zhang Degui immediately said, "Sir! If we're going to retreat, you should retreat first! The advance battalion can still be the advance battalion without me, Zhang Degui! But we can't be without you, sir! Besides, the artillery unit is under my command! I'll stay here with the musket team to provide cover!"

"Enough talk! You're told to go first, so you have to go first! That's an order!"

Hearing Zhang Degui making excuses again, Yang Zhen immediately hardened his expression and said, "Letting you go first isn't preferential treatment, it's an order! When you get to the boarding area, make sure they wait there. At least leave enough boats for the musketeer team and the right flank of the artillery team to evacuate! If I'm not there, anyone who dares to order the ships to set sail, you will kill them!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Degui immediately agreed and ordered his snipers and assistants to carry the five invaluable Nine-Headed Bird rifles, along with a dozen or so wounded soldiers who were limping and carrying muskets, to head towards the reed marshes on the coast.

By this time, the troops of Xu Changyong, Yuan Jin, Li Lu, Pan happy, and Zu Keyong, who had evacuated earlier, had all successfully arrived at their original boarding points.

Moreover, the people who should have been transferred to the large ships at the river mouth in advance have already been transferred to the large ships in batches.

Only the grenadier squadron under Li Lu survived and resolutely refused to board the ships to transfer. Instead, they stayed at the original disembarkation point, guarding a dozen centipede-shaped ships, stubbornly waiting for Yang Zhen to lead his troops back.

Li Lu's persistence first brought him Zhang Degui.

When Zhang Degui arrived at the assembly point for boarding, he saw that Xu Changyong, Yuan Jin, and Zu Keyong's troops had already left. He couldn't help but curse the three of them in his heart: "We risked our lives to accompany you and cover your retreat, and what do you do? You can't even wait for us for a quarter of an hour!"

But aside from sighing and cursing inwardly, Zhang Degui really had no way to deal with it. The advance battalion was just a temporary battalion that had only been established for a few days, and none of those people were under his jurisdiction, nor were they under Yang Zhen's jurisdiction!

While Zhang Degui and Li Lu waited anxiously and sulked, Yang Zhen, Zhang Chen, and Zhang Guogan, along with the remaining less than thirty men on the left and right flanks of the musketeer team, loaded their ammunition and guarded the woods behind the artillery position.

Seeing that Yan San was still beside him, Yang Zhen said to him, "Yan San! What else do you have that you can use? Do you still have the Dragon King Cannon?!"

When Yan San saw Yang Zhen ask him this, he thought for a moment and understood Yang Zhen's thoughts. However, he shook his head and said, "There are no more Dragon King Cannons! But—there's still one 'Ten Thousand Enemy Cannon'! It's just too heavy to throw!"

Upon hearing that there was another one, Yang Zhen was overjoyed and said to Yan San, "That's good! Even better if it's one!"

Immediately afterwards, Yang Zhen shared his thoughts with everyone, and the people around him became happy as well.

The task of covering the rear is not easy.

Whether it was Zhang Chen, Zhang Guogan, Yang Zhanao, or Yan San, they all knew that once the artillery unit withdrew, the pursuers behind them would have no more scruples.

At that time, the real Tartars and the second-rate Tartars would number in the thousands, chasing after them with only a few dozen men. Just thinking about it is terrifying!

Just as the group was talking, several of Yang Shen's tiger-squatting cannons fired simultaneously, knocking down all the Tartars and their collaborators who dared to rush out of the camp in groups.

By this point, each of the ten tiger-squatting cannons under Yang Shen's command had fired two rounds. The barrels of the tiger-squatting cannons that had just fired were glowing red, and the positions of all the tiger-squatting cannons were loose, and the firing angles needed to be readjusted, otherwise they could not be loaded with explosives and fired again.

Fortunately, the Tartars were also sending people to clear the piles of corpses that had accumulated at the breach in the camp and to move the wounded, and they did not launch another mass attack.

Seizing this opportunity, Yang Zhen first sent Yan San with men to remove the remaining "Ten Thousand Enemy" shell, while he himself went to find Yang Shen and said, "The six tiger-crouching cannons that were just fired can now be withdrawn! The gunners and commanders of those cannons should leave now! The four that were fired earlier should continue loading explosives and fire one after another! There should be no prolonged pauses!"

Upon receiving the order, Yang Shen fired the four tiger-squatting cannons that had just been loaded with ammunition again. However, this time, instead of firing all four at once, they fired one after another, targeting the Tartars and Aqahs who were gathered at the breach in the camp, hiding far away behind the fence and not daring to show their faces.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Yan San and Yang Zhan'ao personally carried the heavy weapon, weighing tens of kilograms, to the front of the artillery, in the open area between the Black Pine Forest and the breach in the Tartar camp.

They then cut the fuse, which was over three feet long and left only about two inches, marked it, and exposed it to the outside.

Having done all this, the two quickly retreated back into the forest.

At this moment, Yang Zhen said to Yang Shen, "Alright! Your artillery unit has successfully completed its mission. You can all withdraw now!"

"Then—where are the adults?! What are you going to do? When are you going to evacuate?!"

Previously, Yang Shen always had an inexplicable and strange feeling when facing Yang Zhen.

In his view, they were all members of the Yang family from Guangningwei. Why should he, as the eldest grandson of the eldest branch, inherit the hereditary title and glory of the Yang family ancestors, be born with hereditary titles and stipends, and not have to do anything, but become a commander when he grows up? While he, because he was born into a minor branch, had to start from the bottom as a common soldier!

But now, after experiencing the events of the past few days, especially after everything that happened during this long night, Yang Shen realized that it might indeed be the best arrangement for Yang Zhen to inherit everything from the Yang family of Guangning Guard!

"Don't worry about me! You guys go first! I already have a plan! Only when you're gone can I have no worries!"