The New Destiny of the Ming Dynasty

Upon hearing Yang Zhen's words, Yang Shen was instantly moved. He wanted to say something more to his kinsman, but then felt that anything he said would be pretentious and superfluous. So he simply said nothing, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, and whispered to the gunners who were already standing in formation watching him, "Take the cannons and retreat!"

The Tiger Crouching Cannon had almost run out of ammunition, especially the heaviest sacks of lead bullets, which had been mostly fired. Therefore, Yang Shen and his men retreated cleanly and efficiently, carrying the Tiger Crouching Cannon away from the Black Pine Forest in the blink of an eye.

Just then, the crowded crowd inside the Tartar camp stirred again. Perhaps the artillery fire in the pine forest had stopped for too long, making them think that the Ming army that had raided the camp had already retreated.

Yang Zhen felt the time was right, so he said to Zhang Chen and Zhang Guogan, "You two take the musketeers and retreat! Remember to set up positions at the edge of the reed marshes and wait for me!"

Zhang Chen and Zhang Guogan exchanged a glance, said nothing more, clasped their hands in a fist salute, and bowed in farewell.

At this moment, only Yang Zhan'ao and Yan San remained by Yang Zhen's side.

Yang Zhan'ao's only two men also disappeared in the previous melee in the Tartar camp; they were either killed in action or trapped inside.

Of course, it is also possible that he was stunned by the "Dragon King Cannons" thrown by Yan San and his men the moment he left the camp, and then died in the trampling of thousands of Tartars.

Anything is possible, but the one thing that is impossible is that they continue to serve as Yang Zhan'ao's subordinates.

Apart from Yang Zhen, the people in front of him had all seen life and death before and had nothing to be sad about.

As more and more genuine and collaborating Tartars broke out of the Tartar camp, Yang Zhen knew the empty city stratagem couldn't last long. Therefore, he said to Yang Zhan'ao, "Zhan'ao! I know your archery skills! The task of lighting the fire is yours! Yan San and I will go ahead!"

Having said this, Yang Zhen stopped his charade and turned to leave first. Yan San followed closely behind.

Yang Zhanao immediately took out an arrow from the quiver at his waist, nocked the arrow, lit it with a torch nearby used to set up a feint, and shot it out with a "whoosh"!

It turned out that the arrow was a rocket, and the shaft behind the arrowhead was wrapped with layers of fine linen soaked in tung oil.

Meanwhile, a bold Tatar named Aha rushed into the pine forest and discovered that the several campfires deliberately lit and the torches intentionally tied to the trees were nothing more than a Ming army ruse. He shouted, "The barbarians have run away! The vanguard of barbarians has already run away!"

The crowd that had been pushing and shoving inside the Tartar camp suddenly became motivated and surged out like a tide once again.

Just then, the rocket fired by Yang Zhan'ao shot out from the forest and landed squarely on the wooden frame used to transport the "Ten Thousand Enemy" weapon. Moreover, the fireball from the rocket burned the remaining two inches of the "Ten Thousand Enemy" fuse.

The rocket shot in, sparks flew, and then there was a deafening roar. A huge flame once again pierced the night and shone in the sky.

In an instant, the Tartars, who had overwhelmed the enemy with their might, were blown to pieces by the violent explosion.

Countless severed limbs flew into the sky and then fell into the crater created by the explosion, like a hail of flesh and blood!

After firing that rocket, Yang Zhan'ao turned around and rushed out of the black pine forest, heading towards the reed marshes in the darkness of the night.

Long after the incident of Yang Zhen's night raid on the Manchu army's main camp on the north bank of the Xiaoling River on the night of the eighth day of the third month of the twelfth year of Chongzhen's reign, which destroyed the important grain storage site of the Manchus, legends about Yang Zhen still circulated widely among the Liaodong army and were even spread like wildfire among the Manchu army!

One of the most talked-about stories is that of Yang Zhen in the Battle of Black Pine Forest, where he single-handedly blocked thousands of Tartar pursuers for the Ningyuan Vanguard Battalion with just a bow and a quiver of arrows.

Yang Zhen's heroic image of "always striving to be the first in attack and always covering the rear in retreat" has been repeatedly confirmed by Xu Changyong, Zu Keyong, Yuan Jin and their subordinates, who have also praised and commended him.

Yang Zhen did not intend to create such a heroic image for himself; all his actions that night were out of necessity.

However, since such a legend has been created, there is no need to deny it, so he never denies it.

Of course, he himself knew very well, and Yan San also knew very well, that the last person to leave the Black Pine Forest that night was not Yang Zhen himself, but Yang Zhan'ao.

But is this fact important? At least Yan San and Yang Zhanao both felt that this fact was not important at all.

Because they all knew that without Yang Zhen's command, such a night raid would be unimaginable, and no one would even be able to launch it.

Anyway, when Yang Zhan'ao caught up with Yang Zhen and Yan San amidst that earth-shattering explosion, and the three of them returned to the edge of the reed marsh together, Yang Zhen was surrounded and cheered by Zhang Chen, Zhang Guogan, and their group.

Yang Zhen was lifted up by Zhang Chen and the others and tossed into the air several times!

The Tartar pursuers that Yang Zhen had anticipated ultimately did not dare to pursue them.

Because the only Tatar Niru Zhangjing in the Tatar camp who was still able to take on the important task of command was blown into the sky along with his horse when the Wanrendi explosion occurred. After falling down, he became a bloody mess.

Completely without command, the Tartars and their followers were already living in constant fear, and dared not cross the black pine forest, the barren grassland, or pursue the enemy into the endless reed marshes along the coastline.

And so, surrounded by a group of jubilant survivors, Yang Zhen successfully arrived at the place where he had disembarked, then smoothly boarded the centipede boat, and finally returned smoothly to the sandbar he had left earlier that night.

At this point, Yang Zhen and his group no longer needed to hide their whereabouts. They hung lanterns on the boat and cheered all the way back to the dock on the east bank of the sandbar.

After Yang Zhen and the others disembarked, no one questioned the disloyalty of Xu Changyong, Zu Keyong, and Yuan Jin's troops who had retreated first. Everyone acted as if nothing had happened and began celebrating the great victory of the night raid!

"This battle is definitely a great victory, one that is rare in history! I, Old Xu, have followed Commander Zu for many years and fought in many battles, including many major, tough, and bitter ones! But I ask myself, I have never fought a battle like this before! But this is the best way to fight! This is so satisfying! So cathartic!"

When they arrived at the assembly point, Xu Changyong, who was the first to advocate for an immediate evacuation, met Yang Zhen and immediately pretended that the disgraceful incident had never happened. He praised Yang Zhen and the team for their victory and, without hesitation, characterized it as a great triumph.

Yuan Jin, equally delighted, echoed Xu Changyong's words, saying, "Brother Xu is right! It's been so many years since the imperial court has achieved such a resounding victory against the Manchus! Brother Yang! Shouldn't we think of a way to quickly send news of this great victory back to Ningyuan, or even Shanhaiguan?! The brothers who died in battle cannot have died in vain, and the brothers who return victorious cannot have suffered for nothing!"

Zu Keyong, however, stood to the side watching Xu Changyong and Yuan Jin's performance. Instead of trying to embellish his own image like they did, he straightened up, clasped his hands in a fist salute to Yang Zhen, bowed deeply, and then stood up and said:

"In this night raid, we were able to burn the Tartars' supplies and escape almost unscathed, almost entirely thanks to the efforts of Yang Xiezhen! Almost entirely thanks to the strength of his subordinates! I, Zu, have rarely admired anyone in my life, but from this day forward, I am truly convinced of Yang Xiezhen's wisdom and courage, and his unwavering loyalty! I admire him from the bottom of my heart!"

Yang Zhen hasn't dared to think about poaching Zu Keyong from Zu Dashou yet, but he is genuinely pleased with the respect Zu Keyong has shown.

"Hey—Brother Zu, you flatter me! You're too kind! I'm nowhere near as amazing as you make me out to be! This night raid was a lucky success! But this credit belongs to everyone, not just me, or any one team! It belongs to all of us! We've always said that brothers share life and death, wealth and honor! Now we've shared life and death! So, if there's any wealth or honor to come, we brothers will naturally share it!"

Yang Zhen's words made Xu Changyong, Yuan Jin, and their surviving subordinates beam with joy.

Zu Keyong became even more convinced of Yang Zhen's unwavering loyalty and righteousness.