The New Destiny of the Ming Dynasty

Meanwhile, the Tartar general Alsaran, standing on a sandy mound by the reeds, observed for a long time before turning back and speaking in a string of gibberish to someone among the Tartar cavalry, seemingly giving an order.

Upon hearing the order, a squad of Tatar cavalrymen dismounted.

There were about ten people, half with bows in their hands and the other half with knives at their waists. They walked straight across the sand dunes where Al-Saran was located and headed straight into the reed marshes!

Yang Zhen and his two companions hid in the woods in the distance and watched the scene from afar. They were quite surprised – they had not expected that the Tartars' patrols would be so meticulous, that they would personally go into the reed marshes to investigate.

At this moment, Yang Zhan'ao and Yan San were secretly glad that they had obeyed Yang Zhen's orders and hadn't kept trying to persuade him to leave. Otherwise, even if they had run into the reeds, they would have hidden at the edge of the reeds to continue observing.

At that point, things would probably get complicated—their own safety wouldn't be a problem, but their hiding place would definitely be exposed.

If that happens, given the seriousness of these Tartar cavalrymen, they will definitely continue to investigate along the tracks of their escape, which would be a huge problem.

In fact, by now, Yang Zhen knew that his team's camp would be discovered by the Tartars sooner or later. Moreover, in order to increase the scale and speed up the process of saltpeter production, he had stopped controlling the use of fire in the camp.

Therefore, as long as the Tartars observe carefully, they will soon discover their location.

Even so, Yang Zhen hoped to delay as long as possible, one day at a time, until he could launch his second offensive.

While nervously considering all the possibilities ahead, Yang Zhen continued to observe the Tartars waiting by the reeds.

About fifteen minutes later, the reeds at the edge of the reed marsh stirred, and the small group of Tartar scouts finally returned.

After another round of chatter, the Tartar leader suddenly whipped his horse twice, and spurred it on, charging into the reeds.

This sight startled Yang Zhen even more—could it be that the small boat waiting deep in the reeds, and the team of boatmen and oarsmen, had been discovered?!

Yang Zhen watched the reaction of the Tartar group with extreme tension, his heart pounding wildly.

Fortunately, the Tartar leader spurred his horse and stopped after only a few dozen paces. He was seen whipping his horse's rump while shouting at it from afar, but his warhorse refused to move forward.

After struggling with the horse for a while, the Tartar leader had no choice but to turn his horse around, spur it on, and ride out of the reeds.

Seeing this, Yang Zhen realized that it wasn't his centipede boat left in the reeds that had been exposed, nor was it the boatmen and oarsmen of the naval camp who had been exposed, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Of course, what Yang Zhen didn't know was that the Tartar leader had just sent a group of Tartars to dismount and enter the reed marshes, not because they had discovered any clues, but to see if the place was passable.

If they could get through, they would cross the reeds and go to the real seaside.

If they can't get through, they'll find another way.

The Tartars who entered the reed marshes groped their way eastward for a long time until the ground became muddy and they believed that men and horses could not pass. Only then did they turn back and report the true situation in the reed marshes.

The Tartar leader who was in charge, upon hearing the report, personally rode his horse into the reed marshes to verify the situation firsthand.

Although the reeds were too dense, hindering the horses' progress and preventing the Tartar leader from exploring further, the fact that horses could traverse the reeds made him feel much more at ease.

Of course, Yang Zhen was unaware that the Tatar leader who lived not far from him was none other than Arsalan, the man whose whereabouts he had been trying to ascertain.

If he knew now that this Tartar leader was Arsalan, he might risk his life to kill his old enemy from afar with his Rumi gun, which was loaded with ammunition and ignition powder!

Arsalan rode out from the edge of the reeds, then whistled and led his group of Tatar knights away.

This group of men was ordered to leave camp in the morning and travel from south to north along the coast, surveying the terrain along the way. After surveying this area, all that remained were the two sides of the Xiaoling River estuary.

Arsalan continued to lead the Tatar scouts to search for the advance camp, while the advance camp's commander, Yang Zhen, hurriedly and cautiously returned to the reeds where the Tatars had just left after Arsalan left.

The three of them were extremely nervous just now. They finally managed to hold on until the Tartars left. Led by Yang Zhen, they ran into the depths of the reeds until they were out of breath before stopping to catch their breath and rest.

Yang Zhen looked back and saw only the wind blowing through the reeds, making them rise and fall, with the soft reed flowers drifting in the wind like willow catkins. Behind him, the deep reed marshland was silent, as if no one had ever been there.

The return journey became much easier.

As the sun passed midday and the tide receded to its lowest point of the day, the muddy depths of the reed marshes seemed to have improved considerably.

Along the way, they found many large fish stranded and with their backs exposed in the streams and ponds they encountered. Many of these fish looked to weigh as much as 10 or 20 pounds.

Hearing the voices of the three people, the fish kept wriggling their plump bodies in the shallow ditches and ponds, trying to find a hiding place.

With nothing else of importance to do at the moment, Yang Zhan'ao, who was known as a "divine archer," used all the arrows he hadn't shot to fish.

Yang Zhen, unusually, also showed a childlike side and joined Yang Zhan'ao and Yan San, rolling up their sleeves and trouser legs to go into the water to catch fish.

The boatmen and oarsmen who had been waiting deep in the reeds for most of the day soon came upon hearing the commotion and joined the team catching fish and "collecting clams".

As the sun began to set, and it was past 11 PM, Yang Zhen led the group back to the mooring place, boarded the boat, rowed, and returned home laden with their cargo.

After Yang Zhen returned, he did not keep the fish to himself, but instead had Yang Zhan'ao and Yan San lead people to distribute the catch to all the units of the advance team and Yuan Jin's naval camp.

Although not everyone could have a full meal of fish and meat, at least each camp had some meat in their evening mixed noodle soup, so the soldiers in the four camps were all laughing and joking after receiving their catch.

Moreover, the actions of Yang Zhen and others provided great inspiration to other battalions and units. Even the Mongol soldiers under Xu Changyong, who rarely ate fish, formed a special detachment to search for fishing nets in the naval camp and learn to catch fish and shrimp to improve their meals.

The things Yang Zhen brought back certainly whetted the appetites and cheered the soldiers on Shazhou Island, but they also made generals such as Xu Changyong, Zu Keyong, and Yuan Jin very worried.

They were in good spirits after sharing the fish, and when they heard that Yang Zhen had returned, they all came to thank him and inquire about the situation of the scouts.

Upon hearing that Yang Zhen and his men had encountered a Tartar patrol in the west, they immediately became anxious and worried.

Especially after hearing that the Tartar patrol seemed to be intentionally crossing the reed marshes to scout further towards the sea, these men became highly tense.

Because they also knew very well that since Yang Zhen was able to lead Yang Zhan'ao and Yan San out of this reed marsh, then the Tartar patrol team would be able to cross the reed marsh when the tide was out.

As soon as the Tartars cross this reed marshland, the sandbar island guarded by the "Provisional Ningyuan Vanguard Battalion" will be immediately exposed to the Tartar army.

By that time, the "Provisional Ningyuan Vanguard Battalion" had only such a small force. Facing the Tartar army, it was like a naked young woman suddenly thrown into a bandit's den.

Seeing the worry and concern written all over Xu Changyong's face, Yang Zhen told him in detail all the plans he had come up with when he went out to scout the enemy's situation that day.

Hearing that Yang Zhen was preparing to have all the troops of the advance battalion land, and to dig "horse traps," "trenches," and "communication trenches" in the places he had surveyed that day, as well as to dig pits to bury "enemies of ten thousand men" and "dragon king cannons," and to have Xu Changyong personally lead the Mongol troops westward to lure the enemy, and even to lead the Tartars into the reed marshes, all these "outlandish" and "inconceivable" ideas made several people widen their eyes in shock.