The New Destiny of the Ming Dynasty

"Brother Yang, I say! We burned the Tartars' supplies, they definitely won't last long! At most a month, or less, maybe half a month, they'll run out of supplies and retreat on their own! Anyway, they don't have any ships at sea for the time being! At this critical juncture, we can earn merit by simply hiding here obediently, so why do you insist on deliberately provoking the Tartars?! Even if what you're saying works, will we still have a peaceful life afterward?!"

Upon hearing that Yang Zhen was planning to send everyone ashore, thus exposing himself and attracting the Tartars to attack him, Xu Changyong was greatly alarmed. He repeatedly questioned Yang Zhen, hoping that Yang Zhen would stop while he was ahead and stop causing trouble.

Yuan Jin also wanted to know when to stop, so after listening to Xu Changyong's words, he nodded repeatedly. As soon as Xu Changyong finished speaking, he immediately turned to Yang Zhen and said:

"Brother Yang! After last night's fierce battle, many of our men suffered heavy losses and are exhausted! Moreover, the Tartars' supply camp was empty last night, and there were only about a thousand real Tartars. We were able to win because we were prepared to attack their unpreparedness. Now, the Tartars are prepared, and it would be a bad idea to provoke them again!"

After Xu Changyong and Yuan Jin expressed their opinions, they both looked at Yang Zhen, who listened silently, nodding occasionally without saying a word.

In fact, Yang Zhen sometimes wondered if his plans were too complicated, and he also doubted whether the team he was currently commanding was capable of carrying out his plans.

But does he have any other choice now?

No!

He could not choose his enemy, nor his battlefield, nor even his subordinates and allies!

If possible, he would rather go back to the 21st century and continue being his office manager. Although that would be mediocre, at least he would be living a peaceful life.

But he could only bury these complaints deep in his heart.

Yang Zhen thought for a moment, organized his thoughts, and prepared to persuade Xu Changyong and Yuan Jin to support his proposal again, but at this moment, Zu Keyong spoke first:

"Guerrilla Commander Xu! Garrison Commander Yuan! You are both seasoned warriors! Do you really think that if we don't go after the Tartars, they won't come after us?! Do you really think that after we burned their rations last night, they'll act like nothing happened?!"

At this point, Zu Keyong looked coldly at Xu Changyong and Yuan Jin, paused briefly, and then continued, "Things have come to this point, and simply hiding, concealing, and waiting will definitely not work! It's only a matter of time before the Tartars discover our whereabouts!"

"So, stop thinking about living a peaceful life here! The most urgent thing now is to figure out what to do before the Tartars find us! Should we retreat? Or should we fight? If we retreat, how should we retreat? If we fight, how should we fight?!"

After Zu Keyong finished speaking, the atmosphere turned cold, and Xu Changyong and Yuan Jin both looked rather grim.

However, Xu Changyong and Yuan Jin also knew that what Zu Keyong said was the truth.

After burning down the Tartars' grain supply camp, could they really pretend nothing happened? How could the Tartars tolerate such a "bold and reckless" Ming army hiding behind their main force?

What Zukeyong said was simply a direct revelation of the reality of "burying one's head in the sand" and "pretending it's dark with one's eyes closed."

At that moment, everyone was speechless and stared at Yang Zhen.

Yang Zhen thought for a moment and finally said, "Your considerations are not without merit. But my point is to strike first! Rather than waiting for the Tartars to come to us, we should take the initiative to find them! That way, at least for now, we can decide whether to fight, where to fight, and how to fight!"

"Moreover, I also went to see the terrain in person. The Tartar army was there and couldn't deploy at all. They could only send a few hundred Tartars, or at most a thousand, to attack us! This created an opportunity for us!"

"I assure you all! We'll fight one last time, and we absolutely will not engage in any major or difficult battles! If the Tartars advance with overwhelming force, advancing step by step, and we have no chance, then we will retreat!"

At this point, Yang Zhen looked at Xu Changyong, whose expression was grave, and said specifically to him, "Brother Xu, there's no need to worry! This sandbar island we're stationed on is at least safe for now! Although the Tartar army is numerous and powerful, they don't have a navy right now! If they build new ships, it will take them three to five months to go out to sea to fight! Even if we ambush the Tartars ashore and they discover our plan, we can quickly retreat into the reeds, so we have nothing to worry about!"

"But here's the problem, Brother Yang! If the Tartars don't dare to pursue us into the reed marshes, then wouldn't all the plans you just mentioned be in vain? What if we haven't even had a chance to burn down the reed marshes and turn them into the Tartars' crematorium as you described, and the Tartars strike first, burning down the reed marshes and exposing us directly to them? Wouldn't we be in even worse shape?!"

No sooner had Yang Zhen finished speaking than Yuan Jin spoke up, and what Yuan Jin said surprised everyone even more.

"Exactly! What if the Tartars burn down the reeds first, brother? Wouldn't your plan have failed before it even started?! Besides, the Tartars also surveyed the terrain today. If we lure them there, how can they not be wary of us? I've been fighting the Tartars for years; I know how cunning they are better than you!"

After hearing Yuan Jin's words, Xu Changyong's hard-won firm stance wavered again.

Over the years, in their battles against the Jurchens, apart from defending cities, they have basically never gained any advantage over the Jurchens in open field battles.

"Brother Xu, Brother Yuan, you're both right! If we don't strike soon, the Tartars might burn down the reed marshes! Then we won't even have a sliver of hope left! So there's no time to lose! I've decided that we'll strike again tomorrow at low tide!"

Yang Zhen's words this time took everyone by surprise, and the various illogical points in them left these people speechless.

"Brother, are you crazy?! If we launch an attack from the shore tomorrow, won't that play right into the Tartars' hands?! They're hoping we'll abandon this barrier and come ashore to walk right into their trap! And you, you're eagerly jumping in!"

Xu Changyong was truly startled by Yang Zhen's words.

Last night, the Tartars' grain and supplies camp was burned down. More than a hundred of his men were lost, which is equivalent to the loss of 30% of his soldiers. It is a very serious loss.

We've only had a day to rest, and tomorrow morning we're going ashore again to provoke the Tartar army. Are they not even letting us catch our breath?!

Therefore, he really couldn't accept what Yang Zhen said.

At this moment, Yuan Jin added, "Brother Yang! You really need to think this through! Now that the Tartars know we're stationed around the river mouth, they definitely won't be completely unprepared! If we fall into their trap, and instead of ambush them, we get ambushed ourselves, that would be truly dangerous!"

"Therefore, we must act as quickly as possible! As long as we are fast enough, we can build our positions before the Tartars do!"

"Brother Xu, Brother Yuan! Our attack tomorrow is absolutely not a desperate fight against the Tartar army! And I promise you, if the Tartars are on guard, we will retreat immediately! If you wish, we can retreat directly into the sea! That way, we can solve the problem once and for all and wait for the Tartar army to run out of supplies and retreat on its own!"

After delivering his impassioned speech, Yang Zhen looked at each of the generals leading the troops before him, then added in an extremely sincere tone:

"My brothers! Please return to camp and boost morale! Tomorrow, regardless of success or failure, will be our last battle on this northward march to relieve Songshan! And I assure you, if we win, the spoils are yours! If we lose, I will lead the musketeers, artillery, and grenadiers to cover your retreat!"

As soon as Yang Zhen finished speaking, Zu Keyong clasped his hands in a fist salute and said to Yang Zhen, "Yang Xiezhen! Count me in! The advance battalion is one family! If we win, we share the spoils! If we lose, we cover the rear together!"

Upon hearing Zu Keyong's words, Yang Zhen quickly clasped his hands in greeting, then turned to look at Xu Changyong and Yuan Jin, waiting for them to express their opinions.

Having reached this point, Xu Changyong and Yuan Jin had no other choice but to agree.

Neither of them were truly afraid of death; rather, they felt the odds of winning were slim, so they figured it was better not to fight, since their existing achievements were enough to secure their promotions.

At this critical juncture, if they were to launch another attack, winning would be wonderful, bringing double the joy; but if they lost, they would suffer a defeat, and their previous achievements might not have been rewarded, while they would have to bear the responsibility for the subsequent failure.

But since Yang Zhen had put it this way, and Zu Keyong had also joined in, if Xu Changyong disagreed, he would definitely be in trouble in the future.

Although Yang Zhen addressed him as elder brother, he knew that Yang Zhen was, after all, his superior. If Zu Keyong also disagreed, then it would be easy for him to return to Zu Dashou's command in the future. But now, Zu Keyong had actually agreed.

Moreover, Xu Changyong is different from Yuan Jin. If Yuan Jin doesn't go, Yang Zhen can't say anything, since he's not part of the Provisional Ningyuan Vanguard Battalion. However, Xu Changyong's troops are part of this Provisional Battalion!

Besides, Yang Zhen had already hinted at these things to him before, and he hadn't objected then, so it wouldn't be good for him to object now.

After thinking it over, Xu Changyong finally nodded and said, "Alright! Let's do it! Let's pull off this one!"

Yang Zhen looked at Xu Changyong and knew that this man was ultimately worthwhile. Although he was indecisive and easily swayed, he still had principles, which was consistent with his historical performance of fighting valiantly and ultimately being killed.