The New Destiny of the Ming Dynasty

The tasks and orders that Yang Zhen assigned to his subordinates were all very clear, leaving almost no room for misunderstanding or ambiguity.

Although this approach is a bit verbose, it greatly facilitates his subordinates in correctly understanding his intentions.

Because the ambush plan he has arranged is a bit too complicated for this era when cold weapons are still the mainstream.

Any mistake in any step could lead to the failure of the entire plan.

Therefore, he had to repeatedly instruct Pan happy and Li Lu in order to prevent his subordinates from doing good deeds but ending up ruining the overall situation.

After hearing Yang Zhen's arrangement, Li Lu felt it would be better to dig another trench in the woods to hide, so that his men would not be scattered by Xu Changyong's cavalry before they encountered the Tartars.

So, after receiving the order, he immediately led the left wing of his grenadier squad, carefully bypassing the minefield, and headed to the distant woods to continue digging trenches.

Zhang Chen and Zhang Guogan, who were standing next to Yang Zhen, understood their tasks after hearing Yang Zhen's arrangements for the left and right flanks of the grenadier team.

That was to hold the line in the trench about twenty paces away from the front of the reeds, so as to prevent the large number of Tartar cavalry from rushing through the minefield and then following Xu Changyong's Mongol soldiers to directly attack Zukeyong's central reserve cavalry and Zhang Degui's artillery positions.

"I don't need to explain your mission! Every Tartar that appears before you, on the ground, is your target!"

"But remember, to shoot a man, shoot his horse first; to capture a thief, capture his king first! If a Tartar general appears, twenty or forty of you should all aim at him and fire at the same time. I don't believe we can't kill him!"

"Then Zukeyong's archers will temporarily be in the same trenches as you! Don't let the archers underestimate the musketeers!"

After Yang Zhen finished speaking, although he did not name names, Zhang Chen and Zhang Guogan both knew that he was talking about them. They immediately accepted the order, turned around and left to arrange their respective soldiers, assigning them to specific positions and dividing them into sections for defense. Less than forty men were scattered into the long trenches and disappeared from sight in an instant.

Seeing this scene, Yang Zhen sighed. If he had three to five hundred similar "Rumi Gun" musketeers under his command, he could achieve even greater things.

But he didn't.

Hearing Yang Zhen sigh, Yan San, who had been standing guard by his side, said, "My lord, there's no need to sigh! With such airtight arrangements, the Tartar cavalry will either not come or, if they do, they'll definitely suffer a terrible fate!"

At this moment, Yang Zhan'ao also said, "Sir, there's no need to think so much! Commander Zu and Governor Fang sent us to rescue Songshan. We've come, and the previous burning of the Tartar army's provisions was already a great achievement!"

"If we succeed this time, that would be even better; if we fail, then it must be fate! We have made thorough preparations; we have done everything we should, could, and could think of! If we fail to annihilate a portion of the Tartars, it cannot be considered our fault!"

Hearing this, Yang Zhen immediately realized that his emotions had affected the confidence of those around him. He smiled wryly and said, "You're right! If we can't even achieve a complete victory against the Tartars, then we're utterly useless! As for the rest, let's do our best and leave the rest to fate! I, Yang Zhen, only ask to have a clear conscience!"

After saying this, Yang Zhanao and Yan San were speechless, and the scene immediately fell silent.

What Yang Zhen said was actually what he was really thinking right now—given his current conditions, he had prepared to this extent, which was the best he could do.

If he had reached this point and still had no power to fight back against the Tartar cavalry's charge, then there was no need for him to continue fighting on the main battlefield in Liaoxi.

In other words, if his current tactics are ineffective against the onslaught of the Tartar heavy cavalry, he will have to seriously consider another "indirect" approach.

Of course, his indirect path to saving the country was by no means surrendering to the Qing Dynasty or engaging in any act of being in Cao Cao's camp but having his heart in Han.

This is what Wu Sangui did.

Moreover, facts have proven that Wu Sangui's actions were a failure.

Because the Manchus are not fools. They will not allow you to be loyal to the enemy while serving the enemy. It will be easy to get on the ship but difficult to get off. Once you are on the pirate ship, they will make you do things you cannot do.

If you don't do it, you can't hide it anymore; if you do it, there's no turning back.

Yang Zhen understood that if he followed Wu Sangui's example, he might end up like Wu Sangui, completely trapped and unable to escape.

Even if they succeeded in rebelling within the Qing Dynasty's camp, their stain would already be sealed, and they would have no chance to clear their name.

He was well aware of the historical lessons of Wu Sangui, so he would never follow in Wu Sangui's footsteps.

Besides, although he believed that a real man should be able to bend and stretch when he was born in a chaotic world, he still had his bottom line and couldn't do everything.

Therefore, his "indirect approach to saving the country" was not to emulate Wu Sangui, but to follow the example of Mao Wenlong, whom he had always respected.

When he set off from Ningyuan, he had already made up his mind: he would first try his best to resist the Qing on the main battlefield. If his efforts to resist the Qing's southward advance on the main battlefield failed, he would lead his troops to cross the sea and go to the old place of Dongjiang Town to seek development again.

This is precisely the reason why he painstakingly requested to travel north by sea and deliberately sought to befriend Yuan Jin, the garrison commander of the Juehua Island naval camp.

Although Yang Zhen was very unhappy, he had to admit that in East Asia at that time, the fighting power of the Manchu Eight Banners army was second to none, and for the time being, no other force could compete with it in open battle.

However, he was also well aware that although the current Manchu Eight Banners army was very strong, it had two major weaknesses, one of which was firearms.

However, this deficiency of the Manchu Eight Banners army is now being addressed, and the momentum to improve this weakness is accelerating with the strong support of Huang Taiji.

If Huang Taiji hadn't died a few years later, Yang Zhen probably wouldn't have had much of a chance in the field of firearms, at least he wouldn't have had the advantage of a generational gap.

Another weakness, or shortcoming, of the Manchu army was its navy.

This weakness will not be truly remedied until Kangxi appoints Shi Lang to build a fleet and unifies Taiwan. That's still several decades away.

If Yang Zhen wants to turn the tide when the Manchu army sweeps across the country, the only thing he can do is exploit these two weaknesses of the Manchu army.

In other words, when facing the Manchu army, he only had room to maneuver and a chance to turn the tide in terms of firearms and navy.

Now, if firearms cannot stop the Tartars and help him win a carefully planned battle, then there is no need for him to continue fighting the Tartars on land. He should just go to sea as soon as possible.

Yang Zhen gazed at the meticulously constructed ambush site in the distance, lost in his own thoughts. After a moment, he suddenly remembered something else and said to Yan San:

"This morning, after Zhang Degui and his men arrive, temporarily entrust the banner of the Provisional Ningyuan Vanguard Battalion to Zhang Degui for safekeeping! When the time comes, have them stand it in the middle of the artillery position! When the Tartars see this banner, they will surely come to attack! At that time, with twenty tiger-squatting cannons and breech-loading cannons firing simultaneously, we will surely inflict heavy damage on a portion of the Tartars!"

At this point, an irrepressible smile appeared on Yang Zhen's face, and his mood improved considerably, which also made Yang Zhan'ao and Yan San happy.

"You two, and Guo Xiaowu, will follow me. On one hand, you'll relay my orders, and on the other hand, we can also scavenge for loot in that long, arched trench!"

"You should also prepare an extra flask of rockets. When the time comes, aim carefully and ignite all the unlit 'Ten Thousand Enemy Cannons' and 'Dragon King Cannons.' Don't waste these precious gunpowder!"

Yang Zhanao and Yan San readily agreed.