The New Destiny of the Ming Dynasty

Zhang Degui walked at the very back of the left flank of the artillery unit. By the time he reached Yang Zhen, the gunners of the ten breech-loading cannons on the left flank of the artillery unit had already been led by Yan San to set up positions on the left flank at the edge of the reeds.

Zhang Degui stood before him, utterly exhausted. Yang Zhenchong smiled and nodded, then stepped forward to hug him, patting him hard on the back without saying a word, for everything was understood without being spoken.

But Zhang Degui understood Yang Zhen's meaning. At this moment, no matter how tired he was, he felt it was all worthwhile: "My lord! I have not failed in my mission! All the men who were supposed to come have been brought!"

Yang Zhen didn't speak, because he had already seen Xu Changyong leading his horse and pushing aside a patch of reeds blocking his way, appearing right in front of Yang Zhen.

"Brother Yang! I, Old Xu, am not late, am I? I was just afraid of delaying our important matter! We heard several rounds of cannon fire in the reeds, and we thought the Tartars had arrived first! But then we realized that the Tartars were bombarding Songshan! Brother, you are truly a diviner! You predicted yesterday that the Tartars would bombard Songshan today!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhen quickly stepped forward with a smile and greeted Xu Changyong with a hug. The two patted each other on the back and laughed as they talked.

"Not too late, not too late! We've arrived just in time! The Tartars have begun their fierce attack on Songshan! They've already fired several rounds of cannon fire, and they'll probably fire again soon! Brother Xu, you should rest for a bit, and then we'll begin our operation!"

"No need for rest! The brothers haven't ridden horses for days, their bodies are practically rusting! These Mongolian horses aren't afraid of getting tired, if we don't let them run a few laps, they'll get sick!"

Xu Changyong is a straightforward person. Although he has flaws, they are written all over his face, making him the type of person who is relatively easy to get along with.

Although he is easily swayed, gullible, and lacks his own opinions, and is prone to wavering when faced with difficulties, he is also quite straightforward and honest. Once he has agreed to do something, he will do it immediately before he changes his mind.

Xu Changyong wanted to immediately organize the team and set off to lure the enemy, and Yang Zhen naturally did not object. Looking at the two hundred or so men covered in mud and water, Yang Zhen felt that this situation actually fit the image of a cavalry team that was in a hurry to deliver a message.

On the sandy ground between the musketeer team's trenches and the reed marshes, Xu Changyong quickly organized the men he had brought out of the reed marshes. More than two hundred men, leading more than two hundred horses, were scattered and crowded together, making a lively scene with shouts and neighing.

Xu Changyong reorganized his cavalry and sent his personal guards to invite Yang Zhen, leading Yang Zhen to the front of their cavalry.

Upon seeing Yang Zhen approach, Xu Changyong immediately said to him, "Brother Yang! The vanguard scouts are all here! Would you like to say a few words? Although my men are all cavalry, they greatly admire you, Commander Xie!"

At this moment, Yang Zhenke didn't have time to talk to Xu Changyong's cavalry soldiers. He had a few important words to tell Xu Changyong.

"Brother Xu! This vast expanse of saline-alkali land ahead of us is now riddled with traps and deadly traps! It's a trap set for the Tartars! When you and your vanguard cavalry set off, you can only go west from here, crossing that grove of trees on the other side!"

"On the way back, there was only one road: through the woods, across this saline-alkali land, over the musketeers' trenches, past the artillery positions, and straight into the reeds!"

As Yang Zhen solemnly spoke these words to Xu Changyong, he pointed westward, indicating the direction and path for his team to proceed.

"Brother! What if the Tartar cavalry comes fast and catches up, and I can't shake them off or create distance? You'd better be careful then!"

Upon hearing Yang Zhen's words, Xu Changyong's heart immediately jumped. He was a veteran who had fought for many years, and he was naturally very familiar with these things on the battlefield. As soon as Yang Zhen explained, he knew what was going on.

"Brother Xu, you don't need to worry too much! I've already made arrangements in the woods ahead. When you come back, as long as you get through the woods smoothly, the rest is up to Li Lu!"

"Just charge forward along the route I've given you! Don't worry about anything else! But be careful not to breach our own artillery positions!"

Once outside the woods, the Tartars had two options in their pursuit of Xu Changyong's troops: one was to cross the woods directly, and the other was to bypass the woods and rush into the flat salt flats.

Yang Zhen had arranged for Li Lu's grenadier squad to ambush Xu Changyong from both sides in the woods beforehand, in order to force the Tartars to bypass the woods and continue their pursuit of Xu Changyong.

In that way, the horse trap will not be wasted and will be able to serve its purpose.

As the two were talking, they heard another commotion at the edge of the reed marshes—Zuke Yong, leading his heavy cavalry, each leading a group of horses, finally emerged from the reed marshes.

Yang Zhen hurriedly pulled Xu Changyong to find Zu Keyong. Zu Keyong, understanding Yang Zhen's intentions, immediately took out a sealed letter from his pocket upon seeing Xu Keyong and solemnly handed it to Xu Changyong in front of everyone, then said:

"Commander Xu! This is a handwritten letter from the Marshal to Jin Guofeng, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Songshan, and Xia Chengde, Lieutenant General!"

"This time, although your mission to send a message westward is intended to lure the enemy into attacking, I still hope that you can actually send out a small scouting party to rush westward to the walls of Songshan City and find an opportunity to shoot this message into the city!"

"In that case, it hasn't been in vain that the Commander sent the two of us here!"

Although Yang Zhen was mentally prepared, he still felt very uncomfortable after hearing these words in person.

Those around Yang Zhen, including Zhang Degui, Yang Zhanao, and Zhang Chen, all had dark clouds on their faces after hearing what Zu Keyong told Xu Changyong—it turned out that the person who came to Songshan and Jinzhou to deliver the message was someone else, and Yang Zhen and his men were just scapegoats, scapegoats, or even just shields to be sent to their deaths.

However, with a major battle imminent, the advance team could not afford to cause any more unpleasantness over these matters. Yang Zhen and his old subordinates all chose to remain silent.

They also knew that this was not something Zu Keyong could decide, much less something Xu Changyong knew beforehand.

The only person who could do such a thing is the current Liaodong commander-in-chief, Zu Dashou, but what can they do to him?

All their dissatisfaction, frustration, and even hatred could only be buried deep within their hearts.

Xu Changyong took the letter and soon summoned a short but very strong middle-aged man, saying to him in front of everyone:

"Brother Nuomuqi! This is a letter that Commander Zu entrusted to us to deliver into Songshan City! This letter is of utmost importance! Whether we can succeed in rescuing Songshan depends on whether this letter can be delivered into the city!"

"The reason our advance team made such a big fuss this time, and our vanguard cavalry went out in full force, is to cover you and get this letter out!"

"You'll take your squad from the shed and be in charge of this! If you encounter any Tartar patrols outside Songshan City, we'll help you hold them off, and you'll lead your team in a surprise attack!"

Nomuqi, clearly a Mongolian man, looked at Xu Changyong with suspicion and doubt upon hearing this, then glanced at Zukeyong and Yang Zhen, and said in broken Chinese:

"General Zu—you're leading the Grand Marshal's central army, composed entirely of the most elite cavalry and archers. Why aren't you letting them go?! Your lives matter, but so do ours as Mongols!"

To Yang Zhen's surprise, this Nomuqi dared to question Xu Changyong's arrangements, and his words revealed his reluctance.

"Nomqi! Do you think that just because Sanggarsai isn't here, no one can control you?! If you dare disobey orders, I'll kill you right now! Do you dare try?!"

Upon hearing Nomuqi's words, before Xu Changyong could speak, Zukeyong became enraged, gripping the hilt of his knife and threatening to punish Nomuqi.