The New Destiny of the Ming Dynasty

Sanggarse was the commander of the Mongol soldiers under Zu Dashou.

Zu Dashou basically did not interfere in the management of the Mongol camp, leaving it to Sanggarse and his Mongol generals to manage themselves.

Therefore, within the Mongolian camp, Sanggarsai held greater authority than Zu Dashou.

Nomqi was a trusted general of Sanggarsai, and this time he was in charge of three hundred Mongol soldiers transferred from Sanggarsai's camp.

However, before heading north to rescue Songshan, Zu Dashou appointed guerrilla commander Xu Changyong as general to lead these three hundred Mongol soldiers.

Upon receiving the order, Xu Changyong immediately placed his personal guards and retainers into the position, effectively stripping Nomuqi of his authority.

The night before last, a surprise attack was launched on the Tartar camp, resulting in the deaths, injuries, and disappearances of more than a hundred Mongol soldiers. Xu Changyong, the temporary commander, was not actually distressed by the loss.

However, Nomuqi felt sorry for them, and this incident further exacerbated their discord.

Now that such a dangerous mission had been presented to him, Xu Changyong did not hesitate to hand it over to his nemesis in the Mongol army, Nomuqi, who naturally refused.

But the current situation is beyond his control, especially after Zukeyong spoke up; he has no choice but to comply.

After hesitating for a moment, Nuomuqi seemed to have figured out the pros and cons, or perhaps he knew the principle of not suffering immediate losses. He knelt down on one knee before Xu Changyong, gritted his teeth, and took the letter from Xu Changyong's hand.

"Nomqi! If you can complete this mission, when you stand before Commander Zu, I, Zukeyong, will certainly reward you handsomely! Sanggarse will also reward you handsomely!"

Nomuqi didn't even look up, simply tucked the letter into his robes, patted his chest, and said, "Your subordinate obeys!"

After saying this with his head down, Nomuqi turned and left, still harboring a sense of indignation in his expression.

As Yang Zhen watched the Mongol general Nomqi leave, he had serious doubts about whether the man would actually "obey orders" as he claimed.

But by this point, he no longer cared about delivering the letter.

For him, having this pretext to deliver the message was better, but not having it wouldn't matter at all; he had already achieved his goal of coming to rescue Songshan.

Even Jin Guofeng and the others in Songshan City today are unaware that the reinforcements sent by Ning Yuan have arrived outside the city. But after today's battle, they will definitely find out.

Just then, another barrage of artillery fire came from the direction of Songshan City. This time, the sound was deafening, seemingly even more intense and frequent than the previous barrage.

Knowing they couldn't delay any longer, Yang Zhen immediately said to Xu Changyong, "Brother Xu! It's almost time! You should set off! Remember the route I told you! At the same time, you can't retreat too early or too quickly, lest the Tartars lose you! But you also can't let the Tartars close in too tightly, preventing you from creating any distance!"

After saying this, Yang Zhen stepped forward and hugged Xu Changyong again before separating. The others also clasped their hands in greeting to Xu Changyong.

Xu Changyong nodded to Yang Zhen, clasped his hands in a fist salute to the others across Yang Zhen, and then turned and left.

Before long, Xu Changyong’s loud command came from where the Mongolian cavalry was assembled. Xu Changyong, being very straightforward, mounted his horse and took the lead, charging ahead towards the woods in the direction Yang Zhen had pointed out.

In a short while, Xu Changyong's Mongolian cavalry crossed the salt flats and rushed into the woods.

Only after watching the last horse charge into the woods on the opposite side did Yang Zhen turn to the men around him and say, "Alright! We need to get ready too!"

Zukeyong's troops arrived last, but they brought breakfast prepared by the naval camp to Yang Zhen and others who had arrived the night before.

It's basically just stacks of pre-baked savory flatbreads, with no other seasonings besides mixed flour and salt.

However, Yang Zhen and his musketeer and grenadier soldiers, who had been hungry for almost a whole night, did not complain or say anything bad about the flatbread that Zu Keyong's men had worked so hard to bring. They were all beaming with joy.

Including Yang Zhen, they were all squatting in their trenches, eating the flatbreads brought by Zu Keyong's troops and drinking the cold water drawn from the Xiaoling River, each one of them enjoying their meal more than the last.

Zukeyong left some men to settle the warhorses in the reeds, while the majority of the soldiers took their bows and arrows and followed Zukeyong, dispersing among the musketeers' trenches.

Zu Keyong himself was right next to Yang Zhen. Watching Yang Zhen eat with gusto, he thought for a moment and then said to Yang Zhen:

"I've seen Yang Xiezhen's arrangements, and they're truly ingenious! Especially these trenches! They can conceal us and protect us from the Tartars' arrows and charging horses! Coupled with muskets, cannons, and gunpowder shells, it's like an inescapable net!"

At this point, Zu Keyong noticed Yang Zhen looking at him, paused briefly, and continued, "I just don't know, under this arrangement, how do you, Commander Yang, intend to use my heavy cavalry?! Judging from Commander Yang's current arrangements, it seems there's no place for me to exert my full strength!"

Hearing what Zu Keyong said, Yang Zhen swallowed a mouthful of food, laughed heartily, and said to him, "Brother Zu! It's not that there's no place for you! It's not that there's no task for you! When the Tartar cavalry attacks, your task is to ambush them in the trenches and communication trenches, and use rockets to ignite the pre-buried 'Ten Thousand Enemy Cannons' and 'Dragon King Cannons.' When the enemy retreats, your task is to mount your warhorses, pursue them in their victory, and take their heads!"

At this point, Yang Zhen suddenly paused, looked at Zu Keyong, and said, "By the way! When I patrolled your camp last night, I specifically told you to go find Yuan Jin this morning and ask him to contribute a few more barrels of tung oil. Did you get them?"

"Of course it's coming! It was supposed to arrive last night! But Yuan Jin's camp doesn't have much left, so they didn't get much! -- So that's what you mean, Commander Yang! I understand!"

Zu Keyong originally thought that he was sent to get tung oil so that he could use the tung oil and the dry reeds in the reed marshes to set fire to the Tartars. Yuan Jin himself also thought so. So both Zu Keyong and Yuan Jin were deeply disappointed that there was not much tung oil in the naval camp. They never expected that it was just for making rockets.

Actually, it was because Yang Zhen simply didn't have enough time; otherwise, he would have arranged for people to do these things back on Shazhou Island.

However, these things are not complicated. Just tear off some strips of cloth from your body or from the felt blanket carried on the horse's back, soak them in tung oil, and then tightly wrap them around the arrowhead.

After learning of Yang Zhen's intentions, Zu Keyong immediately instructed several of his officers to produce a batch of rockets and to find out in advance where the Wanrendi and Longwangpao were buried and where their fuses were, so as not to miss the opportunity to fight.

Seeing Zu Keyong get involved and direct his soldiers to divide tasks and work busily, Yang Zhen was very happy.

If he, as the commander, had to personally arrange, supervise, and even handle everything, he would never finish even if he worked himself to death.

Fortunately, his subordinates are now veteran soldiers and generals. After understanding Yang Zhen's intentions, they quickly got up to speed in all aspects. Zhang Degui, Li Lu, Pan Wenmao, Zhang Chen, Yang Shen, Zhang Guogan, Pan Xi, and Deng En are all able to help him share the burden, and some are even capable of handling things independently, which makes him feel very at ease and much more relaxed.

Xu Changyong had led his troops westward for about fifteen minutes when the artillery bombardment around Songshan City continued unabated.

As time passed, the atmosphere on Yang Zhen's side gradually became more serious. The soldiers from various teams who had been chatting and laughing quietly in the trenches and reed marshes gradually quieted down.

As everyone knows, a major battle is imminent.

Tens of thousands of Tartars have gathered outside Songshan City. If Xu Changyong's troops dare to show themselves, they will attract countless Tartars to pursue them. At that time, it will be an unprecedentedly tough battle!

Yang Zhen, along with Yang Zhanao, Yan San, and Zu Keyong, patrolled back and forth in the trenches and communication trenches, boosting morale while checking the preparations of each unit.

He did not go to the woods on the left flank defended by Li Lu's grenadiers.

Because his trust in Li Lu was different from that of others, it could be said to be a high degree of trust, and Yang Zhen believed that he would not let him down.