The New Destiny of the Ming Dynasty

Under the moonlight, a layer of mist shrouded the surface of the Xiaoling River estuary, obscuring the view.

On the distant coast, reeds were still burning, their flames illuminating the night sky.

All around was quiet, with only the sounds of the wind, oars, and water.

Yang Zhen, Zhang Chen, Yang Zhan'ao, Yan San, Guo Xiaowu, and Ma Liu, six people, silently and nimbly rowed their small boat and smoothly entered the main channel of the Xiaoling River.

The reeds on both sides of the riverbank had been burned, and only a few clumps remained here and there, which gave Yang Zhen and the others some sense of security.

Fortunately, the rising tide has turned the area where the two banks of the Xiaoling River estuary meet into swamps, so the Tartars can't send people to guard the area even if they wanted to.

Even if the Tartars sent men and discovered them from afar, it wouldn't pose much of a threat to Yang Zhen and his group of six people on the small boat.

For them, the worst that could happen was that they would simply turn around and leave, abandoning their scouting mission ashore.

Yang Zhen thought so, and so did Yan San, who was at the helm. So deep down they didn’t care whether there were Tartar scouts on the riverbank. They just silently tried to identify the direction and rowed the boat.

After entering the main channel of the river estuary, the water began to narrow after about fifteen minutes. After rowing forward for a while, Yang Zhen could vaguely make out their location.

"My lord! If we go any further, we'll be out of the reed marshes! Once we're out of the reed marshes, head west for about a mile, and to the north, we'll reach the Tartar camp we raided last time!"

The person who deliberately lowered his voice was Zhang Chen.

He truly lived up to his reputation as a former scout in the Liaodong border army.

He had only been to this area twice, both times at night, and now, after the fire, the terrain had changed so much, yet he still accurately gave directions.

Zhang Chen's words successfully stirred up some excitement on the small boat. Yang Zhan'ao, Guo Xiaowu, Yan San, and Ma Liu all stared at Yang Zhen, waiting for him to speak and make a decision.

"It's alright! Keep going by boat! If we run into a Tartar patrol, everyone should hide if possible, and if not, jump overboard! Use the boat as cover, then climb onto the gunwale to retreat! Get back on the boat when we reach the river mouth!"

Upon hearing Yang Zhen's idea, everyone agreed that it was feasible. Without saying a word, they turned around and continued paddling vigorously, and the small boat soon continued to move upstream.

About fifteen minutes later, the small boat passed a river branch.

Yang Zhen calculated the time and distance, and felt that they should have arrived at the place where they had last raided the Tartars' grain supply camp at night. So he stood up with Yang Zhan'ao's shoulder on his arm and looked towards the north bank of the river.

The location of the Tartar camp on the north bank of the Xiaoling River was pitch black, without a single light.

Yang Zhen was a little confused, worried that he had led everyone astray, so he turned back and whispered to Yan San, "Yan San! That pontoon bridge I asked you to blow up last time, have we reached our destination yet? How far is it?"

"It's not far! Just turn one more corner and you'll see it!" Yan San replied immediately.

At this moment, Guo Xiaowu also turned around from the front and said to Yang Zhen, "Sir! Yang and I went to scout the direction of Niangniang Palace today. We found the boat that was hidden in this area and landed here!"

"This place is full of river bends; even the Tartars' great fire didn't turn this place into a wasteland! Perhaps—we should hide our boats here and go ashore?"

"No! Let's continue by boat! I suspect the Tartars have already withdrawn from their camps north and south of the Xiaoling River! And they really have!"

If it were the Tartar camps on both sides of the Xiaoling River, led by figures like Ajige or Abatai, Yang Zhen might have to reconsider. But since it has been confirmed that Huang Taiji is personally leading the army, there is no need to be suspicious anymore.

Because figures like Ajige and Abatai held the Ming army in utter contempt, they didn't really consider the possibility of Ming army raids when marching and setting up camp, so they were rather careless.

But Huang Taiji was different. Firstly, he was a meticulous person, and secondly, he just wanted to relax, so the two Yellow Banner troops accompanying him wouldn't be so careless.

Especially considering that Yang Zhen's advance battalion had already launched two attacks from the coast, how could Huang Taiji, if still in the Niangniang Palace camp, possibly be unprepared in this direction?!

Now that he and his men have ventured deep into this area, they haven't encountered a single Tartar patrol yet, which means there are no Tartar troops stationed here.

Thinking this, Yang Zhen grew bolder and said to everyone, "Relax! Based on the information Zhan Ao and Xiao Wu sent back today, I suspect the Tartars have already withdrawn!"

After Yang Zhen said that, the others became bolder and no longer worried that the splashing sound of their rowing would attract the attention of the Tartar patrols.

However, the ever-cautious Zhang Chen asked again, "If the Tartars withdrew this afternoon, why did the cannon fire outside Songshan City continue until dusk?! Could it be that the Tartars are retreating in stages?!"

"That must be it! The Tartar leader Huang Taiji has probably already led the two Yellow Banners to retreat first! But he left behind the Three Princes and their troops to cover his retreat!"

"Oh, right, I almost forgot! There are also the Tartars besieging Tashan and Songshan. They'll need time to retreat! Huang Taiji left San Shunwang's troops behind to continue to lull the defenders of Songshan and Jinzhou into a false sense of security, allowing him to cover his own retreat, while also having San Shunwang's troops wait for and support the Tartar armies at Tashan and Songshan!"

When Yang Zhen shared his analysis, everyone was impressed, both by the cunning of the Tartar leader and by Yang Zhen's sharp mind.

Not long after Yang Zhen finished speaking, the small boat, with everyone rowing hard, passed a small bend in the river and re-entered a river that generally ran east-west. A simple wooden bridge then appeared before everyone's eyes.

This simple wooden bridge was built by nailing several long logs together side by side, and the entire bridge deck was laid directly on a group of wooden piles on the shallow banks of the river.

Many of those wooden pile bridge piers were already leaning to one side or the other, bearing the marks of the last time they were destroyed.

Once the small boat reached this point, everyone could see the towering watchtower at the main gate of the Tartar's grain supply camp on the northeast bank of the river.

But there were no torches on the watchtower, only deathly silence, and at the main gate of the Tartar's grain supply camp, not a sound of men or horses could be heard.

At this point, Zhang Chen, sitting at the bow, finally breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly secured the mooring rope to a wooden post at the bridgehead, stopping the small boat, and then whispered to Yang Zhen:

"My lord! The Tartars may have really retreated! At least this Tartar camp we visited before doesn't look like it's been garrisoned!"

At this point, Zhang Chen stood up, gripping the oar, looked again towards the north bank of the river, then squatted down and continued, "How about this—Sir, you stay here for now. Zhan'ao and I will go ashore first and check. If we're sure no one's there, then we'll invite you ashore!"

Yang Zhen knew that Zhang Chen was acting out of concern for his safety, so he patted him on the shoulder and said, "Alright! You guys go first! If it's safe, use the hooting of owls to send me a message!"

Yang Zhen insisted on personally leading a team ashore to scout. Besides needing to get a closer look in order to understand the Tartars' movements more directly and make accurate judgments, he also wanted to firmly establish his image as a hero and fearless figure in the minds of his subordinates.

After all, simply hiding in trenches and firing sniper shots at the Tartars doesn't really demonstrate much of a fearless and masculine spirit!

However, leading a team to scout out previously occupied territory did not mean he was indifferent to his own safety.

Professional tasks should be left to professionals, and Zhang Chen, who came from a background of night watchman, was a highly professional person in terms of night patrols and reconnaissance.

Not long after Zhang Chen led Yang Zhan'ao ashore through the puddles on the riverbank, Yang Zhen heard a series of intermittent "coo-coo" sounds coming from outside the still dense reeds on the riverbank.

This is the owl's call that Yang Zhen and Zhang Chen agreed to use to deliver the message.

Yang Zhen had never heard the hooting of a night owl before, but he knew that night owls and owls were not much different, while he had heard the hooting of owls before.

Upon hearing Zhang Chen's signal, Yang Zhen directed the people remaining on the boat to jump off, drag the boat into the reeds on the shore for some cover, and then crawl through the reeds to get ashore.