Yuan Jin was just like the person who took the lead among Yang Zhen's generals. As expected, he made a short story and expressed his most important point.

Although Yang Zhen doesn't like the flattery of his subordinates, he also knows that he must have such people around him.

After Yuan Jin finished speaking, several other general soldiers who did not often come to Lushunkou also spoke one after another and expressed their stance.

For example, Wu Chaozuo, who came to the West Road to help guard the General Military Mansion, followed Yuan Jin and said:

"Beizhi strongly agrees with Mr. Yuan's statement. Beizhi saw many refugees fleeing famine on Denglai West Road. I don't know how many refugees sold their sons and daughters for the stuttering. I also saw many tragedies in the world where children were exchanged for food.

"So I know very well that food is the most important thing at any time, more important than gold or silver. With food, everything is possible.

"Looking around the world today, the only one who can provide food for all the soldiers and civilians under his command, especially those who still have the spare capacity to accept and settle the refugees from all over the world, is the Governor, only we, Jinhai, come to the second town."

"That's right. Governor, I have fulfilled my humble duty and agree with General Yuan and General Wu."

Xu Tianchong, the chief military officer of Jinhai Middle Road stationed in Jinzhou City, also expressed his position:

"This time, I visited the West Daku in Shuangdao Bay, the Dong Daku at the foot of Golden Mountain, and the ammunition and grain storage in Xingang in the mouth. In each place, there are one or two large grain storages.

A reserve of one hundred thousand stones.

"Although the warehouses in various places mainly contain dried sweet potatoes, dried potatoes and other coarse grains, at critical moments, coarse grains are also life-saving things. With grain in hand, soldiers will not be a problem.

"So, no matter where the governor orders us to fight next, I believe that we can be unfavorable. Beizhi is the same as Commander Yuan and Commander Wu, but the governor will follow suit!"

Since Xu Tianchong joined Yang Zhen, he has not participated in any major wars for more than two years, except for his great contribution when he deceived the gates of Jinzhou City and made an emergency landing on Shen Zhixiang.

Although Yang Zhen never said anything to him, as the chief military officer of Jinhai Middle Road, he had long been uneasy when facing other colleagues who had repeatedly made military exploits.

At this moment, he naturally expressed his attitude closely behind Yuan Jin and Wu Chaozuo, two general soldiers who also had less outstanding military exploits.

As soon as he finished speaking, several other general soldiers who had been silent, including Zhang Degui and Zhang Chen, stood up almost at the same time, clasped their fists at Yang Zhen and said:

"Only the Governor is following his lead!"

"Very good. With your words, I feel relieved!"

Seeing that all the general officers under his command were like this, Yang Zhen was determined. He smiled and raised his hands, asking them to sit down one by one, and then said solemnly:

"We, Jinhai, Denglai Second Town, including the left and right wings of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, have a total of ten general defense troops, and there are nine of them here today. The reason why this governor mobilized so many troops to find you all is indeed

I have something big to say."

Next, Yang Zhen told the story one by one about the two imperial envoys sent by the imperial court to convey the decree, as well as the governor's office in Jiliao, Ningyuan, and the general town office in Liaodong, Jinzhou, who sent people to contact the east and west.

After saying this, Yang Zhen paused for a moment and looked around the generals. Seeing that everyone seemed to have expected it, no one was surprised, so he finally said:

"Everyone, although it is the decree of the imperial court to regain Liaochen, this battle is not all because the imperial court wants us to fight, so we fight, but because we have to fight in the first place, and it coincides with the imperial decree. Please tell me the difference.

Remember.

"For the past three years, you have followed me, Mr. Yang, and faced many difficulties. We have opened up the Jinhai Sea, recruited people to farm, and have enough food and troops. However, what is our purpose? Is it just to eat here all day long and sit back and watch the changes in the world?"

Having said this, Yang Zhen paused again, his eyes moving back and forth on Lu Pinqi and Zu Keyong.

The two of them may have known some news before coming to Lushunkou - after all, written by Hong Cheng, Zu Si and the others, when they crossed the ice and came to Jinhai Town, the first place they arrived was the jurisdiction of Jinhai North Road.

What could force the passers-by of Jiliao Governor's Mansion and Jinzhou Liaodong General Town Mansion to brave the wind and snow and take huge risks to run to Jinhai Town on their own initiative?

The reason for this is unknown to oneself.

They must be preparing for something as big as joining forces to fight the enemy and launching an all-out war with the Qing Dynasty on both the east and west fronts.

However, once a full-scale war against the Qinglu broke out, Jinhai North Road and Jinhai East Road, which were on the front line of Jinhai Town and bordered the Qinglu occupied area, would naturally bear the brunt.

Therefore, when Yuan Jin, Wu Chaozuo, Xu Tianchong and others all stood up to express their stance passionately, Lu Pinqi and Zu Keyong felt quite heavy.

However, in the face of the confident statements of other general military officers, the two of them could only follow Yang Zhen's lead and follow his lead.

In fact, they were still a little worried.

Naturally, the changes in their expressions could not escape Yang Zhen's eyes.

Therefore, after Yang Zhencai finished speaking about the imperial court's will, he said something else, and then looked at Lu Pinqi and Zu Keyong, waiting for them to express the problems in their hearts.

Yang Zhen hoped that by solving the problems in their minds, he could truly unify the operational thinking of the Qing Dynasty in the Northern Expedition and twist the soldiers and civilians from all walks of life into one rope.

"Well, Governor, since the imperial court has issued a decree, and the Governor has also made up his mind, he should obey the orders as he is humble, without any hesitation, but -"

Lu Pinqi couldn't bear Yang Zhen's gaze, and finally spoke hesitantly.

"Nothing but what? Mr. Lu, if you have any questions, you can tell them today and let's discuss the details together. The Northern Expedition to the Qing Dynasty is not my business alone. We must all share the same desire to win faster."

"Yes, the governor is right. The humble position means that the imperial court requires us to take the lead in fighting the prisoners before the end of April. I don't know what the governor's specific plan is. Should our army attack Xiongyue and Gaizhou first, or -"

At this point, Lu Pinqi hesitated and did not say anything further, but his expression made it very clear that he did not really want to take the lead.

But Yang Zhen didn't want to express all his thoughts now. He wanted to find out the true attitude of the generals under his command first.

Especially the true attitude of Lu Pinqi and Zu Keyong who are standing in the front.

"Haha, what do you think? How do you think we should fight?"

"Well, now that the governor has asked me about it, I'll be bold enough to tell you what I think."

Facing Yang Zhen's inquiry, Lu Pinqi thought about it and decided to tell his true thoughts.

"Based on our past tactics, which are of course the ones led by the Commander-in-Chief, it is best to wait for the ice in Liaodong Bay to freeze before using our naval warships to attack the enemy's rear first."

Lu Pinqi had previously taken the water route and attacked the Qing-occupied areas along the coast. He also went north with a ship to the mouth of the Liao River and destroyed several forts that the Qing had finally built at the mouth of the Liao River.

He had followed Yang Zhen before and fought several victorious battles in which he bypassed the enemy's rear and attacked the enemy unprepared. He seemed to be used to bypassing the enemy's main force and avoiding the real and attacking the weak. He seemed to be full of doubts about the decisive battle with the Qing Dynasty.

.

Just listen to him continue:

"You must know that since Dorgon led his army southward and suffered a setback, he has mobilized manpower to strengthen the city and build more city defenses in Xiongyue City, Gaizhou City and other places.

"Now after passing the Fudu River and heading north, there are Qinglu forts all over Xuguanbao, Shipeng Mountain, Duntaishan, Shagangzi, Xiongyue River Mouth, Gaizhou River Mouth and Lianyun Island, as well as on both sides of the post road.

"If we attack a fortified city all the way and defeat it, even if the heavy artillery in our army is several times or ten times that of the Qing Dynasty, we will inevitably cause a lot of losses, and it will be time-consuming and labor-intensive, and we will achieve half the result with twice the effort."

"Therefore, it is not that I am afraid of difficulties and avoids fighting and dare not attack fortresses, but I should make full use of my strengths and avoid our weaknesses and make good use of the navy. Of course, if the governor makes up his mind and orders me to attack Xiong Yue and Gaizhou, I will do the same."

At this point, Lu Pinqi did not continue, but just looked at Yang Zhen.

Because he believed that Yang Zhen already understood what he meant.

Yang Zhen indeed understood what he meant, so after hearing what he said, he just nodded and then turned his eyes to Zu Keyong.

"General Zu, what do you think?"

"If the decisive battle with the Qing Dynasty can be avoided, I hope to postpone it for a year and a half. But if the governor has made up his mind, I will obey the governor's orders!"

Obviously, Zu Keyong does not want to fight the Qinglu now. He hopes to delay it for another year or six months.

But his idea was immediately rejected by Yang Zhen.

"I'm not asking you whether you should fight now, but how you should fight now?"

"In this case, I think we should advance both by land and water. We can use Jinhai North Road and Jinhai East Road as the vanguard, one from the south and the other from the east, to set up a momentum of attacking Xiong Yue and Gaizhou, and wait for the Qing Dynasty to mobilize their troops and assemble in

After Xiong Yue arrived near Gaizhou, our army sent out water divisions with elite troops to attack the enemy's rear."

"Well, then to attack the enemy's rear, where exactly should we attack?"

"You can enter from the mouth of the Liaohe River and attack Haizhou City directly. Once you take Haizhou City by surprise, it will be enough to deter the important town of Liaoyang to the north, and it will be enough to mobilize the Qing captives in Gaizhou and Xiongyue to retreat. At that time, there may be no need to attack by force.

If we take them forcefully, Gaizhou and Xiongyue City will fall into the hands of our army."

[To be honest, I’ve been reading books recently to catch up on updates, switch sources, read aloud with many sounds, and it’s available on both Android and Apple.]

Although Zu Keyong was opposed to launching an all-out attack on the Qinglu now, he had obviously given in-depth consideration to this issue.

In this regard, he may not be a good decision-maker, but in any case, he can be regarded as a good executor.

In other words, although he may be able to oppose Yang Zhen's decision, if Yang Zhen has already made a decision, he will choose to obey it and implement it seriously.

"Yesterday afternoon, I boarded the Yingzhou and Lelang to visit. A huge ship carries sixty cannons, large and small. Our naval division has such a huge ship. Who can compete with it when it goes straight to the mouth of the Liaohe River?"

Yang Zhen asked them to visit the northern city of Lushun and visit the ammunition and grain storage warehouses. Of course, he also asked them to visit the Yingzhou and Lelang.

The purpose of Yang Zhen asking them to visit was actually to fully understand the strength of Jinhai Town. Now, the effect of the visit has been reflected.

The Yingzhou and Lelang were equipped with so many heavy guns, which obviously left a deep impression on Zu Keyong.

Of course, at this point, although Zu Keyong paused slightly, his words were not finished. Soon, he continued:

"Since our army and the Liaoxi soldiers and horses have agreed to cooperate with each other to attack the Qing captives, then once Haizhou City is captured, the Liaoxi soldiers and horses can attack Guangning City again.

"If the Qing rebels save Guangning, our army can seize the opportunity to control Haizhou. If the Qing captives do not save Guangning, but attack our army, the Liaoxi soldiers and horses may take advantage of the opportunity to capture the west of the Liaohe River."

"Commander Zu, if the soldiers and horses of western Liaoning capture the land west of the Liao River, it will certainly be a great thing for the soldiers and horses of western Liaoning, but what benefit will it have to our army?"

Zu Keyong was born in the ancestral family of Ningyuan in Liaoxi, so on all issues involving western Liaoning, as long as he opens his mouth, he will naturally arouse suspicion from others.

This is also the case at this time.

As soon as he finished speaking, Yuan Jin interrupted.

The meaning behind Yuan Jin's words is also very obvious, that is, he does not want to draw chestnuts out of the fire for the generals in western Liaoning.

At the end of the 13th year of Chongzhen's reign, during the battles in western Liaoning before and after Guangning City, Yuan Jin's soldiers and horses and Songshan's soldiers and horses put in a lot of effort. In the end, all the advantages were taken by the Liaoxi ancestral army, which still makes him resentful to this day.
Chapter completed!