"On the sea?! How to get to the sea?! Brother Yang, brother Yang, the Mongolian soldiers under my brother are used to riding horses, but they have never been to the sea!"

After hearing what Yang Zhen said, Xu Changyong's eyes suddenly widened with disbelief on his face.

For Xu Changyong and the Mongolian soldiers under his command, they had never gone to sea or taken a sea ship. Yang Zhenyi's suggestion of going north by sea was completely beyond the scope of Xu Changyong's imagination.

Going north by sea, this scene is beyond the imagination of a person like Xu Changyong who has lived on horses for almost half his life.

But for Zu Keyong, who has a broader perspective, Yang Zhen's statement seems to have opened a new world in his mind instantly.

After listening to Yang Zhen's words, Zu Keyong was stunned for a while and murmured to himself: "That's right! There are no Tatars on the sea. From Ningyuan to Songshan, there are Tatars everywhere, but there are indeed no Tatars on the sea!"

"

At this time, Li Lu also said in surprise: "Yes! There are no Tatars on the sea! When we reach the sea, from Ningyuan to Songshan, we will not meet a Tatar! When we reach the northern sea, we can send people ashore to conduct reconnaissance. If there are Tatars,

We have deployed defenses along the coast, but if we don’t go ashore, what can they do to me? In the worst-case scenario, we can escape unscathed!"

Li Lu drew inferences from one instance and told the worst outcome first.

But the worst outcome Li Lu said was much better than heading north from the border grasslands. At least it would no longer be a narrow escape.

Therefore, after Li Lu finished speaking, Zhang Degui immediately followed up and said: "Yes! This method is better than going outside. Once we encounter Tatars while walking outside, it will be a narrow escape situation. We have no way out! But when we go to sea, we have the final say.

! If there is a chance to enter the city, we will go ashore. If there is no chance to enter the city, we will wait and see from the sea! At the very least, we can protect ourselves and have a chance to escape intact!"

After Li Lu and Zhang Degui finished speaking, Xu Changyong and Zu Keyong had already figured out this truth.

However, after a while, everyone calmed down from the excitement, and the problem soon came again.

The first person to ask the question was Zu Keyong.

Just listen to Zu Keyong say: "It's okay to go by sea! But how? Where is the ship? There are six hundred of us, and we have to bring firearms and ammunition, as well as military supplies and baggage. And Zu thinks that we also need to bring horses!

How can we take six hundred men and six hundred horses by sea? Are there so many sea ships in Ningyuan?"

"There isn't one in Ningyuan City! But there is one on Juehua Island! What I mean is that we won't bring horses with us on this trip. If there are too many horses, we won't be able to stay at sea for a long time and wait and see!"

However, as soon as Yang Zhen finished speaking, he was immediately opposed by Xu Changyong.

I just heard Xu Changyong slam the Kang table, and then said loudly: "No! How can we not bring horses? If we don't bring horses, it will definitely not work! My subordinates are all Mongolian soldiers, and there are no horses. How can we fight!? Without horses!

, what difference does it make if the three hundred of us go or not?! Brother Yang, you have to think of a way, you must bring your war horses!"

When Yang Zhen heard this, he said, okay, as long as you don't object to the general plan of going north by sea, let's study the rest slowly. He stopped talking at the moment and just nodded to Xu Changyong, which was regarded as a concession.

After listening to Xu Changyong's words, Zu Keyong also realized that Xu Changyong, who had previously agreed to go outside, had already agreed to take the sea route by boat.

"General Zu, is there anything else you don't understand?"

Yang Zhen keenly noticed that Zu Keyong's eyes were flickering, and he obviously had not yet made up his mind, so he asked directly: "If you have any questions, just raise them and we will discuss them together! After all, it is also the first time for brothers to go north by sea.

Once again, there is the danger of encountering wind and waves at sea, and my brother is not 100% sure!"

"Although taking the sea route to the north involves the risk of encountering wind and waves, compared with the risk of encountering Tatars, it is definitely safer to take the sea route!"

As soon as Yang Zhen finished speaking, Zhang Degui, Li Lu, and Xu Changyong all agreed.

At this time, Zu Keyong asked: "Yang Xiezhen, brothers are ordered to follow you north. If we take the sea route, the vast sea, where should we dock and where should we land?"

When Yang Zhen heard Zu Keyong ask this, he knew that he had basically accepted the general strategy of going north by sea, so he patiently explained to him further:

"We can go north along the coast and land at the mouth of Xiaoling River! There is only eight or nine miles away from Songshan City to the west! Whether it is for our reinforcements to enter the city or to send messages to the city, it will be easier!"

After hearing this, Zu Keyong was noncommittal and continued to ask: "What if the Tatars are at the mouth of the Xiaoling River, or if there are troops stationed on both sides of the Xiaoling River, what should we do?"

"If the Tatars are prepared there, we can retreat to the sea and find another place to land! If the Tatars are unprepared there, we can even follow the Xiaoling River and land at the Empress Palace!"

When Zu Keyong heard Yang Zhen say the place name "Empress Palace", he knew that Yang Zhen's plan was safer than Marshal Zu's.

The Empress’ Palace is not far outside Songshan City and is dedicated to Mazu, the Chinese God of the Sea. Zu Keyong visited it more than once when he was stationed in Jinzhou.

Hearing Yang Zhen talking about the Empress' Palace, Zu Keyong had no doubts at the moment. He clasped his fists and said, "Yang Xiezhen! After all, this trip is life-threatening, so I have to ask carefully! Early tomorrow morning, my brother will move here with his men.

Xie Zhen’s subordinates will be stationed together! When the time comes, we will discuss in detail the specific strategy of going north by sea and rescuing Songshan!"

While Zu Keyong was talking, he picked up the wine bowl.

Seeing this, Yang Zhen quickly picked up the wine bowl, clinked glasses with Zu Keyong, Xu Changyong, Zhang Degui and Li Lu one by one, then raised his neck and drank it all in one gulp.

The general strategy of heading north by sea was finally decided. This process was much easier than Yang Zhen originally expected.

That night, at the appointed time, after Yang Zhen asked everyone to keep the secret for the time being, Zu Keyong and Xu Changyong said goodbye and left together.

Yang Zhen didn't know whether the Tatars had spies in Ningyuan City, but what he knew very well was that many civil servants and military generals in this era had a very poor sense of confidentiality.

If Yang Zhen didn't tell them to keep it secret for now, I'm afraid what he said that night would cause a stir in the city the next day.

Once word reaches the ears of Tatar spies or spies, the idea of ​​going north by sea may be aborted.

Everyone dispersed that night, and there was no conversation all night. After drinking three bowls of wine, Yang Zhen had a rare and solid sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, it was cloudy again. The leaden sky was like a big lid covering the sky over Ningyuan City, making people feel depressed and breathless.

Yang Zhen ate breakfast in a hurry, leaving Zhang Degui to take charge of the camp affairs. Yang Zhen asked him to organize less than 200 soldiers in the camp to go out for exercises and laps at the East Gate Primary School Ground. Yang Zhen himself took Li Lu with him.

Liaodong Governor's Office.

Although the route for dispatching troops has been decided, there are still a lot of things to do, such as the issue of troop transport ships, firearms and ammunition, military supplies, and order flags, all of which need to be finalized one by one.

In addition, the general strategy of heading north by sea to land at the mouth of Xiaoling River also needs to be reported to the governor Fang Yizao.

As for Zu Dashou, Ningyuan's top military officer at this time, Yang Zhen no longer wanted to entangle the Liaodong commander with the issue of the route of troops.

Because Yang Zhen had doubts about Zu Dashou's current position. After all, this man surrendered to the Manchus in the fourth year of Chongzhen, and now he had a large group of brothers, nephews and family members working as officials and making a fortune on the Manchurian side.

And the most important thing is that just two years later, Zu Dashou surrendered to the Manchus again.

Regardless of the reason for surrender, Yang Zhen felt extremely uncomfortable when he thought of these historical facts, feeling from the bottom of his heart that this person could not be trusted.

Regarding the plan to go north to Songshan by sea, if Zu Keyong reported it to him last night, it would be Yang Zhen who informed him; if Zu Keyong did not report it to him, Yang Zhen decided to wait until the moment before departure to make it clear to him

.

Yang Zhen went to the government office of Governor Fang Yizao and successfully met Governor Fang Yizao. He reported his thoughts to him and explained to Fang Yizao the reasons of the previous night in detail.

It happened that Yuan Shu, the governor-general in charge of food and salary affairs in Liaodong, also worked in the governor's office. After hearing Yang Zhen's statement, he immediately agreed with it.

Yuan Shu's father is Yuan Keli. When Marshal Mao was in charge of Dongjiang Town, Yuan Keli served as the governor of Denglai. At that time, Yuan Shu was in the shogunate of his father Yuan Keli, so he was no stranger to maritime affairs and could be considered a senior official.

He was one of the very few civil servants with a maritime vision at that time.

Therefore, Yuan Shu greatly appreciated Yang Zhenhai's idea of ​​a surprise attack.

Governor Fang Yizao did not know anything about military affairs, and Yang Zhen was the only general he brought back to Liaodong this time. Therefore, after listening to Yang Zhen and Yuan Shu's words, it was inevitable.

In addition, on the first day, Yang Zhen put forward three conditions when he was ordered. One of them was to decide the route of march on his own without interference from Ningyuan's civil servants and generals, including the governor Fang Yizao and the commander-in-chief Zu Dashou.
Chapter completed!