On Yang Zhen's body was a rough map that Li Ma, Meng He and others had discussed and verified with each other and then printed it on a piece of cowhide.

Therefore, he knew that Laoguantai was not far from Tuchengzi. Just as the old cannon leader Liu Wanzhong said, it was only a few dozen miles away.

These horse thieves outside the Great Wall who were once active in the Nurulhu Mountain area in western Liaoning are certainly not proficient in cartography, but they have been traveling in western Liaoning and eastern Mongolia for many years, and they are good at understanding the mountains, rivers, ancient city sites, and tribal distribution in this area.

The sphere of influence is extremely familiar.

The topographic map they drew from memory, although the lines are very rough and the proportions are somewhat out of proportion, cannot be compared with the map drawn hundreds of years later, but everything that should be included is listed on it.

Especially for the destination of Yang Zhen's trip, the intersection of Laohua River and Yinjin River, Li Ma, Meng He and others put even more effort into drawing it.

For example, Hongshanzi, Hongmiaozi, Tuchengzi, Laoguantaizi, Sidaowanzi, and Sifangchengzi were all stamped on them one by one, and the place names were marked with people.

With this map and the old official who has confirmed the location at this moment, Yang Zhen has a clear idea of ​​where he is and the situation that his group is about to face, and he feels more confident.

He knew very well that now that he had arrived at the old official station, and the old official station was not far from his destination, Tuchengzi, the most important thing next was to find out the enemy's situation as soon as possible.

He needed to find the whereabouts of the Zhangjiakou caravan as soon as possible, determine where this large caravan was currently, and when it would arrive at Tuchengzi and cross the river to the east.

If this is not possible, he also needs to send people to take a detour to the west as soon as possible, go to the Hongmiaozi area, try to find Yang Shen's team again, and get in touch with Yang Shen's team as soon as possible.

He believed that Ma Zhuang and others who broke into the Shanyou caravan in Zhangjiakou would have a way to pass on the news to Yang Shen, so finding Yang Shen was equivalent to finding the caravan.

On the morning when a group of people rested at Laoguantai, Yang Zhen's troops were patrolling when it was time to patrol and resting when it was time to rest. The whole camp was quiet inside and outside, except for the sound of wind, the chirping of cicadas and the occasional bleating of horses, there was no other sound.

sound.

Although Yang Zhen was physically exhausted, his spirit was very high. He kept thinking about the various possibilities he was about to face. Until the scorching sun came up again and noon came, he finally made up his mind.

"It is said in the art of war that only by knowing oneself and the enemy can one be victorious in every battle. Tuchengzi is almost here, but we don't have any news about the large caravan. The enemy's situation is unknown. This cannot go on like this!"

Yang Zhen sent people to call Zu Keyong, Zhang Chen, Li Lu, Xu Changyong, Liu Wanzhong and other generals, and said to them: "The caravan from Zhangjiakou must cross the river from Tuchengzi to the east to trade with the Aohan tribe.

, it will definitely not be at night, on the contrary, if they want to cross the river, it must be during the day! If we can only send people to patrol at night, then if we miss it, we will regret it!"

When everyone heard what Yang Zhen said, they all nodded involuntarily. Whether they were the generals from the Songshan army or the horse bandit leaders from outside the northern border of the Great Wall, they all knew the reason why Yang Zhen said this.

First of all, the caravans coming from Zhangjiakou for border trade were all elite merchants. They all knew about the infestation of horse thieves outside the border. Even though they did not expect that the officers and soldiers from Songshan would try to attack them, they

They will also act cautiously.

Every time a caravan stops and sets off, it is like an army marching for battle. Not only will there be a large number of escorts, but there will also be troops sent out to attack the front line.

Furthermore, the caravans coming from Zhangjiakou for foreign trade brought them supplies that were in short supply or urgently needed by the nobles of the prairie tribes. They were honored guests in the eyes of the nobles of the prairie tribes.

Not only when the caravan comes, most of the grassland tribes will send out a team of people to greet them and lead the way, but when they leave, some tribes will also send people and horses to escort them off until the next tribe takes over.

The goal of Yang Zhen and his party was the caravan and the large amount of supplies carried by the caravan. They did not want to alert the Mongolian cavalry of the Haraqin tribe or the Aohan tribe.

Once the caravan from Zhangjiakou crosses the river before they attack and enters the protection range of the Aohan cavalry, they can only watch from a distance and look for opportunities to ambush and intercept.

Therefore, the key to whether they can succeed in the Tuchengzi area lies in whether they can seize the best opportunity to intercept the Zhangjiakou caravan.

Everyone knew this in their hearts, so after hearing what Yang Zhen said, they all looked at him thoughtfully and waited quietly for his next words.

"I have thought about it. Although we are operating during the day, there is a risk of exposing our whereabouts, but waiting here all the time is not an option! Today afternoon, I will personally lead the team to take a look around Tuchengzi!

If there is a place suitable for hiding and setting up an ambush there, we will move our camp there tonight!"

Yang Zhen didn't ask anyone to wait any longer and immediately expressed his thoughts.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Zu Keyong suddenly stepped out from the crowd, bowed to Yang Zhen and said: "It is indeed a top priority to patrol the Tuchengzi area as soon as possible, but it would be too much for the commander-in-chief to lead the team himself.

It’s dangerous! It’s better to let the general lead the team!”

"Brother Yang, Lieutenant General Zu, they are just doing the work of a sentry, how can they serve your duty! Leave this matter to me, Lao Xu! Besides, Lieutenant General Zu, although the heavy cavalry under you are extremely elite, they have arrived.

On the prairie, you can't keep up with the light swords and fast horses under my command, which come and go like the wind!"

Xu Changyong laughed and stood up from among the generals. Not only did he reject Yang Zhen's proposal to personally scout, but he also rejected Zu Keyong's proposal to lead the team.

After Xu Changyong said this, Liu Wanzhong and Cao Shangfei also expressed their opinions, believing that their men and horses were best suited to scout downstream along the Laohua River in broad daylight without anyone noticing.

Only Zhang Chen, Li Lu and Qingshan stood aside and watched without speaking.

Zhang Chen and Li Lu didn't speak because they knew that since Yang Zhen said this and didn't ask for other people's opinions, he must have made a final decision and they couldn't stand up to oppose it.

As for Qingshan, it is absolutely necessary. Unless Yang Zhen asks him to go, otherwise, he doesn't care who wants to go.

Everyone's performance was naturally seen in Yang Zhen's eyes. At this time, he was not willing to waste time on this issue. He waved his hand to stop everyone's discussion and said to them:

"Everyone, I will lead the patrol this time, so you don't have to fight for it. Patrolling north during the day is risky, but I have my own plans!"

At this point, Yang Zhen said to Li Lu: "Li Guoqi, go and find those Tatar clothes and armor with white flags that he brought with the army!"

After listening to Yang Zhen's order, Li Lu immediately accepted the order and left without saying a word, while the other generals and leaders present were stunned, especially Xu Changyong, Liu Wanzhong and Cao Shangfei, who were even more shocked.

Even Qingshan Hao, who seemed a little indifferent to Yang Zhen's arrangements, suddenly raised his head at this moment and squinted his eyes to look at this officer and soldier who was always unexpected.

Only Zu Keyong and Zhang Chen were stunned for a brief moment, and a smile immediately appeared on their faces, knowing that Yang Zhen's thought of not fighting an unprepared battle was always present.

At this time, Xu Changyong, who had recovered from the shock, suddenly smiled and said: "Ah, brother, you have already made arrangements! That's great, let's dress up as Tatar cavalry with white flags.

Then on the grassland, didn't you walk sideways, hahahaha!"

Yang Zhen saw Xu Changyong's look of realization and knew that he had misunderstood, so he immediately smiled and said to him: "What a pity, our expedition to Dongying previously captured all the Tatar flags with white flags in Xiongyue City and Gaizhou City.

Armor and clothes

Not too many, and they were handed over to the Ministry of War to entrust a batch to be transported to the capital together with the heads of Manchu Tatars for reward! Therefore, this time, we only brought more than 300 pairs with the army, which was only enough to pretend to be a Manchu Tatar inlaid.

Baiqi is a bull!"

When Yang Zhen said this, he saw that Xu Changyong was about to speak again, and quickly waved his hand to him and said: "Brother Xu, all his men are light cavalry. Dressing up as Manchu Tatars with white flags and armored heavy cavalry, it is easy to show your flaws! So, this time you

My task is to lead the other brothers to stay behind at the old official station!"

After saying these words, Yang Zhen didn't wait for Xu Changyong's reaction, and then said to Zu Keyong: "This time, I have to trouble Brother Zu to come with me!"

After hearing what Yang Zhen said, Zu Keyong looked at Yang Zhen and nodded heavily, which was regarded as receiving the order.

At this time, Li Lu had already led a team of people to transport the batch of Tatar clothes and armor with white flags, and he was just in time to deliver the goods.

After Yang Zhen waited for Li Lu to come over, he then said to everyone: "In addition to Zu Keyong's heavy cavalry, the left wing of the musketeers led by Zhang Chen will also follow me this time. As for the grenadiers under your command, Li Lu,

The team, the right wing of Zhang Guogan's musketry team, and the small artillery team under Dunn's command, together with other troops, stayed behind at the old official station!"

Zhang Chen, Li Lu, and Deng En were all Yang Zhen's closest confidants. After listening to his arrangements, they immediately bowed and took orders.

Old gun leader Liu Wanzhong, Flying on Grass Hu Tuge, and former bandit leader Li Ma originally wanted to say something more, but seeing Yang Zhen cutting through the mess so quickly and arranging the matter, they couldn't say much.

.

However, Xu Changyong said again at this moment: "Brother Yang, don't think that Old Xu and I are too talkative. If you want to go north to Tuchengzi to scout, you'd better bring a few guides! Li Ma and Hu Tuge are both good players. Why don't you ask them to pick the enemy?"

Several people will go with you, and if anything happens, we will discuss it with you!"
Chapter completed!