"Who is this Shen Zhixiang? He can be called Hu Changhai, and people like Gao Chengyou are so afraid of him?"

Yang Zhen didn't know much about Shen Zhixiang's origins, but he knew that he was from Dongjiang Town and his surname was Shen. He knew that he was probably related to Shen Shikui, and he couldn't help but be Shen Shikui's nephew.

If this is the case, then Yu Liangtai and Yu Haichao should know the situation, because their uncle and nephew also worked under Pidao Shen Shikui.

Sure enough, after Yang Zhen asked, Yu Haichao looked at his uncle Yu Liangtai, and Yu Liangtai stepped in to answer the question.

"For the information to the Commander-in-Chief, this Shen Zhixiang is the son of General Shen Shikui, the commander-in-chief of Dongjiang Town who died in Pidao."

While recalling the past, Yu Liangtai told Yang Zhenshu about Shen Zhixiang's origins: "When General Shen Shikui was defeated and captured, and Pidao fell, this Shen Zhixiang happened to be away at that time and escaped that defeat.

"When the news of General Shen's death spread, Shen Zhixiang, under the banner of revenge for General Shen, gathered up the defeated troops on various islands and retreated to Shicheng Island. Back then, he broke out from Pi Island and went to sea, and also went to Shicheng Island to seek refuge."

Speaking of this, Yu Liangtai seemed to remember some unbearable past events, sighed, and then said: "If we talk about why Dongjiang Town was defeated, judging from the humble position, the biggest problem is that the generals are too selfish and only know how to fight for power and gain. A soldier respects himself, but he doesn't know the principle of keeping a brother in a wall and guarding against his insults."

After Yu Liangtai finished speaking, he continued the previous story: "Shen Zhixiang was the deputy general at that time. After gathering his defeated troops and retreating to Shicheng Island, he wanted to obtain the seal of the general military officer of Dongjiang Town, but the court refused, so he called himself the general general, and from then on he became at odds with the court.

"However, it is regrettable that the imperial court did not allow him to succeed him, and at the same time it was unable to conduct cross-sea expeditions and re-elect the commander-in-chief. In the end, it cut off the food and salary of the remaining islands in the Dongjiang River, leaving the generals to fend for themselves.

"Since then, the lives of the tribes who retreated to Shicheng Island have become increasingly difficult day by day. They are unable to avenge General Shen. As time goes by, the people who originally gathered under Shen Zhixiang's command gradually dispersed."

When Yu Liangtai said this, his face was gloomy and his expression was downcast. He paused for a while, and then said to Yang Zhen: "In February of the eleventh year of Chongzhen, that is, February of last year, the Shicheng Islands ran out of food, and people ate each other, and the dead There were so many that Shen Zhixiang was exhausted, so he sent people to Zhenjiang Fort to ask for a demotion. It was at that time that he led his troops to leave Shicheng Island and join Hu Changhai and the others!"

Yang Zhen listened carefully to Yu Liangtai's explanation of these past events, nodded to him, and asked: "Based on your estimate, how many men, horses and ships did the rest of the Dongjiang tribe that followed Shen Zhixiang surrender to the Tatars have?"

"This, the Governor, does not need to worry. At that time, there were only three to four thousand troops from various ministries that retreated to Shicheng Island. Before I led my troops to leave, the number of soldiers, civilians, men, women, and children on the island did not exceed three thousand."

Yu Liangtai seemed to know what Yang Zhen was worried about, so after saying this, he immediately continued: "Hu Changhai and Gao Chengyou both have soldiers from the old Dongjiang tribe who have escaped from Shen Zhixiang since last year or even early this year.

"According to them, after Shen Zhixiang asked to surrender, in order to show his determination to lead his troops to surrender and at the same time to prevent his troops from being separated, he scuttled more than a hundred large ships and all the small boats at the mouth of the Yalu River after landing ashore. Abandoned on the shore.

"It is said that Shen Zhixiang's move really won the trust of the Tatar puppet emperor Huang Taiji. The Tatar puppet emperor named him Xushun Gong and relocated all his troops to Fushun and other places.

"As for what Hu Changhai and others said, Shen Zhixiang's troops moved to the Jinzhou area of ​​​​Fuzhou under the banner of Zhengbai Banner. What happened during this is unknown to me. Based on my speculation, it may be consistent with what the governor said before.

It is related to the change of the flag of the Manchu Tatar Han army."

Yu Liangtai's last words reminded Yang Zhen, and he immediately thought of what Shi Huashan said at that time. It seemed that the Manchu Tatars had really incorporated all the so-called Han troops who had surrendered into the banner.

.

If this is true, then Shen Zhixiang's troops who crossed the sea to surrender to the Qing Dynasty were probably incorporated into what later generations called the Zhengbai Banner of the Han Army.

Thinking of this, Yang Zhen looked at Yu Haichao and asked: "Hu Changhai and others may be sure that the Zhengbai Banner troops who recently moved to Fuzhou and Jinzhou are the troops of Shen Zhixiang?"

After hearing Yang Zhen's question, Yu Haichao immediately replied: "Beizhi's uncle who followed Beizhi back then also served under Shen Zhixiang, and there are many people who are familiar with him.

"During this stay at Changxing Island, Beizhi also followed Hu Changhai's sentry ashore for observation. Although he did not see Shen Zhixiang in person, he could conclude that there must be some of Shen Zhixiang's men among them.

"Since last year, Hu Changhai and Gao Chengyou also had soldiers from the Shen tribe who did not want to be resettled in Fushun and escaped by boat from near Zhenjiang Fort. After a little time, it will not be difficult to determine this matter."

Hearing what Yu Haichao said, Yang Zhen actually had a clue in his heart. If the Zhengbai Banner, which was dominated by Jurchen Niulu and Mongolian Niulu among the Tatars, sent troops to Fuzhou and Jinzhou,

Hu Changhai and the others would never be so worried.

Because the Eight Banners of Manchuria, dominated by Manchu and Mongolian cavalry, knew neither shipbuilding nor naval warfare, and were unable to build a naval force that could cross the ocean.

Therefore, no matter how many people they have, Hu Changhai, Gao Chengyou, and Hu Dabao will not be too worried.

On the contrary, the two Tatars who surrendered to the Manchu Tatars worried them the most, because many of these two Tatars were former generals of the Denglai Navy or the Dongjiang Navy.

Especially Shen Zhixiang, who persisted at sea until the eleventh year of Chongzhen's reign before crossing the sea to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, most of his troops were generals and soldiers from the island navy under the command of the Pidao General Military Mansion.

If Huang Taiji really lets go and sends naval warfare experts like them to Fuzhou Bay to clear out pirates, then in a short time, which can range from a year to half a year, he may be able to give the Manchu Tatars a real weapon.

A navy man.

The reason why Yang Zhen put his retreat at sea and on building a naval fleet was because he knew that before entering the customs, the Manchu Tatars themselves had no navy capable of fighting naval battles, and no navy capable of fighting naval battles.

general.

On the Mantatar side, there are several generals who can lead the navy and fight naval battles. It can be said that they are all surrendered generals from the former Denglai Town and the former Dongjiang Town.

However, these Ming army generals, who were the only ones who could lead the navy and fight naval battles, surrendered to the Manchus and were placed on land. From then on, they abandoned their naval divisions, bid farewell to the islands, and bid farewell to their lives at sea.

Among them, Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming, who were the first to cross the sea and surrender to the Jin Dynasty, were relocated to Liaoyang and its surrounding areas.

Shang Kexi and his navy troops were relocated to Haizhou and its surrounding areas. Although he was ordered to defend Liaonan and had a number of warships, those warships have now followed Qiu Zhenhai to Yang Zhen's side.

As for the former Dongjiang Town general Shen Zhixiang, who was a navy himself, after he led the navy ashore and surrendered, they were placed in the Tieling Fushun area far away from the ocean. The Manchu Tatars did not use them as navy anymore.

Of course, the reasoning behind this is actually easy to understand.

If Huang Taiji continues to use these people as navy, then they must be stationed on the coast or even on the island, and they must continue to have warships that can freely come and go on the sea.

Such a situation that may be out of control is definitely not what Huang Taiji and other upper-class dignitaries of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty are happy to see.

Therefore, in the final analysis, Huang Taiji and other upper-level Manchu Eight Banners did not have full trust in the Han people who surrendered to them.

Especially for the so-called New Han army that crossed the sea to surrender during the Tiancong and Chongde years, they did not have as much trust as they did for the Old Han army that had surrendered during the Nurhaci era.

However, the way the Manchu Tatar pseudo-emperor Huang Taiji and the Manchu and Qing upper echelons treated the men who had surrendered their navy was a great thing for Yang Zhen that he was secretly grateful for.

If the batches of naval forces and warships that Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, Shang Kexi, and Shen Zhixiang were about to bring over to the Manchu Tatars were still used as naval forces, then there would still be Yang on the entire Liao Sea.

What happened?

If the Manchu-Tatar puppet emperor Huang Taiji knew how to use the navy and the maritime military power to advance simultaneously on land and water, bypassing the Ningjin defense line, bypassing Shanhaiguan, and landing directly from Tianjin Wei, then the Ming Dynasty would probably be even more unable to withstand it.

However, now, the news brought back by Yu Haichao from Changxing Island means that the Manchu Tatar puppet emperor Huang Taiji is preparing to reuse Shen Zhixiang to build a navy capable of naval warfare.

This is not a good sign!

Yang Zhen thought with a worried look on his face. Now it was not just Hu Changhai and the others who were worried. Even Yang Zhen couldn't help but feel sad when he thought that the Manta Tartars might have a navy capable of naval warfare in advance in the future.

Starting to worry.

"Captain, there is a saying in your humble position that you don't know whether to say or not?"

When Yang Zhen heard what Yu Liangtai said suddenly, he immediately looked up at him and said to him: "Although you and I are different in terms of superiority and inferiority, I have always regarded you as brothers and sisters, and you have nothing to be ashamed of in front of me.

If you have something to say, if you have something to say, just say it."

After hearing this, Yu Liangtai was moved, nodded heavily, and then said: "As far as I know, the mother of the Governor's newlywed wife, the Shen family, was also born in the Liaoyang Shen family, and was the niece of Shen Shikui, the former chief military officer of Dongjiang Town.
Chapter completed!