On the morning of October 18th, the twelfth year of Chongzhen, on the west coast of Liaoning where Songshan City is located, the clouds were still overcast and the cold wind howled, but the mood of the officers and soldiers in Songshan was very different from before.

Previously, we were heavily besieged by the Manchu Tatar army in Songshan City. It can be said that our situation is precarious. But now the Manchu Tatar army suddenly retreated. We have to board a ship and cross the sea to seize the rear of the Liaodong Peninsula, which is extremely empty for the Manchu Tatars.

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Naturally, this mood cannot be ruined by the bad weather.

Just last night, Zu Keyong and Yan Shengsan entered the city overnight and reported to Yang Zhen and others the latest situation north of Xiaoling River.

After judging that the main force of the Manchu Tatars had withdrawn and left, the Jinzhou City defenders under Marshal Zu dispatched troops urgently. They first "captured" the Manchu Tatar company camp east of Jinzhou and north of the Xiaoling River and "seized" grain and grass.

countless.

Then they divided into two groups with the Songshan troops led by Zu Keyong and Xu Changyong, followed the rear of the Manchu Tatar army from a distance, and "pursued" all the way to the south bank of the Daling River.

Zu Keyong led his troops to participate in the whole process, so he knew for sure that the Manchu Tatar army had withdrawn across the Daling River and headed north in the evening of that day.

Correspondingly, the war patrol boat led by Yan Shengsan went upstream from the mouth of the Daling River and reached all the way to the abandoned Youtun Acropolis on the north bank of the Daling River. After returning that night, he also confirmed to Yang Zhen that Zu Ke

The news Yong said.

Now that the Manchu Tatars had withdrawn across the Daling River, Yang Zhen could no longer wait, and there was no need to wait any longer, so that night he ordered all the troops to pack up and prepare to board the ship at dawn.

As for the accompanying troops, they are still mainly composed of troops from various departments and sentries of the advance battalion for the expedition to the east.

Although Xia Chengde and Lu Pinqi were very enthusiastic and wanted to follow Yang Zhen in sending troops, they suffered heavy losses in this battle. At the same time, they also shouldered the heavy responsibility of guarding and repairing Songshan City, so they were ultimately left behind by Yang Zhen.

In addition, Zu Keyong wanted to lead his army to stay at Rufenggang and continue to integrate and train his troops, while Zhang Degui wanted to lead the Assistant Battalion Office to coordinate the resumption of work and production in various factories and mines inside and outside Songshan City, so he was not allowed to follow him.

Besides, Yang Zhen is leading his troops to fight in the direction of the Liaodong Peninsula. Do they need to cross the sea by boat? How much artillery, soldiers, ammunition and food are needed to carry them? A large number of ships have already been occupied. It is impossible to carry many war horses on board.

Moreover, with the batch of heavy artillery captured in the Woniugou ambush battle? With a larger number of sky cannons, Yang Zhen does not need a large number of cavalry to participate in the siege operations on the Liaodong Peninsula for the time being.

So in the end? It was still his old subordinates? Zhang Chen, Li Lu, and Yang Shen each took their musketeers, grenadiers, and artillery sentries and reserves from the advance battalion to the east to accompany them.

Zhang Chen and Li Lu's subordinates experienced the ambush battles in Dongguangou and Woniugou, as well as the defense of Songshan City, and the losses were not small.

Fortunately, the reserve team assigned to them by Yang Zhen had a lot of manpower. After this battle, the soldiers in the reserve team were generally qualified enough to be transferred to the main guard post.

Of course, after Yang Zhen gave the order to do these things, Zhang Chen, Li Lu and their thousands of general officers would do the rest.

"Captain? Looking at the weather, it's really time to conquer Jinzhou and restore the state as soon as possible! It's going to snow soon? After it snows, in another month? In two months at most, this sea will be

It’s freezing. When the time comes—”

"Freezing? You mean? In another month? The entire sea surface of Liaohai Sea will be frozen?!"

Yang Zhen stood on the pier beside a bay on the Zhimao Bay Peninsula. While watching the sentries from the Zhengdong Advance Battalion boarding the ship carrying guns and ammunition, he was talking to Qiu Zhenhai, Yuan Jin and others.

While chatting, Qiu Zhenhai suddenly talked about the weather. Yang Zhen, who had always been worried about the severe cold outside Shanhaiguan, heard Qiu Zhenhai say that Liaodong Bay might freeze over in a month or so, so he immediately asked carefully.

"It won't happen if the whole thing freezes. It's just that the east, west and north sides of the Liaohai Sea, and near the coast, usually start to freeze at the end of November or early December. By that time, our ships will

Although there are many, it is impossible to sail along the offshore sea!"

Yang Zhen probably knew that the sea surface in Liaodong Bay would freeze during the coldest period of winter, but what he was most concerned about was not the problem of sailing after it froze, so he quickly asked:

"Then do you mean that by then, the Tatar cavalry will be able to ride their horses freely through the ice on the sea?!"

Qiu Zhenhai is concerned about the problem of sailing on the sea. If we don't fight now, in a month or so, the offshore sea will be frozen and it will be impossible to sail. Even if we want to, we won't be able to fight.

But what Yang Zhen is most worried about is that once a large area of ​​Liaodong Bay is frozen and a large area of ​​sea ice forms, the many camps of the Songshan army on the coast of the Liaohai Sea will lose their beaches and sea barriers, and they will face the Manchu Tatars.

Zi's ​​attack.

When Qiu Zhenhai saw Yang Zhen asking about the Manchu Tatars attacking on the ice, he realized that Yang Zhen was asking about coastal defense. He turned to look at Yuan Jin and said:

"This is not necessarily true. On the Liao Sea, the sea ice conditions vary every year. From the mouth of the Liao River to the mouth of the Santaizi River, and then to the mouth of the Daling River and Xiaoling River, the thickness of the sea ice should be able to support a full

The Tatar army and their horses are galloping! But you can’t tell if you go south, it depends on how the ice conditions are this year!”

At this time, Yuan Jin, who was following Yang Zhen, also said: "Qiu Tongdai is right. The ice conditions on the Liao Sea are the most volatile. In the twelfth lunar month, from the mouth of the Liao River to Shanhaiguan, the offshore sea surface gradually became...

Ice, but the thickness is different.

"Generally speaking, it gets thicker as you go north and thinner as you go south. It gets thicker closer to the coast and thinner as you go offshore. From Jiulushan Island to the north, on the offshore ice surface, horses can be driven every year. From Jiulushan Island to the south,

On the sea surface of Juehua Island, it is sometimes possible and sometimes not, depending on the ice conditions that day. If we go further south, even if it freezes, we will not be able to ride horses, and even if we do, we will have to ride three or five horses abreast!"

When Yang Zhen heard this, he nodded and thought that this was the case. Otherwise, wouldn't the heavily guarded Shanhaiguan Pass be useless?

Although Yang Zhen thought so, he knew that he could not say so, and immediately said: "Be prepared for the worst in everything. It should be noted that once the ice freezes on the Liaohai Sea, the offensive and defensive situation between us and the Manchu Tatars will change again.

That’s it! What happened to Juehua Island back then is a lesson for us!”

Yuan Jin and Qiu Zhenhai, when they saw Yang Zhen talking about the disaster on Juehua Island, they all nodded in agreement. For a moment, they felt wary and remained silent.

When Yang Zhen saw this, he saw that the sentries of the advance battalion on the pier had loaded supplies and that more than 200 large and small ships in the bay had set their sails. He was about to call the two of them to board the ship, but then he heard Qiu Zhenhai suddenly say:

"Captain, if the Governor is worried about the damage caused by sea ice, he will know a place to go here. Even in the twelfth lunar month of winter, when the sea surface of the Liao Sea is frozen, the bay here remains as usual. It is not frozen all year round, and there is no ice period. It's just——"

When Yang Zhen heard what Qiu Zhenhai said, his heart moved, as if he had some realization, but when he saw that he said "just", he hesitated and asked him:

"Just what?"

"It's just that this place is currently in the hands of the Manchu Tatars. However, if the Manchu Tatars waste it and don't use it, it will be a waste of natural resources!"

When Yang Zhen heard what Qiu Zhenhai said, he already knew where the place was, so he smiled and said, "The place Qiu Tongdai mentioned is Lushunkou?"

Qiu Zhenhai didn't expect that Yang Zhen had already guessed the place he was talking about. He immediately clasped his fists and bowed to Yang Zhen, saying: "The place the general mentioned is Lushunkou!

"This time the Commander-in-Chief is leading us to attack the enemy's rear. Although Jinzhou City and Fuzhou City are both important, the most important thing on the Liaodong Peninsula is Lushunkou. The last general recommends that Lushunkou must be taken!"

After Qiu Zhenhai said this, he bowed up. Yang Zhen stepped forward to help him up. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Yuan Jin say at the side: "What Qiu Zhenhai said is right. It is better to capture Jinzhou than to capture Fuzhou.

It is better to take Lushunkou to Jinzhou.

"If the Commander-in-Chief can gain access to Lushunkou, our army will be able to establish a firm foothold behind enemy lines for a long time. From then on, we will have Liaoxi on one side, North Korea on the other, and Denglai behind us. We can attack when we advance, and we can defend when we retreat!"

Speaking of this, Yuan Jin even said with emotion: "It's a pity that Huanglong's commander-in-chief couldn't manage the place well. If the governor did this in Songshan, why worry about the great cause of pacifying the captives and restoring the Liao Dynasty?"

After Yuan Jin said these words, he shook his head and sighed for a while, and looked at Yang Zhen with Qiu Zhenhai, waiting to see Yang Zhen's attitude.

Now in Yang Zhen's team, the land power and the sea power are almost half and half, but the main combat forces in the advance camp that have been weaponized are both land and sea.

As for those with navy backgrounds, such as Qiu Zhenhai and Yuan Jin, they are of course more willing to see Yang Zhen develop at sea.

This time, Yuan Jin stayed in Qiu Zhenhai's Zhimao Bay Boat Camp for so long. The two of them talked about almost everything and reached an agreement on many issues. There was only a suitable opportunity to offer advice to Yang Zhen.

At the moment, there is no one else in front of Yang Zhen, so it is the right time. When Yang Zhen heard this, he gradually saw what they were thinking, and immediately said:

"What you two said is exactly what I want. This time we can take Jinzhou first to block the enemy from the north, and then seize Lushun Pass. If Lushun Pass is also captured, then after I conquer the east, the advance camp will be

From a corner of Songshan Mountain, we gradually crossed the sea and moved eastward to show our strength behind enemy lines! I want to go to the capital in person, and ultimately that is why!"

When Qiu Zhenhai and Yuan Jin heard what Yang Zhen said, they looked at each other, and then they both bowed to Yang Zhen and said:
Chapter completed!