At dawn the next day, Lushun City was completely occupied by Yang Zhen, Shen Zhixiang, Xu Tianchong and his party, as well as Qiu Zhenhai's troops who came ashore and detoured back to the northeast of Lushun City.

Two senior Eight Banners garrison officials, Tun Qi and Tong Tulai, were also tied up and sent to Lushun City at dawn.

There were nearly a thousand Tatars in the city of Lushun, more than half of whom were killed or wounded, and the remaining hundreds of people were all made prisoners.

The same is true for the Han soldiers and horses of the Xianglan Banner under Mele Zhangjing Tong Tu Lai.

The heavily-armed Niu Lu stationed at Golden Mountain, namely Wuzhen Chao Ha Niu Lu, a Han army under Xianglan's banner, was completely annihilated.

Several Niu Lu stationed on Xiguan Mountain and Laotieshan were first surrounded, and finally chose to surrender under the approaching bombardment of thirty cannons from Yang Shen's command.

At this point, Lushunkou, which had been lost for six years, was once again owned by the Ming army.

Yang Zhen's strategic purpose of crossing the sea to the Liaonan Peninsula was unexpectedly achieved in just a few days.

However, as Yang Zhen thought on the way to Lushun, occupying the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula and occupying the entrance of Lushun is only the first step towards operating Lushun and counterattacking Liaodong. There is still a long way to go.

At least the far-sighted people in Mantatar will never sit back and watch a strategic location like Lushunkou be captured by Yang Zhen. What awaits Yang Zhen next will be one stormy attack after another.

He was able to capture Fuzhou, Jinzhou and Lushunkou in just a few days, not because he was strong enough to run this place or to establish a foothold here, but because he took advantage of the serious shortage of troops in the Tatar rear.

Void.

At the same time, he also seized and took advantage of the special opportunity that Shen Zhixiang's troops had newly attached themselves to the Manchus and had not yet given their allegiance to the Manchus.

If the men stationed in Fuzhou City were not Xu Tianchong, the general under Shen Zhixiang's command, or if the people stationed in Jinzhou City responsible for building naval warships and eradicating local pirates were not Xushun Gong Shen Zhixiang, but Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming, it would be gratifying.

For any one of them, it would be impossible for Yang Zhen to achieve the results in front of him.

If any of the conditions, including time, location, and people, were to change, or even any link to be different, it would be impossible to achieve such a victory.

After all the fighting inside and outside Lushun City was over, at noon that day, Yang Zhen served wine and meat at the Fuguo Government Office in Tunqi in Lushun City, opened several tables, and summoned the generals to discuss matters and have a banquet.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes of food, all the generals were laughing and celebrating their victory. They even toasted Yang Zhen in turn and received a flood of congratulations. Only Shen Zhixiang was silent and drank dullly.

Seeing this, Yang Zhen picked up the wine bowl, raised it towards Shen Zhixiang who was sitting at the same table, and then said: "What is on your mind, uncle? Why are you so unhappy alone?"

After Yang Zhen said this, he finished his wine. When the other people at the same table and the next table saw that Yang Zhen had spoken, they gradually became quiet and looked at Yang Zhen and Shen Zhixiang.

At this time, Shen Zhixiang first picked up the wine in the bowl, tilted his neck, drank the wine, and showed the empty bowl to everyone, then put down the bowl and touched his shaved head,

Finally, he looked at Yang Zhen and said:

"Thanks to Governor Yang for calling me uncle, I, Shen Zhixiang, will have to think about the future for you, Governor Yang. Where is this place? Governor, you want to establish yourself here. Your courage and vision are indeed good, and you can be called a master, but -

"Do you know why Marshal Mao and Marshal Shen did not regard this place as the base of the Dongjiang River back then? Why did they all prefer to live on an island in a corner instead of entering this place?"

"Oh, I dare to ask my uncle, what is the reason for this?"

Yang Zhen generally knew the reason, but compared to the Manchus, this place was too close to their hinterland, and the Manchus' horse infantry was very powerful. They didn't need any navy to reach the city.

Therefore, it is relatively dangerous to stay here without the obstruction of the sea and natural dangers.

Yang Zhen was thinking, but heard Shen Zhixiang say: "People who don't know what is going on think that Marshal Mao did not take up this place because he wanted to avoid facing the enemy head-on and avoid the enemy's sharpness. Is there this reason? Of course, but

But that’s not the main reason.”

"Oh, so in my uncle's opinion, what is the main reason?"

Shen Zhixiang's statement finally aroused Yang Zhen's interest. He also wanted to know why figures like Mao Wenlong and Shen Shikui and other successors of Dongjiang Town left the strategic area from the south of Jinzhou to Lushunkou alone.

It must be defended and developed on a few islands where birds do not lay eggs.

For Yang Zhen, if he cannot understand this, then his management of Fuzhou City, the strategic belt from the south of Jinzhou City to Lushunkou will be full of hidden worries.

After Yang Zhen finished asking, he saw Shen Zhixiang stroking his bald head and squinting his eyes to look at himself. After a long time, Shen Zhixiang said: "Based on what happened back then, it is not so much to avoid the sharpness of the Manchu Qing Dynasty as to avoid the constraints of the imperial court.

!”

"ah?!"

"this--"

As soon as Shen Zhixiang finished speaking, all the generals who had been listening carefully were shocked, and some even turned pale and exclaimed.

Shen Zhixiang was completely indifferent to this, but stood up, stared at Yang Zhen, raised his hands and fists to Yang Zhen and said, "May I ask about the governor's ambition?"

When Shen Zhixiang said this, everyone present looked at Yang Zhen with wide eyes, waiting for Yang Zhen's answer.

Obviously, Shen Zhixiang asked the thoughts of many people present.

Yang Zhen rarely revealed any dissatisfaction with the imperial court in public. Although he occasionally mentioned some of his ideas for the future, most people present were not sure what Yang Zhen wanted to do in the future.

However, what kind of goal does Yang Zhen want to achieve? Does he simply want to be a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty who tries to turn the tide of the Ming Dynasty from collapse, or is he preparing to separate one side and accomplish something great?

The answer to this question is closely related to the future and destiny of everyone here.

If it is the former, their future will be very limited. The cunning rabbit will die, the lackeys will be cooked, the birds and beasts will be wiped out, and the good bow will be hidden. There are countless such things in history, and they do not want such an end.

Especially people like Shen Zhixiang, Xu Tianchong, and Qiu Zhenhai who had surrendered to the Manchus, as well as people like Hu Changhai who had become pirates and then had to be recruited. They were actually out of tune with the current court.

It was only because of various chances and coincidences that they really had no other way to go, so they finally gathered under Yang Zhen's command.

To put it bluntly, they were serving Yang Zhen, not His Majesty the Emperor who was far away in the capital and the imperial court that had little connection with them.

Therefore, Shen Zhixiang said this clearly. After a brief surprise, everyone soon knew what Shen Zhixiang wanted to say.

After capturing Lushunkou, even if Yang Zhen was connected with Governor Denglai of the Ming Dynasty and Denglai Town, there was only a narrow road left with Governor Denglai and Dengzhou, the headquarters of Denglai Town.

of the strait.

According to the old rules before the Ming Dynasty, Lushunkou, Jinzhou and other places were under the jurisdiction of Governor Denglai.

Both the navy and the garrison here are under the control and command of Governor Denglai and the commander-in-chief of Denglai.

However, Chen Hongfan, the current chief military officer of Denglai Town, is precisely the person who made Shen Zhixiang and his troops unable to gain a foothold on Shicheng Island. They were cornered and ultimately unable to surrender to full potential.

This Chen Hongfan is the enemy of Shen Zhixiang and his troops, how can he be controlled by him again?

And this was also the reason why Shen Zhixiang was frowning after Yang Zhen successfully captured Lushunkou.

At this time, although Shen Zhixiang did not explicitly state the interests and risks, most of the people present were people who had been involved in the official circles of the Ming Dynasty for many years. When they heard this, they knew exactly what Shen Zhixiang was worried about.

For them, Shen Zhixiang's worries are also their worries. They have followed Yang Zhen through life and death. Is this all they want? Is this the only thing they want to achieve?

And Yang Zhen was not a fool. After thinking about it for a while, he understood the reason. At that moment, he picked up the wine bowl, calmed down and said to the generals:

"Now there is great chaos in the world. The Manchus and Tatars outside the Pass have proclaimed themselves emperors, but the imperial court cannot control it. Bandits have risen up in the Pass, but the imperial court cannot appease it. This has caused the Chinese people to be in dire straits for a long time. Everyone wants to live and work in peace and contentment, but cannot do so.

"As warriors of our generation, faced with such troubled times, it is time for us to raise our three-foot sword and work hard to clear the middle land, destroy the barbarians, secure Yu Nei, and build a great cause that will last forever.

"If the generals ask about Yang's ambition, today Yang will use Mr. Hengqu's four sentences to answer you, that is, to establish a heart for the world, to establish a destiny for the people, to inherit the orthodoxy for China, and to create peace for all generations!"

As soon as Yang Zhen's sonorous and powerful words fell to the ground, the second hall of Manta Fuguo's Qi Yamen Office in Lushun City suddenly became silent.

Everyone's eyes were bright, whether it was because of Yang Zhen's words or the wine in the bowl. They all looked excited, as if they could suddenly see the path to take in the future.

At this time, Shen Zhixiang bowed to Yang Zhen and said, "In that case, what else does Shen have to say? I am willing to help the governor achieve his great ambition!"

"I am willing to help the governor achieve this great ambition!"

As soon as Shen Zhixiang started, Qiu Zhenhai, Xu Tianchong, Hu Changhai, Zhang Chen, Yang Shen and even Yuan Jin all stood up from their seats and said this to Yang Zhen.

Yang Zhen did not say anything treacherous in front of everyone, but his meaning was extremely clear. He would never settle for being a foolish and loyal minister who could be manipulated by others.
Chapter completed!