Yang Zhen's shock at this time can be imagined, and his shocked expression also fell into the eyes of the generals.

"Captain, you only see that the sea surface of Liaodong Bay is frozen, but you don't know that there are still waves surging under the ice surface. The ice surface looks extremely solid, but it changes every moment and may break at any time. We will go immediately with thousands of troops, but if we are in danger, it will be all over!"

Xia Chengde was relatively close to Yang Zhen, so he spoke first. His words contained mostly explanations, but his objections were very clear.

After hearing this, Yang Zhen was about to speak when he heard Lu Pinqi following Xia Chengde and saying: "Captain, what Vice General Xia said is not alarmist. Although the sea ice is thick near the shore, it is thinner offshore, and the further away from the shore, the ice is thinner." The thinner it becomes, going more than ten miles into the sea, most of it is connected by ice floes, and the depth underneath is unfathomable——"

"But as far as I know, no one has done this in the past! Since they can, why can't we?!"

Yang Zhen interrupted Lu Pinqi's words and immediately asked them this.

At this time, Zhang Chence immediately approached Yang Zhen and said, "What the governor said was that in the first month of the sixth year of the Apocalypse, tens of thousands of Tatar cavalry crossed the ice and captured Juehua Island?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about! Why were they able to do it then, but we can't do it now?!"

Faced with Yang Zhen's inquiry, Zhang Chen immediately said: "I am about to report my humble position to the governor. In the first month of the sixth year of Tianqi, the weather was extremely cold and the wind turned into ice. It was even worse than this year. This is one of them.

"Secondly, Juehua Island is not far from the coast of Ningyuan, only seven or eight miles away. The fjord is not deep, and the ice is very solid. I heard it was more than three feet thick, which was enough to defeat the Manchu and Mongolian cavalry of the Jin Army at that time. Speeding by.

"But if Juehua Island is located far away from the coast, even if it is tens of miles deep into the sea to the east, in my humble opinion, the situation will be very different!"

Hearing Zhang Chen say this, Yang Zhen seemed to have thought of something in his mind, but he was not sure for a moment, so he asked casually:

"Oh, what's going to be different?"

Zhang Chen replied: "If Juehua Island is far away from the coast, then there are only two results for the Manchu Tatars, either their army will retreat in the face of difficulties, or their army will be completely annihilated."

Yang Zhen knew what Zhang Chen meant, and Zhang Chen told Yang Zhen hypothetically that if he had to cross the ice and cross the sea in the current situation, the result would probably be the annihilation of the entire army.

Because according to them, within a dozen miles from the coast, the sea ice is thicker and may be able to bear weight, but the further away from the coast, the thinner the sea ice becomes, and it may even be just floating ice.

Under such circumstances, it is indeed impossible to sail a boat, it is too dangerous, but if you want to walk, drive, or ride a horse on the ice, it is also full of dangers, and it may even be impossible to stay at all.

Yang Zhen didn't know much about the mystery of the ocean, but he was full of awe for the power of the ocean.

After listening to Zhang Chen's words, Yang Zhen was speechless for a while, and then he said hesitantly for a long time: "The weather is almost the same on the left and right banks of Liaodong Bay, but why is the thickness of the sea ice different?"

Although Xia Chengde, Lu Pinqi, Zu Keyong, and Zhang Chen have been in the army for a long time and are familiar with the climate, terrain, water and soil of western Liaoning, after all, they are from rough backgrounds, and none of them started out in the Navy.

Regarding the ice conditions in Liaodong Bay, they only know that the farther north the ice layer becomes thicker, the stronger the freezing effect, and the closer to the coast the thicker the ice layer becomes, the stronger the freezing effect.

As for why this is, they have never thought about it. It has always been like this. There are so many reasons.

Therefore, after listening to Yang Zhen's words, which were half talking to himself and half asking, they each thought deeply, but they couldn't explain why.

At this time, Qiu Bixian, who had been following the outside, suddenly said: "Captain, this is all because of the water. Sea water is different from river water. River water is saltless and light, and it freezes easily. Sea water is salty and salty, and it is difficult to freeze.

The sea water in the coastal waters is mostly fed by rivers. The water is fresh but not salty, so the ice layer is thicker.

"The sea water in the distant sea is not the same. It is saltier and has greater salt content. Therefore, even if the weather cools down, it is not easy to freeze. Even if it freezes due to the severe cold, the ice layer is brittle and brittle, and it is impossible to drive horses because it is under the ice.

The water is deep and the waves are rough."

It is already quite good for people of this era to have this level of understanding of the ocean.

When Qiu Bixian said this, Yang Zhen understood immediately and secretly thought about leading a large number of people and horse teams across the ice and sea.

At this time, Xia Chengde, Lu Pinqi and others also followed Qiu Bixian's words and said one after another: "Yes, yes, that's the truth!"

Zhang Chen, Zu Keyong, and Guo Zengfu could not help but nod while listening.

"In this case, the main force of the remaining officers and troops in Songshan will be moved to the south of Liaoning in a large scale. It should be carried out according to the time I reported to the court."

To move the defense on a large scale involves too many things. Although he does not have much property in Songshan City now, he still has quite a lot of vehicles, horses, money, wages, and equipment.

It's easy to say, one or two hundred kilograms, walking across the ice, the danger is not too great, it really can't be detoured, but the gold and silver pay and equipment of the chariot, horse and camel team can be different.

If something goes wrong with these supplies, it would be a waste to move the defense away. Instead, it would be better to guard Songshan City honestly.

However, just waiting and waiting is not Yang Zhen's style.

So, after he finished speaking, everyone seemed to be relieved. He paused briefly and then said: "However, it has been nearly two months since the capture of Fuzhou, and the Manchu Tatars have withdrawn their troops.

In Liaodong, it has been nearly two months.

"What is the situation in Fuzhou City now? Have the Manchu Tatars gone south to Fuzhou City? Is Fuzhou City still in our hands? There is currently no news, and I feel very uneasy. So we must not just wait here.

, waiting for the moment when the sea ice melts.”

As soon as Yang Zhen said these words, everyone looked at him in silence again, knowing that the quiet days were over and things were happening again.

Yang Zhen saw that everyone was looking at him attentively, but he did not give orders directly. Instead, he looked at the small boss at Zhimao Bay Boat Camp and asked Qiu Bi first:

"Qiu Bixian, just now you said that it is not feasible to cross the sea on ice. As for the sea ice near the coast is thicker, then the governor will send cavalry seven or eight miles or more than ten miles away from the shore, close to the sea ice, and go around the shore.

, is this strategy feasible?”

"this--"

Qiu Bixian was still a baby, and he didn't expect Yang Zhen to ask him this question. He was stunned on the spot and didn't know how to answer.

Judging from the ice conditions at Liaohe Estuary in previous years, his intuition told him that there was no problem in doing so.

However, from the questions and answers just now between Yang Zhen and his generals, he clearly heard that Deputy General Xia Chengde, Xia Cheng, and Deputy General Lu Pinqi didn't seem to want to cross the ice to fight in southern Liaoning at this time.

Therefore, when he heard Yang Zhen's inquiry, he couldn't help but go to his uncle Guo Zengfu.

When he saw this, everyone's attention was drawn to Guo Zengfu.

Seeing this, Yang Zhen smiled and said, "You don't have to look at your uncle. You grew up on the sea at the mouth of the Liaohe River. How can you not know the truth? Just rely on your intuition!"

"This, I think the governor said it is feasible!"

"very good!"

Qiu Bixian was unable to dodge the question from Yang Zhen, so he had no choice but to speak his mind.

After he finished speaking, Yang Zhen immediately encouraged him and said, "Very good."

At this time, Qiu Bixian had no choice but to turn to look at his uncle again, fearing that if he said the wrong thing, he would offend someone again.

Seeing this, Guo Zengfu seemed to know what his nephew meant, coughed, and then said to Yang Zhen:

"Captain, judging from our many years of winter experience at the mouth of the Liaohe River, the argument made by the Governor is indeed feasible. Since tens of thousands of Manchu Tatar cavalry were able to cross the ice and capture Juehua Island, there is no reason why we can't follow the same route.

Walking on the ice along the coast. That’s—”

Based on his own experience, Guo Zengfu also asserted that Yang Zhen's explanation was feasible, which made Yang Zhen very happy. However, Yang Zhen saw that there was something wrong in his words and immediately asked him:

"Just what?"

"If you are close to the shore, you may encounter a patrol full of Tatars. If you are far away from the shore, there is the danger of the ice on the sea surface being unreliable as we just mentioned, so it is also a dilemma!"

"Ha ha ha ha--"

After Yang Zhen heard Guo Zengfu's words of apology for his nephew, he immediately burst into laughter and said: "Guo Zengfu, Guo Zengfu, you have learned this trick in officialdom not long after you arrived in Songshan City!"

"I don't dare to be humble!"

"Okay, I understand what you mean. What is dangerous or not? My soldiers have killed countless Manchu Tatars. Are we still afraid of encountering Manchu Tatar coastal patrols? What a joke!"

Yang Zhen's words made Guo Zengfu dare not say any more, and at the same time made Xia Chengde, Lu Pinqi and others give up the idea of ​​dissuading him any more.

When Yang Zhen saw that everyone was silent, he immediately rushed his horse down the coast, directly into the sea ice, and ran all the way to the northeast.

When the people behind him saw this, they could only ride on their horses to follow, following closely along the ice that was almost frozen to the bottom near the coast, towards the Sailor Camp Island at the mouth of the Xiaoling River.

After traveling north for several miles, we bypassed the sandbank where the Mariner Camp is located south of the mouth of the Xiaoling River, and went straight into the wide ice surface of the mouth of the Xiaoling River.

People are riding horses, and the horses are walking on it. Ice particles are flying, but the ice surface is as solid as rock.

When he arrived at the mouth of the river, Yang Zhen stopped and sent someone to report the situation to the sailor camp on Shazhou Island to prevent them from panic. Then he led everyone to stop outside a strong reed marsh.

"From here to the northeast, there are Daling River Mouth, Shuangtaizi River Mouth, Liaohe River Mouth, Gaizhou River Mouth, Xiongyue River Mouth, and Fuzhou River Mouth. Bushes and reed swamps are all protective barriers. The cavalry does not bring carts or baggage along the way.

Running at a fast pace, why are you afraid of being full of Tatars on patrol?

"Even if we encounter Manchu Tatar patrols, our army will fight if we win, and leave if we can't win. What's there to be afraid of? The Manchu Tatar garrison is all in the coastal city. When the Manchu Tatar army hears the news and comes out of the city to pursue them,

Our cavalry has already galloped past!"

Yang Zhen just rode his horse on the sea ice and tested it himself. He already knew it in his heart. After saying these words, he saw that everyone was speechless and said immediately:

"I have decided that the large number of convoys and baggage that need to be moved can wait for the sea ice to melt and the fleet to pass, and then be carried across the sea by the fleet and settled in Lushun, Jinzhou.

"However, before that, we need to send a general and his cavalry along the ice near the coast to Fuzhou for support! If Fuzhou is not lost, then go into the city to help defend; if Fuzhou has been lost, then go south to Jinzhou to help defend!
Chapter completed!