Of course Zhang Chen also wants to take charge of his own affairs, or even go one step further.

After all, the position of commander-in-chief is quite attractive to a person who has been in the army for half his life.

However, he actually knew in his heart that after repelling the siege of the Qing captives in the future, the chance of Yang Zhen directly assigning him the position of commander-in-chief of the Zhenjiang Castle was not high.

Because this place is an important land and water hub, it would actually be more beneficial to the overall situation of Jinhai Town to arrange for a general with a navy to be stationed here.

Therefore, he actually did not want to openly compete with Qiu Zhenhai for the position of the future commander-in-chief of Zhenjiang Castle. It could even be said that he was interested in helping Qiu Zhenhai.

However, this does not mean that he will unconditionally support Qiu Zhenhai's proposal.

After all, the good situation in Zhenjiang Fort in front of us was achieved through bloody battles by the entire army, and it cannot be ruined by someone's carelessness.

"Well—"

After Yang Zhen heard Zhang Chen's statement, he was suddenly in a dilemma.

Yes, he did intend to give Qiu Zhenhai a chance to take charge of his own business, but he couldn't be wary of the risks Zhang Chen mentioned.

As a time-traveler, he knew a lot about what happened to King Sanshun of the Qing Dynasty, and he also knew that Geng Zhongming died on his way to the Pass and south to attack Guangdong and Guangxi.

The cause of Geng Zhongming's death was that his subordinates reported his past crimes to Dorgon. He knew that Dorgon would not let him go, so he committed suicide in fear of the crime.

Of course, Yang Zhen didn't know the specific details, such as whether Dorgon gave him permission to commit suicide, or whether he committed suicide out of fear after hearing that Dorgon wanted to punish him.

After all, Yang Zhen was not a fan of Qing history in his previous life.

As for the various grievances and grudges between Geng Zhongming's generals Shi Mingxiong, Song Guofu and others and Geng Zhongming, Yang Zhen was even less clear about it.

He only knew that the generals under Geng Zhongming each had their own strengths, and the factional struggles were fierce, which did not stop even after Geng Zhongming's death.

It was not until shortly after the death of Geng Zhongming that Dorgon also died of illness. After Dorgon's power was liquidated, Geng Zhongming's throne was finally succeeded by Geng Jingzhong after many twists and turns. The internal fighting between the Geng family and the internal fighting among his generals,

It's finally come to an end.

If it were in later generations, Yang Zhen could easily find out the situation of Shi Mingxiong and Song Guofu, as well as the grievances between them and Geng Zhongming, and thus easily judge whether they surrendered for real or faked it.

However, in the first month of the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, Yang Zhen did not have the same convenient conditions as he would have hundreds of years later.

Even though his army already had many surrendered generals from the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty and Han Army, such as Jin Yukui, Liu Zhongjin, and even generals like Qiu Zhenhai, he still couldn't get much really useful information on the matter at hand.

.

"Yes, Governor, Lieutenant General Zhang's worries are very reasonable. You must know that soldiers are not afraid of deceit. What Shi and Song did. If it was the Qing puppet emperor Huang Taiji or Geng Zhongming who saw that we could not attack us, and resorted to tactics, then we really send troops.

But I fell into a trap!"

"Then what do you mean? What should we do?"

Yang Zhen was frowning and thinking, but he heard that his deputy general Li Lu also stood up to support Zhang Chen's opinion, so he asked him what should be done about the current situation.

"In my humble opinion, since the Governor has led us to hold on to Zhenjiang Fort for several months, do we still care about holding on for a while longer? In the current situation, we can win as long as we hold on. In my humble opinion, it is better to stay still than to move. Since

It is difficult to distinguish between the true and false of Shi and Song, so we might as well remain unchanged in response to all changes."

Li Lu's mind was a little simpler. He never thought about the issue of the position of the commander-in-chief of Zhenjiang Fort after the war. He just looked at the issue purely from the perspective of victory or defeat in the war.

If you look at it from this perspective, then the safest approach is indeed to remain unchanged in response to changes.

Therefore, Li Lu's answer immediately aroused the approval of many other generals present.

The generals who had repeatedly come to Yang Zhen and advocated war before suddenly changed their stance and began to become more prudent. They began to join Li Lu in persuading Yang Zhen to be cautious.

Unfortunately, Yang Zhen had a strong desire to eliminate Geng Zhongming's men.

Now that he had encountered such a rare opportunity, he didn't want to miss it just because he was seeking stability.

And for Yang Zhen, since the authenticity of the letters between Shi and Song was not known, and their thoughts were difficult to determine, it would be good to find a way to confirm it.

"Vice General Qiu!"

"The humble position is here!"

"What Vice-General Zhang and Vice-General Li just said makes sense. How confident are you in the surrender of Shi and Song?"

"Although the letters from Commander-in-Chief Shi Mingxiong and Song Guofu did not state the specific reason why they intended to surrender anyway, I guess it must be related to the artillery battle we launched today."

When Yang Zhen asked Qiu Zhenhai this way, everyone present could see that he was giving Qiu Zhenhai a chance to convince everyone.

Of course Qiu Zhenhai realized it himself, so he immediately expressed his various inferences.

"If the men and horses guarding the river at that time belonged to Shi Mingxiong and Song Guofu, then everything makes sense. They lost their heavy artillery and created such a big trap. Not only Huang Taiji could not spare them, but also Geng Zhongming would certainly

Tell them to take the blame!

"If this happens, if the two of them continue to stay with Qinglu and under Geng Er's command, let alone their future, their lives may not be guaranteed, and even if they are lucky enough to survive, they will definitely be punished.

Indispensable.

"I have stayed in the Qing Dynasty for many years, and I have some understanding of the thoughts of these people. Except for those who have committed serious crimes in the Ming Dynasty, or some old slaves who came from the old Han army, there are few who are not evil-minded.

Ambitious.

"What's more, now that the commander-in-chief has led his army to win every battle, and has killed many so-called famous kings of the Qing Dynasty, the power of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty has been greatly reduced. With all these things added together, the surrender of the two Shi and Song Dynasties is actually true or false.

, are all worthy of the governor’s use!”

Qiu Zhenhai didn't dare to guarantee it until the end.

Of course, he didn't dare to vouch for it. After all, soldiers never tire of deceit, and Huaishun King Geng Zhongming was famous for being cunning and cunning. If he made a mistake, he would become the sinner of Jinhai Town.

After Yang Zhen listened to his detailed analysis, everyone else present, including those present, listened to his inferences, and they were all silent at the moment.

After a while, Yang Zhen asked: "I heard you say before that it is easy to judge whether the surrender of Shi Song and Song Dynasty is true or false. So, do you have any way to confirm whether they are true or false?"

"Is this? I thought that the governor could send people out of the city overnight to visit him and the two of them, and agree with them on the code or time for the mutiny. Or the governor could simply tell them when we would launch artillery bombardment on the Qinglu camp in the west of the city, and they would

When will it be launched on Waihua Island?"

Qiu Zhenhai did have a solution. As soon as Yang Zheng asked the question, he immediately answered it.

Moreover, he saw that Yang Zhen was obviously stunned after hearing his words, as if he did not expect that his method was so simple, so he added:

"Don't they still have a few heavy artillery in their hands? The governor can order them to use their heavy artillery after hearing the sound of artillery in the west of Zhenjiang Fort, and turn the muzzle to bombard the Qing camp on Weihua Island.

"As long as they are willing to do this, it shows that they are determined. When the time comes, as soon as their cannons fire on Waihua Island, we will send troops immediately! On the one hand, we will help them destroy Geng Er, and on the other hand, we will help them enter the city!

"

Having said this, Qiu Zhenhai saw Yang Zhen's shock dissipated and nodded frequently. He became more and more convinced that his method was feasible and his confidence increased greatly.

At the same time, he was worried that the generals in the city would have doubts about rashly accepting the troops of Shi and Song into the city, so he immediately explained again.

"Of course, if the governor is not at ease, if you are not at ease, after bringing them into the city, they can be placed in the Zhenjiang Gate Urn City first. Even if there is fraud, there will not be much trouble!"

"Haha, that's not necessary."

Yang Zhen is generally satisfied with the methods Qiu Zhenhai said.

Of course, it doesn't matter if he is dissatisfied, because he has no better way than this.

At the same time, considering that it was already past midnight and it would be dawn in two hours, he immediately made up his mind.

"If, as you said, Shi and Song can really follow my orders, turn their guns, and bombard the Qing camp on Waihua Island, then what else is there to say? I will naturally trust them!"

After Yang Zhen said this, he went to see Zhang Chen, Li Lu and others. After looking around, everyone nodded and said nothing, obviously agreeing with what Yang Zhen said.

Upon seeing this, Yang Zhen thought for a moment and then stated his decision on the matter:

"Since there is a way to verify their surrender, let's send someone to contact them as soon as possible——, Lieutenant General Qiu, I think I will send Yu Haichao to go there in person, and he will go there soon.

"Tell Yu Haichao to tell them my decision - around midnight on the seventh day of the lunar month, we will use Tianyou to support the general's heavy artillery to massively bombard the Qing camp in the west of the city. Our cannons will sound like orders!

"If they are really determined to surrender, then they will use the heavy artillery they have to bombard the Qing camp on Waihua Island where Geng Zhongming is! Once they fire artillery on Waihua Island, we will send troops.

"When the time comes that they will cooperate with us internally and externally to kill Geng Zhongming on Weihua Island, I will not only ensure that the previous crimes of Shi Song and their subordinates are wiped out, but I will also definitely ask the imperial court for credit on their behalf!"

"I humbly obey my orders!"

Seeing that Yang Zhen had made up his mind, Qiu Zhenhai immediately clasped his fists and bowed, and Su Rong agreed.

He advocated this matter strongly, and he naturally knew the great responsibility.

For him, if he succeeds, he will gain fame and benefit, but once he falls into the trap, or fails despite not falling into the trap, his path to commanding troops will be cut off.

"In addition, Zhang Chen, Li Lu, Yang Shen, although the people in the west of the city are calling your bluff to contain the main force of the Qing captives, you still have to be well prepared."

After Yang Zhen arranged tasks for Qiu Zhenhai and Yu Haichao, he immediately turned to the main generals guarding the west of the city, and at the same time told him his preparations.

"If the main force of Qinglu troops in the west of the city will go to Waihua Island for rescue at all costs, then we might as well make the lie come true!

"You should prepare more ammunition and cannons, more flying generals, and fire starters. If you really want to set fire to the Qinglu Company on the night of the seventh day of the lunar month, then it doesn't matter what the final result is on Waihua Island.

!”

"I see!"

As soon as Yang Zhen finished speaking, Li Lu, Yang Shen, Zhang Chen and others looked at each other and suddenly realized something in their hearts.

At the same time, they no longer objected to Yang Zhen sending troops to the east of the city. Instead, they stood up together, bowed and clasped their fists to Yang Zhen and said:

"I humbly obey my orders!"

In this way, after receiving a letter of surrender from Shi Mingxiong and Song Guofu who sent people to shoot into the city, Yang Zhen made a decision in the second half of that night and sent people to contact him.

Around midnight in the second half of the night, Yu Haichao led a group of carefully selected men. In the darkness before dawn, everyone was fully armed and wrapped in a white cloak made of a gray-white felt blanket, and walked out of Zhenjiang Gate in the dark.

They had not left the city for a long, long time, so before leaving the city, they regarded the trip as extremely dangerous, fearing that they would fall into a trap or be ambushed by the rebels outside the city and die.
Chapter completed!