"Yes, Commander-in-Chief, if our navy enters from the mouth of the Liaohe River and captures Haizhou City, even if it is captured, it will definitely be difficult to establish a foothold there."

Before Yang Zhen could respond to the differences between Zu Keyong and Yuan Jin, Yu Liangtai, who had been silent, stood up to support Yuan Jin's point of view.

"That place is surrounded by enemies on all sides. Although it is very helpful to mobilize the Qing captives in Gaizhou, Xiongyue, Liaoyang and other places, it is not worth defending for our army. It is really a useless place for our army."

"A useless place? Zu is willing to hear General Yu's advice!"

Hearing that Yu Liangtai rejected his suggestion, Zu Keyong looked obviously unhappy.

However, after all, the two of them had worked together for a short period of time, and the cooperation was quite pleasant at that time, so Zu Keyong did not show his dissatisfaction in words.

"Haha, I'm sorry, Commander-in-Chief Zu, Yu just said this just to discuss the matter."

Facing Zu Keyong's rhetorical question, Yu Liangtai certainly saw his dissatisfaction, but he didn't seem to care too much and did not answer immediately. Instead, he just turned his eyes to Yang Zhen.

When Yang Zhen saw this, he was quite unhappy.

Yang Zhen's displeasure was not directed at Zu Keyong. He believed that Zu Keyong would not turn against those people in Liaoxi now.

Of course, Yang Zhen's displeasure was not simply because of Yuan Jin.

After all, what Yuan Jin said did have a reason.

What really displeased Yang Zhen was the openness of the differences and discord among the generals.

The generals, who mainly used horse and infantry, obviously wanted the navy to attack first.

However, the generals mainly in the naval camp were obviously unwilling to make wedding clothes for others.

"Mr. Yu, don't say anything in half a sentence, just tell me what you think!"

"Yes, Governor. I think it's better to attack Jiulian City from Andong City and Yajiang East Water and Land, and the Kuandian Five Forts behind Jiulian City!"

"oh?"

Yu Liangtai's statement is tantamount to putting forward another idea.

This new idea not only immediately aroused Yang Zhen's interest, but also triggered the thinking of the generals present.

"Go get the map!"

Yang Zhen shouted, and Zhang Guogan hurried out immediately, but soon brought the two people back.

The two men carried an object that looked like a screen into the hall where the generals were discussing matters, placed it in the middle, bowed hurriedly, and then left.

At this time, everyone took a closer look and found that what was painted with gold lines on the single screen with a base was none other than a map of Liaodong.

The map covers the cities in western Liaoning and the entire territory of eastern Liaoning, the western Liaoning Corridor, Ning, Jin, Yi, Guang, the Liaodong Peninsula Jin, Fu, Gai, Hai, and all the way to Liao, Shen and Tielingwei.

Of course, what Yang Zhen and the generals in the hall are most concerned about at the moment must be the northeast corner of this screen that is about three feet wide and six feet high.

There, Ding Liao Youwei and its Jiulian City, as well as the Kuandian Wubao to the north of Jiulian City and west of the Yajiang River, were prominently listed.

This screen map was seized from General Dinghai's Mansion in Zhenjiang Castle.

When Yang Zhen left Zhenjiang Fort, he asked someone to pack it up and take it back to Lushunkou. Now it comes in handy.

Although many people present had already memorized the map of Liaodong Town, no matter how familiar it was, it would be better to directly face such a huge map to make judgments.

Yang Zhenyuan also intended to mobilize manpower to create a terrain sandbox of the Liaodong Peninsula, but it has not been implemented. It seems that it must be arranged as soon as possible.

Even if it is not so accurate at the moment, it is much better than the two-dimensional map drawn on paper or carved on a wooden board.

After the map on the screen was delivered, Yang Zhen walked over and looked at it closely for a while, and gradually got a clear idea in his mind.

Yang Zhen had a lot of ideas before, but none of them were ideal and it was always difficult to make a decision.

But now, Jinhai Town's strategy and tactics of attacking the Qing Dynasty from the east to the north are becoming clearer and clearer in his mind.

"Everyone, tell me, what is Mr. Yu's idea?"

"Captain, I think it's more feasible to fight like this!"

While others were still hesitating and preparing their words, Zhang Chen, who had been silent all this time, suddenly stood up.

"How to say?"

Zhang Chen had expected that Yang Zhenhui would ask this question, so he walked to the screen in three or two steps, pointed to the location of Guangning City on the map of the screen, and said:

"I know from my humble position that the Governor lived in Guangning during his childhood. I wonder if the Governor still remembers the topography of the Liaoshen area east of Guangning?"

"Go on."

Of course Yang Zhen knew the terrain from the east of Guangning to the hinterland of Liaoshen, but there was no need for him to answer at this time.

Zhang Chen didn't take it seriously when he saw this, and immediately said to everyone:

"To the east of Guangning, on both sides of the Liao River, and to the land of Liao Shen, there is a flat plain, and the terrain is extremely open. This terrain is conducive to the galloping of soldiers, horses, and cavalry in western Liaoning, but it is not conducive to our vehicles, artillery, and infantry in Jinhai Town.

"Although our Jinhai Town Boat Division is powerful, the river channel upstream from the mouth of the Liaohe River, that is, the mouth of the Sancha River, where large ships can pass is only a hundred miles. Even though we have huge ships and heavy artillery like the Yingzhou and Lelang, it is still difficult for us to do so.

Straight to the hinterland of Liaoshen."

Zhang Chen had obviously thought about it comprehensively, instead of just making a temporary decision inspired by Yu Liangtai.

So when I speak, I feel confident and confident.

"But Jiuliancheng, north of Andong City, is different. Jiuliancheng is only a few dozen miles away from the mouth of the Yajiang River, and is located at the confluence of the Dachujiang River and the Yajiang River. In April and May, the ice and snow in the mountains in its upper reaches melt, and the river in the lower reaches is plentiful.

The river is open.

"And when the sea is at high tide, the water at the mouth of the Yajiang River is not smooth. At that time, small and large ships can pass. Even the Yingzhou and Lelang can reach the foot of Jiulian City. This is enough to enhance the strength of our army and avoid our army.

It's short, it's easy to capture Jiulian City."

After Zhang Chen said these words, he stood quietly, waiting for Yang Zhen's response.

However, Yang Zhen just nodded and then turned to Zhang Degui.

"Lao Zhang, please tell me your thoughts."

"Well, I think that the decisive battle with the Qing captives cannot be hasty and we can go straight to Liaoshen with the power of a black tiger to rip out our hearts. Although it is enjoyable, it is also very dangerous."

Zhang Degui rarely speaks on such issues, but it does not mean that he has no ideas or that he does not understand.

There is a saying that Zhang Degui, who has read 300 Tang poems by heart and can not compose poems but can also recite them, has been running around in the army for decades, so how can he have no idea about the choice of battlefield?

As the saying goes, an old horse knows the way, and this is why Yang Zhen respects the elderly in the military.

After Zhang Degui calmly and cryptically expressed his objections to the direct attack on the hinterland of Liaoshen, he paused and continued:

"If you think of it as a humble position, this battle is of great importance and we cannot lose. Therefore, we should be more cautious and not fight with uncertainty. If we can win the first battle and mobilize the Qing captives to come east, we will have fulfilled our duty in the first battle.

"

After Zhang Degui said this, he didn't go any further, but his thoughts were already obvious.

"Um."

After hearing what Zhang Degui said, Yang Zhen nodded, and then turned to Li Lu, who had said nothing.

"Li Lu, what do you think?"

"I agree with General Manager Zhang's view. This battle is of great importance, and the first battle is especially important. If you win the first battle, the morale of the whole army will be greatly boosted. If you lose the first battle, I am afraid that the whole army will be frightened. I also think that Jiulian City is easy to take, so we should take it first

Jiulian City.”

"Um."

Yang Zhen nodded again without making any comments.

At this time, he looked around the lobby. Only the three lieutenants Zhang Guogan, Yan Shengsan, and Yang Shen were standing without speaking, so he said to the three of them:

"As for you, please also share your thoughts."

"Bizhi, I have no idea. I will fight whatever the governor says. I will listen to the governor!"

When Zhang Guogan saw Yang Zhen asking, he was the first to speak, but it was no different if he opened his mouth or not.

Yang Zhen's face darkened when he heard this, and he turned to look at Yan Shengsan and Yang Shen.

At this time, Yan Shengsan came around from behind and also came to the screen. Pointing to the upper left corner of the screen where Jiulian City was located, he said:

"I agree to attack Jiuliancheng first for three reasons. First, Jiuliancheng is very close to the mouth of the Yajiang River, making it easier to advance.

"Both of them, General Qiu's and General Zu's troops and horses are nearby. They don't need to be transported across the sea and can be used locally.

"Three of them, together with the two marshals of the northern armies and horses of the Ning Kingdom, are in Cao's camp and their hearts are in the Han Dynasty, they can be used by us. With these three, we will definitely win the first battle to capture Jiulian City!"

Yang Zhen called Zhang Guogan, Yan Shengsan, and Yang Shen to attend the meeting together to give them a chance. He hoped that after this battle, they would be promoted to the position of commander-in-chief of one side as soon as possible.

However, Zhang Guogan failed to understand this intention, which disappointed Yang Zhen.

But Yan Shengsan clearly lived up to Yang Zhen's support. Not only was his attitude clear, but the three reasons he gave were more convincing than the last.

Even Zu Keyong, who initially advocated taking the sea route to attack Haizhou City, couldn't help but nod his head when he heard this.

In fact, Zu Keyong's original intention was to take advantage of the navy's safe sea routes to attack Haizhou City in order to mobilize the Qing Dynasty troops to garrison in the direction of Xiongyue and Gaizhou.

As long as the Qing rebel troops in the direction of Xiong Yue and Gaizhou retreat, then Jinhai North Road and Jinhai East Road will send troops one from the south and the other from the east. Together with the troops from the sea route, there will be a way to capture Xiong Yue or Gaizhou.

grasp.

However, his background, coupled with his somewhat inappropriate remarks, caused misunderstandings among Yuan Jin, who had a great opinion of the ancestral generals in western Liaoning, and made him unable to defend himself.
To be continued...