On June 25, the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, on the morning of the fourth day after leaving Ganghwa Island, Yang Zhen took a fully loaded fleet and sailed across the ocean to Shicheng Island.

At the Beizui Port of Shicheng Island, there was only one commander named Yu Shimeng, who led a hundred people and several boats to stay in the port.

Yang Zhen got off the boat and after asking, he found out that Yu Liangtai's main force of the East Route Navy was still stationed near Pi Island and had not returned. So he immediately sent a ship to recruit Zu Keyong, and Yu Liangtai and his two men came to Shicheng Island to meet.

Before Yang Zhen invaded Jianghua Island, he originally planned to burn, kill, and loot, in order to mobilize the Tatar troops on the front line of Zhenjiang Fort Jiulian City to reinforce the Koreans, and then create some fighter opportunities for Zu Keyong and Yu Liangtai.

However, after he went to Ganghwa Island, his plan could not keep up with the changes. The strategic purpose of diverting the tiger from the mountain and diverting the disaster eastward was not achieved as scheduled.

However, Yang Zhen did not feel disappointed about this. On the contrary, he was very satisfied with the results of his trip to Ganghwa Island.

After all, it is much better to turn the current Li Dynasty into a relatively stable supply of ore and rice than to just grab a handful and leave.

Under the current circumstances, Yang Zhen knew that his strength was not enough to force the Li Dynasty to rebel against the Qing Dynasty. If he simply sent troops to plunder, it would not only fail to achieve this goal, but might also be counterproductive, and would make the entire Li Dynasty share the same hatred with the Qing Dynasty.

Completely on the side of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties.

Even the pro-Ming faction within the Li Dynasty may suddenly change their attitude towards Ming and themselves.

As a result, Yang Zhen wanted to use the pro-Ming faction within the Li Dynasty to deceive the Manchus, but there was no way to implement it.

Ever since he led hundreds of people to leave Ningyuan City, what Yang Zhen likes most is the feeling that the enemy is in the light and he is in the dark.

Once such a situation is formed, it will be time for the enemy to be in bad luck.

This time the troops were sent to Ganghwa Island. Although they failed to create a fighter plane for the troops on Jinhae East Road, they successfully made contact with the pro-Ming faction within the Li Dynasty and helped them a lot.

Jin Sangxian, Shen Qiyuan, and Lin Qingye were all famous pro-Ming factions in the history of the Li Dynasty, and they all established contact this time.

Although Kim Sang-heon has no real power, he is the leader of the Li Dynasty Shilin.

Shen Qiyuan and Lin Qingye, with the help of Yang Zhen's trip to Jianghua Island, legitimately took control of Li Dynasty's small army.

As for Liu Lin, the military envoy of Ping'an Road stationed in Pyongyang, his attitude towards the Ming Dynasty was ambiguous in history. He was even ordered to lead the soldiers and horses of the Ming Dynasty to participate in the later Songjin War. However, this person was Shen Qiyuan.

children's in-laws.

Now that Yang Zhen and Shen Qiyuan have reached a "deal", this Liu Lin will surely become his "ally" soon, at least secretly.

With these friendly forces within the Li Dynasty, Yang Zhen was no longer worried about the upcoming war. If the Manchu Tatars did not mobilize the Korean troops and horses to assist in the battle, it would be okay. If they mobilized the Korean troops and horses to assist in the battle, then there would be

They are out of luck.

——

At the foot of Shicheng Mountain on Shicheng Island, in the naval camp on Jinhai East Road, there is a yard that Yu Liangtai specially prepared for Yang Zhen. When Yang Zhen is not on the island, it is naturally empty. When Yang Zhen comes, he will naturally stay there.

Yu Haichao, Qiu Zhenhai and others were also very familiar with Shicheng Island. After the fleet anchored at the port, they didn't need Yang Zhen to go to them for details, and they made it clear about the landing and camping.

In the afternoon when Yang Zhen arrived at Shicheng Island, Zu Keyong and Yu Liangtai received Yang Zhen's order and rushed back to Shicheng Island in the evening, and then came to see Yang Zhen.

"Captain, I saw the fleets in the harbor returning fully loaded one by one. Haichao was also very happy when he saw me. I think the Governor's trip to Ganghwa Island must have been a great success!"

"Congratulations to the Commander-in-Chief for your humble position, congratulations to the Commander-in-Chief! The Commander-in-Chief has returned triumphantly, but for his humble title, he has been called the Commander-in-Chief for a long time!"

When Yu Liangtai met Yang Zhen, he quickly came forward to greet him, and Zu Keyong, who followed closely behind, also came to Yang Zhen to express his congratulations.

Seeing the two of them, Yang Zhen also got off the kang where he was sitting cross-legged. He helped the two people who were kneeling on one knee to greet them, then asked them to sit down and said with a smile:

"It's okay. I have indeed gained a lot from this trip to Ganghwa Island. We will talk about this later. For now, let's talk about the situation in front of the East Route Army!"

When Zu Keyong and Yu Liangtai saw Yang Zhen asking this question, they quickly introduced the enemy situation at the front of Jinhai East Road and near the mouth of the Yalu River.

After Yang Zhen took the fleet and set off for Jianghua Island, Zu Keyong and Yu Liangtai quickly mobilized the main force of the horse infantry and naval battalions on Jinhai East Road, paying close attention to the movements of the Qinglu garrison in the Zhenjiang Fort area, waiting for the Qingqi to

The army crossed the Yalu River and marched eastward so that they could seize the opportunity to attack Zhenjiang Fort.

But they waited and waited, and half a month passed. They did not wait for the Qinglu garrison in the Zhenjiang Fort area to show signs of a large-scale advance across the Yangtze River, but they waited for the news that Yang Zhen led his team back to Shicheng Island.

"Fortunately, during this period, all land reclamation and seed potato matters in Lutundaotun within the jurisdiction of Jinhaidong Road under the command of the humble post have been carried out in accordance with the previous requirements of the governor.

"In addition, the governor previously ordered the East Road to recruit strong soldiers from the villages under its jurisdiction in advance. Now all the land villages along the coast have been recruited, and five of the thirteen island villages have been completed."

After Zu Keyong, Yu Liangtai and the others finished talking about the movements of the captives facing Zhenjiang Fort on the Jinhai East Road, they looked at each other, and then Zu Keyong, the chief military officer of the East Road, told Yang Zhen something more sensitive.

The road conscription problem.

"Ahem, according to the conscription method set by the governor, one soldier is recruited from each household. Now we have recruited 3,000 young and strong soldiers from ten sentries. At present, these newly acquired young and strong soldiers have been gathered in Zhuanghe Fort by Beizhi and are being built.

Barracks, build fortifications, and expand Zhuanghe Fort City."

Letting Jinhae East Road recruit troops in advance was indeed a decision made by Yang Zhen before going to Ganghwa Island. The purpose was to supplement the strength of the East Road so that they could cope with the upcoming war situation.

Although the order was indeed Yang Zhen's, it was only Yang Zhen's verbal decision at the time, and they did not have a formal document from the Assistant Camp Affairs Office of Jinhai General Town Government.

Zu Keyong and Yu Liangtai were not only worried about Yang Zhen's change of heart, but also worried that if someone became jealous or complained, Yang Zhen or other generals would be dissatisfied.

After all, the issue of expanding military strength is very sensitive, especially when so many troops are expanded at once.

It was precisely because they were worried that this matter was too sensitive that Zu Keyong and Yu Liangtai discussed it and only recruited 3,000 people from ten sentries first, and they were recruited from ten villages that had better completed the task of reclaiming wasteland and planting potatoes.

of youthful strength.

Zu Keyong finished speaking a little cautiously about their plan to recruit 3,000 men from ten sentries in advance, and then he and Yu Liangtai looked at Yang Zhen, waiting for Yang Zhen's reaction.

Seeing this, Yang Zhen thought for a moment and realized what they were worried about. He glanced at the two of them, then said "hmm", nodded, and said:

"That's fine, let's recruit ten sentries first. But we must arrange them carefully according to our method of camp and sentry tents. In particular, the candidates for each sentry officer and each team officer must be selected from among the meritorious soldiers in the past.

, report to the Assistant Operations Office for appointment as soon as possible.”

When Zu Keyong and Yu Liangtai saw that Yang Zhen approved of their plan to expand the army to ten posts on the east route, they immediately became happy and bowed together and said to Yang Zhen:

"I humbly obey my orders!"

Even if Yang Zhen doesn't mention it, the sentry officers and team officers of the new Ten Sentinel Mali on the East Road will be selected from among the meritorious soldiers under their command.

A sentry officer commands three hundred people, and a team officer commands a hundred people. For generals like them who have fought countless battles, they naturally know how important such a position is.

As for applying for the appointment of Assistant to the Camp Affairs Office, Yang Zhen had already decided on the rules.

The promotions and transfers of all generals under the command of the Fifth Route Assistant Guards General of Jinhai Town, including middle and low-level positions such as sentry officers and team officers, require the appointment and dismissal of the Assistant Camp Affairs Office of the General Town Government to be effective.

This is the unique power of Yang Zhen, the general of the East Conquest, and the chief military officer of Jinhai Town. Of course, they do not dare to overstep it in the slightest.

However, they also knew very well that as long as they received Yang Zhen's approval and approval for their military expansion today, the issue of submitting the appointment of sentry officers would be nothing more than a formality.

Seeing the joy on their faces, Yang Zhen also smiled, and then asked: "So how do you plan to allocate and use the new recruits in the ten sentries?"

"Five sentry posts of horse infantry."

"Fifth Post of the Naval Battalion."

Faced with Yang Zhen's question, Zu Keyong and Yu Liangtai immediately bowed and clasped their fists in front of Yang Zhen to answer. Apparently they had already made a well-discussed decision on this issue.

"That's fine. Then the cavalry infantry army will be expanded to five posts, and the naval camp will be expanded to five posts. For the remaining island villages on the East Road that have not been recruited, future recruitment issues, deployment and use issues will all be subject to the orders of the Assistant Battalion Affairs Office!"

In Yang Zhen's mind, among the land and water troops on Jinhai East Road under Zu Keyong's command, although the land division, that is, the horse infantry, was very elite, its scale was a bit small.

Therefore, the issue of military expansion on the east route should actually focus on the Ma Infantry Army under the direct leadership of Zu Keyong. It is more appropriate to allocate the new soldiers of the ten posts to seven posts for the Horse Infantry Army and leave three posts for the Navy.

However, since Zu Keyong and Yu Liangtai had reached an agreement, it was inconvenient for him to make adjustments on this issue, but a little dissatisfaction in his heart was still revealed.

“It’s worth taking a humble job!”

"I humbly obey my orders!"

Zu Keyong and Yu Liangtai seemed to notice that Yang Zhen was a little unhappy. After bowing and obeying the order, they did not dare to say anything more, and the scene fell into silence for a while.

After a while, Zu Keyong raised his eyes and looked at Yang Zhen. Seeing that Yang Zhen seemed to be thinking about something but remained silent, he finally couldn't help but ask:

"Commander, after the expansion of the army, the troops on the east road are strong. What should we do next?"

"Wait."

"Wait?"

"Yes, wait. If the enemy doesn't move, neither will I. The Qing captives are now mobilizing troops and generals, collecting supplies and warships, and are preparing to go south to attack us again. We should also take the opportunity to accumulate strength."

Having said this, Yang Zhen took a deep breath, looked at Zu Keyong and Yu Liangtai, and then said slowly: "As soon as the enemy's mobilized grain and grass warships arrive and the Qing captives move, we will also move. Then it will be easy to handle.

"

"this--"

When Zu Keyong heard what Yang Zhen said, he was a little stunned for a moment. In his experience, when marching and fighting, one should strike first when the enemy is unprepared. Wouldn't it be passive to wait for the enemy to be ready before taking action himself?

?

Therefore, after being stunned for a moment, Zu Keyong immediately said again: "Captain, if the captured grain, grass and military ships arrive, won't we be in even more trouble? How can it be easy to handle?"

At this time, Yu Liangtai couldn't help but said: "Yes, Governor, if we wait until the Qinglu are ready to fight us again before we fight back, wouldn't it be more beneficial to the Qinglu?"
Chapter completed!