The New Destiny of the Ming Dynasty

When Zu Dashou spoke, Yang Zhen instinctively wanted to refute him.

But when the words were about to come out, I felt it was better not to say them.

Confronting one's superiors in court, especially those like Zu Dashou, will cause a lot of trouble.

Moreover, he was somewhat prepared and now wanted to hear what others were saying and see how they viewed him.

After Zu Dashou finished speaking, Governor Fang Yizao gently patted the armrest of his chair with his left hand and stroked his long beard with his right hand. After thinking for a moment, he said:

"I am aware of Yang Zhen's reputation for bravery and valor. This time, I have requested that he be appointed as the deputy general of Ningyuan, precisely because of his bravery, valor, loyalty, and diligence!"

"Yang Zhen's troops currently number less than two hundred, while the Jurchens besieging Jinzhou and Songshan number in the tens of thousands! I am very worried that Yang Zhen's troops will be heavily intercepted before even reaching the outskirts of Songshan! His troops are outnumbered and outgunned. If he cannot win, the morale of the troops in both places will be further dampened! What should we do?"

Fang Yizao's meaning was quite clear: he didn't want Yang Zhen and his men to go.

This is because this is the only force that Fang Yizao, the Liaodong governor, can currently command in Ningyuan City.

However, Fang Yizao dared not outright oppose Zu Dashou's idea, and the scene immediately fell into a stalemate.

In fact, Zu Dashou wasn't too worried about Jinzhou City.

Because he knew Jinzhou very well, he left a bunch of his brothers and trusted generals in Jinzhou. At the same time, Jinzhou was a heavily fortified city with a large army stationed there, so the Jurchens could not take it by force.

His original intention was simply to deliver a message, primarily to Songshan City, informing them that reinforcements from Ningyuan were on their way, so that Jin Guofeng's 3,000 troops inside Songshan City could hold their ground.

Therefore, he did not necessarily want Yang Zhen to lead his troops to charge into the enemy and die, but rather to take advantage of his bravery to break through the Jurchen patrols and reach the walls of Songshan.

As for whether Yang Zhen could successfully break into the city, he didn't care. It would be good if he could break in, but if he couldn't, it would be enough to get the message in.

This mission is extremely risky, with a slim chance of survival. Sending too many troops would not only slow things down, but also increase casualties should they fail. This was Zu Dashou's consideration.

However, Governor Fang Yizao's idea was not wrong.

Now that we've sent people, we must do our best to get it done. How could we possibly succeed with only two hundred men to rescue Songshan?!

After Governor Fang Yizao finished speaking, Zu Dashou remained silent in thought. At this moment, the first civil official sitting next to Fang Yizao spoke.

"General Zu! Your Excellency the Governor! I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should."

Yang Zhen looked at the civil official who had spoken upon hearing the voice, and thought to himself:

"It really is Qiu Minyang! This man is commendable; he's a gentleman!"

After Qiu Minyang spoke, Zu Dashou and Fang Yizao both nodded, indicating that he could speak.

Qiu Minyang then said, "I am well aware of the General and Governor's true intentions in rescuing Songshan and Jinzhou, but since they are under the guise of rescue and relief, even if it is just a vanguard force, two hundred men are indeed too few! If word gets out, I'm afraid there will be renewed accusations in the court against the Liaodong civil and military officials for avoiding the enemy and being afraid of battle! If that's the case, it would be better not to send them at all!"

After Qiu Minyang finished speaking, another civil official chimed in:

"Zhang Dou, the Liaodong Circuit Intendant, agrees with Lord Qiu's opinion! Sending two hundred men to relieve Jinzhou and Songshan, which are besieged by tens of thousands of enemy troops, is simply child's play!"

Looking at the short, goatee-faced civil official, and hearing him identify himself as "Zhang Dou, the Circuit Intendant," Yang Zhen deduced that he must be the same civil official Zhang Dou who was later killed after the fall of Songshan City.

This person is a very honest one.

After Zhang Dou finished speaking, Zu Dashou frowned, and the generals on Zu Dashou's side also looked displeased, all dissatisfied with Zhang Dou's words.

At this moment, the handsome civil official, who was around forty years old and sitting on the outermost seat, said:

"Your Excellency Governor! Your Excellency General! I, Yuan Shu, serve as the Imperial Advisor in charge of military supplies. I dare not speak of military matters in front of Your Excellency Governor and General General Zu. However, the rescue of Songshan and the relieving of the siege of Jinzhou are of great concern to the court and the public. Moreover, with a formidable enemy at hand, every move Ningyuan makes is of paramount importance!"

"If we choose not to rescue Songshan, so be it; but if we do, we must ensure its success! If we waver between the options of rescue and non-rescue, success and failure, then we are in grave danger! These are just my humble opinions; I urge Your Excellency, Governor and Commander-in-Chief, to consider them carefully!"

This person is actually Yuan Shu!

Yang Zhen listened quietly to what the civil officials had to say, and felt a little gratified.

It seems that the civil officials that Emperor Chongzhen has assigned to Liaodong are all quite good. There are no pedantic, arrogant fools, nor are there any petty people who only know how to scheme and fight for power.

In fact, by the twelfth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, those civil officials who rose to power by currying favor with the powerful or attaching themselves to influential figures in the court no longer dared to come to Liaodong.

At this time, anyone who dared to come to Liaodong was considered an outstanding member of the Ming Dynasty's civil service.

Qiu Minyang, the Ningqian Military Commissioner, Zhang Dou, the Sub-Inspector, and Yuan Shu, the Supervisor of Military Supplies dispatched by the Ministry of Revenue to Ningyuan and "Juehua Island," all spoke in turn, supporting Governor Fang Yizao's statement and indirectly offering a host of opinions on Zu Dashou's statement.

Although Zu Dashou was unhappy, he was not a fool, and he knew that his explanation was not convincing enough to convince everyone.

Let alone the fact that this decision was reported to the imperial court, even within Liaodong itself, it's utterly incomprehensible to anyone who mentions sending two hundred men to rescue Songshan and relieve the siege of Jinzhou!

Yang Zhen also knew that historically, he was not the only one leading his two hundred men to rescue Songshan City. Therefore, after a moment of tension and panic, he finally calmed down.

As expected, after Governor Fang Yizao and other civil officials expressed their objections, Zu Dashou finally spoke up again:

"What you gentlemen have said makes sense! What I just said was merely a suggestion to appoint Yang Zhen, the deputy general of Ningyuan, to lead the matter. I am aware that Yang Zhen has fewer than two hundred men under his command, so I have other arrangements!"

After saying this, Zu Dashou turned to the first general on his right and said:

"Sanggarse! You heard what the Governor and the Military Commissioner just said! Yang Zhen's troops number less than two hundred, which is more than enough for patrolling the outskirts of Songshan, but far from sufficient for rescue and relief! This garrison will select three hundred elite cavalrymen from your Mongol battalion, with Lieutenant General Xu Changyong as the general, and assign Deputy General Yang Zhen of Ningyuan to command them, to assist in this matter! What do you think?!"

Sanggarsai was born into a Mongolian tribe outside Guangning. His troops consisted entirely of Mongolian miscellaneous soldiers. Their fighting ability was not great, but their numbers were relatively large.

These people were mostly Mongolians who had submitted to the Ming Dynasty and were scattered throughout western Liaoning after their tribes were conquered by the Jurchens. They had some hatred towards the Jurchens, but they were somewhat like mercenaries in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty.

They joined the army to fight for money and military pay, and actually had little loyalty to the Ming Dynasty.

Most of these Mongol soldiers were originally under the command of Man Gui, the Liaodong Grand Marshal during the early years of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign. After Man Gui's death in battle, they came under the command of the current Grand Marshal, Zu Dashou.

After hearing Zu Dashou's words, Sanggarse did not hesitate. He immediately stood up, clasped his hands in greeting to Zu Dashou, and said:

"This humble general will obey the commander-in-chief's orders!"

Zu Dashou nodded after hearing this, waved for Sanggarse to sit down, and then said to Governor Fang Yizao and the others:

"Lord Fang, Lord Qiu, Lord Zhang, Lord Yuan, is this acceptable?"

Five hundred men were certainly far from enough to relieve the siege.

However, as early as the beginning of this military conference, Zu Dashou had already made the true nature of this "rescue" clear: it was merely a message to strengthen the resolve of the military and civilians in both places to defend the city, and to give a reasonable explanation to everyone. It was not a real attempt to break the siege of Jinzhou and Songshan by the Jurchen army.

His plan was to rely on fortified cities in various regions and hold out until the besieging Tartar army ran out of supplies and withdrew on its own.

Yang Zhen himself actually agreed with Zu Dashou's strategy.

However, he was very unhappy that he had to send a general north to give an explanation to the pro-war faction of the court, and the person sent was none other than himself.

As Yang Zhen lamented his unfortunate fate, he heard Fang Yizao say:

"Since Commander Zu has made this arrangement, I have no further objections. Let's see what Yang Zhen himself has to say!"

Fang Yizao, having said this, suddenly turned to Yang Zhen and said:

"Yang Zhen! What are your thoughts on the arrangements for General Zu? If you have any requests, please feel free to make them here!"

"Although the number of troops you've given you for this rescue of Songshan and relief of Jinzhou is small, the very act of heading north to provide assistance is of great significance! Please feel free to voice any ideas you may have, and I and Commander Zu will do our utmost to help you!"

After saying this, Governor Fang Yizao paused for a moment, glanced at the expressionless Wu Sangui, then turned his gaze back to Yang Zhen and said loudly:

"In fact, I had already planned this. This time, when we go north to rescue Songshan and relieve the siege of Jinzhou, no matter who is ordered to lead the mission, as long as Songshan and Jinzhou are not lost in the end, I will write to His Majesty the Emperor and recommend him for the position of General. His subordinates will be promoted three ranks and appointed to official positions!"