In June of the fourth year of Chongzhen, Hou Jin commanded the right wing with Leng'e Li and Kake Duli commanded the left wing, and sent troops to attack Phi Dao, with a total strength of more than 6,000 people, and about 2,000 soldiers, they set out on May 28 and arrived at the Yalu River on June 6.

In addition to these military forces, Huang Taiji also prepared political measures, he sent Shi Guozhu, Gao Hongzhong, Li Sizhong, a few traitors to be responsible for recruiting the Dongjiang soldiers, and strictly ordered all the generals of the Eight Banners not to participate, and concentrated on strengthening the power of Han officials to contain his relatives. In order to maintain relations with Korea, Huang Taiji also sent Mandarhan and Dong Nami to meet with the king of Korea and asked Korea to provide military ships and food.

On 7 June, the Houjin soldiers entered Korea via Uiju because they had told them in advance that they were only going to attack Phi Dao, and that the DPRK did not dare to resist and allowed them to drive straight in. The Houjin army marched rapidly all the way, and crossed the Iron Mountain in nine days.

After Jiannu arrived in Yizhou, the local snakes in Dongjiang Town also got the news, most of the island soldiers were still fighting with Jiannu, and they also began to actively prepare for the battle, Dongjiang and Dengzhou sailors began to go to sea to inspect the closest coast near Tieshan, which was densely populated near Yiju, and Huang Taiji wanted to maintain the brotherly alliance with North Korea, and did not allow the Houjin soldiers to let go of the robbery, which also facilitated the intelligence work of Dongjiang Town, and a lot of information began to be fed back to Phi Dao.

However, after the Houjin army arrived at Tieshan, they immediately sent a large number of rangers to block the traffic, and the generals of Phi Dao could not judge the next move of Hou Jin, and the sailors of Dongjiang Town had more than 170 boats on Phi Dao, but many of them could only be regarded as fishing boats, and there were more than 20 boats from Dengzhou, and they focused their defense on the north of Phi Dao. Facing the direction of the Iron Mountain, they looted and burned all the way to see all the ships.

South of Iron Mountain is a peninsula, which is very close to Phi Dao, the southernmost point is only about ten miles away from Phi Dao, but the terrain is mountainous, the coast is steep, and it is easy to be found by Phi Dao. Therefore, it was not suitable as a departure point, and the location guessed by the Dongjiang Army was on the coast west of Iron Mountain, and many ships were sent in that direction.

The Wendeng camp led by Chen Xin has still not been found. The generals on Phi Island thought it was the entourage of the overseer Lu Zhi.

Chen Xin received the intelligence of the special service team early and learned the news of the arrival of the Houjin army, and his original intention was to let the task force capture Ying Ordai. This person is stationed in North Korea, must know a lot of Dongjiang and North Korea smuggling, this person in the hands, can coerce many officials, he can mix in the smuggling, I didn't expect Ying Erdai to be so lucky, actually went to Yizhou that day, Chen Xin was not familiar with this person, and then Zhang Dong inquired in Phi Dao, it turned out that this Ying Erdai in Houjin is a figure of both civil and military. In the early years, he followed Nurhachi to the east and west, and after the first year of Tiancong fought for Korea, Ying Erdai was in charge of affairs with North Korea, often going back and forth between Seoul and Shenyang, and followed the entrance of Huang Taiji in his year. During the Battle of the Four Cities, he and Li Sizhong and others were in Zunhua, and they brought the team out of the side wall in the face of danger.

After Chen Xin read the information, he kept this person in his heart, and slowly dealt with him in the future, and the more important thing at present was the Houjin army. At this time, Li Tao's follow-up information had not yet been transmitted, and the information of the Dongjiang Army was much richer than that of Chen Xin, and Lu Zhi easily obtained this information, and asked Zhang Dong to send it to Yamato Island once a day.

On the afternoon of 10 June, Zhang Dong hurried to Yamato Island again, and reported to Chen Xin and others in Chen Xin's tent.

"My lord, two ships came back before dark yesterday, bringing news that Jiannu was moving to the coast west of Tieshan, and there were two camps five miles from the sea, and there were many Jiannu rangers around, and I don't know the strength of the camp, the strength of Jiannu is unknown, some say 30,000, some say more than 10,000, and the Koreans also report that the number is around 40,000, the army is majestic, and the roads are jammed."

Lu Chuanzong touched his chin and said: "If there are so many, then we don't have anything to think about, but I estimate that this is not a strong city, and it is useless to have too many soldiers, so the slave chief should not send so many people." ”

Chen Xin also nodded and said: "What Chuan Zong said is right, if you attack Phi Island, if you attack Phi Island, you will not be able to use more soldiers if you are not on land, in the past, Liu Xingzhi really had 800 people in his hands, and there were only 50 people in armor, even if there was a strong force on the island, and even controlled the situation on the island for a while, it can be seen that the Phi Island soldiers are now mediocre, and the slave chieftains only need 3,000 people at most to go to land, and they can conquer the whole island." But they didn't have enough ships, and even if the Korean sailors came, they would have to come from the south, so why did Jiannu choose to go west on the west side of Tieshan in the north. ”

Lu Chuanzong's mouth moved a few times, "If we can come to the two thousand headquarters this time, we can go ashore and fight with them." ”

Liu Pojun stared at the map and muttered: "Lord Lu, no matter how many people Jiannu comes, their goal is to attack Phi Island, and they need to go to the island after all, and they will definitely not be able to come all at once, as long as we can keep hidden, wait for Jiannu to stop their retreat after landing on the island, or intercept it at sea, a great success can be achieved, is the most important thing, is to know how many ships they have, how many people they can carry, and where to set off." ”

A cold light flashed in Zhang Dong's eyes, he also had hatred for Jiannu, but more importantly, this time the intelligence bureau was good, and Chen Xin praised him a lot in the past few days, which made Zhang Dong see a good prospect. He said to Chen Xin respectfully: "My lord, the last time the special service team reported that Jiannu sent people to Seoul to ask North Korea to send troops and ships to help, the situation of the North Korean sailors is not too clear, but I heard the island soldiers say that there are many boats, Phi Dao is too close to North Korea, fishing boats can be used, if it is not intercepted, it is possible to transport one or two thousand people at a time." ”

Chen Xin also has a headache, he is not clear about the current attitude of North Korea, after the first year of Tiancong Emperor Taiji attacked North Korea, the two sides concluded a brotherly alliance, but North Korea continued to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty, Song Wenxian said that he had seen the tributary mission of North Korea many times in Dengzhou, and after the first year of Chongzhen, the tribute should go to Ningyuan to go ashore, but it did not fall every year.

In Chen Xin's view, North Korea is more like a cautious little daughter-in-law, and he can't judge whether he will provide a sailor now, so the importance of intelligence work is revealed, and Chen Xin's intelligence on North Korea and Dongjiang is almost blank at present, so he turned his head and asked Zhang Dongdao: "Do you think North Korea will send troops?" ”

Zhang Dong bowed his head and said: "My subordinates don't dare to say anything, North Korea is afraid of Jiannu." is also afraid of the Dongjiang River, when Liu Xingzhi was appeased last year, he forced the DPRK to dismiss Jin Shirang, the supervisor of Anping Province, because when Jin Shirang killed Chen Jisheng by Liu Xingzhi, Zeng Jianyì Li Chao sent troops to arrest Liu Xingzhi, and finally Li Chao was forced by Liu Xingzhi to coerce and really let Jin Shirang go to his post. It can be seen that North Korea's bones are very soft. But his subordinates knew on the island that Li Chao's heart was still towards my Ming Dynasty, and they often called present-day Liaodong the land of jackals and leopards. Directly call Jiannu a barbarian. ”

Lu Chuanzong smiled and said: "One Liu Xingzhi can force them to dismiss the officials, and if Jiannu goes, I am afraid that he can also force them to send sailors." ”

Chen Xin saw that they had no clue and deeply felt the importance of strengthening the infiltration of the Dongjiang River. Dongjiang and North Korea are the forces he wants to fight for, and for Wendeng, it is far easier to influence Dongjiang and North Korea than to influence Liaoxi, and the distance of force projection is about the same.

Thinking of this, he waved his hand to let Liu Pojun and Lu Chuanzong leave, Zhang Dong knew that Chen Xin had something to tell about intelligence, so he lowered his head and waited.

"How's the substation on the island deployed?"

"My lord, this time the matter is urgent, and my subordinates have to go in and out of Phi Dao frequently, and now everyone knows that the Four Seas Trading Company is an adult. The subordinates sent someone to set up a shop, pretending to be a businessman in Dengzhou, and as for the informants on the island, the lower ranks had developed a lot, and the subordinates of the officers selected three candidates. They are Shang Keyi, Liu Xingji, and Wu Jianzhong. ”

Zhang Dong looked up at Chen Xin's face, and Chen Xin smiled and motioned for him to continue.

"Shang Keyi is Huang Long's confidant, after he knows the identity of his subordinates, he is quite close, perhaps he wants to leave a way out, and his subordinates think that they might as well maintain it. It may be useful then, but the person's intentions are unknown, and it is not possible to contact the person who matters most. Liu Xingji is Liu Xingzuo's sibling brother, this person is brave and strategic, when Liu Xingzuo fled to the Dongjiang River, he was afraid of being taken to lead the merit, and he was on guard against Mao Wenlong, and did not let Liu Xingji go to Phi Island, Liu Xingji went to Liaoxi alone to defect to Yuan Chonghuan, and told him that he had to defect to Chengcheng, so that Mao Wenlong had to have some scruples, this time Liu Xingji opposed Liu Xingzhi's rebellion, was first tied up and beaten by Liu Xingzhi, and later escaped to assist Huang Long and others to kill the rebels. ”

Chen Xin interjected and asked: "The Liu brothers and relatives are all in Shenyang, and Huang Taiji has used this to make a big fuss many times, so you can use this person to figure out the benefits and disadvantages." ”

"My lord, there is news on the island, after Huang Taiji learned that Liu Xingzhi died, he had killed the relatives and friends and children of the Liu brothers who left them in Shenyang, and the Han women's wives and concubines were sent to each Baylor as slaves, if the news is verified, this Liu Xingji and Jiannu will not turn around, the villain sees that this person is proficient in Yi language, familiar with the Houjin banner masters and Gushan Ezhen, and is very clear about the grievances between the Houjin generals, which is the most lacking talent in the Intelligence Bureau at the moment."

Chen Xin nodded, "That's fine, you can handle the specific matters yourself, but if something happens to this person, I'll ask you." ”

Zhang Dong agreed, and continued: "The last one is Wu Jianzhong (Note 1), this person is also a person brought out by Liu Xingzuo, many relatives in the family died at the hands of Jiannu, in the seventh year of the Apocalypse, Liu Xingzuo passed the news to Yuan Chonghuan that Jiannu would attack Korea, that is, this person sneaked to Liaoxi on foot, and in the Phidao Rebellion, he led his troops to kill Cui Yaozu. ”

Chen Xin was slightly moved, "Being able to sneak to Liaoxi on foot, it can be seen that he is very brave, he has merit this time, I'm afraid it will be difficult to buy it." ”

"My lord, my subordinates have not gone to find Wu Jianzhong, he found it himself, but he doesn't want to stay on Phi Island, he wants to join my Wendeng camp, and there are more than ten subordinates with him, including four Zhenyi, the subordinates estimate that this person has no hope for Dongjiang Town, and is worried about his life here, so he has done this, how should this person be placed, please show me."

"Get him into the Intelligence Bureau." Chen Xin did not hesitate, these people who came out of Houjin were rare intelligence talents for him, so he would not let them become ordinary soldiers, "Take them with you on the return trip, and then place them after Zhou Shifa interviews them after they arrive in Wendeng." ”

Zhang Dong listened to Chen Xin's words, knowing that Chen Xin still did not regard him as his most confidant, he still responded respectfully, and said: "The hearts of the people on Phi Island are floating, and it is not difficult to develop ordinary soldiers, but most of those generals are waiting and watching, our Wendeng Battalion is only slightly famous in Phi Dao, and it is not enough for them to take refuge, so if we can recreate slaves on Phi Island this time, let these island soldiers see the military prestige of our Wendeng Battalion, and it will be easy to do in the future." ”

In the final analysis, it is still necessary to show strength, Chen Xin's visit to Dongjiang Town this time is also for this purpose, simply killing Jiannu is the goal of the general, but it is far from enough for him, for him, every military operation must have added value.

At this time, Liu Pojun reported loudly outside the tent, and after coming in, he looked excited, and he took a piece of information and said to Chen Xin: "My lord, the second squad of the special service team has sent back the information of the Jiannu army, about 2,000 soldiers, and 4,000 auxiliary soldiers. ”

Chen Xin grabbed it, looked at the map, and his finger swept along the coast, "The Xuanchuan soldiers are divided into four roads, Shekoupu, Xuanchuanpu, and Shenmidaopu...... Jiannu wanted to take the east side of Phi Island first, attack Phi Island from the east side, they first lured the Dongjiang Sailor to the direction of Iron Mountain, if the boat was enough, they could land on Phi Island before the Dongjiang Sailor found out that something was wrong, and the wild boar skin really had two hands to fight. This time the special service team did a good job, credit them for their first credit, and see if some people say that the special service team is useless in the future, and also, find out that the North Korean sailors are not? ”

"The two members who came back didn't see that when they took out the hidden boat in Xuanchuanpu, they saw a Jiannu vanguard searching for fishing boats near Xuanchuanpu."

Chen Xin smiled, "Then North Korea has at least not explicitly promised them, otherwise they would not have searched for fishing boats." Zhang Dong immediately returned to the island and asked Lu Jian to control the Dengzhou and Dongjiang Naval Divisions, and wait for our signal to attack the Jiannu ships. Chen Xin stared at Zhang Dongdao, "After the battle, take a walk on the island and say some exaggerated words, in short, how powerful the Wendeng camp is, remember one, we not only have to call Dongjiang Town, but also show the North Korean officials on Phi Island, it will be much more convenient for you to do things on Phi Island and North Korea in the future." ”――

Note 1: Wu Jianzhong was originally Liu Xingzuo's subordinates, Liu Xingzuo has been preparing with both hands, and Mao Wenlong and Yuan Chonghuan have contacts, Wu Jianzhong was appointed by Liu Xingzuo in the seventh year of the Apocalypse, sneaked to Ningyuan on foot, and informed Yuan Chonghuan that Houjin would send the main force to attack North Korea, such important information, but unfortunately it did not play any role in the end, Chongzhen followed Liu Xingzuo to Dongjiang Town in the first year, Liu Xingzuo died because the court did not implement the reward, Liu Xingzhi fooled into chaos, and killed Chen Jisheng and others together, and later fell out with Liu Xingzhi, the historical Phi Island Rebellion, some people say that it started from the fire between him and Cui Yaozu, and he himself died in the turmoil.