All the grain transported from Tongzhou was finally loaded onto the sea ships, and more than 40 sea ships set sail and headed for western Liaoning.

Zhou Yuji is the supreme commander of the fleet, but it is Zheng Zhilong who is actually in charge.

As long as there is a wind on the sea, you can sail even at night.

More than 40 seagoing ships formed a large fleet, commanding by flags during the day and communicating by lights at night.

Zhou Yuji handed over the command to Zheng Zhilong, and secretly observed the essentials of the ship. And Li Yanzhi was much more shameless, and followed directly behind the Zheng family brothers, every time Zheng Zhilong issued an order, he had to quietly ask what the order was for, and even took out a small notebook to record.

In fact, there is not much attention to offshore sailing, and it only needs to be close to the coastline, even if there is no Zheng Zhilong command, even the original officers and soldiers of the coastal defense battalion can drive the ship to Juehua.

So many times, Zheng Zhilong just issued a few simple orders, and he couldn't see much level.

Li Yan remembered Emperor Chongzhen's instructions before leaving, rolled his eyes, and asked him how to measure his position on the sea and how to read the chart. Zheng Zhilong explained in detail.

And this is a very deep science, driving in the sea, if you don't know how to measure the position, you will inevitably lose your way.

In this era, the position of the sea ship was measured by the astrological technique, and the measuring instrument used was the star-pulling board, which was composed of twelve square wooden boards of different sizes, and the specific position of the ship (actually the dimension in which it was located) could be known by measuring the height of the star-pulling board, and then combined with the compass pointing, with the nautical chart, the specific position of the fleet at sea could be completely determined.

This set of measurements is more complicated, and inexperienced crew members cannot master, and on the Daming Sea ship, the crew responsible for measuring the position is also called the fire chief, and the status on the ship is second only to the captain, and many times the fire captain is the captain.

As one of the overlords of the sea, Zheng Zhilong naturally knows how to pull the stars, but Li Yanzhi, who doesn't understand anything, is not easy to teach him. However, Li Yanzhi's biggest advantage is that he is thick-skinned, so he followed Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Hongkui to ask questions, and traveled all the way, and when the fleet arrived at Juehua Island, Li Yanzhi really learned a rough idea.

Hearing the arrival of the grain fleet, Sun Chuanting, the governor of Liaodong, personally came to Juehua Island.

After getting off the boat and arriving on the island, Li Yanzhi still pulled Zheng Hongkui and asked endlessly.

"Are you the new Fujian commander-in-chief?" A voice sounded in his ears, and Li Yanzhi looked up and saw a man with a beard on his face wearing the armor of a general looking at him.

"In the next place, dare to ask Your Excellency?" Li Yanzhi said subconsciously.

"I'm Cao Wenzhao, have you ever heard of my name?" Cao Wen said.

"Haha, Uncle Cao, I always heard Brother Changjiao mention you and say that you are brave, but now I see that you are even more wise and martial than he said." Li Yanzhi said with a smile on his face.

Cao Wenzhao pursed his lips: "That kid still remembers that he has an uncle." ”

"You and Changjiao are in the same year, and now you have become the chief soldier of a province, what about Changjiao?" Cao Wenzhao asked with some trepidation.

"Brother Changjiao, he is also the chief soldier now, the chief soldier of Yansui." Li Yan said with a straight smile.

"Fuck it!" Cao Wenzhao couldn't help but scold, "Lao Tzu worked hard to fight with Jiannu, and he just mixed up with the general soldier, that kid doesn't have much credit, and he is on an equal footing with Lao Tzu!" Ah, Brother Li, I don't mean you. ”

Li Yanzhi smiled bitterly: "Uncle Cao, you mean that I should too, compared to you, we are indeed children, and we really don't have much credit." ”

Cao Wenzhao waved his hand and said: "I really don't mean that, but I can't be angry, Cao Bianjiao, this kid always wants to press his uncle's head." ”

Li Yanzhi smiled and said: "How can it, Uncle Cao, you are now the governor of Tongzhi, from the first rank of the Liaodong general soldier, the level is much higher than that of ordinary general soldiers like us." ”

"yes, hahaha, or you kid can talk." Cao Wenzhao laughed.

"Let's go, go to Ningyuan with my uncle, let's have a drink." After laughing, Cao Wenzhao invited.

"It's better to be respectful than to obey!" Li Yan smiled and said, "But I have two brothers on the boat, I wonder if we can be together?" ”

Cao Wenzhao waved his hand: "Of course you can." ”

Li Yan said a word to Zhou Yuji, and pulled Zheng Zhilong's brothers to leave Juehua Island with Cao Wenzhao. The fleet will stay on Juehua Island for a few days, and Li Yanzhi and the others do not belong to the sailor after all, and they only need to return before the return trip.

"Boy, your uncle let you see what Liaodong Iron Riding is!" After arriving in Ningyuan, Cao Wenzhao actually pulled out his three thousand cavalry and said straight to Li Yan with a mockery.

A few months ago, Cao Bianjiao wrote a letter to him, in which he boasted about how powerful the Praetorian Guards were, which made Cao Wenzhao very unhappy. Now that Li Yan, who is also from the Praetorian Guard, has come over, Cao Wenzhao naturally wants to show off.

Li Yan looked at it with a smile, and the Zheng Zhilong brothers had a little straight eyes, pitiful, they were born in the south and active on the sea, when had they ever seen such a huge scale of cavalry? This is a real army of thousands of horses, not to mention anything else, the Zheng family brothers who are shocked by their momentum alone dare not speak.

Cao Wenzhao personally led, and three thousand cavalry roared away in the wilderness, turned around in the distance and re-arrayed, and rushed in the direction of the three people.

"Big brother!" Zheng Hongkui suddenly shouted, but the cry was covered by the roaring hooves, and Zheng Zhilong couldn't hear what he was shouting at all.

I saw that hundreds of horsemen were arranged in a neat phalanx, and the distance between the cavalry and the cavalry was extremely small, as if there was no gap, and the three thousand cavalry formed one "wall" after another. Then the "wall" moved slowly, faster and faster, and rushed in the direction of the three people. Before he arrived in front of him, a great murderous aura rushed to his face. Riding on the wall is getting closer and closer, almost hitting the three of them, being hit like this, afraid not to break his bones, Zheng Hongkui couldn't help but scream.

Finally, when they were more than ten feet away from the three people, the cavalry invariably reined in the horses, and the great impulse made the horses run forward for a while, and finally stopped when they were about to reach the faces of the three people.

"Hahaha, how is my iron horse?" Cao Wenzhao jumped down from the horse, threw the reins to his subordinates, and didn't look at the Zheng family brothers who couldn't stand straight with weak legs, and said straight to Li Yan with a smile.

"It's really the best in the world!" Li Yanzhi's face was a little pale, but he still kept smiling and praised with his fingers.

"In the past, we always looked down on the officers and soldiers, thinking that the officers and soldiers were extremely weak and even inferior to pirates. Now it seems that in front of the real elite soldiers, what are we people worth? On the way back, Zheng Zhilong sighed and said to Zheng Hongkui.

Whether it was the disciplined Praetorian Guards under Zhou Yuji or the mighty cavalry under Cao Wenzhao, the Zheng brothers were deeply impressed and feared, and once again felt how correct it was to accept Zhao'an!

......

On Juehua Island, Zhou Yuji was talking with Sun Chuanting.

After confirming that the amount of money and grain was correct and there was no "drifting", Sun Chuanting looked very happy, and the two talked happily.

Speaking of the battle with Jiannu not long ago, Zhou Yuji admired Sun Chuanting.

"With the strength of Liaoxi, he alone resisted the elite army of Jiannu, and he did not lose Ningjin, and won thousands of heads, and his work as a commander is incomparable!" Zhou Yuji praised from the bottom of his heart.

Sun Chuanting sighed slightly: "So what? can defend but not attack, as long as you can't defeat Jiannu head-on, you can't talk about a big victory. ”

Zhou Yuji said: "Didn't General Cao lead the cavalry to defeat Jiannu twice, and also burned Jiannu's grain and grass, how can you not talk about a big victory?" ”

Sun Chuanting shook his head: "That's just a victory by attacking, this kind of victory can not be repeated, and if you fight again, Jiannu will definitely be vigilant." In a single round of combat power, there is still a big gap between the Liaodong cavalry and the Jiannu Eight Banners. ”

Zhou Yuji comforted: "Don't worry, the commander doesn't have to worry, Liaoxi is not fighting alone, and there are our Praetorian Guards." As long as I train hard, I will be able to exterminate Jiannu sooner or later, and the time is on our side. ”

Sun Chuanting smiled: "Exactly." As long as I am united, I don't have to be afraid. ”

At present, the invasion of Jiannu has been repelled, forcing Jiannu to return in vain, spending a lot of money, food and materials, and from Jibei to Liaodong, the entire Ming Dynasty is carrying out an economic blockade of Jiannu, and no materials are allowed to be transported to Jiannu's territory. According to the detailed report sent by Jinyiwei to Liaoshen, now the prices within Jiannu are soaring, and all kinds of materials are extremely scarce. As long as we persist in adopting this strategy of weakening the enemy and weakening the enemy, within a few years, Jiannu's combat strength will inevitably become weaker and weaker, and the recovery of Liaodong and the restoration of the old land will be just around the corner.

"Is there any movement on Jiannu now?" Zhou Yuji asked curiously.

Sun Chuanting's face became gloomy: "Just last month, the spies came to report that the slave chief Huang Taiji led 20,000 banners to attack the Wuliangha tribe. ”

"Wuliangha, that's the old department of Duoyan in the mountainous area of the Jibei grassland! Jiannu can't take advantage of Liaodong, do you want to attack the Mongols? ”

Sun Chuanting said: "Jiannu is not good at farming, and has always relied on looting to maintain and strengthen their strength, but in winter they returned in vain in Liaoxi, and the losses were great, so they could only rely on looting the Mongols to supplement their strength." ”

However, even if he knew Jiannu's intentions, the Ming Dynasty had no choice, because neither the Liaoxi Army nor the Jibei soldiers had the ability to fight outside the fortress. The only one who has the ability to fight is the Xuanfu soldiers, but it is also based on the fact that there are thousands of Janissary soldiers in Hong Chengchou's department, otherwise the Xuanfu soldiers alone will not even be able to defeat the Mongols.

......

In the Jibei grassland, the snow on the grassland has just melted, the grass blades emerge from the withered yellow, and the cattle and sheep who have eaten the dry grass all winter are excitedly gnawing on the tender grass on the grass.

Suddenly, there was a shock to the ground, a large force of cavalry appeared from a distance, the sheepdogs barked loudly, and the cattle and sheep pricked up their ears.

"The Jurchens are here!" The herdsmen screamed and beat their horses and ran towards the tribe.

In the steppe, the brutal Jiannu cavalry was an absolute nightmare for all Mongols!

The Mongolian herdsmen of the Uliangha tribe hurriedly gathered and bravely met the Jiannu cavalry.

The cavalry of the two sides fought together, and soon, the unprepared Wuliangha herdsmen were killed by the elite Jiannu cavalry.

"All the men and the old men were killed, leaving only the children and the young women!" Huang Taiji rode on a red horse and coldly gave an order.

With his words, the Jiannu cavalry rushed into the tribe and began to massacre, rape and plunder, and the sound of fighting and crying in the tribe resounded.

After half a ring, the crying ended, all the men of the tribe were killed, and the Jiannu soldiers began to pack up all kinds of captures.

Huang Taiji sent a group of cavalry to escort cattle and sheep and captive women and children back to the old nest of Liaodong, and rushed to another tribe with the cavalry.

From February, in a month, Huang Taiji led 20,000 Jiannu cavalry to raid the entire old land of Duoyan, and 36 Karaqin Wuliangha tribes were robbed by him.

In fact, upon learning of the news of the invasion of Jiannu, the leader of the main tribe of Uliangha, Su Bu, sent someone to contact Huang Taiji and expressed his willingness to submit. However, what Huang Taiji wanted this time was not to surrender, but to annex the entire Wuliangha tribe in order to replenish the strength lost in the attack on Liaoxi, and he didn't pay attention to the quick begging for mercy.

Seeing that Jiannu did not agree to negotiate peace, he also tried to unite the tribes to fight against Jiannu. However, the 36 departments of Uliangha are working independently, and they are really scattered.

The large tribes have more than 1,000 cavalry, and the small tribes only have hundreds, and it is the time when the ice and snow melt and the grass sprouts. And Huang Taiji's cavalry is both large in number and extremely powerful in battle, which is not at all something that Uliangha can compete.

In only one month, Huang Taiji led his cavalry to kill through the 36 Wuliangha divisions, killed tens of thousands of Mongolian men, captured as many as 70,000 women, girls and children, and captured countless cattle and sheep, all of which were escorted back to the Liaoshen lair.

Huang Taiji did not go back with the group, but led thousands of cavalry to the south, along the mountain valley directly to the Great Wall.

Looking at the side wall winding over the mountains, Huang Taiji was thoughtful.

"Da Khan, there is Da Ming on the other side of the wall, when will it be cool to go in and grab a handful." Dorgon smiled.

Huang Taiji didn't say much, and said lightly: "Continue to turn west." ”

Thousands of cavalry walked back, passed the rugged mountainous area, continued north, reached the grassland, and then turned westward, and after more than ten days, arrived at the Zhangbei grassland, where the former Karaqin Department was located.

At this time, the Karaqin Department had been occupied by the Chahar tribe, and Lin Dan Khan left thousands of soldiers and horses here, mainly to guard the Zhangjiakou horse market.

Huang Taiji led the Jiannu cavalry and Lin Dan Khan's men and horses to fight, easily defeated the Chahar cavalry, and occupied Xinghe City.

"Great Khan, opposite is Zhangjiakou, I heard that it is the most prosperous city in Biansai, and the Jin merchants who used to do business with us came from there, otherwise let's grab a handful?" Dorgon said excitedly. 、

"What are you dreaming about? Just our soldiers and horses want to break into the side wall? Huang Taiji reprimanded, "But since the Chahar soldiers have been driven away, we might as well pretend to be the Karaqin tribe and go to do business with the Ming people, and by the way, exchange the gold and silver stolen from the Uliangha people for salt and tea." ”