Thanks to the help of the southeast wind and the fast speed of the bird boat, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhang Huangyan and others arrived near Nandaihe in just over an hour.
When the fleet arrived at Nandaihe, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the ships to moor and asked Zhang Huangyan to send a reconnaissance ship to Beidaihe to check the local situation.
Then he asked two of the Eighteen Cavalry to lead 500 soldiers to land and rush to Beidaihe by land. They also requested that fire tools and other objects be collected along the way to prevent the Jurchens from landing.
After Zhu Yuanzhang issued these two orders, he asked Zhang Huangyan to summon the generals to discuss matters.
When discussing strategy, Zhu Yuanzhang discovered that not only Huang Ting was proficient in naval warfare and had appropriate strategies, but also some of the thousands and hundreds of households under his command were also quite strategic.
Although Zhang Huangyan was deficient in the details of naval battles, his overall view was far superior to everyone else's.
Zhu Yuanzhang was surprised and silently kept everyone in mind.
At this moment, news came from the scouts who went to investigate that more than 60 warships under the flag of Shang Kexi had been discovered twenty miles away from Beidaihe.
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard about this, he looked at the sky again and was shocked.
Because according to his previous calculations, the Jurchen attack on Tianjin Port should be a trick to lure the enemy, and the real killer move should be the sneak crossing of Beidaihe.
If this assumption is true, then the Jurchens should wait for the news about Tianjin Port to spread, and wait until the Ming Dynasty mobilizes troops before landing in Beidaihe.
Calculating this, the Jurchen navy will reach Beidaihe as soon as tonight.
But the Battle of Tianjin Port has just begun, and it will be dawn in half an hour. How could the Jurchens choose to come at this time?
Could it be that Dorgon was preparing to attack the capital together and attack Shanhaiguan all the way?
But if this is the case, Jurchen smuggling will not be able to act as a surprise force, and with only seven or eight thousand Han and Eight Banners, it is impossible to pose a threat to the capital.
Just when Zhu Yuanzhang was confused, he found that the generals were startled at first, and then showed excitement. Only Zhang Huangyan frowned slightly.
So he looked at Zhang Huangyan and asked tentatively: "Zhang Qianhu, do you think there is anything wrong with this matter?"
Hearing this, Zhang Huangyan bowed and said, "The general once heard Captain Zheng (Zheng Sen) say that the Jurchen Navy only had a total of 40,000 to 50,000 men. When the general and Lieutenant Zheng attacked Kong Youxing, he brought a group of Ten thousand people have lost more than half of their lives.”
"And Kong Youde brought nearly 40,000 people to relieve the difficulties in Korea. Shang Kexi only had 4,000 people at most. Now that An Guogong has sent his troops north, why is he here?"
"Moreover, the sky is getting brighter now. Although Beidaihe is a small ferry, it is still guarded by soldiers. Fortunately, if we arrive at this time, we will definitely be discovered. It will not have the effect of a surprise attack at all, so I will have some doubts at the end."
As soon as Zhang Huangyan said this, Huang Ting on the side also frowned.
On the other hand, a arrogant man from Baihu said: "Zhang Qianhu, you are overthinking. The Jurchens have always been arrogant and will not take a few bright soldiers in their eyes."
"Besides, Beidaihe is only over sixty miles away from Shanhaiguan. With the speed of the Jurchen cavalry, they can reach Shanhaiguan in an hour at most. Why do they need to hide their whereabouts?"
Zhang Huangyan shook his head and said: "Li Baihu, although what you said is reasonable, there is a beacon tower in Beidaihe. No matter how fast the Jurchen is, how can she be faster than the smoke from the beacon tower?"
Li Baihu sneered and said: "With the quality of the Ming soldiers, I'm afraid they will be killed by the Jurchens before they even reach the beacon tower. Where can there be any smoke?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Huangyan first glanced at Huang Ting, and then secretly observed Zhu Yuanzhang's expression.
Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang's expression was as usual, he thought for a moment and then said, "Li Baihu, you are wrong! The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty have clear responsibilities, so how could what you said happen?"
"And judging from the time, it was already dark when the Jurchen arrived. I'm afraid he was discovered before he even got close. How could there be no smoke?"
Li Baihu wanted to argue forcefully, but when he saw Huang Ting's warning look, he immediately fell silent.
Zhu Yuanzhang silently took everything in his eyes. After a moment of silence, he said, "What Zhang Qianhu said is reasonable, but what the Jurchens did is indeed against common sense!"
"However, the enemy troops have arrived. It is useless to talk more now. For the current plan, we should take advantage of the enemy.
Fang's footing is not stable, and..."
Before Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, a burly Baihu immediately responded: "Your Majesty is right, my long sword..."
As he said this, he suddenly saw the two guards behind Zhu Yuanzhang holding knife handles with murderous looks on their faces, and he couldn't help but stopped.
Then he saw Huang Ting's cold gaze, and his body trembled slightly.
When Zhu Yuanzhang saw this, he laughed loudly, looked at the hundred households and said, "Okay, if everyone is as heroic as you, how can the Jurchens dare to be so rampant!"
The hundred households looked a little sluggish before, but now after hearing this, their eyes were filled with the desire for a battle.
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at the crowd again, and saw that except for a few people who had worried faces, the others were full of passion and did not take the Jurchens who were nearly twice as many as them seriously, and he couldn't help but frowned. Z.br>
When Zhang Huangyan saw this, he couldn't help but frown.
"Huang Ting!"
Just when Zhang Huangyan was deep in thought, Zhu Yuanzhang's voice suddenly sounded.
Huang Ting heard this and responded loudly: "The end is here!"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Huang Ting and said solemnly: "Immediately lead two thousand naval troops to Beidaihe and wait for an opportunity to attack the Jurchens!"
"If we win this battle, we will appoint you as a garrison. If the battle is unsuccessful, you will raise your head to see us!"
A flash of joy flashed across Huang Ting's face, and he was about to agree, but stopped and glanced at Zhang Huangyan.
Seeing that Zhang Huangyan didn't object, he agreed loudly.
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, signaled the generals to prepare for the war, and then said to Zhang Huang: "Zhang Qianhu, are you sure that Shang Kexi's strength will not exceed 4,000?"
Zhang Huangyan made some calculations, then nodded and said: "Based on Zheng... normal circumstances, Shang Kexi's strength will never exceed four thousand!"
Seeing his determination, Zhu Yuanzhang recalled that Wang Shoulin once said that Shang Kexi only had about three thousand elites in his hands. There was not much difference between the two, and the data should be reliable.
If it seems like this, it is impossible for Shang Kexi to divide the troops again, doesn't it mean that the Jurchens have given up control of the waters within their territory?
But the Jurchen pseudo-emperor had only just ascended the throne, and she had always been strong, so how could she make such a decision?
"Your Majesty, is there any internal conflict among the Jurchens?"
Just when Zhu Yuanzhang was deep in thought, Zhang Huangyan's voice sounded.
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at him and muttered: "Judging from the previous plans, Bumubutai and Dorgon are both people with big ambitions. Logically speaking, this possibility is unlikely."
Zhang Huangyan was silent for a while and whispered: "After the general heard that Duduo was deprived of his title, he was dissatisfied with Bumubuteduo."
"In addition, all of his men are powerful generals, and he is Dorgon's brother. Could it be that he came here in disobedience?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was not very familiar with the situation of the Jurchens because Wu Mengming had not yet established an intelligence network in Liaodong. Upon hearing this, he asked, "Do you understand Duduo's character?"
Zhang Huang said: "The general doesn't know this person, but I heard..."
As he spoke, he glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang again before continuing: "Although Duduo is brave, he is also very violent..."
After listening to Zhang Huangyan's story, Zhu Yuanzhang's doubts disappeared. He looked at Zhang Huangyan and said, "In your opinion, how should we deal with it?"
Zhang Huangyan hesitated and said: "The general suspects that Shang Kexi's troops are still suspects, but if Duduo comes in person, the Jurchen bait may be too big!"
"Furthermore, there is no navy to protect the Jurchen territory. Even if An Guogong does not land, he can still destroy the Jurchen docks and military strongholds along the coast. This loss is not small for the Jurchens, but I don't know why they do this. The general is really worried about this. I can’t see through it!”
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Since you can't see clearly, then don't guess!"
"Immediately send a message to Duke An, asking him to focus on attacking the Jurchen coastal facilities. If the Jurchens don't respond, they can lead their troops to land, but they cannot go deep!"
Zhang Huangyan was stunned and said, "Your Majesty wants Duke An Guo to fight against the Jurchens' true intention!"
Zhu Yuanzhang said with a proud face: "Yes, no
We have to beat Duke An Guo severely. We want to see what kind of tricks Dorgon is playing! "
"Immediately send an order to keep the remaining fleet five miles away from Huang Ting and be ready to fight at any time!"
Zhang Huangyan seemed to be infected by Zhu Yuanzhang's heroic spirit. He swept away his previous hesitation, agreed loudly, and hurried out.
