Chapter 364 Bloodshed
Among the Haimen guards, Chen Bo paced back and forth anxiously on the top of the city wall, getting faster and faster.
Deputy Commander Shen Bing seemed calm, but the hand holding the hilt of the knife twitched nervously from time to time. He smiled bitterly and said, "Commander, you made me dizzy."
Chen Bo stopped, frowning, "To be honest, if it was a daytime fight, I wouldn't be worried. But this is night, if anything goes wrong... Old Shen, that's His Majesty's cousin, you and I will die."
"Chang Wei Bo is a famous general. With more than a thousand cavalrymen coming and going like the wind, how could he be defeated? The commander is worried and confused." Shen Bing revealed Chen Bo's thoughts in one sentence.
"Yes!" Chen Bo covered his forehead, "I have been thinking about it since Chang Wei Bo set out. The thousand-plus cavalrymen came from the capital, and they should have rested for a while, but Chang Wei Bo... If the Japanese pirates come out in full force, with thousands of people gathered, this battle is hard to say!"
This person is crazy.
"We can't lose. We absolutely can't lose!" Chen Bo whispered.
A general whispered, "The commander is worrying too much."
Shen Bing nodded, "After all, he is a royal relative. If something happens in Taizhou Prefecture, it will not only be the prefectural master who will be in trouble, but we will be the first to bear the brunt..."
Cao Jin's study was brightly lit all night.
Cao Jin and Huang Duo toasted each other and changed dishes three times, but the two became more energetic as they drank.
"Its daybreak."
Cao Jin glanced out the window. The morning light was emerging and the autumn wind blew in along with the morning light, making his hair flutter.
"Old Huang!" Cao Jin raised his glass, full of energy and enthusiasm. "Now that this deal is done, I am ready to withdraw. It just so happens that a good friend in Nanjing has invited me to stay, so I plan to settle down in Nanjing."
He drank it all in one gulp and said contentedly: "Confucius Temple and Qinhuai River are fascinating."
"Once Jiang Qingzhi is defeated, the morale of the Haimen Guards and even the Taizhou Prefecture will inevitably plummet. And that woman's influence will be greatly boosted. As one gains while the other loses, it will be a good time to do business from now on. Old Cao, are you willing to do it?" Huang Duo felt that this guy was drunk.
"You can't make enough money." Cao Jin looked like he had suddenly realized something. "I've been having nightmares lately. A while ago, I went to Qingxiu Temple to pray for a solution. The monk there said that being content is the key to happiness. We've done so many deals with them over the years, and so many people have died at their hands. Old Huang, you and I..."
Cao Jin pointed to his chest and said, "Fellow villagers, you and I are guilty."
"Why, are you going to become a Buddha right now?" Huang Duo said sarcastically, "But those villagers who died won't come back to life, right?"
"Yes! So I plan to go to Nanjing." Cao Jin said softly: "Borrow the atmosphere of the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties to suppress that damn nightmare."
"Master," a servant came, "the lights on the top of Haimenwei were bright last night."
"Chen Bo is getting anxious too." Huang Duo said with a smile, "How about you and I go take a look?"
"That's fine." Cao Jin said, "The news is faster over there."
The two of them arrived in front of Haimenwei City under the influence of alcohol, just as the sun was rising.
"It's really a frightened bird!"
After just one look, Cao Jin said sarcastically: "You're dreaming if you expect these people to protect your homeland!"
"Look!" Huang Duo pointed at Jiaojiang.
A thin mist rose from the surface of the river, and it seemed as if countless things were surging underneath.
"somebody is coming."
Someone shouted from the top of the city wall.
More than ten riders came galloping in the morning sun.
"It's a soldier!" Cao Jin whispered.
“Hope it’s good news!”
More than ten riders rushed to the city, and the leader looked up and shouted, "Last night the Japanese pirates landed at Songmen and were ambushed by our army. They were defeated!"
The soldiers on the city wall lay on the wall and tried hard to look down.
"More than 300 Japanese pirates were killed and more than 600 captured!"
The leading cavalryman drew his sword and said, "My Lord ordered me to ask you, are the Japanese pirates to be feared?"
Why should we be afraid of Japanese pirates?
It's just because these soldiers have lost their courage.
Jiang Qingzhi wanted to use the Battle of Songmen to tell them that the Japanese pirates were also human beings, and some were even weaker than the Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers.
All of Chen Bo's pressure was released at this moment. He waved his fist vigorously, his face flushed, "I, Ming..."
"mighty!"
Amid the cheers, Cao Jin and Huang Duo looked pale.
"They actually lost?"
The city gate was opened, and immediately a messenger went to Linhai.
……
"Defeated a large group of Japanese pirates?"
"Yes."
It was already afternoon when the messenger arrived in Linhai, and Sun Lianyuan, who was about to take a nap, suddenly lost all sleepiness.
"The Japanese pirates landed at Songmen at night to rob. Chang Wei Bo was well prepared and led his troops to launch a surprise attack, defeating the Japanese pirates." The messenger said proudly, "We wiped out all the Japanese pirates."
Feng Que and Sun Lianyuan looked at each other and saw the shock in each other's eyes.
"You go down and have a rest." Feng Que asked someone to take the messenger out. After the messenger left, he lowered his voice and said, "Your Excellency, this is a great victory!"
Sun Lianyuan nodded, "After this great victory, the Japanese pirates will probably seek revenge."
"That's Long Wilbur's business, isn't it?"
The two smiled at each other, and Feng Que said, "What your humble servant meant is that we are also quite concerned about this great victory."
Sun Lianyuan thought for a moment, "I'm afraid that Lord Wei won't agree."
"It's not good to eat alone." Feng Que said with a smile: "When the Japanese pirates retaliate later, he will have to rely on us. Besides, we don't ask for much, just include a note on the victory report."
Sun Lianyuan nodded, "Then send someone right away... or you can go there in person to show your sincerity."
"Alright."
When Feng Que and his men hurried to Haimenwei, Jiang Qingzhi had not returned yet.
"Chang Wei Bo said he wanted to see the scenery." Chen Bo accompanied Feng Que to inspect Haimenwei.
……
Jiang Qingzhi walked slowly along the official road.
He walked into the village and chatted with the villagers. The villagers were having a hard time, and Jiang Qingzhi looked at several families and felt very depressed.
"We have many mountains and little land in Taizhou. We have no choice but to live by the sea. Two years ago, Japanese pirates came ashore disguised as fishermen, captured real fishermen as guides, and looted several villages in Taozhu. Since then, we are not allowed to go to sea in the coastal area. We have no way to make a living, but we still have to pay taxes... Oh! Life is hard!"
The old people in the village sighed, "The Japanese pirates killed people, and we also killed people here, one with a knife, and the other with a soft knife. What a world! Why don't they give us a way to survive!"
"Second Uncle, why are you saying this?" Muramasa interrupted him quickly, worried that the nobleman would get angry.
Several barefoot children looked at Jiang Qingzhi curiously, and refused to leave even when glared at by the adults.
Jiang Qingzhi took out a piece of chocolate, broke it in half and gave some to each person.
"It's so sweet!" A child took a bite and happily found his mother, "Mom, please try it."
"So sweet!"
Jiang Qingzhi left the village and said to Xu Wei: "What is the purpose of being an official? It is to make the people feel that life is sweet, not bitter."
"It's not easy to handle here in Taizhou Prefecture." Xu Wei said, "There is not enough arable land to support so many people."
"Live by the sea and make a living from it!" Jiang Qingzhi walked all the way to the seashore, pointed to the distance and said, "The Ming Dynasty should build a large fleet and take merchant ships to the sea to trade all the way. Wenchang, do you know the value of the Ming Dynasty's goods overseas?"
Xu Wei shook his head, "Master, do you mean... to open the sea?"
"Yes, open the sea!"
Jiang Qingzhi said with a gleaming look in his eyes: "I have said that the Ming Dynasty should take the initiative to attack. We should go wherever the enemy is. Not only should we defeat them, but we should also sail across the sea with a huge fleet, directly to the enemy's lair, and demonstrate the attitude of the Ming Dynasty with iron and blood..."
"Anti-tooth for an anti-tooth!" Xu Wei said with a smile, "If Lord Bo said this in the court, I dare say that those officials would attack him in unison, using ancestral rules, or saying that he is too ambitious, or that war will lead to his demise, to impeach Lord Bo."
"A bunch of idiots who only see the world from a well!"
Jiang Qing got on his horse and said, "Let's go back!"
……
The news of the annihilation of the entire army at Yuanmu Mountain was brought by Cao Jin's men.
The island was deathly silent.
The Japanese pirates lowered their heads, some were breathing heavily, and some looked depressed.
Zhang Jun was watching coldly. When Song Muliangzi turned his gaze, he said with a worried look on his face: "Leader, morale is low... If Jiang Qingzhi takes advantage of the situation and attacks, we..."
"That idiot Yuanmushan, I warned him not to underestimate the enemy, but he attacked rashly without checking the enemy's situation, and ended up falling into a trap."
Matsugi Yoshiko's words put the blame for the defeat on Genmuyama and successfully restored the morale of his subordinates.
But everyone knows that without a victory, this morale will soon melt like summer ice.
"Jiang Qingzhi's subordinates are cavalrymen who come and go like the wind. Yuanmushan is actually..." Yamauchi Jiro knew that Yuanmushan was not to blame. No matter who went there, they would have been defeated that night.
"But how did Jiang Qingzhi know that Yuanmushan was going to raid Songmen?" Zhang Jun asked.
"There's a traitor!" someone said.
"Bring him out."
Song Mu Liangzi looked at Zhang Jun with appreciation and said, "You go and do it."
Even if there is a traitor, it will take a while to find him out.
Zhang Jun captured two Japanese pirates and claimed that they were the ones who leaked the information to the Ming army.
With two human heads hung on bamboo poles, the morale of the Japanese pirates was ignited again.
"Tell Cao Jin to find a way to assassinate Jiang Qingzhi!" Matsugi Ryoko's eyes were filled with murderous intent. "Don't say you're quitting. Just this once! After this, I'll give him 15% of the proceeds from the robbery of Haimenwei."
Cao Jin's messenger brought back the news, and Cao Jin cursed, "That bitch!"
He called Huang Duo to discuss the matter.
"We can't do anything about this matter." Huang Duo stroked his beard and said, "But we can take this opportunity to get close to Jiang Qingzhi and let that woman's people take action."
"The Japanese pirates infiltrated Haimenwei and assassinated Chang Weibo."
"That's right. What we have to do is give him a chance to come out."
"One and a half... If this gets out, you and I will both die!"
"At worst, we can just go out to sea. Overseas places like Malacca are also quite fertile."
"Fortune and honor come from risk...Done!"
……
The cavalry returned, bringing back hundreds of prisoners.
"These are the Japanese pirates!"
"Isn't that Huang Lao Er?"
"Fuck! It's him."
"Smash him!"
Mud and stones rained down on the Japanese pirates, especially those Ming people who were recognized, and were denounced by the onlookers.
"Huang Lao Er, your ancestors are too embarrassed to face humans, no, too embarrassed to face ghosts!"
"Greetings, sir." Chen Bo and others went out of the city to greet them.
Shen Bing ordered: "Hurry up and prepare a place to detain the prisoners. Also prepare food. There is not a small amount of food for hundreds of people. Open the warehouse and get more."
"No need." Jiang Qingzhi said.
Shen Bing was stunned. "Uncle, at least give them a meal a day, right?"
"How many soldiers on the Haimen Guard side have seen blood?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
Chen Bo lowered his head. "Dozens...dozens of people."
"See the blood!"
Jiang Qingzhi pointed at the captives and said, "Behead them all."
In an instant, everyone thought of Datong.
"Build a Jingguan!"
(End of this chapter)
