prosperous age

Chapter 155 154 Pursuit
"I'll be early tomorrow, and I will set off with your uncle. I will take the troops from the Qianhu Office of the Rear Army to Pengze, pick up the team from the Qianhu Office of the Right Army, and go directly to Nanjing."

When Wei Guangde was thinking, Wei Meng said again, "The family is left to you."

Wei Guangde suddenly raised his head and looked at his father. He hadn't mentioned the commander's decision before, but he didn't expect it to be this.

"Father, are you the governor?"

Wei Guangde couldn't help but speak.

"That's right, on the battlefield, those who dare to run away will be punished on the spot."

Father Wei said pretending not to care.

"Father, I'll go with you. As the saying goes, brother who fights a tiger, father and son soldiers, you and the eldest brother go up, I don't have any fun in the back."

Seeing his father frowning and staring at him fiercely, Wei Guangde hastily added: "I will follow the army and not take any risks."

I reckoned that the Japanese plague in the south of the Yangtze River is so severe, this time the general examination and palace examination, if it is difficult to say, it is necessary to come up with a strategy to fight the Japanese. If you walk around the battlefield, you will have something to say and it will be easier to shine. '

Wei Guangde knew what his father cared about, and it was naturally the imperial examination.

After Wei Guangde finished speaking, Father Wei's brows relaxed, thoughtful.

"Let's talk tomorrow morning."

After a long time, Father Wei choked out such a sentence, he neither agreed to Wei Guangde's proposal nor denied it, he probably wanted to discuss it with his mother.

To say that following the brigade to exterminate the Japanese pirates is actually dangerous and not dangerous. The Japanese pirates are probably frightened by now, and they have no intention of fighting the official army at all, they just want to escape for their lives.

But Wei Guangde was very concerned. Last time it was Dad and the others who went to fight the Japanese pirates. This time the eldest brother is also going, so he should follow up. Just behind the brigade to see what is going on on the battlefield.

Wei Guangde didn't think that he could be a famous general of the generation. When Wei's father asked him before, Wei Guangde thought about it. This group of Japanese pirates is not easy to fight, and their whereabouts are too erratic.

If you really want to face it head-on, it's not that the Youjun has never fought the Japanese pirates, it is that the small 200 people were easily defeated.

Back in his yard, Wei Guangde asked Zhang Ji to take out his armor.

Yes, Wei Guangde also prepared a battle armor for himself, but it wasn't iron armor, nor leather armor, but the cotton armor worn by ordinary soldiers.

Wei Guangde's shirts were also created after wearing cotton armor. The double-breasted mandarin duck battle jackets are only much better than those issued by ordinary soldiers. There are more iron sheets on the inner layer and enough cotton is used.

Zhang Ji took out the folded battle jacket from the cabinet, still wondering what happened to the young master, he still needs this thing at night.

"Help me put it on."

After getting dressed quickly, Wei Guangde walked around the room a few times.

However, due to the weather, wearing this suit at this time feels a little hot after a long time.

As for Wei Guangde's clothes, what would he wear?

In fact, it is similar to the armor of the Eight Banners soldiers in the braided dramas that Wei Guangde has seen in later generations. After wearing it, it looks magnanimous.

"cloak."

Wei Guangde recalled that he and Zhang Hongfu had been to the arsenal back then, and they each slipped out a cloak from inside.

Strictly speaking, this cloak is half-length, mainly because of riding a horse, and the cloak is too long for the horse's feet.

To be honest, the two of them were wearing battle jackets and cloaks to run horses outside Jiujiang City, which was indeed a bit imposing.

Perhaps it was because Wei Guangde said that Pingwo might be a test question in the national examination and palace examination. Wei's mother seemed to agree to let Wei Guangde follow him to have a look, but she insisted that Wei Guangde follow his father and take care of it.

At the end of the second day, Wei Guangde asked Zhang Ji to carry the burden, followed his father and went out to Jiujiang Wharf.

Previously, after Father Wei decided to take Wei Guangde to see the battlefield, he sent someone to inform Wu Zhankui. As the commander, he was also the commander of this group of troops.

On the pier, Wei Guangde was surprised to see Zhang Hongfu, and the attendants behind him were also carrying luggage, as if they were about to go out.

The two quickly stood together and talked, and Wei Guangde was a little speechless when he learned that Zhang Hongfu would follow his uncle to see the battlefield.

It seems that Jiujiang Wei should have made up his mind to go out this time and not work hard, otherwise he and Zhang Hongfu would not be allowed to go with him, no wonder his father was so talkative.

Zhang Hongfu was destined to take over the post of commanding the affairs, so it would be good for him to get in touch with him as soon as possible.

More importantly, he does not have a military position now. To put it bluntly, if the wind on the battlefield is not in the right direction, he runs away immediately, and no one can pick out a mistake.

Behind him were a dozen or so strong and powerful men, obviously all of them were well-chosen among the Zhang family's personal soldiers, and they should be the guards to protect his safety at all times.

There were twelve soldiers in the Wei family in the past, and four of them stayed with Big Brother Bengshanbao. When we went out this time, Mother Wei intended to let them all go, but Father Wei still didn't agree.

Only six were taken away, leaving two gatekeepers.

Two of them who traveled with Wei Guangde in Jiangxi before were also sent to his side as bodyguards.

Soon, the two teams of the General Banner led by Houjun Qianhusuo and Wei Meng boarded the boat, a total of more than 300 people, but there were still a few empty boats accompanying them, which were going to Pengze to pick up the right army.

There was nothing to say along the way, the fleet arrived in Pengze in the afternoon after departure, rested overnight, and more than 500 people boarded the ship again. At the same time, Wei Guangde's sister-in-law and cousin took a fast boat to Jiujiang.

All the men in the family went to the front line, and all the female relatives were arranged to go back.

I haven't seen my eldest brother for more than half a year. It's the same as what I saw during the Chinese New Year. Nothing has changed.

The four of them got together and chatted again, and it was his cousin Wu Dong who was very envious of Wei Guangde's passing the Juren examination, and was also very curious about what Wei Guangde and Zhang Hongfu were going to do in this battle.

In two days, the fleet passed through Anqing, and on the way they received the latest pond report that the Japanese pirates had broken through the Moling Pass and were now heading straight for Lishui.

Wei Guangde followed his uncle and father into the cabin, and also saw the pond newspaper.

The guards at Moling Pass collapsed without a fight, failing to seal off the escape route of the Japanese pirates.

This pond newspaper was sent out the day before yesterday. Calculating the time, from the time they received the news to when they sent out the news, Wei Guangde estimated that by this time they might have already escaped south to Lishui.

Soon a map of Nanzhili was put on the table, and my uncle and father began to ponder around the map.

As for whether they were thinking about how to eliminate the Japanese pirates or how to avoid them, Wei Guangde was not sure. The latest order was to let them go ashore and go straight to Liyang.

Wei Guangde went over to have a look. To the south of Liyang is Guangde, to the west is Yixing, and a little further there is Taihu Lake.

Is this going to hide in Taihu Lake?Looking for a chance to escape the outback again?

Wei Guangde thought in his mind that the final outcome of this group of Japanese pirates would most likely be wiped out, but it is not ruled out that the civil servants would call the Japanese pirates' escape as extinct for the sake of face.

As for history, to be honest, you have to believe it, and you can't believe it all.

Wei Guangde didn't speak, he just waited for the uncle and father's decision, so he could know their final decision.

Wei Guangde didn't believe that his father and uncle had discussed the strategy with Zhang Tongzhi before they adopted it. They must have already had a plan. For Wei Guangde now, he could only wait and see how they discussed it.

At this time, cousins ​​Wu Dong, Zhang Hongfu, and eldest brother Wei Wencai also came over to look at the map on the table, while uncle and father were still discussing there, and only Zheng Yixiang, a thousand households in the rear army, seemed to have nothing to do with him. Sitting on the side, did not come up to look at the map.

Well, maybe he had already discovered that the people in this room were all relatives, and he was the only one who lived alone.

Although in fact, like the Wu family and the Wei family, he has already taken root in Jiujiangwei, and he has also taken refuge in Zhang Tongzhi, a confidant, but he is not close to Wu Zhankui on weekdays.

Before coming, the Zhang family had already given him a message to act according to Wu Zhankui's order.

At this time, he simply stood up and walked in front of Wu Zhankui, "Commander, my subordinates go out to see my son Lang."

"Go, pay attention to comfort, don't make trouble at this time."

Wu Zhankui warned, this Zheng Yixiang is cruel and merciless, and he is notoriously vicious towards his soldiers.

He withdrew half of the starting money issued earlier, and the soldiers of the Qianhu Office of the rear army were quite dissatisfied with this.

After Zheng Yixiang left, not long after, he saw his uncle returning to the table, Wei Wencai and Wu Dong consciously moved out of their seats, and at this time, Father Wei followed behind and stood at the table.

"Continue to move forward, enter Lishui from Wuhu, and go directly to Yixing. Maybe they can stop them. If they choose to go straight to Suzhou and Tuolin Japanese pirates, there is no way for us to catch up."

Wu Zhankui stretched out his finger and pointed at the black line marked as the Yangtze River. There was a small black circle in front of it, and Wuhu was marked next to it, and there were several black lines representing waterways.

"The blockage must be unstoppable. Moling Pass failed to stop the Japanese pirates, so we are doomed to run after them."

Father Wei nodded after thinking about it and said, going straight to Lishui by boat, and going ashore from there would indeed save a lot of walking.

As for whether to catch up or not, it depends on God's will.

Yes, for a military officer, it is very difficult to resist the temptation of military exploits, especially those who can perform meritorious deeds and have big figures behind them, so they are not afraid of being corrupted for their merits.

Zhang Tongzhi called Zhang Shigui and Wu Zhankui together to discuss the pros and cons of this battle in the Jiujiang Mansion Commander Si Yamen.

In fact, anyone with a discerning eye knows that these Japanese pirates are already frightened birds, but no one thought that they would be so bold as to go to Nanjing City to die, and even ostentatiously walk through the city in red clothes and yellow covers. Isn't this forcing the court to kill them?
Don't talk about the elite, this group of people is indeed elite, but they are already exhausted and have already lost their energy. This is the time to beat the dog in the water.

After the two made an agreement, they would naturally not seek other people's opinions. Here, they represent the Commander of the Guards and the will of Zhang Tongzhi.

The reason why the front army is the troops of the right army and the rear army Qianhusuo is not because these two Qianhus are from Zhang Tongzhi, and the two Qianhusuo have a support for each other.

Well, the Ming army at this time already had a precedent of selling teammates, especially when they were suppressing the Japanese in Zhejiang, they heard many cases of only caring about themselves and ignoring their allies.

The commanders of Jiujiang Guard are naturally good at learning, and they absolutely cannot make such a mistake.

As for the solution, it is also easy to handle, that is to combine people and horses who are one with each other, so that one's own family can take care of others or not.

The fleet continued to go down the river, and soon diverted into Lishui at Wuhu until the ships docked, and the army began to disembark in an orderly manner.

The place to disembark is called Guangtong Town, which belongs to Gaochun. When the Japanese pirates went to Nanjing City, they passed by the border, but they didn't stay here, so Wei Guangde and the others saw Guangtong Town when they disembarked.

Although the houses in the town are in good condition, there are few pedestrians on the street, making it look very depressed.

Apparently, after the disturbance by the Japanese pirates, the people in the town were already panicked, and they dared not go out for nothing.

Now, the doors or windows of many houses near the pier are slightly open, obviously the owner of the house is peeking at their group of officers and soldiers behind the door.

Thanks to our trip to Zhejiang to suppress the Japanese the year before last, and passing through Nanjing City when we came back, the Ministry of War gave everyone a mandarin duck battle jacket.

The military households found that these battle uniforms were high-quality goods, not the low-quality ones usually distributed, so they all chose to keep them at home. Who knows when they will go to the battlefield again. If there is a better cotton armor, the chance of saving their lives is also greater. How many points.

Naturally, Wu Dong and the others would not object to the military household taking off the new battle clothes and still wearing the old rotten clothes. In fact, their thoughts were the same as those of the soldiers.

For this battle, the military households naturally took out the battle jackets and put them on, which also made them feel more secure.

However, at this time, the appearance of such an army still affected the people in the town.

Not long after, Li Zheng and Chief Jia came to contact him in the town.

In fact, when they saw this Ming army, they also guessed that it was the army that came to suppress the Japanese.

Looking at their attire, it is quite different from the Ming army that they have seen before.

Soon, Li Zheng and Chief Jia organized some meat to be delivered, not much, just enough for one meal, but it was not bad.

When the soldiers started to cook, Wu Zhankui was talking to Li Zheng about the situation.

"On the picture, there should be a canal leading directly to Liyang. We didn't see it when we came along the road. What's the matter?"

"My lord, that's the old Huangli. There used to be a canal here, which indeed connected to Liyang, but I have never seen that canal. It has long been unusable due to the accumulation of silt, and it will be abandoned after a long time."

"Is it fifty miles away from Liyang?"

"almost."

During the conversation, Wu Zhankui didn't know much information. After all, these days, ordinary people can't travel for tens of miles, so they naturally don't know much about the surrounding area.

"Let's go now."

After asking about the direction, Wu Zhankui didn't intend to procrastinate the march.

Although this battle can be fought or not, it is indeed an opportunity to make meritorious deeds.

Since it is possible to win, it is natural to fight for it.

"Go to Liyang first to see if the Japanese pirates have left. Anyway, our goal is to catch up with Yixing. If we can't stop it, then forget it."

Wu Zhankui told Zheng Yixiang and Wu Dong that the two of them were Qianhu, and they led the main force in chasing down the Japanese pirates this time, so naturally the order was given to them, even though Wu Dong was his son.

"As ordered."

Both of them acted according to military rules and accepted orders respectfully.

The two left, each returned to the army to prepare for departure, but after Zheng Yixiang turned and left, he had no idea that a pair of eyes were staring at him from behind.

(End of this chapter)