prosperous age

Chapter 156 Chapter 155

There was nothing to say along the way, and the Jiujiang Weiqian Army soon arrived in Liyang, constantly searching the local people along the road to learn about the recent movements of Japanese pirates nearby.

Perhaps it was because the locals were frightened. They met very few people along the way, and they heard all kinds of news. They also said that the Japanese pirates had passed Liyang, and some said that the Japanese pirates were still hiding near Lishui.

But Wu Zhankui knew very well that the surrounding area was inland, and there were actually very few troops stationed there, and the only nearby guards were Xuanzhou Guard and Jianyang Guard, and that was Suzhou Guard on the opposite side of Taihu Lake.

It is naturally impossible for the Suzhou Guard to come here to fight Japanese pirates. It is estimated that the Nanjing Military Department is most likely to mobilize the troops of the Xuanzhou Guard. After all, the commander of the Jianyang Guard has died in battle, and the team has been defeated. It is impossible in the short term. get organized.

Immediately after Liyang County, the scouts sent out had sent back news that they had contacted the local government under the city. According to the information provided by the other party, the Japanese pirates had gone east two days ago, and their target should be Yixing.

While urging the brigade to move on, go to Liyang County to spend the night. After all, there may be Japanese pirates nearby, and it is really unsafe to camp in the wild.

At the same time, someone took out the map. Wei Guangde and Zhang Hongfu were following Wu Zhankui at the moment, and naturally took the map, and the two of them pulled the map out one by one.

This is where the headquarters of this team is located, but there are only Wu Zhankui, Wei Meng and the two small ones, and there are some personal guards around them.

Cousin and elder brother have gone to lead the troops, and they are not here.

Wu Zhankui crossed Liyang with his finger and continued westward, which was Yixing County. Along the way, Yandang Lake was in the north, and Zhejiang was in the south. There may also be troops from Xuanzhou Guard.

"Should go to Yixing, but I don't know if they will go north by Taihu Lake or go south."

After Wu Zhankui pointed to Yixing, he obviously hesitated.

Although it was said before that the Japanese pirates might want to hide in Taihu Lake, but that was just a joke. The water area of ​​Taihu Lake is too small, so it is not easy to hide. If they rushed to Suzhou Mansion on the opposite side, they would enter Songjiang after a short distance. Just by the sea, there is a chance to escape from birth.

"These mud legs can really run."

Father Wei just smiled and said.

"If you want to stop them, if you follow them to Yixing, you may not be able to stop them, and you won't even be able to see them."

Wu Zhankui didn't smile, but frowned.

They have all chased here, so they naturally want to win all the merits, and it is not worthwhile to run for nothing.

"Walk along the south bank of the lake. Although there is a garrison of thousands of households in Zhejiang, there are probably not many soldiers. The elite soldiers have been transferred to the coast to defend the Japanese. Going around is Wujiang County. After passing Wujiang, you can go to Tuolin , we can't catch up at all."

Father Wei also put away his smile at this moment, and analyzed.

"Do you think they will go south and bypass Taihu Lake?"

"It's the closest to other Japanese pirates, and it's easier to find a chance to escape. These people are estimated to be exhausted now, and they can't hide nearby for a long time."

Father Wei spoke out his thoughts.

Going around from Taihu Lake is Wu County, and continuing forward is Tuolin Town in Songjiang Prefecture, which is now a nest of Japanese pirates, and the Ming army is only deploying large troops in Jiaxing, Wujiang and Huating counties to encircle them, and they are temporarily unable to clear them up.

Wu Zhankui understood. He felt that the Japanese pirates at this moment only wanted to escape as soon as possible, so they would naturally choose the shortest path, and there were not many officers and soldiers around. If it was dangerous, it would be after arriving in Wujiang. Protrude from there and run to Tuolin.

Going around Taihu Lake from the north, it is true that the distance is much farther, and it is not easy to fight against the troops of Suzhou Wei when turning around. Immediately, Wu Zhankui nodded slightly, expressing that he also agreed with Wei Meng's judgment.

Wei Guangde and Zhang Hongfu on one side were also staring at the map. When Wu Zhankui pointed on the map earlier, they also understood what was going on.

There are many hill marks on the side of Taihu Lake. It is estimated that the side near Zhejiang is a mountainous area, which is easy to hide. It is not like the north side, which looks like a flat terrain.

"Then let's go through Liyang, don't go to Yixing, and go directly to Huhan to see if we can stop these Japanese pirates by the edge of Taihu Lake."

Wu Zhankui also made a decisive decision and said the meaning directly.

After reading it, Wei Guangde felt that his father's analysis was very reasonable, but he still looked at the map carefully to see where the north and south sides had to go.

In the south, when Father Wei analyzed it before, he had already looked at it very carefully, and there was nothing missing. It is true that the route is very close, and if he encounters the officers and soldiers, he can only be on the Wujiang side.

And go around to the north, Wei Guangde saw Wuxi, and Suzhou, continue to look, the east is naturally Songjiang, the northeast is Changshu, the north
When Wei Guangde looked to the north of Wuxi, he suddenly saw a name he had only heard a few days ago, Jiangyin.

Blinking slightly, Wei Guangde followed the Yangtze River waterway in Jiangyin, and finally saw two other names, Xu Pu and Sanzhang Pu, closer to Wuxi and Suzhou.

Wei Guangde's heart moved. It seems that he heard his uncle said a few days ago that there are Japanese pirates in Xupu and Sanzhangpu, and there are also Jiangyin. In fact, this group of Japanese pirates can't go north. Instead of going to Tuolin, they go to Jiangyin, or Xupu. Pu there.

However, if I make this judgment at this time, I will go back to the original point, and I just don't know how to take the next step.

Wei Guangde was a little hesitant. Tuolin is the old nest of Japanese pirates, and Jiangyin is only an area where Japanese pirates have recently started to operate. Xupu and Sanzhangpu are similar, but the Japanese pirates have been active earlier.

However, Wei Guangde felt that he should say something, so as not to fall short in the end. After all, he had traveled such a long distance, and although he did not necessarily need the military exploits, they might not be too far away from the Japanese pirates now, and had survived dozens of miles.

Wei Guangde immediately said what came to his mind. Hearing the three place names mentioned by Wei Guangde, Wu Zhankui and Wei Meng checked the map again, and finally hesitated.

They only considered that the Japanese pirates fled to Songjiang Mansion, but did not consider that they might ask other Japanese pirates to help them escape.

The Japanese pirates in this era actually have a lot of connections with each other. Although there are internal struggles, they are relatively united on the mainland.

Wei Guangde's guess cannot be wrong.

At the beginning, they didn't consider the Japanese pirates' escape to the north, mainly because there were still troops from the Suzhou Guard blocking the road. Even if they escaped the encirclement of the Suzhou Guard and continued to run to Songjiang, there was Taicang Guard behind them. The defense area of ​​the guard station is naturally extremely unlikely.

But if it meets the Japanese pirates in the Yangtze River waterway, that's not necessarily the case.

Don't ask why the Japanese pirates didn't snatch boats down the Yangtze River when they were in Nanjing. The past is Zhenjiang, and the Zhenjiang Wei sailors over there are not vegetarians.

During this period of time, near Jiangyin, the patrol strength of the Ming army navy has been greatly strengthened, just to prevent the Japanese pirates from entering Jiangyin and directly attacking the surrounding areas of Nanjing, which is a rich and prosperous place. spray them.

"Over there in Wujiang, who is in charge?"

Wei Guangde suddenly asked.

"It seems to be Yu Dayou now. A few days ago, there were a lot of battle reports, many beheadings, and countless Japanese warships destroyed."

Wu Zhankui said.

"Then it is even more impossible to run there. Looking at the battle reports, the officers and soldiers are very strong there. They are already at the end of their strength. They might be able to kill them in the past, but now, not necessarily."

When Wei Guangde heard that Yu Dayou was on the Wujiang side, he immediately gained some confidence in his guess.

In the shadow of a famous tree, Wei Guangde did not believe that the famous Yu Dayou would not be able to deal with dozens of Japanese pirates.

What the Japanese pirates were doing under the city of Nanjing, at this time, the surrounding officials and soldiers probably already knew about it. Although it is not a great achievement to wipe out this group of Japanese pirates, after all, there are not many Japanese pirates, but they are likely to be noticed by the high-level court.

There is no military commander who doesn't want to show his face on it.

Punishment is for Nanjing's garrison and civilian officials. For the generals of the guard, even the defeated Jianyang Guard, the commander died in battle. It is estimated that not only will they not be punished, but they will also be rewarded.

While hesitating, a soldier reported in a low voice: "Commander, our people are going far away."

Only then did everyone realize that when they were analyzing the enemy's situation, the team they were leading had already passed by them and was heading towards Liyang County in the distance.

In the war zone, because there are Japanese pirates nearby, this is also the war zone.

Without most of them, it is naturally unsafe.

There was a sound of hurried footsteps, and an official in a python suit trotted along the palace road, holding a document in his right hand, and two military officers in flying fish suits followed behind him dance to tune.

The visitor looked like he was in his 40s, but he was still in good shape. After entering through the palace gate, he kept going to Yongshou Palace at this speed.

Not long after, in Yongshou Palace.

"Clatter, clatter." There was the sound of something being thrown, and the people inside and outside Yongshou Palace immediately fell silent when they heard the noise. punishment.

The one in Yongshou Palace was merciless towards those who committed crimes, and it was not uncommon for them to be dragged out and beaten to death.

Perhaps there was nothing to fall, and the movement in the room gradually disappeared, and then there was a faint conversation.

Not long after, some young eunuchs rushed out of Yongshou Palace, one of them went straight to Xiyuan to watch the room, and several others rushed out of Xiyuan to the cabinet and the Sixth Ministry.

Scenes that happened under the city of Nanjing, through Jinyiwei's message delivery system, reached the hands of Emperor Jiajing before the Nanjing official lord's memorandum, and a storm was brewing over Xiyuan.

After a long time, under the service of officials in python suits, Emperor Jiajing in Taoist robes walked outside the gate of Yongshou Palace, looked at the dense dark clouds in the sky, and opened his mouth after a long time and said, "Okay, it's finally going to rain. This year By this time, it was finally going to rain. '

The man in the boa suit is naturally Lu Bing, the Commander of the Jinyiwei, the Zuodudu of the Rear Army Commander's Mansion.

He was naturally very familiar with Emperor Jiajing, and it seemed that he was expressing his feelings about the dark clouds in the sky, but Lu Bing knew very well in his heart that the master he served as a servant turned his face faster than turning a book, and he liked to talk like this, often Puns.

It's raining, it's raining, isn't the emperor's anger what those civil officials call "thunder and rain"?

Since Lu Bing was in charge of Jinyi Guards, he has always been cautious. Although he did some shady things, he has always been like this in the transmission of news outside the palace. The emperor's most trusted person.

He is very aware of the emperor's habits, as long as he finds a flaw once, he will not say anything in person, but the thorn in his heart has been pierced and cannot be pulled out.

In the distance, the pattering rain has fallen, from far to near.

Finally, on the square outside the Yongshou Palace, the rain kept falling and soon soaked the ground.

In the distance, an old man in red official clothes, led by a eunuch, rushed over in a hurry against the wind and rain, and on the west side of the Forbidden City, the eunuch who delivered the order also arrived in the cabinet and six yamen.
When the army arrived in Liyang County, the magistrate of Liyang saw the military appearance of Jiujiangwei at the top of the city, and immediately asked people to open the city gate to welcome them in.

Recently, due to the rampant Japanese pirates, the city gate of Liyang County has been closed for a long time.

When the army entered the city, people from the county government arranged accommodation, and hot meals were quickly served.

At the banquet arranged by the magistrate of Liyang, Wu Zhankui clasped his fists and said, "I have been driving for a day, and I asked the county magistrate to arrange some hot water to burn my feet."

"Don't worry, I'll go down right away."

The magistrate of Liyang immediately agreed, and then ordered his subordinates to prepare hot water.

In the Jiajing Dynasty, the imperial court’s control over the military leaders below was very strict, far from the level at the end of the Ming Dynasty, when "bandits are like combing soldiers like a grate", so Liyang County Magistrate was very generous when he saw this guard army coming. He opened the city gate and let them in to rest.

For the imperial court, it is still the civil servants who have the final say.

These soldiers dared to enter the city and reported to the mansion directly. The court would take action soon, so they didn't worry about military discipline at all.

When entering the city, Liyang County Magistrate had already learned that this team came from Jiangxi, and he didn't care about the specific guard.

"Dare to ask the county lord, is there any news about the Japanese pirates? We followed the military order all the way from Lishui, and we didn't find any news on the way."

Wu Zhankui continued to ask.

"Two days ago, the Japanese pirates passed by the city of Liyang. Fortunately, the magistrate's yamen gave a warning beforehand, so the Japanese pirates were not allowed to enter the city."

"But went to Yixing?"

"Exactly."

The two asked and answered, and they quickly explained the situation clearly.

"How many Japanese pirates are there?"

At this time, Wei Meng couldn't help but interrupted and asked.

"About 50 people. It's a pity that my Liyang army has only a hundred soldiers. I have more than enough to defend the city, but I dare not go out of the city to fight."

The banquet continued, and after everyone was full, they went to their rooms to rest, and they would continue to chase the pirates tomorrow.

There was nothing to say all night, but Wei Guangde seemed to hear something outside at night, as if his uncle had called his father over.

The next morning, after eating the breakfast arranged by the county government, hundreds of people from the two Thousand Households of Jiujiangwei gathered on the streets of Liyang. At the banquet last night, Wu Zhankui asked the Liyang County Venerable to prepare horses and vehicles. Japanese pirates.

The right army's Qianhu Office is very strict, and after walking for a day, the subordinates complained a little, but they didn't make trouble, but it was a bit difficult for the Qianhu Office of the rear army.

"Let the men of the rear army get on the carriage, and the two guards behind will come in turn."

The county government came forward, and the horse-drawn carriage was assembled, and all the more than 500 people could not be accommodated, and only more than 200 people could be taken, so the soldiers of two thousand households took turns to ride in the horse-drawn carriage.

(End of this chapter)