prosperous age

In the 42nd year of Jiajing’s Zhengdan Grand Court Meeting, the Emperor Jiajing still did not go to court as before. There was Cheng Guogong Zhu Xizhong, the foreman, to worship the sky in the Xuanji Palace, and the civil and military officials each wore court uniforms to perform five prostrations and three kowtows at the Huangji Gate. Banquets, giving money and banknotes for festivals, congratulatory personnel from the royal palace and tribute envoys from the Siyi tribes still feast at the left gate of the que.

This year, Yan Song, a treacherous official recognized throughout the country, became an official. Although there were still wars between the north and the south of the Ming Dynasty, in the eyes of the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty at this moment, after the chaos in the second half of last year, the government should gradually be cleared up this year, although I dare not say Haiyan and Heqing, but it shouldn't be too bad.

Among the six departments, the busiest one is naturally the Ministry of War.

Threats from the Alta Khan Department in the north and the Japanese invasion in the southeast make the entire Ministry of War dare not ignore them at all times.

However, after the court meeting, at the banquet organized by the Beijing officials themselves, the most talked about was the Japanese invaders in Fujian.

The dignified city of Xinghua is still lost to Japanese pirates.

Zhao Bingran, deputy capital censor of the left, held the title of right servant of the Ministry of War, admiral of military affairs, and governor of Zhejiang, while Tan Lun held the title of right censor of the right capital and governor of Fujian.

At the same time, Qi Jiguang's name also appeared in the daily discussions of officials under the impetus of people with good intentions in the court.

At this moment, in the eyes of many officials, the three most capable generals of the Ming Empire in the south of the Yangtze River were all leading the siege of the pirates in Xinghua Prefecture. The goal was to wipe them all out, and it was unacceptable to lose even one of them.

Liu Xian, Yu Dayou, and Qi Jiguang are all generals who can lead troops to defeat the Japanese pirates alone. With them, the southeast defense will naturally be safe.

Regarding the optimism of the officials, the Ministry of War is still cautious, for fear that something unpredictable will happen during the period.

However, Fujian is far away from the capital, and they can only rely on outdated documents to analyze the situation there. After the final discussion, they still choose to delegate power. Qi San will discuss.

The Ministry of War withdrew its sights and made every effort to deploy defenses along the Great Wall in the north to prevent another large-scale invasion by the Alda Ministry in the coming year.

In order to understand the situation in Xinghua Fucheng as soon as possible, Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang did not follow the brigade, but rushed to the outside of Xinghua Fucheng with their personal guards, and entered Liu Xian's camp one after another.

In the battle to recapture Fucheng Fucheng, although Zhang Nie was ordered by the court to be in command and Tan Lun was in command, it was the three of them who actually fought.

For several days in a row, the figures of the three of them appeared outside the city of Xinghua Prefecture, carefully surveying the terrain.

And for some unknown reason, this group of Japanese pirates fled back to the sea immediately after capturing Xinghua Fucheng without looting, which provided time for the Ming Dynasty to assemble its army.

The news that Japanese pirates killed Liu Xian's envoy and entered Xinghua Mansion under the guise of his identity has been confirmed, but the imperial court did not anger Liu Xian because of this, but ordered him to temporarily command the Ming army near Xinghua Mansion , including Pinghaiwei not far from Fucheng.

However, although Pinghaiwei was a guard, the sergeants of the guard station deployed defenses along the coast, and even the troops left in the guard city were no more than a thousand people. The commander of the guard, Ouyang Shen, did not dare to attack the Fucheng without authorization.

Standing on the hillside outside the city, the three of them were silent, just staring at the city wall in the distance, a completely undamaged city wall.

Under normal circumstances, it would be absolutely impossible for thousands of Japanese pirates to capture this place without paying a heavy price, but who would have thought that some of the Japanese pirates would use tricks to earn a big city.

"The Japanese pirates have occupied Xinghua for two months. It is impossible to wait in the city for us to destroy."

At this time, Yu Dayou who had not spoken all this time suddenly said.

"The current season is not suitable for the Japanese pirates to escape, unless they leave within a few days after taking down Xinghua in the first two months, and they still have time to board the ship and escape."

But Qi Jiguang said, "If you want to escape to the sea now, you have to persist until March."

"I have already written official documents for the Zhejiang Navy, and I believe they will go south soon. They will block the outer seas, and Japanese pirates will be hard to fly."

Yu Dayou shook his head and said.

The navy in Zhejiang was formed by him when he was the commander-in-chief in Zhejiang, just to defend against the enemy at sea, but he didn't expect that once he left, he would be suppressed by the Japanese pirates and be immobilized in the port.

This time, when Yu Dayou came here, he had already thought about gathering naval warships to wipe out this group of Japanese pirates.

It's just that this is Fujian, and Zhang Nie can't control Zhejiang, so everything has to be decided by the imperial court. Yu Dayou had to send an official document to Nanjing, asking for the Zhejiang Navy to assist in the battle.

"Yuan Jing, when will your troops arrive?"

Liu Xian, who had been staring at Xinghua Fucheng in the distance, retracted his gaze at this moment, looked at Qi Jiguang and asked.

"There is a shortage of troops in Zhejiang. I only dispatched 4000 people to go south. Calculating the itinerary, it will take about three or four months to arrive."

Qi Jiguang said with a sigh.

He led his troops to Fujian to help in the war last year, and just now he led his troops back to Zhejiang, and received an order to enter Fujian again within half a month of rest.

The soldiers who followed him to the south last year made a lot of contributions and made a lot of money in Fujian's suppression of the Japanese. Most of them didn't want to go on the journey again a year ago.

As a last resort, he had to scrape together 4000 troops.

However, from Zhejiang to Fujian, it is this season again, and the marching speed is too fast to be fast, especially the marching food and grass.

When the Ming army went out to fight, because they were in the territory, they would not carry too much food and grass, otherwise they would need to recruit a large number of civilians.

At this time, who is willing to abandon their family and follow the team south to fight Japanese pirates, wishing to hide at home and live on the kang with old guns and children, unless they are forced to requisition.

What's more, the city of Xinghua has been lost. If the fierce battle is in full swing, perhaps they can lead the troops lightly armed and aggressive, and quickly arrive at the battlefield for rescue.

It's similar to what Yu Dayou thought, if the city is lost, no matter how fast you run, the disaster has already happened, and the victims will not be rescued.

It's better to let the army go according to the schedule, dozens of miles a day, and slowly come to Xinghua Mansion.

Anyway, with the current weather, the Japanese pirates could not board the ship and go to sea.

In this era, sea-going ships were driven entirely by wind power and were greatly affected by monsoons.

If it is an ordinary small team of a hundred or ten Japanese pirates, one or two boats can run with oars.

However, there were thousands of people who captured Xinghua Fucheng, and with the huge amount of property looted from Fucheng, there was no way for them to escape.

Liu Xian heard Qi Jiguang say that his subordinates would arrive in March and April, although he was a little disappointed, he didn't say anything.

They also lived in the barracks this year, so they naturally understood those soldiers who were on the way. It would be good if no one ran back at this time, and they couldn't force them too much.

Although the people on Yu Dayou's side are a little closer to Xinghua Mansion, they will have to wait until the end of January or early February to arrive. I just hope that there will be no mistakes during this period.

For the Ming army around Xinghua Mansion, Liu Xian asked them to return after the city was broken, and strictly guarded their respective cities to prevent Japanese pirates from fleeing around.

Although his camp is short of troops, he is sure of self-defense.

"Liu Dudu, Ping Haiwei, see if you want to issue another military order, ordering them to strictly guard the city and not go out to fight."

At this moment, Yu Dayou suddenly spoke to Liu Xian.

"Are you worried about Japanese pirates attacking Pinghai Weicheng?"

Liu Xian frowned slightly and asked.

Yu Dayou has been commanding Ming armies from various places for a long time, and he is very familiar with the urine behavior of these Ming army generals.

If they were asked to fight the Japanese pirates head-on, they would definitely be complaining endlessly. It would be nice if they could run away without looking out for the wind, but if there was a chance to beat the dog in the water, they would not mind jumping on it.

Thinking about Zhang Lian's incident, it wasn't that the head of the Guangdong Army saw an opportunity to take advantage of it, and then captured a rebel leader, and reported it as the thief chief Zhang Lian after a simple interrogation.

"It has been two months since the Japanese pirates captured Xinghua Fucheng, and the food and grass in Xinghua Fucheng has been exhausted.

Although the city is strong, it is not conducive to the defense of the Japanese pirates, especially if it has been delayed here for a long time. After our army is in place, it will be impossible to escape.

Therefore, I guess the Japanese pirates will make up their minds about Pinghai Weicheng, which is closer to the sea and suitable for them to escape by sea. "

Yu Dayou analyzed.

The Japanese pirates' strengths lie in swimming and strong attacks, especially their super field combat capabilities, but there is a big gap between defensive battles and fortified battles in cities.

In fact, in a normal offensive and defensive battle, even if the Japanese pirates were several times stronger than the defending Ming army, the Japanese pirates' ability to capture the city was extremely weak, and most of them rushed into the city to loot by sneak attack.

The fall of Xinghua City was just an accident, but what is now considered is how to wipe out these Japanese pirates, and they must not be allowed to escape.

How can Japanese pirates run?
Naturally, he boarded a boat and went to sea.

Although Xinghua Fucheng is close to the sea, it is still tens of miles away.

The reason why the Japanese pirates stayed in Xinghua City for such a long time was that they couldn’t run due to the wrong weather, and they must clean up the results of the robbery.

In a prefectural city, the property that can be looted must make it difficult for these people to give up.

However, no matter how much wealth there is in the city, such a long time is enough for them to sort it out.

And they made such a big commotion in Xinghua, the imperial court naturally couldn't just sit idly by, they naturally knew that the army of the Ming Dynasty must be on their way here, so Yu Dayou guessed that the Japanese pirates might abandon Xinghua Fucheng in the near future and move their camps. To the place near the sea.

The trapped beasts are still fighting, and with the ability of these Japanese pirates to use tricks to earn money from Xinghua Fucheng, they will definitely not do it.

The camp, no matter how it is arranged, is definitely not as stable as the ready-made city.

And around Xinghua Fucheng, the closest to the sea and the most convenient place to escape is naturally Pinghai Weicheng in the east.

"Let's go, it's almost noon, let's go back to the camp for dinner, and send someone to deliver a letter to Ping Haiwei."

Liu Xian approved Yu Dayou's analysis, but said while looking at the sky.

I came out early in the morning to check the terrain, and now I also feel hungry. Yu Dayou's reminder is very important. He plans to give Ouyang Shen a message after returning to the camp, so that he can only guard the city strictly and not go out to fight.

At this time, at the east gate of Xinghua City, countless vehicles had been parked along the street, all of which were full of property looted by Japanese pirates from all over the city.

After two months of searching, all the valuable things that can be seen in Xinghua City are in the car.

On the top of the city, several pirate leaders are gathering together to discuss.

"Let's go early, this city is stinky, I can't stay here any longer."

"I'm just worried, what if Ping Haiwei doesn't come out to intercept us?"

"Then according to the plan, we will build a camp on the mountain over Qitou Town, and when the sea ships come over in March, we will leave here immediately."

"It's best to attract the Ming army of Pinghaiwei, ambush them, and then pretend to be a defeated army and take down the Acropolis. Once there, you can sleep peacefully, protected by the city wall."

The chiefs said something to you, and I talked to each other. Under the city tower, a Japanese pirate team of nearly a thousand people was also ready to go. They were a team that was going out of the city to ambush, and the target was naturally the Ming army in the direction of Pinghai Weicheng.

Not long after, a few Japanese pirates came from the south wall.

"I pay my respects to the masters. The surrounding Ming army sentries have already withdrawn. They should have returned to the camp for dinner."

Soon, these people explained what they observed outside the city one by one.

"Haha, the imperial court really thought we would fight them in this city."

"Those dog officials, what else can they do besides plundering people's wealth? My sixth son will not be afraid of them when fighting a war."

"Okay, you go down first, continue to observe the surroundings, and report back immediately if there is any situation."

At this time, the leader of the Japanese pirates opened his mouth to give instructions, and after letting some of the Japanese pirates who were in charge of scouting leave, he said: "Then start, Lao Liu, Lion Head, you two lead people to set up an ambush.

Half an hour later, we led the convoy to Qitou. "

"Well, at that time, it is estimated that the sentry of the Ming army came out again. When they saw us fleeing out of the city, they would definitely report back. You can watch it then."

At this time, Lao Liu looked confident and said.

"Both sides of the north and the south, you have to guard well, and don't let the Ming army get the news."

The leader gave instructions to the two Japanese pirate leaders next to him.

The Ming army is now Liu Xian's army camping in the west of Xinghua City, and Pinghaiwei is in the east of Fucheng. The north and south are naturally the channels for the two Ming army to communicate.

Since the Japanese pirates wanted to secretly take down Pinghai Weicheng, they naturally had to cut off the connection between the two divisions of the Ming army.

Liu Xian camped with Pinghaiwei, so naturally Pinghaiwei was the soft persimmon.

During this period of time, Liu Xian's camp had several Ming troops joining to supplement its strength. Although we don't know how many troops Liu Xian has in his hands, judging from the size of the camp, there should be less than 2000 people.

Moreover, the Ming army that will be transferred at this time must also be the most elite army in Fujian.

Under such circumstances, Liu Xian's camp has become a tough nut to crack.

As for Pinghaiwei in the east, relying only on the guards of a thousand men, these Japanese pirates really don't take it seriously.

Moreover, Pinghai Weicheng is big enough to accommodate thousands of Japanese pirates, so it is naturally the first choice.

"lets go."

At this time, the leader of the Japanese pirates waved his hand, and the two pirate leaders who were previously called Lao Liu and Lion Head nodded, agreed loudly, and then went down the tower.

Not long after, the east gate of Xinghua City opened slowly, and a group of Japanese pirates quickly ran out of the gate and headed into the distance.

And behind them, in Xinghua Prefecture, the prosperity of the past has long since disappeared, and the corpses are strewn all over the fields, and the stench is suffocating, which is horrible.

However, the Japanese pirates on the tower turned a blind eye.

After being stationed in the city for so long, there is not much food left in the city. They don't eat according to the order. They just grab wine, meat and food and eat and drink as they please, which is a lot of waste. This is why they want to give up Fucheng at this moment.

Not much to eat, the reason for moving to Qitou or Pinghai Weicheng.