The Prosperous Era of Longwan

In the 42nd year of Jiajing's reign, the Emperor of Jiajing did not go to court as before. Zhu Xizhong, the leader of the Cheng Kingdom, performed the obeisance to heaven at the Xuanji Palace, and the civil and military ministers, each in court uniform, performed five bows and three kowtows at the Huangji Gate. , no banquet was given, and the festival money was given. The congratulatory personnel of the palace and the tribute envoys from the four barbarians still had a banquet at the left gate of the palace.

This year, Yan Song, recognized as a traitor in the country, became official. Although there were still wars in the north and south of the Ming Dynasty, in the eyes of the Manchu ministers, after correcting the chaos in the second half of last year, the government should gradually regulate the Qingming this year. Although they dare not say Haiyanheqing, but it shouldn't be too bad.

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

The threat from the Anda Khan tribe in the north and the Japanese invasion in the southeast made the entire military department dare not ignore it at all times.

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

The grand city of Xinghua has still fallen into the hands of Japanese pirates.

Zhao Bingran, the left deputy capital censor, held the title of right minister of the Ministry of War, supervising military affairs, and patrolled Zhejiang, while Tan Lun held the title of right Qiandu censor to patrol Fujian.

At the same time, driven by interested people in the DPRK, Qi Jiguang's name also appeared in the daily discussions of officials.

At this moment, in the eyes of many officials, the three most capable generals of the Ming Empire in Jiangnan were all leading the siege of the Japanese pirates in Xinghua Prefecture. The goal was to annihilate them all, and losing even one of them was unacceptable.

Liu Xian, Yu Dayou, and Qi Jiguang are all generals who can lead troops to defeat Japanese pirates on their own. With them, the defense of the southeast can be guaranteed.

Despite the optimism of the officials, the Ministry of War was still cautious, fearing that something unpredictable would happen during the period.

However, Fujian was far away from the capital, and they could only rely on outdated documents to analyze the situation there. After a final discussion, they still chose to delegate power to Governor Min, Guangdu Censor Zhang Zhen and Tan Lun, as well as Liu, Yu, and Qi San will discuss it.

The Ministry of War withdrew its attention and made every effort to deploy defenses along the northern Great Wall to prepare for another large-scale invasion by the Anta 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 large group of people. They both rushed to the outside of Xinghua Fucheng with their guards and entered Liu Xian's camp one after another.

In the battle to retake Hua Fucheng, although the imperial court accepted that it was commanded by Zhang Zhen and Tan Lun, it was the three of them who actually fought.

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

For unknown reasons, this group of Japanese pirates fled back to the sea immediately after capturing Xinghua Fucheng without looting it. This gave the Ming Dynasty time to assemble a large army.

It has been confirmed that the Japanese pirates killed Liu Xian's envoy and entered Xinghua Prefecture by pretending to be his identity, which eventually caused disaster in Xinghua Prefecture. However, the imperial court did not anger Liu Xian because of this, but only ordered him to temporarily command the Ming army near Xinghua Prefecture. , including Pinghaiwei not far from Fucheng.

However, although Pinghaiwei is a guard, the sergeants of the guard station have deployed defenses along the coast. Even the troops left in the guard city are only a thousand men. The guard commander Ouyang Shen does not dare to attack the city without permission with this small force.

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 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 gain a big city.

"The Japanese pirates have occupied Xinghua for two months. They cannot wait in the city for us to wipe them out."

At this time, Yu Dayou, who had been silent until now, suddenly said.

"The current season is not suitable for Japanese pirates to escape. Unless they left within a few days after capturing Xinghua in the first two months, they would still have time to board a boat and escape."

Qi Jiguang said, "If we want to escape to the sea now, we must hold on until March."

"I have already written an official document to the Zhejiang Navy. I believe they will go south soon. They will block the outer sea so that the Japanese pirates will be unable to fly."

Yu Dayou shook his head and said.

The navy in Zhejiang was established by him when he was the chief military officer in Zhejiang. It was to defend the enemy at sea. However, he did not expect that as soon as he left, he would be suppressed by the Japanese pirates and unable to move in the port.

This time, Yu Dayou had already thought about it when he came. He must assemble naval warships to annihilate this group of Japanese pirates.

However, this is Fujian, and Zhang Zhen has no control over 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 looking at Xinghua Fucheng in the distance, looked back at Qi Jiguang and asked.

"The troops in Zhejiang are tight. I only mobilized 4,000 people to go south. Calculating the journey, it will take about three or four months to arrive."

Qi Jiguang sighed and said.

He had led his troops to Fujian to assist in the war last year. He had just led his troops back to Zhejiang. After less than half a month's rest, he received an order to enter Fujian again.

The soldiers who followed him south last year had made a lot of contributions in Fujian's campaign against Japanese invaders and made a lot of money. Most of them didn't want to go on another journey a year ago.

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

However, from Zhejiang to Fujian, it was this season again, and the marching speed could not be faster even if we wanted to, especially in terms of marching food and grass.

When the Ming Dynasty army went out to fight, they would not carry much food and grass because they were within the country, otherwise they would have to recruit a large number of civilians.

At this time of year, who would be willing to abandon their family and children and follow the troops south to fight the Japanese pirates? They would rather live at home hiding on the hot kang with old guns and children, unless they are forced to be drafted.

What's more, Xinghua Fucheng has been lost. If a fierce battle is in progress, it may be possible to lead lightly armed troops and quickly reach the battlefield for rescue.

It's pretty much what Yu Dayou thought. The city has been lost. No matter how fast you run over, the disaster has already been caused and you can't save the victims.

It's better to let the army follow the itinerary, dozens of miles a day, and slowly come to Xinghua Prefecture.

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

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

If it is an ordinary small group of a hundred or so Japanese pirates, with one or two boats, they can still run away with oars.

However, there were thousands of people who captured Xinghua Fucheng, and with the massive amount of property stolen from the Fucheng, there was no way they could escape.

Liu Xian heard Qi Jiguang say that his men would not arrive until March or April. Although he was a little disappointed, he didn't say anything.

These people, who have also spent this year in the military camp, naturally understand the soldiers who are on the way. It is good if no one runs back at this time, and they cannot force too much.

Although the troops on Yu Dayou's side are slightly closer to Xinghua Prefecture, they will have to wait until the end of January or the beginning of February to reach them. I just hope that nothing will go wrong during this period.

For the Ming troops around Xinghua Prefecture, Liu Xian asked them to return after the city was broken, and strictly guarded their respective cities to prevent Japanese pirates from taking the opportunity to roam around.

Although his camp was short of troops, he was sure of self-protection.

"Director Liu, Pinghaiwei is here to see if we should issue another military order, ordering them to strictly guard the city and not go to war."

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

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

Liu Xian frowned slightly and asked.

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

If they were asked to fight the Japanese pirates head-on, they would definitely suffer a lot. It would be nice if they could escape without looking at the wind, but if there was a chance to beat up the drowned dog, they wouldn't mind jumping on it.

Think about what happened with Zhang Lian. The leader of the Guangdong army saw an opportunity and caught a rebel leader. After a brief interrogation, he reported that it was Zhang Lian.

"It has been two months since the Japanese pirates captured Xinghua City. The food and grass in Xinghua City have been depleted to a great extent.

Although the city is strong, it is not conducive to the defense of Japanese pirates, especially if we delay here for a long time. Once our troops are in place, it will be difficult to escape.

Therefore, I estimate that the Japanese pirates will make plans for Pinghai Acropolis, which is closer to the sea and is suitable for them to escape to the sea. "

Yu Dayou analyzed.

The strengths of Japanese pirates lie in swimming and attacking, especially in field battles. However, there is a huge gap between the defensive battles and the offensive battles of the city.

In fact, in a normal offensive and defensive battle, even if the Japanese pirates were several times more powerful than the defending Ming army, the Japanese pirates' ability to capture the city was extremely weak, and most of them relied on sneak attacks to rush into the city and plunder.

The fall of Xinghua City was just an accident, but what we were thinking about now was how to completely annihilate this group of Japanese pirates, and they must not be allowed to escape.

How can the Japanese pirates escape?

Naturally, get on the boat and go to sea.

Although Xinghua Fucheng is close to the seaside, it is still dozens of miles away.

Why were the Japanese pirates able to stay in Xinghua City for such a long time? First, the weather was wrong and they couldn't escape. Second, they must have to clean up the consequences of the robbery.

In a city, the wealth that can be plundered must be difficult for these people to part with.

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

And since they made such a big noise in Xinghua, the imperial court could not sit idly by and ignore it. They naturally knew that the Ming Dynasty army must be on their way here, so Yu Dayou guessed that the Japanese pirates might abandon Xinghua Fucheng and move their camps in the near future. Go to a place near the sea.

The trapped beast is still fighting, and with the ability of this group of Japanese pirates to use tricks to gain access to Xinghua Fucheng, they will definitely not do it.

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

And around Xinghua Fucheng, the closest to the seaside and the most convenient place to escape is naturally the Pinghai Acropolis to the east.

"Let's go, it's almost noon. Let's go back to the camp to have dinner, and by the way, send someone to deliver a message to Pinghaiwei."

Liu Xian agreed with Yu Dayou's analysis, but looked at the sky and said.

He came out early in the morning to check the terrain, and now he felt hungry. Yu Dayou's reminder was very important. He planned to give Ouyang Shen a message after returning to the camp, and told him to strictly guard the city and not go out to fight.

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

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

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

"It's better to leave early. This city stinks so much that I can't stay any longer."

"I'm just worried. What if Pinghaiwei doesn't come out to intercept and kill us?"

"Then according to the plan, we will build a camp on the hilltop near Qitou Town. When the ship comes in March, we will leave here immediately."

"It's best to attract the Ming army of Ping Haiwei, ambush them, and then pretend to be defeated and capture the acropolis. Once there, you can sleep peacefully, protected by the city wall."

Several leaders chatted with each other, and below the city, a Japanese pirate team of nearly a thousand people was also ready to go. They were a team that wanted to sneak out of the city to ambush, and their target was naturally the Ming army in the direction of Pinghai Acropolis.

Not long after, several Japanese pirates came running from the south wall.

"Meet the leaders. The surrounding Ming army sentries have withdrawn. They should have gone back to the camp to have dinner."

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

"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 property? I, the sixth one, will not be afraid of them in a war."

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

The leader of the Japanese pirates gave instructions at this time, and asked several Japanese pirates who were in charge of sentinels to leave. Then he said: "Then start, Lao Liu, Shitou, you two lead people to set up an ambush.

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

"Well, at that time, the Ming army's sentinels will probably come out again. When they see us escaping from the city, they will definitely go back and report the news. You should keep an eye on it then."

At this time, Lao Liu looked confident and spoke.

"On both sides of the north and south, you must guard and do not let the Ming army get the news."

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

The Ming army currently has Liu Xian's army camped in the west of Xinghua City, while Pinghaiwei is in the east of Fucheng. The north and south are naturally the channels for communication between the two Ming armies.

Since the Japanese pirates wanted to secretly take Pinghai Acropolis, they naturally had to cut off the connection between the two Ming armies.

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

During this period of time, many Ming troops joined Liu Xian's camp, which added to its strength. Although it is not known how many troops Liu Xian has at hand now, judging from the scale of the military camp, there should be less than 2,000 people.

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

In this case, Liu Xian's camp became a hard nut to crack.

As for the Pinghai Guards in the east, they only relied on the thousands of guardsmen, so these Japanese pirates really didn't take them seriously.

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

"lets go."

At this time, the Japanese pirate leader waved his hand, and the two Japanese pirate leaders, previously known as Lao Liu and Shi Tou, nodded, agreed loudly, and then walked down the tower.

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

Behind them, the city of Xinghua Prefecture had long lost its former prosperity. Corpses were scattered all over the place, and the stench was so terrible that it was unbearable to look at.

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 customs. They just eat and drink at will after grabbing wine, meat and food, which is a waste of countless things. This is why they want to abandon the city now.

There wasn’t much to eat, so we moved to Qitou or Pinghai Acropolis.