At four o'clock in the morning, it was dark outside. The Jiaxing government office meeting hall was brightly lit and crowded. Civil and military officials gathered together, whispering to each other. The servants and maids brought hot soup, cakes, tea and fruit plates back and forth.
The head of the Jiaxing Mansion, the prefect Zhao Chong, was walking back and forth in the meeting hall with his hands behind his back. Hearing the howling cold wind outside, he felt like thousands of enemy troops were roaring and attacking the city, which made him suspicious and frightened.
"Come, come quickly, go to the city gate and see if it is safe? Are the soldiers guarding the city awake? Don't let the Japanese pirates touch the door!"
After Zhao Chong walked back and forth a few times, he could no longer suppress the surprise in his heart and shouted for instructions.
"Yes, yes, I'm here to go." The servant waiting outside the meeting hall responded to the order and turned around.
Seeing the officer go out, Zhao Chongcai breathed a sigh of relief, returned to the main seat and sat down, taking a sip of tea to moisten his throat.
When the civil and military officials in the meeting hall saw this scene, they couldn't help but whisper and murmur below.
"We adults are good at everything, but we are too suspicious and too timid. The Japanese pirates are attacking Suzhou City. Our Jiaxing is more than 160 miles away from Suzhou City. How could the Japanese pirates come to our Jiaxing City?"
A burly military attache whispered to the skinny military attache he was friends with.
"That's right. I heard that the Tuolin Japanese pirates' attack on Suzhou was not going well, and they lost a lot of troops and generals. I heard that they lost at least 10,000 troops and horses, and they have already withdrawn their troops in a hurry."
The thin military attache was better informed and nodded and added.
"So many troops have been reduced? How many soldiers and horses can the Tuolin Japanese pirates have in total? Fifty or sixty thousand? The maximum number that can go to attack Suzhou is 40,000 to 50,000. If the number of troops is reduced by more than 10,000, then the number of troops will be reduced by about 30%. Based on many years of experience in leading troops , if the number of troops is reduced by 10%, the army will have little combat effectiveness. If the number of troops is reduced by 10%, 20% of the troops will be required to take care of the wounded, which is equivalent to 30% of the troops unable to fight. The Japanese pirates have reduced their number by so much. No wonder they retreated. If they don't withdraw, they will collapse. Just Our government officials are extremely afraid of such Japanese pirates. As for what's so scary about it, it's okay if they don't come to our Jiaxing. If they come to our Jiaxing, it will be our military success." After hearing this, the sturdy military attache became a little worried. He said eagerly.
"That's right, if the Japanese pirates don't come, we will be successful if they come. Some time ago, Mr. Zhu Ping'an, I heard that he offended Prime Minister Yan in the court and was almost sentenced to death in the officialdom. He was demoted. I went to Jingnan to be the county magistrate. As a result, I was lucky, and I caught a few groups of small Japanese pirates. In less than half a year, I was not only restored to my original position, but even promoted to a higher level, becoming a fourth-rank official. Your Majesty A reward was awarded. The military merits of fighting the Japanese pirates are no worse than fighting the Tatars in the north. Unfortunately, we were unlucky and did not catch the Japanese pirates."
The thin military officer felt the same way. When he mentioned Zhu Ping'an, he had a look of envy, jealousy and hatred on his face, and he had a feeling that he could have sex with me.
Judging from their experience, their own soldiers, when two armies confront each other, will lose not only 30% of their troops, but even 10%, and they will collapse.
The Japanese pirates had lost 30% of their troops in Zhejiang, and they were all defeated.
Defeating soldiers is like chasing ducks. Just one person can drive away a group of defeated soldiers.
"Don't be careless. Let me tell you, these Japanese pirates are no joke. If you don't have two brushes, you can pray to God not to encounter them. Last month, less than a hundred Japanese pirates spread across more than a thousand miles and killed as many as 100,000 people. Have you forgotten about showing off your power under Tiancheng?! There were less than a hundred Japanese pirates. They killed a censor, a magistrate, a county magistrate, two commanders, and two commanders. The total of more than 3,000 officers and soldiers was really a killing god. Alive!"
A civil servant heard the conversation between the two and couldn't help but remind them.
"How could we not know about this? Our channels are better than yours. Let me tell you this. Japanese pirates are different from Japanese pirates. The hundred Japanese pirates last month were all Japanese imperial guards. Their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated. This kind of Japanese pirates only come across once in a hundred years. How can other Japanese pirates compare with them? If all Japanese pirates are like these 100 Japanese pirates, then we will be occupied by Japanese pirates long ago. Do you think this is true?"
The thin military attaché said disapprovingly.
"Although the other Japanese pirates are not as good as the one hundred Japanese pirates, they are not good at all. How many states and counties encountered Japanese pirates, they all lost more and won less, and the few successes were mostly due to the expulsion of Japanese pirates. Expulsion, this word is interesting, Japanese pirates After the robbery is over, you are returning home. If you lead your troops to pursue them from a distance, you are also expelling them..."
The civil servant on the side shook his head and reminded the two of them again.
"Okay, my boss Zhang, let's not mention the Japanese pirates in other places for now, let's just talk about our Jiaxing Mansion. Master Zhang, don't you think our mandarin is making a fuss out of a molehill? The Japanese pirates attacked Suzhou City and ate them. The defeat is far away from our Jiaxing Prefecture. Will our Jiaxing Prefecture become a frightened bird?"
The two military attaches whispered to the civilian officials.
"Why are you so far away? Didn't you hear the news just now? A village in the north of Jiaxing Prefecture was attacked by Japanese pirates. The Japanese pirates left no trace of the chickens or dogs left behind." Manager Zhang shook his head and reminded the two of them.
"There is only a small village, and dozens of Japanese pirates can do it. This is the work of a small group of defeated soldiers, so don't worry. When daybreak, I pick up the spear and lead the troops out of the city. I can carry this before noon. The heads of the small group of defeated soldiers are back. When the time comes, Chief Zhang will casually prepare a celebration banquet for us and leave the city."
The sturdy military attache stroked his beard and said confidently.
"What if it's not a small group of soldiers who defeated, but a large group of Japanese pirates?" Chief Zhang shook his head and asked, looking at the two of them.
"Haha, my boss Zhang, this is because you don't know the art of war. The Japanese pirates suffered a huge defeat in Suzhou. They suffered heavy casualties and retreated in embarrassment. When they retreated, they must retreat back to the Tuolin lair they occupied. Tuolin lair is in the southeast. , we are in the southwest, the direction is quite different." The sturdy military attache laughed and said.
"Also, Chief Zhang, in addition to the village in the north of our Jiaxing Prefecture that suffered Japanese pirates, are there other villages that suffered Japanese pirates?! No, I have been paying attention, and no other villages encountered Japanese pirates. This is enough to explain. , the tragedy in the village to the north was just the work of a small group of defeated soldiers. They were small in number and could only plunder one village, and one village was enough for them to eat; if most of the Japanese pirates were there, how could they be satisfied with just one village? Then attack the town or even the county seat."
The thin military attaché also added.
After hearing this, Chief Zhang was silent for a moment. He felt that what the two people said made sense, but he was still a little worried.
"I'm not afraid of 10,000, I'm just afraid of the worst." Zhang said cautiously.
"The city is guarded by two thousand soldiers and horses from our guard station, so there is nothing wrong with it. Besides, didn't our governor also send General Liu to Yangcheng Guard to ask for reinforcements? In this case, there is no need to worry." The thin military attache shrugged his shoulders. road.
"That's right, as for sending people to the city gate again and again to check the situation, this is the fourth wave." The tiger-backed military attache twitched the corner of his mouth.
Director Zhang stopped talking now.
