The county guard was timid and fearful, but after hearing Qi Jiguang's bold words, he frowned and scolded sternly: "Arrogant man, trying to please others by grandstanding. The Japanese army is coming fiercely, what use can a thousand county soldiers do?"
There was a hint of displeasure in Qi Jiguang's eyes when he heard this, but he quickly calmed down and respectfully raised his hands and said: "Sir, the Japanese army is nothing more than barbarians. They have incomplete armor and have been wandering on the sea for months. They are nothing more than a tired army. They are nothing more than barbarians. Nothing to fear!"
Although the county governor was incompetent, he was the legitimate son of the family, so the family specially recruited several bachelors to serve as his staff.
However, as the saying goes, "People of the same species flock together, birds of a feather flock together." These recruited staff have no talent for governing the country, but are very good at observing people's emotions.
One of the staff members knew what the governor meant by looking at his face, and immediately stepped out of the queue and said, "Sir, I think the purpose of this group of Japanese troops coming here is simply because their main force was defeated by our Sui navy in a naval battle." , so they sent a partial division to land, intending to unite with the Tang army to harass Qingzhou, and force the general to divide his troops to rescue. However, what this group of Japanese soldiers did not expect was that the troops of the puppet Tang prince Li Jiancheng and Goguryeo Yeon Gaesumun had been captured by Qin Qiong. , General Di Qing was defeated.
Therefore, I think that now our army only needs to guard the city and hold on without fighting. As long as the Japanese army found out the information that the Tang army had been defeated, they would definitely retreat without fighting. "
After hearing what his staff said, the county governor felt that this suggestion was very much in line with his wishes. Just when he was about to nod in agreement, Qi Jiguang on the side had already widened his eyes and said loudly: "My lord, you must not do this!"
When the county guard saw Qi Jiguang coming out to obstruct him, he suddenly became serious and said unhappily: "Why not?"
Qi Jiguang said in a deep voice: "My lord, the Japanese army was defeated at sea by the navy commanded by General Lai. They suffered heavy losses and their resentment was concentrated. After landing, this group of Japanese soldiers went around massacring our Sui people to vent their anger. My lord, I held on to the city and did not leave. With the advantage of the city wall, we can naturally maintain peace in the city, but hundreds of thousands of people in the villages and towns outside the city will definitely be massacred by Japanese pirates."
The county guard frowned slightly and secretly winked at the staff member who had just presented the plan.
The staff understood and immediately said: "How can we care so much about things now? If we fail to fight the Japanese army out of the city, then even the people in the city will suffer! Your Excellency can order the people to move to the city to avoid disaster."
Qi Jiguang immediately shook his head and said: "The total number of people in the villages and towns outside the city is at least hundreds of thousands. The Japanese army is coming with a fierce force and will kill them within three to five days. How can we evacuate so many people in such a hurry?"
"Qi Jiguang!"
The county guard was obstructed by Qi Jiguang in every possible way and became angry. He slapped the table and shouted: "I am the chief of the county. You are just a subordinate of me. How dare you question my decision-making? Why don't you take him down quickly?" !”
"Let me see who dares?"
As soon as the governor finished speaking, several generals around Qi Jiguang immediately drew their swords from their sheaths and all guarded Qi Jiguang.
Qi Jiguang managed the army well and gained the trust of his soldiers on weekdays. What's more, most of the county soldiers in Donglai County are local people. It is inevitable that there will be a few relatives and friends among the people living outside the city.
Now, in order to save the city, the county guard actually wants to ensure that the people outside the city are massacred by Japanese pirates, and also wants to capture Qi Jiguang, who is dedicated to serving the people. How could these generals hold back? They all glared at the county guard fiercely, with the intention of swarming him and cutting him into pieces.
The county guard had never seen such a scene before. His face turned pale with fright. He pointed a trembling finger at everyone and said, "You...you are bold. I am your superior. Do you want to rebel?"
"I bother!"
A general looked at the county guard who was trembling with fear and cursed with disdain: "A guy like you who is greedy for life and afraid of death is worthy of being a parent officer and our superior."
"No rudeness!"
Qi Jiguang quickly stopped the general, then raised his hands to the county governor and said: "Sir, we are all locals of Donglai County, and those living outside the city are our hometown elders, relatives and friends. We soldiers will never hide. Just sit back and watch them being slaughtered by the Japanese pirates in the city. Qi Jiguang has been offended by your rudeness today. When Qi defeats the Japanese pirates, he will apologize to the county governor!"
After saying this, Qi Jiguang turned around, looked at the generals and said: "Brothers, for the sake of the folks in Donglai, are you willing to go with me to fight against the Japanese pirates?"
Several generals raised their hands and said, "We are willing to go!"
"Okay!" Qi Jiguang nodded and said loudly: "Then please go back immediately to rectify your troops and follow me out of the city to fight against the Japanese pirates!"
"As you command!"
After finishing speaking, this group of people ignored the county guard sitting at the top and went straight out of the government office to the military camp.
The county guard's face turned livid when he saw this, but he didn't dare to get angry. It wasn't until the group of generals left that he dared to curse out loud: "It's so presumptuous, so presumptuous! Qi Jiguang, I will cut you into pieces!"
A group of staff members hurriedly came forward to persuade them: "Sir, please calm down! Your Majesty, please calm down! You are not like a warrior like Qi Jiguang who is ignorant of current affairs!"
The county guard was originally a bully who didn't dare to take a breath in front of that group of ferocious generals, but now he was acting domineering in front of his group of staff.
"Calm down my anger? How do you want me to calm down? Those warriors didn't take me seriously at all. They almost killed me just now! And that Qi Jiguang, who didn't know what to do and forced himself to fight the Japanese army, just relying on the strength of the city How can such a small number of soldiers and horses be a match for the Japanese army? How can I, the governor, explain to the court that I have lost the city?"
The counselor who was the first to offer advice to the governor rolled his eyes and said, "Sir, this matter is easy to handle. If the city is unfortunately lost, it will be because Qi Jiguang did not listen to your orders. Then you will only have to put all the blame on that person." Qi Jiguang's body. If the court holds him accountable, Qi Jiguang's whole family will be implicated, and this will also make the Lord feel bad."
Upon hearing this, the county governor glanced at the staff member approvingly, but immediately frowned: "But what if Qi Jiguang is lucky enough to defeat the Japanese pirates?"
The staff member shook his head and said with a smile: "Your Excellency, you are overly worried. There are only two thousand county soldiers in the city, and the number of Japanese troops is nearly ten thousand. If they are defending the city, it would be reasonable. How can Qi Jiguang have any chance of winning in a plain battle?"
"But what if we let him win? I think Qi Jiguang does have a good way of training soldiers and horses on weekdays."
The staff member frowned slightly, and after thinking for a while, he came up with another idea: "My lord, if we really let Qi Jiguang fight off the Japanese bandits, then your lord will blame Qi Jiguang for what he did just now. Didn't Qi Jiguang just say that he wants to apologize to your lord?" Your Excellency took the opportunity to imprison him for disobeying the superior officer, and then sent a military report to the court, claiming that the Japanese pirates had been repulsed. As for who commanded this battle? Isn't it your decision, Your Excellency? ?”
The county guard understood the idea, and immediately clapped his hands and laughed and said: "Wonderful, really wonderful! Humph, Qi Jiguang, no matter whether you win or lose this time, I will definitely make your life worse than death!"
