The fire burned for a full hour before it was extinguished. Japanese generals Shibata Katsuie, Maeda Keiji and more than 8,000 soldiers under their command were all burned to death in the valley.
After the fire was extinguished, Qi Jiguang sent people into the valley and confirmed that there were no more Japanese soldiers alive in the valley before ordering the troops to withdraw back to the city.
. . . . . . . . . .
"My lord, my lord, good news, good news!"
Just when Qi Jiguang led the army back to the city, in the Donglai County Office, the staff who had previously proposed the plan to the county governor rushed to the county governor with excitement and said: "Sir, Qi Jiguang lured the Japanese invaders into Qingfeng Gorge. The fire burned it all away.”
"All the Japanese troops have been wiped out? What about Qi Jiguang? What are the losses of our army?"
The county guard stood up and looked at the staff member in shock and said.
"Qi Jiguang used fire attacks this time, so there was almost no damage to the soldiers and horses in battle!"
"Then this is really good news!"
The county guard was not happy when he heard the news and became angry, saying: "I thought that even if Qi Jiguang could defeat the Japanese army, he would definitely suffer heavy losses. In this way, as long as we operate properly, the credit can be attributed to me. But now we are leaving the city. Thousands of people all know that this battle was fought by Qi Jiguang, and since there are so many people talking about it, I’m afraid I can’t hide this news.”
"My lord, don't worry!"
The staff member who reported the news smiled sinisterly and said: "According to the information provided by the informants we sent to Qi Jiguang, when the Japanese army was trapped in the valley by Qi Jiguang, they asked Qi Jiguang to surrender, but Qi Jiguang did not accept it, so the eight thousand The rest were all burned to death in the valley!"
"Qi Jiguang is killing prisoners!"
After hearing this, the county guard suddenly turned from anger to joy and laughed: "Hahaha, great. This Qi Jiguang is really just a reckless man. He has been killing prisoners since ancient times. I will use this crime to punish him. When the time comes, The civil servants in the court, like Pei Ju and Su Wei, will definitely stand by me."
The staff complimented him and said with a sinister smile: "What your Excellency said is absolutely true!"
After laughing for a long time, the county guard finally stopped, glanced at his staff and said, "Immediately go and gather all the confidants of the officer in the city. When Qi Jiguang leads his army back to the city, he will be captured immediately. After reading out his He was immediately executed after being found guilty.”
This county guard was also vicious. He knew that although killing prisoners was a taboo, Qi Jiguang used less than 2,000 soldiers and horses to eliminate Japanese troops several times his own. Such an ability would inevitably be valued by military figures, so he He planned to take the first step to get rid of Qi Jiguang. As long as Qi Jiguang dies, even if the military figures are dissatisfied, the civilian officials will surely stand up for him.
The staff member understood this and immediately sneered and said: "Don't worry, sir, I will definitely handle this matter well!"
. . . . . . . . . .
When sending troops to resist the enemy, the most important thing is the speed of the troops. Therefore, when Qi Jiguang led his army to Qingfeng Gorge, he traveled day and night and took only a day.
However, now that all the invading Japanese troops had been wiped out, the march did not have to be as desperate as before. They marched day and night, and walked for two days and one night before returning to the city.
At this time, the news that Qi Jiguang had wiped out all the more than 8,000 Japanese invaders with only 2,000 county soldiers had spread throughout the city. After the Japanese troops landed, all kinds of atrocities had already made the people in the city hate them to the bone. Qi Jiguang, who wiped out all the Japanese pirates with weak troops and kept peace, was naturally regarded as a hero by the people of Hecheng. Therefore, when Qi Jiguang's army appeared not far from the city, the people spontaneously rushed to the city gate to welcome the return of Qi Jiguang's army.
"General Qi is mighty, General Qi is mighty!"
When Qi Jiguang led his troops and horses into the city gate, the people who had been waiting for him for a long time suddenly shouted in unison.
"Thanks to General Qi. If those murderous Japanese pirates were allowed to enter the city, we ordinary people would all suffer!"
"Yes, General Qi saved our lives and is our great benefactor!"
. . . . . . . . . .
Listening to the praises of the people, Qi Jiguang waved back to the people with a smile and said: "Dear fellow citizens, we are all soldiers, and it is our duty to protect our home and country!"
At this moment, the staff who had been waiting at the city gate for a long time on the orders of the county governor led dozens of soldiers to push through the cheering crowd and shouted loudly: "Where is Qi Jiguang? I came to bring you to justice on the orders of the county governor. !”
This loud shout immediately stunned the people who were still cheering loudly. They looked at the arrogant staff member on the horse and the dozens of soldiers around him who were eyeing him with shock.
Qi Jiguang sighed helplessly, got off his horse and walked to the staff, raised his hands and said: "Although I was helpless that day, I did violate the coercion of the county governor. Now that the Japanese pirates have been defeated, I am willing to take the blame!"
"Hmm."
The staff member had a sinister look on his face, raised the corner of his mouth slightly, and said loudly: "Qi Jiguang, the governor wants you to protect the people outside the city. He didn't want to punish you for disobedience. But who would have thought that you would be like this? Vicious, the Japanese army begged you to surrender after you were trapped in Qingfeng Gorge, but you turned a blind eye and burned all these thousands of creatures to death. Such behavior without punishment is not enough to bring peace to the world? The governor has an order to capture Qi Jiguang and use him Their heads are dedicated to the thousands of dead souls in Qingfeng Gorge.”
"What, you want to kill General Qi Jiguang!"
There was an uproar in the crowd, and several generals under Qi Jiguang drew their swords out of their sheaths. They glared at the group of people who came to arrest Qi Jiguang and shouted: "Who dares to come here? If you dare to touch General Qi, you must pass our level first."
"Are you going to rebel?"
The staff member pointed at several of Qi Jiguang's generals and said, "We, the Central Plains, have been a country of etiquette since ancient times. Qi Jiguang slaughtered thousands of prisoners. Such behavior violated the principles of benevolence and righteousness. If he is not severely punished, how will the neighboring countries around the world view him? Me, Sui?"
"fart!"
An impatient general strode forward, pointed at the staff's nose and cursed: "If it hadn't been for General Qi, I'm afraid the Japanese pirates would have entered the city and chopped off your dog's head by now. You're a sour scholar who doesn't know how to be grateful." That’s all, you actually want to punish General Qi to death for a group of heartless beasts!”
"that is!"
Another general also said with an angry face: "Since this group of Japanese pirates landed, they have committed all kinds of crimes, including burning, killing and looting. I don't know how many people along the coast have been brutally murdered. I want to ask you, have they ever killed anyone? The way of benevolence and righteousness?”
"Yes, General Qi saved all the people in our city. Why did he kill him because of those beasts?"
Under the leadership of several generals of General Qi, the crowd was excited for a while. It was not known who was the first to take action. In short, in the end, all the people and sergeants at the gate of the city rushed forward crazily and pushed the staff and dozens of soldiers around him were beaten to death.
"Brothers, fellow villagers. Since this is the case, let's just stop doing it and take the life of the county governor who is greedy for life and afraid of death and only framed Zhongliang. Then we can argue with the court. No matter what, we will We have to save General Qi’s life!”
"Yes, that's right!"
"Yes!"
The angry crowd did not calm down because of the death of the staff and others. Under the leadership of several of Qi Jiguang's subordinates, they all rushed towards the government office. No matter how Qi Jiguang tried to dissuade them, they could not stop the crowd's progress.
When the tide of people broke through the government office, the county governor was still sitting in the high hall waiting for the good news from his staff, but when he failed to escape, he suddenly met the same fate as his subordinates.
