Strictly speaking, the Ming army in Sakai Port at this time actually only had 4,500 people. Mu Ying led 500 people to the Yoshino Imperial Palace and was responsible for guarding the safety of Emperor Chokei. With the help of these five hundred Ming troops, Emperor Changqing eliminated the servants and spies installed by Prince Huairiang in the imperial palace, and regained control of the imperial palace. Mu Ying also successfully foiled several assassinations against the emperor, and cooperated with Zhu Su. As expected, after the Ming army arrived, someone was indeed eyeing the emperor's life, trying to kill the emperor and put the blame on the Ming Dynasty.
Mu Ying's bravery let the Japanese know the elite of the Ming army. At the same time, Prince Huairiang's faction began to become nervous. After all, Emperor Changqing had only a few ministers who had no power to restrain him before, and even most of the servants in the imperial palace were bribed by Huai Liang. It can be said that, except for the remaining political influence, Changqing is already completely in the hands of Huairang. As long as the Kōkyo Shinmei faction headed by Fujiwara Takaki is defeated, the emperor can be deposed at any time and a new puppet can be established.
Then he led his people to join the Northern Dynasty, preserving their lives and wealth.
But at this time, the Imperial Palace was no longer under Huai Liang's control, and it was undoubtedly no longer easy to control Emperor Changqing. How to regain control of the Imperial Palace? The best way is to divert Mu Ying away, so threatening Sakai Port where the Ming prince is stationed is undoubtedly the best way.
After all, Mu Ying was just a general of the Ming Dynasty, and protecting the prince of the Ming Dynasty must be the top priority of his trip. If the prince is in danger, in order to avoid being condemned by the Ming emperor, this Ming general named Mu Ying must take the initiative to help the Ming army camp no matter what.
This is the art of war called "moving the tiger away from the mountain".
Being able to use such advanced military tactics, Huai Liang definitely wanted to give himself a little red flower at this time.
"That fellow would never have imagined that Brother Muying is the adopted son of his father, who is qualified to serve as a commander and lead an army alone. When it comes to the art of war, I'm afraid that all the Japanese people combined are not even qualified to carry Brother Muying's shoes." Sakai In the harbor, Zhu Su, Di Meng, Gao Qi, Tie Xuan and others were analyzing the current situation.
"Brother Muying will never leave the imperial palace so easily. We can only deal with the Japanese outside."
"They just want to lure the tiger away from the mountain, and they won't take the initiative to launch an offensive, right?" Gao Qi asked doubtfully.
"That's not necessarily true." Zhu Su shook his head. "A dog will jump over the wall when he is anxious. Brother Mu Ying has been waiting for many days. They have been squatting in the forest pretending to be bandits for so long. Now it is time to get anxious."
"I think that Huai Liang is not a patient person. He will definitely launch an offensive and deceive the Ming army back into the imperial palace."
"It would be better if we could be directly used as thieves to destroy us..."
"After all, in the past few days, there have been tens of thousands of 'thieves' gathering nearby one after another."
"Ten thousand people..." Di Meng looked a little worried and went out to report: "Swords have no eyes. Your Highness, can you board the ship first and take refuge at sea? Wait for your subordinates to repel the Japanese, and then return ashore..."
"No." Zhu Su shook his head. "If I, the king, retreat, wouldn't it mean that the morale of the soldiers will be damaged in vain? However, I still don't take it seriously if there are only ten thousand Japanese."
He has gone through several battles and is not a rookie who was attacked for the first time in Suzhou City. At that time, Zhu Su could not defeat the more than ten thousand coalition forces composed of Zhang Shicheng's remnants and Japanese pirates with just a group of poorly trained Suzhou guards. Now that we have thousands of Ming army elites in our hands, how can we be afraid of a mere ten thousand Japanese?
"You are still going step by step, but you need to set up additional sentries at night to guard against Japanese night attacks."
"This city is already the land of our Ming Dynasty. If the Japanese dare to reach out, their hands will be chopped off. There is no need to show mercy." Zhu Su said. To set up a concession in a foreign country, obtaining high-level approval is still secondary. The first hard condition is that your fist is big enough to defeat all opponents and coveters.
If you can't defend even a mere 10,000 people, how can you establish a foothold in the Japanese country?
"In this case, it is better to let the students evacuate to the sea first. After all, they are all young people and they are still good at reading. If they are damaged, I am afraid that the gain outweighs the loss." Gao Qi thought for a while and suggested to Zhu Su.
Tie Xuan is now in his teens. He is of color-eyed descent and grew up earlier than the Han people. At this time, he has a broad face and a rather traditional appearance.
In order to pave the way for the Ming Dynasty's national policy of expanding its territory in the future, many courses on overseas countries were set up in the Imperial College of Civil and Military Affairs to cultivate the vision of the next generation of civil and military officials early, so as to prevent the next generation of the Ming Dynasty from becoming corrupt scholars again. Arrogant and arrogant.
Before Zhu Su set off this time, dozens of soldiers led by Tie Xuan came to kneel and beg, willing to go to sea with the army and see the vast overseas. Among these people, there are the seeds of the liberal arts academy and the children of nobles. They are all the seeds of talent cultivated with the new learning over the years. They are the top figures in the next generation of the Ming Dynasty who are willing to open their eyes to see the world.
Zhu Su did not bring many civil servants with him on this trip, and these young students were mostly responsible for the logistics of the army. Most of them were civilized and military, and were talented people. Gao Qi also loved talents and was worried about their young age, so he proposed to keep them away from disputes to avoid accidental injury.
"Mr. Qingqiu (Gao Qi's account) is wrong!" After hearing Gao Qi's suggestion that they take refuge at sea, Tie Xuan, who was just listening here and doing some secretarial work, stood up proudly. "Let's not talk about the fact that the master is still here. There is no reason for a disciple to escape far away. Let's just say that we, Mingren, are now in a foreign country. We should help each other and face the crisis together."
"Although we are young, we still have the desire to kill the enemy and serve the country. How can there be any reason to abandon so many compatriots and go to a safe place alone?"
When everyone heard this, one of the generals laughed and said, "If we kill the enemy and serve our country, we don't need little kids like you."
"But you can stay here boldly. If a Japanese is allowed to kill you, we people should stop being soldiers. We might as well stuff them all back into my crotch one by one and start living again!"
Everyone laughed when they heard this, and Zhu Su was pleased to see that his morale was working. "Despite this, we must not underestimate the enemy."
"We only have thousands of people. If one person is sacrificed, one person will be lost."
"Brothers, please brace yourself and defend the city. If we can avoid losing a single soldier, it will be called a great victory."
"This battle is mainly about defense, there is no need to pursue. If it hurts them, they will retreat." Zhu Su said with a smile. "No matter how hard those Japanese people try, they can never imagine it."
"In just a few days, we can prepare such a great gift for them."
…
Outside Sakai Port Castle, on the slope.
The name of the commander of the army outside the city was Nanmu Zehu. The Nanmu family was the leading general family in the Southern Dynasty, and Zehu was the most respected general under Prince Huairiang.
He took more than ten thousand soldiers, pretended to be bandits, and slept and ate in the mountains every day, just to scare the Ming army. But I didn't expect that a full seven days had passed. These Ming troops had obviously discovered their traces, but they still went their own way, cutting wood and quarrying stone, looking like they turned a blind eye.
This made Zehu stare blankly, puzzled.
"The officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty actually looked down upon us so much. Do you think we are just like local chickens and dogs?" Nanmu Zehu's family background and also learned some Song studies (i.e. Neo-Confucianism) confirmed once again that the Ming army was still proceeding step by step. Ignoring the signs of these people, he felt the contempt from the Ming army on the opposite side, and angrily dropped the "Military Fan" in his hand.
"My lord, let's attack." A general advised him. "Those Ming soldiers are arrogant and don't take us seriously at all. They are despising the dignity of our warriors!"
"And if they are allowed to build fortifications, attacking them in the future will be time-consuming and labor-intensive. It's better to take advantage of their unstable foothold and take the initiative to attack!"
"Yes! My lord!" "My lord, attack!" The warriors under his command also advised one after another. Most of these warrior masters usually live in high places in the city. When did they ever suffer the injustice of squatting in the woods and pretending to be thieves? Moreover, it is the breeding season of mosquitoes these days. Before these gentlemen started fighting, all of them were stung all over their faces and bodies. The itching was unbearable, and they couldn't be scratched even though they were wearing armor.
It would be better to deal with these Ming troops as soon as possible, then return to the city and enjoy the gentle countryside of the wandering girls in the town.
"Alas! Even I can't act rashly without an order. However, I have already sent someone to ask His Excellency the Prince for instructions. As long as His Excellency the Prince has an order, we will attack immediately." Kusunoki Norihu scratched his neck. He has long been unable to stand the harsh environment in this mountain. There were only a few thousand Ming troops. In his opinion, if they were easily eliminated, the problem would be solved. Prince Huai Liang is really making a fuss out of a molehill.
A group of Japanese people were scratching their itches and sighing in the curtain drawn by the curtain. It was dinner time now, and the aroma of grilled fish seemed to be wafting from the Ming army camp in the distance. Looking at the rice balls and kombu sent by his subordinates, Kusunoki Zehu felt even more irritable.
"Report! Report!" An ashigaru infantryman ran over from outside and knelt down far outside the curtain: "The order from His Highness Prince Huaira has been sent to Yoshino Castle!"
(End of chapter)
