In the battle to defend Yancheng, the Huainan Army used offense instead of defense and won a complete victory.
A total of more than 5,000 Japanese pirates were annihilated, nearly 20,000 were captured, and more than 300 small boats were burned.
Chuzhou's victory affected Taizhou, Tongzhou, and even the coasts of Zhejiang and Zhejiang. Anti-Japanese morale greatly increased. Japanese pirates from all sides withdrew from the mainland and retreated to the sea.
The 20,000 captured people were all killed by Japanese soldiers and ronin, and local pirates were sent to the north to serve as military slaves, repair official affairs, and attack Dijon.
Although the battle was won brilliantly, Song Che still saw many problems - the Japanese pirates were well-equipped, and there must be forces behind them to fight for them. If they could not uncover this force, if they could not kill the king of thieves and cut off their roots, there would be a spring breeze in the coming year. Blow and grow again.
It is equally important to eliminate external troubles and eliminate internal worries.
The anti-Japanese cause continued with Song Che's "three-step plan" - starting from Chuzhou, rebuilding Longkou Port, reorganizing the troops and warships, moving southward by land and water at the same time, and then contacting Hangzhou from north to south to occupy Huainan Establish coastal defense lines with various ports and bays along the coasts of Zhejiang and Zhejiang.
Once the defense line is stable and equipped with sufficient warships, we can attack the sandbanks and islands where the Japanese pirates are entrenched.
Of course, everything needs time to settle. It can’t be close or far away, but it will definitely not go beyond this winter.
…
On November 15th of that year, just like this victory, the weather became sunny after the snow.
But in the severe winter, it is still very cold.
When the army was about to move south, the edict from Luoyang also arrived.
"By God's blessing, the emperor has issued an edict that Privy Envoy Gao Chen has made meritorious service in the fight against the Japanese... He will return to the court immediately and express his admiration for this!"
Except for Gao Chen who was recalled to the capital, all civil and military officers who had performed military exploits were given names, positions, gold, residences, and awards.
Jiang Yuntian also got his wish, and he went to Taizhou to command the division and command a group of troops.
dusk.
The sunset is rare.
Gao Chen stood on the city wall, holding the imperial edict tightly in his hand, watching the sunset quietly, with sadness on his brows.
"It should be a good thing for Mr. Gao to move back to the capital. Why are you so depressed?" Song Che walked up to the city wall.
"This is not His Majesty's will, but some people are afraid that I will take too much credit and want to stop it in time," Gao Chen shook his head and sighed, then looked at Song Che:
"After I leave, Li Zhihui will take over from me and continue to lead Huainan's military affairs. I hope Mr. Song can provide more assistance."
Song Che smiled slightly as an answer.
Gao Chen took out another black and gold token from his sleeve and handed it to Song Che: "This is the 'Black Phoenix Order'. With it, you can dispatch the ANBU under my command. They are all in Taizhou at the moment."
Song Che hesitated.
"Sir, don't worry, the Anbu is a force outside the imperial court and is not an official position." Gao Chen put the token into Song Che's hand and said with a smile: "Besides, you are a businessman. As you often say, a businessman must have something to do. "
Song Che no longer refused, said thank you, and put the token into his sleeve.
"The sun has gone down and I have to go."
Gao Chen reluctantly looked at the setting sun that had dipped into the horizon, sighed, turned around and walked down the city wall.
"Master Gao."
Song Che stopped him, "I don't know what to say before we say goodbye. There are three things I want to think deeply about."
Gao Chen paused and said with a smile: "Mr. Song's words are worth a thousand pieces of gold. Gao is all ears."
"First, the emperor doesn't have much life left." Song Che said first.
Gao Chen was surprised, but for a moment he regained his composure and frowned in deep thought.
"Second, although Daliang is allied with the Xiqiang, Dijon is getting stronger and stronger. The northern military affairs should be given priority, followed by the Hu tribe. Japanese pirates are not a concern." Song Che added.
Gao Chen nodded.
"third."
Song Che looked at the sunset and said slowly: "The sunset is infinitely beautiful, and it will be dusk tomorrow."
"Hehehe..." Gao Chen laughed from the bottom of his heart, "Then I look forward to enjoying the sunset with you next time."
"It's a long way to Xijing, but Mr. Gao has a safe journey."
"See you later."
The two of them clasped their fists and saluted, saying goodbye as gentlemen.
…
Unable to sleep well with the army, Song Che did not go with the army. He took off his mask and restored his identity. He only took his maid Coco with him and went to Taizhou to take up his post with Jiang Yuntian.
Gao Chen's dark department is in Taizhou, and Ning Yehong is also in Taizhou, so the "snake head" is probably also in Taizhou.
This is also the reason why Jiang Yuntian became the commander of Taizhou. With military power in hand, it would be much easier to catch the "snake".
The drive from Yancheng to Taizhou takes one day and one night.
Although most of the Japanese pirates in Huainan returned to the sea, there were still many Japanese pirates wandering around, and they walked very cautiously along the way.
"Little girl, fill up the wine bag again!"
Jiang Yuntian handed the shriveled wine bag into the carriage.
Coco pouted her lips and complained: "I'm not your maid..."
Even so, he still poured the wine full and handed it back. Who told him to endure the cold wind and be a coachman?
"Brother Jiang, where are we now?" Song Che asked.
Jiang Yuntian was so angry that he said, "We have reached my territory!"
He is the commander of the Taizhou Command Department and the supreme commander of the state's troops. Calling it "his territory" is not bragging.
"It's getting late now. If there's no inn ahead, just find a farmhouse to stay overnight. It's really too cold."
"Well, there is a house not far ahead, and there is still smoke coming from the kitchen. We just happened to go and have a meal."
The carriage turned right onto a path and drove into a small bamboo forest. After about ten feet, a house came into view.
Jiang Yuntian tied up the carriage, and Song Che and Coco also got off the carriage. The three of them came to the gate of the courtyard together. Song Che took out a piece of silver from his sleeve and was about to knock on the door.
"etc."
Jiang Yuntian called him to stop, "Something's wrong."
Jiang Daxia said something was wrong, it must not be normal.
Song Che also started to be wary, "What's wrong?"
Jiang Yuntian sniffed, "The smell of blood is unmistakable."
He pushed the courtyard door gently, it seemed to be blocked, but it was not locked. He pushed the door open with more force, and suddenly, a bloody corpse stumbled out.
Song Che quickly covered Coco's eyes. The scene was too bloody and not suitable for children.
Looking in along the doorway, there is another female corpse lying under the eaves.
"Sealing the throat with one knife, professional technique." Jiang Yuntian could tell at a glance.
Song Che said in a deep voice: "Could it be a Japanese pirate?"
"You guys stay, I'll go in and take a look." Jiang Yuntian slowly pulled out his sword and walked slowly into the courtyard.
Song Che also took out his musket and was wary of any disturbances around him.
After a while, Jiang Yuntian walked out of the house with a steamed bun in his hand. As he gnawed, he said, "Three people died inside, a couple with a child. The bodies are hot, and the steamed buns are also hot, and they taste pretty good."
And there’s still smoke!
In this flat snow field, you can clearly see a bird flying by. If the person was just killed and the murderer cannot be seen, it can only mean that they are hiding...
Song Che glanced at the bamboo forest in horror, and hurriedly pulled Keke closer to Jiang Yuntian!
"You still want to eat steamed buns, they... they are hiding in the bamboo forest!"
"I know."
Jiang Yuntian was very indifferent: "They must be watching us in the dark, but they didn't take action, which means they don't want to kill us. We can leave as if nothing happened."
"What if it's a rogue? If you have the ability, you can eliminate harm for the people."
"Unlikely a ronin."
Jiang Yuntian pointed to the corpse under the eaves and said: "The wound made by the Japanese knife is much more slender. The young woman in the house is good-looking and has not been insulted. The family has not been rummaged through. This is not burning, killing and looting by ronin." style.”
Song Che said: "This is your territory, you can't ignore it."
"Who says I don't care." Jiang Yuntian stuffed the last bite of steamed bun into his mouth, "I'm a little hungry, I have to eat before I take care of them."
Then, he strode out of the courtyard and shouted into the bamboo forest:
"Hey! Stop hiding! I know you are in there! I'll count to three. If you don't come out, I'll go in and look for you!"
"three……"
"two……"
Don't wait until the count reaches one.
"Hua Hua Hua..."
Three disheveled swordsmen emerged from the bamboo forest. They were wearing Japanese clothes, but their faces and postures were completely different.
"There is a road to heaven but you don't take it, but hell has no door but you break in! Since you are looking for death, you can't blame us!"
The swordsmen rushed forward together.
"Brother Jiang, leave one -"
"Uh-huh!"
The sword light flashed, and the three swordsmen stopped in their tracks. Their eyes widened and they could not believe until their death that there could be such a fast sword in this world!
The sword was sheathed, the bamboo leaves were fluttering, and the head fell to the ground.
Jiang Yuntian raised his head and looked at Song Che: "What did you say?"
Song Che sighed and walked to the corpses of the three swordsmen, "They wore ronin clothes, but they spoke in Mandarin and used simple swords. This is too strange."
Jiang Yuntian pursed his lips and analyzed: "Maybe they wanted to use the notoriety of the Japanese pirates to hide their murderous motives."
"That's why I asked you to keep one. A living person is far more useful than a dead one."
"But this damned person cannot be allowed to live."
"You decide your territory."
Song Che knelt down and groped for the corpse again, and took out a small bag made of linen from the arms of one of them. What came out was extremely irregular gold particles, as many as two or three.
"This is the first time I've seen such broken gold." Jiang Yuntian couldn't help but be curious.
Song Che looked at the sky and looked at the gold grains several times before saying, "This is the gold sand that has just been panned out. They are often melted first and then made into ingots through molds."
"It's easier to kill people and make gold than to find gold in the sea."
"So this gold does not belong to the killer, it should come from this family."
In coastal areas, there are not only pearl and agate diggers, but also many people who want to get rich overnight through gold mining.
Gold mining is generally done overseas, either by filtering sand or mining on islands.
Overseas, islands, gold mining, Japanese pirates...are they related?
It was obviously impossible for these three killers to kill an entire family for a few taels of gold.
If one does not rob wealth and the other does not rob sex, then there is only one possibility left - silence.
Even in modern times, wars often break out over competition for scarce resources. Gold is such a fascinating thing that it seems normal for people to die for it.
"In any case, we have killed the murderer, and we have avenged the family. As for what happens next, let it happen as it happens."
Jiang Yuntian was still the same as before, no matter good or bad people should be buried in the ground, he simply dug a few holes, buried the bodies, took a pot of steamed buns, and drove out of the bamboo forest.
…
