The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Silently all the way, the Jiujiang Guards quickly arrived at Liyang, constantly searching for local people along the way to learn about the recent movements of Japanese pirates nearby.

Perhaps it was because the locals were frightened. They encountered few people along the way, and the news they heard was varied. Some said that the Japanese pirates had already passed Liyang, and some said that the Japanese pirates were still hiding near Lishui.

However, Wu Zhankui knew very well that the surrounding area was inland and there were actually very few troops stationed there. The only nearby guards were the Xuanzhou Guard and the Jianyang Guard, and the Suzhou Guard across the Taihu Lake.

Naturally, it is impossible for the Suzhou Guard to come here to fight the Japanese pirates. It is estimated that the Nanjing Ministry of War is most likely to mobilize the troops of the Xuanzhou Guard. After all, one of the commanders of the Jianyang Guard has been killed in the battle, and the team has been defeated. It is impossible in the short term. Get organized.

Immediately after arriving at Liyang County, the detective horses sent out had already sent back the news. They contacted the local government at the foot of the city. According to the information provided by the other party, the Japanese pirates had gone east two days ago, and their target should be Yixing.

While urging the team to move on and spend the night in Liyang County, there may be Japanese pirates nearby and it is really unsafe to camp in the wild.

At the same time, people were asked to take out the map. Wei Guangde and Zhang Hongfu were now following Wu Zhankui. They naturally took over the map, and the two of them unfolded the map.

This is the headquarters of this team, but there are only Wu Zhankui, Wei Meng and the two young men, and there are some personal guards around them.

My cousin and eldest brother have gone to lead the troops and are not here either.

Wu Zhankui crossed Liyang and continued to the west, which is Yixing County. Along the way, there is Yandang Lake in the north and Zhejiang in the south. There may also be troops from the Xuanzhou Guard.

"It should go to Yixing, but I don't know whether they will go north or south around Taihu Lake."

After Wu Zhankui pointed to Yixing, he obviously hesitated.

Although it was said before that the Japanese pirates might want to hide in Taihu Lake, it was just a joke. The water area of ​​Taihu Lake was small and it was not easy to hide. When they rushed to Suzhou Prefecture on the opposite side, they walked a little further and entered Songjiang. Just by the sea, there is a chance of escape.

"These mud-legged guys really know how to run."

Father Wei just smiled and said.

"If you want to block them, if you follow them to Yixing, I'm afraid you won't be able to stop them, and you won't even be able to see them."

Wu Zhankui didn't smile, just frowned and said.

They have all chased them here, so naturally they want to take full advantage. It is not worthwhile to go all the way in vain.

"It's along the south bank of the lake. Although there is a Qianhu garrison on the Zhejiang side, it probably doesn't have many soldiers. All the elite soldiers have been transferred to the coast to defend against Japanese pirates. We go around to Wujiang County. After crossing Wujiang, we can reach Tuolin. , we can’t pursue it at all.”

Father Wei also put away his smile at this moment and analyzed.

"Do you think they will go south around Taihu Lake?"

"It's the closest place to other Japanese pirates, and it's easier to find opportunities to escape. This group of people is probably exhausted now, and there's no way they can hide nearby for a long time."

Father Wei expressed his thoughts.

Going around from Taihu Lake is Wu County, and continuing forward is Tuolin Town in Songjiang Prefecture. It is now the nest of Japanese pirates. The Ming army has only deployed large forces in Jiaxing, Wujiang and Huating counties to encircle it, and is temporarily unable to clear it out.

Wu Zhankui understood. He felt that the Japanese pirates at this moment would only want to escape as soon as possible, so they would naturally choose the nearest road. Moreover, there were not many officers and soldiers around. If there was any danger, it would only be after arriving in Wujiang. From there, stick out and run to Tuolin.

Going around Taihu Lake from the north, it is true that the distance is much longer, and when you turn around, you will face the Suzhou Guard's troops, which is not easy to fight. Immediately, Wu Zhankui nodded slightly, indicating that he agreed with Wei Meng's judgment.

Wei Guangde and Zhang Hongfu on the side were also staring at the map. When Wu Zhankui pointed at the map earlier, they also understood what was going on.

There are many signs of hills on the Taihu Lake side. It is estimated that the side near Zhejiang is mountainous, which is convenient for hiding the whereabouts, unlike the north side, which seems to be a flat terrain.

"Then let's pass through Liyang and go directly to Huhan instead of Yixing to see if we can stop this group of Japanese pirates on the edge of Taihu Lake."

Wu Zhankui also made a prompt decision and said what he meant directly.

After reading it, Wei Guangde felt that his father's analysis made sense, but he still looked at the map carefully to see where the north and south sides had to pass.

In the south, when Father Wei analyzed it before, he had already looked at it very carefully and found nothing missing. The route was indeed very close. If he encountered the army, it would only be on the Wujiang side.

Going around to the north, Wei Guangde saw Wuxi and Suzhou. If he continued to look, he would naturally see Songjiang to the east, Changshu to the northeast, and Changshu to the north.

When Wei Guangde looked to the north of Wuxi, he suddenly saw a name he had only heard a few days ago, Jiangyin.

Blinking slightly, Wei Guangde followed the Yangtze River waterway in Jiangyin and finally saw two other names, Xupu and Sanzhangpu, closer to Wuxi and Suzhou.

Wei Guangde's heart moved. He seemed to have heard from his uncle a few days ago that there were Japanese pirates in Xupu and Sanzhangpu, as well as in Jiangyin. In fact, it was not that these Japanese pirates could not take the north road and instead of exploring forests, they would go to Jiangyin or Xu. Pune side.

However, if I make this judgment at this time, I will be back to the original point, just not knowing what to do next.

Wei Guangde was a little hesitant. Tuolin was the home base of Japanese pirates, and Jiangyin was only an area where Japanese pirates had recently begun to operate. Xupu and Sanzhangpu were similar, except that Japanese pirates had been active earlier.

However, Wei Guangde felt that he should still say something, so as not to fall short in the end. After all, they had walked such a long way here. Although this military achievement was not necessary, maybe they were not too far away from this group of Japanese pirates now, and they had been fighting for dozens of miles.

Wei Guangde said what he thought of immediately. After hearing the three place names mentioned by Wei Guangde, Wu Zhankui and Wei Meng looked at the map again, and finally hesitated.

They only considered the Japanese pirates escaping to Songjiang Prefecture, but did not consider that they might also find other Japanese pirates to help them escape.

The Japanese pirates of this era actually had many connections with each other. Although there were internal battles, they were relatively united on the mainland.

Wei Guangde's guess cannot be wrong.

At first, they did not consider the Japanese pirates escaping north. They mainly considered that there were people from the Suzhou Guards blocking the road. Even if they escaped the encirclement and suppression by the Suzhou Guards and continued running to Songjiang, there would be Taicang Guards behind them. They would have to cross two consecutive In the defense area of ​​​​the guard station, the natural possibility is extremely small.

But if it merges with the Japanese pirates in the Yangtze River waterway, that's not necessarily the case.

Don't ask why the Japanese pirates didn't grab a boat and go down the Yangtze River waterway when they were in Nanjing. The past was Zhenjiang, and the navy of Zhenjiang Guard over there was not a vegetarian.

During this period, the Ming Navy's patrols near Jiangyin have been greatly strengthened to prevent Japanese pirates from entering from Jiangyin and going straight to the surrounding areas of Nanjing. It is a rich land. If it is robbed by Japanese pirates, I don't know how many officials will be dismissed. Spray them.

"Who is in charge over there in Wujiang?"

Wei Guangde suddenly asked.

"It seems to be Yu Dayou now. There have been a lot of battle reports in the past few days, many beheadings, and countless Japanese warships destroyed."

Wu Zhankui said.

"Then it's even more impossible to run there. Looking at the battle reports, the officers and soldiers are very strong there. They are at the end of their strength. In the past, they might have been able to kill them, but now, they may not be able to do so."

When Wei Guangde heard that it was Yu Dayou on the other side of Wujiang, he immediately became more confident in his guess.

In the shadow of the famous tree, Wei Guangde did not believe that the famous Yu Dayou would not be able to deal with dozens of Japanese pirates.

What the Japanese pirates were doing under Nanjing City was probably known to the surrounding officers and soldiers at this time. Although the suppression of this group of Japanese pirates was not a great achievement, since the number of Japanese pirates was not large after all, it was likely to be noticed by the high-level officials of the imperial court.

No general would not want to show off his face.

Punishment is for the garrison and civilian officials of Nanjing. For the generals of the garrison, even if the commander of the Jianyang Guards who suffered a defeat died in battle, not only will they not be punished, but they will also be rewarded.

During the hesitation, a soldier reported in a low voice: "Master Commander, our people are going far away."

Only then did everyone realize that when they were analyzing the enemy's situation, the team they led had already passed by them and headed towards Liyang County in the distance.

In a war zone, because there are Japanese pirates nearby, this is also a war zone.

Without the majority, it is naturally unsafe.

"Deng, Deng, Deng!" There was a rush of footsteps. An official in a python suit trotted in quickly along the palace road, holding a document in his right hand. Behind him were two military attachés in flying fish suits. dance to tune.

The visitor looked to be in his forties, but he was still strong and vigorous. He kept walking towards Yongshou Palace at this speed after entering from the palace gate.

Not long after, in the Yongshou Palace.

"Crash, bang, bang, bang, bang." There was a sound of throwing things. At this time, people inside and outside the Yongshou Palace immediately became silent when they heard the noise. They were very careful in what they said and did, for fear of making their superiors unhappy and being punished. punishment.

The man in Yongshou Palace showed no mercy to those who committed crimes, and it was not unusual for him to directly ask others to drag him out and beat him to death.

Perhaps there was nothing left to throw, so the movement in the room gradually disappeared, and then there was the faint sound of conversation.

Not long after, a young eunuch rushed out of Yongshou Palace. One of them went straight to Xiyuan to check the room, while several others rushed out of Xiyuan and rushed to the cabinet and the six departments.

The scenes that happened under the city of Nanjing reached the hands of Emperor Jiajing before the Nanjing official's memorial through Jin Yiwei's message transmission system. A storm was brewing over Xiyuan.

For a long time, Emperor Jiajing, who was served by officials in python suits and Taoist robes, walked outside the gate of Yongshou Palace. He looked at the dense dark clouds in the sky. After a long time, he opened his mouth and said, "Okay, it's finally going to rain. This year." By this time, it was finally going to rain. ’

The man in the python suit was naturally the Zuo Governor of the Rear Army Governor's Mansion and Lu Bing, the commander of the Jinyi Guards.

He was naturally very familiar with Emperor Jiajing, and it seemed that he was lamenting the dark clouds in the sky. However, Lu Bing knew very well that the master he served since he was a child could fall out of favor faster than turning the pages of a book. He also liked to talk like this, and often Pun.

It's raining, it's raining. Isn't the emperor's anger what those civil servants call "thunder, rain and dew"?

Lu Bing has always been cautious since he took charge of the Jinyi Guards. Although he did some shameful things, he has always been like this when it comes to delivering news outside the palace. He will never conceal or delay, even if he offends the chief minister of the court. The most trusted person by the emperor.

He knew the emperor's habits very well. Once he discovered a flaw, he would not say anything to his face, but the thorn in his heart had been pierced and he could not pull it out.

In the distance, pattering rain has fallen, from far to near.

Finally, in the square outside Yongshou Palace, the rain kept falling and soon the ground was soaked.

In the distance, an old man in red official clothes was hurriedly coming under the leadership of a eunuch despite the wind and rain. To the west of the Forbidden City, in the cabinet and the six yamen, the eunuchs who delivered the orders also arrived.

The army arrived at Liyang County. The magistrate of Liyang County saw the appearance of the Jiujiang Guards at the top of the city and immediately asked someone to open the city gate to welcome them in.

Due to the rampant Japanese pirates in recent times, the city gates of Liyang County have been closed for a long time.

When the army entered the city, they were given accommodation by the people from the county government, and hot meals were quickly served.

At the banquet arranged by the Liyang County Magistrate, Wu Zhankui clasped his fists and said, "My son has been traveling all day, so I would like to ask the county magistrate to arrange some hot water to scald my feet."

"Don't worry, I'll get down right away."

The Liyang County Magistrate immediately agreed and immediately ordered his subordinates to prepare hot water.

In the Jiajing Dynasty, the court's control over the military leaders below was very strict. It was far from the level in the late Ming Dynasty that "bandits passed through like combing soldiers through grates." Therefore, when the Liyang County magistrate saw this guard army coming, he was very generous. So he opened the city gate and let them in to rest.

In the imperial court, it is the civil servants who have the final say.

If these soldiers dare to cause chaos when entering the city, they will report it directly to the government. The court will take action soon, so they are not worried about military discipline issues at all.

When entering the city, the Liyang County Magistrate had already learned that this team came from Jiangxi. He didn't care about the specific guard station.

"May I ask the county magistrate, is there any news about the Japanese pirates? We followed the military order and chased them all the way from Lishui, but we couldn't find any news about their attitude on the way."

Wu Zhankui continued to ask.

"Two days ago, the Japanese pirates passed by Liyang City. Fortunately, we got a quick warning from the prefect's Yamen in advance, so the Japanese pirates didn't attack the city."

"But you went to Yixing?"

"Exactly."

The two asked and answered questions and quickly explained the situation clearly.

"How many Japanese pirates are there?"

At this time, Wei Meng couldn't help but interjected and asked.

"There are about fifty people. It's a pity that our Liyang army only has less than a hundred soldiers. We have more than enough to defend the city, but we dare not go out to fight."

The banquet continued, and after everyone was satiated, they went to their rooms to rest. Tomorrow they would continue to chase the Japanese pirates.

There was no words all night, but at night Wei Guangde seemed to hear some movement outside, as if his uncle called his father over.

Early the next morning, after having breakfast arranged by the county government, hundreds of people from the two thousand-household offices of Jiujiang Wei gathered on the streets of Liyang. At the banquet last night, Wu Zhankui asked the Liyang County Lord to prepare horses and vehicles, intending to speed up the pursuit of the group. Japanese pirates.

The Qianhu Station of the Right Army was very strict in managing the army. After walking for a day, some of the subordinates complained a little, but luckily there was no trouble. The Qianhu Station of the rear army was a bit more difficult.

"Ask the people from the rear army to mount the carriage, and the two guard posts behind will take turns to come."

The county government came forward and some carriages were gathered. The more than 500 people could not fit in all, so they could only take more than 200 people. So two soldiers from a thousand households took turns riding in the carriages and drove on.