There is no wall that is impenetrable, and the news that County Magistrate Wang sent his steward to ask for peace with the Japanese pirates quickly spread.
After sacrificing eight lives, Xiahou County Magistrate and his 30-odd people finally fought to the death and killed 11 Japanese pirates who were demonstrating with human heads outside the North Gate. When the Japanese pirates besieging the North Gate reacted and mobilized troops to attack the city, they fled back into the city.
It was truly a critical moment. If County Magistrate Xiahou and his men had been two seconds late, the pursuing Japanese pirates would have followed them into the north gate.
Bang!
The gates are shut tight! Closed-loop lock and key!
The Japanese pirates who were chasing after them were turned away and started shouting and cursing in dissatisfaction.
When County Magistrate Xiahou and his entourage retreated to the gate and heard the sound of the city gate closing behind them, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief and lay down on the ground in an ungraceful manner. Their chests heaved violently and they began to breathe heavily. When they looked at each other, they found that everyone was injured and looked in a miserable state, and they couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, what a joy, what a joy..."
Xiahou County Magistrate and his entourage were lying on the ground, feeling extremely happy when they thought about having killed eleven Japanese pirates with their own hands.
"Lord Xiahou, Your Excellency, Your Excellency..."
Just as County Magistrate Xiahou was lying on the ground with others to recover his strength, a minor official came over with a strange look on his face, glanced at the people around him hesitantly, and spoke to County Magistrate Xiahou hesitantly.
"Liu Shuli, what's wrong with the county lord? These are brothers who have shared life and death together, so there is no harm in speaking frankly." Xiahou County Magistrate said nonchalantly.
"Master Xiahou, when you went out of the city to kill the Japanese pirates, the county lord sent his trusted butler to ask for peace with the Japanese pirates."
Shuli Liu hesitated for a moment and spoke in a low voice.
"What?!"
Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Xiahou sat up suddenly, as if struck by lightning. His brain buzzed and went blank.
"The county lord asked for peace with the Japanese pirates?!"
Upon hearing this, the monks, scholars, and others widened their eyes in disbelief and sat up.
While he was fighting bloody battles against the enemy, the cowardly county magistrate secretly sent someone to ask for peace with the Japanese pirates?!
This feels terrible, as if you were stabbed in the back by your own people while you were fighting bravely against the enemy.
"No! I want to meet the county magistrate. The Japanese pirates have evil ambitions and have never given up their desire to destroy us. Seeking peace with them is no different from seeking the skin of a tiger! County magistrate, how can you do this..." County Magistrate Xiahou gritted his teeth after being stunned for a second, and then stood up suddenly. The wound on his back was torn open and blood was dripping.
After finding out that County Magistrate Wang was at the South Gate, County Magistrate Xiahou went straight to the South Gate like an angry tiger.
"Brother Xiahou, why are you here at the South Gate when you are not defending the pirates at the East Gate or North Gate? If the pirates attack the city at this time, what will we do without you to defend the East Gate or North Gate?"
Magistrate Wang saw Xiahou County Magistrate from a distance, and asked before Xiahou County Magistrate spoke.
"Your Excellency, I heard that you sent your butler to ask for peace with the Japanese pirates? Is this true?"
Xiahou County Magistrate did not answer Magistrate Wang's question, but went straight to the point and asked directly.
"I asked for peace with the Japanese pirates?! Haha, what nonsense! Who is so cruel to slander me?!"
Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Wang became furious, as if he had suffered a great injustice.
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Xiahou County Magistrate was stunned. Could it be that Liu Shuli made a mistake? !
"Brother Xiahou, at this critical moment of life and death, the whole county should work together to resist the Japanese pirates. Who on earth spread such rumors and slandered me? What did he want to do?! The person who spread such rumors has bad intentions and wants to destroy my great plan of defending against the Japanese pirates. He deserves death!"
Magistrate Wang's chest heaved violently. He was extremely angry and excited as he spoke to Magistrate Xiahou. He could not calm down for a long time.
"County Master, where is the housekeeper Liu Qi?"
Seeing Magistrate Wang like this, County Assistant Secretary Xiahou felt that it might be that Clerk Liu had made a mistake and misunderstood the magistrate. However, since it was related to the life and death of Taiping County, he had to be cautious. County Assistant Secretary Xiahou bowed and asked again with an expressionless face.
"Master Xiahou, I am here. Master Xiahou called me, but is there anything you want me to do?"
Upon hearing the voice, the housekeeper Liu Qi appeared in front of Xiahou County Magistrate.
Seeing that the steward Liu Qi was still on the city wall, County Magistrate Xiahou breathed a sigh of relief. Liu Qi was still on the city wall and did not go to ask for peace with the Japanese pirates. Now it seems that Liu Shuli made a mistake and misunderstood the county magistrate.
"Nothing, I just asked casually." Xiahou County Magistrate replied.
"Oh." Butler Liu Qi nodded.
"Hey, Brother Xiahou, this is a matter of life and death for our Taiping. We should unite as one to resist the Japanese invaders. Those who spread rumors are worthy of death. To resist foreign invaders, we must first stabilize the country. If there are black sheep hindering the group, trouble will surely arise. Who exactly spread such slanderous rumors against me? Please tell me, Brother Xiahou."
Magistrate Wang looked as if he was thinking about the great cause of peace and defense against the Japanese pirates, and spoke to Magistrate Xiahou sincerely.
"Ahem, I just went out of the city to fight with the Japanese pirates. Maybe I heard it wrong and misunderstood you, magistrate. Please forgive me." County Magistrate Xiahou took the responsibility and apologized to Magistrate Wang.
"So I heard it wrong. It's okay, it's okay. Brother Xiahou is just thinking about my safety. What's wrong with that? Just now, you said that we went into the city and fought with the Japanese pirates for a while. How was the battle? Were you injured? The defense of the North Gate and the East Gate still depends on you. You must not be so reckless and put yourself in danger."
Magistrate Wang asked with a concerned look on his face.
"It's okay, it's okay, just some flesh wounds, it's nothing serious. At that time, the Japanese pirates were showing off their power, and I was afraid that their morale would be damaged, so I summoned thirty-two heroes to go out of the city to kill the enemy. Fortunately, we did our job well. We killed eleven Japanese pirates and severely destroyed their arrogance." Xiahou County Magistrate replied quickly.
"Good! My dear brother, you are brave and worthy of our ancestors' reputation!" Upon hearing this, Magistrate Wang praised County Magistrate Xiahou highly.
"How shameful! We outnumbered them and took them by surprise, yet we still lost eight men. We don't deserve the county lord's praise."
Xiahou County Magistrate shook his head.
"The Japanese pirates are brave and fearless, and they are invincible. Your Excellency's brother was able to kill eleven Japanese pirates while only eight of our own men were killed. This is very good. However, your Excellency's brother has only killed eleven Japanese pirates, and I am afraid that the Japanese pirates may retaliate by attacking the north gate, so your Excellency's command is still needed... After the Japanese pirates are repelled, I will work with you to commend you for your achievements." County Magistrate Wang patted County Magistrate Xiahou on the shoulder and said to him with the overall situation in mind.
"Your Excellency is right. I almost made a big mistake. I was the one who misunderstood you. How can I have the nerve to ask for credit? Thank you for not bearing my fault. Take care. I am going to the north gate to lead the defense."
County Magistrate Xiahou was concerned about the defense of the North Gate and worried that the Japanese pirates would retaliate by attacking the North Gate, so he bowed and said goodbye.