"Brother Mu, what is the current situation in Linhai, Huangyan, Tiantai counties and Taizhou Prefecture?" Zhu Ping'an asked.
"Sir, Linhai, Huangyan and Tiantai counties were also attacked by Japanese pirates. The pirates who invaded the three counties were the same gang. The leader was called Jiang Menzhu, who had the most power and nearly 5,000 pirates under his command. The county towns of Linhai and Huangyan were both breached by Jiang Menzhu, but Tiantai County was spared. The magistrate of Tiantai County was shot dead by a Japanese pirate while defending the city. When the county town was about to fall, a team of Shaolin monks came to rescue. It is said that the magistrate of Tiantai County usually took good care of the temples and was very generous. The two temples in Tiantai County were both blessed by Jiang Menzhu. The benefits of being the magistrate of Tiantai County. Therefore, when the monks of the two temples heard that the Japanese pirates were besieging Tiantai County, they spontaneously organized 80 monks to go to the rescue. These monks, each holding a 30-40 kg iron stick, were highly skilled in martial arts and drove away the Japanese pirates, saving Tiantai County in times of crisis. However, there are still some Japanese pirates outside Tiantai County, eyeing them covetously. As for Taizhou Prefecture, there is news that Taizhou Prefecture had been surrounded by Lord Jiang yesterday, but the strange thing is that although Lord Jiang surrounded Taizhou Prefecture, he was not in a hurry to attack the city. "
Liu Mu carefully reported the information he had obtained to Zhu Ping'an.
"You mean that Lord Jiangmen surrounded Taizhou Prefecture but did not attack it?" After hearing this, Zhu Ping'an's ink-black eyes flashed with a light.
"That's right. Lord Jiang only blockaded Taizhou Prefecture and was not in a hurry to attack the city. He didn't even launch a feint attack to test it." Liu Mu nodded.
If they were to surround but not attack and not rush to siege the city, Zhu Ping'an touched his chin and was about 70% sure that the Lord of Jiangmen was probably waiting for the two Japanese pirates, Honda Heihachi and Tetsujin Gang, to join him before attacking the city together.
The three groups of Japanese pirates landed almost at the same time. One group plundered Jingnan and Taiping, one group plundered Ninghai and Xianju, and one group plundered Linhai, Huangyan and Tiantai, just in time to divide up the seven counties under the jurisdiction of Taizhou Prefecture.
Coincidence? No, it's not a coincidence!
These three groups of Japanese pirates must be a group. Before landing, they conspired to divide up the seven counties under the jurisdiction of Taizhou, and then agreed to meet under the city of Taizhou to attack the city with high walls, deep moats and a large number of garrisons. The reason why Jiangmenzhu surrounded Taizhou without attacking it was probably because he was waiting for the two groups of Japanese pirates, Honda Heihachi and Tiejin Gang, to meet up with him.
Lord Jiangmen has 5,000 Japanese pirates under his command, which is far more than the number of Japanese pirates under Honda Heihachi and Tiejin Gang. So Lord Jiangmen should be the leader of this group of Japanese pirates. He must have the highest status and the most say among them.
Since Lord Jiang is waiting, Honda Heihachi and Tetsujin Kong will definitely come.
In this way, Honda Heihachi, who occupies Taiping County, will go to Taizhou City to meet with Lord Jiangmen, and will definitely not stay in Taiping County for long. Then, then... wouldn't I be able to take this opportunity to grab the military merit of "recovering Taiping County"? If I plan well, this military merit will be like picking it up for free.
However, this is all based on my own speculation.
Are Jiang Menzhu, Honda Heihachi and Tie Jin Gang in the same group? Did they agree to join forces outside Taizhou City to attack the city? These remain to be verified.
How to verify?!
Of course, we have to ask the Japanese pirates to verify it!
Capture a few Japanese pirates, detain them separately, knock on their doors and conduct verification.
However, it is easier said than done, and the Japanese pirates cannot be caught easily.
"Brother Mu, I suspect that Honda Heihachi, Tiejinguang, Jiang Menzhu and other three groups of Japanese pirates are in the same group. Jiang Menzhu is besieging the Taizhou city without attacking it. I suspect he is waiting for Honda Heihachi and Tiejinguang to join him, and then attack the city after the combined forces. Taizhou city is different from the county city. The city walls are high and the moats are deep, with many guards. It is not easy for Jiang Menzhu and his group of Japanese pirates to break through the city alone. Only when the three groups of Japanese pirates join forces and have the advantage in manpower can they be sure to break through the city." Zhu Ping'an took a sip of tea, looked at Liu Mu, and said slowly.
"What you said makes sense, sir." After listening to Zhu Ping'an's analysis, Liu Mu thought for a moment and nodded vigorously.
"These are just my guesses," Zhu Pingan said softly, "They still need to be verified."
"Sir, how do we verify it?" Liu Mu asked.
"If we want to verify it, it's best to find the Japanese pirates to verify it and capture a few Japanese pirates as prisoners... However, this is not easy." Zhu Ping'an said slowly.
"Ah, if I had known earlier, I would not have killed those Japanese pirates..." Liu Mu said regretfully after hearing this.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Ping'an looked up at Liu Mu.
"Sir, when we went to Taiping County to gather information today, we encountered several Japanese pirates who were roaming around the countryside, burning, killing and looting. We killed them all. If we had known earlier, we would have captured them." Liu Mu regretted it very much, but soon he bowed and said, "Sir, if you want to capture a few Japanese pirates, it is not difficult at all. The Japanese pirates have loose discipline and are undisciplined. After Honda Heihachi occupied Taiping County, Japanese pirates often went to the countryside in groups of three or five to burn, kill, loot and harm the people. It is not difficult to capture a few Japanese pirates. Sir, please rest assured, leave the capture of Japanese pirates to us."
When Zhu Ping'an heard this, his eyes lit up. Yes, the Japanese pirates had poor discipline, so they could capture those who were alone.
"Sir, it's night time now, so it's easier to act. I'll go find Dadao and the others now and capture a few Japanese pirates." Liu Mu volunteered with full confidence, as if capturing Japanese pirates was as easy as going to the market to buy vegetables.
"Okay, then I'll leave it to you guys, Brother Mu. But you have to be more careful, put safety first, and target those lone Japanese pirates. Don't provoke those large groups of Japanese pirates. Just look for them in the countryside near Jingnan. Don't go deep into Taiping County. It doesn't matter if you can't capture the Japanese pirates. In addition, we seized a lot of Japanese swords when we were defending the city. You can take them and pretend to be Japanese pirates." Zhu Ping'an nodded, stood up and bowed, telling Liu Mu to be more careful and suggesting that Liu Mu and the others could pretend to be Japanese pirates.
Zhu Ping'an was very confident in Liu Mu and the others. Liu Mu and his men were born into a hunting family and were highly skilled in martial arts. As long as they did not encounter a large group of Japanese pirates, their safety would not be a problem. If they disguised themselves as Japanese pirates, it would be easier to hide and escape.
"Don't worry, sir. We'll be back soon." Liu Mu bowed.
Soon, Liu Mu found Liu Dadao, Liu Dachui and others, and selected five people from the yamen runners. They all changed into Japanese pirates' costumes, each carried a Japanese sword, disguised themselves as Japanese pirates, and rode to Taiping County overnight.
Zhu Ping'an sent them out of the county government office and waited in the lobby of the county government office.
About two hours later, the sound of horse hooves was heard outside, and Zhu Ping'an walked out of the lobby quickly.
Sure enough, as soon as Zhu Ping'an arrived at the gate of the county government office, he saw Liu Mu and others.
"Sir, we have accomplished our mission and captured five people alive."
Liu Mu, Liu Dadao and others dismounted and saluted Zhu Ping'an. Five Japanese pirates were tied to their horses.
"good!"
Zhu Ping'an had a delighted look on his face and praised repeatedly.