"Brother Mu, Brother Da Dao, you have worked hard for most of the night. Go and rest quickly. You will be busy tomorrow morning."
After the interrogation, Zhu Ping'an patted Liu Mu and Liu Dadao on the shoulders and asked them to go down and rest.
Zhu Ping'an returned to the third hall of the county government office, lit the oil lamp, brewed a pot of strong tea, and began to deduce again based on the results of the interrogation.
The interrogation results have confirmed that Honda Heihachi, Tie Jin Gang and Jiang Menzhu are in the same group. Jiang Menzhu is the leader, Honda Heihachi is the second leader, Tie Jin Gang is the third leader, and the total strength of the three pirates is more than 10,000 pirates. Before landing, the three pirates had divided up the seven counties of Taizhou and plundered separately. They agreed to meet at the foot of Taizhou City in five days. Tomorrow evening is the deadline for the meeting. Honda Heihachi has ordered to move the camp to Taiping County at noon tomorrow and go to the foot of Taizhou City to meet Jiang Menzhu.
Tomorrow noon, this is a very critical time.
Zhu Ping'an put down the teacup, narrowed his eyes, tapped the table lightly with his index finger, and pursed the corners of his mouth.
Honda Heihachi will break camp and leave Taiping County at noon tomorrow!
If he led his troops to Taiping County before Honda Heihachi moved out at noon, then Honda Heihachi's act of moving out of Taiping County would become: Jingnan County Magistrate Zhu Ping'an was not afraid of sacrifice and led his troops to rescue Taiping County. After a fierce battle with the Japanese pirates entrenched in Taiping County, the Japanese pirates entrenched in Taiping County were expelled and driven away by Jingnan County Magistrate Zhu Ping'an. Jingnan County Magistrate Zhu Ping'an recovered the Ming territory occupied by the Japanese pirates - Taiping County. In this way, the credit for rescuing Taiping, expelling the Japanese pirates, and restoring Taiping would fall firmly on his head.
If he led his troops to Taiping County only after Honda Heihachi had left at noon, then Honda Heihachi's act of leaving Taiping County would have nothing to do with him, and he would naturally have no merit at all.
Therefore, he must lead his troops to rescue Taiping County before Honda Heihachi leaves Taiping County at noon.
This opportunity must be grasped well. It can be a little earlier, but not too early, and definitely not too late. If it is too early, Honda Heihachi will have enough time to get back at it, and then the danger will be great. There is no guarantee that Honda Heihachi will come back, and fighting with the Japanese pirates in the wild, Zhu Pingan thinks that he has no chance of winning; if it is too late, Honda Heihachi will have already left Taiping, and the credit will have nothing to do with him.
Theoretically speaking, Honda Heihachi has a mission to go to Taizhou Prefecture to join Jiang Menzhu and He Bing to attack Taizhou Prefecture. I believe he will not fight with me in the field. On the one hand, fighting in the field will inevitably miss the time he and Jiang Menzhu agreed to meet; on the other hand, if the Japanese pirates fight in the field, even if they have a chance of winning, they will definitely suffer losses. Honda Heihachi lost half of his troops when he attacked Jingnan last time. This time he will definitely think carefully.
Of course, it is not ruled out that Honda Heihachi would rather reunite later and suffer heavy casualties in order to regain his advantage.
All these need to be taken into consideration!
Zhu Ping'an took a sip of strong tea, rubbed his eyebrows, perked up, and began to plan carefully.
The oil lamps in the third hall of the county government stayed lit until the fourth watch, when they reluctantly bid farewell to the stars outside the window and went out.
Early the next morning, before daybreak, Zhu Ping'an had already gotten up. Just like yesterday, he took a refreshing cold shower while washing up, and greeted the new day with full energy.
Military merit has been bestowed upon me by heaven and is within my reach, so how can I give it up
"Now there is a great achievement in front of us, within our grasp..." After eating the breakfast brought by the maid Hua'er, Zhu Ping'an called Liu Mu, Liu Dadao and others and told them his plan of attack.
"Grab it! Sir, this is a once-in-a-century opportunity, it's like picking it up for free! If you don't grab it, it'll be a waste!"
As soon as Zhu Ping'an finished speaking, Liu Dadao rubbed his big bear paw hands excitedly and shouted excitedly.
"Young Master, this is a God-given military achievement! Of course we can't let it go." Liu Mu and the others also expressed his support.
Liu Dadao and his men already had the maximum trust in Zhu Ping'an. Even if Zhu Ping'an asked them to go through fire and water, they would not blink an eye. Now, after listening to Zhu Ping'an's analysis and plan, they felt that this military achievement was like picking up something for free. Zhu Ping'an's plan was flawless and there was no risk at all, so naturally they supported him ten thousand times more.
"Okay! Then let's take advantage of his military achievements!" Zhu Ping'an nodded vigorously and made the decision.
In order to rush to Taiping's aid and take credit, people are necessary. If there are only dozens of yamen runners in the county government, they can only send their heads to die and cannot take credit. Therefore, young and strong people must be recruited. Only with a large number of people will Honda Heihachi dare not create trouble or act rashly.
"Brother Mu, Big Spear, post this conscription document and conscript 500 young and strong civilians. If there is no war, each person will be rewarded 5 taels of silver. If there is a war, the reward will be the same as when defending the city, 10 taels per person, an additional 10 taels for the injured, and an additional 50 taels for the dead. This conscription is completely voluntary, no need to force it."
Zhu Ping'an took out the official document for conscripting young and strong men that he had written last night, stamped it with the county magistrate's seal, and handed it to Liu Mu and Liu Daqiang, asking them to post the conscription document outside the county government office to conscript 500 young and strong civilians.
"Big Knife, Big Hammer, take this official document and a few yamen runners with you to requisition a hundred carriages."
After making arrangements for Liu Mu and Liu Daqiang, Zhu Ping'an took out the official document on requisitioning horse-drawn carriages that he had written last night, stamped it with the county magistrate's seal, and handed it to Liu Dadao and Liu Dachui, asking them to take a few yamen runners to requisition one hundred and two horse-drawn carriages.
"Dagang, take this order and inspect the six offices of the county government to see which officials are there and mobilize them all. There is no need to say much to them, just say that they are being mobilized to rush to the support of Taiping County." Zhu Ping'an said to Liu Dagang, asking him to take the order to inspect the various offices of the county government and mobilize all the officials.
This is also a test for the six clerks of Zhu Ping'an, and also the last chance for them.
Last time, when Honda Heihachi and his group of Japanese pirates attacked Jingnan County, Li Da, the prefect, was the first to abandon the city and flee, followed by Zhang Changru, the county magistrate, and Yao Wenyuan, the chief clerk, who fled without a trace. Until now, they have not returned. It is estimated that the Japanese pirates will not return until they leave Taizhou Prefecture. As for the six clerks in the county government, after hearing the news of the Japanese pirates' attack on the city, they also ran away without a trace, either following Li Da and his group to abandon the city or abandoning the county government, taking off their official uniforms, and fleeing back to their own homes to hide.
It is no exaggeration to say that the county government office was empty at that time!
After the successful defense of Jingnan, Zhu Ping'an was busy with post-war reconstruction, leaving early and returning late, and had no time to settle accounts with them. However, it was heard that some of the escaped clerks had come back to work in the past two days with a thick face and as if nothing had happened.
Zhu Pingan took this opportunity to test them and give them the last chance. If they can reform and respond to the call to help Taiping, Zhu Pingan can deal with them leniently or even forgive them. If they do not repent, he will never show mercy to them when he has time to settle accounts.