Shortly after the first group of Tang soldiers entered Yingtian Prefecture, another group of Tang soldiers with small flags on their backs entered Yingtian Prefecture.
"See? There's another soldier. It must be about the Japanese pirates in Shangyu. It looks like they're winning battles one after another."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
"Why is there another soldier reporting the news? Could there be some unexpected incident ahead?!"
"Haha, you are really worrying too much. What's going on? Seeing that 'Zhao Kuo of the present time' is all alone, do you also want to accompany him?! What are you thinking about? With 3,000 allied troops fighting against the Japanese, what kind of changes can there be? You are really worrying too much!"
"Yeah, that's true. Three thousand allied troops wiped out eighty Japanese pirates. What could be a surprise?"
When the people of Yingtian City saw the Tang soldiers, they began to talk among themselves, and most of them were very optimistic.
The Tang soldiers rode into the Ministry of War at full speed.
After Shi Pengfei reported the first news, he left Zhang Jing's room and returned to his duty room. When he arrived at the duty room, he saw a clerk waiting outside the duty room. He couldn't help but frowned slightly, "Who are you? What's the matter?!"
"Sir Shi, I am a clerk under Commander Miao Yinmiao. My humble name is Du Wenchang. I am here to see you on the orders of Commander Miao."
Du Wenchang bowed and replied.
"You are a clerk under General Miao. Humph, General Miao has been defeated again and again in his campaign against the Japanese invaders. How can he allow you to come to see me?!" Upon hearing this, Shi Pengfei snorted coldly and waved his hand, "Go back. I'm sorry I won't receive you."
"Master Shi, please calm down. There is another hidden reason behind this defeat. General Miao specially ordered me to come and report." Du Wenchang explained.
"Hidden secret?! Ha, what hidden secret could there be after one defeat after another?! Go, go, tell Miao Yin that the Shangshu is very angry and the consequences will be serious. Let him fend for himself!" Shi Pengfei waved his hand and ordered him to leave with a cold face.
"Sir, there really is another hidden secret. Please take a look, the secret is all in this letter." Du Wenchang refused to leave. While explaining, he took out a bulging envelope from his sleeve, opened the seal, and secretly showed it to Shi Pengfei.
"What can be hidden..." Shi Pengfei said disdainfully. Halfway through his words, he caught a glimpse of a thick stack of silver bills sticking out of the envelope. His eyes suddenly lit up and he swallowed the rest of the words.
Huh?! This silver note is the hard currency of Richang. It is redeemable upon sight. It is not the treasure note issued by the court. Judging from the color, this silver note should be a silver note of 100 taels. Judging from the thickness, there are about 20 pieces in this banknote.
That’s two thousand taels of silver!!
Two thousand taels!
This is a huge sum of money.
For the sake of the banknote, Shi Pengfei's expression changed from cold to gentle. He nodded slightly and said in a warm voice, "Well, there really is another hidden story. Ahem... Come in and tell me in detail."
"Thank you, sir." Du Wenchang said happily.
About a cup of tea later, Du Wenchang came out of Shi Pengfei's room with a happy face. Shi Pengfei personally saw him out with a gentle face. His sleeves were heavy, and it was obvious that the two of them had a very pleasant conversation.
"Sir, please stay." Du Wenchang bowed repeatedly.
"Haha, Secretary Du, go slowly and tell Commander Mu that I know the secret and we should do our best to ensure that those who have made contributions will not be convicted. We should not let the soldiers shed blood, sweat and tears..." Shi Pengfei said with a smile.
"Thank you very much, sir. Thank you very much, sir." Du Wenchang thanked him repeatedly and returned satisfied.
Just as Shi Pengfei saw Du Wenchang off, a clerk from the Ministry of War presented him with the second report from the soldiers. Shi Pengfei took the report, opened it and took a quick look. Without any delay, he turned around and walked quickly towards Zhang Jing's room.
"Sir Shi, why did you come back?" Zhang Jing asked when he saw Shi Pengfei coming in again with the pond newspaper.
"Sir, there is another letter from Tangbao, which is about the Japanese pirates in Shangyu." Shi Pengfei explained.
"Oh, go ahead. I want to hear what bad news there is."
Zhang Jing took a breath, calmed down his emotions that were disturbed by the first Fengtang newspaper, and spoke slowly.
"My Lord, the Tang newspaper records that 57 Japanese pirates from Shangyu burned the south bank of Wuhu Lake, and then suddenly crossed the north bank of Wuhu Lake amidst the flames and black smoke, heading straight for Wuhu County. Fortunately, the people of Wuhu County were on high alert and never slacked off. They discovered the whereabouts of the Japanese pirates in time, and at the critical moment, they cut off the moat bridge and closed the city gates before the Japanese pirates entered the city. The Japanese pirates failed at the last moment, and wandered outside the city for a long time. They had no choice but to retreat. After burning, killing, and looting outside the city, they retreated and disappeared..."
Shi Pengfei unfolded the pond newspaper and reported.
"The thief is so cunning and arrogant!" Zhang Jing couldn't help but slam the table and cursed angrily.
A mere fifty-seven Japanese pirates set fire to the south bank to attract everyone's attention, but they suddenly crossed the river to the north bank and attacked Wuhu County. Fortunately, Wuhu County was on high alert and discovered the whereabouts of the Japanese pirates in time, otherwise Wuhu County would have been in danger!
Therefore, Zhang Jing couldn't help but curse the Japanese pirates for being treacherous and rampant!
"Three thousand allied troops surrounded and annihilated the Japanese pirates, but were defeated by them. They could only close the city gates and watch the Japanese pirates show off their power! Lord Shi, immediately order the relevant officials to report the specific details of this battle truthfully, and I will hold them accountable!"
Zhang Jing gave an order to Shi Pengfei.
Hearing this, Shi Pengfei thought of the huge sum of money sent by Jianyang Wei Miao Yin, no, it was the "hidden truth". He rolled his eyes and stepped forward to advise, "Sir, calm down. Looking at these two reports, it is true that Commander Miao and Captain Zeng and others were defeated by the Japanese pirates, and they should be held accountable, but they are not without any merit. Sir, please read the report. When the Japanese pirates raided Wuhu County, there were only 57 of them. Before this battle, there were more than 80 Japanese pirates, but now there are only 57 Japanese pirates. It can be seen that although Commander Miao, Captain Zeng and other 3,000 coalition forces were defeated by the Japanese pirates, they also killed more than 30 Japanese pirates. It can be regarded as a meritorious service. Before, the Japanese pirates in Shangyu attacked cities and strongholds one after another, and defeated the government troops in various places. There has never been such a loss."
"In addition, sir, please read the second Fengtang report. Fifty-seven Japanese pirates set fire to the south bank of Wuhu Lake, suddenly crossed the north bank, and attacked Wuhu County. Wuhu County cut off the moat bridge and closed the city gates. The Japanese pirates had no choice but to retreat and disappeared. It can be seen that the mere fifty-seven Japanese pirates no longer have the ability to attack the city and do evil again. They can only hide their whereabouts. It is estimated that next, this group of Japanese pirates will flee overseas..."
"If we are to hold them accountable, the Japanese pirates in Shangyu have traveled more than 2,000 miles since they landed, defeating soldiers from various places. Shaoxing, Huizhou Prefecture, Jixi County, She County and other places were all defeated by the Japanese pirates. If we hold them accountable, the soldiers from various places will not be spared. Too many people will be implicated, which may cause panic among the people in various prefectures and counties, which is not conducive to the overall situation of resisting the Japanese pirates. In addition, Commander Miao has fought again and again despite repeated defeats, and his spirit is commendable. The current Japanese threat is serious, and it is time to use more people. Please think twice..."
Zhang Jing was silent for a long time after hearing this, then waved his hand, "Master Shi, please go down first. I will think about it."