The Japanese pirates are coming! As it concerns their lives and property, the news quickly spread throughout Yingtian City.
The peaceful life that had been going on for hundreds of years was broken, and the whole city was in a state of panic. The people were in a state of panic. The streets were empty and filled with panic. The occasional people who appeared would run home like they were escaping. Some people who hid at home packed up their gold and silver jewelry and rolled up their bedding, ready to flee at any time. Some closed their doors tightly, locked them one after another, and even began to dig cellars to hide in urgently... ... .
Perhaps the only ones who were excited were the hooligans on the street who were eager to see the world in chaos. They targeted shops and wealthy families one by one, hoping to make a fortune by taking advantage of the Japanese pirates' attack on the city and smashing, looting and other activities in the chaos.
Compared with ordinary people, the official circles in Yingtian were better informed. The three giants of Yingtian City - Minister of War Zhang Jing, garrison eunuch He Sui, and Duke of Wei Xu Pengju, the garrison commander of Yingtian - immediately convened all the chief and deputy officials of all the government offices in Yingtian to hold an emergency military meeting to discuss how to deal with the threat of the Japanese pirates attacking Shangyu.
The meeting was held in the Ministry of War.
For a time, the top and second-in-command of all the government offices in Yingtian City gathered in the Ministry of War. The news of the Japanese pirates' attack was too serious and urgent, and was closely related to their official hats. If they didn't handle it well, they might lose their official hats or even their lives. Everyone blamed each other and argued, so that the Ministry of War was as noisy as a vegetable market.
"Hey, how come these damn Japanese pirates come here so suddenly?" An official cursed with gnashing teeth.
"What's the matter? Do the Japanese pirates have to say hello to you before coming?!" Upon hearing this, an official immediately sneered.
"Haha, the Japanese pirates didn't say hello to us, but someone did."
An official nearby quickly took over the conversation.
"Who?" asked the previous official.
"The Chief Justice and Censor - Lord Zhu Ping'an. The Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue and all the generals gathered last time. Although I was not present, I heard that Lord Zhu Ping'an came to report the urgent military situation that the Japanese pirates who landed in Shangyu would harass Yingtian in the future. Unfortunately, no one present took it seriously and made a joke out of it, saying there was a ghost story and so on. The story spread throughout Yingtian, causing the whole city to laugh at Lord Zhu, calling him the 'Zhao Kuo of the modern era'. Haha, in the end, the Japanese pirates who landed in Shangyu really came! It was exactly the same as the urgent military situation reported by Lord Zhu three days ago!" The official glanced at several officials from the Ministry of War and nearby military attachés with a sneer and sneered.
As soon as the official finished speaking, the entire meeting site fell into absolute silence!
You can hear a pin drop!
Almost all the officials present had red faces, especially those who had attended the last meeting of the Ministry of War, whose faces were so red that they burned people's ears. Thinking of how they had ridiculed Zhu Ping'an, they wished they could find a rat hole to crawl into!
Who could have thought that the Japanese pirates who landed in Shangyu would really come to harass Yingtian. Who knew that this group of Japanese pirates was so brutal and powerful, first the 3,000-strong coalition army suffered a great defeat, then after hiding for two days, they broke through the Jiangning camp in one fell swoop, killing 300 to 400 Jiangning soldiers, even Zhu Xiang, who was known for his military strategy and military exploits, was killed on the spot, and the deputy commander Jiang Sheng, who was a military candidate, was also seriously injured. Then they captured Jiangning Town, burned, killed, looted, and headed straight for Yingtian!
What a slap in the face!
Their faces were swollen!
Alas, to be honest, they regretted not listening to Zhu Ping'an's urgent military information!
Otherwise, why would it come to this
Now, it is not only a matter of their face, but also a matter of the face of the entire Ming Dynasty!
The Japanese pirates attacked the Ming Dynasty's secondary capital! Where is the Ming Dynasty's face, where is the emperor's face?!
This is a big deal!
After a moment of silence, someone sighed and said, "Alas, it's too late to say anything now. The Japanese pirates are already here. Let's discuss countermeasures. It's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep have been lost."
"As for countermeasures, what is there to say? As the saying goes, 'If an enemy comes, we must fight him with our generals; if a flood comes, we must block it with earth.' If the Japanese pirates come, we must fight them with our generals. We have many barracks in Yingtian. We can raise soldiers for a thousand days but only use them for a moment. Now is the time to use them. We must send them in."
"Sir Wang, what are you saying? How can it be that the Japanese pirates are all responsible for our barracks' arrival? Isn't it your Ministry of Justice and other government offices' responsibility? Do you think it's possible to clear yourself of all responsibility at this time?!"
"Alright, alright, stop talking. When the nest is overturned, the eggs will not be safe. No one can escape responsibility for the Japanese pirates' attack this time..."
"Haha, that's not necessarily true. Lord Zhu Ping'an is definitely not responsible. He reported the emergency military situation three days in advance. Unfortunately, no one took it seriously, wasting these three precious days. If someone had taken Lord Zhu's emergency military situation seriously at that time, there wouldn't be such a disaster today."
"I've already said it. It's too late to say anything now. Think quickly. The Japanese pirates are approaching the city!"
The scene was like a group of ducks arriving at a vegetable market, quacking and quacking. It was as noisy as it could be. Some officials even got so angry that their faces turned red and they rolled up their sleeves.
Zhang Jing, the Minister of War, walked in with the eunuch He Sui and Xu Pengju, the Duke of Wei, who was in charge of Yingtian. They saw this scene. Zhang Jing frowned and scolded the messy scene, "Enough! Be quiet! You are all officials appointed by the court, how can you be so noisy!"
After Zhang Jing's rebuke, the officials on the scene immediately calmed down a lot and the scene became much quieter.
The eunuch He Sui still had a bad look on his face. He squinted his eyes and glanced at the officials at the scene. He raised his orchid finger and said sinisterly, "I, Lord Zhang, and Duke Wei called you here to discuss countermeasures, not to listen to your quarrels. Just a group of Japanese pirates came and made you lose your sense of propriety. What kind of men are you? How can you share the worries of His Majesty? It would be better for you to be castrated and serve His Majesty and the nobles in the palace."
After He Sui's speech, the officials present felt a cool breeze in their crotch and subconsciously tightened their thighs.
Hearing He Sui say "castration", Linhuai Hou Li Tingzhu couldn't help but think of his uneducated young son! This little bastard's words "a loving father castrates a child six months after birth" almost made him angry to death. He Sui's words reminded him of the past, and he still felt itchy at this moment.
When the Duke of Wei saw that Zhang Jing and He Sui had both spoken, he wondered if he should say something too. He opened his mouth, but found that he didn't know what to say, so he just coughed and ended the conversation.
After the meeting quieted down, Zhang Jing and He Sui sat in the main seats, Duke Wei sat slightly behind them, and the rest of the officials sat according to their ranks.
"Everyone, the Japanese pirates from Shangyu have already broken into the Jiangning camp and captured Jiangning Town, and are heading all the way to Yingtian. Do you have any good strategies to teach me?" He Sui couldn't help but speak first.
Quiet.
The scene was completely silent. At such a critical moment, no one wanted to be the first to take action for fear of taking responsibility and being held accountable later.