Zhang Jing glanced at everyone and knew that they were just worried about being held accountable later. He sneered with disdain and slowly said, "Everyone, Yingtian is the secondary capital of our Ming Dynasty. The Japanese pirates attacked Yingtian brazenly this time. Needless to say, you all know how great the impact of this matter is. Since we are all paid by the emperor, we should be loyal to him, no matter who we are! Today, I have summoned you to come to the meeting. Please speak freely without worrying about being punished for your words. We will brainstorm, work together, and discuss countermeasures. The final decision is our joint decision, and all the consequences will be borne by us together. Of course, this official, He Zhenshou, and Duke Wei will bear the primary responsibility."
Hearing Zhang Jing say that he would not be punished for his words, all the officials couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and started speaking up.
"When the Japanese pirates come, we should send troops out of the city to destroy them. We have the Dajiaochang Camp, Xiaoxiaochang Camp, Shenji Camp, Patrol Camp, Xinjiangkou Camp and other camps in Beijing, with no less than 100,000 soldiers. As the saying goes, we should raise troops for a thousand days and deploy them for a moment. This time, we should select the best soldiers and generals from the camps and go out of the city to destroy the Japanese pirates."
"That's right. On the battlefield, we are afraid of amateurs commanding professionals. I think that the matter of destroying the Japanese should be decided by the Ministry of War and the experts in your Beijing camp. We amateurs can only play a supporting role and fully cooperate with you in Yingtian City, cheer for you, and wait for your triumphant return."
"What do you mean? You mean the Japanese pirates are attacking us, and it's our business, and has nothing to do with you, right?!"
"No, we are working together from inside and outside. You experts go out of the city to destroy the Japanese, and we amateurs stay in the city to cheer and beat the drums."
"Go out of the city to destroy the Japanese? Haha, you said you are amateurs, and you are really amateurs. Going out of the city to destroy the Japanese is totally inappropriate. These Japanese pirates are very brave. I think the best strategy is to defend the city with all your strength..."
"Defend the city with all your strength?! Shameful, shameful! The Japanese pirates in Shangyu are only fifty or sixty people. We have a hundred thousand defenders in Yingtian. On weekdays, nobles, military officers and cavalrymen are everywhere. Soldiers ask our Ministry of Revenue for no less than eighty thousand grains every month. As the saying goes, we should raise an army for a thousand days and deploy it for a moment. Isn't it for today that the imperial court provides you with food and fodder?! Just fifty or sixty bandits knocked on the door, and you, a hundred thousand defenders, dared only defend the city?!"
"What do you know? There is no such thing as a 100,000-man garrison! Today, the Great Training Ground Camp has only 6,000 soldiers, the Small Training Ground Camp has only 9,100 soldiers, the Shenji Camp has only 2,500 soldiers, the Patrol Camp has only 3,600 soldiers, and the New River Mouth Camp has only 5,800 soldiers... In total, the number of soldiers that can fight in Yingtian is only more than 30,000 but less than 40,000."
"More than 30,000 is not enough?! The Japanese pirates only have more than 50 people!"
"Although these Japanese are few in number, they are extraordinary! Three days ago, when we gathered together, Zhu Ping'an, the assistant to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provincial Criminal Investigation Department, said that these Japanese were extremely brave and had good combat capabilities..."
"Haha, you still have the nerve to mention Lord Zhu. If you had taken Lord Zhu's emergency military information seriously, why would it be like this today! Three days ago, Lord Zhu warned that the Japanese pirates in Shangyu would attack Yingtian, and suggested deploying troops and setting up an ambush. As a result, you treated Lord Zhu and his emergency military information as a joke. Haha, now, let's see who is the joke! If you had adopted Lord Zhu's advice, this group of Japanese pirates would have been destroyed long ago. Why would Jiangning be destroyed and Yingtian be attacked?!"
"Again, are you done yet? It's too late to say anything now. Yes, that's right, we regret it. We regret not listening to Lord Zhu at that time, but what can we do! Now that the Japanese pirates are coming, should we go out of the city to destroy them, or close the door and take the city back? Come up with a plan quickly."
... ...
The meeting place became noisy again.
The main points of contention among the people were whether to "fight" or "defend" and who should bear the responsibility for resisting the Japanese.
Shi Pengfei, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War, blushed and looked very red and embarrassed.
During this meeting, he had heard people mention Zhu Ping'an's urgent military intelligence three days ago more than once.
At the meeting three days ago, the emergency military information reported by Zhu Ping'an was mainly denied by him, and he mocked Zhu Ping'an for worrying too much, leading the trend of mocking Zhu Ping'an and treating Zhu Ping'an and his emergency military information as a joke.
Also, during a break in the meeting, Lord Zhang Jing stopped him and asked him to pay proper attention to and study Zhu Ping'an's urgent military situation... ... After the meeting, he had dinner with several commanders of the Beijing camp and mentioned it as a joke at the dinner table.
Even when the Wuhu Chief Censor and the Jianyang Guards were defeated by the Japanese pirates, he told Zhang Shangshu that although the Japanese pirates in Shangyu won this time, it was a tragic victory, with the loss of 20 to 30 people. They no longer had the ability to attack the city or commit evil. This group of Japanese pirates was no longer a concern, and they had no choice but to flee...
Who could have thought that the slap in the face came so quickly, and the Japanese pirates from Shangyu, with only 57 people left, actually reached Yingtian!
What a slap in the face!
I was already feeling very embarrassed, and these people kept mentioning Zhu Ping'an over and over again. They were really bringing up things that were irrelevant!
At the meeting, Yu Dayou stood in the corner, watching the officials who were shirking their responsibilities, arguing and defending, with contempt. What is there to discuss? There are only more than 50 Japanese pirates attacking, and they have more than 30,000 soldiers and horses, but they dare not go out of the city to destroy them. It's ridiculous. His mind also returned to the meeting three days ago. At that moment, Zhu Pingan reported the emergency military situation. At the beginning, he also concluded that the emergency military situation reported by Zhu Pingan was too incredible. He couldn't help but despise Zhu. Now looking back, he is really ashamed. He has been in the army for more than 30 years! Zhu is worthy of being the top scholar. He is really amazing. He predicted three days in advance that the Japanese pirates in Shangyu would attack Yingtian in the future! Planning in the tent and winning thousands of miles away, this is what Zhu is like. It's really formidable!
Zhang Jing also watched the discussion with a cold eye. After hearing that everyone was inclined to defend the city with all their strength, he could not help but knock on the table. He looked at everyone with a serious face and shook his head, saying, "Everyone, defending the city with all your strength is not possible!"
"Why?" the official who advocated defending the city with all his strength asked.
"Why? Haha, two years ago, the northern capital Shuntian was besieged by the Tatars. What did the capital do at that time? What happened afterwards?" Zhang Jing sneered and glanced at everyone, "The capital had 50,000 imperial guards and 80,000 troops from all over the country. Facing the Tatar troops, the soldiers did not dare to fight. Someone also asked the generals to defend the city and not fight. As a result, more than 100,000 troops watched the Tatar troops looting outside the city... Later, although the Tatars withdrew and the capital was safe, it was a great shame for our Ming Dynasty and for His Majesty. The Minister of War Ding Rukui was executed and many people were punished! Now, the Japanese pirates from Shangyu are attacking the capital Yingtian. You still have to defend the city with all your strength and watch the Japanese pirates burn, kill and loot outside the city? The lessons of Ding Rukui and others are still there, and you still want to repeat the same mistakes? Are you trying to deceive His Majesty?!"
"ah?!"
Upon hearing this, the officials who advocated defending the city with all their strength broke out in cold sweats.
Yes, the year before last, the Tatars invaded the capital, and the capital defended itself with all its might, and watched the Tatars plunder outside the city... ... The emperor thought it was a great shame and humiliation, and ordered the beheading of Ding Rukui, the Minister of War who was in charge of defense at the time. Many officials were implicated and severely punished by the emperor! Yingtian is the capital, and now the Japanese pirates invaded Yingtian, the severity of the nature is not much different from that of Altan Khan's invasion of the capital!
We have the lessons learned from Ding Rukui and others!
If he does it again this time, it will be the second time! His Majesty’s wrath will surely be even greater than last year!
Indeed, it is impossible to defend the city with all our strength!