The news that scouts from the south, east and west had found no trace of Japanese pirates within a ten-mile radius quickly spread throughout the Ming army in Cherry Garden.
"Hahaha, could it be that the Japanese pirates heard that we were blocking them in front of the cherry orchard and ran away?!"
"Well, I think the pirates from Shangyu were probably scared away, otherwise they would have come long ago. Jiangning is not far away from the Cherry Orchard. However, it is also possible that they heard that we were waiting here, so they went to other directions to harass Yingtian."
"Don't worry, it's such a pity. One Japanese pirate is worth two hundred taels of silver. I'm relying on this battle to get married."
The Ming troops in front of the Cherry Orchard couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief after hearing the news, but at the same time they felt it was a pity! You know, every Japanese pirate is worth two hundred taels of silver, so whether they were scared away or took a detour, it was a pity.
Of course, overall, I was more relieved. After all, no matter how much money you have, you have to live to spend it. Money can be earned again, but life is only once, and if you lose it, it's game over.
You have to know that all the Japanese pirates are ruthless killers! To kill one Japanese pirate, two or three brothers may have to be killed. No one can guarantee that he will not be the one killed. No one wants other men to sleep with their wives, beat their children, and spend their pensions and funeral expenses. So it is best not to fight this war.
Now that the Japanese pirates are gone, this is the best outcome. Without the direct threat of the Japanese pirates, everyone has relaxed.
The Ming soldiers who were taking a break for lunch became even more relaxed. Not only did they take off their shoes to warm their feet, but many of them also took off their heavy, cold armor and sat down by the fire, warming themselves by the fire while eating bread and drinking broth. As they swallowed each bite of bread and broth, every pore on their body relaxed and they hummed in comfort:
"Hehe, you know what, once I took off the armor, I felt relaxed all over. Not only did I feel relaxed, but I also felt warm."
"Tsk, tsk, this broth is so delicious, slurp slurp... The pancakes soaked with fat are also delicious."
The Ming soldiers on rest were so comfortable that the Ming soldiers on duty were so envious and jealous that they were exhausted.
Originally, there was an imminent threat from Japanese pirates. Under the high pressure from the generals, the Ming army on duty could still hold their ground and defend their posts. But now there is no trace of Japanese pirates within a ten-mile radius. They don't know whether the Japanese pirates have escaped or taken a detour. The threat of Japanese pirates is gone, and they are beginning to feel unbalanced. We are all soldiers, why should you be able to comfortably roast fire and eat meat here while we have to suffer from cold and hunger?!
This isn't fair!
As a result, the Ming soldiers on duty became tired and began to quit their jobs and slack off. Some of the bolder ones even imitated the Ming soldiers on rest and sat down, took off their armor, and mingled with the Ming soldiers on rest to eat by the fire.
Because there were no traces of Japanese pirates within a ten-mile radius, the generals became lax and simply turned a blind eye to the incident.
Under the indulgence of the generals, the Ming troops on duty became more and more daring, and gradually merged with the Ming troops on rest. There were only a handful of Ming troops in the army who could still hold weapons and stand guard, and they were as precious as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.
"How can we be so lax? If the Japanese pirates attack, how can we respond? Sir Zhang, please order the officers at all levels to strictly enforce military discipline. At the same time, please send scouts to the south, west, and east again. This time, the number of scouts will be doubled, and the exploration range will be expanded by another five miles."
Hu Zongxian frowned as he looked at the lax Ming army and asked Lord Zhang to control military discipline and send more scouts.
Although Lord Zhang felt that Hu Zongxian was making a big deal out of nothing, he was the censor after all, so he smiled wryly and agreed, and made arrangements step by step.
Officers at all levels came to rectify military discipline, which caused a lot of clamor and curses. The officers and soldiers had a strong rebellious mentality and the situation was somewhat out of control. However, under the high pressure of officers at all levels, the military discipline situation improved a lot.
After half an hour, three teams of scouts returned one after another and reported that there were no traces of Japanese pirates within a radius of fifteen miles.
The Japanese pirates seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth.
Hu Zongxian couldn't help but frowned, unfolded a map of Yingtian's surroundings, and began to think hard.
Upon hearing that there was no trace of Japanese pirates within a radius of fifteen miles, the military discipline of the Ming army, which was under high-pressure control, was once again out of control.
There are no Japanese pirates within a radius of fifteen miles! Why should we be on alert
The high pressure from military academies at all levels could not control the situation. The Ming army completely relaxed and began to let themselves go. They took off their armor and warmed themselves by the fire. Some Ming soldiers took off their quivers and played the arrow throwing game. Some even played the compensating game. The atmosphere suddenly became relaxed and cheerful.
Of course, military academies at all levels also became lax and turned a blind eye to this, with some officers even participating in the archery.
The Ming army completely relaxed.
At this time, seven or eight refugees came up the road. They were dressed in rags, with traces of burns on their clothes. Seeing the Ming army eating and drinking around the fire, they could not stand the hunger any longer. They bravely stepped forward and begged for food and drink from the Ming army, "Soldier, Sir, please be merciful and give us something to eat. We haven't had a single bite of food since this morning. We are almost starving to death."
"Get out of here! This little bit of bread is not even enough for me to eat alone." Someone from the Ming army waved his hand to drive him away in disgust.
"Forget it. We can see they are in trouble. Life is not easy for everyone. Everyone has troubles sometimes. Come here. I still have half a cake. You can share it." Someone also threw half a cake in his hand over.
"I have half a piece here too. Here's a reward for you." A few more Ming soldiers threw the remaining cakes over.
"Thank you, general. Thank you, general." After expressing their gratitude, the fleeing people scrambled for the cakes like vicious dogs pouncing on their food.
Seeing them fighting for the cakes like dogs, many Ming soldiers came forward to watch and burst into laughter.
"What's going on ahead?" Hu Zongwan asked, frowning as he took his eyes off the map.
"My lord, there are seven or eight people who fled from Jiangning and are begging for food." The personal soldier replied.
"Give them food and send them away so they don't get in the way." Hu Zongxian frowned.
"Yes. Your Majesty will drive them away right away." The personal soldiers responded.
"Wait." As soon as the guard turned around, Hu Zongxian called him again.
"My lord, do you have any other instructions?" asked the personal soldier.
"Since they are fleeing from Jiangning, ask them if they have seen any Japanese pirates along the way?" Hu Zongxian ordered.
"Yes, sir." The personal soldiers responded and left.
Soon, the guard walked to the front, grabbed a few cakes from the basin, and called out to the refugees, "Hey, I'm talking to you guys, come here, I'm going to ask you a question, and these cakes are for you."
"Just ask, sir." The fleeing people stared at the pancakes.
"You fled from Jiangning. Have you seen any Japanese pirates or heard any news about them along the way?" the personal soldier asked.
"No, I didn't see any Japanese pirates at all."
"When the damn Japanese pirates were killing people and setting fires in Jiangning, we hid in the well in the yard. We waited until there was no movement outside before we dared to climb out of the well. As soon as we came out, we saw a sea of fire. We escaped from the burning yard and fled all the way here. We didn't see the Japanese pirates at all along the way."
"There are no Japanese pirates along the way. If there were, we would have no chance of survival."
The fleeing people talked at once.
After hearing this, the Ming army became even more relaxed and let themselves go.