The days are short in winter, but time flies. As the sun sets in the west with each flickering fire, the four waves of scouts sent by Hu Zongxian also return in the afterglow of the setting sun, bringing the latest reconnaissance situation.
No Japanese pirates, no Japanese pirates, still no Japanese pirates!
The Ming army was not surprised at all by this.
Now, it seems like a fire-waiting party has been held in front of the cherry orchard. Sweet potatoes brought from the West, chickens, ducks, geese that have "lost" and run into the cherry orchard, and whole grains and dry food are being roasted on the bonfire. They are roasted until they are crispy and oily, with the fat dripping from them.
The Ming soldiers, who had already taken off their armor and weapons, sat by the campfire, eating with greasy mouths.
This doesn't feel like a war, but more like an outing.
While the Ming army was eating and drinking, a group of about ten refugees came on the road ahead. When they approached, they stood on the side of the road. They were timid and frightened, and they stared at the Ming army who were roasting fire and eating meat.
Their words and actions fully demonstrated that they were starving and cold, and wanted to ask for some food and drink, but were afraid of the Ming army.
"Hey, come here, I have something to ask you." A few Ming soldiers took a few cakes and stretched out their hands to call them over.
"General, what do you want to ask?" The refugees came over, looked at the biscuits in the hands of the Ming army, and swallowed their saliva.
"Where are you from?" the Ming army asked with their hands on their hips, shouting.
"We fled here from Jiangning," the refugees replied.
"Have you seen any trace of Japanese pirates along the way?" the Ming army asked, shaking the pancake in his hand.
"No. I saw it."
"If we see it, we will still be alive."
"I didn't see them. I heard that the Japanese pirates stole some things and ran to the seaside, but I didn't see them either. I don't know if it's true or not."
All the refugees shook their heads, indicating that they had not seen the Japanese pirates.
"Hey, as expected, there is still no trace of the Japanese pirates. I wonder if they ran away or took a detour." The Ming army was not surprised at all. They threw the cakes in their hands to the refugees and said with a smile, "These cakes are given to you as a reward. Whoever grabs them first gets them."
Then, the two groups of Ming soldiers laughed as they watched the refugees scramble for the cakes like vicious dogs.
After the refugees had grabbed some food, they went to rest in the woods by the roadside. With a large army stationed there, they finally didn't have to worry about the Japanese pirates anymore, and they could finally rest for a while and get enough energy to continue their escape to Yingtian.
The Ming army turned a blind eye to this. Several waves of refugees had already gone to the roadside woods to rest. Some refugees continued to flee to Yingtian after resting, and some refugees had not left yet. As long as they did not cause trouble, the Ming army was too lazy to chase them away.
"The sun is about to set, and there is still no trace of the Japanese pirates. We have not heard of the Japanese pirates harassing Yingtian from other directions. It seems that this group of Japanese pirates has really escaped."
"Haha, they robbed so much, enough for them to spend for dozens of lifetimes. They don't want to risk their lives to attack Yingtian, so it's normal for them to run away."
"Haha, good thing you ran away."
"Come on, come on, keep eating, keep playing..."
After listening to Jin Hou's good news and the refugees' words, the Ming army became more relaxed and lax, eating, drinking and having fun without any worries, throwing arrows, throwing dice, chatting, bragging, wrestling... ... .
While the Ming army was enjoying themselves, the refugees who were resting in the woods gathered together. They took out Japanese swords shining with cold light from their bedding, bags and carrying poles, and took out bags of black gunpowder from their bags and tied them around their waists...
"Divide the troops into two groups, be careful to get close to the Ming army, and then shout and kill." A sturdy refugee said in Japanese.
"Hi!" The two refugees lowered their heads and whispered in unison.
It turns out that these refugees are actually Japanese pirates!!
After landing, this group of Japanese pirates have been wandering around the southeast for a long time, and they have been deliberately preparing for a large-scale invasion of Jiangnan in the future. They have mastered the language of the local people in Daming and speak flawlessly! They are also so daring that they disguised themselves as refugees without any flaws!
In particular, they were divided into several waves and fled here at different times, which did not arouse any suspicion from the Ming army.
If they hadn't taken out their Japanese swords and spoken Japanese at this moment, it would have been hard to tell that they were Japanese pirates.
It was so real! The Japanese pirates silently split into two groups and cautiously approached the Ming army from two directions. The Ming army, who were eating, drinking, having fun and letting themselves go, did not notice the abnormality in the woods, and no one realized that danger was approaching.
"Kill him!".
The Japanese pirates cautiously approached the front of the Ming army, suddenly jumped into the Ming army with their Japanese swords brandished, and started shouting and killing.
Phew!
Phew!
Every strike of the sword draws blood and is fatal.
It was at this time that the Ming army noticed that in two directions, dozens of Japanese pirates were wielding Japanese swords and killing in the formation like a whirlwind, knocking their comrades to the ground one by one like chopping melons and vegetables.
The Japanese pirates had exquisite swordsmanship. When they wielded their swords, they spun like the wind. They were agile and appeared like evil spirits.
And what about the Ming army
In order to warm themselves by the fire, the Ming soldiers had already taken off their armor and were completely unprotected; in order to eat barbecued meat and baked cakes, they put their weapons aside. They were unarmed, like lambs to be slaughtered.
In an instant, the enemy was like a hot knife thrown into the snow, and the Ming army was melted in an instant!
In pieces!
They fled in panic! Their army was in complete disarray!
Unarmed and without armor, they were attacked in a panic. Apart from being hacked to the ground, they could only run for their lives instinctively.
At this time, the deep trench they had dug before, the trench that was used to prevent the soldiers from retreating in case of illness, the trench that was used to motivate the soldiers to fight to the death, it worked!
It really works!
Under the sudden attack of the Japanese pirates, the Ming army fled in all directions. At this time, the Ming army, who were fleeing in panic, were like dumplings, rolling and falling into the deep ditch, and their screams resounded through the sky.
When the Japanese pirates attacked, Hu Zongxian was still studying the map. While studying, he muttered to himself: "The Japanese pirates can't run away. They will definitely come to kill us. Where will they come from..."
Then the Japanese pirates came!
"Keep calm!".
"Those who escape will be killed without mercy!"
Hu Zongxian raised his sword and shouted, hastily organizing his personal soldiers to maintain military discipline and stabilize the army.
Ideals are full, but reality is skinny!
Hu Zongwan had just gathered seven or eight personal soldiers when they were torn to pieces by the Ming army, which was running away in panic. Hu Zongxian's hair was squeezed off, and his hair was a mess, like a chicken coop. The entire cherry orchard was slaughtered one-sidedly, with the Japanese pirates chasing them from behind, and the Ming army fled like headless flies... ... .
"Sir, now that things have come to this, saving your life is the most important thing."
Seeing that the defeat was imminent, the two personal soldiers ignored Hu Zongxian's objections, one of them put on Hu Zongxian's shoulders and ran backwards, but then they were uncontrollably swept by the chaotic soldiers and fell into a deep ditch.
The Ming army screamed in the deep trench.
The Japanese pirates chased the Ming army to the front of the ditch, untied the gunpowder belt from their waists and threw it into the deep ditch, and also threw the gunpowder from the Ming army's artillery into it. Several Japanese pirates took out a few burning sticks from the fire and threw them in.
Boom
Crackling
The flames in the deep trenches shot up into the sky, and the people were in despair...