When Zhu Ping'an and his party were marching towards the central army camp in the pirates' night clothes, the central army camp was already engulfed in a sea of fire. Most of the tents were burning fiercely. Only the commander's tent in the center and the five tents of the personal guards that protected the commander's tent were still intact. They were like isolated islands in the sea of fire, but they were also extremely dangerous and could be burned to death by the flames at any time.
Nakamura Yukiji led more than a hundred Japanese pirates to surround the isolated island and launched wave after wave of attacks like vicious wolves.
Surrounded by the Japanese pirates, there were more than a hundred panicked Ming soldiers. They were the Royal Guard Battalion, and were also the only organized unit in the central army camp.
Zhao Wenhua was huddled behind a group of guards, covered in dust and with disheveled hair. He was wearing a white nightgown without even having time to fasten his belt, and his feet were bare. It was unclear whether he had lost his shoes or had not had time to put them on.
Hu Zongxian was also with Zhao Wenhua, also in pajamas, and was obviously awakened by the Japanese pirates.
However, compared to Zhao Wenhua's embarrassment and panic, Hu Zongxian was much calmer. While protecting Zhao Wenhua with a shield, he commanded his few personal guards to withstand wave after wave of fierce attacks from the Japanese pirates.
The situation is very dangerous.
The Japanese pirates were brave and good at fighting. They were well prepared. They not only held sharp Japanese swords, but also equipped with hidden weapons such as sleeve arrows and poison darts. While attacking head-on, they would occasionally shoot hidden arrows and poison darts, taking the lives of Ming soldiers one after another.
There were originally more than 200 guards in the Royal Guard Battalion, but in less than a cup of tea, only more than 100 were left.
"Damn it, have these pirates gone mad, or have they got the time wrong? They didn't come when I was presiding over the sea sacrifice ceremony. Now that the sea sacrifice ceremony is over, is there any point in coming to the ceremony now to kill people and burn people?"
Zhao Wenhua, who was in the protection center of the Ming army, stared at the fiercely attacking Japanese pirates outside with his head huddled, and cursed angrily.
"Hold on, hold on. We don't want to kill the enemy, we just want to hold on. We have 10,000 troops here, and tens of thousands more are coming to support us ten miles away. As long as we hold on for a while, tens of thousands of reinforcements will come to support us, and victory will definitely belong to us. At that time, everyone will be rewarded with 50 taels of silver, no, 100 taels."
Hu Zongxian loudly commanded his personal guards to withstand the fierce attack of the Japanese pirates. He saw that the personal guard battalion was stretched thin and on the verge of collapse under the fierce attack of the Japanese pirates. Many personal guards were frightened by the Japanese pirates. If they had not been surrounded by the Japanese pirates with no way to escape, they would have fled for their lives. He had to use the trick of "a big reward will produce a brave man" to make the personal guard battalion fight for their lives.
Sure enough, with the huge reward of one hundred taels of silver, the Royal Guard Battalion regained its courage and once again resisted the offensive of the Japanese pirates.
Hu Zongxian finally had time to answer Zhao Wenhua, "Sir, I now understand what Zihou said. Whether the official sea sacrifice ceremony is completed or not has an impact on us. We have to complete the mission of the emperor, but it has no impact on the Japanese pirates. They don't care whether the sea sacrifice ceremony is completed or not. As long as they kill and burn at the sea sacrifice site, they will achieve their goal. They can also slap the face of the court and enhance their reputation."
"Oh, I regret not listening to Zihou's advice." Zhao Wenhua couldn't help but sigh, feeling extremely regretful.
If we had listened to Zhu Ping'an's advice, increased our vigilance and guarded against the Japanese pirates' night attacks, we wouldn't have ended up like this.
Hu Zongxian couldn't help but feel regretful. When Zhu Ping'an came to warn Zhao Wenhua last night, he was a little drunk and didn't think carefully about what Zhu Ping'an said. Moreover, when Zhao Wenhua dismissed Zhu Ping'an, he didn't say anything more.
Raise.
Thinking about it now, I really regret it. If there is a regret medicine in this world, it would be great. I am willing to eat it as a meal.
When the two men were regretting, the Japanese pirates' attack became more fierce. In addition to the open and covert attacks, they also insidiously threw torches at Zhao Wenhua and his men, not only people but also tents.
The torches made Zhao Wenhua and others very embarrassed. The people could hide as long as they were alive, but the tents were inanimate objects and could not be moved. Soon, the royal guard camp on the periphery was set on fire by the Japanese pirates.
The scorching fire further compressed the movement space of Zhao Wenhua and others, making the situation even more dangerous.
"Insidious! Shameless!"
Zhao Wenhua couldn't help but curse loudly. His pajamas were burned by fire and a hole appeared on his thigh.
Hu Zongxian was also forced to frown by the Japanese pirates' actions. The Japanese pirates were too insidious.
Seeing that the Japanese pirates were going to use the same old tricks again and attack the candle tent, Zhao Wenhua could not stand it any longer, because inside the candle tent were the silver bills he had recently received, amounting to tens of thousands of taels of silver.
The money is secondary. The most important thing is that he still has the imperial edict for the sea sacrifice in his tent, which cannot be lost.
If the imperial edict was destroyed by the Japanese pirates, he would be in big trouble.
"Quick, quick, assign a few people to protect the commander's tent. There is the emperor's decree inside, and it cannot be lost."
Zhao Wenhua shouted hurriedly.
"Tear it down, take down the general's tent, so it won't catch fire easily." Hu Zongxian added quickly.
"Yes, that's right, tear down the general's tent." Zhao Wenhua suddenly realized.
The army was already stretched thin and faced many dangers, and now, after sending a few men to dismantle the general's tent, its strength was even more insufficient.
The candle tent had not been dismantled yet, and the Japanese pirates almost broke through the defense line of the royal guards. Fortunately, Hu Zongxian was sharp-eyed and gave orders in time to block the gap.
But even so, the human defense line of the Royal Guard Battalion was in jeopardy, and it was normal for it to collapse in the next second.
"No, we can't just sit there and wait for death. It's better to concentrate our forces and break out in one direction."
Zhao Wenhua held Hu Zongxian and muttered, he didn't care about the imperial edict and the silver now, his life was more important, as long as he was alive he would have no worries about firewood, if he lost the silver he could ask for it again, anyway there were many people asking for official position, money, friendship and mercy; if the imperial edict was gone, his adoptive father could help cover it up, even if it couldn't be covered up, he could help plead for mercy, so he was not hopeless: but he only had one life, if he lost it here, it would be all over.
It was only a matter of time before the Japanese pirates broke through the human shield defense line of the imperial guards. It might be the next second, and at most it could not last more than two or three quarters of an hour.
So, he wanted to break out and survive.
"Sir, no." Hu Zongxian shook his head decisively and rejected Zhao Wenhua's proposal to break out.
"Why not?! This is a dead end. These rubbish are no match for the Japanese pirates."
Zhao Wenhua glared.
"Sir, not to mention that it is extremely difficult to break out from the heavy siege of the Japanese pirates; even if we are lucky enough to break out, it will be a way to death. Under the heavy siege of the Japanese pirates, we can still gather soldiers to fight for our lives, but if we break out, these soldiers will surely flee in all directions. How can you and I escape the pursuit of the Japanese pirates then?!" Hu Zongxian explained in a low voice.
"Are we just going to wait here to die?" Zhao Wenhua asked anxiously.
"Sir, let alone the garrison ten miles away who saw the fire at the festival and will surely come here to rescue; we have more than 10,000 soldiers and horses at the festival, and we may not be able to count on He, Shen and others, but Yu Dayou is a veteran of the battlefield and has been on the battlefield for a long time. He has a group of veterans who have seen blood. They will not be easily defeated by the Japanese pirates' surprise attack. As long as they have a little time, they can clean up the mess and support the central army; Tang Kekuan is also a veteran of the battlefield and has made great contributions in resisting the Japanese pirates. He will not be defeated by the Japanese pirates' surprise attack. He will also clean up the mess in time and support the central army; and Zihou, he warned you last night that the Zhejiang Army camp must have been well prepared and would not be easily captured by the Japanese pirates. Maybe he is leading his troops to support the central army now. I believe that at most we can hold on for a cup of tea, and the reinforcements will arrive, and this dilemma will be solved."
Hu Zongxian quickly spoke up, pointing out Yu Dayou, Tang Kekuan and Zhu Pingan to help Zhao Wenhua gain confidence.