Someone was shouting outside the tent. Zan Jurun was squatting on the toilet. He grabbed a handful of toilet paper when he heard the noise. He lifted the linen curtain and came out, frowning and asking: What's the noise
A man said: Mr. Zhang Yin met with an accident
Zan Jurun was stunned: Unexpected
The man said: An assassin suddenly appeared in Gaoqi Manor, and now the whole manor is on fire
The incident was a bit sudden, and Zan Jurun felt caught off guard, but he was an official sitting in the court after all, so he immediately said: Give the order, have Shijianbao be on guard and ask someone to call Commander Zhang to discuss the matter.
Here
Not long after, Zhang Jiankui, dressed in a linen robe, and several of his generals walked into the tent. How could such a thing happen suddenly without any sign
Zan Jurun frowned and said: "It's really unexpected. I didn't expect that this was done by the Japanese government. But they don't seem to need to be so radical and reckless. If they are seeking revenge privately, without great contradictions and hatred, who would do such a serious thing, and who has the ability to do it? He pondered for a moment and said, "Don't be impatient, and wait until we find out. Send someone to the scene now to take a look."
Zhang Jiankui asked: Should we let the soldiers put on armor and prepare weapons
Zan Jurun hesitated for a moment and was weighing the pros and cons.
Zhang Jiankui then advised bluntly: Now that things have come to this, what is the point of killing our officials without asking any questions? There is no need to hide your identity anymore, just prepare for the battle.
Zan Jurun nodded immediately and ordered all the capitals to prepare for war.
He looked at Zhang Jiankui calmly again and said, "I have to thank Commander Zhang for the meal yesterday."
The two looked at each other and understood.
Everyone was doing well here, and the land they borrowed belonged to a local tyrant with whom they got along well, so they didn't feel that there was much danger at all; if Zan Jurun hadn't had a stomachache, he might have gone to Gao Qi's house for a banquet on the Qiqiao Festival. Zan Jurun certainly didn't want to die like this. He was only in his thirties, and he had already held the position of assistant minister of the six ministries and the cabinet. He had a bright future, so why would he be willing to die like this
Zan Jurun sighed a little, and said: It's a pity about the Zhang family's affairs.
Zhang Yin was younger, only in his twenties. Although his position was not high, it was not low for his age. The key was that he was appreciated by the emperor and was recognized as a talent. His future was imaginable. Unfortunately, when seeking wealth and fame, there are bound to be unexpected events.
Not long after the messenger left, the sound of heavy drums and gongs could be heard in the night, and the general's order was sounded. Upon hearing the sound, all the men immediately rushed out of the tents, and the ten generals of each city also came out, shouting loudly, and everyone followed their ten generals and deputy generals and rushed to the armory in an orderly manner.
Each team lined up and took weapons from the warehouse guarded by the military officials, helping each other to put on armor. The fire in the earthen fort was soaring into the sky, and there was a busy scene. Plates, leather armor, swords, firearms, spears, bows and crossbows, these craftsmen who were building the fort were not ordinary civilians or sailors. They were equipped with a complete set of sophisticated weapons skillfully.
The shouts of the military commanders could be heard everywhere. The craftsmen and strong men soon became soldiers in armor.
After a while, Zhang Jiankui, a big man wearing armor and a red cloak, also came to the front of the troops, and everyone looked at him sideways. Zhang Jiankui stepped forward and said loudly: "I am here under the order of Emperor Daxu to command and deploy the troops stationed in the East China Sea. If anyone disobeys the military order, I will have the right to deal with them on the spot. God bless our emperor, and live forever."
The soldiers immediately shouted: "God bless our emperor" and their response was to acknowledge Zhang Jiankui's military authority.
After hearing this, Zhang Jiankui said: Each team will be led by the deputy general to deploy in each defense area, and the ten generals will follow me into the tent to make arrangements.
Get the order
Inside the crude tent, Zan Jurun had already hung up several pictures and was sitting with his back to the door, lost in thought.
I, and other generals, pay my respects to Minister Zan and all the other generals clasp their fists and perform the military salute.
Zan Jurun turned around and looked at Zhang Jiankui.
Zhang Jiankui clasped his fists and said: The court will listen to Minister Zan's opinion on the overall situation, and I have some advice. Tonight's incident happened suddenly, the enemy is in the dark and we are in the light, our troops cannot rush in and beware of being ambushed.
Zan Jurun pondered for a moment and nodded, saying: Commander Zhang is right.
Zhang Jiankui was a veteran warrior, and Zan Jurun was a civil servant who was very willing to listen to the advice of military generals.
Zhang Jiankui was encouraged by Zan Jurun's statement and said: "It is better to be prepared than to be unprepared. If the opponent is well prepared and the attack on Gaoqizhuang is a bait, then we will be caught in the trap if we rush over."
I think we should first send out scouts to search around, and then send people to Gaoqi Village where the incident occurred to investigate. When tomorrow morning comes, we will send troops to Gaoqi Village to search cautiously.
Zan Jurun agreed, and pointed to places such as Beishan on the map and sent people out.
By the next morning, Zan Jurun and Zhang Jiankui had almost confirmed that it was not a large-scale provocation by the Japanese army. There was no sign of military activity within a radius of 10 to 20 miles.
Zhang Jiankui then led his men to Gaoqi Village, where they saw a ruin under the forest, surrounded by smoke. The beams of the house had not yet been burned out, with flickering flames and smoke everywhere.
After searching everywhere, they found that everything was burnt, even the bodies were all black and blurry, and it was impossible to tell who was who. The soldiers carried the bodies out, and finally found a jade pendant, a seal, and a flint ribbon buckle from a boot that had not been completely burned. They roughly identified the body of Zhang Fushi, who was dead beyond death. Later, they found Liu Jin's body.
Everyone looked at the black corpse in silence, speechless.
Except for Xu's army, there was no one alive in this place. Maybe there were survivors and nearby civilians, but they had already fled to who knows where. This was a bit tricky. Originally, the people who contacted the local tyrants were Liu Jin, a spy from the Military Department, and Zhang Fushi. Now both of them were dead, and Zhang Jiankui and others had no idea who to look for in the local area.
General Zhang, please have a look. A general found a strange-shaped dart from the corpse and presented it to him.
Zhang Jiankui couldn't recognize what it was. Anyway, he had never seen it in the Central Plains, so he ordered: Put these things away.
Get the order
Some samurai swords and arrowheads were also found in the ruins, but they were probably useless, as they were commonly used by Japanese warriors. However, Zhang Jiankui still ordered them to be collected, as the forging techniques of weapons in different places might be different, so he would ask someone to find out where they came from.
General Zhang received another report. Zhang Jiankui looked in the direction of the voice and saw a soldier leading a dishevelled woman over.
Zhang Jiankui asked: Where did you catch it
The soldier said: She came down from the mountain to find us on her own.
Zhang Jiankui took a look and saw that she was a young lady with a good figure. She was delicate and tender, not like a working woman. She was soaked through, and her clothes stuck to her skin, exposing the outlines of many parts of her body, which was very attractive. Sure enough, the generals and soldiers beside her secretly feasted their eyes and were stimulated. Most of the Zhou army soldiers were young and strong, at the age of passion. No matter the occasion, as long as there was such a person, they would be stimulated.
Next to her was a general named Yu Liang, a military officer recruited from the Wei army. He was very handsome and looked at her from time to time. The woman also noticed Yu Liang and also gave him a wink, but soon her attention turned to the strong man Zhang Jiankui who was surrounded by people.
Zhang Jiankui was much more experienced. He immediately became alert and said calmly: "Give her some clothes. It's not decent to have such unkempt clothes."
He then asked in an interrogative tone: Everyone around us has fled and hidden, why did you take the initiative to come to us? A young girl, how could you be afraid of so many warriors
After asking, I remembered that it was possible that this girl from Dongdao didn't understand.
But I can actually speak Chinese, but my pronunciation is very awkward: My name is Meizi, the concubine of Mr. Gao Qi. I think the Xu people are very kind, and I believe you will not hurt me casually. Mr. Zhang took care of me before he died last night, otherwise I might not have survived.
Zhang Yin, Zhang Jiankui said.
Meizi nodded: "Mr. Zhang often comes to Gaoqizhuang as a guest. I have met him. Gaoqi introduced him to me at the banquet yesterday. He is a good man."
Zhang Jiankui said with a stern face: I will trust you for now, but you must not seduce the soldiers and disrupt the morale of the army.
I am not as innocent as Meiko said.
Zhang Jiankui said: Take this girl back to Shijianbao first and ask her about what happened yesterday.
They couldn't find anyone to ask for a while, and it just so happened that Meiko was from Gaoqi Village, and Zhang Jiankui thought she could be useful.
The group didn't get anything useful from the ruins of Takasaki Manor, but they found out from Meiko the homes of the two samurai leaders of Takasaki Manor, as well as the territories of two other nearby village officials who had originally joined the group. The command branch sent people to contact them, but unexpectedly, the samurai leaders changed their attitude and were unwilling to have too much contact with the Xu people, with an attitude of keeping them at a distance.
Zan Jurun couldn't do anything to them, because it was obviously not done by Gao Qi and other owners of the manor, and the leaders did not show any hostility.
Zan Jurun guessed: This matter may involve domestic forces in Japan. These people feel threatened by the danger and are unwilling to take the risk of partnering with us again.
Zhang Jiankui agreed.
Zan Jurun frowned, in a very bad mood. The originally smooth sailing situation took a sharp turn for the worse overnight. The situation became confusing and the resistance also increased suddenly.
Zhang Jiankui asked: Minister Zan, what should we do now? Without the help of local powerful people, the military food reserves will gradually become scarce over time.
Xu Jun's army in the East China Sea has only a few hundred people under its command, and the food and fodder they need is not very large. However, in the long run, they have to rely on domestic supplies, and the food route is too far.
Zan Jurun pondered and said: "For now, we should stabilize our position first. Immediately send a ship back to Haizhou and report to the court."
Zhang Jiankui said: "The Japanese did such a thing and killed our court officials. The murderer must be severely punished. Should we send someone to inform the governor of Iwami Province and ask them to give an explanation?"
Zan Jurun frowned and said: "You can try, but we have not reached a peace agreement with the Japanese government, we are just working with the local village officials. As for the government offices such as the provincial and county governments, they are not the same as the village officials, but the Japanese government can't do anything about them. I'm afraid this matter will not go smoothly."