Chapter 81 Military Meeting

"The place where we landed was Yuyao, which is very close to Cixi. Not long after we landed, we met the retreating Guanhai Guard soldiers. It is said that the Dinghai Guards had retreated to Ningbo Prefecture, and then we fought with the Japanese pirates who were following them."

As the soldiers continued to talk about that battlefield experience, the process of the first battle after Jiujiang Guards was dispatched came into the ears of the three listeners.

Because they were defeated soldiers, no one paid attention to what was happening behind them, even when they encountered this large army coming for reinforcements from afar. The Guanhai Guard soldiers continued to retreat in defeat, which directly caused the morale of several other guards to collapse.

When I was still in Zhenjiang, I only heard someone say that the Japanese pirates were very powerful. Now I saw it was true. I didn't see the defeated soldiers of Guanhaiwei running towards the rear desperately.

By this time, the soldiers of Jiujiang Guard who had been training for more than a year had their military morale rising, and they all wanted to follow them back.

There were not enough guards to command, but also the commanding officers and the commanding officers to escort them. No one dared to directly follow the defeated soldiers and ran back. They didn't see Qianhu, the commander and other officers' servants standing there at the moment. Sharpen your sword outside the army.

Several guards commanders also got together now to study what to do next.

We are all grasshoppers on the same rope. We have already disobeyed military orders when we got here. If we continue to get lost, we will continue to lose our way.

OK.

The army set up temporary camp directly on the road leading to Yuyao. While sending messengers to ask for instructions on follow-up tasks, they also sent scout horses to explore the enemy situation near Cixi.

As soon as the camp was set up and the meal was not ready, we received a report from the scouting horse. Japanese pirates were found more than 20 miles away and were robbing a village.

Senior generals from several guards gathered together again to discuss whether to send troops to eliminate this group of Japanese pirates.

"You are just sending troops to encircle and suppress these Japanese pirates?"

When Wu Dong heard this, he suddenly interrupted and asked.

"No, the master was waiting outside the tent at that time. After discussion, the master inside just sent additional scout horses to investigate the enemy's situation."

The soldier said hurriedly, "But the next day we fought with these Japanese pirates."

As the soldiers continued to tell, Wei Guangde and the others learned what happened next.

Although detective horses were sent to monitor the Japanese pirates, at the military meeting that day, most of the guard commanders wanted to lead their troops to retreat to Yuyao. After all, there was a county wall there that they could rely on to resist the Japanese pirates' attack.

That night, all the officers of more than 100 households in Jiujiang Guard were called to the command tent for discussion. Only then did Wu Zhankui and Wei Meng know what the dispute was about at the military tent in the afternoon and the final result.

All Jiujiang Guard officers with more than 100 households had to make a choice whether to retreat to Yuyao or take the initiative to exterminate this group of Japanese pirates.

Soon the officers in the big tent were divided into two groups. Naturally, the vast majority of the officers were unwilling to go to Zhejiang to fight. It was not that they did not want military honors, but that military honors were a bit hot.

They knew very well the quality of their men, but they really had no confidence in annihilating the Japanese pirates. They did not see that all the Guanhai Guard troops were defeated. This was a full guard station, and the current Jiujiang Guards only had more than a thousand troops.

The few low-level officers who wanted to make contributions were quickly criticized by their colleagues and had nothing to say.

It's not that their opinions are bad, but they are serving the imperial court. Unfortunately, they only occupy the moral high ground. They are also speechless about the actual combat power proposed by their colleagues.

Naturally, senior generals such as the commander and the commander would not speak at this time, which meant that the hundreds and thousands of households below were talking about it.

The subordinates did not want to fight, and as commanders, colleagues, and commanders of their superiors, whether intentionally or unintentionally, their faces showed a look of helplessness.

Wu Zhankui and Wei Meng naturally belonged to the fence-sitting faction. They had no problem advancing or retreating, so they simply didn't say anything.

With the main war faction silent, the group in the military tent that advocated retreat gained the upper hand. However, after the other party stopped speaking, the scene gradually became quiet, and everyone was waiting for the commander's decision.

The situation was very clear just now. Most people actually didn't want to fight. At this time, it was up to him, the guard commander, to make the final decision.

"What do you say?"

As the highest-ranking general in the military tent, he still did not express his thoughts immediately. Instead, he asked the opinions of other chief guards who came with the army.

Baihu, Qianhu and Wei Zhenfu in Shicai Guards Station have all expressed their opinions, that is to say, a few guard commanders have remained silent. It seems that it is time to express their opinions at this time.

It was at this time that the officers who had been very active in opposing the main war faction suddenly felt something, and they all looked at the senior guards sitting above the tent with disbelief.

Just now, they expressed their opinions very clearly. According to the past routine, after their opinions are basically unified, the commander will directly make a choice. After all, in their opinion, this is the best decision for them. .

However, there seems to be something wrong with Commander Wei today.

"The glorious Ming Dynasty, the Kingdom of Heaven, when will it be the turn of the Japanese pirates to plunder?"

Having said this, the speaker stood up and bowed his hands to the commander of the guard and said: "Sir, I think we should enter Ningbo Prefecture as soon as possible to exterminate the Japanese pirates."

The one who spoke was a commander. As soon as he finished speaking, another commander stood up and saluted: "Sir, the Ministry of War has issued a document ordering us to directly rescue Taizhou. We have already strayed to Shaoxing, and it is a serious crime to delay a major event.

Now that Japanese pirates are found ahead, it is time to encircle and suppress them with all their strength, so as to atone for their sins. "

This time, it was Li Qiguang, the commander, who spoke with a powerful voice, which was slightly different from the past.

Something was wrong, absolutely wrong.

At this time, all the officers in the tent had noticed that before they came in, the commanders of the guards had already reached a consensus, and their ideas were completely opposite.

At this time, Zhang Qing, the commander-in-chief, also stood up and bowed to the commander of the guards, saying: "Sir, the military order ordered us to suppress the Japanese. This time, we found the enemy twenty miles away. We must fight this battle no matter what."

The intention was too obvious. If the generals in the tent still couldn't see it at this time, it would be really stupid.

Although it was unknown why the commanders of the guards made the decision to fight, which seemed to be inconsistent with the news they had heard before, no one dared to stand up and oppose it at this time. They all bowed their bodies and dared not raise their heads.

The two centurions who had previously advocated the war were now like ostriches, and they did not dare to get carried away because their opinions were supported by the big bosses of the guards.

"I forgot to tell you that when the bandits of Guanhaiwei retreated, they left a message that the Japanese pirates followed Dinghaiwei and are probably already at the city of Ningbo."

As the commander of the guard said this, everyone in the room understood why the commander said that and why Zhang Qing, the good guy in the guard, stood up and advocated fighting with all his strength. It was because Jiujiang Guard had been forced into a desperate situation.