Rise From the Humble

"Report, a large army of Japanese pirates appeared two miles ahead, with about ten thousand people." The pursuing Zhejiang army soldiers ran all the way back to report to Zhu Ping'an.

At this moment, the Zhejiang Army was already on full alert at the mountain pass, and several commanding heights on the hillside were also guarded by Zhejiang Army troops.

Surrounded and protected by Liu Dadao and others, Zhu Ping'an took the command in the center of the formation, with the large flag fluttering in the wind behind him.

"More than 10,000 people, a little less than expected."

Zhu Ping'an nodded calmly. The number of Japanese pirates was less than he had expected. However, these were definitely just the vanguard of the Japanese pirates. There would definitely be more Japanese pirate armies behind them. Wang Zhi also thought highly of him.

"Da Dao, you lead your battalion to support the vanguard troops that are pursuing us. If the Japanese pirates pursue us, you will stop them on the spot, and I will lead the main army forward to support them. If the Japanese pirates do not pursue us, you will slowly return to the main camp."

Zhu Ping'an ordered Liu Dadao.

"As you wish, sir."

Liu Dadao nodded vigorously to accept the order, then led his Zhejiang troops to support the pursuing vanguard army.

"Inform the soldiers who are cleaning up the battlefield to return to the battlefield immediately. All injured soldiers will be treated at the Shankou camp."

"Order the soldiers who are returning to the main camp to line up at the back."

Zhu Ping'an gave orders in an orderly manner, looking slowly ahead, waiting for the arrival of the Japanese pirate army.

Soon, all the soldiers who were cleaning up the battlefield withdrew from the hillside. Following Zhu Ping'an's instructions, they cut off the heads of the Japanese pirates, placed their bodies on the firewood pile, and set them on fire.

As for cutting off the heads of the Japanese pirates, on the one hand it was used as evidence of military merit, and on the other hand it was used to train new recruits.

The job of cutting off the heads of the Japanese pirates was all done by the newly enlisted Zhejiang Army soldiers. This also allowed them to see blood and exercise their courage.

Burning the bodies of Japanese pirates was to prevent plague.

"My Lord, in the first battlefield on the hillside, we got 327 heads of Japanese pirates, which have been cut off and their bodies are being burned. In the battlefield on the way to the pursuit, we only cleaned up an area of ​​more than a mile, and got 473 heads of Japanese pirates, which have been cut off, but their bodies have not been burned yet. The battlefields farther away have not been cleaned up yet."

After the soldiers who were cleaning the battlefield returned, one of them took a piece of paper and reported the statistical figures to Zhu Ping'an.

In the first battle on the hillside, the Japanese pirates collapsed after suffering only 327 casualties. Well, there were about 4,000 Japanese pirates in ambush, which means that the Japanese pirates collapsed after suffering less than 10% casualties, which is in line with historical statistical laws.

During the pursuit, 473 heads of Japanese pirates were captured, which was far more casualties than in the first battlefield, and they only cleared an area of ​​more than one mile.

It seems that once the army collapses, the pursuit becomes a massacre, and most casualties occur during the pursuit.

"How many of our people were killed or wounded?" Zhu Ping'an asked with concern.

"Your Excellency, we have six injured people in total. Two of them were injured by Japanese pirates' muskets when they counterattacked in the first battlefield. Fortunately, they were protected by cotton armor and their injuries were not serious. The military doctor said that they would recover in more than a month. The other four were injured during the pursuit. Two of them slipped and were injured during the pursuit. The other two were stabbed by Japanese bayonets when the Japanese pirates counterattacked before their death. One was injured in the lower abdomen and the other was injured in the chest. Although they were protected by cotton armor, they were also seriously injured. The military doctor said that they would be sent to Shaoxing for treatment. Fortunately, their lives are not in danger, but they will have to rest in the future."

The soldiers reported back.

"Order the military doctor to treat the wounded urgently, and then send a group of soldiers to escort them back to Shaoxing to recuperate." Zhu Ping'an gave the order.

"Yes, sir."

The soldiers took the order and went down to make arrangements.

Soon, in less than a cup of tea, the soldiers who were chasing in front returned to their camp one after another, and Liu Dadao also slowly returned with their battalion.

Following behind Liu Dadao was a large army of Japanese pirates, numbering about 10,000 people, who were advancing slowly along with Liu Dadao and his camp.

Perhaps affected by the defeat in the ambush of the Japanese pirates, the Japanese pirate army did not easily launch an attack on the Zhejiang army. They just kept a distance of two to three hundred meters from Liu Dadao's camp and advanced slowly.

The Japanese pirates pushed until they were 300 meters away from the Zhejiang army, then stopped and confronted the Zhejiang army.

"Two leaders, the Zhejiang Army is only 8,000 birdmen. Do you want to attack them directly?"

Among the Japanese pirate army, a one-eyed pirate leader proposed to Mao Haifeng and Otomo Sadakawa to directly attack the Zhejiang army.

"Brother Otomo, what do you think?" Mao Haifeng looked at Otomo Sadakawa.

"If it was before, I would have led my troops to attack the center of the Zhejiang Army without hesitation, cut off his banner, and take Zhu Ping'an's head. But the fact that the ambush was broken by the Zhejiang Army just now made me wary of Zhu Ping'an. We originally thought that everything was under our control, and Zhu Ping'an's every move was under our control, but we didn't expect that this guy was so cunning. According to the defeated soldiers, Zhu Ping'an had already discovered our ambush a long time ago, and pretended not to know. On the one hand, he sent people to secretly climb up the higher slope to ambush, and on the other hand, he set up camp at the mountain pass, cooked, and took a lunch break. In particular, he used the weather to weaken our army. I don't know if he can calculate the weather or pretend to be lucky."

Otomo Sadakawa said slowly.

"However, there is an old saying in the Ming Dynasty, 'A general who does not understand astronomy, does not know the advantages of the terrain, does not know the strange gates, does not understand the yin and yang, does not read the battle map, and does not understand the military situation is a mediocre talent.' Maybe Zhu Ping'an is an expert in astronomy. I have heard of his many military achievements before. It seems that his reputation should not be underestimated."

Otomo Sadakawa pointed at the Zhejiang Army formation in front of him and slowly said to Mao Haifeng, "Brother Haifeng, please look, the Zhejiang Army is fully prepared and there are no loopholes. Our ambush was broken by the Zhejiang Army and we were defeated for a while. Our morale was damaged. If we can't break the Zhejiang Army formation for a while, I'm afraid our morale will be hit again. Morale will be damaged again and again, which is not good."

"In addition, after this incident, we know that Zhu Ping'an is a sinister and cunning person. A few days ago, he made a big fuss in Shaoxing and swore to send 8,000 troops to attack us. This makes people suspicious. This is not like what a sinister and cunning person like him should do. I suspect that this boy must have some conspiracy."

"So, we must attack, but my suggestion now is that it is getting late, so we should hold our troops for now to avoid a setback. We should observe Zhu Ping'an's strengths and weaknesses first, and then defeat the enemy tomorrow."

Otomo Sadakawa said slowly.

"Well, Brother Dayou, what you said makes sense. It seems that Zhu Ping'an is definitely not a man who gets his reputation for nothing. We have been starving and freezing in the valley for so long, and the Zhejiang army is eating meat and drinking soup and waiting for the opportunity to tire out. It will be disadvantageous for our army to fight immediately. Let's set up camp here, let the boys eat and drink enough, and recuperate for a night." Mao Haifeng nodded, "At the same time, observe the strength of the Zhejiang army. On the one hand, observe the main camp of the Zhejiang army, and on the other hand, send scouts to explore the area of ​​80 miles to see if there are any ambushes of the Zhejiang army. Wait until tomorrow, and we will defeat the enemy army." (End of this chapter)