Chapter 106 Prediction

At the hour of Mao on the second day, the Prince of Duke Mu went to the main military tent as usual to preside over the military meeting, but he made an exception and brought two followers, a man and a woman, with him. On his left was Huang, and on his right was Qingcang, he walked in with an imposing manner. The military meeting before the battle this time was unusual. The Crown Prince was also very serious. He did not dare to overstep the boundaries in his words and deeds. He looked solemn and serious, which was rare in the past dozens of days. The two attendants, a man and a woman, who served on his left and right, were also high-spirited and of extraordinary bearing. The three of them walked along, and their momentum seemed to be of the same standard.

As I said, the war to suppress the Japanese invaders was a huge event and a moment of extraordinary significance; such a moment that could influence the turning point of history must be handled in a dignified manner. As the nominal top leader of the entire army and the actual mascot, you have to perform your duties conscientiously even if you are just a vase. You must establish an image of reliability, stability and reassurance in front of the entire army. This can be considered a small contribution of the vase. The prince - and the two people beside him - may usually be able to speak outrageously and criticize whoever they want without any scruples, but today they must act in a down-to-earth manner and not allow any mistakes. Otherwise, in the future, history books will record you as being "arrogant and impetuous" before the war. Who can stand that?

People come here to watch history and pursue a sense of participation, not to embarrass themselves by walking around in circles. In preparation for today's important event, Liu Li and Zhao Fei even saved their own pocket money to buy themselves some low-key yet high-quality clothes. They had secretly rehearsed their postures and expressions for a long time, determined not to look the slightest bit indecent in front of everyone. If anyone dares to interfere in such an important matter, you two will make him realize the seriousness of the matter.

The prince was nominally presiding over the meeting, but in reality he was just going through the motions. But today, when he was going through the formalities and procedures, he paused for a moment, and then smiled at Qi Yuanjing who was sitting below him:

"Meet General Qi."

He put extra emphasis on the three words "General Qi", but after saying it he did not give any other instructions. He just sat in his original position, smiling and saying nothing. But the two attendants, a man and a woman, standing behind him suddenly raised their heads, turned their sights through the cover of the chair backs, and stared at General Qi with scorching eyes. Their expressions were so intense and earnest that it seemed as if they were looking at a stranger but rather a living dragon - the kind of living dragon that they wished they could immediately copy and take a picture of as a permanent commemoration.

Even with the back of the chair and the curtain blocking the view, such a look was so stimulating that General Qi was stunned and surprised, and could not help but look back - since the Crown Prince was ordered to suppress the Japanese pirates, he has always been low-key and cautious, rarely going out, and has never been accompanied by servants in such a high-profile manner. Moreover, he had met the prince many times, and had never seen these two unfamiliar faces among the servants of Duke Mu's mansion; judging from their demeanor at this glimpse, they did not look like ordinary servants, but more like...

The prince coughed, took out an envelope from his sleeve and placed it on the seat, then spoke slowly:

"Please let General Qi know that two distinguished guests came to visit yesterday and said that they were willing to contribute to the great cause of resisting the Japanese invaders. They each donated 15,000 taels of silver as a reward. For each Japanese head, a reward of 30 taels of silver will be offered, plus a piece of silk. The heads will be delivered immediately after inspection, without any delay."

Although he said this with great confidence, Qi Yuanjing felt a little hesitant: he knew the prince's schedule for the past few days. Apart from reporting for duty and performing formalities as agreed, he lived alone in a secret room. How could he have the time to meet such a "distinguished guest"? Besides, it was common for local people to donate money to reward the army, but thirty thousand taels was a huge sum after all (enough for Master Fei Xuan to fast once), and he would definitely have to hand it over to the right person before he could feel at ease - it wasn't that Qi Yuanjing was being presumptuous, but the reputation of the Prince of Mu was probably really...

"May I ask who these two heroes are? I will also write a letter to express my gratitude."

Can an ordinary person donate 30,000 taels? He may not care about the prince's high status, but Qi Yuanjing still has to be careful and perfunctory and take care of him in every way. This is the high emotional intelligence of someone who has climbed up from the bottom, which is absolutely incomparable to that of an ordinary playboy.

But the prince just waved his hand calmly:

"It's not a big deal. These two heroes, Liu and Zhao, are devoted to the country. Why should we express our gratitude with empty words? They said that as long as we can contribute to the suppression of the Japanese, a few personal belongings are not a big deal."

Having said this, he smiled and looked around deliberately. The two unknown heroes were also calm and composed, looking straight ahead, not caring about the thirty thousand taels at all - people have to be able to control themselves at critical moments; although the thirty thousand taels were also the private money that Mu Qi, Liu Li and Zhao Fei had saved from their teeth after careful calculation and risking their lives, they should save where they should and spend where they should, and spend money where it is needed most, and spend it generously, freely and decently. The soldiers are fighting hard on the front line, so what's wrong with the nobles in the back bleeding? At such a critical moment, if you show the slightest bit of stinginess, heartache and reluctance, you will be like a poor horse clinging to beans in the barn, or a guard dog. It is not worth mentioning, enough to be nailed on the pillar of shame and laughed at for ten thousand years.

Whether it's Zhao Fei or Mu Qi, they all came out of swords and guns, so how could they lose face?

Such a calm and composed demeanor had a very deceptive effect. At least General Qi was really fooled into thinking that the social circle of Duke Mu's Mansion was so high-end and luxurious that they spent tens of thousands of taels of silver without even blinking an eye - based on today's income, thirty taels of silver were enough for a small official with five or six people in the capital to hire servants and a mother to live comfortably for a year or two, not to mention a place like Shandong where prices are low? You can use the money to buy some land and farm tools, and you will have a support for your next life. With this reward money being given out, who wouldn't do their best?

Naval warfare attaches great importance to this fearless morale in the face of the enemy, so Qi Yuanjing did not refuse. After thanking him again and again, he put the thick stack of envelopes into his arms. In order to express sincere gratitude, or perhaps to show goodwill to the noble who generously donated money, this military meeting was described in great detail, with every effort made to demonstrate the skills on the battlefield.

Top generals are always able to adjust their tactics according to changes in the situation, and Qi Yuanjing is a general of this level. In the past, he usually used brilliant tactics in employing his troops, focusing on the combination of terrain and formations, attacking the weak and avoiding the enemy's edge, and winning victory by both land and sea. But now - especially after witnessing a naval battle in Shangyu and getting the promise from the Prince of Duke Mu that "unlimited supply of ammunition", Qi Yuanjing's thinking took a 180-degree turn. He abandoned the delicate, subtle and high-end operations and chose the most direct, rough and unskilled way of playing. In a nutshell: fire the cannon and blow his mother up.

In Qi Yuanjing's plan, the entire battle would begin with cannon fire, using the Feixuan Zhenjun and Wanshou Dijun to loosen the Japanese pirates' skin from a long distance; after breaking through to the medium and short-range waters, the "Fatty" would be used to warmly entertain them; if there were any survivors who managed to escape the double encirclement, sailors would be ordered to carry muskets and ride on light boats to surround and capture them from all sides. Try your best not to let anyone escape.

To put it simply, it starts with cannon fire, continues in the middle with cannon fire, and ends with musket fire. There is no need for elaborate design or mysterious military tactics. Once you have gained absolute firepower advantage, war will always be so dull, monotonous, and uninteresting, and there will no longer be the fun of fighting wits and courage as in the past.

Such an effortless battle situation might be easy to gain military merit, but it would inevitably make Qi Yuanjing feel bored from the bottom of his heart. Perhaps out of respect for the logistics supplier, or perhaps because he was so bored that he wanted to step up his game, after introducing the battle strategy in detail, General Qi even broke with the usual practice and specifically asked the prince if there was anything he wanted to add.

According to the usual practice, a general in a foreign country would not obey the king's orders, and without an imperial edict as a guarantee, nobles like the Duke of Mu's Mansion had no right to interfere in the specific arrangements of the war; but now the advantage was so great that it would not hurt to let the prince take action. Qi Yuanjing is very good at maneuvering and is good at dealing with people. On the premise of ensuring the overall situation is not affected, he can also collude with the nobles. They have stayed in the capital for more than ten days, and it is not in vain.

The prince really spoke up: "The emperor has also dispatched a lot of musketeers for this trip south. I wonder how the general plans to use them?"

Qi Yuanjing was stunned for a moment: "Most of the soldiers in the north are not familiar with water and cannot fight on ships; so the commander only uses musketeers as a reserve force and deploys them on the shore to prepare for any unexpected events..."

"To prepare for the unexpected? What unexpected things could there be?" The prince said, "After all, the method of this arrangement is just 'total reserve troops, do not move'?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the two followers behind him suddenly trembled all over and burst into a series of extremely strange coughs. Qi Yuanjing looked around in confusion, not knowing how to respond for a moment - the prince was right, the musketeers stationed on the shore in preparation were actually useless. After being hit by muskets and artillery, what fish could escape the net on the shore? On the contrary, if there really is some ultimate creature that can withstand the encirclement and suppression of Feixuan Zhenjun, Wanshou Emperor, Qingmiao Emperor and the fat man and land to commit crimes, then it is not a problem that mere musketeers can solve; to deal with this kind of creature, I am afraid that the Aolai Kingdom in the East China Sea may have to invite the Monkey King to come down to earth.

Therefore, placing musketeers on the shore was originally a very conservative, safe and boring tactic, and it was even largely based on human feelings rather than rationality. Qi Yuanjing had not been in the capital for nothing, and he knew very well the origins of the two thousand musketeers allocated to him by the emperor. He knew that Master Feixuan and Emperor Wanshou had spent countless money to organize such an army, so he could not tolerate too heavy a sacrifice. The palace gave him this army so that he could see the world and build up his courage, not to use real swords and guns to fight head-on. Otherwise, if he really lost all his capital, the True Lord would be furious in the West Garden.

In fact, just thinking about the tragic situation of the musketeers suffering heavy blows after being put into the battlefield, the familiar roar of Master Fei Xuan has already faintly echoed in everyone's ears:

"My money!"

When faced with great events, cherish your body; when seeing small gains, forget your life. It is possible that Master Feixuan would fully support the anti-Japanese war, but it is also unlikely that Master Feixuan would fully support the anti-Japanese war. The emperor was not unaware of the principle of giving one's all, but if he really did go all out regardless of the cost, he would inevitably feel distressed - and a small character like Qi Yuanjing could not withstand the emperor's heartache.

This is actually a crude and shallow way to seek death, but now the advantage is so great that it may not be a bad idea to commit suicide. Zhenjun has had a long-standing mean and selfish temper, and the prince has no intention or ability to correct it. He is concerned about the other side.

"In that case, the musketeers are free." The prince said slowly, "After all, we are fighting a war, and it's not good to let the troops sent by the capital sit on the bank and do nothing... I think it's better to do some finishing work."

The emperor's army cannot be used extensively, nor can it be completely ignored. It is safe to put it on the shore, but it is basically a meaningless armed parade; it will only make people laugh at it. We should at least do something so that we can explain it in the future.

The prince continued, "The general is busy commanding the battle on the front line, so I would like to offer my services to you. I will take over the cleanup work. What do you think?"

This sentence is very reasonable and there is nothing wrong with it. After all, the crown prince's position is there, and it is hard to argue with him leading the army to take action after the war. Besides, the crown prince has been cooperating closely with the team for so many days, and he doesn't seem like someone who would do something big on a whim. Whether it is a good idea to hand over part of the army to such a person is another matter, but it will not cause any big trouble at least.

The sedan chair is carried by people, and they give me so much face at the military meeting. They are so reliable, so of course I have to give them face. General Qi pondered for a moment and nodded solemnly in agreement.

...Of course, he really should have thought about it more.

·

After gaining the power to clean up the mess after the war, Mu Qi did not say another word. He continued to sit still and serve as his mascot obediently. After the meeting was over, Qi Yuanjing led his men out to prepare for the final arrangements before the war. The prince then spoke slowly:

"Is the information you reviewed correct?"

"You should trust my experience." Zhao Fei said lightly.

The incident happened suddenly yesterday. After the assassin was arrested, in order to pry out the information, only Zhao Fei was ordered to take action personally and used the battery of the drone to perform an electric shock torture on the assassin to force a confession. Although the process was quite horrifying, relatively accurate intelligence was finally obtained. The "invasion" of the Japanese pirates was not so much a long-planned looting as it was a stress behavior forced by the Feixuan Zhenjun. These temporarily assembled troops were not really intended to create any military pressure, but merely to lure out certain important targets from the capital and create opportunities for key assassinations.

The planning was very meticulous and the plan was quite bold. If you think about it carefully, it is actually very feasible. If the veteran assassin had not failed at the last moment, they would probably have all fallen into the trap - as the assassin said, a son of a wealthy family should not sit in the court, and if the progress of the rocket development can be destroyed or delayed, then no matter what the price, it will be completely worth it.

However, such an army organized for assassination is bound to be a tragedy. From the moment this so-called "invasion" was planned, the people in charge probably had no intention of winning back on the battlefield. As long as they can lure the key figures out of the capital, these makeshift Japanese pirates will have achieved their goal. As for what happens next...

Mu Qi shook his head: "...It's already garbage time."

It's garbage time indeed. The elite Japanese pirates could not possibly carry out such a suicidal mission, so all they could mobilize were a mob that was not up to par; the shabby army was simply unable to execute the successful tactics of the previous invasions, so their performance on the battlefield was so weird, peculiar, and incomprehensible... Not to mention that they had brand-new firearms and sophisticated troops, even if they only used the old-fashioned Feixuan Zhenjun to bombard them, they could easily deal with these petty thieves.

Therefore, after the assassination failed, the outcome of the war was clear and it entered into some kind of meaningless garbage time. It's certainly fun to beat the weak ones, but it also loses a certain sense of excitement.

However, the prince is the prince after all; since his brothers and sisters have contributed money and effort to support the show, and have even taken leave to come here, how can they let everyone watch a monotonous and boring one-sided bullying? Isn’t this clearly bullying consumers? ! If you do this, who will be willing to sponsor you in the future?

The customer is God, and whoever pays is the boss; if the money has been paid, then of course it must be arranged!

Mu Qi patted his sleeves, stood up and cleared his throat:

"Both of you have requested two days' leave, right?"

Seeing his flushed face, Liu Li frowned instinctively: "...What are you going to do?"

"Of course, we will take everyone to enjoy the show and make good arrangements." Mu Qi said happily: "On the first day, we will watch the fight against the Japanese. It will probably be finished in half a day. After the fight, we will take the musketeers to deal with the aftermath. The whole thing will open everyone's eyes!"

"Don't worry, it's definitely worth the money!"