When the Japanese army launched a massive attack on Runzhou, people in Beijing were in a panic when they heard the news.
Later, they heard that the Japanese army led 70,000 troops to attack the Jiangdu defense line. The situation became even more like ants on the hot pan. Most officials were extremely anxious, but at the same time, they believed that the Jiangdu navy would definitely be defeated. With only 30,000 navy, how could they resist 70,000 Japanese troops?
The anti-Japanese general had 80,000 soldiers, and the court later sent another 30,000 soldiers, a total of 110,000 soldiers, but she only trained 30,000 soldiers who could go to sea. It was simply a child's play! In the morning court, many officials questioned Chang Suining's ability to deploy defenses against the enemy.
In the eyes of most of them, with such a huge disparity in strength between the enemy and us at sea, it is only a matter of time before the Japanese army attacks the shore!
If we lose the sea, who will be in charge of the situation on land?
The Grand Marshal of the Anti-Japanese War? Regardless of whether she could return alive from the sea, even if she could, would a "Grand Marshal" who couldn't even defend the sea dare to hand over the land defense to her alone?
Some officials therefore suggested that preparations for land defense should be made in Jiangdu and coastal states as early as possible, and described this as "closing the fold after the sheep have been stolen."
It was obviously inappropriate to propose a change of commander at this time, so the idea was to send the eunuch who was supervising the army to go.
During the Dasheng period, there had always been a practice of eunuchs supervising the military. These eunuchs held the emperor's orders to supervise local military affairs, and wherever they went, they were prominent and prestigious.
What's more, the person who came here was Yu Zeng, who was the head of the eunuchs and his importance was self-evident.
The decision to let Yu Zeng come was made after careful consideration by officials from all parties. On the one hand, Yu Zeng was a person of great importance and was expected to be able to suppress the situation in Jiangdu.
Furthermore, unlike ordinary eunuchs, he has many years of experience in following the army, was a close confidant of the late Crown Prince, is proficient in both civil and military affairs, and has the ability to command the army.
As for the identity of that so-called "Fourth Father", most people just treated it as a joke. Yu Zeng was a cold and aloof person, and he did not have close contacts with Chang Kuo and others over the years. He was only loyal to the late crown prince, not his subordinates.
Moreover, he has the emperor's order. If he dares to neglect it or act in favoritism, then his position as the Palace Attendant will be over.
Even if we take a step back, unlike the officials of the previous dynasty who had complex and intertwined powers, once the eunuchs left the capital, most of their real power would be vacated, so there was no need to worry that they would escape the control of the emperor.
The emperor naturally thought of all of the above, but in addition, the Emperor of the Holy Ceme had another unknown consideration.
On this trip, Yu Zengchijie rushed to Jiangdu, accompanied by several officials of the sixth or seventh rank. Most of them were from the Ministry of War, but the forces they represented were not the same.
When Yu Zeng arrived at the Jiangdu Governor's Mansion, a group of officials headed by Wang Changshi came out to greet him. Yao Ran and Wang Yue were also among them. Only Luo Guanlin did not show up - there was nothing he could do, as he was born as a dead person and could not see the light of day.
Hearing that an imperial envoy from the capital was coming, Li Tong quietly came over to take a look. Through the wide-open door, he vaguely caught a glimpse of the face of the eunuch in red robe. He couldn't help but think in his heart that although he was a eunuch, and an elderly one at that, he was very handsome.
"Sister Li..." Seeing Li Tong coming back from the front, Yuan Miao and Yuan Hao came to greet her. Yuan Miao asked anxiously, "Is there any news from the adults at sea?"
"No news yet." Li Tong sighed, "But the trouble has already arrived."
The eunuch who supervised the military monitored the military affairs on behalf of the emperor and also had the power to question and punish generals.
How could Li Tong not be worried? The exact news sent back from the army was that General Chang had left the camp and went abroad...
Now Sister Chang is at sea, and General Chang is also at sea... A few days ago, she wrote a letter back to Xuanzhou, informing her mother that General Chang had gone to sea.
As for Sui'an, she has not yet sent a letter. It will take at least ten days for a letter to be sent from Jiangdu to the northern border. By the time the letter arrives, there may be new news. Everything is uncertain at the moment, so let's wait a little longer...
Now Li Tong is just looking forward to waiting for good news to be brought back from the sea.
But that was the vast Yellow Sea, with treacherous winds and waves, and the ferocious Japanese army, with a small number of troops against a large number...
How to win? Li Tong thought about it day and night, but he couldn't figure it out.
But, she is her, Sister Chang is Sister Chang. Sister Chang can always do things that others can't do. This time, it must be no exception, right?
With this thought in mind, Li Tong was able to remain calm, and during these days he was still able to study workshop affairs with Yuan Miao and Luo Xi every day.
The four major workshops have now taken shape.
Shen Sanmao and A Che were also busy every day, following Meng Lie all the time, recruiting and placing craftsmen, purchasing the tools needed for each workshop, and even starting to draft workshop rules.
Meng Lie, Shen Sanmao and others were also worried about the war situation all the time, but no one stopped the job at hand.
Every day Meng Lie would ask whether there was any news coming back from the army, and silently counted the days to the battle in his heart.
On this day, after it got completely dark, Meng Lie, who had been busy all day, returned to the governor's mansion and only then learned the news that Yu Zeng had come.
Hearing this name, thinking of the doubts His Highness had mentioned before, as well as some suspicious things about the people in Yu Zeng's family that he had asked the secret agents in the capital to dig up in recent days... Meng Lie turned his head in the night and looked at the front yard where Yu Zeng and his entourage of imperial envoys were staying.
As His Highness's former confidant, Yu Zeng had naturally met him.
Now that His Highness has not returned, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, he should not meet with this person for the time being.
Out of caution, Meng Lie did not return to the governor's mansion for the next two days.
After waiting for two days, there was still no accurate military information reported back. Yu Zeng did not rush to mention taking over the land military power, but the officials who followed him had lost their patience.
Some of them began to question unceremoniously, "...At such a critical moment, the frontline should send reports back to the camp at least every three days, but now you are saying that there has been no battle report. Should I suspect that the Jiangdu Governor's Office is deliberately concealing the news?!"
"A message every three days? Then does your Excellency know how far away the battlefront is from the shore? How long does it take for a ship to arrive and return?" Yao Ran asked calmly.
The official was stumped by her question, and looked annoyed. How could he know so much? "Your Excellency knows nothing, but you dare to ask for punishment as soon as you open your mouth." Under the veil, Yao Ran raised the corner of her mouth in a sarcastic angle: "Besides, there are more northwest winds on the sea nowadays. Returning from the front line, you need to sail against the wind, which is more than times slower than usual. The message is slow to be transmitted back, and it is not something that human power can control."
Being treated in such an attitude by a young female historian, the official looked even uglier and asked in a tone of challenge: "…But if the deployment of land defense is delayed because of this, who can afford it? Are you just a female historian?"
Yao Ran looked straight ahead and said, "Before my master went out to sea, he had already arranged the defenses in various places. There is absolutely no possibility that the deployment of defenses on land was delayed due to the war situation at sea."
"Is it all arranged?" An official laughed in an ambiguous tone and said, "Even so, someone still needs to take charge of the situation. Governor Chang is far away at sea, and the outcome is unknown. I'm afraid he won't be able to help by then."
He had a face that showed he would not talk much to a woman. He turned to Yu Zeng and bowed, saying, "Mr. Yu, we are here on the orders of the emperor. The situation at sea is critical now. In order to stabilize the situation in Jiangdu, you must respond as soon as possible."
He was urging Yu Zeng to take over the military power and defense of Jiangdu as soon as possible.
Yu Zeng, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke, and said in a gloomy and calm tone: "Wait one more day."
He said, "If there is no accurate information on the battle situation before dawn tomorrow, we will be ordered to take over the defense of Jiangdu in preparation for the Japanese attack."
He had to do this both in public and in private. In public, he didn't need to say much, just follow orders. In private, if Jiangdu was allowed to fall into a worse situation, she and Chang Kuo would also bear greater responsibility in the future.
Although he knew clearly that these accompanying officials had their own thoughts.
When leaving the front hall, the official who was blocked by Yao Ran for a few words glanced at Yao Ran with disdain, turned his sleeves and sneered and left.
It would be useless to wait for news before tomorrow, unless it was news of a great victory!
But, a big victory? How could Chang Suining win a big victory? The Japanese army attacked fiercely, and she only had 30,000 troops to deal with it. I wonder how many of these 30,000 people are still struggling to hold on under the leadership of her arrogant and arrogant commander? She was willing to rush to the front line, which was good. It gave them the opportunity to take back the military power in a natural way.
A little girl who quickly became famous by taking advantage of the troubled times, and won two battles, did she really think that she was so capable that she could take over the precious land of Jiangdu? She probably didn't know how many people she had offended with her various overbearing behaviors and many extraordinary actions in Jiangdu, and whose interests she had violated...
Which of those officials who proposed that the military supervisor take over the military power in Jiangdu had not already regarded her as a thorn in their side? Such an overconfident person, in the end, did not need anyone else to help, and was about to perish under her own arrogance.
Didn't she make a big promise that if Jiang Du was in trouble, she would come to see him with her head held high?
Whether he can fulfill his promise depends on whether she can come back safe and sound!
After everyone left, Yao Ran stood there and silently tightened his ten fingers.
These so-called court officials were not really concerned about the war, but as soon as they sensed the danger in Jiangdu, they were eager to send out their minions to try to share Jiangdu...
They claim to care about the country and the people, but in reality they are only interested in profit and are narrow-minded and arrogant.
Judging from their attitude over the past few days, Yao Ran felt that she could even think that they had already determined, and even hoped to hear news of defeat at sea, in order to satisfy their own desire to share the benefits and their dissatisfaction with her family's adults.
They are dissatisfied with the self-aggrandizing "little woman" who always suppresses them. They are very happy to see the "little woman" fall, and then they can arrogantly say "I have said it before, a mere woman is not capable of such a big responsibility."
Even if the fall of that "little woman" would come at the cost of the lives and blood of countless soldiers, they would still be happy to see it and would not hesitate to rejoice over it.
They don't care about the real wins and losses, they can't see the long-term gains and losses, all they see are the interests and wins and losses of their own party and even the entire patriarchy.
The country is in crisis, and people are suffering... You have worked hard for Jiangdu, but now you are fighting to the death to protect the country, but you are being coveted by such a parasite! Jiangdu was rebuilt by you, and it should not be destroyed by the Japanese army, nor should it be seized by these people who are fighting for power and profit!
Yao Ran felt a surge of anger and grief in his heart, and he couldn't help but blame himself for being so powerless and unable to help his parents more.
She quickly put aside her useless thoughts, found Wang Changshi and Luo Guanlin, and explained the "one-day deadline" to them.
After Luo Guanlin heard this, he suddenly felt a surge of anger in his heart. Those people who only knew how to abuse their power were becoming more and more greedy in this chaotic situation!
In addition to this anger, he also had a hidden sense of guilt. He had studied and compared his fortune over and over again in the past few days, and it turned out that his fortune might actually harm the Lord...
He wanted to tear up those books, thinking they were just alarmist, but that didn't stop him from wanting to take a look at Chang Suining's horoscope to see if she had a strong fate and whether she could withstand being suppressed by others...
Let’s put Mr. Luo’s complicated feelings aside for now.
The most urgent task is to try to negotiate a way to deal with the buffer.
On that day, the governor's office secretly sent someone to the army to inquire about the military situation at sea again.
When it was getting dark, a team of ten people on horseback suddenly returned in the evening breeze, but they were not the people sent by the governor's office.
These fast riders came from the army. After they dismounted from their horses at the governor's mansion, they galloped away, shouting, "Victory news! Victory news!"
Military reports are serious matters, but their reports of victory were mixed with irrepressible excitement and excitement.
The news soon reached Wang Changshi and others. Yao Ran was the first to rush to the front hall, and even Luo Guanlin dropped his pen and quickly followed.
Yu Zeng did not come, but the officials arrived soon.
When they arrived, they heard the soldier who reported the news shouting: "... our army won a great victory in this battle against the Japanese army!"
"Great victory?" An official stepped forward and asked with narrowed eyes, "What kind of great victory is it?"
After many days of fighting, the two armies retreated to rest with their casualties... Many generals dared to call this a victory report, but they refused to admit it! In their opinion, the victory report from the soldier was probably just that, until the soldier reported with a bright look in his eyes, excited and sincere: "In this battle, led by the commander, our army captured more than 400 Japanese warships at sea and killed 30,000 Japanese soldiers on the spot!"
The official was stunned for a moment before asking, "...How much?"
"At least thirty thousand! Not including those who are seriously injured and fleeing!"
“…”
Killed 30,000 Japanese soldiers in one battle?
She had a total of 30,000 naval forces under her command... How did she kill them?!
While those officials were in confusion, the soldier had already taken out the battle report and presented it to Wang Changshi with both hands.
After reading it, Wang Changshi handed it to the leading official with a smile: "It does have my master's seal on it, so I think it can't be fake. With this battle situation, I wonder if it meets your definition of a 'great victory'?"
The officials had different expressions, but soon they all smiled: "This is a great victory! Congratulations!"
As they received the battle report with mixed feelings, they heard the female historian from the daytime ask, "Chief Historian, should we submit such a victory report to the capital as soon as possible?"
Before Wang Changshi could speak, the soldier who reported the news continued with a sincere face: "The commander-in-chief said that this victory is nothing. He asked us to report it back only to appease the people of Jiangdu. When she takes the head of the Japanese commander Fujiwara no Maro, let Japan submit a letter of apology, and then report it to the capital at any time!"
The officer holding the battle report trembled wildly: "..."
What a "nothing"! So arrogant, and yet... yet they couldn't say a word!
"Not appropriate." Luo Guanlin, half of his body hidden in the darkness with his face covered by a mask, said faintly: "If such an important military report is not sent to the capital in time, wouldn't it be suspected of concealing military information?"
Officials: “…”
Luo Guanlin sneered in his heart, feeling relieved. If you want to report it, why not? It's time to give those ugly people in the capital some decent shock! (End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
