Hauge, mounted on his horse, squinted at Zhang Xianzhong at the city gate, his tone hesitant.
"What exactly is that weird-looking thing?"
At this moment, an old general suddenly slapped his forehead: "Oh dear, aren't these Japanese?"
Haug paused for a moment, then turned around and asked, "How did you know?"
The old general shook his head and said, "Back when the Ming Dynasty was fighting against Japan, although I didn't allow the Khan to send troops, I myself went and joined in the fun."
That's why I recognize this armor.
"Your Majesty, you can trust me. These are definitely Japanese. Their armor is very distinctive."
Hauge believed him, since the veteran had no reason to lie to him anyway.
"But how did these Japanese get involved?"
"Where did the Ming Dynasty bring in these Japanese pirates to help in the war, or have the Japanese themselves sided with the Ming Dynasty?"
Haug frowned and fell into deep thought.
A moment later, he looked at Jirhalang behind him.
What are your thoughts?
Jirgalang also didn't know the specifics, but he said earnestly, "Khan, no matter what that person's background is, this is indeed a good opportunity!"
He pointed to the slightly ajar gate behind Zhang Xianzhong.
“That man must have some status, which is why the Ming army didn’t dare to lock him outside the city and deliberately left a gap at the city gate.”
"As long as our troops charge fast enough, we can storm into the city in one fell swoop!"
Haug was also somewhat tempted after hearing this.
"That makes sense. Those Japanese couldn't even beat the Ming army, and were even utterly defeated by them, so their fighting strength couldn't be that strong."
"Besides, I heard that more than ten years ago, Japan also had a change of dynasty, and at that time the country was not so stable."
"There's no need to be too afraid of them."
Haug made up his mind and was about to order the entire army to charge, but then he suddenly remembered something.
The right hand, which was halfway through its swing, stopped in mid-air.
Upon seeing this, Jirgalang quickly asked, "Great Khan, why did you stop?"
Hauge shook his head repeatedly, then turned back with a nervous expression and asked, "Jirhalang, do you think Yuan Chonghuan is very bold?"
Jirhalang didn't understand what Hauge meant, but he still obediently shook his head.
"Yuan Chonghuan only knew how to defend the city for many years. When the old Khan besieged Ningyuan, he was like a tortoise and never went out of the city to fight back."
"So whether he's bold or not, I can't say for sure, but he is definitely a very cautious person."
Haug clapped his hands suddenly.
"Yes, that's what I've been thinking about!"
"Would someone as cautious as Yuan Chonghuan leave such a flaw?"
Jirhalang immediately understood.
"Your Majesty, do you mean this might be a trap?"
"Was the Japanese soldier's departure from the city a ruse, or was the Ming army actually plotting something else?"
"Most likely!" Hauge nodded seriously, then squinted at Hanjing in the distance again.
"I suspect that the Ming army has a hidden elite force in the city, and may even have secretly transported the cannon that killed my father last time."
"As long as we launch an attack, the city gates will open, and the Ming army will bring out their cannons..."
Upon hearing this, even Jirhalang gasped, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
"Could the Ming army be so treacherous?"
But he had already made up his mind.
After all, Jirhalang himself had suffered losses at the hands of the Ming army not long ago.
Moreover, even now, he still doesn't know whether there were Ming troops lying in ambush outside the city.
Although theoretically it shouldn't be possible, what if it is?
What if the Ming army is really that powerful, able to disappear without a trace right under his nose?
It's hard to say.
Jirhalang panicked completely.
"Great Khan, what do you suggest we do?"
Haug, however, had calmed down by this time.
"Hmph, what can we do? Naturally, we'll just hold our positions!"
"As long as we don't launch an attack, no matter what methods the Ming army uses, we won't fall into their trap!"
"Could it be that the Ming army's cannons can really devastate dozens of miles with a single shot, bombarding from the city all the way to this Great Khan...?"
Haug suddenly felt a little guilty.
"Um, never mind, let's retreat five miles first."
"But we can't withdraw completely."
"Pass down the order to have our Eight Banners troops retreat, and let the Han and Koreans hold them off here."
After he finished speaking, he was the first to lead the way and slip away.
Seeing this, the others didn't dare to delay and followed suit, running backwards.
But he was still chanting grandly, "Your Majesty, please wait a moment, we will protect you right away."
"Oh dear, Ming army, just you wait! Once we get back and recharge, we'll make you pay next time!"
The Jurchens inexplicably withdrew.
On the city wall, Yuan Chonghuan rubbed his eyes, almost thinking he had fallen for some kind of illusion.
"No, what exactly are these Jurchens up to?"
Why did they suddenly leave?
Not only was Yuan Chonghuan baffled.
The same applies to the canal workers on the city walls.
"Why did the Jurchens, who were so fierce just a few days ago, suddenly retreat?"
But soon, they burst into cheers.
"It must be because Lord Zhang is too powerful. He scared the Jurchens away as soon as he left the city!"
"That's right. I heard that not long ago, Lord Zhang led several hundred men and scared tens of thousands of Jurchens so much that they dared not leave the city."
"What tens of thousands of Jurchen slaves? They are clearly hundreds of thousands of Jurchen slaves!"
"Hundreds of thousands? That's a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it?"
"Where is that an exaggeration? Haven't you heard that Li Yuanba, wielding a hammer, could slaughter hundreds of thousands of people back then? I think our Lord Zhang is no less capable."
"That makes some sense. Lord Zhang is the disciple of the legendary Master Gao..."
When these canal workers were still making a living on the canal, they enjoyed listening to storytelling and similar programs.
At this point, it's natural to unleash full power.
They're practically treating Zhang Xianzhong like a second Li Yuanba.
Yuan Chonghuan looked somewhat embarrassed as he listened to these discussions.
In fact, the Jurchens left behind several thousand newly captured Koreans to continue filling in the gaps ahead.
However, Yuan Chonghuan didn't take them seriously at all.
Yuan Chonghuan hesitated and asked, "Could it be that Zhang Xianzhong's departure from the city has some other hidden meaning?"
But no matter how much he thought about it, he still couldn't understand the reason behind it.
In the end, all he could do was sigh and say, "It seems that this Zhang fellow is quite the lucky one."
"Well, now that the Jurchens have retreated, they can no longer attack the city today."
"Send down the order to have half of the troops on the city wall withdraw and rest. They will come back to assist in the defense at night to prevent the Jurchens from launching a surprise attack."
After he finished speaking, he also walked down the city wall.
"Come with me to greet Lord Zhang."
But as soon as he reached the city gate, he heard Zhang Xianzhong cursing.
“These Jurchens are really cowardly. They ran away as soon as I left the city.”
"Isn't this because they're afraid of Grandpa Zhang?"
"This is so boring!"
Yuan Chonghuan quickly forced a smile, jogged over, and said earnestly:
"What Lord Zhang said is true; the Jurchens are indeed cowardly as mice."
"Your presence in battle has scared them all away."
He kept saying things like "I don't care about money" one after another.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xianzhong was so happy he almost floated on air.
"Haha, I didn't expect you to have such good judgment, Lord Yuan."
"That's right, I, Old Zhang, am just that amazing."
Yuan Chonghuan's lips twitched slightly, but he didn't say anything.
He simply remarked, "After what just happened, the morale of the soldiers in the city has been maintained."
"It seems that Hanjing can hold out for a long time again."
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