On the way back, Zhu Pingan quickly skimmed through the victory report of the great victory at Wangjiangjing. The entire course of the Battle of Wangjiangjing emerged in his eyes.
To lure the Tuolin Xu Hai and his pirate accomplices to attack Jiaxing, besides dispatching himself and the Zhejiang army to southern Zhejiang to confront Wang Zhi, Zhang Jing also used Zhao Wenhua to employ a feigned defeat tactic, which increased Xu Hai’s courage to engage in battle.
The timing was almost simultaneous with the Zhejiang army’s deployment to southern Zhejiang.
At that time, Zhao Wenhua repeatedly urged Zhang Jing to send troops, but Zhang Jing refused with various excuses. Zhao Wenhua could not command Zhang Jing, so under someone’s reminder, he bypassed Zhang Jing and directly ordered the wolf soldiers to engage.
Zhao Wenhua selected the largest and strongest force among the wolf soldiers, Madam Wa’s, and ordered her to fight the pirates.
“There is a band of pirates burning, killing, and plundering in Qingpu, committing all manner of evil. The people are suffering greatly and urgently need rescue. Order Madam Wa to lead her wolf soldiers to battle the pirates in Qingpu, exterminate the pirates, and save the people of Qingpu from disaster.”
Zhao Wenhua brought Hu Zongxian to Madam Wa’s camp and directly ordered her to fight the pirates.
“Sir, without the governor’s order, we cannot act without authorization.” Madam Wa hesitated for a moment and did not agree.
“Is Zhang Jing’s order an order, but this official’s order is not? I am supervising the war on the emperor’s decree. Is Madam Wa defying orders?!”
“Hehe, everyone says the wolf soldiers are brave and unmatched in the world. How come this official feels that under the great reputation, it does not match reality? Instead, it seems the wolf soldiers are a bit like shrinking turtles. Are they afraid of the pirates and dare not send troops to fight?!”
Zhao Wenhua threatened and provoked at the same time, hehe, sneering as he looked at Madam Wa, seeing what choice she would make!
As soon as Zhao Wenhua’s words fell, a young man jumped out, his face full of defiance:
“Nonsense!! Who says our wolf soldiers are afraid?! From birth to death, our wolf soldiers don’t know how to write the word fear! Fight if we fight! This young master has been itching for action for a long time! It’s just that the governor won’t let us fight!”
“This sir, just open your eyes wide and watch carefully. See if any of our wolf soldiers are afraid! Humph! If anyone is afraid, it’s afraid the pirates can’t withstand the fight! This young master kills without holding back, leaving no survivors!”
This person was none other than Cen Dalu!
Hearing Zhao Wenhua say their wolf soldiers were shrinking turtles and that they were afraid of the pirates, how could he endure it? He howled and jumped out to refute, his face full of unruliness and defiance, patting his chest and shouting fight if we fight!
“Dalu, insolent!! Young and ignorant, you little brat, what do you understand……” Madam Wa angrily slapped the table, about to use Cen Dalu’s youth and ignorance as an excuse, saying his words did not count, and change her mind to not fight.
However, Zhao Wenhua spoke first, interrupting Madam Wa’s words, not giving her a chance to change her mind.
“Good, truly a young hero! You must be the native officer Cen Dalu! Indeed, a fine appearance, full of courage! In ancient times there was Zhao Zilong, today there is Cen Dalu! Good, then this official will open his eyes wide and watch the young native officer bravely fight the pirates!”
“You must know that military orders are like mountains, there are no jokes in the army! If the young native officer goes back on his word, this official will have to enforce military law!”
Zhao Wenhua followed Cen Dalu’s words to finalize the deployment, and threatened that not fighting would lead to military law punishment!
“This…… this is Sir Zhao ordering the deployment! If the governor blames us……”
Madam Wa was forced into a corner, had no choice but to accept this outcome, but wanted Zhao Wenhua to bear the responsibility for supervising the war.
“Humph! You are deploying under this official’s order. If Zhang Jing pursues it, let him come find me!” Zhao Wenhua hummed, not caring at all.
“Good! With Sir Zhao’s words, this old woman has no worries! Just want to weigh the pirates’ worth!” Madam Wa exuded heroic spirit.
Thus, Madam Wa personally led three thousand wolf soldiers to Qingpu, attacking the pirates who were burning, killing, and plundering there.
The three thousand wolf soldiers came howling, their tracks hard to conceal. Before reaching Qingpu, the pirates had already received the news, gathered together, and discussed countermeasures.
“The wolf soldiers are famous in the Great Ming, brave and skilled in battle. This time, the wolf soldiers coming have three thousand in number. Whether to fight or retreat, everyone decide quickly.”
“The wolf soldiers are formidable. It’s said they all grew up fighting wolves, each worth ten men. We’ve already plundered everything, no need to fight the wolf soldiers. It’s not worth the casualties. Let’s retreat.”
“Retreat what retreat? In the future, when we encounter wolf soldiers, do we just retreat?! Then what the hell are we plundering! The big leader wants to teach Zhang Jing a lesson. We’re bound to face wolf soldiers sooner or later. This is a good chance to test their skills!”
“Baka! Retreat without fighting, great coward! Wolf soldiers, I’ve long wanted to experience them. My Japanese sword has been thirsty for a long time!”
“Who’s the coward? Fight if we fight! This old man fights wolf soldiers!”
The pirates favoring battle gained the upper hand, so they reached a consensus to engage the wolf soldiers and test their mettle.
Soon, the wolf soldiers and pirates clashed in an unnamed wasteland in Qingpu. The pirates struck first with long bows and firearms, causing casualties among the wolf soldiers. The wolf soldiers advanced with shields, retaliating with a volley of javelins and poison crossbows, taking down a swath of pirates.
Next came the close-quarters combat.
As soon as close-quarters combat began, the pirates were surprised to find, damn, although the wolf soldiers were much stronger than the garrison troops, they were not as formidable as legend said. In the fight, they were even inferior to the pirates.
In less than the time for a cup of tea, the wolf soldiers showed signs of defeat, especially when the pirates’ ambush emerged. The wolf soldiers instantly collapsed and fled in disarray.
If not for a group of valiant wolf soldiers charging out to cover the rear, with fierce firearms in hand, the wolf soldiers could not have escaped. They would have been half dead if not all dead.
In this battle, over four hundred wolf soldiers fell, while the pirates’ casualties were less than two hundred.
This battle greatly boosted the pirates’ confidence. Wolf soldiers? Hehe, nothing special! Not scary at all!
This battle made the pirates no longer fear the wolf soldiers!
Thus, the pirates became even more rampant.
The wolf soldiers were not scary, the Zhejiang army had gone to southern Zhejiang to provoke Wang Zhi, and Jiaxing had his puppet prefect. So, Xu Hai began the strategy for Jiaxing! Preparing to severely humiliate Governor Zhang Jing in Jiaxing, greatly boosting pirate prestige!
What happened afterward was almost identical to history, except with his own involvement. Zhang Jing learned in advance that Jiaxing prefect Zhao Chong was a pirate insider, made plans ahead, and used Zhao Chong to severely trap Xu Hai.
This Wangjiangjing great victory achieved results one-third greater than in history. Originally, over one thousand nine hundred pirate heads were taken. This time, over two thousand three hundred pirate heads were taken, and more pirates drowned or escaped dead than in history.
Unfortunately, Xu Hai was too cunning. Even though Zhang Jing knew in advance about Zhao Chong’s insider status, he could not keep Xu Hai behind. He still let him escape back to the Tuolin pirate lair with several hundred remnants in disarray.
If Xu Hai could have been left behind, that would be good. Then the Tuolin pirates would be leaderless, and exterminating them would be easy.
