The rise of the poor

On his way back, Zhu Pingan quickly skimmed through the victory report of Wangjiangjing, and the whole story of the battle came to mind.

In order to lure Tuolin Xu Hai and the Japanese pirates to attack Jiaxing, Zhang Jing not only sent himself and the Zhejiang army to southern Zhejiang to fight against Wang Zhi, but also used Zhao Wenhua to feign defeat, which increased Xu Hai's courage to fight.

The timing coincided 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. Unable to get Zhang Jing to cooperate, Zhao Wenhua, with the help of someone who was interested, bypassed Zhang Jing and directly ordered the wolf soldiers to go into battle.

Zhao Wenhua selected Lady Wa, the strongest and most powerful member of the wolf soldiers, and ordered her to fight against the Japanese pirates.

"A group of Japanese pirates is burning, killing, and looting in Qingpu, committing all kinds of evil deeds. The people are suffering and in dire need of rescue. We have ordered Lady Wa to lead her wolf soldiers to fight against the Japanese pirates in Qingpu, wipe them out, and rescue the people of Qingpu from their suffering."

Zhao Wenhua brought Hu Zongxian to Madam Wa's military camp and directly ordered Madam Wa to fight against the Japanese pirates.

"My lord, you are not allowed to leave without the governor's order." Madam Wa hesitated for a moment and did not agree.

"Is Zhang Jing's order an order, but my order isn't? I'm here to supervise the battle on His Majesty's orders. Is Madam Wa going to disobey orders?!"

"Heh, everyone says the Wolf Soldiers are brave and unparalleled in the world, but I feel that their reputation is undeserved. On the contrary, I think the Wolf Soldiers are a bit like cowards. Are they afraid of the Japanese pirates and dare not go out to fight?!"

Zhao Wenhua threatened and provoked her at the same time, chuckling coldly as he looked at Madam Wa, waiting to see what choice she would make!

No sooner had Zhao Wenhua finished speaking than a young man jumped out, his face full of resentment:
"Nonsense!! Who said we wolf soldiers are afraid?! We wolf soldiers have never known the word fear from birth to death! Let's fight! I've been itching for a fight for ages! It's just that the governor won't let us fight!"

"My lord, just open your eyes wide and watch carefully! See if any of our wolf soldiers are afraid! Hmph! If we're talking about fear, we're afraid the Japanese pirates are too weak to fight back! I'll kill them without stopping, leaving no one alive!"

This man was none other than Cen Dalu!
Hearing Zhao Wenhua call their Wolf Soldiers cowards and say they were afraid of the Japanese pirates, they couldn't hold back any longer. They jumped out and roared in rebuttal, their faces full of arrogance and defiance, pounding their chests and shouting, "Let's fight!"
"Da Lu, how dare you! You're young and ignorant, what do you know?" Madam Wa slammed her hand on the table in anger, about to change her mind and refuse to fight, claiming that Cen Da Lu was young and ignorant and that his words didn't count.

However, Zhao Wenhua spoke first, interrupting Madam Wa and not giving her a chance to change her mind.

"Well done, you are indeed a young hero! You must be the local chieftain Cen Dalu! You are indeed a handsome and courageous man! Just as there was Zhao Zilong in ancient times, there is Cen Dalu today! Well then, I will watch with wide eyes as the young chieftain bravely fights the Japanese pirates!"

"You must know that military orders are absolute, and there is no room for joking in the army! If the young commander goes back on his word, I will punish him according to military law!"

Zhao Wenhua followed up on Cen Dalu's words and decided to go into battle, threatening military punishment if they didn't fight!

"This...this was ordered by Lord Zhao! What if the Governor-General blames us?"

Forced into a corner, Madam Wa had no choice but to accept the outcome, but she insisted that Zhao Wenhua take on the responsibility of supervising the battle.

"Hmph! You are fighting under my orders. If Zhang Jing pursues the matter, let him come find me!" Zhao Wenhua snorted, completely unconcerned.

"Good! With Lord Zhao's words, I have nothing to worry about! I was just about to weigh the strength of the Japanese pirates!" Madam Wa said with great spirit.

Therefore, Lady Wa personally led three thousand wolf soldiers to Qingpu to attack the Japanese pirates who were burning, killing and looting in Qingpu.

Three thousand wolf soldiers roared in, their tracks impossible to conceal. Before they even reached Qingpu, the Japanese pirates had already received the news and gathered together to discuss countermeasures.

"The Wolf Soldiers are renowned in the Ming Dynasty for their bravery and skill in battle. This time, there are more than three thousand Wolf Soldiers attacking. Whether to fight or retreat, everyone should make a decision as soon as possible."

"The wolf soldiers are incredibly fierce. It's said that they've all fought wolves since they were little, and each one can take on ten men. We've already looted everything, so there's no need to fight the wolf soldiers. It's not worth the casualties. Let's retreat."

"Retreat? Are we supposed to retreat every time we encounter wolf soldiers?! What's the point of robbing then! The chieftain is going to teach Zhang Jing a lesson, and we'll inevitably have to face the wolf soldiers. Let's take this opportunity to test their skills!"

"Baka! Retreating without a fight, what a coward! Wolf soldiers, I've been wanting to see you for a long time, my Japanese sword has been itching for a fight!"

"Who's a coward? Let's fight! I'm a wolf soldier!"

The Japanese pirates, who were in favor of fighting, gained the upper hand and reached an agreement to send out the wolf soldiers to test their mettle.

Soon, the wolf soldiers and the Japanese pirates clashed in an unnamed wasteland in Qingpu. The Japanese pirates attacked first with longbows and muskets, causing heavy casualties among the wolf soldiers. The wolf soldiers stepped forward with their shields and retaliated, wiping out a group of Japanese pirates with a volley of javelins and poisoned crossbows.

Next came close-quarters combat.

Once the melee began, the Japanese pirates were surprised to find that, while the wolf soldiers were much stronger than the garrison soldiers, they weren't as formidable as the legends suggested, and in actual combat, they were no match for the Japanese pirates.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the wolf soldiers were already in dire straits. Especially when the Japanese pirates ambushed them, the wolf soldiers collapsed instantly and fled in disarray.

If it weren't for a group of fierce wolf soldiers who rushed out from the wolf ranks to cover their retreat at the cost of their lives, and who also had sharp firearms, the wolf soldiers wouldn't have been able to escape, and would have been half-dead if not dead.

In this battle, more than 400 wolf soldiers fell, while the Japanese pirates suffered fewer than 200 casualties.

This battle greatly boosted the confidence of the Japanese pirates. Wolf soldiers? Ha! Nothing special! Not scary at all!
This battle made the Japanese pirates no longer afraid of the wolf soldiers!
As a result, the Japanese pirates became even more rampant.

The wolf soldiers were not to be feared. The Zhejiang army went to southern Zhejiang to rub Wang Zhi's beard. There was also his puppet prefect in Jiaxing. So, Xu Hai began the Jiaxing campaign! He was going to thoroughly humiliate Governor-General Zhang Jing in Jiaxing and show off the power of the Japanese pirates!

What happened next was almost identical to what happened in history, except that Zhang Jing had his own involvement. He learned in advance that Zhao Chong, the prefect of Jiaxing, was an inside agent of the Japanese pirates, and made plans in advance to use Zhao Chong to ruthlessly trick Xu Hai.

This victory at Wangjiangjing was three times greater than the historical achievements. Originally, more than 1,900 Japanese pirates were beheaded, but this time more than 2,300 were beheaded. More Japanese pirates also drowned than in history.

Unfortunately, Xu Hai was too cunning. Even though Zhang Jing knew Zhao Chong's identity as an inside agent beforehand, he still couldn't stop Xu Hai. Xu Hai led several hundred defeated soldiers and fled back to the Tuolin Japanese pirates' lair in a sorry state.

If only Xu Hai could be captured, the Tuolin pirates would be leaderless and much easier to wipe out. (End of Chapter)