Rise From the Humble

There are many temples in Shaoxing City, but the Qihu Temple on Qihu Street is different from any other temple in the city.

How is it different? The Qihu Temple enshrines neither Taoist gods, nor Buddhist Bodhisattvas, nor the emperors of the Ming Dynasty.

It enshrines military flags, that is, large flags, so it is called the Qihu Temple. In ancient times, and in fact in modern times, the military flag is the soul of an army. If a general is killed or the flag is seized, it can often lead to the collapse of an army.

Of course, in addition to military flags, the Qihu Temple also enshrines corresponding flag gods, "Flag Head General", "Six Flag Generals", "Five-Direction Flag Gods", "Dominating Warships", "God of Golden Drums, Horns, Guns and Cannons", "God of Bows, Crossbows, Flying Spears and Flying Stones", "Gods in Front of and Behind the Battlefields, Five Changs, etc.", a total of 7 gods.

The purpose of building the Qihu Temple and enshrining various flag gods is to hope that the military flags and flag gods will bless the army and win more battles.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. The flag of the Zhejiang Army under Zhu Ping'an was placed in this temple for worship as soon as Zhu Ping'an entered Zhejiang.

There are special temple priests who will burn incense and offer tributes to the military flag and the flag god gate in the flag temple on a regular basis.

In the morning, when the sun rises, there are crowds of people in front of the flag temple, and countless men, women, old and young come from all directions.

In the open space in front of the flag temple, Zhu Ping'an, dressed in military uniform, led 800 elite Zhejiang Army soldiers in a neat and uniform manner and walked slowly towards the flag temple.

"Stop!"

"Turn right!"

The neat pace of the Zhejiang Army opened the eyes of the onlookers, just like the shock of modern people seeing the military parade in front of Tiananmen Square for the first time, and they couldn't help but open their mouths and say "Fuck!" Anyone who sees this neat pace and this disciplined queue can't help but sigh "mighty and majestic army".

The confidence of the people came up all of a sudden.

"Our governor is a top scholar. He never fights unprepared battles. He wins every battle against the Japanese pirates, and this time is no exception."

"Look at how powerful the Zhejiang Army is. At the beginning, our governor had only 2,000 Zhejiang Army soldiers, but he almost wiped out 40,000 Japanese pirates. Now our governor has more than 10,000 such Zhejiang Army soldiers!"

"When I heard yesterday that our governor was going to swear to fight Wang Zhi, I was scared all night. I was afraid that our governor would not be able to win the fight against Wang Zhi, but would be defeated by Wang Zhi. Wang Zhi, who was furious, would retaliate against us in Shaoxing. Now that I see the Zhejiang Army, I am not afraid. Such a powerful army can protect us even if it cannot defeat Wang Zhi."

"I have been looking forward to it for many years. It is rare that officers and soldiers take the initiative to fight the Japanese pirates. No matter how they fight, it is good."

The people said this while watching the military parade, and they had more confidence in the upcoming battle.

After the military parade, Zhu Pingan walked slowly to the temporary high platform, facing north to worship Jiajing, facing the flag temple to worship the flag god, and then began to read the sacrificial words:

"Today, the Japanese pirates in southern Zhejiang are committing heinous crimes, killing, arson, rape, looting, and all kinds of evil. The elders and fellow villagers have suffered greatly. As the governor of Zhejiang, I, Zhu Pingan, have the responsibility to defend the land and protect the people."

It is called a sacrificial word, but in fact it is also a war manifesto, explaining to the Zhejiang army and the general public the reason for this expedition and why they are fighting.

"Use justice to defeat injustice, and you will win!"

"Use morality to defeat the unrighteous, and you will win!"

"Use the court to defeat the Japanese pirates, and you will win!"

"With"

At the end of the sacrificial words, Zhu Pingan said six "must win" in a row, which led the Zhejiang army and the onlookers to shout "must win" in unison.

For a time, the cheers of "must win" were heard for several miles around the flag temple.

At this moment, among the crowd of onlookers, there were several waves of people with ulterior motives, watching the scene in front of the flag temple with cold eyes.

There were three people in the crowd wearing the uniforms of the Jiaxing government office, and they were also among the onlookers.

One of them was the confidant of Zhao Chong, the prefect of Jiaxing, and the other two were Japanese pirates sent by Xu Hai to Zhao Chong's side.

"No wonder Zhu Ping'an rushed back from Jiaxing in a hurry, it turned out that he wanted to declare war on Wang Zhi!"

A Japanese pirate of Xu Hai touched his chin and whispered to another accomplice.

"Is Zhu Ping'an crazy? Who does he think he is? He dared to attack Wang Zhi, the Prince of Hui. Who does Wang Zhi, the Prince of Hui, need? He has 100,000 men under his command, and Zhu Ping'an has only a few soldiers and horses under his command. He is really bold."

The Japanese pirate accomplice looked down on Zhu Ping'an who was reading the sacrificial text, and complained in confusion.

"This is a good thing! The more Zhu Ping'an becomes arrogant, the better. This way, when our leader uses troops against Jiaxing and Zhang Jing, we don't have to worry about Zhu Ping'an leading the Zhejiang Army to make a move." The Japanese pirate smiled and whispered.

At this moment, he looked relaxed, and finally figured out why Zhu Ping'an hurriedly returned from Jiaxing.

It turned out that he came back to fight Wang Zhi.

This is a great piece of good news for the Japanese pirates of Xu Hai.

"That's right. If Zhu Ping'an goes to fight Wang Zhi, we don't have to worry about the Zhejiang Army. Moreover, with Wang Zhi's strength, if Zhu Ping'an goes to fight Wang Zhi, it will not only be a dead end, but also a self-inflicted disaster."

The Japanese pirates nodded vigorously.

"That's right. Zhu Ping'an can't beat Wang Zhi, and he will definitely ask for help from Zhang Jing at that time. Haha, it can also reduce the troops around Jiaxing. At that time, it will be easier for us to attack Jiaxing and Zhang Jing."

The Japanese pirates nodded and agreed deeply.

"We can go report to Chief Xu Hai now." The pirates said, "The chief is waiting for our news now."

"Let's pass the news back first. Well, let the confidants sent by the prefect Zhao take it back. We will keep an eye on it for another day tomorrow. Leader Xu Hai has told us many times that Zhu Ping'an is a treacherous little thief. We still keep an eye on him with our own eyes. They send troops to southern Zhejiang, and we will go back to meet with leader Xu Hai to resume his duties."

The Japanese pirate said a little worriedly.

He was worried that Zhu Pingan was putting on a show, saying that he was going to fight Wang Zhi in southern Zhejiang, but in fact he did not send troops and deliberately deceived them. When they attacked Jiaxing and Zhang Jing, Zhu Pingan led the Zhejiang army to disrupt the situation again.

As long as Zhu Ping'an doesn't send troops for a day, then his promise to fight Wang Zhi cannot be taken seriously. Only by seeing Zhu Ping'an leading the Zhejiang army to send troops with his own eyes can he really be convinced that he went to fight Wang Zhi.

"What you said makes sense. The little thief Zhu Pingan is too treacherous. We have suffered losses at his hands more than once. We saw with our own eyes that the little thief Zhu Pingan led the Zhejiang army to send troops to southern Zhejiang. Let's go back and attack Xu Haitou leads his life back, so that everything will be safe."

The Japanese pirate friends were convinced and agreed with their companion's suggestion.

They have suffered too many losses from Zhu Pingan, and they have already had a psychological shadow on Zhu Pingan. They must see Zhu Pingan send troops to southern Zhejiang before they can feel relieved. (End of chapter)