The rise of the poor

Chapter 2096 Oath of Oath

There are many temples in Shaoxing City, but the Qifu Temple on Qifu Street is unique compared to any other temple in the city.

How is it different from others? The deities worshipped in the Qifu Temple are neither Taoist gods, nor Buddhist Bodhisattvas, nor the emperors of the Ming Dynasty.

It enshrines the military flag, that is, the great banner, so it is called the Banner Temple. In ancient times, and in fact in modern times as well, the military flag is the soul of an army, and beheading the general and seizing the flag can often lead to the collapse of an army.

Of course, in addition to military flags, the flag temple also has corresponding flag gods, including "Flag General", "Six Flag General", "Five-Direction Flag God", "God of Dominating Warships", "God of Golden Drums, Horns, Guns and Cannons", "God of Bows, Crossbows, Flying Spears and Stones", and "Five Chang Gods in Front of and Behind the Battlefield", a total of seven gods.

The purpose of building flag temples and enshrining various flag gods was to hope for the protection of the military flags and flag gods and for the army to win more battles.

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

There are special temple priests who will burn incense and offer sacrifices to the military flags and flag gods in the flag temple on a regular basis.

In the early morning, as the sun rises, there is a huge crowd of people in front of the Qifan Temple, with countless men, women, old and young coming from all directions.

In the open space in front of the Qihu Temple, Zhu Ping'an, dressed in military uniform, led 800 well-organized elite Zhejiang troops slowly towards the Qihu Temple.

"Stop!"

"turn right!"

The orderly 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. They couldn't help but open their mouths and let out "Wow". Anyone who saw the orderly pace and the disciplined formation could not help but sigh, "What a mighty army."

The confidence of the people suddenly increased.

"Our governor is a top scholar. He never fights a battle without preparation. He has won every battle against the Japanese pirates, and this time is no exception."

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

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

"I have been looking forward to it for many years. It is rare that soldiers take the initiative to fight against the Japanese pirates. No matter what the result is, it is great."

The people said this as they watched the military parade, and they felt more confident about the upcoming battle.

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

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

It is said to be a sacrificial speech, but in fact it is also a call to war, explaining to the Zhejiang army and the general public the reason for the expedition and why they are fighting.

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

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

"The imperial court will defeat the Japanese pirates and we will surely win!"

"by"

At the end of the eulogy, Zhu Ping'an said six "victory is certain", which led the Zhejiang army and the onlookers to shout "victory is certain".

For a time, cheers of "victory" could be heard throughout the area several miles around the Qifu Temple.

At this moment, among the onlookers, there were several groups of people with ulterior motives, watching the scene in front of the Flag Temple coldly.

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

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

"No wonder Zhu Ping'an rushed back from Jiaxing. It turns out he wants to declare war on Wang Zhi!"

A Japanese pirate named Xu Hai stroked his chin and whispered to another accomplice.

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

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

"This is a good thing! The more Zhu Ping'an becomes more arrogant, the better. This way, when our leader goes to war 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 relieved, as he finally figured out why Zhu Ping'an had hurried back from Jiaxing.

It turned out that he came back to start a war with Wang Zhi.

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

"That's true. If Zhu Ping'an goes to fight Wang Zhi, we don't have to worry about the Zhejiang Army. Moreover, considering Wang Zhi's strength, if Zhu Ping'an goes to fight Wang Zhi, it would be like courting death, or asking for trouble."

The Japanese pirates nodded vigorously.

"That's right. Zhu Ping'an can't defeat Wang Zhi, so he will definitely ask Zhang Jing for help. Haha, it can also reduce the military forces around Jiaxing. When the time comes, it will be easier for us to attack Jiaxing and Zhang Jing."

The Japanese pirates nodded and agreed with it.

"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 confidant sent by Governor Zhao take it back. We will keep an eye on it tomorrow. Chief Xu Hai has told us many times that Zhu Ping'an is a treacherous thief. We should keep an eye on them and see them send troops to southern Zhejiang. Then we will go back to see Chief Xu Hai and report back."

The Japanese pirate said with some concern.

He was worried that Zhu Ping'an was putting on a show, saying he was going to southern Zhejiang to fight Wang Zhi, but actually not sending any troops, deliberately deceiving them. When they attacked Jiaxing and Zhang Jing, Zhu Ping'an would lead the Zhejiang army to disrupt the situation.

As long as Zhu Ping'an did not send out troops, his words about going to fight Wang Zhi could not be taken seriously. Only when we saw with our own eyes that Zhu Ping'an led the Zhejiang Army to send out troops, his words about going to fight Wang Zhi could be truly counted.

"You are right. Zhu Ping'an is too cunning. We have suffered more than once at his hands. We have seen with our own eyes that Zhu Ping'an led the Zhejiang army to attack southern Zhejiang. Let's go back and report to Chief Xu Hai. Only in this way can we be sure of success."

The Japanese pirates agreed with their companions' proposal.

They have suffered too many losses from Zhu Ping'an, and have already developed a psychological shadow on him. They must see Zhu Ping'an lead his troops to southern Zhejiang with their own eyes before they can feel at ease. (End of this chapter)