The Ming Dynasty started with caution

The night is vast and the sea breeze is howling.

Wang Shouren ordered: "Pour in the kerosene and burn the mountain!"

The direction of the mountain is downwind, which can cause fires to spread quickly. The dead branches and leaves have not been picked up for many years. If you pour kerosene on them, they will burn quickly.

Dong Min looked at the mountain nervously, the fire engulfing the night bit by bit.

Billowing white smoke filled the mountains and forests.

Even if it was against the direction of the wind, everyone felt extremely pungent and even couldn't open their eyes.

At this time, on the top of Pengshan Mountain, the soldiers of the Satsuma Kingdom who were camped changed their defenses and rested.

"An urgent report came from the royal city today. Ryukyu and Japanese pirates sank the ship."

"He also killed the eldest prince. The king asked General Okubo to go back with Wang Shouren's head."

The sentry felt sleepy on the observation deck and chatted one after another.

There was a huge fire at the bottom of the mountain, and thick white smoke surrounded the top of the mountain, making people choke and unable to open their eyes.

"There's a fire! Look down the mountain!"

There was a rapid golden sound, and the soldiers came out of the tent.

The fiery red light at the bottom of the mountain surrounds the top of the mountain. It swells when the wind blows and quickly reaches our eyes.

Thick smoke filled the mountains and forests, making it difficult to distinguish even with torches, and even made people shed tears.

Lieutenant General Otomo Ryuzao made a quick decision and said in a panic: "Where did the fire come from? Who set the fire!"

"General Otomo, there is gunpowder in the military camp, and the fire will start quickly." The soldier said with a mournful face.

There is a large amount of gunpowder stored in the military camp, which will definitely explode when exposed to open fire.

"Retreat to the foot of the mountain!"

The firearm weighs three stones and requires the combined efforts of several people to lift it down. There are also three weapons, which are all heavy-duty weapons.

The thick smoke made people breathless, and some soldiers even fell off the mountain.

Wang Shouren raised his monocular and watched, blown by the sea breeze, the red fire burned through the forest.

"Half-day rations will be distributed to each person! We will march in an hour."

To rush through this pass, we must launch a surprise attack on Okubo without stopping.

When he rearranges his formation, it will be even more difficult to fight.

Dong Min didn't know what Wang Shouren was going to do, so he quickly issued a military order to distribute dry food.

Holding the broken cake in hand, looking at the unstoppable fire on the top of the mountain, after eating this mouthful of dry food, it should be almost burned, right?

"Sir Wang, we don't have a map, so we don't know what the terrain is like behind the pass. It's not too late to send spies to find out first, and then we can march."

"No! Once the fire reaches the top of the mountain, rush over."

Wang Shouren held a monocular telescope, like a stone, staring at the top of the mountain all the time.

Seems to be waiting for an opportunity.

The soldiers knew that there was a fierce battle to be fought and devoured their food.

An hour later, the red flames jumped to the top of the mountain, and the front line of fire slowly shrank to a point.

"march!"

Five spies went first to explore the route, followed by the army.

Dong Min didn't know what Wang Shouren was waiting for, but he was sure that what Wang Shouren was waiting for was an opportunity.

But Wang Shouren never revealed a word.

The remaining warm coals on the ground were stamped out by the army and forced their way out.

After crossing the pass, Wang Shouren said to Dong Min: "Master Dong led a thousand people to search the mountains and hunt down the ambushes on the mountains. They are carrying firearms and heavy crossbows. They will not be able to go far. We must not let them return to the military camp."

Most of the Ryukyu soldiers were unarmored and wore commoners, so they could not defend themselves against heavy crossbows.

Dong Wen knew that the matter was very important: "Where is Mr. Wang?"

"I have a decisive battle with Okubo."

The enemy's morale must have been low when the defense line at the pass was breached.

This is when the enemy is at its weakest.

At this time, the Satsuma Kingdom camp was in progress.

Several stone houses made of sea stones are dark and quiet, with even sounds of snoring coming from them.

"General! Wang Shouren has led his army through the pass!"

There was a rushing sound in the room, and the door was opened.

Okubo showed a proud smile: "How many people did Ryukyu lose?"

"No...no damage."

Okubo drew out his sword and said angrily in disbelief: "This general has deployed twenty firearms and one hundred three-pronged heavy crossbows. Even if I were to break through the barrier myself, I would still suffer heavy losses. How is that possible?!"

The spy's legs were trembling: "General, look at Pengshan."

Okubo turned to look at Pengshan to the side, and saw a huge fire, stretching for more than ten miles, coming towards here.

It was actually a fire attack!

Burning mountains to drive away ambushes was a clever plan.

In the Ming Dynasty's art of war, fire attacks were often used.

But fire attack requires knowing how to determine the wind direction.

Okubo was sure that there must be people in the enemy army who knew how to observe the sky.

"Blow the drum!"

The drums were beating loudly, and the soldiers crawled out of the barracks and got into formation.

Okubo brought eight thousand troops to encircle and suppress Wang Shouren.

There were eight thousand troops, mainly infantry. Everyone had Japanese swords in their hands. They stared at the mountains in the distance, the sharp blades shining with silver.

…………

Capital City, Metropolitan Procuratorate.

Yan Chengjin looked through the notes of Yunnan's censor.

Is this going to change?

"Send this memorandum to the Ministry of Personnel and let it be handled by the Ministry of Personnel."

Jiang Wen carefully took the notes and came to the duty room of the Ministry of Personnel.

The civil servants of the Ministry of Personnel were a little wary when they saw the censor walking in. The censor rarely came to the Ministry of Personnel, and he only came to check the rules of the room.

"This is a casual memorial from Mr. Yan."

Wu Qing, a member of the civil service department and a foreign minister, opened the book suspiciously. The next moment, he jumped up from his chair: "Is this going to... change the situation?!"

Jiang Wen was a little confused, but he bowed slightly: "Master Yan also said that the sparse memorials should be left to the staff."

The beard at the corner of Wu Qing's mouth trembled slightly, and he swallowed the dirty words he had been holding back. If he cursed Yan Chengjin, he would be impeached.

He took the memorial and hurried to another duty room.

Ma Wensheng wore a pair of lenses and wrote the memorial seriously. With the help of the lenses made in Liangxiang, he could roughly see the tiny words.

"Mr. Ma, please look at this memorial, which Yan Chengjin sent."

Ma Wensheng pushed his lenses and flipped through them slowly. In an instant, he stood up and said, "What...what is he doing!"

Wu Qing scolded, "Yan Chengjin also said that the memorial should be handed over to the Ministry of Personnel for disposal."

Hum, although this is a request to dismiss, it is also an impeachment.

It is obviously the matter of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and this kid is shirking it again.

Ma Wensheng pondered for a moment, gradually calmed down, put the memorial into his sleeve, and strode out of the duty room of the Ministry of Personnel.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, the cabinet and the nine ministers came to the Fengtian Hall.

The noon court was a small court, with only the cabinet and various government offices. Yan Chengjin guessed that Ma Wensheng should have seen the memorial.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report!" Ma Wensheng said impatiently.

Seeing his serious face, Emperor Hongzhi and the cabinet and others pricked up their ears.

"Min Gui sent back a memorial to request the dismissal of more than 1,200 officials in Shu!"

Emperor Hongzhi's heart skipped a beat, and he was a little confused and at a loss. Did I do something wrong again?

The cabinet and other ministers tilted their heads in surprise.

How many officials are there in Shu? The prefects, prefects, and county magistrates, as well as the eunuchs, generals, and governors, add up to less than 1,000.

It should be the clerks, otherwise, how could there be so many people.

This is not enough to dismiss all the officials in Shu.

What made Emperor Hongzhi and the ministers uneasy was what happened to dismiss so many officials?

Only Yan Chengjin looked calm.

Min Gui is a straight-forward person. He was recommended to be the inspector of the southwest. The memorials he sent back would not be biased.

In ancient times, there was a saying that "you will never miss Sichuan if you are happy", and in later generations, there is a saying that "you will never enter Sichuan when you are young, and you will never leave Sichuan when you are old".

Sichuan is a paradise on earth!

The officials' style of doing things is naturally different from that of the capital.

Min Gui was resolute and went to Sichuan for inspection and assessment. In his opinion, such a leisurely style was lazy and dereliction of duty.

But you can't destroy other people's jobs, right?

"What happened to make Min Gui like this?" Li Dongyang was puzzled.