Chapter 394

……

In just a little over a dozen breaths, these people immediately started quacking away nonstop like a flock of ducks.

It made Su Qiao's head buzz.

It was truly disgusting.

Su Qiao knew they were doing it on purpose — seeing how young he was, they figured a little coaxing and prodding might trick him into taking the bait.

How often do young men lose their heads and do something rash?

Even if Su Qiao didn't fall for it, it didn't matter — it perfectly showed off their anxious, patriotic hearts.

Hmm, no matter what, they weren't going to lose out.

Su Qiao wouldn't take the bait, nor would he bite.

They could talk all they wanted; he'd think his own thoughts. He had someone bring a chair, sat down, and sipped tea from a cup.

The noisy chatter around him he treated as nothing but the buzzing of flies and mosquitoes.

His expression was perfectly calm.

The old foxes who had been quietly watching Su Qiao since he walked in — when had they ever seen anything like this?

He wasn't taking them seriously at all!

Yet they couldn't treat him the way they would an ordinary young upstart.

After all, Su Qiao was an Imperial Commissioner — an Imperial Commissioner with the authority to act at his own discretion.

Truly provoking Su Qiao would cost more than it was worth.

But though Su Qiao's manner annoyed quite a few people, it made even more of them gradually close their mouths.

The once-noisy hall fell quiet in no time.

Su Qiao pretended to be surprised, dug a finger in his ear, and asked, "Oh? Weren't you all just debating quite heatedly? Why did you suddenly stop?"

Everyone stared at Su Qiao's infuriatingly smug posture, their teeth itching.

But in their hearts they knew — using such tricks on Su Qiao was useless.

Lin Fu, the Minister of Personnel, stepped forward to play the good man.

One reason was his high enough rank and status; another was that he had dealt with Su Qiao before.

Never mind if they'd had friction — at least they'd made up afterward.

"Lord Su, the Prefect of Suzhou, Zhang Xueceng, sent word of a warning: in two days, over three thousand Japanese pirates will raid Suzhou Prefecture. Whether to fight or to evade, we have no clear plan. You are the Imperial Commissioner personally appointed by His Majesty and are responsible for the coastal defense garrisons of Great Ming — surely you must have a solution?"

Hearing Lin Fu's words, Su Qiao looked at him with a strange expression.

Had this Lin Fu had his head kicked by a donkey?

Just moments ago he had clashed with Su Qiao, said plenty of soft words, and even handed over a hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver as compensation.

One could say he had just stumbled and taken a heavy loss right in front of Su Qiao.

So what on earth was he thinking, being the first to pop up now and pressure Su Qiao?

For Lin Fu to have held his position this long, he was definitely no fool.

Su Qiao didn't answer; the corner of his eye swept across the faces of the others.

Suddenly!

An old man, two steps behind Lin Fu and to his left, caught his attention.

Mmph, Lin Fu stepping forward seemed to have something to do with him!

But Su Qiao didn't know who this old man was or anything about him.

"Lord Lin, first of all, since the Japanese pirates are coming, Great Ming cannot possibly evade them! Great Ming is even wiping out the Jurchen Tatars — and yet we'd be scared off by a mere band of Japanese pirates? If you can accept that, and His Majesty can accept it, then this official has no objection!"

Su Qiao noted the old man in his mind, held off for the moment, and rebutted Lin Fu's words.

Lin Fu, though rebutted, said nothing — as if he hadn't been the first to fire the opening shot and pressure Su Qiao.

He sat there expressionless!

But just because he had opened fire and then sputtered out didn't mean the others would too.

A Censorate official of Fifth Rank, Senior Grade stood up. "Lord Su, if we cannot evade, then by your reasoning we must fight. But who should be made general, and how should the troops be redeployed?"

Hearing this, Su Qiao smiled — this was exactly the question he'd been waiting for.

His whole purpose was to dig a pit for everyone!

"Of course we cannot evade. Even if Great Ming's coastal defense garrisons are rotten, we still have several hundred thousand men under arms! If we don't dare face three thousand Japanese pirates, then we truly have lost all face for Great Ming!"

"As for who should be general and how the troops should be redeployed — these are not problems!"

"Oh? Could Lord Su enlighten us?"

Su Qiao swept his gaze around, saw that everyone's eyes had gathered on him, and only then began: "From Ningbo Prefecture, plus Suzhou Prefecture, Jiaxing, and other areas, we can draw six thousand garrison troops. Subtracting the old, weak, sick, and wounded — probably half — we're left with three thousand at best."

"Although only three thousand men may not be enough for an absolute victory, we already have the foundation for victory."

"Here in Nanjingcheng, every family's private soldiers and servants number quite a lot, don't they? Altogether, even if it's not ten thousand, this official believes gathering six or seven thousand should be fairly easy."

Su Qiao narrowed his eyes, watching the expressions of the officials below.

Just as he had expected.

When he spoke of drawing troops from the various garrison battalions, everyone nodded in agreement.

But the moment Su Qiao mentioned drawing on the private soldiers and servants of Nanjing's various families, everyone instantly could not sit still.

"Lord Su, isn't this method rather improper?"

"Oh? Why improper? Is Great Ming's territory less important than each family's private soldiers?"

Before the other side could come up with an excuse, Su Qiao slapped a giant hat right on them.

The official who had spoken was instantly choked into silence.

At this moment, the Vice Minister of Rites stood up and cut in: "Lord Su, according to what you just said, drawing servants and private soldiers from the various families might indeed yield six or seven thousand. But although servants may be sturdy, they have received no training — pick up a blade or a spear, and aren't they no different from ordinary commoners?"

Su Qiao nodded upon hearing this and said, "That is correct; indeed, there is no difference from the common people. However, this official does not intend for them to charge the enemy formation as the Great Ming army. This official intends for them to replace part of the city defense force to guard the city! They are numerous; even without experience in defending a city, leveraging the advantages of terrain and human support, holding off the Japanese pirates for a short time is no problem."

"Then how does Lord Su guarantee that when those servants reach the battlefield, they will not immediately drop their weapons and surrender?"

Another person stood up and asked.

Su Qiao explained simply and clearly: "Lure them with profit. For instance, behead one Japanese pirate to receive a certain reward; behead two, and one can shed the slave status. This official believes that under such temptation, most servants will not surrender immediately."

At this moment, within the great hall, Su Qiao was actually like Zhuge Liang, debating the assembled scholars with his tongue.

Whoever raised a question, he could resolve it with ease!