Chapter 401

Su Qiao sat in the center of the Suzhoucheng Prefecture Yamen, waiting for news to arrive.

Since it was unclear where the Japanese pirates had actually landed.

Su Qiao could only dispatch troops and generals after confirming the location of the Japanese pirates.

The others were also waiting patiently in the hall for news.

They sat from sunrise in the morning until sunset in the evening.

But not a word of news regarding the Japanese pirates had returned.

Su Qiao was able to sit there calmly.

But the others could not sit still.

Especially Song Qiao, the Suzhoucheng Prefecture Guard Commander, and the Battalion Commanders and Deputy Battalion Commanders under him, all showed anxious expressions on their faces.

If Su Qiao's status were not that of an Imperial Envoy.

And if he did not have the authority to mobilize the garrison troops of nearby guard posts, these martial men would have long since started shouting.

But even though they feared Su Qiao's status.

With no news all day, they had lost their patience.

"My lord Su..."

Song Qiao had just opened his mouth to say something to Su Qiao.

At that moment, a scout suddenly returned to report, interrupting his words.

"Report—"

"Speak!"

Su Qiao's half-closed eyes suddenly opened, a flash of sharp light passing through them.

Song Qiao and the others also stared intently at the scout who had come to report.

The scout was covered in sweat, his armor slightly loose, obviously due to the exhaustion of his recent rush.

"My lord, traces of Japanese pirates were discovered southwest of Suzhoucheng, approximately over a thousand!"

"Only over a thousand?"

Su Qiao pressed for more.

The scout nodded vigorously and said affirmatively, "It is definitely over a thousand people; we carefully investigated their tracks, and it does not seem like there are many of them."

"In other words, you did not see the Japanese pirates, but judged it based on their tracks."

"Yes!"

"Scout further!"

Su Qiao's face returned to a calm expression; he waved his hand, dismissing the scout.

Zhang Xueceng and Song Qiao also sensed something was wrong from Su Qiao's questioning just now.

"My lord Su, what is your view?"

"I believe it is a trap set by the Japanese pirates!"

Su Qiao said without hesitation.

"Ah?"

Zhang Xueceng and Song Qiao exchanged a glance; both felt they were extremely foolish compared to the Imperial Envoy!

They were simply not on the same level; they could not understand what Su Qiao was thinking at all.

Zhang Xueceng was one thing, after all, Zhang Xueceng himself was outstanding in literature and painting.

It was normal that he did not understand military matters.

But Song Qiao was a martial man, yet he also did not quite understand, leaving him completely bewildered.

"Very well, let me explain it to you."

Seeing the two of them with blank expressions, Su Qiao sighed and said.

"Please instruct us, my lord!" Song Qiao and Zhang Xueceng hurriedly moved closer to the map.

"Look here!"

Su Qiao pointed to the marked spot on the map, which was the location just reported by the scout.

"This is the location where the scout discovered traces of the Japanese pirates. If over a thousand Japanese pirates truly existed, what would they be doing heading southwest? They have no Ma Pi; with that amount of time, they would have been discovered and annihilated by us long ago. The Japanese pirates are very cunning, not fools."

"Then does your lordship mean they are deliberately luring us?" Even without understanding military affairs, Zhang Xueceng grasped Su Qiao's meaning.

Su Qiao nodded. "The Japanese pirates going southwest is definitely a fake; otherwise, they could not escape. They are not stupid, yet they deliberately allowed the scout to discover their movements here. I have two hypotheses!"

"One is that they intend to set an ambush here, luring the forces of Suzhoucheng Prefecture to come, then gathering and annihilating them, destroying our main force. Once our Suzhoucheng Prefecture forces are crippled, they can operate and plunder in Suzhoucheng Prefecture and this area with impunity!"

"The second is that they are making a feint to the east to attack the west, drawing the tiger away from the mountain! Luring us out of the city, while the Japanese pirates secretly hidden in another location suddenly attack the city! Which do you think they will choose?"

Su Qiao asked Zhang Xueceng and Song Qiao.

Actually, he was looking mostly at Song Qiao.

Song Qiao, this Commander, seemed to lack political sense, but in military matters, Su Qiao actually felt he was far more flexible than ordinary generals.

It was just that perhaps because he read little and had little actual combat experience accumulated, his reaction to certain things was slow.

Now that Su Qiao had explained it like this, he immediately felt as if he had received a sudden enlightenment, his mind clearing up.

"My lord, this subordinate believes the Japanese pirates should choose the first option!"

Song Qiao looked at the map, deliberated for a long time, and then said decisively.

"Why?"

Su Qiao asked with interest.

The smile at the corner of his mouth greatly boosted Song Qiao's confidence, obviously Lord Su agreed with his line of thought.

He spoke directly while facing the map, "The traces of the Japanese pirates were discovered in the southwest; there are actually several Dashan there, and the terrain gradually becomes difficult to traverse. I have heard people say that not far from there is a valley. If this subordinate has not guessed wrong, these Japanese pirates may be setting an ambush in that valley!"

"The reason I chose the first option is that I also took into account Fujita Gogoro's hatred toward the Great Ming. If he chooses the first option and succeeds, it will create an advantage of gradual encroachment, pressing us with overwhelming momentum. After all, our main force was badly mauled in the ambush, and afterward we wouldn't dare leave the city."

"If we choose the second method, we'd have to take a risk. Although the gamble might allow a surprise attack into Suzhoucheng, they would also face the dangerous situation of being encircled and annihilated by our main force, and casualties could very well be enormous."

"So considering them separately, the Japanese pirates still have a higher probability of choosing the first option."

"Mm, a well-reasoned and evidence-based analysis."

Su Qiao glanced at Song Qiao with an approving look.

"Since my lord has already confirmed that the Japanese pirates have an ambush set up in the valley, should we turn their own scheme against them?"

Song Qiao seemed somewhat energized by Su Qiao's encouragement, and spoke a few words more.

The other several Battalion Commanders and Deputy Generals were also itching to try at the side.

No matter how you analyze it, the Great Ming has the advantage. The city has at least ten thousand able-bodied young men, even if more than half of them can't fight in the field.

But it also represents the backbone of Suzhou Prefecture.

Otherwise, someone like Zhang Xueceng would have long since hidden under the table.

"They're in the mountains, so encircling and annihilating them doesn't seem easy. Besides, we don't have many elite troops who can fight in the field either. If we want to deal with them, we can't just throw ourselves at them head-on—otherwise, even with our numerical superiority, we still might not win. Therefore, this official's idea is: use the enemy's own method, and repay them in kind!"

"My lord means... set..."

The eyes of the crowd were shining brightly.

"Set an ambush!" Su Qiao slapped the table. "The Japanese pirates can't just stay holed up there forever. Seeing that we haven't taken the bait, they will definitely withdraw from that spot and think of another way. There's only one road in and out of the valley, so they don't have many other choices when withdrawing. Setting an ambush on the road will be easy!"

"But my lord, how do we move the troops? There are very likely Japanese pirate scouts outside Suzhoucheng!"

Song Qiao quite agreed with Su Qiao's idea, but he had other concerns of his own.

Su Qiao heard this and waved his hand with a smile: "This official has his own methods!"

254, set the ambush!

After nightfall, Su Qiao specially arranged for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to find households that raised dogs.

He had them take the dogs out beyond the city gates—one reason was to conveniently drive away and search out the Japanese pirate scouts, and another was to provide cover for Su Qiao's covert operations.

After all, the dogs could absolutely sniff out the Japanese pirate scouts hidden in the dark grass and woods.

Catching or driving them away was equivalent to directly knocking out the Japanese pirates' eyes.

Only then could the strategy of setting an ambush to counter their ambush be carried out.

Just as Su Qiao had anticipated!

The Japanese pirate scouts lurking in Suzhoucheng were caught completely off guard by the Embroidered Uniform Guard who suddenly came out at night with dogs leading the way!

No matter how well they had hidden before, their own scent couldn't escape the dogs' noses.

In a short time, they were successively all captured by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Without these scouts, Fujita Gogoro and the others would be as good as blind.