prosperous age

"Lord Zhang, if I wish to cross the strait under cover of night, without anyone noticing, when should I set sail?"

Li Chonggui asked in a low voice.

Upon hearing his words, General Zhang's eyes sharpened.

He had already guessed Li Chonggui's plan: to cross the Strait of Malacca under cover of darkness without alerting people on both sides of the strait.

After a moment's thought, he said, "We should set off early at the hour of Mao (5-7 AM) and arrive at the strait mouth around the hour of You (5-7 PM)."

As darkness falls, the fleet can enter the strait for passage.

When they entered Temasek and the surrounding densely populated area, it was nighttime, so they could do it without anyone noticing.

only"

At this point, General Zhang stared at Li Chonggui and said, "Crossing the strait at night is quite risky."

An accident could happen if you're not careful.

"I assure you, my brothers in the navy, that there is no problem with their skills."

Li Chonggui immediately put on a fawning expression and said.

In truth, what he was thinking was that your navy had said to just sail the ship.

If a problem arises while the ship is sailing, it is naturally a problem for the navy; what does it have to do with him?

“Good, feasible.”

After a brief moment's thought, General Zhang nodded in agreement.

"If all goes well, boarding will be arranged at midnight."

Li Chonggui immediately said.

General Zhang didn't reply, but simply nodded slightly.

Having received confirmation, Li Chonggui took his leave and departed from the dock.

Soon, several Ming guerrillas stationed near the port were waiting outside the port.

Before Li Chonggui arrived, he had arranged for his personal guards to go and fetch people.

Having already discussed the time with General Zhang, he directly instructed the men, "When we get back today, get the brothers moving and prepare to depart."

Li Chonggui did not hide their plan from the generals around him.

This also makes it easier for them to understand their tasks more clearly when they are on the move.

Upon hearing their superior's words, the group quickly agreed.

"At dinner time, have the cooks prepare dry rations, as we will be spending the next few days on the ship."

Li Chonggui continued.

"Sir, should we keep the food sent by the wealthy gentry of Old Port?"

A guerrilla general suddenly stepped forward and asked in a low voice.

"Aren't you finished eating yet?"

Li Chonggui was taken aback; he knew that a lot of food had been sent from the old port city.

However, he wasn't staying at the military camp; he had been in the city for the past few days, so he wasn't aware of the situation here.

"Some were left over."

The man immediately said.

"I cooked it tonight and made it into a cold dish. We'll eat it on the boat tomorrow."

For the next two days, we could only eat dried fish.

After this battle is over and everyone has received their rewards, we'll have a good time.

Li Chonggui spoke first.

"Don't worry, sir. The brothers have been eagerly anticipating following you to achieve great things, hehe."

A guerrilla general standing nearby also spoke with a broad smile.

These people had already planned their mission in private.

If we attack the capital of Aceh, then the treasures of the Aceh royal family must be stored there.

How much loot will be obtained if the royal city is successfully captured?

It's beautiful to think about.

As is customary, although some of the exquisite treasures were to be sent to the capital, these people would also receive a considerable share.

That's why these people are so excited.

Of course, according to military rules, the two guerrillas who stayed in the city would also receive some supplies.

In name, the spoils of war in the capital of Aceh were to be distributed among the families according to the number of people.

However, those were the spoils that were publicly known.

Privately, the treasures that are not recorded in the public accounts are what they value most.

These are things that even Li Chengliang wouldn't ask about, let alone Li Chonggui.

As long as the behavior isn't particularly blatant, most of the time people just turn a blind eye and let it pass.

As for those who stayed in the city, although they had less income, they didn't actually suffer a loss.

Because when rewards are distributed according to merit, their contributions will be ranked ahead of theirs by Li Chonggui.

These were all young generals with some connections who believed they had a chance to rise in rank, which is why they took the initiative to accept this task.

Money can always be earned back.

But they can't do that anymore; now they don't think about getting promoted, they only think about getting rich.

Li Chonggui left the preparations for the military camp to his subordinates. After saying that the entire army might board the ship and depart that night, he rushed back to the city without stopping.

As soon as they arrived at the gate of the garrison, they noticed several men dressed in Aceh military uniforms guarding a few ponies.

He knew that Aceh hadn't chosen to retaliate immediately, but instead sent people to the city to question them first.

Without uttering a word, Li Chonggui dismounted, tossed the reins to his personal guard, and strode into the garrison headquarters.

He didn't meet with the representatives of Aceh; even if he had, it wouldn't have been a big deal.

Whether Aceh was preparing for war or was genuinely showing weakness and afraid to fight because of his arrival, it no longer matters.

What they needed to do was achieve victory at the lowest possible cost, destroy Aceh, and allow the Ming Dynasty to fully acquire Sumatra.

This place will eventually become the Old Port Pacification Office, only its area will increase by dozens of times.

Half an hour after he went to rest in the backyard, Imperial Censor Wang and Garrison Commander Yu returned from the front, with Lord Wang still looking angry.

"Lord Wang, who made you angry?"

Li Chonggui asked the question knowing the answer already.

"The Kingdom of Aceh is truly extremely rude. How dare this tiny nation demand an explanation from our Celestial Empire?"

What should be explained?
The imperial court has long issued an order to destroy the country. Have you discussed how to start the war recently?
I heard that the other side has already amassed tens of thousands of troops. Do you have enough soldiers?

"That's not enough. I'll immediately write to Burma and ask them to send more reinforcements."

Imperial Censor Wang said angrily.

"what happened?"

Li Chonggui looked at Imperial Censor Wang with a fawning expression, while his eyes were fixed on Garrison Commander Yu.

It seems things aren't going as he expected.

This time, the envoy from Aceh came to the old port city to demand an explanation.

"Ahem, the Aceh envoy immediately turned the tables, saying that we ambushed them and massacred thousands of Aceh soldiers. He was utterly shameless."

As I said, we received information that the patrol battalion outside the city saw infighting within the Aceh army, but they did not take any action and simply chose to stand by and watch.

After all, this is an internal affair of Aceh, and it is not appropriate for our Great Ming to interfere.

But they insisted that it was our Ming Dynasty that did it, saying that our soldiers suffered heavy casualties, many of them from firearms.

Commander Yu said with an innocent look on his face.

"Such a distortion of the truth is outrageous, Lord Wang. This matter must be reported to the court as soon as possible."

Li Chonggui, with his usual ingratiating smile, addressed Imperial Censor Wang.

"I will naturally tell you the truth, but you said on the ship that you would take responsibility for this matter."

We have been here for some time now, and the soldiers should have rested enough.

What are your plans for the future?

The Imperial Censor asked, “My lord, after discussing with Commander Yu, we believe that since the army of Aceh is internally unstable, even if we launch an attack at this time, our army has a great chance of winning.”

However, given the sheer size of the enemy's forces, a direct assault would likely be difficult to achieve victory.

Therefore, I intend to set off tonight under cover of darkness, leading my army by boat to raid the capital of Aceh, Kutaraja.

They say to capture the king to catch the thief. If we can capture Kutaraja and take the King of Aceh alive, we will have won this battle.

These remaining Aceh troops collapsed without a fight.

"Then, your humble servant and Commander Yu will eliminate them one by one, and we will be able to successfully complete the imperial decree."

Li Chonggui and Commander Yu exchanged a glance before revealing their plan.

"Lord Wang, please take charge of this old port city. I am confident that my five thousand soldiers will be able to defend the city."

I have already given the order to begin conscripting able-bodied men from within the city; we should be able to muster at least ten thousand men.

With 15,000 men, we can defend against the siege of tens of thousands of Aceh's troops, and await General Li's triumphant return.

At this moment, Commander Yu spoke up.

"Set off tonight?"

Imperial Censor Wang was taken aback and remained silent.

"Speed ​​is of the essence in war. I imagine that the barbarians, realizing their internal instability, will be desperate and eager to start a war with us in order to divert attention from their internal problems."

Li Chonggui explained.

"I have already ordered people to gather the people near the city and bring them into the city to settle them, so as to avoid them from the ravages of war."

Commander Yu continued.

He was familiar with these arrangements.

In fact, as soon as he entered the city, he had already ordered the nearby villages and towns to move their entire families into the city to avoid disaster.

Has any news come from outside the city?

Imperial Censor Wang asked.

"Not for now. I have already sent people to contact the various outposts and asked them to strengthen their defenses."

Commander Yu immediately replied.

"Hopefully Aceh will react a little slower this time and give us more time."

"Very well, proceed according to your plan. I will remain in Old Port and await General Li's report of victory."

Imperial Censor Wang gave Li Chonggui a deep look before speaking.

"Rest assured, sir, I will not let you down."

Li Chonggui understood the meaning in that glance, so he answered directly.

When the time comes, we can bring him a box of local specialties from the spoils, and that should be enough to feed him.

"I'm tired, you can discuss it yourselves."

"After all, this is war; you're much more familiar with it."

After finishing his speech, Imperial Censor Wang walked straight towards his own courtyard.

When Yu Shoubei moved in, he put two dancers in the courtyard. Recently, Wang Yushi has also been working hard to find a place to stay.

Did they give us time?

After seeing Lord Wang off, Li Chonggui asked in a low voice.

"The other party is very tactful; you can't tell what they mean."

Commander Yu frowned slightly and recounted his encounter with the Aceh envoy.

"Their attitude is very tough, but I don't know if it's all bark and no bite or if they really have the confidence."

Li Chonggui muttered something under his breath, and then told Commander Yu about their departure that evening.

"General Li, please go ahead. I have been in Old Port for more than a year and am very familiar with the surrounding area. I can defend the city for ten or fifteen days without any problems."

Yu Shoubei said in a low voice.

"Well, also, I think it would be best to leave a centurion at each of those outposts."

In case Aceh attacks, having fewer people will make it easier to retreat.

Even if something goes wrong, the loss won't be too great.

However, the surrounding villages must all be evacuated back to the city today.

The two continued to discuss the matter, and Commander Yu also kept sending people to issue orders to various places.

Inside the city, as the Aceh envoy stormed out, orders from the garrison headquarters continued to be issued, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

In particular, the village closest to the city appeared at the city gate in the afternoon, and the people inside the city realized what was going on.

At this time, news spread throughout the city and beyond that the Ming army had witnessed infighting within the Aceh army.

If you stick to something like this, even if it's fake, it will become real.

Once Imperial Censor Wang's documents are submitted to the court and recorded, they will be finalized and become history after thousands of years.

As for how much truth has been concealed in these histories, no one cares, and no one can find out.

Meanwhile, the Aceh army camp was indeed in complete chaos.

The pro-war and pro-peace factions each held their own views. The pro-war faction, of course, wanted blood for blood. They hadn't even attacked the Ming Dynasty yet, but unexpectedly, the Ming Dynasty launched a surprise attack on them shortly after reinforcements arrived.

The pro-peace faction, on the other hand, believed through this incident that reinforcements from the Ming Dynasty were likely arriving soon, which is why they acted so recklessly.

As for the Ming Dynasty's excuses, they naturally did not believe them.

Internal strife can kill thousands of people.

Moreover, most of the wounds were caused by firearms. Although Acehnese soldiers also had firearms, their armies did not have that many firearms. It would be impossible to gather so many firearms unless the entire army raised them.

In order to appease the military commanders, the Aceh commander did not arm an elite force with firearms after receiving them, but distributed them to various armies.

To maintain balance, the distribution was very even.

As a result, the various units were stabilized, but their combat strength was also greatly weakened.

However, they were of course unaware of this, believing that equipping their armies with firearms would give them wings and make them even more powerful.

"I have urgently reported the situation here to the capital, and the Sultan will respond soon."

Now, let's talk about the situation at the border first.

The Aceh commander quickly quelled the chaos and began to inquire.

"The Ming army is still patrolling as usual, without taking any other action."

The reply came quickly.

Several generals stationed near the border immediately spoke up.

"This matter cannot be let off so easily. Tonight, you two will lead troops, secretly cross the border, and rush into the nearby villages to carry out revenge, leaving no one alive."

The army was assembled outside, ready to directly intimidate the Ming army if they encountered them.

Tonight's operation: all battalions, prepare yourselves. Once this general's order is delivered, it must be executed immediately.

Although the Aceh commander hesitated, since he had not received orders from the capital, sending men to sneak into the old port and massacre a few villages was not a big deal in his eyes.

A major open war cannot be started without the king's order, but minor actions are permissible.

Since the Ming people had openly set up an ambush, he had no other concerns.

"Send a message to the spies in the city, telling them to spread the news of 100,000 heavenly soldiers around Old Port. Anyone who dares to resist will be slaughtered after the city is breached."

Then, the commander gave instructions to the official in charge of intelligence.

First, they exaggerated their military strength by double, and then threatened the people with massacres. This would surely cause panic among the Ming people.

On Sumatra Island, the air seemed to be tainted with the smell of blood at this moment.

The old port city is in a bit of a mess tonight.

Because a large number of villagers from nearby areas moved to the city, after simple resettlement, most of them had no choice but to sleep on the streets.

After all, there aren't that many houses in the city for them to live in.

Outside the city, two Aceh armies also took advantage of the darkness to sneak into the old port area and silently advance towards several villages.

At the dock, illuminated by dozens of torches, Li Chonggui and his men quietly began boarding the ship.

“Zhou Youji is the commander of the Old Port cavalry, and his two hundred men will also be taken to Kutaraja by me.”

Since they were all his own men, Li Chonggui simply introduced the cavalry generals sent by Commander Yu to the others, letting them know that such a force existed.

"Once there, Zhou Youji and Shiping, your cavalry must disembark first, detour south of the city, and intercept any potential escape attempts by the King of Aceh." (End of Chapter)