Daqin arrests alchemists, what does it matter to me as a qi refiner?

"Come on!"

Yang Ling eliminated the Japanese pirates' warships in the shortest time possible, and then led his cavalry to continue on their journey.

When Yang Ling arrived outside Xiaguan Town, he saw that Xiaguan Town was also in chaos.

Xiaguan Town faces the river on the east and is backed by the Cheongcheon River. A wooden suspension bridge has been built on the riverside bridge located in the western section of the Cheongcheon River.

But now the suspension bridge has been opened, and the originally closed city gate has been pushed open. Many Japanese pirate soldiers are seizing key points in Xiaguan Town, preparing to capture Xiaguan Town.

These Japanese pirates were obviously their main force. They were well-trained and agile. They wreaked havoc in the city and slaughtered all the civilians. Some of them even ran into the streets, grabbed women and dragged them into the houses.

Xiaguan Town is the seat of Qingyuan County, and this place is easy to attack.

Fortunately, Qingyuan County Magistrate Liu Wende led his troops to provide timely support and stabilize the city.

However, even if they successfully defended Xiaguan Town, they still could not change the precarious situation in Qingyuan County, because there were Japanese pirates' navy at the southern end of Qingchuan River and Japanese pirates' fleet at the northern end.

Although Yang Ling and his men arrived in time, the Japanese pirates still did not stop their invasion. Their fleet was still approaching and trying to capture Xiaguan Town.

At this time, Yang Ling received news from scouts - his flag signal troops had already fought with the Japanese pirates on the Qingyuan River.

After receiving the report, Yang Ling ordered the flag signal officer to send out a flag signal without saying a word, ordering his soldiers to retreat to Xiaguan Town.

But at this time, Yang Ling suddenly saw several red flares rising in Xiaguan Town.

This is a sign of the Japanese pirates' surrender.

"How could this happen? The Japanese pirates actually surrendered?!"

Yang Ling's face was uncertain, this mission was very difficult.

According to intelligence, the main force of the Japanese pirates was on the island in the middle of the river on the south bank, so Yang Ling specially dispatched some elite troops to risk crossing the Cheongcheon River to capture Xiaguan Town.

But now, the Japanese pirates actually surrendered voluntarily, which was beyond Yang Ling's expectations.

"What do the Japanese pirates want to do? Do they want to lure the enemy deeper into our territory?"

Yang Ling's mind raced, and he immediately determined the pirates' purpose.

He immediately ordered the withdrawal of all the defenders in Xiaguan Town, and ordered his troops to quickly land on the Qingyuan River and then gather on the banks of the Qingze River.

Only after the troops on the Qingze River were ready did Yang Ling lead his troops into Qingyuan Town.

Qingyuan Town was covered in blood and many places were burned down.

Yang Ling looked around and saw a lot of corpses on the ground. The colors of their clothes were different. They should be soldiers from different camps.

"The Japanese pirates are indeed cunning. They actually set up an ambush in Qingyuan Town!"

Yang Ling gritted his teeth and said bitterly.

The battle was so brutal that except for a few soldiers who managed to escape, most of the soldiers died in Qingyuan Town, and the losses were extremely heavy.

"Marshal, we suffered heavy casualties this time. If you hadn't arrived in time, I'm afraid Xiaguan Town would have been lost."

When Zhang Xian saw Yang Ling, he couldn't help but step forward to report.

Yang Ling nodded. He could understand why Zhang Xian was so pessimistic. This battle was actually an operation to encircle and suppress Qingyuan Village. However, because Yang Ling and his men arrived late, they were unable to intercept the bandits in Qingyuan Village, which gave them an opportunity to harass them.

What was even more troublesome was that the bandits in Qingyuan Village actually set up ship blockades on the Qingze River to prevent the navy from landing and rescuing.

The bandits in Qingyuan Village not only blocked the Japanese warships' path on the water, but also set up small warships on the Qingchuan River, trying to attack Qingyuan County from a detour by land.

If Yang Ling had not dispatched the navy in time, Xiaguan Town would have been lost long ago. But even so, many troops died at the hands of the bandits in Qingyuan Village.

Yang Ling sighed: "We are late!"

This time they fought the Japanese pirates for two days on the west bank of Qingze River. It was a bloody battle and cost a huge price, but they failed to capture Qingyuan Village.

"Marshal, we haven't lost yet!"

Zhang Xian clenched his fist and said loudly: "Xiaguan Town is our key stronghold for ambush. Now we have more troops than Qingyuan Village, a full 28,000 people. Those chickens and dogs can't do anything to us!"

The battle on the Qingze River has basically ended, and Yang Ling's more than 2,000 troops are chasing the Japanese pirate warships that have escaped on the Qingchuan River.

These Japanese pirate warships had been damaged by Yang Ling's artillery fire, and the defenders inside Xiaguan Town fought desperately, so Yang Ling's navy won the chase.

"Well, in that case, we will rest in Xiaguan Town and attack Qingyuan Village after dark to completely destroy this group of Japanese pirates."

Yang Ling said.

Qingyuan Town has become a living hell. The people have fled in all directions and are unable to organize any decent resistance.

"Commander, look!"

Just when Yang Ling had arranged for the troops to rest, a personal guard suddenly reminded him. Looking in the direction of the personal guard's finger, Yang Ling saw several Japanese pirates escorting dozens of civilians slowly walking towards him.

"Japanese pirate prisoners?"

Yang Ling asked in confusion: "Weren't all the bandits in Qingyuan Town wiped out? Where did the captives come from?"

The Japanese pirates escorted dozens of frightened civilians and slowly approached Yang Ling and his group, then knelt on the ground and said, "Please, gentlemen, let us live."

"The Japanese pirates actually surrendered?"

Zhang Xian looked at the dozens of Japanese pirate captives in front of him in shock, his face full of surprise.

Yang Ling snorted coldly: "Isn't it normal for the Japanese pirates to surrender? The Japanese pirates are beasts who only know how to oppress the Han people. How can they have the courage to rebel?"

Yang Ling guessed that this group of Japanese pirates must have been surrounded by the Qingyuan Island navy on the Qingze River in the bay beside the Qingyuan River. In the end, they did not dare to resist and chose to surrender obediently.

"Marshal, what should we do with these pirates?"

Zhang Xian asked Yang Ling for his opinion. He had no interest in these Japanese pirates. After all, they were brutal, cruel and merciless thugs and not worth his emotions.

Yang Ling thought for a moment and said, "Take them away and keep them under guard. After we capture Qingyuan County, these pirates will be of great use."

"As ordered."

At that time, the Japanese pirates looted the goods in Qingze River, causing the merchant caravans to be trapped on the ship and suffer serious losses. Some goods were even soaked and destroyed due to wind and rain during transportation.

This time, Yang Ling came to the east bank of Qingyuan River, not only to eliminate the banditry in Qingyuan Mountain, but also to recover the looted goods.

After Yang Ling ordered his men to take these Japanese pirates away, he began to set up defensive fortifications.

Now that the Japanese pirates have been eliminated, the next step is to restore the defense of Xiaguan Town as soon as possible.

Although the Japanese pirates expressed their willingness to obey Yang Ling after surrendering, they were unwilling to sit there and wait for death, and would definitely wait for an opportunity to cause sabotage, so Yang Ling planned to set up sentries and patrols in Xiaguan Town to guard against surprise attacks by the Japanese pirates.

Yang Ling designated Xiaguan Town as the second of the three lines of defense.

The second line of defense is separated from the east bank of Qingze River by only two large rivers, about sixty or seventy miles away.

Yang Ling planned to build solid fortifications on this line of defense, and then build a floating bridge along the river bank, taking advantage of the rapid flow of the Qingze River to enhance the defense capabilities of this section of the line of defense. These were temporary fortifications, but under Yang Ling's supervision, the officers and soldiers of Xiaguan Town still did their best to build these fortifications.

As time went by, the sky became darker and darker.

"Boom!"

Night fell on the east bank of Qingze River, dull thunder rumbled, and snowflakes began to fall from the sky.

In the cold winter, the Qingze River is frozen thousands of feet deep and the water flows slowly. Even though it is spring now, the river water is still extremely cold and icy.

But Yang Ling and his soldiers still insisted on training without any rest.

They still practice according to the rules every night to ensure that they have enough energy to fight during the day.

"boom!"

Zhang Xian stood on the wooden bridge holding a spear.

Zhang Xian saw several flashes of fire in the distance and heard faint sounds of fighting, and his brows were twisted into knots.

"What are these guys doing?"

He cursed in a low voice, "I'm so busy here, and they dare to mess with me? Do they really think I can't do anything to them?"

Zhang Xian turned around and shouted to the flag signalman next to him: "Pass my order, tell those guys to get out of here! Otherwise, don't blame me for being rude!"

Although Zhang Xian was young, he had great prestige in the army. After receiving the order, the flag signal soldier ran down the wooden bridge and rode his horse towards the north.

After hearing Zhang Xian's complaint, Yang Ling smiled and said, "Zhang Xian, don't be angry. These guys are like this. They have nothing to do and just like to mess around. If you ask them to be quiet, they will become even more noisy."

"Marshal, it's so cold, and those brats are still making trouble. It's really wrong!" Zhang Xian said angrily.

Yang Ling said, "Okay, let those little bastards come over here quickly. I want to see what they are going to do."

Soon, the flag signalman came back on horseback and rushed into Yang Ling's tent: "Report to the commander, the brothers in the north said that those guys wanted to drink to keep warm, so they were making noise in the camp. Please speak!"

"These little bastards are still thinking about drinking and having fun at this time. This is simply ridiculous!"

Yang Ling shouted angrily: "Notify the brothers in the north, anyone who disobeys orders and continues to drink to keep warm will be dragged out and beheaded immediately!"

"Yes!"

The flag signalman turned around and rode away again, but soon returned and said, "General, the brothers in the north agreed to issue the ban. But those guys also said they want to see you and ask you to give an explanation."

Yang Ling was at a loss whether to laugh or cry when he heard this. These bastards actually wanted to see him. There was really no reason for this.

Yang Ling shook his head and said, "Tell them that they must withdraw before dawn tomorrow."

"Yes!"

Soon, Yang Ling's order spread throughout Qingze Town.

Yang Ling, Zhang Xian and others also fell asleep to get enough energy to welcome the dawn of the next day.

In the early morning, Yang Ling and Zhang Xian woke up first. After washing up, they put on new military uniforms, mounted their horses, and led their soldiers to inspect the defensive fortifications that had been arranged yesterday.

"My Lord, I think we should strengthen our defenses."

Seeing Yang Ling inspecting the fortifications, Chen Qishan came up and whispered, "I'm worried that the Japanese pirates will attack in the dark."

Chen Qishan expressed his worries. The current situation was extremely unfavorable for the defense of the north bank of the Qingyuan River. If the Japanese pirates took the opportunity to launch a sneak attack, they would have no ability to resist at all.

"If the Japanese pirates take advantage of the opportunity to attack, we must prepare early, but we don't have many weapons on hand, how can we strengthen the defense line?" Zhang Xian also echoed: "Sir, the Japanese pirates have surrendered, so they should not break their promise."

"That being said, we don't know what will happen after the Japanese pirates surrender." Chen Qishan said, "So we'd better be cautious."

Yang Ling pondered for a moment and said, "I know you have good intentions, but what you said makes sense. How about this? You are responsible for strengthening the defense line. I will lead people to patrol the surroundings to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of the opportunity to launch a sneak attack."

"Your Excellency's body is worth a fortune, so let me patrol for you!" Zhang Xian hurriedly dissuaded.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm more familiar with the terrain than you!" Yang Ling said with a smile.

"You are joking, my Lord. You are the head coach, so it is natural that you should inspect the defense line yourself."

"I told you to patrol, so stop talking nonsense!"

Yang Ling said with his eyes wide open.

Zhang Xian said helplessly: "Yes, sir!"

"Remember, if you encounter any danger or enemy attack, you can use the second plan!" Yang Ling reminded: "But remember, you must not hurt the people!"

"Remember, I will never harm the people. Don't worry, sir!"

"Ah."

After Yang Ling nodded, he jumped onto his horse and led his team to gallop northward.

Zhang Xian and Chen Qishan disliked each other, but at this critical juncture, they had no choice but to put aside their personal grudges and join hands to overcome the difficulties.

Yang Ling led hundreds of his men to stroll around the battlefield, constantly inspecting the defense line, and instructed his men to be on high alert and not to be careless.

"Zhang Xian, Chen Qishan, leave this place to you two. I'll go check out other places." Yang Ling left his last words, then rode away on his horse.

"Marshal, you can go on patrol without worry. Qishan and I are keeping an eye on this place." Zhang Xian said, patting his chest.

Yang Ling nodded slightly and said, "Thank you for your hard work, both commanders. If there are any problems, please send someone to find Wang Gui and the others. I will be back soon."

"Here!"

After Yang Ling left the position, he led his guards around to the right side of the position, intending to patrol there.

Not long after Yang Ling walked out, he suddenly noticed dust rising from the forest on the left. Many men in tattered clothes and covered in mud were carrying hoes and other farm tools, staggering towards Qingze Town.

Looking at those unkempt and dirty homeless people, Yang Ling couldn't help but frown and sighed: "These bastards are really outrageous!"

"Brother, slow down!" Qingpi, who was standing beside him, supported him and urged anxiously, "Let's go quickly."

The sturdy man who was called the eldest brother panted and said, "Third kid, don't worry about me. Let's hurry up, otherwise we will be late and get whipped again."

Yang Ling saw them stumbling and couldn't help but say, "Fellow villagers, please stop for a moment!"

The burly man and others raised their heads and looked in the direction of Yang Ling, only to find that Yang Ling was riding his horse slowly approaching.

"Sir, do you have any instructions?"

When Yang Ling saw the sturdy man's appearance clearly, his heart suddenly skipped a beat: Isn't this the beggar he met that day?
When the burly man saw the warhorse under Yang Ling's crotch, he said excitedly: "Sir, please save our brothers, please!"

The sturdy man fell to his knees, hugged Yang Ling's legs and begged. (End of this chapter)