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

The Japanese could only attack at night in an attempt to get away with it, but Yang Ling would never let them do that.

Yang Ling nodded in agreement and personally led people to the dock to select boats and prepare to set up the water fort.

When Yang Ling arrived at the dock and saw the scene in front of him, he was stunned and his jaw dropped. He saw dozens of warships docked at the shore, and as many as four or five thousand people boarded the ships in batches, filling the spacious dock.

Yang Ling hurriedly asked the soldier next to him: "What's going on? Where did these boats come from?"

The soldier pointed to the lights in the distance and replied, "Sir, those are our warships in the distance!"

"What? How many warships do you have?" Yang Ling asked with his eyes wide open in surprise.

The soldier scratched his head and said, "About 30,000 ships. I can't remember exactly, but there are about 200 to 300 ships. Sir, didn't you ask me to recruit shipbuilders? I followed your instructions and recruited shipbuilders from various counties. As a result, 7,000 to 8,000 people have come here in the past few days. Now, sir, you can see that these shipbuilders are assigned to various troops."

Yang Ling rubbed his forehead and smiled bitterly. He only asked them to gather shipbuilders, but he didn't expect them to get 40,000 to 50,000 ships. Fortunately, he had foresight and made preparations early, otherwise he would have been caught off guard. In any case, since he had recruited so many shipbuilders, it saved him a lot of trouble.

Yang Ling immediately decided to let these shipbuilders return as soon as possible to avoid any accidents. As for these ships, he would keep them all for his own use. When the Japanese pirates attacked Linjiang City again, he could rely on the warships for support.

Yang Ling immediately ordered all the shipwrights to board the ship and start loading supplies. Yang Ling was busy, and Linjiang City was also extremely nervous.

Hu Zongxian was stationed in the city, responsible for dispatching food, ammunition and soldiers. Under Hu Zongxian's command, all the soldiers and civilians in the city were mobilized to assist the garrison in organizing civilians to transport military supplies and strengthen the city walls.

Hu Zongxian was making intensive plans to resist the attack of the Japanese pirates.

After the Japanese pirates occupied Linjiang City, they launched their third attack soon. This time, they were more cautious and did not attack as hastily as last time. Instead, they hid during the day and came out at night, sneaking quietly to a position about 60 meters away from Linjiang City under the cover of darkness.

At this time, Yang Ling finally arrived with 3,000 naval troops. The Japanese pirates were so frightened that they quickly retreated and fled back to Linjiang Port overnight.

The news of the Japanese pirates' troubles near Linjiang City soon spread throughout Zhejiang, causing quite a stir. Many people were relieved and even cheered when they learned that the Japanese pirates had been defeated again and begged for mercy, praising Yang Ling's wisdom and intelligence.

The Japanese retreat was good news for the defenders of Linjiang City.

Yang Ling's brows were knitted into a "川" shape. He had expected the Japanese pirates to retreat. However, the Japanese attack this time seemed to be more secretive, and there was no large-scale attack on the city. In this case, Yang Ling could not guess the target of the Japanese attack next time.

However, since the Japanese have been intimidated by Yang Ling, they should not dare to act rashly for the time being. As long as they defend Linjiang City, they will find the Japanese pirates' weakness sooner or later.

Yang Ling thought to himself: The Japanese dare not confront us head-on, but they are very good at lurking, spying, and harassing. If the Japanese continue to use this method to attack, there is no guarantee that there will not be fish that slip through the net, so we must be on guard.

Thinking of this, Yang Ling decided to dispatch a few scouts to monitor how the Japanese pirates would attack Linjiang City next time.

Yang Ling stayed in the water fort in Hangzhou until late at night, waiting for news from the scouts. During this period, Yang Ling could hardly sleep well, always worried that the Japanese would attack again at night, but in the end, there was no movement, which comforted Yang Ling a little.

"Your Excellency, the Japanese pirates have retreated. If we pursue them, we may be able to completely wipe them out!"

Yang Ling raised his heavy and tired eyelids and shook his head, saying, "No, the Japanese are active near Linjiang City. We have no way to deal with them. If we attack rashly, we will easily fall into a trap. Although these Japanese pirates are arrogant, they are the most cunning and smartest army in the history of Japan. We must not be careless."

"Your Excellency is right. But if we don't pursue the Japanese pirates, will they still come to attack Linjiang City?"

"They will definitely come. This group of Japanese pirates will not be willing to run back in disgrace. They will definitely attack Linjiang City again."

"So how should we deal with them?"

Yang Ling frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "I'm going to build a fort. Every time the Japanese pirates attack, we can fire a warning arrow, and then dispatch archers and catapults from the city to stop the pirates' sneak attacks."

"Artillery battery?" The soldier stared at Yang Ling with wide eyes, a puzzled expression on his face.

Yang Ling nodded and said, "The artillery platform is equivalent to the chevaux de frise we usually use to defend against enemy attacks. It can prevent the Japanese from attacking the city from the flank."

"I see. But, sir, we don't have engineers. How can we build such a large-scale project in a short period of time?"

Yang Ling said calmly: "Don't worry, I have made preparations. You will follow me back to the city later."

After Yang Ling finished speaking, he immediately rode away and headed straight for the west gate of Linjiang City. When he arrived at the city gate, Yang Ling saw the soldiers on guard duty changing shifts, so he rode up to him, showed his identity, and asked to enter the city.

The soldiers saw Yang Ling's badge and recognized him as Prefect Yang. They became respectful. Some of them even asked if they needed help carrying things.

"No need, these things I brought are enough. Tell the city guard that I will rest outside the city tonight. If Japanese pirates attack, ask him to inform me immediately." Yang Ling instructed.

"Yes, I obey your command," the soldier replied.

Yang Ling then turned around, dismounted, and led the horse towards the city gate.

Yang Ling had just arrived in front of the city gate when he heard a faint noise from inside. Yang Ling frowned slightly and was just hesitating whether to push the door open when he heard someone shouting, "My lord, my lord, something bad has happened!"

Yang Ling looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Lieutenant General Xu Maogong under Li Yunlong's command.

Xu Maogong hurried to Yang Ling, took a breath and said, "Sir, the Japanese are coming again, and this time they are coming with great force!"

Yang Ling's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, and he shouted, "What's going on? Why are the Japanese suddenly attacking?"

Xu Maogong said anxiously, "Sir, according to the scouts, the Japanese pirates not only attacked Linjiang City, but also attacked our barracks and warehouses, robbed food and goods, killed and injured hundreds of people, and burned our weapons. Now the outside of the city is in chaos. Sir, please go down the city gate tower and take a look."

Yang Ling was furious after hearing this: "These beasts!"

After cursing, Yang Ling turned around and rushed towards the city gate, shouting as he ran: "Everyone follow me, rescue our brothers and sisters who are affected by the disaster."

The guards at the city gate heard the noise and opened the gate without checking Yang Ling's badge. Yang Ling and his guards rushed into the city. "Kill!" When Yang Ling and his men broke into the camp, the Japanese pirates were waving their weapons and wreaking havoc in the camp. Screams and wails were heard everywhere, and the strong smell of blood was shocking.

Yang Ling looked around the place and found that most of his brothers in the camp had been killed, and the remaining ones were fighting desperately. The Japanese were obviously well prepared, split into two elite troops, attacking in different directions, so that the brothers were attacked from both sides and had to fight hard.

"Sir, this way!"

When Yang Ling was worrying about his brothers, he heard shouting from the tent next to him. He looked in the direction of the shouting and saw Chen Xinjia and several of his personal soldiers coming towards him.

Without saying a word, Yang Ling led his men to meet him, clasped his fists and asked, "Brother Chen, how many casualties have you suffered?"

Chen Xinjia sighed, "The casualties are too heavy! Alas, fortunately, when the Japanese pirates retreated yesterday, they left us a lot of supplies and provisions, otherwise I'm afraid we wouldn't even have enough to eat. But this time the Japanese pirates' attack came too suddenly, and we were completely unprepared, so we suffered heavy losses!"

Yang Ling couldn't help but feel sad when he heard this. Wars in this world are so cruel, and there will be bloodshed and sacrifice in every era.

Yang Ling consoled them, "Although the Japanese pirates succeeded in their surprise attack, their casualties were definitely not small. I have ordered the villages to organize militias to build a dam tonight to intercept the Japanese pirates."

"I don't know if the Japanese pirates will take the opportunity to cross the river. If this really happens, I'm afraid this shallow ditch will be useless!" said Chen Xinjia.

Yang Ling smiled and said, "I have already thought about this. I have people digging trenches along the way and burying iron stakes and wooden fences. If the Japanese pirates want to cross the shallows, they must first cross these obstacles, otherwise they can only go around. However, the Japanese pirates are good at water, and it will be difficult to trap them for long even if they are buried in mounds. Because these mounds will soon collapse once they are stepped on by the Japanese, and the Japanese can only force their way across the river under the pressure."

Chen Xinjia finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good. As long as the Japanese pirates don't cross the river by boat, it will be difficult for them to threaten the safety of the city tonight. By the way, do you have a boat? Take us across the river quickly. I want to rescue my brothers in distress."

"There are ships, but there are only three of them, and they are loaded with a lot of cargo." Yang Ling said with embarrassment.

"That's no big deal, just save as many as you can."

"Okay, Brother Chen, come with me. I'll take you across the river now." After saying that, Yang Ling immediately led Chen Xinjia towards the pier.

After arriving at the dock, Yang Ling took Chen Xinjia onto the Fu ship anchored on the shore, and then ordered everyone to row the boat away from the dock.

"Sir, where are we going now?"

"Go to the county government office!" Yang Ling said this coldly, then closed his eyes to rest, no longer paying attention to the people around him.

Yang Ling did this to warn the county magistrate, to let him know that he was here to punish him, and to let him avoid conflicts with him. After all, they were both scholars, and if the two sides fell out, it would be disadvantageous to no one. More importantly, he could take this opportunity to warn the county magistrate, to let him know that he was not easy to mess with, and to let him not pick a fight easily.

Chen Xinjia originally thought that Yang Ling was so young and must have never seen the world, and would be like an ordinary clerk, panicking when faced with problems. However, he did not expect that he would be left aside and ignored.

Chen Xinjia sighed secretly: "No wonder the Marshal favors this Lord Yang so much. In terms of courage and boldness, he is far beyond the reach of ordinary clerks!"

Yang Ling was indeed not an ordinary civil servant. When he first came to Xuanfu from Beijing, he remained calm and composed in the face of the soldiers and officers in the city, the provocations of the Japanese pirates, the criticisms of the people, the impeachment memorials in the court, the criticisms of the superiors at all levels, and the torture of the court. In the end, Yang Ling was able to rise rapidly and become the governor-general and governor of Ji and Liao. These are not things that ordinary people can do.

In the eyes of other officials, Yang Ling's behavior became a sign of arrogance and domineering. Not only today, but also in later generations, many people called "Yang Kuangtu" "Yang Mad Dog", which also led to Yang Ling's extremely bad evaluation among the people.

Yang Ling is a paranoid and stubborn person. Once he has made a decision, he will never change it. He has now decided to put pressure on Li Jifeng and Li Jiguang to make them withdraw their troops as soon as possible.

When Yang Ling led his men to the gate of the county government, the sun was setting and the sky was full of red clouds.

Yang Ling stood on the steps, looking at the tall and sturdy gate of the county government and the golden sign hanging on the vermilion lacquered gate, his heart filled with indignation and hatred.

"Why are you making so much noise so early in the morning? If you have anything to say, wait until the curfew is over." The scolding voice of a bailiff suddenly rang out from inside the gate of the county government office.

As the servants shouted, the lights in the county government office came on. After a while, the gate of the county government office slowly opened, and County Magistrate Zhou Rui came out. Seeing Yang Ling standing at the bottom of the steps, he bowed and saluted: "I am here to see the Imperial Envoy!"

"Mr. Zhou, there's no need to be polite. Please stand up!" Yang Ling raised his hand to signal the other party to stand up.

"Thank you, Your Excellency!" Zhou Rui stood up and his face suddenly changed when he saw that Yang Ling was followed by more than a dozen soldiers.

"This...what's going on?" Zhou Rui asked tremblingly.

Yang Ling replied, "The Japanese pirates attacked our defense line at night, causing hundreds of civilians to suffer. I was ordered to rush here to wipe out these pirates!"

"Where are the Japanese pirates? Where did they go?" Zhou Rui asked anxiously.

"The Japanese pirates have retreated, but there are still many trapped civilians. I need the county government to coordinate and transfer the trapped people to other places. Please ask Lord Zhou to send someone to assist."

"Okay, okay, I'll do it right away." Zhou Rui promised repeatedly and quickly ordered the bailiff to mobilize manpower.

"Sir Zhou, I want to go around the city and see the victims. Is that convenient?" Yang Ling asked.

"Don't worry, Your Excellency the Imperial Envoy. I will order my subordinates to accompany you around." Zhou Rui said quickly.

Yang Ling nodded, and said to Chen Xinjia: "Master Chen, please help deal with the funeral affairs of the people first, and then we will discuss the specific rescue plan."

"Okay!" Chen Xinjia replied.

After Yang Ling finished speaking, he ran towards the city wall.

Zhou Rui personally escorted Yang Ling and accompanied him as he strolled slowly around the county town.

Due to the sudden attack by the Japanese pirates, the county town was in chaos, and many people were frightened and fled to the nearby woods or huts. The houses on both sides of the street were almost smashed, with holes and broken walls everywhere, looking extremely messy.

Yang Ling looked at the once prosperous and bustling county town, which was now in ruins, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion. (End of this chapter)