After Shen Weijing and Naito Ru'an left Beijing City, Mingshenzong immediately mobilized troops and horses and sent troops to Korea.

In this war into Korea, Mingshenzong appointed Ma Gui as the commander and chief military officer of the imperial war, and Xing Jue as the governor of Liaodong and the Korean economic strategy.

After Li Rusong, who led the army to fight in Korea for the first time, returned to China, due to the impeachment of some ministers, he had already been stripped of his military power by Mingshenzong and demoted to the idle post of Zuo Governor of the Chinese Military Governor's Office, and Li Rusong had been in poor health since he returned from North Korea.

The Ming army entered Korea at great speed. Ma Gui first led his team to Wangjing, ordered the North Korean side to send troops to hold Gyeongju, Choling, Yining and other strategic places, and then led the team south, preparing to take advantage of the unpreparedness of the Japanese army to take Pusan.

At the same time as sending troops into the DPRK, the Mingshenzong secretly summoned Luo Shiyin, the commander of the Jinyi Guard, and ordered Luo Shiyin to secretly order the Jinyi Guard stationed in the DPRK to assassinate the main generals of the Japanese army, so as to cooperate with the military operations of the Ming army entering the DPRK.

Shi Lang, who was far away in Busan, received a secret order from the commander sent by Hua Xianzu, and immediately launched an investigation and investigation of several major generals of the Japanese army in Busan, and after grasping their daily movements in detail, he secretly landed on Jueying Island with Hua Xianzu and Ye Ruliu, and discussed the assassination operation with other members of the Jinyi Guard.

After consultations, everyone decided to first take the general of the Japanese navy, and the first person to be assassinated by the squad was Jiugui Jialong, an important general of the Japanese navy entering Korea.

Nine Ghost Jialong, the commander-in-chief of the Japanese army that invaded the dynasty, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's retainer, is the eighth generation of the water army of the Nine Ghost Family of the Japanese Kingdom.

Nine Ghosts Jialong is not only brave in battle, but also a skilled shipbuilder. The sturdy ironclad ship used by the Japanese army and navy was built by the Nine Ghosts Jialong.

Long before the outbreak of the war of aggression against Korea, Jiugui Jialong drew on the advantages of the old warships of the Japanese Kingdom, and drew on the advantages of the Ming Dynasty ships and European ships to design and manufacture a new kind of warship. With a width of seven ken (about 12 m) and a total length of twelve kin (about 21 m), this type of military ship was a huge thing compared to other military ships of the time.

The huge hull is constructed of the finest wood, and the outermost layer of the ship is covered with iron plates for reinforcement and flame retardancy. The ships were equipped with firearms, and each ship was equipped with three cannons, which were very rare in the country at that time.

This famous ironclad ship during the Warring States period of the Japanese Kingdom played a great role in the war of aggression against Korea.

"According to the information obtained from the preliminary investigation, other generals of the Japanese navy except for the Nine Ghosts Jialong usually return to the naval camp in Busan City to sleep and rest at night, and the Nine Ghosts Jialong seems to have a special affection for his ironclad ship, and he spends the night on an ironclad ship called 'Nine Ghost Pills' moored in Busanpo." After determining the target of the assassination, Shi Lang introduced the situation of the Nine Ghosts Jialong.

"It's not that simple. Let's sneak over at night, and then climb his 'Nine Ghost Pill' and slaughter the Nine Ghost Jialong. Du Heng spoke.

"It's not that simple. This ironclad ship is large in size and complex in structure. Even if we secretly board the warship, it is easy to startle the snake without knowing where the Nine Ghost Jialong is. On this ironclad ship, there were nearly 500 Japanese sailors. Once they are alarmed, it is difficult for the operation to succeed. Shi Lang said.

"Commander Shi is right, it's better to be cautious. In this assassination operation, we not only want to put the Nine Ghosts Jialong to death, but also try not to expose ourselves. We have to continue to lurk and complete the more difficult tasks that lie ahead. Hua Xianzu said.

"Are these nearly 500 Japanese sailors living on the boat with the Nine Ghosts Jialong at night?" Bau asked.

"Yes. During the long civil war, the Nine Ghosts had developed a habit that he and his soldiers had to stay on the ship at all times, ready to fight. Shi Lang replied.

"From our daily observations, there are three ironclad ships in Busanpo, and their daily mooring position is in the center of all the warships of the Japanese navy. To pick up

Approaching these three ironclad ships, it was necessary to avoid disturbing the soldiers on the Japanese warships around them. After we succeed in the assassination, there is also a question of whether it will disturb them. In this assassination operation, every link must be planned. Du Heng said.

"Hey, why do you want to be so complicated? Let Commander Hua get a few underwater dragon king cannons from Wang Jing, and I will secretly swim over and place them on his 'Nine Ghost Pill' ironclad boat, or I will send them to the western sky. Shi Tianji said.

"Lao Shi's method is worth trying." Bau said.

"No, this ironclad ship is covered with ironclad and is extremely strong. Not to mention whether the underwater dragon king cannon can sink the ship, even if the ship is sunk, it is difficult to say whether it can blow up the Nine Ghosts Jialong to death. Besides, the underwater dragon king cannon is too much to move, and it is very easy for us to be exposed. Shi Lang opened his mouth to reject Shi Tianji and Bau's suggestion.

"There is another problem, if we want to assassinate the Nine Ghosts Jialong, we should first find out his true appearance, there are hundreds of people on his ship, and there are probably not a few generals under him. Which one is him, I think it should be clear. Du Heng said.

"Don't worry about that. Brother Shi Lang and I met him twice in the early investigation, and we knew him. Ye Ruliu continued Du Heng's words and said.

"This gentleman is tall, with a leopard's head and eyes, and a swallow's jaw and tiger whiskers, which is easy to recognize." Shi Lang said.

"In addition, Nine Ghost Jialong also has a hobby, he likes the archery of the Wa Kingdom, and he is a master of archery. Every once in a while, he would hold a bow tournament on his ironclad ship in the evening. During the competition, he also invited prostitutes from Busan City to board the boat to perform for fun. Shi Lang continued.

"What is this bow?" Shi Tianji asked curiously.

"I know that. When I was working on the southeast coast, I sneaked into the nest of the Japanese on several occasions, and once saw them perform archery. To put it bluntly, the archery competition is a kind of archery competition, but the competition form and archery posture are somewhat unique. Hua Xianzu said.

"Brother Shi Lang, since the Nine Ghosts Jialong likes to invite prostitutes to board the boat to help the fun when he holds the archery competition, why don't we think of a way from this aspect. I have a preliminary suggestion that I don't know if it will work. The next time we held a kyudo tournament in the Nine Ghosts, Zhu Qing and I pretended to be invited prostitutes and went on the boat, looking for an opportunity to assassinate the Nine Ghosts. ”

"No, I can't. It's too dangerous. Besides, doing so might endanger the safety of Ziwei Pavilion. Considering Ye Ruliu's safety, Shi Lang immediately vetoed Ye Ruliu's suggestion.

"But...... It is precisely because we are women that the Japanese will let their guard down and have a better chance of carrying out our assassination plan. As long as we carefully plan every detail of our operation, I think we will get out of the way without endangering the safety of Ziwei Pavilion. Ye Ruliu understood that Shi Lang was strongly opposed to her suggestion because he was worried about her, so he further said.

"I think Miss Ye's suggestion is worth considering. When they held a bow competition, the scene must have been very lively, and the Japanese people at this time were the easiest to relax their vigilance. I'll see if I can do this, after Miss Ye and Zhu Qing boarded the ship, they were only responsible for looking for an opportunity to scatter the poisonous dry bones of our Jinyi Guard into their drinks. The rest of the people present had swooped to the water around the 'Nine Ghost Pill' ironclad ship in advance, ready to meet Miss Ye and them at any time. Hua Xianzu said.

"Big sister, don't worry. As long as I am here, the Japanese people want to bully you. Shi Tianji said.

"Thank you, Brother Shi!" Ye Ruliu glanced at Shi Tianji gratefully.

"In that case, let's make a good calculation and try to make our assassination plan foolproof." Shi Lang saw that Ancestor Hua agreed with Ye Ruliu's plan, so it was inconvenient to continue to oppose it, besides, he actually felt that Ye Ruliu's plan was very feasible.

After careful consultation, it was decided that five days later, the Nine Demons would be assassinated when he was once again holding a bow competition on his ironclad ship.

Five days later, three o'clock. Busanpo.

On the first deck of the 'Nine Kimaru' ironclad ship, there were sailors on board. One

A lively archery competition is about to begin.

The ironclad ship built by the Nine Ghosts Jialong has a huge hull, surrounded by a house-shaped hull that is several feet high. The hull is covered with thick iron sheets. High above the hull of the encircling ship, there are two rows of parallel firing holes. On the right side of the hull, near the castle tower, three powerful cannons were deployed.

This kind of ironclad ship is actually a kind of enhanced version of the Ataka ship, and its tall house-shaped hull makes it impossible for the soldiers on the other Japanese warships outside to see what is happening inside.

The venue for the archery competition is located on the first deck of the inner hull of the 'Kukimaru' ironclad ship. The first floor of the hull was a large room, which was used as a place for the soldiers on the ship to eat, and there was a large space here, so the Nine Ghosts Jialong used it as a venue for archery competitions.

On the wooden wall near the stern of the room, a long strip of cyan cloth hung horizontally, and on the strip of cloth was written the two large characters "Zhenghu" in white letters. Beneath the strip of cloth are two round wooden targets.

About thirty meters in front of the target, a red horizontal line is drawn, which is where the archers stand.

On each side of the red horizontal line were two rows of long tables, which were used by the ship's officers, including the Nine Ghosts Jialong, to sit. Behind the red horizontal line is where some of the contestants and onlookers are seated.

"Qiang, Qiang, Qiang." As three piercing gongs sounded, a bald-headed general of the Japanese Navy at the scene held a gong and shouted loudly: "Everyone be quiet." The archery competition is about to begin. Let us welcome the commander-in-chief with warm applause! ”

With a burst of warm applause, the Nine Ghosts Jialong, who was wearing a black kimono, walked down the stairs on the second floor of the ironclad ship, surrounded by a group of generals.

Although the tall and burly Nine Ghost Jialong was born as a pirate, in addition to looking a little rough on the outside, his body posture was also a little steady. He walked to his seat, and when he saw that all the other generals had walked to his seat and stood firm, he raised his hands, and then pressed his hands and motioned for everyone to take a seat.

After the Nine Ghosts Jialong was seated, the others waited for each other to sit down.

"Next, I would like to invite the commander-in-chief to speak!" The general who struck the gong saw the Nine Ghosts Jia Longan sitting in his seat, so he shouted loudly.

After a round of applause, the Nine Ghosts stood up. He first looked around at his subordinates at the scene, and then said loudly, "Do you know why I hold a bow tournament every once in a while?" Would anyone like to answer my question? ”

"Report to the commander-in-chief, the reason why you are doing this is to remind us that we should never forget to hone our skills, constantly improve our combat capabilities, and always be ready to follow you to victory." A tall soldier stood up from his seat and replied in a loud voice to the Nine Ghosts.

"Well, well said! As a soldier, you must never forget your duty, which is to fight and win battles. If you want to win a battle, you can't do it without excellent skills. Let me ask you the second question, what is the focus of this archery competition? The Nine Ghosts were very satisfied with the subordinate's answer.

"Commander-in-chief, I'll answer your questions." A Humpty Dumpty soldier stood up from his seat and replied first, "Bow is all about precision, so that the arrow hits the target." ”

"Okay, please sit down. As the soldier said just now, archery is accurate in archery. He was right. However, precision is only a basic requirement for kyudo. When we practice archery, we want to raise the basic requirements of carrying a bow and archery and shooting at a target to the realm of the Tao. Shooting at the target is not the ultimate pursuit, but to achieve a high degree of harmony and unity of the body, mind, bow and arrow, which can be regarded as reaching the higher realm of archery. The purpose of practicing archery is not only to improve the technique, but more importantly, to achieve the tempering of the 'heart' through the practice of 'art', and gradually comprehend the 'way' of archery. ”

"The commander-in-chief spoke wonderfully!" The bald-headed general who struck the gong took the lead in applauding after listening to the speech of the Nine Ghosts Jialong.

The other generals and soldiers also applauded.

When the applause stopped, the Nine Ghosts Jialong announced loudly: "The archery competition starts now!" ”