“The Prefect has ordered: Open the gates and welcome the Yangcheng Guard reinforcements into the city!”
Prefect Zhao’s command echoed down the ranks, and with a creaking groan, the city gates slowly swung open.
“Welcome, welcome! A hearty welcome to our Yangcheng Guard brothers! Come on in—hot food and drinks are on the way!”
The gate guards flung the doors wide, lining up on either side to warmly usher Xu Hai and his disguised pirates into Jiaxing City.
“Thank you, Lord Prefect! Thank you, honored officials! Thank you, brothers!”
Seeing the gates open, Xu Hai broke into a wide grin, clasping his fists and bowing repeatedly toward the wall and the guards.
This time, he’d learned from the fiasco at Suzhou. Mimicking the Zhejiang troops’ entry, he ordered his pirate crew to form ranks and march in swiftly.
“Well, well! Not bad—the Yangcheng Guard’s got some discipline. Look at that neat formation, and they’re moving fast!” an official atop the wall remarked, giving a thumbs-up.
“What’s so great about that? We could do it too if we wanted—just don’t bother. What’s the point of a fancy lineup? It’s all flash, no substance,” General Wang muttered sourly, his lip curling.
“Heh,” came the collective response from those around him. *Sure, we all know what your troops are like. You’d be lucky to pull that off.*
Below, Xu Hai’s disguised pirates poured in at a brisk pace. In the blink of an eye, about eighty percent had crossed the threshold.
Then, amid the relaxed onlookers on the wall, one official—peering down like the rest—suddenly froze. He rubbed his eyes, squinted harder, rubbed them again, and then bellowed, “Wait—something’s off! These troops below aren’t right!”
His shout was like cold water hitting a sizzling oil pan—a sharp *hiss* jolted the officials atop the wall.
“Lord Liu, what’s wrong? What’s off about them?” the surrounding officials asked, startled.
“What’s not right, Registrar Liu? Speak up—what’s wrong with the troops?!” Prefect Zhao demanded, urgency rising.
“No time to explain, Prefect! Quick—order the gates shut! Deploy troops to surround and capture the ones inside! Do it now, or it’ll be too late!” Registrar Liu urged, frantic.
“Registrar Liu, you’ve got to tell me what’s wrong before I can give orders! I can’t just arrest the vanguard reinforcements on your say-so. If this blows up, who’d dare send aid to Jiaxing City again?!”
Prefect Zhao’s tone was sharp, displeased.
He didn’t appreciate Liu’s vagueness—or his audacity. Liu wasn’t just dodging the question; he was overstepping, barking orders at the Prefect himself.
Moments ago, Zhao had personally verified the Yangcheng Guard vanguard’s identity and declared them legitimate. Now Liu claimed they were fake? That was a slap to his face!
So, naturally, he bristled.
Seeing Prefect Zhao unmoved, Registrar Liu sighed in frustration and rushed to explain.
“Prefect, everyone—look at these so-called vanguard troops! Some of their uniforms and armor have bloodstains! Look closer—there are sword and knife cuts on some of them!”
“And their uniforms—most don’t even fit right! Too long or too short!”
“And more—look at their weapons! So many wakizashi and katanas—tools of the wokou pirates!”
“These people aren’t the Yangcheng Guard vanguard. They’ve gone to great lengths to impersonate them and come here with ill intent. Given the reports of wokou crossing the border, they’re likely the marauding pirates themselves!”
“Prefect, order the gates shut now! Deploy troops to take down the ones inside, or it’s over!”
Registrar Liu’s face was a mask of desperation as he pleaded once more.
“What?! Wokou?!”
“No way—reinforcements turning into pirates?! Lord Liu, don’t joke about this! They’re Yangcheng Guard—how could they be wokou?!”
The officials reeled as if struck by lightning, faces paling, cold sweat beading, gulping hard in disbelief.
“Who’s joking at a time like this?! Use your own eyes—look! Outside, their torches were dim, and we didn’t notice. But now, under the bright lights at the gate, I saw it clear as day. Don’t believe me? See for yourselves!”
Liu snapped, exasperated.
Prefect Zhao and the others scrambled to the parapet, peering down at the gate.
The entrance blazed with light, illuminating the troops filing in briskly. They strained their eyes—and there it was: bloodstains on several uniforms. One soldier’s garb even bore a gaping knife wound, the cotton around it soaked crimson!
It clicked.
These uniforms weren’t theirs—they’d been stolen from Ming soldiers, taken by force after bloodshed!
Killing for clothes—who but murderous wokou would do that, not saviors?
“Shut the gates! Shut the gates! Close them now!” Prefect Zhao roared, soul nearly fleeing his body, face white as a sheet, leaping to his feet.
“Close the gates! They’re wokou! Shut them fast—don’t let more in!”
“Quick, shut the gates!”
The officials on the wall scrambled, shouting over each other to relay Zhao’s orders to the guards below.
But it was too late.
By now, ninety percent of Xu Hai’s disguised pirates had slipped inside. Hearing the frantic cries to close the gates, they knew the jig was up.
Before the gate guards could react, Xu Hai and his crew drew their blades and struck.
In an instant, the unprepared sentries screamed as the pirates cut them down like vegetables.
“General Wang, General Zhang—hurry! Wang, take some troops down the wall and subdue the wokou inside! Registrar Zhang, gather as many elite soldiers as you can—protect us and get us out of here! Move, move, move!”
After ordering the gates shut, Prefect Zhao barked rapid commands, sending General Wang to confront the intruders and Registrar Zhang to secure their escape with a crack force.
