“Uncle Ye, tonight we feast our soldiers with meat and wine. Tomorrow morning, our allied forces will march on Suzhou. Will your army join us on this campaign?”
Xu Hai, amidst the warmth of wine and camaraderie, poured another cup for Ye Zongman and subtly inquired.
Ma Ye, Chen Dong, Hojo Michizou, and others at the table also turned their attention to Ye Zongman, eagerly awaiting his response.
In truth, they didn’t want Ye Zongman to join them in attacking Suzhou. Suzhou, known as the wealthiest city in the realm, was like a mountain of gold. They had been eyeing it for months, and now that the time had come to reap the rewards, they were reluctant to share the spoils with Ye Zongman.
“No, you’ve been planning this attack on Suzhou for months. It’s your prize to claim. I won’t interfere. While your forces march on Suzhou, I’ll lead my men up the river from the sea and attack Changzhou. This will serve two purposes: first, to give my men some action, and second, to tie down the Ming forces north of Suzhou, preventing them from reinforcing the city. This is also Wang Zhi’s intention. We pirates are one family, and we share the wealth together.”
Ye Zongman smiled faintly as he spoke.
Hearing that Ye Zongman wouldn’t be joining them in Suzhou but instead heading to Changzhou to distract the Ming forces north of Suzhou, Xu Hai couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy.
“Hahaha, thank you, Leader Ye, and thank Wang Zhi. With you tying down the Ming forces north of Suzhou, we can march on Suzhou without any worries. Wang Zhi’s magnanimity is truly admirable. Just this gesture alone makes us admire him even more.”
Ma Ye, Chen Dong, and Hojo Michizou were overjoyed, laughing heartily and lavishing praise on Ye Zongman and Wang Zhi.
For a time, the atmosphere was one of mutual delight, though the captured women suffered greatly, enduring repeated abuse.
The revelry continued late into the night.
“Men, have you eaten your fill?!” Xu Hai stood up and shouted to the gathered pirates.
“We’ve eaten our fill!” the pirates roared in response.
“Have you drunk your fill?” Xu Hai asked again.
“We’ve drunk our fill!” the pirates howled.
“Have you had your fill of women?!” Xu Hai shouted once more.
“Hahaha, not yet! It’s not our turn yet!” the pirates laughed uproariously.
“Indeed, there’s never enough women or silver! The more women, the better, and the more silver, the better!” Xu Hai laughed.
“Leader Xu is right! Silver and women are never enough. If I could die buried in silver or in the arms of a woman, I’d die without regret!” the pirates joined in the laughter.
“Exactly! A true man cannot be without power, without wealth, or without women,” Xu Hai declared, inciting the crowd. “But where does power come from?! Where does wealth come from?! Where do women come from?! They come from the swords and blades in our hands. They have power, they have wealth, they have women—so we’ll take it from them!”
“Take it from them! Take it from them!” The pirates, as if injected with adrenaline, waved their swords, blades, and firearms, howling with fervor.
“Today, I, along with Leader Chen and Leader Hojo, will lead you to seize power, seize silver, and seize women!” Xu Hai continued to incite the crowd, satisfied with their fervor.
“Seize power! Seize silver! Seize women!” The pirates, like a pack of demons, howled with excitement, their voices reaching the heavens.
“Do you know where we’re taking you to seize these things?” Xu Hai shouted.
“No!” Except for a small portion of the pirates who knew they were heading to Suzhou, most shook their heads.
Nearly half of these pirates were genuine Japanese pirates from the small islands across the sea. Having traveled to the vast and wealthy land of the Ming, they barely knew north from south, let alone the geography of the Ming. The other half were local thugs, ruffians, and disgruntled peasants, driven by greed and indifferent to their destination, ready to kill and plunder wherever they were sent.
“I’ll tell you—our target is Suzhou. What is Suzhou?! You may not know, but you’ve surely heard the saying, ‘Above, there is heaven; below, there is Suzhou and Hangzhou.’ Suzhou is so rich it rivals the wealth of the entire Ming dynasty!”
Xu Hai’s voice carried to every pirate’s ears.
“As rich as the entire Ming dynasty?! How rich is it?!” The pirates’ hearts itched with curiosity.
“How rich? It’s the wealthiest city in the Ming! Let me put it this way—the silver in Suzhou is piled as high as mountains, and not just one mountain! Each of you could fill a sack and still not take it all! The women in Suzhou are as beautiful as celestial beings, with skin like water. The women you’ve been with tonight are nothing compared to them! Have you heard of the ‘Yangzhou slim horses’? That was in the past. Now, the ‘Suzhou slim horses’ are the trend. The nobles in the capital spend fortunes just to spend a single night with a Suzhou slim horse. That’s what it means to truly ‘die under the peony, a ghost among flowers’!”
Xu Hai painted a vivid picture of Suzhou’s wealth and beauty, stirring the pirates’ desires.
“Silver piled as high as mountains, each of us could fill a sack and still not take it all! Women as beautiful as celestial beings, with skin like water…”
The pirates’ mouths watered uncontrollably, their excitement palpable.
“That’s right! Suzhou is that rich! One raid there, and we’ll live like emperors. You can spread silver across your bed, lie on it, and embrace a beautiful Suzhou maiden, indulging to your heart’s content. If you’re up to it, you can have one on your left, one on your right—a dragon with two phoenixes!”
Xu Hai pointed in the direction of Suzhou, using crude language to ignite the pirates’ wildest fantasies.
“Good heavens! Silver spread across the bed, Suzhou maidens worth a fortune—just thinking about it is unbearable!”
“Women worth a fortune—are their privates made of gold and jade?! Hehe, I want to find out…”
“Suzhou, Suzhou! One raid, and we’ll live like kings! I can’t wait to get there!”
The pirates were thoroughly roused, their excitement reaching a fever pitch. They couldn’t wait to descend upon Suzhou.
“Then what are we waiting for?! To the ships! We’ll take the sea route to the canal, catch them off guard, and plunder everything!”
Xu Hai drew his Japanese sword and swung it toward the ships at the shore, shouting.
“To the ships! To the ships! To Suzhou, plunder everything!” The pirates howled, rushing to board the ships without needing further urging.
In no time, the endless stream of pirates, like a swarm of ants, surged toward the ships at the shore, boarding one after another, their sails rising as they prepared to set sail.
