The sky had yet to brighten, and darkness still enveloped the land. In the distance, along the winding river, one scarlet light after another flickered into view, resembling a series of venomous cobras. These were the wind lanterns hanging from the masts of Wokou ships.
“The Wokou are here!”
Standing on Fengqiao Bridge, Zhu Ping’an saw the scarlet lights appearing one after another along the distant river and immediately knew that the Wokou were approaching by boat.
To prevent the Wokou ships from sailing directly through the Grand Canal to Suzhou, Zhu Ping’an had ordered six chains to be stretched across the river three miles ahead of Fengqiao.
These chains had been installed decades ago when Suzhou Prefecture was repairing the river. Locking mechanisms had been reserved, and though they were not used under normal circumstances, they could be deployed to barricade the river whenever Suzhou City faced danger, preventing ships from passing.
The iron chains spanning the river were as thick as an arm and were not easily broken. Even if the Wokou wanted to imitate Wang Jun by burning the chains, it would be difficult, as the wise laborers had learned from history. Two of the chains were placed below the water’s surface, making them impossible to burn. In this era, there was no fire capable of burning underwater.
Furthermore, even if the Wokou managed to break through these six iron chains after much effort, similar defenses had been set up at thirteen locations along the river. Zhu Ping’an had already ordered all of them to be deployed, enough to stall the Wokou for two days.
In the distance, Wokou ships arrived one after another. Aboard the largest flagship, Xu Hai gazed at Suzhou City, which loomed ahead. A surge of ambition filled his chest—if he could conquer this great city, he would no longer be the Xu Hai of today. With power and prestige, he could rival Wang Zhi, the Prince of Hui.
“What Wang Zhi can do, I, Xu Hai, can do too! And what Wang Zhi cannot do, I will accomplish!”
“From today, my life will ascend to a new level! How could the grand tides of history not bear the bold strokes of my name?”
Thinking this, Xu Hai burst into hearty laughter, raising his arm and shouting to his men: “Hahaha! My brothers, so what if the Ming army has discovered us? We number over thirty thousand, while they barely exceed ten thousand. Since we’ve been exposed, there’s no need to hide—let’s storm in and strike straight at the heart!”
“A woman who willingly spreads her legs may bring pleasure, but isn’t it far more exhilarating when she struggles and resists? The more she fights back, the greater the thrill of conquering her, the more satisfying the moment when she finally trembles beneath us! Suzhou City is that struggling little maiden—waiting for us to pounce, press her down, and take her for ourselves!”
Xu Hai pointed at the city in the distance, using the most provocative language to incite his men.
“Yōshi! The leader is right! So what if we’ve been discovered? We’ll just attack with full force! Everywhere we’ve been, the Ming people have scattered like rats—spineless cowards, all of them eunuchs without any balls! What is this Fengqiao Camp? What is Suzhou City? We’ll charge in and take them both in a single shudder! Hahaha!”
Holding his katana in one hand and resting the other on his waist, Beitiao Dōsan laughed arrogantly, full of conceit.
Ma Ye, Chen Dong, and other Ming traitors among the Wokou glared at him immediately—according to his words, weren’t they also cowards and eunuchs without balls?!
“Ahem, ahem, what I meant was, not you. You are heroes among the Ming people,” Beitiao Dōsan quickly corrected himself, realizing he had carelessly insulted his allies.
“Alright, alright, stop teasing Beitiao-kun. We all know he was talking about the common folk and the soldiers,” Xu Hai waved his hand with a smirk.
“Haha, fine, we won’t tease you anymore. We need to save our energy—first, we’ll take Fengqiao Camp, and then, we’ll take Suzhou City!”
Ma Ye and Chen Dong exchanged smiles and gave Beitiao Dōsan a pat on the shoulder, letting the matter pass.
“First, we take Fengqiao Camp! Then, we take Suzhou City!”
“First, we take Fengqiao Camp! Then, we take Suzhou City!”
Under the incitement of Xu Hai, Ma Ye, and Chen Dong, the Wokou roared with excitement, waving their weapons fervently. They resembled a pack of ravenous wolves charging downhill, ready to tear apart anything that stood in their way once they landed.
“Fengqiao Camp is three miles ahead—stay alert! Don’t let some hidden ditch flip our boat before we’ve even taken the city!”
Seeing his men whipped into a frenzy, Xu Hai knew it was time to rein them in slightly.
“Don’t worry, chief! There’s no ditch deep enough to sink us!” the Wokou shouted.
“Bang!”
Suddenly, a loud noise erupted from the front. The lead ship had crashed into the iron chains spanning the river, coming to an abrupt halt. Due to the massive inertia, the ship tilted sharply before swinging sideways. Many Wokou aboard, caught off guard, were flung into the river like dumplings being dropped into boiling water.
Plop! Plop! One after another, they plunged into the icy waters, struggling and crying for help.
The second ship, unable to stop in time, crashed into the first, sending several more Wokou tumbling into the river.
Then the third, the fourth—four ships collided in succession before the ones behind finally managed to drop anchor and halt the chaos.
“What’s going on?! What happened up there?! How are the lead ships navigating?! Are they sailing with their eyes shut?!” Xu Hai, aboard the flagship, was near the front as well. His ship came to an abrupt halt just in time to avoid a collision, but the chain reaction had already caused significant disruption. Furious, he bellowed at the men ahead.
They had just boasted about not flipping their boats, only for the lead ships to jolt violently, nearly capsizing. Now several had crashed into one another—this was humiliating!
“Chief, the Ming army has strung iron chains as thick as an arm across the river, blocking our path. Because of the darkness, our lead ship didn’t see them in time and crashed straight into them. We nearly capsized, and many of our brothers fell into the freezing water. Fortunately, they were all rescued. But with these iron chains in place, our fleet can’t advance any further!”
A Wokou soldier rowed a small boat from the front, reporting the situation to Xu Hai and the other Wokou leaders on the flagship.
“Hmph! Cunning Ming soldiers! They must be terrified of us—scared of our direct assault—so they resorted to such despicable tactics!” Beitiao Dōsan cursed angrily.
“Cut them! Or burn them! Didn’t someone in ancient times burn through iron chains with fire?!” Chen Dong suggested.
“Chief, the Ming are treacherous. They’ve also set two iron chains two feet underwater, stretched taut. We tried pulling them up, but they won’t budge—we can’t burn them either,” the soldier in the small boat reported.
Upon hearing this, Chen Dong erupted in frustration, cursing furiously.
