While the crowd of Japanese pirates was whipped into a frenzy by his three-advantage, three-weakness argument, Xu Hai kept pouring fuel on the fire.
“Everyone, the Zhejiang army has only two thousand men, they need to reserve at least thirty percent as a backup force to guard against surprises, meaning they can commit at most around thirteen hundred troops to the front line.”
“From the earlier battle, we know the Zhejiang army splits their forces into three or four waves to maintain continuous firepower, each wave has at most around three hundred men, meaning no more than three hundred muskets firing at once, after these three or four waves fire, they’ll need time to reload gunpowder, as long as we press forward with overwhelming numbers, charge in fast, and deny them the chance to reload, they’ll be fish on the chopping block, ours for the slaughter!”
Xu Hai analysed the Zhejiang army’s troop strength and firearm weaknesses for the Japanese pirates, raising his arm with a confident shout.
“Right, we’ve got more men than they do, charge head-on, rush in and tear them apart!”
“Yeah, how many do they even have, don’t give them a chance to reload their firearms, charge in and they’re done for!”
The Japanese pirates, hearing Xu Hai’s analysis, roared even louder, as if the Zhejiang army was already crushed beneath their feet.
“But, even if the Zhejiang army has fewer men, when we charge, we’ll still face at least four waves of their firearms, uh… who’s going to lead the charge?”
One Japanese pirate raised a very practical question: who would go first and take the Zhejiang army’s gunfire?
Suddenly, the scene fell silent.
The Zhejiang army’s firearms were lethal, even armour couldn’t withstand them, leading the charge was basically a death sentence, who’d want to go first?
“Brother Chen, Brother Ma, Brother Beitiao, how about each of us selects a thousand brave warriors from our ranks, a total of four thousand as the vanguard to storm their lines?” Xu Hai suggested to Chen Dong, Ma Ye, Beitiao Dao San, and the other Japanese pirate leaders.
Chen Dong and the others nodded after hearing this, each sending a thousand Japanese pirates from their ranks as vanguard, it was fair and impartial.
To encourage the Japanese pirates to serve as vanguard warriors and charge the Zhejiang army’s defences, Xu Hai consulted with Chen Dong, Ma Ye, Beitiao Dao San, and other leaders, settling on an enticing reward package, which they announced to the crowd.
“All selected vanguard warriors will be granted a suit of armour and a hundred taels of silver, plus, after we sack Suzhou city, each of you can pick two pretty young women first, they’ll be yours alone, fulfilling your dreams of embracing two beauties at once, and whatever loot you grab this time, whether it’s a hundred taels, a thousand taels, or a mountain of gold, it’s all yours to keep!”
“On top of that, anyone who serves as vanguard this time can stay back at headquarters and live it up for the next year!”
“Our oath today rings clear, witnessed by men and gods! If we break this vow, may heaven strike us down, may we die horribly, descend to the eighteen levels of hell, face boiling oil, have our tongues ripped out, endure endless torment, and in the next life suffer misery, with cruel fathers, venomous mothers, broken families, and utter ruin.”
Xu Hai, Chen Dong, Ma Ye, Beitiao Dao San, and the other Japanese pirate leaders stood before the crowd, proclaiming the lavish rewards and swearing a vicious oath!
“What?! Is this for real?! A suit of armour each, a hundred taels of silver, two pretty girls, and all the loot we grab from this raid belongs to us, Suzhou city’s full of gold and silver mountains, even a modest haul could be a thousand taels, all ours, we’d be rich…”
“Nonsense, the leaders swore such a brutal oath, cursing even their next lives, how could it not be real?!”
“Jackpot, jackpot, a hundred taels of silver, two girls, living it up at headquarters for a year!”
The Japanese pirates, hearing the generous rewards, couldn’t help swallowing hard, their eyes turning red with greed.
“The Zhejiang army’s just peasants dragged onto the battlefield, poorly trained, their musket accuracy must be low, and you’ll all be wearing armour, as long as it’s not a fatal hit, you’ll survive, just step up, and you’ll have endless silver to spend, women to sleep with, chicken, duck, fish, and meat to eat, fine wine to drink, and a lifetime of good days…”
“As Japanese pirates, we live by the blade’s edge, step up and there’s silver and women…”
“Spots are limited, first come, first served! Too late, and you’ll be crying!”
Chen Dong, Ma Ye, Beitiao Dao San, all skilled at manipulating hearts, shouted to stir the crowd.
“A hundred taels of silver and two women, count me in!”
“You might not earn a hundred taels in a lifetime, just step up and it’s yours, I’m in!”
“The Zhejiang army can only fire three hundred muskets per wave, we’re sending four thousand this time, only one in ten might get hit, my luck’s always good, it won’t be me, I’m going for it!”
“Hahaha, if I’m a vanguard this time, I’ll spend a year at headquarters in bliss, silver to spend, women to enjoy, isn’t that a god’s life, don’t fight me for it, I’m in! I’m in!”
Heavy rewards breed brave men, an age-old trick that never fails, and this time was no exception.
Under the promise of lavish rewards, one after another, Japanese pirates who valued money over life, or who were confident in their skills or luck, stepped forward.
Especially after the first ones to step up each received a hundred taels of silver and a fine suit of armour, it spurred the rest, soon, many more Japanese pirates stepped up to claim their silver and armour.
Combined with the fierce Japanese pirates personally selected by Xu Hai and the others, they quickly assembled four thousand vanguard troops.
Every one of them was clad in armour! Nearly all the Japanese pirates’ armour was concentrated on them.
“Excellent, you’re all top-notch! Like this! Don’t be afraid, charge forward, get in there and we’ve won!”
“No need to worry about lack of support, after you charge, we’ll send more reinforcements to back you up promptly.”
Xu Hai and the other Japanese pirate leaders stepped forward, generously giving thumbs-up in praise, urging them to charge head-on.
“Good lads, rush in, one big push, tear them apart!”
After the praise, Xu Hai and the others waved their hands grandly, ordering the four thousand Japanese pirate vanguard to charge the Zhejiang army again.
“Brother Chen, Brother Ma, Brother Beitiao, each of us should pick another thousand men, ready to support them at any moment!”
“When the last vanguard charged, the Zhejiang army fired three times, they’ve got at most one more volley before they need to reload, if we send reinforcements in time to follow up, we might already be eating breakfast in their camp by now, this time we need to learn our lesson, the moment their firearms go off, we send reinforcements immediately, back them up, support the charge, don’t give the Zhejiang army a chance to reload!”
“This time, we must finish it in one go, take down the Zhejiang army, or our morale will suffer, the Zhejiang army’s just a small bone, there’s a bigger one ahead—Suzhou city, morale can be boosted but not broken!”
After the vanguard charged, Xu Hai spoke to Chen Dong and the other Japanese pirate leaders.
“Brother Xu speaks wisely!”
Chen Dong and the others nodded in agreement, each selecting another thousand men, ordering them to stand ready to reinforce at a moment’s notice.
