Under the urging and command of Xu Hai and General Wang, the Japanese pirates disguised as Ming soldiers greatly accelerated their entry into the city.
In just half a cup of tea’s time, another four hundred or so had entered, bringing the number of pirates inside the city to over eight hundred.
However, no matter how fast they entered, it couldn’t match the speed of the Zhejiang troops; in the words of the city wall guards, the Zhejiang troops were riding for their lives.
Truly riding for their lives—even though they had already shaken off the pursuing pirates by more than ten li, the Zhejiang troops were still frantically whipping their horses to go faster.
The vanguard cavalry of the Zhejiang troops—their horses’ hindquarters had long been whipped bloody.
“Sorry, brother, for the sake of the hundreds of thousands of people in the city, bear with it a little longer, go a bit faster; after the battle, I’ll treat you like an ancestor, feed you fine grain, give you light saltwater to drink, and groom you regularly.”
The vanguard cavalry of the Zhejiang troops apologised to their horses while ruthlessly swinging their whips to strike the horses’ hindquarters, urging them to speed up.
At the same time, they shouted loudly from their mouths, “General Wang has surrendered to the enemy! Those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates!”
They galloped at full speed while shouting, their voices hoarse from yelling; even when their voices broke, they still strained their throats to keep shouting.
Zhu Ping’an was no exception, galloping at full speed while raising his voice to shout.
Due to his frequent horseback travel for the imperial exams and other matters, Zhu Ping’an’s riding skills were decent overall. Though he didn’t make it to the first tier of the vanguard, he was in the second tier, wearing a cotton armour symbolising his status, with a soft armour underneath—sent by Li Shu. This was the third set of soft armour Li Shu had given him. This particular set, of unknown origin and material, was even softer and more comfortable than golden silk armour, with superior defensive capabilities and some protection against firearms.
With this soft armour on, layered with cotton armour, and with Liu Dadao and others closely guarding him at his side, Zhu Ping’an felt that as long as he didn’t do something recklessly suicidal, his life was basically secure.
He galloped relentlessly towards the eastern gate.
Seeing from afar that a long line outside the eastern gate still hadn’t entered the city, Zhu Ping’an felt a slight sense of relief.
Good, the pirates had entered with no more than a thousand at most; there was still room to salvage the situation.
“Hyah, pass my order: unify the rhythm, follow my lead, and shout together.” Zhu Ping’an flicked his whip and said to Liu Dadao and the others.
“Got it, Young Master.” Liu Dadao and the others rode up and down, relaying Zhu Ping’an’s order.
Soon, under Zhu Ping’an’s lead, the Zhejiang troops’ shouts became uniform and synchronised, amplifying their effect—greater than the sum of its parts. The collective voice grew louder, carrying farther and clearer.
“General Wang has surrendered to the enemy! Those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates!”
“General Wang has surrendered to the enemy! Those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates!”
…
Over and over, the unified shouts gradually reached the Suzhou city walls, entering the ears of everyone above and below the eastern gate.
The first to hear it clearly were the sharp-eared soldiers. Upon hearing it, they couldn’t help but gasp in shock, their mouths gaping wide in disbelief, letting out an “Ah!” as if they couldn’t trust their own ears.
“What’s wrong? You look like your uncle just died?!” The people around, seeing his stunned expression, couldn’t help but mock him.
“It’s worse than my uncle dying. It seems the Zhejiang troops are shouting, ‘General Wang has surrendered to the enemy! Those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates!’”
The sharp-eared soldier, with a mournful face, explained to those around him.
“What? You’re saying the Zhejiang troops are shouting ‘General Wang has surrendered to the enemy! Those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates!’?! Don’t joke about this! This isn’t funny! If General Wang hears you making up stories about him surrendering, he’ll twist your neck off!”
“Did donkey hair clog your ears or what? How did you hear that?! General Wang surrendered?! Nonsense! General Wang went out to pursue the pirates, returned victorious, captured eight hundred pirate prisoners, and seized ten carts of armour and weapons—we saw it with our own eyes. Don’t talk rubbish, or if General Wang hears this, you’ll be in for it!”
“Get lost, what time do you think it is to be joking?!”
Hearing the sharp-eared soldier’s words, the surrounding people laughed and scolded him, thinking he was joking.
This fool didn’t even consider the timing—joking at a moment like this was just asking for a scolding!
“I’m really not joking! I wish I’d misheard it, but the truth is, I listened several times, and the Zhejiang troops are shouting ‘General Wang has surrendered to the enemy, those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates’—not a single word off.”
The sharp-eared soldier spread his hands helplessly, shaking his head with a mournful expression as he explained to those around him.
“You’re getting more into it, huh?! Even acting now—cut it out, we don’t have time to play along with your nonsense!”
The surrounding people couldn’t help but curse at him.
“I’m not joking, listen—it’s getting clearer. The Zhejiang troops are really shouting ‘General Wang has surrendered to the enemy, those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates’!” The sharp-eared soldier, nearly in tears from urgency, pointed at the Zhejiang troops galloping towards them and urged those around him, “Corporal, squad leader, report this up quick—this isn’t a small matter. If what the Zhejiang troops are shouting is true, it’s a disaster.”
“You little…” The corporal started to curse but stopped mid-sentence, because he seemed to vaguely hear something about surrendering and pirates. Though it wasn’t clear, those words matched.
Could it be that what this monkey-eared guy said was true—that the Zhejiang troops were really shouting ‘General Wang has surrendered to the enemy! Those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates’?!
Thinking of this, the corporal broke out in a cold sweat, his heart pounding wildly. Looking at the others around him, a few known for their sharp hearing had also turned pale—likely they too had faintly heard the Zhejiang troops’ shouts.
Bloody hell!
Trouble! If the Zhejiang troops’ shouts were true and General Wang had surrendered, it was a disaster! General Wang was already in the city, and seven or eight hundred of his men had entered. If they were pirates, wouldn’t the gate be in danger?!
The corporal’s cold sweat poured like rain, his heart sinking like it was tied to a massive stone, plummeting a thousand feet.
“Bloody hell, I think I heard it too—it sounds like the Zhejiang troops are really shouting ‘General Wang has surrendered to the enemy, those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates’!”
“No mistake, I heard it too.”
Soon, a few more sharp-eared soldiers confirmed it after listening repeatedly, swallowing hard, their faces pale as they spoke to those around them.
“What?!”
The surrounding people could no longer treat it as a joke. One person joking was one thing, but so many saying the same thing couldn’t all be joking. They began to panic—had General Wang really surrendered?!
Looking down from the wall, the long line outside the city was hurrying in; at least eight hundred had already entered.
If they were pirates?!
A shiver ran through them—the thought was too terrifying to contemplate.
