As the Zhejiang troops galloped at full speed, racing desperately towards the eastern gate, their unified shouts of “General Wang has surrendered to the enemy, those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates!” were heard by more and more sharp-eared soldiers.
What?!
General Wang has surrendered to the enemy?! Those entering the city are Japanese pirates?!
These two earth-shattering pieces of news, each more shocking than the last, immediately sparked a wave of panic and chaos on the city wall.
“Damn it! What time is it that you’re still chattering and causing a ruckus on the wall? Next time this happens, you’ll all face military law!”
Seeing the chaos on the wall, Prefect Shang’s face darkened instantly, and he shouted angrily at the noisy crowd.
However, after his outburst, the scene seemed to grow even more chaotic, with several mid- and low-ranking officers even abandoning their posts to approach him.
“Fools! What time do you think it is, and you’re still trying to flatter me?!” Prefect Shang’s face grew even darker, assuming these officers were coming to cosy up to him and curry favour, which only fuelled his rage.
How could I not be furious? If these sycophants put half the effort they use to climb the ranks into defending the city, how much less would I have to worry?
But to Prefect Shang’s surprise, these flatterers were utterly incorrigible. Even after he’d lost his temper, they still pressed closer.
“This is intolerable—who can endure such insolence, you lot are simply…”
Prefect Shang’s reprimand was cut off mid-sentence by the very people he saw as sycophants and power-climbers.
“Prefect, Prefect, it’s bad—terrible news…” The mid- and low-ranking officers reported in a panic.
“Indeed, for you lot, it’s certainly bad—terrible news…” Prefect Shang glared at them furiously.
Every single one of you—you won’t escape this. I’ll have someone record your names, and once this battle is over, I’ll settle accounts with each of you. Still trying to cosy up? I’ll have you all banished to the farthest corners!
The officers crowding forward paused, belatedly realising that the Prefect had misunderstood them. With helpless shakes of their heads and wry smiles, they collectively stepped forward, saluting as they reported, “Prefect, many people have heard the Zhejiang troops galloping towards us shouting ‘General Wang has surrendered to the enemy, those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates.’”
“What?!”
Upon hearing this, Prefect Shang stumbled, nearly falling to the ground if not for a guard catching him in time.
“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’?! Is this true or not?!”
Prefect Shang shook off the guard’s support, stepped up to the reporting officers, and asked in disbelief.
“Yes, Prefect, many sharp-eared people have heard it, and we’ve faintly caught words like ‘surrendered’ and ‘pirates’ too—it should be correct.”
The mid- and low-ranking officers replied.
“What do you mean ‘should be correct’?! Are you saying there’s still a chance it’s wrong?! Is this something we can be vague about?! What if the Zhejiang troops aren’t shouting ‘General Wang has surrendered to the enemy’ but ‘General Li has surrendered to the enemy’?! What if they’re not saying ‘those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates’ but ‘those chasing us from behind are Japanese pirates’?!”
Prefect Shang, for a moment, couldn’t accept the news of “General Wang has surrendered to the enemy, those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates.” He found it hard to believe—or rather, he didn’t want to believe it.
People naturally cling to preconceived notions. Prefect Shang had personally witnessed General Wang returning triumphantly,押着倭寇俘虏 (escorting pirate prisoners) and hauling captured armour and weapons. He had even verified it himself, confirming there was no issue with General Wang.
But now, someone had heard the Zhejiang troops shouting “General Wang has surrendered to the enemy, those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates”!
One was a triumphant return, the other a traitor opening the gates to the enemy!
These were two diametrically opposed scenarios. For Suzhou City, one was uplifting, the other a catastrophic nightmare!
Anyone would prefer to believe good news over a disaster—it’s human nature, and Prefect Shang was no exception.
In his heart, he wanted to believe General Wang had returned victorious, not that he’d surrendered and betrayed them—especially since he’d cautiously verified it himself and found no problem with General Wang’s triumphant return.
Not to mention, it wasn’t even certain whether the Zhejiang troops were shouting “General Wang has surrendered to the enemy, those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates.” Even if they were, so what? The Zhejiang troops were just making empty claims—what evidence did they have to prove General Wang had surrendered and that those entering the eastern gate were pirates?!
“Uh, because several sharp-eared people confirmed it multiple times, what they heard was indeed ‘General Wang has surrendered to the enemy, those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates.’ Comparing the two, it should be correct,” the mid- and low-ranking officers explained quietly.
‘Should’ again!
In matters of war—where life, death, and survival hang in the balance—how could they use a vague word like “should”?!
Just as Prefect Shang was about to lose his temper again, he faintly heard the Zhejiang troops’ hoarse, desperate shouts—something about surrender, something about pirates—and his heart sank with a thud.
“Sir, it seems the Zhejiang troops are really shouting ‘General Wang has surrendered to the enemy, those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates.’ I heard it.”
A guard behind Prefect Shang spoke timidly.
Prefect Shang turned around. The guard who spoke shrank back but quickly straightened up, nodding to confirm again, “Yes, sir, what I heard was indeed ‘General Wang has surrendered to the enemy, those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates.’”
“Yes, sir, that’s what I heard too,” another guard chimed in.
Prefect Shang’s face paled instantly. These two guards were from his hometown, distant relatives from his clan, fiercely loyal to him—they’d never lie about something like this. Both had been hunters before, with hearing sharper than most.
That meant the Zhejiang troops were truly shouting “General Wang has surrendered to the enemy, those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates.”
This was trouble!
Why were the Zhejiang troops shouting “General Wang has surrendered to the enemy, those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates”?! This wasn’t a game—what evidence did Zihou have?! They couldn’t just slander a triumphant general as a traitor who’d opened the gates without proof, could they?!
Prefect Shang’s mind was a whirlwind, as if struck by lightning, his thoughts in utter disarray.
“I heard it, I heard it—the Zhejiang troops are really shouting ‘General Wang has surrendered to the enemy, those entering the city at the eastern gate are Japanese pirates.’”
As the Zhejiang troops drew closer, more soldiers on the wall heard the content of their shouts, and the wall erupted like a pot boiling over.
“General Wang actually surrendered to the pirates?! And turned traitor to help them trick their way into the city?!”
“So that means the ones entering the city right now are pirates?! No way—pirates are already inside?!”
“What do we do? What do we do?”
“Quick, arrest General Wang—no, arrest the traitor Wang!”
“What right do the Zhejiang troops have to say our general surrendered?! Did they see it with their own eyes?! They’re all the way at Fengqiao camp in the south—how could they know our general surrendered?! Isn’t this just slander?!”
