“You have no documentary evidence, physical evidence, or witnesses, how can you prove it to us?! Are you taking us for fools?!”
General Wang pointed at Zhu Ping’an, sneering with laughter.
“Do you believe him?!” General Wang asked the crowd behind him.
“No way!” The disguised pirates shouted in unison, “We’re not fools!”
“Lord Prefect, esteemed officials, do you believe him?” General Wang pressed, turning his momentum toward Prefect Shang and the others on the wall.
Prefect Shang and the others fell silent, to be honest, they didn’t believe it, but they weren’t short on time, they’d let Zhu Ping’an try to prove it first, if he couldn’t, they’d just make him apologize.
“Ahem, General Wang, true gold fears no fire, an upright man fears no crooked shadow, why not let Zihou show us how he’ll prove it? Rest assured, this is the last time, after this, no matter who’s right or wrong, I’ll ensure justice is served,” Prefect Shang coughed once, speaking slowly.
“Hahaha, surnamed Zhu, did you hear that? This is your last chance! In broad daylight, under everyone’s eyes, I want to see how you’ll twist black into white! After this farce, I hope your apology is loud enough for everyone to hear!” General Wang laughed menacingly, shouting at Zhu Ping’an.
“Noisy!”
Facing General Wang’s maniacal laughter, Zhu Ping’an merely uttered two calm words.
General Wang’s face twisted even more grotesquely at this, he opened his mouth to say more, but Zhu Ping’an’s voice cut him off.
“Brothers, have you all rested up?!”
Zhu Ping’an turned to the Zhejiang troops, smiling slightly, shouting loudly with a hoarse voice.
“Sir, we’re rested up!” The Zhejiang troops grinned, shouting back in equally hoarse voices.
After all, from Fengqiao Camp to the south gate, then to the east gate, they’d shouted over ten miles, their bodies might have rested, but their throats hadn’t.
“Young master, as per your orders, while you were stalling that dog traitor to buy time, I had everyone eat two pieces of dried pork and drink plenty of water, they’ve all regained their strength,” Liu Dadao reported, clasping his fists to Zhu Ping’an.
“Because they’d been gripping reins and swinging whips for so long, their frozen hands have warmed up too, firing weapons and fighting won’t be a problem,” Liu Mu added.
Zhu Ping’an surveyed the Zhejiang troops behind him, though they were dust-covered and weary, the exhaustion on their faces had vanished, after eating dried meat and drinking water, resting briefly, their energy and spirit had mostly returned.
Their eyes burned with fighting spirit, their morale soared like the midday sun, towering ten thousand feet, stirring the clouds above.
“Excellent!” Zhu Ping’an nodded with satisfaction, his stalling with that surnamed Wang hadn’t been in vain.
The reason Zhu Ping’an had dragged things out with General Wang was that the Zhejiang troops, after breaking out from Fengqiao Camp, hadn’t stopped for a moment, racing nonstop, first to warn the south gate, then straight to the east gate.
Breaking through, fighting, galloping desperately, by the time they reached the east gate, the troops and horses were utterly exhausted.
Plus, it was the dead of winter, their hands, after endless combat, gripping reins and whips, were frozen stiff and nearly spent.
If they hadn’t rested after arriving at the east gate, the Zhejiang troops wouldn’t have been able to hold their muskets steady, let alone pull triggers or fight.
So, Zhu Ping’an had stalled with that surnamed Wang, buying precious time for the Zhejiang troops to recover.
Now, the troops were restored, it was time to resolve Suzhou’s crisis.
“Brothers, the pirates and traitor across from us can’t wait any longer, so let’s prove it to them!”
Zhu Ping’an shouted.
“Yes, sir!”
The Zhejiang troops roared in unison, their voices still raspy but resounding through the clouds.
Prefect Shang and the others on the wall, along with General Wang and the disguised pirates below, looked at the Zhejiang troops in confusion.
How were they going to prove it?! By shouting slogans?! This wasn’t about whose voice was louder.
Then, in their eyes, the Zhejiang troops marched forward in perfect step toward General Wang’s group.
Zhu Ping’an, guarded by Liu Dadao and his close escorts, stayed in the center of the formation, directing the troops as they advanced slowly. The Zhejiang army’s formation was three ranks per wave, three waves totaling nine ranks.
They stopped fifty meters from General Wang’s group, forming a neat, orderly line, starkly contrasting with the haphazard, crooked ranks of General Wang’s men.
Prefect Shang on the wall and General Wang and the pirates below were bewildered, how was this proving anything? This wasn’t a contest of whose formation was neater.
The next moment, the Zhejiang troops moved again, the first rank crouched, the second bent forward, the third stood tall, all raising their muskets, aiming at General Wang and his men, the fuses already lit at some unnoticed point.
“What the hell?! Is the Zhejiang army about to kill them to silence them?!”
The thought flashed through Prefect Shang and the others’ minds on the wall, their faces paling, eyes widening in disbelief, mouths agape.
“What the hell! Zhu Ping’an, you dare!” General Wang saw this, his soul fleeing in terror, cursing loudly.
Xu Hai, hidden among the disguised pirates, saw this and his expression changed drastically, he hadn’t expected the Zhejiang troops to prove it this way! Instantly, he dove backward to take cover.
“Zihou, no!” Prefect Shang, thinking Zhu Ping’an meant to kill them and destroy the evidence, shouted urgently.
He couldn’t believe Zhu Ping’an was bold enough to attempt such a cover-up in broad daylight, under everyone’s eyes!
Kill General Wang and his men, then force the claim they were pirates?! Dead men can’t argue back, right?!
Was this Zhu Ping’an’s plan?!
Prefect Shang was stunned!
“Fire!” Zhu Ping’an waved his hand.
Boom, boom, boom, a volley of precise, dense musket shots erupted, bursting into flashes of fire and clouds of smoke.
Ahh, ahh, ahh…
Screams rang out, General Wang’s side fell like harvested wheat, a huge swath collapsing instantly, those at the front almost entirely cut down.
“Baka!”
Xu Hai, having dove to the ground when he saw the muskets raised, was unscathed aside from looking disheveled.
General Wang wasn’t so lucky, despite wearing two layers of armor—one soft, one iron—he’d been at the front when the Zhejiang troops fired, taking several bullets, screaming as he fell, gravely wounded.
“Kill! Kill them! While they’re reloading, wipe them out!” Xu Hai scrambled up, eyes blazing, shouting furiously.
The Zhejiang troops had clearly started a slaughter, if they didn’t want to die, they had to drop the disguise and counterattack.
If they didn’t act now, there’d be no chance left!
He’d calculated everything, but never expected this damned Zhu Ping’an to play so far outside the rules!
