“Quick, quick, bring up the best wine and food, let’s properly treat Lord Zhu and all the soldiers. Fighting so long in this freezing weather, how can they not have some hot soup, hot dishes, and warm wine to warm up?” Prefect Shang, after greeting Zhu Pingan and his group, urgently pressed the officials beside him to prepare a feast for Zhu Pingan and the Zhejiang troops.
“Yes, sir, I’ll go hurry them along, we’ll make sure Lord Zhu and the soldiers eat and drink well, they’re the saviors of Suzhou’s hundreds of thousands,” the Suzhou Ceremonial Office Head responded eagerly, turning to rush off and expedite the meal.
Eat what? Zhu Pingan thought, inwardly exasperated.
“Hold on, Lord Shang, the wine and food can wait, Suzhou isn’t fully out of danger yet, the Japanese pirate reinforcements have arrived, they won’t accept defeat so easily, they’ll surely launch an attack, only by decisively repelling them will they face reality, once they retreat, then we can enjoy the feast,” Zhu Pingan waved his hands repeatedly, stopping the Ceremonial Office Head, then bowed to Prefect Shang and the others.
“What?! The gate’s closed, and the Japanese pirates will still attack?!” Prefect Shang and the officials’ hearts sank, the gate was shut, yet they’d still come?
“Of course, with their army at the walls, they won’t give up without a fight,” Zhu Pingan nodded confidently.
“Then…” Prefect Shang hesitated, glancing at Zhu Pingan and the Zhejiang soldiers behind him, words catching in his throat.
Just moments ago, a few hundred Japanese pirates had stormed the walls, and the city guards had crumpled like paper, utterly feeble, now, with tens of thousands of Japanese pirates outside, even with the wall’s advantage, Shang had no faith in his guards.
But Zhu Pingan’s men had just fought a brutal battle outside, asking them to defend the walls now felt shameless, yet shameless or not, he had to ask, those guards were too pathetic.
As Shang pondered how to broach it, Zhu Pingan’s lips twitched, and he volunteered, “Lord Shang, the Japanese pirate reinforcements outside are numerous, we Zhejiang troops fought hard out there, but with Suzhou’s survival on the line, we’re part of this city too, we can’t stand by, our firearms are plentiful, perfect for defense, please give us this chance.”
“Zihou, you’ve just battled outside without rest, I feel terrible asking… but as you said, this is about Suzhou’s life or death, the fate of hundreds of thousands, I’ll have to be shameless, please, Zihou, and all you Zhejiang soldiers, join me on the walls, once we repel the Japanese pirates, I’ll thank you properly on behalf of Suzhou’s people,” Shang said, deeply grateful for Zhu Pingan’s initiative, seizing his words to request their help.
“Lord Shang, after you,” Zhu Pingan bowed.
“Zihou, after you,” Shang returned the gesture.
As they politely deferred to each other, a frantic soldier rushed down from the walls, breathless and sweating, stammering to Shang, “Sir, the Japanese pirate reinforcements are here, tens of thousands strong, they’ve brought siege ladders, they’re about to attack…”
Shang panicked, abandoning courtesy, grabbed Zhu Pingan’s arm, and pulled him toward the steps, saying, “The Japanese pirate army’s coming, Zihou, let’s hurry up there.”
“Big Spear, take three hundred men to reinforce the gate and tend to the wounded, the rest of you Zhejiang soldiers, form up and head to the walls,” Zhu Pingan, dragged by Shang, still turned to direct his troops.
As Shang hauled Zhu Pingan up, he marveled at the Zhejiang soldiers ascending in orderly, swift ranks, praising, “Zihou’s truly exceptional, commanding troops like an extension of himself, the Zhejiang army’s discipline and precision are unmatched, I’ve only read of such forces in books, never seen one in life, yet Zihou forged this in mere months, a talent fit to aid a king.”
For Shang’s praise, Zhu Pingan didn’t take it to heart, in such dire times, Shang would laud any reinforcement like a flower.
Atop the walls, Zhu Pingan surveyed the Japanese pirates below, their reinforcements fully arrived, numbering over twenty thousand.
By numbers alone, the Japanese pirates outside dwarfed the defenders.
Yet Zhu Pingan wasn’t worried, Suzhou’s walls were tall and sturdy, the Japanese pirates’ hasty assault brought fewer than thirty siege ladders, how could they breach it?
Back at Fengqiao Camp, a low wall had crushed their morale, bloodied their noses, now with Suzhou’s towering walls, Zhu Pingan was certain he could sink their hopes.
Besides, their attack was born of unwillingness, a sharp blow would wake them up, make them see that once Suzhou’s gate shut, their campaign had already failed.
The city guards, however, lacked Zhu Pingan’s confidence, a few hundred Japanese pirates from within had broken them, now facing tens of thousands outside, they were petrified.
“M-My legs are cramping…” one guard stammered, crouching.
Another nearby wasn’t much better, “M-My second brother’s cramping too…”
“Hell, your second brother’s not cramping, it’s leaking, you pissed yourself!!!” someone sharp-eyed spotted the wet patch and mocked.
“Cough, cough, it’s not piss, I spilled water earlier, yeah, just water,” the man quavered, trying to save face.
“Bullshit water, I can smell the stench three meters away, you spilled water? Were you drinking piss?” Laughter erupted, though it soon turned shaky, tinged with fear.
With tens of thousands of Japanese pirates glaring below, how could they laugh? A few hundred had rolled their heads and rivers of blood, now thousands more, even two heads each wouldn’t suffice.
In contrast, the Zhejiang soldiers were calm, methodically loading their muskets, even joking lightly, treating the Japanese pirates below as nothing, they held a psychological edge.
Not to mention Fengqiao Camp, where nearly ten thousand Japanese pirates met their end under their firearms, just earlier outside, they’d held their own, felling hundreds at their feet.
