The Zhejiang troops struck the Japanese pirates’ Achilles’ heel with precision, silencing their ferocious archery in an instant. Barely one in ten arrows now reached the walls, immediately securing the safety of the defenders atop the city.
The guards, who had been cowering behind the battlements, saw that the pirates’ arrows could no longer reach them. Suddenly, their backs stopped aching, their legs ceased trembling, and they dared to shoot arrows and hurl stones down at the enemy.
The pirates climbing the ladders felt this shift most acutely. At first, their ascent had been relatively unpressured—under the suppression of their own archers, the defenders hardly dared peek over the walls. Some of their comrades had even reached the top, engaging in close combat. The arrows and stones from above were sparse. But once the Zhejiang troops neutralized the pirate archers, the situation flipped. The arrows raining down didn’t just double—they fell like a torrential storm. Stones and logs tumbled from the walls like hailstones.
The pirates scaling the ladders dropped like dumplings into a pot, screaming as they fell, smashing into the ground as mangled heaps.
The tide of battle turned sharply in the defenders’ favor. Though the pirates’ numbers were imposing, as the attacking force, they were woefully underprepared. Lacking heavy siege equipment, their only real threat—the archers and arquebusiers—had been pinned down by the Zhejiang troops. This left them with just one option: climbing ladders for close combat. But without archery support, the defenders unleashed a barrage of arrows and stones, inflicting devastating casualties on the climbers.
Seeing Zhu Ping’an turn the battle around with a single move, Prefect Shang was ecstatic. He grabbed Zhu Ping’an’s hand, shaking it vigorously. “Worthy of you, Zi Hou! One move, and you’ve reversed the heavens! You’re skilled in military affairs, adept at command, and masterful at seizing opportunities—none of which I can match. Come, take command. From me down, we all follow your orders.”
“Prefect Shang should remain in command. I’ll assist from the side, filling in any gaps,” Zhu Ping’an said modestly.
“No, Zi Hou, for the sake of the hundreds of thousands in the city, don’t refuse. I may not excel in warfare, but I know opportunities in battle are fleeting. If I cling to command, I’ll waste countless chances without realizing it. Zi Hou, I entrust Suzhou to you.”
Prefect Shang clasped Zhu Ping’an’s hands, his expression resolute. He knew his limits—politics were his strength, but in military matters, he paled beside Zhu Ping’an.
“Since Prefect Shang trusts me so deeply and speaks so earnestly, I won’t decline. I’ll not betray the faith of Shang and all present,” Zhu Ping’an said, accepting the role with a serious bow.
Truth be told, watching Prefect Shang’s chaotic, flawed attempts at directing the defense had already sparked the urge to take over.
“Everyone, hear this: from this moment, Zi Hou is the supreme commander of the city’s defense—no exceptions. Including myself, all will obey his orders. Anyone daring to question or disobey will be dealt with as a wartime deserter, no matter their rank or status—execution without mercy!” Prefect Shang declared with authority, transferring command to Zhu Ping’an and backing him fully.
“Yes, sir!”
The officials and soldiers atop the walls responded in unison.
“Thanks to Prefect Shang’s trust and all the soldiers’ cooperation, I’ll not let you down,” Zhu Ping’an said, bowing to Shang and the assembled troops as he assumed military command of Suzhou.
“Prefect Shang, fellow soldiers, don’t be intimidated by the 20,000 pirates outside, outnumbering us several times over. Trust me—Suzhou’s walls are impregnable. *The Art of War* by Sun Tzu says: ‘In the use of troops, surround with ten times their number, attack with five, divide with double.’ That’s for open-field battles. Sieges demand an even greater disparity. Suzhou’s walls are tall and sturdy. To encircle and take this city, the pirates would need at least twenty times our numbers.”
“With over 5,000 troops on our walls, they’d need 100,000 to succeed.”
“Look, Prefect Shang, soldiers—how many pirates are there below? Just over 20,000. To take Suzhou, they’re short 80,000 men! And that’s not even counting siege engines like battering rams, catapults, or cannons—they’re far from equipped.”
“Two days ago, at Maple Bridge Camp, my Zhejiang troops repelled them with just low walls. Now, with these towering defenses and all of you by our side, the pirates dreaming of taking Suzhou is pure delusion! We just need to hit them hard, wake them from their fantasy, and it’s over. Victory belongs to the Ming, to all of us here!”
Taking command, Zhu Ping’an first rallied the troops, pointing disdainfully at the pirates below with a voice firm and resounding.
Indeed.
The pirates outside had only twenty-odd shoddily made ladders—no battering rams, no catapults, no cannons.
Their numbers were just over 20,000. Two days ago, they’d brought 10,000 more to Maple Bridge Camp and still got thrashed by the Zhejiang troops, unable to advance a single step.
With Lord Zhu and the Zhejiang troops here, how could these pirates hope to breach Suzhou?
Zhu Ping’an’s words were a shot of adrenaline for Prefect Shang and the soldiers, filling them with confidence in the defense.
Seeing morale surge, Zhu Ping’an began issuing orders with calm precision.
“Prefect Shang, please organize soldiers and craftsmen to set up cranes for hoisting supplies onto the walls. Place crossbeams at the crenels, covered with oxhide, so we can look down on the enemy while blocking their direct arrows. Also, build arrow shields—wooden frames extending from the crenels, also covered with oxhide to stop arrows from above.”
“Clerk Liu, take a hundred men into the city to rally the civilians. Ask them to gather boiling oil, sand, ash, chaff, straw, charcoal, firewood, fire barrels, water barrels, and stones. Place these supplies every twenty meters along the walls.”
“Deputy Zhang, fetch wolf-tooth flails, battering poles, bows, arrows, spears, and long-handled blades from the armory—weapons suited for defense—and distribute them to the troops.”
“Sentinels, have your men boil water and oil. Pour boiling water and oil down on the enemy, hurl stones and logs, and use the wind to scatter sand, ash, chaff, and straw to blind them. Then use poles to topple their ladders. When pirates near the top, stab them with spears and slash with blades.”
“Zhejiang troops, keep targeting their archers. If you’ve got shots to spare, fire freely at the attackers.”
Under Zhu Ping’an’s command, Suzhou’s defense became orderly and efficient, its combat strength doubling.
Boiling water and scalding oil wreaked havoc on the pirates. Drifting ash and sand blinded them, turning them into lambs for slaughter. Many cursed the defenders’ shameless tactics—only to fall to arrows and bullets mid-rant.
