In Suzhou City, at the Zhu residence, Zhu Ping’an was packing books in his study when he received news about Zhao Chong, the magistrate of Jiaxing.
“What? This morning, Jiaxing’s Magistrate Zhao borrowed a thousand garrison troops from Hangzhou, recruited two thousand retainers and civilians, formed a three-thousand-man army, and without a single day of training, marched straight to Jiaxing City?”
Upon hearing this, Zhu Ping’an’s face was full of disbelief, finding it utterly absurd.
But the report came from his Zhejiang scouts, its authenticity unquestionable, and Zhu Ping’an confirmed it multiple times.
The reason his scouts were monitoring Jiaxing was simple: how could he sleep soundly with an enemy so close? With Jiaxing occupied by pirates, right on Suzhou’s doorstep, Zhu Ping’an had sent numerous scouts to watch their movements, preventing a surprise attack to avenge their prior defeat.
The reason he only monitored rather than attacked to retake Jiaxing was due to Ming Dynasty regulations. Zhu Ping’an’s Zhejiang army was tasked with guarding Suzhou. Without orders, crossing borders was a violation of Ming law—a serious crime.
“Where does he get the courage?” Zhu Ping’an wondered.
After receiving the news, Zhu Ping’an sat in his study, pondering for half an hour, unable to fathom where this “second Zhao Mingcheng” drew his boldness. He concluded only that Zhao Chong was either mad or had some hidden backing.
As for what that backing was, Zhu Ping’an racked his brain for another half hour without an answer.
He could only suspect that Zhao Chong, being part of the Yan faction, might have had the Yan faction muster an army to aid him in retaking Jiaxing, explaining his audacity to lead such a ragtag three thousand straight to the city.
Otherwise, how could he dare?
Unable to figure it out, Zhu Ping’an ordered his scouts to closely monitor both the Jiaxing pirates and Zhao Chong’s army.
Jiaxing, blessed by the Grand Canal’s trade routes, sat between Hangzhou and Suzhou, a hub linking north and south.江南’s tea and rice, the north’s furs and herbs, and goods from across the Ming flowed through its markets, earning it titles like “江南’s Mighty Prefecture” and “Western Zhejiang’s Foremost Stronghold.”
But since the pirates seized Jiaxing, its bustling scenes were gone. Within a thirty-li radius, villagers had fled to escape the pirates’ burning, killing, and looting. Villages and fields lay abandoned, filled only with the cries of crows, no trace of cooking smoke…
Amid this desolation, Zhao Chong, brimming with zeal, led his hastily assembled three thousand rabble to the foot of Jiaxing City.
“Set up camp, cook, eat well, and pitch tents. Sleep soundly tonight—tomorrow morning, I’ll lead you to retake Jiaxing!”
At five hundred meters from the city, Zhao Chong waved his hand, ordering them to cook and rest on the spot.
“What?”
“My lord, we’re cooking and camping here? So close to Jiaxing City?!”
“It’s too dangerous, absolutely not, my lord!”
His soldiers and civilians, hearing the order, were nearly scared witless.
They were just five hundred meters from Jiaxing City—close enough to see the pirates’ faces on the walls, barely beyond arrow range, within reach of the city’s great cannons.
Cook here? Who could eat?!
Sleep in tents here? Who could sleep?!
Forget the cannons— if the pirates opened the gates and charged, they’d reach the camp in moments, sending them straight to the afterlife. How could anyone eat or sleep here?
The crowd frantically urged Zhao Chong to reconsider, begging him to think thrice before deciding.
But Zhao Chong was as stubborn as if he’d swallowed an iron weight.
“No more talk. My mind’s set. We camp here, cook here, sleep here!”
“I’m showing the pirates we don’t fear them! If they’ve got the guts, let them come!”
Zhao Chong declared fearlessly, drawing his sword and thrusting it into the ground to show his resolve.
“At least let’s cut wood for fences, barricades, gates, and watchtowers…” a centurion borrowed from Hangzhou Garrison reminded him.
You’re cooking and camping without any defenses—no fences, barricades, gates, or towers? That’s like a maiden in open-crotch pants!
“Heh, ever heard of the empty city stratagem?” Zhao Chong asked the centurion, exuding confidence.
“I’ve heard of it, but what’s it got to do with us?” The centurion was baffled, unsure why Zhao Chong brought it up.
“I’m playing an empty city stratagem on the pirates! Back then, Ma Su lost Jieting, and Sima Yi marched on Zhuge Liang’s Xicheng. Zhuge Liang used the empty city ploy, making Sima Yi fear an ambush and retreat. I’m deliberately skipping fences, towers, and barricades. The pirates, like Sima Yi, will think I’ve set an ambush and won’t dare attack.”
Zhao Chong spoke with absolute certainty, calling it his empty city stratagem.
“Will the pirates fall for it?” The centurion was skeptical.
“They will,” Zhao Chong said confidently.
“What if they know the empty city stratagem and attack anyway?” The crowd doubted Zhao Chong’s words.
“They won’t. Absolutely not,” Zhao Chong insisted firmly.
How do you know they won’t? This is life and death! The crowd remained skeptical, fearing a pirate raid.
“Come, set my tent at the very front, closest to Jiaxing’s main gate! I said I’d lead the charge—marching, fighting, eating, sleeping, always first!”
Zhao Chong, true to his word, ordered his tent pitched at the forefront, with his hundred guards’ tents right behind.
Then, he sat boldly before his tent, calmly ordering his guards to cook.
“I’m at the front and unafraid. What’s your excuse? If pirates come, they’ll have to step over my corpse first!”
Zhao Chong roared at the crowd with death-defying spirit.
Damn!
Impressive!
The crowd couldn’t help but give Zhao Chong a mental thumbs-up, thoroughly convinced. They’d seen fearless men, but none like Zhao Chong.
With him and his hundred guards at the front, a pirate raid would give them a buffer to flee.
With that thought, the crowd fell silent.
