Songjiang Prefecture City remained as bustling as ever. Carriages and horses flowed endlessly, shops along the streets teemed with customers, officials, merchants, peddlers, and common folk brushed shoulders as they came and went. Some rode horses, some travelled in sedans, others walked, all jostling together. Street performers juggled and conjured tricks, while crowds of onlookers cheered loudly and applauded without pause.
What a prosperous city it was.
Just as everyone immersed themselves in the lively scene, a sudden cry rang out: “Quick, look! There’s a fire over there!”
Then people noticed thick black smoke rising from a courtyard.
“Fire! Put out the fire!”
The crowd shouted in alarm.
While everyone’s attention was drawn to the blaze, a horrifying change occurred at the two performance stalls nearby. The jugglers and magicians suddenly drew swords and blades from nowhere and began slashing indiscriminately at the surrounding crowd. The unarmed civilians, distracted by the fire, were caught completely off guard. Many were cut down instantly, screaming as they collapsed, blood pooling on the ground. Cries for help and wails of agony filled the streets.
“Help! They’re killing people!”
“They’re mad, utterly mad! They’re slaughtering everyone! Run! If you’re too slow, it’s over!”
Panic-stricken people screamed and fled like headless flies.
But there were simply too many people. They pushed and shoved, trampling one another. Within moments, a stampede broke out, and screams of agony soared to the heavens.
The chaos in the city naturally caught the attention of the authorities. So many violent incidents happening simultaneously could only mean they were orchestrated.
“How could so much unrest occur without someone directing it? As expected, Governor Hu anticipated the enemy. It seems some blind Japanese pirates really do intend to attack Songjiang Prefecture City and have sent spies to sow disorder within.”
Prefect Han Chen, seated in command of the city, received the reports without panic. Two days earlier, he had received an urgent directive from Hu Zongxian, the Governor of Suzhou and Songjiang. Hu warned that the Tuolin Japanese pirates planned to assault Songjiang and had already infiltrated spies. The city was ordered to heighten defences and guard against internal and external collusion.
Thanks to these prior preparations, Prefect Han remained calm. He summoned the two waiting generals and issued orders: “General Zhang, General Wang, each of you will take charge of two districts. General Zhang, you are responsible for the eastern and northern districts. General Wang, the western and southern districts. In addition to your own troops, I am assigning each of you five hundred constables and able-bodied men. You must suppress all unrest in your respective areas without fail!”
“Yes, sir!” Generals Zhang and Wang accepted the orders confidently and departed.
Each already commanded four hundred trained soldiers. With the additional five hundred constables and young men, they now led nine hundred men apiece. They were certain they could round up every pirate infiltrator causing trouble in the city.
Thanks to Governor Hu’s warning, Prefect Han had already brought five thousand troops into the city for defence.
Such a large force was possible because Songjiang lay close to the Tuolin pirate stronghold, and many nearby garrisons and guard units were available.
Besides the regular troops, Prefect Han had organised the city’s eight hundred constables into a unified force and conscripted two thousand able-bodied civilians.
Thus, dispatching Generals Zhang and Wang with their four hundred soldiers plus five hundred constables and civilians to quell the unrest barely weakened the city’s defensive strength at all.
Prefect Han had always been guarding against a direct assault.
Sure enough, shortly after the two generals were sent to restore order, a messenger galloped up with urgent news.
“Report! Japanese pirates have suddenly appeared outside the east gate attempting to storm the city. Thanks to Your Excellency’s prior arrangements, General Liu discovered the attackers in time and managed to close the gates before they reached them. The pirates failed in their surprise attack and are now besieging the city,” the messenger reported breathlessly.
“How many pirates are there outside the walls?” Prefect Han asked with concern.
“Roughly five or six thousand,” the messenger replied. They could only estimate.
Hearing this, Prefect Han was not overly worried. Though the pirates numbered five or six thousand, the city held five thousand regular troops, plus two thousand civilians and eight hundred constables, more defenders than attackers.
Moreover, they held the walls, and Songjiang’s city walls stood a full ten metres high.
“Do the pirates have siege equipment?” Prefect Han continued.
The messenger thought for a moment. “They have only about ten crude siege ladders. Nothing else.”
Prefect Han let out a sigh of relief. With just ten or so makeshift ladders, no matter how fierce the pirates were, taking a ten-metre-high fortified city like Songjiang was nothing but a pipe dream.
“Keep scouting and report back,” Prefect Han waved his hand.
At that moment, outside the east gate of Songjiang Prefecture City, Xu Hai, Matsuura Shigenobu, and Ryūzōji Takafusa were directing the assault from the pirate centre.
Matsuura Shigenobu gazed at the majestic, imposing walls of Songjiang and could not help sucking in several cold breaths.
In his eyes, the walls rose over ten metres high like a mountain range. The endless fortifications stretched beyond sight like a giant dragon lying across the earth, forcing him to crane his neck higher and higher.
“Sugoi! No wonder General Xu was so cautious and sent people to infiltrate the city for a coordinated attack. Even our capital in Japan pales in comparison. Compared to this, my castles in Hizen are mere toys. Da Ming truly deserves its name. Until you stand before it, you cannot imagine such a colossal city exists in this world.”
Matsuura Shigenobu stared in awe at the magnificent walls, exclaiming “Sugoi!” repeatedly.
Even the ever-steady Ryūzōji Takafusa swallowed hard at the sight of the overwhelming city.
He had accompanied his lord to the Japanese imperial capital and once believed it the grandest city on earth.
Now, compared to a mere prefectural city of Da Ming, it seemed almost insignificant.
What a wonderful place Da Ming was.
So vast, so beautiful, so wealthy. The cities were so towering, the land so flat and fertile, the economy so prosperous. Everything here was perfect, like paradise.
How could the weak Ming people deserve such a paradise!
Since ancient times, the realm belongs to those with virtue!
Martial virtue is virtue too!
This land should rightfully belong to us Japanese! It should belong to our lord! Once we seize it, the great cause will surely be accomplished!
Ryūzōji Takafusa gazed at Songjiang, lost in reverie.
Seeing Matsuura and Ryūzōji stunned by the city, Xu Hai could not help smirking. He loved watching these bumpkins lose their composure.
“Old Car, think how much gold, silver, jewellery, silk, and brocade must be inside such a huge city! Hahahaha, this trip was absolutely worth it.”
Having recovered from his shock, Matsuura Shigenobu wiped drool from his mouth, his greedy eyes shining red.
“Heh, simple. Just take it, then we can count it all,” Ryūzōji Takafusa chuckled.
“Well said, Old Car. Take it and count it, that’s all there is to it.” Matsuura Shigenobu licked his lips and raised his Japanese sword.
