At first, Zhu Ping’an thought the Japanese pirates were trying to flee back to their lair in Tuolin. However, when he ordered the Zhejiang troops to change formation and pursue them, he realised something was wrong. The pirates were not retreating to Tuolin at all. Instead, they charged straight into Songjiang Prefecture City.
Was this a case of men dying for wealth and birds dying for food?
The Japanese pirates would rather die than give up the city they had already seized?
Zhu Ping’an was somewhat surprised.
But it did not matter. By rushing into Songjiang City, were the pirates not simply walking into a trap? He could lead the Zhejiang troops to catch turtles in a jar.
“Speed up! Do not let the pirates enter Songjiang City easily. Shout to the city garrison, order them to block the pirates, hold all other gates firmly, shut the doors and beat the dog, catch turtles in a jar. Not a single pirate that enters the city must be allowed to escape!”
While directing the Zhejiang troops to accelerate their pursuit, Zhu Ping’an sent men to shout orders at all four gates of Songjiang City, coordinating from both inside and outside.
Unfortunately, to conceal their movements and avoid alerting the enemy, the Zhejiang troops had come without horses. Otherwise, this would have been the perfect moment for cavalry to reap the harvest.
“Faster! Faster!”
“Run quicker! Every pirate up ahead is a pile of shining silver. One pirate head is enough for us to live well for half a year.”
The Zhejiang troops fixed bayonets to their matchlocks, held them level, and strode rapidly forward to chase the pirates. In their eyes, each pirate was a running bounty. Without needing officers to urge them on, the soldiers voluntarily charged ahead with great strides.
“Run! The Zhejiang troops are coming!”
“Run! The Zhejiang troops have reloaded their matchlocks. Anyone who runs slowly will eat a bullet!”
“Damn it! You behind, stop pulling me!”
The Japanese pirates wished their parents had given them two extra legs. They scrambled desperately toward Songjiang City. To seize a chance at survival, some reached out and yanked the pirate ahead of them backward, dragging him behind or even tripping him to the ground, using him as a shield.
The pirate pulled back naturally refused to accept it. At the moment of life and death, who would willingly block bullets for someone else? Japanese pirates had no such noble spirit of sacrifice.
So you pull me, I pull you. Some even drew their swords against each other. When it was a matter of you dying or me living, nobody yielded.
The fastest pirates had already rushed into Songjiang City. The gate was only so wide; only so many could surge through at once.
The chaos at the gate was even worse. Everyone fought and shoved to be the first inside. More pirates drew their swords. There was even trampling. Many who were pushed down, dragged back, or slashed screamed as they were trampled to death by the crowded mass of their comrades.
The ground inside the gate tunnel was covered in patches of red, as if someone had overturned jar after jar of tomato sauce.
“Brothers on the wall, we are the Zhejiang troops! By order of Lord Zhu, the Governor of Zhejiang, we relay this message. Block the pirates, hold the gates firmly, shut the doors and beat the dog, catch turtles in a jar. Do not let a single pirate escape.”
Zhejiang soldiers ran to the foot of the wall and shouted up to the defenders, repeating the message again and again to ensure it was heard.
The defenders on the wall waved to show they understood.
However, they could not retake the fallen gate. Pirates were pouring in continuously, their numbers growing. When only a few pirates had first entered, the city garrison had failed to reclaim the gate. Now it was even more impossible.
Still, although they could not retake the fallen gate, they could hold the other three.
The defending commander dispatched half his troops to reinforce the other three gates and strengthen their defence.
“Hold the ramp!”
“Loose arrows!”
The commander directed the remaining troops on the wall to guard the ramp while shooting arrows at the pirates both inside and outside the city.
He dared not lead men down from the wall to block the pirates directly. He only dared to snipe them in this way.
“Damn it! The city defenders still dare to shoot at us. Longbowmen, matchlock men, see who on the wall still dares to loose an arrow. Pick them off one by one!”
When Xu Hai saw the defenders still shooting, he ordered his longbowmen and matchlock men to return fire and suppress the archers on the wall.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Bang, bang, bang.
The pirate longbowmen and matchlock men aimed at the archers on the wall and fired. Their marksmanship far surpassed that of the city archers. Soon they suppressed the defenders; anyone who showed his head was shot dead.
“If you dare shoot again, we will come up and slaughter every last one of you!”
“We are busy right now and have no time for you, but if you want to die, we will oblige!”
After suppressing the city archers, the pirates waved their swords and snarled ferocious threats at the defenders.
“Damn it! How dare they threaten me!”
The defending commander cursed under his breath, yet in the end he dared not order any more arrows loosed toward the pirates below, fearing he would truly enrage them and they would charge the wall. If the pirates really attacked the ramp, his men truly could not hold it.
Outside the city, many pirates still had not managed to enter. They crowded at the gate, pushing inward.
Behind them, the Zhejiang troops had caught up. They overtook the stragglers, formed ranks, and bayoneted pirate after pirate.
The pirates were all focused on fleeing. Every comrade they overtook meant a slightly greater chance of survival. So they just ran and ran. Very few dared to turn and fight the Zhejiang troops. Of course, a few did turn back to resist, but those who did faced the neatly arrayed Zhejiang troops and a forest of bayonets. Two fists cannot fight four hands, let alone a wall of steel. The pirates who turned were stabbed into hedgehogs.
“Kill!”
“Let not a single pirate escape!”
The Zhejiang troops grew braver the more they killed. Their eyes red with bloodlust, they charged, thrust, stabbed, and pierced.
“This won’t do. Someone must stay behind to cover the rear, or the Zhejiang troops will slaughter us and the ones outside won’t get in.”
“Those at the very back, stay and hold them off! Anyone who disobeys will be killed without mercy!”
Seeing the situation turning dire, Xu Hai decisively cut off his tail to survive. He ordered the eight hundred pirates at the rear to stay and block the Zhejiang troops, buying time for those ahead to reach the city.
The pirates at the back naturally refused. Staying behind meant certain death. Who would willingly die? They became pirates to rise in the world, to eat well, drink well, and sleep with women. They had no interest in throwing their lives away.
The rearmost pirates kept fleeing toward the gate. No one stopped to hold the line.
Xu Hai waved his hand. His personal guards brandished their swords and in a few strokes cut down more than a dozen pirates trying to escape to the gate. Dripping blood from their blades, they forced the others to halt and turn to fight.
“Hold them for just the time of one cup of tea, then you may enter the city. The gate will remain open for you.”
To encourage them, Xu Hai painted a rosy picture, promising that after holding for one cup of tea they could withdraw.
One cup of tea was not long… or so it seemed. The designated rearguard felt they could endure it. Cursing under their breath, they turned to face the enemy.
