After Zhu Ping'an saw off Prefect Shang and his entourage and properly settled all the soldiers in the camp, he rode out of the camp with Liu Mu and others to observe the topography around Suzhou Prefecture, especially the mountains and rivers outside the Changmen Gate.
Zhuge Wuhou once said: A general who does not understand astronomy, geography, Qimen, yin and yang, formations, and military forces is a mediocre talent. When I was stationed in Suzhou, how could I not know the geography of Suzhou? Only when I had a clear understanding of the geographical situation inside and outside Suzhou, could I deploy troops and make strategic plans.
Suzhou City is twelve miles in radius, bordering Songjiang to the east, Jiaxing to the south, Taihu Lake to the west, and the Yangtze River to the north. It has old streets, ancient houses, alleys, rivers, stone bridges... a typical double chessboard layout with water and land running in parallel and rivers and streets adjacent to each other.
It is beautiful, but unfortunately there is no strategic location to defend, especially the area around Changmen, which is flat except for the crisscrossing rivers and canals, with no strategic location to defend.
While observing the mountains and rivers of Suzhou, Zhu Ping'an also saw that Suzhou was more prosperous and wealthy than the other two capitals.
It has beautiful scenery, rich products, prosperous industries and a rich cultural heritage. There are mountains of goods, streams of people, shop signs lined up like brocade, frequent water and land traffic, proud horses led by silver bridles and beautiful women on flower boats. It is truly one of the richest and most elegant places in the world.
Especially the area around Changmen is the most prosperous and wealthy place in Suzhou, accounting for at least 70% to 80% of Suzhou's wealth.
There is no strategic location to defend here, yet it is more prosperous than the two capitals. For the Japanese pirates, this is a paradise.
After looking at the terrain of Suzhou, Zhu Ping'an was convinced that the Japanese pirates like Xu Hai, who were entrenched in Taolin and other places in Songjiang Prefecture, must have long coveted the city of Suzhou, the richest place in the Ming Dynasty, which was just around the corner.
The area outside the Changmen Gate, which had no strategic location and occupied 70% to 80% of Suzhou City's wealth, was definitely the first and most important target of the Japanese pirates.
If the Japanese pirates attacked Suzhou, the Lumen area would definitely be the first to be hit. This is an indisputable proposition.
Prefect Shang said that Japanese pirates have often been spying and investigating during this period, so it is obvious that the Japanese pirates have already set their sights on this place.
After the reconnaissance, it was time for the Japanese pirates to take action, as the Zhejiang army did not have much time left.
After observing the mountains and geography of Suzhou with a strong sense of crisis, Zhu Ping'an returned to Fengqiao again.
Fengqiao is the most important bridge in the northwest of Suzhou City. Ships pass underneath and goods are transported on the bridge. People traveling north, south and east and west all pass through this bridge. It is the transportation and trading hub for Suzhou City from east to west and north to south. The local people proudly say "If you want to know the price of beans and rice, ask at Fengqiao", which is a clear proof of this.
To facilitate transportation, the canal under Fengqiao was dug deep and wide to accommodate large and small ships. Two lanes were also specially carved on the six-meter-wide steps of the Fengqiao bridge to facilitate the passage of horse-drawn carriages.
It can be said that Fengqiao is the throat of Suzhou and Changmen.
The Japanese pirates attacked Suzhou from Songjiang Prefecture by plundering. The most convenient way was to take the water route, which was also what the Japanese pirates were best at. They could go from Songjiang Prefecture along the Yangtze River to the Grand Canal, and then go directly to the northwest of the surrounding cities through the Grand Canal. They could go directly to Suzhou Changmen by crossing Fengqiao along the canal.
If you go by land, you have to pass through many states, counties, towns, and villages, which is not as fast or as confidential as going by water.
Therefore, if the Japanese pirates were to plunder and attack the area around Suzhou's Changmen Gate and Suzhou City, there was a more than 90% chance that they would take the water route.
Fengqiao is the water transportation hub and throat of Suzhou. Whether it is through the Grand Canal or rivers such as Fengjiang, one must pass through Fengqiao. Therefore, if the Japanese pirates wanted to plunder Changmen and Suzhou by water, they would have to pass through Fengqiao.
Fengqiao is the focus of Suzhou’s defense.
Zhu Ping'an walked back and forth along the Maple Bridge several times, stood on the bridge and looked around, closed his eyes and thought for a moment, and a plan formed in his mind.
Since there is no defensible strategic location in the Fengqiao area, let's create one.
There is no time to lose.
Zhu Ping'an returned to the camp and quickly drew a sketch of the Fengqiao defense. The sketch was very simple. He planned to build a three-story sentry fort on the east slope of Fengqiao Bridge, in front of the Fengqiao Camp, the new base of the Zhejiang Army, with many shooting holes for firing muskets and small cannons.
The outpost does not need to be too big, it only needs to be able to garrison two hundred people and occupy an area of about four hundred square meters, with the top floor made into a terrace with brick piles.
Zhu Ping'an planned to use bricks and stones as the main materials for the sentry fort, and use lime mixed with glutinous rice and mud to speed up the construction of the sentry fort and make it stronger. Although there was no concrete at that time in the Ming Dynasty, there was lime. The craftsmen mixed lime, fine sand, glutinous rice juice and other objects together to make a traditional concrete, which was not much different from modern concrete. When applied on bricks and stones, it was extremely strong. Although the price of traditional concrete was a bit expensive, Suzhou Prefecture had no shortage of money.
The Zhejiang Army could usually climb up the sentry forts for lookouts, patrols and alert. Once they spotted Japanese pirates, they would raise beacons to alert the Ten-Li Street of Changmen and Suzhou City. At the same time, they could use the forts to block, hold their ground and attack the Japanese pirates.
In addition to the sentry post, Zhu Ping'an also built a brick wall more than 100 meters long and one person high along the river on the east bank of the canal under Fengqiao, which is the Fengqiao camp, as a musket position for the Zhejiang army.
In this way, the Zhejiang Army could form a military defense line along the sentry forts, Fengqiao, river walls, and rivers to guard the western gate of Suzhou.
Once this line of defense is completed, Zhu Ping'an is confident that he can defeat the invading Japanese pirates. He is just afraid that there will not be enough Japanese pirates...
After the Fengqiao Defense Line plan was formed, Zhu Ping'an, regardless of the late hour, immediately took Liu Dadao and others into Suzhou City to visit the Suzhou prefect, Lord Shang, and showed the Fengqiao Defense Line plan to Lord Shang for review.
"Great! Lord Zhu is worthy of being Lord Zhu. With a sentry fort and a hundred-meter river wall, the indefensible Suzhou City has a pass. This plan alone is far better than the Suzhou Prefecture Military Preparation Department."
After looking at the Fengqiao Defense Line plan and listening to Zhu Ping'an's explanation, Prefect Shang was pleasantly surprised and impressed by the Fengqiao Defense Line.
"Lord Shang is more familiar with the geography of Suzhou. What do you think about this?" Zhu Ping'an asked.
"Master Zhu's proposal is very good. I have no objection. However, I think the sentry fort can be built a little bigger to accommodate more soldiers. The river wall can be built longer and higher. After all, Suzhou is not short of money. All expenses, whether manpower or material resources, will be borne by Suzhou Prefecture. After all, this is all for the protection of Suzhou City."
Prefect Shang acted very Versailles as soon as he opened his mouth, embodying the meaning of wealth and power to the fullest.
"Lord Shang's opinion is very good, but considering that the Japanese pirates may launch an offensive on Suzhou at any time, the scale of the outpost and the city wall should not be too large so that they can be completed and put into use quickly. After this outpost is built, another one can be built nearby to form a pincer attack. This outpost can be built larger." Zhu Ping'an replied.
"Well, Lord Zhu is right. The Japanese pirates may attack Suzhou City at any time. The sooner the pass is completed, the better."
Upon hearing this, Prefect Shang nodded repeatedly.
"There is no time to lose. I will have people start preparations right away. We will lay the foundations overnight to build a fort to defend against the Japanese invaders."
As he spoke, Prefect Shang summoned his subordinates and assigned them tasks such as building sentry posts and river walls.