At four o'clock in the morning, working under the stars, the Japanese ship came with the cry of crows.
At four o'clock in the morning in winter, the night was as dark as ink, and you couldn't see your hand in front of you. It seemed even darker than three o'clock in the morning.
"Splash, splash, splash..."
In the darkness, Japanese ships appeared on the river. The pirates in the cabins were bare-armed, shouting slogans silently, paddling hard, breaking the water surface and pushing the Japanese ships forward rapidly in the river. Wind lanterns were hung on the masts of the Japanese ships to guide the direction of the ships behind.
The Japanese ships were like black pythons, with their scarlet eyes wide open, speeding towards Suzhou in the river.
The movement of the Japanese ship startled a group of crows dozing on the branches on the shore. They flapped their wings and soared into the sky, flying over the Japanese ship, making a series of mournful, rough and hoarse "wa-wa-" sounds.
"Hehe, Mr. Xu is wise. We boarded the ship at the second watch, arrived at Taicang Haikou at the third watch, and were already right under Suzhou's nose at the fourth watch. It's winter, the sky is so dark, and the wind is cold. The people are still sleeping soundly. When they wake up from their sleep, it's not the dawn that greets them, but us, the divine soldiers sent from the sky."
Hojo Michizo stood at the bow, looking at the dark night. Thinking of the scene where their divine soldiers descended from the sky and Suzhou trembled in fear, he could not help but chuckle and praised Xu Hai, the initiator of this plan.
“No, no…” Xu Hai said modestly with a smile.
"Hojo, do you know what this time is called in our Ming Dynasty?" Maye asked hoarsely.
"Isn't it the fourth update?" Hojo Michisan was stunned.
"The fourth watch in our Ming Dynasty is called 'the time of chicken-crowing and dog-stealing', because this is the time when people sleep the most soundly and deeply. When it is pitch dark, it is the most suitable time to do chicken-crowing and dog-stealing things, and it is just right for us to do things. As the saying goes, the first watch is for people, the second watch is for gongs, the third watch is for ghosts, the fourth watch is for thieves, and the fifth watch is for chickens. The fourth watch is exactly the time that belongs to us!" Ma Ye licked his lips, looked in the direction of Suzhou, and said hoarsely.
"We are not thieves, we are bandits. Bandits are more ferocious than thieves. Thieves fear people, but people fear bandits. We, the Japanese pirates, are the worst of bandits!"
Hojo Dosan shook his head and said complacently.
"Haha, Hojo, the name of bandit is not a good name in our Ming Dynasty. It means the extermination of nine generations of your clan."
Chen Dong smiled and shook his head.
"Even if they want to kill our entire clan, they have to catch us. Haha, it's not that I underestimate the Ming army. We have fought against the Ming army so many times. They are just weak guys. They want to kill our entire clan. It's better for us to kill their entire clan."
Hojo Dosan laughed contemptuously.
"Hojo, don't underestimate the Ming army. Not all Ming troops are as weak as the ones we fought before. Some time ago, Zhao Wenhua offered sacrifices to the sea, and Wang Zhi sent people to disrupt it. We also sent people, but only less than ten of the five hundred people escaped, and the rest were wiped out. What did the people who escaped say? Some Ming troops were different from the others. After being attacked, they did not collapse immediately. Especially a group of Zhejiang troops, whose firearms were fierce, caused Nakamura Yukiji's plan to attack the central army to fail..."
Xu Hai shook his head and reminded Hojo Michizo.
"Haha, that's because Prince Hui didn't know how to judge people. He actually let Nakamura Yukiji take charge of the command. Nakamura Yukiji is just a bastard. What ability does he have? If I were to take charge of the command, the result would be different."
Hojo Michisan shook his head disapprovingly and continued, "Moreover, during the sea sacrifice, we couldn't send a large army for fear of exposing our whereabouts. Prince Hui and I only sent over 500 people in total, while the Ming army on the scene had a full 20,000 troops, not to mention the Ming navy and the army ambushed not far away. With over 500 people against an army of over 20,000, plus a fool commanding, it would be strange if we weren't defeated."
"Before Nakamura Yukiji and his men went to attack the sea, they rested here for three days. During these three days, I had a lot of contact with him. Judging from his words and actions, he is not an incompetent person." Xu Hai shook his head.
"Haha, just another armchair strategist. He's good at talking, but he doesn't have any skills at all."
Hojo Dosan disagreed.
Hojo Dosan came from the Hojo clan, a powerful family in Kanto, Japan. The Hojo clan was very powerful in Kanto and almost occupied the eight countries of Kanto.
Although Hojo Dosan was only a bastard son of a branch family of the Hojo clan, he was also a legitimate member of the Hojo clan. He looked down on Nakamura Yukiji, an illegitimate child, and believed that illegitimate children were just family slaves.
Just a house servant!
In addition, when Nakamura Yukiji was resting in Takulin, he had a high opinion of himself, was arrogant and conceited, and did not respect Hojo Michisan enough, which made Hojo Michisan extremely dissatisfied with him. When he heard the news that Nakamura Yukiji was dead, Hojo Michisan even got drunk with joy.
"Hojo, we have also found out that the Zhejiang army that caused Nakamura to fail in the sea sacrifice is now stationed in the Fengqiao Camp outside Suzhou City. Their firearms are very powerful." Xu Hai reminded again.
"The Zhejiang Army has only 2,000 soldiers. No matter how powerful their firearms are, they can only be used in long-range combat. Loading is troublesome. Once a battle begins, firearms are just a fire stick." Hojo Michisan said disapprovingly.
"Besides, this is a different time. When we sacrificed the sea, we only sent more than 500 people, and they had 20,000 people, which was much more powerful. Now, we have more than 30,000 soldiers, the Zhejiang army has 2,000, and the soldiers in Suzhou City are no more than 10,000. The military advantage is on our side. Not to mention, we attacked in the dark, and they were all still asleep. Haha, people who are asleep are not considered human beings, they are just two-legged sheep waiting to be slaughtered."
Hojo Dosan was very confident.
"In short, don't take it lightly." Seeing this, Xu Hai narrowed his eyes slightly and said.
"Don't worry, Xu Jun. I am not a person who underestimates the enemy. I will use all my strength to swing my sword against every Ming person."
Hojo Michizo raised his head and said.
Xu Hai pulled the corner of his mouth slightly, said nothing more, turned around and ordered his men behind him: "We are almost there, the river turns a corner ahead, Suzhou City is just around the corner, only thirty miles away. Give the orders, tell the men to be quiet, don't make any noise, don't alert the enemy. Don't waste time looting the nearby towns, let's go straight to Suzhou City! There are mountains of gold, silver and jewelry waiting for us to take in Suzhou City, and there are countless fair-skinned, beautiful women with big butts and big breasts waiting for us to have sex..."
"Yes, sir." The subordinate took the order and left.
Suzhou City, here we come!
Gold, silver and jewelry, here we come! Fair-skinned and beautiful young lady, here we come!
Hojo Michisan, Maye, Chen Dong and others looked towards the direction of Suzhou City with excitement in their eyes.
Xu Hai was also very excited. After taking Suzhou City, their group of Japanese pirates would be the most dazzling ones!
His momentum is not inferior to Wang Zhi's.
Even Wang Zhi had never captured such a huge city!
By then, the number of thieves and Japanese pirates who come to Tuo Lin's lair for refuge will increase exponentially, and it will be no problem for them to compete with Wang Zhi.