"Beacon, beacon fire? Chief, you said those were not fires, but beacon fires?! We are exposed?!"
The Japanese pirates froze after hearing what Xu Hai said. They were still imagining a wonderful life of attacking Suzhou City at night, filling sacks with silver, and tying up women with hemp ropes. But the next second, their leader Xu Hai told them that the beacon fire in Suzhou had been lit. They were exposed. Everyone in Suzhou knew they were coming?!
For a moment, the Japanese pirates couldn't accept it. They were in the excited state before the volcanic eruption in the previous second, and a basin of ice water was poured on their heads in the next second. Their brain CPUs were about to explode.
We boarded the ship at two o'clock in the morning, arrived at Taicang Haikou at three o'clock, and were thirty miles away from Suzhou city at four o'clock.
We were sailing in the dark all the way, and one of our ships hit a reef in the sea, leaving more than a dozen brothers stranded in the sea. How did we get exposed?! How did the people in Suzhou find us?! Damn Suzhou, why did they set up so many beacon towers?! Then what about us who got up early in the morning, worked in the dark, and endured the wind and frost?!
Suddenly, all the Japanese pirates on the Japanese ship were stunned as if they were struck by a bolt from the blue.
No matter how confused the Japanese pirates were, after the first beacon tower was lit, in less than a cup of tea, all fifteen beacon towers in Suzhou area had lit up their fires. In addition, the rangers beat gongs to sound the alarm, and soon all the villages and towns within a radius of forty miles of Suzhou city knew that the Japanese pirates were coming.
The crimes committed by the Japanese pirates in Jiangnan are too numerous to list, and the evils they committed are too numerous to count, especially in the nearby Songjiang Prefecture, where it was a living tragedy. The common people all knew that the Japanese pirates were beasts who killed people without blinking an eye. Once they entered the village, they would kill all the men, rape all the women, rob all the money, and burn down all the houses.
Therefore, upon hearing the news that the Japanese pirates were coming, the people of Suzhou Prefecture, carrying their old and young, set out to hide. Those who lived close to Suzhou City fled to Suzhou City, while those who lived far from Suzhou City hid in forts, the wild, the mountains and forests.
There was a special person on the beacon tower in Suzhou City. He was the first to see the beacon fire in the distance. He was a little unsure at first, not knowing whether it was a beacon fire or someone's house was on fire.
However, soon a second beacon was lit up. This beacon was closer and the flames could be seen rising into the sky.
Big fires were burning in the direction of both beacon towers, which were undoubtedly the regular warning beacons.
The night watchman knew the seriousness of the situation and shouted to warn people, "The Japanese pirates are coming, the Japanese pirates are coming, quickly close the city gates."
Upon hearing that the Japanese pirates were coming, the soldiers defending Suzhou City immediately fell into a panic. Fortunately, the Japanese pirates were still twenty or thirty miles away and the city was not lost. After a while of panic, the soldiers hurriedly closed the city gate amid the captain's shouts and scolding.
"Fortunately, Zihou's beacon fire gave us a warning. Otherwise, with these drunkards, the Japanese pirates would have arrived at the government office before they could close the door."
Shang Wei, the governor of Suzhou who rushed over after hearing the news, saw the city gate being hurriedly closed from afar. He couldn't help but look upset and cursed in his heart.
At the same time, he was very grateful in his heart. Fortunately, Zhu Ping'an had the rangers and beacon towers. Otherwise, with only the soldiers of Suzhou Military Preparations Department, it would be a disaster. He was afraid that the Japanese pirates would rush into his government office and the city of Suzhou would not be able to react yet.
"Your Excellency, you are here." When the guards at the city gate saw the prefect Shang Wei coming, they hurriedly stepped forward to salute.
"Well, the beacon fire has been lit and the Japanese pirates are approaching. You all should cheer up and don't give them any chance to take advantage." The Suzhou prefect knew that now was not the time to get angry as they still had to rely on them to defend the city, so he nodded in a amiable manner.
"Yes, yes." The guards nodded repeatedly.
"My fellow soldiers, our salaries and wages are issued by the court, but in the final analysis, they all come from the common people, and are the blood and sweat of the common people. So, the common people are our parents who feed us. Now, there are hundreds of thousands of our parents who feed us in the city. We must defend Suzhou City to the death and not let the Japanese pirates step into the city, and not let the Japanese pirates harm any of our parents who feed us! This is the time to raise troops for a thousand days and use them for a moment!"
The Suzhou prefect pointed his finger into the city and spoke to the guards with a serious face.
"Don't worry, sir. We will defend Suzhou City to the death and will never let any Japanese pirates enter the city." The guards expressed their stance loudly.
"Very good. It's not easy for all the soldiers. Defend the city and wait for the Japanese pirates to retreat. Each of you will receive an extra ten taels of silver. I keep my word. If any soldier defending the city does not receive the ten taels of silver, I will be the one to hold him accountable!"
The Suzhou prefect still maintained his promise to the guards, saying that a huge reward would always bring about brave men, and this was an eternal truth.
"Thank you, sir. We will defend Suzhou City to the death and fight to the end. We will not let the Japanese pirates set foot in the city!"
The guards were so excited by the huge reward of ten taels of silver that they shouted louder, louder, and more sincerely than before.
"Master Hou, send 300 more reinforcements to each city gate, and they must be elite soldiers and strong generals. The city gates are related to the lives and property of hundreds of thousands of people in Suzhou City. Without my order, except for the garrison, no one else is allowed to approach the city gate within 100 meters. Those who violate the order will be warned and ordered to leave. If they persist, you will be granted the power to execute them first and report later. At critical moments, there is no room for mercy!"
The Suzhou prefect turned around and gave instructions with a serious face to the military chief who was following behind him.
"Yes, sir." The head official bowed and accepted the order, then trotted down to make arrangements.
The Japanese pirates came, which was no small matter. The Japanese pirates in Songjiang Prefecture had captured several counties, and almost the entire Songjiang Prefecture had fallen. It was said that the Japanese pirates used the gold, silver, jewelry and food they looted in Songjiang Prefecture to recruit soldiers and horses, and the Japanese pirate team grew more than doubled, and the force expanded to 40,000 to 50,000 people.
Forty or fifty thousand Japanese pirates, what does that mean? The entire Suzhou city had only about ten thousand soldiers and corvées.
This was all due to the wisdom of His Excellency, who a few days ago drew a thousand elite soldiers from the local military preparation department to assist in defending the city.
Fortunately, outside the city there is the Zhejiang Army led by Lord Zhu Ping'an. Although the Zhejiang Army has only 2,000 men,...
The Zhejiang Army was stationed at Fengqiao Camp. If the Japanese pirates did not wipe out all the Zhejiang Army outside the city, they could not attack Suzhou City with all their strength. After all, the Zhejiang Army was behind them. They always had to worry about being attacked from both sides. How could they attack Suzhou City with all their strength
The Zhejiang Army has two thousand people, and they killed more than one hundred Japanese pirates at the sea sacrifice some time ago. Their combat effectiveness is much stronger than that of the local military preparation troops. At least they can buy some buffer time for Suzhou City.
This is what the leader thought while he was on his way to arrange reinforcements.
After Suzhou City was closed immediately, many people from outside the city rushed in, bringing their elderly and children with them.
They were all civilians living in the area of about ten miles. When they heard the news that the Japanese pirates were coming, the first thing they thought of was to hide in Suzhou City. Suzhou City had tall and solid walls and was guarded by elite soldiers. It was definitely the safest place in Suzhou Prefecture. As long as they entered Suzhou City, their lives would be saved.