The first faint morning light appeared in the sky, and the night sky between heaven and earth changed from dark ink to light ink.
“Kill!”
"Kill him! He's dead!"
Four thousand Japanese pirates, waving Japanese swords and shouting, came back to the Fengqiao camp, with ferocious faces and murderous intent.
The noise of the four thousand Japanese pirates charging and shouting was no small matter, like a hurricane, the sound of shouting and killing was earth-shaking, like a tsunami, a landslide, a sinkhole, like evil spirits rushing out of hell, roaring and demanding revenge on the world, and it soared into the sky
The sound of the four thousand Japanese pirates charging caused the earth to shake, as if an evil ghost was madly beating the earth with a towering drumstick.
Just like that, four thousand Japanese pirates, shouting and killing, rushed towards the Fengqiao camp in an overwhelming manner.
In the distant city of Suzhou, Suzhou prefect Shang Weishi and other officials as well as soldiers on the city wall were looking nervously at the battlefield in front of the Fengqiao camp in the distance, their hands were sweating and their hearts were in their throats.
There were no lights on in the Fengqiao camp, only sporadic fires. However, about two miles in front of the Fengqiao camp, where the Japanese pirate army was stationed, there were torches as numerous as the stars in the sky, too numerous to count.
Judging from the number of torches used by the Japanese pirates alone, there must have been at least 30,000 to 40,000 of them.
When the first wave of Japanese pirates attacked Fengqiao Camp, their hearts were in their throats. Fortunately, the Zhejiang Army withstood the attack of the Japanese pirates and did not fall, which gave them a moment's respite.
However, the Japanese pirates have now begun to attack the Fengqiao camp again.
Standing on the city wall, they could hear the shouts and cries of the Japanese pirates charging from afar, and even the city wall beneath their feet seemed to be shaking from the shouts and cries of the Japanese pirates and their charging footsteps.
Now the sky was no longer as dark as ink and there was a certain degree of visibility. From afar, the charging Japanese pirates could be seen like a ferocious black python hundreds of meters thick, ferociously pouncing towards the Fengqiao camp.
"Sir, the Japanese pirates have started to attack Fengqiao Camp again. The last wave of Japanese pirates numbered about a thousand, and the Zhejiang Army managed to hold out. This time, I'm afraid it will be even more difficult. Judging from the pirates' shouts and shadows, there are estimated to be about four to five thousand Japanese pirates attacking Fengqiao Camp this time, which is more than twice the number of the Zhejiang Army. The Zhejiang Army is afraid that they are in great danger..."
The chief of Suzhou Prefecture's military department stood beside Suzhou prefect Shang Weiwei and spoke to Shang Weiwei with a serious face.
"Without further delay, order General Zhang to gather three thousand elite soldiers and horses and quickly leave the city to support Fengqiao Camp."
After hearing this, Shang Weiwei hesitated for a moment and gave the order.
"No, no, Master Fu!"
"You can't do that, Mr. Fu. There are 30,000 or 40,000 Japanese pirates outside, and the Zhejiang Army only has 2,000 people. Even if we send out 3,000 soldiers, there are only 5,000 people. Compared with the Japanese pirate army, it will be useless."
"That's right, sir. We must not send out reinforcements. The Japanese pirates are fierce and good at fighting. Our troops are no match for them in a field battle. If we send 3,000 troops out of the city, we will just be sending heads to the Japanese pirates. It will be useless. Our troops can only rely on the tall city walls to deal with the Japanese pirates! Sending troops out of the city is just taking advantage of our weaknesses and avoiding our strengths. Please be responsible for the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in the city!"
When the officials heard that Shang Weizhi wanted to send troops to support the Zhejiang army, they became emotional and tried to dissuade him.
"This... Our Suzhou City and the Zhejiang Army are in a pincer attack, and we should support each other, otherwise we will be in danger if one falls between the lips and the teeth! If we don't rescue the Zhejiang Army, and the Zhejiang Army's Fengqiao Camp is breached by the Japanese pirates, then the next target of the Japanese pirates will be us! Without the Zhejiang Army to contain the Japanese pirates, if 30,000 to 40,000 Japanese pirates attack our Suzhou City, then our Suzhou City will be in danger." Shang Weiwei explained to a group of officials the principle of "if one falls between the lips and the teeth".
"Sir, the key is that even if we send 3,000 soldiers to support the Zhejiang Army, it will be useless. Our army is good at defending the city, but not good at field battles. 3,000 soldiers fighting against the Japanese pirates in the field will only be a waste of lives. They can only play a role in the city. We don't have enough soldiers in the city. If we lose these 3,000 soldiers, Suzhou City will be in danger!"
"Master, Master Zhu's troops did not ask us to support him. Master Zhu and his troops only bought 700 to 800 mules and horses. Together with all the mules and horses they have, the Zhejiang Army has more than 1,000 mules and horses. If they cannot defeat the Japanese pirates, they can run away. The Japanese pirates came by boat, without horses. How can the two-legged Japanese pirates outrun the four-legged horses? If the Zhejiang Army escapes on horseback, the Japanese pirates will have no way to stop them."
"That's right, sir. The Zhejiang Army purchased mules and horses in advance, which shows that they had planned this long ago. When the time comes, Lord Zhu and his men can run away on horseback, and our reinforcements will become scapegoats. The Japanese pirates can't catch up with the Zhejiang Army on horseback, but they can catch up with our reinforcements."
"Please, sir, please put the overall situation first and the lives of the people in the city first, and don't make unnecessary sacrifices!"
A group of officials tried again to dissuade Shang Zhifu from sending reinforcements to the Zhejiang Army. They specifically pointed out that the Zhejiang Army had a large number of mules and horses, and if the Zhejiang Army was unable to hold on, they could also escape on horseback.
Shang Weiwei listened to everyone's dissuasion, especially the fact that they had spent more than a thousand mules and horses for the Zhejiang Army.
I have to say that this convinced Shang Weiwei.
Yes, the Zhejiang Army had more than a thousand mules and horses. If they were exhausted, they could escape on horseback and avoid being wiped out.
Although they had lost the Fengqiao camp and had no stable base, as long as the Zhejiang army was not completely wiped out, the Japanese pirates would not dare to attack the city with all their strength. They would definitely leave behind a certain number of troops to prevent the Zhejiang army from launching a counterattack.
Moreover, as they said, the defenders of Suzhou City had not been on the battlefield for a long time and were no match for the Japanese pirates in a field battle.
Thinking of this, Shang Wei sighed, waved his hand, and said helplessly, "Let's put aside the reinforcement issue for now and make a long-term plan."
"Your Excellency is wise!"
When the officials on the city wall heard that Shang Weishi no longer insisted on sending reinforcements, they were overjoyed and praised Shang Weishi for his wisdom.
Shang Wei shook his head, clasped the wall tiles tightly with both hands, and looked nervously in the direction of Fengqiao Camp.
The Zhejiang Army's Fengqiao Camp had already been ready for battle. After Zhu Ping'an repelled the first wave of Japanese pirates and saw that the Japanese pirates were beginning to select the second wave of vanguard pirates, he had already ordered the 800 reserve troops in the camp to be ready to provide support at any time.
This wave of attack by the Japanese pirates is bound to be extremely fierce. In response to this wave of attack, the Japanese pirates will definitely send reinforcements.
Now is the best time to detonate the gunpowder in the wine jar.
As long as the gunpowder in the wine jar was detonated, it would cause great casualties and deterrence to the Japanese pirates, and thus defeat this wave of attack by the Japanese pirates. In this way, the morale of the Japanese pirates would inevitably be greatly damaged, and they would be afraid of the Zhejiang army and the Fengqiao camp.
From now on, it will be difficult for the Japanese pirates to organize such a fierce offensive against the Fengqiao camp.