The sun rises, hangs high in the sky, and then sets. Dusk slowly falls, the moon rises above the willows, and the surroundings are silent.
For a whole day, until late at night, the Japanese pirates huddled obediently on the riverbank ten miles away. They did not launch any more attacks on the Zhejiang army's positions, and did not even make the appearance of attacking. Their obedience was so unbelievable.
On the city wall of Suzhou, a group of officials arranged the city wall under the light of torches, strengthened patrols, and guarded against Japanese pirates.
The soldiers on the city wall looked at the Japanese camp in the distance outside the city, pointed and talked, with a relaxed expression.
"It seems that the Japanese pirates suffered heavy losses in front of the Zhejiang Army. They didn't recover for a whole day and didn't dare to attack the Zhejiang Army's position for a whole day. Haha, you see, the Japanese pirates are like wild dogs with broken legs. They can only stare and bar their teeth from a distance, without the courage to turn around and counterattack."
"Hahahaha, the Japanese pirates are just like this..."
The atmosphere on the city wall was much more relaxed than it was early in the morning, and people couldn't help but feel a bit contemptuous of the Japanese pirates outside the city.
"The Japanese pirates are cunning. They didn't attack the city during the day. They might be trying to paralyze us. At night, they might bypass the South Gate guarded by the Zhejiang Army and attack other gates. We must be prepared and not give the Japanese pirates any chance to take advantage."
The Suzhou prefect Shang maintained that every time he inspected a section of the city wall, he would call the responsible generals and officials and emphasize this to them.
"Yes, yes, don't worry, Your Excellency. This is a matter concerning the lives of all the elders in the city. My family is also in the city, and I dare not relax even a little bit."
A group of officials and generals gave repeated assurances to Prefect Shang.
"Of course, not everyone needs to be on high alert. We can divide them into two or three shifts, with one shift on high alert and the rest resting on the spot. The elders in the city have sent more than 3,000 quilts. With our existing quilts, each person will have more than two quilts, and we won't have to worry about starving or freezing even if we sleep on the floor."
"We need to light more fires on the city walls. First, we can create the impression of a large number of soldiers and horses to confuse the Japanese pirates and make them afraid. Second, it is cold and freezing, so we can light more fires to warm everyone and keep them warm. Third, we can cook a big pot of meat soup on the fire and bake pancakes beside the fire to provide a midnight snack for the soldiers to supplement their nutrition."
Governor Su gave instructions to the soldiers.
All the soldiers responded in agreement. They were naturally happy that they could work in three shifts, light more fires, and have an extra midnight snack.
Prefect Su inspected the city wall and went straight to the city gate tower without going down. In the simple Chen gate tower, he spread a blanket on the ground like all the other soldiers and took a nap against the wall with his clothes on.
"Your Excellency, it's late at night, and the Japanese pirates show no signs of moving. We are watching the city walls. You should go back to your house and have a good night's sleep. You have been very tired today, and even a strong man can't stand it."
A group of officials kept persuading him.
"Haha, I'm not an old man. Let alone one night, even if I can survive for a month, it won't be a problem. A few months ago, when Zihou was in charge of Jingnan County, he was also besieged by Japanese pirates. At that time, Zihou climbed the city wall with his bedding on his back and swore that he would not leave the city wall until the Japanese pirates retreated. I am also doing the same now. I will not leave the city wall until the Japanese pirates retreat."
Governor Su waved his hand and said with a determined look.
"Your Excellency, this is a different time now. Outside the city, Lord Zhu is leading the Zhejiang Army to guard the Fengqiao Camp, and we are still on the city. You..."
A group of officials continued to persuade him.
Before they could finish their words, they were interrupted by Governor Su. "You don't need to persuade me anymore. I have made up my mind. Of course, the same goes for you. No one is allowed to leave the city wall until the Japanese pirates retreat. Otherwise, you will be treated as deserters!"
A group of officials...
It was late at night and the soldiers on the city wall did not dare to relax at all. Except for the soldiers on duty who were lying on the ground, all the soldiers on duty stared into the distance with wide eyes, not missing any movement.
The Japanese pirates were still more than ten miles away and had not retreated yet. They could attack the city at any time. Although the Zhejiang army had dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese pirates during the day, they only had 2,000 soldiers and could only stay in Fengqiao Camp. However, Suzhou City had many gates in all directions. The Japanese pirates could completely bypass the southern area where the Zhejiang army was stationed and attack the gates in other directions.
Therefore, the soldiers on the city did not dare to relax at all.
The Suzhou prefect Shang Weiwei came out again in the middle of the night to inspect the city wall. Seeing the soldiers on duty seriously, he nodded with satisfaction.
In the distance, at the gate in front of the Zhejiang Army's Fengqiao camp, the sound of horse hooves was heard, and more than a hundred riders stopped in front of the camp.
"Secret code, secret code, you can only enter if you match the secret code." The soldiers in front of the village gate shouted vigilantly.
"Water can carry a boat." Immediately afterwards, the soldiers in front of the village gate shouted the above code.
“You can also row.”
The cavalrymen answered one after another.
"The code is correct, open the gate." The sentry on duty at the gate waved his hand, signaling his soldiers to open the gate.
Water can carry a boat, and it can also be used for rowing. This is a code designed by Zhu Pingan, which has a nostalgic modern taste.
Of course, the main reason is the secrecy of the code. If people of this era heard the first line, "Water can carry a boat", they would probably think that the second line is "It can also overturn a boat." Unless someone travels back from the modern era, only the soldiers of the Zhejiang Army who were told the code by Zhu Ping'an would know that the second line is "It can also be used for rowing."
"Your Excellency, we spread out and monitored the Japanese pirate camp from a distance until Captain Zhang brought people to replace us in monitoring the Japanese pirates. We watched for three hours and did not find a single Japanese pirate leaving the camp. The Japanese pirate army was all inside the camp."
After Captain Wang Xiong led more than a hundred riders back to the camp, he handed the horses to his men to take away and add fodder and warm water. He then went into the tent to report the reconnaissance situation to Zhu Ping'an.
"oh?"
In the camp, Zhu Ping'an was checking the wartime merit book of the battalion commander and his soldiers and drafting an official document requesting merit. When he heard Wang Xiong's report, he was stunned for a moment.
Zhu Ping'an thought that the Japanese pirates would secretly send out several teams of troops to bypass the Fengqiao camp guarded by the Zhejiang Army at night and attack the Suzhou city gate from other directions. He did not expect that the Japanese pirates would actually hide in the temporary camp.
This made Zhu Ping'an a little confused. Although the Japanese pirates lost six or seven thousand soldiers in front of the Zhejiang army during the day, the main force of the Japanese pirates was still there. The Japanese pirates still had several times the strength of the Suzhou official army, so they would not hide in such a cowardly manner.
The Japanese pirates must be plotting something
Zhu Ping'an thought for a moment, but still had no idea. However, it would be right to do his own thing and not give the Japanese pirates any opportunity to take advantage of him.
"Okay, I understand. Thank you for your hard work, Captain Wang. Go back to your tent and have a good rest."
Zhu Ping'an asked Wang Xiong to go down and rest, and he took Liu Mu and others out of the camp to inspect the camp and check for any deficiencies.
To prevent any accidents, Zhu Ping'an sent out three more rangers to patrol in three other directions of Suzhou to monitor the movements of the Japanese pirates.
Zhu Ping'an specifically instructed them that once they spotted the Japanese pirates, they should mainly issue a warning and there was no need to engage in a fight with them.