The Japanese pirates' actions were so blatant that they made no effort to conceal their intentions. Before long, the divided Japanese pirates arrived at the east gate, north gate and northwest gate of Suzhou City one after another, and temporarily set up camp about a mile away, preparing for a siege.
The Japanese pirates did not do nothing last night. They took out hundreds of simple ladders in one night, and there were more than thirty ladders in front of each city gate.
Last night, the Zhejiang Army's rangers who were monitoring the Japanese pirates' temporary camp did not find any large-scale felling of trees by the pirates, so it was unknown how they managed to find more than a hundred ladders.
The Japanese pirates' action of dividing their forces to attack the city was blatant. The Zhejiang Army's rangers who were monitoring the movements of the Japanese pirates at the main traffic routes had already determined their movements and returned to Fengqiao Camp before the Japanese pirates surrounded the Zhejiang Army's positions.
Outside the east gate.
The endless stream of Japanese pirates, carrying simple ladders, seemed like a dark cloud pressing down on the city.
The large number of Japanese pirates, the white Japanese swords, the funny but scary topknots, the ferocious faces, and the full sense of oppression.
"Fuck, this is the first time I've seen so many pirates. It's a bit scary. My calves are shaking..."
"Didn't the Zhejiang Army kill 7,000 or 8,000 Japanese pirates? Why are there still so many?"
"Fuck, why does the Japanese pirates' armor look like that of evil spirits, and they have two long horns? It's so damn scary."
When some timid defenders at the east gate of Suzhou City saw the huge army of Japanese pirates below the city, not only did their voices tremble, but even their calves began to tremble, and their hands shook so badly that they could hardly lift their swords.
"Silence! What are you afraid of? No matter how many Japanese pirates there are under the city, they are just a mob. Think about the Zhejiang Army. There are 800 bandits who were recruited and 1,200 farmers who just put down their hoes. After only a few months of training, they killed 7,000 to 8,000 Japanese pirates! This is enough to prove how united these Japanese pirates are. If the Zhejiang Army can do it, there is no reason why we can't!"
General Wang was stationed at the east gate. Seeing his soldiers looking terrified, he could not help but yell at them. He cited the example of the Zhejiang Army to boost the morale of his soldiers.
To be honest, he was still a little dissatisfied with the Zhejiang Army. It had only been a short time since the Zhejiang Army started training, but they had achieved such great results.
In his opinion, the reason why the Zhejiang Army achieved such a brilliant victory yesterday was not only because of its powerful firearms and the fact that it buried a huge amount of explosives to plot against the Japanese pirates, but also because the quality of this group of Japanese pirates was probably not that good.
The Zhejiang Army can win a great victory!
There's no reason why we can't!
General Wang was feeling a little excited at this moment. The time had come to make a contribution! The time had come to get promoted and make a fortune!
Since this group of Japanese pirates is not very good, isn't this a military achievement sent by God?!
Zhu Ping'an had offended Lord Yan and was demoted to a small county in Jingnan as a county magistrate. Wasn't it because of his series of military exploits that he was able to make a comeback and become a senior official of the fourth rank?!
The brilliant achievements made by the Zhejiang Army yesterday will surely help him take another step forward and reach a higher level.
We can’t let him eat the meat alone. If he eats meat, we can share a piece. Besides, haha, I have always had a good appetite. One or two pieces can’t satisfy me. I want to eat my fill this time…
Outside the East Gate, Xu Hai rode a tall horse and trotted around the city gate twice. He called his trusted men, pointed at several locations on the city wall with his whip, and gave them the order to attack the city.
The Japanese pirates outside the north gate and northwest gate, led by Chen Dong and Ma Ye respectively, also issued orders to attack the city one after another.
As for the Japanese pirate army in front of the Zhejiang army, they took advantage of their military strength to surround the Zhejiang army's position from a distance. They sent a group of more than a thousand Japanese pirates from the north and south directions, each slowly approaching the Zhejiang army's position.
On four battlefields, a war is about to break out.
Outside the East Gate.
It was not easy for the Japanese pirates to attack the city. The first obstacle they faced was the moat. There was a winding moat outside Suzhou City with gurgling water, protecting the city like a guardian angel.
At this moment, the bridge over the moat has been demolished, leaving only two stone piles at the head and end of the bridge standing alone.
The attacking Japanese pirates arrived at the moat without haste. Hundreds of brave pirates took off their clothes, ignoring the cold water, and jumped into the cold moat wearing only dirty white calf-nose pants.
"What are the Japanese pirates going to do? Jump into the river to commit suicide?" The defenders on the city wall were a little confused when they saw this scene.
"Hahaha, are they going to jump into the river to liven up this extremely tense atmosphere?" someone laughed.
"The Japanese pirates are going to build a bridge!" An experienced soldier shook his head and corrected him in a worried voice, "It's winter now, the dry season, the water level in the moat is not deep, the Japanese pirates can build a simple floating bridge."
"General, we can't just watch the Japanese pirates build a pontoon bridge. Before they build the bridge, we should open the gate and send people to guard the shore to prevent them from building the bridge. If the Japanese pirates can't build the bridge, we'll see how they can attack the city. I am not talented, but I am willing to lead 300 archers and 200 sword and shield soldiers out of the city to prevent the Japanese pirates from building a pontoon bridge!"
When Lieutenant General Liu saw that the Japanese pirates were going to build a pontoon bridge, he quickly asked General Wang for help.
"No! It's the dry season now, the moat is not deep, the Japanese pirates are coming across the sea, they are good swimmers, just like these pirates who jumped into the moat. Once the city gate is opened, the Japanese pirates may brave the cold and jump across the river at any time and rush straight to the city gate. Before we know the quality of the Japanese pirates, we must not take this risk. If the Japanese pirates are brave and you can't defeat them, not only will you die in vain, but if the city gate is lost, you will be blamed for your death!"
General Wang shook his head and rejected Lieutenant General Liu's proposal.
Although he wanted to make a contribution, he didn't want to take any risks.
Therefore, the defenders on the city ignored the Japanese pirates who were building a pontoon bridge outside the city and watched them build the pontoon bridge.
The Japanese pirates on the shore pushed special tree trunks with sharpened ends into the river.
The Japanese pirates in the river took the tree trunk from the shore, turned the sharp end downward, and rammed it into the riverbed with force.
Tree trunks were standing in the river at a certain distance from each other, from one end of the river bank to the other.
Then, long tree trunks were pushed into the river. The Japanese pirates in the water tied them to the vertical tree trunks to build the skeleton of a floating bridge. They then tied the crossbars and put wooden boards, branches and straw on top.
After a while, a simple floating bridge appeared on the moat.
The Japanese pirates followed the same method and built three adjacent pontoon bridges in one go.
Then, the Japanese pirate army attacking the city walked on the built pontoon bridge and crossed the moat at a leisurely pace.
"Kill! You little bastards, break through the city gates, and all the gold, silver, jewels and girls will be yours!"
"Kill him!"
“Kill!”
After crossing the moat, a group of Japanese pirates, under the orders of their leaders, rushed towards Suzhou City, howling, holding shields, and shouting.
The Japanese pirates also used ladders to rush towards the city walls.
"Shoot! Shoot!"
"Don't save your rocks or logs, throw them down here! Smash these damn Japanese pirates to death!"
"City defense crossbow, shoot! Don't shoot randomly, do little soldiers deserve a city defense crossbow? Aim at the leaders of the Japanese pirates who are in charge of the battle. They are the ones who are worth a city defense crossbow!"
General Liu was wearing armor and holding a long sword. He was guarded by his personal soldiers holding shields and walking up and down the city wall, shouting and giving orders.