"What happened?" Prefect Shang's heart skipped a beat and he quickly trotted forward to check.
Please don't make any more trouble! Prefect Shang prayed anxiously as he trotted.
"Your Excellency, look, there is a troop of soldiers heading towards our east gate in the distance." The deputy general pointed to the distance and reported to Prefect Shang.
Prefect Shang narrowed his eyes and looked in the direction of the deputy general's finger. Sure enough, he saw a group of soldiers winding towards the east gate in the distance. The distance was estimated to be seven or eight miles away. This group of soldiers was like a group of small black dots, heading straight for the east gate.
When he saw the troops rushing towards the east gate, Governor Shang suddenly became nervous.
Who is this army? !
Is it General Wang who is returning to the city? !
Or did General Wang fall for the Japanese pirates' trap and his entire army was annihilated? The Japanese pirates took advantage of their victory and attacked the city? !
Prefect Shang was extremely nervous. He looked at his deputy general and asked repeatedly, "Is the city gate closed? Is the roof beam in place? Place 20 carts of stones and fill the gate passage with stones if necessary. We must not let any Japanese pirates enter the city!"
"Reporting to the Lord, the city gate has been closed and the roof beams have been propped up, with eight beams in total. I will have someone remove the stones right away. If the city gate is in danger of being lost, fill the passage with stones."
The deputy general reported back, and then gave an order to his men to go to the city to collect horse-drawn carriages carrying stones and place them outside the city gate for use.
The distance of seven or eight miles is not too far. The army in the distance was getting bigger and bigger in the sight of Shang Zhifu and others, from the size of an ant at the beginning to the size of a peanut, and then to the size of a fist.
Getting closer.
The hearts of Prefect Shang and others on the city wall were all in their throats.
As the soldiers became the size of a fist in their field of vision, Prefect Shang and his companions discovered that this army seemed a bit too many.
That's right, a rough estimate shows that there are nearly two thousand people, or at least sixteen or seventeen hundred.
General Wang only led a thousand soldiers out of the city. It was obvious that these sixteen or seventeen hundred soldiers did not belong to General Wang.
"Your Excellency, this army seems a bit too many..." the deputy general said tremblingly.
"How much do you estimate it to be?" Prefect Shang asked after swallowing. At this moment, he hoped very much that his estimate was wrong.
"About 1,600 to 1,700 people." The deputy general estimated again and reported to Prefect Shang.
My estimation was actually correct. Prefect Shang was very disappointed. The next second he thought of an impossible possibility.
"How many people did General Wang take out of the city to chase the Japanese pirates?" Prefect Shang asked even though he knew the answer and still held out a glimmer of hope that he was mistaken.
"One... one thousand soldiers and horses." replied the deputy general.
"Then doesn't it mean that these 1,600 to 1,700 soldiers are not General Wang and his men?" Prefect Shang's voice sounded a little uncertain.
"Your Excellency is wise. I also think that this army does not look like General Wang's. The number of people does not match. They may be Japanese pirates."
The deputy general swallowed his saliva.
"Alas, General Wang, why didn't you listen to my warning? I came to warn you many times and clearly asked you not to leave the city to pursue the Japanese pirates. But you didn't listen to me and insisted on leaving the city to pursue the Japanese pirates. You see, isn't this the problem?" Prefect Shang couldn't help but let out a long sigh and complained angrily.
The deputy general didn't know how to answer.
"The Japanese pirates are attacking again, what should we do?" After complaining for a while, Prefect Shang asked his deputy general for advice.
"Your Excellency, General Wang and his entourage may be in danger, but there is no need to worry about Suzhou City. Suzhou City is tall and solid, and we have one thousand reinforcements and five hundred strong men sent by Your Excellency. This wave of Japanese pirates only has one thousand six hundred to seven hundred people. If we want to take Suzhou City, this number of troops is not enough. We need at least five times our troops. The Japanese pirates' previous sieges all ended in failure, and this time is expected to be no exception."
The deputy general thought about it and replied with a bow.
"The last few times they attacked the city, they were all civilians captured by the Japanese pirates. They deliberately sent themselves to die to paralyze us and lure us out of the city to pursue them. The Japanese pirates have achieved their goal. The ones coming this time are pure Japanese pirates, and their fighting power is definitely not the same."
After hearing what the deputy general said, Prefect Shang was not relieved. He shook his head slightly and said with a worried look on his face.
Upon hearing this, the deputy general's face showed a bit of worry. Of course, he still had confidence in defending the city. It was just as Prefect Shang said, in the previous waves of sieges, the Japanese pirates were using ordinary people to attack the city and lure the enemy, so he thought the Japanese pirates' fighting effectiveness was not good. However, this wave of Japanese pirates were most likely pure Japanese pirates.
The Japanese pirates were known for their fierceness and good fighting skills. Although the 1,600 to 1,700 Japanese pirates could not capture the city, they would inevitably cause serious casualties to the defenders.
Swords and knives are merciless on the battlefield, and with Prefect Shang in charge of supervising the battle, the deputy general cannot hide behind.
It's dangerous.
Just when Prefect Shang and the deputy general were filled with worry, they heard a commotion coming from beside them, and unexpected and exciting shouts rang out.
"What happened again?" Prefect Shang, the deputy general and others looked outside hurriedly, fearing that more bad news would come.
"Look, the people coming are wearing our armor, not the Japanese pirates' armor, and they are led by more than a hundred cavalrymen. Aren't General Wang's personal guards just over a hundred cavalrymen? It seems that the people coming are ours, not the Japanese pirates."
"Huh?! It's true. Even though it's a bit far, I can still tell the style of the armor apart. The Japanese pirates wear armor that is very different from ours. The people coming here are indeed ours."
"The people coming are ours, not pirates."
The officers and soldiers on the city wall couldn't help cheering. Such an unexpected surprise came from the sky, how could they not cheer
"Our people?!"
Amid the cheers of the officers and soldiers, Prefect Shang and his deputy general looked in disbelief at the approaching troops from afar. Upon closer inspection, they could see that the armor on the soldiers in the distance was indeed that of the Ming army.
It's not the Japanese pirates, it's General Wang? !
Prefect Shang and the deputy general looked at each other, both with disbelief and suspicion on their faces, thinking that the matter was too suspicious.
First and foremost, the number of people doesn’t match.
General Wang only brought a thousand soldiers when he went out of the city to chase the Japanese pirates, but when he came back he had 1,600 to 1,700 soldiers?!
How is this possible? She didn't go out of town to give birth!
If they were Japanese pirates, they would have come to the East Gate wearing Ming army armor. Their purpose was self-evident. They must have tried to pretend to be Ming army and trick the city gate open.
Since the Japanese pirates were able to change into the clothes of the Ming army, the fate of General Wang and his men was obvious. General Wang and his men must have met with an unexpected disaster.
"Alas." Prefect Shang couldn't help but sigh again, mourning for General Wang and his entourage who had left the city without permission.
Although General Wang had left the city without permission to pursue the Japanese pirates, which had angered Prefect Shang, the person was already dead, and the dead were the greatest, so let the past be the past. At this moment, Prefect Shang had even thought of the elegiac couplet for General Wang.