The Zhejiang Army's shouting threw the soldiers on the city wall into confusion. Was General Wang returning in triumph, or was he leading the Japanese pirates into the city? ! Was the Zhejiang Army trying to enlighten the public, or was it fabricating a frame-up? ! Which one was true? !
In fact, not only the generals were confused, but also Prefect Shang and the accompanying officials.
"Your Excellency, if General Wang has surrendered to the Japanese pirates, then the people entering the city now are the Japanese pirates! Should we order General Wang and all the people who have entered the city to be detained to prevent any accidents?"
An official said in panic, trembling all over, and suggested to Prefect Shang that General Wang and his entourage be immediately restrained.
"No, Your Excellency, we can't act rashly. This is just one-sided news from the Zhejiang Army. If General Wang is framed, it will make the meritorious soldiers shed blood, sweat and tears, and make other soldiers feel disappointed. At present, the Japanese pirate army is approaching, and we can't let the soldiers become disunited."
Soon, some officials expressed different opinions and disagreed with immediately controlling General Wang and his entourage to avoid framing good people and discouraging the soldiers defending the city.
"This doesn't work, and that doesn't work. What should we do now?" The neutral official spread his hands helplessly.
So, all the officials looked at Prefect Shang, "Your Excellency, what can we do in this situation?"
"What you said makes sense. At present, this is only the one-sided statement of the Zhejiang Army. We cannot jump to conclusions based on one-sided statements. Controlling General Wang and his entourage will make the soldiers feel disheartened..." Prefect Shang looked at the conservative officials and said slowly.
"But Your Excellency, what if what the Zhejiang Army said is true..." Another group of officials became anxious.
"Of course, what you said makes sense. What if General Wang has surrendered to the Japanese pirates and lured them into the city? The consequences will be disastrous. Even if it is just a possibility, for the sake of the hundreds of thousands of people in the city, we can't just sit back and watch this happen..." Prefect Shang looked at the officials again and continued.
The officials of both factions were a little stunned. "Your Excellency, what are you doing here? What's the difference between saying this and not saying it?!"
Aren't you trying to smooth things over? !
But the question is, is this the time to smooth things over? If you trust the Zhejiang Army, you must quickly control General Wang and his entourage, otherwise things will go wrong; if you don't trust the Zhejiang Army, you must appease General Wang and his entourage to calm the army.
You are the governor of Suzhou Prefecture, you have to come up with a countermeasure.
While the officials of both groups were complaining in their hearts, the prefect Shang issued an order, "Now we have the best solution. We should quickly prepare hot soup and hot meals. Please ask General Wang and his party to take off their armor and weapons and enjoy them outside the city gate. Also, we should gather 2,000 elite soldiers to fully arm and protect General Wang and his party. Make sure that General Wang and his party can enjoy the hot soup and hot meals without worry."
"As for the soldiers outside the city who have not yet entered the city, please do not enter the city for the time being. Since the Zhejiang Army has objections, you might as well wait until the objections are resolved before entering the city. True gold is not afraid of fire, and the clear will be clear, and white cannot be black. General Wang and his entourage are certainly not afraid of confrontation. For the sake of hundreds of thousands of people in the city, I think General Wang and his entourage will understand."
After Prefect Shang gave the order, all the officials were stunned for a moment, and then they all gave Prefect Shang a thumbs up.
Awesome, really awesome. The Lord of the Mansion is worthy of his title. He actually came up with such a middle way that has the best of both worlds.
General Wang and his entourage were ordered to take off their armor and weapons, enjoy hot food and hot soup, and two thousand elite soldiers were dispatched to protect them. This not only appeased General Wang and his entourage, but also monitored them. This gave them more room for maneuver than directly controlling them.
If what the Zhejiang Army said was true, with two thousand elite troops stationed on the side, the Japanese pirates, who had taken off their armor and weapons, would not be a concern.
If what the Zhejiang Army said is not true, that can be explained.
As for the soldiers outside the city who have not yet entered the city, do not enter the city yet. Wait until they have confronted the Zhejiang army and resolved the misunderstanding before entering the city.
In this way, if what the Zhejiang army said is true, the risk will be kept outside the city; if what the Zhejiang army said is not true, then the responsibility can be put on the Zhejiang army, because it was the Zhejiang army that said you are Japanese pirates.
Immediately, Prefect Shang gave an order, and all the officials and soldiers actively carried out the order. The deputy general mobilized 2,000 elite soldiers to go down the city wall to protect General Wang and his party who had already entered the city, and the civil officials quickly mobilized hot soup, hot dishes, and hot cakes, and invited General Wang and his party to take off their armor and weapons in the name of a comfortable meal and enjoy it on the spot.
While the officials and soldiers on the city wall were actively carrying out the orders of Prefect Shang, the Japanese pirates disguised as Ming troops outside the city also took action.
In fact, Xu Hai and other Japanese pirates under the city heard the Zhejiang Army's shouting almost at the same time as the soldiers on the city. At first, only the sharp-eared Japanese pirates heard it, but soon more and more Japanese pirates heard the Zhejiang Army's shouting.
Nearly 40% of the Japanese pirates under Xu Hai were real Japanese, and 60% were local fake Japanese. The real Japanese could not understand, but the fake Japanese could.
Xu Hai, a native of the Ming Dynasty, naturally understood it.
Moreover, Xu Hai's hearing was pretty good. Although he didn't hear the Zhejiang Army's call at the first time, he heard it at the second time.
After hearing the Zhejiang Army's call, Xu Hai couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. Damn Zhu Ping'an, how did he guess the truth? ! This damned little thief came to ruin my good deeds again, I really want to tear him into pieces!
The moment he heard the Zhejiang Army's call, Xu Hai almost gave the order to remove the disguise and change from deceiving the city to seizing the city.
However, Xu Hai quickly suppressed this idea.
Too late!
The Zhejiang army was so fast that they could reach the east gate in a cup of tea at the latest. At that time, there were only more than 800 Japanese pirates entering the city, and the city gate was not opened completely. The obstacles in the city gate had not been completely removed, so only four people could enter the city gate at a time.
In just a cup of tea, Xu Hai was not sure whether he could seize the city gate and control the Suzhou prefect and other officials in the city.
Due to the influence of the Zhejiang Army, the Suzhou prefect did not come down from the city wall to greet and comfort General Wang, which resulted in the failure of his plan to capture the king first.
If the Suzhou prefect and other officials cannot be controlled in the first place, the resistance of the Ming army on the city under their command will never end.
In addition, the Ming army knew that reinforcements from the Zhejiang Army outside the city would soon arrive, and their belief in resistance would be infinitely strengthened.
These will hinder the Japanese pirates from capturing the city gates.
After Xu Hai pondered, he suppressed the idea.
As for the idea of withdrawing troops, Xu Hai rejected it at the first opportunity.
Half of their troops are in the city. It took them so long to enter the city, and it would not be fast to leave. Moreover, once they withdraw their troops, it would implicitly confirm the Zhejiang army's call. The Ming army on the city would definitely not sit idly by and watch them withdraw safely.
Moreover, the Zhejiang Army cavalry is heading this way. The Japanese pirates cannot outrun the four-legged horses with their two legs.
Once they withdraw their troops, the Zhejiang cavalry will soon catch up with them. If the Ming army in the city comes out to support them, they will be in danger. You must know that in order to deceive the city, Xu Hai only brought two thousand people on this trip.
Now we can only seek wealth and honor by taking risks. Even though we know there is a tiger in the mountain, we still go there.
Anyway, Xu Hai was sure that Zhu Ping'an had no evidence in his hands and everything was just his guess.
If they stick to this point, they can do something with it. As soon as they enter the city, they will close the city gates and lock the Zhejiang army out of the city. Two thousand elite Japanese pirates are enough to deal with the defenders on the city and control the city gates.
At the same time, a signal was sounded, calling on the Japanese pirate army to attack the east gate.
If it were a field battle, Xu Hai would be absolutely sure that he could crush the Zhejiang Army, which relied heavily on firearms, into pieces... Then everything would be under his control.