The Zhejiang army accurately hit the weak spot of the Japanese pirates, and their bows and arrows suddenly stopped firing. Only one in ten arrows could hit the city wall, and the safety of the defenders on the city was immediately guaranteed.
The defenders who had been cowering behind the city walls saw that the Japanese pirates' arrows could no longer shoot, and suddenly their waists and legs stopped trembling. They dared to shoot arrows at the city and carry stones to throw at the city...
The Japanese pirates who were climbing the ladders felt this most directly. When they started climbing, they didn't feel much pressure. Under the suppression of their own archers, the defenders on the city walls did not dare to show their heads. Even the Japanese friends in front had climbed to the top of the city walls and engaged in close combat with the defenders. There were not many arrows shot down and stones thrown down from the city walls. However, when the Zhejiang army suppressed their own archers with firepower, the arrows shot down from the city walls not only increased exponentially, but were like raindrops, and the stones and logs thrown down from the city walls were like hail.
The Japanese pirates who climbed the ladders were thrown like dumplings, screaming one by one, and fell down the ladders and were turned into meat patties.
The battle situation suddenly improved greatly, and the defenders took the initiative. Although the Japanese pirates were powerful, they were not well prepared as the attackers, and they had no large siege equipment. The only archers and musketeers who could pose a threat to the city were suppressed by the Zhejiang Army. As a result, the only way for them to pose a threat to the city was to climb ladders and fight in close combat. However, without the suppression of bows and arrows, the defenders on the city shot arrows and threw stones, causing heavy casualties to the Japanese pirates who climbed the ladders.
When Prefect Shang saw that Zhu Ping'an turned the tide of the battle with just one move, he was immediately excited. He grabbed Zhu Ping'an's hand, shook it excitedly and said, "As expected of you, Zihou. You turned the tide with just one move. Zihou, you are good at military affairs, good at commanding, and good at seizing opportunities. These are beyond my reach. Come, you take command, and from me on, everyone will follow your command."
"It is still Lord Shang who is in charge, and I am just supporting him and helping him find and fill in the gaps." Zhu Ping'an said modestly.
"Zihou, for the sake of the hundreds of thousands of people in the city, please don't be modest. Although I am not good at military affairs, I also know that opportunities for war are fleeting. I have stolen the command position, and I don't know how many opportunities for war will be wasted invisibly. Zihou, Suzhou City is in your hands."
Prefect Shang grabbed Zhu Ping'an's hands and said with a firm look on his face that he knew his own worth. When it came to political affairs, he was the best candidate, but he was really not good at military affairs. Compared with Zhu Ping'an, he pales in comparison.
"Since Lord Shang trusts Ping An so much and has said so much, I will not refuse. I will not let Lord Shang and the others down."
Zhu Ping'an took the opportunity to accept it, bowed and promised with a serious look on his face.
To be honest, seeing how Lord Shang was commanding the defense of the city in a chaotic manner with many loopholes, he did have the idea of replacing him.
"Everyone, listen up. From this moment on, Zihou is the highest commander in the defense of the city. No one else, including me, must obey Zihou's orders. Anyone who dares to question or disobey orders will be punished for disobeying military orders during wartime. No matter who you are or what your status is, you will be killed without mercy!"
Prefect Shang still had some courage. While handing over the command to Zhu Ping'an, he declared to everyone that they would stand for Zhu Ping'an.
"Yes, sir!"
A number of officials and soldiers on the city wall expressed their opinions one after another.
"Thank you for your trust, Governor Shang, and thank you for your cooperation. Ping An will definitely live up to your trust."
Zhu Ping'an handed over to Prefect Shang and a group of officials and soldiers, and took over the military command of Suzhou City.
"Sir Shang, fellow soldiers, even though there are more than 20,000 Japanese pirates outside the city, their strength is several times greater than ours, but believe me, Suzhou City is impregnable. The Art of War by Sun Tzu says that if you have ten of them, you should surround them; if you have five of them, you should attack them; if you have twice as many of them, you should divide them. This is still an open-air battle. The strength required to attack a city is even greater. Our Suzhou City is tall and huge. If the Japanese pirates want to besiege and capture Suzhou City, they must have at least twenty times the strength inside the city."
"We have more than 5,000 soldiers in the city now, so the Japanese pirates will need at least 100,000 soldiers to succeed."
"Lord Shang, and all the soldiers, look at how many pirates are there under the city? There are only about 20,000 pirates. If they want to take Suzhou City, they still lack at least 80,000 troops, not to mention large siege equipment such as battering rams, catapults, and artillery. They are still far behind the pirates outside the city."
"The day before yesterday, in front of Fengqiao Camp, our Zhejiang Army soldiers relied on the low wall to defeat them. Not to mention that we now have such a tall wall and the help of all the soldiers. It is a foolish dream for the Japanese pirates to capture Suzhou! Now, we just need to hurt them hard and wake them up from their wishful thinking, and everything will be over. Victory belongs to the Ming Dynasty, and victory belongs to all of us present here."
After Zhu Ping'an took over the command, he first boosted morale, pointed at the Japanese pirates outside the city with disdain, and spoke in a sonorous and powerful voice.
yes.
The Japanese pirates outside only had about twenty crudely made ladders, and no battering rams, catapults, or cannons.
The Japanese pirates had only more than 20,000 troops. The day before yesterday, when they arrived at the Zhejiang Army's Fengqiao Camp, they had more than 10,000 troops, but they were still beaten to a bloody pulp by the Zhejiang Army and could not even take a single step towards the Fengqiao Camp.
With Lord Zhu and the Zhejiang Army around, how could these Japanese pirates capture Suzhou City
Zhu Ping'an's words gave a shot of confidence to Prefect Shang and a group of soldiers, making them full of confidence in defending the city.
Seeing that everyone's morale was boosted, Zhu Ping'an began to command in an orderly and effortless manner.
"Sir Shang, please organize the soldiers and craftsmen to set up a hoist to lift the supplies to the city, and set up crossbeams on the battlements and cover them with cowhide, so that our army can look down on the city from a high position, and at the same time block the direct arrows of the Japanese pirates. At the same time, make an arrow shield, that is, make a wooden frame protruding from the battlements, and also cover it with cowhide to prevent arrows from falling on the head."
"Liu, you lead 100 people to the city to mobilize the people. Ask them to help collect gold juice, sand, ash, chaff, grass clippings, charcoal, firewood, fire buckets, water buckets, and stones. Place the collected materials every 20 meters."
"Deputy General Zhang, go and distribute the wolf-toothed maces, battering poles, bows and arrows, spears, long-handled swords and other weapons that are useful for defending the city to the soldiers defending the city."
"Each sentry leader, organize the soldiers to boil water and gold juice, pour boiling water and boiling gold juice under the city, smash stones and roll logs, and use the wind to spread sand, dust, chaff, and grass to blind the enemy's eyes. Take the opportunity to use the baton to knock over the ladder. When the Japanese pirates are about to climb to the top of the city, use spears and long-handled swords to kill them."
"The Zhejiang Army is still responsible for attacking the Japanese pirate archers, and if they have spare power, they are free to fire at the attacking Japanese pirates."
... ...
Under Zhu Ping'an's command, the defense of Suzhou City became well organized, efficiency was greatly improved, and combat effectiveness doubled.
The boiling hot water and golden juice caused heavy damage to the Japanese pirates; the floating ash and sand made the Japanese pirates unable to open their eyes, and they became lambs to be slaughtered. Many of them fell to the ground after being hit by arrows and bullets while cursing the shameless defenders... ...