The pirates were very arrogant and seemed to turn a blind eye to the defenders of Dejimen, gathering and moving on the pier in a swaggering manner.
A distance of more than a hundred feet is not only within the effective range of the bed crossbow, but also individual crossbows such as the Divine Arm Crossbow can defeat enemy crossbows.
Although the accuracy and lethality are relatively low, they still pose a relatively large threat.
The reason why the pirates are not afraid is because the officers and soldiers are afraid of attacking at will.
The pirates captured more than 4,000 people from the town, tied some of them into strings, and drove them to the outside to form a human wall to serve as human shields.
Others are also tied together in small groups and scattered throughout the dock.
Behind the human wall, three to four thousand pirates were divided into more than a dozen groups and gathered, seemingly ready to attack Deji Gate at any time.
Most of the weapons in their hands were replaced by standard weapons used by the army, and the big and small bosses and strong pirates were all covered in iron armor.
Some of the pirates were holding up their recently acquired enemy-defeating crossbows, gesticulating and even firing towards the top of Dejimen City.
As one of the main weapons in maritime warfare, crossbows are also commonly used by pirates, but they are not as sophisticated as military crossbows.
The individual crossbow is originally easy to use. Even if an ordinary person has the strength to string it, even if he can use it, it is just a matter of shooting accurately.
In addition, many pirates are actually deserters, and by virtue of their military skills, they can often become the backbone of the leaders.
Therefore, even if the pirates are not good at fighting in formation, they are not a mob. They have been licking blood with their swords all year round, making their combat effectiveness even stronger than that of many local officers and soldiers.
In their opinion at this moment, it would not be difficult to capture Quanzhou City without the obstruction of the city wall. After all, the number of official troops in the city, including the Xiang Army, was only more than 3,000, while the number of pirates was nearly 10,000.
Most of the pirates are still plundering everywhere, and these more than three thousand pirates are waiting here, naturally planning to rush in as soon as the city gate opens.
But after waiting for almost an hour, there was still no sign of the city gate opening.
As a result, the pirates began to become impatient. Amidst the roar of curses, the big and small bosses were shouting and suppressing each other while frequently looking at the largest ship in the port, anticipating any new orders.
This big ship is the 'flagship' of the pirates, that is, the ship of Baiyan Jiao.
In the cabin on the ship, seven or eight people were staring at the top of Dejimen City, with some anxiety in their eyes.
Baiyan Jiao was impatient and said, "Damn it! Will the city gate be opened again? I've been made to wait for so long..."
"There was a weird loud noise in the city just now. It must be Jin Yong taking action. But after so long, we haven't seen the city gate open, nor is there any chaos at the top of the city. I'm afraid he made a mistake."
He spoke with a Tibetan appearance, but his accent was no different from that of a Han Chinese. He was Pu Shougeng's second son Pu Shisi.
"Missed!? Then what should we do now?" Baiyan Jiao was grumpy, but he tried his best to suppress it in front of Pu Shisi, "If we can't open the city gate, aren't our efforts in vain? We can't let those of us eat from the sea. Let’s go climb the city wall.”
In fact, the Pu family didn't care whether they could capture Quanzhou City. After all, their purpose was to lure King Yan to Quanzhou City.
However, the pirates cooperated with the Pu family mainly for money, so they must continue to use the wealth in Quanzhou City to make them obey their orders.
Therefore, Pu Shisi seemed unhurried and said slowly, "Although the failure in the city is a bit surprising, we didn't just focus on this way. At worst, we will think of other ways. Moreover, we will wait until tens of thousands of rioters arrive. In the end, the city will definitely focus on one thing and not the other, so it won’t be difficult for us to break in.”
"Is there any other way?" Baiyan Jiao asked.
Pu Shisi thought about it for a while, "Didn't Shuiying leave a dozen heads of officers and soldiers? They are all Uncle Xie Fang's cronies. If you have people pick up those heads on poles and provoke them in front of the city, maybe the guards on the city When the army is enraged, they will go out of the city to rob... In addition, there are many workshops in the northeast of the city. Go there to grab more craftsmen and let them build some siege equipment."
"Workshop? Didn't you say you couldn't get there before? Most of them are the property of powerful people." Baiyan Jiao was very surprised.
Pu Shisi looked disapproving, "If this big thing fails, those powerful people may not be able to save their lives, and their property will be useless. If the big thing succeeds, it will be worth the sacrifice, and sooner or later they will make it back."
After hearing this, Baiyan Jiao didn't care. Anyway, if the powerful people wanted to blame the Pu family, they could only blame the Pu family. He was just following orders.
He then gave the order, and not long after, a group of pirates used more than a dozen long poles to lift the heads high, then gathered a circle of people around them, and began to approach the city gate in a showy manner.
This strange behavior immediately attracted the attention of the city, and the defenders aimed their weapons at these people.
"The ones on the pole are human heads. What do these pirates want to do?"
Qian Long looked through the binoculars, but he didn't recognize the faces of those heads.
Qi Dali had an ominous premonition in his heart, so he said, "Commander Qian, can you let the general have a look?"
Then he took the telescope handed to him by Qian Long and put it to his right eye. He took a quick look and his eyes were split open, "I'm going to fuck his grandma! That's... that's the heads of Yi Mingcheng and the others!"
"Yi Mingcheng?" Qian Long was suddenly confused.
"That's the general I arranged for in the water camp."
Uncle Xie Fang's voice trembled, both angry and sad. Although he had expected it before, he still had extravagant hope that they would survive, but now it was completely shattered.
Qian Long was stunned. The regret and self-blame he had just suppressed suddenly rushed into his brain, and he spat out extreme anger through his clenched teeth, "I will join his ancestors!"
Qi Dali suddenly turned around and knelt down on one knee, "Thank you, Prime Minister! The last general invites you to fight and bring your brothers back!"
"These bastards are going too far! Come with me, Ban!"
Qian Long also took out a pair of iron bones inserted into his lower back and raised his feet to go down to the city.
"return!"
Uncle Xie Fang roared angrily and reached out to grab Qian Long, but he was staggered.
"Thank you, Prime Minister!" Qian Long had to stop and look at Uncle Xie Fang, his eyes bloodshot, "It was my carelessness that killed these brothers. I can't watch them suffer this humiliation after death!"
"Do you think I'm willing to do that!?"
Uncle Xie Fang roared like a wounded old wolf.
During the attack just now, twenty-two of his personal followers died. Although he was sad in his heart, he could barely accept it. After all, he died in battle.
But because of his own mistakes, so many good men were poisoned and died in mysterious circumstances, and he was already furious.
The scene in front of him severely shattered his defenses, but he could not forget his responsibilities.
"Take a good look!" Uncle Xie Fang pointed at the thousands of pirates who were about to move at the port, and tried to suppress his voice, "This is obviously a deliberate temptation by the thieves. As soon as the city gate is opened, they will have an opportunity to take advantage of us. Then we will put it at risk." Where is the safety of all the elders in this city!?"
Qian Long knew that Uncle Xie Fang was right, but he still refused to accept it, "Then we can go out through other city gates, or even use a hanging basket!"
Uncle Xie Fang said solemnly, "What's the use? The pirates are outnumbered. When the time comes, they will pack you up and cut off the circuit. Not only will you not be able to get your heads back, but you will be ruined in vain!"
"Yes, men should value loyalty and put the overall situation first!" Zhao Jujing also advised.
Afterwards, Qian Long began to struggle in his heart, and couldn't help but look up at the provocative gang getting closer and closer to the city gate, and at the swarming pirates at the port.
Suddenly his mind moved, and he remembered what Zhao Mengqi said, "Crisis means danger and opportunity are at the same time. It depends on whether you can think of a way to change." '
So if His Highness were here, what would he do?
Qian Long thought quickly, and then his eyes lit up, "Xie Xiang, if we let the pirates be arrogant, I'm afraid they will only become more unscrupulous, attack more towns, and increase our pressure to defend the city. The only way to give them A slap in the face can make them restrain themselves."
Uncle Xie Fang smiled bitterly, "It's not that I don't know that you can't defend the city to death, but the number of troops in the city is limited, and there are many unstable factors hidden in it, and the pirates take the people as hostages. How can this dampen their arrogance?"
"The general has come up with a plan..." Qian Long immediately revealed his thoughts.
After hearing this, Uncle Xie Fang thought about it for a while and felt that it was indeed feasible. Zhao Jujing was even more excited and said, "This is a wonderful plan. It's true that a hero comes out of a boy!"
So Uncle Xie Fang nodded and made arrangements immediately.
Below the city, the small group of pirates responsible for the provocation were actually very scared at first. Even if there were civilians as hostages, if the city head ignored them, a random shot of arrows would be enough to make them all go see the King of Hell.
However, there was no response from the city gate, and these pirates became more and more bold. They actually walked to a place less than thirty feet away from the city gate, and continued to curse and provoke.
"You little turtle in the city! Don't you even dare to look at me?"
"Look carefully at the head on the pole. Does it look familiar? These are all your colleagues."
"A bunch of eggless cowards, we sent all your brothers' heads here, and you don't dare to come and get them."
A dozen pirates were showing off their power and yelling obscenities for more than a quarter of an hour, but there was no movement at all on the city.
They cursed for a long time until their mouths were dry, but no one paid any attention to them, and instead they became even more arrogant.
One of them suddenly put down the pole, took off the head and threw it on the ground in front of him, then unbuttoned his pants and took out the guy to pretend to pee.
"If you don't say anything in the city, don't blame me for pouring fat on this head!"
Immediately, a large row of sergeants appeared from the top of the city, aiming down with powerful crossbows.
The pirate was feeling proud, but when he saw this posture, he was so frightened that the birds shrank away. He immediately pulled a common man in front of him as a shield. After thinking he was safe, he hid behind the common man's body and continued to shout.
"If you feel like it, just cum! It's up to you cowards. If you don't dare, just don't dare. Why bother to show off? It's just for nothing to make people laugh."
At the top of the city, the soldiers looked at the civilians pointed by the arrows and couldn't help but hesitate, "Commander, do you really want to shoot? Those are civilians!"
Qi Dali gritted his teeth, "I know they are the common people! But only if those bastards know that it is useless to use the common people as a shield, then they will not use this trick again, otherwise more common people will suffer and they will all obey my orders. , I bear the sins alone... Get ready, volley!"
As soon as he finished speaking, fifty crossbow bolts rained down on the pirates.
Thirty feet long, the crossbow could be quite accurate, and the soldiers deliberately aimed at the pirates.
As a result, most of the pirates were shot, and it was inevitable that more than a dozen civilians were "collateral damage."
Especially the exposed pirate, who was shot by four crossbow bolts that penetrated the people's bodies. One of them coincidentally shot off the entire length of his bird and dropped it into the mud.
At the same time, the city gate suddenly opened, and forty lightly armored soldiers rushed out quickly!
The pirates at the port were staring at this side. They were startled at first by the defenders' bold shooting, but when they saw the city gate open, it seemed as if there were countless gold, silver, treasures and beauties waving to them.
Without any orders from the leader, the pirates' blood boiled and they rushed towards Deji Gate like crazy.
