"As long as we successfully capture the city, we will have a foundation to rise again..."
"Uncle Ma, is there no problem with the backup plan you left behind?" Zhang Li looked away from the sky lantern with difficulty and asked Ma Fengsun with a forced smile.
"The letter has been posted on Panmen." Ma Fengsun had no choice but to reply. "Yang Lu is narrow-minded and greedy for profit, and he is panicked because of his relationship with me."
"If he received the letter, I think he would be able to distinguish the pros and cons."
"If the Second Young Master has no other instructions, I will go down first. I just touched the edge of the city and injured my leg..."
With that said, without waiting for Zhang Li's reply, he limped away.
It left Zhang Li with a trace of vicissitudes of life.
"The old immortal... is showing off in front of this young master..."
Seeing Ma Fengsun showing no respect to him, Zhang Li cursed in his heart. These former team members who were left behind by their father have never looked down upon him as a bastard.
If Zhang Ren's good-for-nothing brother hadn't died, I'm afraid they wouldn't even want to look at him.
In this case, he wants to seize Suzhou City, raise a flag, and compete with Ming Ting. The Chen family has already connected the north and the south, and the Zhu family and the puppet dynasty are in civil strife. If something goes wrong at this time, Mingting will definitely have no time to take care of it...
"Zhang Jun, your Chinese art of war..."
"Don't worry, Mr. Oita! My strategy is still applicable." Zhang Li clenched his fists. "First take people secretly to the shore. Tomorrow, all the ships that will park us at the estuary will come over..."
…
To the east of the city, the gate tower is closed.
Following the chanting of Li Mu, more and more people gathered towards the east of the city. Feeling this atmosphere, many common people and scholars even expressed on the spot that they would join the army and go to the city to help Zhu Su kill the thieves.
Ten thousand troops were stationed in the city, but they were guarding four gates and did not dare to move lightly. There are more than ten thousand thieves outside the city, but they are only hoarding outside the east city gate. If there is a strong attack tomorrow, the troops will indeed be somewhat stretched. Seeing that the people's support could be used, the guard Cao Yuan asked Zhu Su for instructions on the spot and allowed him to post a recruitment list on the spot. There are surplus weapons in the treasury, not to mention the leather and iron armor left behind by those remnants. Even if they need to equip five thousand more people, it is more than enough.
However, Zhu Su shook his head and refused. He reassured the people that the city wall would not be damaged, so he stationed himself on the east city tower. If the matter is really urgent, then the people will be recruited. He also asked them to help guard the city and prevent thieves and traitors from causing chaos and setting fire to the city. With great difficulty, the angry people were coaxed back home.
"Lao Wu, the thieves outside the city have even attracted the common people. They are obviously determined to attack the city."
"Since the people want to help defend the city, why don't you agree to them? If there are more people, the city wall can be defended more securely, right?"
Zhu Di felt a little pity when he saw the evacuated people. If there are so many new soldiers joining the army, the situation of troops inside and outside the city will change.
At that time, even going out of the city to fight the Japanese pirates would be okay. Why are you afraid of attacking the city?
"Fourth brother, do you want to have a head-on fight with the thieves?" Zhu Su saw through Zhu Di's intention at a glance. Since the war began, Zhu Di has always been inexplicably excited. He wears armor when he sleeps, with a sword under his pillow. When the cavalry left the city, Zhu Di was eager to take his place.
How could he be willing to just stay on the city wall and passively defend against the thieves' attacks?
"...Why don't we go out to the city to fight head-on?" Zhu Di hesitated and simply confessed to Zhu Su directly. "Continue to guard the city wall. If we can't protect tomorrow, those thieves will go to the mountains to capture innocent people and force them to attack the city and lead the charge."
"What should we do then? Let the cavalry go out of the city for rescue again? The thieves are already on guard. Even if the cavalry is brave, if they dare to go out of the city again, I'm afraid they will all be lost outside the city."
"Instead of doing this, it is better to go out of the city to fight the thieves while the blood of the soldiers and the people is still alive... From your fourth brother's point of view, if you leave the city now, the probability of victory is 70%..."
"Seventy percent...ah." Zhu Su touched his chin.
"Attack is the best defense." Zhu Di is a natural general. Although he is still young, he has to say that these words are quite insightful. With the fighting spirit incited by Zhu Su and the people, if they can replenish some troops and go out of the city to fight the thieves head-on, they will really win more than they lose... After all, Zhang Li and the others are just a mob.
They only dare to pretend to be Japanese pirates and use the power of Japanese pirates to burn, kill and loot along the coast. How can such an army have any great future?
"Fourth brother, although it is a sign that the people will be able to defeat the thieves...but fourth brother, have you ever thought about what will happen after defeat?" Zhu Su asked Zhu Di.
"After defeat?" Zhu Di was stunned. Somewhat puzzled: "After defeat... then of course we can turn the crisis around and win the victory... What else can we do?"
"It's not that simple." Zhu Su smiled and shook his head. "To be honest, these Japanese pirates are just disgusting things."
"...Now that they have gathered together, although we can defeat them, the most difficult thing is actually after they are defeated."
"As the saying goes, when they gather they are a pile of shit, when they disperse they are a sky full of stars. Now that they have gathered together, they are just disgusting the entire city of Suzhou. If they break up and disperse, they will disgust the entire city."
"You know, dividing into small groups to go around burning, killing and looting is what these Japanese pirates are good at. When the time comes, they scatter and loot, causing harm to all parts of the Ming Dynasty. What should we do? With a large army, we will work hard, one by one. Sweep and exterminate?"
"Uh, what you said..." Zhu Di was obviously disgusted by this metaphor. "...But I have to say, this metaphor is quite appropriate!"
Thinking about the behavior of the "big army" outside the city, Zhu Di had to admit that Zhu Su was right.
"But what should we do? Can we still defend the city?"
"...No, no, you kid, you want to gather them together and annihilate them!" He suddenly realized something and turned to look excited. "You already have a plan?"
"Fourth brother is smart." Zhu Su chuckled. "Zhang Li's fellow outside the city is bluffing and attacking the city with ordinary people... He looks like he will never return until the city wall is broken."
"But I don't know that too much is too much. The more he behaves like this, the more I feel that there is something evil in his heart... The Japanese pirates can succeed in plundering repeatedly, just by one word: escape! How can he be polite and polite, dare to set up his battle in an upright manner? I don't know him. Every day you spend, the danger you face increases by one point?"
"Isn't he afraid of you and my Ming Dynasty's millions of reinforcements?"
"That's true." Zhu Di followed Zhu Su's example and touched his chin, which had not yet grown a few hairs. "He deliberately allowed the people to attack the city. This thief also cherishes his own strength. Hey, he wants to trap the wolf but he can't let go of the child."
"It is difficult to achieve great results by looking forward and backward..."
"So, he has a way to quickly break the city in a few days? Do you have a clue?" Zhu Di asked Zhu Su.
"Just a little bit for now..." Zhu Su made a "little bit" gesture with his index finger and thumb. "But I have arranged for people to stay on guard. If I think about it, the horse's feet will be exposed soon."
Just as he was talking, he saw a soldier coming to the city to report: "Your Highness, there is a businessman below the city who wants to see you."
"I said that I am an old acquaintance with His Highness, and I have something important related to the safety of the city that I want to report to Your Highness!"
(End of chapter)
