The south gate of Suzhou is called Panmen, or Panmen in ancient times. It has a long history and was built by Wu Zixu, a famous official in the Spring and Autumn Period.
At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, King Helv of Wu ordered Wu Zixu to build the capital of Wu. Panmen was one of the eight gates of the capital of Wu. Because there was once a wooden dragon hanging on the door to show that it was a deterrent to Gou Jian, the king of Yue, it also got its name because it is "half land and water, with a curved edge".
The difference between Panmen and other city gates lies in these eight characters... Suzhou City is crisscrossed by waterways, and Panmen is an extremely rare ancient city gate with "two gates on land and water side by side".
In the eleventh year of Zhizheng, Zhang Shicheng added to Panmen and built an extremely strong "Weng City" inside Panmen. In addition, the original Panmen's "water and land double gates" were juxtaposed, making this Panmen become It is the most easily defended and difficult to attack gate in the entire Suzhou city.
"Then Zhu Su, no matter how hard he thought about it, he would never have imagined that we would attack Panmen..." Zhang Li stood on the bow of the ship with his arms open, looking at the tall and majestic Panmen tower in front of him. This Panmen was built and managed painstakingly by his father, Zhang Shicheng. If one guarded this door, one man could guard it, and no one could open it.
Its sturdiness is well known in Suzhou city.
If the city is suddenly attacked from here, the soldiers and people in the city will be shocked and confused, and they will be in chaos without a fight...
Perhaps it was God's help, but this afternoon, the already rainy sky turned into mist. This was very gratifying for Zhang Li. With the cover of fog, the traces of the army's movement would certainly be better hidden from the city's attention. The always superstitious Oida clan was even more happy and danced with joy, thinking that this was the "Heavenly Punishment" that Amaterasu God wanted to inflict on Suzhou City.
Therefore, Zhang Li and Ojingda followed the original plan and left more than a hundred Japanese soldiers in the village as suspects. The rest took advantage of the mist and retreated to a river mouth. By the river, the Guanzhou fleet that had brought them over was waiting in full formation. Once the night got dark, it would take them to Panmen Water Gate...
This is Zhang Li's plan: use Yang Lu to open the Panmen Water Gate, then attack the city along the river, seize the city and start an attack!
"Zhu Su is a child who likes to use tricks. Second Young Master, it's better to be on the safe side..." Ma Fengsun stood next to Zhang Li, looking at the dark panned door in the distance, but there was always something strange in his heart. a feeling of. That night, when I encountered an ambush in front of Pishi Street, I seemed to have a vague feeling like this.
"Now, Second Young Master, you are my Zhang family's hope. If you stay here, Prince Cheng will be dead."
Zhang Li curled his lips and felt so noisy. Somewhat impatiently, he said: "Uncle Ma was frightened out of his wits by that kid Zhu Su. So much so that the wind roared, the cranes roared, and the trees and grass all became soldiers."
"Yang Lu is the commander of the Suzhou Guard. If Zhu Su didn't have his help, how many soldiers would he have under his command?"
"What's more, eldest brother is already in the city. If we miss this opportunity again, without the city as a foundation, when will we be able to achieve great things? What's more, if we can't break the city and don't have the gold and silver treasures in the city as servants, I How can I explain to Oita-kun?"
"Without the support of these Japanese pirates at sea, my Zhang family would have been robbed and wiped out by the Japanese pirates in a few months. Can't Uncle Ma figure out our voluntary retreat?"
Ma Fengsun was speechless for a moment. He also understood what Zhang Li said. Raising troops now is a desperate fight.
The soldiers had been drifting on the sea for many years and were already exhausted physically and mentally. If we wait any longer, I am afraid that in a few years, these soldiers and generals left by King Cheng will completely become a group of bandits on the sea. What's more, this time is indeed a rare opportunity to raise troops. If they wait any longer, Zhu Ming will become stronger and stronger, and they will have less and less chance.
But according to the current situation, a frontal attack is obviously useless. So tonight is the final breakthrough.
"That's all." Ma Fengsun gritted his teeth. "What the Second Young Master said is true, but to be on the safe side, when we enter the city gate later, let me lead the people and those Japanese to enter the city first,"
"The second young master will be waiting outside the city. If nothing happens to me, it will not be too late for the second young master to enter the city gate again."
"If something happens to me..."
"...Yes." Zhang Li thought for a while and nodded. It's always a good thing to play it safe. That day when he was shot at by Zhu Su with a powerful crossbow at the city gate, he already deeply understood the principle that a gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall.
When Ma Fengsun saw that Zhang Li only said a word of praise, but did not have any words of praise or restraint for his spontaneous action of finding a way for him to die, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart: From this point of view, Zhu Chongba's son was born. , far better than the son born to King Cheng. In terms of age, Zhu Su's son is much younger than the eldest son and the second son, but he is wise and decisive, decisive in killing, talking and laughing, suppressing merchants, relieving victims, setting up ambushes, and calming the hearts of the people...
Will such a person really fall into the trap of him and the Second Young Master?
That's all... Ma Fengsun thought to himself. If you really fall into this trap, then you should take this great leader of the six yangs and thank King Cheng for your kindness in the past...
On this side, Ma Fengsun had secretly prepared to die. On the other side, Panmen Tower was getting closer and closer to their fleet. At this moment, they were about to enter the range of the city's crossbow equipment.
On the boat, Ma Fengsun, Zhang Li, and even the other Zhang clan's remaining soldiers couldn't help but become nervous.
This is the first hurdle they have to face: whether they can truly cover up others' eyes and reach the Suzhou city along the river quietly!
The soldiers, generals and Japanese people had already received the order, and now they all lay down in the boat, holding their breath and concentrating. Zhang Li even clenched his fists: At this time, these people under his command were basically in an undefended state. The boats were lined up in the river and it was not easy to turn around.
If there is a shower of arrows or even a rocket coming from the city at this time, it may cause chaos, making it difficult for the fleet traveling along the narrow river to see each other, and thus turn into a crossbow attack by the Ming army on the city. A living target under the equipment.
What worries Zhang Li even more is that because the Oita clan has always been a guest army invited by him, he is unwilling to take too many risks. Therefore, his direct troops were the first to move in front to clear the way for the Japanese in Oijingda. If there really was a warning in the city, the wealth that I had worked so hard to save would become a scapegoat to delay the Japanese people, and I would have to bear unimaginable losses alone.
Fortunately, until more than half of the ships entered the range of the city's crossbows, there was still no sound from the city. Zhang Li looked happy, turned to Ma Fengsun and said, "Uncle Ma, it seems that you are really worrying too much."
"There isn't even a torch on the city wall. Yang Lu must have found an excuse to move all the soldiers patrolling the city wall away according to what we said."
"When we retake this city, I think today will be the day!"
(End of chapter)
