The rise of the poor

Songjiang Prefecture City remained bustling as ever, with a constant flow of carriages and horses. Shops along the street were always crowded with customers. Officials, merchants, vendors, and ordinary people came and went on the street, some on horseback, some in sedan chairs, and some on foot, shoulder to shoulder. There were also magic tricks and acrobatic performances on the street, and the onlookers cheered and applauded continuously.

What a bustling city!

Just as everyone was immersed in the hustle and bustle, they suddenly heard an exclamation, "Look, there's a fire over there!"

Then, people discovered that black smoke was billowing from a house.

"Fire!"

People shouted.

Just as everyone's attention was drawn to the fire, a shocking incident occurred at the two stalls selling juggling and magic tricks.

The circus and magic troupes suddenly produced swords and knives and began indiscriminately attacking the surrounding crowd. The unarmed crowd, whose attention was drawn to the fire, was caught off guard and fell in droves. People screamed and fell to the ground, blood flowing everywhere. Their cries for help echoed throughout the area.

"Help, it's murder!"

"They've gone mad, they've gone mad, they're killing anyone they see! Run! If you're too slow, it'll be too late!"

People screamed in panic and fled for their lives like headless flies.

But there were too many people. Everyone was pushing and shoving, and within a few breaths, a stampede occurred, with screams echoing through the sky.

The unrest in the city naturally caught the attention of the government. With so many heinous incidents occurring at almost the same time, it was clear that someone had orchestrated it.

"With so many disturbances, how could there be no one in charge?! Sure enough, Governor Hu anticipated the enemy's moves. It seems that some short-sighted Japanese pirates are indeed plotting against our Songjiang Prefecture and have arranged for spies to infiltrate the city and cause chaos."

Prefect Han Chen of Songjiang Prefecture was stationed in the city. Upon hearing the news, he did not panic. He had received an order from Governor Hu Zongxian of Suzhou and Songjiang the day before. In the order, Hu Zongxian informed him that the Japanese pirates from Tuolin were plotting against Songjiang Prefecture and had sent spies to infiltrate the city. He ordered Songjiang Prefecture to be on high alert and to guard against the Japanese pirates' inside-outside attack.

Having made preparations in advance, Prefect Han remained calm and composed. He summoned the two waiting generals and ordered, "General Zhang and General Wang, you two will each be responsible for two districts. General Zhang, you will be in charge of the East District and the North District, and General Wang, you will be in charge of the West District and the South District. In addition to your soldiers, I will allocate five hundred constables and able-bodied men to each of you. You must quell the unrest in your respective districts without fail!"

"Yes, sir." General Zhang and General Wang confidently accepted the order and left.

Each of them had 400 soldiers under their command, plus 500 constables and able-bodied men, bringing their total strength to 900. They were confident that they could wipe out any Japanese pirates who had infiltrated the city and caused trouble.

Having received Hu Zongxian's warning, Prefect Han mobilized 5,000 troops to defend the city.

The reason for having so many troops was that Songjiang Prefecture was close to the Tuolin Japanese stronghold, and there were many garrison troops and guards in the vicinity.

In addition to the soldiers, Prefect Han organized more than 800 constables in the city and also conscripted 2,000 able-bodied people.

Therefore, when Prefect Han dispatched Generals Zhang and Wang with 400 soldiers and 500 able-bodied men to quell the unrest in the city, it did not weaken the city's defenses much.

Prefect Han had been on guard against the Japanese pirates attacking the city.

Sure enough, shortly after Prefect Han dispatched Generals Zhang and Wang to quell the rebellion, a messenger rushed to report the news.

"Report! Japanese pirates suddenly attacked the city outside the east gate. Thanks to the prefect's advance arrangements, General Liu spotted the attacking pirates immediately and closed the city gates before they reached them, preventing the pirates from succeeding. The pirates' sneak attack failed, and they are now attacking the city," the messenger reported breathlessly.

"How many Japanese pirates are there outside the city?" Prefect Han asked with concern.

"There are about five or six thousand," the messenger reported back, adding that they could only give an approximate number.

After hearing this, Prefect Han was not very worried. Although there were five or six thousand Japanese pirates, there were also five thousand regular troops in the city, plus two thousand able-bodied men and eight hundred constables. In total, the number of troops in the city was more than that of the Japanese pirates outside the city.

Not to mention they were the ones defending the city, and the city walls of Songjiang Prefecture were a full ten meters high.

"Do the Japanese pirates have siege weapons?" Prefect Han continued to ask.

The messenger thought for a moment, "The Japanese pirates only have about ten simple siege ladders. Apart from that, they have no other siege equipment."

Upon hearing this, Prefect Han breathed a sigh of relief. The Japanese pirates only had about ten siege ladders. Although the pirates were fierce, it was a pipe dream to think that they could take down the ten-meter-high Songjiang City with just these ten siege ladders.

"Investigate further, and report back." Prefect Han waved his hand.

At this time, outside the east gate of Songjiang Prefecture, Xu Hai, Songpu Maoye, and Longzhaoji Gaoche were directing the attack on the city by the Japanese pirates in the central army.

Looking at the magnificent and imposing Songjiang Prefecture City before him, Songpu Maoye couldn't help but gasp a few times.

In his eyes, the city wall of Songjiang Prefecture was more than ten meters high, like a mountain. The long wall stretched as far as the eye could see, like a long dragon lying in front of him, making him look up again and again.

"Siguoyi, no wonder General Xu is so cautious, even sending people to infiltrate the city to cooperate with us from the inside. Such a huge city is even greater than the capital of Japan. Compared to it, the city of Hizen is nothing. The Ming Dynasty is indeed worthy of the name, it is truly great. I could not have imagined that such a huge city existed in the world until I stood before it."

Looking at the magnificent Songjiang Prefecture City before him, Matsuura Moge couldn't help but sigh repeatedly, "This country is so beautiful."

Even the usually composed and steady Longzao Temple Gaoche couldn't help but swallow hard when he saw the imposing Songjiang Prefecture City.

He had accompanied the head of the family to the capital of Japan, and at the time he thought that the capital of Japan was the most magnificent city in the world.

Unexpectedly, it paled in comparison to the capital city of the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty is truly a wonderful place.

This place is vast, beautiful, and rich; its cities are so grand; its land is so flat and fertile; its economy is so prosperous; everything here is so wonderful, like paradise.

How could the weak and feeble Ming people be worthy of such a beautiful place!

Since ancient times, the world has belonged to the virtuous!
Martial virtue is also a virtue!

This place rightfully belongs to us Japanese! It rightfully belongs to our clan; by occupying this place, our great cause will surely be accomplished!

Looking at Songjiang Prefecture City from Longzao Temple, Gao Che couldn't help but drift into daydreams.

Seeing the stunned expressions on the faces of Matsuura Moyo and Ryuzoji Takasha, Xu Hai couldn't help but smirk. Heh, I love seeing how ignorant you are.

"Old Che, such a big city, how much gold, silver and jewels, silk and brocade must be inside? Hahaha, this trip was definitely worthwhile."

After his initial shock, Matsuura Mogi couldn't help but wipe his drool away, his greedy eyes gleaming red.

"Hehe, that's easy. Just break through it and count them to find out." Ryuzoji Takasha chuckled.

“Old Che is right. We’ll know once we break through and count them.” Matsuura Shigeaki licked his lips and raised his katana. (End of Chapter)