The rise of the poor

At first, Zhu Ping'an thought the Japanese pirates were trying to escape and retreat to their stronghold in Tuolin. However, when Zhu Ping'an commanded the Zhejiang army to change formation and pursue the Japanese pirates, he realized something was wrong. The Japanese pirates were not trying to retreat to their stronghold in Tuolin, but instead stormed into Songjiang Prefecture.

Is this a case of people dying for money and birds dying for food?!

The Japanese pirates would rather die than give up the Songjiang Prefecture they had captured?!
Zhu Pingan was somewhat surprised.

But it doesn't matter. Wouldn't it be suicide for the Japanese pirates to invade Songjiang Prefecture? I can just lead the Zhejiang army to trap them like turtles in a jar!

"Speed ​​up! We can't let the Japanese pirates easily break into Songjiang City. Call out to the Songjiang City garrison to stop the pirates, while holding the other city gates. We must trap them like dogs in a jar, and not let the pirates who have rushed into the city get out!"

While directing the Zhejiang army to accelerate the pursuit of the Japanese pirates, Zhu Ping'an also ordered his men to shout messages at the four gates of Songjiang Prefecture, coordinating an attack from within and without.

Unfortunately, in order to conceal their movements and avoid alerting the enemy, the Zhejiang army did not ride horses on this mission; otherwise, it would have been time for the cavalry to reap the rewards.

"Speed ​​up! Speed ​​up!"

"Hurry up, the Japanese pirates ahead are all rich in silver. One pirate's head is enough for us to live a life of luxury for half a year."

With bayonets fixed to their muskets, the Zhejiang soldiers charged forward, pursuing the Japanese pirates with great strides. In their eyes, the pirates were nothing more than running bounties. Without any prompting from officers of all ranks, the Zhejiang soldiers took the initiative to chase after them.

"Run! The Zhejiang army is attacking!"

"Run! The Zhejiang army's muskets are loaded! If you're too slow, you'll get hit by bullets!"

"Holy crap! You guys behind me, don't pull me!"

The Japanese pirates wished they had two more legs, and they rushed towards Songjiang City in a frenzy. In order to fight for their lives, some pirates reached out and pulled the pirates in front of them behind them, or even pulled them to the ground and made them fall behind them as a cushion.

The Japanese pirates who were dragged to the back certainly wouldn't stand for it. In a life-or-death situation, who would be willing to shield someone else from gunfire? The Japanese pirates didn't have such a noble spirit of sacrifice.

So, when you pull me, I pull you, and we even draw our knives against each other, and it's a matter of life and death, who gives in?

The fast-moving Japanese pirates have already stormed into Songjiang Prefecture. The city gates are so fast that so many people can rush in at once.

The chaos at the city gate was even worse. Everyone was jostling and pushing to get through the gate first. More Japanese pirates drew their swords, and there was even a stampede. Many Japanese pirates who were pushed down, pulled, or slashed were trampled to death by their fellow pirates in the crowd.

The ground beneath the city gate was covered in patches of red, like jars of tomato sauce had been spilled.
"Brothers on the city wall, we are the Zhejiang Army. We are here on the orders of Governor Zhu of Zhejiang to deliver a message. We ask you to block the Japanese pirates, hold the city gates, close the gates and beat them, trap them like turtles in a jar, and not let a single Japanese pirate escape."

The Zhejiang soldiers circled around to the foot of the city wall and shouted loudly to the defenders on the wall, repeating the message over and over again to make sure they could be heard.

The soldiers guarding the city waved to indicate that they had heard.

However, they could not retake the city gates once they fell. The Japanese pirates filed in through the gates, their numbers growing ever larger. When the number of pirates entering the city was small, the defenders on the city walls had not been able to retake the gates, and now they were even less able to.

However, they could not retake the fallen city gate, but they could hold the other three city gates.

The city's commander dispatched half of his troops to reinforce the other three city gates and strengthen their defenses.

"Hold the horse track!"

"Fire arrows!"

The commander on the city wall directed the remaining soldiers to guard the horse path while firing arrows at the Japanese pirates inside and outside the city.

The commander guarding the city did not dare to lead his troops down the city wall to intercept the Japanese pirates, so he only dared to use this method to snipe at them.

"Damn it, the defenders on the city walls still dare to shoot arrows at us! Longbowmen, musketeers, let's see who on the walls dares to fire arrows again, call them out one by one!"

Seeing that the defenders on the city walls still dared to fire arrows, Xu Hai ordered the longbowmen and musketeers to retaliate and suppress the arrows from the city walls.

"Swish swish."

"Bang bang bang."

The Japanese longbowmen and musketeers aimed at the archers on the city wall and opened fire. Their archery skills were far superior to those of the archers on the city wall, and they quickly suppressed the archers on the city wall. Anyone who dared to show their face was shot dead.

"If you dare to fire another arrow, we grandfathers will charge in and kill you all one by one!"

"Grandpas don't have time to deal with you right now, but if you want to die, grandpas will grant your wish!"

After suppressing the archers on the city wall, the Japanese pirates brandished their swords and menacingly threatened the defenders.

"Damn it! How dare you threaten me!"

The commander on the city wall cursed under his breath, but ultimately dared not order any more arrows to be fired down from the wall, lest he anger the Japanese pirates and they actually charge up the wall. If the Japanese pirates did charge up the wall, they really wouldn't be able to hold it.

Outside the city, many Japanese pirates who failed to break into Songjiang Prefecture were crowding at the city gate, trying to squeeze in.

Behind them, the Zhejiang army had already charged over, caught up with the Japanese pirates who had fallen behind, and, in formation, stabbed them to death one by one with their bayonets.

The Japanese pirates were all desperate to escape. The more they ran ahead and overtook one of their comrades, the greater their chances of survival. Therefore, they were constantly fleeing, and very few dared to turn and counterattack the Zhejiang army. Of course, some did manage to turn and fight back, but those who did faced the Zhejiang army in neat formations, facing a forest of bayonets. Two fists cannot fight four hands, let alone a forest of bayonets. The pirates who turned to fight back were riddled with holes.

"Kill!"

"Don't let a single Japanese pirate escape!"

The Zhejiang soldiers grew increasingly ferocious, their eyes bloodshot with rage. They charged forward, bayonets fixed, stabbing and thrusting relentlessly.
"No, someone has to cover the rear, otherwise the Zhejiang army will be unable to get in if the outside forces come in."

"Those at the very back, stay behind to cover the retreat! Those who disobey will be killed without mercy!"

Seeing that the situation was not good, Xu Hai cut off his own tail to save his own life, and ordered the eight hundred Japanese pirates at the rear to cover the rear and block the Japanese pirates, so as to create an opportunity for the Japanese pirates in front to enter the city.

The Japanese pirates behind them, of course, refused. Covering the rear was a suicide mission, and who would want to die? They became pirates to rise above others, to eat well, drink well, and sleep with women. They would never do something like dying.

The Japanese pirates behind them continued to flee into the city, and no one stopped to cover their retreat.

Xu Hai waved his hand, and his personal guards, wielding their Japanese swords, stepped forward and quickly killed more than a dozen Japanese pirates who were fleeing towards the city gate. With their blood-dripping swords, they forced them to stop, turn around, and cover their retreat.

"As long as you delay for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, you can enter the city. The city gates will remain open for you."

To encourage the Japanese pirates who were covering the rear, Xu Hai promised them a reward, saying that they could retreat in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

They could enter the city in the time it takes to brew a cup of tea to cover the rear. A cup of tea's time isn't long, is it? The Japanese pirates covering the rear felt that a cup of tea's time was acceptable. Muttering curses, they turned and covered the rear. (End of Chapter)