Chapter 65: The Japanese Pirates Arrive

  "Something's wrong, sir! The Japanese pirates have invaded and are lurking under the walls of Yangzhou City!"

  The bailiff's report was like a thunderclap that shocked the several people in the house who were secretly discussing, including Sun Zhili, whose faces suddenly turned as white as snow.

  The Wokou were generally referred to as the Japanese-based maritime invaders who were active on the Korean Peninsula and the Chinese mainland coast from the 13th to the 16th century. They were once classified as pirates, but in reality, their looting targets were not ships, but cities on land. The forty years from the Jiajing period to the Longqing and Wanli periods was the most severe period of Wokou harassment during the Ming dynasty, which historians called "Jiajing's Great Wokou". In this stage, the coastal civilians who were forced by greed and hardship, and trapped in hunger and cold, were actually the main body of the Wokou. One of the reasons for their poverty was the Ming dynasty's sea ban policy of "not allowing a single plank to go out to sea".

  Although the southeastern coastal pirates were severely hit by many famous generals such as Qi Jiguang, and their forces were greatly reduced, the pirate problem was not effectively solved until the end of the Chongzhen era. It was like a tumor that consumed the Ming Dynasty, accompanying the decline of the Great Ming Empire until the early Qing period when the pirates' power began to disappear.

  However, the past Wokou invasions and harassments were all along the coast of Fujian and Zhejiang, never reaching as far inland as over 300 li to plunder cities like Yangzhou near Nanjing. Now that even Yangzhou has been invaded by Wokou, if this news reaches the imperial court, it will be enough to cause a huge stir.

  At this time, the three people heard that the Japanese pirates were coming to attack. For a moment, they all flew out of their souls. Gu Shou fell onto the chair with a thud, muttering to himself: "It's over, it's over! The Japanese pirates have come, Yangzhou City is finished."

  At this time, only a crisp "slap" sound was heard. Sun Zhili raised his hand and gave Gu Shou an ear slap, scolding him, "You rascal, what are you panicking about? The Japanese pirates have not yet entered the city. What needs to be done now is to close all four gates, send someone to Jinshanwei for help, and then gather young men on the city wall."

  Sun Zili is indeed a former Minister of War, and his mental quality is much better than that of Gu Shou and Sun Xiyi.

  "Ah...ah..." Gu Shou hastily nodded, struggling to steady his still-trembling body, and asked the yamen runner in a trembling voice: "Has the city gate been closed?"

  "The official reported: 'Your Honor, currently the East Gate, South Gate and West Gate have been closed, but the North Gate still has a large number of people rushing in and has not yet been closed.'"

  "Bastard!"

  Gu Shou was furious, pointing at the yamen runner and scolding loudly: "What is the gate officer of the North Gate eating? Until now, he still hasn't closed the city gate. If the Japanese pirates take advantage of this to rush into Chengdu, can he bear the responsibility?! You go immediately and order him to close the city gate at once. Otherwise, I'll cut off his dog head! Go quickly!"

  Looking at the yamen runner who had rolled and crawled out, Gu Shou gritted his teeth and cupped his hands to Sun Zhi, saying: "Master, you are now the most respected person in Yangzhou City. Now, please come with your disciple to climb the city wall and observe the enemy situation!"

  Sun Zili had not yet spoken, when Sun Xiyi anxiously shouted: "Father, absolutely do not go up on the city wall! Those Japanese pirates are ruthless killers, and Yangzhou's city walls may not be able to withstand them. You should come with me back to the mansion to hide for a while!"

  "Scoundrel!" Sun Zili angrily pointed at Sun Xiyu and scolded, "What do you know, you little beast? If the Japanese pirates enter the city, we'll all be doomed! Now, follow me to the city wall immediately!"

  Sun Xiyu's ugly appearance even scared Gu Shou, who was also afraid, couldn't bear to look at him. He didn't understand the principle that a nest cannot be intact if it is overturned, no wonder he was so old and still couldn't pass the imperial examination.

  "Master, let's go up the city wall now!" Ignoring Sun Xiyi who was still shivering with fear, Gu Shou took a few deep breaths, suppressed his inner panic, and stepped out.

  When they climbed up to the city wall at the North Gate, they found that the North Gate was already closed tightly, and many soldiers had gathered on the city wall. They were all looking outwards with terrified eyes, as if there was something frightening in the distance.

  Gu Shou saw this and was so angry that he almost twisted his nose, he strode to a soldier who was shrinking in the corner, stretched out his hand and gave him a slap on the ear, "You good-for-nothing, the Japanese pirates haven't even arrived yet you're already scared like this, what will you do if they really come? All of you get your spirits up, if the Japanese pirates come, immediately shoot arrows!"

  "Yes!" The awakened soldier hastily stood in front of the city wall, leaning against the battlements and looking out.

  At this time, a chubby official wearing a sixth-grade official uniform ran over, sweating profusely despite the cold weather. As soon as Gu Shou saw him, he immediately asked: "Zhao Shoubi, how many soldiers are there in the city now? Quickly prepare the rolling stones and wooden logs, and we must defeat the Japanese pirates when they come."

  This official was Zhao Qian, the military defense officer of Yangzhou City. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said in a bitter tone: "Your Excellency, I only have less than a thousand soldiers here, but I have to defend four city gates. We don't even have any rolling stones or boulders prepared. Where can I find them now?"

  "What! Such a large city, you don't even have rolling logs and stone rollers, what kind of military defense is this?" Sun Zili felt dizzy on the side.

  Facing the scolding of the governor, this soldier guarding the city wall looked very wronged and said with a clear conscience: "Your Excellency, you can't blame me for this. Last time I told you that we need some silver to reinforce the city walls and prepare rolling stones and logs, but you rejected it. Without money, even a skilled cook cannot cook without rice!"

  "Hmm!" After hearing the words of the soldiers, Gu Shou was stunned. Since he took office three years ago, he had never maintained the city walls of Yangzhou, let alone those rolling logs and stones. However, this was not just him, but also his predecessors, who thought that since Yangzhou was backed by Nanjing, who would dare to come here and provoke a tiger? But now, someone actually came, and Gu Shou regretted it too late.

  Sun Zhili, who was still calm on the side, asked Zhao Qian: "Zhao Shoubi, have those militiamen been mobilized?"

  "Replying to your honor, I have already mobilized over a thousand militiamen and they are on their way here."

  "Over a thousand strong men? That's too few!" Sun Ziliu, although he didn't know much about the military, also knew that over a thousand people were merely a drop in the bucket for the vast city of Yangzhou.

  "Sir, this is the most militia I can gather. I don't dare to use force, fearing it will trigger a riot. Now, I really can't come up with any more troops!"

  At this time, Sun Xi suddenly shouted loudly: "Father, Gu, who says we have no soldiers? There are still soldiers in Yangzhou City!"

  "Where are the soldiers!" As soon as Sun Xiyi's words came out, several gazes around him instantly shot to his face.

  "You little beast, stop talking nonsense. Where are the soldiers inside Yangzhou city?" At first, Sun Zili thought his son was just talking nonsense due to overstimulation.

  At this time, Sun Xiyi said fearlessly to Sun Zhili: "Father, Lord Gu, have you forgotten that there are still hundreds of soldiers in the Kong family?"

  As soon as Sun Xi Yi's words came out, Gu Shou suddenly realized and slapped his thigh loudly, exclaiming: "Right! How could I have forgotten? That Pang Baihu from Shandong didn't he bring hundreds of soldiers with him?"

  "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and send someone to bring him over!" Sun Zhili also didn't care that he was just about to take the other person's life, and hastily shouted at Gu Shou in a commanding tone.

  "Yes, I will dispatch someone immediately." Gu Shou promptly sent two yamen runners to hurry to the Kong residence.

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