lcionline Chapter 417 The Japanese Pirates Are Here!
Chapter 417 The Japanese Pirates Are Here!
The debate in the Taizhou prefectural government office went on for a long time without any result. The only military personnel, Tan Zheng, refused to leave the city to fight, and no one could do anything about it, so the meeting ended in discord. The four gates of Linhai County were tightly closed, and civilians were not allowed to enter or leave. The militia were conscripted to assist the garrison troops in the defense, and a posture of strict defense was adopted.
The next day, Shimazu Mitsuhisa led his samurai to the outskirts of Rinkai County. Instead of attacking the city directly, they hid at a distance and observed the city's defenses.
The city walls were teeming with people, and swords and spears stood in a dense forest, clearly indicating that the defenders were prepared for an attack. Linhai County was the capital of Taizhou Prefecture, and its city walls were much taller than those of other county towns, reaching a height of four zhang (approximately 13 meters), with a moat about two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) wide. For the Japanese samurai, who had no siege equipment, the city walls, several meters high and the moat, six or seven meters wide, were simply insurmountable obstacles.
Shimazu Mitsuhisa stared at the city wall, lost in thought. His trusted samurai beside him complained, "My lord, the Ming Dynasty's city wall is too tall, no less impressive than our Tsurumaru Castle. If we attack it head-on, the casualties will be too great, and it will be a losing proposition."
The other samurai chimed in, "Yes, our Kagoshima warriors excel at head-on combat; siege warfare isn't their forte. It would be better if the Ming army came out of the city to engage them..."
Shimazu Mitsuhisa overheard their conversation and his mind stirred. He ordered his men, "Go and invite General Liu's men over; I have important matters to discuss." The men from the Qiongzhou camp had been following them all along, ostensibly to assist, but in reality to monitor them, and to some extent, to act as military advisors. He wanted to hear their advice.
The officer from the Qiongzhou garrison responsible for monitoring them was summoned. Shimazu Mitsuhisa respectfully asked, "May I ask, Your Excellency, in your judgment, do the garrison troops in this county not intend to engage in open battle?"
The officer surveyed the city walls and shook his head: "Judging by this, they're planning to hold the city to the death. I heard there are no garrison troops around Taizhou, only local garrison troops. You probably know what kind of troops those garrison troops are. They're okay for defending the city, but when it comes to open field battles, well, you know..."
"Understood. So, if your tribe were to attack a city, what tactics would you employ?"
The officer chuckled to himself, thinking, "Our Qiongzhou Battalion doesn't just stupidly set up ladders and throw people into the city to attack. We use explosives to blast open the gates of small cities and mortars to bombard large cities until you're in agony and have no choice but to come out and fight. But why should I tell you Japanese people all this? Besides, you don't have any of those things."
He gave a vague answer: "Usually, sieges are nothing more than ants swarming, using lives to fill the gaps. The Qiongzhou camp just has more firearms, but there are no special tactics..."
Shimazu Mitsuhisa sensed the perfunctory tone in his voice, indicating that his answer was not entirely truthful. However, since the other party did not intend to elaborate, he did not press further. He simply nodded calmly and said, "I understand. Although we have about two thousand men, we are clearly not strong enough to attack the city. We must find another way."
The officer was curious; he wanted to see how these Japanese, armed only with their hands and a sword, would attack a city. He watched as Shimazu Mitsuhisa rattled off a long string of words in Japanese to his men, who nodded repeatedly before disembarking to make their arrangements. However, after observing for a while, he saw no signs of the usual siege tactics, such as felling trees to build siege ladders. He couldn't help but wonder, what was going on? No siege equipment whatsoever—were they going to bite the city gates open with their teeth?
At the city wall, Tan Zheng, the commander-in-chief in charge of the defense, was nervously directing his soldiers and civilians to move logs, rolling stones and other defensive equipment, and to have iron pots set up to boil water in preparation for a possible attack at any time.
According to scouts, Japanese pirates appeared near Linhai yesterday and plundered many wealthy households. However, fearing discovery, the scouts dared not approach too closely, and they were unsure of the pirates' numbers. Based on Tan Zheng's experience, the Japanese pirates were always arrogant and, once they had their fill of looting, they would likely attack the county seat, since the wealth of the prefectural cities in Jiangnan was far beyond the reach of rural landlords.
Feng Su, the magistrate of Linhai County, was also on the city wall. Because he disagreed with Tan Zheng and they disliked each other, the two barely spoke to each other despite being so close. If it weren't for the prefect's order to organize the local militia to assist in defending the city, Feng Su would never have wanted to stand on the city wall with this cowardly commander.
Tan Zheng ignored him. He didn't seek merit but only to avoid mistakes. As long as the county town was not lost, he would still be the hereditary commander of a thousand households and live a peaceful life as his local tyrant. He would not be as reckless as these officials who only knew how to talk. They pursued fame in history, while he only wanted to maintain the status quo. They had different paths and could not work together.
At midday, as the sun made the city wall defenders drowsy, a group of figures appeared in the distance outside the city, running towards the county town. Someone shouted, "The Japanese pirates are here!"
Everyone woke up with a start, and Tan Zheng also peered down from the wall. As these people drew closer, their clothing and appearance were completely different from those of the common people of the Ming Dynasty. Their hair was shaved into a half-moon shape, and they wore only a floral cloth shirt and shorts. Their attire was extremely simple, but the Japanese swords in their hands gleamed coldly in the sunlight, looking very sharp.
Based on Tan Zheng's understanding, these people were undoubtedly Japanese pirates. But... why were there so few of them?
He stared at the sight again and again. No matter how he counted, there were at most a little over a hundred people. This was the "Japanese pirate army" that had caused panic throughout Taizhou and even Zhejiang in recent times.
Not only was Tan Zheng dumbfounded, but County Magistrate Feng Su was also completely stunned. Could it be that these hundred-odd people could move freely through the counties of Taizhou as if they owned the place, and even frighten the Zhejiang officials into sending an urgent report for help to the capital?
"It's utterly shameful!" Feng Su concluded after realizing the situation. Taizhou had hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians; it was absurd that they would be trampled underfoot by a mere hundred or so Japanese pirates. For Linhai County to be blocked inside the city by such a small group of bandits, afraid to fight back, aside from the possibility of punishment from the imperial court, would make all officials, including the prefect and magistrate, a laughingstock in official circles.
He found Tan Zheng and questioned him righteously: "Commander Tan, the Japanese pirates number only a hundred. Are you going to hold the city and refuse to fight, just watching them slaughter the people of my county?"
Tan Zheng's face turned pale and then red. He hadn't expected that such a small group of people would dare to venture deep into the Jiangnan inland region to kill and burn. Although his great-grandfather's bloody lesson had taught him that even a hundred or eighty Japanese pirates might not be enough to defeat a single thousand-household unit, how could he possibly utter such a shameful statement?
Feng Su pressed on relentlessly: "Commander Tan, the enemy is far outnumbered and we are far superior. If you still avoid the enemy and are afraid to fight, I will first inform the Prefect, and then report you to the Zhejiang Provincial Military Command!"
Tan Zheng was speechless for a moment. At this moment, more than a hundred Japanese pirates arrived at the city walls, stopped where they could not be reached by arrows, and began to shout in a language that was incomprehensible to them. Their expressions were frivolous and contemptuous, and it was clear that they were not saying anything nice. Seeing that the defenders did not react, the pirates took off their shorts, turned their backs to the city walls, and exposed their bare buttocks, which were covered only by their loincloths. They slapped their bare buttocks with their hands, and the intention to humiliate them was very obvious.