Chapter 328: The Hardest Night
As Chu Yun had said earlier, pirate raids by Japanese invaders had plagued the Ming Dynasty since its founding. The areas affected ranged from Liaodong, Shandong, Zhejiang, Fujian to Guangdong, covering almost the entire coastline. Yet, during the Yongle era, the most severely impacted regions were Wenzhou and Taizhou prefectures in Zhejiang. Songjiang prefecture, belonging to Jiangsu, was relatively peaceful among the coastal prefectures. Therefore, when Zhang Shouyue, the county magistrate of Shanghai, was awakened in the middle of the night, furious at being disturbed, and then told that pirates had attacked, he was completely stunned. The only thing he remembered was sending out sentries to alert the entire city and then ordering all the local officials to gather.
“How could pirates appear in such bitter cold?”
Not only was the county magistrate at a loss, but the dozens of officials hastily summoned to the county office were also utterly confused. Five or six years earlier, pirates had indeed raided the area, killing dozens of people and stealing many valuables from a few fishing villages by the sea. Fishermen in the southeast of the county also suffered greatly. Fortunately, the military forces stationed there arrived in time to drive the pirates back into the sea. Such an incident wasn’t even reported to the provincial government, let alone the emperor. After all, compared to the massacre carried out by pirates at Songmen Guard a year earlier, the deaths and injuries of just a few dozen people were nothing significant. Why risk provoking the emperor’s wrath by reporting it?
Standing at the entrance of the county office hall, Zhang Shouyue stared blankly at the dark sky, feeling extremely distressed. Although it was called a county town, both Songjiang’s Shanghai County and Huating County lacked actual cities—after all, this place had never been a strategic military stronghold. Suddenly, he remembered that over a year ago, when pirates attacked Songmen Guard, it was also during bitter cold weather. In anger over this incident, the emperor had executed Shi Lu, the inspector in charge of Taizhou prefecture. If the pirates left after a single raid, as they had before, he might still be able to find an excuse to cope. But if they rushed in and massacred indiscriminately… he was doomed!
“Sir, sir! Captain Qin from the city defense troops has arrived!”
The Ming army was divided into several ranks. The highest were the troops stationed in the capital, followed by those stationed in border areas, anti-pirate units, military farms, and conscripted soldiers. The city defense troops were usually responsible only for guarding the city gates and walls, and their combat capability was minimal. Since Shanghai County had no city walls, its city defense troops had slightly better equipment than those in walled cities, but their numbers were still limited. Captain Qin held his military position through hereditary succession and had never fought before. His pale face was as pale as Zhang Shouyue’s. After meeting, the two stared at each other for a while before suddenly saying the same thing at once.
“What do you think, sir?”
Hearing this, not only the two parties involved were stunned, but even the officials and constables around them were shocked, their faces turning pale. As they stared at each other in confusion, another person rushed in like the wind from outside. Before he could steady himself, he gasped for breath and shouted, “Sir, sir! There’s someone outside… claiming to be from the Jinyiwei…”
Under normal circumstances, if his subordinates spoke in such a hesitant manner, Zhang Shouyue would scold them harshly. But upon hearing the words “Jinyiwei,” he seemed to grasp at a lifeline and quickly nodded, saying, “Hurry, go invite that person in… No, I’ll go myself. Lord Qin, let’s go together. That way, if that person asks questions, we’ll have confirmation.”
A few years ago, during the invasion by the Japanese pirates, Qin Baihu hadn’t even seen a trace of them. Now, hoping for someone in charge, he nodded eagerly. Walking quickly beside Zhang Shouyue to the gate, he saw three people standing there: two men dressed like guards with swords at their waists, and a young man in the middle holding a sword. Though the dim light from the lanterns made it hard to see their faces clearly, he could tell they weren’t panicked.
“Who is the magistrate of Shanghai?”
“I am Zhang Shouyue, the magistrate of Shanghai!”
Seeing the middle-aged man in a black hat and official robes step forward and bow hastily, Zhang Yue frowned. Having stood at the gate for a while and seen the chaos in the courtyard, he knew the county office was in disarray. Without wasting time on pleasantries, he said directly, “Since the Japanese pirates have arrived, besides having the night watchmen ring bells to warn the people, do you have any other strategies?”
“I…” Zhang Shouyue’s face turned red, but then he blurted out, “Even the cleverest cook can’t cook without ingredients. There are only about thirty officials and constables in this entire county office, and the soldiers guarding the city number around a hundred. This is Qin Baihu from the city guard. If you don’t believe me, you can ask him.”
Seeing Zhang Shouyue shift the responsibility to him, Qin Baihu cursed inwardly before carefully answering, “Sir, our city guard consists of just over a hundred men. Since there are no city walls and we train little regularly, even if we all go out to fight them, we probably can’t stand a chance. Since there are several military units along the coast, if the pirates land there, it’s their duty to deal with them. We can only do our best…”
Hearing Qin Baihu speak in this way, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but fly into a rage. But at this moment, the only ones he could rely on were the hundred men in the garrison, so he had to boost their morale: “I used just five men in Wu Xiang Old Street to kill over a dozen invading Japanese pirates. This shows that there’s nothing to fear from them. From the only survivor I interrogated, he admitted that only a few of them had landed; the rest were gathered around Da Qu Mountain and Yang Mountain and would surely attack tonight. The garrison can’t rely solely on human effort, and County Magistrate Zhang, you shouldn’t keep saying that even the cleverest housewife can’t cook without rice! The four coastal defense stations aren’t for show—where there are ships at sea, there will be lights. Their sentries aren’t there to sit idle; they’ll surely send troops to confront them. Even if a few escape, their numbers will be limited.”
Zhang Shouyue and Qin Baihu could ignore Zhang Yue’s earlier analysis, but the mention of killing over a dozen pirates lifted their spirits. They exchanged a glance and, seeing Zhang Yue’s confidence, immediately thought of the possibility of saving their own lives and careers. Though still frightened, they had no choice but to take a risk. So, they stepped forward together and said in unison, “Please assign tasks, sir. We will follow your orders!”
“Very good, County Magistrate Zhang. Just having night watchmen sound the alarm isn’t enough. Send the clerks out right away—five of them per group—to go street by street starting from the east, beating gongs and shouting announcements. Tell the people that the defense stations have been mobilized, to stay calm, and to prepare any knives or iron tools they can use for defense. If they spot any suspicious people, they should alert their neighbors. Qin Baihu and I will lead the garrison to guard the southeast corner. If any escapees get in, I don’t expect the clerks and constables to be able to fight a larger force alone, but surely they can overwhelm a smaller group? In any case, I’m leaving the whole city in your hands. If there’s any arson, I’ll hold you accountable!”
After saying that, Zhang Yue didn’t even look at the stunned Zhang Shouyue. He turned directly to Qin Baihu and said, “Lead the way—to the garrison!”
Qin Baihu still hadn’t recovered from Zhang Yue’s sharp words, and now the focus shifted to him. It took him a while to snap out of it before he quickly ordered his attendants to bring the horses. He mounted his horse and gathered all the people he had brought with him, completely ignoring Zhang Yue’s increasingly dark expression.
According to Zhang Shouyue, the magistrate of Shanghai, the garrison consisted of just over a hundred men. That hundred-head officer had already recruited twelve men after one visit to the county office—so how many were left in the camp now? Suppressing his urge to curse, Zhang Yue hurriedly mounted his horse with Hu Qi and the baby-faced guard, then waved his whip at Qin Baihu and the others to lead the way.
As the group rushed off, Zhang Shouyue was left utterly helpless. Even though Zhang Yue said the number of Japanese pirates might not be large, could he really expect the county officials and constables to resist them? These men were always eager to collect taxes and fees, but expecting them to fight pirates was unrealistic…
Just as he was at his wits’ end, he suddenly saw a rider turning back. Upon closer inspection, it was the baby-faced guard from the young man who claimed to be from the Jinyiwei. Though he couldn’t figure out why the rider had returned, he quickly went up to greet him with a smile. Unexpectedly, the rider didn’t dismount but instead shouted loudly, “Those Japanese pirates aren’t that scary! I alone killed three or four of them in Wu Xiang Old Street! The lord said that if you encounter them, you’ll be rewarded with a hundred strings of treasure paper… no, ten taels of silver! Don’t try to take credit by killing civilians—we’re from the Jinyiwei!”
As the rider turned and rode away, Zhang Shouyue turned around and saw the once timid officials and constables showing signs of enthusiasm. Even the slowest person could tell what to do now. He quickly went up and encouraged them again, promising rewards. Soon, a group of brave officials and skilled men rushed out of the county office. After a while, standing at the entrance, Zhang Shouyue realized something and stamped his foot in frustration. “They’re all gone—is there no one to take care of the county office? Someone, lock the gates and move those two large water tanks to block them! Follow me to the roof to direct the operations!”
That night, there was no moon, the sky was covered with thick clouds, and not even a glimmer of starlight was visible. Only the blazing torches on the ground provided some warmth. After arriving at the garrison in the southeast, Zhang Yue gave a passionate speech, relying once again on the idea that great rewards bring forth bravery. At this moment, he didn’t care if anyone would accuse him of overstepping his authority—he had to act first. However, when he picked up a bow and arrow brought by a soldier from the garrison, he immediately frowned.
A light bow and soft arrows—even when shot, it’s like tickling someone! If those four garrisons he visited a few days ago could only be considered second-rate troops, then this garrison isn’t even worth third-rate! The only good thing is that these people’s knives aren’t huge iron blades—at least they can still be used to cut people.
“M-Master, y-you… look over there!”
Hearing this trembling voice, Zhang Yue grew even angrier. Yet when he saw those few flickering lights heading toward them, he took a deep breath. Their only hope now was that Baoshan Garrison, the closest to Shanghai County, could quickly send troops to intercept the pirates. Otherwise, with such a small force, they were surely fighting a losing battle.
He hoped he’d have as much luck as before!
Glancing back at the soldiers in the garrison, he saw Qin Baihu trembling in fear, while the other soldiers seemed to be holding their ground. He then shouted, “See those lights? How few are they? The pirates came by boat and traveled such a long distance—their combat strength must be greatly reduced. As long as we stop them, the elite troops from the garrisons will arrive soon, and then the pirates will surely be defeated! Again, we can claim credit with their heads—ten taels of silver each. How well you’ll live for the rest of your lives depends on today!”