Upon receiving news of the army's entry into the city, the people of Hangzhou locked their doors early and hid in their blankets, too afraid to come out.
Even the brothels, which were usually in dire straits day and night, closed before dark.
The entire city of Hangzhou was shrouded in darkness, with not a single light shining from the houses.
After the soldiers finished eating their steamed buns, they lay down on the street to rest.
The patrol team walked the streets with flashlights in their hands.
Their duties included guarding and patrolling, preventing both surprise attacks and disturbances to the civilians by the soldiers.
Meanwhile, in a private room at Wanhua Tower, Zhan Qixiong, the leader of the boat gang, stood silently by the window, watching the soldiers on the street.
There are two things Zhan Qixiong must do in his life.
One reason is to carry on the family line and fulfill the responsibility of continuing the Zhan family's ancestral worship.
One was to fight the Japanese pirates and avenge the blood feud of the Zhan family.
Zhan Qixiong is a focused person; he likes to do things one at a time.
So he is still all alone.
The hatred between the ship crews and the Japanese pirates can be traced back more than a hundred years.
As a major force on the high seas, the ship guilds and the Japanese pirates had constant conflicts.
It wasn't until the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty banned maritime trade that the shipping guilds began to suffer.
A large number of soldiers guarded the coast, preventing the fishing boats from going out to sea to fish.
Having lost their main source of income, the boatmen went from being the dominant force at sea to becoming mere nobody on the river.
They rely on river transport for their livelihood every day.
The sea was completely occupied by Japanese pirates.
The boatmen occasionally went out to sea, and it was always a few boats that secretly went out to sea.
As before, dozens of large ships sailed out to sea together in a grand manner.
The Zhan family used to make a living by fishing. They would secretly go out to sea and then be encountered by Japanese pirates.
His father was a man of principle. Seeing that he couldn't escape, he steered his fishing boat straight into the Japanese pirates' warship.
The family bought time for the other fishermen, but they perished along with a Japanese pirate warship.
Therefore, Zhan Qixiong and the Japanese pirates had a blood feud.
Most of the people in the ship gang were similar to him, having some kind of ancestral feud with the Japanese pirates.
Later, as the Ming Dynasty's control over local forces declined, Zhan Qixiong, along with his fleet of ships, made contact with Huang He, the governor of Zhejiang.
This allowed them to gain a foothold in the Zhejiang area and grow stronger again.
When the Japanese pirates attacked this time, Zhan Qixiong felt that something was wrong.
Because this time, the Japanese pirates' actions seem to have gone a bit too far.
The ships on the sea were clearly not just Japanese pirates; there were also some fleets from other countries.
Various forces, including Goguryeo and Portugal, were present.
Later, based on news from the sea, Zhan Qixiong learned that the Japanese pirates had organized an eight-nation alliance to occupy the coast and then invade Jiangnan West Road.
Upon hearing this news, Zhan Qixiong immediately instructed Huang He to notify the capital.
The memorial had barely been sent out when the person was assassinated.
If it weren't for Zhan Qixiong's intervention, today would probably be Huang He's seventh day after his death.
Before the assassins left, they told the others not to meddle in other people's business and to just take care of their own territory.
But if the capital isn't notified, how can those people in Fujian possibly stop the Japanese pirates?
Every time the Japanese pirates invaded, the officials in Fujian would repeatedly say that they would fight the pirates to the death.
Behind the scenes, they all fled faster than the last, leaving behind only a group of civilians and some old, weak, sick, and disabled soldiers to face the Japanese pirates.
After they had burned, killed, and looted their way back to the sea, the officials returned with their soldiers, saying they had driven the Japanese pirates back to the sea.
Then he wrote a report of victory, asked the court for a reward, and also imposed additional taxes on the people of Fujian, claiming it was for the cost of fighting the Japanese pirates.
The major families took the lead, and other people followed suit by paying money.
After the matter was settled, the large family's money was returned in full, while the common people's money was distributed among them.
This practice has been going on for many years, and everyone is used to it.
It wasn't until a few months ago, after Yang Wenguang was sent to Fujian, that many things changed.
At least, they really did fight against the Japanese pirates.
Moreover, they actually fought several small-scale but tough battles, keeping the Japanese pirates at sea and preventing them from ever landing.
Zhan Qixiong greatly admired Yang Wenguang and his men; at least, they were truly courageous soldiers.
Instead of being a bunch of thugs and scoundrels who only bully ordinary people.
This time, the Japanese pirates have come with too many troops; he doesn't think Yang Wenguang's small force can withstand them.
Zhan Qixiong was somewhat worried and was considering whether or not to offer his help.
However, he received news a few days ago that the people in Fujian also felt something was wrong this time and requested reinforcements from the capital.
Then Li Chang'an, the Imperial Tutor of the Ming Dynasty, arranged for 200,000 troops to go and support Fujian.
This finally put Zhan Qixiong at ease.
Behind him, Huang He, the governor of Zhejiang, was holding a crab shell and using chopsticks to eat the crab roe inside.
"Old Zhan, stop looking and come eat, the food's getting cold."
"We ordered a huge table of fine wine and food, but the people from Tai'an City didn't eat it, which was a waste."
Upon hearing this, Zhan Qixiong turned around and sat down: "Lord Huang, do you think Fujian can withstand the Japanese pirates this time?"
Huang He smiled, put the crab shell down, wiped his hands with the tablecloth, and said, "Difficult!"
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"Old Zhan, you need to know that this time the Japanese pirates have assembled an eight-nation alliance and dispatched nearly a dozen experts at the Land Immortal Realm. In addition, the Heaven and Earth Society is cooperating from within and without. Relying on these 200,000 reinforcements alone is probably not enough."
After wiping his hands, Huang He walked to the window, looked down at the soldiers, and sighed.
"Although this army of 200,000 is the most disciplined army I have ever seen in my life."
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