Lin Fengxiang didn't even have time to put on his armor. He grabbed the ring-pommel sword and helmet from the table and, while putting them on, shouted commands:
"Men, convey my orders: close all the gates of Jiaozhou City, order all the Japanese pirate guards inside to go up the city walls, and order all able-bodied civilians in the city to go up the city walls. Open the armory and distribute weapons to the civilians who go up the city walls to help fight!"
"If the Japanese pirates were to breach the city walls, no one in this vast city of Jiaozhou, young or old, would survive!"
"Yes, General!"
The messenger immediately bowed and accepted the order, but before he could leave, Lin Fengxiang, the garrison commander of Jiaozhou, added, "Send someone to Jinan Prefecture immediately..."
The words were on the tip of his tongue, but Lin Fengxiang swallowed them back.
His original intention was to immediately dispatch an urgent messenger to Jinan Prefecture to report the military situation and request reinforcements from Jinan Prefecture.
But then he thought again, Jinan Prefecture had already been breached by the rebel army of Chen Huai'an a month ago, so how could they possibly send any reinforcements to Jiaozhou City?
Lin Fengxiang's expression froze, and he said with a choked voice, "Forget it, there won't be any reinforcements!"
"Pass down the order to tell the soldiers guarding Jiaozhou that the time has come to die for their country and be loyal to the nation. If they die, they will die on the city wall!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
This time, the messenger finally received all the military orders from Garrison General Lin Fengxiang and hurriedly rode away from the garrison headquarters.
Only then did Lin Fengxiang's personal guards bring over his armor and volunteer to help the general put on his armor.
Lin Fengxiang's warhorse was also led to the gate of the garrison, where it suddenly snorted and reared up.
After donning his armor, Lin Fengxiang mounted his horse, gripped the ring-pommel sword at his waist, glanced one last time at the plaque of the Jiaozhou Garrison Command, and then resolutely spurred his horse away, heading straight for the Jiaozhou city wall.
With a command from Lin Fengxiang, the garrison commander of Jiaozhou, the entire city of Jiaozhou was instantly filled with unease and panic. Countless young men and women from the city, accompanied by their wives, children, and parents who were seeing them off with tears in their eyes, surged toward the city walls.
At this moment, their identities were no longer someone's son, someone's husband, or someone's father;
Rather, they were the brave Han Chinese warriors who fought against Japanese pirates in Jiaozhou!
The hour of You (5-7 PM).
On the ancient city wall of Jiaozhou, Lin Fengxiang, the Jiaozhou garrison commander, personally sat on the city wall, wearing armor and carrying a sword. Every crenellation on the city wall was guarded by soldiers who were prepared to fight against Japanese pirates and were wearing cloth armor and cotton armor and carrying swords, spears and crossbows.
Then came the able-bodied men from within the city, dressed in plain clothes, who went to the city to help in the battle. A small number of them carried government-issued weapons, but most of them only had handy farming tools such as hoes, sickles, and nine-toothed rakes.
It was easy to tell from their resolute and fearless expressions that this was not the first time they had come to the city to help in the battle;
It is likely that after the 200,000 Japanese pirates destroyed Tumu Fortress, these coastal cities with depleted military strength must have suffered numerous attacks and invasions from Japanese pirates.
"Report—"
"Reporting to the general, the enemy! A large number of enemy troops are marching towards Jiaozhou City!"
Suddenly, a loud report came from the city wall from the scouts of the Japanese pirates.
These words immediately made the soldiers and civilians guarding the city wall tense, and they all looked out of the city.
Lin Fengxiang, the garrison commander, was naturally drawn to the dark mass of figures that appeared in his field of vision.
hiss--
At a glance, Lin Fengxiang couldn't help but gasp. The number of "pirates" appearing in his and the soldiers and civilians on the city wall was simply too great!
Surprisingly, there are cavalry as well!
This group of pirates is something else!
Lin Fengxiang drew his ring-pommel sword, his eyes blazing as he stared intently at the Japanese pirate army that was steadily approaching Jiaozhou City. He shouted sharply, "Prepare for the Japanese pirates! Prepare for war!"
"Prepare for war!"
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Woohoo—
Soon, deep, heavy drumbeats and mournful horn calls echoed both inside and outside the ancient city walls of Jiaozhou.
Faced with the overwhelming force of the "pirates," a chilling atmosphere permeated both inside and outside the city walls. The oppressive pre-battle atmosphere began to make the soldiers and civilians defending the city walls look solemn and uneasy.
Facing a large number of well-equipped pirates, the battle at Jiaozhou today is likely to end badly!
Thump thump thump!
Thump thump thump!
Just then, the "pirate" cavalry that appeared outside Jiaozhou City began to urge their warhorses to accelerate and charge. The sound and vibration of the warhorses' iron hooves striking the ground sounded like muffled thunder.
When they were about a thousand paces away from Jiaozhou City, the "pirate" cavalry suddenly raised their flags.
Accompanied by a series of rustling sounds, four crimson flags bearing the large character "晋" (Jin) and four yellow dragons fluttered in the wind on the galloping horses.
"General, they...they don't seem to be pirates!"
"The flag they are flying is... the flag of the Prince of Jin of the Great Xin Dynasty!"
On the city wall, a sharp-eyed and literate soldier saw the flags raised by the cavalry outside the city and immediately reported to Lin Fengxiang, the garrison commander of Jiaozhou.
Standing atop the city wall, Lin Fengxiang naturally recognized the Jin Prince's flag being flown by the cavalry outside the city.
For a moment, Lin Fengxiang felt that his mind was not quite up to par.
The rebel army of Prince Chen Huai'an of Jincheng had only just reached Jinan Prefecture, hadn't they?
I've never heard of the Dragon City rebels before. When did they suddenly have a naval force?
So what about this naval force that landed at Qin Port and is flying the flag of the Prince of Jin?
At this point, Lin Fengxiang was basically certain that the naval force that appeared outside Jiaozhou City was definitely not a group of Japanese pirates in disguise.
Those uncivilized, barbaric ronin on the Japanese islands could not possibly possess such sophisticated equipment.
As the cavalry continued to approach Jiaozhou, Lin Fengxiang could recognize that the armor worn by the cavalrymen was the Mingguang armor, which was only worn by generals of the rank of Qianzong or above in the army of the Great Xin Dynasty.
It's unbelievable that even the ordinary soldiers of this cavalry are all equipped with golden, gleaming armor.
Could this cavalry unit be the legendary Imperial Guard of Prince Chen Huai'an, the Prince of Jin?
Lin Fengxiang was lost in thought, and even a fine layer of sweat began to appear on his forehead. After he roughly guessed the person's identity, he hurriedly shouted an order:
"Pass down the order: without my command, no one is permitted to launch an attack. Anyone who disobeys will be executed without mercy!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Just then, Lin Fengxiang, the garrison commander of Jiaozhou, finished speaking.
Outside the city, a troop of cavalrymen clad in golden armor, led by Xiao Po, the commander of the Golden Guard, advanced to within two hundred paces of Jiaozhou City.
After stopping his warhorse, Xiao Po immediately shouted at the top of his lungs toward the city wall of Jiaozhou: "Who is on duty on the city wall?"
"I am Xiao Po, the commander of the Golden Guard under the Prince of Jin. I have come here on the Prince of Jin's orders to knock on the gate. Why don't you open the city gate immediately and kneel to welcome His Highness the Prince of Jin!"
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