prosperous age

"Sword and shield soldiers go block the door and don't let them out."

Seeing that the situation was not right, Deng Zilong immediately ordered an interception.

As they were far away from the explosion site and didn't know the details of the city, they just thought someone had detonated gunpowder, so they didn't realize that this was a man-made chaos.

However, there were only a few dozen personal guards around him at this time. The others, including the pirate soldiers who had surrendered, had been sent out to participate in the battle to capture the city.

More than 20 Ming soldiers armed with swords, shields and spears rushed down the city wall, but at this time the few remaining soldiers responsible for guarding the city gate had already engaged in combat with the rushing enemies.

The other side was outnumbered and powerful, and he was chopped down to the ground in just a moment. He could only curl up against the wall and groan in pain.

The guards who had just arrived saw that the situation was not going well, so they could only form a formation and try their best to block the city gate. However, even so, they only left a passage for several people to pass through, and failed to completely block the city gate.

As for those who had already rushed out, they could only sigh in despair.

"Quick, fire your guns."

Seeing that there were still pirates rushing towards the city gate below, Deng Zilong shouted anxiously, urging the musketeers on the city wall to open fire and snipe the enemy.

At this time, he also thought that there might be a big fish being protected among this group of people.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of troops around, there is no way to keep everyone here.

"Come here, all of you, and put away the drawbridge."

Just when Deng Zilong was regretting that he did not leave more people behind and did not block the city gates, the surrendered general Lin Fengchun beside him suddenly shouted to several musketeers who were loading ammunition.

"Yes, pull up the drawbridge to prevent them from rushing out."

Deng Zilong was awakened by Lin Fengchun's loud shout and immediately gave the order.

Then, he rushed to the winch with a few people around him and Lin Fengchun, and personally worked hard to retract the suspension bridge.

However, many pirates who had rushed out of the city were already standing on the drawbridge at this time, and it was very difficult for them to turn the capstan to retract the drawbridge.

When the pirates behind noticed that the drawbridge was raised, they quickened their pace and rushed out of the city gate.

They all knew very well that once the drawbridge was raised, there was no way they could climb over the deep trench below.

You know, they were very familiar with this trench. Due to lack of manpower, they did not have time to dig a canal to divert water, so it did not become a moat, but it was also dug according to the standards of a moat.

The trench walls are very vertical and steep, and it is difficult to climb out if you fall in.

At this time, the pirates were really running for their lives. Even though the drawbridge had slowly risen, they still rushed onto it and jumped directly from the bridgehead to the other side.

Some people succeeded, but others failed to jump over and fell directly into the trench.

The pirates' frenzied charge put the Ming army blocking the gate under tremendous pressure, forcing them to retreat and retreat to the horse road for defense.

Fortunately, at this time most of the pirates were running desperately out of the city, and no one continued to attack them.

But they only rested for a short while before becoming nervous again. When the drawbridge was mostly raised and dozens of pirates saw no hope of leaving the city, they chose to attack the Ming army on the horse path.

Yes, they attacked from bottom to top, and their only attempt was to capture the north gate tower and lower the drawbridge again.

The shouting and screaming at this time alarmed many residents at the north gate.

After discovering that someone was breaking out of the city, they all ran out of their homes and rushed towards the north gate, trying to escape.

Soon, a lot of people appeared in the small square inside the north gate, which had been deserted. There were men, women, young and old, all of them were civilians who wanted to flee out of the city with their families.

Although they were the pirates' families, many of them were actually forced to follow.

Many of the women were captured by pirates and remained in the thieves' den because there was no hope.

In their view, the government would definitely regard them as accomplices of the pirates and would punish them according to the law, so most of them were actually afraid of the government troops.

Seeing that the north gate was open but the drawbridge outside the city gate had been raised, they knew that their wish to get out was dashed.

At this time, they also regarded the government troops as enemies and became a new resistance force. They attacked the north gate together with the pirates who were blocked in the city, hoping to get a chance to escape.

Deng Zilong, who had put away the drawbridge, had returned to the city wall at this time. He felt nervous when he found that these civilians were also participating in the attack on the Ming army.

He immediately ordered the musketeers on the city wall to gather near the horse path and fire at the pirates who were attacking the government troops below.

There were so many people below the horse trail that there was no need to aim.

Amid the crisp sound of bird gunfire, people were constantly being knocked down, but they only wailed a few times before being trampled to death by the people rushing over from behind.

"Sir, most of these are civilians who were taken here by the pirates. Some of them are shipwrights who help the pirates repair their ships."

Seeing the scene before him, Lin Fengchun had no idea who it was.

He hurriedly explained to Deng Zilong.

After hearing Lin Fengchun's story about these people, Deng Zilong asked in dissatisfaction, "Since they were coerced by the pirates, why did they join the pirates in resisting the government troops?"

"They were afraid that they would be killed by the government troops as pirates."

Lin Fengchun said immediately.

After hearing his explanation, Deng Zilong immediately shouted to the people below the city wall: "Listen, people below the city wall. The government troops are ordered to suppress the bandits. Except for the Japanese pirates, the people who are coerced by them are not accomplices. You can go home after the suppression of the bandits.

Listen up, people living in the city, the government troops are following orders to suppress the bandits."

Not knowing whether it would work or not, Deng Zilong could only say this for now to appease the rioting people outside the city.

Deng Zilong shouted this, and Lin Fengchun also shouted loudly to the people under the city.

At first, of course, there was no effect.

However, all the remaining pirates in the city were killed, and the rest were civilians who were inspired by the temporary situation and saw so many people died around them, and many people's heated minds gradually became clear.

The civilians who attacked the government troops began to have the intention of retreating.

Lin Fengchun was a man who could read people's expressions. He keenly noticed that the people below the city were hesitant. In order to show his loyalty to the court and to show his value in front of Deng Zilong, he immediately stood on the parapet of the city wall regardless of the danger and shouted to the people below the city: "I am Lin Fengchun, the commander of the North Gate.

This time I am leading my troops to abandon darkness and join the light, to restore order so that everyone can return to the Ming Dynasty and live their own lives.

Don't worry, just go back to your homes. The government troops will only eliminate the pirates.

As long as they are not pirates, there will be no problem. Even if they are looted by pirates, don't worry. You are the people of the Ming Dynasty. The government troops are here to rescue you."

Lin Fengchun was naturally a celebrity in the North City. He stood on the city wall and shouted to the people below, and the effect was immediate. The people began to retreat a few steps and slightly distanced themselves from the Ming army.

Seeing this, Deng Zilong immediately took a torch not far away and illuminated Lin Fengchun who was standing on the top of the city wall, so that the people below the city could see him more clearly.

Lin Fengchun continued to persuade the people to return to their homes as soon as possible, close their doors and not go out, pay attention to fire prevention, and not shelter fleeing pirates.

"Mr. Lin, you said the government would not hold us accountable, but you really mean it.

I heard that when the government troops caught us, they would treat us as accomplices of the Japanese pirates and punish us all with death."

Below the city walls, some civilians shouted loudly to Lin Fengchun who was speaking on the city wall.

These words are actually half true and half false. When local officials of the Ming Dynasty caught Japanese pirates or thieves, they really didn't care what happened. As long as they were together, even if they were coerced, they would often execute the people who were involved as thieves for their own credit.

Of course, the rules set by the court naturally do not allow for indiscriminate killings like this; one has to distinguish between thieves and civilians.

Only real pirates or Japanese pirates would be beheaded, while the common people would be released.

However, because there were indeed cases of indiscriminate killing of civilians, Lin Feng spread the news in this way to the people they had brought with them, so that they would not dare to rebel and could only stay in the pirates' lair obediently, not daring to even think of escaping.

According to the propaganda carried out by Lin Feng's people, if anyone dared to escape, the Japanese pirates would reveal their information to the government, and then the government would deal with them.

This move was extremely vicious and was very much in line with the current government style of doing things. Naturally, it really frightened the people.

Now that the question was asked, the people below the city wall were all eagerly awaiting Lin Fengchun's answer.

However, as one of the pirate leaders, Lin Fengchun was a little embarrassed at this time. He didn't know how to answer.

Because, before this, he had said the same thing to these people.

If you overturn what you said before at this time, the credibility of what you say now is also questionable.

However, his embarrassment only lasted for a short time. Deng Zilong had already shouted to the people below the city wall: "The imperial court has decreed that innocent people who are held hostage by pirates are naturally not considered accomplices of the pirates. Their identities should be verified and they should be released."

When Deng Zilong's words reached the ears of the people below, most people did not believe it.

After all, who said it and who knows him?

At this moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on Lin Fengchun who was standing on the wall.

However, now that he had Deng Zilong's words, Lin Fengchun felt more courageous in speaking. At least someone was backing him up, so even if he said something wrong, it didn't seem to matter much to him.

So, according to Deng Zilong's words, Lin Fengchun thought about it and shouted below.

It took a lot of effort to finally persuade the hundreds of people gathered under the city wall and let them return the same way they came.

By this time Deng Zilong remembered the pirates who escaped from the city, it was too late.

Leaving the scattered civilians behind, Deng Zilong ran to the top of the outer wall and looked out. Except for a few wailing sounds from time to time coming from under the suspension bridge, there were no more escaped pirates outside the north city.

"Ugh."

Deng Zilong smashed his left palm hard with his right fist. He knew that he might have let a big fish go this time.

It was at this moment that the person sent by Chen Lin to report the news finally arrived.

"What did you say? Lin Feng was not in the house, and the explosion also happened in the house. Was it a trap?"

Previously, there were countless rioters blocking the city wall below, so the Ming army had no way of getting close to the city wall. They could only wait until the crowd gradually dispersed before they dared to run here.

But it was obviously too late.

"Come on, follow me immediately."

At this time, Deng Zilong was filled with regret.

If Lin Feng ran away, not only would all his achievements be wasted, but he would also be blamed.

Just then, a flash of light appeared in the distance, then grew bigger and bigger until it turned into a long dragon.

Seeing this scene, Deng Zilong's heart moved. He knew that this was the second wave of support sent from the camp.

"Lower the drawbridge."

Deng Zilong waved his hand and gave orders to the soldiers around him.

Now that reinforcements have arrived, it is impossible to keep the suspension bridge hanging high and prevent anyone from coming in.

Now that we have troops that can be mobilized, we can immediately send this force to chase the escaped pirates.

After giving the order, Deng Zilong asked the soldier next to him, "Do you know which direction the group that ran out of the city just now went?"

At that moment, Deng Zilong was somewhat confused in command. He was only paying attention to the battle situation outside the city and forgot to pay attention to the whereabouts of the group of pirates who left the city.

But it doesn’t matter. With so many people under my command, someone will definitely see it.

Sure enough, a soldier came over from not far away and reported: "General, the people are heading northeast."

"northeast?"

Deng Zilong was stunned for a moment, then an outline of the topographic map of the north of Daimao City, especially the northeast, appeared in his mind.

Having been here for a long time, he had already fully mastered the surrounding terrain. In just an instant, he realized the escape route that the pirates might choose.

"There's something fishy about that river."

Deng Zilong murmured something. He knew that river. The Ming army had also searched along the river and did not find any pirate nest, but they did not go any deeper either.

Obviously, the pirates chose to build a city here, in addition to the advantages of the bay, the freshwater river was also one of the reasons. They could even follow the river into the interior of Luzon Island.

At this time, Deng Zilong had not yet realized that Lin Feng had only deployed some small boats here. When they were searching, the pirates drove the boats inside, and the Ming army naturally could not find them.

Lin Feng's plan was to escape from here by boat, which was something Deng Zilong could never have imagined.

Perhaps, it was precisely because of the natural differences in strategy that he was killed in a fierce battle with the Japanese navy during the Ming Dynasty's war against Japanese pirates and aid to Korea in history.

However, even if Yu Dayou were here, he would not be able to imagine that Lin Feng was so bold as to escape from Luzon in a small boat.

Except for pirates, no one else would dare to attempt such a dare.

Deng Zilong got off the tower. At this time, the drawbridge dropped. He ignored the wounded who were waiting for treatment and ran out of the city gate. He shouted to Men Chongwen who came over: "General Men, you are here at the right time. Immediately dispatch a team to chase in the northeast direction. A group of pirates rushed out of the city from that direction. I suspect Lin Feng is among them."

"what?"

Men Chongwen was shocked when he heard this.

The purpose of their coming this time is to capture Lin Feng. If they let Lin Feng escape in such a good situation, the consequences will be serious.

"General Deng, you said Lin Feng might have gone northeast?"

Wang Wanggao, who was behind Men Chongwen, asked hurriedly.

"There was chaos in the city just now. A group of pirates broke out of the north gate and headed northeast. They must have deployed ships in that river. After all, we should chase them as soon as possible."

Deng Zilong said.

"Okay then. I'll lead the others to chase them. Wang Wanggao, you go ahead. You are familiar with the surrounding terrain."

Men Chongwen immediately turned around and gave orders to Wang Wanggao.

"Come with me."

Wang Wanggao was also eager to make a contribution at this time, so he immediately led his men to chase in the northeast direction. Men Chongwen, the Ming army and a part of the local vassal army followed closely behind.

The remaining thousand or so local vassal soldiers were taken over by Deng Zilong and began to patrol the streets controlled by the Ming army to prevent the people from gathering to attack the city gates. (End of this chapter)