At first, the city garrison was still resisting, fighting to reclaim the lost city gates. But a messenger, overwhelmed by panic, galloped off to summon reinforcements while shouting, "They're coming! They're coming!"
In the dead of night, after a full day of battle, everyone was exhausted and sleeping soundly. Suddenly awakened by the sound of hoofbeats, clashing weapons, and flames blazing toward the city gates, their nerves stretched to the breaking point, they misheard "They're coming!" as "The Japanese Pirates are coming!"
Amid the sudden midnight assault, with Japanese Pirates and defenders locked in a stalemate at the city gates, the already tense populace spiraled into collective hysteria. The misinformation spread like wildfire, morphing into "The Japanese Pirates have entered the city!" (Note 1)
Thus, while soldiers at the gates were still engaged in bloody combat with the Japanese Pirates, the remaining garrison troops and civilians inside the city became convinced that the enemy had already breached the walls and all was lost. Morale shattered completely—some fled in panic, others surrendered. Guards stationed at other watchtowers and arrow platforms abandoned their posts, discarding armor and weapons "like fleeing rats or scattering ants." Even when officers refused to surrender and tried to stop their subordinates from deserting, they were overwhelmed by the stampede of broken soldiers who no longer heeded commands.
Making matters worse, White Lotus Sect collaborators within Xinghua City, seeing the garrison collapse, swarmed into the streets. They set off fireworks into the night sky, one after another, white lotus blossoms bursting overhead. Chanting the sect's slogans, they proclaimed, "The Ming Wang has appeared! He delivers all living beings! Surrender and you shall be spared! Join the sect to avoid disaster!"
Wei Caiwei cracked open a window and witnessed the Ming garrison's chaotic retreat from the city. The turn of events had been devastatingly swift.
Wang Daxia knocked on her door and urged, "The White Lotus Sect and Japanese Pirates have joined forces. The situation is hopeless—Xinghua City has fallen. Hide in the cellar immediately. We'll stand guard here to prevent any harassment from the pirates."
Pointing at the white lotus blossoms blooming in the night sky, Wei Caiwei replied, "Do you hear that? 'The Ming Wang has appeared, join the sect to avoid disaster.' This Iron Bull now proclaims himself the reincarnation of Ming Wang, surpassing even sect leader Zhao Quan's claim of being Maitreya reborn. Leveraging the Japanese Pirates' invasion, he has established his own faction in the south."
Though Wang Daxia's mind was in turmoil and he felt utterly powerless—this was a brutal battlefield, after all—he refused to show panic in front of Wei Caiwei. Just that morning, they had driven back the Japanese Pirates in victory; now, another wave had breached the city, turning triumph into defeat.
This was nothing like their operations in the capital, where the Embroidered Uniform Guard always held advantages in numbers and weaponry, and every mission was carefully planned with backup support. Even when risks arose, they had confidence in their control. But the battlefield was different—success or failure here was beyond the influence of a mere Hundred-Household Commander like himself. No matter how capable Wang Daxia had been in the capital, he couldn't single-handedly reverse this catastrophe.
Feigning nonchalance, he said, "It's fine. At worst, we'll all join the White Lotus Sect tomorrow—'join the sect to avoid disaster,' as Ming Wang himself declared. He's expanding his influence, winning over hearts, and deceiving followers. He can't very well kill us if we comply."
This Ming Wang, Iron Bull, was anything but foolish. On the contrary, he was shrewd—wielding both carrot and stick, using the Japanese Pirates to terrorize the people, then offering "protection" under the White Lotus Sect's banner. By promoting "join the sect to avoid disaster," he promised safety from the pirates' violence to those who converted. Those who refused were deemed deserving of their fate.
Wei Caiwei refused to hide in the cellar. "I'm going next door to check on Luo Longwen and see how he plans to respond. We've worked hard to gain his trust—the more critical the situation, the more we must show concern for him."The city of Xinghua was crisscrossed with dense river networks, resembling a spider's web, where buildings clustered along the waterways. From the backdoor docks, one could easily visit neighbors' homes.
Luo Longwen's twenty-plus escorts were hardly enough to fill the gaps between the Japanese Pirates' teeth, so they naturally had no intention of futile resistance. He remarked, "Even Han Xin once endured the humiliation of crawling between an opponent's legs. As a temporary measure, joining the White Lotus Sect might not be entirely unacceptable."
Everyone decided to surrender for the time being.
In the cellar where he was imprisoned, the Hua Brothers vaguely heard that the White Lotus Sect had breached the city walls and finally saw a chance to turn the tables. He laughed heartily, though with a lisp from having eight teeth extracted by Wang Daxia, making his mouth seem like a bottomless black hole. "Be sensible and release me to see Iron Bull at once. I might still spare your lives."
Wang Daxia sneered, "Is that so? I'm afraid you won't have the chance to speak." He intended to silence him permanently.
Lu Ying and Ding Wu simultaneously interjected, "Wait!" They exchanged a glance, understanding each other's thoughts without words.
Ding Wu explained, "Let me do the talking. Your facial stitches might tear if you speak." Lu Ying nodded and remained silent, focusing on her recovery.
Ding Wu turned to Wang Daxia. "We can't kill him yet. He's already leaked information about the Favorable Wind merchant ship's cargo and traders to Iron Bull, who knows we're in Xinghua. Today, we rented this place through a broker. If Iron Bull makes even a slight inquiry, he'll locate us. If he comes demanding the prisoner and finds a corpse, he'll grow suspicious, and we'll all be doomed."
Wang Daxia saw the logic but countered, "But this Hua Brothers already knows we're with the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If he exposes our identities to Iron Bull, we're still dead."
Ding Wu proposed, "I have a plan to hand over Hua Brothers to Iron Bull while ensuring he never speaks or reveals our secret."
Wang Daxia asked, "What plan?"
Ding Wu picked up a club and knocked Hua Brothers unconscious first...
By dawn, the Japanese Pirates and White Lotus Sect had fully occupied Xinghua. There were two to three thousand genuine Japanese Pirates and approximately seven to eight thousand false ones—ethnic Chinese who preyed on their own people (Note 2).
Combined, they numbered over ten thousand, a significant force in the currently fragmented and leaderless pirate world. With the prosperous Xinghua as their base, nearby pirates who had been battered by the Qi Family Army flocked to join them, rapidly expanding their ranks.
The genuine Japanese Pirates and the White Lotus Sect played a classic good-cop-bad-cop routine: the pirates looted and plundered, while the sect intervened to "stop" them. Grateful civilians would then tearfully join the White Lotus Sect, offering food, clothing, or wealth as membership fees.
The sect set up altars throughout the city's streets and alleys for easy recruitment. These altars displayed the sect's Precious Scrolls, with white-robed, plain-capped followers chanting scriptures.
To save their lives, citizens rushed to "join the sect to avoid disaster," voluntarily presenting gifts. Those who converted had their names and addresses written on yellow paper by the white-robed disciples, signifying their membership.
Carrying this yellow paper served as an Amulet during travel, and posting it on their doors at home warned Japanese Pirates away, as they would not disturb households marked with the White Lotus Sect's symbol.However, if they refused to "voluntarily" join the White Lotus Sect or offer gifts to "Ming Wang," their households would be plundered by the Japanese Pirates down to their last pair of trousers, and they would be enslaved, forced to perform menial labor in military camps.
This was the calamity awaiting those who refused to join the sect. Join the sect to avoid disaster; refusal meant enduring torment.
Gifts from the altar were continuously transported to the Japanese Pirates' stronghold. The pirates were in awe of their leader, Ming Wang Iron Bull: who knew creating a religion could be more profitable than pillaging and smuggling? Pillaging required exhausting efforts to ransack households one by one, but with religion, all they needed was an altar, and followers would willingly walk into the trap, obediently delivering their offerings.
Iron Bull kept nothing for himself, distributing everything among his subordinates and the pirates. As Ming Wang, he decreed that all shops and markets in Xinghua City must operate normally without closure. The White Lotus Sect would maintain order, ensuring no looting occurred, and business would continue as usual.
However, taxes still had to be paid as usual, with the silver handed over to the White Lotus Sect, for it was now the sect—not the imperial court—that protected them.
Iron Bull cautioned his pirate followers: "No more killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. The goose lays golden eggs every day; killing it would cut off our source of wealth. All you need to do is guard the city gates, prevent government troops from breaking in, and collect the golden eggs daily."
Iron Bull's words resonated deeply with the pirates. Ever since the successive deaths of the two great pirates Xu Hai and Wang Zhi, they had been pillaging while constantly pursued by imperial forces, especially the Qi Family Army.
Though pillaging yielded plenty of loot, whenever the Qi Family Army attacked, they had to abandon their spoils and flee—like a bear snapping off ears of corn only to drop them one by one. After years of this, they remained impoverished, often struggling to even put food on the table.
Iron Bull's seizure of Xinghua City gave the pirates a chance to catch their breath and finally sleep soundly. Who wouldn't want such a good deal—earning money without having to lift a finger, just lying in bed?
Thus, the exhausted pirates rallied behind Ming Wang Iron Bull, hailing him as the next Xu Hai or Wang Zhi. Even genuine Japanese Pirates joined the White Lotus Sect, all eager to make money comfortably without exertion.
No one dared confront the formidable Qi Family Army head-on. Traditional pillaging and smuggling were no longer viable. Iron Bull planned to hunker down in Xinghua City, using the White Lotus Sect to numb the people and extract their wealth. Once the city was drained dry, he would move on to another city, employing the same method to suck it dry—the fastest way to amass riches.
With Xinghua City under control, Iron Bull picked up a razor, shaved off his imitation Japanese pirate Yin-Yang Head, and donned a white kasaya robe and a white lotus Biru hat. In an instant, he transformed from a fake Japanese pirate into the reincarnated Ming Wang of the White Lotus Sect, descending to the mortal world to deliver all beings.
Ming Wang Iron Bull sat in meditation on a white lotus platform, appearing remarkably benevolent and serene! As the sun set in the west, it seemed as if Buddha's light shone upon the earth, and a Bodhisattva had descended.
Witnessing this scene, whether truly faithful or merely feigning belief for expediency, everyone knelt and prostrated before Ming Wang, loudly proclaiming: "Ming Wang has appeared to deliver all beings! Join the sect to avoid disaster and be reborn in the Pure Land!"Iron Bull gazed upon the multitude prostrating at his feet, his heart swelling with pride: Whoever controls the barrel of the gun holds the power. My strength now far surpasses that of Sect Leader Zhao Quan. I no longer need to send the money I’ve worked so hard to earn to the sect leader every year. What business could be more profitable than founding a sect? You are the sect leader, but I am the Ming Wang—and Ming Wang is far greater than a sect leader.
As he pondered, a subordinate rushed in to report, “Ming Wang, that Ding Wu you were looking for has come to us on his own, and he’s brought Hua Dalang, the one who tipped us off. Boss Zhang, the antique dealer from the Favorable Wind, and Boss Ximen, who trades in ginseng and deer antlers, have also come with their wealth, seeking to join the White Lotus Sect and receive the protection of Ming Wang.”
The fat prize they had failed to seize last night through schemes and force was now willingly delivered to their doorstep.
Ming Wang remained impassive. “Bring them to me.”
After being knocked unconscious by Ding Wu, Hua Dalang had been poisoned by Wei Caiwei with a concoction that left him deaf and mute. Unable to hear or speak, he had been confined to the basement, only vaguely aware that the White Lotus Sect had arrived. He had no idea that Iron Bull had declared himself Ming Wang and betrayed Sect Leader Zhao Quan.
So, when Hua Dalang saw Iron Bull seated in meditation on the white lotus platform, he assumed he was among allies. He hurried forward to report, intending to tell Iron Bull that Ding Wu’s surrender was a ruse and that the ginseng caravan behind him was actually composed of Embroidered Uniform Guards.
But Hua Dalang’s throat was mute, and no words came out. The Japanese pirates shouted at him to stop immediately and not approach Ming Wang, but he couldn’t hear them and continued rushing toward the lotus platform.
Seizing the opportunity, Ding Wu roared, “Ming Wang, be careful! He cannot accept that you are greater than the sect leader. He likely means you harm!”
The Japanese pirates nearby saw Hua Dalang’s eyes gleaming with excitement, a knife hanging at his waist, his silence, and his desperate charge toward Ming Wang—all signs of a man ready to die taking Ming Wang with him. They drew their blades to protect Ming Wang, and with each taking a stab, they turned Hua Dalang into a sieve.
Hua Dalang fell to the ground, his eyes wide with the injustice of his death.
Ding Wu, along with Lu Ying, Zhang Shan, and the others, knelt and proclaimed, “Ming Wang is shielded by divine light, impervious to all evils. The assailant fell dead a zhang away. We are in awe and pledge our loyalty to serve Ming Wang.”
Ming Wang was immensely pleased. His gaze then fell upon a beauty in red robes and a green skirt kneeling beside Boss Ximen. As she bowed, her ample bosom nearly brushed the dusty ground, stirring a flutter in his heart.
Author’s Note: When these three—plus Ding Wu—come together, misfortune follows whoever crosses their path.
Note 1: Based on records from the Ming Dynasty’s Yunjian Jumuchao, the phrase “They’re coming, they’re coming” was misinterpreted as “The Japanese pirates are coming!” leading to a citywide panic in Yunxian County during the Zhengde era. It was a case of people frightening themselves.
Note 2: Regarding the number of Japanese pirates in Xinghua County, Yu Dayou’s Discussion on Eradicating Japanese Pirates in Xinghua states: “There are now two to three thousand genuine Japanese pirates and seven thousand followers.” The “followers” were false Japanese pirates—actually Ming bandits and pirates. Among every ten so-called Japanese pirates, only two were genuine; the rest were Ming Chinese.
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