lovenovelstory Chapter 99: The entire army was wiped out; no one survived!
Chapter 99: The entire army was wiped out; no one survived!
Chapter 99: The entire army was wiped out; no one survived!
"Oh, right, and those warships too. If only we could find one of them—"
After hesitating for a moment, Matsushita Kameichiro suddenly spoke again.
This time, Zhao Chengzhi answered very fluently.
"If you want a warship, we can duel right now and see if your katana is faster or my longsword is faster."
Matsushita Kameichiro knew in his heart that getting a warship was still too impossible.
However, he still wanted to give it a try. After all, if he could get his hands on this thing and drive it back to Japan to sell, he could at least sell it for more than a million taels of silver.
"Alright, I won't force you. I'm just telling you that if you can get your hands on an iron ship like this, even a small one, it'll be worth at least 500,000 taels of silver."
Zhao Chengzhi sneered repeatedly but did not respond.
Five hundred thousand taels of silver sounds like a lot, more than one could spend in a lifetime, but Zhao Chengzhi wasn't tempted at all.
After all, he had no chance of acquiring such a warship; any amount of silver would be nothing but castles in the air.
"When will the goods be delivered?" Matsushita Kameichiro asked.
Zhao Chengzhi estimated: "About five days later, the location will be Lijiawan, and the transaction will be conducted as before."
"Okay, I'll wait for your good news. We'll go to Lijiawan to pick up the things late at night in five days."
After Matsushita Kameichiro finished speaking, he vanished into the cave in a flash.
Looking at the empty cave, Zhao Chengzhi shook his head and sighed.
That's right, he was the biggest traitor in Dengzhou Guard.
However, he wasn't doing tipping off people, which is a low-skilled job.
What's the value of tipping someone off?
His main source of income was smuggling weapons and goods to these Japanese pirates.
The income from one smuggling operation was equivalent to what he earned in thirty years as the commander of Dengzhou Guard.
Their transaction process was simple: Zhao Chengzhi would first bring the smuggled weapons and goods to the vicinity of a certain village, and then these Japanese pirates would go to the vicinity of the village to pick up the goods.
If no one notices, then everyone will be happy.
If they were discovered, they would kill and burn people in the village, pretending it was a Japanese pirate attack.
For Zhao Chengzhi, the charge of attacking a village by Japanese pirates was far less serious than the charge of smuggling.
This is why the Japanese pirates in Dengzhou Guard were repeatedly suppressed but could not be stopped.
Traitors have been a constant throughout history, and their numbers are far greater than most people imagine.
Of course, if Zhao Chengzhi wanted to engage in smuggling, it wouldn't be enough for him to be the only one involved in the Dengzhou garrison.
At least half of the military officers in Dengzhou Guard were involved in this extremely lucrative profit chain.
Therefore, even though Zhao Chengzhi was no longer the commander, he still had the ability to get some of these things out of the warehouse.
After all, it was only necessary to keep it from Qi Jingtong, which wasn't a difficult task.
After returning to Dengzhou Guard, Zhao Chengzhi immediately contacted his old subordinates to discuss this final job.
With the promise of a hefty profit of 30,000 taels of silver and this last chance to make quick money, the other officials were easily persuaded by Zhao Chengzhi.
So they quickly acquired two breech-loading cannons, 150 flintlock muskets, and 20 boxes of shells and bullets, which they hid near Lijiawan.
Things are different now. To avoid leaks, Zhao Chengzhi didn't bring many soldiers this time, only his trusted confidants.
Soon, eight large wooden ships approached from the sea. These ships were all twelve feet long and each could carry about a hundred people.
Besides these large ships, there were also many small boats, each about two or three meters long, and each boat could carry about ten people.
The large ship did not dock, but instead observed the activity on the shore from a distance.
The small boats docked one after another, and the Japanese pirates dressed in black quickly approached Zhao Chengzhi and his group after disembarking.
"Where are the things?"
"Here."
Zhao Chengzhi pointed to the dozens of wooden crates behind him, then cautiously looked at the other person: "Where are your things?"
"Move it upstairs."
The Japanese pirates waved their hands, and a dozen or so of them carried several large boxes to the front of the group.
The box was opened, and it was filled to the brim with silver, which gleamed in the moonlight.
Zhao Chengzhi also opened the box, revealing the flintlock pistol and bullets inside.
As for the three rifled cannons, they were directly exposed and could be seen at a glance.
The situation was urgent, and there was no time for Zhao Chengzhi and the Japanese pirates to carefully count the goods and silver inside to see if the amount was sufficient.
After estimating the amount to be about right, the Japanese pirates prepared to load the muskets and cannonballs onto the ship, while Zhao Chengzhi also took the silver and prepared to leave.
They worked together seamlessly and didn't waste a single word.
But then, something unexpected happened!
"kill!"
"Kill them!"
"Go! Go! Go!"
Suddenly, shouts of battle erupted from all sides, startling the Japanese pirates and Zhao Chengzhi and his men.
They looked around in panic, only to see hundreds and thousands of armored garrison soldiers, armed with sharp knives, attacking them from all directions!
In that instant, both sides in the transaction, whether Japanese pirates or Zhao Chengzhi and his group, turned pale and broke out in a cold sweat.
They fell for their trap!
"There's an ambush!"
"Run!"
When their plan was exposed, the Japanese pirates' first reaction was to drop their belongings and rush to the beach at full speed.
Once they're on the ship and out at sea, they'll be safe!
The Japanese pirates could still run towards the sea, but Zhao Chengzhi and his men didn't even know where to run.
They were surrounded by garrison soldiers on all sides, and the sea was in front of them; they had no way to escape!
Despair gripped Zhao Chengzhi's heart. He no longer cared about money or goods, drew his long sword from his waist, and shouted fiercely, "Brothers, fight them to the death!"
Zhao Chengzhi knew that once their arms smuggling to the Japanese pirates was exposed, they would face certain death.
""
So they were prepared to fight to the death, determined to die.
But when hundreds or thousands of soldiers charged at them with knives, they realized they didn't even have the courage to raise their swords at them.
The Japanese pirates rushed to the beach, boarded small boats, and rowed swiftly toward the large ships anchored in the distance.
The officers and soldiers on the shore didn't seem to have any intention of capturing these Japanese pirates; they simply surrounded Zhao Chengzhi and his men.
Upon seeing so many soldiers suddenly appear on the shore, the large ship in the distance immediately turned its bow and headed out to sea.
"Hurry! Head out to sea!"
"yes!"
Matsushita Kameichiro was on one of the large ships. Upon seeing the imperial troops appear, he immediately and decisively ordered a retreat.
Matsushita Kameichiro's mood sank to the bottom. He suddenly regretted his greed. If he hadn't thought about doing this last job, perhaps this whole thing wouldn't have happened.
That 30,000 taels of silver has gone down the drain!
Fortunately, it's only 30,000 taels of silver.
Once they escape this place, they can plunder Ming villages a few more times and make their money back.
Matsushita Kameichiro comforted himself.
But the next moment, a sudden explosion rang out on their ship.
"boom!"
Sparks flew and the ship shook violently. Matsushita Kameichiro was nearly thrown off the ship by the jolt.
Matsushita Kameichiro was utterly horrified. Looking at the huge hole in the hull, his spirits sank even lower.
"This is----"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Before they could react, another series of loud, continuous roars came from the depths of the sea.
Shells rained down, exploding all over their wooden boats.
"Aaaaaah!!!"
Every shell that landed on their ship caused enormous damage.
Large numbers of Japanese pirates were killed or maimed by these shells, and their screams were deafening.
Matsushita Kameichiro looked into the distance and saw three steel steamships appear in the depths of the sea.
The hulls of the three ships were covered with hard steel, and the dark muzzles of their cannons were all pointed at their wooden boat.
Qi Jingtong stood at the bow of the middle steel warship, his face serious, and waved his hand to give the order: "Fire!"
"Boom boom boom!"
Another round of sweeping bombardment descended upon the Japanese pirate ships.
One of the Japanese pirates' wooden boats was destroyed on the spot by a cannonball, and the pirates on board jumped into the water crying for their parents.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Immediately afterwards, the Ming Dynasty navy on the steel warships, armed with flintlock muskets, fired repeatedly at the Japanese pirates thrashing about in the sea!
These Ming Dynasty naval soldiers weren't particularly skilled marksmen, but they had the advantage of numbers and ammunition.
As the barrage of comments poured down, the Japanese pirates, still struggling in the water, let out heart-wrenching screams, and a layer of blood gradually spread across the sea.
Keep firing!
Keep firing!
Keep going!
Three steel warships approached them rapidly at a speed that these Japanese pirates could hardly comprehend.
The thunderous sound of cannons never stopped during the advance.
Three more wooden boats were subsequently blown to pieces by the cannons of the steel warships.
The Japanese pirates who fell into the water became live targets for the Ming Dynasty navy to practice shooting on the ship.
The sea was littered with corpses and blood, as well as numerous pieces of warships.
"Bang!"
In shock, the three steel warships crashed into the wooden boat carrying the Japanese pirates.
As luck would have it, the warship that Qi Jingtong was on collided with the wooden ship that Matsushita Kameichiro was on.
At that moment, Matsushita Kameichiro's wooden boat rocked violently and was actually smashed to pieces by Qi Jingtong's steel warship!
With just one collision, the Japanese pirates' wooden boats were smashed to pieces by these steel warships.
The wooden boat capsized, and the Japanese pirates on board fell into the sea, followed by a barrage of flintlock bullets.
"I----"
Matsushita Kameichiro only managed to utter one word before being struck by several bullets and dying instantly.
The remaining wooden boats did not hold out for long either, and were all destroyed by the successive ramming of the steel warships.
The small boats didn't even need these three steel warships to ram them; the waves they created were enough to capsize them.
The Japanese pirates who fell into the sea were soon shot down by the Ming Dynasty's navy.
The Ming Dynasty navy, after upgrading its equipment, won its first naval battle with such overwhelming force, ending the battle swiftly.
More than a thousand Japanese pirates were wiped out in an instant, with no one surviving!