At the bottom of the precipitous cliff, Wu Hanchao was leading about five hundred strong men who were adept at climbing mountains. All of them had steel sabers on their backs as they stood there. Next to them, the ropes they had gathered from the nearby towns were piled as high as a person. Fortunately, this place was close to the sea, and the fishermen's homes had some sturdy ropes. When they were strung together, they could reach the top of the cliff.
At this time, dusk was hazy, and the last ray of sunlight was about to disperse. On the surging waves, the half red sun seemed to rise and fall unsteadily. There was a clump of tree branches about fifteen meters above their heads. Because the sunlight had disappeared, the branches and leaves had turned dark green. There were also a few flowers poking out of the leaves. Further up, the precipitous cliff made people feel dizzy.
Wu Hanchao was wearing a tight-fitting outfit with a longsword tied to his back and a rope tied to his waist. He also had a hundred treasures hook ready to use. Song Ai knew that Wu Hanchao's skills were extraordinary and hoped that he would make some contributions, so she approved of his sneak attack plan. But now that she saw the precipitous cliff, she couldn't help but feel afraid.
Song Ai tugged on Wu Hanchao's sleeve and worriedly said, "General Wu, this cliff is too steep. Didn't General Meng send people to the county town to transport cannons? Why don't we wait for the cannons to arrive and attack the mountain by force? I'm afraid …"
Wu Hanchao and Song Ai had been practicing formations and marching together these days. He felt that although this beautiful girl was a bit spoiled, she had a different kind of open and generous personality from the girls of the Central Plains. She had a special charm, and he had a very good impression of her.
Now that he heard this female commander worry about his safety, Wu Hanchao couldn't help but feel heroic. He laughed loudly and said, "Don't worry, Official Song. I don't dare to say that climbing this cliff is like walking on flat ground, but with the help of this hundred treasures hook, there won't be any danger climbing this mountain."
Although their warriors were also valiant, who had Wu Hanchao's heroic spirit? The heavens had pity on them. Which of those strong men would dare to be heroic in front of a woman?
Looking at his handsome face, Song Ai's heart was filled with joy and love. She suddenly blurted out angrily, "Daren Song, send Daren? Where are you sending me to? It sounds awkward. I'm the head of Nandan Province, and this position of commander is temporary. You're the officer receiving the court's salary. You don't need to be so polite. You … you should call me Little Hobby. "
"Huh?" Wu Hanchao's laughter suddenly froze. He looked at the five hundred warriors guiltily.
Only then did Song Ai realize that she had gotten a little carried away. She had actually allowed Wu Hanchao to call her by her maiden name in front of all her subordinates. She arrogantly glared around and shouted, "What are you looking at? Get out of my way! No one is allowed to come here! "
The status of the Zhuang people in front of their leader was much lower than that of the Han people in front of the officials. They were almost half slaves, and their leader could decide their life and death at any time. At this moment, seeing that their leader was a little angry, these wolf soldiers were so scared that they scattered and ran away faster than rabbits.
Wu Hanchao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Miss … Miss Xiao 'ai …"
Song Ai immediately put on a smile, her eyes narrowed into crescent moons, and sweetly said, "General Wu, what's the matter?"
Wu Hanchao pointed at the cliff and smiled, "I'm going to climb. If you don't let them come over, how am I going to bring them up?"
"Oh … hehe, hehe …" Song Ai dryly laughed. She turned around with her hands on her waist and scolded the wolf soldiers fiercely, "All of you, get back here and climb the mountain immediately!"
With the help of the Hundred Treasures Hook, Wu Hanchao climbed with his hands and legs. Every time he passed a thick tree trunk that grew out of a crack in the rock, he would pull up the rope and leave a part of the rope hanging down to the ground. He would then tie a knot on the rope to secure it and make it easier for him to climb.
The people below looked up and saw Wu Hanchao climbing up the steep, moss-covered cliff. Pebbles kept sliding down and they were all sweating in their hearts. The sun finally disappeared completely. This side of the cliff suddenly became dark. Even Wu Hanchao's figure could not be seen clearly. Song Ai couldn't help but close her eyes and put her hands together to silently pray.
The Zhuang people believed in many gods. Buddhism, Taoism, witchcraft, ancestral gods and the god of nature. With so many gods, they were not afraid of any conflict. Now that Wu Hanchao was climbing the mountain, Song Ai began to pray to the mountain god.
After a long time, a dot of starlight suddenly fell on the mountain. Someone picked it up and rushed to Song Ai's side, saying, "Headman, General Wu has sent a signal, we can climb the mountain now."
Song Ai opened her eyes and saw that it was a torch tied to her belt. After the fall, the fire had been extinguished. She snatched the torch and looked at it carefully. After confirming that it was the sign she had agreed with Wu Hanchao, she waved her hand excitedly and said, "Let's climb the mountain now."
The wolf soldiers carried long swords on their backs and began to climb the cliff one by one. The ropes used on the sea were very strong but for the sake of safety, Song Ai still climbed in groups of seven.
The night was as dark as ink. Only the sound of the tide could be heard. The wind was slightly cold.
The people at the bottom of the cliff did not dare to light the torches. Groups of wolf soldiers quietly climbed the cliff. Song Ai stood in the shadows and watched. She moved her arm and realized that the belt in her hand was Wu Hanchao's personal belonging. Suddenly, a strange feeling arose in her heart.
Most of the love tokens given by the Zhuang people to their sweethearts were clothes, especially worn ones that showed the most sincerity. Although she knew that Wu Hanchao was not hinting at it, she could not help but think of the rules in her tribe.
She gently removed the fire from the waist scarf and looked around to make sure no one was paying attention. She hurriedly put the waist scarf into her bosom. After doing all of this, she felt her heart thumping. Following the ebb and flow of the tide, it was as if a war drum was being beaten.
※ ※ ※
"Hurry up, hurry up, give me a hand, push up!"
"Sir, Sir Meng, the cannons are here!"
A group of people escorted the two cannons borrowed from Guard Huang to the foot of the mountain.
When Meng Sihai heard the news, he was overjoyed. He hurried over and said, "Hurry, set up the cannons and get ready. If there's any movement on the mountain, fire two cannons. Hey! Don't raise the torches, are you f * cking reporting to the Wokou? The Wokou have built a few stone walls up there. If we attack, we'll push them down. But f * cking, it's hard to defend. Let's flatten them first. "
The crescent moon hung high in the sky. Suddenly, there was the sound of battle cries coming from the top of the mountain. It was faintly audible in the darkness of the night. At the same time, they saw the torches of the Wokou starting to move towards the top of the mountain. Meng Sihai's spirits rose and he called out, "Little Wu has succeeded, fire the cannons!"
"Boom! Boom! " Two cannons sounded. The stone walls halfway up the mountain were destroyed by the cannons. Stone fragments flew everywhere and screams of pain could be heard. As soon as the cannons sounded, the Ming army found a place to hide. Just as the giant rocks rolled past them, the Ming army and the wolf soldiers rushed up the mountain while shouting.
The chaotic battle had begun. The Wokou didn't know how many Ming soldiers there were at the top of the mountain. In their panic, they couldn't use the terrain to their advantage and formed an effective counterattack. They allowed the Ming army to attack in front of them and began to fight hand to hand. The wolf soldiers had a natural talent for fighting at night and in the mountains. Now that the Wokou army had lost their morale, they allowed them to kill as they pleased.
These Shandong soldiers had achieved a great victory in their first battle against the Wokou pirates. They didn't think much of the legendary Wokou pirates. This bloody battle, coupled with the psychological threat of the Ming army at the top of the mountain, caused the Wokou pirates to retreat step by step.
The Ming army at the bottom of the mountain was endless. The Wokou pirates discovered that there were far fewer Ming soldiers coming down from the top of the mountain. They began to abandon their defensive position at the bottom of the mountain. Under the leadership of Donghua Lu Zhijie, they attacked the top of the mountain with all their might.
Wu Hanchao's goal was to attack from the back and destroy the Wokou pirates' advantage. When he saw the Wokou pirates and the Ming army retreating to the top of the mountain, he didn't stop the wolf soldiers from blocking them. Instead, he opened up a path and followed the majority of the troops up the mountain.
On the entire side of the mountain, blood and flesh flew and corpses littered the ground. Both sides were in a killing frenzy and the situation was extremely tragic. The wolf soldiers with long spears and short crossbows took turns to charge and kill. They leaped up and down the steep and moving rocks that were impossible to stand steadily on. They were like monkeys.
The Wokou pirates completely collapsed. In terms of physique and willpower, no one could organize an effective resistance. Under this kind of situation, the Ming army, which was made up of seven and ten people, displayed the specialties of individual fighting. Even though it was night and they were on the mountain, they were still able to fully cooperate in battle. The Wokou pirates who were in their death throes were completely disorganized. They only knew how to blindly swing their swords at the enemy in front of them. They didn't care about the attacks from the flanks and rear. One by one, the crazed Wokou pirates were easily pierced through, chopped in half, and smashed to pieces by the Ming soldiers who were much weaker than them …
Lu Zhijie of Donghua led the remaining three hundred or so Wokou pirates and retreated dejectedly to the top of the mountain. Wu Hanchao and the others climbed to the highest point of the mountain. It was narrow and precipitous and couldn't hold too many people. They retreated to the left side. This side of the cliff was unobstructed. The edge of the cliff was covered with wisteria and wild grass. Below the cliff was a large patch of reef.
Looking back at the sea, it was dark under the dim moonlight. The Wokou people had been surrounded by the Ming army.
Lu Zhijie of Donghua knew that they had nowhere to run. Their hands were stained with too much blood and they had killed too many women and children. How could the Ming army let them go?
Lu Zhijie of Donghua turned back and looked longingly at the dark sea. His old father, his beloved wife, his two cute daughters, and a little son were on the island. What would happen to them? Would they starve to death on the island or would they become the slaves of other bandits, ordered about, enslaved, and humiliated?
Would his wife, daughter, and son become the targets of the beast-like pirates, just like what he had done to other people?
He waved his two knives and began to howl. In broken Wokou, he told his subordinates, "The Ming army will not let them go. They will fight to the death." Before he finished speaking, a long spear flew through the air and pierced through his chest, impaling him and the two pirates behind him.
This spear was thrown by Wu Hanchao. Then Meng Sihai's voice roared in the night, "Arrows, javelins, shoot them down, you little slave!"
Arrows and javelins were thrown at the dense crowd. The frightened Wokou struggled to squeeze forward, allowing the rain of arrows and javelins to fall on them. They only hoped that others would rush forward and help them block the rain of arrows and javelins. Unexpectedly, not a single one of them dared to rush forward and fight the Ming army one last time.
As they squeezed and retreated, there was a constant stream of people who stepped on the weeds and vines that protruded out of the cliff. They screamed and fell down. A few of the small leaders of the Wokou pirates who were trying to command the pirates discovered to their dismay that their group, which had gathered together through murder and robbery, was once invincible and had caused the Ming army to flee at the mere sight of them, was just as cowardly in the face of death.
Not a single one of the Ming army charged forward. They only continued to shoot arrows and javelins. The crazed Wokou squeezed their comrades, who were still conscious and unwilling to retreat, off the cliff one by one. Of the more than three hundred Wokou pirates, only a third were shot dead. There were actually more than two hundred pirates who were pushed off the cliff by their comrades and fell to their deaths.
The Wokou pirate Tojo Jiro was Donghua's second in command. His chest had been pierced by a sharp rock and his body hung upside down on the rock. The lower half of his body was submerged in the water and had been eaten by fish and crabs. When he was discovered, his lifeless eyes were still wide open, staring fixedly at the top of the cliff.
There was no fear or anger in his eyes, only a deep sorrow. The sorrow in his eyes was the same as that of a Ming centurion who had his head chopped off by him.
That brave Ming warrior had once wanted to fight to the death with him. But when he saw that his own soldiers would rather have their heads chopped off from behind than have the courage to stop and fight, the look in his eyes was exactly the same as Jiang Zhou's right now.
The Sichuan army arrived a moment later than the Lu army and the Wolf army. When they camped at the foot of Ji Zi Peak, they ate some mountain fruits and bought some sea fish. As a result, many of the soldiers were upset. After struggling for half a day, he heard that the other two armies were already heading straight for the coast. Jiang Zhou became anxious. If the Lu army stole the credit, wouldn't that be a complete loss of face for the Sichuan army?
He hurriedly left a hundred sick soldiers in the town to recuperate and led the rest of the soldiers to rush over. When Jiang Zhou arrived at the camp, he ran into the Wokou pirates who were fleeing from the other side of the camp. Jiang Zhou was overjoyed and immediately ordered the soldiers to charge forward. The Wokou pirates had not yet calmed down when they suddenly ran into a group of Ming soldiers who were cursing 'son of a b * tch'. They struggled for a while and then ran towards the coast.
They retreated into the seaside town and stole two small boats. They used beds, doors, tables and chairs to hastily make rafts. They floated across the sea and retreated to an island about a mile away from the shore.
Jiang Zhou looked everywhere for a boat but couldn't find it. From afar he saw the Wokou pirates chopping down trees on the island. It seemed like they wanted to make sturdier rafts and use the nearby islands to escape. He couldn't help but become very anxious. But his soldiers were not good at water. If they built some rafts and swam across the sea, he was afraid that before the soldiers could reach the island, they would be killed by the Wokou pirates. Even if he wanted to take credit, he couldn't take such a risk.
He could only station his troops at the seaside and sigh. At the second watch, the soldiers came to report that the tide had receded and there was land between the island and the island. Jiang Zhou was overjoyed and excitedly rushed to the seaside to take a look. He found that although the tide had receded, the land between the island and the island was full of mud. It was difficult for the soldiers to walk. He sent a few soldiers down to try but before they could walk far, their knees were stuck in the mud and they couldn't move. Forget about attacking the island, they could only stand there and be slaughtered. Jiang Zhou couldn't help but be disappointed.
The opposite island also found that there were more torches on the seaside and hurriedly made preparations. Seeing that the Ming army didn't make any movements, they realized that it was because the tide had receded and the mud was everywhere. It was even more difficult to attack than building rafts. The Wokou pirates were overjoyed and only left a small number of soldiers to guard the island. The rest of the people entered the forest that night and continued to cut down trees to make large rafts.
The Sichuan soldiers struggled until the third watch. Jiang Zhou was discouraged. He looked at the island and angrily spat, "Damn it, they got lucky and the credit flew away! Let's go back to town. Have the people we sent to find the navy, General Meng, and Commander Song returned? "
Qiao Zi 'an said, "Daren, the people who went to find the navy have not returned. However, the people who went to General Meng's place to gather information have returned. General Meng said that the Wokou pirates they surrounded have gone up the mountain. The wolf soldiers climbed up from the cliff behind the mountain and have already quietly moved troops to the top of the mountain. They will definitely take down those Wokou pirates tonight!"
Jiang Zhou chuckled coldly and said, "Don't play dumb with me. Would the one surnamed Meng say it so politely? I'm afraid he's just showing off to me. Heh! He trapped the pirates on the mountain and the wolf soldiers climbed up the cliff to help him get the credit. Father could only watch as the island was so close but could only watch as the sons of a turtle built rafts. Ai, his luck isn't as good as others. This time he has something to show off about! "
A soldier at the side hesitated and said, "Daren, this lowly one has an idea. I wanted to tell daren about it just now, but … this lowly one doesn't know if it will work. When daren uses troops, this lowly one doesn't dare to blindly interfere …"
When Jiang Zhou heard this, he rushed over with a whoosh and grabbed the soldier's shoulder. He raised his hand and gave him a loud slap on the face, scolding, "Son of a turtle, why didn't you say it earlier if you had an idea? What idea is it? Just take it out and show it to me. If it doesn't work, it's not your fault. If it works, father will immediately promote you to baihu! "
The soldier was slapped five hundred times in the face and was so scared that he couldn't speak. When he heard that he was going to be promoted to baihu, he mustered his courage and stammered, "Da … daren, this lowly one's hometown often has quagmires and swamps. This lowly one knows a few ideas, but I don't know if it will work in battle.
You see … we saw many piles of firewood in the town just now. We have six to seven thousand people. Each person can carry a bundle of firewood and move forward as we throw the firewood. This way, we won't sink into the mud. We will definitely be able to pave this one mile of land. If it really doesn't work, then we can enlist some people to work as laborers. "
When Jiang Zhou heard this, he was greatly disappointed and scolded, "Bastard! Can throwing some firewood on top of the mud support these hundred or so catties? If we can't defeat these Wokou pirates, we can find another group of Wokou people to vent our anger on. If we lose this battle, won't those Shandong soldiers laugh at us even more? "
The soldier shrunk his neck in fear and stammered, "Daren, don't underestimate these light and soft firewood. If these things are thrown on the muddy ground, they won't sink at all. Why would this lowly one dare to lie to you?"
Jiang Zhou stared at him suspiciously for a while before turning his head and said, "Go, all the soldiers go back and carry the firewood. If it's not enough, get all the people from the nearby villages to come over. Ask Dizheng and Baojia to find some strong people to help."
The thousands of soldiers were like ants moving houses. The firewood was moved to the shore in bundles and bundles. Jiang Zhou first laid out a section and ordered the soldiers to go up and test it out. Indeed, it could support the soldiers walking on it. However, their speed was slightly slower than when they were walking on land.
Jiang Zhou was overjoyed and ordered a small group of soldiers to carry torches along the shore to confuse the Wokou pirates. The large group of soldiers extinguished their torches and ordered the archers and shield bearers to stand in front, followed by the spears and swords. Along the way, they laid down firewood and quietly made their way to the island …
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
