The soldiers of the Dragon Martial Army on the two ships were originally full of confidence in eliminating this group of pirates. No matter how they thought about it, they couldn't imagine that this group of pirates would be able to escape from their grasp. Capturing this group of pirates seemed to be a simple matter.
However, the sudden change changed their thinking. Just a moment ago, they were the ones with the absolute advantage, but now, the soldiers of the Dragon Martial Army had become the targets of attack. The pirates were attacking them from the bottom of the boats. These pirates were constantly using hammers and chisels to attack the bottom of the boats. As long as the bottom of the boats was broken, the two boats would be at risk of sinking. If that happened, the soldiers of the Dragon Martial Army would fall into the water.
These soldiers of the Dragon Martial Army were well-equipped. They were all wearing armor. This armor was originally their advantage as it allowed them to face bows and swords without fear. However, once the boats sank, this armor would become a life-threatening shackle. If a person wearing armor fell into the water, they wouldn't be able to escape. The heavy armor would instantly drag them to the bottom of the water, causing them to suffocate to death.
Facing this sudden change, the forty soldiers of the Dragon Martial Army panicked. They were very clear about how good they were in the water. If they took off their armor and jumped into the water to fight these pirates, they knew that they had no chance of winning. It was very likely that they would lose their lives. Moreover, the weather was relatively cold right now. It was very easy for them to fall sick if they jumped into the water. They were used to living a good life, so how could they compare to the pirates who grew up in bitter water? With their advantage in equipment, they could have the upper hand. However, once they took off their armor and fought underwater, they would be slaughtered.
The boatmen in charge of rowing the boats were also very nervous at this moment. They were not bad in the water, so they were very clear about the situation on the water. They knew very well what would happen if the bottom of the boat was broken.
These boats were the treasures of their survival. Without these boats, they would have to make a living again. They naturally didn't want to see this happen.
In order to prevent leakage, the bottom of every ship was very thick. However, no matter how thick the bottom of the ship was, it was still made of wood. How could wood withstand the drilling of an iron chisel? It was only a matter of time before the bottom of the ship was cut open.
These boatmen had made a living on the Wenshui for many years, but this was the first time they had encountered such a situation. After all, with the patrols of the government, the pirates on the Wenshui were not rampant, and the frequency of their robberies was not high. The boatmen had only encountered them a few times, and every time, the pirates would steal the money and goods and then flee. They had never done anything to harm a ship. Sinking a merchant ship with a chisel was something that not a single pirate had done.
Obviously, this time, the pirates were really angry. They actually sunk the merchant ship without any bottom line. Although the pirates were also trying to escape, this kind of action really scared the boatmen. Every boatman's face was filled with panic.
"Assistant Minister Li, the soldiers are all wearing armor. If the ship is really sunk, then it will be a disaster. "
Chen Long also became nervous. There were forty of his subordinates on the two boats. If all forty of them died in battle, when he returned, not only would he not be rewarded, he would even be demoted to a soldier. He couldn't help but be nervous. This was also the first time he had been so nervous about his subordinates.
Ang Lee was naturally aware of this problem. The Dragon Martial Army had come south mainly to protect him. If forty of them died in battle, then it would be a great blow to Ang Lee's reputation. Ang Lee obviously wouldn't sit and watch this happen.
The pirates were hiding under the two boats and fiercely chiseling at the ships. Not even their heads popped out. This made Ang Lee certain that the pirates were using ventilation equipment. Logically speaking, as long as the ventilation equipment was destroyed, the pirates would be forced to show their heads. Once the pirates showed their heads, the archers on the nearby boats would be able to kill them. Everything would be fine. However, it was currently night, and there wasn't much light. The ripples in the water were also quite large, and there were too many disturbances. It was too difficult to see the ventilation equipment of the pirates in this kind of environment.
"Order the two boats in front to slow down. We will chase at full speed."
Ang Lee gave a conservative order and gave up on chasing the pirate boats in front.
This order would allow Ang Lee and the other boats behind to quickly approach the two boats in front. Then, everyone would gather together and be able to focus on killing the enemy.
After the two fast boats in front slowed down, Li An's boat was already very close. The boats behind also caught up one after another and gradually surrounded the two fast boats.
"Men, bring this official's golden biscuits."
Ang Lee gave the order.
Soon, more than a hundred golden biscuits were brought to the deck.
Then, Ang Lee raised the golden biscuits and shouted, "Everyone, listen up. The pirates are below. If you can kill a pirate, you will be rewarded with ten pieces of gold. Regardless of whether you are a general, a soldier, or a boatman, as long as you can kill a pirate underwater, you will be rewarded with ten pieces of gold. If you are unfortunate enough to die, your family will be rewarded with ten pieces of gold. This official swears to the heavens that he will not go back on his word."
Everyone was shocked when they heard this. Chen Long was stunned for a moment before he loudly repeated Ang Lee's request and encouraged everyone to go underwater to kill the pirates.
It was said that generous rewards would attract brave men. After Li An proposed such a reward, Li An's guards, the Dragon Martial Army soldiers, and the boatmen who were good swimmers were all moved. Some of them even began to prepare.
The first to jump into the water was a young and strong boatman. He held a dagger in his hand and looked very confident. Then, a few boatmen and soldiers of the Dragon Martial Army jumped into the water. Everyone who jumped into the water held a weapon in their hands. These people were naturally good at swimming. Those who were bad at swimming didn't dare to enter the water, no matter how good the reward was. No one was willing to exchange their lives for money when there was no hope of survival. As for those who were good at swimming, they were filled with confidence and felt that they had at least a sixty percent chance of success. Thus, they boldly jumped into the water to fight for the ten pieces of gold.
In a short moment, more than ten people jumped into the water. Soon, a battle broke out underwater. Perhaps some parts of the river had already been dyed red, but because the sky was too dark, no abnormalities could be seen.
"Assistant Minister Li, can these people beat the pirates?"
Chen Long's heart was a little weak. He was a northerner and grew up in the capital. Although he could swim, his swimming skills were only average. The number of times he swam was less than one percent of the times he rode a horse. He could handle it with ease, but when he was in the water, he always had a feeling of insecurity. He felt that he had no control at all. Therefore, he didn't dare to enter the water easily and could only stand on the deck anxiously.
"When there is a reward, there will be brave men. The pirates must be very good at swimming, but there must be people who are very good at swimming among these boatmen. The boatmen have been paddling oars all year round, so their arms are very strong. If they really fight underwater, these pirates may not be a match for the strong boatmen. Just watch! There will be a result in a while. "
Ang Lee said very confidently.
Ang Lee was very confident in these boatmen. After all, these boatmen made a living on the water. People who weren't good at swimming wouldn't be able to do this. Not only did the boatmen have to carry goods, they also had to paddle the oars when going against the current. Their arms were trained very well and their strength was very great. As long as they were armed, they wouldn't be inferior to the pirates. At least, they were at the same level.
However, the pirates were robbers. When a large group of them gathered together, each of them had a different division of labor. Their weapons were also varied. There were close-range weapons and long-range crossbows. They formed a complete combat unit. The boatmen's main work equipment was paddling. They didn't need to rob, so it was impossible for them to equip themselves with bows and swords. They also didn't need to undergo special cooperation training. They were all people who worked hard to support their families and weren't willing to do dangerous things. Even if they were robbed by pirates, they would usually let the pirates take away the goods. They wouldn't fight with the pirates to protect the goods. They were boatmen, not armed escorts. They earned their hard-earned money and didn't want to risk their lives for money. They weren't willing to live a life on the knife's edge.
This was because the pirates usually worked closely as a group. They had both long-range and close-range weapons. Once they attacked, they could control everyone on the merchant ship. They always had an absolute advantage. Without this advantage, they wouldn't attack. At this moment, most of the pirates had already escaped. There were only seven or eight pirates who were drilling the ship underwater. Their weapons were only hammers and chisels. They didn't have an advantage fighting on the deck, so they had even less advantage underwater. The resistance of the water greatly limited the effectiveness of the hammers and chisels. Similarly, the chisels weren't very useful. They were the golden combination for drilling the ship, but in a life and death battle underwater, the hammers and chisels were far inferior to swords and daggers.
Just as more than ten people entered the water, the sound of the ship being chiseled gradually weakened. Then, very quickly, the sound of the ship being chiseled could no longer be heard. Very clearly, the pirates underwater had also discovered the boatmen and soldiers fighting underwater. They were currently fighting underwater.
"Is there anyone else going down? As long as you help in the water, you'll get a pot of gold. Regardless of whether you kill the pirates or not, you'll get a pot of gold. "
Ang Lee was worried that there were too few boatmen and soldiers in the water and that they didn't have an overwhelming advantage. Therefore, he once again proposed a reward. As long as they helped in the water, they would get money.
This was indeed useful. Some of the boatmen and soldiers who weren't very confident heard that they would get money even if they didn't kill the pirates. Even though the reward was only a pot of gold, which was much less than killing the pirates, it was much easier to get money than killing the pirates. This kind of incentive was even greater.
"Plop plop …"
Very quickly, more than thirty boatmen and soldiers jumped into the water and joined in the battle to encircle and suppress the pirates.
As the night light wasn't very good, the light underwater was even worse. Therefore, the battle underwater wasn't as smooth as imagined. Many people couldn't see anything clearly after entering the water. They couldn't be sure if the people beside them were friends or enemies. Therefore, they didn't dare to attack carelessly in case they accidentally hurt their own people.
As there was no oxygen underwater, the boatmen and soldiers who jumped into the water had to surface every once in a while to breathe before continuing to dive. Although the pirates had bamboo poles to breathe, under the intervention of a group of boatmen and soldiers, they had long disappeared. This forced them to surface to breathe. This made it easy for them to be discovered by the soldiers and boatmen who surfaced at the same time. Then, they would be directly captured alive.
It was a completely chaotic battle underwater. It was a very chaotic and comical battle. Accidental injuries and curses never stopped. It was so chaotic that it gave people a headache.
The pirate ship that was disguised as a merchant ship had already escaped far away and couldn't be seen with the naked eye. These escaping pirates also couldn't see the ship that was chasing behind them. This made them heave a huge sigh of relief.
"Boss, we've escaped, but our eight brothers are still behind us."
"It's good enough that we managed to escape. How can we care about our brothers behind us?"
"That's right. Look at how many of us are injured and how many of us are dead."
At this moment, there were five corpses on the pirate ship. There were also ten pirates who were injured by arrows. There were less than ten pirates who were unharmed. It could be said that they had suffered heavy losses.
This situation gave the pirate leader a huge headache. It also made the pirates below feel depressed. No one expected that they would suffer such a huge setback when they came out to work tonight. Although they were pirates, they hadn't done anything tonight. They hadn't even started robbing yet. They had already been targeted by a group of soldiers. This made their hearts ache. If they had known that they would encounter such a group of soldiers, they would have rather stayed at home and slept.
"Boss, it's not like we don't have a chance of winning. As long as they sink the soldiers' ships, we can completely take care of them. Why do we have to keep running?"
"That's right! Boss, the soldiers rely on their ships. If they sink all the ships, won't the soldiers be finished? "
Two pirates were worried about their companions and complained.
"Are you guys stupid? Can't you see that they have dozens of ships? The ones attacking us are only the two ships at the front. There are many more behind. With so many ships, I'm afraid there are no less than a thousand soldiers. With so many soldiers, don't tell me none of them are good at swimming. If they jump into the water and fight with our brothers underwater, how can we stop so many soldiers with just a few dozen of us? Aren't we just courting death? "
The pirate leader berated loudly.
Obviously, the pirate leader also knew that he couldn't defeat the soldiers by sending eight pirates to sink the enemy's ships. It was very likely that these eight brothers wouldn't be able to return. Although they were all pirates who were good at swimming, there were bound to be capable people among the soldiers. Underestimating the enemy was always the stupidest thing to do.
And the reason why he sent eight of his brothers to their deaths despite knowing that they were no match for the soldiers was so that he and his remaining brothers could safely escape. Although eight of his brothers couldn't defeat the soldiers by sinking the ships of the soldiers and could very likely lead to them all being killed, it would definitely delay the soldiers from pursuing them. Once the soldiers dealt with the threat of the eight brothers, it would be impossible for them to pursue them. The main force would then be safe.
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