The rise of the poor

Chapter 2193 Another Journey to Japan

Late the next night, Mei Ling was still fast asleep, unaware that danger was quietly approaching.

Zhu Pingan led the Zhejiang army to sneak east of Meiling to deal with the Japanese pirate gangs entrenched there; Mao Haifeng led his Japanese pirates to sneak west of Meiling to deal with the Japanese pirate gangs entrenched there, using fire as a signal to launch a simultaneous attack.

The Japanese pirates were so used to their comfortable lives that they had no sense of crisis whatsoever, and they didn't even have any hidden sentries.

Just as Zhu Ping'an and his party were about to arrive, they encountered a group of about ten Japanese pirates patrolling with torches. The group of pirates were chatting and laughing, unaware that their death was imminent.

The Zhejiang army's black-clad scouts, armed with sharp blades, lay in ambush on their only route. As they approached, they leaped out, covering their mouths with one hand and slicing their throats with the other. These patrolling Japanese pirates didn't even have time to scream before they were all dead.

The Zhejiang scouts swiftly dragged the Japanese pirate corpses into the bushes, clearing a path for the main army to pass.

The road was flat and clear, and we arrived smoothly at the Japanese pirate stronghold east of Meiling.

The Japanese pirates had dug a trench in front of the mountain stronghold. Zhu Ping'an knew about this beforehand, so he led the Zhejiang soldiers to carry hundreds of bundles of firewood and throw them into the trench, easily filling it in and turning it into a smooth road.

At this moment, the agreed-upon location for lighting the torch was illuminated, and several lanterns drew circles in the air.

A familiar signal; this must be the traditional signal used by Wang Zhi and the Japanese pirates.

"The fires are already lit, we can start now. While the Japanese pirates are still fast asleep, let's not disturb them. Send men in to open the gates, divide our forces and go inside. Kill the pirates while setting fires, and try not to let a single one escape."

Zhu Pingan gave the order.

Soon, several agile Zhejiang soldiers, as nimble as monkeys, silently scaled the wall and over the gate of the stronghold, opening the heavy gate.

Zhu Pingan waved his hand, and the Zhejiang soldiers charged into the Japanese pirate camp like wolves and tigers, unleashing a massacre.

Squads of Zhejiang soldiers, bayonets at their heels, pushed open the Japanese pirates' tents and charged in, stabbing them repeatedly.

The Japanese pirates were still asleep when they only had time to let out one last scream before their sinful lives came to an end in a daze.

They killed and set fires simultaneously, and soon the Japanese pirate camp was awash in blood and ablaze with flames.

Some Japanese pirates were awakened and shouted, trying to fight to the death. However, before they could put on their armor or draw their swords, they were met by squads of Zhejiang soldiers with bayonets. They were stabbed to death on the spot without any suspense.

Some Japanese pirates, upon waking up, rushed out of their tents without even putting on armor, grabbing their swords and other weapons. Seeing the sea of ​​fire, they shouted and tried to gather their men, attempting to fight the Zhejiang army to the death. Others, upon waking up and seeing that the situation was hopeless, or simply out of fear of death, didn't even bother to put on their clothes or grab their weapons, and ran away as fast as they could.

The Japanese pirates who tried to escape ran headlong into the ambush of the Zhejiang army. Almost all of them walked into the trap and were either killed on the spot or captured.

Zhu Ping'an had long ago ordered his men to set up ambushes at several intersections along the ridge to prevent any Japanese pirates from escaping.

They tried to fight to the death, but they were utterly defeated by the organized and disciplined Zhejiang army, suffering heavy losses and even having their brains spill out.

Whenever the Japanese pirates formed a group to resist, the Zhejiang army would focus their fire on them with muskets and tiger-squatting cannons. In one round of fire, these Japanese pirate groups would be wiped out.

Zhu Pingan also ordered white flags to be erected in several places and instructed the Zhejiang army to shout that the Japanese pirates should kneel under the white flags and surrender their weapons without being killed.

The Japanese pirates were terrified by the Zhejiang army. They didn't even know who was attacking them; they only knew that the group was too fierce. Their formation was very orderly, and in particular, each musket had a bayonet attached to it. The bayonet formation formed by them with their muskets was like a hedgehog, and the Japanese pirates couldn't break through. They were pierced through by the bayonets in just a few rounds.

Furthermore, their firearms were incredibly powerful; the Japanese pirates had never seen any army with so many firearms before.

Caught off guard, the Japanese pirates were ambushed by the Zhejiang army. They hadn't even put on their clothes properly, let alone armor. Faced with the Zhejiang army's firearms, their bodies were like paper, instantly riddled with holes.

Upon hearing the Zhejiang army's call for surrender and disarmament without being killed, many desperate Japanese pirates threw down their weapons and knelt before the white flag in a massive wave.

The Japanese pirates disintegrated, and those who resisted were even weaker and more vulnerable. Faced with the fierce attack of the Zhejiang army, the Japanese pirates suffered a crushing defeat.

This raid ended in less than half an hour, and the Japanese pirates east of Meiling were completely wiped out.

The ground was littered with the corpses of Japanese pirates, their blood staining the earth, and countless Japanese pirates knelt in surrender.

Zhu Pingan took stock of the battle losses.

In this battle, the Zhejiang army suffered seven dead and eighteen wounded. This was mainly because the battle was primarily a close-quarters combat, and the Zhejiang army's firearms could not be reloaded quickly enough. They were also worried about accidentally injuring others with their firearms, so they mainly relied on bayonet fighting. As a result, the Zhejiang army inevitably suffered casualties.

However, the Zhejiang army was organized and disciplined, with a well-organized formation, and it launched a surprise attack on the Japanese pirates, resulting in a great victory.

In this battle, a total of 389 Japanese pirates were killed, including their leader, and 523 were captured. More than 500 shi of grain, more than 6,700 taels of silver, more than 1,200 taels of gold, and ten boxes of jewelry and antiques were seized.

In addition, after these bloody battles, the new recruits of the Zhejiang Army have visibly grown rapidly and become qualified soldiers of the Zhejiang Army.

Compared to the Zhejiang army, Mao Haifeng and his troops west of Meiling also defeated the Japanese pirates west of Meiling, but their casualties were much greater than those of the Zhejiang army.

Mao Haifeng and his men successfully sneaked to the front of the Japanese pirate camp west of Meiling. The agile Japanese pirates scaled the camp wall and opened the gate, but Mao Haifeng chose to have his men set fire to the camp first. Many Japanese pirates threw torches onto the tents, and the camp was soon ablaze.

First they set fires to create chaos, then they killed people.

The Japanese pirates east of Meiling were awakened by the flames and rushed out of their tents, only to be confronted by the Japanese swords of Mao Haifeng's men.

However, because Mao Haifeng and his men set fire first, many Japanese pirates west of Meiling were awakened and, in desperation, gathered together to fight back desperately. Mao Haifeng and his men did not have enough firearms, so they could only attack the gathered pirates head-on. As a result, Mao Haifeng's pirates suffered heavy casualties.

Although Mao Haifeng's Japanese pirates suffered heavy casualties, they were numerous and powerful, and their surprise attack allowed them to capture the Japanese pirates west of Meiling without major incident.

In this battle, more than 300 Japanese pirates under Mao Haifeng's command were killed, more than 200 were wounded, more than 500 Japanese pirates west of Meiling were killed, more than 200 were captured, and more than 200 Japanese pirates escaped in the chaos.

The leader of this group of Japanese pirates also mingled among the more than two hundred pirates and escaped by taking advantage of his familiarity with the terrain. (End of this chapter)