Takeda Toshikawa saw that the counterattack organised by Mao Haifeng’s forces was being beaten to the brink of collapse by his own three hundred reinforcements. He nodded in satisfaction. “Yoshi, yoshi, that’s it. This is how my Yoshiya ashigaru should appear.”
“Lord, it seems that in less than a quarter of an hour, we can flatten Mao Haifeng’s camp.” Matsushita Saburo closed his folding fan and said with a face full of confidence.
“Yoshi! Hahahaha, the famous Black Dragon of the Waves, Mao Haifeng, is nothing more than this.” Takeda Toshikawa laughed proudly.
“It’s all thanks to the lord’s masterful command that the renowned Black Dragon of the Waves has met his Waterloo.”
Matsushita Saburo took the opportunity to flatter him greatly.
“Hahahaha.” Takeda Toshikawa arrogantly stepped on a stone, leaning on his Japanese sword, and laughed heartily with great satisfaction.
Mao Haifeng was Wang Zhi’s adopted son. At a young age, he led a fleet alone, with four or five thousand wokou under his command. He was very famous among the wokou, with the nickname Black Dragon of the Waves. His reputation among the wokou was second only to veterans like Wang Zhi and Xu Hai.
At this moment, Takeda Toshikawa was able to defeat Mao Haifeng and was about to flatten his camp. A surge of great satisfaction welled up in his heart.
What Mao Haifeng, what Black Dragon of the Waves? It was nothing special. Just a defeated general. Hahahaha.
He calls himself the Black Dragon of the Waves? Then I could be the Sea King.
Sea King?
Hmm, not bad. This nickname is good. From now on, I’ll call myself Sea King. It’s domineering and impressive!
It’s just a pity that the Zhejiang army’s camp is heavily defended. If I could flatten the Zhejiang army’s camp and capture the Ming Dynasty’s Zhejiang inspector Zhu Ping’an alive, then my achievements would surpass those of Xu Hai and Wang Zhi. The name of the Takeda family would resound throughout this continent!
At that time, with a call to arms, who knows how many wokou would come to join me!
At that time, even facing those high and mighty lords and nobles back home, I would have enough confidence.
Perhaps, in the future, I could become a daimyo myself.
Yoshi!
Yoshi!
I, Takeda Toshikawa, am truly the favoured son of heaven, blessed by the Sun Goddess Amaterasu. I am destined not to be an ordinary man!
Just as Takeda Toshikawa was filled with satisfaction, suddenly a series of neat and dense musket shots came from the woods to the east of the fishing village.
Ah!
The rear formation of the Yoshiya village wokou, who were attacking the Zhejiang army’s camp, immediately erupted in screams. A large number of wokou fell.
“Charge! Kill the wokou, earn military merits!”
“Kill!”
After one volley of musket fire, a dark mass of Zhejiang soldiers rushed out from the woods, holding bayonets, shouting as they fiercely attacked the wokou’s rear formation.
The Yoshiya village wokou were suddenly ambushed from behind. The enemy fired a volley of musket shots, killing a large number on their side. In the pitch-black night, they didn’t know how many had come. They only saw a dense black mass rushing out from the woods, with deafening shouts. The momentum seemed like no less than a thousand people. Their formation immediately fell into chaos.
“Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Enemies have come around from behind and ambushed our rear formation! Tanaka, Tanabe, they’ve all fallen.”
“Baka! The enemy doesn’t fight honourably, ambushing from behind!”
“Save me! My stomach…”
The rear formation of the Yoshiya village wokou was filled with screams. Countless wounded wokou had fallen, and their formation was immediately disrupted.
Seizing the opportunity while they were vulnerable, the Zhejiang army’s camp saw their brothers succeeding in the ambush from behind and immediately launched a fierce attack.
Attacked from front and rear, with fierce assaults on both sides!
The Yoshiya village wokou were engaged on both fronts, immediately under immense pressure. They were stretched thin in defence, and their formation teetered on the brink of collapse.
“Baka! Baka! Baka! Treacherous and cunning Ming dogs! They actually launched a sneak attack! Truly despicable and shameless!”
Seeing his own side successfully ambushed by the Zhejiang army, with the formation on the verge of collapse, the satisfied Takeda Toshikawa suddenly jumped up like a rooster with its throat squeezed. He cursed furiously. His heated heart was suddenly doused with a basin of ice water, chilling him to the core.
Originally, Mao Haifeng’s camp was about to be flattened. By driving Mao Haifeng’s routed troops to impact the Zhejiang army’s camp, the Zhejiang army’s camp would not be difficult to breach.
However, unexpectedly, before Mao Haifeng’s camp was flattened, something went wrong on his side. The Zhejiang army despicably sent troops to circle behind and ambush. Now, it was his own army that was teetering.
Takeda Toshikawa’s satisfaction vanished in an instant. What Sea King, what daimyo? He didn’t dare think about it now.
At this moment, his face was full of panic and worry.
They had already suffered considerable losses in front of the Zhejiang army’s camp. He had transferred three hundred men to attack Mao Haifeng’s camp. Now, their forces in front of the Zhejiang army’s camp were less than a thousand, and they were facing attacks from both front and rear by the Zhejiang army.
The situation had suddenly become precarious.
“Front formation, engage with bayonets; rear formation, load muskets and find an opportunity to fire! After firing, front and rear formations switch.”
“Form up against the enemy; those in the middle of the formation are responsible for firing, the rest engage the enemy and protect the musket hands in the centre.”
The Zhejiang army summarised experience in battle and devised ways to maximise the advantage of firearms, causing heavy losses to the opposing Yoshiya village wokou. Their formation was nearly collapsing.
“Lord, the situation has changed. If this continues, even if Mao Haifeng’s camp is flattened, our east side will also be wiped out. Killing eight hundred enemies while losing a thousand of our own; we can’t afford that. Moreover, if the Zhejiang army wins here, they will surely rescue Mao Haifeng’s forces. Then it will be hard for us to escape. Lord, a decision must be made. Withdrawing now is still possible. In the dead of night, retreat is easy; they won’t dare pursue deeply.”
Matsushita Saburo saw the situation change abruptly. If they didn’t make a timely decision and withdraw decisively, they would be enveloped by the Zhejiang army. He hurriedly advised the panic-stricken Takeda Toshikawa beside him.
“Withdraw?”
Takeda Toshikawa looked at Mao Haifeng’s camp on the verge of collapse, then at his own teetering formation, hesitating.
“Lord, as long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. But today, if we don’t withdraw in time, our losses will be greater, and retreat will be even harder. Today, we have sacked Mao Haifeng’s camp and struck the Zhejiang army’s camp. That’s enough to give them a lesson in blood and fire, letting them know that our Yoshiya is not to be provoked! It will also make our Yoshiya name known outside!” Matsushita Saburo advised again.
“Hmm, that makes sense. Then withdraw. Send the withdrawal signal to them.” Takeda Toshikawa felt a bit better in his heart and finally made up his mind.
“The lord is wise.” Matsushita Saburo flattered him once more.
With that, Matsushita Saburo raised his hand to wave the folding fan and send the withdrawal signal. But as soon as his hand lifted, he saw sparks lighting up below the slope.
Immediately, alarm bells rang in his mind. A chill surged to his heart, and the words “enemy attack” popped into his head.
However, before he could speak, several deafening “booms” exploded, firelight illuminating the night sky, the earth shaking as if mountains were collapsing. Then his body flew up. While flying in mid-air, he saw the lord beside him also flying up.
