The trusted pirates under Xu Hai and the others wielded their bloody swords, directing the pirate fleet to slowly start moving forward. Any ship that lagged even slightly had one or two heads chopped off under trumped-up charges.
The blood-soaked blades spurred the pirate fleet to pick up speed.
“Quick, quick, abandon the last three ships, get everyone onto the other ships, hurry, hurry, hurry!” Xu Hai, seeing the fleet begin to move, finally breathed a sigh of relief and rushed to the deck, shouting commands.
Sacrificing the tail to survive!
Though the burning rafts were closing in fast, about to make contact, abandoning the rear three ships could still save the fleet.
“Hahaha, Zhu Ping’an’s still too green, I’m no Cao Cao, and he’s no Zhuge Liang or Zhou Yu! This isn’t Red Cliff! Copying tactics, stumbling like a fool, what a joke, hahaha…” Xu Hai, seizing a lifeline, couldn’t help but spread his arms wide, laughing triumphantly as if he owned the world.
Just three ships! What’s that to us?
Heh, Zhu Ping’an, you schemed and plotted, setting up dozens of rafts with all this fanfare, and all you got was three pirate ships.
Zhu Ping’an, that’s all you’ve got, no matter how clever you think you are, I’m still one step ahead, Xu Hai laughed heartily.
Under Xu Hai’s orders, the pirates on the last three ships scrambled onto the vessels ahead, tripping over themselves in panic.
As they transferred, the leading raft reached the rearmost pirate ship, riding the current.
The rafts were low, the pirate ships tall, like an adult next to a toddler, the raft slipped underneath almost like sliding between legs.
But the rafts burned fiercely, flames roaring skyward.
Positioned below the pirate ships, the raging fire licked at the hulls with its hottest, most destructive outer flames.
Big fire, dry wood.
The straw and firewood on the rafts, soaked in oil, fueled a blaze far beyond ordinary, quickly setting the pirate ships alight.
More rafts arrived, first igniting the initial ship, then the second, then the third.
Ships in this era were wooden, prime fuel for fire. Soon, the three abandoned pirate ships were engulfed, the fierce north wind fanning the flames higher, turning them into towering infernos with thick black smoke in the blink of an eye.
“Good thing the leader acted fast and got us onto the front ships, or we’d all be roasted meat by now,” the pirates who’d moved forward shuddered, feeling both relief and lingering fear.
“It’s still not safe, we’re only seven or eight meters from them, that’s not enough,” some pirates on the ship eyed the burning vessels behind, still uneasy as more rafts drifted closer.
“No worries, the rafts rely on the current, we can row, they can’t catch us,” others said dismissively.
“Exactly, the jam’s cleared, we can row now, if we paddle hard, the rafts won’t keep up.”
Indeed, under the brutal direction of Xu Hai’s trusted men, the pirate fleet had started moving forward.
Indeed, as long as they rowed, the current-driven rafts couldn’t catch them.
It was common sense!
Xu Hai was confident, Chen Dong and Ma Ye were confident, every pirate was confident.
“Faster, faster, row hard, shake off the Ming army’s rafts, let them eat our dust and cry!” the pirates didn’t even need orders, they rowed with all their might, putting every ounce of strength into it.
The pirate ships cut through the waves, surging ahead.
“Hahaha, we’re safe now, that scared the hell out of me earlier,” Ma Ye wiped the cold sweat from his brow, letting out a long breath and laughing in relief.
“Same here, my back’s drenched in sweat, good thing Zhu Ping’an’s still young, uh, this was Zhu Ping’an’s doing, right?” Chen Dong chuckled too, his mood lifting after the crisis, asking Xu Hai with a self-deprecating grin.
He wasn’t entirely sure who’d orchestrated this fire-linked trap but strongly suspected Zhu Ping’an.
“Heh, though we didn’t see him, it’s got to be him, no one else. In all of Suzhou Prefecture, he’s probably the only one with the guts to chase us, the rest are just gutless cowards, not worth mentioning,” Xu Hai said with certainty, his hatred for Zhu Ping’an and his Zhejiang troops deep, recognizing their uniforms at a glance, “Plus, look at their armor, it’s clearly Zhejiang troop cotton gear, who else could it be?”
“Hahaha, a thrill with no real danger, pretty exciting,” Ma Ye threw his arms wide, laughing loudly.
“Not bad, quite a rush, heh, didn’t those Zhejiang troops yell about sending us a gift? Well, it’s rude not to return the favor, let’s give them a shout back, ‘Thanks for the gift, grandsons, your grandpas are leaving now,’” Xu Hai, mood lightened after escaping, indulged in some rare mischief, shouting from the bow.
“Hahaha, thanks for the gift, grandsons, your grandpas are leaving now,” Chen Dong and Ma Ye, seeing Xu Hai in high spirits, joined in the shouting.
With the crisis averted, the pirates relaxed, and seeing their leaders hollering, they chimed in too.
For a moment, the river bay echoed with, “Thanks for the gift, grandsons, your grandpas are leaving now.”
“Hahaha… filial sons and grandsons, stop seeing us off, your grandpas are gone.”
“Grandsons, we got your big gift, your grandpas are pleased with your filial piety.”
The pirates roared with laughter.
After igniting the pirate ships, the dozens of rafts kept drifting downstream, the three burning ships trailing along, but compared to the rowing pirate vessels, they moved much slower.
At this pace, they’d never catch the ships ahead.
That’s exactly why the pirates felt secure, laughing wildly and taunting without restraint.
But just as they reveled in their uproarious laughter, an iron chain suddenly rose from the river ahead, no warning, appearing across the water in an instant.
Dozens of Zhejiang soldiers emerged on both banks, yanking the chain tight and swiftly securing it to large trees on either side.
An iron chain across the river.
They didn’t stop there, taking two quick steps forward, they pulled up another chain, deftly locking it to another tree.
A second chain across the river.
Then a third.
In the blink of an eye, the Zhejiang troops had raised three iron chains across the river.
