“Magistrate Jiang, I take my leave. My vanguard is currently engaging the fleeing Japanese pirates. I must lead the main army in pursuit. Even if we can’t wipe them out completely this time, we’ll break their spine and tear a chunk out of them!”
“I’ll make Xu Hai and his pirate band understand that Southern Zhili has changed. It’s no longer a place where they can run wild!”
“If he dares come back, he’d better be ready to leave his head behind!!!”
Li Fengshi clasped his fists in farewell to Magistrate Jiang. He was eager to press the advantage and pursue the Japanese pirates, determined to deliver a crushing blow.
“General Li, please take us with you! The pirates breached our city and slaughtered our people. If I don’t avenge the citizens, I’d be unworthy of being their magistrate!”
Magistrate Jiang insisted passionately.
He had already confirmed the nearly one hundred pirate corpses outside the county office. Li Fengshi had indeed led his Shandong spearmen to defeat the Japanese pirates!
The Shandong spearmen were a special force dispatched from Shandong by Governor Zhang Jing specifically to eradicate the pirates in Jiangnan.
The Shandong spearmen were renowned. Why were the Japanese pirates so rampant in Jiangnan but far less active in Shandong and Liaodong, which were closer to Japan? The prowess of the Shandong spearmen and Liaodong soldiers played a significant role.
The Shandong spearmen were only slightly less famed than the Guangxi wolf soldiers, known for their ferocious combat skills.
That’s why Governor Zhang had specifically summoned these two elite guest armies: the Guangxi wolf soldiers and the Shandong spearmen.
Moreover, Magistrate Jiang reckoned that with hastily assembled yamen runners and routed soldiers, he had managed to repel over ten waves of pirate attacks and kill dozens of them by relying on the county office walls. How much more effective would the well-trained, regular Shandong spearmen be?
In summary, Magistrate Jiang had great confidence in Li Fengshi and his Shandong spearmen.
So, when he heard Li Fengshi was leading the army to pursue the pirates, Magistrate Jiang eagerly volunteered, hoping to earn some military merit.
The pirates had breached Jiangyin County, burning, killing, and looting within the city. As the magistrate of Jiangyin, he would surely bear responsibility!
But if he joined Li Fengshi in pursuing the pirates—well, it didn’t matter how many men he brought; even contributing a few dozen was still contributing. Leading his men alongside General Li Fengshi to pursue and fiercely attack the pirates would count as merit.
Whether it was atoning for his mistakes through merit or achieving merit despite his faults, with some connections and manoeuvring, it wouldn’t be hard to spin it as “merit outweighing fault.” He might even earn military honours and a chance at promotion in the future!
“This…” Li Fengshi hesitated.
“General Li, rest assured, I won’t cause you any trouble. All military commands will be yours to make. Just give us a chance to take revenge on the pirates. Otherwise, how can I face the souls of Jiangyin’s slaughtered citizens or the elders and people of this county? I am their magistrate…” Magistrate Jiang assured Li Fengshi, resolute in his desire to join the campaign.
“Very well. The battlefield is merciless, so Magistrate Jiang must stay close to my central army and not stray. That way, I can ensure your safety.”
Li Fengshi nodded.
Thus, Li Fengshi rallied his troops, sounded the drums, and marched out. Magistrate Jiang gathered the remaining yamen runners and routed soldiers, following along.
“Fellow townspeople, I’m joining General Li to pursue the Japanese pirates and avenge our fallen elders and kin! I’ll use the pirates’ heads to honour the dead,” Magistrate Jiang declared to the citizens they met along the way out of the city.
As he had promised Li Fengshi, he followed Li’s commands and stayed close to the central army throughout.
Soon, the army pursued beyond the city walls.
Along the pursuit, they occasionally saw pirate corpses strewn by the roadside, though there were also bodies of Shandong spearmen.
The intensity of the battle was evident.
Yet it was clear the Shandong spearmen had the upper hand, as the majority of the corpses—some twenty or thirty—were pirates.
After pursuing for about two or three *li*, they reached a riverbank flanked by dense bamboo groves. Shouts of combat echoed from ahead. The Shandong spearmen vanguard had caught the retreating pirates, who were unable to withdraw in time, at a wooden bridge. This pirate band numbered around a thousand, their formation chaotic—or rather, nonexistent. They were a disorganised rabble, worse than a motley crew.
These pirates were laden with loot plundered from Jiangyin city—gold, silver, fine goods, silks, and satins. Some even wore layer upon layer of brocade, bloated like balls.
“Baka! The Ming dogs’ reinforcements are here! Run, quick!”
“The soldiers are catching up! Run!”
“These troops aren’t ordinary garrison soldiers. They’re formidable. We couldn’t beat them in the city, and now with just a thousand of us left, we’re no match. Retreat, retreat! Shake them off!”
“How do we shake them off? Their vanguard is like leeches—once they latch on, we can’t get rid of them. And now their main force is here!”
The pirate ranks were in uproar. Desperate to escape with their lives, they scrambled forward, each unwilling to cover for the others, making their formation even more chaotic.
“Charge! The pirates are at their breaking point, with only a thousand left. We have three thousand men—perfect to surround and annihilate them!”
“Brothers, today is the day to earn merit and titles!”
“All troops, charge!!!”
Li Fengshi loudly rallied his Shandong spearmen, brandishing his spear and ordering a full assault.
“Charge!” “Kill the pirates! Earn merit and titles!” The Shandong spearmen raised their spears, shouting as they surged forward.
Seeing reinforcements arrive, the vanguard fought even more fiercely, summoning their remaining strength to swing and thrust their spears, pressing the retreating pirates hard. The pirates were thrown into disarray, some so panicked they jumped off the bridge into the river.
“Quick, throw away the gold and silver! Drop it all at your feet to slow the pursuers!”
“Great idea! With all this gold, silver, jewels, silks, and satins, they’d be mad not to stop and pick them up. They’ll fight each other for it!”
“Money or life? If you want to live, throw it all away! As long as we escape, we can come back and steal ten, a hundred, a thousand times more!”
“Yoshi! As the Ming saying goes, ‘As long as the green hills remain, there’ll be no shortage of firewood.’ Throw it all away!”
To delay the Shandong spearmen, the pirates tossed their plundered gold, silver, jewels, silks, and satins onto the ground. They went all in, discarding every valuable they’d looted.
In an instant, the ground was littered with glittering gold, silver, and jewels, alongside lavish silks and satins, too numerous to count.
One could stoop and grab handfuls of treasure or snatch up bolts of silk with ease.
It was all money.
A few handfuls would secure a comfortable life for years.
Sure enough, the vanguard of the Shandong spearmen was dazzled by the strewn gold, silver, jewels, and silks.
Immediately, a few soldiers couldn’t resist crouching down to pick up the gold and silver from the ground.
