Ma Ye had led over five thousand Japanese pirates, arriving with grand ambitions, as if they could conquer the world. Yet, in less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, they were routed, fleeing in disarray like rats. Of the five thousand, only just over two thousand escaped the valley, scattered and disorganised.
The largest group was the seven hundred or so pirates Ma Ye had rallied around him, but even that was a shadow of their former strength.
“Damn you, Zhu Ping’an! I’ll tear you to pieces to quench the hatred in my heart!” Ma Ye, hair dishevelled, cursed Zhu Ping’an venomously.
At this moment, Ma Ye was the picture of wretchedness—hair loose, shoulder bloodied, one arm hanging uselessly, limping along as a wound to his buttocks sapped strength from one leg.
His trusted aide supported him, stumbling northward in a frantic, uneven retreat.
“Leader, curse less and save your strength. That Zhu won’t just let us escape. I remember in Suzhou, nearly every Zhejiang soldier had a horse. Even if we stole some, they’ve had time to replenish and likely have more now. I reckon their cavalry will be after us soon. We need to flee farther, fast, before their pursuit catches up.”
The aide, panting and propping up Ma Ye, glanced warily behind, his nerves frayed from the Zhejiang army’s bombardment. Every gust of wind or bird’s cry felt like the Zhejiang troops closing in.
He wished he could sprout wings and fly straight to their Tuolin stronghold—only then might he feel a shred of safety.
“I know what I’m doing. ‘Surround on three sides, leave one open,’ eh? Heh, in history, who truly leaves an opening? It’s always a chase to the end.”
Ma Ye let out a bitter chuckle, unsurprised.
“Then what do we do, Leader? How can our two legs outrun their four?” The aide, face etched with worry, kept glancing back, fearing the Zhejiang cavalry would appear any second.
“What’s there to fear? If the Zhejiang army can ambush us, can’t we ambush them? Ambushes and surprise attacks are our trade. Back in Jiangyin County, when the Shandong spearmen attacked, we were on the ropes. But one ambush outside the city, and we wiped out the famed Shandong spearmen! If the Zhejiang army doesn’t pursue, fine. But if they do, heh, it’s the perfect chance to vent this rage!”
Ma Ye gritted his teeth, his voice dripping with venom.
“In our state, can we really ambush the Zhejiang army?” The aide muttered inwardly, tempted to back out.
“It’s exactly because of our state that we can ambush them. Ever heard ‘a desperate army is destined to win’?” Ma Ye clapped his aide’s shoulder forcefully.
The aide pondered this.
“There’s a spot ahead, similar to Jiangyin, perfect for an ambush. Hurry, take turns carrying me. We’ll rush there, set the trap, and wait for the Zhejiang army to walk into their doom!” Ma Ye pointed into the distance, urging them on.
His aide hoisted him onto his back, but in doing so, pressed against the gunshot wound on Ma Ye’s buttocks. Ma Ye yelped in pain and swung a slap at the aide’s head. “You bloody fool, have you no sense? My arse is blown to bits, and you’re making it worse?!”
“Leader, calm down! I know I messed up,” the aide said, bowing his head.
Out of Ma Ye’s sight, the aide’s eyes flashed with a ruthless glint after the slap.
With several pirates taking turns carrying him, Ma Ye’s group moved faster. Along the way, they spotted scattered, fleeing pirates. Some of Ma Ye’s subordinate leaders wanted to gather them, but Ma Ye stopped them.
“Leave them. Let the Zhejiang army deal with them. First, it’ll lull the Zhejiang troops into complacency, drunk on victory, lowering their guard. Second, it buys us time to set our ambush. Chasing them will slow the Zhejiang army down.”
Ma Ye’s voice was icy, showing no regard for the lives of the fleeing pirates, treating them as mere pawns.
These were his own men.
Yet Ma Ye discarded their lives without hesitation.
This sent a chill down the spines of the pirates carrying him. They realised that if they were among the scattered fugitives, Ma Ye would abandon them just as callously.
At that moment, a commotion erupted behind them. Turning, they saw, in the distance toward the valley, the sound of hoofbeats. Zhejiang cavalry charged down the slopes, a terrifying sight.
“The Zhejiang cavalry are coming! Run!”
The pirates scattered across the fields, seeing the cavalry pursue, were scared witless, fleeing like headless flies.
The valley ambush had broken their spirit. The earth-shaking explosions, comrades torn to shreds, relentless firearms—over five thousand men, and in less than the time it takes to burn incense, more than half were dead.
They had no will left to face the Zhejiang army—only run, run, run.
*Bang bang bang…*
The Zhejiang cavalry caught up to the clustered pirates. Some halted their horses, firing muskets.
Others galloped past, chasing lone fugitives, swinging sabres to cut them down.
With a *thud*, a fleeing pirate was hacked to the ground.
Cavalry against infantry, especially disorganised, fleeing infantry, was a one-sided massacre.
One by one, pirates were overtaken, shot, or cut down by the Zhejiang cavalry.
“We need to train mounted archery more. When we can fire muskets while galloping, our rangers will be truly honed,” Zhu Ping’an said, riding down the slope with Liu Mu and others protecting him. Noting that the cavalry had to stop to fire, he resolved to intensify their mounted archery training to enable shooting on the move.
“Call out to the fleeing pirates: surrender and you won’t be killed!” Zhu Ping’an instructed Liu Mu and the others, seeing the pirates’ chaotic retreat.
“Surrender and you won’t be killed!”
“Surrender and you won’t be killed!”
“Kneel, drop your weapons!”
Liu Mu and the others relayed Zhu Ping’an’s orders, and soon the pursuing Zhejiang cavalry shouted the command.
The fields echoed with the Zhejiang army’s calls for surrender.
“Surrender, we surrender! Don’t kill us…”
At first, pirates overtaken by the Zhejiang troops, hearing the calls, knelt, dropped their weapons, and begged for mercy.
True to their word, the Zhejiang soldiers spared those who knelt and disarmed.
Dedicated Zhejiang troops moved in, binding the surrendered pirates’ hands with ropes, stringing them together.
Later, exhausted pirates, spitting blood from running, saw the Zhejiang army honouring their promise. Realising their two legs couldn’t outrun four, many more knelt, discarded their weapons, and surrendered.
