“The Japanese pirates up there are scattered and disorganised, without unified command. Their leader must have been killed. Quickly bring over the tiger crouching cannons, fire two volleys, then signal for a full charge against the pirates from both directions.”
“If nothing unexpected happens, the pirates will surely flee in panic. Once they start running, send elite troops to pursue them. But if you spot a large force of pirates coming from the depths of the valley, retreat immediately and don’t engage.”
Zhu Ping’an, under the protection of Liu Dadao and others, observed the battlefield. He noticed the pirates on the hillside were in complete disarray, instantly deducing that their leader had been killed, which explained their chaos. He issued orders at once.
Soon, a hundred tiger crouching cannons were carried over by the Zhejiang troops.
“Bloody hell, look! Those are cannons the Zhejiang troops are bringing, aren’t they? So many—must be over a hundred!”
“I’ve long heard the Zhejiang army’s firearms are formidable. Their muskets were bad enough, and now they’ve brought cannons? They’re taking us too seriously! No, no, I can’t stay here to die. I haven’t spent all the silver I looted yet, and I haven’t left an heir. I can’t die here—run, run fast!”
“Run now, or it’ll be too late!”
The pirates on the hillside immediately noticed the tiger crouching cannons brought by the Zhejiang troops. Two men carried each one, with their heavy barrels and thick muzzles, dozens of times larger than the muskets in the Zhejiang troops’ hands. Those were cannons!
They had seen cannons fired on Japanese ships before—a single shot could blast a hole the size of a water tank through a ship.
If that thing hit them, wouldn’t they be blown to bits?
No way!
They couldn’t wait for the Zhejiang troops to fire!
Who knew if their luck would hold or if their mates would take the hit? Their flesh and blood couldn’t withstand that!
The Zhejiang troops’ surprise attack from the high ground had already caused heavy casualties among the pirates. Then, caught in a pincer attack by the Zhejiang troops’ muskets from above and below, the pirates’ losses mounted, and many were already thinking of fleeing.
This was the era of cold weapons!
In this era, ordinary armies would collapse if casualties exceeded ten percent. Those that didn’t collapse after thirty percent were disciplined elite forces. Armies that withstood over fifty percent casualties without breaking were legendary.
Even in modern times, statistics show most armies lose combat effectiveness after thirty percent casualties.
The fact that these pirates hadn’t fled yet proved they were among the elite of the Japanese pirates.
But now, seeing the Zhejiang troops bring out a hundred tiger crouching cannons, their psychological defences crumbled.
Their leader had been shot to pieces, dead as a doornail!
With no one in charge, why stay and feed the Zhejiang army’s cannons? A hundred of them, no less.
With over a hundred cannonballs, how could they dare bet none would land on them? They’d done plenty of evil and hadn’t accumulated any good deeds—lightning might strike them, let alone a hundred cannons!
“I’m going to get reinforcements!”
One pirate shouted, turned, and bolted into the woods, fleeing for his life.
“The Zhejiang troops already spotted us; I’m going to report to the leader!”
Where one led, another followed. Another pirate found an excuse and fled into the woods.
“Run! They’re escaping—why stay here to die?”
“Run fast, or you won’t make it. Stay behind to cover their retreat? I’m not that noble!”
“Wait for me, wait for me!”
The pirates collapsed instantly, like an avalanche, scattering in all directions in a frenzied stampede.
“Damn! The pirates are running, and we haven’t even fired the cannons yet?!”
The Zhejiang troops below had just brought the tiger crouching cannons and aimed them at the pirates on the hillside. Before they could light the fuses, they saw the pirates collapsing like an avalanche, fleeing like a herd of pigs across the hills.
“Now’s the time—fire a volley at the crowded spots! Each battalion, send half your forces to pursue. Keep your distance during the chase, don’t go too deep. If you spot a large pirate force coming from the valley, break off the pursuit immediately and return quickly.”
Zhu Ping’an issued the order at once.
“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!”
A hundred tiger crouching cannons fired a volley at the crowded groups of fleeing pirates, taking down quite a few.
However, because the pirates were so scattered in their retreat, the hundred or so cannon shots didn’t cause as much damage as expected.
But the psychological damage to the pirates was immense.
Seeing their mates blown to pieces by a single cannonball, the pirates were terrified, fleeing even more desperately. They didn’t dare entertain the slightest thought of fighting back—just escape, escape, escape as far as possible.
Seeing the pirates flee, Ruofeng, commanding from the high ground, immediately ordered his troops to fix bayonets and pursue.
Chasing downhill gave them an advantage in speed and direction, and they quickly caught up with the fleeing pirates.
The Zhejiang troops below, after firing a volley, sent half their forces to pursue uphill.
In the era of cold weapons, once an army collapsed, it often led to a one-sided slaughter, as was happening now.
The pirates were formidable in individual combat, often cutting through garrison troops with ease. Even against the Zhejiang troops, they had an edge in one-on-one fights. Of course, the Zhejiang troops fought as a unit, rarely giving the pirates a chance for single combat.
If the pirates had stopped to fight desperately, they could still have caused significant trouble for the Zhejiang troops.
But at this moment, the pirates were only focused on fleeing, without the courage to turn and fight.
Just keep running.
As long as I escape faster than my mates, it’s them who’ll die, not me.
“Bang!”
The pursuing Zhejiang troops, with no time to reload their firearms, fired a single shot, then charged with bayonets.
Catching up to a pirate, they stabbed them in the back, finished the fight, pulled out the bayonet, and moved on to the next target.
In the era of cold weapons, a fleeing army became a one-sided slaughter. Without fighting spirit, the fleeing soldiers were like pigs and sheep scattered across the hills, ripe for the harvest.
The fleeing pirates caused almost no harm to the Zhejiang pursuers. The few who dared turn and resist were quickly overwhelmed by the Zhejiang troops’ numerical advantage.
However, some pirates fled too quickly or too scattered to catch.
If there were no large pirate force in the valley depths, the Zhejiang troops could have kept chasing, and those fast runners would eventually run out of supplies and be caught.
But soon after the chase began, the Zhejiang troops spotted a large pirate force approaching from the valley depths.
The fleeing pirates, like they’d seen a saviour, wailed and ran toward the pirate army.
“Stop! Return to our lines at once! The commander ordered that if a large pirate force approaches, stop the pursuit immediately and return quickly.”
The pursuing Zhejiang troops, under the command of their officers, halted their chase and orderly returned to their formation.
