Zhang Mazi and his Moon Island pirates were forced into a desperate retreat, driven back from the docks to the gates of their stronghold.
“Fall back to the gate! Hold the gate, and once the leader’s reinforcements arrive, the outcome is still uncertain!” Zhang Mazi led his pirates to defend the gate.
To keep Mao Haifeng’s pirates and the Zhejiang troops outside, Zhang Mazi, ignoring the dozens of Moon Island pirates still outside, ordered the gate shut immediately, reinforced with beams to prevent it from being breached.
“Bloody hell, Leader Zhang, open the gate, we’re still out here!”
“Brothers, what are you doing? We haven’t got in yet, open the gate quick!”
“Damn it! Are you blind? There are still people out here, can’t you see? Open the gate and let me in!”
The Moon Island pirates outside were dumbfounded. Bloody hell, how could you close the gate so fast, leaving us out here? They shouted frantically for the gate to open.
“Brothers, I’m sorry, the situation’s dire. We had to lock you out, or the enemy would’ve got in too! You’ll have to bear the hardship, but rest assured, your sacrifice won’t be in vain. We’ll look after your wives and children! Every year on this day, we’ll burn paper money for you!” Zhang Mazi’s voice drifted faintly from behind the gate.
“Bloody hell, Zhang Mazi, you bastard, you’re sending us to our deaths!”
“Damn you to hell! Let us in, we’ll take care of our own families!”
“Please, I beg you, open the gate!”
The Moon Island pirates outside cursed or pleaded, some even hacking at the gate in despair, but it was all futile. The gate held firm, and Zhang Mazi had no intention of opening it.
“Hahaha, you’ve been abandoned! Weren’t you so mighty when you were killing us? The tables have turned, and I’ll send you to your graves!” The pirate Black Dog and his men showed no mercy. Seizing the opportunity, they brandished their katanas and charged.
Only a few dozen Moon Island pirates remained outside, no match for Black Dog’s reinforced group. With their morale shattered, they were cut down in less than a minute.
However, the sturdy gate of Moon Island’s stronghold stumped Black Dog and his men.
Built against the mountain, the gate was backed by a thick, five-metre-high brick-and-stone wall, topped with battlements and fitted with lookout and arrow slits. Moon Island pirates had climbed the wall, shooting arrows and gunfire down at Black Dog’s pirates and the Zhejiang troops.
Some pirates fell to arrows, but the Zhejiang troops, protected by cotton armour and positioned behind the pirates, had yet to suffer casualties.
The pirates and Zhejiang troops quickly returned fire with bows and muskets, the Zhejiang troops’ firearms particularly effective, forcing the Moon Island pirates on the wall to keep their heads down, easing the pressure on those attacking the gate.
The Moon Island gate, made from the island’s elm and jujube wood, was heavy, thick, and incredibly sturdy.
Black Dog and his pirates tried slashing, chopping, and burning it, but the gate stood unmoved.
“Damn it! This Moon Island gate is too solid, like a turtle shell. We didn’t bring a battering ram, so we’re stuck for now,” Black Dog and his men, out of options, reported helplessly to Mao Haifeng.
“What are you standing around for? Go find some trees nearby, cut down a big one, and make a battering ram!” Mao Haifeng snapped irritably.
“There aren’t any big trees around here, just low shrubs. The big trees are further inland,” Black Dog and his men muttered.
“Can’t you think for yourselves? Check the ships for anything suitable to make a ram. If there’s nothing, dismantle some planks and make a ladder. Their wall is only five metres high, we can climb it!” Mao Haifeng cursed, frustrated at being so close yet blocked at the gate.
Dismantling ship planks for a ladder would take time, and if the island’s reinforcements arrived to hold the wall and gate, their numerical advantage would be nullified. Capturing the Moon Island stronghold would become far harder and costlier.
From a sneak attack to a frontal assault, this was a bitter pill.
“Don’t worry, General Mao. Let us try,” Zhu Pingan said with a slight smile.
“Did you bring a battering ram, Lord Zhu? Or perhaps grappling hooks?” Mao Haifeng asked, surprised, as he hadn’t seen the Zhejiang troops carrying a ram, which would be too large to miss.
“No, just firearms,” Zhu Pingan shook his head, smiling confidently.
He then ordered the Zhejiang troops, “Pass the order: gather the Tiger Crouching Cannons and blast open the gate.”
While Tiger Crouching Cannons were ineffective against brick-and-stone walls, they were more than enough for a wooden gate.
“Yes, sir!” The Zhejiang troops obeyed.
Soon, ten Tiger Crouching Cannons were assembled, loaded with solid shot, and aimed at the Moon Island stronghold’s heavy gate, covered by shields, muskets, and bows.
“Boom…”
A deafening roar, accompanied by fire and smoke, erupted like a dragon’s bellow.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ten cannonballs tore through the air with immense force, striking the gate at lightning speed with earth-shattering destruction.
The gate, which Black Dog’s pirates had found impenetrable, shattered like flimsy plywood under the Tiger Crouching Cannons, wood splintering everywhere as screams rang out from the doorway.
“The gate’s broken!”
“Help, my leg!”
The Moon Island pirates behind the gate suffered heavy losses from the cannons’ residual force, their screams filling the air.
“The gate’s shattered! Charge through the breach and kill them all!” Black Dog and his pirates, stunned by the Zhejiang troops’ cannon power and recalling their past defeat under similar fire, were relieved to be allies now.
Seizing the moment, Black Dog and his men shouted and rushed through the breach, slashing at the Moon Island pirates still reeling from the bombardment.
“No wonder they’re the Zhejiang troops, their firearms are terrifying!” Mao Haifeng, watching from the rear, couldn’t help but be impressed.
Their alliance was still fragile, and if it ever broke, facing the Zhejiang troops’ devastating firearms would be a nightmare.
He hoped things would go smoothly.
Otherwise, facing the Zhejiang troops again made Mao Haifeng uneasy. Their firearms were too powerful.
After their last defeat, he’d spent days reflecting, devising tactics like using firearms to counter them, ambushing them, or fighting in the rain to negate their firepower.
But facing the Zhejiang troops again, Mao Haifeng glanced at Zhu Pingan, calm and composed nearby, and still felt a chill in his heart.
