Seeing Matsura Shigenobu blasted to pieces by concentrated fire, Zhu Ping’an gave the five gunners a satisfied thumbs-up. “Well done, all five hits on that big fish. Once we confirm his identity after the battle, every one of you will be credited with a merit!”
“Thank you, my lord!” The five gunners were instantly fired up and redoubled their efforts.
The moment Matsura Shigenobu died, the pirates perfectly demonstrated what it means for the tree to fall and the monkeys to scatter, what a rabble truly is. Their leader, who had stripped off his armour and fought like a berserker, was dead. Why the hell should we keep charging? Do we have a death wish? If we don’t run now, when?
In an instant they broke and fled, every pirate scrambling to outrun the others. I might not outrun the Zhejiang matchlocks, but as long as I outrun my mates, I’ll live.
The pirates facing the Zhejiang front scattered in panic. The Zhejiang troops seized the chance and sent them off with one more disciplined, dense volley, leaving over a hundred corpses behind.
The frontal pirates collapsed so quickly that Xu Hai and Ryūzōji Takakari had not even finished their flanking manoeuvres.
“They’re beaten?! Matsura Shigenobu is beaten?!”
“What the hell happened? How did they lose so fast?! Isn’t Matsura Shigenobu supposed to be a famous warrior from Hizen Province in Japan? Even one thousand five hundred pigs wouldn’t have been routed this quickly!”
Xu Hai stared in disbelief as the frontal force was annihilated in seconds.
“Chief, I was watching,” one of his personal guards reported. “Matsura Shigenobu had taken off his armour, bared his torso, and was leading from the very front. He had whipped his men into a frenzy. They were almost at the Zhejiang line. I was actually happy for them. Then, in the blink of an eye, Zhejiang cannon fire blew Matsura Shigenobu to bits…”
“Damn idiot!” Xu Hai exploded. “Which general charges at the very front and strips off his armour? Did he think he was invulnerable?!”
He had counted on a three-pronged attack, but before his own flanking forces were even in position, the main frontal assault led by Matsura Shigenobu had already collapsed.
How were they supposed to fight now?
Truth be told, Xu Hai had always known that anyone leading a mob without overwhelming numbers would struggle to break the Zhejiang formation head-on; their firearms were simply too lethal. Once casualties reached twenty percent, any rabble would crumble. But he had never expected Matsura Shigenobu to collapse this fast!
His original plan was for Matsura to pin the enemy from the front, drawing as much fire and manpower as possible while he and Ryūzōji struck the flanks and rear. Only one side would be in close combat at a time, giving their numerical advantage a real chance to overwhelm the Zhejiang troops.
Defeating the Zhejiang Army and personally tearing away the nightmare that had haunted him. That was Xu Hai’s lifelong dream!
The Zhejiang Army only had about three thousand men. Today they actually had a good chance to crush them in open battle!
Beautiful in theory, brutal in reality. Matsura Shigenobu died too soon, the front collapsed too fast.
Damn it!
Wasn’t Matsura Shigenobu supposed to be a renowned warrior from Hizen? People praised him like Lü Bu reincarnated, yet he turned out to be this stupid, stripping off his armour and rushing to the front? Did he really think he was impervious to blades and bullets?
With Matsura dead and the front shattered, charging the Zhejiang formation became far harder.
Sure enough, Xu Hai saw the Zhejiang troops already shifting formation, moving soldiers from the now-unpressured front to reinforce the flanks and rear.
Half the original frontal strength was transferred to the sides and back.
“Damn it!”
Seeing the Zhejiang troops bolster their flanks and rear, Xu Hai’s face went pale. It had just become much harder. He only had fifteen hundred men for the flank attack. Against the reformed Zhejiang formation, he no longer held a clear numerical edge. Attacking now, he felt his chances of victory were slim.
“Chief, Matsura is dead and our brothers up front are routed. Should we preserve our strength?” one guard whispered.
Preserve strength? That’s just a fancy way of saying retreat!
“Bullshit! Do I, Xu Hai, look like the kind of man who retreats without fighting?!” Xu Hai’s hand slammed onto his sword hilt as he roared.
“You are absolutely right, chief!”
The guard trembled and immediately admitted his mistake. The chief’s hand was already on his sword; one more wrong word and his head would roll.
“What a pity. Matsura’s too-quick defeat ruined my grand plan and killed my three-pronged attack in the womb. For the greater cause, pass my order: wheel around at once and charge into Songjiang city at top speed!”
The guards were stunned. For the greater cause? Wheel around and charge Songjiang city?!
Wasn’t that the same direction as retreating?!
Then it clicked.
Retreat was the ugliest way to put it. Preserving strength was slightly better. But the chief’s version, wheeling around to assault Songjiang city, was genius. It wasn’t retreat; it was a change of attack direction!
The direction just happened to coincide with running away.
Brilliant!
As expected of the chief. This “wheel and charge Songjiang city” phrasing was simply god-tier!
“Yes, yes, yes! I’ll pass the order at once: wheel around and charge into Songjiang city!” The guard nodded furiously.
“And send word to General Ryūzōji Takakari to wheel his men and charge Songjiang city together…”
“There’s no need, chief…” The guard pointed toward Ryūzōji’s troops. “Ahem, look, General Ryūzōji has already started wheeling…”
Xu Hai looked up. Sure enough, the force that was supposed to be circling behind the Zhejiang Army was already turning and heading straight for Songjiang city.
They had reached the same conclusion without prior agreement. No, Ryūzōji had been even quicker; his men were already executing the manoeuvre while Xu Hai had only just given the order.
“Quick! Wheel at once! Charge into Songjiang city! Do not engage the Zhejiang Army!”
Xu Hai shouted the command, took the lead himself, and turned first toward Songjiang city.
“Run!”
“The Zhejiang formation is slow; they can’t catch us. Whoever reaches Songjiang city first gets to plunder and then escape!”
The moment the pirates received the order to wheel, they scrambled over each other to turn and sprint toward Songjiang city.
Xu Hai and Ryūzōji Takakari had withdrawn with such decisive speed that even Zhu Ping’an had not expected the pirates to break and run almost simultaneously. The front had only just collapsed when the flanking forces, almost in perfect unison, wheeled and fled toward the rear.
