Fearing what might happen, the Japanese pirates were about to retreat when they heard the sound of horse hooves approaching from far away.
From a distance, I saw two groups of Zhejiang troops riding mules and horses, approaching quickly.
These two Zhejiang Army teams were the Zhejiang Army teams that were cruising not far away. After seeing the fireworks signal, they quickly came to support them.
Those who are closest come first.
Behind them is the Zhejiang Army team that originally evacuated. They reined in their horses and stopped not far away, loading ammunition on their muskets and spare musket tubes. After loading the gunpowder, they would sweep in again.
"Damn it!"
The Japanese pirates' expressions couldn't help but change. Although the Zhejiang army came in small numbers, once they were entangled by these small groups of Zhejiang troops, it would definitely affect their retreat plan. You must know that the Zhejiang army was about to arrive.
"You cannot let the Zhejiang Army's squad fetter your retreat, or you will definitely be surrounded by the Zhejiang Army's army!"
Xu Hai and others clearly realized this.
"You, you, you, you, you guys, stay behind and block the pursuers. The rest of us will evacuate with us."
Without saying a word, Xu Hai reached out and circled a group of Japanese pirates, asking them to stay behind and block the pursuing Zhejiang army squad.
"Ah?! Why us?"
The Japanese pirates who were targeted by Xu Hai suddenly felt disaster coming from the sky. They couldn't help but sigh unluckily and protested loudly.
"Why you? There is no reason. Just take the order. I will not let you sacrifice your life in vain. You only need to stop the Zhejiang Army for a quarter of an hour. After returning to Tuolin's lair, each person can receive three hundred taels of silver and gain one level.
, I will keep my word, and if I break my promise at all, I will let thousands of arrows pierce my heart and kill me!"
Xu Hai glanced at them like a hawk and said without a doubt that in order to boost their morale, he even swore a blood oath to reward them heavily.
Xu Hai would never break his promise. Of course, he also knew that not many of the Japanese pirates in the rear could return to their lair to receive the reward.
"Chief Xu's word is our word. We will reward you with three hundred taels of silver and be promoted to the first level. We will never break our promise. You can rest assured and accept the order."
Chen Dong and Maye also spoke up, repeating Xu Hai's blood oath of reward.
The Japanese pirates in Xu Hai's circle include not only the Japanese pirates under Xu Hai, but also the Japanese pirates under Chen Dong and Maye.
They are a Japanese pirate alliance. Although Xu Hai is vaguely headed, Xu Hai cannot directly command the Japanese pirates under Chen Dong and Maye.
"Wow, three hundred taels, and you have been promoted to the first level. When you return to Tuolin's lair, you will be our little leader."
The other Japanese pirates spoke half with emotion and half with sarcasm.
"Envy us? Then come with me instead."
"Leader, how about changing to someone else? We, we are willing to abdicate and give way to others..."
The trapped Japanese pirates said reluctantly that they were unwilling to accept the order and wanted to fight again.
They also knew in their hearts that if they stayed behind, they would have almost no chance of survival in the face of the Zhejiang army. Staying behind would be almost equal to waiting for death.
Although Xu Hai and the others promised a generous reward of three hundred taels, and they could be promoted to the first level, they still have to have the life to receive the reward. If they don’t have lives, no matter how much silver the reward is, no matter how thick it is
I can't even get the reward.
So, they want to struggle.
Xu Hai came over with a sullen face, and without saying a word, he drew out his Japanese sword and hacked to death the Japanese pirate who talked the most nonsense.
"Noisy! Our words are orders. If anyone presses again, this will be the consequences! Execute it!"
Xu Hai shook the Japanese sword, knocking away the blood on the sword, returned the sword to its sheath, and said expressionlessly.
All the Japanese pirates were as silent as cicadas.
The Japanese pirates in the trap did not dare to push any further, so they had no choice but to stay behind. They had no choice but to control the situation. If they disobeyed, they would be hacked to death on the spot. Those who stayed behind to stop the enemy still had a chance of survival.
Every extra point of life is worth a point, so I have no choice but to leave it behind.
Moreover, they looked at each other and understood tacitly that they would not foolishly block the situation for a quarter of an hour. When Xu Hai and the others were farther away, they would withdraw, and they would not foolishly act as scapegoats.
"Evacuate!" Time waited for no one. Xu Hai once again visually inspected the Japanese pirates, waved his hand, and took the lead in leading the remaining Japanese pirates to evacuate to the river bank.
Although all their Japanese boats were burned down, there would be a bridge a few miles along the river bank. They could cross the river south through the bridge, go straight southeast, and return to Tuolin's home base by land.
Although it is not as fast and safe as the sea route, the land route is closer, and if you hurry, you can reach Tuolin's lair in one day.
Chen Dong was also held by two Japanese pirates, and under the protection of a group of Japanese pirates who were close to him, he followed Xu Hai and other Japanese pirates to evacuate.
Xu Hai and the others had not gone very far when the two Zhejiang Army squads chasing them from a distance had already rushed less than fifty meters away.
The Japanese pirates at the rear held up Japanese swords and bravely stepped forward to meet him.
The Zhejiang soldiers who rushed forward dispersed on horseback into a long snake formation, reined in their mules and horses, raised their muskets and aimed at the Japanese pirates who rushed forward and opened fire.
The soldiers of Zhejiang Province have not been trained on horseback for a long time. They are not yet able to fire on horseback while maintaining a high hit rate. They can only stop shooting in order to maintain a certain hit rate.
"Bang bang bang..."
A series of dense firecrackers sounded along with a burst of gunpowder smoke.
The Japanese pirates who rushed forward from behind the palace screamed and fell, seven or eight of them. This was because the Zhejiang soldiers had a low hit rate with their fire cannons on the backs of mules and horses. If the Zhejiang soldiers were standing on the ground under the horses, they would be so close.
distance, this round of twenty fire cannons will kill at least twice as many Japanese pirates.
"Baga, spread out, spread out, don't be a target, don't stand so densely!" The Japanese pirate commanded by the rear was a real Japanese, and he suddenly thought of a countermeasure, and ordered the Japanese pirates to disperse.
Sure enough, after the Japanese pirates dispersed, the two Zhejiang army squads changed their musket barrels and opened fire again. One salvo shot only knocked down three Japanese pirates.
"円西, 円西, that's it. Spread out a little more, rush up and eat them, and then we'll prepare to retreat."
Seeing that the dispersion tactic worked, the real Japanese who commanded the rear were immediately overjoyed. He stretched out his hands to direct the Japanese to disperse further, took the lead, and charged forward with a Japanese sword.
When a group of Japanese pirates heard that they could retreat if they killed this Zhejiang army, they ignited the hope of survival and rushed forward with howls.
"Withdraw, withdraw first, and join the brothers at the back." The two Zhejiang army squads had already used all their spare blunderbuss. The fire blunderbuss were equivalent to burning fire sticks. The two commanders invariably commanded their respective squads to retreat.
Seeing the two Zhejiang troops retreating, the Japanese pirates at the rear became even more excited as if they had been given a shot of blood.
The Zhejiang army was scared away by us, hahaha, that's all.
The Japanese pirates behind the palace became more and more brave.
"My lord has said that to shoot a man first, shoot a horse, and to capture a thief first capture the king. Brothers, have you seen the Japanese pirate with half armor and stomach behind him? That one is the commander, focus the fire and kill him."
The two Zhejiang Army squads retreated to the originally evacuated Zhejiang Army squad, pointed at the real Japanese not far away, and warned them who had already loaded the gunpowder.