After hearing what this person said, Qiu Yizhi actually felt that his description and demeanor were somewhat familiar, so he asked in surprise: "My dear brother, have you and I ever met before?"
The man seemed to be stunned for a moment, but said, "Who has seen you? Don't try to get close to me here! I'm asking you, will you give me the person?"
Qiu Yizi realized that he was being sentimental, but he didn't want to cause trouble at this time, so he said: "My brother, these people you mentioned are of great importance and cannot be released easily. If you are short of money recently, I still have 180 taels of silver, which is enough for brothers to eat and drink for half a year. How about I give it all to you?"
The masked man said, "Who cares about your few taels of silver? If you know what's best for you, leave those people I just named behind and get out of here!"
At this point, Qiu Yizhi finally understood: this person came for the people he was escorting. If this is the case, then this person must have an unusual background, and is definitely not a small thief who robs people on the road. He must have a major and unclear relationship with the Jiangnan officialdom.
After thinking this through, Qiu Yizi didn't want to waste any more time talking to him, and went straight to the point: "So that's how it is! I just want to ask one question: Brother, are you an official? Did you receive an order from Lord Yin, the governor of Jiangnan, to come here to embarrass me?"
There was obvious panic in the masked man's eyes. He didn't answer, but turned to the twenty or so short men behind him and said something incoherently.
The little guys listened and nodded as if they understood.
The dialect of Jiangnan is very different from the central plains Mandarin and is so complicated that it is said that "every ten miles has a different pronunciation". It is very difficult for outsiders to distinguish. Although Qiu Yizhi has been serving as a parent official in Shanyin County for several months, he has spent most of his time on the "Thirteen Lives Strange Case" and has spent very little time in the county, so he is not very familiar with the dialect of Jiangnan.
Just as Qiu Yizi was trying hard to figure out what the other side was saying, the leader of the twenty or so short men suddenly showed a fierce look on his face, drew out the long knife from his waist without hesitation, and chopped it diagonally towards the junction of Qiu Yizi's shoulder and neck in one step.
Although this move was simple, it was done in one go and extremely quickly, leaving Qiu Yizi no time to react.
However, the "Iron Head Dragon" on the side saw that the situation was urgent and had no time to draw his sword to fight back, so he used the steel knife that he had just snatched from the masked man to block the short man's long sword.
Unexpectedly, the long knife was extremely sharp. With a "clang" sound, the steel knife in the hand of "Iron Head Dragon" was actually chopped off!
The "Iron Head Dragon" was also startled. He threw away the half-broken knife and turned sideways to draw his own sword, but unexpectedly the little man acted extremely quickly, turned over and chopped him up with another knife from bottom to top.
"Iron Head Dragon" had no weapon in his hand, so he had to jump back half a step immediately, and only then he barely avoided the attack. However, his chest was cut by the tip of the long sword, and bright red blood immediately oozed out.
However, his rise and fall delayed time. In just a blink of an eye, Yuchi Jiming, who was a few steps away, rushed forward, and took advantage of the weakness of the little man, who had a large range of attack and a lot of space at close range, and struck him hard.
Although the little man was good at using weapons, he had no experience in boxing or kicking. After being attacked mercilessly by Yuchi Jiming, he was beaten to the point of spitting blood. He staggered and fell on his back, but he still held the long sword tightly in his hand.
Upon seeing this, the other small bandits yelled something, drew their swords, and immediately surrounded him. They first protected the man lying on the ground, and then pressed towards Qiu Yizi step by step.
The personal soldiers under Qiu Yizhi were not to be trifled with either. Seeing that their opponent was so aggressive, they drew out the Bohai swords from their waists, formed a circle, and protected Qiu Yizhi in the center of the enemy's territory.
Qiu Yizi found that the weapon in the opponent's hand was very familiar, and suddenly remembered that nearly a month ago, his second brother, Zheng Sen, the second prince of the current dynasty, had accidentally obtained a Japanese sword from the emperor - the shape of which was exactly the same as the one in the hands of this group of short guys.
The so-called "Japanese sword" is the sword used by the "Japanese people"; and the word "Japanese" means to describe a person of short stature.
With these two things in place, Qiu Yizhi had clearly guessed the identities of the people in front of him, and hurriedly shouted: "Everyone be careful, these are Japanese, and the swords in their hands are very sharp, so don't underestimate the enemy!"
After hearing the military order, everyone agreed in unison and became more cautious. Not knowing the enemy's details, they simply lined up in a tight formation and let the other side attack.
Normally, even if ordinary bandits were fierce and stubborn, they would retreat when they saw the strict formation of Qiu Yi's personal soldiers. However, although this group of bandits were not tall, they were very eager to fight, and they seemed to have no fear of strong opponents at all - the two people standing in the front rushed forward with long swords.
Seeing the men coming with such a fierce momentum, Qiu Yizhi thought that these eighteen personal soldiers were the foundation of his life and he could not afford to lose any of them easily, so he hurriedly ordered: "The people on the other side are all desperate criminals. There is no reason to fight them head-on. Retreat quickly!"
These eighteen people, including the "Iron-headed Dragon" with blood-stained collar, immediately retreated at high speed upon hearing the order, but their formation was not disrupted at all.
However, the Japanese on the opposite side thought that Qiu Yizi was afraid of them, so they whispered to each other and then swarmed over.
Seeing that his opponent was getting more aggressive, Qiu Yizhi knew that if he gave in, he would inevitably suffer losses. So he quickly drew out the sharp black saber from his waist and handed it to Yuchi Jiming, saying, "Jiming, the martial arts of these Japanese people are very different from those of the Central Plains. When you go to meet them, remember to be careful..."
Before he could utter this thought, he saw Yuchi Jiming holding his precious sword upside down, moving forward to avoid the long swords that were slashing down at him by the first two Japanese, and then he slashed at the wrist of one of the Japanese with his backhand.
Although the Japanese was also skilled in martial arts, he had no power to fight back against a real master, and his wrist was cut off in the blink of an eye. The muscles and bones of his right hand were cut off by the black Western Region sword, leaving only a layer of skin connected to his wrist, which hung down swayingly, with blood gushing out of the artery. However, he still held the long sword and did not let go, but he could no longer lift it up.
Even though the Japanese soldier was seriously injured, he still had no intention of retreating. He immediately drew another short knife from his waist with his left hand and rushed towards Yuchi Jiming with bared teeth.
Although Yuchi Jiming was an expert in martial arts, he was still inexperienced. He had never seen such a desperado before and was stunned where he stood.
Qiu Yizhi, who was watching from behind, was extremely anxious and shouted, "Jiming, be careful ahead!"
Yuchi Jiming finally reacted, but it was too late for him to draw his knife to fight back. He quickly exerted force with his legs and leaped backwards. In the blink of an eye, he stood firmly two meters behind him.
The Japanese soldier was dizzy after missing the target. He looked up and saw Yuchi Jiming was already ten steps away from him. He seemed a little surprised and then rushed forward again. However, he was seriously injured after all. He fell to the ground due to excessive bleeding before he ran three or four steps. He convulsed twice and died.
Yuchi Jiming just raised her sword and swung it down, displaying unparalleled lightness skills. Her movements were extremely graceful and beautiful, which could be described as a rare and peerless kung fu in the world.
However, Qiu Yizhi and his eighteen personal soldiers, including Miaozhen and Li Shenshi who were imprisoned in the prison car, were so frightened by the strong fighting spirit of the short Japanese man that they even forgot to cheer and could only open their mouths and be speechless.
Just as everyone was silent, another Japanese leader suddenly let out a long roar, and his Japanese companions behind him immediately responded loudly and then surrounded him.
Qiu Yizhi was shocked by the opponent's tenacious fighting spirit, but he could neither sit and wait for death nor surrender, nor abandon the prisoners in the prisoner car and run away. So Qiu Yizhi made up his mind and ordered: "Since the opponent is ruthless, we cannot show mercy. Soldiers, listen to my order, start killing, now!"
The ten soldiers brought by Qiu Yizhi were all born as bandits and were the most bloodthirsty and aggressive. However, when Qiu Yizhi came to Shanyin County to take office, they were tied up in two battles and felt very uncomfortable. Therefore, when they heard Qiu Yizhi's order, they immediately became energetic and shouted in unison: "Good!"
Qiu Yizi was afraid that these people would be so bloodthirsty that they would lose their sense of order and be caught by the enemy, causing casualties. Therefore, he ordered: "Gather in formation, do not move lightly, and wait for the enemy to attack!"
His order was very clear. After receiving it, his personal soldiers did not dare to act rashly. They patiently formed a formation, staring with twenty eyes at the group of fierce Japanese soldiers, only regretting that they had short legs and ran slowly.
Although those Japanese were highly skilled in martial arts, they had no knowledge of military affairs and had no concept of forming a battle array before an enemy. They just relied on their common courage and charged towards Qiu Yizhi's tightly arranged battle array like a pile of loose sand.
With such an attack, they might be able to scare the weak Jiangnan Road Jiedu Army with their momentum. However, Qiu Yizhi's men were experienced in battles and had waded through thousands of troops. How could they be scared by just 20 people? Moreover, they were very skilled. If they fought alone, they might not be inferior to these vicious Japanese.
So in the blink of an eye, the two Japanese who were charging in the front were hacked to death by Qiu Yizhi's personal soldiers, and the two who followed closely behind also lost their lives in the blink of an eye.
If an ordinary army from the Central Plains suffered casualties of up to one-fifth, it would immediately collapse and would be considered a loser in the battle.
The old Youyan army had strict discipline and high morale. Even though they lost more than half of their troops, they were still able to maintain their formation - especially the "Dangshi Camp", which was able to hold out under the enemy's rain of arrows until the last man. Therefore, they were known as the strongest army in the world.
Zheng Rong, who was the King of Youyan at the time, spent countless efforts to train such an army, from recruiting soldiers, to training and exercises, to actual combat tests, and also provided extremely generous military pay and medical treatment and pensions after casualties. After more than ten years of hard work, Zheng Rong was able to train less than 10,000 elite soldiers of the "Dangshi Camp".
Therefore, Zheng Rong was extremely cautious when using the "Dangshi Camp". He would not use it easily unless it was a hard or fierce battle. Once the casualties were too heavy, the entire army would retreat to avoid damaging the vitality.
In this way, the "Dangshi Camp" became the elite of the elite in the Youyan army. In the "Battle of Rebellion", it played a core role several times and played a key role in Zheng Rong's final ascension to the throne. Its strong fighting power also spread throughout China and abroad.
However, the Japanese that Qiu Yizhi was facing now seemed to be no weaker than the elite soldiers of the "Dangshi Camp". The death and injury of several of his companions did not dampen their morale at all, but instead aroused their indignation and fighting spirit. Not only did they not retreat at all, but they rushed forward with even more courage and fought with Qiu Yizhi's personal soldiers. (To be continued)