The Japanese pirates then discovered that behind them was the Qingpu County city wall that they had been attacking for several days without success, on both sides was the turbulent moat, and in front of them was a powerful opponent that seemed invincible for the time being.
The Japanese pirates were circling around on their own, so it was impossible for them to enter the city. Jumping into the river was tantamount to suicide. The only way they might have a way to survive was to fight to the death with this strange and powerful army in front of them.
So the leading Japanese pirate shouted loudly, holding the Japanese sword tightly in both hands, and chopped at the Sanyin militia who were firmly blocking the bridgehead. Seeing this, the morale of nearly ten Japanese pirates behind and around him was boosted, and they also rushed over with swords.
However, what they are facing now are not the honest and unarmed Han people, nor the poorly equipped and poorly trained Jiangnan government troops, but elite soldiers who have been carefully trained in accordance with the military regulations of the old Youyan Road.
These elite soldiers were not in a hurry. Seeing the fierce attack of the opponent, they did not engage in close combat and fight for their lives. Instead, the soldiers of the Dangshi Camp standing in the front took half a step forward and raised their heavy iron shields to fight against the Japanese swords.
The so-called "Dangshiying" refers to the elite soldiers who stood at the front of the team to protect the entire battle formation when the old Youyandao army was fighting against the Turkic warriors who were skilled in archery and horse riding. They were not at a disadvantage when facing the Turkic knights who came and went without a trace and had accurate arrows and fast horses. They were even more calm and confident when fighting against the Japanese pirates whose command and organization were far inferior to those of the Turks.
The Japanese swords of the pirates were long and sharp, but lacked sufficient toughness. Previously, when they were chopping the simple rattan shields under the Jinling city, they could barely gain an advantage. Now, when they were fighting against the heavy iron shields specially made by the army's craftsmen, it was undoubtedly using their own shortcomings to attack the enemy's strengths. Several Japanese swords collided violently with the huge steel shields, sparks flashed, and then they were broken into two. The other Japanese pirates holding Japanese swords also had their hands numb due to the huge reaction force. They could only barely hold the swords in their hands, and their combat effectiveness was immediately greatly reduced.
These Shanyin County militiamen had narrowly defeated the Japanese pirates under the city of Nanjing, and they knew that now was a good time to counterattack. So the strong soldiers hiding behind the giant shields immediately took a half step forward, and used Japanese swords of the same length to penetrate the gap between the two giant shields and stab the Japanese pirates in the waist.
This tactic was very effective. In just one battle, the twenty or so Japanese pirates standing in the front were either killed on the spot or seriously injured.
If it were an ordinary army, under such a favorable situation, many soldiers would think of taking the enemy's heads and picking up the enemy's belongings first, so as to receive more rewards after the battle. This would easily lead to chaos in the formation of the army, and some experienced generals who are familiar with military tactics would also take this opportunity to organize a counterattack and turn the tide of the battle.
However, the army discipline under Zhao Chengxiao's command was so strict that they had no greed in the face of the easy victory. They continued to maintain their previous formation, advancing slowly and steadily, repeating the tactical moves that had been very effective just now. In the blink of an eye, they killed and wounded more than 20 Japanese pirates.
Just when the situation seemed to be going well, Zhao Chengxiao seemed to have discovered something unusual. He raised his flag and ordered the soldiers to stop the attack.
Qiu Yizhi was puzzled when he saw this, but Zhao Chengxiao ran up to him and said, "Sir, the terrain ahead is gradually narrowing. If we continue to move forward, we may break our current formation. Although we won't be able to give the Japanese pirates a chance to counterattack, we may also suffer more casualties."
Qiu Yi looked forward with her hands on the awning, and saw that the "Dangshi Camp" at the front of the team had already stepped onto the bridge in front of the west gate of Qingpu County.
Although this stone arch bridge is not too narrow among the bridges in the south of the Yangtze River, it can only accommodate five or six people walking side by side. When the members of the Arrow Camp held multiple huge shields, they seemed very cramped when moving on it and were obviously unable to launch an offensive.
So Qiu Yizhi discussed it with Lin Shuhan, and then said to Zhao Chengxiao: "This is not difficult. You tell the brothers in the Arrow Camp to stay at the bridgehead and not to move forward. Let the crossbowmen line up along the river and shoot. The Japanese pirates don't have bows and arrows, so you can shoot them all to death with a few volleys, right?"
Zhao Chengxiao suddenly realized: "Your Excellency's plan is indeed a good one." After saying that, he turned around and made arrangements.
After a while, Zhao Chengxiao had arranged the battle formation according to Qiu Yizi's method, and the crossbowmen standing along the river began to fire at the Japanese pirates one after another.
The Japanese pirates were cornered and stood in front of the uncovered city gate, like targets, being shot down repeatedly by the crossbow arrows that were as precise as acupoints.
The Qingpu soldiers and civilians, who had held out for several days, were very excited to see that the government troops had the upper hand. They ordered people to remove bricks and tiles from the broken walls of the dilapidated houses in the city, and then smashed them on the heads of the Japanese pirates from the top of the city walls.
Even though the Japanese pirates were extremely fierce and tenacious, they could not withstand such a pincer attack. In a blink of an eye, most of them were killed or wounded. The remaining ones who were still breathing knew that if they continued to fight like this, they would definitely die. So a few Japanese pirates used their Japanese swords, which were only as thick as two fingers, to block the arrows that were flying like locusts. At the same time, they gathered together to discuss a few words, shouted in unison, and rushed to the bridgehead.
However, the bridgehead was filled with soldiers from the Dangshi Camp in three layers inside and three layers outside, holding huge shields as tall as a person, like a city wall. No matter how the Japanese pirates attacked, they were ruthlessly pushed back.
The Japanese pirates were too close to the Dangshi camp, so the crossbowmen were afraid of accidentally injuring friendly troops with their volleys, so they could only aim carefully before shooting. It took quite a while to shoot all the Japanese pirates to the ground, and it was already evening when the golden sun was setting in the west.
The battle was also very fierce at the beginning, but the more they fought, the greater the advantage of the Sanyin militia became, until the end, it became a one-sided massacre without any pressure. Therefore, although the battle lasted for a long time, the intensity of the battle was not great - at least for Qiu Yizhi.
Therefore, when Qiu Yizhi saw that his soldiers still had enough physical strength, he asked Zhao Chengxiao to light torches, lanterns, pine torches and other items, clean up the battlefield overnight, and count the results of the battle.
At this time, the long-closed west gate of Qingpu County finally opened. County Magistrate Huang Wangang led several village elders out of the city gate, passing countless corpses of Japanese pirates, and walked to Qiu Yizi, bowing deeply and saying, "Thanks to Lord Qiu for coming all the way to help, otherwise my small Qingpu County would have been massacred by Japanese pirates today."
Qiu Yizhi saw that the county magistrate's face was covered with dirt, and his clothes were also very dirty. It was obvious that he had been defending the city wall for the past few days without even taking a bath or changing clothes. He was quite impressed and said, "The Japanese pirates were fierce and brutal. Qingpu County was able to hold out for ten days without being harmed by them. County magistrate Huang has made a great contribution."
He pointed to the gentry behind Huang Wangang and said, "The strong support of the people is also indispensable!"
When everyone heard his praise, no one was unhappy, and they started to greet each other politely.
At this time, Zhao Chengxiao had also counted the results of the battle and reported a few words to Qiu Yizi.
Qiu Yizhi really had a good memory. He nodded and bowed to the Qingpu County Magistrate Huang Wangang, saying, "My subordinate Zhao has just found out the results of the battle. A total of 402 Japanese pirates were killed, and 119 were killed, wounded and captured." He paused and said, "In my opinion, the Japanese pirates are ignorant of human nature. Even if you treat them well, they will not be influenced. It is better to kill them on the spot."
The battle was won by Qiu Yizi and his men, so Huang Wangang naturally had nothing to say. He said, "Lord Qiu is very thoughtful, very thoughtful." Then he agreed.
Qiu Yizhi thought about it again and said, "This means a total of 521 beheadings. It is difficult to verify which of them were killed by your county a few days ago and which were killed today. How about giving 300 to your county?"
Huang Wangang was neither a corrupt official nor an incompetent official. He was a county magistrate in a small county town in Qingpu, and was unknown in the officialdom of Jiangnan. When His Highness Zheng Xin cleaned up the officialdom of Jiangnan at the beginning of the year, he did not notice this small official in the corner.
Therefore, the promotion speed of Huang Wangang, a small county magistrate, was extremely slow. He had been in the seventh-rank official position for more than ten years, almost standing still. As he got older, he almost lost hope for his future.
However, today he turned a disaster into a blessing. Under the heavy pressure of the Japanese pirates, he not only saved the county, but also got the military merit of 300 heads. If this military merit is reported, then his evaluation of "outstanding" this year will be implemented. If he does not make any mistakes in his official duties in the next two years, he will be promoted to the sixth rank in the third year - maybe he will be a late bloomer and soar to the sky!
Therefore, Huang Wangang was stunned when he heard this, and suppressed his inner excitement and asked: "What? Sir, you want to give me 300 heads? Are you serious?"
of course it's true.
With Qiu Yizi's status and position, there is no need for him to fight for these insignificant military exploits. If he did not want to be in the same league with the world so as not to appear too aloof, he could have given all the military exploits of more than 500 heads to Huang Wangang.
Therefore, Qiu Yizi smiled and nodded, saying: "Why do you say that, Lord Huang? These pirates were killed by you and I fighting side by side. We all have contributions, and there is no question of giving in. Lord Huang deserves it."
Huang Wangang was overjoyed when he heard this, and tried hard to control his joy so as not to appear too frivolous. However, the involuntarily twitching muscles at the corners of his mouth betrayed him without reservation.
Qiu Yizhi had been in the officialdom for a long time, and he was used to seeing officials showing their emotions on their faces, so he ignored him and said, "In this battle, I captured 63 fake Japanese pirates. They were originally Han people, and many of them were from Jiangnan Province. I wonder how Lord Huang thinks we should deal with them?"
Huang Wangang was so happy that he said without thinking: "These people are accomplices of the evil, and have committed many evils. The crime of 'collaborating with foreign countries' alone is enough to make them die several times. If it is up to me, it is better to behead them all at once, so that other villains can have some vigilance."
Qiu Yizi's face darkened, and he said, "I don't think it's appropriate to do this. As the saying goes, 'If there is unrest among the people in a territory, it is the duty of the governor.' I know these people. Although they are not honest and good people, they are not vicious and cruel. Most of them are desperate or coerced by the Japanese pirates. God is merciful. I think if we kill them without hesitation, it will inevitably be unfair."
Huang Wangang had just received great kindness from Qiu Yizi, and he also heard that this small county magistrate had quite a few connections in the imperial court and was able to dethrone Yin Chengliang, the former governor of Jiangnan Province. Therefore, he did not dare to object directly, and said very respectfully: "I am stupid, and it is entirely up to you to decide how to deal with me." His tone was as if a subordinate was talking to his superior.
Qiu Yizhi thought for a moment, then asked Zhao Chengxiao to bring all the captured "fake Japanese pirates" to him. (To be continued)