The cannons on the Song Dynasty warships emitted a soul-stirring sound that echoed across the sea.
Li Guiyi saw the cannonball flying from the opposite direction shatter his ship's hull, crash into his ship, tear apart the deck, and explode, instantly blowing all three people away.
His mind went completely blank.
What kind of weapon is this?
How come I've never seen this before?
But there was no time to think, and he roared, "Speed up!"
Boom boom boom...
Cannon fire relentlessly pounded the deck, sending splinters flying and terrifying the pirates into a frenzy of escape.
On the Song army's side, rows of musketeers stood on the ship's gunwale, firing at the opposite side.
Under the combined assault of cannons and muskets, the pirate ship was quickly reduced to rubble, and the pirates' will to fight collapsed.
The wooden boat began to burn, and pirates came out to put out the fire, but were killed by Song soldiers' muskets.
"We surrender! We surrender!"
Li Guiyi roared loudly, "They are now completely powerless to resist."
Li Bao signaled to cease fire.
Li Guiyi personally boarded the Song army's ship, and when he saw the Song army's impressive military strength up close, he was deeply moved.
"This humble commoner, Li Guiyi, greets his superior!"
Because he dealt with many merchants from the Song Dynasty, Li Guiyi could speak some of the official language of the Song Dynasty.
Li Bao shouted, "What crime have you petty thieves committed?"
"I have never offended the Great Song Dynasty, and I do not know what crime I have committed."
"What crime have you committed?" Li Bao sneered. "Do you know that the merchants of the Great Song Dynasty are all the Emperor's merchants? You collect tolls from the merchants of the Great Song Dynasty, which is tantamount to collecting tolls from the Emperor. Collecting tolls from the Emperor is a capital offense!"
Li Guiyi broke out in a cold sweat and immediately knelt on the deck, kowtowing: "Sir, spare my life! It was all the city lord's doing. I was just following orders!"
"Who is the city lord?"
"That is Zhao Yan of Lingyamen, the city lord Zhao."
"Tell me the truth about Lingyamen at once, and I might spare your life!"
"Yes!" Li Guiyi was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly replied, "The Lingyamen has eight thousand soldiers, all of whom are skilled at collecting money at sea year-round."
"Furthermore, Lord Zhao has betrothed his daughter to the King of Srivijaya, so Lingyamen is safe and sound." Li Guiyi glanced at Li Bao and said boldly, "If the imperial court goes to war with Lingyamen, it will inevitably attract the army of Srivijaya to besiege and suppress them."
Li Bao scoffed, "My Song Dynasty has a million soldiers; how could we possibly fear a mere Srivijaya!"
Seeing that his attempt to intimidate Li Bao had failed, Li Gui quickly switched to flattery: "What the superior says is true!"
Li Bao said to the other generals, "Sink all the pirate ships, leave no one alive!"
Li Guiyi was startled, not expecting the Song army to be so ruthless.
However, he was also someone who had lived a life of constant danger and had seen many life-and-death situations, so he didn't find it cruel.
However, the Song army's arrival this time clearly indicates their intention to destroy Lingyamen, presumably to occupy Lingyamen and use it as a base to attack Srivijaya.
It seems the Song Dynasty court was furious about the illegal detention of Song merchants in Srivijaya.
Li Guiyi never expected that the Song Dynasty would mobilize such a large force, dispatching six warships to cross thousands of miles of ocean to launch a war for the sake of those merchants.
He already had a plan in mind.
Especially after witnessing the Song army's weapons, Li Guiyi's will to resist was completely shattered.
He intends to be a good dog.
Since Li Bao ordered all the other pirates to be killed, but let him board the ship, his intention was obvious: he wanted to use him.
If something has value, it's good.
Next, the Song army began firing rockets at the pirate ships, while musketeers on the side were responsible for killing the pirates who tried to put out the fire.
The pirate ships had to flee at breakneck speed, but they discovered in despair that the Song Dynasty's warships, though enormous, were no slower than their own.
After an hour and a half of encirclement and attack, the pirates were basically wiped out.
Li Guiyi was now recounting the entire situation in detail.
At dusk, the Song army sailed its warships into the port of Lingyamen.
It stopped just 200 meters from the coastline.
That very night, it alarmed all the pirates of Lingyamen.
Zhao Yan was furious. He sent people to negotiate on the Song army's warships while also sending someone to Srivijaya to report the news.
The plan was to temporarily hold off the Song army, and then join forces with the Srivijaya army to launch a pincer attack on the Song army.
There were two envoys on the Song army's warship. As soon as they boarded the ship, before they could even speak, they were taken to the deck by the Song soldiers.
The mastermind was beheaded, and the deputy mastermind had both arms cut off.
The chief envoy's head was hung on the deputy envoy's neck, and the deputy envoy was sent back.
When Zhao Yan saw that his envoy had been killed, he was so angry that he almost exploded on the spot.
The saying goes that when two armies are at war, envoys should not be killed, but the Song army's methods were even wilder than those of the pirates!
To prevent the Song army from landing, Zhao Yan immediately dispatched a thousand men to defend the coastline.
The night passed peacefully.
The next day, just as dawn broke, the Song army's warships anchored directly at the seashore, and then the deafening sound of cannons rang out.
At that time, half of Zhao Yan's men were asleep.
One of the pirates witnessed another pirate, who had been playing with women with him the night before, being blown away by cannon fire, half of his body a bloody mess.
He was so scared that he peed himself on the spot.
The cannons ripped through the air and crashed onto the coastline, sending two or three pirates flying into the air before they slammed to the ground, their flesh and blood flying everywhere, accompanied by screams of agony.
No one had a chance to react to what had happened.
Someone shouted loudly, "The Song army is using sorcery! The Song army is using sorcery!"
The cannon fire lasted for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before it stopped. The pirates' defenses were completely destroyed, and the remaining pirates dared not linger on the coastline any longer.
Rumors of the Song army using sorcery quickly spread throughout Lingyamen, causing panic on the island.
In the morning, Zhao Yan hurriedly summoned the monks on the island.
The people in this area all believe in Indian Buddhism. This monk was an Indian, and he was revered by the locals as a highly accomplished monk.
At noon, he came to the coastline alone and began to sit cross-legged and chant scriptures.
Li Bao looked into the distance and asked Li Guiyi beside him, "What is that monk doing?"
Li Guiyi said, "They must have thought that the Song army was using sorcery, so they invited the high monk Anan to perform a ritual."
Upon hearing this, Li Bao burst into laughter.
You're going to perform a ritual, right?
No problem, you perform the ritual, I'll fire the cannon!
Li Bao shouted the order: "Blow that monk up!"
Boom boom boom...
Five cannon shots were fired in quick succession, all aimed at the monk.
Before the monk could even scream, he was blasted into the air and crashed onto the beach, his flesh mangled and bloody, barely breathing.
The pirates who had been spying from afar were terrified when they saw the mage die so quickly. They scrambled to their feet, wishing they could immediately crawl into Zhao Yan's arms for comfort.
Li Guiyi was stunned. He had thought that the pirates were ruthless and wild enough.
Unexpectedly, the Song army acted even more ruthlessly than they did.
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