The youngest was only fifteen years old. When conscripting men, they selected strong men aged between fifteen and forty.
Those who were married had their wives and children killed, and those who were not married had their parents and sisters killed. Some hot-tempered men were also killed, but the few brothers who were patient and tolerant were still alive, but unfortunately, all of them had their legs crippled.
Because of the battle that had just taken place the previous night, and the fact that they had been at sea for quite some time, Xingxing decided after some consideration not to have the officers and soldiers immediately escort the people back to the inland, but to let them rest for a day before returning.
There were five ships in total, each capable of carrying five hundred people. On the return trip, each ship carried two hundred civilians and three hundred soldiers, so the five ships could carry one thousand civilians. The rest would be transported by pirate ships.
Although the boats were small, there were quite a few of them, enough to take both civilians and soldiers on board at once.
"Princess, let me stay behind with two hundred men to protect you." The lieutenant dared not leave on his own and wanted to stay behind to protect the princess.
"Deputy General Zuo, you don't need to worry about me. I have a hundred guards with me, as well as my senior brothers and sisters. No one can touch me. You should escort the people back first. Be careful on the way and make sure the people are safely returned to the inland. If I don't return for a long time, you can bring some people to look for me."
"After you return to Anyang Prefecture, hand these injured people over to Zhao Mingyue for care. Ask him to find a skilled doctor to treat their legs and do his best to heal them."
Zhao Mingyue was left inland to guard against pirate attacks. Xingxing felt more at ease leaving its own people to guard the coast. In addition, Zhao Mingyue also knew medicine, and it was hoped that he could find a way to cure the people's legs, at least to allow them to stand up again. Even if they were lame, it would be better than not being able to stand at all.
The princess had given her order, and it was so firm that the Left Deputy General could no longer hesitate. He accepted the order and led his troops to escort the people back home, also taking the dozens of surviving pirates with him.
Thus, only the island's villagers, Xingxing and the seven people from Xianwu Island, about a hundred secret guards, and Zhou Erfu and Zhou Sifu remained on the island.
"Oh no, two days have passed, why haven't Second Brother and Fourth Brother returned yet?" Xingxing, now having some free time, suddenly remembered her two brothers, Brother Fu. Her eldest and third senior brothers had already returned with their men; they hadn't caught the female Japanese pirate and had returned to the island's village at dusk the next day.
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