Chapter 620 "As expected, they've arrived." (Happy National Day!)
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Every year in late autumn and early winter, Japanese pirates would take advantage of the winter winds at sea to raid Jian'an.
The early winter sea breeze was already biting, but what was even colder than the sea breeze was the tense atmosphere that permeated the sea.
A fleet of Japanese pirate ships, consisting of more than twenty vessels of various sizes, led by their leader Hirota Hiroki, sailed toward Jian'an like sharks that had smelled blood.
Their intention was to conduct a large-scale probing raid on Jian'an after they arrived there.
Hirota Hiroki wanted to teach Li Shiyue, this arrogant female general, a lesson!
Three years have passed since the battle of Snake Coil Island!
During these three years, Japan did send fleets to Jian'an, but they were all driven back by the Zhenhai Navy dispatched by Li Shiyue.
Of these, Jian'an won more often than the Japanese pirates.
Because there are many islands surrounding Jian'an, Li Shiyue did not spend time and manpower to explore each island one by one. Instead, she sent the Zhenhai Navy to conduct regular patrols along the Jian'an coast and in various fishing villages in the "Breaking Waves" vessel.
Sometimes, the Zhenhai Army would also accept some silver to escort ships traveling to and from Jian'an.
During this period, the Zhenhai Army fought against Japanese pirates who came to plunder merchant ships. However, it was not a large-scale battle like the Battle of Shepan Island. It was just a small-scale battle involving one or two Fujian ships and two or three smaller ships, at most four or five.
The style of Zhenhai Army has always been to follow Li Shiyue's command—to annihilate the Japanese pirates and empty their supplies.
However, for Hirota Koki, even when he was in Japan, he heard the words of the Japanese pirates who had been defeated by the Zhenhai Army and managed to escape back—they said how powerful the female general Li Shiyue was, how fast and how sturdy the Zhenhai Army's ships were.
They said there were female soldiers on Jian'an's ship, and that the Zhenhai Army was full of brave and fierce soldiers.
But Hirota Koki didn't really believe him.
Hirota Hiroki said, "Li Shiyue is just a woman. How powerful can she be?"
Hirota Koki felt that these defeated Japanese pirates were just making excuses for their defeat.
So, three years later, Hirota Koki, a Japanese man with some brains, finally gained the support of the Fujiwara clan in Japan and was able to assemble a fleet of more than twenty ships, leading nearly a thousand Japanese pirates to Jian'an to carry out plunder and invasion again.
However, at this moment, Hirota Hiroki and his companions, sailing on the turbulent sea, were unaware that their every move had already been exposed to a pair of cold "eyes".
Inside the cabin of the "Breaking Waves II" ship, Li Shiyue was gazing at the huge nautical chart in front of her.
A mechanical golden eagle with a wingspan of nearly ten feet was quietly perched on the shelf behind her shoulder. The biomimetic mechanical eagle was even preening its feathers with its hard beak.
Where no one could see, a faint red light flickered in the mechanical golden eagle's eyes;
Thus, the system interface in Li Shiyue's mind displayed the clear image that the golden eagle had seen when it was circling and flying high in the sky.
The exact number of the Japanese pirate fleet immediately came into Li Shiyue's view—a total of twenty-three ships, including three large Atakebune, seven medium-sized Sekibune, and the rest small early ships. The fleet's course, speed, and even the approximate distribution of the Japanese pirates on board were all readily apparent to Li Shiyue.
(Image from the internet, here's a picture of a ship.)
"They've arrived as expected."
A cold smile curled at the corners of Li Shiyue's lips.
She turned around and said to Sun Xiaoliu and the others beside her, "The Japanese pirates are arrogant. I have a plan that can take them down in one fell swoop!"
Let's cater to their tastes and give them a 'big gift'!
The mechanical golden eagle obeyed Li Shiyue's order and flew into the sky again to continue monitoring the Japanese pirate fleet led by Hirota Hiroki, ensuring that Li Shiyue was fully aware of the pirates' movements.
Based on the terrain data transmitted by the golden eagle, Li Shiyue selected a narrow sea area she named "Ghost Fang Bay" as the location to ambush the Japanese pirates.
The entrance to this place is wide, making it easy to lure the enemy in, but the internal waterways are winding and full of hidden reefs and shallows, making it difficult for large ships to turn once they enter. It is an excellent place for a fire attack.
Li Shiyue ordered that the only two old merchant ships in their fleet, which were shallow-draft, looked dilapidated, but were still navigable, be "carefully decorated".
The so-called "dressing up" meant piling up "cargo" disguised as sand and stones on the ship, and only a few daring, meticulous and excellent swimmers disguised as Xuanjia elite soldiers were stationed on the deck.
These elite Xuanjia warriors were tasked with "accidentally" appearing in the sight of the Japanese pirates, then "panickedly" fleeing towards Ghost Fang Bay, thus acting as bait.
Meanwhile, behind the cliffs on both sides of Ghost Fang Bay, a tense preparation was being carried out silently.
Li Qiutian led a team of agile soldiers, using rope rappelling and small boats to cleverly hide a large amount of tinder—hay and firewood soaked in fish oil and pine resin, as well as a batch of specially made earthenware jars sealed with flammable oil—in the crevices of the reef.
Li Shiyue also arranged for two hundred archers to lie in ambush on the large Fu ship behind the cliffs on both sides of Ghost Fang Bay. The archers' arrows had already been tied with oil-soaked strips of cloth, waiting for Li Shiyue's order.
Li Shiyue even used some of the precious industrial oil that she had exchanged with the domineering CEO Hu Sheng from the system's copy world.
She ordered the Zhenhai Navy to secretly spread a thin layer of oil on the narrow waterways through which the Japanese pirate fleet might pass.
All of this was accomplished at night. Li Shiyue gave the order that all Zhenhai naval forces must withdraw from the ambush area before dawn. Only the two Fujian ships, fully loaded with archers, remained hidden behind Ghost Fang Bay, leaving a concealed killing intent in this desolate harbor.
The next morning, a thin mist covered the sea.
Sure enough, the Japanese pirates' lookouts spotted the two lone "merchant ships" that the Zhenhai Navy had deliberately released.
Hirota Koki stood at the bow of the largest Atakebune. He looked in the direction the lookout was pointing and saw the two "merchant ships" ahead of them rapidly turning away from them. A greedy and contemptuous smile appeared on his face.
"Hmph, it seems this female general really isn't very capable."
Didn't they say that the naval forces in this town would escort merchant ships?
Haha, so what is this?
A woman, indeed, couldn't even protect a few merchant ships!
Kids!
Chase after them, rob their goods, and kill them!
"Burn the ship again, let that woman, and the Han people of Jian'an, know how powerful we are!"
The Japanese pirates standing on the deck of the fleet let out strange cries in response to Hirota Koki's words, like the howls of evil spirits from the underworld.
These Japanese pirates immediately raised their sails and charged towards the two "merchant ships" like hungry wolves pouncing on their prey.
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