As the leader of the largest tribe on the southwestern coast of Yamatai, Damihu was quite familiar with the size and number of people in the Shejinlu tribe.
Looking at the fearless Shejinlu and the soldiers of the Han army, Damihu simply couldn't understand where this originally timid little tribe got the courage to challenge him.
Of course, what terrified Damihu the most was the sharp longswords in the hands of the Han soldiers.
Looking around, the short spears and daggers in the hands of the Japanese soldiers were almost all easily broken, leaving them completely on the defensive.
The numerical advantage of Damihu cannot compensate for the huge gap in equipment.
On a hillside not far away, Chu You watched the Han soldiers fighting bravely and nodded in satisfaction.
Chu You's initial plan was to take advantage of the situation where the Han troops and the Japanese soldiers were exhausted from fighting each other, and then lead his troops to sweep them away.
But the result was far beyond his expectations. Chu You did not expect that these Han soldiers would be so powerful. With only five hundred men, they managed to suppress the two thousand men on the other side.
The Han army commander stepped forward and said, "Mr. Chu, it seems we won't need to take action in this battle!"
"No! Now is the best time for us to make our move!"
Chu You smiled and said, "We need to let people know that Shejinlu was able to win because of the Han Dynasty."
"Mr. Chu is right!"
The commander nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
As the two were speaking, the situation on the battlefield below gradually became clear. Faced with the indestructible longswords of the Han soldiers, more than 300 of the Japanese soldiers under Damihu's command had been killed, and the remaining soldiers were terrified.
"Kill!!"
Just then, a deafening battle cry reached the ears of both sides.
Upon hearing the commotion, Shejinlu and the Han soldiers were greatly encouraged and fought even more fiercely.
"Who is that person...?"
Seeing the Han soldiers charging down the hillside, Damihu's face turned pale and his body trembled slightly.
Just as Damiko was stunned, Shejin Ritsu seized the opportunity and plunged the long sword in his hand into his body.
The excruciating pain in his abdomen brought Damihu back to his senses. He looked down at the long knife piercing his lower abdomen, a hint of resentment in his eyes, before slowly collapsing.
At the same time, Chu You's Han troops also charged into the enemy ranks, slaughtering the Japanese soldiers as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.
"With the aid of the Great Han Heavenly Army, why don't you surrender immediately?"
Shijin Ritsu drew his blood-stained longsword and began shouting loudly as he fought.
The Japanese soldiers, already terrified by the prospect of being killed, lost all courage to resist upon hearing this. Although they had never seen the soldiers of the Han Dynasty before, they had heard of the Han's formidable reputation.
To the Japanese soldiers, the Han Dynasty was a legendary, powerful, and invincible nation. Surrendering to such a powerful nation was not shameful, so they laid down their weapons, knelt on the ground, and looked at Chu You and the Han soldiers in their iron armor with awe.
With the surrender of these Japanese soldiers, the elderly, women, and children in the tribe also became spoils of war.
Shejinlu also led the soldiers of the Han vassal army, and respectfully approached Chu You, then knelt on one knee.
"Reporting to the Great Han Angel, I was ordered to restrain Damihu's forces and successfully killed them. I wonder what the Angel intends to do with these people?"
Chu You looked at the Japanese prisoners behind him: "Those prisoners will be incorporated into the Han army and placed under your command. As for the others, those who can still move will be made slaves, and those who are sick or unable to work will all be executed!"
"yes!"
Shejinlu responded loudly, and then led his soldiers to begin receiving the prisoners, while Chuyou led the Han troops into the tribe to begin counting the valuables.
An hour later, a military officer arrived at Chu You's camp with a statistical report.
"Mr. Chu, in this battle, our army suffered no casualties. The Han troops suffered 121 dead, 34 lightly wounded, and 12 seriously wounded."
They killed 243 enemy soldiers, captured 1,760 enemy soldiers, and seized 4,540 slaves.
The seized items included 500 shi of grain, 1,000 pearls, 6,000 taels of silver, 500 jin of hemp cloth, 300 jin of silk, and countless other valuables.
Chu You stroked his chin and said in a deep voice, "Whether it was the Shejinlu tribe before or the Damihu tribe now, they both had a large number of silver ingots. It seems there must be a silver mine nearby!"
Upon hearing this, the young noblemen and merchants in the tent lit up and all stared intently at Chu You.
Facing the gazes of the crowd, Chu You stood up: "Gentlemen, now is not the time to make a fortune. Our most important task is to establish a firm foothold and support a regime that is loyal to the Han Dynasty. Only in this way can we eliminate any worries about the future!"
“Mr. Chu is right. We have come from across the sea, so we naturally understand what is important and what is urgent!” a scion of a prominent family echoed.
The others also temporarily suppressed their agitation and echoed each other.
Immediately, Chu You looked at Li Shi, the Han army commander beside him, and said in a deep voice, "Commander Li, credit the heads of the Han soldiers who have been killed to our own brothers. As for the Han soldiers, just give them some cloth and strong liquor!"
"this....."
Li Shi paused slightly, "Mr. Chu, is this inappropriate?"
Having received political education from the Military and Political Affairs Department, Li Shi was clearly unable to accept the matter of falsely claiming military merits.
Chu You chuckled lightly: "Commander Li need not worry. According to the regulations on purchasing slaves, all the output of slaves belongs to the slave owners. The Han soldiers are slaves captured by our brothers, so their military merits naturally belong to our brothers!"
"Of course, this is also His Majesty's intention. The brothers have come all this way, crossing mountains and seas, so they must have gained something!"
Upon hearing this, Li Shi immediately straightened his posture: "Since it is His Majesty's will, this humble general will naturally comply!"
Afterwards, Li Shi left the camp and took dozens of bolts of silk, a hundred jars of strong liquor, and some porcelain and handicrafts as rewards to Shejinlu and the soldiers of the Han army. He then registered the more than two hundred heads under the names of his own brothers.
The Japanese soldiers in the Han-controlled army stroked the smooth, bright silk in their hands, tasted the fiery wine, and admired the exquisite ornaments. An unprecedented sense of satisfaction filled the hearts of these natives, and at the same time, they longed even more to go into battle and kill the enemy and receive more rewards.
The Han soldiers who received their share of heads also celebrated with smiles on their faces.
They gained military merits and titles without even having to fight, which made their long sea voyage worthwhile.
A day later, Shejinlu selected 1,000 able-bodied men from among the prisoners, increasing the size of the Han army to 1,500.
Those Japanese prisoners of war not only had no resistance to being able to join the Han-controlled army, but were actually extremely proud.
In their view, being able to pledge allegiance to the powerful Han Dynasty was an unparalleled honor.
Subsequently, Chu You arranged for Shejinlu to send letters to the surrounding small and medium-sized tribes, demanding that their leaders bring all their tribe's resources and people to surrender within five days.
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