Three days later, Chongming Island.

"The boss is indeed very good at predicting things. The people from Zhenhaiwei are actually planning to rob the thieves."

"Now those Japanese merchants won't be able to escape."

Somewhere in the jungle of Chongming Island, the Xuanjia Guards set up camp, waiting for the Zhenhai Guards to come into contact with the Japanese merchants.

After getting the latest intelligence, Zhang Bo brought it to the camp and told Zhu Ying.

The main reason why the Xuanjia Guards were able to get ahead of the Zhenhai Guards was that they were all composed of cavalry, and their mobility was completely on a different level than that of the infantry.

Zhu Ying took the intelligence from Zhang Bo, looked at it carefully, and said with a smile: "I can appreciate the quality of Zhenhaiwei. It is not a problem for them to capture these Japanese merchants."

"The main thing is to look at the battle damage."

Zhu Ying himself did not have a very high military talent. If it was a battle involving tens or hundreds of thousands of people, he would feel like he was playing blindly.

However, they are very experienced in small-scale combat involving less than 10,000 people.

Although the Qun Ying Chamber of Commerce is called a chamber of commerce, it actually has a total of 5,000 loose cavalrymen under its command.

If they were to gather them all together, some small and medium-sized tribes on the grassland, or some small countries in the Western Regions and Eurasia could all be flattened.

Don't underestimate the power of 5,000 cavalry. If there are no corresponding countermeasures, or if they are on an open grassland, even 20,000 or 30,000 infantry can be easily killed.

"How long will it take them to get here?" Zhu Ying asked.

Zhang Bo replied: "Currently, the Zhenhai Guards have already boarded the ship. According to the current situation, they should come into contact with the Japanese merchants after noon."

"Zhenhaiwei has currently dispatched 2,000 troops, divided into two groups."

"The vanguard army has about 1,500 people, and they should be outflanking the Japanese merchants from behind. The remaining 500 people are probably here to contact the Japanese merchants."

Zhu Ying nodded when he heard this.

At present, Zhenhaiwei is bullying the Japanese merchants because they have few information channels and control all the docks, in order to catch the Japanese merchants off guard.

Otherwise, the news of the two thousand people would quickly reach the Japanese merchants.

Chongming Island is surrounded by the sea, and the Japanese merchants' ships are quite good. If they had known the news in advance, they would have boarded the ship and escaped.

In the vast ocean, the Zhenhaiwei had no possibility of pursuit at all.

"Order the Black Armor Guards to move out together with Zhenhai when they go out to wipe out the Japanese merchants' rear."

"First, we prevent Japanese merchants from slipping through the net. Second, we strictly monitor the actions of the Zhenhai Guards. If we find any killing of innocent people to gain credit, we will stop them immediately."

Zhu Ying thought about it and gave the order.

Killing innocent people and claiming credit for their achievements is a very common phenomenon, whether in the current Ming Dynasty or in the dynasties before it.

It may seem like a simple sentence, but in fact, it is a fatal blow to the people.

If it were someone else, they would naturally have no sympathy for the people who helped the Japanese merchants hide, and would not even think about it. The saying "One general's success is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers" is exactly this truth.

Especially in terms of behavior, no matter what their thoughts were, they ultimately helped the Japanese merchants. Needless to say, according to the system of collective responsibility under the Ming Dynasty law, these people were also guilty.

But Zhu Ying did not have any hatred towards them, as the system of collective responsibility was not meant to be handled that way.

The laws of the Ming Dynasty have always given people a one-size-fits-all feeling on many levels.

Basically, as long as it is related to breaking the law, especially involving the common people, a large number of people will be implicated.

It’s not that Zhu Ying likes to be a saintly person, but the people themselves don’t have such a vision.

On the surface, the Japanese merchants employed the common people. In Shanghai County, accepting employment from other countries was a very normal phenomenon, and the common people would not investigate whether the employment was reliable.

The law is in line with human nature. On this point, Zhu Ying felt that these people should be given a break.

…

As time passed, it was soon afternoon.

In a remote coastal area of ​​Chongming Island, hundreds of Japanese are waiting.

The leader of the Japanese merchants had a smile on his face.

"After this transaction is successful, we will present the firearms to His Majesty the Emperor. Your Excellency the General, the future of our family will be smooth sailing and we will rise to the top."

"Then you won't have to worry about running around on the sea."

"These days, every time I go out to sea, I am terrified, for fear that one day I will have bad luck and sink directly into the sea."

A true noble would naturally not travel on the sea like the Japanese merchants.

The sea is not a place to be safe or not; a slight wave or wind could cost the lives of everyone on board.

If the ship is destroyed, everyone will die, and there will be no way out.

Hearing the commander's answer, the Japanese warriors next to him echoed: "The strength of the Ming Dynasty lies in firearms. Once we also master the method of manufacturing firearms, those Ming troops in the country will definitely be defeated."

"When the time comes, you will have made great contributions and will surely become famous."

The daimyo was the equivalent of a vassal in Japan. Both the emperor, the nominal ruler of the country, and the shogun, who held real power, had to be won over.

It can be said that the wish of most nobles is to become daimyo.

While they were talking, a ship appeared on the sea in the distance.

"It's the Zhenhai Guards. The Zhenhai Guards' ship is coming."

Following an exclamation, more than a hundred Japanese, including the leader of the Japanese merchants, immediately perked up and were full of smiles.

In their view, the arrival of Zhenhaiwei meant merit.

On board.

"Damn it, what a loss! How come there are only a hundred Japanese? Even with these few heads, we brothers can't even share them. If we had known earlier, we should have rushed over to outflank these Japanese merchants from behind."

"Even if there are fewer Japanese in the rear, we can still get a lot of heads, and we can also use some criminals to make up the numbers. What a loss."

On the deck, looking at the Japanese on the beach, the captain of Zhenhaiwei carefully counted them several times before he was sure that there were only a hundred of them. He immediately complained unhappily.

Including the other centurions, the general flag heard this, all looked unhappy.

There are really not enough heads to go around with a hundred of them.

"There's not even a ghost in this place. We can't make up the numbers. Boss, when Sha Qianhu and his men take over the rear of the Japanese merchants, we must give us some of their credit."

"Otherwise, my brother's trip is really too frustrating. Even if you give me some heads to make up the numbers, at least I can get more money."

The leading captain heard this and nodded in agreement. Then he looked at the distance and shouted, "We are about to reach the shore. Brothers, cheer up."

"Remember this. After you get off the boat, don't bother with them. Just surround them and don't let them get away."

"The number of heads the brothers have been allocated this time is already small. If some of them escape, it will be a huge loss."

"Brothers with muskets, get ready first. These Japanese want our muskets, right? Let's show them how our Ming muskets are fired."

"Don't load the cannons on the ship for me. Once the cannons go off, these Japanese will definitely run faster than rabbits. Remember not to alert them."

As Qianhu shouted, the soldiers on the ship immediately began to respond noisily.

Not long after, the army carrying 500 soldiers arrived at the shore.

The Japanese people did not just watch, they hurried over to help stop the boat and were extremely attentive.

Qianhu watched on the deck, smiled coldly and said nothing.

The Zhenhaiwei soldiers who got off the boat immediately trotted towards the back of the Japanese. Although the leader of the Japanese merchants felt a little strange, he just comforted himself in his heart that this was probably the usual style of the Zhenhaiwei.

When the soldiers saw that they had cut off the Japanese merchants' retreat route, Qianhu laughed loudly and shouted:

"Brothers, kill the Japanese pirates!!!"

As the shout began, the silent Zhenhaiwei soldiers immediately sneered, drew out their swords, and slashed at the defenseless Japanese.

The musketeers who came down from the deck had already loaded their gunpowder. They simply took aim and started shooting.

BANG BANG BANG!!!

The matchlock gun has not yet been completely popularized. At present, it is mainly supplied to the army fighting against Japan. There are only about one or two hundred guns transported to Zhenhaiwei. This is to be used by the fire musket soldiers of Zhenhaiwei in turn so that they can get familiar with it.

So there were nearly a hundred musketeers who fired continuously and majestically, and a large area of ​​smoke was filled, but the casualties on the Japanese side were less than twenty people.

The accuracy rate of the current musket is pitiful. It can only give a rough direction, which is almost the same as the gameplay of a cannon.

"You hit the wrong person. We are here to trade. Your Excellency, you hit the wrong person."

Facing the attack from Zhenhaiwei, the Japanese commander immediately began shouting loudly in fluent Chinese.

The captain stood at the bow and sneered, "What do you mean by hitting the wrong person? What kind of a deal is that? I received a secret report that it was you pirates who tried to invade the Ming Dynasty."

"Today, I am leading my men to capture all of you Japanese pirates in one fell swoop."

Hearing this, the Japanese merchant leader knew that the Zhenhai Guards were planning to rob their fellow criminals.

They immediately organized people and started defense.

In fact, saying that they are Japanese pirates is not a frame-up.

There is only one word difference between Japanese merchants and Japanese pirates, and it is indeed just a matter of thought.

When faced with powerful military forces, these Japanese merchants became rule-abiding maritime merchants.

When they find that their own military strength far exceeds that of the trading party, they will show their fangs without hesitation.

The cruelty of the Japanese is evident from this. They have no scruples at all. Every time in such a situation, they become like beasts, without any humanity at all.

Even a baby in swaddling clothes will not be spared.

Women were often abducted by them onto ships and subjected to humiliation.

Before the next transaction, these women will not hold back. For the sake of their own dignity and to hide their crimes, they will kill the women directly and then throw them into the vast ocean to destroy the bodies.

On the coast, the soldiers of Zhenhaiwei who had arrived first surrounded the area without attacking, and the main output was entirely provided by the musketeers.

The Zhenhaiwei, who had been dealing with Japanese merchants and pirates for a long time, knew very well that these Japanese people traveling along the coast of the Ming Dynasty were all very brave, and the clash of cold weapons would often lead to strong morale.

Especially in this kind of trapped situation, blindly commanding soldiers to charge and kill, although it can eliminate the enemy more quickly, it will also cause unnecessary casualties.

In a war involving thousands or tens of thousands of people, the casualties of a few or a dozen people may seem like a very small number, but to every general flag, small flag, or even the soldier himself, the meaning is completely different.

This reflects the importance of middle-level military officers. The more control over details, the more important they become.

Blindly charging will only lead to greater tragedy. Even if victory is achieved, it will cause excessive losses to oneself, which is a huge loss.

"These damned Ming dogs want to slowly surround and kill us. Warriors, follow me and charge!"

The leader of the Japanese merchants immediately saw through Zhenhaiwei's intention.

Although the accuracy of the musket was not high, under rows of shooting, every time the sound of the musket was heard, there would be a few unlucky people who would be killed directly.

The greatest function of the musket is not only to kill. The power of gunpowder, once shot into the body, will greatly reduce the combat effectiveness of the Japanese, even if it is not a fatal injury.

Those Japanese soldiers who were injured by gunpowder on their arms and chests basically had no fighting power, even if they did not die.

It seems that there are still nearly a hundred Japanese standing, but in fact, there are less than seventy who can really fight back.

The Japanese leader understood that if they continued like this, they would only be slowly exhausted to death, so he started shouting, trying to fight his way out.

"All troops, charge! Kill them for me!"

When he heard the shout, Qianhu immediately realized that encirclement and killing was no longer of much use, and launching a joint attack was the best option.

Following the captain's shout, all the soldiers except the musketeers immediately rushed off the boat and began to attack the Japanese.

There were about two hundred people getting off the boat in front, but the seaside was too wide, and when the Japanese gathered their strength, it would be difficult to stop them completely.

Under the charge of the Japanese, more than a dozen people were hacked to death. Even if they were constantly chased and killed, in the absence of cavalry, many of them would obviously escape.

Although he felt a little helpless, Qianhu knew that there was nothing he could do about it.

All we can do is order a pursuit, and kill as many people as possible.

Just when we saw more than thirty Japanese breaking out of the encirclement and about to escape.

There was a sound of horse hooves, and hundreds of knights were seen galloping from afar, all of them wearing armor and red robes.

That touch of red is terrifying.

When you get closer, you can see that around the waists of these Ti cavalrymen are hung the most advanced matchlock rifles of the Ming Dynasty.

A man is not as fast as a horse.

When the Japanese merchant leader saw the appearance of the Ti cavalry, he immediately fell into despair.

Then he immediately burst into a fierce burst of energy and shouted loudly in Japanese.

Following the roar of the Japanese merchant leader, all the Japanese suddenly burst out with a determination to die. They stopped running away and turned around to kill Zhenhaiwei.

Obviously, even though he knew he was going to die, he still wanted to drag a few people down with him.