By the time the red sun rose above the sea, more than a thousand Japanese pirates on the island had all been killed or captured.
At the same time, the 2nd Marine Battalion, which attacked the East Fort from the shore, also ended the battle. It also successfully eliminated the real Japanese on the shore and rescued the captured people.
Many Japanese pirates also escaped onto the ships and tried desperately to escape from the fjord, but they were naturally wiped out by the light ship squadron blocking the entrance of the fjord.
When the Zhenwo Ship slowly sailed into Jilong Bay in the morning sun, there were no longer any Japanese pirates there.
Lin Feng rubbed his eyes hard, looking at everything in front of him in disbelief. How come the battle was over after he woke up from a nap? Aren't those Japanese pirates' cannons very powerful? Why didn't they fire a single shot?
However, she soon realized that Zhao Hao's men landed with infantry under the cover of night and wiped out the two thousand Japanese pirates in close combat.
This made her respect him even more. You know, because her men had been fighting dogs for a long time, they were short of supplies and malnourished, and half of them were night blind, so they didn't have the ability to fight at night.
Even if she wasn't night blind, she still wouldn't dare to fight these fierce Shimazu family pirates. Their martial arts and ferocity were far superior to her pirates. To defeat them, she could only rely on naval battles.
She originally thought that Master Zhao was best at naval warfare and must be weaker at land warfare. Unexpectedly, he was also very strong in that area...
"How can I live like this?" Lin Feng cried out for who knows how many times, but none of them was more real than this time.
She knew very well that Master Zhao definitely did not come south just to seek revenge on the Japanese pirates. Throughout the battle, his huge fleet had been watching from the sidelines. It was obvious that they had more important enemies to deal with.
Ninety-nine percent of them are her colleagues in the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong.
"No, I have to find a way to send a message to my eldest brother and tell him to be careful." Lin Feng thought to himself. Then he suddenly remembered that his home base was also on Taiwan Island, and he was in a state of panic... What should he do? What should he do?
Menan, who was standing next to her, was also stunned.
The sickening smell of blood in the air and the naked corpses of Japanese pirates neatly stacked on the dock made Mei Nan, who had never seen such a scene before, feel cold in his hands and feet and shudder.
Oh my god. Not only did he kill people, but he also had to strip naked and pose. This is so perverted...
But this is really unfair to Mr. Zhao. Because the Japanese horse hakama is quite troublesome to wear, many people ran out without wearing pants after hearing the noise. They were already naked, so do they have to find a pair of pants to wear after they die? Do they match?
As for neatly stacking, that is an obsessive-compulsive disorder that the Coast Guard soldiers have developed under strict regulations. Everything must be neatly arranged, including the captured corpses. This makes it easier for the police to count and inspect, and also easier to load onto ships and pull to the deep sea to feed the fish after the job is done...
At this time, Shang Yong also came out, rubbing his sleepy eyes and said, "Auntie, I need to pee..."
Before he could finish his words, he saw a scene that was inappropriate for children and immediately wet his pants.
"aunt……"
Menan quickly covered Gugugu's eyes, but he raised his head and looked at the poop deck as if something was happening.
That seemingly harmless and somewhat lecherous Mr. Zhao, turns out he is not kind to everyone...
Young Master Zhao always said that the Jiangnan Group looked at Ryukyu differently and was very friendly. She had always thought that was hypocritical, purely a show of self-righteousness, but now she knew that was the truth...
As if sensing her gaze, Zhao Hao lowered his head, waved at her with a smile, and said affectionately, "Miss Mei, come and have breakfast. Sister Qiaoqiao will serve us some. Jinling's pig belly noodles are delicious."
"Ugh, I can't eat anymore..." Mei Nan rejected Zhao Hao's invitation for the first time. When she heard about the belly noodles, she thought of those slick bellies. It was already a great achievement not to vomit, right?
"Okay, I'll eat alone then." Zhao Hao didn't force it, and said with a smile: "Let her send you a few bottles of soda later to calm you down. What flavor do you like?"
"Orange flavor, pineapple flavor is good too..." Mei Nan said and stuck out his tongue embarrassedly. He couldn't eat or drink, which was really ridiculous.
~~
After Zhao Hao finished his breakfast, Jin Ke and Wang Rulong brought the post-war statistics.
"Eight of our men were killed in this battle, all of them died while guarding the artillery position. Thirteen were seriously injured, and all have been properly treated. A total of 1,320 Japanese pirates were killed, 512 were captured, and more than 200 Japanese pirates fled to the south. According to the instructions of the young master, no one was arranged to pursue them."
"No need to chase them. The Ketagalan people will not miss this opportunity for revenge and will kill them all." Zhao Hao smiled nonchalantly and asked, "Have you two had breakfast?"
"We've eaten." The two smiled, and Jin Ke continued to report: "In addition, there are a few discoveries. One is that the style of the fort is very similar to the Portuguese fort described by Professor Ping, and the other is that those cannons all came from the Bugalao Cannon Foundry."
"These little devils are quite rich." Zhao Hao said with a smile: "We still need to strengthen the blockade in the future and never let the artillery flow to the three islands of Japan."
"Yes." Jin Ke nodded and quickly wrote it down. He added, "But during the interrogation of the prisoners, some pirates said that these cannons were not bought, but given to them by someone. The price they paid was to attack the fleets and trading stations of Jiangnan Trade in Ryukyu."
"Who?" Zhao Hao's eyes narrowed.
"Their leader committed suicide by cutting his stomach open. A few people who knew about the situation went to Tamsui. The rest of the people don't know the details." Jin Ke said, "We only know that the cannons were installed by the Portuguese, and the fort was built under their guidance. There were also a few Cantonese people who served as interpreters for them. They seemed to be from the Wuyang Trading House."
"Good, very good." Young Master Zhao laughed and said, "I should have known long ago that the damn red-haired devil talks a lot about the spirit of contract, but he is full of thieves and whores!"
In April of the fourth year of Longqing, Zhao Liben, on behalf of the Jiangnan Group, signed an agreement with the Portuguese in Xiangshan Bay, which included a three-year truce agreement. Both parties agreed to avoid fighting in any sea area within three years. Not even half of the time has passed yet!
"Yes. I also think that they cannot seek revenge on us directly due to the three-year armistice agreement, so they use this despicable method to instigate the Japanese pirates to attack our weak spots." Wang Rulong nodded with a fierce look in his eyes.
"Damn it!" Zhao Hao couldn't help but swear. He stood up and paced a few times with his hands behind his back. He said to Jin Ke, "We were originally planning to attack the Spanish next year or the year after. It seems that the plan needs to be changed. We have to deal with the Portuguese in Macau first! Otherwise, once we go to war with the Spanish, they will definitely stab us in the back!"
He signed an armistice agreement with the Portuguese because, firstly, he was still weak at the time and did not want to fight a premature battle with an old naval power. Secondly, he wanted to take advantage of the Spanish's lack of foothold in Luzon and drive them away so that he could replace them. Therefore, he wanted to avoid the two sides joining forces and being attacked from both sides.
But this plan also had a lot of problems. First, the Spanish galleon trade had just begun and had not yet tasted enough sweetness. If they were driven away all at once, how would they earn silver from America? Especially after Mr. Zhao arrived in Chaozhou, Zhao Hao still hoped to rely on the galleon trade to boost Chaozhou's economy, so he couldn't let the Spaniards retreat back to America easily.
Second, although Portugal and Spain have irreconcilable contradictions, the former hates the latter for overstepping its boundaries. If a conflict really occurs, even if an agreement is signed, the Portuguese will still sit down next to their neighbors who share the same beliefs.
Today's discovery has further deepened his worries.
Today, he suddenly realized that he had always underestimated the Portuguese. He always thought that they were a small country with few people and were not worthy of being called an empire. But in fact, they had already taken root in Guangdong with flexible means and positive actions. With compradors to help them, they not only successfully made friends with officials in the provincial capital, but also had the ability to reach out to Taiwan and Ryukyu to stir up trouble.
Even if they didn't care about them, they would eventually lose their ambitions due to a series of blows from Europe - their country was annexed by Spain, Malacca was taken by the Dutch, and Macau was completely isolated and helpless. How could they have the capital to stir up trouble? Even if the Portuguese were unwilling, they could only honestly withdraw from the table of the big players in the Age of Navigation.
This was also the deep reason why Zhao Hao had always been appeased with the Portuguese. He always hoped to achieve his goal with the least effort.
For example, according to the original plan, Ryukyu, a vassal state that was 100% obedient to the Ming Dynasty, was the object of cultural infiltration and economic plunder... Oh no, it was the object of educational support and economic cooperation.
But after the Naha Massacre, he had to use thunder-like means to intimidate those evil spirits who were ready to make a move, so he launched the Battle of Amami and captured the poor King Shang Yuan.
Now he had to reflect on whether he had relied too much on the great prophecy again. Portugal had entered the countdown to national destruction, but it was not the end of fate in the ordinary sense. Their national destruction was very accidental. It was because their ambitious young king rashly led the whole country to war, but ended up with the annihilation of the whole army and even his own disappearance. This gave the powerful neighbor next door the opportunity to annex them.
So at this time, Portugal not only showed no signs of national destruction, but the whole country became restless and aggressive because of the ambitious young king. Even Macau, the farthest colony, would feel the martial and competitive atmosphere in the country.
In such an atmosphere, it is reasonable that everyone wants to play the role of a brave and skilled victor and does not want to be seen as a cowardly loser.
Thinking this way, the Portuguese in Macau would be more aggressive and vindictive than they had previously estimated. So they would try every means to avenge their previous humiliation and resume their routes to Japan as soon as possible.
After thinking for a long time, Zhao Hao stood still, turned around and gave the two men an order in a deep voice: "All evils are headed by the intention. How can we only punish the actual perpetrators and ignore the mastermind? I have decided. The General Staff will immediately start to formulate a plan. After we have dealt with the pirates in Fujian and Guangdong, we will settle accounts with the Portuguese in Macau and that Wuyang Trading House!"
"Yes!" The two of them responded in a deep voice.
"This matter is quite complicated. It is said that the Portuguese and Wuyang Tong Trading Company have deeply colluded with the provincial officials." Zhao Hao thought for a moment and said, "We must first let the Office and Tang Baolu get solid intelligence, and then carefully formulate a plan."
"Understood!" the two responded again.
ps. It’s gone today.