jdhmnovel Chapter 558 Detaining the Japanese Pirates and Rescuing the Young Men 2
Chapter 558 Detaining the Japanese Pirates and Rescuing the Young Men 2
It's now!
We can't let the rescue fail at the last minute; we have to deal with these ninjas first!
A dozen smoke grenades were thrown out, immediately obstructing the view. Under the cover of the smoke grenades, Jiang Xiaoqi flew to the ninja's side.
The soft sword was drawn from his waist, and blood splattered everywhere.
As the smoke cleared, a dozen or so corpses lay on the deck, each with only a single bloodstain on its neck.
Jiang Xiaoqi left without a trace after accomplishing his task; the remaining rabble could be easily dealt with by a thousand-strong army.
Sheathed the soft sword and retreated while no one was paying attention!
"Baga! Baga! Way to go!"
The Japanese pirates were blinded by rage. Seeing their strongest fighting force and trump card inexplicably wiped out by a puff of white smoke, the pirate leader was so angry that his dentures almost flew out.
"Chase after him! We must find the one who uses sorcery!" the leader roared furiously, his eyes wide with rage.
Jiang Xiaoqi only withdrew from the vicinity of the port, not returned to the capital, so he heard all the impotent rage of the Japanese pirates.
The Japanese pirates were clearly terrified, but under orders, they still gritted their teeth and gave chase.
But they didn't know Jiang Xiaoqi's location, and they were just rushing around like headless flies.
They didn't linger in battle when they encountered the garrison, avoiding confrontation whenever possible, since their numbers outnumbered several times over, and they couldn't afford a direct confrontation.
To prevent the Japanese pirates from scattering, the garrison had already set up an encirclement around the perimeter.
At this moment, Prefect Li was waiting outside the encirclement, hoping the Japanese pirates would rush out.
Without exception, all the Japanese pirates who pretended to be on orders to pursue Jiang Xiaoqi but were actually fleeing for their lives were surrounded and captured by Prefect Li.
None of the Japanese pirates managed to break through the encirclement, after all, the encirclement was more than just one circle.
The encirclement, layer upon layer, took full advantage of its numerical superiority.
Prefect Li repeatedly felt how wise his decision was to borrow men and main force from the Kyoto garrison.
"Sir, we have captured the Japanese pirates who charged at us, but there are still some stubborn ones on the ship who are putting up a fight. We can't communicate with them because of the language barrier."
"Alright, everyone's worked hard. Tie everyone up tightly so they don't escape. As for those on the boat, they can't escape either!"
"Let the soldiers rescue the civilians first; otherwise, they might drown in the cabin."
"Yes, my lord!"
When Prefect Li first received the note, he knew the ship was leaking. Now that so much time has passed, the seawater in the cabin must have increased even more.
Prefect Li was worried that just when he saw the light at the end of the tunnel, the people were causing problems, which would be putting the cart before the horse.
Whether or not to capture the Japanese pirates is up to them; capturing them would just be a convenient way to stop them from continuing their evil deeds.
Even if we don't capture the Japanese pirates, successfully rescuing the people is still a victory.
However, to his surprise, the people took matters into their own hands and saved themselves.
The hatches of all three ships had been smashed open from the inside, and the civilians helped each other climb out of the cabins.
Although they were soaked and disheveled, their eyes shone with the joy of surviving a disaster.
Occasionally, when they encountered the remaining Japanese pirates on the ship, they would step forward to help the soldiers fight and resolve the situation, and would not stand idly by just because they were unarmed.
At this moment, the Japanese pirates who were stubbornly resisting on the ship saw that the situation was hopeless and, just as Jiang Xiaoqi had predicted, took civilians hostage.
Prefect Li frowned, realizing he had miscalculated and was at a loss for what to do next, truly hesitant to act rashly for fear of harming the innocent.
The garrison commander wanted to fight the other side head-on to see whose sword was faster, but was stopped by Prefect Li.
"This is insane! Even the lives of a few civilians are still lives! Two people are just as important as two hundred!"
Although he managed to stop the man, Prefect Li was still annoyed, especially since he couldn't understand the nonsense the man was spouting. He was both anxious and angry.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
As three sharp sounds pierced the air, the Japanese pirates who were holding three hostages collapsed.
"what!"
There was no time to leave a last message, nor to see clearly who had done it.
The three leaders were shot in the throat by arrows and died on the spot.
"This is! Lord Li, this was your arrangement! Why didn't you say so sooner that you had a backup plan? You made me worry for nothing!"
Prefect Li was somewhat bewildered. Had he arranged a backup plan? When had he arranged a backup plan?
Ah no, even if I had thought of it and made arrangements, I simply don't have any sharpshooters under my command who can hit a target from a hundred paces away!
But now is not the time to talk about these things. Let's just consider it a blessing from the gods that they sent heavenly soldiers and generals to help us.
After shooting three arrows, Jiang Tianbing Tianjiang Xiaoqi finally left.
The system has already scanned the ship; there are no more combat-capable Japanese pirates left. I can return to the capital now.
Prefect Li ordered his men to search the three leaking cargo ships thoroughly, inside and out, to ensure that no one escaped.
Now that we have detained these foreign Japanese pirates, we cannot give them the opportunity to inform us and return to their tiny island!
All the civilians on the three cargo ships were successfully rescued, and the Japanese pirates were all captured.
The ropes used to bind the common people were now being used to tie up the Japanese pirates, strung together in a chain. Lord Li planned to have them walk back to the capital.
The rescue operation was a great success. However, what pleased Prefect Li the most was that his side suffered almost no casualties. At most, they were injured, and they would be back to their old selves after a rest.
"Hahaha, we've really done a great job! Hahahaha!"
Prefect Li rarely showed his emotions so openly. At this moment, he didn't know what was wrong with him; he just felt incredibly happy.
The garrison commander and his soldiers couldn't stop smiling, completely unconcerned that their robes were half-soaked from searching the cabin.
"That's right, once we return to the capital and report back, we'll reward the brothers according to their merits!"
A string of Japanese pirates were tied up and taken away, and three cargo ships were also seized.
Besides the two hundred able-bodied men who had been taken from the ship, there were still quite a few valuable items on board.
If the owner can be found, we will try to return it; otherwise, it will be confiscated.
We can't let the Japanese pirates take it out to sea. Those damned bastards have probably committed countless other crimes in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
After the aftermath was mostly dealt with, Prefect Li finally remembered the crux of the matter.
Who exactly punctured the three ships? And who sent a cat to deliver a message?
Who defeated what appeared to be a formidable main force of Japanese pirates? And who fired three arrows at the crucial moment to successfully rescue the hostages?
Surely it couldn't really be some kind of reinforcements sent by the Jade Emperor? He preferred to believe it was the Emperor or the Prince of Xuan Nan rather than the Jade Emperor.
But that's impossible, since I didn't report it at all.
Who exactly is this timely help?
He helped in just the right way, never seeking credit or stealing the limelight. What was he after?