Chapter 323 Island Landing Operation

What terrified Hu Laosan even more was that these arrows were tied with hemp ropes at the back, and after piercing into the deck, they were pulled back again.

The barbs on the arrowheads tore away large chunks of wood, instantly creating huge gaps in the ships. After two or three such volleys, his tower ships were already riddled with holes.

By the third volley, some deck planks finally could not hold on and were pulled off in their entirety. Hu Laosan felt a chill run through his whole body; he knew that there was a high probability he would not be able to escape today.

If the fighting continued, he would end up in the belly of a fish without even seeing the enemy.

Because the arrows could be reused, Cao Xing felt no heartache and kept ordering attacks. Finally, a tower ship could no longer hold up, and half of its deck planks were basically ripped away.

The tower ship, having lost its center of gravity, began to tilt and take on water. Those pirates who usually strutted around were now jumping into the sea like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

The battle continued until dusk. All twelve of Hu Laosan's tower ships were destroyed, and over four hundred pirates either met their end in the sea or were fished out and taken prisoner.

As for Hu Laosan himself, the iron armor he was so proud of became his death warrant. After falling into the water, he did not even have a chance to struggle before sinking straight to the bottom of the sea.

Seeing Hu Laosan sink to the bottom, Cao Xing slapped his thigh in regret.

"What a pity, what a pity about that set of iron armor!"

As for those pirates, according to Gao Yuan's policy, they were to be carefully screened without mercy.

After landing on the island, Cao Xing had the women and slaves who had been abducted identify the ringleaders, who were then beheaded on the spot. Others who had committed crimes were sent to Taiwan to work as forced laborers, while the remaining fewer than fifty people were given land and houses to settle down.

For these pitiful women and slaves, Cao Xing sent ships to take those who wished to return home to the Ming Prefecture area, and provided them with dry rations and travel expenses to return home.

However, most of these people had already lost their families and homes. Hearing that there was food, drink, land, and housing in Taiwan, they unanimously requested to settle in Taiwan and were no longer willing to return to such a heartbreaking place.

With the victory of the first naval battle, Cao Xing and the navy soldiers' confidence soared. Next came a clean sweep, as they successively wiped out four or five waves of pirates and rescued thousands of commoners.

For a time, in places like Taiwan and Ming Prefecture, Cao Xing and his men had become like living Buddhas who saved people from fire and water, enjoying the worship of many. This caused the fighting spirit of the navy soldiers to skyrocket even further.

If not for the arrival of the summer typhoon, Cao Xing would have wanted to wipe out all the pirates in one go.

As the saying goes, blessings do not come in pairs, but misfortunes never come singly. It was like a house leaking in the middle of a rainy night, or a rope breaking at its thinnest point. Great Qian was experiencing a powerful offensive from the north, and here they were hit by a strong typhoon that had not been seen in decades.

Not only were a large number of commoners killed or injured, but the land in several prefectures was almost completely devastated.

To make matters worse, a rumor had begun to spread throughout the south of the Yangtze River: that Xiao Yu, Cui You, and others had supported a puppet emperor, causing the heavens to be enraged, which in turn led to the hurricane.

It was truly a case of internal and external troubles; these Powerful Families, who were usually high-spirited, could be said to have encountered massive trouble.

In order to quell internal problems, and even more so to resolve the unfavorable situation of the war in the north, under the leadership of Xiao Yu and Cui You, the Powerful Families finally brought out their own savings.

A large amount of money and grain was brought out, and the disaster victims in various places received relief and soon settled down. Many disaster victims were even directly conscripted into the army.

Although the entry of a large number of disaster victims into the army would inevitably affect subsequent production, Xiao Yu and his peers could no longer worry about that. They knew that if Northern Liang broke through, then no matter how much wealth they had saved, it would all be for nothing.

Jiang Huaizhen, who was stationed in Shu Prefecture, soon received orders to lead twenty thousand new recruits north to resist Gao Hu's offensive and recover lost territory.

The Powerful Families were determined, and the resources they could bring out were truly astonishing. However, the situation on the Xu Prefecture battlefield was no longer optimistic.

Facing Gao Hu's fierce attack, General Ma Zhiyuan had attempted two counterattacks, but both resulted in heavy losses and forced retreats. Now, he and Zhu Song could only hold their camp to the death.

For this, they had to thank Gao Long. If it were not for his refusal to provide sufficient logistical support, which dragged down Gao Hu's pace, where would Zhu Song and the others have found the time to build a relatively solid camp?

Even so, after experiencing several days of fierce attacks, this camp was already somewhat precarious.

Zhu Song and General Ma Zhiyuan knew that the disparity in combat power between the two sides was great. Without the advantage of terrain, once the camp was breached, their army would most likely face a crushing defeat.

And once they were defeated, Meng Zhenshan, who was trapped in Pengcheng, would also be unable to escape his fate. Even if he could barely break out and head south across the river, it would inevitably be with heavy losses.

Learning of the emergency situation in Xu Prefecture, Jiang Huaizhen led his army day and night, hoping only to arrive in Xu Prefecture before the situation became unmanageable.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. These newly recruited disaster victims were not only physically weak but also untrained, and their military discipline was so lax that even the marching speed was greatly affected.

Looking at this hodgepodge of over twenty thousand people, Jiang Huaizhen felt extremely uneasy. He truly did not know whether sending these people to the battlefield would be a blessing or a curse.

But time waited for no one, and Jiang Huaizhen could only strengthen their training while on the march, hoping that once they reached Xu Prefecture, they would at least have the strength to fight.

At this moment, in the east, on the vast ocean, Cao Xing led his warships out to sea once again.

Thanks to these pirates being like scattered sand, and the poor flow of information at sea, these pirates still had not noticed anything unusual.

This time, Cao Xing's target was no longer the small bands of pirates from before, but the largest pirate force in the entire Weng Prefecture.

And this time, the method of attack was no longer naval warfare, but a landing operation.

This was a new topic that Gao Yuan had proposed to him, and it could be considered preparation for a future attack on the south of the Yangtze River.

Eighty heavy Treasure Ships carrying eight thousand Xuanjia Army soldiers, escorted by fifty fast Treasure Ships, approached the main island of Weng Prefecture.

The subordinates of the pirate leader Yin Wanbao spotted this massive fleet from afar.

When they first saw the ships, they thought business had arrived.

But they soon realized something was wrong; what merchant fleet would have such a large scale?

Especially when they saw the battle flags flying in the wind at the bows, they immediately panicked.

At first, Yin Wanbao thought it was some blind pirate group seeking their own death.

It was not until he climbed to the hilltop and saw the massive scale of the fleet that he was also somewhat dumbfounded.

"The... The Chief, it... it looks like the visitors are not here with good intentions. Wh... what should we do?"

Yin Wanbao glanced at his trembling subordinate beside him, and anger welled up within him.

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, he suppressed the fear in his heart, then pretended to be nonchalant and said sharply:

"Look at your cowardly appearance. My thousands of brothers on the island are afraid of such a small number of shrimp soldiers and crab generals? Pass the order down, tell all the brothers to be on high alert. I want to make sure these people never return."

To prevent the warships from running aground, all the heavy Treasure Ships soon stopped, and the soldiers boarded small boats to begin the landing.

Meanwhile, Yin Wanbao's pirates were frantically running out of gambling dens, taverns, or brothels to assemble.

The entire island was in chaos, while the abducted commoners were all trembling with fear.

They knew the nature of these pirates; no matter which side won, the victors would treat them with the savagery of beasts.

These disheveled pirates were just like that; their minds were filled only with ending the battle as quickly as possible so they could take their reward money and go back to continue their revelry.

But soon they were dumbfounded; the first to charge up were those light Treasure Ships with shallower drafts.

Without any wasted words, after all the Treasure Ships turned sideways, a barrage of huge stones came crashing down upon them.