I am Emperor Shizu of Song

Chapter 20: Use Yang Zhi to attract hatred first

If a regular army were to fight and find that the enemy was prepared, they might choose to retreat.

However, the behavior patterns of bandits obviously cannot be speculated based on the behavior of regular troops.

Whether it is Shi Sheng or Lu Xing'er, as local heroes, their reputation and status in the world are very important.

If they clearly organized the game themselves, but when the time comes they realize something is not right and they just run away or even sell out the teammates they brought in to help them, then their reputation in the game will be completely ruined and they will never be able to survive again.

When two brave men meet in a narrow road, the braver one wins. Even if the initial battle is not favorable, as long as it is not a situation where they are bound to lose and die, they will choose to gamble to the end.

"Don't be afraid, brothers! Fight together! These damn officers and soldiers are just a little clever, they'll be scared once we charge them!"

Shi Sheng and Lu Xing'er, cheering, led two teams of pirates disguised as vegetable transport ships, paddling rapidly towards the official fleet of Yang Zhi and Zhao Zicheng. Before the battle, the distance between the two sides was only a few dozen feet, and they could reach each other in less than half a cup of tea.

"Shoot!" On the Hua Shi Gang ship, Yang Zhi quickly adjusted his state, calmed down from the initial surprise of encountering the water ghosts sabotaging the ship, and calmly ordered the soldiers to shoot arrows.

Twenty crossbows and at least fifty ordinary bows began to shoot arrows at the surrounding pirate ships. Everyone could only fight on their own and shoot at the enemy ship that was closest and posed the greatest threat. There was no officer to assign targets.

"Ahhh..." Several sailors rowing and paddling on the pirate ship were caught in the rain of arrows because they neglected to take cover. They screamed and fell to the deck. The pirate ship's momentum was slightly dampened.

But soon, more fierce bandits replaced the rowers and rowed the boat vigorously. At the same time, other bandits reacted and took out simple round shields, rattan shields, and even wooden boards shaped like door panels to block the rain of arrows.

"This group's idea is really tricky. Brothers, don't leave any survivors after jumping onto the official ship! Avenge our brothers who died in the battle!" Shi Sheng saw that the casualties on his side were increasing, which further aroused the cruelty in his heart.

Unfortunately, the Jiangnan wing soldiers were clearly terrible archers. Only Yang Zhi's personal guards and the Murong family's retainers were any good; the rest of the soldiers were practically firing indiscriminately. After suffering over a dozen casualties, the pirates successfully landed on Yang Zhi's boat.

"Brother Zhao, Envoy Yang is surrounded by pirate ships!" Murong Yan looked at the enemy ships surrounding him, feeling quite worried, and her palms were sweating with nervousness.

"The Song Dynasty's military preparations have fallen into disrepair to such an extent that even the troops stationed in the hinterland prefectures and cities can't shoot arrows properly."

Zhao Zi said that although he was mentally prepared, it was indeed the first time for him to witness the army of this era fighting. Seeing this, he was really disappointed and couldn't help but spit a few words.

With such soldier quality, it is no wonder that they couldn't even defeat the remnants of the Liao Kingdom who were beaten to a pulp by the Jin soldiers. They couldn't even take advantage of the situation to snatch heads, but instead exposed their own weakness.

Moreover, in history, those who were later sent to fight against the remnants of the Liao Dynasty were at least the elite of the Western Army. The Xiang Army in the rich hinterland of the Central Plains was many times worse than the Western Army.

However, Zhao Zicheng knew that at this critical moment, he had to keep himself stable. He was the anchor of this fleet and must not let things get out of control.

So he forced himself to remain calm and comfort Murong Yan and Deng Yue, as well as the other soldiers on his ship:

"Don't worry, everyone! Envoy Yang's siege was part of our plan. His ship only has a rockery and no other valuables. With Envoy Yang's martial arts skills, if he retreats to the stern cabin with his personal guards, no matter how many pirates come, they will be useless!"
The pirates are here for the money, and they're reluctant to sink the ship. By the time they realize the treasure is with us, they'll be at the end of their rope!

After hearing this, the stewards and soldiers on the same ship all felt that it made a lot of sense, and their morale immediately stabilized.

In this fleet, Yang Zhi's ship was the only one that was different and particularly conspicuous, because his ship was loaded with the artificial mountain that was to be transported to Tokyo to repair Genyue. The cargo was too large, so they had to remove the roof of the cargo hold in the middle of the ship and cover the cargo with cloth.

For the other ships, whether carrying grain or jewels, Zhao Zicheng carefully adjusted the overload to ensure that although the density of the treasures was high, the total tonnage of the entire ship's cargo was similar. In addition, the cargoes could be broken down into small pieces, so the difference could not be seen from the outside.

So even if they encountered thieves, they would definitely target Yang Zhi's boat first, because he was the most conspicuous.

Then let Yang Zhi attract the fire first to tire out the enemy.

……

"Death to the thief!"

On the boat where Yang Zhi himself was sitting, he was brandishing a spear and performing a set of Yang family spear techniques with great force.

On the first pirate ship that approached Yang Zhi's boat, almost no pirate soldiers were able to successfully jump on board. They were all blocked by Yang Zhi along the side of the ship.

Several bandits had just thrown the grappling hook over the boat, and then tried to use the tension of the grappling hook rope to jump, but were stabbed to death by Yang Zhi in mid-air.

Such might and bravery really frightened the following bandits.

However, Yang Zhi was unable to cope with the situation as more than one pirate ship was approaching.

Soon, a pirate ship from the other side swung a grappling hook over. A brave old pirate jumped over the side of the ship and killed a Song soldier with one knife.

Yang Zhi hurriedly tried to turn around and run to the other side of the boat to plug the leak, but the boat was shaking on the river, and he was not a good swimmer, so he was unstable and almost fell. In the end, he was quick-eyed and quick-handed and used the gun barrel to steady his body.

The bandits on Yang Zhi's side who were originally intimidated saw that he was almost falling to the ground, and thought that this was their chance to take advantage of him. Several of them quickly jumped over the side of the boat and stabbed him in the back with their knives.

Yang Zhi struggled to steady himself. Seeing that he was already close to the enemy and could not pierce with his spear, he turned the spear head and swept it with the butt. With a powerful sweep, he temporarily forced several thieves away.

However, there was one extremely vicious person among the group of thieves. He saw that what was sweeping towards him was only the barrel of a gun and that even if he was hit, it would not be fatal. So he gritted his teeth, dropped his weapon, and struggled to hold on to the barrel of the gun.

Yang Zhi's force was so great that it struck the man's chest and abdomen like a heavy blow, causing him to vomit blood. However, Yang Zhi's spear's momentum was also slowed down, and he was almost knocked off his feet.

The remaining bandits dodged the sweep and were overjoyed to see their companions holding onto their guns. They all attacked Yang Zhi's head with a chop.

Yang Zhi gritted his teeth and had to throw away his gun. He drew out his family heirloom sword and swung it back with all his might. With a flash of cold light, the two bandits in the front were immediately cut in half.

"Retreat to the aft cabin! Don't fight the thieves on the deck! We'll be surrounded!"

After killing the two thieves, Yang Zhi panted and ordered his soldiers to carry out the plan. The soldiers fought and retreated, forming a formation to defend the high point at the stern of the ship.

Yang Zhi made two feints with his sword and turned to retreat. He had realized that the river was unstable and that with his swimming ability, he couldn't use a long weapon with both hands. He could only use the sword with one hand, freeing up the other hand. In this way, if he lost his balance, he could hold on to the side of the boat or the deck to avoid falling.

If both hands are occupied by weapons, once you fall, the thief will not give you a chance to get up again.

"No wonder most people who fight on water use short weapons. It was really risky to use a long spear just now." Yang Zhi couldn't help but feel scared when he thought about how he almost fell.

"That Yang can't wield the Yang family spear anymore! Brothers, come at him side by side! Use your spears and harpoons to fight him!"

"Don't be afraid of his sword! It can't reach as far as a javelin!"

When the pirates saw that he had abandoned his gun, they were not so afraid of him anymore, even though he still had a sharp sword.

The pirates were much better swimmers than Yang Zhi, and could use longer weapons steadily on the boat, hoping that every inch longer was an inch stronger, and they could kill the enemy with a sudden stab.

Yang Zhi fought and retreated, hid in the stern cabin and guarded the gangway, and chopped down any thieves who came up.

Because the terrain was narrow and Yang Zhi did not block the entrance directly, but blocked the view from the side of the gangway, the bandits could not use their weapons. In addition, as the terrain became narrower, Yang Zhi had many places to hold on to and was no longer afraid of falling, and his martial arts skills were immediately put to good use.

On the pirate ship next to the official ship, Lu Xing'er, the leader of the Wuxing pirates, who was now nicknamed "Leader of the Giant Whale Gang" by Zhu Jie, looked at Yang Zhi's performance with a serious expression.

More than a dozen of his men had already died on this ship, and seven or eight of them were killed by Yang Zhi alone.

Seeing Yang Zhi retreating to the tail cabin and holding on very firmly relying on the terrain, Lu Xing'er also became a little anxious.

"We can't fight like this. All of you, follow me. That guy named Yang has retreated to the stern. He has the advantage of high ground and a commanding position. But he can't protect the cargo hold with this kind of tactics. Let's lift the cargo first. Leave a few of our best guys to block the aft gangway with harpoons and spears. Let's see if he'll be scared!"

"What a great plan, boss! We're here to seek wealth. All we have to do is take a few more boxes of his gold and silver treasures, and then steal the secret manual from the thief Huang from Fuzhou. We won't be afraid that Yang won't come after us!"

If Yang Zhi didn't chase him, Lu Xing'er wouldn't care. He was doing it for profit. It didn't matter whether he could kill Yang Zhi or not. Why did he have to fight to the death?

The bandits of the "Giant Whale Gang" quickly took control of the deck of the ship where Yang Zhi was sitting, and then began to search the bottom cabin, but in less than two minutes, they discovered a tragic fact.

"Boss! The cargo is not on the ship. This ship is loaded with this rockery!"

"What?" Lu Xing'er was very unwilling to accept this and realized that he had been tricked again.

He quickly raised his eyes and saw that the river was in chaos. The other eight ordinary grain ships were also engaged in fierce battles with the pirates.

The pirates might not really want to engage the grain transport, but the officers and captains on the grain transport would also want to reinforce Yang Zhi. With each side having their own agenda, a melee was inevitable.

In this kind of one-on-one melee, both sides had their wins and losses. In several local battlefields, the pirates had the upper hand, and in several places, the officers and soldiers had the upper hand, but this was obviously not important.

Since there is nothing valuable on most ships, what is the point of pirates and soldiers fighting each other for their lives?

Lu Xing'er glanced around a few more times and finally found something unusual.

It turned out that Shi Sheng's boat had discovered something was wrong earlier than himself, and had abandoned Yang Zhi's boat and headed towards another grain ship. The two sides soon engaged in a fierce battle.

"Why did Gang Leader Shi's ship go there? Could it be that the one he just targeted is the real treasure ship? Let's go too! Let's not fight this guy named Yang in vain!"

However, in this chaotic battlefield, not everyone has the same sharp vision as a big boss like Lu Xing'er.

More pirate boats, unable to identify any truly valuable targets, could only fight in a chaotic manner like headless flies, or continue to be attracted by Yang Zhi's boat.

Although Shi Sheng knew the enemy best and finally set his sights on Zhao Zicheng's ship, he forgot that he had just experienced a bloody battle and was already exhausted.

Moreover, there were not many men who came with him, and most of them were still caught in the melee.

"It doesn't matter! Except for Yang Zhi, the others' martial arts are not worth mentioning! We are enough heroes! Even if there are fifty officers and soldiers on that ship, they can't withstand our slaughter!"

Shi Sheng tried his best to encourage himself and his subordinates, and he even believed it himself.

-

PS: I'm really ashamed. So much has happened over the past year that I've been completely down and out for so long. So much so that I haven't checked the backend since March of last year. I haven't even checked my monthly manuscript fee results; I have to wait for the bank card text message to arrive.

I was afraid that I would lose the courage to write this book, so I never dared to look at the backstage.

I didn’t expect that “Malaysia’s Nick Cheung” rewarded me with the title of leader last week. Today, when I wanted to check the recommended position message in the background, I saw the notification of leader.

Thank you, thank you, I don't know what to say, I really didn't mean to not see it in time. I feel unworthy of it, so please don't give me any more rewards.

"Malaysia's Nick Cheung" has been the leader for almost ten years and has supported so many books. He is truly a man of great loyalty.

Because I have given up the habit of looking at the backstage, I can't see the rewards, and it's easy to miss the thanks.

Also, I asked around and found out that the website's system has been changed. They no longer use the "one dollar reward to calculate the number of active fans" indicator, so I haven't asked for a one dollar reward from anyone for this book.

The writing of this book is a bit messy. I had a good outline at the beginning, but later I let myself go and added too many elements.

I know that this way of writing will definitely lead to "some book lovers like to read these elements, while other readers like to read other elements." I would be ashamed to reward such a mixed work.

(End of this chapter)