Chapter 945 - 784: Firearms (2)

Once a person has answers in their heart, all clues seem to converge: the silhouette is familiar, the way of wielding the sword is familiar, the footsteps are familiar, but unfortunately, the straw coat obscures the view, leaving Jin Zhu somewhat uncertain.

Distracted for a moment, Jin Zhu’s steps slowed down, revealing an opening. A pirate swung his sword towards Heavenly Horse, who turned around, drew his bow, and shot through the pirate at close range.

Heavenly Horse glared at Jin Zhu, who snapped back to reality and hurriedly positioned himself firmly beside Heavenly Horse.

At this moment, Old Ears and Chen Ji were getting closer to the sound of the drums.

Old Ears charged ahead, breaking through the formation by cutting down two pirates. The drums were now within reach. However, as they broke through the encirclement, they saw hundreds of pirate archers already stationed there.

Jin Zhu cursed loudly, "Damn it, the pirates intentionally used the drums to lure us here!"

Shouts rang out from afar, and hundreds of pirates opened fire, sending a dense rain of arrows covering a radius of several dozen steps, leaving no gaps, aiming to pin down Chen Ji and the others along with the pirates around them.

In an instant, Jin Zhu pulled Heavenly Horse close, turned his back, and met the arrows with his Do-maru Armor, securely shielding Heavenly Horse. Seeing this, Yuan Xing ducked behind Heavenly Horse and curled into a ball.

As the rain of arrows was about to strike, a dazzling sword light burst forth from Chen Ji’s bosom, broad and several feet wide, rising upward as if a crescent moon from the heavens was reflecting on the long river of the world.

Jiang Liuxian’s sword carried hatred—hatred for everything in the world, everyone, and herself; Liang Gou’er’s sword was domineering, not believing there was anything that couldn’t be cut; whereas Wu Yun’s strike was disdainful, delivering a cut as if to show the Heavenly Venerate what kind of entity you truly were.

This strike even made Old Ears blurt out a soft surprise, turning to look at Chen Ji’s bosom.

At this moment, the rain of arrows fell.

The Sword Gang swept upward, opening a gap in the dense arrow rain as if parting a river.

Jin Zhu kept his eyes shut, bracing against the rain of arrows, but arrows thudded into the ground all around him without causing any pain to his body. He opened his eyes to see arrows densely surrounding him, yet the spot they stood on was untouched.

Jin Zhu suddenly turned around to see yet another rain of arrows approaching. Before it hit, another Sword Gang from in front of Chen Ji swept upward, cleaving a gap in the rain, as if no matter how the arrows fell, they would never strike the five of them.

Jin Zhu stared at the Sword Gang in disbelief, "Liang Family’s Saber Technique?"

He couldn’t understand how he was seeing Liang Family’s Saber Technique here. Jin Zhu was certain Chen Ji hadn’t learned the Liang Family’s Saber Technique, so was this person not Chen Ji? But who from the Zhang Family would know Liang Family’s Saber Technique? Surely not Liang Gou’er returning, could it be the Princely Heir, Liang Mao’er?

These two strikes, ironically, left him deeply puzzled.

Before Jin Zhu could make sense of it, Chen Ji shouted, "Go!"

He and Old Ears turned northward, no longer searching for the Great Wokou Leader, instead leading the group towards Jingjiang County.

On the Five-masted Treasure Ship, Hu Junye held the thousand-mile mirror, watching Chen Ji and the others fight their way back to the city from afar, stepping onto a pre-prepared ladder back into Jingjiang County.

They retreated without a scratch.

The deck was silent, and Manager Wang from the Wang Family cautiously observed Hu Junye, who gradually lowered the thousand-mile mirror without a word.

Manager Wang from the Wang Family spoke softly, "Mr. Hu, please be patient. With thousands of Anti-Japanese Army holding the position, Jingjiang County is bound to be breached sooner or later. You can rest easy for a few more days..."

Hu Junye folded the mirror into a short copper pipe, and said slowly, "These five are skilled, individually they might be surrounded and killed, but together, they cannot be overwhelmed by mere numbers. They leave as they please, stay as they please, how can pirates deal with them?"

Manager Wang felt slightly embarrassed, "Pirates aren’t trained soldiers after all, they’re not elite..."

Hu Junye descended from the stern tower, arrived at the bow, stood with hands clasped behind, speaking no more.

After an hour, dawn broke.

The pirate encampment raised chevaux de frise towards Jingjiang County, and even hastily erected seven rudimentary arrow towers.

Yet Chen Ji and the others left the city from the east, maneuvered to the flank of the camp, and surprisingly attacked the camp once again, forcing the pirates to retreat over two hundred steps, relocating the camp to the tidal flats.

The original pirate encampment lay in shambles, the tattered tents flapping noisily in the river breeze. This scene was less of a pirate siege and more like the pirates being surrounded on the flats with nowhere to retreat.

Hu Junye chuckled softly, "A ragtag bunch."

Manager Wang from the Wang Family spoke quietly, "Mr. Hu, do you have any good ideas?"

Hu Junye replied casually, "Take out the firearms and matchlock guns bought from the Franks, and give them to the pirates."

Manager Wang’s expression changed, instinctively straightening his posture, "What are you saying, Mr. Hu? When did my Wang Family buy such head-banging items? My Wang Family has never heard of the Franks possessing firearms and matchlock guns."

Hu Junye turned his face with a cold smirk, "Does the Wang Family think there are walls that cannot be penetrated under the heavens? In the autumn of the 32nd year of Jaining, a fleet of Franks landed in Haoguang Bay, bringing four hundred matchlock guns, two thousand four hundred pounds of gunpowder, seventy-two thousand lead bullets, sixteen hundred bundles of flint, and ten cannons, in exchange for porcelain, tea, and silk valued at fourteen thousand taels of silver."

Manager Wang from the Wang Family began to sweat, and Hu Junye turned towards him, his towering silhouette casting a large shadow over him, "Those firearms were brought into Haoguang Bay, shipped on treasure ships to Changsha Prefecture, then transported via canal to Nanchang Prefecture, and into Poyang Lake—since then, their whereabouts have been unknown... Does Manager Wang want me to continue?"

Manager Wang from the Wang Family wiped his sweat with his sleeve, "Mr. Hu, those firearms weren’t purchased by my Wang Family, maybe it’s the Qian Family or the Ji Family, they have better relations with the Franks."

"They don’t have the Wang Family’s audacity," Hu Junye chuckled, stamping his foot, "The ship that transported the firearms was surely this very one underneath my feet."

Manager Wang hesitated for quite a while, but as Hu Junye had made it clear to this extent, playing dumb was unnecessary, "Mr. Hu, how are you so informed?"

Hu Junye looked down, fixing his gaze on Manager Wang from the Wang Family, "My Hu Family also has roots in the Southern Ocean. When the Frank ships passed through Malacca, the matchlock guns and cannons weren’t secrets; the Johor Royal Family bought four hundred guns, the remaining four hundred were transported to Haoguang Bay. The Franks originally planned to sell the matchlock guns to Japan, but unexpectedly, Ning Dynasty merchants outbid them... Is the Wang Family planning an uprising with these purchases?"

Manager Wang from the Wang Family clenched his teeth, asking, "What does Mr. Hu want?"

Hu Junye calmly replied, "I don’t care about the Wang Family’s silver. Give the firearms to the pirates and let them kill the people in Jingjiang County. Use the cannons to breach the city walls, then use the matchlock guns against those in the Seeking Dao Realm. Guns are much faster than arrows."

Manager Wang deliberated for a moment, "The people in the city will likely not survive."

Hu Junye’s expression remained unchanged, "To accomplish great things, one can’t be concerned with small matters."

Manager Wang from the Wang Family said nothing, calculating rapidly in his mind. Hu Junye wasn’t in any hurry, simply waiting quietly.

Manager Wang pondered for a full thirty minutes before speaking harshly, "Mr. Hu, this head-banging matter can’t solely rest on my Wang Family, the Hu Family must..."

Hu Junye’s expression darkened, "A mere merchant dares bargain with my Hu Family?"

Manager Wang from the Wang Family bravely declared, "If Mr. Hu isn’t willing, then my Wang Family would rather forgo the sea trade register than stake our lives alone."

Hu Junye sneered, "Forgo the sea trade register? The Wang Family can’t forgo it now."

Manager Wang from the Wang Family hastily replied, "Mr. Hu, even if my Wang Family hands the matchlock guns over to the pirates, they won’t know how to use them. My Wang Family asks not much, just for Hu family Death Soldiers to teach the pirates how to use the guns... Additionally, my Wang Family wants an exclusive sea trade register, no second party competing for this business."

Hu Junye glared at him sidelong, "Exclusive?"

Manager Wang bowed deeply, "Hu Family eight, Wang Family two."

Hu Junye looked down at the nape of Manager Wang’s neck for a long time, then spoke contemptuously, "You do understand. Go now, if this succeeds, the Wang Family will enjoy wealth and prosperity."