I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 23: Defeat the Japanese Pirates
Chen Dacheng, Wu Weizhong, Chen Ziluan and Tong Ziming each led a thousand men from their own army, divided into four groups, and went down to the coast.

When they arrived at the mudflat, the soldiers and officers spread the bundles of grass they were carrying on the mud.

Taking turns, they soon paved four long roads in the mud.

There were also auxiliary soldiers and civilian laborers who carried door panels, box lids and other miscellaneous wooden boards, walked along the weedy road into the deep mud, and laid the boards on the mud.

The soldiers passed quickly through the weeds and wooden boards.

Although the mud and water splashed everywhere, one could pass through it quickly without getting stuck in the mud like usual, making it difficult to move forward.

"The soldiers are coming!"

There was someone on guard on Hengyu Island. When he saw the movements of Qi's army, he immediately sounded the alarm.

The island became busy, with Japanese pirates running around. Most of them spoke local or Zhejiang dialect, and only a few of them were chattering in incomprehensible words. They were the real Japanese.

"General, the patrol navy didn't see it!" The general pointed to the sea in the distance and said to Qi Jiguang.

Qi Jiguang and the soldiers in the central army looked out to sea and saw the lonely Hengyu Island and the empty sea surface.

"What should we do?" asked a general.

"Never mind it!" Qi Jiguang said with a grim face.

This is the characteristic of the Ming army's combat. They act on their own during the battle and blame each other after the battle.

Combat requires close coordination and cooperation among all departments, and is a very rigorous and serious matter.

However, the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty controlled the Ming army through the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue, and brought the casual atmosphere of literati into the army.

The result was that military preparations were neglected, morale was low, and the military qualities passed down from generation to generation by the military families were completely suppressed by the style of the civilian officials.

It seems that the Second Naval Patrol Team has made the same old mistake today, being careless and not taking the agreed time seriously.

But things had come to this point and the war had to go on. Qi Jiguang could only hope that there were not many ships on the island and that not too many Japanese pirates would escape later, or that Zhang Han would arrive later with the second naval division under the strict order of Hu Bingbu.

When Qi's army was halfway through its charge, they began to gather troops on the island. They lined up three or four hundred meters away from the island shore, ready to deal a heavy blow to Qi's army.

Seeing this situation, Qi Jiguang knew that he had won half the battle.

The Japanese pirates were already half timid when they saw that their own troops were numerous and in high spirits. If they really dared to fight, they would line up to block their own troops on the mudflats and prevent them from landing.

After rushing through two-thirds of the journey, the troops from the four routes began to gather and formed a mandarin duck formation.

This is the formation created by Qi Jiguang.

The Mandarin Duck Formation consists of eleven people in a team, with the captain at the front, who is experienced and brave in combat.

The next two people hold a long card and a shield card.

The next two people are the wolf-whip bearers, holding the wolf-whips.

The wolf stick is made from old and solid bamboo grown in the south. The ends of the bamboo are cut obliquely into a point, leaving sharp branches around. Each wolf stick is about three meters long.
Next came four spearmen holding long spears, two on each side, to take care of the shieldmen and wolf-whipmen on the left and right sides. Following them were two soldiers holding "镗帕" (a type of spear with a halberd), who were responsible for guarding and supporting.

Seeing Qi's army set up the Mandarin Duck Formation, the Japanese pirates on the island screamed in fear.

It seems that he had suffered a great loss before.

Their screams caused the Japanese pirates to waver further.

The Japanese pirates' greatest reliance was the mudflats between Hengyu Island and the coast. This natural barrier that made it difficult for people and ships to pass through was breached today, and they were half heartbroken.

Swipe!

A real Japanese came out and chopped down several Japanese soldiers who were trying to escape secretly, and then talked loudly in a babble.

It was nothing more than the officers and soldiers being timid. They looked outnumbered and powerful, but in reality they were not to be feared. When the battle came, these Japanese, armed with sharp blades, would charge fiercely, and the officers and soldiers would be thrown into confusion. Then everyone would rush forward and defeat the officers and soldiers.

It is not known whether this agitation has any effect, but the Japanese pirates seem to have become more stable.

Qi's army was divided into four groups, and dozens of mandarin duck formations rushed ashore and continuously rushed towards the Japanese pirates in formation. As soon as the battle started, the Japanese pirates were scattered. The mandarin duck formation then changed from a column to a horizontal column.

One formation becomes two small formations on the left and right or three small formations on the left, middle and right.

It becomes two small formations and is called the "Two Talents Formation".

The left and right shield men followed the left and right wolf-whip men, spear men and short-weapon men respectively to protect their attack.

When it becomes three small formations, it is called the "Three Talents Formation", with the wolf-whip bearers, spear bearers and short-weapon bearers in the middle, and shield bearers guarding on the left and right sides.

A group of real Japanese soldiers rushed out, holding sharp Japanese swords, and lined up to attack Qi's army aggressively.

The wolf-whip wielder rushed forward without hesitation, and the more than three-meter-long wolf-whip caught the Japanese pirate head-on.

Although the Japanese swords in their hands were sharp, it was very difficult to chop the extremely tough wolf-whip bamboo and they were blocked in an instant.

The wolf-whip fighter held the wolf-whip and stabbed and swept at the real Japanese.

The bamboo tip of the wolf whisk was cut obliquely into a sharp point. Once stabbed, it would leave a bloody hole, either death or injury. After a sweep, the sharp branches around would scrape the body, leaving a deep and long bloody wound.

While the real Japanese were in a state of panic due to the wolf-whip, the spearmen attacked from the left and right, killing the real Japanese step by step. If they were not careful, they would be stabbed to death or injured.

These tactics were repeatedly improved by Qi's army in many battles in Zhejiang, and were very effective.

The real Japanese were the main targets of Qi's army. They were either killed or captured, and few of them escaped.

It is estimated that this group of real Japanese on Hengyu Island were recruited and lured here from the Eastern Japanese not long ago. They were unaware of the power of the Qi family army's Mandarin Duck Formation and were killed and wounded heavily.

The real Japanese could not hold out, and the Japanese who were actually local pirates lost their courage and turned around and ran away. They abandoned their weapons and only wanted to run faster than their companions.

They ran to the east coast of the island, launched their small boats, jumped on board, and rowed toward the eastern sea.

On Xiaowang Mountain on the coast, Qi Jiguang, who had a clear view of the battle situation on Hengyu Island, had a grim look on his face.

Seven or eight hundred Japanese pirates pushed out dozens of small boats, squeezed in, and fled in panic.

The Qi family army chased them desperately, but when they reached the coast, they were powerless and could only watch these Japanese pirates escape.

"Damn it! Zhang Han missed the chance to fight!"

Qi Jiguang’s teeth were about to break!

Zhang Han, Lu Tong, I must go to Hu Bu Tang to file a complaint against you!
Look at the navy you led. They missed the golden opportunity and ended up letting the main force of the Japanese pirates escape, causing all your efforts to fail!
"General, look!"

Suddenly, a general pointed to the sea east of Hengyu Island and shouted.

When everyone heard the sound and looked, they saw a fleet of ships coming out from the distant cape. Leading the way was a Portuguese warship with its sails blown in the wind. In an instant, it was blocking the way of the Japanese pirates' fleeing ship by five or six hundred meters.

Then, the muskets roared, and the smoke rose all over the sea. The muskets of all sizes were fired at the pirates' ships. The archers were high above, and their arrows rained down on the pirates.

The sudden attack caused the fleeing Japanese pirates to panic.

The Japanese pirates on the boat were hit by arrows and lead bullets and fell into the water screaming, and the sea surface quickly turned red.

The panicked Japanese pirates rowed desperately and fled in other directions, but they collided with each other, and their boats capsized and people fell into the water.

The navy warships blocked the escape route to the east, and then sent out dozens of small boats, equipped with muskets and archers, to give chase.

Some of them chased the fleeing Japanese pirates, firing muskets and bows and arrows continuously, and people kept falling into the water.

Some of them wanted to take advantage of the situation. When they saw the Japanese pirates screaming and yelling in the water, they poked them with their spears without hesitation, until the nearby sea surface was covered with blood.

Qi Jiguang saw this and breathed a sigh of relief.

The battle of Hengyu Island was a perfect victory!

(End of this chapter)