Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

Sure enough, not long after, a commotion broke out not far from the village.

Hunt noticed the commotion and summoned all the Dutch soldiers back to line them up, waiting for the Spanish to arrive.

"Brother, why are these Dutchmen lined up waiting to be shot? Wouldn't it be better for me to just stand inside the house and use my musket to shoot them?"

"Have you never used a firearm before? With that aim, do you think you could hit anyone with two shots fired inside a house?"

"Hehe, that'll scare people!"

Instead of directly bringing his 300 men into the Dutch ranks, Liu Qingjiang deployed his troops throughout the village, using the cover to ambush them.

When enemies meet, their eyes blaze with hatred, and a fight is about to break out between them.

The gunfire was deafening, and many people fell to the ground. However, the overall density of the gunfire was not high, and the distance between them was relatively far. Although there were casualties, they were not so severe that they could be wiped out in platoons.

After two rounds of gunfire, a roar of charge erupted. Looking from the side, Liu Qingjiang knew that the matter was over.

The troops that came out from the chicken coop were definitely just an advance force; there must be more following behind, and judging from the number of people, this advance force was quite large!

More importantly, they started fighting hard as soon as they arrived, and have already exhausted some of their strength. If they continue to fight the Spanish, they will inevitably be at a disadvantage.

Just as Liu Qingjiang was still hesitating whether to break out from the flank to help Hunter, a Spanish flanking force sneaked into the village from the entrance.

"Big brother! Big brother!" the younger brother shouted in a low voice, "Look! The Spaniards are coming!"

Liu Qingjiang took a closer look and pressed his hand down on his subordinate: "Don't rush, get closer and hit him."

Just as the Spanish were stealthily making their way into the village, suddenly gunfire and arrows erupted, catching them completely off guard. They didn't know which direction to defend, so they could only fire wildly from the white smoke.

But Liu Qingjiang's men were hit and run, firing one shot and then leaving, using the walls as cover, making them impossible to touch.

After two or three rounds, the Spanish soldiers were completely demoralized. Taking advantage of this opportunity, they charged out and wiped out the Spaniards.

But this was only a small, localized victory; Hunter was already at a disadvantage on the main battlefield.

To say that they've fallen into a disadvantageous position might be a bit too optimistic.

Liu Qingjiang turned around and saw that the Dutchman in front of him was surrounded on three sides. In a little while, even the gap in his backside would be lost.

Then none of them will be able to leave!

But not saving them is not an option either.

If all the Dutchmen are dead, how do you explain Liu Qingjiang returning alone with his men?

"The men I, Liu Qingjiang, lead are all soldiers possessed by God; they're not afraid of these things."

Or was it Hunter who took the initiative to cover the rear, allowing Liu Qingjiang to lead the team away?

Or perhaps we split up and Hunter was finished?

Neither of these scenarios would provide a satisfactory explanation to Hans. If that were to happen, the only acceptable outcome would be if Liu Qingjiang managed to escape with the last few men.

Instead of returning with hundreds of people.

He had to save them, he thought. He observed carefully and noticed that the Spanish formation near the village was relatively weak.

Without a second thought, he led his men out of the village and charged out.

The Spaniards, who assumed the village was inhabited by their own people, paid little attention until they rushed out and saw a group of people with Asian faces, at which point they panicked.

Where did these guys come from? What happened to the people who went in earlier?

The Spanish on the flank collapsed instantly, greatly relieving the pressure on Hunter's troops.

At this moment, Hunter saw Liu Qingjiang, who had broken out from the flank, panting heavily as he said, "Thank God, thank God for his words."

When the Spanish saw several hundred men attacking from their flank and their left flank collapsing, this situation affected their own troops on other flanks, causing a momentary unease in morale.

The main force was Liu Qingjiang and his group forming small formations and relentlessly charging into the enemy's ranks.

Although they didn't completely tear it apart, it created countless small holes in the Spanish team's formation, much like a honeycomb.

As their ranks began to crumble, the Spanish vanguard, seeing their casualties mounting, retreated.

Whether out of a bloodthirsty rage or something else, Hunt, taking advantage of the Spaniards' retreat, issued an order to continue the pursuit.

Liu Qingjiang quickly stopped him, interrupting his order.

"Sir, this should be the troops that came out of the chicken coop. There should still be some of them behind us who haven't arrived yet. Now that we've finally managed to drive them back, we need to get out of there as soon as possible. Otherwise, if we get entangled, it will be too late to leave."

"What do you know! We beat them to a pulp! Look, they've all run away! They've all run away!"

"Sir, look at the way they retreated; it doesn't seem like a complete rout! Even if you chase after them, they still have the fighting power! Look at everyone now!"

Listening to Liu Qingjiang's words, Hunter finally woke up and looked at the soldiers around him. Some were wounded, some were dead, and most importantly, the wounded were not receiving timely medical treatment.

Although their own people had just won a victory, no one seemed to be beaming with joy; the victory appeared rather bitter.

Hunter finally faced reality and gave the order for a rapid retreat.

As Liu Qingjiang had predicted, shortly after the Spanish vanguard withdrew, they encountered reinforcements from Keelung City. They turned back and continued their southward advance, intending to capture the Dutch who had invaded from the north.

But they found nothing. They sent some troops to investigate, but still couldn't find anyone.

They didn't understand why the Dutch were able to retreat so quickly, but they certainly suffered a setback.

The village was burned, people were killed, and the battle on the front lines had not yet been won!

This ugliness was etched clearly in Moore's mind.

Upon returning to Fort Zeelandia, Governor Hans was displeased to see his army return to the city in such a disheveled state.

"Hunter? He didn't beat that bitch-born Spaniard?" Hans asked seriously.

"Sir, we won," Liu Qingjiang answered Hans's question. "We reached the vicinity of Keelung, burned down the villages surrounding the Spanish, and even fought a battle with them near Keelung. We won, but the Spanish have reinforcements, and we were worried about being surrounded, so we withdrew first."

Fortunately, we won, and thankfully, we achieved our original goal.

Although there were casualties, the Spanish suffered far greater losses, which goes without saying.

Hans then asked the two for specific details to understand the situation.

Liu Qingjiang, who thought he would be criticized or even punished by Hans, instead received Hans's affirmation and appreciation.

If it weren't for Liu Qingjiang's timely rescue, the hundreds of men led by Hunter would have died there.

"Thank you all for your hard work. The celebration banquet is ready, please enjoy it." Hans said and left, leaving only Liu Qingjiang and Hunter behind.

The two looked at each other; there was no translator.

Hunter bowed to Liu Qingjiang, and Liu Qingjiang returned the bow with a fist and palm salute.