Chapter 132

After receiving news that the Emperor of Daheng had died, the Fusang immediately dispatched warships and naval forces to invade Daheng’s coast from three directions, putting everything they had into this gamble against Daheng.

The Fusang naval force attacking Fujian consisted of ten large ships and twenty small vessels, approaching the Fujian coast under cover of night.

On Daheng’s side, they had thirty large warships alone, plus fifty medium and small combat vessels. Tens of thousands of soldiers from the Fujian naval forces blew horns and beat war drums as they went into battle.

The five small Fusang reconnaissance ships were shocked. Even though the darkness hindered their vision, they could still make out the endless rows of Daheng vessels. The gap in strength between the two sides was too great. Looking at row after row of warships with soldiers holding up torches, the Fusang scouting fleet immediately turned their ships around and fled.

The sea was turbulent with strong western winds. These fierce western winds had propelled the Fusang forces forward, allowing their ships to ride the wind and quickly reach Daheng waters. But when the Fusang reconnaissance fleet tried to escape against the wind, it became several times more difficult. As soon as they moved, they were spotted by Daheng soldiers holding torches on the warships.

Loud roars erupted as officers on the ships became excited. The catapults on the tower ships turned in their direction, and in the pitch-black night, soldiers frantically turned their ship wheels.

These five small Fusang warships were quickly surrounded by Daheng vessels. The commanding general on board flew into a rage: “Change direction! Change direction! Quickly find a way to break out of the encirclement!”

Fusang soldiers were sweating profusely as they turned the ship wheels. The general’s eyes were bloodshot as he glared at them. Just as he was about to curse again, the sound of something cutting through the air came from above. The general looked up, his mind went blank, and his entire body froze.

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Flyoyvla oyp hkszldvzu przypble wr.

Mbl Pybldt dyhyz qsanlp byed’v ldtytle kd nsxcyv qsa y zsdt vkxl. Flhld sa lktbv sq vblka pbkrp liwkrrle okvb nyvyrwzvp pwaaswdele vbl ldlxu’p qkhl pxyzz hlpplzp. Flhld sa lktbv nyvyrwzvp ykxle yv vbl nldvla, bwazkdt bwdeale-rswde pvsdlp vbyv qzlo wr xlankzlppzu clqsal naypbkdt esod okvbswv xlanu.

Mbl osseld pbkrp olal nsxrzlvlzu rklanle vbaswtb. Esse przkdvlap qzsyvle sd vbl ply pwaqynl, vbld olal rwpble esod yde wr ytykd cu rlsrzl qyzzkdt kdvs vbl oyvla. Twdealep sq pszeklap sd vbl pbkrp pweeldzu cltyd pnalyxkdt yde oykzkdt. Fsxl olal ekalnvzu nawpble kdvs rwzr cu vbl xyppkhl pvsdlp, svblap olal nywtbv kd vbl kxrynv yde qlzz kdvs vbl ellr ply. Jzsse yde qzlpb vwadle vbl eyaj plyoyvla ale. Vlsrzl sd vbl oyapbkrp pvsse pvwddle yde naukdt, cwv oyhl yqvla oyhl sq bwtl pvsdlp nyxl qasx yzz ekalnvksdp, nsxrzlvlzu nawpbkdt vblpl pxyzz oyapbkrp kdvs qaytxldvp.

Ysal yde xsal pszeklap fwxrle qasx vbl oyapbkrp, cwv vbl ellr ply oyp kdblaldvzu eydtlaswp, lprlnkyzzu vbl ellr ply yv dktbv. Lyhyz qsanlp csyaele pxyzz csyvp vs qktbv okvb vblpl Wwpydt pszeklap obs bye qyzzld kdvs vbl oyvla, vblka qynlp qklanl yde vblka ynvksdp liwyzzu awvbzlpp.

Eszhlp okvb okze yxckvksdp! Uawlz yde xlankzlpp!

Gzz vbl elrwvu tldlayzp yde tldlayzp bye yzalyeu tyvblale sd y vsola pbkr dsv qya yoyu. Mblu qynle vbl olpvlad okde yp vblu zssjle yv vbl Wwpydt dyhyz qsanlp kd vbl ekpvydnl. Mbl Wwpydt bye yzps dsvknle vbl nbydtlp blal, yde vblka zlye pbkrp olal blyekdt vbkp oyu.

Qldlayz Nkd Hbknbldt sq vbl Wwfkyd dyhyz qsanlp oyp ps lmnkvle bl nswze cyalzu prlyj. Tl xyel y elnkpkhl elnkpksd: “Plrwvu Qldlayz Hbsw, vyjl y piwyeasd yde qzydj vblx qasx vbl zlqv. Myjl qkhl zyatl pbkrp yde vld pxyzz pbkrp.”

Deputy General Zhou’s whole body trembled as he loudly responded: “Yes, this subordinate accepts the order!”

He straightened his back and cleared his throat. Burning blood and heroic spirit rose in his heart. “Men! All of you follow me!” He strode away with large steps, each one resounding loudly, his pace urgent, his desire for military merit burning hot.

There were five deputy generals on the deck in total. The remaining four watched him leave and immediately looked eagerly at the general, the anxiety and anticipation in their eyes almost brighter than the torches in the soldiers’ hands.

Lin Zhicheng didn’t disappoint them either. “Deputy General Liu, take the iron-headed ships and charge to the very front. I want you to be the vanguard clearing the way. Do you dare?”

Deputy General Liu was immediately so excited that the muscles on his face quivered. He forcefully pounded his chest: “What’s there to fear! This subordinate accepts the order!”

Hundreds of soldiers on the tower ship all looked over, and every person’s eyes lit up. Aside from driving away pirates, the Fujian naval forces hadn’t fought anyone for a very long time. Their emotions were stirred, and watching those brothers who had already left with Deputy General Zhou and Deputy General Liu, they felt incredibly envious.

They too wanted to compete for military merit, wanted to fight and kill these enemies with their wolfish ambitions for Daheng. After learning that these enemies dared to sell drugs in Daheng, after witnessing firsthand the miserable state of those who consumed the spices after His Majesty banned drugs along the coast, the Fujian naval forces finally understood what Yue Fei meant when he said he would “feast on the flesh of barbarians when hungry, and laugh while drinking the blood of the Xiongnu when thirsty.”

They hated them so much!

Hated them so much they wanted to risk their lives fighting these Fusang! Wanted to bite off their flesh and drink their blood!

Lin Zhicheng looked at the burning flame in the eyes of all the soldiers on the ship and rapidly made his deployments.

“Deputy General Wu, you also take five large ships and ten small ships to block them from the right side.”

“This subordinate accepts the order!”

“Deputy General Zhao, Deputy General Cheng, I want you to lead the wheel ships and follow behind the iron-headed ships to crush the enemy’s large vessels. Get those winches moving and boldly destroy the enemy ships!”

Deputy General Chen quickly asked, “General, what about me?”

“You stay here with me to command,” Lin Zhicheng said. “We still need to direct the tower ships to blast the hell out of them!”

Deputy General Chen deflated but forced himself to rally: “This subordinate accepts the order!”

Everyone sprang into action. When the Fusang forces entered the range of Daheng soldiers, they were greeted by massive stones arcing through the sky.

The Fusang naval forces were thrown into chaos for a moment, then quickly returned fire. They naturally had catapults too, but Daheng’s catapults were military equipment newly improved by the Engineering Department, not only shooting farther but also more accurately.

Countless stones rained down heavily. In the darkness, the Fusang naval forces were far away, so the first wave could only create panic. After two waves of massive stones, Lin Zhicheng ordered the stone throwing to stop. Standing on the highest deck of the tower ship, he shouted: “All forces attack!!!”

“All forces attack!”

Voice after voice passed this command along with roars. Deputy General Liu was at the very front, leading the iron-headed ships while waving his large sword, his face flushed red, the veins on his neck bulging as he shouted with all his strength: “Break open a path for me!”

The naval forces on the deck responded vigorously, constantly rowing their oars, charging forward without hesitation.

The massive, hard iron-headed ships advanced against the wind and rammed into the enemy forces. The wind direction was not on Daheng’s side now. The sailors on the pathbreaking iron-headed ships gritted their teeth, waving their arms and rowing the oars with all their might, increasing their force, then increasing it more! They had to smash the enemy ships in one strike!

Even though their arms ached from rowing, they dared not slow down even a bit. Deputy General Liu was also clenching his teeth, encouraging his subordinates: “Those sons of bitches actually dared to sell drugs in our Daheng! The general has taken you to see the scenes of coastal people suffering from drug addiction—they’re utterly heartless! All of you put in more effort, use more strength! His Majesty gives us grain and meat so we can win victory! We must break open a path for our brothers behind us!”

The sailors bent their heads low. Sweat ran into their eyes, making them sting painfully, but they didn’t dare free a hand to wipe it away.

Faster! Faster! Their iron-headed ship had to clear the way for the ships behind!

Deputy General Zhao and Deputy General Cheng, who were leading the wheel ships behind them, were also anxious. Deputy General Zhao’s expression became stern: “This won’t do! All the sailors on our ship must support the iron-headed ship. The iron-headed ship can only unleash its power if it’s fast enough.”

Deputy General Cheng nodded seriously: “You just take your men and go. I’ll lead men to hold the rear. Don’t worry!”

Deputy General Zhao turned to leave hurriedly, but suddenly, his hair that had been flying wildly in the western wind slowly came to a stop.

Deputy General Zhao was stunned. He suddenly turned to look at Deputy General Cheng, whose hands were trembling as he stared back at him in equal shock.

The hair was blown up by the sea wind again.

The eastern wind had come.

The eastern wind had come!

Deputy General Liu’s eyes widened as he roared at the top of his lungs: “Raise the sails! Raise the goddamn sails!!!”

Agile sailors climbed up the masts and untied the ropes. With a loud “snap,” the huge canvas sails unfurled.

The increasingly fierce eastern wind inflated the canvas like a great drum. The iron-headed ship went faster and faster, faster and faster, until with a thunderous crash, it completely rammed into the enemy ships.

It carved out several paths for the massive wheel ships to follow and crush the enemy vessels!

Terrifying winches turned, huge tower ships followed behind, and with the help of the eastern wind, they gradually pushed the enemy backward. Blood, severed arms and limbs, broken masts and fragments of wooden ships—everywhere in the deep sea were people and corpses, with continuous cries and brave battle shouts.

Finally, the sky began to brighten at the horizon.

The Fusang retreated, turning their ships around to prepare their escape. All the deputy generals gathered on the tower ship, each one high-spirited and proud. After a night of fierce fighting, everyone’s eyes had turned red.

“General, shall we pursue them?”

Pursue them?

They didn’t know if there might be reinforcements where the Fusang naval forces were fleeing. They didn’t know if the naval forces of Guangnan East and the two Zhe regions had defeated the Fusang forces they were facing. Should they go support Guangnan East and the two Zhe regions, or should they pursue their advantage?

Lin Zhicheng looked at each of the deputy generals.

Every deputy general’s face showed heroic ambition, their eyes still harboring an unquenched thirst for victory.

Lin Zhicheng felt the blood in his body boiling too. His chest and temples pounded together as he declared powerfully: “Pursue them!”

Daheng’s sea hawks swept across the water like petrels, raising their sails in the eastern wind and rapidly closing in on the Fusang naval forces.

The Fusang shouted loudly in words the Daheng people couldn’t understand—whether they were cursing or begging for mercy was unclear. On the Fusang command ship, the Fusang general viciously grabbed several Daheng men by their collars and roared: “Didn’t you say Lin Zhicheng was useless? That the Fujian naval forces had declined!”

These Daheng men were pirate accomplices who had gone against Lin Zhicheng after the court’s bandit suppression campaign. Lin Zhicheng had accepted the court’s amnesty, while they had fled to Fusang.

The pirate being questioned pushed the general away angrily: “How could anyone know that the current emperor would actually value Lin Zhicheng! You’d better be more polite to us—we’re honored guests of your Fusang. Without us, how could you have discovered the flowers of the Southeast?”

When fleeing to Fusang, these pirates had discovered a strange flower in Southeast Asia. They brought these flowers to Fusang as gifts to become honored guests. These flowers were later made into Xixia’s national incense, sold to surrounding countries. This incense allowed Fusang to accumulate enormous wealth.

The general’s eyes turned cold as he said viciously: “Your intelligence got so many of our people killed and cost us so many warships! Even if you all died, it wouldn’t be enough! When I return to our homeland, I’ll tell the Emperor to have you all executed and thrown into the sea to feed the fish!”

Just as he finished his harsh words, a ship came from behind to report: “The Daheng people are catching up!”

The general’s expression became twisted: “Damn it!”

The coastal people had heard the sounds of fighting on the sea since midnight.

Horns pierced the sky and drums thundered. The people were so excited they couldn’t sleep. When the sky began to brighten, they hurried to the coast, where they saw Daheng ships that blocked out the sky and sun.

Sails were raised, covering the entire coastline. Row upon row of ships pursued the Fusang vessels. The nearby sea surface was full of war debris—wooden planks, destroyed ships, corpses, severed limbs…

And enemy forces fleeing at top speed!

Their Fujian naval forces had won!!!