Chapter 54: A group of pirates armed with flintlocks arrived

  （0054）

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  Because his own doghouse had been occupied by Xue Zhi Die, Zhang Zhun had been sleeping in the military camp ever since. The training of the guard team was very strict, he buried himself in it, and every day he was so tired that he almost died, and his desire for men and women gradually faded away. To be honest, this is not the time to indulge oneself, and he still has a lot of self-control.

  The Hongshi Tan military camp was very quiet at midnight, and the only sound that could be heard was the waves constantly hitting the beach. There were also the calls of frogs from the distant rice fields. Summer had arrived, and the frogs' calls began to become active. Unfortunately, these rice fields did not belong to anyone in Yangjiatun.

  Suddenly, urgent footsteps came from outside.

  Zhang Zhun immediately sat up with a start.

  "Captain, there's a strange ship coming from the sea!"

  Zou Mingjia's voice came from outside, he was on duty tonight.

  Since that night when Zhang Zhun ordered the addition of a mobile sentry post on the beach, the guard team's sentry posts have increased by one, and they can observe the movements on the sea surface at any time. However, the sentry post on the beach has not found anything unusual in the past few days. Today is the first time that the beach sentry post reported a situation.

  The guards were newly established, and many things had not been encountered before. Zhang Quan specially stipulated that if anything strange or unmanageable was discovered, they could report to him at any time and place, even if he was already asleep. That's why Zou Mingjia came in a hurry in the middle of the night.

  Zhang Zhun got out of bed and followed Zou Mingjia to the shore.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, in the dim light, a ship can be seen anchored on the sea surface about three or four kilometers away. Due to the poor lighting and low visibility, it's impossible to accurately determine what kind of vessel it is.

  There were lights on the ship, and it didn't hide its existence at all. Judging from the light situation, this ship had been docked there all along and hadn't moved. It wasn't that it didn't want to come ashore, but it couldn't come ashore because there was no pier nearby, and there were many reefs in the sea. If it sailed in the middle of the night and hit a reef, the consequences would be unthinkable.

  This also suggests that the ship should not be a local one, and it is surprising that they do not know about the natural harbors of Heilong Bay and Zhenzhu Bay. In fact, if they just move westward from the entrance of Mazu Bay, there are many natural harbors inside Mazu Bay where they can anchor and dock.

  A foreign ship, anchored outside the Red Stone at midnight, what is its purpose? No matter how you look at it, it seems to have a somewhat suspicious flavor, no wonder Zou Mingjia wants to report to Zhang Zhun. If it's the legendary pirate ship, it's highly likely to trigger a battle.

  "Captain, are you a pirate?" Zou Ming asked in a low voice.

  "It can't be confirmed," Zhang said slowly.

  Since the day when Xue Zhi Die and Xue Ning Ying were rescued, the warriors of the guard team all believed that there might be pirates near the sea surface around Fushan. Otherwise, Zhang Zhun would not have set up a sentry post on the coast. However, no one had ever seen real pirates before, so they didn't know what pirates looked like.

  Suddenly, it seemed as if there was the sound of water coming from somewhere.

  Zhang Quan concentrated and listened carefully, and suddenly it was someone paddling a boat. It seemed that someone was preparing to land ashore. This scene made Zhang Quan think of the scene where the Marine Corps landed quietly at night. Could it be true that there were pirates trying to sneak ashore and plunder in the middle of the night?

  This is terrible, the pirates chose this time to land, what's their purpose? Is it for the refined salt of Yangjia Village? As soon as he thought of the refined salt business in Yangjia Village, Zhang Zhun immediately felt a thrill all over his body. Can Wang Shixin's means be so vicious? Even the pirates were instigated to take action?

  "Quietly wake everyone up!"

  "Get ready for battle!"

  Zhang Zhun didn't have time to think carefully and immediately gave the order.

  Zou Mingjia left.

  Soon, the sleeping guards were awakened one by one.

  The warriors immediately got up, dressed and prepared their weapons. Because Zhang had previously conducted several midnight emergency assembly drills, the warriors' reaction was still very quick. Soon, all of the guards were in place except for those who needed to be on watch.

  Yang Zhiyuan, Hao Linyong and other officers quickly arrived at Zhang Zhun's side, waiting for arrangements. They also thought it was pirates landing. If they were normal people, why didn't they choose to land during the day, but instead sneaked up at night? As for the purpose of the pirate landing, it must be for the private salt of Yangjiatun.

  Yang Zixuan said in a low voice: "Captain, could it be the Japanese pirates?"

  Zhang Zhun shook his head, neither confirming nor denying.

  Because the light was too weak, they couldn't see clearly what kind of person was trying to climb up. However, one thing is certain, that is, the other party's intention is not pure. As for the possibility of Japanese pirates, it's not very big. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi died, Japan entered the Edo period of the Tokugawa shogunate, and the political situation was relatively stable, and there were already few Japanese ronin wandering around. The pirates active along the coast of the Ming Dynasty were actually all local people.

  "No matter whether they are Japanese pirates or not, once the order is given to take action, they will be beaten to death."

  Zhang Jun ordered all the warriors to hide behind the rocks and wait for his attack command. No matter who was preparing to land, if they found something wrong, they would be annihilated on the spot. However, before issuing the combat order, no one was allowed to expose themselves. He wanted to give the other side a big surprise. So, the warriors of the guard all gripped their weapons tightly and waited quietly for the mysterious figure to land.

  As the sound of water gets closer, the rafts gradually appear. There are a total of three rafts, with about ten people on each raft, totaling thirty people. The current weather is in April, early summer, and the temperature is still very pleasant. The people on the rafts are basically all wearing swimsuits, without any other attire.

  What is called a water jacket, is actually a waterproof short coat made of hemp cloth, very cool and quick-drying after getting wet. People who often work on the water like to wear such a water jacket. Many southerners even regard it as their daily attire.

  As they drew closer, the people on the raft could almost be seen clearly. Indeed, these men were pirates, most of whom were bald, with various tattoos on their arms. Their dark bronze skin was a characteristic of sailors, and some pirates' skin was as black as if they were from Africa. Water droplets falling on such skin couldn't stay at all, dripping down instantly.

  At the same time, the weapons in the hands of these people are mostly spears and various axes. The thick ropes on the warship and other rigging are generally impossible to cut off with ordinary sharp tools, only heavy and sharp axes can do it. Therefore, warships are generally equipped with a large number of axes. Axes are both essential navigation tools and commonly used weapons.

  Their tone of voice, Zhang Zhun also didn't quite understand, guessing it should be the accent of southerners, somewhat similar to the Minnan dialect of later generations. Of course, Zhang Zhun is not a language expert and cannot accurately determine where these people come from. But one thing is certain, these people are absolutely not locals.

  "Firearm."

  "Pirates have firearms."

  "Beware, pirates carry firearms."

  As the pirates' boats drew closer to the shore, Zhang suddenly discovered that these pirates were carrying firearms, and there were at least more than ten of them. Firearms were a new thing for the guards, and they had to be careful to prevent them.

  "Tell the warriors that firearms are nothing to be afraid of, and in a melee, they're not even as useful as our trident. The key to dealing with firearms is to get close, closer, and closest. When we launch an attack, never keep a distance from the pirates. As long as we entangle ourselves tightly with the pirates, their firearms can't fully exert their power."

  "If you find a gun pointing at you, either drop down immediately or use the pirate to block in front of you. Never rush towards the gun. Such action is not bravery but recklessness and suicide. The loading speed of the gun is slow, after firing, it's his fatal weakness, launch an attack promptly and decisively."

  Zhang Zhun temporarily explained some techniques for dealing with firearms to Yang Zhiyuan and Hao Linyong, who then passed them on to each soldier, alleviating the psychological pressure on the soldiers. However, Zhang Zhun also knew that it was impossible for the guards to not feel nervous when facing firearms for the first time. The psychological pressure brought by Wang Shixing's housekeeper, who was equipped with firearms, was quite great.

  The pirates brought firearms ashore, which gave the guards a chance to exercise. If the guards won this battle and defeated the pirates equipped with firearms, then next time they faced firearms, the psychological pressure would not be so great. Wang Shixing's family soldiers would no longer have the equipment advantage that blocked the guards.

  "Come on!"

  Zhang Zhun secretly encouraged himself in his heart.

  The pirates on the raft, apparently did not think that someone had already been lurking on the beach, waiting for them to fall into their trap. Therefore, they did not seem tense at all on the raft, as if they were just coming up to play around. However, Zhang still sensed the pirates' unique ferocity and cold-bloodedness. If these people were given sufficient preparation, the battle would certainly be extremely arduous.

  Three rafts docked one after another, and the pirates disembarked in succession. It seems that they really didn't have any defensive intentions, and after landing, they didn't check their surroundings much either. A group of people just stood on the beach, looking around, as if trying to identify their location. However, at three o'clock in the morning, they should not be able to accurately determine their position. The leading pirates don't know what they said to each other, beckoning with their hands, and led the other pirates to continue advancing.

  Zhang Zhun suddenly emerged from behind the rocks and blocked the pirates' way.

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