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“Boom, boom, boom…”
The black iron balls struck the pirate ships, making dull thuds. A pirate ship, hit by dozens of cannonballs, instantly shattered into pieces. Some soldiers were directly hit by cannonballs, their bodies reduced to pulp.
Fear, deep fear, the shouts of the Sanmyo Kingdom soldiers instantly turned into wails. Ships were torn apart, and the entire fleet was in chaos.
Murayama Akimitsu stood on his ship, with no one left on either side of him. Countless cannonballs whistled past his ears, taking away all his crew. He was speechless, his legs trembling and unable to move. In his eyes were countless flying wood splinters and blood. Amidst the roaring sounds, ships sank one after another.
Yue Yun looked at the scattered soldiers and their desperate expressions, once again fully realizing the terrifying power of this weapon. At a distance of 100 meters, the pirate warships were directly pierced by cannonballs. A dozen cannonballs were enough to destroy a ship, and most of the pirates were directly hit by the dense cannonballs, flying off in a string, clearly beyond saving.
The battle was fierce. These Sanmyo Kingdom warships had nowhere to escape. The ships attempting to flee were also sunk one by one. Half an hour later, only floating debris and corpses remained on the sea.
“Cease fire, capture some alive.” Yue Yun gave the order. The Sanmyo Kingdom’s navy had completely collapsed and posed no threat.
After his order was given, the fleet began to move, sailing towards the destroyed warships. Ropes were thrown down, and the surviving soldiers, as if grasping at straws, climbed up the ropes.
“General, we’ve caught a Japanese man.” As Yue Yun was focused on the sea, a soldier dragged a trembling person and threw him in front of Yue Yun. “According to those soldiers, he is the Japanese person sent to monitor Hu Hai. And besides this dock, there is another dock where some Japanese pirate ships are berthed.”
Glancing at the Japanese man, he said, “What’s your name?”
“My humble name is Murayama Akimitsu.” At this moment, Murayama Akimitsu was terrified and dared not conceal anything.
Yue Yun sneered, “You should know where that dock is. Lead the way now, or I’ll throw you into the sea to feed the fish.”
“Yes, yes…” Murayama Akimitsu nodded repeatedly.
At this time, Liu Chen on the shore had been pursuing for nearly forty minutes. After crossing a hillside, his view suddenly opened up. Outside the forest was a semicircular sea area surrounded by mountains, very vast and extremely concealed. When the fleet arrived earlier, they were blocked by the forest and did not see this bay.
The fleeing soldiers were still running down the hillside one by one, and on the beach side, over a hundred ships of various sizes were berthed. Some of these ships had already started to flee, and the people on board were dressed as Japanese pirates.
“Follow me!” Liu Chen shouted, charging down first. The marines, upon seeing this, cheered and followed him down.
He had heard the cannon fire just now and assumed the fleet had already engaged in battle. By taking this dock, they would truly control this sea area.
At this time, the Sanmyo Kingdom soldiers had no will to fight. Liu Chen easily occupied another dock, a dozen li away, and also captured more than a dozen warships, but he was powerless against those ships that had already fled.
However, after a while, he saw Yue Yun’s fleet sailing into the bay, and the thunderous roar of cannons resounded again.
After a period of shelling, Yue Yun ordered the fleet to sail into the bay. On the way, Murayama Akimitsu had already explained the characteristics of this excellent bay. According to him, the seawater in this bay was very deep, exceeding a dozen meters, making it very suitable for ships to berth. They had only recently built a dock here to be used as a new Japanese pirate dock.
The warships came ashore one after another, and Yue Yun disembarked.
“Who are these people?”
There were over a thousand people squatting on the dock, Yue Yun couldn’t help but ask.
“General, these are common people from Great Yu Empire, they were captured by Hu Hai and made into slaves,” Liu Chen said.
“Find a few people to lead the way. We need to talk with the King of the Sanmyo Kingdom,” Yue Yun said thoughtfully.
The two nodded. Although they had driven away Hu Hai and the Japanese pirates on the island, they still needed to occupy the island, and to completely occupy it, they had to talk with the King of the Sanmyo Kingdom.
Moreover, according to Xiao Ming’s plan, they also had to temporarily station troops on the island to prevent Japanese pirate counterattacks, as this place was simply too close to Japan.
Yue Yun’s suggestion was approved by both. In addition to stationing troops, they also needed to build a star fort to defend against enemies. These slaves were still useful for now. And besides these slaves, they also captured many surrendered soldiers. Building a star fort requires quarrying stone, and assigning this to the prisoners of war was most suitable now. “Your Highness is probably overly worried. Why would we need a star fort to deal with the soldiers on this island?” Liu Chen said.
“You’re wrong. These star forts are not for dealing with the common people here, but for dealing with Japanese pirates. And these are not our concerns. Your Highness naturally has his considerations. Our duty is to carry out the mission. Now, let’s follow the road to the residential area,” Yue Yun said.
“Yes!” Liu Chen said.
With that, the two led the soldiers deeper into the island. After passing through the forest in front of the dock, their view suddenly opened up.
At this time, in front of them were many rice paddies, and at the end of the rice paddies were densely packed houses. These houses were no different from the architecture of the Great Yu Empire.
“The King’s palace is in the center of the city,” the guiding common person said. He had been captured and brought to the island five years ago and was very familiar with everything here.
Yue Yun and Liu Chen nodded and led the army further into the island. After walking twenty li, they reached the residential area.
On the way there, the guiding common person had already told them that the Sanmyo Kingdom’s writing was the same as Great Yu Empire’s, and their clothing was identical. However, ever since they were occupied by the Japanese pirates, some powerful families on the island wore kimonos and also learned the Japanese language.
Some children of the common people were also required to learn the Japanese language.
The arrival of the army caused the island’s residents to be wary. They all hid in their homes, watching them from the cracks in their windows.
Yue Yun was unconcerned. He understood the situation on the island. This island nation of 200,000 people had very few troops. Because of this, they were like a weathervane, surviving in the cracks between the Japanese pirates and the Great Yu Empire.
However, from now on, there would be no more Sanmyo Kingdom. From now on, this place would be part of the state’s territory.