Chapter 219: Kill

Maliujia Haixia, Wang Family garrison.

Nine steamships formed an arc in the narrowest part of the strait, gun ports on both sides of the hulls fully opened, dark muzzles aimed outward across the strait. Guards patrolled back and forth on the decks, their rifles polished to a shine.

The garrison's guard captain was Wang Tie, in his early thirties, having suppressed seven miner uprisings in Dongying, his hands stained with blood no less than the seawater of the strait. He stood on the flagship's bridge, holding a telescope to observe the distant sea.

"Captain, another ship is coming." A guard ran over to report.

Wang Tie lowered the telescope. This was already the fifth ship today. Since scattering those pirates, merchant traffic on this route has noticeably increased.

"The old rule: courtesy before force."

A small boat rowed over. It was a merchant ship from Champa; its owner was a thin middle-aged man, whose eyes filled with fear at the sight of the Wang Family's steamship.

"One hundred taels of silver, or goods worth one hundred taels." The guard got straight to the point.

The shipowner's face twitched a few times, then he finally fished out a cloth sack from the hold. "This is fifty taels of silver, plus these spices—does that make a hundred taels?"

The guard weighed the sack, glanced at the pile of spices, and nodded. "Enough." He pulled out a wooden tablet carved with the character 'Wang' from his pocket. "Take this; just show it next time."

The shipowner took the tablet, relieved. He hesitated, then lowered his voice: "Sir, I heard Bolni Guo is unhappy and plans to send troops?"

The guard laughed: "That's their business."

The shipowner glanced at those black muzzles, asked no more, and hurriedly had his ship sail into the strait.

Wang Tie stood on the bridge, having heard the exchange clearly. He turned to his deputy and said: "Go, get the brothers energized. Those Bolni Guo country bumpkins should be arriving soon."

The deputy grinned: "With their broken ships and knives, we'll eat however many they send."

"Don't be careless." Wang Tie glared at him. "No matter what, they're still a national army; they'll surely outnumber us. Is the gunpowder sufficient?"

"Enough. The gunpowder we brought hasn't been used much; it's enough for a big battle, and we still have two thousand lead bullets for the rifles."

"Then it's fine." Wang Tie nodded, gazing outward across the strait. "Let them come."

Three days later, at dawn.

The lookout shouted from the mast top: "Enemy fleet sighted! Ten li ahead, numbers……damn, too many to count!"

Wang Tie immediately climbed the mast and raised his telescope.

On the horizon, a sea of white sails stretched thick and close. Rough estimate: at least fifty ships.

"All hands to stations!" Wang Tie jumped down from the mast. "Gun crews ready, riflemen on deck, crossbowmen cover!"

The guards on the nine ships sprang into action. Having trained for years in Dongying, they worked in perfect sync.

The fleet drew nearer. Through his telescope Wang Tie made out their vessels—all wooden sailing ships, hulls rough, some lacking proper planking, merely lashed together with vines and timber.

Their decks were packed with men. These men had dark skin, bare torsos, wielding spears, sabers, and shields. Some had their faces painted red and white, looking rather fearsome.

On the lead ship stood a tall middle-aged man, wearing a feathered crown on his head and a jeweled saber at his waist.

"That must be the Bolni Guo general," the deputy remarked beside him. "He looks quite intimidating."

Wang Tie snorted. "Intimidation is useless; one cannon blast and that feather crown will fly off."

The Bolni Guo fleet halted five hundred paces from the Wang Family fleet.

The feather‑crowned general stood on the bow and shouted in stiff Chinese: "Listen! You foreign bandits! The Maliujia Haixia is Bolni Guo's territory! Get out at once, or…"

"Boom——!"

A shell flew from the Wang Family flagship, exploding fifty paces ahead of that ship and throwing up a massive column of water.

The Bolni Guo fleet instantly fell into chaos. Those soldiers who had never seen artillery, terrified, scrambled with heads in their arms.

The feather‑crowned general's face turned ashen, but he quickly steadied his troops. He turned and bellowed at his men: "What's there to fear? They have only a few ships; we have fifty! Charge and take them alive!"

War drums began to beat.

Fifty ships hoisted sail and surged toward the Wang Family fleet.

"Really, they won't cry till they see the coffin." Wang Tie raised his right hand. "Gun crews, hear my order: free fire! Aim true, don't waste shells!"

The guns on the nine ships fired almost simultaneously.

The roar shattered the morning's stillness.

In the first volley, at least ten Bolni Guo ships were hit. Some lost their masts, some were blown open with huge holes, seawater flooding in wildly.

Screams rose and fell.

The Bolni Guo soldiers had no idea what was happening; they only saw black smoke belching from the enemy iron ships, then their own vessels were smashed to pieces.

"Keep charging!" the feather‑crowned general roared madly. "As long as we get close, we'll win!"

Second volley.

Again, ten ships sank or were rendered combat‑ineffective.

But the Bolni Guo fleet did not stop. The remaining thirty ships desperately pressed forward.

The distance kept closing.

Three hundred paces.

Two hundred paces.

One hundred paces.

"Riflemen!" Wang Tie bellowed.

Behind the gunwales, hundreds of guards rose to their feet and lifted their rifles.

"Fire!"

A dense volley of gunfire rang out.

On the leading ships, at least a hundred Bolni Guo soldiers were hit. They didn't even have time to cry out before collapsing straight onto the decks.

"Another round!"

The riflemen quickly reloaded. This was the Wang Family's newly improved rifle, with loading speed doubled.

Another volley.

On the forward ships, hardly anyone remained standing.

But the soldiers of Bolni Guo still did not retreat. Their eyes red, they stepped on their comrades' corpses and continued to charge forward.

Finally, a ship rammed into the side of the Wang Family flagship.

The soldiers on the ship wildly swung grappling hooks, trying to climb aboard the steamship's deck.

"Repeating crossbow!"

Dozens of storm repeating crossbows fired simultaneously.

Dense bolts rained down like a storm, instantly turning the soldiers on that ship into hedgehogs.

The ship lost control, slammed into the steamship's steel hull with a dull thud, then the planks shattered and the whole vessel began to sink.

The battle lasted less than half an hour.

When the sun had fully risen, the sea surface was already littered with planks and corpses.

Of the fifty Bolni Guo ships, thirty-seven sank; the remaining thirteen all fled wounded.

That feather-crowned general was among them. His ship's sails were torn to shreds by cannon fire, a mast was broken, and his hull was riddled with bullet holes. He slumped on the deck, the paint on his face washed away by seawater and sweat into a mess.

"Withdraw... withdraw..." his voice trembled.

Wang Tie stood on the bridge, watching those fleeing remnants, and gave no order to pursue.

"Clear the battlefield, fish out everything valuable floating on the sea." He turned to his deputy and said, "Also, send a ship to follow them and see where they go."

The deputy nodded, turned and went to make arrangements.

Wang Tie walked to the ship's rail, gazing at the seawater stained red with blood.

In this battle, the Wang Family side suffered no deaths, only three lightly wounded— their arms sliced by spears thrown by Bolni Guo soldiers.

On the Bolni Guo side, at least two thousand died.