Chapter 155: Fire the Cannons! Fire the Cannons!

After the two of them had been busy inside for a long time, Yahan finally regained her composure.

It turned out her old man wasn't dead, but had been saved by this person. She had even sacrificed her dignity and nearly killed him.

Although she had been subdued in an instant, Sun Yahan still felt she had caused a great disaster.

Zhang Yunxiu also had a lingering fear on his face, secretly thinking: "This 'lust' really is a blade, damn it. The moment my thoughts wavered, I was caught off guard."

It was also because this woman was inexperienced; if she had acted after they were finished, he would have at least been skinned alive if not killed.

Women outside really shouldn't be touched! Xi'er back home is still the best.

Thinking this, Zhang Yunxiu shook his head and turned to rush out of the room. Sun Yahan panicked and asked timidly, "Where—where are you going?"

"None of your business!" Zhang Yunxiu glared at her irritably and barked, "Just stay here properly. In a few days, Hao Ren will come to pick you up."

Saying this, he walked out of the cabin without looking back and slammed the door shut with a *clack*.

In the distance, Han San saw Zhang Yunxiu come out covered in sweat. He grinned, left his subordinates, and hurried over to curry favor: "Young Master, are you satisfied?"

"Satisfied my ass!"

Zhang Yunxiu kicked Han San with a flying kick. Han San was hit as if by a heavy blow, his body tilted backward a few steps, and then he stood in place with his head drooping.

Han San was full of grievances; the Young Master had been fine just a moment ago, eager to discuss business.

Now, he was acting all tough after pulling up his pants. Being a servant is truly not easy.

Ignoring Han San's grievances entirely, Zhang Yunxiu stared at him and gritted his teeth: "Tell Hao Ren that when I go back, I will personally visit to thank him! This gift is not bad; I've noted it down."

Something went wrong.

Listening to the tone, Han San sensed Zhang Yunxiu's dissatisfaction. He didn't dare to ask further and could only nod like a chick pecking at rice.

A period of calm lasted for three days.

During these three days, Zhang Yunxiu never entered the room, instead leaving that woman alone inside. Once bitten by a snake, one is afraid of a well rope for ten years; he was now afraid whenever he saw a hairpin on a woman's head.

He was terrified that while he was asleep, the woman would pick up the hairpin and give him a vicious strike.

Glancing at the tightly closed room, Zhang Yunxiu shook his head and turned his gaze back to look toward the southwest.

Judging from the battle report sent by Ai Neng via fast horse, the coalition forces of the Shimazu Clan were already on their way.

If he could unite with them, controlling Kyushu Island would not be a difficult task.

First finding a spokesperson was his basic strategy.

The Shimazu Clan, in terms of size and strength, was undoubtedly the most suitable.

Just as he was thinking, a sea breeze mixed with a fishy smell hit his face. Zhang Yunxiu withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the stern of the ship.

Han San trotted over excitedly, holding a battle report in his hand.

As soon as he saw Zhang Yunxiu looking over, he immediately shouted loudly: "Young Master, there is a battle report from General Li and General Qi. They have taken two more cities. After looting all the silver and money, they destroyed the city walls and are only guarding Xiaocang City and Liuchuan City."

"How much silver did they get in total?" Zhang Yunxiu asked with concern.

"Including the previous ones, we've already raked in nearly 900,000 taels of silver." Han San pondered for a moment and reported to Zhang Yunxiu with a smile, "This Woguo is indeed as the Young Master said, rich in silver."

"Good, good, good." Zhang Yunxiu clapped his hands, called out "good" three times in a row, paced back and forth on the deck twice, and then ordered Han San: "Quickly send more soldiers to transport all the silver back to the ships."

"Yes," Han San replied, cupping his hands.

"Wait..."

"Does the Young Master have other orders?"

"I'll go myself."

Saying this, Zhang Yunxiu didn't care about Han San and stomped down from the giant warship.

Han San's eyelids twitched in shock. He hurriedly chased after Zhang Yunxiu's footsteps and shouted loudly: "Young Master, you can't go! You really can't go..."

Three days later.

At the gate of Xiaocang City.

Cart after cart of silver was being loaded onto ox carts and transported out of the city.

Plunder was indeed the most profitable business in the world; this thing had no time cost, at most it just consumed manpower and material resources.

In a situation with a military advantage, there was no business more profitable than this.

On the city wall, Zhang Yunxiu stood side by side with Li Rusong, watching the carts of silver being moved away, the corners of his mouth nearly stretching as wide as a trumpet.

"Four battles and four victories in one month; General Li and General Qi deserve the primary credit." Patting the city wall heavily, Zhang Yunxiu turned around and smiled at Li Rusong, "After returning this time, General Li will be in the Emperor's favor, and future promotions will be a matter of course."

Li Rusong shook his head and responded modestly: "This is all thanks to the brothers below fighting with their lives. I, Li, dare not take all the credit for myself."

"Rest assured, they naturally have their own credit too."

"Then I will thank Director Zhang and the Emperor on behalf of these soldiers first."

The two smiled and exchanged a few modest words. In the blink of an eye, more than thirty horse-drawn carriages loaded with silver and money were ready.

Li Rusong stopped the small talk, turned to the side, made a "please" gesture to Zhang Yunxiu, and said: "It's not that I don't want to keep Director Zhang, but this place is close to the front line and extremely dangerous. It would be better for Director Zhang to return to Hakata Bay quickly." Zhang Yunxiu nodded and was about to return.

Suddenly, he saw dust rising in the distance, and flags were vaguely fluttering. Li Rusong immediately became alert and roared at the top of his lungs: "Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Close the city gates! Close the city gates!"

The silver transport team below heard the order, immediately turned the carts around, and transported the silver carts back.

The dust and smoke were getting closer and closer.

Li Rusong stood on the city wall and looked into the distance, only then seeing clearly that it was a team of Woguo warriors.

Looking at the direction they came from, it should be the territory of the Otomo Clan. By logic, the Otomo Clan shouldn't be opposing him.

Then what were these people here for? Li Rusong was puzzled. Soon, a short middle-aged man rushed out from the Woguo team and immediately requested in broken Chinese: "Honorable guests from Great Ming, we are the family army of the Otomo Clan, specifically here to assist you all."

So it was reinforcements!

At this, everyone on the city wall turned bright red and looked at Zhang Yunxiu and Li Rusong one after another.

"General Li, are these people from the Otomo Clan reliable?" Zhang Yunxiu glanced outside and asked in a low voice.

Li Rusong nodded and replied in a steady voice: "They are still honest enough. I see their clan head is just a watchdog, and now that he sees our military might is at its peak, he wants to come and reap some benefits."

"Since that's the case, then count them in." Zhang Yunxiu made the final decision.

The entire Kyushu Island must be unified, but one cannot allow the Shimazu Clan to become the sole dominant power.

Having the two clans check and balance each other while he maneuvers and mediates in between—this is the situation he most wishes to see.

Li Rusong is also well-versed in this, ordering his men to remain vigilant as they open the city gates.

Over two thousand Japanese pirates slowly enter, led by the eldest son of Otomo Sorin, Otomo Yoshimune. He personally requested to lead this expedition to conquer the Ryuzoji Clan, hoping to accumulate merit.

After a brief introduction, Otomo Yoshimune says sternly, "Respected guests from the Great Ming, on your left flank, there is another vassal of the Ryuzoji family, the Qiuyue Family. If you wish to eliminate threats to your rear, this place must be conquered!"

"This Xiaocang City was originally held by the third younger brother of the Qiuyue Family head, Akizuki Tane-fuyu."

Without answering Otomo Yoshimune immediately, Li Rusong leans toward Zhang Yunxiu's ear and says in a suppressed voice, "This Qiuyue Family also came to attack the city before, but they were repelled by our Bird Muskets and Cannon."

"Are our forces sufficient?" Zhang Yunxiu does not get carried away, but asks Li Rusong with a cautious expression, "You have three thousand Liaodong Border Army, plus some auxiliary troops, and counting our fleet's guards, that's barely over six thousand people."

"Just about," Li Rusong nods and adds, "However, our troops are all equipped with the latest Bird Muskets, the Three-Eyed Bird-Beak Gun, and we even brought the Great General Cannon. If we take them by surprise, it is not impossible."

This Great General Cannon was modeled after the giant cannons of the Frankish.

It weighs over eight hundred catties and can fire an eight-catty Cannonball.

At the same time, it is equipped with a Sub-Mother Gun.

Once the first Cannonball is fired, the next one is loaded immediately; it can fire over a hundred Cannonballs within a quarter of an hour.

For this battle, Li Rusong mounted the Cannon on wheels and dragged it all the way to Xiaocang City.

Seeing him full of ambition, Zhang Yunxiu does not want to dampen his spirits, so he just nods with a smile and replies, "Since General Li is so confident, I will say no more. Only one thing: do not split the troops after breaking the city."

"I understand."

Splitting troops is a great taboo in warfare; as for this city, there is nothing for him to defend—once the silver is taken, they can just retreat and hole up.

Having finalized the battle plan amidst laughter, Li Rusong wants to see Zhang Yunxiu off.

Zhang Yunxiu refuses to leave, smiling as he reminds him, "It would be one thing if we hadn't met, but since we have, if I were to act like a deserter, wouldn't I be a laughingstock to these soldiers?"

"You are a civil official; there is no need for you to lead the charge."

"What civil official, what military official—we are all officials of the imperial court."

Zhang Yunxiu insists to the end, and Li Rusong, unable to sway him, leaves one thousand men to guard the city and leads the troops toward the Qiuyue Family's city, Kuchu Mountain City, the next day.

To protect Zhang Yunxiu's safety, Li Rusong insists on putting three layers of armor on him.

The Heart-Protecting Armor on the innermost layer, the Chain Mail in the middle layer, and the Cotton Armor on the outside.

The three layers of armor weigh over twenty catties in total; if Zhang Yunxiu did not exercise regularly, he might not have been able to bear it.

The army moves along, swaying, and finally arrives outside the Qiuyue Family's mountain city two days later.

Looking out, a towering city stands atop the cliffs.

On the city walls, warriors clad in samurai attire glare with wide, angry eyes at this group of uninvited guests.

A subordinate general catches sight of the Otomo Clan's banner and immediately curses, "Baka-yarō, the scum of the Otomo Clan have actually colluded with the Ming Army to come and attack my city!"

Another general twists his beard and immediately shouts, "Hmph, they are simply delusional. This Kuchu Mountain City was built against the mountain; even when the Otomo Clan attacked with the strength of their entire clan, they never took it. Do they think they can take our city with this handful of men?"

Everyone laughs and jokes, and the air is suddenly filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Li Rusong dismounts, glances at the city gate, and immediately orders twenty Cannons to be pushed forward.

"Target, the city gate! Fire half of the Cannonballs!"

"Fire! Fire!!"

(End of this chapter)