Chapter 36: Slaughtering the People of the Light Kingdom

"I love beating a drowning dog." Wang Er glanced at the Japanese pirates charging closer and closer, cursing Zhang Chen in his heart: "Master, I have already killed three pirates; fighting is actually quite simple!"

"Charge, follow me and charge!" The Ming men did not retreat. Seeing the Ming men dozens of meters away pulling small porcelain jars from their cloth bags, Tojo Hideki let out a curse.

"Kill, follow me and kill!"

The moonlight was bright. Tojo Hideki saw the Ming men dozens of meters away lighting the fuses on their small porcelain jars. He cursed again, "Charge! Charge faster! Get close and engage the Ming men in hand-to-hand combat; their schemes and tricks will be useless then."

Just as Tojo Hideki was charging forward, he saw the Ming men throw the small porcelain jars toward them.

Tojo Hideki watched as one such jar landed five or six meters in front of him.

*Boom!* The small porcelain jar exploded.

Taking a piece of shrapnel to the stomach, Tojo Hideki let out a scream, his heart filled with shock and rage, before collapsing to the ground unconscious.

The comrades of the Zhang Village Militia threw over four hundred homemade grenades, killing or wounding more than three hundred Japanese pirates. Most of the remaining pirates shrieked and fled in all directions.

The moment to beat the drowning dog had finally arrived. At Zhang Chen's command, Wang Er was the first to rush forward. With a swing of his blade, he cut down a fierce-looking pirate. *Big Brother, Fifth Brother, fighting is truly simple. It's just a pity you were both killed by that bastard Zhang Chen!*

Cursing Zhang Chen for the death of his older brother Wang Da and younger brother Wang Wu, Wang Er pursued a short, stocky pirate. As he passed the unconscious Tojo Hideki, the pirate moved.

Having been unconscious for only a few seconds, Tojo Hideki had just woken up. Realizing the tide had turned, he did not attempt to stand.

With a severe wound to his stomach, Tojo Hideki knew he couldn't run fast. *It's over. This time, I shall die in the land of the Ming. Anko, I promised you I would return safely, but I cannot fulfill it. I am sorry.*

Thinking of his wife Anko in Fukuoka, Japan, and his lovely children, the thirty-something-year-old Tojo Hideki wept. Filled with hatred for the Ming people, he let out a roar, leaped from the ground, and swung his sword at Wang Er’s neck: "Ming man, die!"

"It's over; fighting is not simple after all." Seeing the flash of the blade coming toward him, Wang Er lamented inwardly, "I am going to die. Big Brother, Fifth Brother, wait for me at the Bridge of Helplessness!"

Just then, Zhang Chen arrived, having passed this spot while pursuing a tall pirate.

Lifting his left leg, Zhang Chen kicked Tojo Hideki hard in the back of the neck: "Wang Er, be careful!"

Struck in the back of the neck, Tojo Hideki let out a shrill cry as his neck twisted at a grotesque angle. He fell face up onto the ground, dead.

"Tojo Hideki?" By the cold moonlight, Fatty Niu carefully examined the corpse on the ground. "The magistrate’s office posted a wanted notice for Tojo Hideki at the city gate. Young Master, the pirate you killed is Tojo Hideki."

In the twenty-first century, skilled police artists could draw portraits of criminals that closely resembled them based on victim descriptions. The Ming Dynasty also had many skilled painters. The portrait of Tojo Hideki on the wanted notice had been based on the descriptions of those who had seen him. Having seen that notice, Fatty Niu was certain the corpse was indeed Tojo Hideki.

"He is Tojo Hideki? Just now, I was almost killed by him. Master, you saved my life; your great kindness is beyond words."

The survivor Wang Er kicked Tojo Hideki’s corpse. "Master, Tojo Hideki's head can be exchanged for three thousand taels of silver at the government office. We are rich!"

"Keep killing the enemy. We will cut off Tojo Hideki's head when we clean up the battlefield." Zhang Chen turned and continued to pursue the tall pirate.

Having used the homemade grenades to kill over three hundred pirates, the comrades of the Zhang Village Militia pursued the remaining three hundred, leaving the pirates with nowhere to go. In a short time, the militia had killed over a hundred more. The seven hundred pirates who had fled here from the small woods north of Zhang Village were doomed; it was only a matter of time.

Just then, pirate reinforcements arrived. Yokomichi Keiji led five hundred pirates into the fray.

Several hours earlier, the overall leader of the Zhifu Island pirates, Tojo Hideki, had ordered Yokomichi Keiji to lead five hundred men to load the gold, silver, jewelry, young women, iron, grain, cotton cloth, and other valuables from the Qishan Thousand-Household Office onto their ships. Following these orders, Yokomichi Keiji had already finished loading the loot.

Hours earlier, Tojo Hideki had led twenty-five hundred pirates aboard more than a hundred ships of various sizes, beaching them on a shoal near the Qishan Thousand-Household Office. In other words, most of their ships were grounded on the shallows.

Just now, while Yokomichi Keiji was directing his five hundred men to move their grounded ships into deeper water, he suddenly heard the explosions and shouting from several miles away.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Yokomichi Keiji led his five hundred pirates to support their leader, Tojo Hideki.

Seeing hundreds more pirates arrive, Zhang Chen cursed: "The First Company and the others, continue killing the enemy! Second Company, follow me to meet them. Prepare to throw grenades!"

Before the battle, Zhang Chen had divided the eight-hundred-strong Zhang Village Militia into four companies, each with about two hundred men. It was mainly the First and Second Companies, along with dozens of soldiers from the Fourth Company and the suicide squad, who had been following Zhang Chen. By now, the Second Company had only about 160 men left, and they followed Zhang Chen to intercept Yokomichi Keiji.

"A mere hundred men think they can stop us? These Ming people are courting death." Yokomichi Keiji sneered. "Follow me! Charge and slaughter all the Ming people!"

Then, Yokomichi Keiji saw the Ming men throw many small porcelain jars.

Then, there was no "then."

Amidst the "boom, boom" of explosions, Yokomichi Keiji and many of his pirates were killed or wounded by the homemade grenades. An iron nail from one of the jars struck Yokomichi Keiji in the forehead; he let out a scream, collapsed to the ground, and died.

Zhang Chen, Fatty Niu, and the comrades of the Second Company threw over a hundred more grenades, killing or wounding over a hundred pirates. The remaining pirates fled back the way they came, moving much faster than when they arrived.

By this time, the First Company, along with the soldiers from the Fourth Company and the suicide squad, had nearly wiped out the pirates who had fled from the woods. Most of those pirates had been killed, with fewer than a hundred escaping under the cover of night.

"Everyone, follow me and pursue them!" Zhang Chen led the Zhang Village comrades in pursuit of the three hundred pirates fleeing toward the sea.

A quarter of an hour later, they reached the coastline, where over a hundred ships were docked.

"Surrender and live!" Zhang Chen ran forward a few steps and threw his last grenade into the crowd of fleeing pirates.