lcionline Chapter 277 The Bloodshed Caused by Wooden Clogs (2)
Chapter 277 The Bloodshed Caused by Wooden Clogs (2)
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Seeing the enemy make a move, without Liu Ye giving an order, the guards raised their bayonets and thrust them at the warriors. The blades clashed, creating a cacophony of clanging sounds, and the two sides engaged in a fierce battle.
Although the Japanese samurai were short, their close-combat skills were exceptional. Despite being outnumbered, they fought the guards in hand-to-hand combat, and surprisingly, both sides gained the upper hand. Seven or eight samurai were stabbed to death, while five or six guards were wounded.
A sudden brawl broke out on the street, and pedestrians scattered in all directions to avoid it, turning the entire street into a chaotic mess.
Just as the Japanese samurai were gradually losing ground and on the verge of annihilation, footsteps sounded in the street, and another group of people appeared at the end of the street. They were also dressed in samurai attire, but were smaller in stature, and their clothes were bright red and white.
Upon closer inspection, Liu Ye realized that it wasn't that these warriors were thin, but rather that they were all women! And they weren't holding samurai swords, but matchlock guns.
Liu Ye suddenly felt very curious. It was normal for Japan to have matchlock guns, also known as "iron guns," which were widely used by the Japanese army. What was unusual was that these people dressed in samurai attire and holding "iron guns" were all young women.
The samurai who had been clamoring to cut off Liu Ye's head and offer it to Amaterasu saw this and excitedly shouted at the group of women. The woman in the lead heard this, her eyebrows furrowed, and she waved her hand. The women behind her, carrying matchlock guns, quickly advanced and formed a three-row formation a few dozen paces away from where the two sides were clashing.
Upon seeing this, the Japanese samurai, who had been badly beaten, felt as if they had seen a savior and quickly withdrew from the battle, standing on either side of the women's arquebusiers.
When Liu Ye saw that his opponent had switched from swords to firearms, he almost burst out laughing. Throughout the entire 17th century, there probably hadn't been anyone born who could defeat the Qiongzhou Battalion in a firearms duel!
He gave Lin San a wink, and Lin San understood. Instead of leading his men to chase after the warriors with bayonets, he ordered his soldiers to form two horizontal battle formations, open the lead bullet bags at their waists, and prepare for battle.
The two sides were locked in a new standoff, this time with muskets against muskets, the air thick with the smell of gunpowder. Meanwhile, pedestrians hurried away, and the shops along the street, including grocery stores and izakayas, were all closed, leaving the area deserted except for the two of them.
The woman at the head of the group, with her head held high, said to Liu Ye in fluent Chinese: "You have insulted our Yamato people and injured the samurai of the Shimazu family. You are now an enemy of the Shimazu family. You can choose to use a sword or a musket; the Shimazu family will fight you to the death."
The Shimazu family? Liu Ye quickly searched his memory, and some blurry fragments slowly surfaced. He hesitated and asked, "The Shimazu family, the Satsuma Domain?"
The woman nodded, drew her katana, pointed it at Liu Ye, and shouted, "Shimazu Chiyo, please teach me!"
Liu Ye calmly examined the woman who called herself Shimazu Chiyo. She had red lips and white teeth, beautiful hair like clouds, a moderate height, a well-proportioned figure, and was full of youthful and healthy energy, which seemed to be the result of long-term sword practice and physical training.
He asked with a smile, "Why would people from the Satsuma Domain come to Nagasaki to show off their power?"
Liu Ye has his reasons for saying that.
Following his victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu was appointed Shogun and established the shogunate, marking the end of the Sengoku period and the beginning of the shogunate era. The Satsuma Domain, as part of the Western Army in the Battle of Sekigahara, faced off against Tokugawa Ieyasu's Eastern Army. Although it retained its domain after its defeat, it was never favored by the shogunate. Nagasaki, on the other hand, was a direct territory of the shogunate, essentially its domain, and the Satsuma Domain should have been cautious and avoided trouble.
The samurai behind Shimazu Chiyo all wore expressions of shame and anger, baring their teeth and placing their hands on the hilts of their swords, seemingly wishing they could tear Liu Ye to pieces immediately.
Shimazu Chiyo remained calm, her hands gripping the sword motionless, ignoring Liu Ye's mocking words, and simply said quietly, "Sir, draw your sword!"
Liu Ye curled his lip at her disdainfully. We all play with muskets, why bother with one-on-one duels in front of the battle? That's so outdated!
Liang Xiaoming was somewhat excited and asked in a low voice, "If the other side challenges us and we don't fight, what will we do if we lose morale?"
Liu Ye looked at him helplessly, "Have you been reading too many Romance of the Three Kingdoms novels? Our great Celestial Empire never uses such a boring method to decide the outcome of a battle. Only the Japanese during the Warring States period played around with it. They called it a one-man duel, where the generals or vanguards of both sides fought one-on-one. In reality, it had no substantial impact on the overall battle situation. It was just a game for children."
Seeing that her opponent refused to fight, Shimazu Chiyo's eyes flashed with a hint of contempt as she sheathed her sword.
Both sides continued to point their muskets at each other. The Shimazu clan's female arquebusiers numbered about thirty, and the guards who had come ashore this time also numbered about twenty, so the difference in numbers was not significant. Although the flintlock musket had a higher rate of fire than the matchlock musket, at such close range, the damage from the first shot was equal, and they could be considered evenly matched.
Neither leader rushed to give orders. Slowly, beads of sweat appeared on the foreheads of the musketeers on both sides. Faced with a situation where it was either me or you, no one could maintain a calm mindset during a long standoff, not even the seasoned and experienced guards.
Shimazu Chiyo stared at Liu Ye, and seeing that he showed no sign of admitting his mistake, she raised her right hand, seemingly preparing to order the arquebusiers to open fire.
Liu Ye cursed under his breath. These Japanese are truly perverted. It's one thing to use knives and engage in open warfare, but to fire guns at such close range is a recipe for mutual destruction! All he did was call someone a "shorty," and it was a group mockery, not just targeting the Satsuma Domain. Why the rush? It's like casually cursing someone's mother on the street and expecting someone to rush up and stab you with knives—utterly absurd.
But the arrow is already on the string and must be released. When the opponent makes a move, one can only respond. If one turns to run when facing a musket, no matter how fast one runs, one cannot outrun a lead bullet.
Just as Liu Ye was preparing to line up and be shot, a jumble of footsteps sounded behind him, particularly jarring in the now empty street.
Liu Ye turned around and saw a large group of Japanese people, including Li Fei and Li Fu. He knew the situation might be in his favor and felt relieved.
The Japanese man at the front, around forty years old, with a samurai sword at his waist, appeared to be a samurai, or perhaps an officer. He led his men between the two groups and spoke sternly. Upon hearing this, Shimazu Chiyo ordered the arquebusiers behind her to lower their guns.
The guards on this side also breathed a sigh of relief; it was best not to risk their lives. Although they were prepared to die for their general, they felt it wasn't worth it for either side to trade lives for such a trivial reason.