Chapter 95: Pirates who hijacked Japanese merchant ships

The pirates' lair is indeed in Aungsan.

There are many islands on Wengshan Mountain. Even excluding the islands and reefs, there are more than a thousand islands.

There were not many people living there in the Tang Dynasty.

The pirates lived on two islands less than three miles apart to the southeast of Ongsan.

They do not farm and rely on plunder for food and clothing.

The island has no name, the pirates named it Lingguang Island and Wuwang Island.

The former is Wu Lingguang's name, and the latter is what Wu Lingguang thinks he is.

He proclaimed himself the king and was extremely arrogant.

It would also be beneficial for Li Xuan to lead his army directly to the pirates' lair at this time, as it would prevent the pirates from abandoning the island and escaping to the greatest extent possible, and allow them to be captured in one fell swoop.

Five hundred iron-clad Qianniu Guards boarded the ship, along with the escort team that had been with Li Xuan before.

The crew members on each ship are pirates, and they are closely guarded by Qianniu Guards.

To prevent accidents, Li Xuan also hired some fishermen who used to travel to Haiyou Township to serve as backup crew members.

The pirates were asked to draw the nautical charts to Lingguang Island and Wuwang Island in advance.

The largest ship of the pirates was the one they used to rob the government office in Linhai County. It was twenty feet long and more than thirty feet wide. The hull was made of three sections of wood joined together. The ship was slender, slightly narrow at the bow and stern, and the cross section of the bottom board was arc-shaped.

There are exquisite carvings and paintings on it inside and outside.

Li Xuan could tell from the structure of the hull that the ship was very strong and could withstand the impact and vibration of wind and waves at sea. Not to mention near the coast, it was relatively safe even on the open sea.

There were several other sailboats that were also used to rob government officials. The ships were six zhang long, five chi at the narrowest part, ten zhang at the widest part, and their hold was nearly six chi deep.

There were also many less sophisticated ships that were probably used to rob fishermen and merchants.

"Such a good ship could appear on Guangyun Lake and be admired by the people of Chang'an, but it was taken by pirates!"

Li Xuan felt sorry that pirates had owned such a gorgeous ship.

"General, by destroying the pirates, you are also getting rid of harm to the people."

Chen Hu, who was on the same boat with Li Xuan, spoke up.

He always felt that letting a famous general like Li Xuan to eliminate pirates was a waste of talent.

He didn't expect that the pirates who had been causing trouble for eight years would be so vulnerable.

After mobilizing 10,000 soldiers, less than 1,000 were finally returned.

"If we lose King Wu, King Zhang or King Liu will rise again after we leave. The root cause is not here."

Li Xuan shook his head slightly.

The collusion between the powerful and the government is a common phenomenon throughout Chinese history.

Those whose lands span counties must be powerful.

It is impossible for a normal rich peasant to develop so much land.

They can also achieve tyranny by taking advantage of others, using coercion and inducement.

In later times, some powerful people directly colluded with pirates and thieves. Although the prosperous Tang Dynasty did not develop to that level, it was even more sinister and vicious.

"A normal general would return to the court to seek credit and reward after defeating the pirates. The general doesn't need to care so much."

Chen Hu smelled something was wrong, but he didn't want to meddle in it.

Look at the orchards, manors and villas around Chang'an, a large part of them belong to eunuchs.

Everyone knows where these eunuchs get so many estates.

Isn't that more excessive than here?

"Okay, let's work hard! When we reach the pirates' lair, we will attack in two directions. I will lead one team to attack the pirates' main island, Wuwang Island, and General Chen will lead another team to attack Lingguang Island."

Li Xuan gave instructions to Chen Hu in advance.

"As ordered!"

Chen Hu responded.

A line of boats left Sanmen Bay in Haiyou Township and went up the coast, passing Niutou Mountain, Tantou Mountain, and Jiushan Islands.

It took a full five hours to drive.

On the way, Li Xuan ordered the Qianniu Guards to take turns to rest.

By dusk, two islands were already visible in the distance.

There was a pirate flag flying on the ship, and the pirates who stayed behind in their lair thought that the king had returned victoriously.

As the setting sun shone on the island, the pirates stood outside on the dock, holding swords and cheering.

This is the moment they enjoy the most!
The cold sea water hit the rocks, and the waves rose one after another, reflecting the rhythm of cheers.

When they were about to reach the pirates' lair, Chen Hu had already changed to another ship.

He led three hundred Qianniu Guards and a fleet of ships towards Lingguang Island.

The pirates at the dock were puzzled, wondering why they didn't come to the main island to celebrate together?
"wrong!"

The pirate vice-king who stayed behind suddenly found something wrong.

Before, when the pirates were approaching Wuwang Island, they would stand outside the bow and cheer in response.

There were only a few people at the bow now, and there was no response.

"Brothers, be alert!"

When the ship approached the dock fifty steps away, the pirates saw the appearance of the plain-clothes Qianniu guards at the bow, whom they did not recognize at all.

When they wanted to retreat, one ship after another moved forward.

Qianniu Guards armed with bows and arrows walked out of the cabin one after another.

"Fire arrows!"

At Li Xuan's command, all the Qianniu Guards shot arrows at the dock.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

"Puff...Puff..."

A dozen pirates were caught off guard, hit by arrows, and fell on the dock.

"Brothers, we are officers and soldiers, prepare to fight!"

The pirates shouted and gathered their forces.

"Get to the dock!"

Li Xuan waved his hand, and ships stopped at the pier.

The Qianniu guards dropped their bows and arrows and swarmed down.

Soon, the dock was crowded with officers and soldiers.

The pirates retreated far away because they were afraid of the arrows.

Li Xuan jumped off the boat holding a sword in one hand and Wu Lingguang in the other.

"You have been surrounded, why don't you surrender immediately!"

Li Xuan looked at the pirates who were gathering more and more and shouted loudly. At the same time, he lifted Wu Lingguang up to let the pirates see that their leader had been captured alive.

"Ah... it's the King!"

"The king was captured alive..."

"What should I do?"

"We're fucked……"

Seeing Wu Lingguang being held in Li Xuan's hands like a chicken, the pirates became terrified and felt as if the sky was falling.

Moreover, most of the officers and soldiers were wearing iron armor and holding spears. How could they fight?

Not all pirates had swords, but only primitive spears, which could not compare with the powerful spears of the Tang army.

"Brothers, kill them! We have been enjoying ourselves for so long, killing people and committing all kinds of evil. Even if we surrender, we will still die. There are only a few hundred of them, kill them!"

Wu Lingguang suddenly raised his head and shouted at the top of his lungs. He was still struggling to survive.

He thought that if he could drive away the Tang army, he could continue to be the king.

"Listen to the king. We will die if we surrender. Only by killing the officers and soldiers can we survive. There are only so many officers and soldiers. Drive them into the sea!"

The pirate vice-king guarding the island knew that he would die no matter what, so he encouraged the pirates to fight to the death.

"Kill!"

The pirates were all incited, and rushed towards the Qianniu Guards with swords in hand while the Qianniu Guards had not yet all disembarked.

"Naive! Anyone who does not surrender will be killed without mercy!"

Li Xuan gave an order and led his personal guards to rush forward.

The Qianniu Guards raised their spears and rushed forward.

Even though we know that there are pirates who are forced by the government and have nowhere to go, such people often arouse sympathy.

Li Xuan also sympathized, but Li Xuan sympathized more with the people who were robbed, killed, and raped by them. They were the truly innocent people.

The country has order and laws. If this kind of trend is encouraged, more people will be killed in the future.

"Despicable, don't hurt the king!"

When the pirate vice king saw Li Xuan using Wu Lingguang as a shield, he was shocked and shouted to the pirates.

"Pfft!"

The pirate rushed forward with gritted teeth, but was hacked to death by Li Xuan at the first sight.

"clang!"

Li Xuan used the desperate Wu Lingguang as a shield. Any sword that came into contact with his sword would be knocked down by his sword.

He made full use of the dexterity of a short weapon, while maintaining the dominance of a horizontal sword. Anyone who approached Li Xuan would fall into a pool of blood in a matter of seconds.

What's more, Li Xuan had Zhang Xing, the general with a sword, beside him. His sword flew and swung wildly, and heads fell to the ground one after another.

The one who suffered the most was Wu Lingguang. He was closest to the swords and sabers, and watched his men being killed.

The bravery of the officers and soldiers made Wu Lingguang question his life.

They pushed forward all the way, forcing the pirates to retreat step by step.

The will of the pirates is about to collapse.

Li Xuan fought his way to the side of the pirate vice-king.

"Go to hell!"

The pirate vice-king seized the opportunity and prepared to deal a fatal blow to Li Xuan with a knife.

After Li Xuan killed another pirate, he turned around quickly, brandishing his sword and arriving first.

"Crack!"

A snowflake suddenly came down from above, cutting the pirate vice-king's sword into two pieces.

"Pfft!"

The knife kept moving and slashed the pirate vice-king's neck, causing blood to spurt all over Wu Lingguang.

The pirate vice-king opened his eyes wide and died with his eyes open.

"what……"

Wu Lingguang's eyes were red with anger, but he could only watch helplessly.

"Surrender quickly!"

This also caused the remaining pirates to completely collapse.

Even though I knew I might die if I surrendered, at least I could live longer and no longer have to face the cruelty of these officers and soldiers.

The few remaining pirates dropped their weapons and knelt down to beg for mercy.

Li Xuan sent a part of the Qianniu Guards to stay behind, and the other part of the Qianniu Guards, led by Zhang Xing, Zhu Langjiang and others, searched for the robbers hiding on the island.

In this case, there must be robbers hiding.

It is even possible that they escaped in other directions by paddling a small boat.

Search all the robbers' houses one by one.

"Don't kill me, I was captured and brought to the island!"

There were ragged men kneeling on the ground begging for mercy. They might have been slaves who were captured on the island and treated like beasts of burden.

"Gather them together and keep them under guard. They will be able to identify each other later. Anyone who dares to pass themselves off as the real ones will be executed immediately!"

Li Xuan ordered these people to be guarded separately.

There were also many women on the island who were abducted by the robbers. They were children of civilians and some had long been homeless.

They were all tools for the pirates to vent their sexual desires. Some of the women had been tortured for several years and had become mentally numb.

Many others were tortured to death and their bodies sank into the sea.

When they learned that the soldiers had come to rescue them, their first feeling was not surprise, but confusion.

They no longer know where their home is, or whether their parents, husbands, and children still exist.

They are even more ashamed to see each other.

Li Xuan promised to send them home as much as possible. If they are really homeless, they will be assigned to work as farmers so that they can make a living.

At the same time, Li Xuan ordered the Qianniu Guards that anyone who dared to touch these women would be punished according to military law.

According to the laws of the Tang army, rape and looting would be punishable by death. In reality, many generals failed to comply during the war, and the court rarely blamed them as long as they won the battle.

But Li Xuan was serious.

Not long after, Chen Hu came by boat to report that all the pirates on Lingguang Island had been eliminated.

Li Xuan ordered his subordinates, half of them to rest and the other half to keep watch, and then set out to return to Haiyou Township tomorrow.

The pirates spent the night in torment of fear.

The next day, all the spoils, including food and a small number of livestock, were loaded onto the ship.

The pirates had been operating for eight years and had robbed a lot of money, which they could not spend, so they had to save. Li Xuan would take it away and distribute it to the affected people.

There were also gold, silver and jewelry, and quite a lot of them, which was beyond Li Xuan's expectation.

It was obtained by pirates who robbed merchant ships.

It is said that they robbed Japanese merchant ships several times and obtained a lot of Japanese gold, silver and jewelry.

These rare treasures and gold and silver were brought back to Chang'an by Li Xuan.

As for the powerful, they all lived in the city and the pirates had no chance of reaching them.

At noon, they left the two islands with 300 pirate captives, more than 200 slaves, and 250 women.

All the pirates' ships, big and small, were driven away. Li Xuan had the foresight to hire many fishermen from Haiyou Township, so he could drive these ships away.

The journey was smooth and we returned to Haiyou Township at night!

At this time, all the Qianniu Guards had arrived at Haiyou Township and stationed there.

……

Early in the morning, Haiyou Township is like the New Year.

The once lifeless Haiyu Township now shows signs of vitality.

Because the evil pirates were wiped out by the government soldiers, the Pirate King Wu Lingguang was also captured alive.

At this time, the villagers all knew that it was not the officers and soldiers of Linhai County who destroyed the pirates, but the royal guards under the command of the saint.

They also have a domineering name, Qianniu Guards!

Qianniu Guards got their name from the Qianniu Sword they wielded.

The Qianniu Guards, who were of average combat power in Li Xuan's eyes, became great heroes in the eyes of the people along the coast.

For the first time, they felt the emperor's grace reaching here!
The news of Wu Lingguang's annihilation soon spread to Linhai, Yuyao and other coastal areas.

The people danced with excitement, and the powerful also smiled.

Over the past eight years, countless fields have become barren and have naturally been taken over by the government.

When those people who have been living away from home return home, they will find that their joy was in vain.

"Congratulations, General Li. Congratulations, General Li. You have made an unprecedented contribution and will surely be promoted again..."

Last night, someone reported to Huang Wangheng that Li Xuan had returned from his expedition against the pirates with a great victory.

At daybreak, he set out from Linhai with his assistants, ostensibly to congratulate Li Xuan, but actually to test the waters and do something.

"Last winter, in the extremely cold land covered with snow, I captured the Turkic Khan Usumish and the Khan Basmi Jiediish alive. That was an unprecedented achievement! As for the pacification of the pirates this time, it is at best the achievement of being promoted from a county lieutenant to a county magistrate..."

For some reason, Li Xuan felt very disgusted when he saw Huang Wangheng, and wanted to mock him in his words and deeds.

This time, it was even more of a mockery of something that a county lieutenant could do, but instead sent 10,000 imperial cavalrymen to rush over for 3,000 miles.

This represents the incompetence of the governor of a county!

"General Li is too modest, and Wu Lingguang is vicious and cunning. All the counties in the eastern part of Jiangnan know this."

Huang Wangheng was angry and depressed. He wanted to get close to Li Xuan and have a good talk with him.

But this young boy humiliated him again and again.

He could only keep it in his heart and hope that Li Xuan would leave quickly.

"I think Wu Lingguang is actually not worthy of this!"

Li Xuan didn't buy Huang Wangheng's account.

"General Li, people like this should be beheaded in public to serve as a warning to others."

Huang Wangheng hoped that Li Xuan could kill Wu Lingguang directly.

(End of this chapter)