King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

The dense roars were like thunder that appeared out of nowhere, rolling in from the distant sky.

The huge sound seemed to be able to shatter people's souls, as if the sky was falling and the earth was splitting apart.

Wang Junliang swung the long sword in his hand fiercely and chopped down a Japanese pirate who was coming towards him.

The sudden sound did not affect him at all. At this moment, he had only one thought in his mind.

kill.

"Ship! Warship!"

"Sir! There are warships on the sea!"

The soldiers on the watchtower shouted heart-wrenchingly, but to Wang Junliang's ears, it was so blurry that he couldn't hear it at all.

He swung his sword again and rushed directly towards the Japanese pirates in front of him, gritted his teeth and swung out fiercely.

puff!
Blood splattered as the knife cut off the bamboo armor on the Japanese pirate's chest, tore his flesh and blood, and took his life.

"Reinforcements! Our Ming reinforcements have arrived!"

Wang Junliang continued to rush forward. More and more people gathered around him. In just a few breaths, he killed all the Japanese pirates who rushed in from the gap.

Behind us, there were no more Japanese pirates moving forward.

Wang Junliang took a few quick steps and climbed up the gap in the city wall, only to see the Japanese pirates in front of him retreating like the tide, throwing away their armor and weapons and howling like ghosts.

His face was shocked, and only then did he hear the voice of the soldier on the watchtower.

"Sir! The reinforcements from our Ming Dynasty have arrived! The reinforcements have arrived!"

"We are saved!"

Wang Junliang was shocked and subconsciously climbed up the low city wall and looked into the distance.

Looking through the jungle by the sea, he clearly saw two huge warships parked on the sea. Flames were gushing from the sides of the warships, like thunder, blowing up all the Japanese pirates' ships docked on the shore.

On the beach, you can see dense crowds of people, and the moonlight shines on their armor, reflecting bursts of cold light.

The silver armor of the Ming Dynasty soldiers belongs to the Ming Dynasty soldiers!
Unspeakable excitement and excitement suddenly exploded in his heart, and Wang Junliang roared, his voice becoming extremely distorted.

He held the long knife and swung it forward fiercely, shouting continuously.

"Kill! Kill!!"

"Get out! Leave no one behind! Leave no one behind!!"

He didn't need to say anything. The people behind him who were still able to move had already rushed out with various weapons in hand, like a group of hungry wolves.

The sudden change had already frightened the Japanese pirates. They also saw the huge warships on the sea, spewing flames and smashing their ships.

They were already panicking.

They frowned and glared at ordinary people, but if they really encountered the regular army of the Ming Dynasty, they could only flee.

At this time, the regular army of the Ming Dynasty on the coast had already stepped forward quickly, with long swords in their hands sharp and cold, and had collided head-on with the first fleeing Japanese pirates.

"kill!"

The long sword was waving, the silver armor was flashing, and in an instant blood rushed into the sky and screams were heard.

The soldiers of Shandong Dusi were like divine troops descended from the sky. With the support of a full set of iron armor, they were able to crush the Japanese pirates with ease.

Behind them, the people of Changguo County had already chased out. Wang Junliang rushed to the front, and the long knife in his hand kept stabbing at the enemy's back.

One after another.

Japanese pirates kept falling under his sword, but he had no intention of stopping.

There was only murderous intent and hatred in his mind.

The master who had followed him for many years was killed on the spot, his best friend died, and his home was destroyed. Such deep hatred was unbearable for even gods and humans.

Similarly, the people of Changguo County were also pursuing the Japanese pirates frantically. Fueled by hatred and the desire for revenge, they were extremely ruthless and stabbed the pirates in the most fatal places.

It was a catastrophe. Almost every family in Changguo County had someone killed by the Japanese pirates. Everyone had a grudge and every household was in mourning.

Before, they had been suppressed and beaten by the Japanese pirates, and they could not express the hatred in their hearts. Now they finally had the upper hand. They wished they could tear all the Japanese pirates into pieces and had no intention of leaving any alive.

Screams, shouts, pleas for mercy, and the sounds of sharp objects piercing flesh kept coming from the woods, entering everyone's ears and constantly irritating everyone's nerves.

This devastating battle lasted for nearly an hour.

When Zhu Tan was approaching the shore in a small boat, the wind blowing from the island carried a faint smell of blood.

The seaside was in ruins; all the pirates' ships, big and small, had been destroyed.

The two ironclad ships opened fire at full power, and after one round of salvos, the pirates' ships were turned into powder.

At this time, the coast was full of large pits blasted by artillery fire. The pungent smell of gunpowder mixed with blood kept penetrating into Zhu Tan's mouth and nose, causing him to frown slightly.

After landing, the general in charge immediately stepped forward and knelt on one knee.

"Your Highness! The battle is over, and we are counting the number of enemies killed."

"The people of Changguo County also came out, led by their county magistrate, and were shouting that they wanted to kill the prisoners."

"Look..."

Zhu Tan heard this, thought for a moment, and said, "Take me there."

"Yes!"

Zhu Tan, with two hundred personal soldiers, followed the general directly into the jungle by the sea.

The forest was filled with fallen corpses and blood was all over the ground.

Zhu Tan looked at the corpses of the Japanese pirates with disgust, frowning and feeling a little disgusted in his heart.

Looking at the clothes of these Japanese pirates, they are no different from beggars, but they dare to cross the sea to rob Ming Dynasty with weapons in their hands and simple armor on their bodies.

A worthy death.

There was an open space in the woods, which was not very big. Before Zhu Tan and his group arrived, several voices came into their ears.

"Why keep them here? They should all be killed!"

"You are soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, why are you standing on the side of the pirates?"

"The Japanese pirates should all die!"

When the noisy sound came, Zhu Tan was not angry at all. Instead, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

He quickened his pace, and the general leading the way shouted loudly at this time.

"His Royal Highness Prince Lu has arrived!"

In the open space, more than a hundred officers and soldiers who were looking at the prisoners knelt down at this moment.

Behind them were Japanese pirates who were tied up and almost all of them were injured.

There was fear in the eyes of these Japanese pirates, and their total number did not exceed a few dozen.

On the other side, Wang Junliang, the magistrate of Changguo County, and a group of people were a little confused at this time.

These civilians were either holding sickles or sticks in their hands, and everyone was covered in blood. Some of them were still bleeding from their wounds, but their eyes were full of hatred when they looked at the Japanese pirates, and they didn't care about their own injuries at all.

They didn't know who Lord Prince Lu was. They only knew that the Japanese pirates in front of them were their enemies and they wanted to take revenge.

Zhu Tan ignored all this. He waved his hand to let the soldiers kneeling on the ground stand up, then walked up to Wang Junliang and spoke softly.

"Are you the Magistrate of Changguo County?"

The official robe on Wang Junliang had long lost its original color, but it was still recognizable as an official robe. He was stunned at first when he heard Zhu Tan's words, then turned to look at Zhu Tan.

It was not until he saw this handsome young man in a python robe that Wang Junliang's heart suddenly shook. He quickly knelt down and said, "Wang Junliang, the Magistrate of Changguo County, pays homage..."

"Get up and talk."

Zhu Tan took a step forward, not caring about the mud on Wang Junliang's body, and helped him up, saying softly: "I am late, and you all have suffered." Just with this sentence, Wang Junliang's eyes immediately turned red, his body began to tremble involuntarily, and his nerves, which had been tense all the time, suddenly relaxed.

"Your Highness..."

Wang Junliang opened his mouth with tears in his voice. He was about to bow again, but Zhu Tan held him tightly.

"Don't kneel. You defended the county. You are a meritorious official. You don't need to kneel to me."

After hearing what he said, the people finally reacted and realized that the person in front of them was the prince of the Ming Dynasty. They all knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

"Your Majesty! Wuuwuwu..."

"You have to make the decision for us!"

"Your Majesty..."

Many people knelt on the ground and cried heartbreakingly.

Wang Junliang also shed two lines of tears and his body kept shaking.

Although they won the attack by the Japanese pirates this time, the price they paid was extremely painful, with many casualties.

Zhu Tan sighed lightly and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, get up."

"Don't worry, I will definitely make the decision for you."

As he spoke, Zhu Tan looked at the other people and said in a deep voice: "I, King Zhu Tan, follow the order of Your Majesty and lead the Ming Dynasty soldiers to go out and sweep away the Japanese pirates."

"Everyone, I know you have hatred in your hearts, but the mission lies ahead."

"Let me discuss this with you. I'll leave a few tongues for this king, and you can do with the rest as you please, okay?"

Zhu Tan's voice was very gentle, without any airs of a superior, and his words were in a negotiating tone rather than a command.

These people had never seen such a person in power before. The fear and terror in their hearts had mostly dissipated, and they slowly stood up.

"Sir Wang, how about this?"

Zhu Tan narrowed his eyes and looked at Wang Junliang again. Wang Junliang quickly said, "It's all up to your Highness."

Zhu Tan smiled and said, "Don't worry."

"Everyone, rest assured." Zhu Tan looked at all the people and said in a deep voice: "I have been ordered to wipe out the Japanese pirates. After clearing the coastal areas, I will lead my troops eastward and take Japan directly."

"Everyone's revenge can be avenged!"

After saying that, Zhu Tan turned to look at the generals behind him and said, "Find a few leaders and those who can speak our language to stay behind."

"The rest, all will be killed."

"Yes!"

The general responded in a deep voice and the order was immediately passed down.

Many Japanese pirates didn't know what was going on. They just saw that these Ming soldiers, who were like gods of death, were very respectful to a young man and even knelt down and kowtowed to him.

Afterwards, they were grabbed up by these ferocious Ming soldiers and dragged into the woods.

No matter how stupid they were, they knew what they were facing, and they immediately started yelling and screaming, probably begging for mercy.

Zhu Tan didn't even look at the pirates, but took Wang Junliang's hand and said in a deep voice: "Let's go to the city and take a look."

After saying this, regardless of the execution that was going on behind him, Zhu Tan directly took Wang Junliang, his personal soldiers and a group of civilians, and headed towards Changguo County.

In front of the county town, the scene was bleak and blood flowed like a river.

The corpses were lying all over the place, some with their heads chopped off, some with several arrows in their bodies. There were corpses of both Japanese pirates and residents of Changguo County.

Seeing this scene, some people burst into tears again, completely ignoring Zhu Tan. They cried and went forward to hold the bodies of their relatives, shaking them constantly.

This scene made Zhu Tan feel sad. He whispered, "The bodies of the people should be buried properly."

"Throw all the Japanese pirates into the sea."

"Respect!"

The soldiers under his command received the order and stepped forward to help the people deal with the corpses.

Zhu Tan took Wang Junliang through the blood-stained city gate and walked into the city.

The city was also in a bleak state.

After the strong wind, a large number of houses were blown away. At this time, many people were standing in the ruins, most of them were old people and children.

They held wooden sticks and hatchets in their hands, looking at Zhu Tan and his group approaching from afar, their faces full of fear.

It is conceivable that if the Japanese pirates really broke through the city and killed all the young and strong people, then the remaining elderly people and children would rush up and fight the Japanese pirates to the death.

This shows the bravery and fortitude of the people of the Ming Dynasty.

With people like this, why should we worry about the prosperity of the country?
Seeing these people staring at him covetously, Wang Junliang didn't care about anything else, but took two steps forward and said in a deep voice: "Fellow villagers!"

"My great Ming prince, His Royal Highness Prince Lu, has brought his troops to rescue us!"

"We are saved!"

"The Japanese pirates have all been killed. With the prince here, we don't have to worry about anything!"

Wang Junliang's voice was still filled with tears. When the words fell into the ears of all the people, the old men were stunned at first, and then their eyes filled with tears. They pulled the children around them to kneel on the ground and kowtow, shouting "Long live the emperor!"

Zhu Tan couldn't bear to see such a scene, so he immediately asked everyone to stand up and ordered some of the baggage on the ship to be taken out and distributed to the people here.

Let’s not talk about how Zhu Tan comforted the people and how his soldiers helped clean up the battlefield and repair the houses for now. Let’s just say that an hour later, Zhu Tan finally had time and entered the Changguo County Government Office with Wang Junliang.

But after seeing the county government office with only the foundation left and the dilapidated side hall, Zhu Tan still trembled slightly in his heart.

"You... usually work here?"

Zhu Tan looked at Wang Junliang and felt a little surprised.

The side hall was like a shack, without even a door and all the windows had been removed.

There were only two wooden stools, a straw mat and a few broken bowls in the room.

This is all Wang Junliang’s belongings.

"It made you laugh."

Wang Junliang calmed down a lot at this time, and whispered: "Your humble servant..."

"Nothing funny."

Zhu Tan looked at Wang Junliang and sighed softly, "Just by looking at the county government office, I know that you are an honest official who loves the people like his own children."

"I feel bad for you being in this situation."

"I will report your meritorious service to His Majesty."

Wang Junliang was moved when he heard this, and bowed and said, "I dare not take credit for it. If Your Highness informs Your Majesty of the situation in Changguo County, can you..."

After a pause, Wang Junliang gritted his teeth and said, "Can Your Majesty show mercy and exempt Changguo from some taxes so that the people can have a rest?"

"Don't you want to think about yourself?"

Zhu Tan looked at Wang Junliang, still feeling a little surprised.

If any other official heard what he said, he would probably kneel down and kowtow.

This is a good opportunity to get directly to the emperor's ears, and promotion is the least of his worries.

But Wang Junliang seemed to have never thought about his own affairs at all.

"The people under my rule have suffered such a disaster, and how can I... take credit for it?"

"Okay, I will talk to His Majesty about this."

Zhu Tan nodded, and also firmly remembered the name Wang Junliang in his heart. (End of this chapter)