Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 738 Suppressing Bandits in a Small Village
The unit consists of ten brigades, with each brigade having only two or three hundred men. However, their configuration differs from that of the military in that such security forces do not participate in long-distance combat missions. They generally carry out combat operations near their encampments, which greatly reduces the preparation work for combat and eliminates the need to deploy a large number of logistical support units to provide them with support.

It's important to understand that war and bandit suppression are fundamentally different concepts. The reason why the large army from Ningbo Prefecture always failed to capture bandits was simply because there was a time difference between them.

From receiving the message to reporting, approval, and mobilizing the army, there are at least five days of preparation time. Then the logistics department makes arrangements, the army sets off, and arrives at its destination. This series of tasks takes about ten days or even half a month to complete.

In half a month, let alone suppressing the bandits, the villagers who had been slaughtered by the bandits were lying there almost rotting away, so it had no real effect whatsoever.

However, the rapid response capability of the security forces is clearly different from that of the army. They carry only one to two days' worth of rations and are lightly equipped. They can move out immediately after receiving intelligence and can even preemptively strike before receiving information about the enemy, launching a brilliant ambush.

Even when they become more proficient, one battalion can cover a large area for security work, and ten battalions would be enough to keep bandits away from hundreds of miles of coastline.

"According to intelligence, the bandits usually land at dusk, and after burning, killing and looting, they flee at dawn. So even though we always get the news in advance, we are always several steps behind."

The new army adjutant stood bowing beside Xia Lin. He was secretly panicking, after all, they had indeed failed in their previous bandit suppression efforts. Now that Commander Xia was personally overseeing the matter, what if someone was to be punished?

"It's not your fault. We didn't have any particularly good solutions before. If we don't change our mindset, this thing can't be eliminated at all."

Xia Lin put down his binoculars and sat down at the small table. Just then, the owner of the house came in and served Xia Lin some drinks and snacks.

"Sir, have something to eat. I see you've been here for a day and a night, you must be exhausted."

Xia Lin waved his hand: "Sister-in-law, don't be so polite. We're not here to enjoy ourselves. There are rules in the group. We just feel a little embarrassed to be taking up your house."

"Sir, you're too kind. We're overjoyed that you've come to suppress the bandits. Sir, can you see this clearly? If not, there's a small hill behind here."

"enough."

Xia Lin didn't say much. This house was indeed the best observation point. From here, one could overlook the entire bay. Normally, the bay not far away would be the best landing point for pirates and Japanese pirates. As long as the other side was in a good mood, they wouldn't choose any other place.

"Commander, there's movement ahead!"

Suddenly, a shout rang out, and Xia Lin quickly grabbed his binoculars. Using the last glimmer of the setting sun, he saw several large ships heading straight towards him on the distant sea. These ships were not flying any navigation flags, indicating that they were not a merchant fleet. Moreover, the small town where Xia Lin was located was quite far from transportation hubs and ports, so he was pretty sure that the people on these ships had ill intentions.

"Prepare."

Xia Lin raised his hand slightly to give instructions, and at that moment, the large ships began to lower small boats, and the boats began to row towards the town in batches.

They carried torches, and their tracks across the sea were quite clear. Xia Lin stepped out of the room, stood on the wall of the front yard, and peered into the distance through binoculars.

Meanwhile, the veterans lying in ambush around them were secretly sweating for themselves. After all, it was said that these Japanese pirates were extremely fierce. In the past, when they harassed some small towns and even county towns, even the local garrison was no match for them.

However, the commander's orders were absolute, and although they were nervous, they had no intention of backing down.

The moonlight tonight is exceptionally bright, shining on the sea and making it appear translucent. Even without sunlight, it feels like no additional lighting is needed.

After the bandits landed, they did not rush forward but rested and cooked on the spot, probably intending to use the old method to wait until the night was deeper before making their move.

Smoke curled from the chimneys, carried by the wind to the depths of the sea, appearing exceptionally clear under the moonlight.

"What did I tell you? The land breeze will blow tonight, right?" Xia Lin pointed to the smoke rising from the chimneys in the distance and said to Emperor Jingtai, who had been observing the situation closely, "Be meticulous! Be meticulous."

"Understood, understood." Emperor Jingtai put down his binoculars: "When shall we begin?"

"Once we get the signal to surround the squadron, we'll definitely wrap them up in a big bun."

The night deepened, and the moon hung high in the sky like a jade plate. The bandits had finished resting and were preparing. Under the binoculars, their movements were very swift and efficient. They didn't seem like ordinary bandits but rather like well-trained soldiers. And the weapons in their hands did indeed look like Japanese weapons.

"East Asians are indeed clever. You've even put the swords I designed into standard issue," Xia Lin muttered. "What a pity, little devils. Times have changed."

In the blink of an eye, a burst of fireworks suddenly erupted from the depths of the sea. Xia Lin immediately lowered his binoculars and clenched his fist: "Attack!"

Fireworks burst into the sky in response, and veterans who had been lying in ambush nearby leaped out from their hiding places. These veterans were no pushovers; they had no martial ethics on the battlefield. The once peaceful beach was instantly turned into a mess by the gunfire, the cracking of bones, and the dying screams. The bandits in the front row were caught off guard and tried to retreat, but at that moment, the scouts in ambush sprang out from the bushes and debris. A short, stocky veteran grabbed a Japanese pirate's calf and pulled hard. As the pirate fell to the ground, he took the opportunity to step on the pirate's other leg and twist it. With a crisp "crack," the pirate's kneecap was twisted backward, and the broken bone pierced through his leather armor, sticking out white against the mudflats.

Crossbow bolts and muskets tore through flesh and blood with unbridled ferocity, but the two armies were already locked in a fierce struggle. Amidst the thick smoke of exploding incendiary bombs, two Japanese pirates, their bodies ablaze, howled as they tackled a crossbowman who had inadvertently exposed himself, attempting to bite his throat with their teeth. The crossbowman beneath them had his eyes bulging, his fingers frantically digging into the pirate's charred eye sockets until brain matter mixed with pus and blood oozed from the cracks in his skull.

"Want to fight me one-on-one?!" Li Shimin's sinister grin was abruptly cut off by the wind of a blade. The Japanese pirate leader's nodachi (a type of katana) came crashing down, and Li Shimin raised his small shield to meet the blade head-on. In the blink of an eye, after parrying, the pirate was kicked to the ground by Li Shimin. Then, he abandoned his shield and charged forward, his blood-stained gauntlet plunging into the pirate leader's gaping mouth. He used his thumb to pry open the molars, tearing the jawbone and half of the tongue off alive! The pirate leader's screams turned into a whirring bellows, but Li Shimin didn't want to hear the bastard's cries. He raised his foot and stomped on the man's chest, flattening it as if he were stepping on a piece of broken wood.

"Damn it, Erfeng, he's the real culprit!" Xia Lin, seeing the battle on the other side, immediately recognized the fierce fighting style as belonging to General Tian Ce: "The Carbon-Based King lives up to his name..." The most brutal struggle took place in the shallows. The soldier with the severed arm used his remaining limb to strangle the Japanese pirate, the two writhing and biting each other in the blood. The Japanese pirate's short sword repeatedly pierced the forty-year-old veteran's waist and abdomen, his intestines slipping out. The dying veteran laughed maniacally, biting open the Japanese pirate's carotid artery with his teeth, a jet of blood spurting several feet high, binding the two together into a bloody mass of flesh.

The sea had become a battlefield. Defeated soldiers who had jumped overboard were shoved to the bottom of the ships by the waves, and the sailors responsible for the encirclement were not stabbing with their hook-and-sickle spears, but tearing them apart. A spearhead pierced a thigh, twisted, and pulled, tearing away chunks of flesh, tendons, and bone. A Japanese pirate had just clung to the ship's railing when a sailor's harpoon pierced his collarbone, pinning him to the side. The pirate's twitching fingers dug into the wood, his nails splitting open as he frantically scratched until he was swept into the range of the next wave's slamming.

Meanwhile, the pursuit began. Several new fast boats quickly approached the fleeing Japanese raiding ships. They threw hooks from their ships and hooked them onto the hulls of the raiding ships. Then they began to turn the winches to force the two ships to come closer together. Then these "little old men" in their thirties and forties issued the most brutal challenge in naval warfare to each other - boarding battle.

Firearms proved somewhat cumbersome in confined spaces, making melee weapons the dominant force. Battles on ships were arguably the most brutal and ruthless form of warfare in the long history of melee combat, as there was no way out but to fight to the death in such a confined space. Jumping overboard? Dying by jumping overboard might be even more painful, as the distance from the shore was beyond human reach. Once exhausted, one could only watch helplessly as the tide pushed them further and further away, until finally, their life was extinguished bit by bit.

The battle that erupted in dire straits was a brutal spectacle, with both sides giving their all. The scene was truly horrific, with sticky blood and severed heads scattered all over the deck.

The battle that night ended quickly, and the sky gradually brightened. When the golden light broke through the dawn, everything had settled down. Several Japanese pirate ships were brought back, and the mudflats were littered with corpses and surviving Japanese pirates whose collarbones were locked with iron hooks.

Li Shimin returned covered in blood, like a god of war returning from hell; even DOOM would tremble at the sight of him.

He tossed his dull longsword aside, picked up the teapot on the table, and began chugging water into his mouth. At that moment, the homeowner hurriedly brought over some freshly baked, still piping hot buns. Li Shimin picked them up and, disregarding the blood on his hands, stuffed them into his mouth. The scalding meat juices flowed out, but he simply wiped his mouth and acted as if nothing had happened.

"Don't be fooled by his tough act now. Just wait and see how he screams and wails this afternoon." Xia Lin laughed. "Adrenaline is amazing."

Meanwhile, the townspeople came out one after another, carrying rice, noodles, porridge, and thirst-quenching fruits and soups to the riverbank. Many of them also took the initiative to treat the wounded soldiers.

At this moment, an old soldier with a large gash on his arm stood up while munching on a steamed bun, raised his weapon and began poking at the corpses of the Japanese soldiers on the ground. Then more and more people joined in finishing off the dead soldiers.

Seriously speaking, part of the reason for this was for the sake of fighting, and part of it was purely for venting. Many of the Japanese soldiers' corpses were almost chopped into mincemeat.

"The intelligence is still inaccurate. There are at least 1,200 Japanese soldiers here." Xia Lin roughly calculated: "These old guys are really amazing. They wiped out an enemy nearly three times their size."

Emperor Jingtai took a deep breath: "It was too heroic. You know I've been on tenterhooks since last night."

"Yes, if the intelligence had been more accurate, we wouldn't have lost so many people."

"That's already quite remarkable."

The battle report wasn't as impressive as Xia Lin had imagined. While the Japanese were indeed completely annihilated, their tenacity exceeded everyone's expectations. They were very strong and had a very strong will to fight. Even with inferior weaponry, they were still able to fight to the last man, which caused considerable trouble for Xia Lin's troops, resulting in nearly 300 casualties, including more than 270 killed in action.

In other words, those Japanese devils would fight to the death whenever they had the chance.

But this battle also established the reputation of these veterans. Before this, no one thought they could win, because everyone said that the Japanese pirates were good at fighting. Now it seems that this is indeed true. Ordinary soldiers in the camp are no match for them.

"Ten prisoners were captured this time. What should the commander do with them?"

"Interrogate." Xia Lin narrowed his eyes: "Leave the reserve team on guard duty, the rest of you clean up the battlefield and rest immediately."

"Order!"

After speaking, Xia Lin took a deep breath and stood in front of the map to carefully study the route of the Japanese soldiers.

Meanwhile, the small seaside town was in an uproar, with people banging drums and gongs and announcing that all the Japanese pirates, more than a thousand of them, had been killed.

This is also the biggest victory since the bandit suppression began. After all, those Japanese pirates are not only elusive, but also have strong fighting power. There was even an incident where fifty bandits took down the county government office. Now, more than a thousand people can indeed be considered a great victory.

"Where did this army come from?"

The county magistrate was visibly taken aback upon receiving the news. He asked with a bewildered expression, "How come I didn't know anyone was coming to suppress bandits... wait, how come I didn't know Japanese pirates would come to my territory? No, I'll take some men and go see. Go, gather the men from the county camp, and we're out of town!"

Li Shimin was sleeping like a log, while Emperor Jingtai was still writing down his battle experience. It must be said that this plagued emperor was truly studious; he had already summarized several major mistakes in yesterday's battle and several areas that still needed improvement.

Xia Lin sat on the threshold, gazing at the distant blue sea, holding a steamed bun and a bowl of white porridge in her hand, lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" Emperor Jingtai asked curiously, seeing his retreating figure. "Thinking about the soldiers who died in battle?"

“I’m thinking about how to minimize their deaths in the future.” Xia Lin turned around: “Maybe all you and I want is victory, but what about their families? It’s a dilemma sometimes. It really is true that one general’s success is built on the bones of ten thousand.”

Emperor Jingtai pursed his lips and remained silent, but at that moment someone came to report: "Reporting to the commander-in-chief, a large army is being mobilized in that county town and is heading this way."

(End of this chapter)