In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

boom! !

A sound like porcelain shattering rang out.

"Baka!!"

Snapped!

A pirate was slapped to the ground and trembled.

"waste!"

"Over a hundred men went to launch a sneak attack, but they couldn't even touch the hem of the enemy's clothes. What use are you all!"

A burly man, shirtless, punched and kicked him repeatedly, hurling insults at him in Japanese.

The pirate lying on the ground was beaten and begged for mercy repeatedly.

Still not satisfied, the burly man picked up a samurai sword from the wall and roared, "Take everyone and come with me to deal with these Han Chinese!"

"They came to the island and dared to kill our people!"

"yes!"

The pirates brandished their swords and shouted menacingly.

"Second brother!!"

At that moment, a voice rang out, and a man dressed in clean samurai clothes emerged from the darkness. He was a bit older, with slightly gray hair, about fifty years old, and had one blue eye that was extremely eerie, giving off a chilling feeling.

"Big brother!"

"Greetings, Great Chief!"

All the pirates present knelt down on both knees, supporting their knees with their hands, in the standard Japanese pirate-style kneeling salute.

Without saying a word, the man displayed absolute authority, and with a gentle wave of his hand, all the menacing and vicious-looking pirates retreated.

The entire cave, with its four vertical and eight horizontal passages, suddenly fell silent, with only the flames flickering continuously.

"Big brother!"

"Why are you stopping me?" the burly second brother asked in a deep voice, his eyes revealing a ruthless nature, a stark contrast to his elder brother.

"Yoshida, do you know who those Han Chinese who came ashore are?" the chieftain asked quietly.

"What's their background?" Yoshida frowned.

"I just received news that the third brother died in Baiyingkou. They killed him."

"What?" Yoshida was shocked, then furious.

"The whistle has already investigated. These people are from the Tang Dynasty in the East. We don't know what they are here for, but their flags are Tang flags and they are wearing complete military armor. They should be government troops from there, and they are very strong in combat."

"The third brother's two hundred men were all wiped out; not a single one escaped," the chief said quietly, his pockmarked face shifting between light and shadow under the flames.

"Big brother, then we absolutely cannot let them get away with this!" Yoshida gritted his teeth.

"Do you think you and your men are a match for them?" the chieftain asked.

"Big brother, you don't believe me?"

"The third brother's men only know how to drink and play with women, but my men are all the most elite warriors. Why should I fear the Tang Dynasty's imperial army?"

"They don't have many people, and they've just survived a shipwreck—this is their chance! Their ship must have a lot of good stuff, enough to make up for a year's worth of our work!" Yoshida was incredibly belligerent.

"No!"

The chieftain shook his head and refused.

His blue eyes were deep and penetrating: "These people are different from the ones we've encountered before. Those merchant ships at most hire some burly guards, but they're useless in a real fight."

"But the Tang Dynasty's army is different; even the major families in Japan are wary of them, let alone us."

"We've been entrenched here for so many years, we absolutely cannot afford to lose sight of the bigger picture for the sake of small gains."

Yoshida frowned, gripping his katana as he approached. "Brother, are we just going to swallow our anger and let them come and go as they please?"

The chieftain sneered.

"Who said we should just swallow our anger?"

"If they dare to come to Tsushima Island, do you think they'll leave without leaving some toll?"

"These Han Chinese from the Tang Dynasty are so arrogant and rich; if we don't rob them, who else should we rob?"

Upon hearing this, Yoshida immediately revealed a smug smile.

The chieftain then changed the subject: "But it's not the right time yet."

"Extreme weather at sea prevented them from leaving; they had to stay put."

"The best time for us to strike will be when their water and food supplies are exhausted, and when they become ill from the change in environment and their fighting capacity on the island is greatly reduced."

Yoshida hesitated: "If they run out of supplies, won't we get less?"

The chieftain said, "The most important resource is weapons. The more weapons we have, the stronger our army will be, and the stronger we are, the more we can plunder."

"As for food."

"Those few hundred of them, aren't they?" he said with a sinister smile.

Upon hearing this, Yoshida revealed a sly smile.

"Big Brother is wise!"

……

This heavy rain lasted for three whole days!

refuge.

While the heavy rainfall prevented the team from facing a water crisis, it also brought enormous trouble, as too much rainwater flooded the rainforest.

The team dared not venture too far into the area, as they were too far from the treasure ship, so most of them had to stay in the muddy water.

Over time, everyone's feet became swollen from being soaked, and the place was filled with stench and mosquitoes. They all endured an exceptionally harsh and difficult environment.

The rain finally stopped briefly on the fourth day.

Even after days of rain, a sliver of sunshine appeared, and although the sea was still turbulent, it was much better than in previous days.

This was originally a window of opportunity to leave; if we had sped up our departure from this area, there was still a chance.

However, the treasure ship was severely damaged, with most of it wounded, making it impossible for it to leave.

"It's finally cleared up, Your Highness! We can go and repair the treasure ship now!" Old Hu and the other helmsmen suggested one after another.

"No rush, don't worry about where the boat is," Li Yuanchang said.

Upon hearing this, everyone was surprised and didn't understand.

"Repairing the ship isn't something that can be done overnight, and the weather is clearly going to change again, so there's no need to go now."

"The three locations—logging, ship repair, and shelter—are too scattered, making it easy for people to get separated and vulnerable to pirates."

"Until we recover our strength, we should prioritize conservatism," Li Yuanchang said.

After thinking for a moment, everyone agreed: "Yes, Your Highness, Prince of Han."

"Guo Chao, you stay and guard the shelter."

"Huang Tu, take ten men and come with me. Before it rains, go into the residential area of ​​Tsushima Island and look for medicine," Li Yuanchang said again. He had been thinking about this for three days.

The medicine sank into the sea, and some seriously injured people urgently need some medicine.

"Your Highness, ten people?"

"That's too little."

"Yes," all the confidants chimed in.

Li Yuanchang shook his head: "The more people there are, the bigger the target becomes, which is actually not good."

"Moreover, the pirates on the island have been too quiet for the past three days, not even glancing at us, which is a bit unusual. We need to keep as many people as possible at the shelter."

"I will take Master Ji'an with me."

"Your Highness, shall I go, and you stay here?" Guo Chao asked.

Li Yuanchang insisted: "I will go myself. The compass is destroyed, so we must make a new one."

"You all just need to stay here and do your job."

"They're just a bunch of pirates, nothing to be afraid of."

This wasn't because Li Yuanchang was overconfident, but because the difference in strength was too great. These pirates had neither horses nor weapons, and even breaking through their armor would be difficult.

Add to that the incredible combat power of Huang Tu and his group, and even hundreds of them might not be able to defeat them.

As long as they don't fall into traps, get sick, get poisoned, or run out of food, the fleet is invincible.