Chapter 762
Not needed, but must be present
Upon seeing the two men, each wielding a sword, the pirates were thrown into chaos. They twirled their bows and arrows, intending to shoot the two men, but ended up injuring their own. They had no choice but to switch to swords and charge forward.
How could mere pirates possibly be a match for the two of them? Apart from the loss of strength and the slight tremors in their hands during the fight, these people could not harm the two of them in the slightest.
This was almost a one-sided massacre.
"Step aside--"
With a loud shout, the pirates, who were huddled together, scrambled back, while the person who shouted didn't wait for them all to retreat before lighting the fuse.
Pan Yun turned around, and the gunpowder had already propelled the lead bullets flying out. She raised her sword and held it in front of her face. With a clang, a lead bullet struck the sword and bounced off...
Then, a dozen lead bullets were fired. Pan Yun rolled to dodge, but Xuan Miao was even more agile, dodging in mid-air. Taking advantage of the gap when they were reloading and setting off the fuse, she leaped up and stabbed with her sword...
Pan Yun followed closely behind, and more than ten men armed with muskets hurriedly raised their guns to defend themselves...
A musket fell, and Pan Yun reached out and grabbed it. In a flash, the object disappeared from his hand.
She was very curious about the muskets in this world.
Xuanmiao had already reached out and grabbed the person who had just shouted "Get out of the way," not giving him a chance to commit suicide, and directly knocked him unconscious with a chop.
The counterattack by the officers and soldiers came quickly. Several cannonballs were fired, and the official ships took the opportunity to change formation. They not only held back and killed the Japanese pirates who were close to the large ships, but also approached the two large pirate ships. The officers and soldiers used skills such as building bridges, ropes, and light-footed leaps to rush onto the ships, with shouts of battle filling the air.
Wang Cong also wanted to charge, but his two boats were moved to the back by Yang Shan and guarded by the other ships. He could only fly over boat by boat with his sword. As soon as he jumped up, Tao Ji grabbed his collar and pressed him down: "You and Xue Shao guard the big ship. We're going over there."
Wang Cong said urgently, "Third Uncle, I can also kill enemies!"
"To prevent bandits from taking advantage of the chaos, we have enough men ahead; we don't need you."
Xue Shao was much more obedient than Wang Cong. Upon hearing the instructions, he immediately flew to another large ship and began searching for any remaining pirates.
Tao Ji gave Wang Cong a look that said, "Look at them," and then led Miao Zhen and the other two boats to attack.
After exposing all the small black ships that were attacking, Xiao Hong turned around and rushed to another large pirate ship.
There's nothing I can do; my beloved is here.
Dressed in red, the two women killed fewer enemies than Pan Yun and Xuan Miao, but they also focused their attention on the pirates who controlled the cannons and crossbows.
Without these two powerful long-range attack weapons, the officers and soldiers took the opportunity to approach the large ship and board it at minimal cost.
Pan Yun leaped over, his gaze sweeping across the area. He spotted a pirate wearing ordinary armor, kicked him away, and before the pirate could react, he reached out and knocked down the pirate's chin, pressing his pressure points. Then he threw the pirate to the officers and soldiers boarding the ship.
The other person's pupils constricted, and they stared at Pan Yun in disbelief.
"Pretending to be someone important in front of a Taoist priest? Who do you think you are?" Pan Yun shouted, "Take him away!"
The soldier responded and took him away.
The pirates on the large ship fell silent, gripping their swords and confronting the government troops.
Pan Yun sneered, "The bandit leader has been captured alive, are you still going to resist?"
The pirates swallowed hard, glanced at their companions, and involuntarily retreated.
They took a step back, and the officers and soldiers took two steps closer.
Pan Yun became even more arrogant, his steps relentless as he approached step by step: "You've sent so many people, and countless have already been captured alive. Are you sure you want to risk your lives for someone who's hiding in the shadows and reaping the benefits?"
The pirates avoided her gaze, retreating hastily, their swords drooping slightly. They said in a panic, "You, you don't come any closer! We'll stop fighting, just give us a few small boats to leave." Pan Yun replied, "Leave? Do you think you can go back alive? Not only you, but I'm afraid your families will also be wiped out. The court can promise you, though, that your crimes will not extend to your families, and your entire clan will not be implicated."
The pirates panicked and became even more hesitant. Just then, the last man retreated to the edge of the ship, his back pressed against the gunwale.
Pan Yun roared, "Aren't you going to surrender yet?!"
One of the pirates dropped his sword with a clang, and their hearts pounded. They immediately dropped their swords as well.
The officers and soldiers immediately rushed forward, pinned the man down, kicked away the swords and knives, and then tied him up and took him away.
This time, no one committed suicide.
Ordinary pirates didn't know much either; they just followed orders. They would rob whoever their leader told them to, and that was about it.
Pan Yun handed the case over to the Embroidered Uniform Guards for investigation, leaving professional matters to the professionals.
As she turned to return to her own boat, she smelled gunpowder and a burnt smell on Hongyan.
She sniffed, frowned, grabbed Hongyan's hand, and pulled up the red sleeve to see that her arm, pierced by a lead bullet, was bleeding profusely, and the edges still smelled of gunpowder.
Her face darkened: "Why didn't you say you were injured?"
Hongyan lowered her head and stuck out her tongue to lick it, saying nonchalantly, "I'll just lick it and it'll be fine, it doesn't hurt much."
Pan Yun: ...
Just then, Tao Ji and the others arrived, so she handed Hongyan over to them, saying, "Take care of her."
Tao Ji's eyes narrowed, filled with worry: "A musket can actually hurt you."
Mysterious: "Cultivators are also human. Even true gods can be injured, let alone humans?"
Tao Ji: "But..."
Xuanmiao: "I know you are worried that they will hurt us with muskets, but even gods can be hurt by mortal weapons. Only by improving ourselves can we protect ourselves."
Pan Yun, who was watching from the side holding a musket, twirled the musket in his hand and laughed, "If they have powerful weapons, then we'll make powerful weapons too."
His mysterious gaze fell on the musket in her hand, his face expressionless: "Don't bite off more than you can chew, junior sister. Don't try to do everything you see."
Pan Yun disagreed: "A genius doesn't have the worry of being greedy."
"Then why did you entrust the maritime trade to Cong'er?"
“Because I’m not interested,” Pan Jun said. “Making money is not an interest for me, but a necessity. But improving firearms is different. These are so much fun. Firearms can be turned into guns.”
Pan Yun is currently most interested in modifying artifacts. She not only wants to further improve the silver smelting production line, but is also very interested in cannons and firearms.
What's the point of buying low and selling high? Wouldn't it be more interesting to replicate what our ancestors did but can't do in this era and use it to benefit the people?
Pan Yun expressed her lofty ideals.
Tao Ji looked at her speechlessly: "This is a weapon, what do you think it is? You call it benefiting the people? You'd be fine if you didn't harm them."
Pan Yun shook his head and said, "No, no. Weapons can protect the country. Just think, if the Ming Dynasty had powerful weapons to repel enemies, would it allow Japanese pirates, southern barbarians, and northern nomads to constantly offend the national prestige? With powerful weapons to protect the country, the people don't have to fight, reducing military expenditures. Isn't that a benefit to the people?"
Pan Yun said, "Weapons also depend on who controls them. We may not use them, but we cannot be without them." (End of Chapter)