Qi He saw it and quickly followed. Yu'er also wanted to follow but was stopped by his sister with a gesture, asking him to stay with their grandfather for safety.
The Wokou were stunned. They had just disembarked, ready for a grand plunder. Their plan was to strip the village bare of grain, gold, and valuables, and to kill everyone.
But they never dreamed that before they could even approach the woods, they heard a deafening roar. They had no idea what had exploded beside them.
It was a storm of blood and gore, with bodies flying into the air, only to fall back down as shattered limbs and flesh.
Anyone who survived this was terrified.
Even these Wokou, accustomed to robbery and murder, were so scared they fled in all directions without knowing where they were going.
Who knew it wasn't over even then?
Following that, arrows and crossbow bolts flew from the woods, raining down on them.
Even more bizarre, unknown projectiles struck them.
They had no idea what these things were. Some pierced their bodies, causing them to cry out in pain as they clutched their wounds. Others died outright.
Among them were those with some experience who claimed these were musket shots.
However, their expressions were grim. The firearms used to kill them were clearly far superior to those in their leader's possession.
They wouldn't stand for such humiliation; it wasn't their style.
Now, seeing Ming soldiers charging towards them, the Wokou were about to go mad.
They had found their targets and could take revenge. Anyone whose limbs still worked wanted to raise their sabers and fight the Ming soldiers, confident they could turn the tables.
Of course, some Wokou also felt a pang of fear seeing the soldiers charging from the woods, all wearing proper Ming army uniforms.
After all, encountering regular troops on land was not something they desired.
Moreover, they had also heard that Mengjia Town was not only the wealthiest town in the area but also that the garrison at Eagle Beak Cliff was the strongest.
That was why they had planned to come by sea, plunder Mengjia Town's grain and valuables, and then flee.
But they never imagined that before they could even start their raid, they would be ambushed and nearly wiped out. This was their first time suffering such a significant loss.
Seeing the Wokou no longer running around like headless flies,
Meng Qishan chuckled, "Each of us can take on several. Don't fight me for them."
But as soon as he finished speaking, the Wokou running at the forefront, whom he had already deemed as good as captured, knelt down unexpectedly about five paces away.
"Who? Who did that?" Meng Qishan was furious, his lungs about to explode.
"Uncle Qishan, it was me. I just wanted to practice. Please forgive me, Uncle Qishan." Yu'er felt a little embarrassed and quickly apologized to Uncle Qishan with caution.
Hearing Yu'er's voice, Meng Qishan was completely at a loss. He decided to stop talking and stared with wide eyes, searching for his next target.
Meng Qitian naturally stayed by his side, and along with Shuang Bang and the other brothers, they looked out for each other.
Meng Yutang, Meng Yu Luo, Shan Xiaocong, and Erxi followed closely.
They were all determined not to fall behind, vowing to annihilate all the remaining Wokou here.
The Wokou, on their side, also did not expect the Ming army to be depleted. A group of young soldiers, either just grown or not yet fully grown, had arrived.
"Hahaha." The Wokou leader let out a loud laugh, his complacent expression fully revealed.
"Brother, what did he say?"
"Who cares what he says, just kill them." Meng Qishan firmly believed that nothing good came from the Wokou's mouths.
"Yes, brother is right. Let's go together, and we'll take them down one by one."
"Alright, let's go."
Seeing over a dozen child soldiers charging forward, the Wokou leader waved his hand and shouted a string of unintelligible words.
Meng Qishan's spear had already reached his face. The leader, it must be said, was not without skill, dodging Meng Qishan's two attacks consecutively.
Just as he was about to laugh again, there was a "swish" sound, and Meng Qishan's spear, as expected, pierced his stomach.
"You could only dodge twice. We really overestimated you, you bastard." Meng Qishan finished speaking and signaled to everyone, "What are you waiting for? Everyone charge! Let's collect the heads."
At Meng Qishan's shout, the Wokou opposite them seemed to awaken and began to hack wildly with their sabers.
They had been too arrogant, believing that the Ming soldiers were all child soldiers and that victory was assured.
Who would have thought that within two exchanges, their leader would be impaled by that young general?
They exchanged glances, and in their cunning minds, they attributed the loss to the long spear used by the young general. They believed that in close combat, these child soldiers would surely be defeated miserably.
The reality, however, left them groaning in misery. Who said they would win in close combat?
In close combat, those child soldiers were masters of hand-to-hand fighting.
Even the youngest, Shuang Bang, along with his brother, delivered punches and kicks, beating down the burly one-eyed Wokou who had been following the leader.
Some Wokou, seeing the unfavorable situation, turned and fled towards their large ships. However, the crossbow bolts intensified, and before long, corpses littered the beach.
The surviving Wokou wanted to surrender first, then figure out their next move. In their minds, they might not be able to beat these child soldiers with brute force, but they might not lose in terms of cunning.
Fu Xinci: "Brother Qi, books say the Japanese are the most treacherous people."
"Yes. Ci'er is right." Grandpa Meng hurried over, warning them to be extra careful.
"First, tie them to the trees, then clean up the battlefield."
"Understood."
When Qi Yuanshan arrived with his men in a flurry, he saw Qi He and his companions cleaning up the battlefield. His worried heart finally settled.
When he then saw the large pit on the beach, he immediately understood what had happened.
He smiled with what seemed like helplessness, then personally led his men to search the three large ships for any remaining Wokou.
Upon reaching the ships, they secretly rejoiced. It was fortunate that they, rough men, had come. If it had been those pure young lads, they wouldn't have known what to do.
Despite his anger, Qi Yuanshan did not disappoint his men. He declared that the Wokou had fiercely resisted to the death and were all annihilated by his troops.
Later, Fu Xinci received reliable information from Qi He that the Wokou had assembled two thousand men, attacking a county town, a town, and four villages in Liaodong.
Of those four villages, three were almost completely wiped out. That one county town was also largely destroyed. Only their Mengjia Town suffered no casualties and managed to eliminate over two hundred enemies.