He had originally planned to find a suitable opportunity to strike back, not only to gain the Emperor's trust but also to significantly weaken his opponents.
If he was lucky enough, perhaps they could even acquire a large number of warships, weapons, and various advanced equipment from the Song people.
After all, the things brought by these Song people were truly eye-catching!
In Wa, only nobles could use armor, yet the Song people were able to equip ordinary soldiers with it on a large scale.
The swords and other weapons used by ordinary Song soldiers were one thing; although the sharpness of these blades did surprise him, they were far less tempting compared to the Song army's arrows.
To deter Hirakusa Masamori, Han Mo had deliberately taken him on a tour of the Song army's camp.
Even now, Hirakusa Masamori vividly remembered the crossbows that could pierce iron armor from fifty paces away.
If his soldiers could be equipped with such weapons in large numbers, he wouldn't even need to rely on the Emperor's authority. To put it bluntly, as long as he had enough food and supplies, unifying Wa might not even be impossible!
But now, all of that was completely ruined!
With the strength of the Song army, these Japanese soldiers sent to meet them would undoubtedly be no match.
After their defeat, the news of the Taira clan's fleet attacking Chikushi Island would surely spread far and wide with their panicked retreat.
It was estimated that it wouldn't be long before everyone in Wa would know that the Taira family had betrayed Wa!
If this news spread everywhere, all of the Taira family's last retreat routes would be cut off...
"Pfft—"
"Han Mo, Han Mo, you want my Taira family to perish!"
After spitting out a mouthful of blood towards the sky, Hirakusa Masamori collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
"Lord Patriarch, are you alright?"
Hearing Hirakusa Masamori's mournful cries, the samurai around him quickly rushed over.
...
"What's that noise below? Why is it so noisy?"
Yuan Xingchi, who was chewing on dried bean curd while watching the soldiers slaughtering below from the window, muttered softly upon hearing the screams.
"Replying to Sir, it seems to be some Patriarch of the Taira family. He was so overjoyed upon hearing that we had changed to the Taira family's banner that he fainted directly!"
Hearing Yuan Xingchi's question, the driver, who was serving him closely, suddenly chuckled.
"So that's how it is..."
Hearing this, Yuan Xingchi's lips also curled into a smile.
From the moment he first met Hirakusa Masamori, he knew this fellow had ulterior motives.
Yuan Xingchi had observed Hirakusa Masamori's actions throughout the journey but had said nothing.
This simple move of his had completely disrupted all of Hirakusa Masamori's plans.
From now on, the Taira family had no other retreat but to be their running dogs.
If this fellow continued to be disobedient, Yuan Xingchi wouldn't even need to do anything; he could simply stop supporting the Taira family, and the entire family would immediately be torn to shreds by all the factions in Wa.
"Find a doctor to check on him later. If he really dies on the ship, this matter will be quite troublesome. No matter what, he must live!"
After pouring himself a cup of tea, Yuan Xingchi said with a smug smile.
"Yes!"
As they were talking, the well-trained navy under Li Bao's command finally began to get excited.
At the beginning of the war, these new recruits were indeed a bit nervous, but after one direct engagement, their courage immediately grew.
Wa ships were small, so they were not allowed to carry many weapons.
Apart from the ramming pole at the bow of the ship, the only weapons that could be used on the entire vessel were the bows and arrows and spears held by the soldiers.
On the other hand, the Song army, without needing to use other weapons, already had enough Catapult Crossbows configured on their ships to make those Wa people suffer greatly!
The warships of both sides were less than 100 paces apart. At this distance, the iron spears shot by the Catapult Crossbows were simply overwhelming.
The Song army's warships were designed with watertight compartments, so even after taking a heavy blow, they would not sink.
However, Wa warships did not have this luxury. Their ships were, to put it bluntly, just a layer of broken wood with a few keels inside.
If such crude ships were unlucky enough to take three or more iron spears at once, they would immediately break in half!
The short distance of 100 paces had become an insurmountable chasm.
"General, we have lost too many ships! If this continues, I fear we will be completely annihilated!"
"Shut your damned mouth! We have lost so many ships, and if we don't recapture a few large ships, do you think we can return alive!"
On the Wa warships, Kurozawa Akimasa, the commander of the Chikuzen Province navy, was like a desperate gambler at this moment.
Initially, he had no intention of attacking. When they saw the Song merchant ships, they just wanted to see if they could gain some advantage.
But what he didn't expect was that as soon as they began to bluff, the Song people, from somewhere, produced dozens of warships.
Before they could even figure out what was happening, nearly twenty percent of their ships were sent to the bottom by the soldiers on those large ships.
He had originally thought that he could use the advantage of small and agile ships to give the Song people a hard time.
But what he didn't expect was that the closer they moved forward, the fiercer the Song army's firepower seemed to become.
In less than half an hour in total, more than half of the ships he had brought out were lost.
This was their territory, on their doorstep, and before he even touched an enemy warship, they had already destroyed more than half of his forces.
If such a thing were to be reported back home, even the Emperor himself might not be able to save his life!
"Pass down my order: anyone who retreats will be executed! Everyone, regardless of the cost, get close and engage in hand-to-hand combat to capture the ships!"
Looking at the warships that were within striking distance, Kurozawa Akimasa's eyes turned red.
"Yes!"
Upon receiving his order, the naval vessels that had been attempting to scatter and flee were forced to gather again.
Close-quarters combat to capture ships, this was already his