"Cough—cough—cough—"
As Li Bao was about to proceed, Yuan Xingchi, sitting in the ship's cabin, suddenly coughed a few times.
Hearing his cough, Li Bao seemed to recall something.
"Damn it, hurry up, how could I forget the main business? Make them raise that flag!"
Patting his head forcefully, Li Bao quickly gave the order.
"Yes!"
Upon receiving his command, the soldiers behind him grinned lewdly and hoisted a large banner embroidered with the character "Ping" to the top of the flagpole.
This action served as a signal. In less than the time it takes to brew a pot of tea, all ships in the entire fleet had raised the "Ping" banner.
"This way, there will be no problem. You bastards remember this: from now on, when you go out to kill and set fires, remember to raise the flag! All the killing and arson will be blamed on those scoundrels from the Ping family, with no relation to our Great Song imperial army!"
With a few lewd chuckles, Li Bao once again instructed the carefully cultivated military cadets behind him.
"Yes!"
After hearing his words, his subordinates behind him also began to chuckle strangely.
"Patriarch, these Song people are too hateful. How dare they humiliate you like this! Shall I tonight..."
In Ping Zheng Sheng's cabin, the few remaining Ping family samurai were indignantly speaking up for Ping Zheng Sheng.
"Koijiro, shut your mouth! Do you want to get us all killed? Don't you know where we are?"
Before Koijiro could finish speaking, Ping Zheng Sheng couldn't help but reprimand him.
They were truly in enemy territory now. This was a Song army warship. Although most of the Song soldiers were waiting in the cabins for the battle to begin, there were still plenty of people ambushing and monitoring them around!
If such words were overheard by someone with ill intentions, it would spell certain death for them! Furthermore, they were already in the territory of Wa, and although they had not yet reached the Ping family's sphere of influence, based on Ping Zheng Sheng's understanding over the past half year, he no longer held any hope for the soldiers of the surrounding Ling Kingdom on Tsukushi Island.
The Song army's warships were too large, and their equipment was too advanced. The equipment on a single Song soldier would be enough to arm a hundred soldiers in Wa! This statement was by no means an exaggeration. After all, to maximize the combat effectiveness of these soldiers, Han Mo had equipped them with everything. It could be said that the luxury of their equipment was absolutely on par with that of the elite soldiers in Bianliang City.
Each soldier was equipped not only with a saber but also with a crossbow, arrows, and a full set of iron armor! It was not an exaggeration to say they were armed to the teeth! In contrast, the Wa soldiers' armor at this time was primarily rattan armor and bamboo armor... Rattan armor is self-explanatory. As for bamboo armor, it was simply made by treating bamboo with medicinal solutions, shaping it into pieces, and then weaving it into armor! This kind of armor might barely suffice against the crudely made ordinary arrows of the Wa people. However, to expect it to defend against arrows fired from the bows and crossbows made by the renowned generals of the Great Song was simply wishful thinking! As for the weapons used by the Wa soldiers, that was even less to be said. The Japanese swords, which were wielded by every Wa pirate in later generations, were at this time only equipped to noble officers. As for the ordinary soldiers, they mostly used crudely made inferior spears. In some impoverished and remote areas, a significant number of soldiers were still using bronze or bone weapons left over from who knows how many years ago. The reason for using spears was simple: it saved money!
"But Patriarch, are we just going to stand by and watch them run rampant on our Wa territory?"
Despite being reprimanded by Ping Zheng Sheng, the stubborn Koijiro still said through gritted teeth.
"Don't forget your identity! You are a samurai of the Ping family!"
After Koijiro finished speaking, Ping Zheng Sheng suddenly stood up.
"Yes!"
Whether Koijiro was willing or not, after Ping Zheng Sheng said this, he knelt on the ground.
"I know you all harbor resentment, but you must also understand that this is actually an opportunity for our Ping family. The more these Song people cause trouble now, the higher our success rate will be in uniting with other families when we return. If we can launch a counterattack at a critical moment, even His Majesty the Emperor cannot ignore our achievements!"
Seeing the ashen faces of the samurai, Ping Zheng Sheng lowered his voice again.
"Patriarch, you mean..."
After hearing Ping Zheng Sheng's words, all the samurai's eyes began to gleam with joy. If it were an internal conflict, they would have stood with Ping Zheng Sheng without hesitation. However, with the Song people now involved, their sentiments naturally shifted. In their eyes, the Song people were invaders. Regardless of the agreement previously reached between Han Mo and Ping Zheng Sheng, they were now unwilling to see the Song people slaughter indiscriminately on their land.
"Don't forget, I am also a Wa person, and the Ping family are descendants of the Emperor!"
As Ping Zheng Sheng said this, a flash of killing intent flickered in his eyes. As a formidable figure, how could he be willing to be subservient to others, let alone to the Song people?
"Patriarch, something is wrong!"
However, as soon as he finished speaking, a samurai rushed in from outside.
"What's the panic? It's not one of our Ping family members who died?"
Before the samurai could speak, Ping Zheng Sheng directly reprimanded him.
"Patriarch, you should go up and see! These damn Song people, they, they!"
As the samurai spoke, his voice began to tremble.
"What happened to them?"
Seeing his stammering, Ping Zheng Sheng impatiently kicked him in the stomach, sending him sprawling.
"They, they've changed all the flags, all to our Ping family's clan banner!"
"W-what did you say?"
After hearing the samurai's words, Ping Zheng Sheng felt as if he had been struck by a thunderbolt.