Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 27: Boat Song
As the sun began to set, the Skuas had already set sail again.

The sailors who had escaped death sang joyfully as they cleaned the deck and tended to the ropes, as if the bloody boarding action of a few hours earlier had been nothing but an illusion.

However, the rotary cannons that had just been installed on the top floor of the sterncastle had not yet been removed.

Beside the rotating cannon, Winters, Bard, and Andrei sat on the deck, leaning against the railing in a daze.

The excitement of participating in the battle for the first time had worn off, and the mind that had been clouded by passion had regained its rationality.

Recalling the battle just now, apart from a sense of pride, the three warrant officers felt only lingering fear and confusion, as well as nausea caused by recalling the gruesome scene of flesh being torn apart and organs spilling out during the hand-to-hand combat.

“Sigh, I always feel like this wasn’t done well.” Bard sighed. He didn’t name names directly, but Winters and Andrei wouldn’t misunderstand.

The pirates who eventually surrendered still couldn't save their lives; Rear Admiral Layton kept his promise and didn't kill anyone.

So he arranged for the warrant officers to do the work for him, and he specifically selected those warrant officers whose knives were not stained with blood to be the executioners, that is, the cadets who had not actually participated in hand-to-hand combat during boarding action.

In the cramped environment of the ship, and because the battle did not escalate into a melee, only the warrant officers at the very front were actually fighting the pirates; most of the rest could only cheer from behind.

“Even if the pirates manage to reach the shore alive, they'll eventually be hanged anyway, so the outcome isn't that different.” Winters also felt that killing prisoners was wrong, but he couldn't deny that it was indeed a simple and effective solution: “I think the problem stems from two factors: firstly, the Rear Admiral is indeed a bit bloodthirsty, and secondly, this group of pirates is really difficult to deal with. The small Skull can't hold so many people. If they stay on the Lucky Star, what if they seize the opportunity to take over the ship?”
"If we kill him, we kill him. What else can we do?" Andrei yawned and stretched, looking quite tired.

Compared to the decisive action taken by Major General Layton before the war, which led him to immediately decide to fight the pirates, much more time was spent discussing how to deal with the prisoners and how to clean up the mess after the war.

Post-war interrogations of the pirates uncovered an unexpected piece of information: the Lucky Star hadn't captured the Skua by accident; rather, pirates throughout the Inland Seas were now searching for a three-masted light warship, the Venetta.
The pirates had received word that the ship was laden with gold and silver intended as bribes to the ruling council of the Republic of the Blue Ocean by the "United Association of Captains and Plantation Owners of the Taneria Islands".

The Tanilla Islands Captains and Plantation Owners' Association operates under a noisy, guild-like democracy, loosely structured and with weak power. However, it is undeniable that the captains and plantation owners are the true owners of the Tanilla Islands.

Piracy is rampant on the inland sea. Taniria has long served as a place for pirates to sell stolen goods and resupply, and its relationship with the Republic of Aquamarine has always been extremely tense.

The pirates didn't know why the Federation was bribing the Blue City Council, but they were certain that a three-masted fast ship loaded with gold and silver coins was heading towards Blue City at that very moment.

As for the reasons why the Federation bribed the Ocean Blue Governing Committee, the pirates' explanations were varied and contradictory, with no accurate account at all, but they firmly believed that there must be such a treasure ship.

It's difficult to deduce a result from a reason, but it's not difficult to find a reason that can convince yourself by working backward from the result...

Even until his execution, the pirates on the Lucky Star still believed that the Skua was the treasure ship and the warrant officers were the soldiers responsible for escorting it.

Escort soldiers? Or escorting bribes? Winters, Bard, and Andrei had never heard of having to escort a batch of gold and silver on their way home.

Could this be a secret mission? Only Major General Layton and Major Moritz know what's going on?

That was Winters' initial thought. However, upon seeing the expressions of the Major General and the Major, Winters knew that they were just as confused.

However, the pirates spoke with such certainty that they did not seem to be lying, which made the major general, colonel, and warrant officer doubtful.

The pressure then fell on the fat captain. He was sweating profusely, swearing that he knew absolutely nothing about any treasure ships and that there was no bribery from the Federation on the Skua.

Verbal statements are meaningless, and oaths won't dispel any doubts. Anyway, the Skua is only so big; whether the pirates are telling the truth or not can be easily verified.

The major general then ordered an inspection of the cargo in the hold. The warrant officers thoroughly searched the Skuas, opening every box and bag of cargo in the hold and tapping on every wooden plank to ensure there were no hidden compartments.

It turned out that the fat captain was right; the ship was only loaded with sugar and tobacco.

So now the situation facing the Skua is very clear: the pirates firmly believe that a treasure ship is sailing from Taneria to Ocean City, and all the pirates in the Inland Sea are eager to intercept the ship.
There may be such a ship, but it is definitely not the Skua. The Skua has no unclaimed gold coins and is only loaded with ordinary sugar and tobacco.
Unfortunately, the Skua's appearance was very similar to what the pirates thought of as a treasure ship, or rather, what the pirates thought of as a treasure ship was a light three-masted fast ship like the Skua.
The Skua couldn't prove to the pirates that it wasn't a treasure ship; it couldn't very well stop the ship and let the pirates inspect it, could it?

That's the situation. The Inland Sea Pirate Gull is a high-risk ship right now. Normally, a naval ensign might be enough to keep it safe, but now a single ensign is absolutely no chance of scaring away the pirates.

The two high-ranking army officers seemed to have completely forgotten that they could immediately dock and allow the officers to disembark. The portly captain, wanting the army officers to remain on board to protect the Skuas, deliberately avoided proposing this option.

Therefore, Rear Admiral Layton, Major Moritz, and Captain Fat unanimously agreed that the Skua should not sail directly to Ocean Blue City now, but should leave the main route and take a detour through sparsely populated waters back to Ocean Blue City.

Besides that, all we can do is pray for strong winds at sea.

Perhaps the sailors' fervent prayers worked, for as dusk approached, the previously weak sea breeze gradually began to strengthen.

With the wind at its peak, the Skua broke through the waves again at a speed of eight knots.

“I think the Major General is right. In the current situation, the pirates are like dogs that have caught a whiff of something. Even if we were made of iron, we couldn’t withstand two more boarding actions. Returning to Hailan City as quickly as possible is the top priority,” Andrei said casually. He had already lay down on the deck, seemingly wanting to take a nap.

“Those rowers are innocent; we can’t just kill them indiscriminately!” Bud clearly disagreed with Major General Layton’s solution.

No one objected to the order to change course; the real controversy stemmed from the question of what to do with the Lucky Star.

Rear Admiral Layton's solution was to kill all the surviving pirates, push their corpses into the sea, and sink the pirate ship. The Skua would then return to Ocean City at top speed.

The problem was that Rear Admiral Layton didn't distinguish between coerced rowers and pirates; he considered anyone alive on a pirate ship a pirate and ordered them all to die.

But Major Moritz raised his objection to the higher command for the first time. In his view, the oarsmen were in a coerced position; they were essentially innocent sailors captured and enslaved on pirate ships. Killing these non-pirate sailors would be too sensational and damage the army's reputation.

"Hmph." Andrei sneered, clearly unconvinced by the innocent party's claim: "Who's innocent? Wasn't it because they helped row that the Skua got overtaken? Besides, didn't you also suffer because of those rowers?"

Bud was speechless for a moment; he didn't know what "Stockholm syndrome" was. Three oarsmen had indeed attacked him, and he couldn't think of any reasonable explanation for those oarsmen who had been incited by the pirates to attack him.

Listening to their conversation, Winters recalled the stench of decay in the cabin, the emaciated bodies and despairing eyes of the rowers, and sighed, "I think those rowers didn't actually want to help the pirates."

"Then what do they want to do?" Andrei was very disapproving of this attitude of showing pity for the enemy.

"They just want to die a quick death."

This answer left Andrei speechless for a moment. He scratched his head, his lips opening and closing several times without making a sound, before finally regaining his nonchalant attitude: "Don't think so much. If they dare to fight us, they deserve to die. We're just a few low-ranking officers—not even officers, just probationary officers. We have no power, hehe, but no responsibility either. We just do what our superiors tell us to do. If the sky falls, the higher-ranking officers will hold it up."

Winters thought that perhaps this was the mindset needed to sleep well every night, and he smiled wryly, "Yeah, just treat yourself as a tool."

Rear Admiral Layton's solution was only half-implemented. The pirates who surrendered were all slaughtered, and those who didn't were finished off, their bodies thrown into the sea to feed the fish and shrimp. Only the pirate captain was spared, because the admiral wanted to take him back to Sea Blue for further interrogation.

The oarsmen were not executed as pirates, thanks to Major Moritz's strenuous efforts.

The Lucky Star was not sunk, thanks to the fat captain's strenuous efforts.

We still don't know the name of the fat captain on the Skua, but he's no longer on board. The Skua's current acting captain is the former first mate, while the fat captain has taken over from Good Fortune Gold and is now leading a few sailors to captain the Good Fortune.

As the fat captain said, on the high seas—at least on inland seas—the most valuable thing is not cargo, but the ship.

Major Moritz didn't really object to Rear Admiral Layton's plan to scuttle the HMS Good Fortune. Both were army officers; they weren't familiar with the situation and didn't care about such a dilapidated ship. But when they heard that Rear Admiral Layton wanted to scuttle the Good Fortune, the portly captain vehemently disagreed and, for the first time, displayed astonishing force, slamming his fist on the table and glaring at Rear Admiral Layton.

The fat captain then counted on his fingers and did some calculations for the two landlubbers:

First of all, although the Lucky Star is quite old, it is still a sturdy, fully functional, and durable ship.

Secondly, although the Lucky Star was an old-fashioned galley, most ships on the inland sea were of this type. Although it was unfortunately robbed, it could be repaired and returned to port as a good merchant ship.

In short, the Fortune can fetch a good price! Sinking it would be such a waste. This ship is now a genuine war trophy, owned by the army officers. Wouldn't it be better to sell it and split the profits?

Here, the fat captain cunningly avoided mentioning the specific price, only using vague terms like "quite a few" to describe it.

The fat captain also persuaded Rear Admiral Layton and Major Moritz from another angle:

There are still more than 30 rowers on the Good Luck. If the Good Luck is sunk, what will happen to these rowers? Where will they be put?

The Skua is already overcrowded with about fifty people. There is simply no more room for another thirty or so rowers.

"To sink the Good Fortune is to kill the rowers; if we don't kill the rowers, we can't sink the Good Fortune." Through this chain of logic, the fat captain successfully tied Major Moritz to his side.

The ship can't be salvaged; to salvage it, the fat captain must be killed first.

But how to bring the Lucky Star back to port became a new problem.

With all the pirates dead, there were no crew members left on the Lucky Star to steer the sails.

Keep a few pirates as crew? Rear Admiral Layton wouldn't agree, and the fat captain didn't dare either.

Should the oarsmen be released and made into crew members? The fat captain firmly disagreed, reasoning that: how could they be sure these oarsmen wouldn't have bad intentions? These oarsmen had been exposed to pirates on the ship; if they were to have bad intentions and rob the ship to sell themselves, wouldn't everyone on the Skua have ended up with nothing?

This is the crisis of trust caused by the unique living environment at sea. On the high seas, there is no communication, no law, and no regulation. There is only one ship in the world, and what happens on board is unknown to outsiders, who are far too far away to intervene.

The portly captain didn't even dare send his first mate with a few sailors to the Lucky Star to bring the ship back to port. After all, you can't judge a book by its cover; who knew if this seemingly honest first mate harbored any ill intentions? If he did, tomorrow there would be another pirate ship in the inland sea named "Misfortune."

Finally, the fat captain had a flash of inspiration and came up with a brilliant solution:
He himself led half of the crew of the Skua to the Lucky, which would allow him to barely manage to maneuver the ship.
The oarsmen on the Lucky Star will not be released immediately; they will remain chained to the cabin as before. This is to prevent them from attempting to seize the ship, and also to ensure they continue rowing. Once we reach the port, we will summon the sheriff and then release the oarsmen on their own.
The first mate of the Skua temporarily assumed the captain's position, and several sailors whose bodies hadn't been ruined were selected from the oarsmen of the Lucky Star to supplement the Skua's crew, so that the Skua could operate normally. There were more than thirty army officers on the Skua, and anyone who dared to cause trouble could be easily suppressed.

In the eyes of Rear Admiral Layton and Major Moritz, this was a very good solution. The only drawback was that the Lucky Star had too few crew members. If the fat captain encountered pirates again on his way back to port, he might be... killed.

However, the greedy captain had already decided to take the risk, and considering the Skua's current appeal to pirates in the Inland Sea, it was hard to say which ship would be more dangerous to board.

The portly captain, accompanied by half the crew of the Skua and a letter explaining the origins of the Lucky Star, signed and sealed by Rear Admiral Layton and Major Moritz, excitedly boarded the Lucky Star, and the two ships parted ways.

The ship's song that Winters, Bud, and Andrei are hearing now is a chorus of new and old crew members.

Andrei remained silent for a long time, clearly having gone to sleep.

Bard seemed to be deep in thought, frowning as he said to Winters, "I feel something's... strange. Everything's weird. Normally, Guitu City has a few fires every year, but this time it's the arsenal that caught fire, and it burned so big; every year people are supposed to go overseas, but this year there haven't been any overseas assignments; and this so-called treasure ship, a treasure ship? Do you believe it? Something is definitely happening in this world that we don't know about."

“Hey, why think so much? I’ve even lost my ability to use magic.” Winters understood Bard’s anxiety, but he believed things would work themselves out: “Even if some earth-shattering changes are happening, we can only be swept along by the tide. Andrei is right, we’re just three warrant officers, let’s just be tools. If the sky falls, the higher-ranking officers will hold it up.”

The first mate of the Skua—oh no, now the captain—climbed up to the stern deck to deliver drinks to the three army warrant officers, clearly excited even if it was just a temporary appointment as captain.

"Drink up, gentlemen officers, drink up. I saw you boarded today. You are all first-rate warriors. Even among the sailors who make a living at sea, you can't find many heroes like you. This drink is on me."

Winters smiled and took the bottle, casually asking, "What song were the sailors singing? It was very nice, but their accents were too strong for me to understand."

The acting captain smiled sheepishly: "Some people call these songs 'ship songs,' but they're just some low-class sailor tunes, mostly about women and wine."

"I actually think these songs are natural and simple. What's wrong with talking about women and alcohol? Shouldn't songs express emotions? It's a pity I can't understand what they're singing about..."

"Shall I sing it for you in Veneta's accent?"

"That would be great!"

The first mate cleared his throat and joined the sailors in singing. His voice was rough and wild, but the lyrics contained an unyielding sorrow:
Farewell, young lady of the islands.

Farewell, beauties of the archipelago.

Because we are heading to Old Veneta.

We will never see such beautiful people as you again.

We roared and laughed, just like the real Venetta sailors.

We roared and laughed, accompanied by the salty, pungent waves.

Until we measured the Cenas Bay,

From the archipelago to the azure sea, there are two hundred leagues.

……

Fill the glass to the brim and drink it all in one gulp.

Fill the wine glass to the brim and drink it all.

We drown our depression in alcohol.

May every lover be healthy; let us drink this cup to the fullest.

......"

Amidst the sailors' songs, Winters drew ever closer to the blue sea; he was about to receive his military rank and officially become a probationary officer.

He wasn't a complete novice, but that was just the most basic education. There's still so much more he'll need to learn through practice.

The boat song in this article is based on "Spanish Ladies," which isn't available online anyway, so adding a few lyrics won't count as padding. Boat songs have a long history in both the East and West. Boatmen's chants can be considered a type of boat song, and their charm lies in the genuine feelings of the working people. These genuine feelings are people's true desires, not necessarily noble ones. Popular songs aren't necessarily inferior to highbrow ones; the genuine feelings of the working people are often more moving. The original novel of "Blood Romance" describes Shaanxi folk songs, many of which are about love and sex. This is because poor families in old Shaanxi often suffered from sexual repression, and these songs were a way to release their emotions. However, in today's society, where "it's not that you don't have something to do, it's that you'll do it to death," these folk songs might not have much impact, showing that songs also need to evolve with the times.

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(End of this chapter)