Reborn in Hollywood

Three Dutch warships lined up on the sea, their gun ports open, looking as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

Li Rui's boat stopped when it was 200 meters away from them.

"Send their commander to see me," Li Rui said to the flag bearer.

The flag bearer signaled with flags.

There was a moment of silence on the other side, then a small boat was lowered and rowed over carrying a man in a Dutch officer's uniform.

The man climbed onto the deck; he was in his forties, with a neatly trimmed mustache and an arrogant look in his eyes.

He glanced at Li Rui, then at the sailors on the ship, a disdainful smile creeping onto his lips.

"So you're the robber who occupies the Singapore River?"

He spoke in broken Spanish, "I am Colonel Van Hoff of the Dutch East India Company. I have been ordered to inform you that your activities here are seriously damaging the company's interests. From this moment on, you and your men must leave, or else—"

He didn't finish his sentence.

Li Rui raised his hand, drew his steel longsword from his waist, and beheaded him in one stroke.

The body lay on the deck, its head rolled twice, and came to rest by the ship's side.

Those arrogant eyes were still open, staring intently at the sky.

The Dutch sailors on the small boat screamed in fright and frantically rowed back.

Li Rui stood at the bow of the ship, looking at the three warships two hundred meters away.

"Move closer."

The flagship raised its full sails and charged toward the nearest Dutch warship.

The shells whistled in and landed around the ship, kicking up high columns of water.

Li Rui stood motionless at the bow of the ship, his Force perception fully activated, and the trajectory of each cannonball was clearly displayed in his mind.

"Turn ten degrees to the left," he shouted.

The helmsman frantically steered the ship, causing it to list sideways, and a cannonball grazed the side of the vessel.

"Turn five degrees to the right."

Another shell landed in the sea, splashing water all over the deck.

Two hundred meters passed in the blink of an eye, but when Li Rui's ship finally docked with the Dutch warship, it was all over.

He leaped onto the deck of the enemy ship, a long steel sword in hand, and swept into the crowd like a black whirlwind.

The Dutch sailors fought desperately, firing guns, wielding knives, and stabbing with bayonets, but the bullets bounced off Li Rui as if hitting an invisible wall; the swords and knives couldn't even tear his clothes.

Every time Li Rui swung his sword, one person fell.

He didn't kill people, he just wounded them—wounded their wrists, ankles, and shoulders.

In this era, being injured is a hundred times more terrifying than death.

But that was enough to break the Dutch.

Ten minutes later, the deck of the warship was filled with wounded soldiers, and the rest knelt on the ground trembling, no one daring to resist anymore.

Li Rui stood at the bow, watching the other two Dutch warships. They were turning their cannons to engage in a firefight with the two warships he had brought.

He took a deep breath.

With his Force fully unleashed and his feet propelling him forward, he leaped from the ship beneath him onto another Dutch warship like a giant bird.

He leaped over a distance of more than ten meters in one bound.

The Dutch on the second warship watched in disbelief as a man fell from the sky and landed among them. They were all stunned.

Li Rui didn't give them time to react.

Ten minutes later, the second warship was captured.

He stood on the ship's side, looking at the third warship.

The ship was turning around, trying to escape.

With the Force's support, Li Rui leaped up again and landed on the deck of the third warship.

The battle ended even faster than the previous two.

The Dutchmen on the ship were terrified. When they saw Li Rui jump over, many of them threw down their weapons and knelt down.

At this point, all three Dutch warships had been captured.

Li Rui stood at the bow of the first warship, looking at the Dutch prisoners kneeling on the deck, trembling with fear.

"Bring their captain aboard."

Several Spanish sailors escorted a fat, big-eared Dutchman over.

The man was trembling all over, his face was deathly pale, and his crotch was soaked.

"My lord, have mercy on me! My lord, have mercy on me!"

Li Rui looked at him.

How many people did the East India Company have in Southeast Asia?

"A lot... of them..."

The captain stammered, "There are over two thousand troops stationed in Batavia, and hundreds of warships..."

Li Rui nodded.

"Go back and tell your governor that I have kept these three ships. If you want them back, bring money to ransom them. Each ship is worth three thousand taels of gold, and the cost of the people is separate."

The captain's eyes widened.

"This...this..."

Li Rui raised his sword.

"If I don't go, I'll die right now."

The captain nodded vigorously.

"Wow! Wow!"

Li Rui had a small boat lowered down and the captain and several Dutch sailors thrown onto it.

The small boat swayed gently as it rowed south.

Elizabeth stood beside Li Rui, watching the small boat drift further and further away.

"They won't let this go."

Li Rui turned around.

"I know."

He looked at the three brand-new Dutch warships.

"But when they come back, there will be more than just these three ships."

Over the next month, Li Rui began to prepare for the competition with all his might.

Ten sailing warships—seven Spanish galleons brought from Trinidad and three captured Dutch warships—were all transferred from Lijiapo Port and sailed to a secluded island twenty nautical miles to the south.

There is a natural deep-water harbor there, surrounded by reefs, and people who are not familiar with the waterway cannot get in at all.

Li Rui ordered the fleet to hide there, leaving only a few small boats to patrol the outer sea.

Residents of Lijiapo Port also began to evacuate.

More than two thousand Chinese, young and old, carrying all the belongings they could, moved inland along the Singapore River.

Li Rui set up three lines of defense on the road from the stronghold to the inland. Each line of defense was fortified with trenches, barricades, and ambushed by musketeers.

Elizabeth followed the retreating crowd inland. As Li Rui's closest confidante, she was responsible for boosting morale.

Before leaving, she turned back and glanced at Li Rui.

Li Rui stood on the newly built observation tower, looking out at the sea to the south.

A month later, the Dutch arrived.

The sea was a dark mass, with more than thirty warships lined up in a row, their cannons gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

Li Rui stood on the watchtower and counted them; there were a total of thirty-seven ships.

The largest flagship in the center of the fleet flew the flag of the Dutch East India Company, which fluttered in the wind.

"Sir, they're here!" A Spanish captain ran up, his face pale.

Li Rui nodded.

"Proceed according to plan."

As night fell, the Dutch fleet anchored outside the port of Lijiapo.

They didn't fire directly at the port—it was empty, not a single ship in sight, so what was the point of attacking?

Li Rui stood behind the trench of the first line of defense, his Force perception fully activated.

He could "see" the Dutch: small boats were being lowered from the warships, full of soldiers, and rowing toward the shore.

The first group to land numbered about a thousand, all of them musketeers.

They lined up on the beach and waited for half an hour to make sure there were no ambushes before they began to advance inland.

Li Rui did not move.

He spared the thousand musketeers and let them proceed along the road leading to the stronghold.

These people walked slowly, cautiously observing the surrounding jungle with each step.

Once they were out of sight, Li Rui stood up from his hiding place and crept towards the sea.

There were still dozens of Dutchmen on the beach—several officers who looked like officers—standing on the sand, gesturing and directing the follow-up troops.

A small boat had just docked, and sitting on it was a middle-aged man in a magnificent military uniform, the tassels on his epaulets gleaming in the moonlight.

Li Rui didn't know who that was, but he knew that he was at least a brigadier general.

He suddenly moved.

With the Force at full power, he swept across the beach like a black lightning bolt.

Several Dutch soldiers had barely turned their heads when they were gripped by the Force's chokeholds and fell silently to the ground.

Before the brigadier general could react, Li Rui had already rushed in front of him, a long steel sword pressed against his neck.

"Tell your men to stop," Li Rui said.

The brigadier general's face was deathly pale, his lips trembling, yet he still forced himself to stand firm.

"Do you know who I am? I am from the Dutch East India Company—"

Li Rui flicked his wrist, and the blade drew a shallow line of blood on his neck.

"Say one more word and I'll kill you."

The brigadier dared not say another word.

Li Rui escorted him and chased after the musketeers who had already entered the jungle.

He was too fast; by the time the brigadier general's entourage reacted, the two had already disappeared into the night.

An hour later, the thousand musketeers were blocked in front of the second line of defense.

Li Rui appeared behind them, escorting the brigadier general.

"Make your men surrender," Li Rui said to the brigadier general.

The brigadier glanced at the dark muzzles of the guns, then at the hundreds of Spanish musketeers standing behind the trench, and finally lowered his head.

"I...I surrender."

A thousand muskets were thrown on the ground, and two thousand hands were raised above their heads.

As dawn broke, Li Rui stood on the beach, looking at the Dutch prisoners squatting in a row.

The brigadier general and a dozen senior officers were held in solitary confinement and received slightly better treatment—at least they had a sunshade tent.

Li Rui walked up to the brigadier general.

"Have your soldiers unload all supplies from every ship. Gunpowder, shells, food, fresh water—leave nothing behind."

The brigadier general was taken aback.

"This...this is..."

Li Rui didn't speak, he just looked at him.

The brigadier lowered his head.

"I...I gave the order."

After the order was given, the prisoners began to get busy.

Small boats shuttled back and forth between the warships and the beach, unloading barrels of gunpowder, boxes of shells, and bags of bread and dried meat onto the sand.

Li Rui had the items inventoried and registered, and then transported back to the base warehouse.

After a full day of work, all the supplies on the thirty-six warships were moved out clean.

The next morning, Li Rui had the smallest warship towed out and replenished with some fresh water and food.

"Select a few people from among the prisoners."

Li Rui pointed to the ship and said to the Spanish captain beside him, "One junior officer, three sailors, and two musketeers. Send them back to report."

The brigadier general's face turned deathly pale.

"M-Sir, weren't you going to let me go back?"

Li Rui looked at him.

"I said to send someone back to deliver the message, but I didn't say that person was you."

The brigadier general's legs buckled, and he almost knelt on the ground.

"My lord! My lord! I will definitely speak up for you when I get back! I will definitely—"

Li Rui waved his hand, and two Spanish sailors stepped forward and dragged the brigadier back.

The junior officer was trembling when he was brought up.

Li Rui looked at him.

"Go back and tell your governor that five thousand taels of gold and one hundred thousand taels of silver will be used to ransom you all. This includes the brigadier general, the dozen or so officers, and the thousand musketeers."

The junior officer nodded vigorously.

"Yes! Yes! I will definitely bring it!"