Ming East India Company

These words struck like a thunderbolt in the hall. The previously despairing crowd instantly ignited a flame of survival in their eyes.

The people bowed deeply, their voices choked with emotion yet unwavering: "We are willing to obey our benefactor's commands! We will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

Without further hesitation, Lynn immediately began making arrangements. He first instructed his trusted confidants to secretly contact the able-bodied Chinese men in various streets and alleys of the Eighth District under the cover of night.

Whether they were shop assistants, blacksmiths, fishermen, or laborers who did manual labor on a regular basis, anyone who could pick up a tool and had some strength was talked to, won over, and mobilized.

He then ordered that all the ironware, knives, axes, hoes, and even the iron materials, thick wooden sticks, and sharpened bamboo spears hidden by each household be collected and distributed uniformly.

At the same time, manpower was arranged to block the narrow alleys in the Eighth Company District with stones, planks, and other debris, and to set up simple defensive fortifications to prevent Spanish soldiers from forcibly breaking in.

"My benefactor, the three main roads—North Alley, West Alley, and the riverside road—have all been blocked, leaving only a narrow passage that allows only one person to pass sideways. If the Westerners launch a full-scale attack, it will take them at least half an hour to break through."

"The able-bodied men have been divided into teams according to the streets and alleys, a total of twelve teams, each with fifty men, and they have all assembled and are ready to be dispatched at any time."

"We gathered all the tools we could find: machetes, axes, hoes, and short blades that the blacksmith made overnight. We collected more than three thousand pieces in total. Although they are not as good as Western firearms and swords, they can at least be used for self-defense and to protect our lives."

"Every household has been informed. The elderly, women and children have been moved to the large courtyards and ancestral halls in the central area, where they are guarded by the old and weak teams. All the able-bodied men are stationed in the outer streets and alleys, determined to protect the Eighth Company and our compatriots."

……

Lynn listened quietly, his fingertips lightly tapping the windowsill. He showed no joy; instead, his brows furrowed even more, and the worry in his eyes deepened.

He knew the disparity in strength between the two sides was immense. The Spanish had a regular army, arquebuses, and cannons, while they were just a group of ordinary merchants, craftsmen, and laborers with only farm tools and rudimentary homemade weapons.

Lynn looked up at the Mazu statue inside the house and prayed silently, praying that this deity, who had protected generations of sea people, would once again bestow protection upon them.

At the same time, within Intramuros, the Governor's Palace council chamber was brightly lit, burning all night long.

Inside the towering stone building, the firewood roared in the fireplace. Seated on either side of the long table were all the core high-ranking officials of the colonial authority.

Vice Governor Juan de la Izra, Chief Justice of the Royal Auditorate, Archbishop Benavides of Manila, Commander of the Army Fortress, Commander of the Navy, the Eighth Company Commander in charge of Chinese affairs, and the Governor's nephew, Tomás de Acuña, Commander of the Elite Forces.

Everyone's face was terribly gloomy, and the air in the hall seemed to freeze. Only the sound of Governor Acuña's footsteps echoed back and forth in the hall, each step like stepping on a taut bowstring.

Acunia hadn't spoken for a full hour.

He was dressed in a crisp governor's uniform, the medals on his chest gleaming coldly in the lamplight.

His gray-blue eyes were bloodshot, his gaze fierce and manic. His hands were behind his back, and he paced back and forth with hurried and disordered steps, completely lacking his usual composure.

Placed in the center of the long table was a thick stack of secret reports, each sheet detailing every action taken within the Eighth Company District.

These were all top-secret intelligence reports sent back overnight by Spanish spies and Chinese interpreters stationed in the Eighth Company.

"Hundreds of Chinese gathered in the northern part of the Eighth Company late at night to move stones and crates to block the alley entrances and build fortifications."

"Chinese leader Lynn convened a secret meeting with neighborhood leaders throughout the night to discuss matters and allocate manpower."

"Chinese households gathered ironware and farm tools overnight to forge sharp bamboo spears, seemingly in preparation for war."

"The entire Eighth Company area is under martial law. All lights are out, and outsiders are not allowed to enter. Security is extremely tight."

……

"You all saw it! You all saw it!"

Acuña abruptly stopped, grabbed the confidential report from the table, and slammed it into the center of the long table. His voice, hoarse and shrill with anger and panic, completely lacked the governor's authority, resembling a wild beast driven to the brink of despair.

"I originally thought that the blockade of the Eighth Company was just to prevent them from secretly colluding with Ming officials, but what about now?"

They're blocking the alleyways! They're gathering manpower! They're forging weapons! They're not content to be law-abiding citizens; they're rebelling! They're planning an inside-outside attack to open the city gates and welcome the Ming army to conquer Manila!

Archbishop Benavides slowly rose to his feet, the cross on his chest gleaming coldly in the lamplight. His tone was somber yet resolute, tinged with religious fanaticism:

"Your Excellency is absolutely right. These Sanlai are all heretics who do not believe in God and are drawn to the Eastern Empire. They are a scourge to the City of God."

They are now secretly gathering, and if we do not strike first, it will be too late once they launch their attack. For the glory of God, and for Spanish rule in Luzon, this threat must be completely eliminated.

The fortress commander and the governor's nephew, Thomas, also immediately bowed, their tone firm:

"Your Excellency, I request permission to launch an attack! If you give the order, our troops will immediately attack the Eighth Company, suppress all the rioters, and give them no chance to revolt!"

All eyes were on Acunia.

The room was deathly silent, save for the crackling of the firewood in the fireplace and Acuña's heavy, rapid breathing. He slowly turned around, looking out the window at the dark Manila Bay, towards the desolate darkness in the direction of District 8.

If Lynn leads 30,000 Chinese in a real uprising, and if the Ming army really crosses the ocean to come, his painstakingly built Luzon colonial rule will collapse instantly, and he will become a sinner of the Spanish Empire, disgraced and without a burial place.

Acunia slowly turned around, and the last trace of hesitation in her gray-blue eyes completely disappeared, replaced by a bone-chilling coldness, ruthlessness, and decisiveness.

He raised his hand, his voice low and cold, each word clearly resounding throughout the council hall, like a death warrant from hell, leaving no room for negotiation.

"Pass on my order: the entire army shall immediately prepare for battle, move the artillery forward, and aim it at all the streets and alleys in the Eighth Company's district. At dawn tomorrow, launch a full-scale attack on the Eighth Company."

All residents within the Eighth Company, regardless of age, gender, or whether they participated in the rebellion, will be eliminated without exception and killed on the spot.

"Confiscate all property, burn all houses, and completely eradicate this scourge that threatens Spanish rule."

The night outside the window had completely fallen. The sea breeze howled through the spire of the Governor's Mansion, carrying a strong stench of blood, enveloping the entire city of Manila in advance.