Ming East India Company

Looking at his compatriots kneeling in a sea of ​​people, seeing their desperate pleas, Lynn felt all the strength drain from his body in an instant.

He staggered back a step, leaning against the cold stone wall. The coldness seeped through his clothes and pierced his bones. Like a zombie, he muttered his final command as if to himself:

"Those who really can't hold on any longer can leave. I won't stop them. Leave your weapons and food behind. Those who are willing to stay with me and hold out, please continue to follow me, gather supplies, and we'll set off tonight."

He knew that these people were not traitors, nor were they cowards; they were simply driven mad by hunger and despair.

Once these people surrender, the Spanish will surely find out the location of the valley from them. To save their lives, they must leave now.

As dawn broke and the morning mist still shrouded the mountains, Lynn stood at the front of the group, looking at the long line behind him. He took a deep breath and was about to give the order to set off.

Just then, a strong man standing beside him, responsible for keeping watch in the distance, suddenly shuddered, abruptly pointing towards Manila Bay in the distance, his voice trembling with extreme shock and astonishment:

"My benefactor! Look... what's that?!"

Lynn's heart skipped a beat, and following the direction of his finger, she gazed into the distance.

As the morning mist gradually dissipated, the distant horizon opened up, and the harbor they once knew so well now presented a completely different scene.

A huge, blinding orange-red flame shot up from the center of the harbor, reaching the sky and instantly dyeing half of the leaden-gray sky red.

Thick smoke billowed like a black beast, churning and surging towards the horizon, completely obscuring the morning light.

The core of that fire was the galleon that the Spanish had moored in Manila harbor.

The large sailing ship, equipped with dozens of cannons and carrying the weight of Spanish colonial power, was now completely engulfed in flames.

The wooden deck, towering superstructure, and thick masts were all burning fiercely in the flames, crackling and popping.

The massive mast snapped in the intense heat and crashed heavily into the sea. The fire spread rapidly with the help of the sea breeze, igniting several small speedboats nearby and engulfing them in flames.

Lynn stood there, stunned, his eyes wide, staring intently at the distant sea of ​​fire, his breath suddenly stopping.

All the able-bodied men and civilians around them stopped in their tracks and looked up toward the harbor. They watched as the galleon, a symbol of Spain's invincible military might, burned fiercely in flames and was about to capsize. Everyone stood there, stunned, their faces filled with disbelief.

No one mentioned surrendering anymore; everyone's eyes were fixed on the sea of ​​fire.

Lynn was the first to realize that the galleon's fire must mean something terrible had happened in Manila.

Whether it's an indigenous uprising or other forces taking advantage of the chaos, whatever the reason, it will completely disrupt Akunia's plans.

Lynn immediately turned to the group, his previously hoarse and tired voice suddenly becoming loud and clear:

"With the red-haired ships on fire, the red-haired merchants responsible for blockading us will inevitably flock to the port to provide support. Now is the perfect time for us to go down the mountain and break the blockade."

I, Lynn, swear here and now that I will lead everyone out of these mountains alive and home alive!

As soon as the words were spoken, the crowd that had been silent in the valley for so long finally erupted with suppressed noise. Some people knelt down and wept with emotion, some clenched their fists and roared in low voices, and some looked at the sea of ​​fire in the distance with tears streaming down their faces.

Lynn led the group down the mountain quickly, and as Lynn had predicted, most of the sentry posts and stockades along the way were already empty.

The Spanish regular army that was originally stationed at the pass was reduced to only a few dozen indigenous mercenaries, who guarded the empty wooden stockade. Their eyes were all fixed on the direction of Manila Bay, and they were all talking and restless.

Lynn led his troops to approach stealthily under the cover of the thin fog. When they were only a hundred paces away from the enemy, he shouted and everyone charged forward. Before the native soldiers could react, the two sides were already locked in combat.

Without the supervision of the Spanish, the native soldiers had no will to fight and quickly fled under the attack of the Chinese rebels led by Lynn.

Lynn found a large number of ammunition pouches, tattered clothes, food, and even cured meat and wine left behind by the Spanish in the wooden stockade, which finally gave the hungry crowd a chance to feast.

"Looks like these redheads retreated in a hurry!" Lynn's men remarked.

Lynn nodded:

"That's natural. After all, the Manila Galleon is their lifeline. Now that it's on fire, they definitely can't afford to bother with surrounding and attacking us."

Lynn looked up at the distant firelight, gritted his teeth, and said:

"We can't be satisfied with this. We must take advantage of their distraction to sweep up the surrounding red-haired manors and shops and bring more things up the mountain. Otherwise, we'll be hampered when they have time to spare."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Lynn waved his hand, and the group continued to advance towards the plains.

Lynn stood at the front of the group, leading them quickly through the mountain pass without stopping, heading first to a remote fishing village on the coast for a temporary rest.

Just then, the strong men standing at the vanguard suddenly gripped their weapons, paused, and let out a low, wary sound, blocking the way for the column.

Lynn frowned, quickly stepped forward, and looked in the direction everyone was looking.

On the dirt road in the very center of the mountain pass, a group of people had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

The leader was a middle-aged man, burly and dark-skinned, with a shallow scar on his left cheek that stretched from the corner of his eye to his earlobe. He had a curved knife at his waist, and four followers behind him, each carrying a matchlock gun. They had sharp eyes and a steady stance, clearly people who had spent years risking their lives at sea.

They stood in the very center of the mountain pass, neither dodging nor flinching, their expressions calm and without the slightest sign of panic, as if they had been waiting there for a long time.

Upon seeing Lynn's group of Chinese people appear, the scarred man at the head of the group showed no fear. Instead, he took a step forward and bowed slightly in Lynn's direction.

"But was it Lin Gong of Balian in person?"

Lynn's heart skipped a beat, and a hint of wariness and surprise flashed in his eyes.

He led his team to break through the encirclement, keeping the entire process secret. Apart from his closest confidants, no one knew the specific route or time.

The group of people in front of him not only accurately blocked the only way through the mountain pass, but also immediately recognized his identity. They were clearly prepared and it was no accidental encounter.

The strong men around him instantly tensed up, stepping forward to shield Lynn behind them. Their bamboo spears and machetes were all aimed at the five people in the center of the mountain pass, and the atmosphere instantly became extremely tense.

Scarface, however, showed no fear. A smile appeared on his face as he bowed again and respectfully stated his purpose:

"Lord Lin, there is no need to be on guard. We have no ill intentions and are not the henchmen of the Red Hairs."

My master learned of Lord Lin's predicament and specially dispatched troops to assist him. We, as envoys, are waiting here to discuss important matters with Lord Lin.

Then Scarface pointed to the distant harbor billowing with thick smoke:

"This is the gift that my master gave to Mr. Lin as a greeting."

"What? You're saying you burned this ship?"

Lynn's eyes were filled with shock.

……

A month ago, on a Ryukyu navy galleon in the South China Sea, Shiro was taking a small sip of tea, while Wang Shihe and Yu Yicheng, who were sitting below him, were sweating profusely and trembling all over.

"Is this what you did in Luzon?"

Shirono blew on the hot tea in his cup, not even bothering to look at the two of them.

"Indeed, esteemed heroes, please have mercy on us. We are envoys sent by His Majesty, and we are not carrying any treasures. Please be kind enough to let us go back."

"After we return, if any of you heroes ever need the assistance of the Haicheng County government, we will certainly do our utmost to help."

As Wang Shihe spoke, he kept banging his head against the ground, so much so that there were already slight bloodstains on his forehead.

Their words implied that Bai Ye was a pirate who plundered and looted in the southeast.

At this moment, Luo Sigong, who was standing next to Bai Ye, couldn't take it anymore and jumped out, pointing at Wang Shihe and cursing:

"You ignorant fool! My master is the Regent of the Ryukyu Kingdom, specially appointed by His Majesty. In terms of status, he is far superior to you two seventh-rank county magistrates and sixth-rank centurions. Are you treating my master like a bandit?"

As Wang Shihe listened, he suddenly felt that the words were somewhat familiar. When he looked up, he realized that the other person was none other than Luo Sigong, the military supervisor stationed in Ryukyu.

Wang Shihe was immediately relieved, and burst into tears, saying:

"Brother Luo! The flood has washed away the Dragon King's temple; we're all family now, yet we don't recognize each other! You must put in a good word for us!"

Yu Yicheng, who had been silent the whole time, felt utterly hopeless upon hearing this.

Fool, with your attire, how could anyone not know you're an official of the Ming Dynasty? Since they dared to intercept your ship, it's clear they're not afraid of offending the government. If you pretend to be deaf and dumb, they might even consider the consequences and let you off the hook.

Now that you've revealed everyone's background, who would dare let you go back?

You idiot, you're going to ruin me!

Yu Yicheng thought indignantly.

"Tell the heroes of Ryukyu that we are here on His Majesty's orders as envoys to a vassal state, on official business, to protect the Ming Dynasty..."

"Pah!" Bai Ye couldn't help himself. The tea in his hand wouldn't cool down, so he simply poured the whole bowl over Wang Shihe's head.

"What empire and its people?" Bai Ye cursed.

"You are merely using this mission to deliberately show off your power, establish yourself as an example of fulfilling your mission in the court and among the scholars of the Ming Dynasty, and then gain political capital."

Have you ever considered that there are countless Ming Dynasty citizens under the rule of the Red Hairs? If you anger the Red Hairs, what will happen if they take their anger out on the people of the Ming Dynasty overseas?

Have you ever considered how many people your words to the Spanish governor would kill?

Even setting aside all that, just consider your mission as an envoy: to serve the emperor, to be paid by his grace. The emperor ordered you to search for gold mines overseas. Did you find any? Did you even attempt to search for them?

Bai Ye was already out of breath halfway through his rant, so Luo Sigong quickly came over and poured him another cup of tea.

This time the tea wasn't too hot, and Shirayuki gulped down a few mouthfuls.

"You're clearly trying to use the lives of Ming Dynasty citizens overseas to embellish your own official career? Do you think nobody can't see that?"

After finishing his rant, Bai Ye didn't bother with any more words to Wang Shihe and simply waved his hand to give his instructions:

"Cut off this man's head and hang it on top of the mast."

Wang Shihe was so frightened that he soiled himself and cried out:

"Hero, spare my life! Brother Luo, please beg me! I'll never again covet your war merits when you return to Fujian..."

A few minutes later, a crisp sound of bone being severed was heard, and Wang Shihe's crying came to an abrupt halt.

Bai Ye turned to look at Yu Yicheng, who remained expressionless, his eyes closed as if resigned to his fate.

"Don't you have anything to say?"

Yu Yicheng immediately sneered:

"What can I say? Since you knew we were officials of the Ming Dynasty and still dared to kill us, it means you had no intention of letting us go back alive. What's the use of me saying anything?"

His gaze then turned to Luo Sigong:

"As a military supervisor of the Ming Dynasty, you have colluded with the Ryukyuans. You truly live up to your eunuch robes."

"I have nothing to say if I die at the hands of you lot. Do it!"

Bai Ye walked up to Yu Yicheng, leaned down, and brought his eyes close to Yu Yicheng's nose, sneering:

Have you been to the capital city of Luzon?

Yu Yicheng replied impatiently:

"Nonsense, of course I've been there. Otherwise, how would I have met those red-haired people?"

Baiye asked again:

"You saw the Manila Galleon?"

Yu Yicheng hesitated for a moment:

"You're talking about the giant ships in the harbor, right? I've definitely seen them. What's wrong?"

Do you know what he was doing at the time?

Yu Yicheng thought for a moment and replied:

"They must be unloading cargo."

Shiro nodded:

"That's good. Now I'll give you a chance to live. Do you want it?"

Yu Yicheng turned his head and stared into Bai Ye's eyes, which were filled with contempt as if he were toying with his prey.

He knew that this kind of person had no reason to lie to him, because he had no right to be deceived by him.

Yu Yicheng swallowed nervously.

"If I could live, I would be more than happy to do so."

Shiro nodded:

"Listen carefully, I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself. If you can confirm that the large sailing ship you left was indeed unloading cargo, I will spare your life and allow you to return to the Ming Dynasty."

However, if the information you provide is even slightly untrue, then you will suffer the same fate as him.

As they were talking, Wang Shihe's head was brought over from outside the door for Bai Ye to inspect.

Yu Yicheng thought about it several times before finally speaking:

"Don't worry, I'm sure that the large sailing ship you mentioned was indeed unloading cargo, and it wasn't finished when we left."

Bai Ye gave Luo Sigong a look, and Luo Sigong immediately gave the order:

"Take this man to the cabin and keep him under strict guard."

The guards stepped forward, tied Yu Yicheng up, and dragged him out.

Bai Ye then turned to look at Luo Sigong:

"You deserve a lot of credit for today's events!"

Luo Sigong, who hadn't received any commendation from Bai Ye for two years, immediately knelt on the ground:

"Thank you for your appreciation, sir. I am willing to serve you faithfully."