Half of the building had collapsed, surrounded by people fleeing in all directions, and the Spanish soldiers who were originally guarding outside the building had long since disappeared. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoFifteen-year-old Cai Zhong woke up from a coma, and after nightfall, Manila was full of fires, and the fires caused by the previous artillery shelling of the Tang army were now spreading throughout the city.

The first thing Cai Zhong did when he woke up was to scream and shout: "Grandma, grandma! ”

Cai Zhong was born in Manila, his complexion is slightly yellow, it is natural to see that he is a mixture of Chinese and local natives, Cai Zhong's father is from Fujian, is a laborer who came with Chinese businessmen, after settling down in Manila, married a local woman, and converted to Catholicism. However, Cai Zhong's mother ran away from home when he was a child and never came back. Cai Zhong's father was very busy, so his grandmother took care of him growing up.

In Cai Zhong's mind, grandma's status is greater than that of his father and mother combined.

Two days ago, Cai Zhong and his grandmother, who live in Manila, were taken out of their home by a team of Spanish soldiers and imprisoned in the building, along with dozens of the same Chinese. This made Cai Zhong very frightened, and he didn't know what was going on, and he heard Chen Tianfu, a businessman uncle who was also imprisoned, say that Spain was at war with the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang people were about to fight in Manila.

Cai Zhong also met some Tang people in Manila, who tended to dress decently, spend lavishly, and the Tang goods sold in the market were very novel and more useful. Cai Zhong always saves a little pocket money, and then sells some novel and interesting Datang goods. He also knew that many years ago, the Tang Dynasty had defeated the Great Qing Kingdom. and forced the Qing Kingdom to submit. From Japan to the Philippines. The merchant ships of the Tang people traveled all over the world, and their influence was very large. In recent years, some Filipino Chinese have even gone to their own whips and kept their hair short like the Tang people, in order to appear more confident.

The Spaniards did not dare to go too far with the local Chinese in these years, because the local Chinese had the support of the Tang Dynasty, Cai Zhong heard that the Spaniards had slaughtered the Chinese in Manila in the early years to prevent them from being too powerful and plundering wealth by the way. On that occasion, tens of thousands of Chinese were massacred by the Spanish colonizers. Cai Zhong didn't have much intuitive understanding of those things. He just knew that the Spaniards did not dare to do anything to the Chinese in these years, and some local Chinese businessmen, relying on the relationship of the Latang people, had become bigger and bigger, and even the Spaniards were more and more concerned.

I thought that this situation would continue, and that the Chinese would become an economically dominant ethnic group in the Spanish-ruled Philippines, not the actual rulers, but full of influence. However, when the Tang Dynasty and Spain went to war. The Spaniards completely tore off their disguises and no longer conceded to the Chinese. Instead, they arrested the Tang people and imprisoned them. Men and women, young and old, poor and rich, even those Chinese who served in the colonial government were considered untrustworthy and were similarly imprisoned.

Cai Zhong's fear did not last long, and an astonishing and powerful artillery bombardment changed everything. The Tang Navy's shelling did not have a definite target, so it was not known where it would hit, and a single shell exploded into the building where Cai Zhong and his grandmother were being held, as well as dozens of local Chinese. Half of the building collapsed, killing many people at that time. And Cai Zhong was also stunned by the shock wave and fainted to the ground.

When he got up, he began to look for his grandmother everywhere. Chen Tianfu, a tea merchant, hugged the young Cai Zhong, pointed to the leg exposed under a broken wall, and said, "Xiaozhong, don't be sad, grandma is gone." ”

Cai Zhong looked at his grandmother who was pressed under the stone slab, only showing a pair of legs, the blue pants fabric Cai Zhong was very familiar with, it was clearly his grandmother, he couldn't help it anymore, and shed hot tears.

"Grandma!" Cai Zhongbei came from it, but he didn't dare to go up and pick up his grandmother in the stone, he was afraid of seeing his relatives with blurred flesh and blood, and he couldn't bear it, and he couldn't accept the fear of losing his relatives.

Chen Tianfu comforted Cai Zhong and said: "Condolences are smooth, Xiao Zhong, grandma will be upset when she sees you so sad in the spirit of heaven." ”

Cai Zhong couldn't stop crying down, with a hint of hatred, looked at the city burning everywhere, and said: "Tang people-they are all Tang people, they shot and killed grandma, it's all their fault!" ”

Chen Tianfu pressed Cai Zhong's shoulders with both hands, and said with a serious face: "Xiao Zhong, I know you are in a heavy mood now, but you have to see clearly, the culprit is not the Tang people, but the group of ghosts in Spain!" It was they who imprisoned our sect and held the Tang army hostage, and they punched and kicked us, and they also planned to do us unfavorably. The unjust debtor and the owner should all be counted on the head of the Spaniards. ”

Cai Zhong looked at Chen Tianfu, and he was still angry: "But why did the Tang people open fire, why did they open fire!" ”

Chen Tianfu sighed: "It's a pity, it's a pity that we are Luzon, not the real Tang people." ”

Cai Zhong showed a confused expression, he has always had a longing for becoming a Tang person, he heard that in the Tang Dynasty, children of his age can study for free, and they don't need their father's hard work to make up some private school tuition for themselves. The Tang people were able to get a good job assigned by the state, and the living conditions were much better than in Manila. In the city of Datang, there are all kinds of trendy things. In short, as long as you become a Tang person, you seem to be tall immediately.

More importantly, Datang is able to protect its own people. Even such a strong character as the Spaniards had no power to resist in the face of the Tang people, and in the end they could only get along with crooked ideas such as holding the Chinese hostage. The young Cai Zhong began to understand that only by becoming a citizen of a big country can he live a happier life.

Cai Zhong looked at Chen Tianfu and asked, "Uncle Chen, when will the Tang army capture Manila?" I'm going to fight the Spanish ghosts with them. ”

Chen Tianfu shook his head helplessly and said: "I'm afraid there is nothing to do with us, the Tang people will soon capture Manila, and now we are more important to take advantage of the chaos in the whole city of Spaniards, flee outside, wait for the Tang people to capture Manila, and then run back, otherwise they will be arrested by the Spanish ghosts, then it will be troublesome." ”

Cai Zhong knew that Chen Tianfu could be trusted, and he was old and experienced, so he followed Chen Tianfu and some other Chinese people to run out of the city at night. Before leaving, with the help of several Chinese elder brothers, he collected his grandmother's body. Cai Zhong looked at the messy city and the corpses of his relatives, couldn't help clenching his fists, and said secretly: "I can't protect my relatives now, because I'm too weak, in the future, I will definitely be able to protect all the people I love in the future!" (To be continued.) )