On this night, in the tent of the Dutch stronghold on Baisha Island in Penghu Island, a woman of mixed Malay and Portuguese descent, Mabel, did not feel a trace of sleep.

She was waiting, waiting for news that should come by dawn.

Not far away, in a simple shack made of wood and palm leaves, lived the first Ming men who were transported to Baisha Island as slave labor.

A few days earlier, as soon as they had disembarked, the Dutch officer, Rufen, ordered them to carry wood and stones.

Dutch sailors, whipping them like cattle.

Marbel became more and more convinced that Zheng Haizhu was right, and that these Dutchmen, like the Francis, had no word "benevolence" in their minds.

They cannot be allowed to occupy even a small island on this land.

There was a sound of snoring coming from the direction of the shack.

Marbel envied the men who could sleep.

Of course, she already knew that they were actually soldiers of the Ming Kingdom.

Perhaps it was because of their long experience in the battlefield that they were able to be so calm and calm before the upcoming big war, and quickly fell asleep to accumulate strength.

Mabel, who had fallen into a state of euphoria, simply got up, got out of the tent, and walked to the beach.

Although he couldn't see it, Ma Belle knew that after the thick fog of the night sea in the east, it was the island of Taiwan that he had lived in for two years and was ready to be a hero for the rest of his life.

At this moment, presumably the young Yun'er is sleeping soundly beside her aunt Wen Kun. I just don't know if my husband Wen Apeng has had hysteria these days.

Soon after Mabel stopped, she heard the mellow sound of a harp and a soft song from behind the nearby rocks.

She remembered that yesterday, Dutch sailors patrolling the neighborhood had rescued a monk with a wooden musical instrument. The monk gestured to the Dutch for a long time, and reluctantly made them understand that he crossed the sea from Japan to Mingguo, and the sailboat he was on capsized in the wind and waves, but fortunately he drifted to Penghu with the plank.

In order to squeeze out the Portuguese, the Dutch made great efforts to show favor to the Japanese shogunate and feudal lords, and the Japanese monk who was in distress was naturally treated by the Ruffin officer, and was provided with food, water, and a separate tent.

Mabel stepped on the moonlight and walked away.

What suddenly made Mabel feel kind was that the Japanese monk in front of him, while stroking the piano and chanting at the same time, turned out to be the song he had heard Chinese sing when he was in Malacca.

"After the new rain in the empty mountains, the weather is late in autumn. The bright moon shines among the pines, and the clear spring stone is upstream. ”

That's right, the Chinese in Malacca pronounce "moon" as "bend" and "stone" as "evil".

Ma Bell, who did not have any Chinese ancestry, fled back to Taiwan with her lover Wen Apeng, and learned this song to Grandma Wen, the old chief of Siraya, and Grandma Wen told her that the lyrics came from a poet in China thousands of years ago. Later, Mabel learned it to Yan Siqi, and Yan Siqi said that this is sung in the official dialect of southern Fujian, called "Nanyin".

At this moment, after the Japanese monk finished singing, Mabel asked in Chinese, "Do you know the Mandarin dialect?" Are you from Mingguo? ”

The monk raised his head and folded his hands in salute, but his face was full of apologies, and his mouth was still spoken in Japanese that Mabel did not understand.

Towards the end of the sentence, the monk patted the piano and then himself, and said in a thick and stiff accent: "Ming, master." ”

Marbel was enlightened. I think it was the Ming people who taught this Japanese monk the art of piano and song.

The qin is not a musical instrument used in Zhangquan's "Nanyin", but in the school in Tainan, several teachers invited by Yan Siqi from Fujian can play the qin, so Mabel knows this instrument.

Unexpectedly, the piano soaked in seawater could still be played after being carefully wiped by the monks and dried in the shade under the coconut tree.

The hour is approaching dawn, and the dawn is faintly appearing.

Mabel was about to sit down and continue to listen to the monk stroking the qin and singing, but the monk's peaceful gaze suddenly rippled.

"Don ship, Tang ship." He pointed to the sea and said in Japanese.

……

Ruffin puts on his shirt. This kind of textile fabric of the Chinese is really wonderful, so light and soft to weigh, but actually has a solid thickness. Wear it on a spring morning so that the coolness of the sea breeze won't invade your skin.

Rufen did not put on the woolen military uniform handed by the guard, he took off the binoculars on the shelf, and hurried out of the tent.

The patrol sailors on duty came up to report: "Sir Ruffin, the junk ship has raised a flag saying that it will not attack us, and it is a summons. ”

Ruffin confirmed the flag in the binoculars, turned his head and instructed another Peranakan interpreter sent by the Batavia headquarters: "You and the two sergeants, row a dinghy over." ”

A short time later, the interpreter returned, and with a frightened face, handed over the paper stamped with the seal, as well as Gullit's clothes, pipe, and pocket watch.

"Chief Ruffin, the captain of the summons said that the commander of the Ming navy had seized our slave ship, and had detained our Gullitt advisor and all the sailors, as well as that bad woman surnamed Zheng, on the island of Kinmen, and asked you, oh no, please go and negotiate and return the Ming slaves here, and promise to lead the fleet back to Batavia."

Ruffin dragged the paperwork and stared at the red square at the end of the letter: "Whose seal is this?" ”

The interpreter didn't know how to accurately translate the "Chief Soldier of the Naval Division" in Dutch, and said vaguely in a hurry: "It's their naval commander Yu Zhigao." ”

"Commander of the Navy?" Ruffin kicked down the translator and yelled, "Where did the Ming Kingdom come from, there is a damn naval commander!" They only have greedy eunuchs, arrogant civilians who don't understand anything, and shit generals who fight each other like pirates for their own territory! ”

The interpreter got up in embarrassment and hurriedly bowed and responded: "Yes sir, ah, sir, you are so right. This Yu, he also had a conflict with Yan in Taiwan a few days ago at sea, and even the natives of Penghu saw them open fire. If they were all loyal to the king's army, how could they aim their guns at their own warships. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, Mabel rushed from the sandy beach not far away.

"Mr. Translator, please tell me, what happened?"

The interpreter glanced at Ruffin timidly, and when he saw him waving his hand coldly, he told Mabel in simple Chinese: "The Cod, detained by the army of your host's motherland in Kinmen." They are trying to blackmail us into leaving. ”

Marbel stepped forward and grabbed Ruffin's sleeve: "Please, sir, promise the Ming people first, otherwise they will cut off Madame's head." Big deal, after a while, bring more warships from Batavia. We promise that we will get more cheap and strong slaves for your country later. ”

Ruffin stretched out his index finger and hooked the chin of the mixed-race woman in front of him.

The Dutchman suddenly changed his gesture, slapped the woman hard, and said angrily: "I thought your host was such a powerful woman, but the second trip failed." Her stupid head deserves to be cut off! ”

Then he turned to look at the junk, which was already out of the range of the cannons, and ordered his guards: "Go and invite all the brave captains to me." ”

The captains of the three Dutch warships anchored in Penghu, the Groningen, the Hope, and the Victoria, soon gathered in Ruffin's tent.

】

The captain of the Hope, Putmans, who was originally a pirate and bloodthirsty and belligerent, was the first to speak: "Sir Ruffin, we should be happy that the stupid Ming army has given us the best excuse to go to war. Their ship, we have not seen it in the past two years, is not as good as the ship of General Yan in Taiwan, not to mention small, often only has a decent cannon in the bow, and the others are just some small 300-pound fal. We hope that the twenty iron cannons on board the ship can sink ten of those little sheep-like junks. ”

The captain of the Victoria chimed in: "Yes, Putmans is right. There is nothing to negotiate with the Ming people. It is not that our East India Company did not offer the conditions of underwriting the Ming silk, and the price was not lower than that of the Portuguese, but the Ming people have always refused to give us the exclusive right to Penghu and the North Island of Formosa (Taiwan) as they did to recognize the Portuguese control of Macao. Sir Ruffin, it's time to speak with cannonballs. We should use Penghu as a base and take the initiative to go west and attack Kinmen. ”

The captain of the Victoria, Michel, was the nephew of the late Dutch admiral Wei Malang. More than ten years ago, Wei Malang, who was born in the aristocracy, was driven out of Penghu by Shen Yourong, a naval general of the Ming Kingdom, without a single soldier. Michelle sees her uncle as a disgrace to the family. Therefore, Michelle, like Puttmans, has long been holding back his strength to fight fiercely with the Ming army.

Ruffen's falcon-like gaze clearly revealed a bit of satisfaction.

He immediately turned to the captain of the Groningen, Bourne: "General Bourne, what do you think?" ”

The Groningen is currently the largest warship moored in Penghu, with a tonnage of 700, a crew of 200, 15 cast-iron cannons, and more than 20 small cannons.

The Cod, which was intercepted by the Ming Kingdom this time, also belongs to the Groningen.

Bourne is well aware of the intrigues within the company.

Captains who represent the interests of different shareholders are not fuel-efficient lamps.

At present, the people and ships detained in Kinmen are all under their own command, and if they are inclined to make peace, not only is the vote of one to three meaningless, but it is more likely to bring negative evaluation to the shareholders behind them.

"Sir Ruffin," Byrne touched his freshly shaved chin and said in a deep voice, "I completely agree with Putmans and Michelle, but sir, Penghu is too close to Formosa (Taiwan) Island, if our warships are all bound for Kinmen, will that General Yan of Formosa come to destroy our Penghu fortifications, even if he doesn't go to the rescue of General Yu because of the holiday?" ”

The captain of the Hope, Putmans, smiled mockingly: "Bourne, if you are afraid of the Ming people, you can stay in Penghu with your ship, and you don't have to find any General Yan as an excuse for cowardice." ”

Byrne turned his head, maintained his demeanor, and said in a calm tone: "Putmans, we have seven hundred tons in Groningen, which is two and a half of your Hope, of course you should stay, and I will follow Chief Ruffin to raze the Golden Gate to the ground." ”

Putmans said angrily: "Bourne! Are you looking down on me? ”

Michelle hurriedly separated the two.

Ruffin snapped, "Do you think this is a fight for women in a brothel in Amsterdam?" More than the size? ”

Michelle also said: "Judging from the sea chart, Xiamen and Zhangzhou have Ming garrisons, which are very close to Kinmen, and in order to be afraid that their reinforcements will arrive in time, we should drive all three warships over." ”

Ruffin bowed his head in contemplation. Of course, he understands that behind Groningen and the Hope, there are different forces in the company, and judging from the performance of the actions of the two captains in the past six months, there are constant small contradictions.

The officer, who had won the trust of Governor Cohen, had already decided that Byrne and Putmans could not be allowed to appear at the same time in the first official engagement with the Ming army.

Lu Fen then adjusted his tone and said gently: "Brave generals with supreme glory, we should not fall into infighting like the people of the Ming Kingdom. You have a point, so I decided to ask Batavia for three or four more ships. ”

Ruffin said, sat down at the wooden table, picked up the quill pen, dipped it in ink, and wrote hard.

"Byrne, please send another small boat to guard my own soldiers, and deliver this letter of mine to the Golden Gate, saying that I will obtain the authorization of the governor of Batavia before I can sit down at the negotiating table. The date of authorization is estimated to be 10 days later. When you arrive at Kinmen, you can take a look at the coastal defense situation there. ”

"Putmans, let your first mate return to Batavia to-day in the merchant ship that Gullitt has left in the harbor, and give my report of the battle to the Governor, and be sure to persuade him to send the Midpow, Orange, and Prince to aid in the war. ”

"Michelle, you go to sea tomorrow and see the movements of General Yan over there in Taiwan, his fleet, well, if those broken ships can be called a fleet, is mainly near Dayuan Port."

Ruffin looked up and saw Byrne's brow, furrowed more tightly than it had been a moment ago.

"What's wrong Bourne, you have new concerns?" Ruffin asked.

Bourne nodded and said, "Sir Ruffin, although the translation just now said that the Ming Kingdom regarded the businesswoman surnamed Zheng as a criminal, we can't trust the cunning Ming people. I don't know if the current Ming slaves on Baisha Island are really slaves. For the sake of prudence, I suggest that they all be killed. ”

When he had finished speaking, Putmans laughed strangely.

Putmans is also an old man, and from the deployment of his boss Ruffin, he has realized that his ship, perhaps the smaller of the warships that have sailed over from Batavia, will stay in Penghu.

Putmans put away his smile, glared at Bourne, turned to Ruffin and said, "Sir, those Ming slaves are timid and obedient, and they work very efficiently. Kill them all? So who will build the fortifications? Our sailors, before the war with the Ming people, were they tired and paralyzed on this small island? ”

Ruffin felt that Putmans's statement made sense, not just to oppose Bourne.

But today's variables really made him unable to distinguish his thoughts and wonder if the businesswoman surnamed Zheng would have a problem.

Ruffin walked to the tent door and looked out.

He saw that the slaves of the Ming Kingdom had been driven away, and in pairs, they transported the thick trunks to the high slope.

His gaze changed again.

Outside the other tent, Mabel was hugging her knees, curled up like a snail, staring out at the vast sea.

Ruffin turned back to the guards and said, "Let the slaves gather on the beach and bring the woman with you." ”