Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 22 "Grass-beating Valley" (Part )
"Captain, we really didn't expect so many people in the tavern..." Navigation instructor Captain Kuang Xu saw Luo Zhenhui looking at the bodies on the ground with a frown on his face. Feeling a little uneasy, he stepped forward and said, "And... they have muskets. So, we opened fire first."

After the officers and soldiers of the "Break the Wave" and the Spanish sailors sneaked ashore in a small boat, they waited until all the personnel were assembled and then quietly sneaked into the town.

This coastal town is not large, with a radius of only three or four hundred meters. Except for the church, government offices and court in the center of the town, which are brick and stone buildings, most of the houses are built with rammed earth mixed with a small amount of broken bricks and gravel.

The layout of the entire town is typical Spanish style, with the church, municipal government, and court as the core, and residential houses and a few shops surrounding it.

There is a simple wooden fence around the town, but the defense is not tight. There are gaps between some of the fences, so even a thin man can easily get in.

It may be that the town is located in a remote area, is not a major city, and is not a trade distribution center, so it is difficult to attract the attention of pirates, making the town's vigilance very low.

At the gates at the north and south ends of the town, there wasn't even a militiaman guarding or giving warnings.

When pushing open the loose gate, the harsh sound of the door hinges made the intruder nervous for a while, fearing that it would alarm the residents in the town.

But their worries were unnecessary. After entering the town, the road was almost unobstructed. Under the instructions of several instructors, the cadets and Spanish sailors were divided into groups and quickly rushed towards various important targets.

The church was occupied and the priest and his servants were tied up and held captive.

The nearby government office was stormed and the mayor, his family, and guests were all captured.

The police station was taken control, some of the muskets and swords were confiscated, and a volunteer militiaman who was sleeping soundly was captured, but there was no trace of the sheriff.

Just when the invaders were feeling ecstatic about successfully occupying the entire town, they suddenly heard two gunshots in the town, which immediately made everyone's nerves tense.

Could it be that some of the townspeople discovered the invaders and rose up in rebellion?
Luo Zhenhui immediately took several trainee soldiers to the place where the gunshots were heard. If the situation worsened, they would take decisive measures to extinguish possible resistance.

However, I never expected that after arriving at the tavern where the incident happened, I found that the situation was not as serious as I had expected.

A group of sailors were drinking and making trouble, which attracted the intervention and obstruction of the town sheriff. When several cadets and Spanish sailors rushed into the town, they found that the lights were on, so they rushed into the tavern with muskets. When they found someone intending to resist with a gun, they immediately shot and killed him, thus breaking the peace of the town.

"Let's just kill these people. Tie up the rest, and then go out into the streets and keep watch!" Luo Zhenhui ordered softly, "Remind the Spanish again: if there's no resistance, don't start a massacre."

"Yes, Captain!" Kuang Xu saluted and responded loudly.

"Chen Rui, have Harvey and the others shout in the streets, forbidding all residents to go out and make loud noises. Otherwise, they will be killed without mercy!"

"Yes, Captain!"

"Wei Yingbin, take your men and lock all the captives in the church."

"Yes, Captain!"

"Han Jian, Shu Wendong, each of you take two people and guard the north and south entrances and exits of the town. Don't let any of the townspeople escape."

"Yes, Captain!"

"Huh..." Luo Zhenhui let out a long breath and looked at the several cadet soldiers around him. "Alright, everyone, stay alert and don't slack off. By daybreak, everything will be settled."
-
In the early morning, the golden-red light gradually dispelled the hazy mist in the town.

The houses on both sides of the street are bathed in warm sunshine and appear particularly quiet.

The branches swaying in the wind cast mottled shadows in the morning light.

The dogs, who had been barking all night, huddled tiredly at the foot of the house, lying listlessly, occasionally raising their heads, pricked up their ears, and looked around vigilantly, then looked back at the closed door, and then lay down dejectedly again. The residents who used to get up early and busy themselves were now hiding in their rooms, peeking outside through the half-open window frames.

The melodious church bells that should have been ringing also fell silent, as if they had temporarily asked for a break from God.

Miguel Hidalgo, captain of the "Agustin", stood on tiptoe, peeped through the crack of the door, and looked outside hard, trying to see what was going on outside, and even to identify which country (force) the pirates who invaded last night were from.

Yes, the entire town was controlled by a group of pirates who suddenly broke in last night. All the residents, including these merchant sailors who had just arrived in the town, were captured by the pirates.

He and his first mate were captured at the banquet table at the mayor's house. Soon after, they were roughly driven into the church along with the mayor, several respectable gentlemen, the church priest, and a dozen townspeople, and were locked inside.

Everyone was at a loss as to what to do with this sudden change, and several female members of the family were sobbing softly out of fear.

This is horrible. Since the town was founded more than fifty years ago, there has never been a pirate attack and all the residents have lived a quiet and peaceful life.

Who would have thought that after so many years of peace, pirates would actually set their sights on this place and launch a sudden attack.

Last night, bursts of gunfire, screams and cries were heard in the town. They must have been some brave residents who took up arms to defend their homes, their loved ones and their property, and thus launched a counterattack against the pirates.

Then, less than half an hour later, the town fell silent again, with only the pirates' figures appearing from time to time outside the church, along with their unbridled laughter and low whispers.

No one knew what the situation was like outside, and no one knew how many pirates had come. Everyone was silently praying to God, hoping that these invading pirates would not massacre the residents.

Last night, those residents who dared to resist must have been killed by the pirates. They now control the entire situation, and everyone can only wait for their fate in fear in the dark night.

"These pirates wouldn't commit a brutal massacre." Captain Hidalgo turned and forced a smile at the mayor and the priest. "Otherwise, they would have acted last night instead of waiting until dawn. I suspect they'll just take their loot and leave on their own. So, gentlemen, for our own safety, I think we should try to obey the pirates' orders later."

"Oh, may God forgive them!" Father Morelos crossed himself and whispered, "If the pirates come to demand ransom later, I'll handle it. I believe that under God's influence, they will lay down their weapons, thus ensuring the safety of the entire town."

Mayor Carvalho Cortes looked at his wife and daughter and couldn't help but sigh heavily.

God bless us!
According to the rules of pirates looting on shore, they usually only seek money and will not kill too many people.

Of course, the premise is that when pirates attack, do not resist too much, so as to avoid causing large-scale casualties to the pirates.

Otherwise, they would launch retaliatory massacres after capturing the port towns.

Seeing that the pirates were quite organized last night, their movements were quick and their behavior was measured, after they were extremely obediently controlled, they were not given too much trouble. They were just locked up in the church and restricted in their movements.

It can be predicted that after daybreak, they will come to negotiate, and after looting the property of the town residents, they will definitely demand a ransom based on the number of heads in exchange for their departure.

After all, they rushed in in the dark last night. Apart from temporarily disarming the town and taking control of the entire situation, they had no time to search for property from house to house.

Many residents naturally took the opportunity to hide their precious personal belongings to avoid being stolen by pirates.

In this case, in order to obtain more property, the pirates would come to negotiate with them and demand that every household pay them a considerable ransom.

These greedy pirates!
However, after daybreak, the pirates who controlled the town did not send anyone to negotiate or communicate with them. Instead, they drove all the elderly, women and children out of their homes, locked them all in the church, and arranged for armed personnel to guard them.

All the able-bodied men in the town and the sailors on the "Agustin" were conscripted to start transporting the town's grain, corn, sugar, hardware tools, farm tools, livestock, poultry and other supplies to the seaside, and then used several small boats to transfer them to a three-masted sailing ship anchored in the harbor.

(End of this chapter)