Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 51 Successfully Captured the Town
Zamboanga Pier
Spanish captain Juan Cardoso and two sailors were selecting female slaves in the market. Pirates often appeared nearby and brought a lot of good sources of goods.

The slave market is mostly populated by indigenous people, both men and women, many of whom are captives captured in tribal conflicts, so the price is naturally the lowest.

There are also some Malayans, East Indians and Indians, but the more expensive ones are the Chinese, especially Chinese women.

Chinese women were gentle and beautiful, making them ideal candidates for maids. They were extremely rare in the slave market in Southeast Asia, so their prices remained high.

Of course, if the pirates could capture a white woman, they could sell her for a sky-high price.

Juan Cardoso took a fancy to two Chinese women and was bargaining with the slave traders, arguing fiercely.

Suddenly, the market became chaotic.

Many people ran away screaming, while others took out gongs and banged them, pointing at the sea and shouting in panic. The market was in chaos.

Juan Cardoso's heart suddenly shuddered. He quickly ran a few steps and stood on the top of the mound, looking towards the bay. His face suddenly turned pale.

In the calm blue bay, a long fleet of large ships came straight towards us, with flags flying on the ships. Fully armed soldiers could be seen standing on the side of the ships, swords and guns in their hands, looking over with murderous looks on their faces.

This kind of ship... My God!

Juan Carlos quickly recognized this kind of Fu ship from the great Eastern Empire. His ship had also sailed to Guangzhou, so he naturally recognized the unique shape of this Eastern ship.

What was most frightening was the number of these large Eastern ships. After a short while, they were densely packed in the bay.

Some ships even came straight up to the dock, and a large number of soldiers came down from the ships. Their shining swords and guns reflected a chilling light in the sunlight.

More large ships were tied together with cables to form a floating platform, and strong soldiers came down from the ships continuously.

This kind of situation
Looking at Juan Cardoso's cold hands and feet, his eyes revealed despair.

"Captain, let's go back quickly. The damn Eastern army is coming to kill us."

"What the hell! These guys are fighting with our guys."

"How to do?"

The two sailors behind him had never seen such a big scene. They drew the daggers from their waists and asked in panic and helplessness.

Juan Carlos's schooner was docked at the pier, loading large baskets of copper ore onto the ship, which was planned to be shipped to Manila for refining.

This is a bulk commodity produced on Mindanao Island, with one or two ships arriving every week. Now it is stuck at the dock and cannot escape. It is really bad luck.

The Spanish sailors on the ship took up arms to resist, but a large group of officers and soldiers arrived and, at the officers' orders, all raised their guns.

Give an order

"Bang, bang, bang..." The dense volleys sounded, and the Spanish sailors on the ship were covered by a rain of bullets as dense as locusts. Blood splattered on their bodies, and they fell down like wheat being cut.

"Clap clap clap..."

“Pah pah pah… pah pah pah pah…”

The foreign rifles fired several rounds in succession until no one on the ship could stand up. The officer then waved his hand and ordered the shooting to stop.

With a wave of his hand, the soldiers, holding swords in one hand and shields in the other, rushed onto the boat, brandishing their swords and spears and continuing to kill. Corpses were constantly thrown off the boat.

"It's over, it's all over." Juan Cardoso closed his eyes in pain, knowing in his heart that everything was irreversible.

This 420-ton brigantine contained all his wealth, and on board were his friends and partners, all of whom were killed or wounded in the encirclement of these Eastern armies.

The Eastern Army did not stop, but poured out from the dock in dense masses, spreading everywhere like an unstoppable flood, sweeping away everything.

Wherever they went, there was ruthless killing and suppression.

After nearly 20 days of ocean voyage, the frustration and anger accumulated along the way were completely released at this moment, causing astonishing destructive power.

"Go, run!" Juan Cardoso made the right decision.

The three white followers panicked the scattered crowd and fled in a direction away from the army.

On the pier

Qian Jiang, dressed in full military uniform, was in high spirits. He had taken over the military command and divided his 500 musketeers into five teams, each with 100 men.

Then each team was equipped with 200 sword and shield men, totaling more than 300 people, led by the chief officer to charge into the city and occupy the town as soon as possible.

He dispatched three teams of soldiers, totaling nearly a thousand men. Subsequent groups of troops were gradually boarding the dock, having already secured the entire area surrounding it and beginning to systematically transport supplies to the dock and bring more people ashore.

Not long

Commander Zheng Shouxin (with the title of Qianzong, younger uncle) and navigator Zheng Shouzhong (with the title of Qianzong, eleventh uncle) also rushed over surrounded by the crowd, and the three giants of the advance group reunited.

"What's the situation... Lord Qian?" Zheng Shouxin asked first, looking a little anxious.

Qian Jiang clasped his fists and bowed, then answered confidently:

"Please rest assured, my lords, everything is under our control, and the battle will be over in no time.

The resistance offered by these natives was very weak. They were like chickens and dogs in front of my army and could not withstand a single blow."

This is not an exaggeration. Judging from the scene, it was a one-sided massacre and the local indigenous people could not organize any decent resistance at all.

Today, although Zamboanga is known as the second largest town in Mindanao, it has a population of only about 13000 people, and its main industries are fishing and mining.

Apart from dozens of decent stone houses, the city is filled with large thatched houses and shacks, scattered here and there without any planning, and looks quite backward.

Zheng Shouxin looked around and saw that the soldiers who had first landed had already rushed into the city. From time to time, the sound of crisp volleys of gunfire and screams were heard. Fires broke out in the town and billowing black smoke rose into the sky.

He was intoxicated by the strong feeling of conquest and felt the wisdom and foresight of the general's decision. He said with deep admiration:
"My general is a man of high rank, with a keen eye for things far beyond his reach. He is wise and decisive, and a true hero of his generation.

If we can conquer this hot land of Southeast Asia as we wish.

It will surely become the foundation for the general to create an eternal legacy and lay the foundation for the glorious future of our Zheng family.

We happened to be there and we feel extremely honored."

His words were praised by everyone. Qian Jiang said with emotion, "These young men are so brave and eager to be the best. I believe they have fully understood the beauty of this. Their morale is really high."

"Sir, if we occupy this land, we will be the kings of the mountain. The imperial court is powerless to reach us. Who doesn't know this except a fool?"

"That's right, hahahaha..."

Everyone laughed in unison, and their eyes were full of enthusiasm as they looked towards Zamboanga City again. This was a brand new future, full of infinite possibilities.

The battle didn't last long, it was over in about half an hour, it was so smooth that it was hard to believe.

at this time

Many ships at the rear of the fleet have not yet docked and the personnel have not been completely unloaded.

Large groups of captives were driven out of the town and into an empty market near the dock, driven by the swords and guns of the nobles.

This place used to be a dock market where people, fish, fruits and some simple snacks were sold. Now it is littered with scattered fruit and vegetable debris and some corpses, and is filled with a foul smell of blood.

"Sir, should we kill these prisoners?" Qian Jiang asked with a frown.

After all, it had not been long since Qian Jiang had led the army independently, so he would subconsciously seek the advice of the commander Zheng Shouxin. Although both of them were captains, Zheng Shouxin was the general's uncle after all.

Regardless of whether they are legitimate or illegitimate, they all have the surname "Zheng", and no matter how close they are, they are still connected by blood.

Commander Zheng Shouxin watched as the task force successfully occupied Zamboanga after achieving its original goal. He breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, he felt the pressure of rebuilding the entire city.

The city of Zamboanga did not suffer much damage from the war, but Zheng Shouxin, who came from the Celestial Empire, looked down upon this dilapidated and somewhat primitive seaside city.

Those messy thatched huts should be demolished, and at least the streets should be planned, right?

Speaking of the streets, these primitive dirt roads are covered in mud on rainy days and dusty on sunny days. There are also shacks built illegally everywhere, which are even messier than pig pens.

Thought of here
Zheng Shouxin shook his head and said;
"Master Qian, rebuilding this dilapidated town will probably require a tremendous amount of effort and consume countless manpower and resources.

No matter what, when the general arrives, we have to make it look at least somewhat presentable.

We can't do these jobs by ourselves, right?
I think it would be better to pick out strong and able-bodied natives and put them into labor camps to specialize in town construction matters, such as daily bridge and road construction, house building, dock repairs, etc.

If they are available, we can also recruit some indigenous troops. We can’t let our soldiers charge into battle.”

"Great! This makes sense. Let's do as you say." Qian Jiang clapped his hands happily and made the decision.

(End of this chapter)