The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 13 Chasing Troops
Not far from her, another scream came.

Catherine stared blankly ahead and saw the mounted guard blocking her path, blood splattering from his neck, clutching his neck as he fell from his horse.

Bai Langzai flicked his Japanese sword, and the bloodstains on the blade formed a line on the ground.

Upon witnessing this horrifying scene, the few pedestrians around scattered and fled in all directions, shouting.

A little further away, a dozen or so Han Chinese men wielding knives rushed out of the woods and, without saying a word, charged into the crowd, killing two Spanish civilians.

These two were Catherine's bodyguards.

He usually dresses like a commoner and blends in with Catherine. He changes his clothes every day, so if Lin Qian hadn't observed him for a long time, she really wouldn't have been able to spot him.

The boatmen were cleaning up the battlefield when Lin Qian walked over to Catherine's horse carcass, stomped on the wooden box, and several cockroaches crawled out.

If Catherine opens the box on horseback, she will most likely be startled and fall off, allowing the arquebus to fire at the two guards.

Lin Qian had been planning this attack for a long time, and had devised no fewer than ten different versions of the plan.

They considered four or five different locations for the attack before finally choosing this road.

This place is located between Cavite Shipyard and Manila. The west side of the road is a beach, and the east side is a forest. It is a perfect place to kill and rob, and if the attack is successful, the victim can quickly retreat by sea.

Lin Qian had scouted this spot many times.

Catherine gradually came to her senses and, seeing that Lin Qian wasn't looking at her, quietly moved her weak legs.

Bai Langzai placed the Japanese sword against her neck, and Catherine froze.

"Tie her up," Lin Qian said calmly.

White Wave Boy took a rope from the sand and tied Catherine's hands behind her back.

Lin Qian and her companion also hid their weapons under the sand, taking them out when the muskets fired.

This allowed them to lower their guard and then kill them unexpectedly.

The rough hemp rope rubbed against Catherine's delicate wrist, causing her to frown in pain.

Her voice trembled as she cursed, “Criminals, pirates, madmen! The guards will be here soon, and you will all be hanged!”

Lin Qian remained calm and said slowly, "It will take at least half an hour for the guards to arrive. We have plenty of time to leave, so don't worry."

When Lin Qian and his group first arrived in Manila, the Han Chinese interpreter accused them of being pirates. The reason Lin Qian did not refute this and allowed his brothers to fight amongst themselves was to keep track of the time it took for the guards to assemble—fifteen minutes.

This place is located right between Manila City and Cavite Shipyard. No matter where you come from, it takes about 20 minutes to get here, adding up to at least half an hour.

Of course, guards could also ride horses.

However, according to Lin Qian's observation, Manila does not produce horses locally. The only horses there were brought from Europe by the Spanish, and their numbers were extremely small.

Moreover, because matchlock muskets were too cumbersome to carry on horseback, Spanish cavalry primarily used sabers.

Lin Qian, on the other hand, had two matchlock muskets, which were more than enough to deal with a small number of cavalry.

"You can speak our language?" Catherine suddenly realized, her face filled with shock.

Lin Qian ignored her; his men had already dragged two sampans out of the woods.

"Let's get on the ship," Lin Qian said to Catherine.

"Dream on!" Catherine retorted defiantly, turning her head away.

Lin Qian gave Bai Langzai a look, and then Catherine was punched hard in the stomach.

She curled up like a shrimp, her stomach acid refluxing, and the pain was so intense that she could only gasp for breath, tears streaming down her face.

"I'm not inviting you," Lin Qian said coldly.

Catherine was lifted onto a sampan, and the group split into two boats, rowing out of Manila Bay.

About half an hour later, the sampan was rowed to the side of the Fujian boat. First, Catherine was hoisted up with a rope, and then everyone boarded the boat.

The two sampans remained at sea.

"Haha, Brother Lin, you're really something." Lei Sanxiang put down his matchlock gun, patted Lin Qian on the shoulder and said, "I thought you were really bewitched by this damn foreign woman."

Before Lin Qian could answer, Catherine, who had recovered, began to curse incessantly.

"If you curse me again, I'll strip you naked," Lin Qian threatened.

Catherine immediately deflated and fell silent. "Tie this woman to the mast."

The men obeyed and tied Catherine to the mainmast, securing her tightly with ropes.

The ship's ropes were thick and stiff, with a prickly surface, and were usually used to secure the boat to shore bollards. Catherine was tied up and could not break free no matter what.

"The Franks have made a move," Chen Jiao said.

Lin Qian took out her binoculars and looked toward the port. She indeed saw a three-masted warship with a large number of people on it, and the sails on the three masts were being lowered one by one.

The anchoring and lowering of these sailing vessels is extremely complex; large ships may require hundreds of people to turn the winch for one or two hours.

This is why the Spanish did not leave port immediately.

Lin Qian put down her binoculars and shouted, "Set sail! First, leave the bay, then head due south."

The boatmen responded loudly and went to their respective posts to get busy.

A moment later, the Fujian-style ship slowly set sail.

After sailing for an hour, the lookout shouted, "The Francois ship is closing in on the starboard stern!"

Lin Qian took out her binoculars and looked into the distance. The sun was already setting, and the sea was covered with a layer of golden water, the shimmering waves so bright that it was hard to open one's eyes.

Lin Qian squinted and saw a black dot cutting through the waves about twenty miles away, where the sea and sky met.

"Oh no!" Chen Jiao whispered.

"What's wrong?" Lei Sanxiang asked, bewildered. "I thought they were still quite far away."

“Franklin’s ships are fast; once they’re spotted, it’ll be hard to escape,” Chen Jiao said through gritted teeth.

"Then let's fight them!" Having just killed four Spanish guards, Lei Sanxiang was in high spirits and felt that these barbarians were nothing to worry about.

Chen Jiao knew what he was thinking and sneered, "The sea is different from the land. The Frankish ships are strong and their cannons are powerful. They will not give us a chance to board. Once we are caught up, we will only be shark food."

"What should we do then?" Lei Sanxiang asked anxiously.

Chen Jiao glanced at Lin Qian, who was at the helm, with his one eye and muttered to himself, "Let's wait and see."

Another hour later, the lookout shouted: "Enemy ships are ten miles behind the starboard side."

The boatmen were agitated by these words, their expressions filled with unease.

An hour passed, and the Francois' ships actually got closer. At this rate, they were not far from being swallowed by the fish.

Lin Qian picked up her binoculars and looked back. She saw that the Spanish galleon had become much larger in her field of vision, with its three masts billowing in the wind and sailing at full speed.

That was the Spanish ship San Felipe, which Lin Qian had seen when it docked.

Based on their relative positions, the St. Philip was about three knots faster than their ship and would catch up with them in two hours and forty-two minutes.

Chen Jiao's face showed even greater worry, and his brows were tightly furrowed.

Although he couldn't calculate the exact time, he had been a pirate in his younger days and was very experienced. He knew that things couldn't go on like this, and couldn't help but say, "Sixth Brother, our ship is too heavy. Why don't we throw some things out of the cargo hold?"

"Don't throw it away." Lin Qian's eyes were fixed on the wind vane, her tone calm.

Chen Jiao was anxious and stepped forward, saying, "If this continues, we'll be caught up sooner or later. We can't delay any longer."

Lin Qian withdrew her gaze and looked at Chen Jiao: "Brother, have you forgotten the Five Commandments we made back then?"

You must not disobey the captain's orders.

Chen Jiao naturally remembered.

The worst thing that can happen when a ship is sailing at sea is inconsistent orders. This is not only to maintain the authority of the helmsman, but also for the sake of the lives of everyone on board.

But with the lives of everyone on board hanging by a thread, Chen Jiao could not remain indifferent. He was thinking of breaking the rules today to persuade them.

Lin Qian said, "Turn due east, starboard to catch the wind, change sails!"

"what?"

Not only was Chen Jiao extremely surprised.

Even Lei Sanxiang, who didn't know much about ships, stared wide-eyed.

(End of this chapter)