The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 23 Damn Pirates

On the 21st day of the fifth month of the 48th year of the Wanli reign (1692), at night.

Manila has been without rain for several days, and the weather is extremely gloomy. It looks like dark clouds will cover the moon tonight, and a downpour is imminent.

Alonso stood in the governor's palace, gazing at the dark sea, his mind filled with turmoil.

In the past few days, he has sent his men to gather information everywhere and has also sent warships to explore the waters around Samar Island.

There was absolutely no clue whatsoever about Lin Qian and his "fleet".

This might be evidence that Lin Qian spread false information; otherwise, it would be too unbelievable that a fleet of over a hundred ships could simply disappear on the sea.

……

In the bedroom, Catherine tossed and turned on the soft velvet mattress.

Memories of her time on Lin Qian's boat kept replaying in her mind, making her feel restless and unsettled...

“Anne,” Catherine called out.

After a while, the door was pushed open, and a maid entered carrying a candle: "Miss Catherine?"

"Get me a canvas, I want to set up a hammock."

Having served Catherine for so long, the maid had seen all sorts of strange requests, and was no longer surprised by things like wanting to set up a hammock in the middle of the night. She agreed and went to prepare.

“Wait,” Catherine called to her. “Leave the candles on the dressing table… right there.”

In the middle of the night, the maid placed candles in front of the mirror, which made her feel a little uneasy. She mustered her courage, arranged the candles, and then retreated in the dark.

“Damn pirates,” Catherine cursed angrily.

……

Nine hundred nautical miles away, Jellyfish Island, in the southern reef.

Lieutenant General Juan saw nothing through his binoculars. Frustrated, he lowered them and called out to the lookout at the top of the mast, "Do you see anything?"

"Nothing here, Lieutenant General," came the lookout's voice.

The silver coins had been lying on the beach for three or four days, and not a single plank of wood had been seen floating on the sea around Jellyfish Island.

Lieutenant General Juan felt like he had been tricked, but he had to carry out the governor's orders and keep watch on the place until the water and food ran out.

"Damn pirates!" Lieutenant General Juan slammed his fist on the railing.

……

Northwest of Lingayen Bay, a watchtower.

Two Spanish soldiers are playing cards atop the tower.

As for keeping an eye on the sea, just take a quick look after each round.

If a fleet attacks tonight, then the commander must have taken the wrong medicine.

Tonight, the moon is obscured by dark clouds, and the sea is shrouded in darkness. Navigating in the dark would make it difficult to find a beach, let alone prevent the fleet from colliding at sea.

"Add two rials."

"Follow."

"Damn it!"

The two put down their cards, and the loser stood up, enjoying the sea breeze, and took two sips of rum.

Just then, a tiny spark, no bigger than a grain of rice, flickered on the dark sea. The soldier rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things from drinking too much, and took a couple more gulps.

When he looked at the sea again, he saw several more fires. The fires were extremely small, as if they might go out at any moment, but they were particularly conspicuous in the dark, abyss-like sea.

"Look what's on the sea?" the soldier asked, quickly nudging his comrade's shoulder.

While his companion was counting the rials, he casually remarked, "If you drink less, you won't hallucinate."

"It's not an illusion!" the soldier said with some fear, because just as he was speaking, more than a dozen more fires appeared on the sea.

These tiny sparks of light gradually spread out on the sea surface and slowly moved toward the bay.

His companion got up cursing and looked out at the sea. He was stunned. He saw more and more lights on the sea, like a huge swarm of fireflies, covering the sea surface. There were no numbers of them. His lips trembled and he said in a trembling voice, "They are ship lights!"

"Ship lights?" The soldier didn't react for a moment.

"It's the ship's lights of a pirate fleet! Light them immediately, sound the alarm!"

Firewood was already prepared on the tower. The two men poured grease on it and then lit it with a flint and steel. The flames instantly enveloped the firewood along with the grease, and the two men quickly climbed down the ladder.

When they stepped onto the ground, the entire top of the watchtower was enveloped in flames.

A moment later, a watchtower fifteen miles south of this place was also lit up, followed by a watchtower thirty miles away.

The firelight pierced through the thick darkness, traveling rapidly southward until it reached the beacon towers outside Manila.

Inside the Governor's Palace, Alonso saw the firelight of the beacon tower, gripped his wine glass tightly, and kept scanning the surface of Manila Bay, but saw nothing.

Ten minutes later, a young officer rushed in: "Your Excellency the Governor!"

"What happened?" Alonso asked anxiously.

"It's a fire from the northern lookout tower, an alarm from Lingayen Bay, Your Excellency," the young officer reported.

"Lingayan Bay?" Alonso frowned, thinking to himself, "Does this pirate named Lin Qian really have a fleet? Does he really dare to attack Manila? I miscalculated?"

"Your Excellency, I suggest that the army be dispatched north immediately to engage the enemy!"

“No.” Alonso gave a cold laugh, after all, he had already made preparations in the direction of Lingayen Bay.

Currently, the navy in Manila harbor only has one ship, the Sacred Justice.

The St. Philip is lying in ambush at Jellyfish Island, while the St. John and Our Lady of the Rosary, which were also on their way to Jellyfish Island, are still on their return journey.

The remaining three warships—the Fury, the Golden Lion, and the Silver Wolf—were anchored five nautical miles northwest of Luzon.

According to the original plan, once the three warships saw the signal from the watchtower, they would sail southeast and rush into Lingayen Bay to engage the pirate fleet in a cannon battle.

Although two of the three ships were caravels with limited firepower, the single galleon, the Fury, was enough to defeat the pirates.

This was originally a backup plan he had prepared, but unexpectedly it worked out at a crucial moment and saved the situation.

After much deliberation, Alonso finally said in a deep voice, "Army, do not move!"

"Yes, Your Excellency!" The young officer stood at attention, acknowledged the order, and withdrew.

In fact, Manila is well-equipped with coastal artillery and city walls to defend against threats from the sea.

Moreover, the Manila Galleon was still anchored in the harbor. Although it was an armed merchant ship, its firepower was in no way inferior to that of ordinary warships.

Even if the enemy does appear in Manila Bay, temporarily requisitioning the Manila Galleon in conjunction with the Sacred Justice would be sufficient to deal with them.

"Pirate, your end is near." Alonso looked northwest, took a leisurely sip of wine, and a smug smile appeared on his lips.

(End of this chapter)