Chapter 1018 1109 The desire to survive

Chapter 1018 1109 The desire to survive

As night falls, the blue sky is dotted with stars, and the sea breeze blows the sea water and makes a splashing sound on the coast, bringing a little life to the silent night.

On the tower of Tortoiseshell City, there will be a torch at regular intervals, although the moonlight shines on the ground and it is not completely dark.

Under the torch, figures could be seen shaking from time to time, indicating that the entire Tortoiseshell City was still heavily guarded.

In the woods far outside the city, there are faint lights of fire shining. If you look carefully, you can still see dots of fires dancing in the air in the woods, giving people a sense of mystery like the legendary will-o'-the-wisps.

The fires in the woods were naturally the torches lit by the coalition forces outside the city, and the will-o'-the-wisps floating in the air were actually just the flickers of fireflies flying in the air.

For people in and outside the city, it has become commonplace. No one will think that tonight is beautiful because it is like this every day.

Beside a fire in the woods, Wang Wanggao and several soldiers were sitting around. He looked at his men grilling fish, but he looked absent-minded, and his mind did not seem to be focused on the keko that he was about to get. Food wise.

He looked up at the sky from time to time, obviously waiting for something like this.

"Sir, you can eat."

At this time, a soldier handed the cooked grilled fish to Wang Wanggao. He took it and put it to his mouth, starting with the fattest fish belly.

Several other grilled fish were also cooked quickly, and a circle of people took the grilled fish and feasted there, as if they came here just for camping.

In a small wooden house at the north gate of Tortoiseshell City, several pirate leaders also gathered here.

"Brother, do you think the court will accept us?"

Yan Youqian, one of the pirate leaders, asked Lin Fengchun.

Before Lin Fengchun could speak, Wu Dacheng next to him answered: "They have been surrounding Tortoiseshell City for half a month now. Given the current situation, it is almost impossible to attack the city.

If they don't accept us, how can they break the city? "

"But."

"But what?"

Yan Youqian answered hesitantly, but did not continue.

However, his performance made Wu Dacheng on the side feel uncomfortable, and he immediately asked.

“But what, it’s not that the words of the officers and soldiers cannot be trusted.

Don’t forget how Xu Hai and Wang Zhi died.

It was they who accepted the so-called imperial court's offer and finally gave their heads to the imperial court. "

Yan Youqian replied dissatisfied.

Hearing him mention Xu Hai and Wang Zhi, the four people in the room suddenly fell silent.

Over the years, the imperial court did recruit some pirates, but they were all small groups of pirates, the kind who were not very well-known, or who had done few evil things.

As for the big pirates, no one dared to surrender to the court.

Without him, the major events involving Xu Hai and Wang Zhi had too great an impact. They all knew in their hearts that as long as they were famous, they would basically have no way to survive and could only deal with the court to the end.

"We are not big pirates, we are just subordinates of the great master. The court said it wanted to recruit the great master, so that must be a lie, but we..."

Xu Yingmei hesitated and said, "We should be fine, otherwise my eldest brother wouldn't let us shoot arrows outside."

After saying this, Xu Yingmei looked at Lin Fengchun. He had not spoken since everyone started talking about it.

Influenced by Xu Yingmei, Yan Youqian and Wu Dacheng also set their sights on Lin Fengchun.

Lin Fengchun, who was staring at them and thinking with his head down, noticed something unusual, looked up at them, and then smiled helplessly: "The court doesn't believe it, whether we are on the blacklist or not, who knows?

However, what I know is that we are probably doomed this time.

The boat is gone. In the past, everyone would get on the boat and rush out when faced with this situation.

With no way to survive and being surrounded by them in the city, do you think we can survive the people outside? "

After Lin Fengchun's words came out, the three of them bowed their heads in unison.

If they hadn't had a premonition, they wouldn't have gathered here to discuss it.

"If the big boss is really asking us to discuss surrender and recruitment, I will never agree to it. If Lin Feng wants to surrender, he might as well cut off his head and offer it to us. Maybe he can save our lives."

Lin Fengchun stared blankly at the oil lamp on the table, watching the dancing light.

"Brother, what do you mean, if we behead the head of the family, maybe we can save our lives?"

Wu Dacheng asked.

These words were a bit bold, especially when said in the city.

But fortunately, the house was full of people of its own, and the outside of the house was firmly guarded by a few people's confidants, so there was no need to worry about the walls having ears.

But even so, several people were shocked by Wu Dacheng's words.

"If the Ming army really requests this, we should not contact them.

The palace is surrounded by his dead soldiers. We can't get through at all. If we are asked to do that, it will simply cost our lives. "

Yan Youqian said immediately.

"Let's see if there will be a reply from outside the city tonight and see what requests they make."

Lin Fengchun felt the strange atmosphere in the room at this time, and immediately changed the subject and said, "If you continue to resist, you will die in the end.

There may be a way to survive by surrendering, but it is limited to opening the city gate.

We are stationed at the north gate. Apart from this, we can't do anything else.

If the outside world really wants us to do something else, it may not be credible.

After all, our life and death are not in the hands of the Ming generals outside the city.

Just like Xu Hai and Wang Zhi, it was not necessarily Hu Zongxian who killed them, but the order from the capital. ”

“Brother, I have always been worried about this. If the Ming army outside the city does not keep its word, it will harm us all.”

Yan Youqian said.

“I know your worries. Just like what I said just now, no matter what we do, we may die in the end.

Only if we surrender to the Ming army, there may be a glimmer of hope.

Given the current situation of Daimao City, it would be difficult for them to break in if we were not inside.

This may be our final value.

Opening the city gate for them, allowing them to occupy Daimao City, and using this merit to save you, me, and the lives of our brothers, is not a loss.

Besides, even if the Ming army outside the city does not keep its word and breaks its agreement with us, at least they will take us back to the Ming Dynasty to be beheaded, rather than dying in a foreign land, with our souls unable to return. "

Lin Fengchun's words were a bit heavy, and this was what he had thought about repeatedly in the past two days.

He didn't know if there were other people in the city who had the same idea as them.

But if someone really had such an idea, they would probably surrender to the Ming Dynasty.

Because the Yi people, who valued interests more, seemed to be the best targets for surrender. As long as you could bring them benefits, you might be able to survive.

But they were not the soldiers under his command who didn't know the situation.

The Yi people were actually more ruthless in their actions. Their attack on Manila seemed to have touched their rebellion. Scales, will not give up easily.

Even if they surrender to the barbarians, the barbarians will not accept them in order to kill one to warn the rest, but will get rid of them to deter others.

After all, there is no order in the South Seas, it's all about who has the harder fist.

The barbarians were able to occupy the Philippines, wasn't it because of the more than ten armed merchant ships they had on the sea?

Well, although that thing is called an armed merchant ship, it is actually not much different from the warships equipped by the navies of European countries, at least it is at the level of a frigate, that is, when encountering a cruiser, the firepower is slightly weaker.

Such military power , almost invincible in the South Seas.

Only the Ming Empire in the north had the strength to compete with the Yi people's navy.

In fact, although the Ming navy had fought naval battles with Europeans many times, and successively fought Portugal, the Netherlands and other countries, in fact, these countries had limited naval power on the East Asian seas at that time and did not go all out to fight.

And their purpose of going to war was actually mostly to protect trade, not to be an enemy of the Ming Dynasty, so after the war, they did not mobilize troops to retaliate, but took the initiative to repair relations when they found that things were impossible.

After all, they had more than just one eye. Ming Dynasty, they are looking at global interests.

In this room, after Lin Fengchun finished speaking, everyone was silent for a while, and no one made a sound.

Although they became pirates and became the Japanese pirates that everyone hated, their own roots were still in Ming Dynasty, and naturally they did not want to become lonely ghosts.

If they must die, they still hope to be able to return to Ming Dynasty and be executed, rather than die on the isolated island of Luzon.

After a while, Wu Dacheng still spoke: "Brother, brothers understand, you are a wise man, you have thought everything through, I will listen to you in the future, and I will do what you say.

As for the final result, I will not think so much, just leave it to fate."

These days, although no one talks about family and country feelings, no one is willing to be a lonely ghost, which is why the ancients have always had the idea of ​​returning to their roots.

Born here, raised here, and buried here at the end.

Although the pirates live in the world, they still have the idea of ​​returning to their roots.

"Brother, I will listen to you too. "

Yan Youqian also said at this time: "If it wasn't for the fact that they couldn't survive, who would have boarded the ship to do this business.

This is also retribution, the retribution for killing too many people in the past, and it's a shame to our ancestors.

But even if we can't enter the ancestral tomb, we can't stay on the isolated island, we still have to go back. "

Xu Yingmei looked at Yan Youqian, then at Wu Dacheng, and finally said: "Brother Lin, I will listen to you too."

Hearing what the three said, Lin Fengchun just nodded with a dull expression, "Patrol at night and pay attention to the movements outside the city.

If anyone receives a letter, come here immediately and we will discuss it together."

In the wooden house, after several pirate leaders finished their discussion tonight, they talked about other news they heard in the city.

In fact, for the defense of the Tortoise City, the main problem of food and ammunition can be solved, and it is not impossible to hold on for a year or two.

After all, the technical gap of firearms in this era is not big.

Even though the Spaniards and the Ming Dynasty used artillery with a longer range, the pirates mostly used small-caliber bronze cannons, but they were very skilled.

Even the level of these pirate gunners was not inferior to the experienced gunners on the Spanish ships.

So, although their artillery was inferior, they had the advantage of the city wall, and they were not inferior to the coalition forces outside the city.

This was the reason why the Ming army and the Spanish coalition forces were so powerful, but they were helpless in the face of the Tortoise City.

Wang Wanggao, who was waiting outside the city, saw that after the third watch, it was soon to be the fourth watch. He got up, took a few of his cronies and went out of the woods, looking at the looming tortoise shell city wall in the distance, thinking about where to go. Shoot out the letter in your hand.

He had put the things into a small bamboo tube and tied them to a feather arrow.

"Pingqi, where did you find that feather arrow?"

After exiting the woods, Wang Wanggao asked a confidant behind him.

Ping Qi was one of the general bannermen under Wang Wanggao's guard.

He was selected to join the naval camp, so he naturally brought his familiar subordinates with him so that he could give orders.

Feather Arrow was discovered when Ping Qi commanded a subordinate of Xiao Qi and a servant army composed of a hundred local people to attack, so Wang Wanggao asked him at this time.

"Outside the city wall over there, today I originally wanted to let someone sneak over and transport the gunpowder to the bottom of the city wall.

However, when guns were fired on the tower, I sent people back. "

Ping Qi pointed in the direction and said.

"Then let's go there."

Wang Wanggao walked forward in the direction of Ping Qi's finger, and several of his cronies followed closely behind him.

I didn't dare to light a torch. This place is a battlefield. If I were to light a torch and get shot from a distance by some stupid bird, it would be very unlucky.

When they cautiously approached the Tortoiseshell City wall less than 200 meters away, they could vaguely hear the chatter and laughter of pirates patrolling on the city tower, and then they stopped.

After observing the city wall for a while, I found nothing unusual.

Wang Wanggao murmured in his heart, the arrows should be shooting from nearby on the opposite side, wouldn't there be no one waiting at night?

No matter what, a few people should be assigned to this section of the city wall.

Although there were two torches burning on the city wall, no human figure was seen moving under the torches.

After observing for a while, I looked at the sky again. It was almost the fourth watch.

Although Wang Wanggao was a little worried, he didn't think much about it. He turned around and whispered to Ping Qi: "If you shoot the arrow up to the top of the city, just get close to the torch."

"Yes, sir."

Ping Qi was an archer by birth, and because of his accurate archery, he was taken by Wang Wanggao as a guard.

Later, he found an opportunity to promote him from a small soldier to a small flag, and then to the position of the general flag, and he was regarded as his absolute confidant.

This has been China's officialdom since ancient times. As long as the leader is successful and prosperous, the people around him will also benefit from it.

Seeing Ping Qi aiming his bow at the city wall, and thinking of Ping Qi's archery skills, Wang Wanggao reminded him: "Be careful, don't shoot the arrow on the torch."

"Hey, sir, look at it."

Ping Qi didn't take Wang Wanggao's seemingly reprimanding words seriously at all, and just replied with a smile.

With a "swish" sound, the arrow flew out and shot towards the city wall. Wang Wanggao stared at it for a long time without blinking, but did not see any movement on the city wall.

"What the hell, you're not playing with me, are you?"

Wang Wanggao cursed in a low voice, turned around and left quickly with his cronies, not bothering to care about what was happening on the wall behind him.

Not long after they left, a patrol of soldiers came here with torches.