[Read full text] The victim was quickly stripped naked. The two murderers quickly disposed of the military uniforms and weapons, and carried the body into the dock. They dragged it to the side of the Nautilus diving boat. The maintenance work on the diving boat had just begun. The surroundings were piled with ship materials, wooden planks, copper and iron parts, and wooden barrels filled with tar and asphalt were lined up on the stone steps on the inner wall of the dock wall. A Chinese climbed on the deck, opened the hatch cover and got in, moving very quickly It was enough to amaze Captain Fernand. After a quick inspection, he also turned the rocker twice to observe how the propeller worked. After taking note of the key points, he opened all the cabins on the ship that could be opened. All the doors and openings were opened, and the other partner immediately handed over the prepared wooden barrel and poured the pungent smell of wood tar into the cabin. The two were very busy for a while, using various flammable planks and linoleum , the abaca threads used to fill the seams of the ship were piled under the diving boat. When the fuel was piled, holes were carefully left for ventilation. Barrels of asphalt and tar were poured from the deck of the ship and flowed through the hull. , soaked through the accumulated flammable materials. Finally, the two vandals found a pile of strange black ribbons from the debris, exuding an unpleasant smell. They did not know that they were deer skins soaked in wood tar, It was intended to be used as a waterproof seal on the hatch, but it was still used to wrap the soldier's body and throw it into the pyre specially prepared for the Nautilus.
A saboteur climbed back into the cabin. He opened a paper bag and revealed two small iron tubes. Under the moonlight, one could be seen painted white, and the other red tube was the same thickness but longer, with the end engraved like a pen. threaded, and the other end was sealed with a celluloid waterproof cap. He took out a few copper alloy discs from the paper bag. After observing for a moment, he picked a piece of suitable thickness and carefully placed it flatly into the iron pipe and installed it properly. Finally, he connected the two iron pipes. Twist them together tightly. A pair of special pliers clamped hard on a certain position of the white tube. As soon as the iron sheet dented, the sound of the glass ampoule breaking and the sound of liquid flowing came from inside. The iron tube was left behind. In the cabin filled with tar, his companions followed suit and placed another iron pipe in the firewood pile under the Nautilus. They also left several similar iron pipes in the lumber piles and shipyards where they worked. The treated iron pipe. After completing all the work in an orderly manner, the two saboteurs took off their tar-stained clothes, pants and cloth shoes and threw them into the dock. Completely removing their disguises, they jumped into the sea and swam towards the east. Around the headland, a ship The boat was moored next to the deserted rocky beach, waiting to pick them up.
The unnoticed chemical reaction continued in the iron pipe. The copper alloy piece was corroded by the acid and made a slight hissing sound, which was completely covered up by the noise of the tide lapping at the shore. After nearly four hours, the copper piece was finally corroded. Pass through. Concentrated sulfuric acid seeped into the red half-section of the iron pipe. The mixture of sugar and potassium chlorate inside exploded into a violent spontaneous combustion reaction. The flames instantly burned through the celluloid cap and sprayed onto the tar-soaked wooden board. Within a few minutes. , the Nautilus became a huge torch. Sparks exploded in all directions, and blazing tongues of flame flew upward. Soon the wooden shed on the dock was also on fire. The entire shipyard was shrouded in a trembling red light and black shadow. Scurrying around on the ground, workers who were awakened by the fire either sat on the ground and howled at the top of their lungs, or ran around, gasping for air and shaking so hard that they couldn't say a word.
Genolino Panio was so frightened that his face turned pale, as if to celebrate his hasty arrival, there was a roar, the roof of the dock collapsed, red flames flew up, and the flames rose up to two paso high. He shouted He asked his men to put out the fire, but no one ignored his order. Everyone just ran around, pushed each other, fell down, and became a mess.
The chaotic situation continued until the officers of the San Felipe Fortress rushed to the shipyard with a group of soldiers. Genolino divided his men into two groups and went all the way to put out the burning lumber yard; all the way to the location of the diving ship Came from the dock. There was a strange scene there. Although the dock had been burned into a huge brazier, there was sea water in a low-lying passage at the head of the dock, and the flames could not spread through it. The sluice at the head of the dock was not blocked. The fire was still intact. But when Genolino ordered the gate to be opened and seawater put out to extinguish the fire, people discovered that the exquisite machine built by Paul Gaoshan to open the heavy gate seemed to have been deliberately damaged. No matter how hard it was pulled, the gate did not move at all. .I hurriedly found a few water pumps, but when I brought them over, I found that the water hoses had been cut off in advance. This was until the fire was extinguished. The only remaining parts of the "Manila's Magic Ship" Nautilus were the deformed propellers and a few... The copper skeleton was twisted and blackened into shape.
A few burnt human bones were cleared from the ashes in the dock, and a Chinese cloth shoe was found in the water at the head of the dock. Undoubtedly, these items are the last remnants of the two poor Chinese craftsmen in the world. As for the missing two The Pampanga soldiers initially thought they had deserted and escaped. A few days later, they fished out their spears and matchlocks from the sea near the dock, as well as their military uniforms wrapped in a ball. The blood soaked on them had changed their color. Although it had never been seen The bodies were found, but it was concluded that they had been murdered by someone who deliberately set the fire. Genolino Panio was summoned by the Manila Prosecutor's Court. Although the final result of the interrogation was that he was not responsible and was acquitted, but Since he suffered this blow, his spirit has collapsed. Apart from muttering prayers to the Holy Mother to himself, he will never say anything else.
The vacant post of director of the shipyard was put up for sale under management, the governor quoted a price of one thousand pesos, and after several lively competitions, Mr. Genolino Panio's nephew and his assistant in the shipyard, Carlo Theo Panio bought this position for 1,500 pesos. It was widely rumored that Carluccio Panio was funded by Gao Shan to be able to spend such a large sum of money. Carluccio was from Gao Shan. A close friend who often visited his manor and factory.
Attention to the new director of the shipyard did not last long, because new murders attracted people. The night after the fire in the shipyard, Captain Fernando, the most enthusiastic cockfighting gambler among Manila's white people, who had recently been very wealthy, found himself in Parian District was assassinated. Night watchman report.[,! ] said: They found the captain lying in a ditch on the side of the road. The smell of alcohol on his body even surpassed the smell of blood. What killed the captain was a strange curved-edged dagger inserted in his chest╠╠Malay A weapon that people love to use. It is obvious that the drunken captain also had a fight with the murderer. His right hand was clenched into a fist, holding tightly a small piece of cloth torn from the enemy's clothes: a small piece of cloth. Remains of Dutch linen.
The search for the captain's residence was disappointing. The drunkard and gambler left nothing in his inn room, not even a small change. The priests said that this was a sin caused by gambling.
Rumors that Dutch villains hired Malay assassins to sneak into Manila to carry out sabotage were all over the city for a while. However, except for a few people such as the governor who were worried about it, these rumors were only used by most Spaniards to add some excitement to their overly leisurely and lazy lives. For the Oriental Islands For most of the self-proclaimed Iberian nobles, how can such insignificant things as a burning ship in the shipyard or a murdered gambler lying in the gutter in front of the tavern compare with tonight's banquet and dance? ?
However, the work of the shipyard did not stop because of this destruction. Since the Nautilus had been burned, the shipyard was able to concentrate manpower and material resources on the construction of patrol ships. Lando found that the Spaniards had shown unprecedented efficiency, and the new The appointed director personally supervised the workers and brought in many native soldiers to "supervise" him to increase the work of the coolies. A week after the dock was burned down, the coolies drained the water in the dock, repaired the sluices, and cleaned all the garbage, and then new ship materials were transported. According to reports from Guimede and others, the shipyard did not seem to restart building submarines, and focused all its energy on those patrol boats.
Even someone like Lando, who knows nothing about shipbuilding or sailing ships, can see that these gradually formed sailing ships are very similar to the two-masted patrol boats equipped in batches by the Lingao Navy. Even the reserved gun positions are exactly the same as the original ones. Lando Soon they realized that the patrol boat that was taken away from the navy was not in the hands of Zheng Zhilong. It was most likely captured by Hale and brought to Manila.
What was the use of building submarines and these patrol boats? It was meaningless. Lando thought that although this could indeed strengthen the Spanish rule in the Philippines, it would only serve as a barrier against the Senate.
When I was thinking about how to write my new report, there were a few rhythmic knocks on the study door. It was Mimi coming.
"Come in!"
"Chief, Ji Meade has just returned from the dock. He has something to report." Mimi reported in a low voice.
"Tell him to come in."
Jimide reported that seven or eight ghosts got off the ship, carrying a lot of luggage.
It is not uncommon for foreigners to come to Manila, but it is very special for the servants of the Governor's Palace to greet them.
"What color is your hair and your eyes?"
"It's black, it's yellow, it's red! I didn't notice it, it's blue, it's green, it seems there's also black..." the young man said,
"What do these figures do?"
"They don't look like rich people, but they look quite strong. They're not poor either." Jimide gestured, "I looked at them and saw that some of them have thick fingers and wrists, like craftsmen!"
"Craftsmen? Those are the craftsmen." Lando thought to himself. It's not surprising that there are European craftsmen coming to Manila. The problem is that the Governor's Palace sent people to greet them, which shows that they value these craftsmen very much.
