The young man who was rescued was named Wang Afu, a native of Fuzhou, Fujian Province. He followed his elders in the clan to seek a living when he was very young. On the way to the camp on land, he was very excited and kept asking questions about the Ming Dynasty, the emperor, and his hometown in Fujian.
Liu Fugen answered everything he could, which made Wang Afu even more excited. Seeing him like this, all the soldiers of the Ming army couldn't help but feel proud in their hearts.
Of course Wang Afu also talked about some of the things they experienced. They said that when they were excited about the imperial army conquering the Annan side, the Spaniards and local indigenous people joined forces to massacre them.
Because there were old people in the clan, the previous massacres were still fresh in their memories, so they had some precautions, so some of them escaped. However, life was not easy. The natives continued to hunt them and could not show up at all. The food he had stored up before was almost gone. He just couldn't help it. He wanted to go out and see where he could get food. He was The natives were hit.
Hearing his words, a Ming army soldier was a little puzzled and asked him: "Since Luzon has killed us Ming people several times, why do you still come here?"
After hearing this, Wang Afu scratched his head and said: "Isn't life difficult in my hometown? It is said that we also have rogue thieves in Fujian. Once they come, it will definitely be over. It just so happens that these Spaniards said they would treat us preferentially, and they also said that the Ming people in the past He was killed because he wanted to rebel. As long as we keep our peace, we will definitely not kill anyone. People from our tribe are here to make a living!"
"What kind of thieves are there now?" A Ming army soldier heard this and immediately said loudly, "The country has long been at peace. With the Holy Son of Heaven in office, even natural disasters in various places are no longer so serious. Governments in various places can all be in time." Rescue, otherwise, hehe, Jinyiwei, Dongchang, and the local Metropolitan Procuratorate will definitely impeach local officials. Our emperor attaches great importance to these things now."
When he said this, everyone else nodded in agreement.
Wang Afu was very yearning when he heard this and said to them: "Actually, I have wanted to go home for a long time. You don't know that the Spaniards here don't mean what they say. They impose heavy taxes on us, and life has become more and more difficult. . Especially when I heard that the imperial army captured Annan, many people in the clan said that their hometown might be different, so they wanted to go back and have a look, but they didn’t expect that before we could go back, the Spaniards started to kill us.”
At this point, he sighed again: "If our hometown was better, we wouldn't have to go to the Spaniards and suffer!"
At this moment, suddenly, I heard a voice coming from the forest: "Brother Afu!"
When Wang Afu heard this, he immediately looked up and recognized who it was, but before he could say anything, he saw a young man appearing holding a knife and asked vigilantly: "Who are they? Why did you bring people to the camp?"
Judging from the appearance, he is definitely not Spanish, and he does not even look like the natives of Luzon. There is a difference in appearance after all.
After Wang Afu heard this, he immediately smiled and said: "They are the officers and soldiers of the imperial court, we can be saved!"
Having said this, he immediately said to Liu Fugen: "Sir, our camp is not far ahead."
Hearing his words, the young man looked at Wang Afu and then at the others, especially Liu Fugen, whom Wang Afu called "Sir", with a look of confusion on his face.
Seeing him like this, Wang Afu glared at him and shouted loudly: "Why are you still standing there? Go back and report it quickly, let the second grandfather and the others come to greet you, and say that the imperial officers and soldiers have arrived!"
Seeing that the man still couldn't believe it, Liu Fugen thought for a moment and said to his men: "Take your coats away!"
Hearing this, the other Ming army officers and soldiers all laughed and took off their coats, revealing the armor underneath.
Upon seeing this, the young man suddenly showed a look of ecstasy, shouted immediately, jumped up and ran into the forest, but his shout could be heard: "Second Grandpa, Dad, the imperial army is here. , the imperial officers and soldiers are here..."
After everyone heard this, they all looked at each other and smiled. The soldiers of the Ming Army heard the surprise in his voice, and of course they felt happy. Who doesn't like to be loved and supported by the people?
After a while, we arrived at the gate of the camp.
The so-called camp is actually just an open space in the dense forest with simple houses and a group of fences surrounding it.
At this time, when they appeared at the gate of the camp, there were already forty or fifty people gathered here, including men, women, old and young. They all had expressions of surprise and were crowding out under the leadership of the young man from before.
Suddenly they saw the Ming Army soldiers wearing armor appearing in front of them, and they all stopped one by one. They just stared at these Ming Army soldiers, as if they couldn't see enough.
The old man at the head suddenly knelt down, bursting into tears, and said in sobs: "I didn't expect that the old man would be able to see the imperial master before he died. How pitiful is the king, the imperial minister has come to Luzon, and the imperial court has not forgotten us." …”
Hearing this, the crowd behind him remembered their previous encounters. Spaniards and natives were chasing and killing people everywhere, and there were corpses of murdered people everywhere. They had no way to appeal, so they could only flee in all directions, hiding here and there. The situation is precarious, and I am worried all day long. I don’t know when the Spaniards or indigenous people will suddenly appear, and my relatives will die in front of my eyes...
Thinking about that kind of fear, but now, suddenly I have a very safe feeling. This kind of emotion is really unforgettable. My dependence on the court has reached the highest level in my life. Everyone cried bitterly for this. I cried helplessly before, but also cried happily because I had someone to rely on in the future.
Looking at this scene, Liu Fugen didn't know why, but he lost the sense of pride he had just now. He just felt that the responsibility on his shoulders seemed to be a little heavier. He immediately clasped his fists with both hands, gestured in the direction of Annan, and then said solemnly and seriously: "The emperor is wise and powerful. I have personally arrived in Annan to command the army, and will soon attack Luzon to avenge the people of the Ming Dynasty who were killed. From now on, you no longer need to hide in Tibet!"
Hearing this, this group of men, women and children felt for the first time how good it was to have their own emperor. Regardless of whether the direction was correct or not, they kowtowed one after another and said "Long live" at every turn.
Later, after Liu Fugen and others were welcomed into the village, they had a conversation and learned a lot, including the distribution of forces in Luzon Island, the topography, etc., and these can be said to be the clues to the conquest of Luzon. The army needed to know the news, so after Liu Fugen finished understanding it, he took out the wooden sculpture and reported the situation to Emperor Chongzhen.
The old man, Wang Afu and others were stunned and felt incredible. I just feel that the emperor is so far away, can he really hear what he is saying?
…………
Emperor Chongzhen can of course receive news from Liu Fugen. Not only that, he received all the informants sent out before, and after comprehensive analysis, he immediately held a military meeting and said to a group of civilian and military generals: "The Spaniards in Luzon are assisted by the Feite Department, and their leader It's called Fernandi. The tribe has about 30,000 people, and it is the largest tribe near Manila. It is also the biggest accomplice and executioner in the massacre of our people. This tribe will kill without mercy!"
"Wei Chen (final general) obeys the order!" In the lobby, the voices responded in unison, very loudly.
Emperor Chongzhen continued: "In addition, the maritime power, in addition to the Spanish fleet, there is also the Red Barbarian Fleet of Batavia, and now they have colluded together. The two fleets totaled fifty warships. But there are still A little……"
Having said this, he pointed at the map hanging on the screen with a thin stick and said: "The Governor of Batavia personally visited a fleet that has also arrived at this point. There are about thirty warships and about fifty transport ships. There are vague figures on the ship. It can be seen that most of them are Japanese, and these should be Japanese warriors hired by Hongyi to fight for them."
After hearing the emperor's talk about the enemy's situation, the generals in the hall immediately thought of the wooden carvings that the emperor had sent out before. Other than that, they felt, there was no other reason to explain the source of these messages.
They were shocked, and Emperor Chongzhen was already saying: "In addition, there are many Ming people in Luzon who fled into the mountains and forests and survived. They are very familiar with Luzon and provided the following information..."
Having said this, he began to talk in detail about the topography of Luzon, especially the Manila area, where to land, where to set up artillery, what the hydrology was like, etc., all in great detail, as if he had been there personally. .
The civil and military ministers below could no longer care about the shock at this time and listened with concentration. This news can be said to be very precious and will be of extremely important help in the attack on Luzon.
Emperor Chongzhen said in an affirmative tone at the end: "The current sea conditions, including that of Luzon, are suitable for the navy to fight. Therefore, I decided that the troops must be quick and the navy immediately dispatched to get to this point first and ambush Ba Reinforcements from the fleet led by Governor Davia.”
At this time, no one doubted whether those wooden carvings were really useful. Otherwise, the emperor would not be able to tell such detailed news about Luzon, especially the red barbarian reinforcements in Batavia.
Therefore, everyone loudly received the order, and then immediately organized the army and set off for the battle early the next morning.
Emperor Chongzhen did not go and continued to stay in Hoi An. But this time Lu Xiangsheng went because he was the governor of the navy in the southern part of the Ming Dynasty.
…………
On the sea more than 100 kilometers northwest of Manila, there is an active volcanic island called Lubang Island. At this time, on the shore of the dock, there is a fleet heading towards Manila.
On the deck of the fleet flagship, Governor Anthony of Batavia was looking at Lubang Island, not knowing what he was thinking. Beside him, a Spaniard happily said to him: "Your Excellency, the Governor, we will arrive in Manila soon!"
