Chapter 4712 Luzon Aboriginal
"What kind of skills do you think those exploration teams rely on to always find mineral deposits everywhere? It's amazing."
After asking the soldiers to take away the hot pot and wine glasses on the table and pour two cups of tea, Yang Zhou couldn't help but ask.
He was Li Jing's old subordinate. He served under Su Dingfang back then, but he wasted his time for many years due to various reasons. It was not until Su Dingfang became the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy that he was transferred to his subordinates as a kind of care, so he knew about Fang Jun's deeds. Not much.
And Xi Junmai is Fang Jun's confidant and the iron among the irons, so he has this question.
Xi Junmai picked up the cup and took a sip of tea, shook his head and said: "I don't know either. This exploration team is extremely mysterious. Outsiders can't even tell how many people there are. Although every time we go to various places for exploration, there is a navy escort, but when we arrive at the destination After that, they just go about their own business. No one knows what they do or how they do it, but they can always find mineral deposits hidden in the mountains. Often these mineral deposits are unknown even to the indigenous people who have lived there for hundreds or thousands of years. It can always be dug out under the rocks and soil.”
Yang Zhou couldn't help but admire: "The Duke of Yue... is really a man of God."
The reverence is beyond words.
Xi Junmai reminded: "In the Navy, you should be called 'Commander'."
Yang Zhou nodded repeatedly: "I am new here, so I made some mistakes. I will definitely pay attention to it in the future."
It stands to reason that the "Grand Governor" is the commander-in-chief of the Navy, but no one in the Navy calls Su Dingfang "Commander". "Commander" is Fang Jun's exclusive title and cannot be changed regardless of whether he is in the Navy or not. Su Dingfang is also called "Commander".
Because everyone in the navy knows that this "royal" unit was built from scratch by Fang Jun, and it is still under his control today. He is the true commander-in-chief of the navy, and no one can be in this position. on it.
Formation, training, personnel, logistics, strategy formulation, overseas deployment...all are decided by Fang Jun. This is Fang Jun's army.
Xi Junmai nodded and shouted to the soldiers outside the door: "Send the order to the whole army. When the rain stops, we will land and go straight to the thieves' nest!"
"Here!"
Yang Zhou was stunned. He didn't know the specific combat strategy, but didn't he just say that he wouldn't seize land? Since there is no need to seize land, there is no need for a small number of people, so why use the words "go straight to the den of thieves"?
When you get to the "den of thieves", you will definitely start a killing spree...
Xi Junmai sighed helplessly: "An order came from Luoyang. Since the Luzon natives dare to kill the Tang people, they must give a strong counterattack while leasing Lingayen Bay. The life of a Tang person will be filled by a hundred times the natives, as a deterrent." The crumbs are small.”
Yang Zhou became more and more confused: "An order from Luoyang? Why not an order from Chang'an?"
The navy had two other posts, one was Fang Jun and the other was Su Dingfang. Su Dingfang was more often stationed at the military port of Huating Town, while Fang Jun was far away in Chang'an. So who gave the order to Luoyang?
Xi Junmai said: "Now the general manager of the 'Eastern Datang Company' is Mrs. Wu. The manager of the company in charge of Luzon's trade has been killed. Of course, Mrs. Wu will not sit idly by and ignore it. She will sacrifice her life as a 'Tagalog' for her subordinates." Stewards take revenge, and blood debts are paid with blood.”
The "Tagalogs" are the largest ethnic group among the indigenous people of Luzon and now rule the entire Luzon Island...
Yang Zhou was silent.
Who in the entire Tang Dynasty does not know the reputation of "Wu Niangzi"?
Taking charge of the Fang family's huge property as a concubine has long been a legend, and she is the object of admiration among women all over the world. It is said that not only Fang Jun doted on her to no end, but even Fang Xuanling looked at her differently. We need to discuss something with him...
Since the navy is Fang Jun's army, and its main responsibility is to escort the "Eastern Datang Company", then Lady Wu, who is now in charge of the company, can naturally give orders to the navy.
I just didn’t expect that the legendary martial lady from the Tianxiang Kingdom would be so tough. If a steward under her command was killed, she would make the "Tagalog people" pay back a hundred times...
Xi Junmai reminded Yang Zhou: "Whether you are in the navy or not, don't be disrespectful to Lady Wu at any time. This is not only because she is the concubine of the commander-in-chief, but she is also a peerless person with outstanding resourcefulness and extraordinary means. Don't wait until It will be too late to regret after you have suffered a loss. Even the governor will not go to Mrs. Wu to plead for mercy."
Yang Zhou quickly shook his head: "How could it be possible? I have already heard about that person like thunder, and it's not too late to be in awe, so how dare I be rude?"
The Tang Dynasty has no tradition of looking down on women. Ever since Princess Pingyang Zhao recruited troops in Chang'an to respond to Emperor Gaozu who was far away in Jinyang, she later made many military exploits in the army and created the legend of women joining the army. After her death, she was buried with military honors. The status of women in the Tang Dynasty quickly rose.
As long as they are truly capable, even women will be looked upon with special respect and awe.
What's more, a legendary figure like Lady Wu?
*****
The Pasig River pours down from the upper reaches and flows into the sea. Heavy rains, surging waves, and sea water surged up along the river mouth and poured into the river. The river water surged, and the river embankments on both sides were crumbling under the beating of the furious waves. Several pontoons on the river had long been washed away by the flood, and residents were hiding in their houses behind the river embankment. I was trembling, fearing that the next moment the river embankment would burst and the ocean would flood, I would be buried in the belly of the fish...
The wrath of heaven and earth is irresistible.
The high priest with dark skin, protruding lips and high cheekbones wore clothes woven from leaves, rattan, gold, gems, bird feathers and other materials. He danced twitchingly to the beat of drums in the "palace" of the "Tagalog". Performing an unknown dance, livestock heads are piled together as sacrifices, praying to the supreme god "Batala" to be tolerant and merciful, to quickly recover from the violent storm, and to forgive the children who live by the Pasig River and worship Him. civil.
On the other side, Chief Lekum knelt devoutly in front of the shrine, letting his wife Anneton take a bottle and sprinkle an unknown liquid on his body, praying for God's blessing.
The high priest jumped, sang and danced until he was exhausted, sweating profusely and panting. There was still thunder and lightning and heavy rain outside, showing no signs of stopping.
The gods seem to have fallen into a deep sleep today and did not hear the prayers of his managers on earth...
There was a sound of footsteps, and the eldest son Mapulong staggered in quickly. Before Lekum could get angry, he said quickly: "Father, something serious has happened. The Tang Dynasty's fleet has approached the harbor and is about to attack!"
Lekum's expression suddenly changed. He stood up and kicked the high priest to the ground, who was dancing with twitches. He yelled, "When is this happening? You are still dancing and chattering. I'm afraid that 'Abba' will not show up and drive him away." Heavy rains and floods will destroy our ancestral homeland by the Tang Dynasty’s steel knives and firearms!”
"Aba" is "Batala", the supreme god of the "Tagalog people".
The high priest fell to his knees, trembling.
Lecombe then asked his eldest son: "How many ships and soldiers did the Tang people come?"
Mapulong took a breath and said: "Haier personally drove the ship out of the harbor in the wind and rain. I saw the Tang Dynasty's ships lined up in a row on the sea. It was hard to see clearly because of the heavy rain, but it was roughly estimated that it was no less than five Ten of them are super battleships! The sea was as big as boiling water, but the Tang Dynasty’s ships lowered their sails and anchored, not afraid of the wind and waves at all!”
Luzon Island is surrounded by sea. The indigenous people living here are most afraid of the sea. Countless people are swallowed by the sea every year. The sea god "Amanibur" who controls the sea has a bad temper. Once disturbed, he will set off huge waves to devour humans. .
But in front of the huge ships of the Tang Dynasty, even "Amanipur" was helpless...
Seeing that his father had no reaction, Ma Pulong said anxiously: "Father, please make a decision, otherwise it will be too late when the storm subsides and the Tang people land!"
Lecombe's face turned pale, he touched his face, suddenly stood up and picked up a whip from the side, and whipped it at the high priest who was still kneeling on the ground.
"If it weren't for the devil you said about the evil Tang people and stealing our destiny as 'Tagalog people', how could I kill the Tang merchants and cut off their heads to commemorate 'Batala'? Now I'm inviting revenge from the Tang people. , we 'Tagalogs' will become extinct because of you!"
Fear prompted him to whip the high priest crazily. The high priest did not dare to argue. He could only curl up and moan, struggling and twisting on the ground. After a while, the skin and flesh were torn and bloody.
Lecombe didn't drop the whip until he was panting from exhaustion.
After pouring a can of water and breathing well, Lecombe told his eldest son: "Go to the Tang people to comfort them. No matter what conditions they offer, you will agree to them, as long as they can persuade those warships at sea to retreat."
Maplong cursed in his heart, when I advised you not to provoke the Tang people, you didn't listen and insisted on listening to the high priest's nonsense. Now that you regret it, you want me to take the lead?
"Father, I'd better go and see for myself. Those Tang people were guarding the rotting corpses and refused to bury them. They refused to eat the food we sent, and they refused to sit down and negotiate terms. They must be waiting for the Tang army to come and complain. , I can’t persuade the child to be incompetent!”
Lecombe smashed the water bottle in his hand at his son and cursed angrily: "If you don't go, why don't you let me, the chief, go? It's useless!"
"Ouch!"
Maplong was caught off guard and was hit on the forehead by a jar. The pottery jar shattered and blood flowed profusely. He raised his hand to cover the injury without daring to speak.
His mother Anneton suddenly exclaimed: "The rain has stopped!"
Push open the window smoothly.
Lecombe stood up in a hurry and walked to the window in a few steps. Sure enough, the heavy rain that had been pouring gradually became sparse and stopped, and the rain became lighter.
"No, we must hurry up to appease those Tang people, otherwise it will be too late by the time the Tang army lands!"
Lecombe ignored his anger and hurried out of the door, took a few guards with him and rushed to the place where the Tang people lived in the city.
It is said to be a "city", but in reality it is just a circle of stones surrounding a town-sized settlement. The wall is no more than four feet high and can be jumped over by an agile person. It is of no use except to ward off some wild beasts. The other side is a river embankment with a pontoon connecting the two banks.