Volume 1 Tigers in Southeast Asia Chapter 12: The Spoils of War
Lin Fei walked into the warehouse and turned around to ask, "Where's Chen Jingui?"
Chen Jingui trotted over, bowed and said, "Grandpa Lin, I'm here."
Lin Fei pointed at the native slaves and said, "Can you speak their language?"
Chen Jingui smiled apologetically and said, "Of course, of course."
Lin Fei then said: "Well, you translate my words to them. We have killed the Spaniards on the island. From today on, you are free."
Chen Jingui walked up to the natives and said something loudly. All the native slaves stared at Lin Fei with an indescribable weirdness in their eyes. Lin Fei frowned and thought to himself, "What did Chen Jingui say? Why are these natives looking at me so strangely?"
Before Lin Fei could ask, an old woman walked out from among the natives. She walked a few steps and then knelt on the ground, crawling towards Lin Fei while muttering something like a possessed person. Other natives also knelt on the ground and followed the old woman to crawl towards Lin Fei's feet. Lin Fei was so frightened that he took two steps back involuntarily. Suddenly, everyone stopped together, and the old woman stood up and shouted loudly: "Sa'ala!"
The other natives shouted, "Sayalah!", "Sayalah!" The sound was so loud that it almost lifted the roof of the warehouse. Lin Fei turned to look at Chen Jingui and asked, "What are they saying?"
Chen Jingui chuckled and said, "'Sa'ala' means savior in their language. I told them that you are the incarnation of 'God Etan' and you are here to save them."
Lin Fei asked: "What is the God of Yitan?"
Chen Jingui smiled and said, "The god in their tribal legends, this god transformed into a mortal when they were suffering, to save the most devout believers. The old woman crawling in the front is the priest of their tribe, and what she just chanted is the prayer of their tribe."
Lin Fei thought to himself: "I am now the god in the hearts of the natives. This is really good. The worship of gods is the most convincing thing. These natives will be my loyal soldiers in the future!"
Lin Fei praised Chen Jingui a few times, and then said: "Tell the natives to stay in the warehouse tonight, and I will arrange new accommodation for them tomorrow."
After Chen Jingui finished saying this, Lin Fei turned to everyone and said, "Let's go to the ammunition depot to see the spoils!" Everyone cheered. The ammunition depot was actually a large warehouse filled with all the good things of the Spaniards.
Lin Fei led everyone to the ammunition depot. Chen Jingui suddenly screamed, frightening everyone. Niu Dahu pointed at Chen Jingui's nose and cursed: "Chen Jingui, you kid saw a ghost, what are you screaming for?"
Chen Jingui pointed at Lin Fei and said in a trembling voice, "Grandpa Lin, how did that thing end up in your hands?"
Lin Fei looked down at himself and saw nothing wrong. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? What happened to me?"
Chen Jingui pointed at the knife on Lin Fei's waist and said, "That knife! It's not an ordinary thing!"
Lin Fei casually pulled out the knife he had taken from Denison and asked, "Is there anything special about this knife?"
Chen Jingui said, "This knife is not ordinary. Before Denison retired, he went to Mindanao Island in the southern Philippines to fight against Muslims. This knife was obtained from a general in the Muslim army. Look at the curvature of the blade, the patterns on the blade, and the gold wire wrapped around the handle. Only the purest Damascus scimitars have it! It is said that it was also the sword of the great Muslim hero Saladin! It has a name, called 'Saladin's Blade'. If you get this knife to Manila, I will sell it to you for at least 50,000 pesos! If you get it to Kolkata or Singapore, the price will be even higher!"
The Damascus scimitar is known as "one of the three most famous swords in the world". Lin Fei had also heard of it. However, in Lin Fei's time, swords had long since withdrawn from the world war stage, so Lin Fei had no feelings for the sword. He casually handed the sword to Chen Jingui and said nonchalantly: "Take it to exchange for money, and I will give you a share of the profits when the time comes."
Chen Jingui stared at the knife and stretched out his hand to take it away. At this time, Sun Yong, Niu Dalong, Niu Dahu and others rushed over and said, "Lin Shangguan, money is easy to get, but precious swords are hard to find. You should keep this sword."
Lin Fei looked at the eager faces of the crowd and put his knife back into his belt with a smile. When they arrived at the ammunition depot, Liu Daming came out excitedly and said, "Old Lin, there are so many good things in the ammunition depot, come and take a look."
Lin Fei led everyone into the ammunition depot. There were more than a dozen large boxes in the first room. Five of the boxes contained brand new Mauser M1893 rifles, a total of fifty. The remaining boxes were filled with bullets that were as yellow as gold. In Lin Fei's eyes, they were more precious than gold. Lin Fei made a simple count and found a total of fifteen thousand bullets, an average of only one hundred for each rifle. This number was not too many, but it was almost enough.
The second room was filled with dried ham, salted beef, flour, coffee and other food, enough for everyone to eat for several months; the third room was filled with boxes. Lin Fei took out the Saladin Blade, pried open the box and saw that it was full of pesos, totaling nearly 300,000. Lin Fei thought to himself: "This is good. We have guns, bullets, food, and money. We can stand firm."
While Lin Fei was thinking, he saw Chen Jingui drooling at the pesos and thought to himself, "This guy knows Spanish and the native language. He is a rare talent. I have to keep him." Lin Fei walked up to Chen Jingui and said with a smile, "Do you want the money?"
Chen Jingui nodded first, then shook his head. Lin Fei laughed loudly and said, "You stay and work with me. I'll give you as much money as you want. How about it? Are you willing?"
Chen Jingui stretched out three trembling fingers and said, "Give me three thousand pesos a month, okay?"
Lin Fei didn't know how much three thousand pesos were worth, but he agreed immediately. Chen Jingui immediately smiled. Lin Fei left two people to guard the ammunition depot, and then asked Liu Daming to take people to the sugar factory and the brewery to control the technicians inside. He also told Liu Daming that although those technicians worked for the Spaniards, they were all Chinese and must be treated with courtesy and not harmed.
Liu Daming was puzzled and said, "What's the use of the sugar factory and the winery? If we burn them down, won't it be clean?"
Lin Fei smiled and said, "If we want to conquer the world, we have to make our own weapons. The sugar factory and the brewery are where we started our business, so we must protect them well!"
Liu Daming looked puzzled and said, "Although I don't know much about making weapons, I know that making weapons is related to steelmaking and machinery. What does it have to do with making sugar and wine?"
Lin Fei laughed and said, "It's a big deal. I don't have time to explain it to you now. You will understand when the weapons come out."
Liu Daming nodded and led the group. Lin Fei arranged for everyone to deal with the Spaniard's body, and then went to see Chiyoko Mika. At this time, Chiyoko Mika was in the Spaniard's dormitory, accompanied by Yu Xier. Lin Fei led a few people to the dormitory. On the way, Lin Fei asked Chen Jingui: "Do you know any Japanese businessmen?"
Chen Jingui thought for a moment and said, "I know someone, what's wrong?"
Lin Fei did not tell Chiyo Mika about this, because he knew that the Japanese must be mad about this matter. If the Japanese knew his whereabouts, they would definitely kill him at all costs, so Lin Fei said: "Nothing, I just want to ask, what kind of business does that Japanese businessman do, and what kind of character is he?"
Chen Jingui smiled and said, "It's a triangular business. He bought the daughters of poor families in Japan at a low price, and then sold them to Shanghai as prostitutes. He then bought tea and raw silk from Shanghai and sold them to the Philippines. He then bought sugar and rum from the Philippines and shipped them back to Japan. As for his character, selling other people's girls as prostitutes, do you think this person has good character?"
After hearing this, Lin Fei gave up the idea of handing Chiyoko over to the Japanese businessman, thinking to himself: "Chiyoko is so beautiful, if I hand her over to that businessman, I will definitely be a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth." At this time, Lin Fei walked to the door of the dormitory, and Sun Yong walked up to him and said with a smile: "Captain Gunner, do you want to see that girl?"
Lin Fei nodded, and Sun Yong suddenly said with a wicked smile: "Captain of the Gunnery, in my opinion, you should just give her to me... I think that girl is very weak, and she will definitely let you do whatever you want..."
Lin Fei coughed lightly, and Sun Yong laughed awkwardly and said no more. Lin Fei pushed the door open and went in. He saw an oil lamp lit in the room. Chiyomika was sitting beside the bed. Yu Xier was sitting under the lamp, writing something in a notebook with a pen. When he saw Lin Fei come in, he stood up, raised the notebook in his hand, and said with a smile: "Mr. Gunner, I learned a lot about Chinese culture today."
Lin Fei smiled, Yu Xier looked back at Chiyomika, smiled meaningfully, turned around and walked out. Lin Fei walked up to Chiyomika, the light cast a layer of gold on her fair face, making her look exceptionally beautiful. There were traces of tears on her face, making her look pitiful and even more charming.
Lin Fei's face darkened and he said coldly in English: "Miss Chiyo, your English is very good."
Chiyomika stood up, lowered her head, at a loss, and whispered: "I only know simple words."
Lin Fei asked: "What did you say to Denison?"
Chiyomika said: "I just told him that I was kidnapped and hoped he could save me ."
Lin Fei frowned and said, "Why do you believe he can save you? You would rather believe Denison, that Spanish beast, than me, is that right?"
Chiyomika felt regretful and lowered her head in silence. Lin Fei sighed and said, "Why don't you believe me? Would I hurt you? In the ten days on the ship, neither my brother nor I were rude to you. I also didn't tell my brother that you betrayed me. If I had told him, my brother would have killed you, and I wouldn't have been able to save you at all."
