Volume 1 Tigers in Southeast Asia Chapter 53: The Shocking Change at the City Gate
Lin Fei followed the direction of the voice and looked inside the city gate. He saw a thin bearded old man surrounded by a group of people walking towards him. The old man was dressed luxuriously and his status was obviously not ordinary. Looking at the guards on both sides, each of them was holding a Spanish-standard Mauser M1893 rifle in his hand. The guards all had guns, which further demonstrated the high status of this old man.
The old man walked up to Lin Fei and the elder. The elder and the Muslim warriors bowed their heads and saluted. The old man said, "Mullah Jiliqi, what happened? Why did you pull out the knife?"
The elder was Mullah Giriqi. Mullah is a clergyman in Islam. Only people of high moral character can hold this position. When Mullah Giriqi heard this, he said to the old man, "Sultan, these people refuse to hand over their weapons."
It turned out that the old man was the Sultan of Bazair. The Sultan of Bazair looked at Lin Fei and said, "It's a bit unreasonable to enter our city without handing over your weapons, isn't it?"
Lin Fei sneered and said, "You kidnapped our people and made them slaves. This is even more unacceptable!"
The old man thought about it after hearing this, and then said, "Then come in with your guns."
When Bazair Sultan said this, Lin Fei was surprised. He thought that he didn't expect that Bazair Sultan was quite gentle, unlike those clan leaders he had dealt with before, who were all extremely arrogant.
Lin Fei then followed the Sultan of Bazaar into the city, only to see that all the men in the city were wearing Muslim robes, and the women were wrapped in black robes from head to toe. The buildings in the city were also in Islamic style, which was very different from the Filipino buildings he had seen before.
Lin Fei followed the Bazaier Sultan to a large palace. Lin Fei asked people to wait outside and only brought Chen Fu inside. The Bazaier Sultan and Lin Fei sat opposite each other. Lin Fei first said, "Your Excellency the Bazaier Sultan, I want to say that I respect Muslims and your beliefs. We in Yanhuang City have no grudges against you. Why do you want to rob my people?"
Sultan Bazaier frowned and said, "What do you mean you have no grudges against us? A year ago you attacked our village and killed hundreds of us."
Lin Fei was stunned and said, "What are you talking about? Our Yanhuang City has just been established for less than a month. How could we attack your village and kill your villagers?"
Sultan Bazaier snorted coldly and said, "The Spanish have attacked us many times. Didn't you follow the Spanish to massacre our people? What is even more intolerable is that you actually burned the Koran, burned the mosque, forced us to read the Bible, and worship evil gods. Do you dare not admit these things?"
Lin Fei was confused and asked in astonishment: "What are you talking about? How could we in Yanhuang City have done such things?"
Chen Fu whispered at this time: "City Lord, I think this Bazaar Sultan may have mistaken us for Filipinos. Many Filipinos were assimilated by the Spaniards, converted to Catholicism, and joined the Spaniards in attacking Muslims on Mindanao."
Lin Fei suddenly realized, so he said: "Your Excellency Sultan Bazaar, I think you may have misunderstood. The people who attacked you are Filipinos, not us Chinese. I can't guarantee that there are no scums among us Chinese who would harm you, but I can guarantee that the vast majority of Chinese are peace-loving."
After hearing this, Sultan Bazaar pondered for a while and said, "Are you different from the Filipinos?"
Lin Fei smiled and said, "Of course we are different from the Filipinos. Aren't there any Chinese in your tribe? The difference between them and the Filipinos is obvious at a glance."
Sultan Bazaar snorted and said, "Difference? What's the difference? Many of the Filipinos and Chinese who attacked us look almost the same."
Lin Fei said hurriedly: "There are Mistizo among the Filipinos, which are the mixed blood of Chinese and Filipinos. They cannot be considered pure Chinese. Because they have been with the Filipinos and Spaniards for a long time, they discriminate against you like the Spaniards. Pure Chinese have always been peace-loving and respect other people's beliefs."
Sultan Bazaar called his chief chamberlain and asked, "Is Mistizo a mixed race of Chinese and Filipino?"
The chief attendant was well-informed and knew a lot of things. He nodded and said, "Yes, Mistizo is a mixed race of Chinese and Filipinos, and lives with Filipinos and Spaniards."
Sultan Bazaier nodded and said, "So that's how it is. I used to confuse the Chinese with the Filipinos and the Spanish, but I didn't expect the Chinese to be different from them."
Lin Fei smiled and said, "Chinese people are indeed different from them. I emphasize again that Chinese people love peace and like friends. I am a vivid example. I am Chinese. After hearing that you kidnapped my people, I did not immediately go to the island to attack, but came to you to discuss with a friendly face. Please think about it, if I were replaced by a Filipino or a Spanish, would I discuss with you in this way?"
Sultan Bazaier lowered his head and thought for a while, then said: "It seems that we really shouldn't kidnap your people."
Lin Fei nodded and said, "Yes, we are neighbors separated by a strip of water, and we should prosper together."
Sultan Bazair smiled and said, "If that's the case, I will let your people go back."
Lin Fei smiled and said, "Sultan Bazaier is very sensible. I admire him very much. Please return my people to me. I will take them back myself."
Sultan Bazair called the chief chamberlain and asked, "Where is the man captured that day?"
The chief attendant replied: "They are all building the city wall."
Sultan Bazaier said: "Bring them here and let the Lord of Yanhuang City take them away."
Lin Fei interrupted at this time and said, "Your Excellency Sultan Bazair, I just saw that there are many Chinese building the city wall. Please release them as well."
Sultan Bazaier frowned and said, "If we release them all, there will be no one to build the city wall for us. How will we defend ourselves if the Spaniards come to attack us?"
Lin Fei smiled and said, "That's easy. I can send some craftsmen to help you build the city wall. I just saw your construction method, it's very backward. The city wall you build can hardly stop the Spanish cannons."
Sultan Bazaier thought for a moment and said, "I can't trust you easily. How about this? In a few days, you bring your craftsmen to build a section of the wall for us. If it is well built, I will promise to release the Chinese."
Lin Fei said, "I promise you, but you have to promise me that you won't mistreat the Chinese who are building the city wall these days." Sultan Bazaier nodded in agreement. Lin Fei then said, "You also captured one of our women. I wonder where she is? She shouldn't be building the city wall, right?"
Bazair Sultan turned around and asked the chief chamberlain, who replied, "We have arranged for the woman to work in the weaving factory. I will have someone bring her over right away."
The head attendant turned around and went out. Not long after, he brought a woman into the room. That woman was Chiyoko! The head attendant handed Chiyoko to Lin Fei. As soon as Chiyoko saw Lin Fei, she threw herself into his arms and sobbed softly. Lin Fei hurriedly asked, "They didn't bully you, did they?"
Chiyomika started crying louder when she heard this. Lin Fei's heart suddenly rose to his throat, thinking that they would not give her to...
Lin Fei gently shook Chiyo Mika's shoulders and said, "Meika, stop crying. Tell me, how did they bully you?"
Chiyomika cried and said, "They asked me to weave, but I couldn't, so they made me learn. If I couldn't learn, they wouldn't give me anything to eat. I've been hungry for a whole day, and my stomach hurts so much..."
Lin Fei asked in a low voice: "No man bullies you, right?"
Chiyomika blushed and shook her head. Lin Fei saw from her expression that she was not too shy to tell the truth, so he heaved a sigh of relief and said softly, "I'll give you something delicious to eat when we get back to the boat."
Chiyomika buried her head in Lin Fei's arms again. Sultan Bazaier laughed and said, "You guys go back first. I'll ask the chief attendant to return your people to you at the city gate. I have something else to do, so I won't go there in person."
After Bazaier Sultan finished speaking, he stood up and walked out. The chief attendant walked up to Lin Fei and said politely: "City Lord, please follow me."
Lin Fei followed the chief attendant out of the hall, onto the street, and walked towards the city gate. When they were still more than a hundred meters away from the city gate, they came towards a group of Muslim warriors, each holding a scimitar in their hands. Lin Fei thought they were a patrol team and did not pay attention to them. But at this moment, he suddenly saw the group of Muslim warriors split to the left and right and surrounded Lin Fei and his group.
Everyone was stunned, including the chief attendant. He took a step forward, walked in front of the soldiers, and said loudly: "Where are your officers?"
An officer came up to the chief aide-de-camp with a scimitar in his hand and said, "I am the officer."
The chief chamberlain said: "I am the chief chamberlain of the Bazair Sultan. I am following the order of the Bazair Sultan to lead these people out of the city. Please do not stop me."
The officer smiled, but did not move or speak. The chief attendant frowned and said, "Don't you know who I am?"
The officer nodded and said, "You are the chief chamberlain of the Sultan of Bazaar. I have seen you before."
The chief attendant said with a hint of annoyance in his tone, "Since you know who I am and have seen me, didn't you understand what I said? Why didn't you let your men get out of the way?"
The officer chuckled, and the next move stunned Lin Fei! The officer suddenly swung the scimitar in his hand and chopped it on the head attendant's neck. The head attendant's head fell in the direction of the blade, and the blood in his chest shot up into the sky like an arrow.
