Volume 1 Tigers in Southeast Asia Chapter 72: Chinese Shipbuilders
The man did not answer, but grinned and said, "Help me untie the rope first."
Zhang Chuang took out the short knife from his waist, inserted it into the rope on his arm, and cut the rope with a flip of the blade. Zhang Chuang said, "Can you talk now?"
The man looked at Zhang Chuang and the others and asked, "Who are you?"
Zhang Chuang replied: "We are from the Huaxia Empire Army Sniper Team."
The man frowned and said, "The Huaxia Empire? Never heard of it."
Lin Fei's men didn't have any communication equipment, and there were no newspapers or news agencies on Samar and Leyte, so the outside world was unaware of Lin Fei's establishment of the Huaxia Empire. Zhang Chuang saw that the man had never heard of the Huaxia Empire, and he couldn't explain it to him, so he said, "I'll take you back to our warship first, and when you meet our city lord, you can ask him in person."
Zhang Chuang sent the man back to the Nuwa ship. As soon as he got on board, Lin Fei asked in surprise, "Why did you come back so soon?"
Zhang Chuang brought the man to Lin Fei and said, "We found this man among the people who fell into the water. He is Chinese and his arms were tied behind his back by the Spaniards. I think he is not an ordinary person."
Lin Fei knew that this man must be hiding a major secret, so he invited him to the command room, asked him to sit down, and asked a medical officer to bandage the wound on his back caused by the hook.
The medical officer was bandaging the man's wound. Lin Fei asked, "Brother, what's your name? Why did the Spaniards tie your arms behind your back?"
The man looked at Lin Fei coldly, his eyes full of suspicion, and said, "Who are you?"
Lin Fei smiled and said, "I am the emperor of the Huaxia Empire, but I personally don't like the imperial system very much, so I let my subordinates call me City Lord. You can call me that too."
The man frowned and said, "The Chinese Empire? Is there really such a country in the world?"
Lin Fei smiled and said, "Our empire was just established, you may not have heard of it."
The man pointed to the command room of the Nuwa ship and asked in surprise, "You have just built a steel battleship like this after your empire was established? Isn't this too impossible?"
Lin Fei smiled and said, "We didn't build this battleship. We stole it from the Spaniards. Have you heard of the Cuba cruiser that was taken away by a mysterious person? This battleship is the Cuba cruiser."
The man stood in awe and said, "Are you the leader of the mysterious group that dared to go against the Spaniards?"
Lin Fei smiled and nodded. The man stood up and bowed deeply. When he bent down, his back hurt and he grimaced in pain. Then he endured the pain and said, "So you are the 'Smith Fei Linsky'. I didn't recognize you and neglected you just now."
Smithfield Linsky was a fake name that Lin Fei had come up with to fool the Spaniards. When he heard the name again, he felt it was both interesting and familiar, so he asked, "Where did you hear this name?"
The man said, "This name has spread throughout the Philippines. Everyone knows it."
Lin Fei nodded, feeling secretly delighted, and then said, "Now can you tell me your name and identity?"
The man said, "My last name is Yu, and my given name is Zhe. My ancestors are from Guangdong, and they have been making a living by building ships for generations. They went to Southeast Asia and arrived at the Sulu Sultanate. The old Sultan thought highly of my ancestors and asked them to build ships for them. We settled down in the Sulu Sultanate, and several generations have passed in a blink of an eye."
When Lin Fei heard that this man was a shipbuilder, he couldn't help but feel happy. Although the traditional shipbuilding technology of ancient China is far from modern shipbuilding, this man at least has some basic skills, and he will definitely be of great use if he can be brought to Yanhuang City.
Lin Fei was about to invite Yu Zhe to Yanhuang City, when he suddenly remembered that he had not yet asked why the Spaniards had arrested him, so Lin Fei asked, "Brother Yu, why did the Spaniards arrest you?"
Yu Zhe's face darkened and he said, "It's because of the warships we built for the Sulu Sultanate! Our warships are very powerful in shallow waters and often beat the Spaniards to a pulp. Otherwise, the Spaniards would not have sent out their elite steel warships this time. The Spaniards have been defeated by us several times before and were very angry. This time they specifically attacked our workshop. All my family members died, and my men either died or fled. I didn't escape and was captured by the Spaniards." After Yu Zhe finished speaking, he lowered his head, his face full of sadness.
Lin Fei said "Oh", thinking that this was the origin of this man. He wanted to know the situation of the warship sunk by the Nuwa ship, so he asked: "What is the name of that warship?"
Yu Zhe said: "It's called the Queen Isabel, a cruiser. After they caught me, they will send me to Tip-de-Pon Harbor."
Lin Fei said: "According to the intelligence I received, the Spanish warship should return to Tip de Ponte tomorrow night. Why did it return today? Do you know why?"
Lin Fei just asked casually, and didn't hold out much hope that Yu Zhe knew the reason. Unexpectedly, Yu Zhe smiled and said, "They returned early because of me."
Lin Fei was shocked and thought to himself, "You are just a shipbuilder. Why did the Spaniards send you back in such a hurry after they captured you? What is so special about you?"
Yu Zhe seemed to see through Lin Fei 's thoughts and said with a smile: "City Lord, do you think that my status is too low to make the Spaniards disrupt their plans and send me back?"
Lin Fei nodded, and Yu Zhe smiled and said, "There is another reason. The reason is this. My men and I not only built warships, but also studied how to use them. This time the Spaniards attacked in large numbers, and I made a plan for Sultan Yagur to sneak attack the Spanish transport team. The Spaniards knew that I was involved in this plan, so they wanted to send me to Tipu de Pom and hand me over to someone to torture me and get the details of the plan."
Lin Fei nodded and said, "So that's how it is. You guys are going to attack the Spanish fleet, and I want to attack the Spanish fleet too. Can you tell me your plan to attack, and see if our plans can match? To show my sincerity, I'll tell you my plan first."
Lin Fei cleared his throat and said, "My plan is this. Tomorrow night the Spanish fleet will gather at Tipu-de-Pon Harbor. We will take advantage of the darkness to enter the Vilan-Vedova waterway, enter Tipu-de-Pon Harbor through the waterway, and then annihilate the Spanish fleet in one fell swoop."
After hearing this plan, Yu Zhe frowned and said, "City Lord, may I ask who made this plan?"
Lin Fei could tell from Yu Zhe's expression that this plan must have a huge flaw, so he asked, "Brother Yu, is there anything wrong with this plan?"
Yu Zhe pondered for a moment and said, "Excuse me, City Lord, the person who made this plan for you is very likely a Spanish spy. You must be on guard!"
Lin Fei thought to himself that I made this plan myself. Could it be that I am a spy for the Spanish? So Lin Fei said, "I made this plan myself."
Yu Zhe's expression changed, and he said apologetically: "Oh, sorry, I want to ask the city lord, what is the basis for your plan?"
Lin Fei said: "To be honest, I led the warships to sink the Spanish gunboat Columbus today and captured the captain and others. I learned about the waterways and ports from the captain and asked the Spanish navigator, and then I made this plan."
Yu Zhe sighed and said, "City Lord, you are very likely to have been deceived by the Spaniards!"
When Lin Fei heard this, his heart skipped a beat. He suddenly remembered the disappointed look on the Spanish navigator's face when he ordered the cancellation of the reconnaissance plan. He immediately guessed that the Spaniards might really have a conspiracy!
Lin Fei then asked: "Brother Yu, you said this plan is not feasible, what is wrong with it?"
Yu Zhe said, "When the Spanish attacked the Sulu Sultanate before, our warships often attacked their landing craft and transport ships on the shore. Therefore, the Spanish paid special attention to the enemy's sneak attacks. How could you succeed? In addition, the Vilanvidova waterway in Tipu de Ponte is a key defensive location for the Spanish Navy. There are more than a dozen watchtowers alone, and two of them have coastal artillery batteries. How can you succeed in a sneak attack?"
"Let's put aside the Spanish army's defense. The Villanvidova waterway is very complicated, with many hidden reefs. If you're not careful, the ship will hit the reef. Every warship must be equipped with a pilot who knows the waterway conditions well when entering and leaving the port. Only in this way can the Spanish fleet dare to enter and leave the port. How could your warship enter?"
Lin Fei's eyes shone, and he thought to himself: "I was deceived by the Spanish navigator!" He raised his head and stared at the Spanish navigator fiercely. The Spanish navigator did not understand Chinese and did not know what happened. Lin Fei smiled apologetically at Yu Zhe and said, "I'm sorry, brother Yu, I have some things to deal with."
Yu Zhe didn't understand what was going on. He saw Lin Fei stand up and walk to the Spanish navigator.
Lin Fei said to the Spanish navigator fiercely in Spanish : "Okay, you dare to lie to me!"
The Spanish navigator smiled and said, "How could I lie to you? I would never lie to anyone else but you!"
Lin Fei snorted coldly and said, "The Vilanvidova waterway is clearly heavily guarded, but you told me it isn't. The waterway is clearly full of hidden reefs, but you told me there aren't any. What are you thinking?"
The Spanish navigator's trick was exposed by Lin Fei on the spot. He was speechless. He stared at Lin Fei for a long time, and suddenly a fierce look appeared on his face. He rushed towards Lin Fei and cursed: "Huazhu, I am an officer of the Spanish Empire Royal Navy. How can I help you!"
Lin Fei dodged lightly and pushed the Spanish captain on the shoulder. The Spanish captain fell to the ground with a plop. Lin Fei pointed at the Spanish captain on the ground and said loudly to his subordinates: "Castrate this guy and throw him into the cabin where the prisoners are held."
