Volume of Changning Kingdom: Chapter 39 Looking for Relatives
"So," Zhu Shunshen was a little surprised, "Anna is yours..."
"This is just one of them, there is a second thing." Huang Shidong did not answer his words, pointing to the hairpin in Anna's hand, "These are the hairpins my grandmother gave to my three aunts. They are all in special styles.
Custom-made, there are three in total. Two of them are now in the Huang family, and one is on my sister-in-law who was kidnapped..."
"Really? You know my mother?!" Anna said in surprise,
"Yes, she is my sister-in-law..." Huang Shidong pointed to the hairpin in her hand, "Behind the flowers of these three hairpins, there is a word from each person's name engraved on them. The one engraved on yours should be
The word is 'Ying'. Because your mother's name is Huang Qiying."
Although Anna has been wearing this hairpin all year round, she has never noticed that there are words on it. She quickly took it out to identify it carefully, and sure enough she saw the words.
"It's true!" Anna almost jumped up with excitement, "So..."
"That's right, you are my cousin..." Huang Shidong looked at Anna's face. Her face really looked a bit like that of his sister-in-law Huang Qiying! The lower half of her face was especially similar, but her eyes and nose were a bit different.
, closer to the appearance of a red-haired man.
"Because your mother's name is Huang Qiying, she likes to embroider yellow orioles the most...hasn't she told you about her family affairs?"
"My mother never mentioned anything about her original family. She only mentioned once that there was a very tall mountain where she came from. She often looked to the north in a daze."
"That's Changning Sacred Mountain!" Huang Shidong nodded affirmatively and hurriedly asked: "Where is your mother? Where is she now? Is she okay?"
"My mother was called by the Lord four years ago."
“What does it mean to be favored by the Lord?”
"He just died." Cui Yunhong explained.
"This..." Although Huang Shidong was mentally prepared for his sister-in-law's unexpected encounter, it was still difficult to accept the news of his sister-in-law's death when he heard it from Anna's mouth.
"Then...who is your father? How did he meet your mother?"
"Brother Huang, please take a step to speak." Wu Tingwei pulled Huang Shidong aside, "When we were at Huang's house, did your father say that your aunt was kidnapped by pirates, right?"
"That's true. At that time, pirates robbed Shanba Port and kidnapped my sister-in-law who was working on the beach."
"It is estimated that her father is one of the pirates..." Wu Tingwei thought for a while and then said to Huang Shidong: "Brother Huang, I personally think it is best not to tell her that her mother was robbed."
"Why?! I still want to find out which bastard kidnapped my sister-in-law! I must lead the whole clan to destroy these beasts!" Huang Shidong said angrily.
"I can understand your feelings, but is it really right for Anna to say this? Anna's mother is no longer here, and the child's father is her only relative. Her father has always been very good to her..."
"So Brother Wu knows this thief?"
"Exactly, her father is the Dutchman Van Basten who is now in the big city!"
"Is he?! The representative of the East India Company?" This name is not unfamiliar to the Huang family. He has been in and out of the Sultan's court all year round and runs various local businesses. It can be said that he is quite familiar with the Huang family.
"This is just right. I will report back to my father and arrange for someone to go to Mara Port to settle the score with him!"
"Brother Huang, please don't be angry. We can't decide whether Van Basten was a pirate who robbed your sister-in-law. Moreover, he has treated Anna very well over the years. I think your sister-in-law has never suffered under him. Besides, Anna and
Her father is very affectionate, if you really want to hurt her father, what will she do?"
Huang Shidong was furious. Although Mr. Wu said that "it is impossible to draw a conclusion," with VOC's style, it was not surprising that he would do such a thing. Moreover, he had heard Van Basten boast before that he had already worked for the company in East Asia.
Having served for "almost twenty years", the time is right. This is actually a very tactful advice.
Although the anger is hard to calm down, the fact before us is this. After all, this girl with foreign blood is my sister-in-law's only bloodline, and she is also the "reincarnation of my grandma" that my aunt mentioned. If Anna and her father have a good relationship,
Once he hurts the Dutch, it is not difficult to imagine what will happen.
Huang Shidong let out a long breath and said: "What the elder said is absolutely true. I will wait until I go back and report to my father and brother, and find out the whole story before I make a decision!"
The unexpected family recognition episode on the treasure hunt trip added a lot of happiness to the group's return journey. Anna suddenly became the central figure in the team, and Huang Shidong and Zhu Shunshen had endless topics to talk about with her. Fortunately, Anna belongs to Sheniu
After getting familiar with the staff, they became more talkative.
When they met for the first time, both parties had endless things to say.
…
"My aunt had the best relationship with your mother before. She will definitely treat you very well after knowing that you are her niece..."
"I suddenly have so many family members, and I am very happy, but your names are so complicated. What is aunt, and who are you my cousin? I don't understand it at all..."
"Hahaha, there are more. I will teach you slowly in the future."
Less than fifty nautical miles away from Shanba Port, a small fleet of ships was taking advantage of the wind and sails to move forward.
This is a mixed fleet, headed by a European sailing ship, which is the "Good Luck". Behind it, there are three Chinese-style lucky ships that are common in the local area.
Basten and Armand were on the deck of the Good Luck at the moment. The wind was favorable and the sea was calm. It was a good day for sailing.
After getting the tacit consent from the great city, the two of them began to prepare intensively for the plan to seize Shanpak Port.
Although many of the Basten brothers' personal interests were involved in this plan, given their strength, they did not have the courage to bypass VOC in planning such a large-scale operation. Therefore, the operation was reported to Batavia a year ago.
of the East India Council and received approval.
At this moment, the five ships of pirates he had gathered from all sides were ready to go, just waiting to take Shanba Port in one fell swoop.
For this operation, Armand recruited nearly 800 people, most of whom were pirates wandering the South Seas, also known as "scum of all nationalities wandering the South Sea Islands." In order to recruit and equip this team, Basten and Basten
Sten spent a lot of VOC's money.
If everything goes well, Shanpakang and the Huang family will be their brothers' "trophies". The two of them can bring their full bags back to the United Provinces to enjoy the happiness of the rich; maybe they can also become a distinguished member of the United Provinces; if
If they fail, they will lose everything, and getting on a ship back home empty-handed is the best ending.
With such a big bet, even Van Basten, who thought he was fully prepared, felt very uneasy at the moment. He was pondering the entire action plan over and over again.
According to the intelligence they had collected in advance, there were about 1,200 Dinggang soldiers capable of holding weapons in Shanba Port. Three hundred of them were Huang Qilin's guards, the most elite and the largest mobile force in the hands of the Huang family. They were to capture
The main obstacle to Shanpak Port.
In the past, it would have been a dream for a pirate team of only 800 people to seize Shanba Port. But the arrival of 300 Nanyang rifles he imported from the Nanyang Company through Sudan six months ago greatly increased this possibility. Nanyang
The rifle is lighter and more flexible than a matchlock, can be loaded faster than a rifled gun, and can shoot under any natural conditions. It was quickly dispersed throughout Southeast Asia. If it weren't for its expensive and scarce ammunition, I am afraid that all the princely states in Southeast Asia would now be destroyed.
They will purchase such weapons in large quantities.
With these three hundred rifles, plus the mercenary squadron he raised with Europeans and Japanese as the core, he had absolute confidence to defeat the Huang Family Guards and the temporarily summoned militia in Shanba Port.
However, there is a bigger problem before him - the General Military Mansion. Even if he takes over the port and town, as long as he does not capture this fortress, he will not be able to gain a foothold in Shanpachi Port, and his next plan will not be possible.
There was no way to start. He had already inspected this huge castle-like residence, and the 24-pound cannon on their ship would definitely not be able to destroy its thick walls made of some kind of rammed earth. What's more, the fortress itself had
Artillery. The gunner has no advantage at all in terms of range.
Even if he successfully defeated the Huang family's guards and Ding Zhuang, these victories would be meaningless as long as the residents of Shanba Port retreated into the fortress to resist. This fortress can accommodate five to six thousand people, and there is water and water inside.
Hoarding of food, ordnance and ammunition. To capture it means conducting a serious siege at Shanpak Port - to be honest, in the entire Southeast Asia, there are very few successful sieges of a fortified fortress. 1622
The Dutch gathered a dozen ships to attack Macau, but the Portuguese used a few simple forts as fortifications and a few hundred ragtag men to repel the siege.
If they cannot capture Shanba Port in the shortest time and capture the main figures who killed the Huang family in one fell swoop, they will organize a counterattack - after all, in addition to Shanba Port, they also own other cities and towns and countless rural villages.
There are tens of thousands of Chinese. Once armed, these people under Basten cannot withstand it.
Over the past year, he has been thinking carefully about how to quickly break into the castle. Not long ago, with the help of a former Spanish artillery officer and now VOC mercenary Savanchi Gonzalez, he finally found a way to open the castle.
Castle approach.
It was with the help of this officer that he finally made up his mind.
The timing is just right. There is a festival celebrating an idol worshiped by the Chinese in Shanba Port these days. The local Chinese people from top to bottom are having a party and dinner. The guards are lax everywhere. It is a good opportunity to launch a surprise attack. The Huang family
The main characters will also gather in Huangjiabao for this festival - it is a good time to catch them all.
"Captain, we will arrive at Shanba Port soon." A lookout reported to him.
"How long until the sun goes down?"
"One hour."
"Lower the company flag and hoist the black flag!"