Chapter 250: Murderous Intent in the Rainforest

The chanting and alarm bells had ceased, and the harbor was shrouded in silence.

Tens of thousands of subjects watched in silence as the Pattani navy fled back to port in utter panic, with many ships even escaping up the inland rivers.

Out on the sea, the enemy fleet pressed closer like a flood.

After half an hour of battle, their hulls showed almost no damage, and their formation had not even scattered.

At several of Pattani's coastal artillery batteries, the defenders stood tense and vigilant, cold sweat beading on their foreheads.

Suppressed sobs had already broken out among the people.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

A string of cannon fire rang out, and a battery beside the Pattani River mouth was instantly engulfed in clouds of dirt and smoke.

Nan'ao naval regulations stipulated that warships could not exchange fire with coastal artillery—unless the coastal artillery was too weak.

Pattani's batteries lacked solid fortifications, were insufficient in number, and their cannons performed poorly, so they were momentarily suppressed by the shipboard guns, unable to return fire. More and more warships entered the harbor, and the fleet took turns bombarding the coastal defenses and the remaining ships at their moorings.

The watchtower that had first sounded the alarm was struck by five or six cannonballs. The ground around it shook violently, spiderweb-like cracks spread across its body, and large quantities of brick and stone collapsed.

Another round of bombardment—the watchtower's bricks were smashed to pieces, several holes gaped open, and dust and rubble showered down from its frame.

The soldiers guarding the tower fled screaming in terror.

In but a moment, the upper half of the watchtower collapsed, the sound of falling stone rumbling like thunder from the earth.

The slower soldiers were crushed directly beneath the ruins, and for several hundred paces around, yellow dust billowed into the sky.

Only then did the harbor's civilians think to flee for their lives. The crowd screamed and scattered in all directions. At the narrow intersections, people trampled one another in the crush—once someone fell, they could never get up again, and before long became a corpse.

Five li from the harbor, aboard a three-masted sailing ship with oars, Yamada Nagamasa stared at the scene before him, frozen in a daze.

The ocean beasts of the Nan'ao army lined up in a single formation, occupying nearly the entire coastline of Pattani.

Broadside cannons fired without cease, and the whole town of Pattani was shrouded in flying yellow sand.

The Nan'ao army fired with precision at Pattani's coastal fortifications.

Under the dense rain of shells, the coastal guns were like live targets, barely managing a single shot in reply.

The Pattani warships anchored in the harbor were likewise sunk one by one.

The wantonly poured cannonballs not only tore through the warships with ease, but also blasted the trestles, docks, and harbor facilities to pieces.

The shipboard guns raged for a full two hours.

When the bombardment finally ended, nearly the entire harbor was left in ruins, and everything within one li of the coast had been razed flat.

The ground was covered in craters of varying sizes, with solid iron shot scattered densely about.

The soil of the entire harbor district was incredibly loose, as if it had been deeply plowed.

The Nan'ao army then sent out hawk ships to reconnoiter the beachhead. Afterward, whale ships launched large numbers of landing craft, and Nan'ao soldiers came ashore quickly. The defenders, beyond the range of the shipboard guns, used muskets and javelins from behind cover to harass the landing.

The marines did suffer scattered casualties at first, but the moment the three-pounder cannons were brought ashore, the situation reversed in an instant.

The Nan'ao army's gunpowder seemed to cost them nothing—ever since the three-pounders came ashore, the sound of cannon fire had not stopped.

What in the world were the Nan'ao army bombarding?

Did they intend to kill everyone in the city?

Meanwhile, the Yellow Queen, who had fled back in disgrace, had just returned to her palace. Her body trembling and tears in her eyes, she stood at the window watching the city suffer its ravages, and angrily demanded of her captain of the guard: "Who exactly is the enemy? How many have come?"

The captain of the guard lowered his head and said: "Their flags, weapons, and ships resemble those of Europeans, but their faces are those of Tang Chinese merchants... as for their numbers... we cannot yet determine... "Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Even as he spoke, another volley of cannon fire rang out from the Nan'ao marines.

Most of Pattani's houses were wooden structures, utterly unable to withstand the relentless bombardment of the three-pounders. One volley brought down a swath of buildings. The firing points at the harbor had basically been destroyed by the Nan'ao shipboard guns, and the cannons at other batteries were far too heavy to be transported over in time. Thus, whenever the cannons roared, Pattani's soldiers could only flee.

Troops continued to land, and the shield-and-halberd banners and rice-stalk banners at the docks grew ever more numerous, forming a local superiority in force.

The captain of the guard said anxiously: "Your Majesty, the palace is no longer safe. Please give the order to withdraw outside the city."

Once the city of Pattani fell, this small kingdom would have no cards left to play.

After weighing the matter again and again, the Yellow Queen could only say helplessly: "Send an envoy. Ask the enemy what they want—anything can be negotiated." The captain of the guard passed down the queen's order, but while the nobles were still arguing over who should be the envoy, the Nan'ao marines were already clearing obstacles with their cannons. Twenty three-pounder guns were concentrated in one place, blasting houses to rubble and carving a road straight through the town.

In all their lives, Pattani's defenders had never seen such tactics. One moment they were rubbing their hands in readiness for street fighting; the next, cannons thundered, houses collapsed in swaths, and the earth shook.

Cannons cleared the way ahead, engineers cleared obstacles behind, and the marines advanced at a steady pace at the rear.

Any defenders blocking their path were either buried beneath the ruins or blasted until not even their bones remained.

The defenders on both sides of the road were forcibly cut off from one another, leaderless and momentarily at a loss.

Without unified command, even if small bands of defenders charged forward with shouts, they were pierced full of holes by the marines' bayonets.

The front line advanced with terrifying speed—had it not been for the several rivers running through Pattani's urban district, the marines would already have pushed to the very foot of the palace.

At the same time, over a dozen Sea Wolf ships surged into the waterways, mopping up the remnants of the Pattani navy that had cowered there.

Fortunately, the waterways were narrow and the Sea Wolf ships could not turn easily, so although the Pattani navy was outmatched overall, they could still hold out for a while.

Seeing this, the nobles set aside their concerns over candidates and ceremony, quickly selected an envoy, and sent him out immediately.

By evening, the new army had advanced to the east bank of the Pattani River—the largest inland waterway in the city—with the palace lying on the west bank.

The Pattani navy resisted the Sea Wolf ships with desperate valor, making it difficult for the marines to cross the river for the moment. As darkness happened to be falling, the offensive slowed.

At the palace window, the Yellow Queen gazed out over the devastated city, her heart filled with grief and fear.

In just one day, the enemy had destroyed most of Pattani, and their vanguard was separated from the palace by only a hair's breadth—yet she did not even know who the enemy was. This sense of humiliation left her wanting to cry but without tears.

"Rustle!"

A sound like pages turning came from the air. The Yellow Queen looked up to see a dozen or more kites floating in the sky, beneath which a great number of leaflets scattered down like snowflakes.

Quite a few were blown by the wind into the river, but more fell into the residential districts.

The Yellow Queen did not understand what was happening. Just as she was puzzling over it, the captain of the guard walked up behind her: "Your Majesty, the envoy has returned."

"Let's go." The Yellow Queen hurried toward the audience hall. Before she even entered, she could hear the nobles murmuring among themselves.

"What? That simple?"

"If that's the case, then it might be worth considering!"

"If the Celestial Court had said so earlier, why make such a big show of it?"

"I'm just afraid His Majesty won't agree..."

"Hmph, today's situation is all the fault of those mother and daughter. It's only fitting that she make some sacrifices..."

The Yellow Queen pretended not to hear, and seated herself on the throne, asking: "How did the negotiations go?"

The nobles bowed together.

The envoy said: "Your Majesty, the enemy across the river are Tang people."

"Soldiers of the Great Ming?" The Yellow Queen was so startled that her voice turned shrill.

The envoy shook his head: "They call themselves the Nan'ao Army."

"Tell His Majesty what they demand." Some nobles had already begun to urge him on.

"The Nan'ao Army says they have come to seek justice for the Chinese merchants. They demand that we release the detained Tang hostages; compensate the Chinese merchants for their losses and pay war reparations; the Nan'ao Army wants a section of the port designated as a concession, and also..."

"Go on." The nobles urged in low voices.

The envoy steeled himself and said with a stiff upper lip: "They demand that Your Majesty abdicate, and that a new Sultan or Sultana be chosen."

The Yellow Queen remained expressionless, her gaze sweeping over the nobles. She saw no one objecting — clearly they were all quite tempted by this peace treaty.

"If the position of Sultana can buy the lives of my subjects, I am willing to abdicate."

Joy appeared on the faces of the nobles.

"But..." The Yellow Queen changed her tone, "The Nan'ao Army? Can they be trusted? They just slaughtered tens of thousands of my subjects today — these are a pack of evil executioners!"

"Ahem..." The envoy coughed awkwardly, took a sheet of paper from his bosom, and handed it over: "Your Majesty, please take a look at this."

The Yellow Queen had a guard fetch it. From the size and color of the paper, this was the same leaflet that had been scattered by the kites before.

The leaflet was printed in four languages: Malay, Arabic, Siamese, and Chinese.

Besides introducing the identity of the Nan'ao Army and the causes and consequences of this war, the most important information was in three points:

1. The populace is asked to stay away from the combat zones and avoid going out at night, so as not to be caught in the crossfire.

2. Any injured civilians may receive basic treatment from the military medics at the Nan'ao Army camp at the docks.

3. If homes collapse, property is damaged, or relatives are lost due to the war, the Nan'ao Army will pay compensation in silver after the war.

The fingers holding the leaflet trembled slightly. The Yellow Queen's face turned deathly pale, and her eyes were filled with venom.

"This is naked deception!"

The envoy said: "In fact, I saw with my own eyes the Nan'ao Army providing medical aid to the people.

Their medics' operating tables were set up right outside the camp. Because the enemy suffered very few casualties, a great many medics were free."

The Yellow Queen felt as if someone had grabbed her by the throat — a stifled breath clogged her chest, and she could not breathe smoothly.

The envoy continued: "Moreover, the enemy's advance route was also precisely calculated — not a single mosque was damaged."

"Liars! A pack of hypocritical liars!" The Yellow Queen screamed, crumpled the leaflet into a ball, and hurled it to the ground.

She rose and stumbled toward the inner palace, leaving the nobles exchanging bewildered glances.

The Yellow Queen came before her mother's spirit tablet, dismissed her attendants, and after confirming they had gone far, buried her face in the kneeling cushion. Tears and snot gushed forth, yet she dared not make a single sound.

She had merely detained a dozen or so Chinese merchants and slightly raised the taxes.

Was that such a great crime?

Even if she had killed people and seized their goods by force, the Great Ming ought to have merely issued an edict of reprimand!

They were barbarians! Never having been taught civilization, it was only natural that they committed cruel deeds.

To send warships directly to destroy her country — was that not punishment without warning?

Besides, Pattani was a small state, with a population of no more than three hundred thousand and fewer than four thousand soldiers.

This terrifying fleet was enough to destroy two Pattanis!

Their military might was already so strong as to be outrageous, yet they still waged psychological warfare — treating the wounded and compensating for war-damaged property. Whose subjects, exactly, were the ones being hurt?

This fleet, from bombarding the coastal defenses to advancing through the city while avoiding the mosques, had acted with perfect order at every step, familiar with Pattani as if they were locals. Clearly, before the war began, the enemy had made detailed plans.

All these preparations, just to drag her down from the throne?

After weeping for a long time, the Yellow Queen rose with a resolute look in her eyes. Even if she abdicated, she would still bite the Tang people hard before she died.

She summoned the captain of the guard and ordered: "Leave the city tonight, muster all the soldiers in the country, and bring those captured Chinese merchants along."

The next morning.

In the Nan'ao Army marine camp, Wang Ruzhong and Shitou were arguing over the order of deployment.

Zheng Zhilong held a cup in one hand and a toothbrush in the other, dipped it in tooth powder, and brushed his teeth leisurely.

Just then, a soldier entered the tent: "Hall Master, General — the soldiers on the opposite bank have withdrawn from the city."

This news surprised the men slightly.

On its narrow territory, Pattani City was the only stronghold of any value. Abandoning this city was no different from surrendering.

"Has that woman gone mad?" said Shitou. "Does she want to go play savage in the woods?"

Wang Ruzhong's expression was grave: "From whose defense sector did they flee? Why was no report made?"

The soldier said: "They broke out through the Ninth Banner's sector. The enemy numbered over a hundred, and they fled upriver in fast boats. The squad leader has already led his banner squad in pursuit." Wang Ruzhong slapped the table: "When that squad leader returns, have him come see me immediately!"

Zheng Zhilong spoke up: "Did the nobles of Pattani go with them?"

"No, they are all at the palace. Two banner squads have already taken them under control."

Zheng Zhilong said: "Excellent! Bring them all here."

What they had told the Pattani envoy yesterday was the Nan'ao Army's demands. What Zheng Zhilong was going to negotiate was the Company's demands.

Pattani, as an important commercial port on the Malay Peninsula, held great geographical significance — not to mention its agriculture and population.

It also abounded in tin ore, an important military-industrial raw material. Bronze was an alloy of copper and tin, and the fleet's cannons were all made of copper-tin alloy. Since the Company's army had come to this treasure land, there was no possibility of withdrawing.

Zheng Zhilong already had several candidates for puppet Sultan in mind.

Half an hour later, the Pattani nobles were invited to the military camp. The moment they arrived, they tearfully protested that the queen's actions had nothing to do with them—they had all surrendered in good faith and were willing to accept any terms the Nan'ao army imposed.

After the treaty was signed, Zheng Zhilong stepped forward and began negotiating the company's conditions.

The nobles inwardly cried that they had been duped. Their people were already captured, they held no cards whatsoever, and could only be at the mercy of others. Yet unwilling to be branded traitors to their country, they could only make excuses that the queen was absent and they could not make decisions on their own.

Zheng Zhilong smiled meaningfully. "That's easy to handle. In a few days, you'll be able to see her."

At noon, in the rainforest southwest of Pattani, the royal guard was struggling to cut a path forward.

Queen Huang was at the center of the column. She wore a songkok cap that concealed all her lustrous hair, dressed in a white linen shirt and loose trousers, with a kris dagger at her waist—she looked no different from an ordinary guard.

Since fleeing the palace last night, she had led her guards south along the Pattani River until the current grew too swift to continue upstream. Abandoning their boat, they struck out on foot, plunging into the rainforest to the southwest.

The terrain of the Malay Peninsula's rainforest was extremely complex—dense canopy overhead, soft humus underfoot, vines and thorns ahead. Without machetes to clear the way, every step was nearly impossible.

Queen Huang planned to first find a Malay tribe in the rainforest to hide with, establish a temporary court in the jungle, then rally her subjects to resist the Nan'ao army. No matter what, she was still the Sultana of Pattani. As long as she lived, countless subjects would answer her call and rise up in revolt. Every village would become a front line of resistance.

If the enemy lost a dozen soldiers today and a grain ship tomorrow, they would eventually be unable to hold on and retreat on their own.

As long as she survived, there was hope.

Therefore, even though her feet ached, she was exhausted, and her mouth was parched, she would not stop.

"Your Majesty, those Tang captives can't walk anymore." The captain of the guard came to report.

Queen Huang had lost Pattani City, was crashing through the rainforest like an orangutan, soaked and aching all over, in the foulest of moods. Hearing this, rage erupted in her heart like a volcano. She snapped, "Those who can't walk—stab them with the dagger. Those who still refuse—kill them!"

They had just beaten back a group of pursuers not long ago; now was not the time to rest.

The Nan'ao army was not skilled at rainforest warfare—the deeper they went into the woods, the safer they would be.

"Yes!" The captain of the guard shuddered and went down to relay the order.

Moments later, several screams came from the rear of the column.

Then someone cursed in Chinese: "You goddamn bastards! When the heavenly troops arrive, not one of you will escape!"

Listening to the screams and curses, Queen Huang felt a flicker of satisfaction, and the pain across her body lightened somewhat.

The group pressed through the rainforest for another hour, until the captives plopped down on the ground, refusing to take another step no matter what was said.

The captain of the guard dared not kill them all, so he went to report to the queen.

Never mind the captives—even they, native Malays, could barely endure this long march through the rainforest.

Hearing this, Queen Huang picked up her dagger, her face dark, and walked over to the captives.

There were eighteen captives in total—members of the Chartered Agricultural Company's immigration propaganda team.

When the propaganda team arrived in Pattani, Siam's order to arrest company members had just been issued. These eighteen had become captives the moment they stepped off the ship.

Three had died of illness in prison, four had been executed on the road just now, and one had been killed by a venomous snake—only ten remained.

These ten had their hands bound behind their backs, strung together by rope in a line. Where their necks were exposed, all were covered in wounds cut by thatch grass and thorn vines. In the rainforest's high heat and humidity, even natives with full use of their hands found walking extremely draining—let alone these captives with bound hands. Most had the soles of their feet pierced through, their legs below the knees dripping with blood, their bodies soaked through, wounds swollen and red. A few rolled their eyes back, already half-unconscious.

The captain of the guard said, "Your Majesty, let us rest for a while."

Seeing the captives' condition, Queen Huang acknowledged that they truly could not continue, and nodded in agreement. She had the ropes on the captives' hands removed and ordered the guards to cut some rattan vines for water.

After resting for a short while, Queen Huang's sense of unease grew ever stronger. She rose and ordered the column to move on.

Her guards could still struggle to their feet, but the captives remained sitting on the ground.

Queen Huang's temper flared. She shouted, "You've drunk water and rested. Move!"

The captives breathed weakly, no one paying her any mind.

Queen Huang drew her kris dagger, picked a half-conscious captive, and drove the blade in with one thrust.

Even the captive's scream was extremely weak. Blood soon flowed out, and he went still.

"Move!"

The captives still did not stir.

Queen Huang killed another man, then lightly sliced across a captive's back with the dagger.

The kris was an extremely insidious weapon. Its blade was curved, its center of gravity forward—designed so that even a light cut could create a massive wound. Those wounded by such a dagger not only suffered excruciating pain, but in the tropical climate, they would basically not survive.

The captive who had been sliced cursed in fury. Queen Huang, in a rage, drove the dagger forward—blood gushed out and the cursing stopped. The captain of the guard advised, "Your Majesty, it seems they truly cannot walk. And with wounds this severe, they won't live long in the rainforest anyway. They're useless to carry along—why not just let them go?"

Queen Huang had brought the captives along intending to use them as bargaining chips, but she had never expected these useless Tang people to be so feeble—after only a few hours of walking, they were in this state.

Given the medical conditions in the rainforest, even if these people reached a village, they truly would not survive.

But letting them go was out of the question.

"Then kill them all." Queen Huang said coldly.

The captain of the guard was taken aback, a hint of panic in his voice: "Your Majesty, these are all unarmed people…"

"If they escape, they'll reveal our position."

"Your Majesty, wounded as they are, they can't walk out of this rainforest."

"Silence! I am the Sultana, and I command you to kill them!" Queen Huang shrieked.

At that very moment, an unfamiliar language suddenly rang out from the rainforest.

"Tu-mang-a-ngat!"

It was not Chinese, not Siamese, not Arabic, not Malay.

Had it not been for Lin Qian, the Malays would never in their lives have heard this language—one that belonged to the same Austronesian family as their own.

It was Siraya.

It meant, "Found them!"

The moment the cry sounded, the leaves and vines behind the guard column began to shake violently, as if dozens of Malay bears were crashing through them. The Sultana's guard grew extremely tense. They gripped their daggers and spears, staring into the rainforest in terror.

Through the gaps between broad leaves and palm trunks, countless figures seemed to flash past at tremendous speed.

Those figures moved with incredible swiftness, quickly extending to flank both sides of the guard.

The rustling commotion of movement through the trees startled gibbons in the canopy into high-pitched "kek-kek" calls.

A dozen or so hornbills and noisy pittas beat their wings and took to the air, flying far away.

"Protect the Sultana!" the captain of the guard shouted. "Form a—"

Before he could finish, a spear shaft flew straight out from between the vines, the sound of it tearing through the air only arriving once it was already close.

The captain of the guard had no time to dodge. The spear pierced him through the chest, most of the javelin passing clean through his body before stabbing diagonally into the ground.

Pinned to the javelin, the captain of the guard stared with utter horror. Bloody bubbles foamed from the corners of his mouth, and a gurgling sound like air blown through water came from his throat. His body was like a leaking bucket, blood pouring from the wound and splattering across the rotting leaves.

He gripped the javelin shaft with both hands, as if trying to pull it out, but his strength was fading fast. After struggling for only a few breaths, he went completely still.

At the same time, more javelins flew out from deeper in the rainforest.

The javelins were remarkably accurate and devastatingly powerful. In an instant, over a dozen men were pinned to the ground—even those not struck in a vital spot were left unable to fight. After the rain of javelins, the forest fell silent for a moment.

Queen Yellow clutched her short sword, half her face stained red with the captain of the guard's blood. Her eyes wide with terror, she looked frantically around her.

The forest was so quiet she could hear her own pounding heartbeat and the heavy breathing of her guards.

A brief moment later, a thunderous battle cry erupted from the forest like an avalanche.

The surrounding trees and vines shook violently, crashing with tremendous noise.

Then several towering figures leaped out from the woods, charging forward with reckless disregard for death.

These men were extremely tall with massive, powerful builds, wielding enormous heavy steel blades—each one looking like an asura.

Pink Round

Pen