Chapter 925: Homeland Sounds

"My goodness, who did the Franks offend? Why have so many warships come? This posture looks like they are going to attack Banbu."

At the Banbu port, a thin twenty-year-old youth stood dazed on the pier, carrying a sack of spices.

He had been working with his head down; only when the alarm bell rang and the crowd began pointing at the sea did he look over, and he was immediately terrified.

"It must be another Xitu Guo, does that even need asking?" Beside the youth was a burly peer.

Compared to the thin youth's calmness, his eyes held undisguised fear, "Don't just stand there, run quickly! No matter which Xitu Guo it is, occupying this place will surely involve burning, killing, and looting, especially toward us."

The thin youth suddenly snapped back to reality. He turned his head and discovered that whether they were Luzon natives or Overseas Song People like them, everyone on the pier was fleeing in a panic.

The Franks who managed the port even climbed onto horse carriages, not even bothering with their own vests.

The one hundred Frankish soldiers who usually guarded Banbu and acted with arrogance did not head to the port after the alarm bell rang, but instead fled in the opposite direction.

These Frankish soldiers were not stupid.

With such a massive fleet, how could a mere one hundred men possibly resist?

"Wait, why are there Great Song characters hanging on these warships?" The thin youth was just about to flee with the burly youth when he suddenly froze.

As the warships drew closer, the flags on them became increasingly clear.

"This is a Great Song fleet," the thin youth suddenly shouted.

The burly youth, having run ten or so meters, immediately pulled back his steps and looked toward the sea.

Then, he froze.

For them, having carried cargo at the port for years, they understood the situation overseas better than others.

After all, merchants coming from overseas would always bring some interesting news.

Among these, the hottest topic in the merchants' mouths during this period was about the Great Song, and about a person called Yan Wang.

However, if they were Luzon natives, they would naturally have little interest in anecdotes about the Great Song.

But they were different, because the blood of the Great Song people flowed in their bones.

His parents were fishermen from Haizhou in the Great Song who could no longer survive there; they fled here twenty years ago and gave birth to him.

Only after arriving here did his parents understand.

They had simply moved from a hell created by the Rich Clan to yet another hell.

For these twenty years, he and his parents had lived an inhuman life.

The Franks, just like they forced other Overseas Song People in Banbu, forced their parents to enter the rainforest west of Banbu to gather spices.

Every day, they were only given a piece of stinking black bread.

If the amount gathered was insufficient, they would suffer a brutal beating upon returning, and even the black bread would be gone.

Under such harsh conditions, his parents had barely managed to keep him alive.

Once he reached fourteen, he was sent to the port to carry cargo, and he had been carrying it for six years.

Besides the oppression of the Franks, they also suffered bullying from the Luzon natives.

At the port, he had been beaten by Luzon natives many times, for no reason other than they were in a bad mood.

And the Frankish managers at the port tacitly allowed this bullying, never once intervening.

It was in this environment where they did not belong.

Whenever he dreamed at midnight, he would think of the Great Song where his parents had lived.

There was a strong impulse that made him want to return to this homeland that truly belonged to him.

But he also knew very clearly that he had no money,

and he did not know how to sail a ship; he simply could not escape this place.

Moreover, there were the Rich Clan and the powerful clans, which his parents described as being like wild beasts.

But now, the merchants said that Yan Wang had wiped out the Rich Clan and the powerful clans.

The Great Song was different from before.

"So what if it is? Who knows what they came here for? Better to hide first." The burly youth froze for a while, then ran off again.

The thin youth felt that made sense, so he also ran off in a flash.

However, he looked back from time to time, and there seemed to be a glimmer of light in his eyes.

At the same time.

The Marine soldiers were getting closer and closer to the port.

In less than a minute, the small boats they were riding reached the shore.

Two hundred Marine soldiers quickly entered the port from the east and west sides, occupying the area.

Immediately, the warships docked at Banbu port one after another, and the Troop Transport Ships also arrived at the shore.

At this moment, more Marine soldiers disembarked from the Troop Transport Ships.

They crossed the port, entered the city of Banbu, and took control of the streets and alleys of Banbu.

"Really boring. I originally thought there would be a battle to fight, but I didn't expect the Frankish soldiers to run away completely."

Zhou Yi, Song Xiang, Pan Zhang, and other generals also disembarked from the warships.

Having occupied Banbu exceptionally smoothly, Pan Zhang could not help but complain.

Hearing this, Song Xiang laughed, "That's not called fighting a war; that's called bullying people."

Having said that, the two of them laughed.

A smile played on the corner of Zhou Yi's mouth, and he said, "You can banter later. Right now, immediately find the Overseas Song People in Banbu and gather them at the port. We must restore order to Banbu."

Then he added, "Our order."

Pan Zhang replied "Yes" and immediately ordered the soldiers to knock on doors house by house.

Although many of Banbu's administrative staff had run away with the Franks,

most people chose to stay, for the majority of the natives.

It makes no difference to them who rules, and for the Overseas Song People, there is even less need for them to flee Banbu.

Because in any place, their fate is equally miserable.

However, when they saw that those who had broken in were Great Song soldiers, their moods immediately became complex.

But they still followed the soldiers' orders and went to the open space in front of the Banbu port.

"Good heavens, are they disaster victims?" The ragged, sallow, and emaciated Overseas Song People arrived at the port one after another.

Looking at this group of beggar-like people, Song Xiang let out a sigh.

"Disaster victims at least still have freedom; one can only say that they are nothing more than slaves here," Zhou Yi frowned.

When Dong An returned from the Southern Region, he had introduced the living conditions of the Song People in the Southern Region.

Sweeping his gaze over the faces of the many Overseas Song People, Zhou Yi said loudly, "Before you stands the army of the Song People, the army of Yan Wang of Great Song. We have come to drive away the Franks; we have come to restore your freedom."

"From now on, you will no longer be enslaved by the Franks, nor will you be bullied by the Luzon natives, because you are Song People. Great Song has not forgotten you, and His Highness Yan Wang, who eliminated the powerful clans and Rich Clans, has not forgotten you either. No matter where you go, the Great Song Navy will be your strong backing."

Silence.

Zhou Yi's words left the originally trembling Overseas Song People as if frozen in place.

Afterwards, it was as if ice and snow were melting.

These Overseas Song People looked with difficulty at the Great Song soldiers, who were dressed in green military uniforms, holding muskets, and standing with high spirits and vigor.

They looked at the Steamships emitting pillars of smoke and the massive Sailing Warships on the sea behind them.

The name "Great Song" awakened the deepest longing in their hearts.

Zhou Yi's words were like the call of fellow villagers at the entrance of the village, a kind summons that made them instantly burst into tears.