Chapter 1196: Coming to Stir Up Trouble
The students, having just seen the brutal video, immediately understood.
Li Daoxuan continued, "After all, the Dutch homeland is on the other side of the world. Their forces here aren't enough to completely sweep across Taiwan Island on their own. So, they adopted a strategy of befriending some and fighting others."
"They signed the Mato Agreement with some of the compliant indigenous tribes, establishing a feudal relationship where the Dutch were the lords and the indigenous people were their vassals."
"Then, they dispatched troops to attack the defiant tribes, compelling the compliant tribes to participate in 'headhunting' against them."
Li Daoxuan's tone grew grave at this point. "The indigenous people of Taiwan Island are also our people. We are all one family. How can we allow distant brigands to subjugate and humiliate them?"
"Absolutely not!" E'zhe was the first to leap up. "Slaughter them!"
Seeing a ten-year-old boy jump up and shout such words, everyone turned to stare, and the sight of him in full Mongolian attire made the scene even stranger.
Many faces sported peculiar expressions.
Some of the more learned students mused inwardly: *On closer inspection, it seems our strategy toward the Mongols isn't so different. Of course, the Heavenly Lord is benevolent and would never condone something as barbaric as 'headhunting,' but the overarching strategic direction is essentially the same.*
The Mongolian people and our Han people are also one family; such thoughts are unacceptable. The Heavenly Lord merely reunites the Mongolians with our grand family, just as the Heavenly Lord's strategy applies to the Tujia, Miao, Hui, Zhuang, and many other ethnic groups.
Li Daoxuan seemed to read their minds, offering them a slight smile. "In truth, between nations, the broad strategic goals have always been much the same throughout history. Who isn't constantly scheming to absorb their rivals? The only difference lies in the methods employed by the benevolent and the malevolent to achieve those strategies."
"When methods are used wisely, that makes for a righteous army!"
"But when methods know no bounds, then..." Li Daoxuan's hand swept across the screen, then returned to the previous video. There, the Dutch merrily watched the indigenous people 'headhunting,' rows of severed heads displayed, many with eyes still wide in shock.
Li Daoxuan concluded, "Then one becomes no different from these Western brigands."
The students fell silent.
E'zhe, however, was young, raised on the plains, fiercely direct, and not one for such profound considerations. He let out a howl and raised his hand. "Heavenly Lord, let's send troops, beat them! Protect our own people. E'zhe volunteers to be the vanguard! Give me a horse and a bow, and I will surely behead... huh? No, wait! Give me a ship and a cannon! I will surely lop off those Dutch dogs' heads!"
The other students burst into laughter. "You're still a child!"
"It's your first day of school; you haven't learned anything yet, and you're already acting like a big shot?"
"What's a little kid making such a fuss about!"
E'zhe's face instantly flushed crimson.
Ten years old was indeed a bit young!
Even on the Mongolian plains, where "the children of the poor learn early to manage the household," a ten-year-old couldn't shoulder serious responsibility, at most shouting a few times from behind their elders' cavalry.
Li Daoxuan's gaze swept across the crowd of students, pausing on none of them.
Finally, it settled on Yao Xingjuan's face.
Yao Xingjuan beamed with joy, stepping forward sharply. "Heavenly Lord, please issue your divine decree!"
Li Daoxuan explained, "Our main forces from Gao Family Village are currently engaged in a sweeping operation, prioritizing the eradication of the bandits plaguing the Central Plains. Our main naval fleet is also near Pi Island and Dengzhou. The situation on Pi Island is not yet stable, so they cannot easily depart. Thus, we cannot deploy our main forces against the Dutch right now, but neither can we allow them to slaughter the indigenous people of Taiwan Island unchecked."
"I am now issuing you a 'Letter of Marque and Reprisal,' authorizing you to act on your own discretion to attack Dutch ships near Taiwan Island, to tie up their movements. Draw their attention away from the interior of Taiwan Island and back to the sea."
Yao Xingjuan was overjoyed. "Your command shall be obeyed!"
Li Daoxuan cautioned, "Your responsibility is immense. The more trouble you cause for the Dutch, the less time they will have to massacre the people of Taiwan. The longer you can tie them up, the more time our main forces will have to deal with the bandits and stabilize the situation in the northeast."
Yao Xingjuan declared, "Fear not, Heavenly Lord, I shall not fail your divine decree."
Li Daoxuan turned his attention to Bai Gongzi, who stood silently in a corner. "Do you have a suitable vessel for him?"
Bai Gongzi smiled. "Little Black One!"
"What? Little Black?" The students were greatly puzzled. "Bai Gongzi, weren't all the ships you built before called Little White [Number]?"
Bai Gongzi puffed out his chest slightly. "During the last naval battle against the English, my Little White Three was struck by English cannons, and several large holes were blown in its hull. I realized that wooden hulls simply wouldn't do in the long run, so I began to consider building hulls from metal. However, without sufficient research in materials science, there was no progress."
At this, he grew even more pleased. "The Heavenly Lord, seeing my distress, bestowed upon us a new material called aluminum alloy. It weighs only thirty percent as much as iron, so I used it to clad the ship's sides and deck."
The students gasped, "Whoa!"
Bai Gongzi continued, "To distinguish it from the wooden ships, I named the first aluminum alloy vessel 'Little Black One.'"
"Bai Gongzi, could your naming skills be a bit more... sophisticated?"
"Your names are so typical of a science student!"
"Any liberal arts students out there willing to help Bai Gongzi come up with a better name?"
Amidst the laughter and teasing, Yao Xingjuan, eager to see his new ship, urged Bai Gongzi on. And so, a large group of students followed, all bustling into the shipyard.
Inside the dry dock, a brand new paddle-wheel ship sat waiting.
The main body of the hull was still wood; for lightness, there was no other recourse.
The ship was still propelled by steam-powered paddle wheels.
However, the ship's deck and hull were entirely covered with aluminum alloy armor plating. A tap with the hand immediately conveyed its formidable hardness.
Bai Gongzi turned to Yao Xingjuan. "We've already tested these armor plates. Ordinary Frangki cannons cannot penetrate them, so you can confidently engage the enemy in artillery battles."
Yao Xingjuan exclaimed, "Excellent! Thank you, Bai Gongzi."
Bai Gongzi waved a hand. "There's no need for thanks. We are merely serving the nation in different capacities. You are fighting on the front lines, ready to sacrifice life and limb."
Yao Xingjuan clasped his fists in a salute, then swiftly boarded the ship.
The deck was quite interesting: wood underneath, covered by a layer of aluminum alloy armor, which was then topped with another layer of wood. This was to prevent the sun from heating the deck so intensely that it would be unbearable to stand on.
Yao Xingjuan stood on the gleaming new bow, dramatically slapping an eye patch over one eye. Drawing a pistol with his left hand and brandishing a scimitar with his right, he let out a booming laugh. "Hahahaha, the Dutch can wait! The Great Pirate Yao Xingjuan is coming to stir up trouble for you!"
Comments