Beginning with the Ubume Bird Chapter 249

Chapter 249: Chapter 86: The Noise Under the Torrent

Macau, Fox Church, had now been reduced to ruins.

Tang Ruola's remaining military force was not substantial, and besides, Li Yan and Cai Qian had planned for a long time and had a clear strategy for this operation.

Before dispatching troops, Tang Ruola had killed the local coadjutor Zheng Da and Qingxiangshan County Magistrate Zhao Guangyi, blocked off the government offices, and had more than a thousand local officials and soldiers killed in Macau. The townsfolk were brutally suppressed by the Portuguese left behind. The horrific details do not need to be elaborated.

However, it was precisely because of this that the long-standing discontent among the local population of Macau towards the Portuguese had almost reached its peak. The killing of the government envoy removed the “lease” fig leaf, and the terror of being a subject nation weighed heavily upon them. The Red Flag Gang used its coastal influence to almost effortlessly incite hundreds of people to boldly assault the Portuguese church.

On the Portuguese side, nerves were tightly stretched; in such a situation, they did not hesitate to fight back, but this only added fuel to the fire, further inciting the local indigenous people to share the same hatred for the enemy.

The Cai Clan's smuggling ships brought crates of arquebuses and weapons, escorted by the Tianbo Division's guard troops, with five hundred Golden Men personally overseeing the transport. Qianjun Biao, Zhi Nong, Zhao Xiaoyi, and a few others were also among them, who simply rallied the local indigenous people to rise up, along with the remnants of the official military forces, and attacked the Governor's residence in Alikar…

Now that the dust had settled, locals carrying torches vented the pent-up anger and tears of years past, looting, arson, crying, and cursing amidst the chaos all around.

With corpses and charred marks everywhere, Cha Xiaodao bit on his cigarette, and even though the surprise attack was a success and they had won a complete victory, his expression was somewhat gloomy.

Cha Xiaodao's eyes caught sight of a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl who had fallen into a puddle of blood; she wore a dirty black and white nun's outfit, looking like a doe struck down by a hunting rifle, with four or five crazed, thin villagers chasing after her, torches in hand.

The cursing was drawing close; Cha Xiaodao stared at the girl's face, highbrow and long-lashed, a fragile beauty in the making. At first glance, she seemed no different from the locals, but upon closer inspection, one could indeed see the distinctive traits of Portuguese heritage.

She was mixed-race.

“Don't let that little Red Hair get away…”

“I saw with my own eyes, she was hiding behind the Red Hair's portrait!”

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Cha Xiaodao, with a frosty face, picked up a piece of broken brick and smashed it on the back of the head of the man leading them. Those mobs immediately raised their muskets, aiming at Cha Xiaodao, but upon careful scrutiny, the leader hurriedly signaled for the people behind him to lower their guns.

“Mighty sir… you?”

“Get lost.”

With his head bowed, the man secretly waved his hand apprehensively, leading his followers to scurry away dispiritedly.

Cha Xiaodao with a stern face, surrounded by the crackling fires, saw bodies lying all around. But upon closer inspection, there were not too many Portuguese; there were more mixed-blood individuals, and even purely local people who either practiced Catholicism or had some close relationship with the Portuguese. They too had been brutally killed by the mobs incited by the Red Flag and Cai Qian.

The Red Haired Devils had occupied Macau for more than a hundred years. Pulling out radishes brought out the mud. Once emotions were whipped up, some situations were uncontrollable, and neither Cai Qian nor Li Yan could have accounted for these in advance.

Yet seeing and realizing are two different things altogether.

Cha Xiaodao remained speechless for a long time. The sound of Li Yan's laughter while hugging his shoulders still echoed in his ears, “Twelve Exotic Beast Maps, we're still missing one that has yet to be found. But with the uprising of the Red Hairs, such an opportunity comes once in a blue moon. Currently, their lair is empty, and I have also contacted Cai Qian. Let's take over Macau first, and then we can slowly search for the remaining map. Xiaodao, don't be soft-hearted by then…”

“Heavenly Master's great power, grant your followers joy and well-being~”

The girl held her head, muttering this phrase in a hoarse voice over and over. Her dim eyes lacked luster.

Cha Xiaodao squatted down, his bloodshot eyes staring at the girl for a moment, and for a long time, he couldn't say a word.

“You…” Cha Xiaodao stammered out, “Are you hungry?”

“Heavenly Master's great power, grant your followers joy and well-being~”

The girl trembled violently, saying nothing, muttering neurotically to herself; she had grown up in the church. The person she was closest to was Nun Yaxiusha, and her favorite food was Aunt Yaxiusha's croissant. But today, flames and blood brutally ravaged her narrow world.

The sound of horse hooves trampled the mud, a middle-aged man carrying a musket rode on horseback, looking formidable.

This surprise attack was led by Cha Xiaodao from the Red Flag Gang, whose strength had been proven at the Tianbo Division's meeting, winning everyone's respect. On Cai Qian's side, it was Yan Laoqi who hadn't made a move at the Tianbo Division's meeting who led the team, a man full of cunning schemes. He had personally orchestrated the details of inciting the natives of Macau to revolt.

Yan Laoqi rode past a messy heap of corpses, with the local natives who had participated in the assault on the Governor's residence trailing behind him, every one of their blades stained with blood.

“Fellow countrymen! The damned Red-haired Men killed my parents and siblings, dishonored my wife and daughter, and now, the day for us to seek revenge and wipe out this humiliation has come.”

Yan Laoqi, with his heroic looks and appealing presence, spoke with an infectiously powerful voice.

The crowd's eyes turned red, and they roared in unison.

“The time for revenge has come!”

Yan Laoqi continued to shout, “Not a single Red Haired Devil must be spared. We mustn't let these bastards cause harm to others anymore!”

“Not a single Red Haired Devil must be spared.”

The volume of voices in the crowd grew louder and louder.

Cha Xiaodao, in disheveled leather armor, with greasy and messy hair, pursed his lips, grabbed the girl on the ground, and, ignoring her crying and struggling, carried her on his shoulder to walk back, just crossing paths with the team led by Yan Laoqi.

Yan Laoqi naturally saw Cha Xiaodao and, cupping his hands in a half bow, spoke with respectful familiarity in his tone, “Brother Cha, what are you planning to do?”

Cha Xiaodao, carrying the girl in a nun's habit on his shoulder, did not even glance at him.

“Taking a shit,” he replied bluntly.

Bishop Tang Ruola's face was drained of all color, and disregarding the attendants by his side who tried to support him, he strode forward, placing both of his emaciated palms on the table to scan the content on the parchment. His mouth writhed for a moment, and he tightened his gold-embroidered robe before stepping back, remaining silent.

Alex's expression changed several times. He swallowed before managing to speak, “Bishop, as long as we defeat the pirates of the Far East on the battlefield, we can regain all that we've lost.”

“And if we fail, we will lose everything–because of your obstinacy, Your Excellency!”

Tang Ruola responded coldly.

Considering the political situation back home and the significant influence of the East India Company across the ocean, Bishop Tang Ruola had always maintained a relatively polite demeanor towards the nobleman, even though the man was a Protestant deserving of the stake. But now that their stronghold had been attacked, Tang Ruola struggled to contain his fury…

Alex, noticing the prickliness in Bishop Tang Ruola's words, did not overreact, but instead spoke soberly, “Then let me put it differently, Bishop. Besides war, do you truly believe that your country's Church and monarchy have any chance of reclaiming Macau?”

He paused, then asked further, “Does the Bishop believe that the Portuguese monarchy, which waged an undeclared war on the officials, can continue obtaining the Chinese Emperor's permission to lease Macau, or do you think that the lawless pirates of the Far East will obediently evacuate Macau?”

One of the impatient church attendants shouted at Alex, “This war was all stirred up by Hesting!”

Tang Ruola turned to glance at the man, causing him to sweat profusely. After a while, Tang Ruola withdrew his gaze and sighed deeply,

“You're right, Sir. Then according to your judgment, what should we do now?”

Alex took a deep breath, “It's not just us whose backyard is on fire, is it?”

Chapter end

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