open sea

Chapter 403 Collapse
In fact, Lin Manjue knew that what Lin Xiao wanted to ask most was not the reason for this war.

What he wants to ask is why them, why are they people who have changed from farmers to country warriors, and from village braves to battalion soldiers.

They are not those who were born in military families and pursue meritorious service and glory. They are neither honorable nor honorable to join the army. I have tried avoiding battles and pleasing the county magistrate for protection.

All the roads are blocked, there is no way, they, the poor and settled families with no food left and no land left, gathered into the village brave, and were forced to take up arms to resist, and even some young men joined the army because they had no money to beg for their wives, and just because of a promise, they were thrown away. Put your head on your back.

Even now, most of them want nothing more than to save some money, buy some fields and a head of cattle, and never go to war again for the rest of their lives.

In the end, Lin Manjue did not cut enough wood to make coffins for his fallen subordinates. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to do it. He tried to lead the fleet to stop at the shallows four times at night, but they needed too much wood. They only made a few coffins. It's starting to rot.

There was no other way, and his subordinates spent more than half a month weaving ropes at sea, using the shirts and trousers stripped from the Spanish soldiers and the palm skin on the island to weave not-so-tough ropes.

The wood they collected was not enough to make a coffin, but it was enough to crucify the gun windows and deck mouth of the shark boat. A [-]-material shark boat was used as a large coffin, dragged by four other shark boats, and the sails were lowered slowly on the sea. drift.

Chen Mu said that the corpse would cause a plague. Lin Manjue didn't even dare to stay behind the soldiers manipulating the boat, so he simply floated slowly in the eastern waters of the island, looking at the island from afar with binoculars from time to time. As long as he could still see the outline, he would be at ease.

The remaining four shark boats are still in distress, water and food are gradually decreasing, and the enemy's defenses along the coast of the island are sufficient to guard against them. It is becoming more and more difficult to sneak up on the island. It is obvious that the land is there, but they cannot go up. , the remaining luggage is not enough for them to return to Luzon.

Everything is in a dilemma.

One night at the beginning of the third month when they landed on the island, a small shark boat cut the rope and ran away with the water and food on board. Lin Manjue, who was worried and unable to sleep at night, found it when they were about to leave, but he didn't Zhang Zhang, just watched his shark boat leave with more than 40 subordinates.

He had expected this.

He didn't know where those subordinates would go, and he didn't know if they could survive. At this moment, it didn't matter.

The endless sea swallowed time and space, and also destroyed all firm beliefs. Lin Manjue no longer believed that he could really live. Although they still ate and drank water every day, it seemed that God reminded them in another way that they should die.

The rest of the sailors were always fighting over little things, and his ship was bleeding, but he didn't stop his men like he used to, and even watched them fight to the point of blood for fun.

Everything was unimportant, he counted the seventeen dry ears in his waist pocket, and there was only one thought left in his mind—before he died, he wanted revenge.

To avenge those who have died and those who will die.

Lin Manjue, who planned with all his heart, always stared at Guam with bloodshot eyes. His straight eyes made everyone feel terrible, especially when he nervously ordered the helmsman to slowly approach Guam from all directions in the dark night. Then turn around and turn around before being discovered, and hide in the deep night again.

Rumors spread among the three shark ships that the respected Lin Bozong had gone mad.

A man who is not mad does not row a boat at night to board a shark boat that serves as a coffin, and come back later by himself.

Not to mention asking the sailors who had been hunters on the island over and over again to ask them to draw the rivers they found exactly, and if they were dissatisfied, they would be beaten and kicked.

This is more worrying for the crew than the dwindling water and food and the heavy battle damage.

People don't know and never thought about what is the belief that supports Lin Manjue, but people know that the belief that supports them to fight on this island is and always is Lin Manjue.

"Drinking water is enough for ten days, and food is only enough for six days."

Recording the battles that took place on the ship today and the mental state of the crew in his notes, Lin Xiao closed the thick leather book and stacked it on the table with a book of lyrics and music that he carried with him. The young old soldier known as a scholar pursed his lips and muttered: "I must go ashore once, and take some risks."

"Just three posts, two days, bypass the enemy guards, find river caves, [-] water bags and some meat."

There were only 96 of them left, and the two shark boats were not enough to fill up. With all this water and bat meat... Lin Xiao did the math, it was enough for them to last for another four or five days.

Speaking of which, Lin Xiao was much more optimistic than Lin Manjue. He didn't have so much pressure, so he was naturally relaxed.He calculated that it had been more than three months since Zeng Xishun returned. Even if an accident happened, three months would be enough for the commander to send troops here. The Nanyang Fleet should be on the way now.

They just need to last a few more days.

It's not that Lin Xiao thinks too much about them. Guam is the frontier of Xiyi, and the enemy troops are constantly gathering here. Therefore, this ordinary small island has become a battleground for military strategists, and no one has room to retreat.

"Yes, you must go ashore once!"

When Lin Xiao told his uncle what he was thinking, Lin Manjue's almost fanatical face answered him, which made Lin Xiao a little worried. He looked into Lin Manjue's eyes and asked carefully, "Uncle, how many days have you not slept?"

Lin Manjue waved his hand almost arbitrarily, and took out a sketched topographic map from the messy table, patted it with his big hand and pointed to several places along the coast: "There are no more than a hundred defenders in these three places. Their bodies piled into the boat, four days, only four days."

Lin Manjue's eyes seemed to be able to bleed. He raised four fingers and looked directly at Lin Xiao with aggressive eyes. Throw it into the river."

"Three hundred lives, I want them to pay back with three thousand lives!" Lin Manjue only clenched his fists, then suddenly let go, got up and walked out of the cabin, "I want to find thirty, no, fifty people, the rest enough water and food for you to take them to Luzon, as long as you don’t have these 50 people, you can go home, I’ll go—”

boom!
Just as Lin Manjue was about to walk out of the hatch, Lin Xiao rushed out behind him, and the two smashed through the hatch and fell on the deck. Lin Xiao shouted, "Hold uncle down and tie him up! He wants to die!"

At first, the sailors on the ship didn't dare to move, but when they heard that Lin Manjue was about to seek death, they hurriedly jumped on each other. Hearing Lin Manjue's loud roar of revenge, he stepped up his movements and tied him tightly.

Plague, it is a plague of heaven and earth, how can it be controlled by humans.

Not to mention that Lin Manjue wanted to die.

The almost exhausted Xiucai stood up and watched his uncle being gagged and tied tightly back into the cabin. He leaned against the railing of the boat to prevent himself from falling, and said to the bewildered Pao Ze: "Uncle is fine. When the reinforcements arrive, he will be fine." I calculated that in ten days, the commander-in-chief will arrive with his army, and I only need to go ashore to get some water and food, and then I can go home!"

(End of this chapter)