Chapter 14

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As cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

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Antonio was a well-known merchant in Luzon with some connections to the Spanish governor-general's office. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been entrusted with transporting the gold for the governor-general's office. However, the loss of 200 kilograms of gold still left him severely weakened. 200 kilograms of gold was equivalent to over 27,000 pounds or 380,000 Spanish pesos, a huge sum in this era. Antonio had spent most of his life accumulating wealth, and this was all he had!

For the 200 kilograms of gold, Antonio had no hope of recovering it. Once it was in the hands of pirates, there was no way to get it back. As long as he could save his life, he could always earn back the wealth. When Long Yufei asked to purchase machinery, Antonio was worried that Long Yufei might not pay. If that happened, even with all his wealth, he couldn't afford it.

"Sir, please rest assured. As long as there is money, I can buy even a first-rate battleship!" Antonio patted his chest and guaranteed.

Long Yufei wasn't too concerned about this. Although the Spanish warships were of good quality, he didn't think much of them. To be precise, he didn't think much of these old battleships equipped with front-loading cannons. Front-loading cannons had a small range, with a maximum of only two to three thousand meters. Naval battles between battleships often took place at distances of 500 meters or even closer. If he could develop rear-loading cannons, he could make up for the lack of numbers with range and power! Moreover, a first-rate battleship cost 100,000 pounds, and the selling price would be even higher. With all the resources of Feiyu Island, they probably couldn't afford even one. Therefore, first-rate battleships were out of the question!

"Forget about the first-rate battleships. What I need now is industrial machinery! Captain, rest assured, I will ensure you a fair profit and won't let you lose money. I hope our cooperation can last long. In the future, the purchase of various supplies and the sale of our goods can all be handled by you!" Long Yufei said.

Captain Antonio nodded repeatedly. His eyes seemed to see gold shining. He understood Long Yufei's meaning. If the goods plundered by the pirates were all sold through him, it would mean a huge fortune! Pirates often didn't care too much about the price when selling goods, which meant he could buy them at a low price and make a substantial profit!

"Sir, I guarantee that our cooperation will be very pleasant!" Captain Antonio said excitedly. Although he had suffered a heavy loss this time, he no longer cared. If he could ally with the pirates of Feiyu Island, as they grew stronger, he could earn even more profits, perhaps even more than his current loss!

"Very well, Captain Antonio, let's have a pleasant cooperation!" Long Yufei smiled and extended his hand.

Their hands shook, symbolizing the establishment of their partnership. Captain Antonio was officially upgraded from a prisoner to a partner or agent of the Feiyu Island pirates.

"Captain, to ensure our cooperation, you need to sign this document!" Long Yufei took out several sheets of paper from his pocket and handed them to Captain Antonio.

"Is it a cooperation contract?" Antonio took it and read it, but his face turned as black as the bottom of a pot!

"Mr. Long, this is a sign of distrust. I will never sign it!" Antonio shouted. But then, feeling the cold blade on his neck, his voice immediately stopped, like a rooster whose throat was clamped!

"Captain, I have no other choice! For our safety, you have only two options: sign this document and cooperate with us, or we will kill you and throw you into the sea to feed the fish!" Long Yufei's smile disappeared, and he said coldly. The document he wanted Antonio to sign was, in fact, a confession, detailing how Captain Antonio colluded with the Feiyu Island pirates to rob the British Navy's 'Coventry' cruiser and kill over a hundred British Navy officers and men. If Antonio signed it, it would confirm his alliance with the Feiyu Island pirates. If the British Navy found out, Antonio would be dead!

"No! The ones who killed the British Navy and robbed the warship were you, not me. I was forced!" Captain Antonio protested. He knew that signing the confession would put his fate in the hands of the pirates, and he didn't want that.

"Captain, as long as we maintain close cooperation, this confession will never be handed over to the British. If you refuse to sign, do you plan to return to Manila and inform the governor, then have the Spanish Navy in Luzon come to destroy us?" Long Yufei said coldly.

Captain Antonio's heart tightened. That was indeed his plan. Although Spain was powerless against Britain, the fleet in Luzon, though small with only a dozen warships and no third-rate battleships, could still easily deal with the Feiyu Island pirates. But he didn't expect Long Yufei to come up with such a countermeasure!

"Mr. Long, I swear to God that I will never inform the governor. It would be of no benefit to me. From now on, we are allies, and you cannot treat allies like this!" Captain Antonio said.

However, Long Yufei shook his head. He knew the ugly faces of these merchants. Without a countermeasure, Antonio might come to Feiyu Island next time with the Spanish Navy in Luzon.

"Captain Antonio, you choose whether to sign or not!" Long Yufei said coldly.

Feeling the cold blade on his neck, did Antonio have any other choice? Although he despised the pirates of Feiyu Island from the bottom of his heart, in this situation, he had to lower his proud head and sign the confession.

Seeing Antonio sign the confession, Long Yufei nodded in satisfaction and said, "Captain Antonio, I will send this confession to my British friend. If anything happens to me, he will hand it over to the British Navy. So, Captain, don't even think about playing tricks!"

Antonio was stunned and could only nod. He had originally planned to use the Spanish Navy to eliminate Feiyu Island and then retrieve the confession. But now, it was completely impossible.

A day later, Antonio and a few trusted sailors left Feiyu Island, heading back to Manila. As for how Antonio would deceive the Spanish governor-general in Luzon, that was not Long Yufei's concern. He only cared that the food, medicine, and machinery he had ordered would be delivered to Feiyu Island within a month. Then, the pirates of Feiyu Island would migrate to Mindanao.

While Long Yufei was busy with procurement, Luo Sangu, Zhao Yi, Li Decheng, and Niu Meng began introducing the plan to the other pirates on Feiyu Island. As expected, the plan caused a stir on Feiyu Island. The idea that the leader was no longer going to be a pirate left the pirates very confused. However, most people, especially the older ones, supported it. The dangers of being a pirate were well understood, and if they could live a peaceful life, why not? Besides, if it was as described by Luo Sangu and others, they would move to a fertile land with vast fields, and they could certainly live a good life. Many pirates had turned to piracy because they had no other choice. Only a small number of people were willing to be pirates forever!

At the same time, under Long Yufei's leadership, the pirates on Feiyu Island were reorganized. Two hundred people were selected from the elite to undergo firearms training. With the strong support of Luo Sangu and Niu Meng, the pirates, though reluctant, had to follow the strict training. Although they preferred to use swords, their marksmanship gradually improved under the strict training.

Long Yufei also set an example by joining the training, which earned him more respect from the pirates and helped him integrate into the group.

Half a month later, Antonio returned to Feiyu Island again, this time with two merchant ships. However, to keep it secret, the merchant ships stopped a hundred miles away from Feiyu Island, and the goods were received by Feiyu Island's ships. This time, Antonio brought 50,000 pounds of food, three medium and small steam engines, several machine tools, a set of steel-making equipment, and a set of non-ferrous metal smelting equipment. In return, Feiyu Island paid 100 kilograms of gold. This transaction went very smoothly, and Antonio was very satisfied!

Additionally, Long Yufei placed a new order for large steam engines, more industrial equipment, gunpowder, and lead bullets. Until Feiyu Island could produce weapons on its own, external procurement of ammunition was inevitable.

After everything was prepared, Feiyu Island began its migration. Led by the 'Feiyu' (the British Navy's 'Coventry' cruiser), over twenty ships of various sizes carrying over a thousand people and their belongings left Feiyu Island and headed for Mindanao!

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