Chapter 70

On July 3, when Xiao Bailang's fleet of four warships sailed up the Valdivia River to the outskirts of Valdivia, they were intercepted by two well-prepared Spanish forts. Realizing there was no chance, Xiao Bailang ordered the fleet to turn and head south toward Chiloé Island.

On July 5, the fleet arrived at the turbulent Chacao Strait. The last time Xiao Bailang passed through the Chacao Strait, he had intended to attack Chacao, but a heavy rainstorm thwarted his plans. This time, the sky was clear and visibility was good. The four warships dropped their anchors in the strait, lined up, and began bombarding Chacao, which was defended by only a few small-caliber coastal guns.

The naval bombardment lasted for three hours. During this time, the Spanish coastal guns and the town were repeatedly hit by over thirty heavy naval guns, leaving the town in ruins. At noon, the army launched a large-scale landing, and the Spanish put up a weak resistance.

Sheriff Lucio trembled as he sat on the ground, waiting for the Tartars to arrive. He was a descendant of early Spanish colonizers, more precisely, a mestizo of Spanish and Araucanian heritage. The Lucio family, which had lived in Chacao for generations, finally rose to prominence in his father's generation. With the favor of a noble Spanish governor, his father became the sheriff of Chacao, and the Lucio family finally gained a respectable status in this small place. After his father's death, he naturally took over the position of sheriff and began to help the Spanish suppress the Araucanian resistance with all his might.

Lucio had always felt ashamed of the three-quarters Araucanian blood in his veins. To this end, he spent a large sum of money to buy a "blood purification" certificate in Lima, proving the purity of his Spanish blood. Recently, due to a Tartar armed attack, the city of Castro on the eastern side of Chiloé Island and in the Gulf of Cordova was destroyed. The small number of Spanish garrison troops were completely wiped out, and the wicked Tartars distributed the captured weapons to the long-suffering and oppressed Araucanians. After the Tartars left, these Araucanians, who made up the majority of the population in Castro, launched a bloody revenge against the remaining whites, with over 50 Spanish whites being brutally killed. Only a few who received protection from the church managed to escape.

These few whites, protected by the church, gradually fled to Chacao and told the colonial officials about the terrifying scenes of the Araucanian uprising. In the following days, the Araucanians in Chacao began to flee, and some of them, armed with cold and hot weapons, appeared outside the city. By early morning, the exodus of the Araucanians reached its peak, with over twenty Araucanian loggers carrying their axes and fleeing into the dense forest.

Sheriff Lucio, along with several police officers, was preparing to go outside the city to search for these fugitive Araucanians when the Tartar attack came unexpectedly. Four huge warships, flying the red double-sword eagle flag, anchored outside the port. After a few rounds of concentrated fire from the warships, the few old bronze cannons on the forts were silenced. Then, these terrifying big guns began to attack Chacao indiscriminately. Several shells even landed near Sheriff Lucio, and the iron projectiles grazed two unfortunate Spanish soldiers, creating terrifying blood holes in their bodies. The bloody scene terrified Sheriff Lucio, and his legs gave out, causing him to collapse on the ground.

Xie Hansan commanded the army to form up on the dock. The landing operation to capture the dock went very smoothly. The first temporary platoon, which landed first, easily defeated the few remaining Spanish dock guards with only one death and one injury. After the four platoons were lined up, Xie Hansan gave the order, and the soldiers changed from a column to a line, marching to the rhythm of the drummer's beat, and charged toward Chacao with an unstoppable momentum.

Sheriff Lucio, sitting on the ground, did not dare to move. He and the few police officers who had not managed to escape threw their weapons on the ground and let these Tartars pass by. The Tartars, dressed in dark blue uniforms, wearing black-brimmed hats, carrying leather belts and ammunition pouches, and armed with sabers and flintlock muskets, marched past him in整齐的步伐. As they passed by, the subtle glances they cast at him made Lucio feel so tense that he could hardly breathe.

Twenty minutes later, the battle, which was almost like an armed march, ended. The army, after losing two more men, captured Chacao, the last large town on Chiloé Island under Spanish control. The army took control of key points in the city, and the subsequent actions were routine: releasing prisoners, collecting ransoms, and moving various supplies.

Just as the Tartars were busy, a group of unexpected visitors arrived.

"Are you Araucanians?" Xie Hansan scrutinized the few red-faced local natives in front of him. They were dressed in hemp clothing and had the characteristic braids of the Indians.

"Yes, you can call me by my Spanish name, Vicente," the middle-aged man leading them said in Spanish. "I come from the port of Castro, and I am here to save my brothers and sisters who are still suffering under the encomienda system. Thanks to you, strangers, the Spanish army has been defeated. My brothers and sisters have finally gained freedom!"

"Freedom is fleeting, Araucanians! I don't want you to die meaninglessly," Xie Hansan said carefully. "At this point, there's no need to hide anything from you. Our fleet cannot permanently occupy this place. Instead, we will leave after a brief rest. The main Spanish fleet is on its way, along with a considerable number of army troops. After we leave, they will restore their rule here. At that time, due to the atrocities committed against the Spanish, the fate of the local Araucanians will be very grim. The Spanish may even execute all of you. What do you plan to do?"

"We will fight the Spanish to the end!" the middle-aged Araucanian said, waving his arms excitedly.

"Fight? Tell me, Araucanians, how many of you are there, and how many warriors do you have? How many muskets and how much armor? How do your warriors compare to the Spanish soldiers?" Xie Hansan asked.

"We have gathered over two hundred warriors, and with the help of our fellow Araucanians in Chacao, we should be able to gather three to four hundred warriors. We are people who refuse to submit to Spanish rule, and we are fearless!" the man spoke quickly, and Father Pedro, the translator, could hardly keep up.

"Three to four hundred untrained farmers?" Xie Hansan said seriously. "I bet the Spanish only need fifty elite musketeers and two cannons to easily defeat you. Think before you make a decision, Araucanians! Your existence is a threat to the Spanish, and you should avoid direct confrontation to preserve your strength. Instead, you should attack weak Spanish colonial outposts, rescue your fellow Araucanians under Spanish rule, and expand your influence."

Vicente was stunned by Xie Hansan's words. Having lived in Spanish society for many years, he was not without experience. After careful consideration, he had to admit that the strangers' words made some sense.

"Let me give you a clear path," Xie Hansan continued without waiting for a response. "You shouldn't limit yourselves to this small island. It's dangerous and easy to get trapped. You should cross the Chacao Strait to the north. The Maule River basin in the north has fertile land and abundant resources. The Spanish rule there is also weak. You should go to the Araucanians in that area to expand your influence, recruit more of your fellow Araucanians to join your cause, and fight the Spanish together. Of course, as sympathizers, we will provide you with a batch of matchlock muskets, spears, light swords, and armor. Even the five bronze cannons on the fort, if you can manage it, you can take them with you. This is our gift to you."

"Should we really abandon this place and develop on the mainland?" Vicente murmured to himself.

"Chiloé Island is too small," Xie Hansan said. "How many people can you have on this island? A thousand or two thousand? Too few. The Spanish navy can completely blockade the island and then send the army to land and slowly eliminate you. Believe me, if the Spanish send more than two hundred troops, you won't last a month. At that time, war, hunger, cold, and disease will completely destroy your will to resist. The Araucanians on this island will either die or be sold into slavery, with no third option."

After leaving the contemplative Araucanians, Xie Hansan went directly to the city warehouse. Over a hundred Chaluans were moving various supplies from the warehouse, and a Spanish treasurer stood nervously beside them, his face pale.

"Have the ransoms been collected?" Xie Hansan asked a Chaluan junior lieutenant.

"They have been collected, sir!" the Chaluan replied, standing at attention.

"Good. Leave the Spanish muskets and cold weapons for the Araucanians. Now, get on the ship quickly; we don't have much time."

"Yes, sir," the Chaluan officer replied. "Also, the Spanish sheriff in the city has requested to leave with his family. In return, he will pay us all his wealth, which is about 300 pesos."

"Hehe, what an interesting person," Xie Hansan thought for a moment, recalling the Spanish sheriff who had collapsed on the ground during the charge. "What makes him worth taking with us?"

"He said he has lived here for many years and is familiar with Araucanian culture, customs, and life, as well as the affairs of the Spanish colonies. If we have plans to conduct activities in the central and southern regions of Chile, he can contribute his efforts, at least he says he can guide us," the Chaluan officer answered truthfully.

"Ha ha ha! A guide, huh?!" Xie Hansan laughed. "Alright, take him and his family, and let them stay with the Spanish prisoners for now. Everyone, work harder and get the supplies on the ship quickly."

On the evening of July 5, after plundering Chacao, Xiao Bailang's fleet quietly set sail and headed south along the western coast of Chiloé Island. That night, the city of Chacao was ablaze, visible from far out at sea.

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1. **Blood Purification Certificate**: Mestizos of Spanish and Indian or Spanish and African heritage could buy this certificate from the Spanish king, legally declaring themselves to be of pure Spanish blood.

2. **Encomienda System**: Established by the Spanish crown in 1503, this colonial policy required indigenous people to live in villages and be supervised by white encomenderos, who would oversee mining, farming, construction, and education. In practice, the encomenderos treated the indigenous people as slaves. Later, the position of encomendero became hereditary, and the indigenous people lost their personal freedom.

At the same time, there was another system called the **Repartimiento System**: Indigenous people were assigned to officials, the church, or private individuals to perform specific labor tasks. These tasks were often heavy and dangerous, leading to the death and escape of many indigenous people. Those who escaped lost their free status and became "runaway slaves" (Cimarrones), and capturing and selling these escapees became a lucrative business for Spanish colonial officials.