The tenth day of the winter month in the fifth year of the Longqing reign of the Ming Dynasty.

At this time of year, the north is already covered in ice and snow; the south of the Yangtze River must also be chilly, right? Only in the south of the Five Ridges is there still a lot of green, with bougainvillea and kapok flowers blooming. It is hard to associate such a day with the winter solstice, the darkest day of the year.

It was still dark when the reveille sounded. In the Qing'ao Bay Naval Port, the only intact battleship, Ship 104, fired seven earth-shaking cannon shots.

Amid the rumbling of artillery fire, the standard-bearing troops, dressed in dark blue coast guard uniforms, blue helmets, cowhide belts with copper buckles, and long black leather boots, carried their brightly polished Longqing-style rifles with bayonets, and marched out of the barracks in an orderly formation, lining up on the central avenue leading to the Tropic of Cancer Square.

They set up defense lines at intervals of two meters on both sides of the straight road. At each sentry post, two burly standard-bearers would stop, turn left or right, and stand facing each other with guns, motionless and majestic.

At 6:51 in the morning, the first rays of morning light descended upon Qing'ao Bay, illuminating the warships anchored in the bay with a golden glow, and also illuminating the coast guards lined up on both sides of the avenue like heavenly soldiers and generals.

At seven o'clock, more marine officers, security guards and group employees came out of the barracks. In stark contrast to the noisy scenes of the base in the past, everyone was solemn and silent today.

The coast guard officers all put on their handsome uniforms with medals hung on their chests. The police officers also hung police daggers around their waists and wore spotless white gloves.

The security team members also put on their gray uniforms. Although not as exquisite as the coast guard uniforms, they also had belts, leather boots and white gloves. They marched in a line with quick steps, which was very solemn.

The crew of the Royal Marine wore navy blue uniforms and soft-brimmed hats of the same color.

The group's employees wore uniform work clothes and cotton boots, which were also uniform.

Even the Ryukyu officers and soldiers and the former pirates under Lin Feng had changed into their newly issued winter clothes, which were the same style as the auxiliary police uniforms, but in dark green.

Twenty minutes later, everyone had lined up, and rectangular blocks of color of different sizes filled the huge Tropic of Cancer Square.

At 7:30, the sound of artillery fire rang out again.

Amid the booming sound of artillery salutes, a flag with the sun and the moon fluttering in the morning light appeared before everyone's eyes.

Everyone saw that the one marching at half the normal speed and waving the flag was actually Deputy Commander of the Coast Guard Jin Ke, and the two people guarding the flag were Coast Guard Fleet Commander-in-Chief Wang Rulong and Police Commissioner Ma Yinglong.

The three police inspectors with gold stars on Nan'ao Island are all on the list.

Behind the three men were the captains and police commissioners flying the flags of their respective ships.

Further back was a long guard of honor carrying Longqing-style rifles.

Amid the sound of cannon fire, flags and ceremonial guards led the coffins of the fallen soldiers solemnly to the square.

Four coast guard officers wearing white gloves carried a black coffin with a golden anchor painted on it and marched forward in unison, each step seeming to step on people's hearts.

Except for the marine officers and soldiers who had participated in the punitive operations against Japan, no one else had ever experienced such a scene. But without exception, they were all gripped by this strong, suffocating, solemn, tragic and noble atmosphere.

Coast guards, security personnel and seafarers all saluted. For some inexplicable reason, this military salute, with right hands together and pointing to the brim of the hat, replaced the original chest-beating salute.

The staff also saluted with their heads held high, and everyone's expressions and behaviors were so solemn. The Ryukyu people and former pirates were extremely shocked. They realized that ordinary people's death could also be so dignified!

That’s because the deceased is no longer ordinary…

Their name is martyrs!

To commemorate the Battle of Nan'ao Island and the 202 soldiers who died in battle or in the hospital, the Jiangnan Group built a 23.26-meter-high monument on the Tropic of Cancer Square.

The 20.2-meter-high monument is in the shape of a tower, built with granite produced in Nan'ao Island and sits on a 3.06-meter-high base.

The front of the monument is engraved with the words "The heroic souls of the martyrs of the Nan'ao Battle will live forever" written by Mr. Zhao himself!

The pedestal is engraved with an inscription drafted by Zhao Hao and written by Xu Wei:

'Alas! China has a vast territory and vast seas, with both land and sea. Since ancient times, people have sought food on land and wealth on the sea. In the past, the Shang king fished in the East China Sea and did not return for six months; Taigong promoted the benefits of fish and salt, and Qi prospered; Qin had Xu Fu sailing east; Han opened up the Maritime Silk Road; Dongwu opened up the borders of Yizhou and sailed to the South Sea; Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties traded in the seven seas and became the richest in the world; the two Song dynasties relied on the benefits of maritime trade and resisted powerful enemies for a hundred years. By the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the sea reached 120 countries! '

'Our dynasty has inherited the past and opened up the future, and has reached the pinnacle. Zheng He's fleet sailed to the West seven times and was invincible in the world! Unfortunately, after Zheng He, the maritime ban was strictly enforced. It has been 180 years, and the world knows about China on land, but not China on the sea.'

"The general trend of the world is that one side will rise while the other side will fall. If you do not take what God gives you, you will surely suffer the consequences. For a hundred years, Western countries have competed with the whole country to send ships to the sea, opening the so-called "Age of Exploration". The two countries, Spain and Portugal, are the best. Their warships sailed all over the world, and they did not know how to divide the world. Now they have successively encroached on our land and are rampant in our seas! The people have suffered, merchants have stopped going to sea, vassal states have been extinguished, and China at sea is in danger!"

'Only when the sea is turbulent can the true character of a hero be revealed. There have always been warriors who defended China on the sea, resisted foreign humiliation in Nan'ao, expelled the Western barbarians, defended our seas, and protected our people! The wind was cold and the water was chilly, the flags were frosted and the shoes were bloody, and 202 martyrs died heroically. Great sounds are silent, and great things are invisible. Come, my spirit, and rest in peace, my heroic spirit. The raging waves are my throat, and the green mountains are my witnesses; how can you say there is no sound? The mountains and rivers are their names! People forget something, and history neglects something. I wash my hands and engrave this on the stone. Alas, my descendants, will forever honor us from generation to generation! '

~~

Young Master Zhao, dressed in the uniform of the chief police inspector, led the recovered wounded soldiers to stand in front of the monument and salute the coffin that was slowly approaching.

When the 202 coffins arrived in front of the monument, the team stopped and the gunfire from the naval port also stopped.

There was complete silence on Nan'ao Island, and everyone observed three minutes of silence.

Then Zhao Hao gave a brief speech to the living:

"Today is the winter solstice. The winter solstice is the starting point of the sun's return. From this day on, the light will get longer until the summer solstice, when the sun shines directly on the Tropic of Cancer below our feet and directly on this majestic Martyrs' Monument! Because of your selfless dedication and the heroic sacrifice of the martyrs, I can proudly announce that from today on, the Ming Dynasty will officially return to the ranks of maritime powers, until it dominates the seven seas and is at its peak!"

"Today, we bid farewell to the martyrs' coffins, but their spirits will live forever in the hearts of each of us. I hope you will inherit the martyrs' will and continue to devote everything we have to the great cause of rebuilding Maritime China!"

"Inherit the martyrs' will and rebuild the maritime China!" The thunderous response of more than 20,000 people left a mark of thought in this fanatical atmosphere.

When everyone quieted down, twenty buglers blew the bugle call that was sounded every night on Nan'ao Island.

Even the former pirates who had just arrived on the island knew that it was the lights-out signal for the Coast Guard. When the signal sounded, all Coast Guards except the officers and soldiers on duty had to go to bed. Over time, even the staff who came as volunteers got used to hearing the lights-out signal and going to bed.

However, today's lights-out signal has a different kind of solemnity, it is the signal for the heroes to rest in peace...

Zhao Hao personally covered each coffin with a red and yellow sun and moon flag.

The officers and soldiers carrying the coffin carried the coffin covered with the coast guard flag towards the dock.

After all the coffins were covered with flags, Zhao Hao came to the dock and watched as the officers and soldiers carried the coffins onto the armed merchant ship moored at the dock.

They will board the Royal Shipping Ship to escort the martyrs' coffins back to Jiangnan, and according to their wishes, either send them back to their hometowns for burial or send them to the Heroes Cemetery on Xishan Island...

Chen Huaixiu stood quietly beside Zhao Hao in a white dress. She didn't really understand why the young master insisted on spending a lot of money to order expensive mahogany coffins for the fallen soldiers, including the pirates under Lin Feng. And why he was willing to spend a lot of money to build such a monument.

But today, after experiencing this ceremony, she roughly understood why Zhao Hao did this. She also understood what scholars often say -

"The most important affairs of a state are sacrifices and wars!"

"Don't be too sad." Seeing Zhao Hao's red eyes, she comforted him softly, "The heroic spirit will rest in peace in the underworld if it is comforted by this."

"In fact, in many coffins, there are only relics but no bodies." Zhao Hao shook his head slowly, choking with sobs, and said, "They gave their lives to me, but I can't even send their bodies back. Don't say such humiliating words anymore."

He stared at the long procession of coffin bearers and said quietly, "Since I started my business, in just a few years, the number of employees who have died in Xishan Group and Jiangnan Group has exceeded 2,000. As the territory continues to expand and the number of employees increases, this number will continue to increase day by day, and it will reach tens of thousands in less than ten years. Will it eventually reach 100,000, or even a million? Whenever I think of this, I can't sleep all night."

Chen Huaixiu looked at him distressedly and sighed, "A general's success is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers. If you want to do great things, you must harden your heart."

"My heart is hard enough." Zhao Hao shook his head slowly and said calmly: "A guy who killed so many people? Does it have anything to do with being soft-hearted?"

"Then who are you?" Chen Huaixiu looked at him in confusion.

"I don't know whether what I'm about to do is right or wrong." Zhao Hao looked up at the piercing sunlight and made himself firm again, "But once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. I can't let their sacrifice go to waste or even become a joke! For this, I will bet everything!"

Chen Huaixiu nodded gently and said softly, "I'll follow this one."

ps. I probably won’t be able to finish the next chapter, so I’ll get up early tomorrow to make up for it.