Yongxia Heroes Cemetery is located in the most prosperous area of Yongxia City.
Chinese people are superstitious about the dead and usually do not want to live next to a cemetery. However, when Zhao Hao tentatively proposed through the Governor's Office that the Martyrs' Cemetery be built in the city, the people of Yongxia expressed their support.
Because the martyrs who sacrificed their lives to defend their homelands will surely live on with their noble spirits, and after death they will become heroic spirits who exorcise demons and protect this land forever!
It’s just that the name ‘Martyrs’ Cemetery’ is a bit taboo, so it was finally named the Cemetery of Heroes.
So the Governor's Office designated a hundred acres of land on a sunny slope east of the city, and spent four years to build the Martyrs' Cemetery designed by Mr. Zhao himself.
The cemetery is rectangular in shape, with no brick or stone walls surrounding it. It is planted with neatly trimmed pines and cypresses, standing densely like guards.
The main entrance is built with three huge rectangular black basalt stones. On the horizontal stone are engraved six powerful and gilded characters: "Yongxia Yingling Cemetery". On the left and right stones are engraved a couplet:
"The spirit is strong in Southeast Asia, and one hundred thousand heroes are the pillars of support; the glory shines like the sun and the moon, and the Chinese surname will be passed down for thousands of years"!
These three huge stones were searched for by stonemasons in the Luzon Mountains two hundred miles away for more than half a year. They were then mined and, after being roughly broken down, transported back from a hundred miles away using the log rolling method.
First, lay sleepers on the ground, put logs on the sleepers as rollers, then put the boulders on the rollers and push them forward little by little.
Using this method, they could only advance one mile a day, and it would take two hundred days to reach Yongxia City.
This is a very old method. Many immigrants have had the experience of being forced to build imperial mausoleums or palaces for vassal kings. They have witnessed such scenes and even participated in them. Those experiences brought them only endless pain and tears, and they still hate it when they mention it.
However, this time, wherever the stone transport team went, the members lined the streets to welcome them and the sound of firecrackers was heard.
Members from various communities signed up enthusiastically to volunteer for the stone transport team. Women and the elderly prepared meals and herbal tea for the team members, and helped them with laundry and sewing. Everyone wanted to do their part in this glorious cause.
Because the palaces built in the past were inhabited by people who, while they were alive, could not live for others, and even after death they would continue to torture others by building luxurious tombs.
This time, it is to commemorate those who sacrificed themselves for others to live a better life. The people have sharp eyes and they will do their best to give these people the best commemoration.
Entering the cemetery gate, there is a straight sacred road paved with white marble, leading directly to the Hall of Valor in the center of the cemetery.
The octagonal, pointed, and double-eaved Valhalla sits on a three-story white marble platform, is hung with black tiles, and supported by sixteen large black pillars. It looks majestic and solemn.
Each of the eight corners of the Hall of Heroes corresponds to a straight white marble path leading to the eight directions of the cemetery. The path is covered with green grass and is very flat. There are already 788 marble tombstones neatly arranged in the cemetery area on the east side of the main path. They are the martyrs who died in the battle to defend Luzon, in the battle against pirates, and in military training since the second year of the Wanli reign.
In the western cemetery, 367 new tombstones were erected. This is the final resting place for the heroes who died in this battle.
The coffins of Wang Rulong and 366 martyrs remained in Valhalla for three days. During this period, the people of Luzon took turns to pay their respects. Even community workers from as far away as Daimao and Baguio came to bow and lay flowers to General Wang and the martyrs.
As a result, the inside and outside of Valhalla became a sea of flowers...
Three days later, on the fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, the heroic spirit was buried.
The guards held up silver breech-loading flintlock rifles and fired seven shots into the air. Amid the crisp sound of gunfire, coffins were slowly lowered into the graves.
Then the bugler blew the lights-out horn, and the comrades began to shovel dirt to cover the black-painted coffin with a golden anchor.
Although most of the coast guard officers' families are in the mainland, the people of Luzon who came to see them off couldn't help crying.
The crying was contagious, and soon everyone started crying. Even Sebastian, who came to watch the fun, couldn't help but wipe his tears.
Pinto, who was beside him, cried until his eyes turned red. Many of these people were his students...
At the very top of the cemetery, on a black marble tombstone that is obviously larger than the others, there are three golden stars engraved on the top, and below it is a line of regular script characters "Tomb of Admiral Wang Rulong", and below it is the signature "Erected by Zhao Haojing".
There is also a stone sculpture in the shape of an open book in front of the tombstone. There are only six words engraved on it, which fully describe Wang Rulong's life achievements:
"Fight the Japanese, drive out the Portuguese, and pacify the West!"
After everyone had left, Zhao Hao and Jin Ke were still standing in front of the tombstone.
"It's just like a general leading his army, always ready to go to the battlefield again." Jin Ke said with emotion.
"I will go to Quan Tai to recruit my old subordinates, and with a hundred thousand flags I will kill Yama Luo." Zhao Hao suddenly chuckled and recited a poem.
"Oh?" Jin Ke hadn't heard the young master recite poetry for a long time, and forgot how to flatter him. "The living King of Hell has come to the underworld and wants to usurp the throne of the real King of Hell."
“Hahahaha…” The two of them patted Lao Wang’s grave and laughed.
After a while, Zhao Hao suppressed his smile and said, "Old Wang has bowed out early. We who are still alive have a heavier burden."
"Yes." Jin Ke nodded and said with deep conviction: "Nothing can stop us from taking over the entire Nanyang, and your responsibility is getting bigger and bigger..."
"What should we do next? It seems that the road is getting wider, but it is becoming more and more difficult to decide." Zhao Hao put his hands behind his back, looked up at the Hall of Heroes standing in front of him and said, "The martyrs are watching us. We can't give up halfway or go astray. Otherwise, how can we face them again?"
"I need to think about it carefully." Jin Ke's words were vague, because he knew that this was not a question he could comment on.
"Yeah, think about it carefully." Zhao Hao patted his forehead and suddenly laughed: "Old Wang is still cunning, don't worry about this."
"We are just worrying about nothing. Only you can decide the direction of the group and the coast guard." Jin Ke expressed his opinion in a low voice.
"We still have to think about it together." Zhao Hao patted his shoulder and said, "Go back, there are still many things to do."
"Yes." Jin Ke nodded, and the two of them saluted the tombstones of Wang Rulong and the soldiers, then walked out of the cemetery without looking back.
~~
Meanwhile, Sebastian also returned to his residence in Yongxia City, a small villa with its own gate and courtyard located in the dormitory area for marine police officers.
Pinto stayed with Sebastian during his stay in Yongxia.
Zhao Hao basically did not restrict Xiao Sai's freedom, but only asked his "Knight Guards" to follow him closely and "protect his safety."
In fact, if the marines hadn't followed him, Sebastian wouldn't have been able to escape. He and Pinto were the only two red-haired guys in Yongxia, and they were too conspicuous. The joint defense team members were extremely vigilant, and there were countless eyes staring at him wherever he went, making Xiaosai feel uncomfortable.
Moreover, Yongxia was too hot, so he would rather stay in the villa every day, enjoying the coolness brought by the water-cooled air conditioner, drinking soda, eating ice cream, and watching cartoons. This life was much more comfortable than living in the royal palace in Lisbon, and Xiao Sai really didn't want to leave.
However, he was still very concerned about the Spanish Armada's westward expedition. Pinto was also a professor at the Luzon Coast Guard School, so he could tell him about the situation on the front line in a timely manner.
Sebastian was very knowledgeable about naval battles, and the two of them often deduced the direction of the war behind closed doors. No matter how they deduced, he was not optimistic that the Ming people could defeat his cousin's expeditionary fleet.
That is the invincible fleet of the king of the world!
Even at this point, he still couldn't believe that the Invincible Fleet was completely wiped out?
"No, it's the Ming people who are exaggerating. Don't you often exaggerate your battle results tenfold?" Sebastian popped the cork from the soda bottle and started drinking.
"Your Majesty, how could the authentic report in this newspaper be false? Who dares to joke with the reputation of Jiangnan Group and Master Zhao?" Pinto laughed and cried as he raised the "Luzon Daily" in his hand. In the past few days, it had been reporting on all aspects of this war, and had begun to break down the reports into individuals and dig deep into typical cases.
"And didn't they say that the 17,000 prisoners would be quarantined on Chenmei Island for two months before being sent to various places to mine?" Pinto said, "With so many prisoners, we must have soldiers and members on duty. And the 110 ships with the prisoners are also parked on Chenmei Island. How can this be faked?"
"Burp, okay..." Sebastian choked on the soda and burped, and stopped talking.
Pinto smiled bitterly and shook his head. He didn't know if it was because he had been accompanying this yellow-haired boy for a while, or because of the influence of the coast guard, but he had become disenchanted with his king.
"How can they be so powerful?" After a while, Sebastian asked with a gloomy face.
"Your Majesty may not be able to imagine that ten years ago they were my students and did not even know many basic navigation knowledge. They dismantled one of our ships and learned how to build galleons. But as you can see, they can now design better warships."
Pinto sighed and said, "Perhaps our biggest mistake was coming to the Far East and awakening this sleeping dragon."
"A sleeping dragon?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. The Ming Empire has a population of 200 to 300 million, while our country has less than 2 million. Compared with them, it is too insignificant. Because the domestic population is too large, the Jiangnan Group plans to send 2 million immigrants overseas every year! The number of immigrants in a year is more than our national population! How can we fight them?!" Pinto raised his voice:
"So, Your Majesty, we should never be enemies with this empire. And there is an old Chinese saying that goes 'make friends with distant countries and attack nearby ones'. The Ming Dynasty is just the right ally for us. With the support of the Jiangnan Group, we, Portugal, will no longer have to worry about being annexed by Spain, and we may even be able to gain a higher status in Europe!"
"Well, what you said makes some sense." Sebastian nodded and said, "But what does that Young Master Zhao mean?"
"After the battle, Young Master Zhao will probably have a talk with His Majesty." Pinto said softly.