As the sun was about to rise and the most comfortable time of the day's battle was about to pass, a team of Spanish sword and shield soldiers wearing pot-shaped helmets and plate breastplates appeared on the Pasig River between the two armies by boat.

The team was led by a Spanish major, holding a copper trumpet in his hand, and spoke a lot.

There are many overseas Chinese who know Spanish and translate for those around them:

"The red-haired demons said that they did not want to get involved in the fight between the two tribes, but the Governor-General had the duty to protect the country and the people, so he decided to mediate."

"Are we not going to fight anymore?" Many overseas Chinese breathed a sigh of relief. The huge sacrifices had already exceeded their limit. If they had not had nowhere to retreat, they would have surely collapsed and fled.

"No." The interpreters shook their heads and said, "The red-haired devil said that, but the foreigners refused to accept mediation, saying that we killed too many of their people and blood debt must be paid with blood!"

"Bullshit!" Chen Yongquan and other young men said with red eyes, "They came to rob us! And we had more deaths!"

"Keep your voice down and listen to what they say!" Lin Afa and others scolded the young people.

"The red-haired devil said that their governor is kind-hearted and has agreed with the foreigners to cease fire for half a day today and allow us to enter the city for refuge!"

"Master Red-haired is so kind!" Lin Ah-fa could not help but kneel down and howl, "I have no way of repaying you for your kindness!"

"You're talking bullshit!" Gao Erye picked up his spear and wanted to stab him to death, but fortunately he was pulled over by someone nearby. Gao Erye roared: "How many of us did the foreigners kill? Most of our people died from the red-haired devils' shells!"

The crowd gnashed their teeth when they heard this. The red-haired devils' artillery bombardment had knocked down their fences and destroyed their houses. They also fired red-hot iron bullets, which caused a fire in the stream and burned their homes to a white ground, causing countless casualties.

"They must have brought these foreigners here!" Chen Yongquan and others threw javelins at the ship in hatred, but they were all blocked by the Spanish soldiers who were on high alert with large shields as tall as a person.

"The cat is crying over the rat, it's false mercy! A tortoise is born to marry a literary worm!" The young people not only cursed, but also took out guns to shoot the red-haired devils.

Chen Mei had no choice but to step forward to stop them and let the red-haired ghost finish his words!

The major then continued to babble, "But the space in Santiago is limited and can only accommodate 10,000 people at most. So our governor has stipulated that only after noon can we send ships to bring 10,000 people into the city."

After a pause, he continued, "Those who wish to enter the city for refuge, please prepare a hundred pesos for the city entrance fee! One hundred pesos per person!"

"Robbery!" The Hokkien people really value money more than life, and their attention was immediately shifted to money.

The major stopped talking nonsense and quickly ordered the boats to row away from here. The Ming people just now were throwing spears and raising guns, which scared him so much that he almost wet his pants.

~~

The red-haired devil's interference instantly destroyed the atmosphere of solidarity on the island.

The compatriots who had fought side by side before gathered into small groups according to their hometowns and clans to discuss what to do next.

The people in the trading house watched coldly, and the Marines simply turned a blind eye and watched the little black men on the other side of the river to prevent them from launching a sneak attack.

Tang Baolu sat down next to Ximen Qing with his left arm hanging.

There was a long wound on Ximen Qing's head caused by the flying gravel. It was wrapped in gauze and still oozing blood. However, he held the cigarette in his mouth nonchalantly, picked up a small fish with his bayonet, and flipped it in the sun.

"What is this for?" Tang Baolu asked curiously.

"Grilled fish." Ximen Qing said, "It's got to be of some use in such a scorching sun, right?"

"Then you need to read more books. In the book "Natural Knowledge", the young master talked about how to use solar energy." Tang Baolu said proudly: "It's called 'Scorching Sun and Sun, Fire Comes from the Sky'."

"Yang what?" Ximen Qing asked.

"It's a concave mirror. In fact, if you dismantle your telescope and use the glass lens on top, the effect will be better." Tang Baolu said excitedly, "Why don't you try it?"

"Don't give me that." Ximen Qing quickly protected the brass telescope around his neck and said, "This is the Amami Victory Commemorative Edition!"

"Can you exchange this for a hundred pesos?" Don Paul asked slowly.

"I wouldn't even trade it for a thousand." Ximen Qing rolled his eyes and said, "Why, are you upset?"

"The red-haired devil has a master." Tang Baolu took out a strawberry candy with his right hand, peeled off the candy wrapper with the cooperation of his mouth, and put it into his mouth with his tongue, saying faintly: "When I said this price, I knew something bad was going to happen."

"What do you mean?" Ximen Qing asked with a frown.

Tang Baolu lowered his voice and analyzed the situation with him.

Peso is the currency used by the Spanish in their colonies. There are two types: silver peso and copper peso. However, unless otherwise specified, we are talking about silver peso.

One peso is equivalent to about 0.75 taels of silver, and 100 pesos is 75 taels of silver. For ordinary people, this is definitely a huge sum of money.

But these overseas Chinese in Luzon have made a fortune through the sailing trade in recent years, and there are definitely quite a few who can come up with this amount. If they can't make a lot of money, who would suffer in this hellhole?

Then Tang Baolu said quietly, "If there was no such condition, only one of the two overseas Chinese would be allowed to leave, and in the end, no one would be able to leave. But with this condition, the overseas Chinese, who were originally united, were suddenly divided into two halves! The rich are definitely willing to pay the money to buy their lives, but the poor have nothing to lose even if they want to."

"Rob him!" Ximen Qing said viciously. He pulled the cigarette butt from his lips, and a piece of skin was also pulled off, which made him grit his teeth in pain.

"Wouldn't that be exactly what the red-haired devils want?" Tang Baolu sighed, "The red-haired devils just want to divide them and hope they will fight each other."

"Fuck that old pervert!" Ximen Qing was about to stand up and said, "I'm going to draw the line right now. Whoever dares to desert will be killed!"

But Tang Baolu held him back and said, "Don't be impulsive, or you'll become a public enemy!"

"Who cares?!" Ximen Qing spat, but sat down again. Obeying orders is the duty of the coast guard, and he did not forget that he was under the control of Tang Baolu. "Then we just stand by and watch?!"

"Of course we can't just stand there and watch. We should give him some advice." Tang Baolu helped Ximen Qing stand up by his shoulders, patted the dirt off his butt and said, "Although good words can hardly persuade a damned ghost, if the Special Operations Department's people give me a 'cold-blooded' evaluation in the evaluation report, the young master will not like me."

"That's true..." Ximen Qing shuddered. It was only after the establishment of the General Headquarters' Direct Investigation Brigade that he learned about the existence of such a silent and omnipresent organization, which secretly monitored the important tasks and key departments of the group and the Coast Guard.

~~

In the afternoon, after each gang and family had held their small meetings, the overseas Chinese leaders gathered together again.

"Tell me, how do you decide?" Chen Mei tapped her pipe and asked everyone.

"We, the Putian Gang, pay to enter the city." Lin Afa rushed to say, fearing that it would be too late and he would not be able to speak.

"Coward!" Master Gao wanted to kill him again and said, "None of us Fuqing people will leave! We will fight to the death!"

"Where is your Chaoshan Gang?" Chen Mei asked Vice President Liu Xuesheng again.

"We..." Liu Xuesheng said with a face full of shame and anger: "I will definitely not leave, but I can't stop some people from paying the money and leaving."

"What about you guys?" Chen Mei asked Mr. Huang San.

"We are the same..." Huang San Laozhang said with a sad face: "It's up to you to go or stay."

Then, overseas Chinese leaders from several other places also expressed their opinions, and the results were all similar: if they could afford it, they would leave, and if they couldn’t, they wouldn’t leave.

Chen Mei was not surprised by their choice, because the Quanzhou gang and the local gang he was in charge of made the same choice.

Among the two exceptions, the Putian Gang mainly engages in business, is generally wealthy, and has a strong sense of fellow-township, so even those who have no money will help out first.

Fuqing people mainly work as sailors, thugs, and do some work of collecting and counting debts. They like to spend money and have a good time. They are generally short of money. Moreover, they are brave and aggressive, so they just stick to their guns.

After finding out the details, Chen Mei filled a pot of tobacco and smoked in silence. Just when everyone was getting a little impatient, they saw Director Tang Baolu coming over.

Tang Baolu briefly asked about the situation, and then said to Chen Mei, "Can I say a few words to everyone?"

"Yes." Chen Mei agreed readily and nodded to everyone, "There is still some time, gather everyone together."

~~

Soon, a huge crowd gathered in front of the Chen family compound, which had become a ruin.

After Liu Xuesheng told everyone to invite Director Tang to speak, Tang Baolu stood on the collapsed gate of the Chen family with his arm hanging. He represented the Nanhai Group and controlled all the ships traveling between Daming and Luzon. He led everyone to resist the barbarians these days and was injured. His prestige was high, and everyone wanted to hear what he had to say.

In fact, Don Paul's arm was broken when he slipped and fell into a trench on a rainy day the day before. But at this moment, it was very appropriate.

He was very straightforward, raised three fingers, and said loudly to everyone:

"I will just say three things. First, this is a trick by the red-haired devils to divide us and disintegrate us. We must not just jump into a pit they have dug!"

"That's right. If the red-haired devils hadn't opened fire, would so many of us have died? Who would still believe them? They are simply blinding their hearts!" Liu Xuesheng also echoed loudly, "Their goal is to take away half of our people first, and let the foreigners kill the rest!"

"Then we might as well die together!" Master Gao held up a large machete and said murderously, "Whoever dares to leave will be chopped to pieces by me!"

Tang Baolu raised his hand, signaling Gao Erye to calm down, then looked at Lin Afa and Huang Sanlaozhang with a cold gaze and said, "Second, I know that some people are spreading fallacies such as those who have no money should die and that you can come and go freely. But I want to remind you that we have fought bloody battles with the enemy for seven days! Do the two thousand compatriots who stood in the front and sacrificed their lives for us have any choice?! Now someone wants to be a deserter, will they agree?!"

"No!" Master Gao swung his knife and roared, "Whoever dares to desert, I will chop him off for my dead brothers!"

"Third!" Tang Baolu curled up his last finger, clenched his fist, and said confidently: "Our fleet is coming day and night. In two days, reinforcements will arrive! As long as we hold on for another 24 hours, we can win the victory and drive the red-haired devils into the sea!"

p.s. Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there (don't take advantage of me), I'll write another chapter...