Chapter 727: Chapter Sixteen The Death of Tianbao (Part 2) Chapter 727: Chapter Sixteen The Death of Tianbao (Part 2) Yang Sheng read the letter carefully twice, then inverted it on the desk, his expression changing several times as the worry lines on his face trembled incessantly.

After a while, Yang Sheng nodded calmly without changing his expression, “I have received the letter; you have worked hard. Go and rest well.”

He waved his hand, directing a servant at his side to help the messenger who had delivered the letter to leave.

After watching the messenger depart, Yang Sheng leisurely picked up his teacup and used the lid to stir the leaves, his tone suddenly turning cold, “When will the Allied Fleet be able to return to port?”

A servant answered, “Probably tomorrow morning.”

“There are many suspicions regarding the shipwreck. Convey my orders, have the entire crew of the Allied Fleet delay entering the port and search for nearby islands to land on instead. Without my command, they are not permitted to come ashore.”

“But the English may not listen to us.”

“I will visit the consulate tonight and explain it personally to Consul Hart. You need not worry; this matter of suppressing the bandits must be kept completely confidential. You are not allowed to let a single word leak out. Go now. Oh, and…”

The servant was about to leave when Yang Sheng called out to him again.

“Has Zixu already set out?”

Zixu was also a retainer from the Governor’s mansion. Before the Allied Fleet set out, Yang Sheng had given him a thousand-year-old Red Jade Buddha to deliver to the residence of Grand Secretary Zhao Yun in the Capital City.

The servant replied, “He set out the day before yesterday, noon. By now, he should have reached Wuzhou.”

“That’s good.”

After the servant had left and the house was once again quiet, Yang Sheng put down his teacup with a snap, “Grind the ink. I need to write a memorial to the Capital.”

The maid nodded gently, preparing the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Yang Sheng held the brush with an expression neither joyful nor sorrowful.

“The Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, your servant Yang Sheng, kneels before Your Majesty to report, in compliance with protocol, on the Qing-English Joint Fleet’s campaign against the Red Flag bandits, humbly awaiting the Holy Insight. This battle…”

As he wrote this, Yang Sheng’s pen suddenly dragged, unsure of how to continue.

“Although the Red Flag Gang has lost its lair and its leaders have vanished without a trace, the bandits are scattered. Yet their foundation remains. Meanwhile, our Allied Fleet has suffered great losses of men and morale. I had boasted in previous letters to Your Majesty, exaggerating the prowess of our new naval forces, which was also highly recommended by Zhao Zhongtang. Now, without firing a shot or a cannon, and with the commander lost, how shall I explain to Zhao Zhongtang? How shall I report to Your Majesty?”

The military report brought by the messenger recorded all sorts of uncanny events during the shipwreck, but Yang Sheng dared not offend the heavenly ears. No one would believe him. If reported truthfully, once it spread, not to mention bypassing the scrutiny of the Imperial Censors, even Zhao Zhongtang could be implicated…

“The Red Flag Gang has long been highly regarded in Zhejiang and Fujian; when suppressing bandits in the past, civilians often helped the bandits rather than the official soldiers. Over the years, I have worked on pacifying the seas and borders, enforcing discipline, and the reputation of the governmental navy has grown. One final push was all that was needed to completely eradicate the century-old influence of the Red Flag Zheng Family. How could it all be ruined by one storm?”

With this thought, Yang Sheng’s brushwork suddenly changed.

“The Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, your servant Yang Sheng, kneels before Your Majesty to report, in compliance with protocol, on the Qing-English Joint Fleet’s campaign against the Red Flag bandits, humbly awaiting the Holy Insight. This battle was a complete victory; within a day, we captured Lantau Island, and the bandit leader Tianbao died by gunfire, his body reduced to ashes. However, our army also suffered significant losses…”

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The sound of the sea stretched endlessly, the dim candlelight flickered uncertainly like small soybeans, and the closed cabin was unbearably stuffy. The beds were filled with wounded soldiers, and the ceaseless sounds of agony were hellish.

Even the two sailors guarding the door intermittently coughed softly, their faces pale. In the event of an emergency, how much fighting strength they would have was indeed a matter of concern.

The black rain that day brought an endless poison that not only consumed flesh and bone but also sparked an epidemic on board. Six or seven tenths of the official soldiers contracted the illness, and many were severely injured by the black rain. Without timely treatment at sea, they eventually died from infected wounds. In just two days, the number of deaths from such causes totaled nearly three thousand, almost equaling the total number of casualties on Lantau Island.

“Not allowed to come ashore? Whose damn foolish words are these?”

Yang Xingye’s arm was wrapped in bandages, his face a sickly pallor. But standing on the deck with his back straight, his cloak billowing behind him, he still exuded an unyielding aura. His eyes, like bronze bells, glared at the messenger, menacing like a beast choosing its prey.

“Impudence.”

The man’s face became stern, but upon hearing the wailing from the ship, he also sighed and stopped fussing, “This is the Governor’s command, I have no choice,”
“I have always respected the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi for his abilities and character, but right now my people… sigh, if we aren’t allowed to go ashore to seek medical treatment and medicine, they are going to die off one by one.”

The visitor had no choice but to console, “A batch of medical supplies and provisions is already on the way at sea. Tell the brothers to hold on for a few more days; the Governor must have his reasons for doing this. I also have something else to ask. How many prisoners and captures did you take on Lantau Island?”

“Not a damn thing.”

Yang Xingye looked at the other with disdain, “By the time we got to Lantau Island, those thieving stars had already cleared out their stuff. Aside from the large, abandoned ship on the beach, everything in the dock that couldn’t be carried away was smashed and burned. Not even a jar of pickles was left behind.”

“This…”

The man fell into a troubled silence.

“Right, the Westerners salvaged the small boat that Tianbao was on, along with half of a shattered Red Sail.”

The man’s eyes lit up, “That’s exactly what we need, the Red Sail! In the South Seas, who doesn’t know that the Red Sail of Lantau Island is Tianbao’s symbol? Seeing the sail is as good as seeing the man. There’s much that can be done with this.”

Yang Xingye scoffed coldly, “Tell me, brother Nian, in your opinion, is Tianbao dead or not?”

The man was taken aback, “General Yang is joking, I wasn’t present at the battle at Lantau Island. Eh, it was you, General Yang, who encountered Tianbao face to face, why are you asking me?”

Yang Xingye gripped his bandaged arm, “If you ask me, he’s not dead.”

The man said gravely, “With the government’s influence, it doesn’t matter whether he’s dead or alive, but we must strip away this tiger’s skin of the Red Flag Tianbao.”

“Sir.”

An emaciated soldier with “bravery” written on his chest approached the two men, “There’s a young boy from the West asking for maps, fresh water, and dry food from us.”

“What’s going on?”

Yang Xingye asked, his voice heavy.

“The kid says, he wants to go out to sea to find his teacher.”

Yang Xingye glanced at the foreign boy who was being stopped by the sailors at a distance, it was Ruchika.

With the Lantau Island sea tragedy, not to mention the dead and injured, there were also hundreds missing. Yang Xingye frowned deeply, “The sea is vast and boundless, his Western teacher is probably dead. He, a mere child, wants to go out to sea himself? Tell him to go back, not to throw his life away needlessly.”

The soldier said in a low voice, “That kid from India is holding a permit from the English, we can’t really refuse.”

Upon hearing this, Yang Xingye pursed his lips and after weighing his options for a moment, waved his hand dismissively, “Give it to him then, if he wants to court death, so be it.”

“Yes.”

Ruchika, having received supplies and fresh water, thanked the soldiers and then left the official ship. He boarded a submarine named “Jenny” and set out on his own.

“Mr. Watson, I will definitely find you.”

Ruchika murmured to himself.