The Chrysanthemum, the Cross, and the Dragon

by Iver P. Cooper

  "If you look like a poor fellow, you will be ignored," said Mingyu. "We don't want one of your enemies to give you a second glance."

  "I suppose that makes sense...."

  Mingyu introduced him to her father, Captain Huang. The captain wore a long purple jacket with gold trim over green pants. The jacket was open several inches, revealing several necklaces on which were strung pearls, colored beads, shells, coins, and what appeared to be sharks' teeth. Around his waist was belted a dao, a Chinese saber, with a bejeweled hilt. He wore no shoes.

  Juan could readily believe the captain was an ex-pirate. Indeed, he had his doubts about the "ex." Nonetheless, Juan thanked him in the grandiose Spanish manner, for his part in Juan's escape from Manila.

  Captain Huang grunted something along the lines of "stay out of the way" and stalked off.

  Juan could see that the Golden Venture was a large junk, about a hundred tons burden, with three masts. The upper part of the hull was painted black and the lower part, down to the waterline, was red. To the educated eye, this marked it as being from Amoy.

  For a time Juan just stood at the bulwark, enjoying the fresh air and the scenery. But then he called Mingyu over. "Hey, from the position of the sun, we are sailing south. I am no cartographer, but isn't Amoy to our north and west?"

  "It is," said Mingyu. "But with the northeast monsoon blowing we can't make passage to China by passing west of Luzon. We need to go southeast to the Samar coast, then wait for a favorable wind and cut northwest through the Dalugiri Pass and the San Bernardino Strait, jog north, then sail northwest through the Maqueda Channel and into the open sea."

  "But I have been told that it is difficult, if not impossible, to pass out of the San Bernardino Strait during the winter monsoon."

  "For your great lumbering galleons, that is true. But the Golden Venture can sail closer than five points to the wind, whereas your galleons are lucky to make six. And my father has his tricks...."

  "Say... if he is taking us that far east, would he be willing to go to Cebu, to bring warning of the attack?"

  Mingyu's expression was doubtful. "I suppose you can ask."

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  Captain Huang's Spanish wasn't as good as Mingyu's, so she interpreted.

  "Not a chance," he told Juan.

  "But I am sure that the authorities on Cebu would reward you greatly for the timely warning...."

  "In my experience," said the captain, "the bearers of bad tidings are more likely to be punished, or silenced, than rewarded. Now, if you happen to have a bagful of gold to reward me up front.... No? Then I will pass. Cebu is well south of the straits, and if we went there we'd lose a month or more."

  Juan pondered what other help he should ask for, as an officer of the Spanish Crown. As important, perhaps even more important, than bringing the news to Cebu was warning the incoming galleons that Manila Bay was a trap. As Juan knew from firsthand experience, having come to Manila by the galleon route, the first Philippine land sighted by the incoming galleons was Cape Espiritu Santo on eastern Samar. The Spanish had sentinels posted at Catanduanes, Viri, Bulusan, Borongan, and Batan who could advise the galleons by fire signals as to whether the San Bernadino Strait was free of foes. The vendaval, a wind from the southwest, could also impede progress through the strait and force the galleons to take refuge at Palapag, near the Cape.

  These musings took only a moment, but they prompted his next request: "Then can we go to the Royal Port of Palapag, on northern Samar, beyond the straits? When I first came to the Philippines, our galleon went to Palapag first, to re-provision and gather news. If the authorities there are informed of the fall of Manila, they will light signal fires at all the stations on Samar to warn the galleons to come to Palapag or some other haven rather than continue to Manila. The galleons will be coming from Acapulco and could reach the Strait anytime between April and July, so the matter is urgent."

  "Palapag is almost as inconvenient as Cebu," said Captain Huang.

  'Father, what about San Jacinto, on Ticao Island?" asked Mingyu. "That's near the straits, and we pass by it."

  "We pass Ticao's southwestern shore," said her father. "San Jacinto is on the opposite coast. It is more practical than Palapag, as we can pick it up on a long NNW tack from the southeastern point, but it would still add several days to our passage.

  "Also, I am not sure that it will satisfy Lieutenant Cardona's goal. The Acapulco-bound galleons stop at San Jacinto before attempting the strait, the Manila-bound ones might not."

  He stroked his chin. "After we pass the southern tip of Ticao, if the wind is unfavorable for a jog to San Jacinto, we can head for Samar Island, just shy of the Strait. I know there is a Jesuit church there, and there's an anchorage northeast of the church. Or we can stop at Biri Island, outside the Embocadero." That was the Spanish name for the eastern mouth of the San Bernardino Straits. "I have heard that it is the last stopping point for the incoming galleons before they brave the Straits. And there may well be a Spanish or Filipino boat there that can take word on to Palapag. And to Cebu, for that matter."

  "Is that good enough for you, Lieutenant? Daughter?"

  'They thanked him profusely.

  "I will get you to San Jacinto, or to Capul or Biri, Lieutenant. But you will be the messenger, not me."

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  On the first night after they left Manila Bay, Juan slept on deck. The next morning Mingyu, who shared a cabin with her father, checked up on him.

  "Did you sleep well?" she asked.

  "Oh, this was better than sailing to Manila on the galleon, I assure you." He explained that on average, the passengers and crew on a galleon had perhaps fifteen square feet of space apiece. For the entire voyage from Acapulco to Manila, Juan had never enjoyed a bed. Only the highest ship officers and the most distinguished passengers were accorded this luxury. And the Spanish at sea did not yet use hammocks, like the English; they slept on their sea chests or on sleeping pads. Juan's pad was merely a sack filled with straw, but at least he had had a good blanket to cover it with, and as a military officer had some choice as to where to sleep under the stars.

  "You gave me a much nicer sleeping pad than the one I got in Seville, and since your deck wasn't covered with excess cargo, I had plenty of room.

  "Room enough for two," he added mischievously, in a whisper.

  Mingyu colored. "I am tempted, but I fear that if we tried, we would both end up overboard."

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  When the Golden Venture reached the southern tip of Ticao, Juan approached captain Huang once more.

  "I hope we can chance San Jacinto, captain Huang. I doubt that there's anything more than fishing boats at Capul or Biri, whereas there should be several costa garda vessels at San Jacinto. They can take word on to Cebu and Palapag."

  Captain Huang felt the wind and studied the sky. "I think we can chance it, Lieutenant Cardona."

  It took three days to reach San Jacinto. A pod of dolphins swam beside them for a time. Mingyu told Juan that was a fortunate event, because the Chinese believed that the dolphins were servants of Mazu, the Goddess of Seafarers.

  An armed Spanish costa garda met the Golden Venture and directed it to an anchorage under the guns of the small wooden fort protecting the town and harbor. Plainly, San Jacinto was not often visited by Chinese vessels, and the Golden Venture was being treated as a possible pirate scout.

  After the Golden Venture had ridden at anchor for about an hour, a small boat, flying Spanish colors, came out to meet it. From alongside, the ensign on board shouted, "What business do you have in San Jacinto?"

  Earlier that day, Juan had donned his uniform. Juan leaned over the bulwark, cupped his hands, and shouted, "I am Lieutenant Juan Cardona, of the Manila garrison, and I have urgent business with whomever commands here."

  The ensign saluted Juan. "My pardon, Lieutenant. I did not expect to see a Spanish officer on a sangley ship. Do you wish to speak to the Lieutenant in command of the fort or the
alcade-mayor of San Jacinto?"

  Juan stroked his chin. "With both of them, I think. And to whomever commands the local costa garda."

  "Please come aboard and I will take you to the town. If the alcade-mayor deems it desirable, he will send for the other officials you requested."

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  "Welcome to San Jacinto, Lieutenant!" cried the alcade-mayor. "How may I be of service?"

  Juan motioned him closer. "I have news, and it is not news you want shouted in the street, I think."

  The alcade-mayor came within whispering distance. "Yes, what are you being so mysterious about?"

  "Earlier this month, the Dutch and Japanese launched a surprise assault on both Manila and Cavite. They now control city, port, and the entrance to Manila Bay. And the Governor-General and the Archbishop have been taken prisoner."

  The alcade-mayor's eyebrows shot upwards, and his mouth formed an "o" of dismay. "Madre Dios!"

  Juan continued grimly, "I prevailed on the captain of this ship to let me carry warning here. I must ask you in turn to inform Cebu and Palapag. The incoming galleons must not come anywhere near Manila Bay!"

  "I see.... Your pardon, but how do I know you are who you say you are? You could be a Spanish renegade, fallen in with Spanish pirates to divert the galleons into a trap. And your uniform could be an imitation, or taken off a corpse."

  Juan glowered at him. "Your pardon in turn, but when I led a sortie from the walled city, I didn't think I would need to carry my letter of commission with me. I was lucky to escape with my life. And do I speak like a commoner or like a hidalgo?"

  The alcade-mayor was somewhat discomfited. "Your speech is cultured, sir, but there have been younger sons that have done ill."

  "And do you really think even a dozen little junks like this one could take on two galleons? Each will probably bear anywhere from thirty to sixty guns, firing shot ranging up to twenty-four pounds. And each carries something like four hundred men, a good number of whom are garrison replacements.

  "And if they have been warned that Manila has fallen, they will be on high alert from Palapag to Cebu. And they could avoid the San Bernardino Strait and take the San Juanico Strait, or the Surigao Strait, instead. Even the Dutch would be hard-pressed to block all the possible routes."

  The alcade-mayor began to nod, then stopped himself. "What you say makes sense to me, but I am not a military man. I will summon the others you requested."

  Juan was invited to dinner and wangled an invitation for Mingyu and Captain Huang to join him after he explained that they had rescued him from the Manila debacle and aided the Spanish Crown by bringing him here. And mentioning their family connection to a Chinese admiral perhaps didn't hurt, either.

  The fort and costa garda officers came, too, and, after dinner, Mingyu was taken in hand by the wife of the alcade-mayor and the men got down to the topic that brought them together: determining whether Juan was who he said he was, and what to do next.

  The military men questioned Juan at length about his family and his military career and at last pronounced themselves satisfied. The costa garda officer agreed to send boats to Cebu, Capul and Palapag, and they would also leave a couple of soldiers at the southern tip of Ticao Island to set up a fire signal station there.

  They told Juan that there was no point in him stopping at Biri. While the incoming galleons sometimes anchored there if the winds or currents at the San Bernardino Strait were contrary, it was uninhabited. "But Palapag might send some poor bastard there to set up a fire signal."

  A few days later, the Golden Venture headed southeast and then NNW. It was hardly the direct route to the Strait, but the direct route would have put them in the teeth of the monsoon wind and was thus unsailable even for a relatively handy ship like theirs. They took shelter on the northwest coast of Samar, in San Isidro Bay. To Juan's regret, there was no Spanish settlement there.

  When the wind shifted to come from the east, the Golden Venture's crew knelt and prayed to Mazu, the Goddess of Seafarers, and Captain Huang threw paper money into the water as an offering.

  Juan was well aware that the strait was dangerous. He had passed it once himself, on his journey to Manila, and there were stories still told in Manila about the close calls that others had experienced in those waters. So he knelt, too, but he prayed to the Virgin Mary in her capacity as the Lady of Guidance.

  Once Captain Huang deemed Mazu to be properly honored, the Golden Venture raised its anchor and began its approach to the straits. This was carefully timed to take advantage of the outgoing tide.

  In the Dalugiri pass, it was caught by the edge of a whirlpool but managed to break free, albeit not without occasioning some delay. In the pass proper, Captain Huang watched the waters with a hawk eye. The tide started to turn against them, but the captain spotted a section of the strait in which the tidal current was flowing outward rather than inward and maneuvered the Golden Venture to take advantage of it.

  Nonetheless, even after they cleared the strait, they had to claw upwind for several days before they reached an area where the winds were more favorable.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  By the time they entered the open waters north of Luzon, Juan reached an alarming conclusion: "Your father doesn't like me," he told Mingyu. "I know I am not a sailor, but how often does the deck of an ex-pirate ship need to be swabbed?"

  "Yes, it is possible he doesn't like you," she admitted with a shrug. She was seated, with the batten of a sail on her lap. The leech of the next-to-top batten panel of that sail had split during a sudden gale, leaving a three foot tear. The crew had taken down that sail when the wind calmed and hoisted up the spare. The Golden Venture didn't have a full-time sailmaker, so repairing the old sail had been delegated to Mingyu. The wind was light, so she didn't need to worry about the sail being blown out of her grasp.

  "Why not?"

  Mingyu threaded the needle with waxed thread. "I am no expert on Spain, but I was under the impression that you Spanish have arranged marriages."

  "Yes, at least among the nobles and merchants."

  "Right, the marriages are alliances between families. Well, the same is true in China. While in our, um, nautical community, we don't believe in childhood betrothals like the literati, we girls normally are engaged soon after our Double Seven."

  "But not you?" Juan had noticed the emphasis.

  Mingyu grunted as she forced the needle through the double thickness of the leech tabling. "No, my older sister had an arranged marriage, and her husband beat her to death. My father killed him, of course, but my mother still committed suicide. After that, my father promised that he wouldn't force me to marry anyone."

  He grinned at her. "So you're free to marry me, right?"

  Mingyu pulled the stitch tight and started the next one. "Well, he promised he wouldn't force me to marry someone, but he didn't promise to let me marry whoever I pleased. And he says you're a barbarian, a penniless refugee, and a landlubber. I am not sure which of the three he considers to be the worst." She shrugged. "At least he promised not to throw you overboard.... Assuming you don't give him cause."

  "I'll be careful not to offend him."

  Mingyu tied off the last stitch, saying "Done!" with relief. She looked up at Juan. "Do make a good impression on Uncle Dragon; he has a lot of influence on my father."

  Chapter 10

  Xiamen (Amoy), China

  Year of the Dog, Third Month (March 29-April 26, 1634)

  The Golden Venture sailed into Liaoluo Bay, a large indentation in the southern coast of the island of Jinmen. The Taiwan Straits lay to the east, the Chinese province of Fujian to the west. Alongside the shore of Jinmen, Juan could see a half-dozen egrets walking. Their white plumage stood out against the verdant vegetation.

  "This is where Uncle Dragon won his great battle against the Dutch," Mingyu told Juan. "In October 1633."

  "This is the first I've heard about it," he admitted. "What happened?"

  "Two months earlier,
the Dutch, sailing out of Taiwan, had made a surprise attack at Xiamen. They destroyed many of uncle's new war junks."

  "Beautiful ships," said her father. "Each had two gun decks and carried thirty or so cannon with European style gun carriages. Not the normal eight with fixed mounts."

  Mingyu nodded. "And then Hans Putnams, the governor of Taiwan, arrogantly anchored his ships at the western end of this bay," continued Mingyu. "Uncle Dragon wrote to Putnams, 'How can a dog be permitted to lay its head on the emperor's pillow? You were brave enough to attack my ships in harbor, when we thought you came as friends, to do business. But let's see how well you can do now that we know you to be an enemy. If you want a fight, come to Jinmen, where the generals and mandarins of the Middle Kingdom can watch. Let our battle be fought by the shore and not out of sight on the open sea.' "And he had the letter co-signed by many high officials.

  "There were nine Dutch warships, reinforced by fifty pirate ships, all flying blue pennants with the letters 'VOC' in white. Uncle Dragon confronted them with a hundred fifty junks: fifty large ones and a hundred small ones."

  Juan scratched his chin. "So you outnumbered them."

  "Numbers aren't everything," said Captain Huang. "Their guns were bigger and easier to aim than ours; the Dutch would have had the advantage in a normal firefight."

  "So Uncle Dragon tricked them," said Mingyu. "He came downwind against the Dutch line, and the big junks of his vanguard were used as fire ships. The Dutch couldn't sink them in time, and they couldn't maneuver out of their way. And of course the pirates scattered."

  "The Governor of Fujian called it a 'miracle,' " Captain Huang added. "And--" He broke off. "There's Xiamen harbor, on the south coast of Xiamen Island," he told Juan, pointing northwest. He turned his head. "Helmsman, bring us in!"

  Juan watched as the Golden Venture made its final maneuvers and thought about Mingyu's story. It seemed as though Uncle Dragon might well have a grudge against the Dutch. Perhaps he could be persuaded to help the Spanish....