The Chrysanthemum, the Cross, and the Dragon

by Iver P. Cooper

  Juan again moved to embrace Mingyu, and this time she permitted him to do so. "Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help."

  Chapter 11

  Macau, China

  Penghu Island, Pescadores Archipelago, Taiwan Straits

  Year of the Dog, Fourth Month (April 27-May 26, 1634)

  The Golden Venture anchored in the main harbor of Penghu Island, one of the Pescadores. When its pirating days ended, Captain Huang sold off most of its guns to make room for more cargo. Now, it only carried a few three pounders and swivel guns for defense, but there was no cause for concern despite the threat from Liu Xiang. They had sailed here in the wake of Zheng Zhilong's heavily armed flagship, and many other Zheng family war junks were close by.

  Zhilong's spies had reported that Liu Xiang was hiding in the Pescadores, and Zhilong had followed him there. Captain Huang had decided it best to sail with him rather than sail alone to Keelung.

  Juan and Mingyu clambered into a small boat and were transferred to the flagship. It was, as Juan expected, longer and broader than Golden Venture, and its deck was several feet higher. Like the Golden Venture, it had three masts, with battened sails, but they were sized in proportion to the vessel.

  And of course, it had more gunports and a larger crew.

  "I can smell the wood," said Juan once they were on deck. Whatever it is."

  "Pine and camphor," Mingyu told him.

  "I guess that means it was built recently?

  "You guess right."

  Seeing Jelani, Mingyu greeted him and asked whether there was any further word concerning Liu Xiang.

  "The bastard was here," said the Black Guard lieutenant, "but not for more than a week or so. Then he sailed to Fort Zeelandia." That was the Dutch fortress at modern Tainan, in southwest Taiwan. "According to our spies among the Chinese settlers there, he tried to sell some booty and to buy ammunition and other provisions, but the Dutch refused because in the meantime they had agreed to a cease-fire with the admiral and were hoping to get new trading licenses through him from the authorities in Fuzhou or Xiamen."

  "And then he left?"

  "Oh, yes, but not without launching a surprise attack on Fort Zeelandia! He didn't succeed, however, even with six hundred pirates against a garrison of thirty."

  "So he attacked his patron? That's what we call in Europe, 'burning one's bridges,' " said Juan. "Or one's boats."

  "In Chinese, we say, 'break the kettles and sink the boats,' " said Mingyu.

  "Did Liu Xiang deploy artillery against Fort Zeelandia?" asked Juan. He spread his hands. "Just professional curiosity."

  "It was just a wild charge," said Jelani, a note of disgust in his voice. "The fool thought the Dutch would break and run. They didn't."

  "Why is the admiral still here if Liu Xiang is elsewhere? Waiting to hear again from his spies?"

  Jelani shook his head. "No, the admiral is negotiating with the Dutch. He points out that Liu Xiang is a common threat and seeks their support."

  "Ships?"

  "Guns and ammunition. Anyway, you'd best go in and talk to the admiral. I warn you, he is in a foul mood, so take care how you speak to him."

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  Despite his mood, the admiral smoothed his expression when he saw Juan and Mingyu.

  "So, the Dutch have smiled at me but made no promises of support for my campaign against Liu Xiang. I think the Dutch here will just play turtle and pull their head inside their shell until they have word that he is defeated. Or until they receive reinforcements from Batavia.

  "Still, I was able to find out that the force sent against Manila ignored the Spanish in northern Taiwan, and with the Dutch in the south afraid of Liu Xiang, it is unlikely that they will move against the north within the next few months. So we have, shall we say, a window of opportunity.

  "The Spanish at Keelung will be wondering by now why their supply ship is a month overdue. And they probably don't have any boats, other than a few fishing boats and galleys intended for coastal waters, so even if they knew of the fall of Manila and thought it best to evacuate, they are stranded.

  "Like a fly caught in a spider's web, waiting for the spider to get hungry enough to put the fly out of its misery." said Zhilong.

  "I understand, sir," said Juan.

  "So it is time for you to proceed on to Keelung. I will give you an escort of several war-junks, so they take you seriously, and this is what you must tell them...."

  Keelung, Northern Taiwan

  Keelung was the principal Spanish settlement on Isla Hermosa, the "Beautiful Isle." That was its Spanish name; the Dutch called it Taiwan and the Portuguese, Formosa. Unlike most of the homes in Keelung, the governor's house was solidly built, using local bluestone. That said, it was more modest than many of the townhouses in the walled city of Manila.

  The verbal fireworks began soon after a Spanish soldier, his red nose suggesting how he had adjusted to life in this imperial backwater, ushered Juan and Mingyu into the presence of Sergeant-Major Alonso Garcia Romero, the governor of the Spanish colony. After they explained Zhilong's proposal, Romero sputtered, "This Sangley merchant expects me to yield my forts, with all their guns, to him? In return merely for safe passage to Cebu?"

  Juan studied Romero for a moment. He had an oval face, with short, straggly gray hair half covering his ears, and dark brown eyes set deep in their eye sockets. He wore a gentleman's cloak, but it looked as though it had been patched more than once. He was, Juan thought, just the sort of person who would be given authority over a town as moribund as Spanish Keelung.

  "Zheng Zhilong is no mere merchant, but rather than an Admiral of the Chinese Imperial Navy, and he has command over hundreds if not thousands of junks," warned Cardona. "You cannot resist here the force that took Manila, and your soldiers are needed. Your women and children would be safer in Cebu. But if you evacuate, the forts would then stand undefended. If you had your own ships, you would demolish the forts and carry off or spike the cannon, but the Dutch would seize the site, and rebuild the fortifications, and you would not regain them without a great struggle that you can ill afford.

  "But you don't have the ships. So the choice is between paying for passage with your forts and cannon so that your soldiers can buttress the defenses of Cebu and your wives and children can enjoy the greater safety of its citadel, and lingering here until the Dutch come and butcher you all."

  "They will pay a heavy price for that," said Romero grimly.

  "I do not doubt it, but better that you give your lives, should that be necessary, in the defense of Cebu, or still better in the recapture of Manila, than in a futile attempt to maintain this worthless outpost. I have heard that even before the fall of Manila, there were many in the Junta de Guerra of the Philippines who thought that our forces could be put to better use anywhere other than Hermosa."

  "That's true, but I am not sure we have to pay this Chinese admiral's price. The galleons will come to the Philippines, perhaps as early as July, and it is certainly capable of carrying us all away from here."

  "It certainly is," said Cardona. "And it is possible that the Dutch would not come here in strength before then, as they must consolidate their position in Manila first. But I am sure that they are also eagerly awaiting the coming of the galleons themselves, and hope to capture it when, unaware of danger, it enters Manila Bay, or perhaps even when it docks at the port of Cavite." He declined to mention that he had already sought to warn off the galleon.

  Cardona knew that in the Bible, in the Book of Matthew, there was reference to the gnashing of teeth, but he had not heard or seen it himself until he suggested to Governor Romero that the galleons might fall into Dutch hands.

  "Besides," added Cardona, "if you turn over your forts intact to Admiral Zheng, he will hold them against the Dutch. He defeated them in battle less than a year ago, off the coast of China, so they will not confront him lightly again. Moreover, they cannot do so without endangering their own trade with China, or f
or that matter, their relations with the Japanese."

  "With the Japanese?"

  "Yes, Admiral Zheng controls the Chinese trade with Nagasaki." Actually, Cardona knew, he had more leverage than that alone; the Admiral had mentioned that he was supplying ships for some Japanese overseas venture, but Cardona didn't think it would be to Zheng's advantage to proffer this additional information. And for now, Cardona's fortune was tied to Zheng's.

  "Besides, what is the source of the profit in being on Isla Hermosa?"

  Romero shrugged. "Trade with the Chinese and Japanese."

  "Exactly. And the Japanese are now allies of the Dutch against Spain, so you can't expect them to come here anymore. And as for the Chinese, they can come here lawfully only if they receive a license from Admiral Zheng. And if you displease the admiral...." It was Cardona's time to shrug.

  "Anyway, what was the main purpose of establishing this colony? It was as a counterbalance against the Dutch colony in southern Taiwan, which in turn was a base for raids against Manila and its trade. But Manila has fallen!"

  Romero thought this over. At last, he said, "I will discuss Admiral Zheng's proposal with my officers, the contador, the veedor, the tesorero, the pagador, and the tenedor. It will take time to sound them out and to reach a consensus."

  Cardona concealed a smile. He was aware that on Isla Hermosa, the first two positions, those of accountant and overseer, were both held by Jeronimo de Herrera, and the other three, the treasurer, paymaster and bookkeeper, were all conferred on Juan Perez de Rueda. So there were only two officers, not five, to be consulted. Cardona also was sure that these individuals would agree to whatever Romero wanted to do, so this was just an exercise in bureaucratic ass-covering.

  Cardona bowed. "Your Excellency, I will humbly await your decision." He paused. "Until the winds command our departure, and we must leave you to your fate."

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  A few days later, the Spanish authorities at Keelung agreed to Zheng Zhilong's terms. These sold him the lands claimed by the Spanish in Taiwan, as well as their buildings and most of the cannon, but the Spanish would have free transport to Cebu, and they had the right to come to Keelung to trade without having to pay port fees. By the terms of the sale, if the Spanish recaptured Manila within three years they had the right to revoke the sale within a year of the recapture, but only if they compensated Zheng Zhilong, with interest, for his investment in the island. That clause gave some cover for Romero and his advisors; if the Spanish Crown thought that he was wrong to leave the island, it might mean the difference between a reprimand and an execution. They would of course claim that they could not imagine that Spain could possibly fail to recapture Manila, and thus he was getting aid at a bargain price.

  The more immediate concern was that the winds would not be favorable for taking the Spanish to Cebu until September, and since that was the height of the typhoon season, it would be better for them to wait until October.

  Neither side was happy about the delay, the Spanish because they wanted to get to Cebu before the Dutch or Japanese attacked either Keelung or Cebu, and Zhilong because of the risk that during the wait, the Spanish would change their mind, or the Dutch and Japanese would attack Keelung.

  Juan questioned Romero and his colleagues thoroughly about the inhabitants and resources of the Spanish-controlled part of Taiwan and about the supplies they had been expecting to come on the supply ship that had failed to materialize. Captain Huang had one of the war-junks return to Xiamen with the signed agreement and Juan's report.

  Two weeks later it returned, accompanied by several additional vessels. These included three large merchant junks and several more war-junks. Two of the merchant junks were troop transports, and the third carried supplies.

  The troops were led by Bao the Panther, the second oldest of the Zheng brothers. He seemed similar in height to Zheng Zhilong, but more lightly built. He also had a knack for walking quietly, which probably explained how he had ended up with his particular nickname.

  "Brother Dragon thanks you for your efforts," he told Juan and Mingyu. They acknowledged his words with a slight bow.

  "Take me to the Spanish governor."

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  Bao told the Spaniards that he was the new governor of the colony and that it was time for his men to take over the forts in accordance with the agreement.

  Sergeant-Major Romero hesitated, and Juan had to remind him that the Chinese had come in good faith, and that the fall of Manila was such an extraordinary circumstance that he could not be faulted for evacuating Keelung.

  Even then, Romero only took the final step of ordering his soldiers to open the gates and leave the fort after Juan wrote a letter in which he said that as "senior military authority of Manila"--which in a sense he was, as all the senior officers of the city were dead or in enemy hands--he was requesting that Romero leave Keelung and reinforce Cebu.

  The Spanish flag, the red Cross of Burgundy, was ceremoniously lowered, and the Zheng family flag was equally ceremoniously raised.

  Once all of the Spanish, save of course Juan, had left the main fort, Juan led Bao to the former commandant's small office. There, Bao breathed a sigh of relief. "I was worried that they might refuse to let us in, even fire upon us. I brought enough troops--two hundred--to man the forts, but not enough to besiege them."

  "Did you bring enough food for the Spanish as well as your own troops?" asked Juan. "Their supply ship didn't come this year, so they are on short rations."

  "Yes, the report you sent was quite detailed. While I can speak some Spanish--obviously!--I can't read it. So I had it translated. But let me go over the numbers with you to make sure the translation was correct. I understand that there are nearly a hundred fifty soldiers here on Keelung Island.

  "That's right. No more than seventy are Spanish, however. The rest are Pampangos and Cayaganos.

  "And in town...."

  "In Keelung Town, perhaps sixty Spanish and Filipino civilians. And thirty or so Chinese in the parian attached to the town.

  "The nearest native village is Quimaurri, sharing Keelung Island with us, with maybe six hundred souls. And then on the mainland there is Taparri, with another three hundred."

  "Hopefully, we will not have to feed the natives," said Bao. "But we have food enough for everyone else for at least a month, and there should be another supply ship before we run out.

  "Now, I need you to make sure that my men know how to operate the cannon at San Salvador and the other forts."

  "But your ships have cannon? Don't your men know how to use them?"

  "Few of our ships have your 'red barbarian cannon.' Our cannon have different mounts and shapes. My men need to know how to aim your cannon, how much of our powder to use in them as a single charge, what range and accuracy to expect, and so on."

  "I can try, but I am not really an artillerist. I am not totally ignorant of the matter, since I was sometimes the officer on duty at one of the bastions, but I am no expert."

  "I see. Then I want you to interview the soldiers at the forts. Find out who the gunners were and if they would be willing to stay rather than return to the Philippines. And if they aren't willing to remain, extract as much useful information as you can from them before they leave."

  "I can ask the questions, but I will need Mingyu's help to relay the answers to your men."

  "That's fine with me. In fact, I don't want you to talk to just the soldiers. Talk to all of the Spanish and Filipinos here at Keelung. I have no need for ordinary soldiers, or farmers or fishermen--I will be bringing in Chinese from Fujian province who can shoot, farm and fish--but it would be helpful if you can persuade the artillerymen, and any craftsmen, to remain behind. That is, as long as they are willing to accept the change in management.

  Bao fingered the hilt of the dagger that was thrust, quite piratically, into the sash of his robe. "Now, what's the situation at Tamsui? Do the Spanish there know about our deal with Romero?" Tamsui was the site of a
small Spanish fort in northwest Taiwan, at the mouth of the river of the same name.

  Juan shook his head. "They do not. Thanks to the Dutch, the Spanish don't have a ship here that could brave the open waters from here to Tamsui. The distance is short, but hazardous for small craft according to Captain Huang. And the overland route to the Tamsui River, and along it, apparently passes through the territories of several belligerent tribes. Head-hunters."

  Bao cocked his head. "Why didn't you and Captain Huang take Romero, or one of the other leading men, to Tamsui to inform them of the agreement before I arrived? Surely the men there won't want to be left behind when those in Keelung go to Cebu."

  "That's true, sir. But it seemed more important to remain here, to keep reassuring Romero and the others that they were doing the right thing."

  Bao snorted. "I suppose. But as soon as you are finished vetting the locals, I want you and the Golden Venture to go to Tamsui, with Romero to vouch for you, and take control of the fort there. What's it called?"

  "Santo Domingo. Garrison of sixty, including ten Spaniards. Plus some priests and servants. Also some Chinese; Romero wouldn't venture to guess how many."

  "I would expect Chinese to be there," said Bao. "Long before the Spanish came to Taiwan, merchants from my province, Fujian, visited there to trade with the natives, especially for sulfur and deerskins. I want you to go to Santo Domingo and assess the condition of the fort. Is it in good condition and, if not, what would it take to render it defensible? Tell the Spanish that they must go to Cebu, and tell the Chinese that I am their new governor."

  "Right."

  "And please find out whether the natives still have sulfur to trade and where they obtain it."

  Juan appreciated the importance of that question; sulfur was one of the three ingredients of gunpowder. "I will. But I am not sure how hostile or numerous the natives of Tamsui are, so I will need a large, well-armed party."