Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 244 The Choice of Prisoners

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Van Bommel retorted indignantly, "You Ming people always love to play these word games; you have absolutely no integrity!"

Yan Guang's eyes darted around: "Don't keep saying we don't keep our word. How about this, you have Zeelandia open the city gates, let us in to collect the money, and rest for the night, and I'll let you go."

The Dutch, though stubborn, weren't stupid. Everyone had witnessed the strength of the Qiongzhou Camp; letting Fort Zeelandia in was tantamount to handing over the castle. Van Bommel shook his head vigorously: "You want to play the Trojan Horse game? I won't fall for it!"

Yan Guang, of course, had no idea what a Trojan horse was. Seeing that the other party refused, his face immediately fell, and he said coldly, "If you don't take us into the city, we don't want any ransom. Now I'll give you two choices: one is to pledge allegiance to our general, and the other is to send you to see the King of Hell."

The translator relayed his words to Van Bommel, adding, "Seeing the King of Hell is almost like seeing God; he means they'll kill you if you don't obey them!"

Van Bommel wanted to curse, but considering that his life was now in the hands of others, he swallowed his words.

Seeing that Van Bommel remained silent, Yan Guang said to the translator, "Their superiors are unwilling to relay this message. You tell everyone this, and I'll give them the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to consider it."

Another incense stick's time passed! The translator shuddered; the previous incident where the cannons were fired at the slightest provocation after the allotted time had left a deep impression on him. He quickly turned around and loudly announced Yan Guang's message to all the soldiers and pirates.

The Dutch soldiers erupted in commotion upon hearing this, their emotions fluctuating. They held a deep-seated sense of superiority over the Chinese pirates and the imperial navy due to their superior ships and weaponry. While they could surrender to save their lives, this was a different matter from loyalty and sacrifice.

Seeing the Dutchmen's expressions, even without understanding Dutch, Yan Guang knew that these red-haired men were mostly unwilling to serve the Qiongzhou Battalion. He spat, "How pretentious! Battalion Commander Xu, have your men teach them how to do it."

Xu Yifan responded loudly, then raised his hand to signal: "Load ammunition, prepare to fire!"

Upon receiving the order, the soldiers of the Second Battalion, who were on guard around the perimeter, all raised their rifles and aimed them at the prisoner in the center. The bayonets reflected a dazzling light in the sunlight, so bright that it was hard to open one's eyes, and a tense atmosphere slowly spread.

Van Bommel looked at the dark muzzle of the other man's gun and the gleaming bayonet, swallowed hard, and felt uncertain. He wanted to back down, but he couldn't overcome his pride.

Xu Yifan stepped forward and said loudly, "You don't have much time to think now. Those who are willing to serve the Qiongzhou Camp, stay put. Those who want to leave, go to the right."

Several Dutch soldiers hesitated before taking a step, slowly moving to the right. One of them muttered to himself, as if trying to bolster his spirits: "I can't stay in the Far East for long. I have to go back to Utrecht to marry my fiancée, Helen..."

Seeing that the red-haired men had made a move, some pirates also became restless.