Senal looked at Prince Xuan giving orders with a bewildered expression. "Send all the female members of the household, including Brother Senal's female family members, to the embassy. That place is absolutely the safest in all of Benghazi."
"Take stock of all the money and food at home, see how many days it will last, distribute swords and flintlock guns, and prepare for a fight to the death. Also, send people to inform other Ming merchants in the city."
Seeing the plot developing more and more strangely, Senal couldn't help but ask with a bewildered look, "My dear King, what are you planning to do? Are you going to fight those Kunlun slaves?"
Prince Xuan chuckled and replied, "Since these Kunlun slaves are disobedient, they should be taught a good lesson."
Senal frowned and said, "Please forgive me for speaking bluntly – my dear King, if I remember correctly, you have no military experience? Shouldn't soldiers be the first to step forward in dangerous matters like war?"
Upon hearing Senal's words, Prince Xuan couldn't help but burst into laughter, "Brother Senal, who can refuse the temptation of the four words 'bringing glory to ancestors'? After this battle, whether I live or die, our family genealogy will have a page dedicated to me, and even my father will have to step aside when entering the ancestral hall."
Senal did not understand the concept of an ancestral hall, but he clearly understood the concept of a genealogy – why do people in European countries specifically emphasize bloodlines?
This is because ordinary families in Europe have no concept of genealogy, and even ordinary nobles find it difficult to understand the inheritance of their family lineage. Only those old noble families with hundreds or even more ancient traditions are involved with the concept of genealogy.
As it happened, Senal's family lineage was ancient enough, and he knew the temptation of having a page dedicated to oneself in the genealogy.
However, Senal still hesitated, "Regardless, my dear King, you have never served in the military. Do you know how to fight?"
Especially looking at Prince Xuan's somewhat slender physique, Senal's worries grew.
Seeing Senal's gaze filled with suspicion, Prince Xuan's face suddenly turned red, "Damn it, it's not that I didn't want to be a soldier, but that dog emperor... Humph, His Majesty the Emperor of Great Ming thought I was too thin and didn't let me join the army."
Senal was startled, "My dear King, you shouldn't speak of your Ming emperor like that!"
Prince Xuan snorted, "I said it, so what can they do to me? That Emperor Zhu didn't stop snatching my mother's milk when he was young, and now he won't even give me a chance to join the army? Let me tell you, Senal, forget about me cursing him a couple of times here, even if I rush to the Forbidden City to curse him a couple of times, he'll have to endure it!"
Especially when he recalled Zhu Jinsong's refusal to let him join the army, Prince Xuan wished he could rush to the Forbidden City and curse him.
"After we leave, Auntie will still need someone to take care of her. If you follow us to fight, who will take care of Auntie?"
Zhu Jinsong's words were somewhat more pleasant, but what did that scoundrel Zhu Erdan say?
"Da Ni'er, look at how thin you are. Even in a young woman's clothes, you're more beautiful than a young woman. Why are you joining the army? Stay home honestly!"
Did you hear what this person said?
Because that scoundrel Zhu Erdan spoke carelessly, Prince Xuan became one of the few people in Liu Miao Village who couldn't join the rebellion. Although Emperor Zhu later took care of him because he had often fought with Prince Xuan for milk, compared to those killing machines in Liu Miao Village who reached the Five Military Commissions and even achieved noble titles, Prince Xuan inevitably felt a bit uncomfortable.
Yes, I, Prince Xuan, am a bit handsome, and my demeanor is a bit too elegant, but you can't mock me, Wang, because of that!
It was precisely because of this that Prince Xuan, in a fit of rage, ran to the Western Kunlun Mountains, intending to make a name for himself there.
Unfortunately, before he could even figure things out, those damned Kunlun slaves were going to cause trouble?
Thinking more and more angrily, Prince Xuan simply snorted coldly, "This time, I will properly deal with those Kunlun slaves and let them know how many eyes King Ma really has!"
Seeing the furious Prince Xuan, Senal suddenly felt envious – when faced with war, the Ming people immediately thought of fighting back, while he himself only dared to seek refuge with Ming merchants?
And just as Senal was hesitating whether to take a gamble with Prince Xuan, thus proving that Frenchmen weren't just good at raising their arms to expose their armpits, the butler of Prince Xuan's household hurried over and whispered, "Master, everything has been prepared according to your instructions."
Prince Xuan nodded, and then turned his gaze to Senal, "Relax, Senal. Great Ming has troops stationed at the Port of Benghazi, so we have no reason to be afraid."
...
Once the "zero yuan carnival" started, it was hard to stop.
When the Kunlun slaves in Benghazi city began their "zero yuan carnival" targeting the French, Chen Hao, the Ming ambassador stationed in Benghazi, issued a reminder to the neighboring French embassy and also sent people to notify the Ming garrison at the military base in the Port of Benghazi, preparing to intervene directly if the situation escalated.
However, what Chen Hao never expected was that the Kunlun slaves in Benghazi would become increasingly crazy, so crazy that they didn't care about the Ming garrison stationed in Benghazi at all.
Especially after the news of Prince Xuan taking in Senal spread, the Kunlun slaves in Benghazi became even more frenzied.
These frenzied Kunlun slaves even set their sights on Ming merchants – compared to French merchants, Ming merchants were obviously richer!
However, Ming merchants were obviously more difficult to deal with than French merchants, because French merchants would often choose to hand over their gold and silver when facing brutal Kunlun slaves, while Ming merchants chose to band together.
Several Ming merchants living relatively close to each other gathered, then distributed equipment to their workers and retainers, and then selected someone with military experience or someone who had studied military books to serve as commander.
The resistance of the Ming merchants also successfully stimulated the Kunlun slaves in Benghazi, making the Kunlun slaves who had already tasted the sweetness of plunder even more frenzied.
Even more incomprehensible was that Hamis also changed his previous attitude of not wanting to provoke the Ming. Not only did he openly support the Kunlun slaves, but he even sent troops to surround the Ming embassy in Benghazi before the Ming military base in the Port of Benghazi could intervene.
Hamis's son, Saif, even publicly addressed Chen Hao, the Ming ambassador to Benghazi, saying, "Immediately hand over the French women hiding in the Ming embassy and their property! Immediately make the Ming merchants who resisted the 'zero yuan carnival' hand over their property and leave Benghazi!"
As Saif's attitude became increasingly tough, the Kunlun slaves surrounding Saif also became agitated. The whites of their dark eyes turned red from congestion, their curly hair, thick lips, and ferocious expressions were like demons crawling out of hell.
Chen Hao looked at these Kunlun slaves with a hint of pity – wild dogs that have tasted human blood only have the fate of being beaten to death!
Glancing disdainfully at Saif, Chen Hao sneered and said, "This is the embassy of Great Ming in Benghazi. According to the Great Ming system of mutual dispatch of envoys by minor powers, this place is equivalent to the territory of Great Ming. If you dare to cause trouble here, it is equivalent to provoking Great Ming!"
Saif's expression faltered, and his gaze involuntarily shifted to the high-flying Ming dragon flag within the embassy.
Seeing Saif hesitating, Chen Hao felt even more contemptuous, "If you think you can withstand Great Ming's retaliation, bring your troops in. I won't stop you – as long as you are willing to bear some casualties, you can completely kill everyone here before the Ming garrison at the Port of Benghazi arrives."
Faced with the unyielding Ming envoy, Saif, who had been thinking about how to rush into the Ming embassy to burn, kill, and loot, suddenly felt a little guilty, and the Kunlun slaves surrounding Saif also gradually regained their reason. Many even began to unconsciously move backward.
Words like "slaughter," "mountains of corpses," and "retaliation" began to circle in the minds of the Kunlun slaves.
Thinking more and more fearfully, Saif suddenly snorted coldly, "As long as you are willing to hand over those French women and their property, I can agree to let you leave here. If you still insist on protecting those French women, then the only thing awaiting you is destruction! I will lead my troops to charge in and kill everyone here! Then, I will kill all the Ming people in the city! And then, I will lead my troops to attack the so-called military base you mentioned! I want to see how hard Ming people's heads really are!"
Upon hearing Saif's words, Chen Hao was immediately bewildered, with only five words swirling in his mind: Is he threatening me?
No, who gave him the courage to openly threaten the Ming ambassador to Benghazi? Doesn't this idiot know the meaning of the word "ambassador"?
As the saying goes, endure for a moment and you'll be more upset, retreat a step and you'll be more at a loss – damn it, there are actually people in this world who dare to threaten the envoys of the glorious Ming Empire? And this is with the Ming military base in the Port of Benghazi?
What a shame!
Chen Hao's face slowly darkened, and he shouted loudly, "Guards! Alert! Anyone who dares to set foot in the Ming embassy, kill without mercy!"
After the guards in the Ming embassy arrayed themselves in defense, Chen Hao simply looked at Saif again and said, "Come on! This ambassador wants to see how you plan to charge in!"
With Chen Hao's actions, the pressure was immediately placed on Saif.
Saif could not understand why the Ming ambassador opposite him was not afraid of his threats at all?
In Saif's opinion, the Ming envoy should focus on the interests of Ming merchants rather than those of French women – it's not possible that they would stubbornly resist just because of a so-called alliance, and not give even a chance for negotiation, right?
Since he had already made his threats, the Ming ambassador should have obediently handed over those French women and their property, thereby ensuring the safety of the Ming embassy and the Ming merchants in the city.
Now, if they attacked, they would have to face the guards in the Ming embassy in Benghazi. At such close range, it was too damn dangerous. If they retreated, they would have lost all face today, especially since he had just made threats.
Saif's face darkened, and he said stubbornly, "Are you truly unconcerned about the safety of the Ming merchants?"
Upon hearing Saif's words, Chen Hao became even more bewildered, and his anger grew.
Is this idiot just a fool who understands nothing?
Doesn't this idiot know that from the moment he brought troops to surround the Ming embassy, the nature of this matter has completely changed?
Now, it's not a question of whether Chen Hao, the Ming ambassador to Benghazi, is protecting those French women, but rather that Benghazi is provoking Great Ming!
Especially since Saif, this idiot, kept talking about slaughtering the Ming merchants in Benghazi...
Chen Hao clearly remembered that Fukanggan and Qian Long, the old dog, as well as the Vietnamese monkeys from Southern Vietnam, and the Indian monkeys from Old Port and Lanfang, had all issued similar threats before.
As a result, Fukanggan and Qian Long, the old dog, had their heads placed on top of the mounds of skulls. All the Vietnamese monkey armies in Southern Vietnam were built into mounds of skulls, and the rest were captured as laborers. Similarly, the Indian monkeys from Old Port and Lanfang either became building materials for the mounds of skulls or were captured as laborers.
In any case, in Chen Hao's memory, it seemed that no one had ever threatened Great Ming and lived to tell the tale.
With this thought, Chen Hao simply stopped bothering with the idiot Saif, but with a flick of his sleeve, he snorted coldly and returned to the embassy, leaving Saif and the other Kunlun slaves staring blankly outside the embassy.
A Kunlun slave beside Saif came up and whispered, "Great Prince, should we... attack now?"
Saif, who was already in a dilemma, became even more conflicted.
Attack?
With what to attack?
Is it with the flintlock guns in their hands? Or with the mud smeared on their bodies?
Although the Ming embassy guards opposite them were not numerous, this group of over a hundred people were all equipped with flintlock guns and armor!
Chen Hao, who had retreated into the embassy, was also conflicted, wondering whether he should immediately light the wolf smoke. According to the Great Ming system, once the wolf smoke in the embassy was lit, it basically meant that the embassy was in danger. If there were garrisons near the embassy, troops would have to be dispatched immediately to support it.
If Saif, that idiot, was definitely going to attack, then lighting the wolf smoke sooner or later would make no difference. But what if Saif, that idiot, suddenly lost his nerve?
Mistakenly lighting the wolf smoke was no small matter!
Soon, Chen Hao no longer had to worry about whether to light the wolf smoke, because several places in Benghazi city were already burning with wolf smoke.
Chen Hao knew very well that those wolf smokes must have been lit by Ming merchants like Prince Xuan!
Because many merchants who wanted to join the army but couldn't had secretly stockpiled some materials for wolf smoke. And these bastards had hidden firearms in their hands. Overseas, they didn't care about their own lives – these bastards dreamed of having a dedicated page in their family genealogy!
Chen Hao's face turned grim, and he ordered the guards beside him, "Light the wolf smoke. Those Kunlun slaves can't hold back any longer."