The Wedding Turns Upside Down

  If a person encounters such a life - being forced to become a thief, always nervous and fearful, what ancestral graves, family are completely not taken care of! Also have to be prepared at any time, who knows when in the suppression of officials and foreigners, may lose their lives...

  What will he think of and hope for? A decent career, a stable life, an intact and warm family are undoubtedly the most tempting!

  If at this time there was someone who could provide him with an opportunity, so that he could get what he wanted in the near future and escape his suffering... then how would he repay the person who gave him the opportunity?

  The pirates on the Devil's Island should have set an example! In front of this group of people who were originally at a dead end, there was suddenly a sunny road! The end point of this road is not only the happiness of one's own life, but also includes the righteousness that Chinese people have always valued most! For these pirates who have been deeply influenced by the patriotic ideology of the old masters (except for Cai Daya), it is simply the only choice and the most willing to choose.

  With gratitude and admiration for the leader, Mao Si's wedding with He Ningfeng was held in a grand and well-planned manner on Devil Island, which is an extremely harsh environment. The actual significance of this wedding is probably comparable to that of an emperor's wedding! Anyway, the pirate brothers came up with this idea to hold the wedding.

  There weren't many people, only about 300 including the bride and groom. The atmosphere was lively! From October 8th, 1901, when the sun rose in the morning, the entire island was filled with laughter and cheers. The brothers of the main camp, representatives of the branch camps, and family members who had just returned to the mainland and received the good news, they were both guests and hosts. Every person's face had a genuine smile (alas, today's smiling service can't compare to the sincerity here!), every person had gifts carefully prepared with great thought in their best clothes, every person was busy walking back and forth or taking care of some "task" without feeling tired...

  At this time, there were still complaints from Ma Hou and his 20 or so brothers under him. They couldn't congratulate the boss and the young lady in a timely manner, nor could they watch the boss make a fool of himself during the wedding ceremony, nor could they see the beautiful young lady's happy and shy appearance today (they could only imagine it). Anyway, the vigilance on Devil Island cannot be relaxed, especially at this time! So, as the new captain of the Xunfeng team, Ma Hou designed a "poisonous plan" with Zhang Xiaowu, Jin Lao, and others after hesitating for a while. He stepped onto the boat at sunrise to swap shifts with his brothers who were on night watch. What awaited them was only the vast ocean, white clouds, clear wind, and seagulls!

  Li Guoliang also had an opinion like the horse monkey. Just as he was watching the wedding preparations, he had to take 14 brothers and drive the Black Dragon back to the mainland. As the head of the conference-elected front-line personnel, he would explore the way for all the brothers, handle the resettlement of their families, and make a pre-arrangement for going to the United States. They also brought a special large box, which was more than 5 meters long, containing the Hummer that had been thoroughly dried.

  He Ningfeng was carefully dressed from head to toe under the control of Xiao Cui and several big sisters! Listening to these enthusiastic people chattering non-stop, she let them busy themselves on her head, body, and feet. He Ningfeng closed her eyes halfway with excitement and anticipation, imagining the scene later, imagining the groom's appearance, imagining tonight...

  Any man who was not politely refused at the door, even if there were so-called important things to discuss, would be spoken to through closed doors and windows, and then immediately driven away by the elder sisters-in-law and wives wielding feather dusters 50 meters away. The women in the room knew clearly: these guys came to stir up trouble and gawk! They were also spies sent by the anxious groom's family to gather information! If they could take advantage of this opportunity to tease the old man, the women would absolutely not show mercy.

  As the sun gradually rose higher and higher, the auspicious hour also arrived quickly (but seemed slow to the newlyweds).

  At this time, pirates with a bit of artistic cells, regardless of beauty or ugliness, size, all received due attention. Under their happy, forgetful and hard-selling hype, the gongs and drums were loud, the music rose, and the entire Devil's Island was shrouded in celebration. Even the foreign hostages locked in the cave on the mountain waist could hear from the unfamiliar melody: The pirates are very happy today!

  The ceremony of worshiping heaven and earth was held in the largest building on the island - the council hall.

  The old and necessary procedures, the familiar rituals are given new colors at this time. The bride, covered in a red headscarf, wore a big red floral dress, even her shoes were embroidered with big red flowers, anyway, it was all red. Amidst the laughter and good-natured teasing, the bride appeared in front of the groom, who was dressed in a crisp military uniform (ah! except for the two newlyweds, no one knew that the handsome uniform was brought by the groom from over 100 years ago), with a radiant face.

  Red silk tied with big flowers, both ends were held by the newlyweds separately. On the ground in front of them were two large red embroidered flower mats, as the host Zeng Er's sharp voice sang "One bow to heaven and earth...", the couple knelt down on the mats together. They wouldn't notice that the positions of the two mats were a bit too close.

  "Husband and wife bow together!"

  "Haha..."

  The newlyweds "accidentally" bumped heads hard in the final process of worship, causing the surrounding crowd to burst into laughter. People laughed heartily at the embarrassed movements and expressions of the newlyweds, without caring that one was the eldest son and the other was a notorious young lady. What people needed was joy, great joy! Jin Lao and others were laughing so hard that they were holding their stomachs, completely mobilizing the atmosphere on the scene...

  Niu Fushou, Mai Hongbiao (Guangzhou branch leader), Zeng Erlu and these old men have been fooled by young people all along, not knowing about such small actions and chaotic scenes. In fact, they are also laughing! The scheduled program is stuck here, but in fact, the necessary procedures have already been completed, and what the newcomers need to do is just toast at the banquet later! To deal with the groom who never drinks, the men have made up their minds to make him lose face! After this village, they will only be doing honest work in Lao Da's shop from now on!

  "...Report..." A flustered voice was getting closer and closer down the mountain.

  "Report to the boss and big sister, British warships have come again! It's that one we saw before!" The messenger was a brother under Ma Huan, who ran to the front of the boss from the automatically separated passage.

  Long Jianming's (Mao Si) face immediately turned from embarrassment to seriousness, and He Ningfeng was also surprised to find himself uncovering the red headscarf.

  "How many have come?"

  "To the north, a large ship is approaching. Ma Touling says to prepare yourselves, brothers, for it doesn't look good!" The messenger reported quickly and cleverly.

  "Everyone, pay attention! The Heavenly Squad will leave half of the people to guard the fort, the Earthly Squad will immediately go and open the boat, and the Wind Patrol Squad will immediately notify other patrol boats to be aware of the surrounding waters! Zeng Lao Ge, you are in charge of the foreign hostages, act accordingly. Mai Lao Da, you are responsible for protecting the family members and taking them to the mountain cave, do not come out without notification! Zhang Da Ge, Jin Lao Xiao, you two will respectively command the Qing Long and Jin Long boats, start the boats and try to keep a distance from the British warship. In the shallow waters, circle around it! Xiao Wu, you bring several brothers to be in charge of communication between each boat and the island... That's all, execute quickly!" Long Jianming gave orders rapidly. He knew that this time the British warship would not come to congratulate them. The British people who did not touch a hair on the Black Shark Gang last time must have made sufficient preparations this time! If the British do not attack, then it's fine, but once they launch an attack, it will be swift and decisive! Long Jianming was familiar with the British Navy's "Sydney" cruiser. This warship was one of the largest cruisers in 1901, equipped with four 8-inch breech-loading cannons and other auxiliary guns, its firepower could completely cover the entire Devil Island!

  After watching several leaders leave in a hurry with their subordinates, Long Jianming smiled apologetically at He Ningfeng. "Ningfeng, sorry! I forgot to inform the British that today is our wedding day, and now it seems that this good feast may be ruined by these foreigners! I'll go change my clothes immediately, this one is too precious to be ruined. You follow Big Brother Mai and them to hide in the mountain cave, I'm worried the British will open fire! Let's go."

  The woman's hand was pulled by the man who had just become her husband, feeling no panic, only a sweet feeling and hatred for the British! The foreign devils are like this, always can't get along with Chinese people, even when holding a wedding they come to ruin it, really don't know if all the people in this country are such rascals...

  Major Henry Glass stood triumphantly on the bridge of the cruiser "Sydney", observing the Devil's Island through binoculars. He had every reason to be triumphant, for in just three hours, the "Sydney" had sunk two pirate ships. These small boats, weighing tens of tons, were like paper boats that shattered with a single collision! As a result, they now had 13 pirates in their hands, at least, and this time they could exchange them for some hostages. With two more such hunting trips, they would soon be able to rescue all the hostages from the pirates' hands. Such achievements would pave the way for his promotion to lieutenant colonel.

  In the telescope, an image of a three-masted sailing ship appeared. This sailboat was a typical product of the Nelson era, with the gun ports on its sides ridiculously open, and it seemed that there were still many old-fashioned rifled cannons inside aiming at itself. The handsome major sneered, he didn't plan to fire at this pirate ship like a medieval sailing ship, which was almost garbage, just one big cannon would be enough, it wasn't worth the major's effort, so he decided to bypass the high cliffs on the north and west sides of Devil Island, and go to the south side to fire a few warning shots, letting these lowly yellow pirate scum come out to negotiate surrender and hostages.

  Commander Henry, a lieutenant commander in command of a heavy cruiser, is a miracle throughout the Royal Navy. A ship of this size should be commanded by a senior officer above the rank of commander, and even having an admiral as captain would not be unusual! Therefore, Commander Henry, with his background and achievements, who is good at flattering his superiors, has become the object of envy and ridicule among many naval officers. Henry is also very aware of his situation, and to change this situation, he can only continue to increase his military achievements!

  "Captain, another sail has appeared!" reported Lieutenant Commander Glyn.

  Indeed, at this time the Golden Dragon also set out, with two ships to attract the attention of British warships and lure them into the treacherous waters southeast of Devil's Island. If luck was on their side or the British were unlucky enough, the hard reefs beneath the surface would help the pirates teach the Royal Navy a lesson. Those reefs, from later geographical knowledge, were small underwater volcanoes in the coral reef, with the highest being only 3-4 meters above the waterline, like the "Sydney" cruiser...

  Long Jianming was standing on the deck of the Qinglong, observing the movements of the British warship from a distance. Behind him were Zhang Xiaowu and Zhang Qiu, who were in charge of communication. The battle plan had been drawn up long ago, and now it was just a matter of execution! As early as when Cai Zicheng was in power, the pirates had developed different strategies for different enemies. Although this strategy had been formulated decades ago, it remained effective in the eyes of the Black Shark Gang's pirates, and even more so in the eyes of their leader, Long Jianming.

  Who let the foreigners build bigger and bigger ships, with deeper and deeper drafts! As long as we can effectively provoke the British, I'm not afraid that these John Bulls won't sail their warships here to throw stones in anger! The ones most familiar with this sea area are still the pirate crews of the Black Shark Gang...