The German Surprise Attack

  Captain Hark von Rettberg commanded the Emden, sailing around the western point of Direction Island from the northwest, just like the British did. The southern jetty and the entire view of Direction Island fell into the captain's eyes behind his binoculars.

  A red figure was running... Against the green, blue and gray background, that red was exceptionally eye-catching. Naturally, the bright red also caught the attention of the bald-headed colonel wearing a single-lens clip-on glasses.

  Rettmann was pulled from his estate in the countryside by the Navy Department on July 8 and taken to Wilhelmshaven, where he received orders directly from Emperor William himself. His mission was to join the Far East Fleet and do a favor for his British relatives - wipe out the pirates in the South China Sea! After more than two months of wind and waves, the light cruiser "Emden" finally arrived at Devil's Island. As the saying goes: coming early is not as good as coming cleverly. And Colonel Rettmann and his over 500 German sailors clearly belonged to the latter category.

  The British warship chased the pirate ship far away, and even in the telescope of the sailor on the main mast, the 8,000-ton warship was no longer visible. The pirates' main sailboats had all gone out to sea, and the first mainstay, Qinglong No., had become debris drifting on the surface of the water, while Jinyu No. was in a "desperate rush", and only some small boats less than 100 tons were left at the simple dock...

  The captain was clear about his mission, which was to eradicate the pirates. As for the legendary British hostages, he didn't care!

  "Order, slow down to 8 knots, main guns fore and aft, port gun ready, pirate dock, three rounds rapid fire!" The colonel's thin lips barely moved as he gave the order.

  He Ningfeng seemed to have heard the shouting of people behind her, but she no longer cared what they were shouting about! The woman's mind was only thinking of running to the dock, shaking a boat to save her own man and his brothers! She didn't look at the distant sea surface, where a black shadow was approaching Devil Island. Of course, she couldn't see that the warship's cannon was lifting, aiming at herself and the ships by the big dock. All she saw was that the dock was getting closer and closer, and she was getting closer and closer to the boat...

  A flash of fire and black smoke flickered in the eyes of the pirates at the mountain gate, followed by a series of "rumbling" explosions. People could no longer make a sound, and several who had chased out to call back the young master's brother also stopped in their tracks. It's all over! It's all over!

  "Big sister!" A shout broke the silence, and dozens of pirates came down from the mountain gate wall with a rustling sound. They shouted and ran wildly towards the direction of the dock filled with smoke and fire!

  "Come back! Come back!" Niu Fushou shouted hoarsely, pulling and dissuading, but unfortunately the effect was not very significant. He only managed to pull back about 20 people, while the others continued to rush towards the dock like unbridled horses.

  "How strange! These pirates are really surprising!" Retman looked at the incredible scene through his telescope, and he couldn't figure out how these pirates were not afraid of death in the face of the god of death. Could those small surviving boats withstand the cruiser's attack? He didn't know that the previous row of cannonballs that had made him very satisfied had taken away the goddess in the hearts of the pirates! He also didn't know that history was about to undergo a shocking reversal at this moment, and the revengeful cannon fire would eventually descend upon Germany in Europe! Of course, he didn't know either that the red dot flying up from the cannon fire in his telescope would become a long-term nightmare for Germany...

  "Fire! Three more rounds!" Rettemann continued to command coldly, the Junker's concept of honor would not be swayed by some strange and trivial things.

  The successive explosions had already lost count, and the pirates were often torn to pieces before they could even shout! The accurate and fierce gunfire of the German Navy had completely blocked the dock. Finally, people woke up, and the 20 or so people who survived by luck ran back in a hurry. Where can human feet run faster than the incoming shells?

  Niu Fushou and Mai Hongbiao watched in anguish as their brothers were engulfed one by one in the smoke... What could they do? Nothing! Guarding behind the thick wall of the fort, ready to shoot at the landing devils at any moment, this was all they could think of now!

  Long Jianming and Zhang Qiu barely escaped the rifle fire of the British Marines on the "Sydney" and swam hard towards the direction of the Devil's Island. In the distance, the Golden Dragon left a small black dot, while the British warship was chasing after it, creating waves from its stern. Long Jianming knew that the task of luring the enemy should be over! Now he prayed to heaven to bless his brothers on the Golden Dragon, not to get hit by cannonballs before the enemy's warship ran aground, and not to end up like the Qinglong. Xiao Wu, where is Xiao Wu?

  Zhang Xiaowu was also enduring the severe pain from his back wound and swimming towards the direction of Mogui Island. He hoped that his brothers on the island would soon set sail to come and meet him!

  The other 9 people were all sacrificed, with 4 of them being shot dead by intense gunfire while struggling in the sea...

  Rettmann was satisfied with the artillery skills of his subordinates, and he estimated that all the pirates on Devil's Island had been killed at the dock. Because he couldn't make the telescope have X-ray vision. The colonel hoped to end this one-sided slaughter as soon as possible, although this slaughter was very much to his taste. However, the colonel still decided to take care of the emotions of the officers and men, set off for China a little earlier, and have a good rest there, after all, the officers and men had been exhausted for three months. Pirates without ships were not threatening at all, let alone this small island had become a cemetery.

  The German ships turned, and under Lütjens' command the battleships made a semicircular turn to the north around a patch of sea littered with wreckage.

  He didn't know that the white German letter on the bow had been firmly etched in the minds of the bloodshot pirates... although these pirates never knew how to read these letters, what special meaning they represented, and even most of the pirates were paying attention to these letters for the first time. However, this did not prevent the pirates from remembering it. It was the mark of the foreign devil who took the lives of the eldest sister and dozens of brothers!

  A loud crash and vibration came from the bottom of the "Kala" ship, almost throwing Major Henry off the bridge! The "Sydney" tried hard to continue forward, but unfortunately, the huge friction made this massive warship stop and tilt forward and to the right. Slowly, the stern rose up, and the spinning propellers also exposed above the water...

  "What's going on?" Captain Henry asked a stupid question, and he immediately came to his senses. "Chief Engineer, shut down the main engine, Boatswain, inspect the damage of the warship immediately, Gunnery Officer, you are in charge of alert! Navigator, Navigator!"

  Jin Lao saw with his own eyes the British warship speeding towards the reef group in the distance, and saw that the propeller at the back of the warship was raised high, just like a naughty child waiting for its parents to whip it with a rattan stick. However, Jin Lao wasn't foolish enough to rush over immediately! Even if he wanted to go over, he would have to wait for ten days or half a month, and as long as no other British warships came to the rescue, this big guy would be the pirates' spoils of war!

  "Change course, head back to Devil's Island. Take a look at the brothers and Big Brother on the Green Dragon, they might still be out at sea."

  ……

  The scene before him was one of utter devastation, with mangled bodies and massive craters everywhere, and bloodstains covering the ground. This was what had left Long Jianming stunned after he jumped off the Golden Dragon ship! Who could have done this? The British warship had been following the Green Dragon ship and the Golden Dragon ship, hadn't it? He hadn't seen that warship launch such a large-scale bombardment on the island, had he? Long Jianming was at a loss for answers, his heart heavy as he gazed out at the scene before him. At least 40 of his brothers had fallen here! Why? What were they doing here in the first place? Why hadn't they just stayed safely behind the thick walls of their fort?!

  The answer was devastating, and that touch of bright red soon appeared in Long Jianming's tired eyes.

  "Frost! ? Frost! Frost!!" The heart-wrenching pain and extreme fatigue struck him down, and everything went black before his eyes...

  Originally, it was a joyful day. He and she had just completed the wedding ceremony, formally becoming a loving couple, about to live a happy and sweet life, and also about to work together towards greater and more noble goals! The sudden change of events destroyed all this, destroying Long Jianming's beautiful dream, pulling him from his good expectations for life into bloody reality, deeply planting hatred in his heart! Before, he may have only had worries about the nation's future and the people's suffering. Now, having personally experienced national hatred and lost his loved one, what would he think? What would he do? At least, this former army lieutenant, now Black Shark gang leader, sole person aware of the location of the priceless treasure, wouldn't be completely defeated...

  This tragedy is full of twists and turns! The British ship that was robbed by pirates, during a "routine" patrol, captured the pirate ship after it was destroyed, and the British warship that came to negotiate did not fire at the island. Instead, it found itself in a desperate situation after sinking the Qinglong number! What awaited the 800+ British naval officers on board the "Sydney" was the humiliation of being taken prisoner by pirates. The real creator of this tragedy is not the British, which can be confirmed! The Germans despicably launched a sneak attack on the island, and they did not follow the traditional rules that naval officers should abide by - to engage in a decisive battle with the enemy at sea! Instead, after a frenzy of bombing and shelling, they absconded, attempting to shift all the blame onto the British and take credit for eliminating the pirates for themselves...

  Long Jianming, who had come to his senses, sat alone in contemplation for a while after settling his wife's affairs, sorting out the whole thing. Ah, Emden, Emden! This light cruiser, which was destined to be sunk by the new Sydney of the Australian Navy after the outbreak of World War I, now has a captain who is not that good man with a knightly demeanor. However, this did not change the inevitable fate of this ship! What changed, perhaps, was only time and opponent!

  As a pirate, the funeral was very simple, and He Ningfeng's funeral was also very simple! Because Long Jianming and his brothers couldn't find her body, only leaving behind a lock of long hair in the place where she fell. This one strand of hair with burn marks became Long Jianming's treasured possession, his only memory of the woman... This intelligent, beautiful, and gentle woman had become his nominal wife, becoming the unforgettable thought in his heart, leaving him with deep love and a lock of hair! It was both little and a lot, too much for Long Jianming to bear this love... Now, he could only complete the Dragon God plan and avenge her death to alleviate the hatred and unease in his heart!

  Based on this mentality, Hei Shark Gang quickly disappeared from the South China Sea...

  Major Heng Li returned to Hong Kong on a small sailboat with his men and the hostages after talking to the pirate leader.

  December 5, 1901, Long Jianming took a large wooden box (containing the Hummer H2) and boarded the "Seattle" merchant ship bound for San Francisco, USA. Before that, he made extensive arrangements, helping all of them to disperse in Shanghai, Suzhou and other places, buying land, getting married and having children. Li Guoliang set up a school on his behalf, with few students, only some relatively young former pirate brothers, and the teachers were hired from new schools at high salaries! Long Jianming left a message before he left: Study hard and you will have a chance to use your skills in America! Within a year, I must pick up my brothers and go to the United States for development! Therefore, these young people who had never been to school before were still working hard, and under Li Guoliang's supervision and threat, they didn't make any trouble. Even people like Ma Hou and Jin Lao Yao were waiting honestly, how could others dare to violate the promise made in front of their boss?

  After a voyage of over 5,000 miles across the vast Pacific Ocean, it was already the end of the month when I arrived in San Francisco, the gathering place of Chinese Americans on the West Coast. The port area of San Francisco at the end of 1901 was not as prosperous as it would be a hundred years later! At that time, the United States, as the country with the highest industrial output in the world, still had an agricultural economy in its western region. As the largest city on the West Coast, San Francisco did not have the dense factories and towering chimneys like Pittsburgh, and the whole city seemed to have a somewhat desolate flavor in the eyes of Long Jianming, who had just arrived here.

  After the gold rush in the West, the steel fever, railway construction craze and oil craze did not have a greater impact on this city! More funds were concerned with the more convenient eastern region connected to the European continent, and more technical exchanges were also completed in the eastern region. And the political and economic center of the entire United States is obviously in the east, in Pennsylvania, in the District of Columbia, in New York, in Boston...

  Long Jianming, who had just gotten off the boat, was not met by anyone. The desolate scene only added to his feelings of loneliness and endless thoughts of He Ningfeng. Soon, he discovered that he had encountered a big problem: the large trunk of the Hummer H2 had been mistakenly loaded onto a train headed for Kansas!