Chapter 448: Disinfection

“Why did he attack the sterncastle?”

“Lieutenant Alvarado refused to surrender to you. He thought he could defeat you in a boarding action and then pay a ransom to sail the San Luis away. That scoundrel has been inciting the sailors and soldiers to mutiny all along the way,” the captain said with resentment. “He knew the ship was carrying the royal subsidy for the Governor-General of the Philippines—that despicable, shameless gambler and villain! It took a great deal of effort for me to maintain order on the ship.” The captain’s face showed a look of regret, clearly lamenting that his painstaking voyage had failed just one day’s journey from his destination.

Is this lieutenant trying to become a pirate? Zhou Weisen thought.

“How much royal subsidy is on board?”

The captain shook his head. “I don’t know. The number is confidential. I am only responsible for the transport.”

“Where is the San Raimundo?” Zhou Weisen asked next.

The captain was taken aback. He thought, They know everything. They must have been following us all the way from New Spain.

“We encountered a storm six days’ journey from here and were separated.”

“Was the San Raimundo carrying a royal subsidy?”

“Yes,” the captain added, “I don’t know the exact amount.”

Zhou Weisen had no more questions. He had learned the key information. As for Lieutenant Alvarado’s ambitions, he wasn’t interested in the least. However, it seemed a pity to lose over three hundred laborers for nothing.

“Take him away,” Zhou Weisen ordered.

“Please send a message to His Excellency the Governor-General of the Philippines. I have friends in Manila who can pay a ransom…” The captain, seeing men coming to drag him away, feared that these Chinese pirates would kill him to silence him and quickly made his position clear.

Zhou Weisen waved his hand, and the captain and the other captives were taken away. At this moment, the marines had carefully brought the steel cylinder, its accompanying hoses, and protective equipment over from the boarding bridge.

The marine team began to suppress the hatchways. Under the continuous suppression of the shotguns, the Spanish guarding the hatches were quickly driven away from the vicinity of the hatches. Two marines threw a pressure-resistant pipe inside.

“Open the valve!” At Zhou Weisen’s command, a naturalized citizen technician from the chemical industry department, wearing a full set of protective gear, carefully opened the valve.

A cloud of yellowish-green gas billowed from the grating, but the heavier chlorine gas quickly sank. Zhou Weisen watched nervously, checking his watch and calculating the time it would take to be effective.

Chlorine gas is heavier than air. When released on the upper deck, it would automatically spread downwards along the hatches, quickly filling the entire middle and lower decks. However, according to their simulations, the middle and lower decks of a galleon were not completely sealed—the gun ports were probably still open, and the recent battle had created many more holes. It would be difficult for the chlorine gas to reach a sufficient concentration, so its lethal effect would be limited.

However, even a small amount of chlorine gas in the air was enough to incapacitate people. Chlorine gas is extremely irritating to human mucous membranes, and inhaling even a very small amount would cause violent coughing and difficulty breathing. According to the calculations of the chemical industry department, this cylinder of chlorine gas was enough to make all the Spaniards on the ship lose their ability to resist.

Sure enough, in less than five minutes, howls like those of dying animals, violent coughing, and chaotic curses came from below deck. Someone screamed, “Let us out, we surrender!”

Then came a few more gunshots from below, the screams of dying men, and the sound of chaotic footsteps. Suddenly, a hatch was thrown open, and several men scrambled out, their hands raised high, gasping for breath and intermittently shouting, “Surrender, surrender!”

“Close the valve! Tell the prisoners to come out with their hands over their heads and kneel on the deck!” Zhou Weisen roared.

The prisoners, choking and coughing, scrambled out from below, at one point even causing a blockage at the hatch. The marines had to go up and help maintain order with their fists and feet.

The prisoners who climbed up filled the entire deck, kneeling. Some were clutching their throats in agony, others were lying on the deck, gasping for breath. Those in better condition were constantly coughing, and some couldn’t even get up.

Seeing that no one else was coming out of the hatches, Zhou Weisen ordered a full search of the ship. He himself put on a gas mask and went down to inspect.

The marine detachment, wearing masks and goggles, began to descend from the hatches to search each level. Only about half of the chlorine gas from the cylinder had been released, but it had already caused heavy casualties on the second gun deck. More than thirty people were poisoned to death on the second gun deck alone—the soldiers and sailors had been concentrated on this level to prepare for battle and were the first to be hit. Although there were far fewer people on the third deck and in the hold, the chlorine gas settled quickly, killing some of the people below who couldn’t escape in time.

Seeing the grotesque state of the bodies of those who had been poisoned, Zhou Weisen felt a great deal of inner conflict. Although this method was quick and effective and had been used without scruple by emperors, kings, and presidents well into the 20th century, and he himself had been an enthusiastic supporter when advocating for poison gas, he was, after all, a modern man who had lived in the 21st century. He found it somewhat difficult to accept personally carrying out such a massacre.

However, the material gains were extremely rich. Apart from the small 1-pounder deck guns, there were 34 large cannons on the ship, all cast in bronze. This was a considerable income in copper. Moreover, the ship was filled with goods from the Americas, packed in bundles and bales, not only filling the cargo hold but also a considerable part of the gun deck—no wonder the ship had such a heavy draft. Needless to say, there were certainly many valuable goods among them.

Zhou Weisen did not open them one by one. This was not a suitable place to inspect the goods, and goods from long voyages often carried terrible bacteria and viruses. The plague had spread in this way in the past. He instructed the soldiers to put the Planning Commission’s seals on everything.

The main prize—the silver coins from New Spain—was in the hold. Crate after crate of silver, sealed with lead and bound with iron, were neatly arranged. Zhou Weisen inspected the lead seals; the insignia of the Royal Audiencia of New Spain was intact.

The body of the ambitious Lieutenant Alvarado was also found here. He had collapsed on a silver chest, one hand clutching the chest, the other tearing at his own throat.

Zhou Weisen looked at the gruesome corpse with mixed feelings and ordered:

“Move all the silver chests to the deck!”

Silver was the most important prize. Although they had decided to tow the San Luis, one of its masts was broken, and the ship was clumsy. If they encountered a major storm, they might have to abandon the ship. It was safer to move the silver to the 901.

The silver chests were counted and registered one by one by Sun Xiao on the deck, sealed with the Planning Commission’s seals, and then transported to the Nongchao to serve as ballast. Afterwards, Zhou Weisen ordered the bodies to be cleared. However, he was not in a hurry to ventilate the ship and let the chlorine gas dissipate. Instead, he instructed the soldiers to close all the portholes and block all the openings. Chlorine gas had excellent disinfecting and sterilizing properties, which was just what this filthy galleon needed.

“Have you found the ship’s cargo manifest, passenger list, and logbook?” Sun Xiao asked. Since they were not going to clean up on the spot, the cargo manifest was a crucial verification document.

“The captain said they are all in the stern cabin. Mendoza is collecting the relevant documents. They will all be handed over to you tonight.”

After a thorough search and clean-up from top to bottom, the San Luis was towed by a 901 back to the waters off Samar Island to rendezvous with the waiting Haifeng and Feiyun.

The soldiers transferred all the surviving Spaniards to the hold of the Haifeng. In the evening, all the elders gathered on the Nongchao to listen to Zhou Weisen’s report.

“…According to the captain, at the last roll call three days ago, there were still 375 people on board. We have now captured a total of 250 prisoners, cleared 109 bodies, and 16 people are missing. However, I am inclined to think that these 16 people were lost during the three days of sailing and fell overboard during the battle. Of course, there may have been errors in their roll call.”

“Could they still be hiding in the cargo hold?” Sun Xiao asked.

“Then we have 16 bodies we haven’t cleared. Although the chlorine gas concentration below deck is not immediately lethal, they would still die if they stayed inside,” Zhou Weisen said. “I estimate that by the time we reach Lingao, even the rats inside will be dead.”

Among the 250 prisoners were the captain, the first mate, and most of the senior crew. Only the second mate had been killed in the battle.

“I estimate that some more people will die in the coming days—many are seriously wounded and probably won’t live long.”

“Are the poisoned people okay? Will there be any after-effects?” Sun Xiao was also very interested in the manpower.

“It’s not a big problem. As long as the chlorine poisoning is not severe, timely ventilation and washing the eyes, nostrils, and other mucous membranes with clean water will be enough. The medics have already treated them. As for those with severe poisoning, they won’t survive anyway.”

“Actually, I don’t see why we need prisoners. Just make them walk the plank and be done with it,” said Lin Chuanqing, who was used to being a snakehead and had no psychological pressure about this.

“That’s not right. After all, we promised to spare their lives if they surrendered,” Lü Yang’s knightly sentiments flared up.

“If they’re all gone, who’s to say we didn’t keep our word? Even our own people, no one understands what Mendoza said. They’ll never know we went back on our word.”

“We have to consider the consequences. The surrender appeal was broadcast by Ms. Mendoza. If we kill everyone, she will definitely protest. Besides, arbitrarily killing prisoners is not a positive education for soldiers,” Zhou Weisen said righteously. Inwardly, he didn’t want to be nagged by Mendoza on the Feiyun in the future.

“Maintaining the unity of the elders is the top priority. The lives of these hundred or so people don’t really matter. Besides, the mines in Sanya will never have too many people,” Sun Xiao expressed his support.