It had to be admitted that most of the Kunlun slaves were brainless, and even the nobles and ministers of Banghasi like Ali had perfectly inherited the brainless trait of the Kunlun slaves. Hamis said whatever he wanted, and Ali and the others believed him without considering the feasibility of Hamis's plan.
For instance, Hamis believed that as long as Saif surrounded the Ming Dynasty's embassy in Banghasi, he could use the embassy and the Ming merchants in Banghasi city as bargaining chips to control the Ming army. Ali and the other nobles and ministers of Banghasi directly believed this plan, completely disregarding its feasibility.
Ali and the others even began to praise Hamis profusely, and Hamis was somewhat carried away by their adulation.
Of course, Hamis had the capital to be proud – daring to provoke the incomparably powerful Ming Empire, an empire that no one on the entire small broken pot dared to provoke. Was he, Ham, not awesome enough?
As for the so-called "Five Great Benevolent Ones" of the small broken pot, Hamis cared even less.
In any case, Hamis had no intention of confronting the Ming army or the armies of the other four great benevolent ones on the battlefield.
After some thought, Hamis simply instructed his attendants: "Tell Saif to surround the Ming Dynasty's embassy, and also send men to arrest all the Ming merchants in Banghasi city and send them to the city gate where the Ming army is attacking."
After the attendants hurried away, Hamis smiled and instructed Ali, Antoine, Marcus, and the others: "Let's go. We'll go to welcome the Ming army together – I can't wait to see the expression on the faces of the Ming army after their defeat."
Ali and the rest of the Banghasi nobles and ministers also laughed, surrounding Hamis as they left the so-called palace. A large group of them headed towards the so-called city gate.
However, not long after leaving the "palace," Hamis's expression darkened.
Banghasi was not a particularly large city. While Hamis's so-called "palace" was not so close that a fart could reach it, it was not far either.
The straight plume of smoke rising above the Ming embassy was a glaring sight in the eyes of Hamis and the nobles and ministers of Banghasi.
Hamis, with a gloomy and resentful expression, quietly ordered: "Someone, go and check on Saif's situation. Ask him how much longer it will take to take down the Ming Dynasty's embassy?"
Saif no longer expected to quickly take down the Ming Dynasty's embassy in Banghasi.
After several failed attacks, Saif had clearly recognized the vast difference between the Banghasi army and the Ming army.
It was a gap of nine heavens and ten earths, a distinction between the bright moon and candlelight.
If the Ming army was a soaring eagle in the nine heavens, then the Banghasi army was an ant buried in the ten earths.
If the Ming army was the bright moon, then the Banghasi army could only be considered candlelight.
Or rather, the Banghasi army couldn't even be considered candlelight, only the faint glow behind a firefly's tail.
Whether it was in terms of equipment, troop quality, or combat skills, the Ming army completely crushed the Banghasi army.
The most direct evidence was that Saif had brought more than a thousand men, while the entire Ming embassy had only about a hundred soldiers in total – and these hundred or so soldiers had repelled wave after wave of attacks from over a thousand men!
Each attack saw the Banghasi army, swarming forward, quickly scattering, and each scattering left behind a large number of corpses.
Of course, if it were just failed attacks, it wouldn't matter, and Saif's expression wouldn't be as gloomy as his father Hamis.
The key was that after several consecutive attacks, they hadn't even managed to break down the gate of the Ming Dynasty's embassy!
The Kunlun slaves watching from the sidelines, after experiencing excitement and eagerness, now only had the courage to throw stones into the Ming Dynasty's embassy with their ghostly cries.
Therefore, Hamis's expression was as gloomy as if he had eaten three pounds of rotten dog feces.
After another failed attack, Hamis's eyes turned red: "Listen up, everyone! Whoever is the first to break into the Ming Dynasty's embassy, I will reward them with three diamonds! Whoever kills a Ming person, I will also reward them with three diamonds! Not just those in the Ming Dynasty's embassy, but any Ming person in Banghasi city will count!"
As Saif's words fell, not only the Banghasi soldiers who followed Saif to attack the Ming Dynasty's embassy, but even the Kunlun slaves watching were moved!
Three, three diamonds!
Although diamonds couldn't be eaten or drunk, the nobles and dignitaries of the Ming Dynasty and France liked them. Therefore, diamonds could be sold for money and exchanged for food!
The value of one diamond was enough for an ordinary Kunlun slave family to eat and drink for one to two years. If they were frugal, they might not even be able to spend it all in three to five years.
However, diamonds were not something that ordinary Kunlun slaves could possess – although Banghasi had diamond mines, they were controlled by the nobles. Ordinary Banghasi people had no chance to obtain diamonds.
Now that Saif had suddenly offered a reward of three diamonds for one head, how could these Kunlun slaves not be tempted?
What was even more critical was that if it were a normal person with a normal brain, facing such a deathly situation, no matter how high the reward Saif offered, they would have to consider it carefully. But these Kunlun slaves were brainless fools. Upon hearing about three diamonds, their minds were filled with diamonds, and they saw no danger.
Or rather, these Kunlun slaves were not unaware of the danger, but they were all harboring a "what if" mentality – what if someone else died? What if they could snatch a head? What if they were the first to rush into the Ming Dynasty's embassy?
Stimulated by the diamonds, these already brainless Kunlun slaves became even more brainless. The slight fear they had just moments ago was completely suppressed by the temptation of diamonds.
The Kunlun slaves once again launched a desperate charge towards the Ming Dynasty's embassy in Banghasi.
Inside the embassy, the expression of Chen Hao, the Ming Dynasty's ambassador to Banghasi, was not much better than Saif's – if Saif's expression was as gloomy as if he had eaten three pounds of rotten dog feces, then Chen Hao's expression was at least equivalent to one and a half pounds.
In short, it was very unpleasant.
"What are these Kunlun slaves yelling about?"
Chen Hao first looked at the Kunlun slaves charging forward with fierce shouts, then stared intently at the interpreter: "Are these barbarians truly not afraid of death?"
The interpreter's expression was also very grim: "Your Excellency, just now Saif, that idiot, said that he would reward three diamonds for killing a person. Those brainless fools have gone mad. Their minds are now filled only with diamonds."
Chen Hao snorted: "How stupid. Aren't these barbarians afraid of earning with their lives and spending without them?"
The interpreter replied with a distressed expression: "Sir, they are Kunlun slaves. Kunlun slaves are inherently brainless."
After thinking for a moment, the interpreter added: "To be honest, it's already surprising that Saif, that idiot, could come up with the idea of offering a reward – I thought that idiot would directly force those barbarians to attack."
Liu Yidao, the captain of the guards at the Ming Dynasty's embassy in Banghasi, standing beside Chen Hao, looked indifferent: "They're just barbarians. Even the smartest barbarians are still barbarians – haven't you noticed? Saif, that idiot, has been commanding those Kunlun slaves to charge the embassy gate all along."
Chen Hao was stunned and asked: "Shouldn't they break down the gate first?"
But as soon as he finished speaking, Chen Hao suddenly slapped his forehead and exclaimed: "I was muddle-headed! They should break down the gate first, that's correct. But our Ming Dynasty's embassy has high walls and deep moats, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. If they don't use artillery and continue attacking like this, no matter how many barbarians come, they will only be sending themselves to their deaths."
Liu Yidao nodded and said: "That's right. It's astonishingly stupid that these idiots haven't brought any artillery to bombard the embassy gate yet."
Chen Hao nodded, but then reminded him: "However, we cannot underestimate them – we don't have much ammunition, and there are many Ming merchants in the city. If these barbarians use them as a threat, it might be very difficult for us."
This was the real reason for Chen Hao's gloomy expression.
In fact, it didn't matter how many Kunlun slaves Saif commanded to attack the Ming Dynasty's embassy in Banghasi. Chen Hao felt that even if they couldn't hold out in the end, Liu Yidao and his men could protect the people in the embassy and ensure their safe evacuation.
What was critical were those Ming merchants in Banghasi city. No one knew what had gotten into them; when the embassy sent people to warn them, they refused to retreat to the embassy. At most, they sent their wives, daughters, and other female dependents. None of the merchants themselves or their retainers retreated into the embassy.
Now, Chen Hao's greatest worry was that Saif would suddenly come to his senses and command those Kunlun slaves to attack the Ming merchants in Banghasi city.
Liu Yidao, standing beside Chen Hao, glanced at Chen Hao with surprise and asked: "Does Ambassador Chen truly not know why they didn't retreat into the embassy, or is he pretending not to know?"
Chen Hao was stunned and asked: "What do you mean?"
Liu Yidao said: "To conquer Mount Xianyu, carve their names on Mount Yanran, and bring glory to their ancestors – these killers dared to travel thousands of miles to Banghasi to seek their fortune. How many good people do you think there are among them? It's just that the Ming Dynasty's army's post-conquest requirements are too harsh, so these people don't have the opportunity to join the army."
"Now that Banghasi's Hamis and his son Saif are acting perversely, isn't this a golden opportunity for these killers?"
"As for weapons and such... The Ming Dynasty strictly controls firearms and weapons. They naturally wouldn't dare to hide them privately. But in this broken place of Banghasi, where the sky is high and the emperor is far away, who knows how many firearms and weapons they have stockpiled in secret."
"You just wait and see, these killers will definitely not let those Kunlun slaves have an easy time, and might even kill some who are foolish enough."
"Don't forget, even though they couldn't join the army, our Ming Dynasty citizens are basically trained. Even if the training time is short, they have the most basic combat skills, which are much better than these Kunlun slaves."
In fact, the Ming merchants in Banghasi city were just as Liu Yidao said. Those audacious fellows, every single one of them, had privately hoarded a large number of flintlock guns.
If it weren't for the fact that cannons were too conspicuous, these fellows would have likely hidden a few cannons as well.
As for the source of the flintlock guns... Although these merchants were very honest when they were in the Ming Dynasty, once they stepped out of the Ming Dynasty's borders, their connections became wilder and wilder. Coupled with the extreme chaos in Banghasi, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that obtaining firearms was not difficult, but simply easy and enjoyable.
For example, Prince Xuan, who dared to curse Zhu Jinsong as a dog emperor in his own home, had become sworn brothers with several arms dealers in France. If it weren't for his disdain for the outdated flintlock guns offered by the French arms dealers, he could have armed a company.
And the other Ming merchants in Banghasi city were in similar situations to Prince Xuan.
Faced with the maddened Kunlun slaves in Banghasi city, these audacious fellows had no intention of retreating honestly. Instead, their minds were filled with thoughts of conquering Mount Xianyu and bringing glory to their ancestors.
As a result, the Kunlun slaves in Banghasi were so frightened that they didn't dare to charge into the residences of those Ming merchants anymore.
Of course, Kunlun slaves were still Kunlun slaves. Although they no longer dared to charge into the Ming merchants' residences, they were unwilling to stop the "zero-dollar carnival" they had already started.
They turned their attention to other people in Banghasi city.
French, English, Russian, American, people from other European or West Kunlun countries, or even... other Banghasi people in Banghasi city.
In any case, the carnival was on!
It was precisely because these Kunlun slaves had completely gone mad and started their "zero-dollar carnival" activities throughout Banghasi city that the entire city of Banghasi descended into complete chaos.
Mr. Lu Xun once said: It is easy to destroy the order of a city, but it is extremely difficult to rebuild it.
In the completely chaotic city of Banghasi, scenes of slaughter and bloodshed soon appeared everywhere. The mad Kunlun slaves even started a fire festival – just as Secretary Dakang said: "Give these black brothers a pile of fire, and they'll get excited."
The critical issue was that whether it was mobilizing troops or mobilizing military equipment and supplies, a relatively good traffic environment was needed. And how could a completely chaotic city of Banghasi achieve Hamis's arrangements for mobilizing troops, military equipment, and supplies?
At the peak of the chaos, these mad Kunlun slaves even rushed to a place not far from the Ming Dynasty's embassy.
The Kunlun slaves, terrified by the Ming merchants, dared not launch an attack on the Ming Dynasty's embassy, but they had the courage to attack other Kunlun slaves near the Ming Dynasty's embassy.
And their attacks on other Kunlun slaves near the Ming Dynasty's embassy inevitably affected Saif.
Saif was completely stunned by the farce unfolding before him: "Isn't this over for us!"