Of course, something as major as a rebellion can’t be handled so hastily. A plan must be discussed, and a leader must be chosen—this is a crucial issue.

“I know where Third Prince Jackson is. Let’s go invite him to come out of hiding and make him our leader.”

A middle-aged man said.

The crowd immediately erupted into chaos. Clearly, the name Third Prince Jackson carried weight—even Monk Nathan agreed, shouting to support Third Prince Jackson as leader, with Eric Bennett as the Grand Preceptor.

“That’s not appropriate. We definitely need to invite the Third Prince, but not right now. On the contrary, we should do our best to conceal his identity for now. We don’t yet know if our uprising will succeed or fail. If we succeed, everything will be easy to discuss; but if we fail, wouldn’t we drag the Third Prince down with us? The Chongzhen Emperor’s bloodline is down to just him—we can’t let him take such a risk. If we manage to secure a foothold and seize enough territory, then it won’t be too late to bring him out. Now is not the time.”

Eric Bennett said.

He certainly couldn’t bring out old Zhu now, and old Zhu himself wouldn’t agree at this point either. As for the future, that could be dealt with later. Anyway, even if he did bring him out, his own power would already be stable, and the prince would just serve as a figurehead. If he behaved, he’d remain a figurehead; if not, well, he could just do what their Zhu ancestors did—nothing too serious.

After he said this, the crowd came to their senses.

Indeed, they were all risking their necks for this cause. If they failed, it would mean extermination of their families—wouldn’t that drag the Third Prince down too? The Chongzhen Emperor’s descendants were down to just this one—not even any women left alive.

“In that case, who will lead us?”

Mark Brooks said.

“Isn’t it obvious? Master Bennett! Master Bennett is a disciple of an immortal—he surely knows more than we do. Since we can’t bring out the Third Prince for now, of course Master Bennett should lead us.”

Monk Nathan shouted.

Eric Bennett was absolutely loving this monk right now.

“Can Master Bennett show us a little of his skill?”

The pirate leader said. Clearly, they only respected the strong. Although Eric Bennett had nearly killed Kang Mazi, that was still just a rumor in the martial world. Only what they saw with their own eyes would convince them.

“Well, all right then!”

Eric Bennett cheerfully took the Type 95 automatic rifle off his back, braced it on his shoulder, and looked for a target to intimidate these country bumpkins. He certainly couldn’t show off his martial arts—even though he’d grown stronger and more agile lately, it still wouldn’t be enough to impress these people. Besides, he was supposed to be an immortal—how could an immortal be swinging swords like an ordinary person? An immortal should have immortal means—killing with a wave of a white-sleeved hand, that was fitting.

But just as he turned his gun toward Dinghai, suddenly, a dozen warships flying Qing banners appeared in his field of vision, heading across the blue sea toward Peach Blossom Island. He could even see the cannons mounted on their bows.

“This is bad—we’ve been exposed!”

He shouted immediately.

Clearly, the enemy was coming straight for them.

“Damn it, we have a traitor among us!”

Monk Nathan roared.

The crowd instantly fell into chaos. Eric Bennett immediately rushed to higher ground, took out his binoculars from his backpack, scanned the surroundings, then returned to Robert Hall and Andrew Lee and said, “Mr. Hall, Mr. Lee, you and those without weapons should go down the mountain at once, take a boat and escape west. There are no Qing soldiers on the shore over there—most likely only Dinghai County has received the tip-off, the others haven’t yet. Once you land, go straight home, settle your families, and then come back.”

“Master Bennett, you mean to...?”

Robert Hall asked in confusion.

“Master, let’s do it now—are you in or not?”

Eric Bennett didn’t answer him, but turned directly to Monk Nathan.

“I’m in! I like your style. Damn it, let’s rebel right now! Who’s willing to follow Master Bennett and kill the Tartars?”

The old monk drew his blade and shouted.

“Let’s do it!”

“Revolt!”

“Kill the Tartars!”

...

A chorus of shouts followed, especially from the pirates and the Heaven and Earth Society, all of whom drew their weapons.

“Let’s go—down the mountain, kill the Tartars!”

Eric Bennett called out boldly with a wave of his hand.

Chapter 11: First Victory

The Dinghai garrison commander Stephen Wood stood on the deck of the warship, holding a telescope and watching ahead, the sea breeze blowing in his face. For a moment, he felt just like his father back in the day.

Well, he was Shi Lang’s son.

As the highest-ranking officer of the Dinghai garrison, he had also received orders from the Governor’s Office to strengthen patrols in the defense zone, and if any signs of the demon who attempted to assassinate the Emperor were found, to immediately send troops to capture or kill them. Originally, this order was just a routine matter. Even now, those governors and generals never imagined that Eric Bennett had already slipped behind their lines—the main search area was still along the Yangtze River, especially Poyang Lake, Chaohu, and similar places. Even Stephen Wood himself hadn’t expected to have this chance to serve the Emperor. Yet, as he sat at home with nothing to do, good fortune fell from the sky: someone had just reported to Dinghai County Magistrate Miao Sui that a large group of rebels was gathering on Peach Blossom Island, possibly including the demon who tried to assassinate the Emperor.