The Dutch quickly realized that the current artillery duel was pointless.
Their wooden ships were taking real damage, while the strange black ship of the enemy barely seemed to care.
The Dutch commander shouted desperately.
"Close the distance! Board them!"
But Yao Xingjuan had no intention of letting that happen.
The Little Black No.1 pushed its steam paddle wheels to full power and shot across the sea at frightening speed. Yao Xingjuan constantly adjusted the ship's angle, keeping just far enough away that the Dutch ships could not catch him.
The naval battle was becoming increasingly intense.
Then suddenly something strange happened.
Both sides felt that something was wrong.
In the distance, the land of Taiwan seemed to be shaking.
A deep rumbling sound rolled across the island.
Mountains trembled.
Moments later, massive rocks began crashing down the slopes, smashing into the forests below.
The wooden houses and grass huts built by the natives of the Kingdom of Dadu twisted and collapsed as the ground shook violently.
Ganza Xia Alami had just led his people away from the coast and into the mountains to hide.
Unfortunately the mountains themselves began collapsing.
Huge stones rolled down the slopes.
The natives screamed in terror as they fled in every direction, desperately trying to avoid being crushed.
Alami had no choice but to lead them down the mountain again, running toward the coastline.
Behind them the ground cracked open like spreading ripples, chasing the terrified crowd.
Yao Xingjuan suddenly understood what was happening.
"The Earth Dragon is turning!"
At the same moment the Dutch commander shouted in panic.
"Earthquake!"
Experienced sailors knew what often followed a powerful earthquake.
A tsunami.
And a tsunami could be even more destructive than the earthquake itself.
Yao Xingjuan grabbed a metal speaking horn and shouted toward the fleeing natives.
"Run back to the mountains!"
"Even being crushed by rocks is safer than standing on the coast!"
"Go! Go back up the mountain!"
Unfortunately the natives could not understand his language.
But he shouted while waving his arms and pointing frantically toward the mountains.
Eventually someone understood the meaning.
Ganza Xia Alami quickly turned around again and led his people back toward the mountains.
Meanwhile the artillery battle at sea had stopped.
Both fleets instinctively spread apart and began sailing away from the coastline toward deeper waters.
There was usually a short delay between an earthquake and the arrival of a tsunami.
Experienced sailors knew that the farther they were from shore, the safer they would be.
Both sides were veteran sea raiders.
Their reaction was fast.
Just moments after they reached deeper waters, the tsunami arrived.
A towering wall of water several meters high crashed onto the coast.
With a thunderous roar it flattened trees near the shoreline.
Fortunately Ganza Xia Alami had just led his people back up the mountain.
Standing halfway up the slope, they watched the terrifying waves swallow a village that had stood near the coast.
Several natives who had failed to escape in time disappeared instantly beneath the water.
They did not even have time to scream.
The returning current dragged their bodies into the sea.
Not even a corpse remained.
No one had the power to save them.
Ganza Xia Alami's face turned pale.
Behind them the mountains were collapsing.
Before them the sea was devouring everything.
Caught between these forces of heaven and earth, the people of the Kingdom of Dadu could do nothing but tremble in terror.
Even the Dutch were frightened out of their wits.
They completely lost interest in fighting.
The five Dutch warships turned north and fled as quickly as possible.
Yao Xingjuan looked toward the still-shaking island.
Aftershocks continued.
The sea was still roaring with waves.
It was impossible to approach the coast right now.
He gritted his teeth.
"We're leaving."
"Return to the supply port at Jinjiang."
---
Several days later, the aftershocks finally stopped.
The sea gradually calmed.
But the double disaster of earthquake and tsunami had devastated Taiwan.
Several villages had been destroyed.
Many people had died.
The Kingdom of Dadu originally had a population of about nine thousand people.
After this catastrophe nearly one tenth of them were gone.
Almost nine hundred people had died.
It was a terrible loss.
And the damage was not limited to human lives.
Villages had been destroyed.
Huge waves had swept away food supplies and valuables.
Many families had lost everything.
They survived with nothing but the clothes on their bodies.
Even a simple straw mat had been taken by the sea.
Ganza Xia Alami had survived the disaster.
He slid down from the mountain slope with his people and stood by the shore, looking at the devastated land.
His people cried and wailed around him.
Their voices were full of despair.
"Sun King, what should we do now?"
Ganza Xia Alami forced himself to stay calm.
"We rebuild the villages."
"But before we rebuild, we will starve."
"Please give us food, Your Majesty."
The king suddenly looked extremely awkward.
The Kingdom of Dadu consisted of five tribes.
The Pazeh, Babuza, Papora, Hoanya, and Taokas peoples.
Among them the Pazeh were the largest with about five thousand members.
Each of the other tribes had roughly one thousand people.
In total there had been nine thousand people.
Even after losing nine hundred, there were still about eight thousand survivors.
And there was no way their king could feed that many people.
His personal wealth was enough to buy only a few hundred jin of grain from the Han traders.
Feeding eight thousand people was impossible.
Even feeding eight hundred would already be difficult.
"What should we do now..." Alami muttered.
Just then, ships appeared again on the horizon.
The massive Little Black No.1 had returned.
"Sun King! The mainland Han people are back!"
Alami was surprised.
"They still dare to come?"
Such a terrible disaster had just happened.
Most sailors would avoid this sea for a long time.
Yet these people had returned after only a few days.
Their courage was remarkable.
Soon Yao Xingjuan appeared on the deck.
He gave an order.
Sailors began carrying large baskets from the ship.
Basket after basket.
Soon the beach was covered with bamboo containers.
Inside them was grain.
"Food!"
"Something we can eat!"
The disaster-stricken natives erupted into cheers.
But Ganza Xia Alami remained cautious.
"We have nothing left to trade."
"The fruits, deer hides, and antlers we stored at home were buried by landslides or swallowed by the sea."
The cheering natives suddenly fell silent.
That was true.
Even if the Han people had food, they had nothing to exchange for it.
At that moment Yao Xingjuan spoke while gesturing energetically.
"For you!"
"No trade!"
"For you!"
"During disaster relief there is no need for equal exchange."
"This is humanitarian aid."
Of course the natives could not understand the exact words.
But they understood the kindness behind them.
The firmness in Alami's heart began to soften.
He suddenly realized something.
These mainland people were not bandits.
They were different from the Dutch.
They were different from the Spanish.
Why had he insisted on refusing them?
Why forbid them from building a supply port?
Why refuse to learn their language?
Why refuse their faith of Dao Xuan Tianzun?
Perhaps...
Perhaps it was finally time to try becoming real friends.
Alami slowly spoke.
"For you."
He had just learned a new Chinese phrase.
Yao Xingjuan's face lit up with joy.
He quickly gestured again.
"No money!"
"No money!"
Alami repeated.
"No money!"
Yao Xingjuan pointed to himself, then to Alami.
"Friends."
Alami repeated the phrase carefully.
"Friends."
The two men looked at each other.
And they both smiled.